This is the latest version of the highly rated Kandinsky. Very little is different over the previous version - a few bug fixes and minor changes.The package is extremely well programmed and caters for most screen resolutions and operating systems. It offers a very large number of options from the basic line drawing, to more advanced distortion effects.
Falcon, TT and graphics card users also have the option to colour each picture element seperately. Kandinsky supports outline fonts such as those provided by SpeedoGDOS and NVDI as well as the BGI format.
The font selector enables access to text of any size, and various attributes can be assigned. Text can be placed at any angle and aligned in various ways.
The interface is extremely well designed, almost all options are easily accessible and the icons are clear.
Documentation is supplied in both ASCII and ST Guide format, and is clearly written.
Drawing pictures is relatively easy, a number of predefined shapes can be used or you can design your own. It is also possible to import GEM IMG files into your pictures.
The unregistered version is restricted to loading and saving GEM Vector files, registering enables access to various other formats including Calamus CVG. The registered version also allows access to the rotation and zoom options.
It is possible to zoom in and out in the unregistered version, but the way in which it is done is slightly inconvenient.
Most drawing options are available from the tool bar (right), and double clicking on some icons gives you access to others.
The programs main problem is in its speed. Owners of basic 8Mhz ST's may become irritated - Using NVDI certainly helps to speed things up to usable levels. Mega STE (16Mhz), Falcon and TT owners will however have no problems. ST's fitted with a Blitter chip will also seem faster.
This is a very professional program, and shows a lot of skill in programming for all Atari computers. It is certainly the best package for manipulating Vector images on the Atari platform, and offers many options over and above most other packages.
We use Kandinsky for the creation of some of the titles in the Newsletter by converting the GEM vector graphics into GIF bitmaps in Gemview. The text manipulation options make this an ideal package for such things.
Kandinsky is supported in the UK by Joe Connor of InterActive, and is a prime example of the quality of the Shareware supported by the organisation.
Product: Kandinsky 2.03e Current Status: Shareware Author: Ulrich RoBgoderer UK Support: InterActive Address: Joe Connor, 65 Mill Rd, Colchester, CO4 5LJ
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