The Matrix Trilogy Screensaver

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Chris

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Aug 3, 2024, 1:28:09 PM8/3/24

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(Formerly known as The Matrix Revolutions 3D Screen Saver)
(Formerly known as The Matrix Reloaded 3D Screen Saver)Version 3.4 - 07/11/2004
By
Robert Bennett
Please note: NEVER link directly to the files listed below, always link to this page. These files will move due to bandwidth restrictions, but this page will always have the latest links.
Click here to download!

When you get the Donor Version not only will it remove all the annoying logos, you'll also be able to display your own pictures (JPG, GIF and BMP files) instead of just the ones that come with the screensaver!
Click here to get it now!Settings To get to the settings screen go to Display options in Control Panel andin the Screen Saver section click on Settings. This brings up the UC3D settings screen where you can set the countdown and display settings. To get to the settings for this screen saver select it in the Installed Modules list and click the button..

Show Clock: If this is on the current time will be displayed in the middle of the screen.
12 Hour Mode: For those of you who can't work out what time 17:23 is,you can now switch this on and get the time displayed in 12 hour mode.
Clock Size: Lets you set how big the clock is on screen.
Glyph Size: Sets the size of the characters in the Matrix code. Smaller glyphs can make the pictures look better, but may slow things down. Smaller glyphs need higher line density to get the full effect which can slow things down, larger glyphs don't need such a high line density.
Line Density: Sets how many lines of data are on the screen at a time. Higher density can slow things down but it can make the pictures look better (depending on the glyph size).
2D Mode: Displays the code in the traditional 2D way.
3D Mode: Displays the code in juicey 3D!
2D Shaded Lines: (2D Mode only) With this turned on the lines in2D mode will be different shades, not all the same.
Mouse Controlled Rotation: (3D Mode only) Turn this on and you'll be able to rotate the falling Matrix code using the mouse. Move the mouse around to rotate the code, click with the right mouse button to stop the rotation, click with the left mouse button to reset the rotation back to normal, and use the mouse wheel to spin the code around the centre of the screen. After the mouse hasn't moved for 20 seconds the screensaver will reset to normal movement. Pictures do not display while you are moving the mouse. Press any key to close the screensaver.
Use Desktop As Background: With this turned on, the code will be displayed in front of your current Windows screen!
3D Code Rotations: (3D Mode only) With this enabled the angle of the code will randomly rotate around. (Like in the Matrix Reloaded trailer)
Display Pictures: With this turned on the code will occasionally form pictures from the movie The Matrix Reloaded.
3D Picture Mode: (3D Mode only) If enabled the code will be contured around the pictures in 3D. So the pictures are "lumpy". This looks better on some pictures than others, so by default it is turned off. But it's still worth a try to see if you like the effect.
Non-Colour Pics: With this turned on the pictures will display just in shadesof the code colour (by default it will be shades of green), not the pictures actual colours.
Picture Captions: Use this to turn picture captions on and off.
Only Show Pictures From: This lets you choose what movie you want to see pictures from.You can choose Revolutions, Reloaded or All 3 Movies. If All 3 is selected it will show random picturesfrom both, with a few pictures from the original Matrix movie thrown in aswell.
Picture Scale: If you find that the picture is too big when displayed in the code you can change the scale of the picture to make it smaller/larger.
Picture Delay: Slide this around to set a shorter or longer delay between displaying pictures.
Sideways Movement: The code moves side to side as it falls.
Move Forward/Back: (3D Mode only) The camera slowly moves backwards or forwards through the code as it falls if this is turned on.
Random Forward/Back Movement: (3D Mode only) If Move Forward/Back is enabled thiswill make the camera randomly move forward or backwards through the code and different speeds.
Forward/Back Speed: (3D Mode only) If Move Forward/Back is enabled this sets whether the code moves forwards or backwards and how fast it moves. IfRandom Forward/Back Movement is enable this has no effect.
Fall Speed: Controls how fast the lines of code fall down the screen.
Normal Colour: Click on the coloured box to set the colour of the normal falling code.
Highlight Colour: Click on the coloured box to set the colour of the highlighted character that leads the falling code.
Background Colour: Click on the coloured box to set the background colour.(Since the screensaver was designed to have a black background black will always look best)
Reset Default Colours: This resets the colour options to the default green colours.
Sound: Here you can select what kind of sound you want, if any. The options are No Sound,Sound FX which will play that code sizzling noise all around the place, and Music which plays Matrixy background music.Please Note: You need DirectX8+ for sound to work. You can get it from if youget a message at the start about sound not initializing, this is probably the reason.
Restore Default Settings: Click this to reset all the screensaver settings to what they were when you installed it.
Show My Pictures: (UC3D/Donor Version only) Turn this on and the screensaver will showyour JPG, GIF and BMP files in the code.
Only Show My Pictures: (UC3D/Donor Version only) With this turned on only your JPG, GIF,and BMP pictures will be shown. With it turned off they'll be shown randomly mixed in with the Matrixpictures built in to the screensaver.
Use Filenames As Captions: (UC3D/Donor Version only) Enable this and the filename of theJPG, GIF or BMP file being shown will come up as a caption, just like how it says "Neo" under one of thebuilt in pictures of Neo. So if you have a picture of your Uncle Fred chowing down on some cheddar andwant the caption to read "Uncle Fred Eating Cheese" you simply rename the picture file to"Uncle Fred Eating Cheese.jpg" (without the quote marks).
My Picture Directory: (UC3D/Donor Version only) This is where you set the directory you wantthe screensaver to load your pictures from. The screensaver loads JPG, GIF and BMP files and you can haveas many of these types of files in the directory as you like. Click on the button, browse to the directoryyou've put your pictures in and click ok. Easy as that. Note on picture files: If you havereally big picture files it can slow the screensaver down while they get loaded. All picture files are scaledto a max width or height of 300 pixels. So there's really no need putting bigger pics than that in, but it's up to you.

No matter what version of Windows you are using it is recommended that you make sure you are using the latest drivers for your video card. If you have any problems (slow, jerky, crashing, freezing) they can almost always be fixed by simply replacing your outdated drivers.

The long answer is: Yes, it works fine with multi-monitors, but it depends on your hardware. I have personally tested it with a dual head nVidia card, 2 of the same type of nVidia card, and 2 different types of nVidia cards. All under XP, all with the latest drivers, and all worked perfectly. It really does look cool.

However, I tried it with 2 different cards and it didn't work. I'm told this is because of a limitation within Windows. You need to have the same video driver running both display devices for OpenGL to work on both screens. I didn't write Windows, or the drivers, or OpenGL, so there is absolutely nothing I can do about that. So don't ask.

All I can suggest is that you try it. To switch on multi-monitor support go to the settings and turn off "Display on Primary Monitor Only". If it works, then celebrate. If it doesn't upgrade your drivers and try again. Still doesn't? Then I'm sorry, it's beyond my control.

It's been a long time since I've done an update to this screensaver. Maybe in part because I was disappointed by the way the trilogy ended with Revolutions. I'd heard much better theories and rumours about the end, so it was a shame they were all wrong.

However, I've recently re-watched all three, and they are still really great movies. I loved Reloaded especially, and you can't go past the original. All so much better than most movies you see these days.

So I thought I should have a look at this old screensaver and see if I can do anything to improve it. I had added one feature months ago and never released it. I was waiting to think of other stuff to add. In the end tho, I just can't think of anything. This thing is already packed with more options than anything else I've done, or seen! So I figured I'd release this one and if I think of anything else, I'll do another release later.

If you're a regular UselessCreations.com visitor, you'll have noticed I've been doing a lot of stuff with the current Windows desktop screen as the background. So I made the Matrix Code effect appear in front of the Windows screen, and I think it looks awesome! But I've made it an option, so to try it you'll need to go to the settings and turn it on.