Read Me for PatchDance v1.0b17

 

 

 

The program is now available at no charge - email for a license key. Support is available but not guaranteed to be quick (previously registered customers get priority.)

 

 

 

Welcome to PatchDance!

This release follows v1.0b16

See the Change List at the end for details of the update.

It's finally here! The polygon mechanism is totally rewritten and it works much better than it did, much faster, and in nearly no extra memory. And it even gets the shape right! (in my tests so far.) I don't pretend to have tested all the models you folks can invent, nor every possible special case (most of you don't seem to want to wait another six months.) I am confident that fixed subdivision works, but the adaptive modes could still mess up under the right circumstances. If this happens, use fixed and let me know (hopefully including the trouble file so I can go through it triangle by triangle and see what I missed.)

I built v1.0b10 with QuickTime 4. While it uses no specific features requiring QuickTime 3 or 4, older versions than 4 are not guaranteed to work right.

I've added a Manual chapter concerning file export (now that I can do it). This is available from the documentation area of the web site.

I plan the 1.0b's as a (hopefully) last chance to shake out bugs before a v1.0 release. Let me know if you're seeing stability problems and I'll get them fixed!

All the licenses out there are good until at least v2.0. I intend to move PatchDance to an open source model, meaning that all or most of its inner workings will become publicly available; I will continue to provide prebuilt copies and support for the foreseeable future, and will not likely charge for updates unless the volume becomes unmanageable (no time soon.)

 

IMPORTANT NOTES:

The PatchDance web site has moved, to <http://www.patchdance.com>. The old site (America Online) will shortly be discontinued (I'm getting less than an email / month.) The new site should be faster and it offers a number of advantages, including a mailing list. That will let me more easily post announcements, as well as letting everyone else chat with each other. All it lacks is a digest mode: I'll work something out if the volume gets out of hand.

Inoperative features/limitations:

 

Known problems:

 

System requirements:

 

Installation:

 

System Notes - Additional information for System Requirements above.

- The program has been run successfully with a 3MB partition. Performance was drastically affected, and this is considered the bare minimum. Monitor the Free Memory readout closely under these conditions (see the Manual, under General Dialog.) Recovering safely from all possible out-of-memory problems is very hard to guarantee, and I don't (yet).

- As usual, avoid using Virtual Memory to make up for insufficient RAM. (Slow!!!)

- There are no proven extension or hardware conflicts: please report any that you discover or suspect.

- Antivirus software should have no effect on installation or operation. PatchDance does write to your System Folder (Preferences).

 

Registration / Tech Support: <patchdance@patchdance.com>

Latest information/releases: <http://www.patchdance.com/>.

You are encouraged to register (free! License keys are available by return email.) Feel free to look it over first and send along your comments / bug list. See Paying the Price for details; as promised, most features are fully enabled and the program is entirely usable except that there are file size limits when saving or pasting into other programs. A few other "comfort" features (such as default documents) are also limited to registered copies.

Tech Support is available via e-mail, direct from the programmer. Every effort will be made to reply promptly, but I cannot promise same day service (though I've done fairly well so far). Free support will be available to all for as long as possible; registered copies do get priority. Don't hesitate to ASK ME AGAIN if the answer seems slow.

Comments and suggestions are very welcome (provided that they minimize personal insults, etc.) We aim to please, and we are NOT too proud to make changes if they improve the product (but there are limits to what can be done!)

 

Upcoming Events

Boolean operations have proven to be by far the most difficult part of the program: the design spec calls for creating editable splines rather than (relatively easy) polygons. I fully realize how badly everyone wants this, and I'm doing the best I can.

 

Legal Stuff

PatchDance and all its documentation is copyright 1994-2003 by Paul Sexton. All rights reserved.

This application (in Demo form) is FREE. It may be given away freely; for mass distribution, please e-mail for permission and latest version information. Permission is automatic and condition-free EXCEPT:

- All copies must be complete with all documentation files and copyright notices, and there must be NO CHARGE beyond reasonable downloading / duplication fees.

- PLEASE make sure you have the latest version. We'll be glad to help.

Registered copies (with demo limits removed) are NOT distributable. License keys are free but need to be requested individually. (Unless you want to write a program this big by yourself.)

 

Change History (Recent, incomplete)

The oldest Change History entries have been deleted in the interest of saving space. The information is available on request.


Changes from v1.0b7 -> v1.0b9 -> v1.0b10*

Major (crashing) bugs fixed:

 

Minor bugs fixed:


Changes from v1.0b10 -> v1.0b11 -> v1.0b12*

Corrupt 3DMF files generated by older versions are probably unrepairable. If in doubt, attempt to open with SimpleText, etc (Extra memory may be required for large files.)

Major (crashing) bugs fixed:

Minor bugs fixed:

Status:

The following bugs have been reported. All 3 are from single users, and I cannot reproduce them on any hardware/System that I have. Any updates are welcome, as are new bug reports.

 


Changes from v1.0b12 -> v1.0b13

 

Major (crashing) bugs fixed:

 

Minor bugs fixed:


Changes from v1.0b14 -> v1.0b15

 

Major (crashing) bugs fixed:

-

Minor bugs fixed:

 

General

 


Changes from v1.0b15 -> v1.0b16

 

Major (crashing) bugs fixed:

 

Minor bugs fixed:

 

General


Changes from v1.0b16 -> v1.0b17

 

Major (crashing) bugs fixed:

 

Minor bugs fixed: