Hollywood 3: Evolution out now

[softwarefailure]

Airsoft Softwair are proud to annouce the immediate availability of Hollywood 3: Evolution.
This is a major update which brings along many new features and general improvements over Hollywood 2.5. The most important new feature is that Hollywood can now compile native executables for Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS. Yes, that's right. You can now save your Hollywood projects as fully stand-alone programs for Windows and Mac OS!

This is made possible by the new HAL (Hollywood Abstraction Layer) introduced in Hollywood 3. And thanks to Hollywood's cross-compiler, you do not even need to have these operating systems running. You can cross-compile Mac OS and Windows binaries from every system that Hollywood runs on. This makes it possible to create full-blown Mac OS or Windows applications from your AmigaOS 3, AmigaOS 4, MorphOS, AROS, or WarpOS installation of Hollywood. The Mac OS and Windows applications created by Hollywood are completely stand-alone and do not need any additional libraries. They use the OS API directly, thus giving you the best speed possible without any overhead. They
will work on any system that runs at least Windows 2000 or Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger).

Furthermore, the Mac OS and Windows versions use Hollywood's new ACL (Amiga Compatibility Layer). This means that they can handle many Amiga file formats like IFF ILBM, IFF ANIM, IFF 8SVX, IFF 16SV, Protracker modules and Amiga bitmap fonts.
Thus, your scripts will run straight out of the box on Windows and Mac OS because Hollywood can open all these Amiga specific formats.

Besides these huge two new features Hollywood 3 has several other cool new features.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of new features in Hollywood 3:

- Hollywood can compile Mac OS X programs now!
- Hollywood can compile Windows programs now!
- Switch between fullscreen and window via hotkey
- Iconify Hollywood scripts to the Workbench
- All Hollywood scripts are commodities now (controllable via Exchange)
- Improved sound library
- Cool new features in the DOS library
- New animation library: animation.datatype no longer necessary
- Direct access to the command line arguments
- More flexible control over Hollywood's appearance
- General code optimization and clean-up
- Support for new sound streaming formats
- Support for HAM6 and HAM8 animations
- Eight new example scripts (over 50 in total)
- Standard library set encompasses over 400 functions now!
- Lots of other changes, optimizations and bug fixes

Hollywood 3: Evolution is Airsoft Softwair's ultimate Multimedia experience and a must-have for every Amiga user who wants to use the full power that is in his machine.
Hollywood is available on a CD-ROM and as a download version. If you order the download version, you will have to download an ISO image which you need to burn on CD-R then. If you already own Hollywood, you can buy a discounted upgrade version. Please visit the Airsoft Softwair homepage for screenshots of Hollywood 3 in action (you can see screenshots of it running on Mac OS X and WinXP).      
      
Hollywood is the ultimate bridge between all the different AmigaOS compatible platforms and the other two modern desktop systems, Windows and Mac OS!
With Hollywood, you can save programs for all those platforms. You do not have to have AmigaOS4 or AROS, you can save programs for these platforms also from your AmigaOS3 installation! You do not need to have Mac OS X, you can still compile your programs for it using your AmigaOS or MorphOS installation.
Only Hollywood makes it possible. If you want to learn more about Hollywood, please visit the Hollywood product information page which also contains a full feature list of Hollywood.

All this makes Hollywood The Cross-Platform Multimedia Application Layer.
Join the Multimedia revolution and get your personal copy of Hollywood 3: Evolution now!

[spihunter]

OK, Let me see if I have this straight. If I make a multimedia project on my 68k Amiga with Hollywood I can then save it as a Windows/Mac executable that can be run on these platforms without Hollywood?

[softwarefailure]

Exactly!

[spihunter]

@softwarefailure,

This might be just the thing I've been looking for?
I was thinking of using Flash and an autorun script on my next audio CD. So when people put my cd in there PC or Mac they would be presented with a cool animation intro.

Maybe I could use this instead so they wouldnt need to have Flash installed?

[softwarefailure]

@spihunter:
Sure, that should be possible without problems. Hollywood does not need any additional installations like Flash. Just copy the EXE generated by Hollywood to Windows or Mac OS and start. It's really that easy!

[Flashlab]

Just for completeness sake; Flash can also build executables.

But Hollwood sure sounds like an impressive program!

[spihunter]

@Flashlab,

I could try both and see which one was faster, better?.

Hollywood might have a better interface? I dont know , I'll have to try it. Also, its nice that this supports Amiga specific formats so I can use old school stuff to make it look "retro". Maybe get permission to use a demo & a MOD?

@softwarefaliure,

To bad you guys dont have a demo?. I'll have to read up on it a bit more. You might have a new customer!

[softwarefailure]

Well, Flash is a big blown-up application written by an armada of full time programmers. Hollywood is an application by a hopeless Amiga afficionado and totally old school so it has all these cool features that Amiga users will just love, e.g. IFF ANIM and Protracker support and all this retro stuff. It's just a whole lot of fun to work with Hollywood, believe me, you won't regret it if you choose Hollywood. I never got any negative feedback about Hollywood.... that's the truth!

[spihunter]

@softwarefailure,

I would much rather support you then flash! this is really an amazing piece of software. Soon as my Mediator board arrives and is up and running I will be ordering this.

I understand about your stance on the demo version!. as I've seen elsewhere though, maybe you should let folks see the manual first? Dont see any harm in that?

[AmiJake]

Now this is exactly what amiga users need. I mean use the amiga to unleash your creativity yes retro style plus all new effects and then show it off on other platforms ie: pc's.

The point is amiga brings out your hidden creativity whether you like it or not  :idea:   and now Hollywood's brilliant new feature (PC exe's), I think former amiga animators might make a comeback home!!

[mahen]

This seems to be an amazing achievement, congratulations !

One thought though : would it be conceivable not to have to build 7 (SEVEN !!) binaries to support all platforms, but just supply one script provided that the engine is freely downloadable separately ?

But, above all, congrats again !

[Srbin]

I understand the reasons for no demo at all, but it might be made in following way;

in your source, delete parts of code that saves the project. Compile it and make it as demo. Whatever hacker wants to crack it, there still lack part for saving data, so no point for cracking.

That way more ppl would buy it, when they at least can  see how included scripts work.

[Leifern]

Or you could make a couple of videos demonstrating the software.. That would be great too!

[0amigan0]

@softwarefailure:

Hollywood 3 looks nice!

You might also consider adding Flash (.swf) export in a future version; that would be the icing on the cake!