Twilight II press release
DigiSoft Innovations
Copyright (c) 1993 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
DigiSoft Innovations is proud to announce Twilight II (tm), the revolutionary new screen saver (blanker) control panel taking complete advantage of and designed exclusively for the Apple IIgs computer!
Prevent costly phosphor burn in from ruining your valuable monitor when the same image is left on screen for too long a time! Twilight II (a.k.a. T2) presents an elegant solution to this problem (similar to After Dark on the Macintosh) where the user can select from a variety of dazzling full color animation and special effect modules to be executed when no user interaction has taken place for a specified amount of time. Screen burn in is a real condition! It can happen to anyone, especially if the monitor is left on for extended periods of time. Let Twilight II protect your valuable system!
Twilight II is a control panel for use with Apple's Control Panel desk accessory on System Disk 6.0 or later. Twilight II takes full advantage of the new great features in the new System 6 and the marvelous capabilities of the Apple IIgs computer. Over two years in the making and written for optimal speed and performance, Twilight II clearly dwarfs the competition, feature wise!
Twilight II comes with over forty effects! Users will never need to purchase any additional effect module packages, because of the wide variety offered with every copy of Twilight II sold! (With more in the works!)
Some of the effects included are:
- 3-D fractal mountains
- rotated and scaled 3-D wireframe animation
- worms taking over the screen
- a trek through the universe
- plasma cloud generation
- several types of dissolves and static simulations
- dazzling color fireworks that rival all others
- snow (which can fall on the desktop!)
- "life" simulation
- modern art
- PaintWorks ($C2) animation player
- string art
- quotes and headlines
- melting screens
- drip drop (rain)
- L.E.D. message smoothly scrolls text across the screen in a large font
- bouncing fading clock, analog and digital bouncing clocks
- scaled and rotated lined polygon shapes
- voyage through subterranean tunnels
- several kaleidoscope type effects
- moire effects
- tile puzzle
- the YouDrawIt! module where YOU draw the animation with any GS paint program!
- and much more!
Plus, as an added bonus, also included are over twenty animations drawn in the past by users for use with the YouDrawIt! module. Their creations can be edited, or used to make something entirely new!
Utilizing the "random mode" feature unique to Twilight II on the Apple IIgs, one can also select a different module to be run each time the screen is blanked! Another unique feature allows the user to COMBINE the effects of modules!
The stunning full-color special effect Twilight II modules work with all GS/OS desktop based applications that follow Apple's guidelines. In addition, Twilight II will also turn the entire screen black for text screen based programs, such as the GS/OS version of America Online; ProDOS 8 programs like AppleWorks 3.0 and ProTerm 3; and programs such as Publish-It (that use the DHR, LGR, or HGR screens.) Twilight II will NOT hinder important operations such as copying, printing, or telecommunication. For AppleShare or AppleTalk networks, Twilight II is also fully multi-user network aware. Installation is easy and a comprehensive manual is included. Finally, for programmers, full documentation will soon be made available on how to write new screen saver modules! The possibilities are endless!
In designing Twilight II, compatibility has been stressed at every step. The Manager and Switch-It work with Twilight II, as do RamFast SCSI cards, and virtually all other software and hardware for the Apple IIgs computer. Twilight II has been designed to not slow you down or the way your computer operates. A very extensive beta testing period has resulted in a very stable and easy to use product!
Via the included Phantom module, Twilight II can also use the more limited Signature GS Phantasm effect format, for the ultimate in compatibility! (Users upgrading to Twilight II can take with them all their old Signature effects!)
Twilight II carries a suggested retail price of $39.95. Competive upgrades are available for existing owners of Signature GS and Desktop Enhancer. 100k of free memory minimum is required. Users with 1.125mb should be able to just scrape by on a stripped down system (with few or any inits and DAs and system sounds), but 1.5mb of RAM or more is recommended for optimal performance. On disk, Twilight II occupies anywhere from about 50k to 1.3mb (depending on which modules and animations are chosen to be installed.) A minimum of two 3.5" floppy drives or one floppy drive and a hard drive is required. System 6 is also needed. For those who don't yet have System 6, a copy can be provided.
Twilight II is a complete rewrite of Twilight I, the premiere modular Apple IIgs screen saver. The numerous problems and bugs in Twilight I are gone, and the two products should not be confused.
DigiSoft Innovations (formerly Digital Creations) was formed in 1992 to handle marketing and distribution of DYA (Digital Youth Alliance) products, Twilight II the first of which. The company is committed to supporting the Apple IIgs throughout the 90's. They're not content to sit back and watch products sell, issuing only bug fix updates or additional effect packages. Instead, user's suggestions, feedback, and feature requests are listened to and often incorporated into future versions. Twilight II is a product with a future -- a future that users have some say in!
Twilight II version 1.0 was originally released publicly in September at the Apple Expo East. Twilight II v1.1 started shipping in the middle of April 1993. Future updates are already on the drawing board for this fall/winter!
Ordering Information
Twilight II ships on two full 3.5" DSDD disks. It is currently available from Big Red Computer Club (402.379.4680) and Resource Central (913.469.6502). Competitive upgrades are only available direct, however. Upgrades from Desktop Enhancer and Signature GS (with the cover of their original manual) are available for the price of $24 plus $2 shipping and handling ($26 total). Twilight II is also available direct at the retail price of $39.95 (which includes shipping and handling within the U.S.). School purchase orders are accepted, and dealer inquiries are invited. Low cost site licensing is also available. Payment may be made with MasterCard or Visa, or by check or money order. More information is available upon request.
DigiSoft Innovations
P.O. Box 380
Trumbull, CT 06611-0380
Phone: (203) 375-0837 (evenings and afternoons best)
America Online: "DigiSoft", Delphi: "DYAJIM", GEnie: "DYA", Internet: "digisoft@aol.com"
All trademarks belong to their respective holders.

THIS CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2007, APPLE MACINTOSH USERS' GROUP, SYDNEY
Permission has been obtained to make this material available on the Internet.

Permission is hereby granted for non-profit user groups to republish this content.
PLEASE CREDIT THE AUTHOR AND THE SOURCE: Applecations, publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia

THIS PAGE COPYRIGHT © 2007, ANDREW ROUGHAN