Son of Solid States

Okay, Solid States fans, hang onto your hats! This issue, we've got program modifications and 3-D objects galore from yours truly and ANALOG readers around the world. Let's get started, shall we?

Far out!

Our first object was sent in by Vinette DePhillipe, of Hampton, Virginia. It's called an "adjustable stop" and reminds me of my days back in good ol' Glendale High School. My general drafting teacher, Ernie Belden (and heaven help you if you ever called him Ernie), was always coming up with weird objects for us to draw, and we never could figure out what they were used for. Here is the data for the adjustable stop (ADJSTOP.DAT is available in ATASCII format):

Points: 58				Lines: 88
Point	X	Y	Z	Line	From	To	Line	From	To
1	-13	-12	-9	1	1	2	59	44	45
2	-13	-12	-5	2	2	3	60	45	46
3	-13	-14	-5	3	3	4	61	46	47
4	-13	-14	4	4	4	5	62	47	48
5	-13	-12	4	5	5	6	63	48	49
6	-13	-12	8	6	6	7	64	49	50
7	13	-12	8	7	7	8	65	50	51
8	13	-12	4	8	8	9	66	51	52
9	13	-14	4	9	9	10	67	52	53
10	13	-14	-5	10	10	11	68	53	54
11	13	-12	-5	11	11	12	69	55	54
12	13	-12	-9	12	12	1	70	55	56
13	-13	-3	-9	13	2	11	71	56	57
14	1	-3	-9	14	3	10	72	57	58
15	-1	-7	-9	15	4	9	73	58	43
16	8	-7	-9	16	5	8	74	28	44
17	6	-3	-9	17	6	7	75	29	45
18	13	-3	-9	18	1	13	76	30	46
19	-1	8.25	4	19	13	14	77	31	47
20	8	8.25	4	20	14	15	78	32	48
21	6	10	2	21	15	16	79	33	49
22	1	10	2	22	16	17	80	34	50
23	-13	10	2	23	17	18	81	35	51
24	-13	5	8	24	18	12	82	36	52
25	13	5	8	25	15	19	83	37	53
26	13	10	2	26	19	20	84	38	54
27	-6	-4	-9	27	20	21	85	39	55
28	-4.86	-4.23	-9	28	21	17	86	40	56
29	-3.88	-4.88	-9	29	20	16	87	41	57
30	-3.23	-5.86	-9	30	14	22	88	42	58
31	-3	-7	-9	31	19	22
32	-3.23	-8.14	-9	32	13	23
33	-3.88	-9.12	-9	33	23	24
34	-4.86	-9.77	-9	34	24	25
35	-6	-10	-9	35	25	26
36	-7.14	-9.77	-9	36	26	18
37	-8.12	-9.12	-9	37	26	21
38	-8.77	-8.14	-9	38	23	22
39	-9	-7	-9	39	24	6
40	-8.77	-5.86	-9	40	25	7
41	-8.12	-4.88	-9	41	27	28
42	-7.14	-4.23	-9	42	28	29
43	-6	-4	8	43	29	30
44	-4.86	-4.23	8	44	30	31
45	-3.88	-4.88	8	45	31	32
46	-3.23	-5.86	8	46	32	33
47	-3	-7	8	47	33	34
48	-3.23	-8.14	8	48	34	35
49	-3.88	-9.12	8	49	35	36
50	-4.86	-9.77	8	50	36	37
51	-6	-10	8	51	37	38
52	-7.14	-9.77	8	52	38	39
53	-8.12	-9.12	8	53	39	40
54	-8.77	-8.14	8	54	40	41
55	-9	-7	8	55	41	42
56	-8.77	-5.86	8	56	42	27
57	-8.12	-4.88	8	57	27	43
58	-7.14	-4.23	8	58	43	44

ADJUSTABLE STOP VIEW DATA:

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
  60,-60,40       0,0,0       1

This got me thinking about orthographic projection (the drawing of an object from three views without perspective) and how Solid States can simulate the process.

Solid States draws objects with true perspective. The closer you get to an object, the more exaggerated the perspective becomes. Theoretically, if you could look at an object from an infinite distance through a large telescope, you would see the object without the perspective distortion.

We can produce orthographic views with Solid States by placing our viewpoint very far from the object and using a large ZOOM factor. The orthographic views of the adjustable stop are shown below, along with the coordinate and ZOOM information.

TOP VIEW

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
  0,0,12000       0,0,0      132

FRONT VIEW

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
  0,12000,0       0,0,0      132

SIDE VIEW

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
  12000,0,0       0,0,0      132

Conversely, if we place our viewpoint very close to the object and use a very small ZOOM factor, we will see the object severely distorted by perspective. Try the following view with the adjustable stop, and you'll see what I mean.

ADJ STOP EXAGGERATED PERSPECTIVE

OBSERVER LOC.  LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------  ---------   ----
   15,0,0        0,0,0      .04

Those readers interested in mechanical drawing applications of Solid States should find this information very useful. Mr. Belden would be proud.

TIE one on

Robert Ashcraft of Amarillo, Texas, sent in the data for a TIE fighter, the famous Imperial draft from the Star Wars movies.

Here's the data for the TIE fighter (TIEFIGHT.DAT is available in ATASCII format):

Points: 84				Lines: 138
Point	X	Y	Z	Line	From	To	Line	From	To
1	5	-2	6	1	1	2	85	51	52
2	5	2	6	2	2	3	86	52	49
3	5	4	0	3	3	4	87	45	49
4	5	2	-6	4	4	5	88	46	50
5	5	-2	-6	5	5	6	89	47	51
6	5	-4	0	6	6	1	90	48	52
7	-5	-2	6	7	1	4	91	53	54
8	-5	2	6	8	2	5	92	54	55
9	-5	4	0	9	3	6	93	55	56
10	-5	2	-6	10	7	8	94	56	53
11	-5	-2	-6	11	8	9	95	57	58
12	-5	-4	0	12	9	10	96	58	59
13	-1	-2	1	13	10	11	97	59	60
14	1	-2	1	14	11	12	98	60	57
15	1	-2	-1	15	12	7	99	53	57
16	-1	-2	-1	16	7	10	100	54	58
17	-1	1	2	17	8	11	101	55	59
18	1	1	2	18	9	12	102	56	60
19	1	-1	2	19	13	20	103	61	62
20	-1	-1	2	20	20	17	104	62	63
21	-1	2	-1	21	17	24	105	63	64
22	1	2	-1	22	24	21	106	64	61
23	1	2	1	23	21	28	107	65	66
24	-1	2	1	24	28	25	108	66	67
25	-1	-1	-2	25	25	16	109	67	68
26	1	-1	-2	26	16	13	110	68	65
27	1	1	-2	27	14	19	111	61	65
28	-1	1	-2	28	19	18	112	62	66
29	-2	1	1	29	18	23	113	63	67
30	-2	-1	1	30	23	22	114	64	68
31	-2	-1	-1	31	22	27	115	69	70
32	-2	1	-1	32	27	26	116	70	71
33	2	1	-1	33	26	15	117	71	72
34	2	-1	-1	34	15	14	118	72	69
35	2	-1	1	35	13	14	119	73	74
36	2	1	1	36	14	35	120	74	75
37	2	0	1	37	35	36	121	75	76
38	2	1	0	38	36	23	122	76	73
39	2	0	-1	39	23	24	123	69	73
40	2	-1	0	40	24	29	124	70	74
41	3	0	1	41	29	30	125	71	75
42	3	1	0	42	30	13	126	72	76
43	3	0	-1	43	16	15	127	77	78
44	3	-1	0	44	15	34	128	78	79
45	-2	0	1	45	34	33	129	79	80
46	-2	1	0	46	33	22	130	80	77
47	-2	0	-1	47	22	21	131	81	82
48	-2	-1	0	48	21	32	132	82	83
49	-3	0	1	49	32	31	133	83	84
50	-3	1	0	50	31	16	134	84	81
51	-3	0	-1	51	17	18	135	77	81
52	-3	-1	0	52	18	36	136	78	82
53	3	0	0.67	53	36	33	137	79	83
54	3	0.67	0	54	33	27	138	80	84
55	3	0	-0.67	55	27	28
56	3	-0.67	0	56	28	32
57	4	0	0.67	57	32	29
58	4	0.67	0	58	29	17
59	4	0	-0.67	59	20	19
60	4	-0.67	0	60	19	35
61	-3	0	0.67	61	35	34
62	-3	0.67	0	62	34	26
63	-3	0	-0.67	63	26	25
64	-3	-0.67	0	64	25	31
65	-4	0	0.67	65	31	30
66	-4	0.67	0	66	30	20
67	-4	0	-0.67	67	37	38
68	-4	-0.67	0	68	38	39
69	4	0	0.33	69	39	40
70	4	0.33	0	70	40	37
71	4	0	-0.33	71	41	42
72	4	-0.33	0	72	42	43
73	5	0	0.33	73	43	44
74	5	0.33	0	74	44	41
75	5	0	-0.33	75	37	41
76	5	-0.33	0	76	38	42
77	-4	0	0.33	77	39	43
78	-4	0	-0.33	78	40	44
79	-4	0	-0.33	79	45	46
80	-4	-0.33	0	80	46	47
81	-5	0	0.33	81	47	48
82	-5	0.33	0	82	48	45
83	-5	0	-0.33	83	49	50
84	-5	-0.33	0	84	50	51

TIE FIGHTER VIEW DATA:

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
 100,173,50       0,0,0       6

Interestingly, a few days after receiving the TIE fighter, I got a letter from Jason Leigh, of Kowloon, Hong Kong. He sent in -- you guessed it -- a 3-D X-Wing fighter, the spacecraft used by the rebel forces in the Star Wars films!

Here's the X-Wing data (XWING.DAT is available in ATASCII format):

Points: 94				Lines: 161
Point	X	Y	Z	Line	From	To	Line	From	To
1	0	26	11	1	1	51	95	2	3
2	0	22	11	2	2	52	96	3	4
3	7	21	12	3	3	53	97	4	1
4	7	27	12	4	4	54	98	51	52
5	7	26	11	5	5	55	99	52	53
6	7	22	11	6	6	56	100	53	54
7	37	28	13	7	7	57	101	54	51
8	37	32	13	8	8	58	102	5	6
9	40	32	13	9	9	10	103	6	44
10	40	43	12	10	10	59	104	44	26
11	40	44	12	11	11	60	105	26	25
12	22	44	11	12	12	61	106	25	7
13	22	46	11	13	13	62	107	7	5
14	40	46	12	14	14	63	108	55	56
15	40	47	12	15	15	64	109	56	92
16	46	47	12	16	16	65	110	92	75
17	46	43	12	17	17	66	111	75	74
18	50	32	13	18	18	67	112	74	57
19	55	31	11	19	19	68	113	57	55
20	55	32	12	20	20	69	114	25	18
21	60	32	12	21	21	70	115	18	8
22	60	28	12	22	22	71	116	8	7
23	55	28	12	23	23	72	117	7	25
24	55	29	11	24	24	73	118	74	67
25	50	28	13	25	25	74	119	67	58
26	50	20	13	26	26	75	120	58	57
27	55	19	11	27	27	76	121	57	74
28	55	20	12	28	28	77	122	44	43
29	60	20	12	29	29	78	123	43	33
30	60	16	12	30	30	79	124	33	26
31	55	16	12	31	31	80	125	26	44
32	55	17	11	32	32	81	126	92	91
33	50	16	13	33	33	82	127	82	75
34	46	5	12	34	34	83	128	75	92
35	46	1	12	35	35	84	129	18	19
36	40	1	12	36	36	85	130	19	20
37	40	2	12	37	37	86	131	20	21
38	22	2	11	38	38	87	132	21	22
39	22	4	11	39	39	88	133	22	23
40	40	4	12	40	40	89	134	23	24
41	40	5	12	41	41	90	135	24	25
42	40	16	13	42	42	41	136	25	18
43	37	16	13	43	43	91	137	67	68
44	37	20	13	44	44	92	138	68	69
45	24	23	12	45	10	17	139	69	70
46	24	25	12	46	17	18	140	70	71
47	33	26	15	47	33	34	141	71	72
48	33	22	15	48	34	41	142	72	73
49	36	25	13	49	12	13	143	73	74
50	36	23	13	50	13	14	144	74	67
51	0	26	9	51	14	11	145	26	33
52	0	22	9	52	11	12	146	33	32
53	7	21	8	53	61	62	147	32	31
54	7	27	8	54	62	63	148	31	30
55	7	26	9	55	63	60	149	30	29
56	7	22	9	56	60	61	150	29	28
57	37	28	6	57	10	15	151	28	27
58	37	32	6	58	15	16	152	27	26
59	40	43	8	59	16	17	153	75	82
60	40	44	8	60	17	10	154	82	81
61	22	44	9	61	59	64	155	81	80
62	22	46	9	62	64	65	156	80	79
63	40	46	8	63	65	66	157	79	78
64	40	47	8	64	66	59	158	78	77
65	46	47	8	65	38	39	159	77	76
66	46	43	8	66	39	40	160	76	75
67	50	32	6	67	40	37	161	91	82
68	55	31	9	68	37	38
69	55	32	8	69	87	88
70	60	32	8	70	88	89
71	60	28	8	71	89	86
72	55	28	8	72	86	87
73	55	29	9	73	41	34
74	50	28	6	74	34	35
75	50	20	6	75	35	36
76	55	19	9	76	36	41
77	55	20	8	77	90	83
78	60	20	8	78	83	84
79	60	16	8	79	84	85
80	55	16	8	80	85	90
81	55	17	9	81	46	45
82	50	16	6	82	46	47
83	46	5	8	83	47	49
84	46	1	8	84	49	50
85	40	1	8	85	50	48
86	40	2	8	86	48	45
87	22	2	9	87	45	94
88	22	4	9	88	94	50
89	40	4	8	89	46	93
90	40	5	8	90	93	49
91	37	16	6	91	47	48
92	37	20	6	92	47	93
93	33	26	13	93	48	94
94	33	22	13	94	1	2

X-WING VIEW DATA:

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
   0,0,100       30,25,5     .7

Now you can stage your own space battles using Solid States and your Atari computer!

Atari self-portrait

Our last object this time out is an Atari 800 computer, generated by Robert Groves, of Columbus, Ohio. This graphic has a great deal of detail, and I cringe just thinking of all the time Robert must have spent getting it right.

Here's the data for the Atari 800 (ATARI800.DAT is available in ATASCII format):

Points: 112				Lines: 122
Point	X	Y	Z	Line	From	To	Line	From	To
1	4	3	1.5	1	1	2	113	107	108
2	4	-3	0	2	2	3	114	77	105
3	-4	-3	0	3	3	4	115	76	1
4	-4	3	1.5	4	4	1	116	106	4
5	-3	3	1.5	5	5	6	117	107	110
6	-3	0	1.5	6	6	7	118	101	102
7	-3.6	-0.5	0.9	7	7	8	119	103	102
8	-3.8	-2.8	0.3	8	8	9	120	3	99
9	3.8	-2.8	0.3	9	9	10	121	9	2
10	3.6	-0.5	0.9	10	10	11	122	70	2
11	3	0	1.5	11	11	12
12	3	3	1.5	12	6	6
13	2.8	3	1.5	13	6	11
14	2.8	1	1.5	14	7	10
15	2.8	0	1.5	15	13	15
16	-2.8	0	1.5	16	16	18
17	-2.8	1	1.5	17	14	17
18	-2.8	3	1.5	18	19	20
19	-2.8	-0.5	0.9	19	21	22
20	-0.6	-0.5	0.9	20	23	25
21	0.6	-0.5	0.9	21	25	27
22	2.8	-0.5	0.9	22	80	89
23	0.6	-0.4	1	23	24	26
24	-0.6	-0.4	1	24	26	28
25	0.6	-0.4	0.8	25	27	28
26	-0.6	-0.4	0.8	26	24	23
27	0.6	-0.6	0.8	27	29	30
28	-0.6	-0.6	0.8	28	31	32
29	-3	-0.8	1	29	31	35
30	2	-0.8	1	30	35	36
31	2.7	-0.8	1	31	36	32
32	3.2	-0.8	1	32	30	34
33	-3	-1	1	33	33	34
34	2	-1	1	34	33	29
35	2.7	-1	1	35	37	38
36	3.2	-1	1	36	38	42
37	-3	-1.1	0.9	37	42	41
38	2	-1.1	0.9	38	41	37
39	2.7	-1.1	0.9	39	39	40
40	3.2	-1.1	0.9	40	40	44
41	-3	-1.3	0.9	41	44	43
42	2	-1.3	0.9	42	43	39
43	2.7	-1.3	0.9	43	45	46
44	3.2	-1.3	0.9	44	47	48
45	-2.8	-1.4	0.8	45	48	49
46	1.8	-1.4	0.8	46	49	50
47	2.7	-1.4	0.8	47	50	47
48	3.2	-1.4	0.8	48	46	51
49	3.2	-1.6	0.8	49	51	52
50	2.7	-1.6	0.8	50	52	45
51	1.8	-1.6	0.8	51	53	54
52	-2.8	-1.6	0.8	52	55	56
53	-2.8	-1.7	0.7	53	56	57
54	1.8	-1.7	0.7	54	57	58
55	2.7	-1.7	0.7	55	58	55
56	3.2	-1.7	0.7	56	59	54
57	3.2	-1.9	0.7	57	59	60
58	2.7	-1.9	0.7	58	60	53
59	1.8	-1.9	0.7	59	61	62
60	-2.8	-1.9	0.7	60	63	64
61	-2.4	-2	0.6	61	64	65
62	1.4	-2	0.6	62	65	66
63	2.7	-2	0.5	63	66	63
64	3.2	-2	0.5	64	62	67
65	3.2	-2.2	0.5	65	67	68
66	2.7	-2.2	0.5	66	68	61
67	1.4	-2.2	0.6	67	73	76
68	-2.4	-2.2	0.6	68	71	72
69	0	0	0	69	72	74
70	4	-0.8	0	70	74	75
71	4	-0.8	0.2	71	75	71
72	4	2.7	0.2	72	77	82
73	4	2.7	0	73	3	8
74	3.9	2.7	-0.2	74	84	86
75	3.9	-0.8	-0.2	75	80	81
76	4	3	0	76	79	83
77	3.9	3	-0.3	77	84	85
78	3.9	3	-0.7	78	85	83
79	3.6	-0.4	-0.7	79	84	79
80	3.2	-2	-0.7	80	79	80
81	3.6	-2.5	-0.3	81	85	104
82	3.9	-2.8	-0.3	82	82	92
83	3.9	-0.4	-0.3	83	96	97
84	2.3	-0.4	-0.7	84	97	81
85	2.3	-0.4	-0.3	85	97	92
86	2.3	3	-0.7	86	92	87
87	1.7	-2.7	-0.7	87	92	93
88	-1.7	-2.7	-0.7	88	93	94
89	-3.2	-2	-0.7	89	94	91
90	-3.6	-2.5	-0.3	90	91	88
91	-2	-2.8	-0.3	91	88	87
92	2	-2.8	-0.3	92	88	95
93	2	-2.7	-0.1	93	95	98
94	-2	-2.7	-0.1	94	98	91
95	-1.7	-2.15	-0.7	95	91	99
96	1.7	-2.15	-0.7	96	90	89
97	1.7	-2.5	-0.3	97	90	98
98	-1.7	-2.5	-0.3	98	87	96
99	-3.9	-2.8	-0.3	99	3	106
100	-2	-2.7	-0.3	100	106	105
101	-2	-2.7	-0.1	101	107	108
102	2	-2.7	-0.1	102	2	82
103	2	-2.7	-0.3	103	108	109
104	2.3	3	-0.3	104	109	110
105	-3.9	3	-0.3	105	110	112
106	-4	3	0	106	112	111
107	-2.3	3	-0.3	107	111	109
108	-2.3	3	-0.7	108	111	89
109	-2.3	-0.4	-0.7	109	99	105
110	-2.3	-0.4	-0.3	110	77	76
111	-3.6	-0.4	-0.7	111	104	86
112	-3.9	-0.4	-0.3	112	86	108

800 VIEW DATA:

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
 -12,-12,12       0,0,0       1

800 TOP VIEW DATA:

OBSERVER LOC.   LOOKED AT   ZOOM
-------------   ---------   ----
  0,0,1500        0,0,0      100

Well, that just about does it for 3-D images this month. We received several others, some of which were just too large to print. If you've got a 3-D object you'd like to send, try to keep it under 250 points and lines total.

No more boo-boos

Vinette DePhillipe and Ted Talay, of Hampton, Virginia, submitted this short program modification which traps errors in the initial data entry process. This eliminates the annoyance of having to re-enter a whole object's data when an entry error is made.

SSMOD1.LST is available in ATASCII format.

270 FOR I=1 TO PS:? "POINT ";I
272 TRAP 272:INPUT Q1,Q2,Q3
274 X(I)=Q1:Y(I)=Q2:Z(I)=Q3:NEXT I
310 FOR I=1 TO LS:? :? "LINE ";I
312 ? "FROM POINT";:TRAP 312:INPUT Q1:
LN(I,0)=Q1
314 ? "  TO POINT";:TRAP 314:INPUT Q1:
LN(I,1)=Q1
316 NEXT I

Here's a quick modification I wrote to give Solid States users with the 1020 Plotter larger plots. It turns the output sideways, giving 6.25 x 3.75 inch plots. No special action is needed.

SSMOD2.LST is available in ATASCII format.

210 TRAP 190:CLOSE #3:OPEN #3,8,0,"P":
? #3;EG$;"*H*I*M0,-820*I":PC=0
860 IF O$="Y" THEN ? #3;"M0,0*D480,0*D
480,800*D0,800*D0,0"
1000 ? #3;"M";(191-Y1)*2.5;",";(319-X1
)*2.5;"*D";(191-YW)*2.5;",";(319-XW)*2
.5:PC=PC+1
1020 IF PC>0 THEN ? #3;"H*M0,-820*I":P
C=0

Printer output!

I've received quite a few letters from readers wanting hard-copy output on their Epson, Gemini 1OX and C.Itoh printers. You asked for it, and you've got it!

Here's the code for Epson-compatible printers (such as Gemini 1OX):

SSMOD3.LST is available in ATASCII format.

This BASIC listing uses an image to display special characters

And here's the code for C.Itoh printers:

SSMOD4.LST is available in ATASCII format.

After Solid States has completed the picture on the screen, you'll hear a short tone. Pressing OPTION will print the screen on your printer (the process takes about 2.5 minutes). It's as easy as that! If you don't want to print the screen, pressing START will return you to the coordinate entry point, just like the original version of the program.

If your printer isn't ready, the program will go back and wait for the START or OPTION keys again. Simply ready your printer and press OPTION to print the screen.

Remember, your printer must be equipped with graphics ability in order for the screen-print function to work.

Supply and demand

As long as I receive your 3-D object data and suggestions for modifications, we'll be running Solid States updates like this indefinitely.

One thing I'd like to do is equip Solid States with hidden-line removal, so the drawings won't be cluttered with lines that should be invisible. If you know of a good hidden-line removal algorithm, please let me know. I'm checking my resources, but, so far, I haven't found anything specific on the process. If you want to see your name in lights (well, at least, in the pages of ANALOG), send me anything you can find!

I'm also working on converting Solid States to a 100% machine language program for much faster operation. I'm going to wait until I find a hidden-line algorithm before I do this, though.

Keep those 3-D objects coming! Send them to:

Solid States
c/o ANALOG Computing
P.O. Box 23
Worcester, MA 01603

If you don't have the Solid States program, ANALOG issue 16 is still available as a back issue. See the ad elsewhere in this issue.