The Wayback Machine -
https://web.archive.org/web/20090409112451/http://www.msen.com:80/~crandall/fkiss.html

KiSS .cnf layout, FKiSS/FKiSS2 command reference, and various PlayFKiSS
notes.

  * written by Chad Randall crandall@msen.com
    <https://web.archive.org/web/20090409112451/http://www.msen.com/~crandall/email.html>

  * Last updated, December 31, 1997

 

Terminology

 

Action

See Command

Cel

A graphical image where any pixel using color 0 is transparent. The
basic building blocks for a KiSS set. Cels are identified by name. When
issuing FKiSS events and commands, there should never be more than one
cel per KiSS set with the same name. Such instances are undefined and
undesired results may occur.

Cherry Kiss (ckiss)

A recent cel format allowing 24 and 32 bit color. This includes an alpha
channel for variable transparency. This format requires quite a bit of
memory and horsepower. But as computers get faster and cheaper, this may
become more widespread. PlayKis s for Acorn, WKiss32, and KissLD are the
only viewers capable of ckiss right now. The next release of PlayFKiSS
*will* have ckiss support. Internally, pfks072 can already handle it.

Command

A keyword that issues changes or activates something else.

Fix

A numerical value ranging from 0 up to 32000, applied to an object. An
object may not be moved by the user unless the fix value is equal to
zero. Any time the user clicks on the object, it's fix value is reduced
by one.

FKiSS

An addition to the KiSS format that allows more user interactivity.
FKiSS comprises events, commands, and the newer flags. Most FKiSS
innovations come from the Japanese side of the Pacific.

FKiSS2

Extra commands and features developed by Chad Randall and John Stiles.
Included are object collision detection and relative movement.

FKiSS2.1

Even more commands, including "if" conditional timers and random movement.

Flags

A recent FKiSS addition that allows the set creator to set certain
states without requiring a command entry. An example is the ;%t128
portion of a cel definition line.

Event

A keyword specifying a group of commands that will be executed when a
specific condition occurs.

Object

A group of cels. This is a convenient way to issue commands and events
to a bunch of cels, such as an item of clothing. Such item can contain
one cel for the foreground, one for the inside, one for the sleeve, etc.
Objects are usually proceeded by an " #".

Palette

A number of colors consisting at the minimum of 16 pens up to 256 pens.
There can also be up to 10 palette groups per palette. The maximum
number of pens that can be specified is 256*10 or 2560.

Set

The group of cels displayed at any one time. There can be up to 10 sets
per KiSS set.

 

 

Format of the .cnf file

The sample layout of a .cnf file follows:

|

;comments

%palette1.kcf

%palette2.kcf

(640,480) ; Environment size

[0 ; border color

;more comments

#3 fog.cel *1 :0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ;%t128 transparent fog

#0.10 dress.cel *0 :0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ; lady's dress

#1.32000 body.cel *0 :0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ; lady

#0.10 dress_.cel *0 :0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ; back of lady's dress

;even more comments

;@EventHandler()

;@initalize()

;@ unmap("fog.cel")

;some more comments

$0 120,50 220,150 65,65

$1 120,50 220,150 65,65

';end of file

|

 

 

Now to break down each line and explain what all those symbols mean.

 

|

%palette1.kcf

|
||
||

This indicates a palette file. There may be up to 256 pens per KiSS set.
There may be up to 16 palette files if each holds 16 pens. Any pens over
256 are ignored. Also, each palette file can hold up to 10 groups of
pens, for a total of 2560 pens. These lines are required! There is no
default pen set defined.

This line maybe omitted in Cherry Kiss files. Since 24/32 bit graphics
define their own palettes, there is no requirement for a palette. If you
intend to mix ckiss and kiss/gs cels, this line will still be required.

|

(640,480)

|
||
||

This specifies the playfield size. If this line is omitted, it will
default to 448 x 320.

|

[0

|
||
||

This is the border color, as a pen number. Some programs will ignore
this value. Other programs such as DOS based ones will fill the area
around the playfield with this color. It will default to 0 if omitted.

 

|

#0 dress.cel *0 :0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ;%t128 ;comment

|

This is broken down farther:

|

#0.10

|
||
||

The object number this individual cel is grouped with. The number
following the "." is the fix value of the related object. This value is
optional and will default to 0.

|

dress.cel

|
||
||

The name of the cel. While this can be any name you want, there is a
certain convention to follow if you plan on distributing the file. Keep
filenames compliant to the 8.3 filename MS-DOS naming restriction. Also
use lowercase lette rs to conform under case-sensitive systems such as UNIX.

|

*0

|
||
||

This indicates the offset into the palette pen group. This only applies
to those cels with 16 colors. 256 color cels will default to offset 0.

|

:0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

|
||
||

This section specifies which set groups the cel is visible in. A cel
will default to all groups if this section is omitted.

|

;%t128

|
||
||

This indicates the cel's transparent value. Any number from 0 to 255 may
be used, with 0 as opaque and 255 completely invisible. This setting is
not used by older KiSS viewers, so be aware of Yours truly, target
audience. See also t ransparent()

* I intend to allow other letters here in future releases of PlayFKiSS.
Such actions as lighten, darken, additive, subtractive, displacement,
XOR, AND, OR, and other graphics mixing operators. This will allow the
end user to recreate many PhotoShop l ayering features.

 

Even further down we find:

|

;@EventHandler

;@initalize()

;@ unmap("fog.cel")

|

 

This is a section of FKiSS code. The ";@" symbols always indicate FKiSS
commands are on that line. EventHandler is a *case-sensitive* flag that
starts the FKiSS section of code. Likewise, all commands and events
*must* *be* in *lowerca se* to be properly recognized by most FKiSS
parsers. A complete list of FKiSS and FKiSS2 commands follow at the end
of this document.

 

|

$0 120,50 220,150 65,65

$1 120,50 220,150 65,65

|
||
||

This line basically says that for set 0, use palette group 0. Place
object 0 at 120 x 50, object 1 at 220 x 150, and object 2 at 65 x 65.
Likewise, set 1 is identical except that palette group 1 is used. Don't
attempt to edit these values by hand. Most any KiSS viewer program will
save these for you. You can cut and paste them from a temporary .cnf
file into your master .cnf file if you don't wish to loose other
information such as comments.

 

 

Standard FKiSS/FKiSS2 Events

 

alarm(number)

Triggered when a timer reaches zero. Note: Most viewer programs will
only accept timer numbers from 0 up to 64. The newer FKiSS2 proposal
will allow from 0 up to 511.

apart("celname.cel", "celname2.cel")

Triggered when cel1 no longer touches cel2, but only if they touching
before the move. A touch consists of non-transparent pixels that
overlap. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 event and is not generally
supported by other viewers.*

**

**

begin()

Triggered after the first screen is activated. This is a good place to
start the animations using timer()

catch(#object) / catch("celname.cel")

Triggered when the user "grabs" an object or cel, and the fix value is
at zero (movable).

col(number)

Similar to set(), but triggered when the palette group is changed. Note:
col is probably short for color.

collide("celname.cel", "celname2.cel")

Triggered when cel1 touches cel2, but only if they were not touching
before the move. A touch consists of non-transparent pixels that
overlap. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 event and is not generally
supported by other viewers.*

**

**

drop(#object) / catch("celname.cel")

Triggered when the user "drops" an object or cel, and the fix value is
at zero (movable).

end()

Triggered when the user closes the KiSS set. This is a good place to
play or display any farewell messages.

fixcatch(#object) / fixcatch("celname.cel")

Similar to catch(), but only triggered when the object is fixed in place.

fixdrop(#object) / catch("celname.cel")

Similar to drop(), but only triggered when the object is fixed in place.

in(#object1,#object2)

Triggered when one object's bounding boxes overlap another. The bounding
boxes are formed by adding all the visible and mapped cels's rectangles
to form a geometric shape. It is *not* the total rectangle size, but
rather a combination of individua l rectangles. This event only occurs
when 2 objects are apart and are then moved together. *Note: This is a
proposed FKiSS2 event and is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

initialize()

Triggered commands before any visual information is displayed. This is a
good place to unmap cels.

never()

This is *never* triggered. It is a good place to hide code you don't
wish to run. Note: You can precede FKiSS2 code with this event to hide
it from older FKiSS viewers.

out(#object1,#object2)

Similar to in(), but triggered when 2 objects are moved apart. *Note:
This is a proposed FKiSS2 event and is not generally supported by other
viewers.*

**

**

press(#object) / fixcatch("celname.cel")

Similar to catch(), but triggered regardless of the fix value.

release(#object) / fixcatch("celname.cel")

Similar to drop(), but triggered regardless of the fix value.

set(number)

Triggered when the user or changeset() command changes the current set.

stillin(#object1,#object2)

Triggered when one object's bounding boxes overlap another. The bounding
boxes are formed by adding all the visible and mapped cels's rectangles
to form a geometric shape. It is *not* the total rectangle size, but
rather a combination of individua l rectangles. Unlike in(), this event
occurs whenever the object is moved and "touches" the second object,
regardless of the initial states. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2 event
and is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

stillout(#object1,#object2)

Similar to stillin(), but triggered when 2 objects are moved apart.
*Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2 event and is not generally supported by
other viewers.*

**

**

unfix(#object)

Triggered when the fix value reaches zero.

version(set_version_number)

Triggered when the current viewer version is equal or greater than the
FKiSS command/event version number. This can be used to inform the user
that the KiSS set uses commands that are unsupported by the viewer. See
the extended notes at the bottom of t his file for an effective example
on the usage of this event. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2 event and
is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

 

Standard FKiSS/FKiSS2 Commands

altmap(#object) / altmap("celname.cel")

Turns any mapped cels to unmapped and vice-versa.

changecol(palette)

Forces another palette group to become the active one.

changeset(set)

Forces another set to become the active one.

debug("messagestring")

Displays a message. Each viewer may have a different method to display
debug information.

iffixed(#obj, timer, value)

Sets timer if the object specified by #obj is fixed (fix value is
greater than zero). *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 event and is not
generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

ifmapped("cel", timer, value)

Sets timer if the cel specified by "cel" is mapped. *Note: This is a
proposed FKiSS2.1 event and is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

ifmoved (#obj, timer, value)

Sets timer if the object specified by #obj has been moved. An object is
defined as moved if it's coordinates are not equal to the coordinates
specified in the .CNF file. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 event and
is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

ifnotfixed(#obj, timer, value)

Sets timer if the object specified by #obj is not fixed (fix value is
equal to zero). *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 event and is not
generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

ifnotmapped("cel", timer, value)

Sets timer if the cel specified by "cel" is not mapped. *Note: This is a
proposed FKiSS2.1 event and is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

ifnotmoved (#obj, timer, value)

Sets timer if the object specified by #obj has not been moved. An object
is defined as moved if it's coordinates are not equal to the coordinates
specified in the .CNF file. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 event and
is not generally supported by o ther viewers.*

**

**

map(#object) / map("celname.cel")

Maps all cels.

move(#object,offsetx,offsety)

Moves an object using the offsets specified. Note: PlayFKiSS will never
move an object off-screen, even when "Enforce Boundaries" is turned off.

movebyx(#object,#object,offsetx)

Moves an object using the offset from another object.*Note: This is a
proposed FKiSS2 command, and is not generally supported by other viewers*.

movebyy(#object,#object,offsetx)

Moves an object using the offset from another object. *Note: This is a
proposed FKiSS2 command, and is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

moverandx(#object,min,max)

Moves an object using random values. The new coordinate is relative,
based on the min and max values. Ex: If min is -1 and max is 1, the new
location may be either 1 pixel less, one pixel more, or the same
location.*Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 command, and is not
generally supported by other viewers*.

moverandy(#object,min,max)

Moves an object using random values. The new coordinate is relative,
based on the min and max values. Ex: If min is -1 and max is 1, the new
location may be either 1 pixel less, one pixel more, or the same
location.*Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 command, and is not
generally supported by other viewers*.

moveto(#object,x,y)

Moves an object to the absolute coordinates specified. Note: PlayFKiSS
will never move an object off-screen, even when "Enforce Boundaries" is
turned off. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2 command, and is not
generally supported by other viewers.*

*< /DIR> *

**

movetorand(#object)

Moves an object to random coordinates. Note: PlayFKiSS will never move
an object off-screen, even when "Enforce Boundaries" is turned off.
*Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2.1 command, and is not generally
supported by other viewers.*

**

**

 

music ("filename.mid")

Plays a MIDI song. *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2 command, and is not
generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

nop()

Does nothing. NOP is short for "No Operation" in assembly language.

notify("message string")

Currently a synonym for debug() *Note: This is a proposed FKiSS2
command, and is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

**

quit()

Forces the viewer to exit. Note: PlayFKiSS retains this command when
saving, but will not quit when issued.

randomtimer(number,minimum,maximum)

Sets a timer based on a random number.

setfix(#object,fixval)

Manually sets the fix val for the object. If the value is 0, any unfix()
events linked to this object will be triggered. *Note: This is a
proposed FKiSS2.1 command, and is not generally supported by other viewers.*

**

 

sound("filename.wav") / sound("filename.au")

Plays a sound. Not all viewers support .au format and vice-versa. If
possible, include 2 versions of your .cnf file and convert all sounds to
both formats.

timer(number,duration)

Starts a timer, using duration microseconds for the countdown. Setting a
timer that is already active will reset to the duration value. Setting a
timer to 0 will effectively turn it off. A microsecond is 1/100 of a
second; A timer set to 100 microsecon ds will trigger an alarm 1 second
later. Note: PlayFKiSS has a scale of 10 microseconds between each alarm
event, and will only visually update the screen every 100 microseconds.

transparent(#object, reloffset) / transparent("celname.cel", reloffset)

Sets the transparency level of the cels/object. reloffset is the value
to add to the current transparency level. The maximum range is from 0
(totally opaque) up to 255 (totally transparent). Note: This command is
fairly recent and is not supported by a ll FKiSS viewers. Also, some
viewers show cels dithered and other's change to true-color mode (16
million colors).

unmap(#object) / unmap("celname.cel")

First case, unmaps all cels belonging to object "#object". Second case
unmaps a specific

viewport(x,y)

Changes the viewport offset. Note: PlayFKiSS ignores this command, but
will retain it when saving.

windowsize(x,y)

Changes the window size. Note: PlayFKiSS ignores this command, but will
retain it when saving.

 

Extended FKiSS2 information

The commands and events marked as FKiSS2 and FKiSS2.1 are, at present,
only supported by PlayFKiSS for Win95/NT4 and PlayKiss for Acorn. French
KiSS has FKiSS2 support, minus music() and all transparency related
stuff. WKiss32g s upports a subset of FKiSS2 including (but not limited
to) music(), in(), out(), movebyx(), movebyy(), collide(), apart(),
movetorand(), and moveto(). KissLD7x also supports a few FKiSS2
commands. If you would like to see more FKiSS2 commands, and/or set s,
spread the word. Ask your favorite KiSS programmer to implement the
commands. Ask your favorite artist to either insert FKiSS2 commands, or
create an enhanced .cnf file. Only the support of users will determine
the outcome of the entire KiSS project.

 

To use the version() event, code your EventHandler as follows:

 

|

;@EventHandler

;@nothing() ; This tricks older viewers into ignoring the next 2 lines.

;@version(2) ; If the viewer supports FKiSS2,

; ; revision 2, run the following commands.

;@ unmap("warning.cel")

; ; warning.cel is a huge poster saying

; ; "You need a FKiSS2 viewer to play this set."

;@begin()

;; If this warning is only a warning (maybe the set will still work
without FKiSS2), you could allow the user to dismiss the warning by
clicking on it:

;@release("warning.cel")

;@ unmap("warning.cel")

|

 

FKiSS3 specs
<https://web.archive.org/web/20090409112451/http://www.msen.com/~crandall/fkiss3.html>

