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*                                                  *
*  TIA Playfield Painter V1.03 by Christian Bogey  *
*                                                  *
*             http://khryssun.free.fr              *
*                                                  *
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I wrote this utility to draw Playfields for the Atari VCS 2600 and to save
pictures as data code ready to be included into VCS 2600 programs.


WHAT'S NEW :
----------

- NTSC / PAL / SECAM palettes support added.

- Possibility to select the Background and the Playfield Colours.

- New Extended Playfield image file format (.PFD) including Palette & Colours
  used.
  Old file format still supported so you can load your previous work ;-)

- New comment lines added to the code generated :
  * Palette Used.
  * Background and Playfield Colours index used (Hexa format).



FEATURES :
--------

- DOS Program :
  If used under WINDOWS, for better performances, it MUST be run into
  a FULL SCREEN DOS Mode.

- TIA Playfield resolution emulation (WYSWYG) :
  The picture displayed by the VCS using the code generated will have
  the same resolution as the one displayed by the editor.

- Picture resolution : 2 playfields x 20 pixels x 192 lines (NTSC Format)
  NTSC has been chosen for best format compatibility. For PAL/SECAM programs,
  empty scanlines may be added before and after the 192 scanlines of the
  NTSC picture.

- 3 Draw modes supported : Asymmetrical, Symmetrical and Mirrored.

- Switch to one mode to another keeping left playfield's datas.

- Load / Save picture including palette, background colour, playfield colour
  and draw mode used (TIA Playfield Editor Format = .PFD).

- Mouse support (Left button to write / right button to erase).

- 8 Drawing cursor resolution : 1x1 pixel to 1x8 pixels size height.

- Negative Playfield : Invert picture datas (0<=>1)

- Undo Function : Delete last draw.

- Playfield Re-Positionning : Adjust X/Y Position of the picture.

- Generation code options :
  * Select start and end line of the picture to generate the code for.
  * Normal or reverse code generation.
  * Automatic Playfield datas generation related to the drawing modes :
    PF0, PF1 & PF2 datas for Symmetrical and Mirrored modes.
    PF0, PF1, PF2, PF3, PF4,& PF5 datas for Assymmetrical mode.



INSTALLATION :
------------

Unzip the TIAPAINT.ZIP file.

All the TIA Playfield Painter files must be stored in the same directory :

- TIAPAINT.EXE
- TIAPFNT.DAT
- VCS_NTSC.PAL
- VCS_PAL.PAL
- VCSSECAM.PAL
- README.TXT


LAUNCH PROGRAM :
--------------

Under DOS :
- Go to the TIA Playfield Painter Directory.
- Type TIAPAINT.EXE at the DOS prompt then press the Return key.

Under Windows :
- Open a FULL SCREEN DOS Window then operate as for DOS.



KEYS :
----
H   : Help Screen.
F1  : Asymmetrical mode.
F2  : Symmetrical mode.
F3  : Mirrored mode.
F5  : NTSC Palette
F6  : PAL Palette
F7  : SECAM Palette
1-8 : Set curs height 1-8.
C   : Clear screen.
L   : Load picture.
S   : Save picture.
G   : Generate data code.
N   : Negative Playfield.
U   : Undo last draw.
B   : Select Background Colour.
P   : Select Playfield Colour.

Up Arrow    : Move Playfield Up.
Down Arrow  : Move Playfield Down.
Left Arrow  : Move Playfield Left.
Right Arrow : Move Playfield Right.

Left Mouse button : Write pixel(s).
Right Mouse button : Erase pixel(s).


REVISION HISTORY :
----------------
V1.00 - First Public release.
V1.01 - Graphic Core Upgraded (Personal release).
V1.02 - Second Public release.
        New functions added :
        - Smoother Mouse drawing
        - Negative Playfield,
        - Undo,
        - Playfield Re-Positioning.
V1.03 - Third Public release.
        New functions added :
        - NTSC / PAL / SECAM Palettes support.
        - Possibility to select the Background & Playfield colours.
        - New extended Playfield file format including Palette and Colours
          used (old format can be loaded).
        - New comment lines in code generated : Palette, Background and
          Playfield Colours index used.


                        *** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK ***