The superscope configuration window provides some information about the variables used in configuring the superscope, but some of this is a bit confusing. What follows is the information given in the superscope config window, followed by what my understanding of each of the variables do.

Included in the Config: You can specify expressions that run on Init, Frame, and on Beat. n specifies the number of points to render (set this in Init, Beat, or Frame). For the Per Point expression (which happens 'n' times), use: x and y are the coordinates to draw (-1..1), i is the position of the scope (0..1), v is the value at that point (-1..1). b is one if beat. red green and blue are all (0..1). w and h are the width and heighth of the render, in pixels.

And, here are the variables as far as I know them.

1. i. The i variable is used to define the position of the superscope. This variable does nothing on its own, but when used with x and y in the per point section of the superscope, it defines the superscope parametrically. The i variable is the independent variable in the parametric definitions of the superscope (this variable is t in most cases) . Also, when d is used as well as x and y, we can create polar equations. The i variable is very important, as the superscope cannot be displayed without the use of this variable.

2. x and y. The x and y variables in the superscope define the position of the scope with respect to i. One way to think of this relationship is to think of the superscope being defined parametrically for x and y. Most parametric equations are with respect to t, but these equations are written with respect to i.

3. v. A very easy way to remember v is that it defines how the scope Vibrates in response to the music being played in winamp.

4. n. This variable is set in the Init section of the superscope, and tells the superscope how many points to render. If you were to define a parametric equation in the grapher of a Texas Instruments Calculator, v would be almost the same as defining the number of t-steps used to display the graph.

5. t. The t variable is most commonly used to allow movement in the superscope. By setting an initial value in the Init section of the superscope configuration and defining a change in the t value in the Frame section, one can achieve movement in the superscope by using the t variable.

6. r. The r variable is often used to extend the definition of i. This is done because, by default, i's value is equall to one radian, and many graphs won't display correctly unless i is extended to at least 2*pi. I'll demonstrate this in tutorials that involve circles and ellipses.

7. d. d is used, often along with i and r, to create graphs of polar equations. I'll demonstrate this variable in the sections dealing with limacons and other polar shapes.

8. Other Variables There are many other variables used in defining the superscope. These include blue, red, and green (for color control), b (for events on beat?), and the set of variables for 3-D superscopes, ix, iy, and iz. Since I haven't used these variables before, I don't know enough about them to explain them more thoroughly.

If all of this seems to be too much to take in all at once, don't worry. All of these variables will be used in later tutorials, so anyone who can't understand what's written here (probably due, in part, to my bad explainations) should be able to pick up on the use of these variables by example in later sections.