                              Sonic Fox Version 2.0

1)  Introduction

Sonic Fox will enable you to create sound effects for your soundblaster.
Also included is the program player.exe, which will allow you to play
Sonic Fox sound files (those files with the .sfo extension) right from
your command line.  

To start Sonic Fox, type     runme     from the DOS command line
(either directly in DOS if you are using good, old-fashioned MS-DOS,
or go to the DOS command line if you are using WIN95).  Sorry, Sonic  
Fox will NOT work in windows 3.x.

To hear a Sonic Fox sound file, use the DOS command line:
  
                 player filename.sfo

where filename is the name of a .sfo file.  For example, to hear the file  
midnight.sfo, type    player midnight.sfo      and enjoy!


2)  The Sound Envelope

Sonic Fox works in part by manipulating parts of the sound envelope.  The
sound envelope has four parts.  These parts are attack, decay, sustain, 
and release:


                   / \ Decay
                 /     \
               /         \ _ _ _Sustain _ _ _ _
      Attack /                                  \
           /                                      \ Release
         /                                          \
       /


By adjusting the elements of the sound envelope, one can generate sounds
that resemble musical instruments.  Also, if you can add the right kind of
distortions, practically anything that makes noise can me reproduced; from
pianos to pigs, the world of sound is at your fingertips!

3)  Sonic Fox Commands

Here is a description of the Sonic Fox Commands.



                       Main Menu Commands
                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
E Edit Sound Effect
   Brings you to the Edit Sound Effect Menu

P Play Sound Effect
   Play the current sound effect.  Useful to use before saving the sound
   effect.

V Change Voice Envelope
   Go to the Voice Setup Menu.  There are nine voice setup menus in the
   registered version of Sonic Fox; the shareware version has only one
   voice setup menu.

D Directory of Files.
   Review the *.sfo files in the current directory, or use it to check for
   files in any directory.

O Open File
   Retrieve a sound file.  Note: the shareware version can not load sound
   files generated from the registered version of Sonic Fox.

S Save file
   Save current sound effect.  If you do not add the .sfo extension, it will
   be added automatically.



                       Edit Sound Effect Menu
                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

D) Delete a Line
    Delete a sound effect line.

E) Edit a Line
    Edit a sound effect line.  From here, you can choose to play a voice,
    play a repeating voice, play a voice with variable frequency, add a
    delay, set up a block of commands, or turn off a voice.  

    These commands are straight-forward, and not too much will be said here.
    The best way to get familiar with setting up a sound effect is to play
    with it a little.  

    I will say one thing about the "Turn Off a Voice" command.  You may be
    asking, "Why the heck would I want to turn off a voice?".  Well, if 
    you play a voice that is not sustained, you will not hear it again if
    you play that voice again without first turning off the voice.  If you
    use "Play Voice X" multiple times (either in a separate line, or in a
    block), be sure to add a "Turn Off Voice X" command!!

P) Play the Sound Effect
    Review the sound effect.  Test the sound effect to be sure it is to
    your liking.




                       Voice Setup Menu
                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Here is where the nitty-gritty of setting your sounds is at!!  Again, the
best way to get the feel for using this menu is to play around with it for
a while.  The commands are straight-forward, and only a little explaination 
will be given here.  

Of first note is the modifications of cells 1 and two.  Simply, if you
manipulate cell 1, you are actually manipulating the modulator wave; 
manipulations to cell 2 affect the carrier wave.

Frequency and Octave:  Unit frequency values are from 0 to 255. Use Octave  
values 0-7 to multiply voice frequency units.                         

Feedback:  Introduce distortion levels 0-7 into your voice.

Attack Level:  Adjust the attack (0-63) of the sound envelope.

Decay Level:  Adjust the decay (0-63) of the sound envelope.

Sustain On/Off:  Continuous sustain on or off.

Sustain Level:  Adjust the sustain (0-15) of the sound envelope.

Release Level:  Adjust the release (0-63) of the sound envelope.

Voice Multiple:  Multiply the frequency of individual cells. Note: In
                 order to use this option, the OCTAVE of the voice 
                 must FIRST be set to "0".
                 
Voice Wave:  Modify the wave form of individual cells.  

Tremolo:  Cyclic change in amplitude of individual cells. 

Vibrato:  Cyclic change in pitch of individual cells.


With very little practice, you will be producing surprisingly wonderful
sound effects.  You may use sound files generated from this program and
the program player.exe in your own commercial programs as long as the
fee for your program does not exceed the price of the registered version
of Sonic Fox (currently, $5.00).






