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Some DPaint observations
3 messages in this thread
Interesting that there is no DPaint icon. Not reading the instructions first
(but making sure the floppy was protected), I tried to click it up. Doesn't
work. After you look thru the booklet for 20 mins. and find nothing on how
to IPL the puppy, you remember this small cardboard "Ref Card" you glanced at
… yep, boot it, and type "dpaint" … read further, and it says type
"dpaint med" or "dpaint hi" … can't switch between res's when DPaint is up,
but must reboot DPaint from the CLI that pops is the 1st thing you see when
you load the disk (hey, that EA Paint Can is *beautiful*, and comes up in
*all* 3 res's … same picture though … now how did EA do that if you can't
switch res's?)
Also, didja notice that the CLI that comes is CBM's own. And that the EA
disk also has CBM's Preferences (or is that in the public domain <rolls over,
laughing>). Oh, you have to *type* preferences … just when I was beginning
to *like* my mouse. Wonder what the licensing terms are from CBM? "Pref"
and "dpaint" are the only 2 executables at the :root level; "dir", "copy",
etc, are available in the c: dir, as are "xxx", "zzz", "bootscr", and
"dpaint.dat" ( no "xyzzy" guys?) Wonder what *they* do …
Oh, alright … if you *do* try to copy it (and, I could find nothing in any
of the documention to prohibit copying it, or mentioning anything on CP) …
if you do, you get "Disk Error on source drive – No sector header"; I did not
try a file-by-file copy. I did send EA a $10 check for a backup copy.
Not having received my Developer's Kit yet (4 weeks, now … but CBM says
they're shipping NOW with the V1.1 updates), I'm curious … is there a bit
in whatever amounts to a file's directory-entry that can make a file
"invisible" to most programs … aka MSDOS.SYS, COMMAND.COM, etc?
/kim
The reason that Dpaint has to be loaded from the CLI in AMIGADOS is that
there is no room in the machine for Workbench (fur surre on a 256k machine).
I don't like CP programs either, but in spite of all the kvetching I think
people WILL buy Dpaint just because it's so good! Without question the most
gangbusters graphic program to appear on ANY micro ANYwhere ANYtime so far!
It is interesting how most of the disk is not in the directory; it is my
understanding that EA whumped up their own OS which attaches to the KickStart
innards. Setting just one bit in a file will not overcome that! A friend who
works as a consultant to EA said that cracking this CP will essentially
require a complete disassembly of this internal OS and noodling out how it
works. It'll be interesting to see how soon someone with enough persistence
(perverseness?) does this for an $80 program that you can get an authorized
backup for for $10.
If one considers Dpaint to be a "Productivity tool" rather than just a game
(I do), then you could argue that CP is even more objectionable-except for
the fact that if it's so important to you, you could buy 4 originals and 4
backups ($360 at full retail) for less than a SINGLE copy of 1-2-3 at the
most deeply discounted prices I've seen around. If you mulch up 8 copies of
the program, you got other problems…..
Also, the work you do can (must) be stored off on other non-CP disks,
including a HD if there is room in RAM for the HD driver…..
I have found that you CAN crash Dpaint occasionally. One way seems to be to
do a right click on one of the pre-defined brushes and while the "SIZE"
message is up carefully set the brush size to 0 with the mouse.
There are other disks of paintings floating around from EA which are easily
in the Tut and Mandrill league; EA has been letting people copy them at Amiga
User group meets. A likely DL upload candidate…..
The reason that Dpaint has to be loaded from the CLI in AMIGADOS is that
there is no room in the machine for Workbench (fur surre on a 256k machine).
I don't like CP programs either, but in spite of all the kvetching I think
people WILL buy Dpaint just because it's so good! Without question the most
gangbusters graphic program to appear on ANY micro ANYwhere ANYtime so far!
It is interesting how most of the disk is not in the directory; it is my
understanding that EA whumped up their own OS which attaches to the KickStart
innards. Setting just one bit in a file will not overcome that! A friend who
works as a consultant to EA said that cracking this CP will essentially
require a complete disassembly of this internal OS and noodling out how it
works. It'll be interesting to see how soon someone with enough persistence
(perverseness?) does this for an $80 program that you can get an authorized
backup for for $10.
If one considers Dpaint to be a "Productivity tool" rather than just a game
(I do), then you could argue that CP is even more objectionable-except for
the fact that if it's so important to you, you could buy 4 originals and 4
backups ($360 at full retail) for less than a SINGLE copy of 1-2-3 at the
most deeply discounted prices I've seen around. If you mulch up 8 copies of
the program, you got other problems…..
Also, the work you do can (must) be stored off on other non-CP disks,
including a HD if there is room in RAM for the HD driver…..
I have found that you CAN crash Dpaint occasionally. One way seems to be to
do a right click on one of the pre-defined brushes and while the "SIZE"
message is up carefully set the brush size to 0 with the mouse.
There are other disks of paintings floating around from EA which are easily
in the Tut and Mandrill league; EA has been letting people copy them at Amiga
User group meets. A likely DL upload candidate…..