plasma in python

plasma in python - 1.2

Sean McKean (asona)

Tags:

Description

A demo effect using a palette in 8-bit mode to create a visually appealing experience. This program is based on C++ code written by Alex Champandard, from an article on demomaking (url: http://www.flipcode.com/archives/The_Art_of_Demomaking-Issue_04_Per_Pixel_Control.shtml).

Changes

v1.2: Saved 2-dimensional function info in separate "raw" files, for faster loading. Also made another option for pygame's Surface.blit function (pygame.BLEND_AOF) that adds 8-bit surfaces together, and wraps the color value when it goes over 255 (blit_blend_add_overflow). This allows the quick blending together of the surface blits to the screen.

Links

Home Page: http://sourceforge.net/projects/plasma-py/
Source: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=224999
Windows: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=224999

Screenshot

click to view original size

Releases

plasma in python - 1.4 - May 13, 2008
plasma in python - 1.3 - May 10, 2008
plasma in python - 1.2 - May 9, 2008
plasma in python - 1.1 - Apr 23, 2008
plasma in python - 1.0 - Apr 17, 2008

Pygame.org account Comments

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May 10, 2008 9:54pm - Sean McKean - nickname: (asona)
Runs much faster, with the help of an 'add_overflow' option added to the Surface.blit function.
April 28, 2008 2:15am - Sean McKean - nickname: (asona)
Wait -- adding an alpha channel would make the surface 16 bits per pixel. What I meant was adding an alpha channel to a surface that uses a palette. I also looked at the pygame.transform.average_surfaces() function added in pygame 1.8, but it seems to have strange behavior with a paletted surface (although it seems to do a nice job with cross-fading RGB surfaces).
April 24, 2008 12:35am - Sean McKean - nickname: (asona)
Thanks for the input! pywiz32: I think I see what you are saying. The problem here is that to setup a cross-fade effect, I am guessing that I'd have to render a set of intermediate surfaces, which could take any number of seconds, depending on the machine running the program. It's a shame that 8-bit surfaces and alpha effects don't work together.
April 23, 2008 7:39pm - Anonymous - nickname: (pywiz32) - 5/5
Even better. One last suggestion: for the scene change, try to make it more smooth. The way to do this is to have the effect on a surface, and then load another scene on a seperate surface, and finally fade between them.
April 17, 2008 9:16pm - Anonymous - nickname: (pywiz32) - 5/5
Damn... Awsome... Though, make it more comprehensible, add more comments, so developers can make it better. I also changed a few variables around, and the image, raw file, so there is no movement in the plasma, just color change, and so there is no text in the middle. I will have a screensaver ready in a few hours :) Also, consider making it so that each "bubble" gradient moves around and changes shape, that would be awsome. Still, really cool.
April 17, 2008 11:20am - pymike - nickname: (pymike) - 5/5
Woah. This is really awesome. I wish I could make it my screensaver... ;-)
April 17, 2008 7:41am - Francesco Mastellone - nickname: (effeemme) - 5/5
Damn cool! Definitely gonna read those articles.