/-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=\ | Brainstar 1: HardCore Software | \-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/ BRAINSTAR 1: Alpha version! Thank you for downloading Brainstar 1, by HardCore Software. This short document is meant to be a guide on how to work the software that it comes with, not as a definitive guide on light and sound devices, or a mind machine reference. the files that should have come with this package are: BRAINSTR.EXE ---> The executable Brainstar 1 program BRAINSTR.BAS ---> The source code for Brainstar 1 BRAINSTR.DOC ---> The document you're reading now 1..........Necessary Hardware You will need a computer (duh.) with preferably at least a 386 processor, 4 mb RAM, a colour monitor, a keyboard, and a brain-wave-machine. The latter is the most important item. For instructions on how to build one yourself very inexpensively, check out CYB0RG/ASM's excellent documents at: http://www.hackcanada.com Check out the Wetware Hacking section, and if you have time, read some of his other text files, they're quite good. 2..........Configuring your software After you have your brain-wave-machine built, you'll probably want to jump right into the fascinating world of wetware exploration, but you should first take a moment to configure Brainstar 1. First, run BRAINSTR.EXE. It will give you a start up screen. Press any key to get past it. Then push '4' to enter the options menu. If your parallel port address is anything other than 888 (in decimal), you should press '1', then type in your port address (in decimal), and press enter. You should decide if you want to use the PC speaker sound or not. I personally recommend against it. Find a good music CD that fits your mood, and play that instead. But, if you really want to try your speaker, press '2' to enable it, then press '3' and type in the frequency that you want. Note: The PC speaker actually throws the computers timer off for about 1/10 of a second! Normal and Reverse mode are in place because I've actually tested Brainstar on a few computers and surprisingly enough, on my NEC laptop the parallel port works in reverse of what most PC's do. If I send 255 it turns on all the LED's instead of turning them off! For most computers, however, normal mode should work fine. 3.................Setting patterns Patterns are simply which LED's flash when, and in what order. You can choose from one of the several preset patterns, or make your own. Press '1' from the main menu to get into the pattern menu. To choose a preset pattern, just press the button of the pattern you want, and go back to the main menu. To create a pattern of your own, simply press '1'. It will ask you how many frames you want. Frames work in order. The computer displays Frame 1, then 2, and so on, until it gets to the last one, and then it repeats. Ie: Flip Flop has 2 frames: Frame 1: * * 0 0 0 0 * * Frame 2: 0 0 * * * * 0 0 After you enter your amount of frames, you can use the +/- keys to change between frames, and the number keys 1 through 8 to activate and deactivate frames. Press 'x' to go back to the pattern menu. Press 5 to return to the main menu, and 3 to view your pattern, but we'll get into that later. You can also edit your pattern which works in a similar fashion. Saving/Loading you patterns: From the pattern menu, you can either select Save or Load pattern. After you have created/edited a pattern, simply select Save, then type in a filename, complete with path and extension. Example: c:\cooljunk\brainstr\flasher.pat You pattern will be saved onto disk. To load the pattern again, simply select Load pattern, and type the exact same thing. Your pattern will be loaded into memory. 4.................Setting Sessions Sessions are a pre scripted way to configure your viewing time so that for different periods of time you can have different hertz coming at you. You can choose one of the pre-selected sessions, or you can make your own. Just follow the instructions on the screen. After a sessions has been loaded, created, edited, etc., you exit the sessions menu, and press 3 at the main menu. The session will immediatly start, and will stop and inform you when the session is over. 5..................Action After you have set a pattern and (optional) a session, press '3' at the main menu, and your brain-wave-machine will immediatly start flashing. If you have created a session, your frequencies and time will have already been set up for you. If you haven't, simply use the left and right arrow keys to increase the speed that the LEDs flash at. The minutes and seconds elapsed are displayed. You can also use the up and down arrow keys to select which speed you want to use. All of them are adjustable, so you can switch between your own settings easily. 6..................Tips -You can also press 'x' at any menu to get to the previous menu. 7..................Contacting us HardCore Software is currently working on a website, but if you really want to find out more information, and get other GREAT downloads, go to www.bearcountry.cjb.net You can E-Mail the author of Brainstar 1 with any questions/comments at: fractal@crankjuice.cjb.net or god@bearcountry.cjb.net -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- \/\/\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-\/\/\/ /\/\/ Brainstar 1: HardCore Software /\/\/\ \/\/\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-\/\/\/ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- / The wave of the future... \ \<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>/