Andromeda Photo – Look Through a Telescope

I'm not abandoning the Visual I theme. As Gosha says, don't put off learning new technologies. Words of wisdom. I'm continuing the theme of my screensaver programs, united under the name Visual I. This one has a controlled screensaver again. And again, space. Andromeda.

Andromeda Photo. This is about the depths of space. One large photograph. Horizontal spread. A huge photograph. Of space. With the name Andromeda. A telescope must have been pointed there. And that's how this image came out. And then it ended up online. I can't imagine how to photograph Andromeda. But apparently it's possible.

The theme is straight out of the last screensaver. Where the space photos are. And there was this photograph. But reduced to 800 x 600. And here it is, in the original, simply gigantic. 7 megabytes. And 7000 resolution. So I decided to cut this photograph. Into blocks. 4 blocks vertically and 2 horizontally.

A total of 8 images. Each was resized to approximately 800 by 600. The result is 800 by 511. And these images of Andromeda are here. In detail, so to speak. And this is where the splash screen comes from.

Several modes. Four of them. Time interval – adjustment. Arrows move around the Andromeda map. Modes are switched by numbers – 1, 2, 3, 4. Time is changed by + and -. And arrows for manual navigation on the map. Up and down. Left and right.

Mode 1. This is the horizontal direction of camera movement. That is, from 1 to 4. And then moves to the Y axis. And again from 1 to 4. A total of 8 images. Divided into two lines. Coordinate Y = 1. Four images. And coordinate Y = 2. Four images again. First, move along the first strip. Then along the second.

Mode 2. Vertical direction. First the image from the top, then the bottom. And we move along the x-axis by 1 point. And again, the image from the top. Then the bottom. And so on.

Mode 3. This is random. That is, one of the 8 images is randomly selected and shown.

Mode 4. This is user-defined. Only the user changes images using the arrow keys.

Using the + and - keys, you can change the frame hold time. Before changing it. From 5 to 60 seconds. Like on a TV. With a remote control. The idea comes from here.

Keyboard arrows – up, down, left, and right. Moving around the Andromeda map. Works in any mode. The map is two stripes. That is, 2 points high and 4 points long. You move along them using the arrow keys.

This time, I continue to create new topics from time to time. And this is just one of them. A cosmic idea. Far, far away Andromeda. Just think – how many stars are there. And these clusters are galaxies. Just think about it. The scale of the universe. Andromeda is a big thing. As big as the Milky Way. And there are a lot of galaxies like it. Each galaxy has a ton of stars. And around those stars are planets.

So take a close look at what's going on around Andromeda. Use a telescope, keep an eye out. There it is again, space. Mysterious and strange. Once again, I'm a programmer in this field. And you, as a viewer, will soon see Andromeda too. In the meantime, you can watch a sci-fi series with action from the 80s, like V. V. V is like Lian Ross's new album, V. Maybe I should ask Lian Ross something about Andromeda? It's a musical joke.

Visual version 0.3 "Third" - newest version. More 7 new intros. With this version - Space, Constellation, Forest, Leaves, Retrowave Road, Smiles are flying, Deep Jump. This is pack with visual intros. You just need to watch them! And there are control intros. Intros about different themes. Visual sequence.

Visual: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/apps/visuali/index_eng.html

Website: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/home_eng.html

Vaporwave Road – Mathematical Calculations and Columns

This is a visual intro. You just have to watch it. It's Vaporwave-themed. But it turned out more like retrowave. A kind of synthetic future. Like a background image. It's taken from the FreePik website. And there's even a caption stating that this is an AI-generated image posted on that website. And there's a little logo at the bottom about it. I didn't remove it. Well, it's cooler this way. It's computer-like.

Also, there are the columns here. They're a hallmark of the VaporWave style. Like Greek columns, for example. For now, I'm using the columns. They're another image. And the idea is a road in this virtual space. Like movement or flight. Like some kind of dynamic pixel arcade game. Like Space Harrier. That's the idea. You move. And there are columns around you. Like a movement indicator.

The movement itself has several types so far. These are rows of columns. Right, left, left, and right. And that's one type of animation. Pre-written. I spent a long time choosing the parameters. Because I'm not good with math. And a bunch of views with flat animations. Like a side view. These are columns. Different sizes. Small, medium, or large.

And animations. All sorts. Side views. Two-dimensional. Like stairs up and down. Scallops. The same stairs. Just up and down. And so on, a certain number of columns. So, there's a length. It's arbitrary. About 10-something. In that range. There are also what I called special animations for different views. They just have different parameters. And it looks a little different. For example, like very thin columns, but almost the entire screen in height. Everything moves off-screen to the right.

After all, I'm not good with math at all. And choosing the parameters takes time. I need to correctly understand what numbers I need. How to create a simple formula, though. One that will track the image's progress. And for now, I'm still working on this.

I've broken it down into modules. Each animation type is in its own module. That is, in my file. And all this is in the now-familiar QB64. Which has now faded into the background compared to Free Basic. So I remembered this BASIC dialect.

Here's how to select parameters. And such small formulas. Algorithms for how they appear. Small. I decided to take this step. And, of course, I slowed down a lot. Because I don't have a mathematical mind. But I knew this would happen. And I did it intentionally. To practice. To take the first step.

You write the coordinate for the angle. And you have to come up with a formula for how these corner points will appear on the screen. There's a step. There's a total distance. A starting point. And in theory, you can conjure up a bunch of different display methods this way. A bunch of formulas. A bunch of algorithms that are easy to create. And that's interesting. That's a plus.

But the minus is that you need mathematical mindset. Without it, everything is done slowly. Crooked and as it turns out. You have a very rough idea of the result. Like, wow, that turned out pretty cool! I'll leave it like that. I'm trying to make more precise calculations here and there.

And all of this is time-based. That is, the time step. Time intervals. How it all moves. Again, in theory, it could be faster or slower. But right now, I have everything in the same temporal speed mode. Time is, so to speak, speed. It's a new perspective on this parameter. Of course, everything is somehow strange or new. This is the Vaporwave world. A kind of luminal space.

Visual version 0.3 "Third" - newest version. More 7 new intros. With this version - Space, Constellation, Forest, Leaves, Retrowave Road, Smiles are flying, Deep Jump. This is pack with visual intros. You just need to watch them! And there are control intros. Intros about different themes. Visual sequence.

Visual: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/apps/visuali/index_eng.html

Website: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/home_eng.html

VaporWave Road – the long road is finally programmed!

Finally, this long road is programmed! It was a bit of a challenge. I applied the formulas here. And, to put it briefly, I messed up. I decided not to do that. But to use my existing skills. I'm not good with math, and I've learned that again.

The intro is a standard one. You just have to watch it. And random animations appear. There are two types. It's all about columns and a synthwave background. Columns – hence the vaporwave. And the music is by a cool guy, WhiteBat Audio. The track is called Crystal Cola. He has his own website. And it's easy to find online. Thanks to him for the music! It's a real lifesaver!

So, the idea here is a road in virtual reality with columns. Like Sonic, maybe there's a level with columns. Or maybe there's a game like FarCry 3 Bloody Dragon. But I'm certainly overdoing it. It's all simple here. But there are many pre-programmed situations. A column from the side and, as it were, in 3D. Two types.

The side view is all sorts of stairs. Up and down stairs, for example. There are many such screensavers. They seem to move to the right side of the screen. And there are also many screensavers that seem to be 3D. When you move into these very columns. As if from the perspective of the eyes.

The columns are mostly pre-coded. And this is a good way for me to create such landscapes. And they simply move downwards. As if creating the effect of 3D movement. Many different columns. That's how I wanted it to look. You're flying at altitude through a strange virtual world. And you're looking at it all. Like a bird. Or some kind of virtual observer. Like an observer of a round in Counter-Strike.

There are many columns. And these are all sorts of bizarre landscapes within virtual reality. The columns often have some kind of structure. That is, they're arranged in lines. At different distances. And these are the landscapes here. These are plains. Virtual plains. A virtual surface. A fantastic flight. Like in retro VR movies from the 80s on VHS.

There were a lot of screensavers, sort of two types. They are shown alternately. First one type, then the other. About more than 10 views of each type. In total, there are more than 20 pre-made screensavers within this screensaver.

The columns move, and this is the main element of the landscape here. And the background is AI-generated. From the FreePik website. There's a lot there. You can also take a look. Mostly, the 3D screensavers are columns with a landscape. That is, there are many of them, and they seem to be in the distance. They are scattered across the digital plain. And they form the landscape. Large and small. Many and few. In different ways.

Most of them are pre-programmed. That is, it's hardcoded. But there are large columns, where they move to the right and left. And this is already done according to the formula. That's how I started this intro. And then I simply moved from formulas to hardcode. I can do everything much faster this way.

Such white columns. Left and right. And you between them. And they're approaching. Such a visual effect. Like a dream about virtual reality. Maybe there, beyond the horizon, you'll see how the matrix transforms reality into numbers. And before that, into a pseudo-world. A world of sketches or lines and columns. A great theme too.

For a computer enthusiast. Some films come to mind, like The 13th Floor and Nirvana. Not as popular as The Matrix, but also very good. From the era of VHS tapes and DVDs. That's also in my head. Such columns. And space.

Visual version 0.3 "Third" - newest version. More 7 new intros. With this version - Space, Constellation, Forest, Leaves, Retrowave Road, Smiles are flying, Deep Jump. This is pack with visual intros. You just need to watch them! And there are control intros. Intros about different themes. Visual sequence.

Visual: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/apps/visuali/index_eng.html

Website: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/home_eng.html

Visual I version 0.4 "Fourth" – columns and space

It's time for the next step. Already number four. A small step. But mostly for stability. Because a decent amount of time has passed. And it's time to release something. It's time to get going. As they say. And here's the new release. Three intros. One controllable intro. And two regular intros, where you just watch the animation. And you can't do anything about it.

This time, there are two themes. It's space. It's a tradition. Because I started the idea for the visual intros with a space theme. And one is a vaporwave theme. Retro wave, synthwave. A kind of digital future, an 80s theme.

The first intro for this version is space photos. Just a intro. You look at a cycle of space photos. It's seven space photos set to music. This is the first intro for this version. And there are photos of Andromeda. And there's a comet. There's a pulsar. There's a nebula. These are rather mysterious, albeit dark, images of space. There's room for bright objects in the darkness.

Space is something vast and mysterious. It's no wonder it contains such beautiful images. This is simply a screensaver. You have to watch it. Like a movie. Without words. But with interesting music.

The next screensaver is Andromeda Photo. Essentially, the idea is taken from the previous screensaver. One of the photographs. Only a close-up. 8 photographs. They all seem to be part of one larger photograph. 4 horizontally and 2 vertically. A total of 8. Amazing detail!

Music by White Bat Audio. He has his own website and makes a lot of music, including some free for use. The track "VHS Dreams" is featured here. Andromeda is the closest galaxy to us. But still far away. And there are dark areas hidden in the darkness. And bright ones. Where thousands of strange and distant stars glow.

This screensaver is controllable. There's a map. You use it to navigate. It's reminiscent of a 90s TV remote control. You use the arrow keys to move around the map. There's a mode for displaying information on the screen, like a menu on an old TV. You can also increase or decrease the frame duration. There are also several display modes. One has vertical image movement, another horizontal. Random selection. And all the images are static, and only the user can change the image.

VaporWave Road. The final screensaver. It's dedicated to vaporwave. It's columns and virtual reality in a retro style. 80s-inspired. The music is Crystal Cola by WhiteBat Audio. He has great tracks! I'm convinced of this time and time again.

This screensaver took a lot of time. Because of my math and logic test, I decided to do everything using formulas. I spent a lot of time. And ultimately abandoned that idea. I just coded everything. It immediately became faster. I can now do this in a reasonable amount of time.

I spent a lot of time on the formula and the math. And I didn't bother making another new screensaver. I decided to finish it all without math. That's what I know how to do. It turned out well right away and in a reasonable timeframe. And that's why there are three screensavers instead of four for this version.  

And here there's a background—essentially a desktop screensaver. Vaporwave or synthwave. More like synthwave. Retro future. And columns. And music. And it all moves. There are two types of movement: columns from the side and columns as if into the distance.

I realized in time that it was better to do without math. And just finished it. A total of three screensavers. On the fourth step. That's when I realized it. Learning is one thing. Practice is another. And small projects are better done as you already know. This is only version 0.4. And it's good that I realized that! The theme here is columns and space.

Visual I version 0.4 "Fourth" - newest version. More 3 new intros. With this version - Space Photo, Andromeda Photo, Vapourwave Road. This is pack with visual intros. You just need to watch them! And there are control intros. Intros about different themes. Visual sequence.

Visual: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/apps/visuali/index_eng.html

Website: http://www.dimalink.tv-games.ru/home_eng.html