[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-] [-] [-] [-] Software Studios [-] [-] Documentation File [-] [-] [-] [-] Written By: [-] [-] The Gerble [-] [-] [-] [-] On: 12/24/86 [-] [-] 7:30:00 AM [-] [-] [-] [-] Give these boards a call.. [-] [-] [-] [-] The Electric Warehouse IV ......................... 714-775-2560 [-] [-] The Rest Home ..................................... 714-894-5076 [-] [-] The Bootcamp ///.2 ................................ 714-774-0800 [-] [-] [-] [-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-] First a little about Software Studios... Software Studios is a double hires movie maker written by Bill Hieneman of Interplay Products for Activision. But Activision never released it and probably never will. The first side is the boot side or the Edit side. The other three are all Library disks. Now on with the documentation.. Boot side 1 up and you can either watch the demo by not pressing any keys are you can go to the main menu by pressing a key. You will see a picture with a little man on it. Use the joystick or the arrow keys to move him to one of the doors. Press the joystick button and you will go to that section. I will discuss the doors in the order they appear from the left side of the screen to the right. The first door, which I have no idea what it read above it, is for loading, saving and deleting movies. Run this section first, from here use the joystick to guide the little arrow across the screen to the box entitled: MAKE MOVIE DISK. Press the button and follow the instructions. Keep the movie disk handy, you will need it very often. Now move the arrow to the Start A Movie. Press the button and type a name you wish to call this movie. Now exit back to the main section by hitting the button over the EXIT TO MENU box. I will discuss more on the Disk options door later in the file. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | The Props Door | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Move the little man to the door entitled PROPS, press the button and you will see a new screen. I will describe what the little boxes do on the bottom of the screen now: Exit: Exits back to main menu Left Arrow: Selects between different objects Right Arrow: Selects between different objects Select: Moves the current object in to the memory Trash Can: Throws out the current object Chair: Loads the furniture section Picture: Loads the background section Little Circle: Loads the animated objects section The empty-full graph shows how much memory is left open. Now put a library disk in drive two, or remove the disk in drive one and insert library disk side 3.* Move the little arrow to the chair (Furniture) box and press the button. You will see a list of furniture options. Select which one you want by pressing the button and then move the arrow to the large arrow boxes. Press the joystick button again and again to see all the different choices for that one object. When you find the one you want move the arrow to the selector box and press the button. The object is now saved in memory. Continue selecting or choose from the next box of choices, like if you plants, now select furniture, and get all the furniture you wish to use by doing the same thing over and over again. Make sure you all it to the memory before selection another one. Now select the Backgrounds box and you will see a list of different backgrounds. Select one and then use the arrows again. Save a background to memory and continue by selecting one or more animated objects. When all finished selecting props move the arrow to the EXIT box and press the button. * Any of the three disks will work. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------| Design Door | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Move the man to the design door and press the button. This section is to place the objects on to the background that you have selected. Like in the Props section, the first five boxes are still the same. The next box is used to load scenes already made up into memory. The next box is used to change the different scenes in memory. The box with a little triangle is used to select between the furniture, background, and animated objects. Press this on to select which one you want, most likely the background, and move the arrow to the select box and press the button. The picture will then appear. Now press the button again over the triangle. Select between the animated objects and the furniture. Use the arrows to select which one you want. Use the select to load it into the picture. You will see a box in the left top corner. Move it with the joystick to the position you to place the object. If you make any mistakes, use the trash can to remove it. If you have already placed an object in the wrong spot and place more after that one, just use the arrows until the object is lighted up with a box around it. Now use the trash can. Continue to place all props where you want them. If you find that you want to use more then one of the same object you will need to select two of that object in the Props section. The last box changes the scenes. To save the current scene move the arrow to the disk and press the button. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------| Music Door | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section allows you to load a song file up into memory. The first box is the same. The next one runs the movie. The two arrows, selector, trash can and disk all do the same things. The circle load a movie song file up, I think. The note box allows you to load s song file from the library disks. Use the little arrows to select a song and press the button over the SELECT word. To save it into the memory move the arrow to the selector box and press the button. To play the music move the arrow to the word play and press the button. To stop the music move to the stop box. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------| Casting Door | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section is for casting actors into your movie. The first five boxes are still the same. The box with the person is for loading an actor up, press it and then guide the arrow to the actor you want. Press the button and then press the select box to load it to memory. Select all the actors you want to use. Now return to the main menu. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------| Stage Door | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the most complicated section, that's why I left it for last. I'll start describing the boxes on the top row first. The camera runs the current movie. The next box allows you to load, save or start scenes. The next box, which looks like scissors, I have no idea what it does. It looks like it has something to do with editing. The next one allows you to place an actor where you want it. The next one allows you to select an actor. The next box allows you to let the actor go in front or go behind an abject. The next box is for when you record a part of the movie. Then you hit this one and the actor does it again, i.e. if the actor walks to the window he will walk to the window again after using this option. The next box allows you to type what the actor is saying. After typing it in press the button. Wait a while and press the button again. The longer you wait the longer it will stay on the screen in the movie. Now for the bottom line. The exit box is the same. The next one selects an actor. The next one, the trash can, is the same. The next one lets you start recording the movie from where you left off. Press the button to select the actor to be used and then press the button again to start recording and then again to stop recording after you have made any filming that you wish. The next box is used to make the actor do what he is really supposed to do, i.e. if you selected the Kneeling Boy then he will kneel when you select this option. The next box allows you to change the actor color of his clothes. Use the small arrows to select the color wanted and then use the select box. The little box with like 3 clouds is used to enter text of what the actor is thinking. The next box is the active repeat box, I already described what this does. The hour glass box is used to add time to the movie. Press the button over the box and then the time you wait before you press the button is the time the movie will pause. The next box, I have no real idea what it is supposed to do, but it moves one frame up every time I pressed the button over it. Well that's all for the frame section.. Now for a little bit more on the Film Warehouse, the first door on the left side of the screen... In this section the Top box allows you to give the movie a name. The next two are for loading and saving a movie. Deleting a file is very obvious what it does. The format a disk IS NOT the same as make a movie disk. The format is just like formatting a disk, but the movie disk has info copied over onto the disk. First format the disk then make a movie disk. On loading and saving a movie you can either type in the name, you will see a small flashing cursor in the left bottom corner area, or you can use the joystick and move the arrow over to the file name of the catalog on the left of the screen. I believe I have covered everything! [-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-] [-] [-] [-] This file was begun on December 23, 1986, and it was completed on [-] [-] December 24, 1986. I finished it just in time for all the little [-] [-] R0dents who get their modems tomorrow can download it and try to [-] [-] out what the hell I tried to explain in this file. [-] [-] [-] [-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-]-[-] I have a little bit more info from the author of this ware, Bill Hieneman, he told me that the reason why this ware was never released was because Activision just went out and took 50 kids, all under the age of 15, because Activision figured that was the age group who would get this ware. The kids were given the manual and the ware to play it. When they were all done, all the kids complained that it was too hard and they couldn't understand the manual. So Activision dumped the ware. But no Bill tells me that there are a few other companies that are looking at it. So we may just be lucky and a company will produce a GOOD manual for us to use. Until then make the best of this manual. Thanx. The Gerble