★ APPLICATIONS ★ CREATION GRAPHIQUE ★ The Landscape Utility|Amstrad Action) ★ |
| The Landscape Utility | Applications Creation Graphique |
Have you ever wished your Amstrad could create scenic landscapes automatically? Well, here is the answer. Landscape after landscape, based on the magnificent scenery of Scotland, will appear before your eyes. The Landscape Utility will nevercreate two identical scenes. Never? Well, hardly ever: the chances are 109-to-1 against it. Well over 1.000,000,000 different pictures are possible. This is due to the program's ability to produce designs 'spontaneously' by making extensive use of probability functions. The program draws these pictures using the multicoloured mode (Mode 0). As many as 16 shades show at any time. Many of the scenes include mountains or hills of varying shapes and sizes. And where there are mountains, there are very often lakes. Often the sky is reflected into these lakes, giving very realistic results. Before the program starts creating, you are given the option of saving the final scene to disk or cassette. This avoids messages appearing later on the screen like a hoarding ruining the landscape. When a design has been completed the program waits for you to press a key. At this point you can file, or you can alter the colouring on the screen, producing odd effects and some very alien-looking landscapes. Another possibility is a 'slide-show', which will just keep churning out picture after picture until you either violently thump the computer or whisk yourself off to the nearest natural beauty spot to refresh your videoed eyes. It is a pity that the user could not have contributed more to the shape of the landscape. For example, the ability to define where on the picture a castle or lake would appear would not have gone amiss. Initially all the scenes are lovely to look at, but what then? Sure, you can save them to disc or tape and then modify them somewhat with Art Studio or one of the many other art packages. It may even be possible to include some images within an adventure program. However, I'm certain that as a utility it is of very limited use. Perhaps you could dump every picture to your printer and then wallpaper the room. Now there's a thought!
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