CompuServe Thread

If that was meant for me instead of Jonas (I think I'm the one who suggested a caustics .BXP), well, I'm already a programmer and have been for years. I'm not quite ready to jump into IPAS3 programming yet. I don't have either Metaware or Watcom 32-bit C, for instance. I do have the IPAS3 SDK, though, and have read what can and can not be done with IPAS3, and this should be not only possible but downright EASY for someone with the proper background in IPAS3 and in caustics fractals. An .SXP would be even better, since it can have a user-interface, except that an .SXP can only be used for non-reflective maps, not for masks, backgrounds, reflection maps, Video Post layers and transitions and alpha, or (most importantly for this thread) projector light bitmaps. A .BXP could be used for any of those, and .BXPs can do animations on read (but not on write) as can .SXPs. .SXPs tell the Renderer what color to make a given pixel that is part of an object's surface. .BXPs build actual bitmaps that can be used anywhere. Now THERE'S an idea! A .BXP that generates antialiased, optionally smooth-shaded, optional field-rendered, Video Post transitions over any desired period of time, based on user params entered into a text file! "TRN.BXP", anyone? It could support a list of basic transition types (straight wipe, oval/circular wipe, organic and fractal wipes, etc.) with such parameters as rotation, temporal reversal (changing a circular wipe-from-center to a circular wipe-to-center, for instance), anti-aliasing on/off, field rendering on/off (field order read from 3DS.SET), aspect ratio (to turn a circular wipe into an oval wipe), etc. etc. etc. While I'm suggesting IPAS3s, how about a FILTER.IXP which duplicates the Custom Filter funciton of PhotoShop/PhotoStyler — the user fills in a filter matrix (with Divisor and other necessary parameters), which is then applied to the previous layers in the Video Post queue over as many frames as desired! All sorts of effects can be achieved this way, including smoothing, blurring, sharpening, etc.! For instance, this matrix: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 with a Divisor of 7 would duplicate the function of VBLUR.IXP set at 66.67%.