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Re: Apple II Graphic programs...
In comp.sys.apple2 Jeff Thomas <a2forever@usa.net> wrote:
> Also, I own an Apple IIGS and would love to convert Deluxe Paint II
> pictures from my Amiga (the closest matching colour palette of 4,096
> colours) or PC to the Apple IIGS.
Following is an independant review of Brutal Deluxe's "Convert 3200"
program. If the review strikes your fancy, please visit
http://users.foxvalley.net/~joko to find out how to acquire the program,
and the Source Code, and "Brutal Deluxe's LemminGS."
Joe Kohn
---------------------
Review: Convert 3200
"""""""""""""""""""""
by Douglas Cuff
[EDITOR.A2]
PROGRAM: Convert 3200
VERSION: 1.0
AUTHOR: Brutal Deluxe Software
PUBLISHER: Joe Kohn, 166 Alpine Street, San Rafael, CA 94901-1008 USA
PRICE: $15
REQUIREMENTS: Apple IIgs, System 6, 700K of _free_ RAM (not total RAM!)
4 megabytes RAM, hard disk drive, accelerator all
recommended
[*][*][*]
Convert 3200 is a graphic conversion utility from Brutal Deluxe, the
French programming team that brought games such as The Tinies to the Apple
IIgs. Convert 3200 began life a programmer's utility, so that Brutal
Deluxe could grab the graphics used in other versions of the game.
Because of its origins, Convert 3200 is powerful and it's fast. Because
it's been released as a commercial product, it's much easier to use.
Still, don't assume that Convert 3200 has been designed for ease of
use. It's been designed for power and for speed, and has add a
"Conversion for Clots" interface grafted onto it. In fact, if you only
retain one thing from this review, try to make it this: reading the
documentation is not optional. You won't believe me until you try
fiddling with the program first, but it's for your own good.
Installing and launching the program are a snap, and the main menu
screen looks invitingly simple. After that, things get weird, and fast.
Convert 3200 has to be told what kind of graphic you're trying to
load; it doesn't automatically detect graphic type. Unless you set the
load type correctly, you're going to see this:
A L E R T !
LOAD CANCELLED
UNKNOWN GRAPHIC
FILE FORMAT.
CLICK TO CONTINUE
Unknown graphic file format? Well, that message is misleading. Convert
3200 supports a lot of formats: all the Apple IIgs formats, including
256- and 3200-color pictures, plus Compuserve GIF, TIFF, Windows/OS2 BMP,
Amiga the type of picture you're trying to load. But if you try to load a
GIF picture with the load type set to "Apple", then you're going to get
the "unknown graphic format" error.
(Because you're naturally cautious the first time you use a program,
you probably won't commit the above sin. But I guarantee you that you
will eventually. And it will scare the willies out of you.)
Once you correctly select a graphic for loading, you are going to be
blown away at how quickly Convert 3200 loads it. Particularly if you're
loading from a RAM disk or fast hard drive. Zowie!
But then Convert 3200 just sits there. It doesn't show you what it's
loaded. So you click on a few buttons, and you see your graphic--in
monochrome. If you haven't read the documentation, or a review like this
one, you're going to be slightly put off. Not to worry, you just have to
visit the conversion screen. Wear your racing scarf--the conversion speed
is almost as zippy as the loading speed. Once the conversion is done,
Convert 3200 doesn't show you the graphic--you have to click on the "view"
button. Then you can save the graphic (3200, 256, 16, 16 grey, or Print
Shop colors) in a variety of formats (alas, NOT including GIF).
Does this sound complicated? Well, it is, a little. But it's not as
complicated as it sounds, and you get the hang of it pretty quickly
anyway. Plus you can automate the whole procedure to automatically convert
a whole disk full of graphics in one go. Still, there's no doubt that
this program reflects its programmers' idiosynchrasies. It will take you
a little while to learn how to use the program. The tutorial will take
you through the basic process. You follow the tutorial, then read the
main documentation file at least as far as the explanation of the shortcut
keys.
Power users will want to read on. There's a lot of information in
Chapter XV (How Does It Work?) that can help you to fine-tune your
conversions. In fact, there's even a hidden function that lets you mess
with Convert 3200's conversion rules.
Convert 3200 does all its conversions in 320 mode. That can be a
pain sometimes, particularly with 640-mode GIF graphics. It imposes
limitations that are fussy to circumvent. Also, Convert 3200 doesn't load
JPEG graphics.
In a few cases, I got better results using Jonah Stich's 1990
program, GIF 3200, than with Convert 3200. This may be due to a
limitation in me, not in Brutal Deluxe's program, but this is still
relevant information for newbies. Mind you, to get that marginally better
result, I had to wait something like 15 minutes for GIF 3200, as opposed
to 15 seconds for Convert 3200.
Until now, SuperConvert has been the standard graphic conversion
program for the Apple IIgs, with the persistent falling back on New
Concepts' Prism. (No one seems to remember The Graphics Exchange, for
which I have a soft spot.) Convert 3200 may not supplant SuperConvert,
but it will still probably get used _first_, and get used more often.
Let's face it; most of us load a graphics once and then throw it away.
That means we want a speedy program, and there's nothing faster than
Convert 3200. I can't say it's the one to own if you're only buying one,
but you should definitely buy it. It's only $15--commercial software for
less than many shareware products! If you're serious about graphics
conversion, you'll want to keep SuperConvert (and The Graphics Exchange
and Prism) in your arsenal too. But buy Convert 3200 for sure.
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FOUR LAMPS (1-5)
RATING SYSTEM
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5 LAMPS.........What? You haven't bought this program YET?
4 LAMPS.........Innovative or feature-rich; take a look!
3 LAMPS.........Good execution, stable program.
2 LAMPS.........Gets the job done.
1 LAMP..........A marginal program.
0 ..............GenieLamp Turkey Award!
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