Hammer and Anvil
Without much trouble, nonprogrammers can use
MediaForge
to build multimedia titles complete with buttons, hotspots, video clips, multiple scenes, and
formatted text. Savvy designers can even prototype titles by assembling media objects in the MediaForge List Editor. You build the title's basic design by dropping the media objects onto the Stage, a window that represents the final output screen. You place your objects on the Stage and arrange them as you want them to appear in the final title. From the Layout Palette, you can specify exact width and height measurements for an object as well as precise placement coordinates.
We sometimes found it confusing to work with layers in MediaForge. A title, for example, can contain up to 200 layers. Each object placed on the Stage gets a Z-Order, which represents the layer the object is on. This layering approach enables fine granularity as you develop complex titles with multiple overlapping objects, but there were times when we longed for simple layering controls such as Send to Back or Bring Forward.
Private Properties
Each object in a project is defined by a set of object
properties. By double-clicking on objects on the Stage or in the List Editor, you launch a tabbed Object Properties dialog box. Here you can enrich the objects with color, bit-map images, path-based motion, and a wide assortment of special effects (e.g., wipes, fades, blinds, and curtains). From the Properties dialog you can also assign actions to a selected object by specifying what event (such as a left mouse button click) triggers the action and by selecting the action itself from a pull-down list. Through the options you pick in the property sheets, your objects become interactive.
The MediaForge toolbar lets you draw objects on the Stage or place new objects in the List Editor. The tools let you quickly customize rich text objects, load video files and select start and end frames, specify tracks from a music CD, or draw rectangles and other shapes. The hotspot tool creates transparent shapes that trigger actions when someone clicks on the area. You start with a diamond-shaped hotspot and four con
trol points. By editing the shape with the existing control points, or by adding new control points for finer control, you can mold a hotspot into most any shape you need.
The Development Forge
For serious development, MediaForge combines powerful visual tools, utilities for creating custom dialog boxes and recording scripts, and an embedded programming language. The Data Entry tool creates forms on the Stage for accepting user input. The Properties dialog offers options for creating an input mask, specifying low and high validation values, and naming variables for storing the input.
You can quickly create Windows-style menus with the Menu Editor. From the Properties dialog, you simply type in the text you want to appear on the menu and associate these menu entries with actions. The Menu Editor can generate submenus, pull-down lists, and menu pop-ups. Unfortunately, a menu will not adjust its size to fit on the playback screen, so you'll need to keep that limitation in
mind as you design menus.
Game developers will appreciate the Forge's sprite tools. Sprites are animated images that follow a predefined path or respond to directional input by the user. Sprites are challenging because they usually require multiple image frames to make the character's appearance match its direction of movement.
In addition to having a Sprite Import Wizard, MediaForge supports sprite configuration through a properties dialog. The dialog graphically displays eight directional movements. You can select each direction and associate a series of sprite frames to it. When the rendered sprite moves in a particular direction, the frames for that direction are activated. You can also designate a frame to display when no direction is chosen after a specified amount of time.
Beyond the Media Basics
For more stringent development needs, you can access the Forge's scripting language, MediaBasic, to process variables and strings, call subroutines and external s
cripts, and control the MediaForge environment programmatically. The MediaBasic Script Recorder tracks the actions and events you perform while working with other Windows applications. The recorder then converts the recorded actions and events into MediaBasic code. You can then incorporate these generated scripts into your application to control external programs or the Windows 95 interface. The MediaBasic Dialog Editor lets you generate custom dialog boxes for your scripts. You can visually design dialogs and specify push buttons, checkboxes, list boxes, combo boxes, text, and drop-downs. You can even capture a dialog box from an external application and edit it for your needs.
A DLL properties box lets you call procedures from DLLs. A drop-down list displays all the procedures available in the specified DLL and, from a second drop-down, you set parameters. MediaForge also supports OLE Custom Controls. You can create your own OLE control objects or incorporate third-party controls into your applicatio
ns.
The program's 32-bit engine takes advantage of Windows 95's preemptive threading and the new memory model. When a script is launched, it automatically spawns its own thread. Other scripts and their associated objects can run simultaneously in multiple threads. You can control threads with commands such as Halt This Script's Thread.
Some OLE Controls may not work properly because of MediaForge's sophisticated use of threads. Many current OLE controls do not contain the threading model information required to properly handle multithreading. The documentation explains how to update the control's CLSID information with the Window's registry editor. You then include a REG file for each custom control that you ship with your application.
Strata plans to ship a Web player for MediaForge scripts, much like the Shockwave player for scripts created in Macromedia Director. It is a key architectural component in today's market, but it was not ready during our testing period.
MediaForge tap
s the rich multimedia capabilities and 32-bit architecture of Windows 95. Sometimes the sheer complexity and flexibility can be intimidating, but Strata has done a commendable job of striking a balance between power and ease of use. MediaForge is a formidable authoring tool for the new-media generation.
Product Information
MediaForge 2.0 for Windows 95...............$1495
Strata Inc.
St. George, UT
Phone: (801) 628-5218
Fax: (801) 628-9756
Internet:
http://www.strata3d.com
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Forging a New Medium
