Welcome to the world of FractaliMotion Player.

This is a Public Beta version of the FractaliMotion Player software.
It may and should be redistributed FREELY -
please copy and share with your friends!

For more information on the product, version updates,
additional scenes, tutorials, videos and images,
please visit http://www.agdsoft.com

Thank you!

The AGD-Software Team.

Click Here For A First Tutorial!

What is FractaliMotion?

- FractaliMotion is an authoring system designed to create kaleidoscopic 3D worlds with dynamic navigation and controls.
- The Player is a free version allowing anyone to load, play back and edit (with certain limitations) files created with the full version.
- FractaliMotion can be used to create
  - 3D audio-visualizations based on any audio source available to the system
  - dynamic fractal images and animations
  - interactive screensaver-like scenes for relaxing and having fun,
  - small 3D games
  - and lots more...

System Requirements

- Intel or AMD CPU running at 1.2 GHz or higher,
- 256MB RAM,
- Graphics Card with min. 32MB, OpenGL 1.2 or higher (tested successfully on nVidia GeForce 2,3,4 and ATI 8500 cards)
- a Windows-compatible Sound Card is required
- A Windows-compatible mouse, wheel/middle mouse button supported but not required.
- MS Windows 2000 and XP are supported, Windows ME might work but is not officially supported.

Installation

- If you burn all files to a CD-R, the Autorun program will be started automatically.
- Autorun.exe provides the following options:
  - Run fractaliMotion Player (if already installed)
  - Read this Readme.htm file
  - Install FractaliMotion Player (running the install.exe program)
  - Exit
- Install.exe will guide you through the installation process.
  - Read the welcome message
  - Confirm the License screen (it is free, you know...)
  - Select the root directory to install to. A sub-directory called AGD-Software\fractaliMotion will be created.
  - All resource files will be copied to the selected destination
  - At the end of the installation process, you will be prompted about
    - installing a shortcut on the Desktop
    - reading the Readme (this file)
  - A new Program Group called "AGD-Software" will appear in your Start>Programs menu. It will contain
    - A shortcut to the Player executable
    - A shortcut to the Readme (this file)
    - A link to the agdsoft.com homepage
    - A shortcut to the Uninstaller
  - The font file HandelGothic BT (HandelGothic.TTF) will be installed to your Windows\Fonts directory. You can change the default font used by the FractaliMotion Player application by editing the file \Resource\Universe\Preferences.Settings

Deinstallation

- To uninstall the FractaliMotion Player, navigate to Start>Programs>AGD-Software and run "Uinstall"

Known Problems

- Some problems with USB Force Feedback gamepads have been reported. The Magrathea Engine used to develop FractaliMotion supports Force Feedback devices via DirectInput. Until the problem is fixed, please disable / unplug the device if you are experiencing high-frequency vibrations or other problems.
- The application has been tested mainly on nVidia cards so far. Other cards might cause problems depending on the supported/unsupported OpenGL extensions used by the Engine. If you have a card that causes problems (software does not run!), please contact us so we can debug the problem.
- If you have no OpenGL drivers or no primary Sound Device installed, the application will terminate during startup.

Launching the Player

- Locate and double-click the "FractaliMotion Player" shortcut on the desktop
- Alternatively, navigate to Start>Programs>AGD-Software and run "FractaliMotion Player"

Loading Scenes

- Be sure to read the Help provided by the application itself first.
- Click the "Load" button in the lower right cornver of the screen.
- Alternatively, press the [F2] key
- Click a file with the mouse to load
- Some scenes might load an additional Motion file and play back a pre-recorded animation automatically. Press [F8] to stop it if you want to.

Navigating in Space

- FractaliMotion provides two Mouse Modes: Menu and Navigation.
- To switch between the modes, press the [Esc] key.
- Your view is generated by a camera connected on a "virtual vehicle" you can control to drive around.
- While in Navigation mode, the mouse will be used to control Pitch and Yaw of the vehicle.
- The Left and Right mouse buttons are used to Drive the vehicle forward and backwards.
- If you have a wheeled mouse, you can roll the wheel to Roll the vehicle left and right.
- If you have no wheel, use the [7 Home] and [9 PgUp] buttons on the Numeric Keypad to Roll.
- Press the wheel / middle mouse button (if available) to stop the Roll instantly.
- Press the [*] key on the Numeric Keypad to increase mouse sensitivity. Press multiple times for higher values.
- Press the [/] key on the Numeric Keypad to decrease mouse sensitivity. Press multiple times for lower values.
- Press the [5] key on the Numeric Keypad to reset all motion and set mouse sensitivity to 0. Use [*] to increase again.
- Press the Left, Right, Up and Down Arrow keys (NOT on the Numeric Keypad!) to slide your vehicle in the respective direction.

Useful Keyboard Shortcuts To Start With...

- Press [F1] anytime to display scene-related Help. In no scene is loaded, the general application help will be loaded.
- Press [SHIFT]+[F1] anytime to display the general application help.
- Press [Esc] to switch between Menu and Navigation mouse modes.
- Press [F2] to open the EyeSnacks File Browser and load a new scene.
- Press [F3] to save the changes made to the current scene to disk. This feature might be disabled by some future scenes.
- Press [F4] to display a list of available Presets. Presets let you store different states of the same scene in a single file.
- Press [0 Ins] and [. Del] keys on the Numeric Keypad to go to the previous/next Preset.
- Press [+] on the Numeric Keypad to Add a new Preset.
- Press [F9] to display a list of available Bookmarks. Bookmarks store only the viewpoint data.
- Press [1 Home] and [3 PgDn] to go to the previous/next Bookmark.
- Press [Enter] on the Numeric Keypad to add a new Bookmark of your current position.
- Press and Hold the left [Ctrl] key to accelerate a Manipulator Ball (if allowed by the scene). Release to fire.
- Press [1], [2] or [3] to define the type of the Manipulator Ball - Fractal Maker, Fractal Disabler, Neutral Ball.
- Press and hold the [Z] key ([Y] on German keyboards) and move the mouse up and down to adjust Zoom. Hold [SHIFT] to faster changes.

Customization

- Note that all custom settings are scene-specific - they will be loaded and saved with the scene files.
- Press the [F12] key to open the Setup dialog.
  - Select Bookmarks to select and manage Viewport Bookmarks. You can use the direct shortcut [F9].
  - Select FeaturesLocks to see which features are currently available and which are not (EyeSnack scene files can enable additional features of the full version for you to test!)
  - Select Input to customize the mouse .
  - Select Options to customize the UI.
    - Panel Mode lets you switch the transparency of the UI for bright or dark scenes. Also accessible through [F10].
    - CrossHair lets you enable and disable a cross hair (used in the full version for aiming and selecting objects)
    - Hints lets you toggle the context-sensitive hints on top of the screen.
  - Select UserPresets to manage Presets storing position and scene parameters.