Help me to improve my Workbench

[Retrofan]

Hi:
I've got an A1200 with a B1260. I've got recently (recently because I had to reinstall all again) installed an Amikit conversion to a Real Amiga.
I've done some improvements on it (remember I don't know what a graphic card is), and as recently I've seen a Tv spot that I liked (Acqua di Gioia) this afternoon I've made some modifications to the initial music (it came with none) using the Thomas Play16 program (BTW, later I used his FixHD size too as my HD wasn't right), and MP3DirectCut on my PC for the original Mp3 and AIFF MP3 Converter. Later to the workbench backdrop too searching the web and later using Image Studio (a gift from Cammy), although perhaps without much investigations...

[ Show youtube player ]

I would like to improve it a little, and I though you could help me. To start I would like to change the Ram icon and where it appears. How do I do it?
And how do I change too the position (or delete it) of that CD0:NDOS icon? (I have no idea what's that for originally)

I will keep asking...
Thanks!

EDIT: Do you like it or I'm wasting time with it? I know my Tv is the smallest, but still Jens hasn't for sale his Indivision...
EDIT: Ok, I've hided CD0. Let's see how to change icon and position of Ram
EDIT: Thanks @Hyperspeed (stolen from another forum):
01. Select cleanup
02. Copy the Disk.info from Ram: to Workbench:Prefs/Env-Archive/Sys/
03. Add the following to your S:User-Startup ->

Copy Workbench:Prefs/Env-Archive/Sys/Disk.info Ramisk.info
Relabel >NIL: Ram: Ram-Disk
Assign >NIL: "Ram Disk:" Ram:

(The first line copies the hard disk copy of the Ram icon into memory on bootup, the other two lines relable Ram Disk: as Ram-Disk so that scripts such as RiVa-GUI don't get confused by the missing space in RAM[space]Disk)


Let's see now to change it's icon. Surely changing it before to copy it's info?

[cosmicfrog]

theres some good info here that might help you out

This Old Workbench
http://reocities.com/SiliconValley/h.../contents.html

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

theres some good info here that might help you out

This Old Workbench
http://reocities.com/SiliconValley/h.../contents.html

Thanks! I was thinking I was writing my diary. But it's as I've said; just change it's icon (although you can't see it in that moment) with for example CopyIcon44 and then save it's information, adding later the comands to the startup-sequence.

Now I have to see how do I get the Amikit logo in the Workbench title.
What does control that?

EDIT: EH! Wait a moment! Have you give me a book with 28 chapters?
To change the logo in the Workbench bar I think I have to change somehow the VisualPrefs, but still don't know how.
Edit: Done. I will upload a new video...

Well, now I'm making before a backup of Amikit and will take a while. Meanwhile you can watch this spot:
[ Show youtube player ]

I would like to know if I can improve the image on the backdrop. I've used a png one changed to iff with the Image Studio program. I've tried using the options Process, Colours, selected 16 million colours and Dither to Floyd-Steinberg. I've just tried changing the palette it uses to the Workbench.palette Cammy uploaded, but isn't better. Really the image I've got isn't bad, but would like to knowif it can be better...

[cosmicfrog]

yep given you some reading todo, may or may not answer some of your questions

hehehe nice vid, hope you show us how you changed the logo in the WB bar in your next Vid

[Retrofan]

Thanks. I believe I can't improve more the image on the backdrop. I taked the original png and I found a good PC program to change it to iff and it keeps better. It's Ultimate Paint (http://www.ultimatepaint.com/). You can download it for free and I compared the image in iff I got with the Image Studio with the one in iff too that I got using UPaint, and in the PC the difference is terrific. The thing is that in the Amiga I almost can't find difference between them. Finally I've left the one made with UPaint. I will upload a video later.

EDIT: EH! What video are you saying? jejeje. Really she seems an angel... and I can't take out that music off my head.

[Retrofan]

Well, it seems the last post: I think it's nice now, don't you think s?

[ Show youtube player ]

[Retro1234]

I dont like AmiKit but dont you think it looks wierd in such a low resolution? all cramped?

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by Boo Boo

I dont like AmiKit but dont you think it looks wierd in such a low resolution? all cramped?

What do you say, why I don't have another Tv?
I'm waiting for the Indivision Aga.
You've made my day... with so much effort I've put on it Bua, Buaaaa... Nobody likes it?

[Retro1234]

I should have read the thread, your waiting for an Indivision, Sorry dude it was realy bugging me all cramped

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by Boo Boo

I should have read the thread, your waiting for an Indivision, Sorry dude it was realy bugging me all cramped

I'm not waiting an Indivision, I'm waiting THE Indivision...I only have to wait 3 months more so I can buy it...

[Cammy]

I'm sorry I can't help you, you're doing everything in a very different way to how I would do it.

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by Cammy

I'm sorry I can't help you, you're doing everything in a very different way to how I would do it.

Please Cammy tell me a different way to try... I'm learning (it seems by myself). Excuse me if perhaps I do wrong with some things... I'm a little rude... Perhaps you liked the music at least...
I tittled this thread "help me to improve my Workbench" I wasn't thinking it was going to be "look what he's done... jojojo, let's wait to see what he does now..." And sorry again, I'm telling how I'm feeling.
EDIT: I'm so sad that I've changed my Avatar... I was liking my WB.

[kriz]

I think its cool man, Amikit is a nice and good way to get everything!! The icon is the .info file.. Just try replacing some and you will see..

And the CD0: icon is for the cdrom, you have one connected ?

[Cammy]

The palette I sent you to use for Image Studio it was intended for use in a 16 colour Workbench screen with a locked palette in a low-end Amiga setup. Amikit has so many things already done to it that I wouldn't know where to start with advising how to get better results. I would start with a fresh installation of Workbench and add things from there, not the other way around, that's all I meant.

[Zetr0]

AmiKit really is ... well I shall not say... as I really dont like it.

I would suggest for the hardware you have a Classic Workbench 3.5 or 3.9 setup - this will really show-off your machine and you can customize it far easier than AmiKit.

Before I got into Classic Workbench I was an avid fan of making my own from stock installs - the real truth is I never got the time to perfect my installs - Classic Workbench out of the box just ticks all those boxes - from installed apps, multi-boot setups and great visual appearance in 640x512x16 colours ( I use 32 on AGA systems with non-RTG configs) and all the tweaks an AGA or ECS miggy can handle =)

You can add boot-logo's, jingles and bump loaders to your start-up very easily - this will give you a lot of modern appearance that I think you are seeking, you can also change icons and icon packs very easily with Classic Workbench as well as backdrop/wallpapers.

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by kriz

I think its cool man, Amikit is a nice and good way to get everything!! The icon is the .info file.. Just try replacing some and you will see..

And the CD0: icon is for the cdrom, you have one connected ?

Thanks! At least 1 that likes it!. Yes, it's easy to change icons, but not the Ram one. Perhaps you're right, but now that I've changed it...
No, the Cd rom has another Icon (in this case it's OS3.9). CD0:... doesn't open and not sure what's that for. I think it comes from the PC installation.

Originally Posted by Cammy

The palette I sent you to use for Image Studio it was intended for use in a 16 colour Workbench screen with a locked palette in a low-end Amiga setup. Amikit has so many things already done to it that I wouldn't know where to start with advising how to get better results. I would start with a fresh installation of Workbench and add things from there, not the other way around, that's all I meant.

Ah, ok. That sounds better. You know I was a little angry after the comments of "dont you think it looks wierd in such a low resolution? all cramped?" EDIT: And I understand you more after the post of "What does your Real WB looks like". You're on the opposite way: you're getting minimalist with those 4 colors... what's next?... Black&White? EDITAGAIN: Yep, it seems you're on it:

Originally Posted by Cammy

Yes that's right, it's a 4-colour bitmap font using only white and black. ColorFonts can use up to 256 colours, but you're best to use one that shares its palette with Workbench if you use it there. They're handy for using in games, demo scrollers and video titling.

Originally Posted by Zetr0

AmiKit really is ... well I shall not say... as I really dont like it.

I would suggest for the hardware you have a Classic Workbench 3.5 or 3.9 setup - this will really show-off your machine and you can customize it far easier than AmiKit.

Ok, so what I think for all this is that my english is very bad or I don't explain things well never. I have 5 Cf HD and I already have two with Sys4+OS3.9, another with ClassicWB39, another now empty and this one, in which I've got installed Amikit.

So I will explain better:
I want (or wanted) to look better WHAT I'VE GOT (Amikit on Real Amiga), to see it IN THE TV I'VE GOT. I don't want to try (here) ANOTHER WORKBENCH or ANOTHER TV or ANOTHER...(what comes next).

Yes, I like too ClassicWB and will try whatever on that, but this is Amikit, and I LIKE IT ALTHOUGH I'M ALONE, and what's more I don't know NOBODY that has it in a NON RTG Amiga. Do you know any? How many do you know with ClassicWB? 20 at least?... How many Workbench have you seen running using 256 colors (yes, my screen is small, but) with 1720552 graphic memory? Does your Workbench updates by "itself"? Mine does.

Ok, I won't say Amikit is the best thing, that's why I have 5 CF as HD. I like to change, and it isn't MAC either so you could complain about. It's OS3.9 BB2 with a couple of add-ons. EDIT: No, I was thinking in ClassicWB39. It's different, but only a Workbench "update".

[cosmicfrog]

indeed this place is a bit biased towards classicwb, but don`t take that to badly

as for the ram icon as most things its easy when u know how, I really hate that expression

this line found in my user-startup in s: copys an icon file from s: to ram:
thus changeing the ram icon
copy > NIL: SYS:S/RAM.info TO RAMisk.info

I like amigaKit but what I don`t like about it is the diropus5 intergration and lets say disableing it can be fun.....

[Retrofan]

In fact Cammy uses DirOpus. I like some things of it (others still have to learn how to modify). What she doesn't like is so much colors. I like her Workbenchs a lot, but I don't understand why must I use 4 colors if I can use 256. I've got no ram problems.

[Cammy]

I guess it all depends on how you intend on using your Amiga. It may have 1.7MB ChipRAM free now, but once you start opening programs on other screens that starts to go down. Your screen resolution is also quite low, so if you intend on opening programs on your Workbench screen some might not fit and others will fill the screen.

I guess that you don't like the look of interlaced displays because of the flicker? There's only one way to reduce the flickering of an interlaced screen with an AGA Amiga, and that's run a tiny program called MagicTV, which puts your Amiga in Dual-Playfield Mode, and changes the palette of the second playfield to be half as bright as the first playfield but overlays itself over the Workbench to reduce the flickering with less contrast. You can try MagicTV just by running it, and run it again to stop it if you don't like it, so it's worth a try and it will let you use a higher resolution Workbench on your TV. The only drawback of running this software flicker fixer is your Workbench has to be set in 16 colours or less, which is why Rebel created his special 16 colour ultimate Workbench palette, which I use on my A1200.

As for snapshotting the Ram Disk icon, this is different depending on how the Workbench has been set up. I don't have a Windows computer so I haven't tried AmiKit apart from a few years ago, so I'm not quite sure how it puts an icon on the Ram Disk. By default, the Ram Disk will use the def_disk icon, but usually someone would add a simple command to their Startup-Sequence or User-Startup to copy a better icon from the hard drive to the Ram Disk before Workbench loads. On my Amiga, the line in my User-Startup is this:

Copy > NIL: SYS:S/RAM.info TO RAM:Disk.info ( RAM: Disk.info without the blasted smiley)

That means that my Ram Disk icon has to be in my S/ directory on my boot drive. What you should do is find out where the icon is stored, then clean up your Workbench screen and move the Ram Disk icon to the position you want, snapshot it from the Icon menu, then copy it over the top of the icon on your hard drive, where ever it may be (possibly the S/ directory like it is on mine). You will have to make sure you rename it from "Disk.info" to whatever the name of the icon is supposed to be on your hard drive.

[Retrofan]

Originally Posted by Cammy

I guess it all depends on how you intend on using your Amiga. It may have 1.7MB ChipRAM free now, but once you start opening programs on other screens that starts to go down. Your screen resolution is also quite low, so if you intend on opening programs on your Workbench screen some might not fit and others will fill the screen..

Yes, it was like that till I installed CyberbugfixAga (a gift from Frog if you remember) and Fblit. I only loose some chip ram, and the rest is Fast ram (yes, you have to have fast ram). I can open as much drawers as I want... System, C showing all, another... and change drawers between them without problems. I don't use diropus never.
I've just openned to try 6 drawers at the same time and I've got a chip ram of 1483720. I can open AmigaAmp and I keep it at 1452008
I would like to send you a copy of my Amikit. If you want send me a PM.

About the screen resolution you are true, as the Boo boo said; all is wierd in such a low resolution, all cramped, but that's the tv I've got by now, with a monitor beside it that I can't use till Jens won't make his new Indivision, and I'm not going to buy a second hand now because it won't be so long he will make it.

Originally Posted by Cammy

I guess that you don't like the look of interlaced displays because of the flicker? There's only one way to reduce the flickering of an interlaced screen with an AGA Amiga, and that's run a tiny program called MagicTV, which puts your Amiga in Dual-Playfield Mode, and changes the palette of the second playfield to be half as bright as the first playfield but overlays itself over the Workbench to reduce the flickering with less contrast. You can try MagicTV just by running it, and run it again to stop it if you don't like it, so it's worth a try and it will let you use a higher resolution Workbench on your TV. The only drawback of running this software flicker fixer is your Workbench has to be set in 16 colours or less, which is why Rebel created his special 16 colour ultimate Workbench palette, which I use on my A1200.

It would be great if it wasn't for the 16 colors. YEs, I know your WB looks terrific... but I've been wondering what you could do with 256 colors instead of 4, 8 or 16. Yes, you're true about the flicker in interlaced screen. In fact I've been a couple of hours (a program was needing bigger resolution) with it and I'm dizzy still...

About the ram icon, it's changed from the first-second post.

Cammy now you can't improve more than you've done with so few colors. Why don't you start to make those improvements you do with more ones?