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   Version History

  Version History  
  Ahead: speed improvements (OpenGL, MMX/SSE/Altivec, new internal engine), GUI, and a screensaver version.

2.7.1 - 25 October 2004

  • New configs (thanks Ted, Roger B, and Rovastar!)
  • Tweaks to FlowField load balancing.
  • New HTML documentation design.
  • Made FFT more responsive under iTunes.
  • Replaced PREF_UNION_PROBABILITY with PREF_UNION_INTERVAL.
  • Much better FFT look and response when running under MUSICMATCH.
  • Better looking "ends" on fft()-based WaveShapes (fft(x) was wrapping to fft(0) when x was in the neighborhood of 1+).
  • Fixed cosmetic issue where a FlowField transition would sometimes be "torn" when manually switching FlowFields.
  • Whitespace is no longer required between the end of a config line and a comment.
  • Fixed various issues with the built-in image importer (when QuickTime isn't present).
  • Fixed Windows issue where "thumbs.db" treated as an image (causing an error message).
  • Fixed parenthesis bug in preprocessor's directive interpreter.
  • Fixed WMP issue resulting in a blank screen when WMP was in certain skin modes.
  • Fixed bug for Sonique and XMPlay causing a phantom vertical line to be seen.
  • Fixed installer bug causing Winamp 2 or 5 to sometimes be falsely detected.
  • Fixed installer for XMPlay 3.1.

2.7.0 - 02 September 2004

  • Added asynchronous config and image preloading (eliminating "burps", formerly resulting from synchronous/blocking OS file calls).
  • Added a couple dozen great new WaveShapes and FlowFields (thanks Ted, Roger B, TP, and Rovastar!).
  • Improved FlowField computation load balancing (resulting in less erratic frame rates for low and medium tier systems).
  • Made Mac OS package installer smarter about detecting if iTunes is running (or not).
  • Made Windows installer smarter about dealing with non-C drive Windows installs.
  • Made Windows installer more tolerant of sketchy WMP installs and added support for WMP 10.
  • Added Windows installer support for MUSICMATCH 9.
  • Added globals HIEGHT, WIDTH, X_EXTENTS, and Y_EXTENTS to FlowFields and WaveShapes (see "Globals" in the config programming reference).
  • If an error occurs while reading or processing a FlowField, the error message now shows the FlowField file name.
  • Scripts are now unaffected by internal clock rollovers (which occur about every nine hours), allowing, for example, a script to call itself in order to repeat infinitely (previously, all running scripts had to be terminated upon a clock rollover).
  • Config (and pref) files no longer use commas to delimit items (whitespace now delimits key-value pairs).
  • Added the commands CacheSync() and CacheAsync() (thus allowing file caching via script).
  • On Mac OS X, configs with file names greater than the Mac OS Classic limit (31), are no longer truncated in the console.
  • Added check for updates feature for Mac OS X and Windows (and be customized via the PREF_CHECK_FOR_UPDATES pref).
  • Added commands that allow on-the-fly overlay text and images (commercial version only).
  • Fixed bug where FlowFields would cease to run or change properly if G-Force was running longer than several hours.
  • Added protection from a possible crash triggered when a third party plugin improperly uses iTunes' GrafPort while G-Force is running.
  • By request, the two G-Force background/watermark sprites have been removed from G-Force Gold.

2.6.8 - 22 July 2004

  • Fixed issue causing G-Force to sometimes fail to start in iTunes when in full screen mode was enabled in iTunes.
  • Fixed bug causing instability if a single quote or double quote was used to bind an event (thanks Ralf!).
  • Fixed various issues with extended character handling (thanks Ralf!).
  • Fixed possible hang when entering full screen mode under Windows.
  • Fixed invalid syntax in two configs that may have caused G-Force to be unstable.
  • Fixed time index bug that caused G-Force to drastically slow (or stop) after several hours of operation (thanks Toby and Branden!) .
  • Fixed bug in the Windows stand-alone application that caused audio input to sometimes not be visible.
  • Fixed bug in the Mac OS X stand-alone application that caused audio input to be ignored from additional sound devices (ex, iSight, iMic).
  • Fixed issue where frame rate was erratic and/or choppy under iTunes.
  • Fixed cases where the Windows installer wasn't detecting Winamp 2 or Winamp 5.
  • Made the expression evaluator more restrictive for invalid/illegal syntax (so 3rd party configs containing invalid syntax may appear different).
  • Added URL/network support for album cover art under J River MEDIA CENTER.
  • Added installer support for J. River MEIDA CENTER 11.
  • Added keyboard support for WMP (thanks Brian Spangler!)
  • Added functions: asin(), acos(), and atan2().
  • Added several configs (thanks Ted!).
  • Added support to select audio input source (press SHIFT+A while running the stand-alone application to select input sources).
  • Added support for 16 bit full screen mode.
  • Improved audio response under iTunes.
  • Changed pref and license code storage locations to be more in accordance with OS conventions and permissions.


2.6.7 - 12 July 2004

  • Unbroke HSV ColorMaps that had "wrapped" hue values.
  • If idle CPU is detected, the oncoming FlowField will be computed in larger chunks.
  • If a ColorMap is changed when a transition is already in progress, a new transition will occur (ie, there won't be a step change to the new ColorMap).
  • Fixed file issue that broke G-Force 2.6.6 running under Win98/WinME.
  • Less overhead for .MAP ColorMaps.
  • Added about ten new configs (thanks Ted, Rovastar, and Erlend Robaye!).
  • To accommodate non-US keylayouts, the SS_SHIFT_KEY_CODE flag is ignored when the CTRL key isn't pressed, the character isn't A to Z, and the character is printable (ex, an event bound to backslash will be executed if the backslash key on a US keylayout is pressed or if SHIFT+ALT+7 is pressed on a German keylayout -- thanks Ralf!).
  • By popular request, a few of the most "busy" FlowFields have been removed.
  • Fixed bug that sometimes caused pixel doubling to be enabled on startup.
  • Renamed PREF_TRACK_TEXT_ENABLED to PREF_TRACK_TEXT_AUTO.
  • Added PREF_TRACK_TEXT_DURATION.


2.6.6 - 29 July 2004

  • Added prefs: PREF_FORCE_MULTIBLT, PREF_FULLSCREEN_DEVICE
  • Added support to the iTunes version such that entering full screen mode directly will use the full screen settings in the G-Force prefs (ie, when the current plugin is G-Force, the "Full Screen" menu option is checked, and then G-Force is started).
  • New implementation to regulate frame rate in iTunes—iTunes users will no longer experience choppiness or high/low frame rate excursions.
  • Changed pixel doubling hotkey to SHIFT+D.
  • Fixed typo in boot file resulting in no frequency response under J River MEDIA CENTER and Windows Media Player (ie, fft(0..1) always returned 0).
  • Pathnames containing extended characters and UNC pathnames are now properly handled under Windows.
  • Fixed boot file such that the Sprite slideshow now starts/stops with the G/F key commands (thanks Ted!)
  • For clarity "source scale" has been renamed to "preamp scale".
  • A couple new ColorMaps (thanks Ted!)
  • Fixed bug where SetColorMap() would fail if a .MAP ColorMap was given (thanks Ted!)


2.6.5 - 21 June 2004

  • Removed all but one splash image (for consistency as well as space reasons).
  • A dozen new configs (thanks Erlend Robaye and Ted!!)
  • Splash text is now smaller and added link to soundspectrum.com on the splash screen.
  • Fixed bug in the standalone version for Windows where fft() was not responsive to audio.
  • By popular request, G-Force only appears in the Windows taskbar when running under MediaMonkey.
  • WaveShape particles and Sprites are now two separate playlists, allowing complete independent control.
  • New pref scheme, allowing almost all settings to be edited via the prefs file (vs. boot file); see the customizing section for more.
  • Boot file is has been greatly simplified (due to the new pref scheme).
  • WaveShape morphs look much better (during a transition, pen intensity goes from/to 0 for non-morphing segments and fixed bug were the transition rate was sometimes discontinuous).
  • Tweaks to ColorMap internals in order to increase performance.
  • ColorMap morphs are now smoother.
  • Fixed bug causing the SHIFT key to not be seen if a key other than A-Z was used.
  • Changed WMP 'FMap' function (previous function was outdated and was not resulting in a visible response).
  • The Windows installer will now only delete the previous "G-Force" folder if a version older than 2.6 is detected (ie, if you have G-Force 2.6 or later installed and you've added your own uniquely-named items to the G-Force folder then they will not be touched by the installer).
  • G-Force documentation updates and additions continue.


2.6.4 - 13 May 2004

  • Changed NextColorMap() and NextWaveShape() prototype such that the duration of the morph can be specified (see boot.txt).
  • Fixed standalone crash when the default audio-in device cannot be opened for input.
  • Fixed bug under Windows XP where the standalone would hang (and not even show a window).
  • Fixed bug casuing cursor to be visible in fullscreen under WMP.
  • Added SetFFTParams() for full control of stand-alone FFT parameters (see boot.txt).
  • Config (and Pref) files now longer require non-integer numbers to be strings.
  • Added installer support for MediaMonkey.
  • Changed the window type/style from a tool palette window to a normal style for Winamp-compatible players.


2.6.2 - 29 April 2004

  • Fixed Mac OS bug where aliases placed in the Sprites folders were not always resolved (causing the item to error-out when loaded)
  • Fixed Windows bug that caused BMPs and JPGs to error-out (or look corrupted) when loaded when QuickTime is not present.
  • Fixed cases where cursor was visible in full screen mode.
  • Added installer support for XMPlay and JetAudio.
  • Runtime environment now processes inline character integers (ex, 'F', 'txt').
  • New event binding scheme in the form of the new function "BindEvent()" (this replaces BindKey()--see boot.txt for examples).
  • Added two low-level optimizations, resulting in a slight speedup (thanks Eric Postpischil!)
  • Album cover art text has been reordered from artist, song, album to song, artist, album.
  • Added documentation to the boot file.
  • Added 4 new configs and 1 "Gold" config.


2.6.1 - 12 April 2004

  • Resolved crash on AMD Athlon systems (by disabling SSE—sorry Intel users!). It's not known if the cause is Metrowerks' use of SSE or an AMD compatibility issue.
  • Fixed bug where the a ColorMap or WaveShape transition during a track change was getting interrupted (resulting in a jump to a new config).
  • Fixed Mac OS X installer issue where pre-2.6 sprite images were not deleted, causing the engine to read them in as configs (causing a crash).


2.6.0 - 10 April 2004

  • 11 new WaveShapes (1 Gold), 12 new FlowFields, 54 new ColorMaps (8 Gold), and many still under review (ie, soon to come). Special thanks to Ted, Andy Cabrera, and John Protopapas.
  • New 32 bit overlay layer that allows splash images, album cover artwork, and track text.
  • G-Force now supports J. River MEDIA CENTER and Sonique 2.
  • G-Force is now fully compatible with Unicode track info (provided the media player allows access it—currently iTunes, J. River MC, and WMP).
  • G-Force Gold now draws track artwork and the track text (provided the media player allows access it—currently iTunes and J. River MC).
  • Completely new internal command processing kernel that supports advanced future functionality.
  • The iTunes version for Mac OS X is now built under Mach-O.
  • The iTunes version for Mac OS X now supports 8 bit full screen mode.
  • The Mac OS Carbon standalone application is now built under Mach-O.
  • The Mac OS Carbon standalone application full screen mode now uses Quartz (ie, CoreGraphics).
  • The Mac OS Carbon standalone application sound-in now uses CoreAudio.
  • More responsive, faster, and better-looking FFT used in the standalone versions and in SoundSpectrum Darkroom.
  • Complete reimplementation of the ParticleMgr, giving it a smaller memory footprint.
  • G-Force now optimized to support PIII instruction set and later (and no longer supports PII and Cyrix).
  • In an effort to be more descriptive, the configs formerly known as "DeltaFields" are now called "FlowFields".
  • Inserted cosmetic improvement so that WaveShapes passing through (0,0) are slightly offset during a dilation transition.
  • Fixed Winamp bug causing keystrokes to be ignored.
  • ColorMaps can now be defined in terms of 'R', 'G', and 'B' functions—see "Clear Blue Water.txt"
  • ColorMaps now support "B" and "C" vars, allowing greater ColorMap complexity (see "ColorWheel.txt")
  • In Windows, all system and invisible files are now ignored (ex, "thumbs.db"—otherwise, you'd see a msg saying its not a supported sprite).
  • G-Force now uses default system font for overlay and screen text (although it can still be changed in boot.txt).
  • New scheme that associates meta text with configs, designed for future functionality (see docs in "Rotating Corridor.txt" for more). Associated with this, all WaveShape particles are now stored alongside regular WaveShapes (in the "WaveShapes" folder).
  • Added new math function: flip()
  • WaveShape particle duration function (ie, 'PDur') now has access to "bootstrap" WaveShape vars (NUM and NUM_S_STEPS).
  • Fixed WMP bug causing frame rate to not be regulated to the desired boot.txt value.
  • Image sprites now support the 'Fit' flag (if it's non-zero, the image in shrunk to fit the output frame size).
  • Fixed bug where WaveShape particle's 'NumS' param was being set to 32 (vs. NUM_S_STEPS) by default.
  • Fixed bug where cursor would not reappear after exiting full screen mode.
  • If QuickTime is not present, G-Force uses the IJG image suite to decompress JPEG files, making this software based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.
  • Fixed crash during image decompression (only applicable in Windows environments when QuickTime was not present).
  • Internal interpreter now processes if/else blocks. Curly braces are always required and "else if ()" blocks are not supported. See the boot file for examples.
  • Raised the max allowable G-Force frame size from 1 megapixels to about 4 megapixels.
  • Carefully hand-tweaked about two dozen .MAP configs in an effort to remove discontinuities.
  • Changed the of the sprites file hierarchy structure.
  • Text sprites now store their text content in the parameter 'Text' (and no longer in a separate file—see "Msg1.txt" called by "Example Script.txt").
  • Major changes to boot.txt
  • Updated HTML-based documentation.


2.5.3 - 14 January 2004

  • Changed Set-WaveShape/FlowField/ColorMap prev/next behavior. When you change configs, you must also turn the respective slide show off or else the slide show will continue after an set amount of time (determined by the respective slide show interval).
  • Added "line boost" feature in response to popular request. It increases the line thickness of all line drawing and is typically useful in high resolution environment. Press 'SHIFT+L' to wrap through 0, 1, 2, and 3.
  • The prefs file is no longer stored in the "G-Force" folder. Since each OS has a different location to store common application data, search your system for "G-Force Prefs" in order to find it.
  • Corrected WaveShape prev/next/slide show keys in the on-screen help text.
  • Fixed bug occasionally causing multiple instances of track text would appear.
  • Worked-around a WMP bug that caused a crash when WMP exits with G-Force or WhiteCap running (M$ does not delete the current plugin when WMP exits from clicking the "x" button, so thread cleanup doesn't happen).


2.5.2 - 30 December 2003

  • 16 great new FlowFields (thanks Ryan Edwards!)


2.5.1 - 23 December 2003

  • A message now appears to Mac OS iTunes Gold users that they need to exit full screen in order to enter their license code.
  • Fixed bug where ".map" ColorMaps in scripts weren't being found (and therefore not loading)
  • Fixed bug causing duplicate track text to appear under Mac OS players.
  • "MAP" ColorMaps are no longer rejected if a CR or LF isn't present after the last value or line.
  • Created a few more "Gold" configs.


2.5.0 - 18 December 2003

  • Fixed internal RGB to HSV conversion bug introduced in 2.4.3 (Many ColorMaps had reds show up instead of blues)
  • Fixed cases where track name wasn't always appearing in Winamp
  • Fixed bug where QuickTime-supported sprites were not loading under Windows (ex, mpeg)
  • Fixed crash under MacOS 10.1
  • Fixed FFT appearing jagged/corrupt and related crash for Windows stand-alone
  • Fixed bug where proper font was not being set in boot.txt under Windows
  • Fixed problem where not all key messages were getting to Winamp (causing some remotes and track-changing utils to not work).
  • ID and NUM now function in WaveShapes (ie, now valid for WaveShapes as well as Particles -- see "Generator")
  • fft() and mag() functions now have "wrapped" domains (ex, fft(-1.2) == fft(-.2) == fft(.8) == fft(1.8), etc)
  • Default full screen depth is now 32 bit (directX has a pitiful reserved palette entry implementation).
  • New internal text preprocessor
  • Greatly improved frame rate control/regulation
  • Screenshots now save to the user desktop (vs. into the G-Force folder)
  • G-Force now scans recursively in all the config and Sprites folders (allows organization via making sub dirs)
  • Swapped the image inversion convention (ie, if you use your own images, invert the image itself, use "~", or flip the Invt param).
  • G-Force prefs file now stored in the Windows "Application Data" folder (when available)
  • Added pixel doubling (SHIFT+P)
  • Removed startup EULA message
  • New config type called "FlowField Union"
  • On Mac OS, config files now all end with ".txt"
  • Fullscreen mode improvements (ex, multimonitor savvy--see FAQ, passing keystrokes to the media player).
  • First release for Windows Media Player, iTunes (Windows), MUSICMATCH, and Winamp 5
  • Now use an excellent freeware Windows installer called Nullsoft Installer System (NSIS).
  • Added new advanced command processing, handling, and queueing scheme (to support some big additions around the corner).
  • The screen console is now off/invisible by default. It's turned on w/ the help key or the turn-console-on key.
  • Most events are now echoed to the console (and is the justification for turning off the console by default).
  • The "show config names" has been removed (because config events are now always printed to the console).


2.4.4 - 11 August 2003

  • Fixed: Crash when running under certain non-PIII processors


2.4.3 - 06 August 2003

  • HTML documentation updated. Parts that are still under construction are labeled as such.
  • MacOS full screen mode for all versions is more compatible and supportive. Please report further problems.
  • Added "Switch full screen depth" key (similar to the switch full screen resolution key)
  • Decreased the size of the main distribution archive: the "More Configs" folder will be distributed separately, the startup images have been converted from BMP to JPG (decreasing their quality slightly), and several of the included/demo sprites have been converted to 8 bit grayscale.
  • Added a couple new image particles and removed others.
  • G-Force released for MUSICMATCH and Winamp 2
  • G-Force standalone for MacOS split into "classic" and "carbon" versions -- see G-Force as an Application . Please report further problems or feature requests so I improve the standalone versions. Most of the scripting stuff is not documented yet, but you can figure out the commands you need from the 6 example example scripts and the Boot file.
  • Added flag to text particles that shrinks the text particle to fit in the window if it's too long (see 'Fit' in "Track Info")
  • Native support for JPGs on Windows (ie, QuickTime not required for JPG sprites). QuickTime is still required for Windows user who wish to play movies inside G-Force.
  • For visual appeal and audio parody, G-Force now morphs to the next WaveShape and ColorMap on the start of new songs (under audio players that pass new track events to plugins). Note: this doesn't happen on players that don't pass events to visual plugins.
  • UNICODE text sprites now supported (currently only implemented under Windows; MacOS soon to come). Simply save your text file as UTF-8 UNICODE, and G-Force will take care of the rest (UTF-8 type UNICODE strings are marked by a sequence of thee bytes: "Ô»ø", but you won't ever see this unless you're using a text viewer that does not support UNICODE).
  • Fixed issue where the output rect was vertically off-center in its window.
  • Added right-click (command-click for MacOS) pop-up menu containing commonly used commands


2.4.1 - 15 July 2003

  • Fixed: Audion was improperly showing a SoundJam message
  • Fixed: Crash when clicking on G-Force pane
  • Fixed: G-Force would sometimes crash when exiting fullscreen mode
  • Workaround: An MacOS X color issue prevents G-Force from running in 8-bit mode in fullscreen mode under MacOS X, so until it can be resolved I've internally hardwired FS_D to32 (for MacOS X). This will fix G-Force's colors from looking ugly in fullscreen mode when running MacOS X when FS_D was set to 8, but the frame rate will be noticeably less.
  • G-Force license agreement now uses a keystroke to go away (vs. a click)
  • Corrected finder version string to match actual G-Force version.


2.4.0 - 12 July 2003

  • Completely new pref/"boot" and script scheme--big design additions still ahead.
  • G-Force "Pro" beta publicly released
  • Fixed bug causing slideshow mode to sometimes stop after a few hours.
  • Lots of new configs (thanks to all contributors, especially Ted!)
  • Got rid of screen saver mode (this will come back later properly done)
  • New commands: "Start new sprite, Kill running particles, Kill running scripts"
  • Fixed two separate low-level bugs that were causing crashes
  • Added text justification ('Just') to text particles
  • Fixed font and text size not working a lot of the time
  • A dozen new splash screens (thanks contributors!!)
  • Fast, snappy appearance of splash screen
  • Automatically detects all possible fullscreen modes -- press H for help


2.2.2 - 14 October 2002

  • Did away with MacOS installer (too many complaints)
  • Fixed small cosmetic bug causing some fft bins to be drawn to their neighbor 's value, not their own
  • About 20 new outstanding configs, about 100 new "more" configs (thanks Jay Protopapas!!)


2.2.1 - 16 July 2002

  • Fixed pref bug causing a variety of pref-related problems.
  • About 20 new configs (since v2.2)
  • Fixed minor MacOS installer issues.
  • Added new fullscreen resolution modes


2.2.0 - 31 December 2001

  • Fixed long-sought problem causing hard freeze on startup
  • Fixed bug where invalid/corrupt BMP screenshots were being saved
  • About 40 new configs (since v2.1)
  • Random splash screen each time GF is started up ("Startup Particle N")
  • My 3 text sprites are removed (GF shouldn't be biased by language)
  • Added 3 prefs to customize transition rates for fields, colormaps, and waveshapes (DTrs, CTrs, WTrs)
  • The fullscreen key has changed from TAB to RETURN
  • The 'Take Snapshot' key has changed from SHIFT+TAB to ` and is in the GF keymap.
  • Smoother opening sequence (used to 'burp' half a sec in)
  • Added new fullscreen resolution modes
  • '$' sprites were not being puged from the cache to follow the GF docs


2.1.0 - 30 September 2001

  • Fixed occasional large jumps in color during ColorMap morphing/transitions
  • Screen/frame capture to file (SHIFT+TAB)
  • About 50 new configs (since v2.0)
  • Fullscreen mode is now toggled with TAB
  • Fullscreen resolution is determined by OS's resolution (no more FS_X and FS_Y)
  • (Windows) Changed window style to palette/tool style window
  • (Windows) All image and movie formats can be shown (if QuickTime 5 is present)
  • (MacOS 9.1) Text and drawing in certain ColorMaps was appearing black
  • (Winamp) Scripts more in-sync with track start times


2.0.0 - 21 Feburary 2001

  • Image, movie, and text particles (ie, "sprites")
  • Access to frequency spectrum (and bass level)
  • Supports *.MAP files in ColorMaps folder (see the ColorWheel config)
  • Timecoded scripting
  • Keystroke scripting
  • New customization options
  • Config caching (ie, no disk access after startup)
  • Morphing/Transition of FlowFields
  • Screensaver support
  • Added frame rate control/tasking priority
  • Standalone version for "line-in" input
  • All files and configs now located in a master folder, "G-Force Files"
  • HTML Documentation


1.0.0 - 09 January 2000

  • First public release
 
 
 
 

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