5.13 Sound Parameters
SOUND=off|beep|x|y|z/pc|fm/quant
We're all MUCH too busy to waste time with Fractint at work, and no
doubt you are too, so "sound=off" is included only for use at home, to
avoid waking the kids or your Significant Other, late at night. (By the
way, didn't you tell yourself "just one more zoom on LambdaSine" an hour
ago?) Suggestions for a "boss" hot-key will be cheerfully ignored, as
this sucker is getting big enough without including a spreadsheet screen
too. The "sound=x|y|x" options are for the "attractor" fractals, like
the Lorenz fractals - they play with the sound on your PC speaker as
they are generating an image, based on the X or Y or Z co-ordinate they
are displaying at the moment.
The scope of the sound command has been extended. You can now hear the
sound of fractal orbits--just turn on sound from the command line, the
<X> menu, or the <cntl-F> menu, fire up a fractal, and try the <O>rbits
command (or set showorbit=yes). Use the orbitdelay=<nnn> command (also
on the <cntl-F> menu) to dramatically alter the effect, which ranges
from an unearthly scream to a series of discrete tones. Not recommended
when people you have to live with are nearby! Remember, we don't
promise that it will sound beautiful!
The sound output can now be directed to the PC speaker, a sound card
with OPL-3 support, or both at the same time. There is also an option
to quantize the notes generated by Fractint. See Sound Controls
(p. 138).
You can also "hear" any image that Fractint can decode; turn on sound
before using <R> to read in a GIF file. We have no idea if this feature
is useful. It was inspired by the comments of an on-line friend who is
blind. We solicit feedback and suggestions from anyone who finds these
sound features interesting or useful. The orbitdelay command also
affects the sound of decoding images.
HERTZ=<nnn>
Adjusts the sound produced by the "sound=x|y|z" option. Limits on legal
values have been removed in version 19.3. The actual sounds produced
are limited to the range of 20-5000 Hz. Setting a negative Hertz value
allows shifting the range of sounds produced down into the bass range.
This also eliminates some of the notes since anything under 20 Hz or
over 5000 Hz will not be played.
ORBITDELAY=<nn>
Slows up the display of orbits using the <O> command for folks with hot
new computers. Units are in 1/10000 seconds per orbit point.
ORBITDELAY=10 therefore allows you to see each pixel's orbit point for
about one millisecond. For best display of orbits, try passes=1 and a
moderate resolution such as 320x200. Note that the first time you press
the 'O' key with the 'orbitdelay' function active, your computer will
pause for a half-second or so to calibrate a high-resolution timer.
SHOWORBIT=yes|no
Causes the during-generation orbits feature, toggled by the <O> command,
to start off in the "on" position each time a new fractal calculation
starts.
ORBITSAVE=sound
This option causes the hertz value played through the PC speaker with
sound=x|y|z option to be written to a file "sound.txt" in the current
directory. Bill Jemison has made some intriguing music with this option.