FAIL is a viewer of pictures in native formats of Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Atari Falcon and Atari Portfolio computers.

Currently the project includes:

  • fail2png - portable command-line converter to PNG files

  • FAILWin - viewer for Windows

  • thumbnail providers for Windows Explorer and GNOME (Linux)

  • plugin for XnView

  • (de)coder for ImageMagick

  • plugin for Imagine

  • HTML 5 based viewer

Supported file formats

Atari 8-bit

256, AP2

80x96, 256 colors.

4MI

"AtariTools-800" 4 mono missiles 2x240 each.

4PL

"AtariTools-800" 4 mono players 8x240 each.

4PM

"AtariTools-800" 4 mono players 8x240 each plus 4 mono missiles 2x240 each.

A4R

"Anime 4ever", 80x256, 16-level grayscale, compressed.

ACS

"AtariTools-800" 4x8 font, 4 colors.

AGP

"AtariTools-800" graphic.

ALL

"Graph", 160x192, 5 colors.

AP3, APV, DGP, ESC, ILC, PZM

"DigiPaint" / "EscalPaint", 80x192, 256 colors, 2 frames.

APC, PLM

"Any Point, Any Color" / "Plama 256", 80x96, 256 colors.

APL

"Atari Player Editor", up to 16 16x48 frames, 4 colors.

APP

80x192, 256 colors, 2 frames, compressed.

ART

"Ascii-Art Editor", up to 64x24 characters, mono.

ART

"Artist" by David Eaton, 160x80, 4 colors.

BG9, G09

160x192, 16-level grayscale.

BKG

"Movie Maker" background, 160x96, 4 colors.

CCI

"Champions' Interlace", 160x192, 2 frames, compressed.

CHR

"Blazing Paddles" font, mono.

CIN

"Champions' Interlace", 160x192 or 160x200, 2 frames.

CPR

"Trzmiel", 320x192, mono, compressed.

DIN

320x192, 10 colors, 2 frames.

DLM

"Dir Logo Maker", 11x16 characters, mono.

DRG

"Atari CAD", 320x160, mono.

FNT

Standard 8x8 font, mono.

FWA

"Fun with Art", 160x192, 128 colors.

G10

"Graphics 10", up to 80x240, 9 colors.

G11

"Graphics 11", up to 80x240, 16 colors.

GHG

"Gephard Hires Graphics", up to 320x200, mono.

GR7

"Graphics 7", up to 160x120, 4 colors.

GR8

"Graphics 8", up to 320x240, mono.

GR9

"Graphics 9", up to 80x240, 16-level grayscale.

HIP

"Hard Interlace Picture", 160x200, grayscale, 2 frames.

HPM

"Grass' Slideshow", 160x192, 4 colors, compressed.

HR

256x239, 3 colors, 2 frames.

HR2

320x200, 5 colors, 2 frames.

ICN

"ICE CIN", 160x192, 80 colors, 2 frames.

IGE

"Interlace Graphics Editor", 128x96, 16 colors, 2 frames.

IMN

"ICE MIN", 160x192, 80 colors, 2 frames.

ING

"ING 15", 160x200, 7 colors, 2 frames.

INP

160x200, 7 colors, 2 frames.

INT

"INT95a", up to 160x239, 16 colors, 2 frames.

IP2

"ICE PCIN+", 160x192, 45 colors, 2 frames.

IPC

"ICE PCIN", 160x192, 35 colors, 2 frames.

IR2

"Super IRG 2", 160x192, 25 colors, 2 frames.

IRG

"Super IRG", 160x192, 15 colors, 2 frames.

IST

"Interlace Studio", 160x200, 2 frames.

JGP

"Jet Graphics Planner", 8x16 tiles, 4 colors.

MAX

"XL-Paint MAX", 160x192, 2 frames, compressed.

MBG

"Mad Designer", 512x256, mono.

MCH

"Graph2Font", up to 176x240, 128 colors.

MCP

"McPainter", 160x200, 16 colors, 2 frames.

MCS

160x192, 9 colors.

MGP

"Magic Painter", 160x96, 4 colors with optional rainbow effect.

MIC

"Micro Illustrator" / "Graphics 15" , up to 160x240, 4 colors.

MIC

"AtariGraphics", 160x192, 4 colors.

MIS

"AtariTools-800" missile, 2x240, mono.

NLQ

"Daisy-Dot" 19x16 font, mono.

PIC

"Koala MicroIllustrator", 160x192, 4 colors, compressed.

PLA

"AtariTools-800" player, 8x240, mono.

PMD

"PMG Designer" by Henryk Karpowicz.

RAW

"XL-Paint MAX", 160x192, 16 colors, 2 frames.

RGB

"ColorViewSquash", up to 160x192, 3 frames.

RIP

"Rocky Interlace Picture", up to 320x239, 1 or 2 frames.

RM0

"Rambrandt", 160x96, 99 colors.

RM1

"Rambrandt", 80x192, 256 colors.

RM2

"Rambrandt", 80x192, 104 colors.

RM3

"Rambrandt", 80x192, 128 colors.

RM4

"Rambrandt", 160x192, 99 colors.

SGE

"Semi-Graphic logos Editor", 40x24 characters, mono.

SHC

"SAMAR Hi-res Interlace with Map of Colours", 320x192, 2 frames.

SHP

"Blazing Paddles" shape table, mono.

SHP

"Movie Maker" shapes, 160x96, 4 colors.

SPC

"The Graphics Magician Picture Painter", 160x192, 128 colors.

SXS

16x16 font, mono.

TIP

"Taquart Interlace Picture", up to 160x119, 2 frames.

VZI

"VertiZontal Interlacing", 160x200, grayscale, 2 frames.

WND

"Blazing Paddles" window, up to 160x192, 4 colors.

XLP

"XL-Paint", 160x192 or 160x200, 7 colors, 2 frames, compressed.

Note
 Artist, AtariGraphics, Magic Painter and Rambrandt had no default extensions, so I made them up. Documentation for Rambrandt suggests RM0-RM4 for the compressed files, I also use them for the raw format.

Atari ST

ART

"Art Director", 320x200, 16 colors.

BL1

"DEGAS Elite" block, 16 colors.

BL2

"DEGAS Elite" block, 4 colors.

BL3

"DEGAS Elite" block, mono.

BRU

"DEGAS Elite" brush, 8x8, mono.

CA1

"CrackArt", 320x200, 16 colors, compressed.

CA2

"CrackArt", 640x200, 4 colors, compressed.

CA3

"CrackArt", 640x400, mono, compressed.

CPT

"Canvas", compressed.

DOO

"Doodle", 640x400, mono.

GFB

"DeskPic".

ICN

"DEGAS Elite" icon, mono.

IFF

"Interchange File Format", compressed.

NEO

"NEOchrome".

PAC

"STAD", 640x400, mono, compressed.

PC1

"DEGAS Elite", 320x200, 16 colors, compressed.

PC2

"DEGAS Elite", 640x200, 4 colors, compressed.

PC3

"DEGAS Elite", 640x400, mono, compressed.

PCS

"PhotoChrome", 320x199, 1 or 2 frames, compressed.

PI1

"DEGAS", up to 416x560, 16 colors.

PI2

"DEGAS", 640x200, 4 colors.

PI3

"DEGAS", 640x400, mono.

SPC

"Spectrum 512", 320x199, 512 colors, compressed.

SPS

"Spectrum 512 (Smooshed)" , 320x199, 512 colors, compressed.

SPU

"Spectrum 512", 320x199, 512 colors.

TN1

"Tiny Stuff", 320x200, 16 colors, compressed.

TN2

"Tiny Stuff", 640x200, 4 colors, compressed.

TN3

"Tiny Stuff", 640x400, mono, compressed.

TNY

"Tiny Stuff", compressed.

Atari Falcon

DC1, DGC

"DuneGraph", 320x200, 256 colors, compressed.

DEL

"DelmPaint", 320x240, 256 colors, compressed.

DGU, DG1

"DuneGraph", 320x200, 256 colors.

DPH

"DelmPaint", 640x480, 256 colors, compressed.

FTC

"Falcon True Color", 384x240, 65536 colors.

GOD

"GodPaint", 65536 colors.

PI4, PI9

"Fuckpaint", 320x240 or 320x200, 256 colors.

TRP

"EggPaint", 65536 colors.

TRU

"IndyPaint", 65536 colors.

Atari Portfolio

PGC

240x64, mono, compressed.

PGF

240x64, mono.

"2 frames" above means the picture is composed of two quickly alternating frames so that a human perceives more colors (for example black alternated with gray looks like dark gray). On Atari 8-bit this technique is commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as "interlace". Likewise, "3 frames" means three different alternating pictures and more flickering.

You can find some sample files in examples.zip.

How to install and use

Recommended installation method is to use the installer package. However, you can also install specific components of FAIL manually.

fail2png

Extract fail2png.exe to a directory of your choice (for convenience, this directory should be included in your Path environment variable).

Run the program from command line to see the syntax. Unless you specify the -o/--output option, the output filename will be constructed from the input filename with the extension changed to png.

FAILWin

Extract failwin.exe to a directory of your choice.

Usage instructions are needless, it’s a typical Windows application.

XnView plugin

Extract Xfail*.usr to the Plugins directory of your XnView installation. There are so many files because XnView supports only 11 filename extensions per plugin file. If XnView crashes when started, try removing the Plugins section from %APPDATA%\XnView\xnview.ini.

ImageMagick coder

Extract IM_MOD_RL_fail_.dll to the modules\coders directory of your ImageMagick installation.

Note
 ImageMagick coder is built for Q16 dll version of ImageMagick (the one that is recommended by its authors). If you have installed another version, you will need to download and install the right build of ImageMagick, or to build FAIL coder from source using configuration of your ImageMagick installation.
Imagine plugin

Extract FAIL.plg to the Plugin directory of Imagine. This plugin is for 32-bit Imagine. For 64-bit, use the 64-bit FAIL installer.

Feedback

If you are interested in the FAIL project, please subscribe its mailing list. This list is for users and developers. Once you subscribe, you can post comments, ideas and questions about FAIL.

You may submit bugs here (log in required).

History

FAIL 2.0.1 (2013-04-24)

Added Atari 8-bit formats: IP2, IMN, ICN, DIN, IRG, IR2, VZI. Added "DEGAS Elite" icon (ICN). Fixed decoding of IPC. Thumbnail provider implemented for Windows 2000/XP. Fullscreen mode in HTML 5.

FAIL 2.0.0 (2013-02-15)

Library rewritten from C to the Ć programming language. This made it possible to create the HTML 5 port. The rewrite included code clean-up and bug fixes in decoding of RIP, TIP, SGE, HR2, AGP, AP3/APV/DGP/ESC/ILC/PZM, APP, CIN, CCI. Added new formats: ICE PCIN (IPC), Daisy-Dot font (NLQ), PMG Designer (PMD), AtariTools-800 font (ACS), PhotoChrome (PCS), HPM, MCS, Anime 4ever (A4R), DuneGraph compressed (DGC, DC1), Canvas compressed (CPT), Interchange File Format (IFF), DEGAS Elite block (BL1, BL2, BL3), DEGAS Elite brush (BRU). Added auto-detection of Atari STE 4096-color palette. FAILWin and XnView show the computer family of the file format. FAILWin shows the number of alternating frames. The win64 package is now sufficient on 64-bit Windows, there’s no need to install the win32 package. Reduced CPU and memory usage in fail2png.

FAIL 1.4.0 (2012-11-28)

Added Atari Falcon formats: Fuckpaint (PI4, PI9), DuneGraph (DGU, DG1), EggPaint (TRP), IndyPaint (TRU), GodPaint (GOD), Falcon True Color (FTC), DelmPaint (DEL, DPH). Added Atari ST formats: Spectrum 512 Smooshed (SPS), DeskPic (GFB), 416x560 DEGAS (PI1). Created plugin for Imagine (might be interesting for Total Commander users, as Imagine includes a Total Commander plugin). Reduced CPU and memory usage in Windows thumbnail provider, ImageMagick and XnView.

FAIL 1.3.0 (2012-07-23)

Added Atari ST formats: DEGAS (PI1, PI2, PI3), DEGAS Elite (PC1, PC2, PC3), NEOchrome (NEO), Spectrum 512 (SPU, SPC), Tiny Stuff (TNY, TN1, TN2, TN3), STAD (PAC), CrackArt (CA1, CA2, CA3), Doodle (DOO), Art Director (ART). Added Atari Portfolio formats (PGF, PGC). More Atari 8-bit formats: Atari Player Editor (APL), Artist (ART), Ascii-Art Editor (ART), Atari CAD (DRG), AtariTools-800 (AGP, PLA, MIS, 4PL, 4MI, 4PM), ING 15 (ING), Lepix dialect of CIN, raw images (GR7, G10, G11). Fixed non-interlaced RIP modes. FAILWin extended with "First/Last file in directory", "Skip files on error". Narrow pictures were cropped in FAILWin.

FAIL 1.2.0 (2011-12-16)

Added decoding of ColorViewSquash (RGB), Blazing Paddles (CHR, SHP, WND), Magic Painter (MGP), Mad Designer (MBG), AtariGraphics (MIC), Fun with Art (FWA), Rambrandt (RM0, RM1, RM2, RM3, RM4), XL-Paint (XLP), XL-Paint MAX (MAX), SHIMC (SHC), Graph (ALL), APP View (APP), Semi-Graphic logos Editor (SGE), Dir Logo Maker (DLM), Movie Maker (BKG, SHP), BG9, G09, The Graphics Magician Picture Painter (SPC). Improved decoding of all RAW and MIC, some RIP and FNT files. Added APV extension for the AP3 format. Created GNOME thumbnailer (for Linux file browser Nautilus). You may drag&drop files to the FAILWin window. GR8 wasn’t registered in ImageMagick.

FAIL 1.1.0 (2011-04-18)

Fixed decoding of ILC, AP3, RIP, PIC, CPR, HIP and CIN. Added support for MCH, IGE, 256, AP2, JGP, DGP, ESC, PZM, IST and RAW. Created Windows thumbnail provider. Fixed user interface issues in FAILWin. Fixed compilation errors with the new libpng. Updated installation for new ImageMagick. Moved source code from SVN to Git.

FAIL 1.0.1 (2010-08-25)

Windows setup has been created. A coder for ImageMagick has been created. MCP, GHG and HR2 formats are supported. Build process has been improved.

FAIL 1.0.0 (2009-08-25)

Initial release.

Authors

Piotr Fusik <fox@scene.pl>

Idea, programming.

Adrian Matoga <epi@atari8.info>

Programming.

Paweł Szewczyk <ripek@op.pl>

FAILWin icon, testing.

Peter Dell <jac@wudsn.com>

Testing.

Sławomir Śledź <slaves@scene.pl>

Testing.

Monika Wesołowska <giulio.caesar@gmail.com>

Testing.