Hollywood 6 for AmigaOS 4 on X1000

Today I wanted to take a look at Hollywood 6.0 on AmigaOS 4.1 Final Edition on my X1000, which was released in 2015. I will also take a look at the updated Hollywood Plugin for Cubic IDE and a quick look at FastView as well!

Hollywood 6.0 is a commercial product made by Andreas Falkenhahn, and is available to purchase on his website here for 99 Euros, or cheaper if bundled with Designer 4.0 or as an upgrade from an older version.

I looked at Hollywood Designer 4.0 previously (along with Codebench) in a previous blog post here last year, but today I wanted to have a look at the upgraded Hollywood Version 6.

It is great to have programming languages for AmigaOS 4.1 that are more accessible to non-professional programmers like myself! :-)

After purchasing, downloading and putting together the ISO for the installation as per the instructions, I then ran the installation from the ISO, mounted with DiskImageGUI under AmigaOS4.1 on my X1000:

Interesting is that you must run Hollywood 6 on a screen greater than 256 colours, which means it no longer works on Classic Amiga systems without a graphics card installed.

My previous Version 5 installation is picked up by the installer and I am prompted to update it:

Note that the "upgrade" will actually delete everything in your current installation - you are warned of this. In my case I keep my projects in a separate drawer so it is ok to proceed:

Make sure to choose AmigaOS 4 here, since I am installing it on the X1000:

Once the files are copied across the intro will then play:

When you close it the installer provides information about how to compile Hollywood 6 programs from the Shell. I plan to use Cubic IDE with the hollywood plugin to edit/compile my code for Hollywood:

The CTRL-C shortcut to kill a Hollywood program is a good tip to remember:

Installation is completed successfully:

After closing the installer, another Hollywood program runs to show the new features in Hollywood 6, as below:

There are so many plugins for Hollywood offering lots of extra functionality now!

The information  about Radeon HD support for video drawing and scaling for better X1000 performance is very welcome!

Having installed Hollywood, the next thing I needed to do was update my Hollywood Plugin for Cubic IDE. Cubic IDE is a full featured Development Environment for AmigaOS and is available for purchase for 44.90 Euro here. It is my choice of editor for most things under AmigaOS4.1, including Hollywood programs I am working on.

You don't have to use Cubic IDE to edit Hollywood scripts of course, any text editor will do the job. But Cubic IDE has many great features and I believed it worth the price to have every programming project I am going to edit integrated in one application with syntax highlighting, context help and more, plus edit/preview/compile functions.

You can download the Hollywood 6 plugin for Cubic IDE from the Hollywood download page here. Here is the extracted archive to install:

The info document doesn't say much, the installation is straightforward - obviously you need Cubic IDE installed before you do it:

As this is updating an older installation of the plugin - it will let you know and prompt to replace the files. I click Yes to All here so it doesn't prompt for every new file:

Installation completed:

After rebooting the system, I then download all of the Hollywood plugins available for AmigaOS 4.1 and then install them all! They are all available on the Hollywood download page here. Would love an installer that would just install all of them in one go! :-)

I then run Cubic IDE, and I can see the Hollywood plugins in the toolbar and menu options available. This plugin includes syntax highlighting, command structures and help as you go - click to expand these pictures:

The link to the Tutorial to get started in Hollywood prompts me to actually try it out!

You can see the various Compile options, allowing me to compile Hollywood programs for AmigaOS3, AmigaOS4, AROS, MorphOS, MacOS, Windows too! This program is multi-platform and your compiled Hollywood scripts can be chosen to run on many different platforms!

You can also Run a Hollywood program from within the editor, in window or full screen without creating an executable - very handy to try out changes quickly (as below):

Here is the full Hollywood Amigaguide manual - it is an excellent resource and clearly a lot of work has gone into writing it:

Suitably inspired now to give Hollywood 6 a go, I create a drawer in my Hollywood_Projects drawer called HelloWorld:

I then create my base .hws script called Helloworld.hws (incorrectly called .hwp in the initial screenshots sorry) into that drawer. I then get to work on writing my Hello world program as shown in the tutorial:

Here is the resulting program when I run it from Cubic IDE:

It exits when you click the left mouse button (due to the WaitForLeftMouse() call in the script), or the close gadget or CTRL-C.

Not very exciting, but a start nonetheless! Next, I fired up FastView to look for a test background image from my collection to try out. FastView is part of the zTools suite available for purchase for AmigaOS 4.1 on AMIStore)

The image I selected is a photo I took of a Bento lunch my wife made for me last year! One problem of course is the images taken with the camera are too high resolution for the window they will run in. This is why I ran FastView, as it allows me to quickly resize it.

After selecting the image in Fast View, I then select the Options tab below the picture preview, modify the pixels next to Rescale to the size I want, or select a % zoom (in this case I selected 25%) and then click on Rescale  (as shown below):

This then produces a separate JPG file appended with .SCALE, which I can then click Open Drawer in Fast View to be taken directly to the drawer containing the file. Given the messy structure iPhoto uses to store photos (where I copied the photos from originally) this feature is very helpful indeed:

This is great as I can then quickly copy it to the HelloWorld drawer for my project!

I then modify my Hollywood code to support the background picture, which is as simple as typing:

@BGPIC 1, "file" 

I love the simplicity! You can also add comments to your code with /* */ or with ;

I then run the program and it works straight away!

Next I want to create an executable for AmigaOS4.1, which as shown earlier I can access from the Cubic IDE toolbar using the Hollywood 6 plugin:

It then prompts for the name of the program executable, which will be HelloWorld:

The compilation then gets underway - the status can be seen in the bottom Output pane of Cubic IDE:

I then have an executable program I can run on AmigaOS4.1. My first program in Hollywood 6!

I am not leaving it there though - I still want to try some more things out.

I first fixed the .hwp extension in my HelloWorld script to .hws as this is a Hollywood Script (hws), not Hollywood Plugin (hwp)! That was a silly mistake!

Next I copied one of my songs as an MP3 file (originally tracked by myself in Impulse Tracker) into the HelloWorld drawer, and preload with:

@MUSIC 1, "file" 

This preloads the file (assumed to be in the same drawer as the script) into the executable with ID 1, which means you get one program without dependent files needed in the drawer after compilation. I then add PlayMusic(1) to play the music in the background - how easy is that!

I then comment out the original Print line and use a function I read in the manual called TextOut, which allows me to place text at particular x and y locations on the screen. I can also specify #CENTER as the location, which will automatically centre my text on the window size the program is running in. This is more flexible as it is size independent:

Here is the resulting program:

Next I want to change the font - in Hollywood you can use True Type fonts (TTF) or Bitmap Amiga fonts. Using Amiga fonts is easier, and you can choose to include the font with the program (bad idea) or reference an existing AmigaOS 4.1 font. Remember that if you compile for other platforms the font needs to be available there too if you want to look right.  In that case bundling the font may make sense, but remember there are licensing considerations if you include fonts in your programs...

In my case I am just playing around, so I look at the fonts under AmigaOS 4.1 using the Fonts Prefs tool:

 I then added in the SetFont and SetFontColor definitions to set the font to DejaVu Serif Bold, size 32. Note that the font name is case sensitive and the font size must exist in the fonts drawer or you will get an error when trying to run the program.

At this point I also invoke Layers, which allows me to create objects like boxes, etc, that can be placed and moved/rotated around the screen as needed. This is done by typing into the script:

EnableLayers()

The Box command is also added, to enable me to create a filled box over the image, that the text will then be displayed in. The Box is called with:

Box(x,y, size_x, size_y, colour, table options)

In my case I added the option {RoundLevel = 25} to get the Box drawn to have rounded corners that are 25% of the box size.

If you are wondering where I found this stuff out, I had no idea either initially. I was just looking around in the manual at the various sections on displaying fonts, etc and stumbled on various commands to do things and tried them out to see what they did!

As a final thing I also found a neat feature that allows you to create a Gradient fill for your box, using SetFillStyle before creating the box, to set the parameters for the fill - in my case a Linear Gradient, going from Black to Blue.

Putting this all together (with comments) in the revised script, it now looks like this:

I also chose a different picture (of the Nagoya Railway Museum) and rescaled it using FastView to 1920x1080 so it would look nice when run in full screen.

The resulting program looks like this:

I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of what is possible with Hollywood 6, but this initial play with it has convinced me to push forward with trying to code some different projects of my own!

Stay tuned, more info will come as my various dream projects can be met by my slowly improving coding skills as time permits! I will also take a close look at the cross compatibility angle in a future blog entry.

Hopefully this gives you some insight into the product and how easy it is to do things!

Hollywood 6 is a very interesting product and is recommended for those who want to make programs for AmigaOS 4.1 (Mac, Windows or other Amiga platforms too), but are not professional coders!

Selection of Classic Amiga Software in 2015

This week I decided to catch up on some of many AmigaOS3.x software that has been released in 2015 but I haven't tried out yet! I used AmigaOS3.9 on my Amiga 4000T to try them out.

My Amiga 4000T had remained relatively untouched with new software for a while now, so I thought I would update it, starting with MUI (Magic User Interface).

On my system, I have MUI 3.8 registered. Like a lot of people who registered relatively late on, my MUI key is a "special one" given to everyone who registers now since apparently the author Stefan Stuntz can't generate new ones as his Amiga 3000 stopped working...

MUI is needed for lots of programs, and the last update of MUI for AmigaOS 3.x was in 2006. It has continued development as MUI 4.0 on MorphOS and AmigaOS 4 as well.

But now in 2015 we have MUI 4.0 for AmigaOS 3.x! You can download it from muidev.de/downloads here:

The latest version is from June 2015 - it is great to have new software for Classic Amiga in 2015 isn't it?

Once downloaded and extracted to RAM: we get the following drawer:

Here is the Readme - doesn't say too much of relevance:

After backing up my existing MUI 3.8 drawer (just in case), I then ran through the installer, and upgrade my existing installation:

Note that for me it prompts me during the installation to delete a number of files no longer needed in the new version, which I do:

The installation detects my existing MUI 3.8 install and prompts me to update it:

The usual extra files are available to be installed, which I do:

Language of the Amigaguide document files is requested - English for me of course:

Installation completed:

As prompted I reboot, then check the MUI prefs to see the updated MUI v4.0 program settings:

Close up view of the MUI Preferences window in MUI 4:

MUI Screen Settings:

MUI Images settings:

I do get regular prompts to increase the stack to minimum 32000. For most programs the stack can be adjusted in the Information window attached to the program's icon.

Now let's take a look at Directory Opus 5.9 for AmigaOS 3.x. Originally released in 2014, this update is an update and bug fix from the original 1998 commercial Directory Opus 5.82 source code from Adelaide developer Jonathan Potter (GP Soft). The latest beta version of 5.91 is April 2015. I am looking at stable 5.90 release today.

Update 31/8/2015 - Stable release v5.91 has now been released for AmigaOS3.x (and other platforms too) - you can download it from here.

I have had a look at Directory Opus 5.9 several times on this blog for AmigaOS 4.1 on the X1000 (here, here and here).

But this is the first time I have installed it on the Amiga 4000T - I download 5.90 from the Source Forge page here, and below is the extracted drawer on my Amiga 4000T:

Closer look the Directory Opus 5.9 drawer contents:

I need to add the DOpus: assign into the s:user-startup file, as highlighted below:

The initial load of DOpus 5.9 looks a bit ordinary - it uses the Workbench prefs and opens on it's own screen using my Voodoo 3 PCI card, but uses the standard Topaz fonts...

Reconfiguration now underway - I covered a lot of this in the previous Directory Opus 5.9 blog entries I linked higher up if you want to look into the detailed configuration steps:

After finishing the fonts changes, background change and lister preferences to my liking, things are starting to look good:

My USB stick (Sony16GB) mounts and shows up fine under DOpus 5.9 when inserted into the A4000T USB port connected to the Deneb card:

As people who regularly use Directory Opus 5.9 (or earlier versions ) know, it is very configurable and there is a LOT you can do with it. I will leave it like this for now, but no doubt I will play with it again!

Moving into 2015 games now, Boxx 2 is a platform game by Lemming880 available on Classic Amiga systems and downloadable for free on Aminet, as HD install or ADF version.

The game is colourful and retro:

Let's get into Level 1:

The game is very playable and easy to get into. Collecting coins is the goal, and if this sounds a bit like a game similar to a certain plumber then you would be mostly right:

Unlike that game though, Boxx 2 has levers to unlock sections, water you can go through and is just a fun game to play:

Evidently I need to practice more because I quickly reached Game Over - not sure what happened! I used to be great at platform games!

Boxx 2 is a lot of fun to play and free - definitely give it a go!

Next up I wanted to try out the latest version of LoView 2.90 on Classic Amiga, released in 2015. This program was written by Simone "Tuxedo" Monsignon. I read the readme first to make sure I knew what to do for the install.

The readme says, install the Hollywood plugins, copy the folder where you like and run it. LoView is a program written with Hollywood. It won't work unless you have all the pre-requisites installed first, which I didn't. I got plenty of errors come up running the Installer program. What it should say also is it needs the following installed first:

1. Install all the latest July 2015 released Hollywood plugins for AmigaOS 3.x on Aminet - search for HWP_ to find them (MUI Royale is one of the required ones):

While installing MUI Royale (one of the Hollywood plugins), you will then find you need to install some other MUI class files too.

 This leads on to the next step to install LoView 2.90..

2. Install the latest version of TextEditor.mcc and TheBar.mcc and NList.mcc, available on Aminet. You can install codesets.library too if you need, but in my case I don't since I work in English.

3. Then install the LoView program using the Install icon in the extracted folder - the installer is fairly straightforward:

Fairly straightforward stuff until you get to this step - not sure why this step (for the AmigaOS4.1+ version) is included in the AmigaOS 3.x version installer. Just say No here:

The new preferences tool for LoView will then launched:

This prefs editor allows you to customise LoView to your personal tastes and there are plenty of options, including changing the default file types to use LoView, which is very handy indeed (Reboot needed for that). Press Save when finished in here:

Installation is now completed:

Here is the LoView drawer with the installation completed:

Here is the main LoView program itself running on the Amiga 4000T - I think I am still missing something as two icons on the top right don't appear right - AISS perhaps? Will look at this later on:

Having used and covered LoView extensively on AmigaOS4.1 on my X1000 previously, it is nice to be back in a familiar image viewer on the Classic Amiga too:

I should make mention also of A-Eon's Personal Paint 7.3a released for Classic Amiga in late 2014. This is the result of the fine efforts of Andy "broadblues" Broad.

I already had the AmigaOS 4 version on the X1000, but this week I finally bought the Classic Amiga version to put on my Amiga 4000T.

You can buy Personal Paint 7.3a from AMIStore if you have an AmigaOS4 system, and if not you can also buy it from ppaint.com. There is an older version 7.2 you can download for free on the same site.

Once launched, Personal Paint asked which resolution to launch in - I want to take advantage of my Voodoo3 card in the Amiga 4000T so I use the 1280x1024 resolution. Personal Paint is limited to 256 colours, so no high colour support yet.

Here is the main Personal Paint 7.3a program once opened. The interface should be familiar to Deluxe Paint users, and of course Personal Paint users from past versions before A-EON bought the rights to the software to upgrade it:

When importing pictures that are different resolution and colour depth to the current screen, it gives you options around which mode to switch it to:

It will then work it's magic to change the size and colour depth to match the screen:

There are lots of functions in Personal Paint, more than I could possibly cover in a blog post like this, but it really does do most things you would like to do with an image, even animating it:

There is a comprehensive Amigaguide document included with Personal Paint, which includes tutorials and plenty of help:

Here is one more image I imported, rendered in 256 colours in Personal Paint 7.3a - the image conversion is quick for a Classic Amiga and result quite good:

Of course what coverage of Classic Amiga software released would ignore the demos released in 2015! Head over to Pouet's demoscene website here to download the latest productions for Amiga (and other platforms too).

Here is some shots of Dekadence's demo at Assembly 2015 demo party, called Carbon Based. It is a great demo and worthy winner:

The next demo I wanted to mention is Desire's demo, also from Assembly 2015. It is great to see good demos still coming out on Classic Amigas - I wish we had some on the NG Amigas too though!

So, as you can see, there is still plenty of interesting software being released for Classic Amiga in 2015! This list of software is only a small sample of what is available out there, and it is great to see the work that has gone into them! Please try them out if you haven't already!

Thank you to the people who continue to write interesting software for Classic and NG Amiga systems in 2015 - please keep it up! :-)