New generation Artworks renderer released - RISC OS News, Software and Information

New generation Artworks renderer released

Published: 16th Jan 2003, 23:32:32GMT Source: drobe.co.uk
By Chris Williams

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AWViewer'n'AWRender Plus now 32bit and free for all

MW Software has today notified us lot that the Artworks file viewer and rendering software, AWViewer and AWRender respectively, are now 32bit compatible, allowing Iyonix users to view Artwork graphics up to 2.5 times faster than us lowly StrongARM computer users (MW Software's figures naturally). AWViewer also enables third-party applications (such as OvationPro with the ArtWorks applet) to display and print ArtWorks files.

"AWRender Plus is the very latest, much enhanced version of the main ArtWorks rendering module", Martin of MW Software announced in his email. "Until now, AWRender Plus was only available to users who have made a donation to support its development or as part of one of the more recent ArtWorks Updater utilities."
As MW Software are in such a good mood following their 32bit development work, users can now freely download AWViewer and AWRender Plus from MW Software's website (see link below) although you are still encouraged to make a donation to support its development if you find it useful. AWRender Plus can render all Artworks files (save Crystal transparencies), key features include:

support for deep sprites (more than 256 colours)
correct display of 256 colour sprites in screen modes with more colours
support for TextArea, Replicate and JPEG objects and Hatch(Pro) fills
various bug-fixes and improved interfaces for client applications

Add also
SVGExport, a plugin whose development was delayed whilst effort was concentrated on a 32bit AViewer, is now scheduled for a release at the end of this month. SVGexport will allow users to save out Artworks files in the platform independant SVG format.

Please don't forget the highly awaited release of Artworks 2, expected at the end of March 2003. Artworks 2 will have various new features and a revised user interface, as well as being totally 32bit for all you Iyonix users out there. This looks particularly worrying for Aemulor.com who appear to enjoy using the speed of an emulated 26bit Artworks to benchmark and sell their 26bit emulator product. Also, riscos.org and iconbar.com are understandably quite keen on Artworks 2, like we were when we covered this news last year.

Links
32bit AWViewer and AWRender

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adrianl 17/1/03 2:47AM	Don't worry, we're delighted that Martin is converting ArtWorks to run natively. I started using ArtWorks + Apple4 as a benchmark before the Guildford Show where we learned that Martin had plans to convert it. It just became a habit, but with the recent speed improvements I can't really time Apple4 rendering accurately with a stopwatch anyway, so I'm going to use PhotoDesk for further speed work Adrian www.aemulor.com
diomus 17/1/03 2:57AM	Yay, Photodesk would be sweet. Chris, drobe.co.uk
quatermass 17/1/03 11:26AM	How much faster is this Iyonix pc AW software than a 300MHz Kinetic RiscPC? Not everyone uses a 200MHz StrongARM. Thanks.
hubersn 17/1/03 4:38PM	I have compiled a few benchmarks at http://www.huber-net.de/iyonix/ Despite being in German, it should be possible to decipher the benchmark table The AWViewer results hint at an at least 2x faster AWViewer on Iyonix compared to a 287 MHz RiscPC. A much much higher factor compared to a ViewFinder-equipped RiscPC is achieved, and IMHO a ViewFinder is the only possibility to work sensibly with ArtWorks on a RiscPC. I don't think Kinetic will make much of a difference.
The Doctor 18/1/03 1:16AM	Hi, The Kinetic makes a fair bit of a difference to the Artworks rendering. I have an Artworks file here that takes 23.32 seconds to render on a 287mhz SA and 16.49 seconds to render on a 266mhz Kinetic. Cheers!
JGZimmerle 18/1/03 11:16AM	So you have overclocked a Kinetic? Haven't tried that yet. Could you post how its done (jumper-settings, things to watch out for). TIA -- Julian G. F. Zimmerle
The Doctor 18/1/03 11:51PM	I just wrote a massive and detailed reply to you Julian but when I tried to send it the website or web browser (I don't know which) threw a wobbly and got stuck in a loop. It's soul destroying when this happens and I just can't face writing it all again right now Sorry!