CHRONOS and TT CHRONOS
VERSION 1.0
15-APRIL-1991

Chronos 3D Key Frame Animator, Version 1.0
Copyright 1990, 1991 Paul Dana
All rights reserved 

Produced for exclusive distribution by:

Lexicor Software Corporation
58 Redwood Road
Fairfax, CA  94930
(415) 453-0271


VERSION 1.0 FEATURES
--------------------

This version has an incomplete implementation of PERSPECTIVE.
It renders correctly at 100% perspective.  As perspective
decreases, objects appear flatter and flatter.  At 0% perspective
all objects appear to have been flattened onto a plane 200 units
in front of the current view.  This causes objects that are
actually BEHIND the current view to appear IN FRONT of the
current view.  At 0% perspective all objects will appear to be in
front of the view.  In future versions, this problem will be
fixed.

The Double buffering option in Play Animation dialog is not
implemented in this version.
Future versions of Chronos will use double buffering to display
animations in resolutions that support it.

Version 1.0 creates and plays SINGLE PALETTE animations.  Future
versions will be able to create and play MULTIPLE PALETTE
animations, i.e. a different palette per frame.
The ability to record animations to RenderMan Interface
Bytestream (.RIB) files is not a built into Chronos.  You can,
however, use the ANMTORIB.EXE utility to render .ANM file to .RIB
This utility runs on MS-DOS computers. .RIB files can be rendered
using Pixar's Photo-realistic RenderMan.  This utility is
provided free of charge to registered Chronos owners and will be
available on Lexicor's on-line CompuServe Forum.  To visit
Lexicor's forum, type GO ATARIARTS after logging onto CompuServe.

KNOWN PROBLEMS
--------------

Security Device (Safe Key)
--------------------------

Copies of Chronos version 1.0 are protected using the Safe Key
hardware security device.  This device plugs into the modem port,
and does not interfere with the operation of most devices,
including modems. However, this version of software and the
safekey is incompatible with Prism Tablet, Lexicor's tablet
driver for Calcomp's Wiz tablet.  This means that Prism Tablet
cannot be used with Chronos version 1.0.
Chronos version 1.0 sometimes mistakenly gives an alert box that
says that the security device is not connected. This alert tells
you to plug the key in and click OK.  If you get this
alert and your key is plugged in, simply click OK.  There is
also a QUIT button on that alert box.  Be careful not to press
the QUIT button or Chronos will quit immediately without saving
your work.

Rendering
---------

Periodically, the FINAL QUALITY rendering mode does not perform
hidden surface removal correctly.  The reason for this is that
this version of Chronos only maintains one 16 bit integer per
pixel to encode the depth information.
For some scenes, this is too "coarse" a subdivision of depth and
Chronos will incorrectly draw one surface in front of another.

There is a clipping problem with objects that are half on and
half off either the left or right edges of the screen. 
Occasionally there will be a single pixel at the first location
or the last location of a scan line that is not supposed to be
there.  This will result in small vertical lines at the left or
right edge of a screen as an object comes onto the screen or
leaves it.

There is a problem with GROUP DEPTH CUE and WORLD DEPTH CUE. 
Sometimes objects that are at the maximum distance or more will
shade using WHITE instead of the DARKEST SHADE OF BLUE.

Redraw
------

Periodically, there is a redraw problem when using a motion tool. 
Occasionally when you use a tool and automatically switch to the
Work Screen, the screen will appear in reverse video.  After
using the tool the screen will return to its normal colors. This
will permanently change your palette colors.

When you move an object in Chronos, a "bounding box" appears in
the place of the object while you are dragging the mouse. 
Occasionally the bounding box for an object will be drawn
incorrectly, and will appear to be "missing some sides".  There
will not affect your animation.

View Window
-----------

The View Window has two modes: "Rotate about Self" and "Rotate
about Home".  Chronos version 1.0 will not operate correctly if
you use "Rotate about Home" with the position of Home at any
other location other than the center of the Chronos universe
(0,0,0). (The position of Home is changed using the Set Home
command.)

Occasionally View keypad equivalents seem to have no effect.  If
this happens, there is a work around. Open the View Window and
click either the Rotate About: Self button or the Rotate About:
Home button.  (You can then return to whatever mode you were
actually using).

Frame Window
------------

There is a problem with the slider on the bottom of the Frame
Window.
Occasionally it will get "stuck".  Click the scroll box again
to "unstick" it.

There is a problem with selecting frames in the Frame Window. 
Occasionally the mouse will get confused and think that the left
mouse button is pressed when in fact it is not.  This will cause
the Frame Window to continue tracking the mouse, even though the
left mouse button is not down.
Click anywhere in the Frame Window to fix this problem.

TT Specific Bugs
----------------

Occasionally, when previewing or recording animations on a TT in
ST High resolution, there is a problem with the on screen status
information (frame number and percent finished). Depending upon
the resolution you are rendering in, the text may "wrap" around
to the bottom of the screen, or to the left hand side of the
screen.  Sometimes this erroneous text can also get into your
animations.
Running Chronos on a TT in ST High resolution also has an
occasional redraw. Sometimes, when returning to the Play Dialog
from an animation playback, the palette does not get correctly
reset.  This can result in the entire screen being drawn with
white-on-white.
As a work around, do not run Chronos on a TT in ST High
resolution. Since the resolution you run Chronos from does not
affect your rendering resolution, use TT Medium resolution, to
avoid this problem.

There is a problem with window scroll bars when running Chronos
on a TT.
If you click a scroll arrow or the scroll area on a TT, it
acts as if you clicked twice. 

Miscellaneous
------------
The Configure Dialog displays information about memory usage that
may not always be correct.  Some data buffers that Chronos
version 1.0 allocates on a per-object basis may not be
represented in the memory usage information that Chronos version
1.0 displays.

The Object Information Dialog has the same memory usage problem
listed above.  In some circumstances there may be data buffers
that Chronos has allocated on a per-object basis that are not
counted in the memory usage information that displays.

- END OF README.TXT
