Scene Zine Monthly for August 16th, 2003 [Issue #5]

Published By Scene Rep

The Monthly Ramble
By Christofori

Here it is! Another month has come and gone, and with it, another edition of the Scene Zine! Special thanks to Patrick Groove for having me handle the editing for this month, and to our regular article contributors, to the readers who sent feedback (even if they didn't think it would end up in the 'Zine!), and especially to you, our dedicated readers! We hope to provide a Zine that is worthwhile and has something for everyone in the Scene.

This month's articles focus mainly on some of the recent scene parties. We've got several good reviews, and a rather long (but quite good) interview with Sir Garbagetruck. I'd like to take a moment to echo some of his thoughts on scene-wide events. His 'platform' (if you will) during the 3.5 hour chat/interview centered on becoming involved in the scene; "just do SOMETHING" he would say. This is quite good advice! Many times, people in the scene (whether it be at a party, or even just through a scene web site) like to sit back and criticize everything bad about what's happening, while only a few dedicated people are helping or doing actual work. You see it all the time, whether you realize it or not. I can't count the number of times I read some rant on the Mod Archive's forums about how the site is never updated, or that this sucks, or that's dumb... you get the point. Anyway, instead of complaining about stuff, take a word of advice from Sir Garbagetruck; DO SOMETHING about it! Ask around, I'm sure you will be able to find something to do that's both enjoyable and is worthwhile to further the site or event you're involved with.

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Reader FeedBack

Patrick,

Your recent article about the history and future of IT3 and FLAW is inaccurate and suggests you know something about why IT3 didn't materialize. Your conclusions are wrong. Ray is still working on IT3 and has informed me that he has investors backing him (I don't know if this is still the case in 2003). From my past experience I know that Ray's #1 motivation was not IT3. Anyone having the opportunity to watch how Ray spent his time would conclude that he wanted to finish his development kit more than IT3 (and of course IT3 would come from this technology)... This is taking him some years and I couldn't wait around, just like you and your readers who got tired of the hype.

I'm working with pragmatic programmers now who don't want to re-invent the universe. I have nothing against Ray's approach, but it is not the fastest way from point A to B. BTW, right now I'm using a non-beta version of a tracker that we (DSPaudio, Inc.) developed. And I can say with authority, it is the world's most complex/feature rich event list (tracker to you sceners). We're cleaning it up for a commercial release sometime around Christmas or earlier.

Ohh, and you're anti-commercial sentiment is understandable but not constructive. People have to eat, how do you pay the rent? *I do things for money.* Even bums do things for money.

- anthonybisset

Hi Libris,

I read your article about the OGG format. It's well written but I think that you have omitted one major flaw about it: Mac users running anything other than OSX simply can't play it. In the music scene, there are a lot of Macintosh users - this might be one reason for OGG's lack of wide spreading.

Furthermore, a lot of portable music players simply can't handle OGG files for now.

Last but not least, until it became final, the OGG format was not really stable; I used to have problems when sending some OGG encoded tracks to other users - they simply couldn't play them.

- Tao

Christofori,

I saw your demo reviews this month, and I'm wondering why you haven't talked about more Breakpoint03 demos. Breakpoint has been the best party of the year 2003, actually.

My taste on 'Red Line' and 'Bourrrinos' are different; too me, they're both just some 3d scene exported and that's all (OK, my group is doing the same lately that's true, but at least we are doing it 64kb).

Try to talk about some Breakpoint 4kb intros too, they owned hard. 'Relay' by kolor was pretty impressive, too.

Anyway, that's all. Cool that you're reviewing demos, but choose some better ones maybe - I know it's a kind of taste, or maybe that I particularly hate french ppl ahahahaha!

- kaneel

Send us your feedback!!!

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Assembly 2003 Freestyle Graphics
By Patrick Groove

The freestyle graphics category was a new category for Assembly this year. Instead of just running a ray traced graphics compo the organizers opened the floor to any digital art, such as photo manipulation and illustrations. I think this was a great choice on their behalf as it invites a larger audience to the big screen every year. Keeping in mind that I was not at the event, we will take a look at the top three place winners and see what they did right to get the gold.

My City by Visualice

I'm particularly fascinated by this piece as it turns an environment in photograph into a surreal sci-fi topic. Instead of just manipulating the image in Photoshop the entire piece was replaced with a new work in a different time. The lighting of this piece was key in its appeal as details are presented rather than hidden. In the original reference photo the environment is very drab and dull while in the work produced from it the spectrum is switched from corporate infrastructure in fog to unused and back alley bathed in light. They also both share a commonality with water and rain except the new work is unkempt. Over this piece of art rightly deserves the first place that it received and proves the compo a success.

Mental Inferno by Nek

Sketched work with digital color is very common in the demo scene art form stereotype. This second place winner was begun in pencil and migrated its way into Photoshop by scanner. After which it's obvious the artist spent hours on details and spot color. Specifically noticeable is the attention to reflection in the piece. All light that originates is portrayed on the character correctly. I would have liked to have seen more time put into the backdrop for the piece as all the detail is on the character while the background was neglected. It's an impressive composition none the less on the basis that it was Photoshop colored.

1-800-xxx by Marvel

This could have made second or first as well. It would be a toss up to know if this piece of work is a photo manipulation or original composition from sketch. The color makes a huge difference over all as it passes between two tonalities. All shading was done very well. I get an uneasy feeling when I view this about it just not being morally right, which as it stands is great because it provokes an emotional response. Over all, even as it made third I would have chosen this as a first placing due to its appeal.

This compo was overly successful based on the fact that 70 entries were submitted. If I was an Assembly organizer for 2004 I'd highly consider keeping this compo. For more results on this demo party and more go to scene.org.

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Demos Exposed
By Christofori

Greetings demo watchers! With several scene parties happening all over, you might say it's Scene Season. Well, Assembly 2003 has just come and gone, and it's time to take a look at some of the high placing demos from the various compos that took place at the highly anticipated party. We have a 4k intro, a 64k demo, and a WiLD demo! Take a look and see how great they are for yourself.

System Information:
1) AMD Athlon XP 2100+ system with 512MB of RAM, a GeForce 4 MX-440 video card, Sound Blaster Live! Platinum, and Windows XP Professional.
2) AMD Athlon 950 with 256MB of RAM, a PCI GeForce2-MX video card, onboard sound, and Windows 2000.

Yellow Rose of Texas (win port) by Fit + Bandwagon

This year's Assembly 4k compo winner is Yellow Rose of Texas for Linux platforms. I took the opportunity to check out the windows port, which looks great. I know it's not flashy, and the music doesn't have that jaw-dropping intensity of many bigger demos, but the fact that this demo is 4k (at least, the Linux version is) and it still looks this good should say something. This one's great, a truly excellent job.

On the technical side of things, the demo ran well on the primary system, but experienced several slowdowns on the secondary (slower) test system. The intro's probably got quite a few DirectX calls, which can slow those older systems down if you don't have a lot of video memory. Either way, the music was always in synch with the graphics, and all genuinely seemed well enough, all things considering.

SVENSKARNA ÄR HÄR! (järn&stål&auw) by cryonics

This 64k win32 demo took second place at Assembly03 in the 64k demo compo. It's easy to see why it did as well as it did; the graphics look great! The music is pretty good, though I'd say it could be a bit better. Overall, though, there are several great scenes; some that look like things we've seen before, and some that can blow you away.

On a technical note, this demo ran quite well on both review systems, for the most part. There were some slow sequences on the secondary system, and this caused some 'skipping' in the graphics (to keep up with the music). Other times though, the music, too, does lag noticeably. However, there seemed to be problems with only a few of the higher detailed scenes; some worked flawlessly. The demo looked great on the primary system, so if you've got a decent to high end system, you shouldn't have any problems! (Technical note: Zoom3, which took first place in this category, would not run on either review system)

Grand Theft by otherside

This WiLD Demo took first place at Assembly 03. It's a great demo poking a bit of fun at the Grand Theft Auto games. There are a few missions where you get to see some wonderful (and often hilarious) moments inspired by the game. It comes complete with car chases (shown here), guns, fistfights, extra weapons, tricks, and much more. A very creatively done entry, and it's definitely worth First place in my book!

On the technical side, I'll be speaking more about the video/editing work than how well it runs on review systems... because it's an MP3. Anyway, I love how the guy moves! He has got the GTA walk/running down. The camera does a few odd things here and there, but overall is done quite well. The parts edited in to the demo (extra weapons, powerups, etc) look great; you can still tell they've been edited in of course, but they fit in nicely. Also great job on the main character's changing weapons; very much like the games. Original concept and outstanding work!

That's it for this round. Please don't forget that I'm accepting requests for demos to review; I've even got one or two lined up for next month's segment (yes I said that last month, but the ASM03 demos took precedence <g>). In the mean time, keep watching those demos; you know I will.

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Up-and-Coming Scene Music Players
By Libris

This month I look at a couple of Scene music players. I guess most people on the internet (but not necessarily in the demo/tracking scene) use WinAmp to play their files. After all, it's still the most recognized player out there. I used it for a while too, but then Winamp 3 came out, and everything went down the drain. To put it bluntly, Winamp 3 is naff - so what to do? Seek out alternatives of course, and where better to look than the Scene itself. I've taken a look at two players for this article - most of you will be familiar with them, but I've taken special interest in both XMPlay and Deliplayer 2 because both players have recently been updated.

Xmplay

First a look at XMPlay, which has been my player of choice for quite a while now. XMPlay is a compact, skinnable player that was originally written a number of years ago solely for the playback of FastTracker II's .XM format. Since then it has evolved quite a bit, and now it supports a multitude of file formats: including MP3's, OGGs, and a host of other streaming media. What I like best about XMPlay is that it's efficient and loads very quickly. With some players I have to wait a few seconds before the player actually loads, but XMPlay pops up immediately every time. This is pretty important to me, especially since I run a fairly slow computer by today's standards.

XMPlay 2.8 was released in late July and contains a number of improvements over previous versions. I recommend you download it if you're an XMPlay user and you haven't already done so. The improvements include a far better configuration system (in a separate window) which replaces the clunky, confusing old one. Previously, all configuring in XMPlay was done by pressing tiny, and rather enigmatic looking little buttons; needless to say, this was confusing and I'm sure it put a lot of people off the player. The new configuration system can be accessed by pressing the small spanner button at the base of the default XMPlay skin which brings up a new window with the configuration options. One handy new feature is the search option, which lets you search for an audio file instead of dredging through countless directories to retrieve it. XMPlay also supports a number of WinAmp plugins, so you can import all of your favourite visualizations. It also has built in EQ, reverb and surround options for extra playback quality and tweaking. My one main criticism of XMPlay is that some of the more useful plugins have to be downloaded separately. Fairly standard stuff like compressed module compatibility are possible with the player, but not in the standalone player - additional .DLLs have to be obtained. I suspect this is because different coders have contributed to the project, but XMPlay's creator has decided not to amalgamate the contributions into the official release of the player.

These Screenshots demonstrate a number of XMPlay's features, among them the search feature, and an example of a different skin. Skins are available at the XMPlay homepage, or you can make your own.

XMPlay supports the following file types: OGG, MP3, MP2, MP1, WMA, WAV, MO3, IT, XM, S3M, MTM, MOD, UMX plus additional file types which can be added via WinAmp plugins.

You can download XMPlay 2.8 here.
The official homepage is here.

Deliplayer

Deliplayer has been around for a while, but only recently has Deliplayer 2 come to light. The player is currently in a pre-release stage, but is fully functional and looks very promising. There have been some massive changes to the interface, which is now completely resizeable, and I must say rather impressive. You can arrange the multitude of windows in any way you want, making everything from a compact mini-player to an enormous full-screen player with all the features to impress your friends. One of the nicest features of Deliplayer 2 is the range formats it supports - there are all sorts of formats, including (to my delight) the playback of SNES music files. There are about 230 sound file formats which are supported straight out of the box, many of them rather obscure, but cool nonetheless.

Along with a built-in 10 band EQ, Reverb and a multitude of mixing and disk-writing options, Deliplayer 2 seems like the perfect standalone player - but I must warn you of a few things. Firstly, it chews through a lot of memory. I run Windows 98 on a PIII 650 with 128 RAM, and with only a few features going (such as visualization and EQ/Reverb) Deliplayer slows down drastically. Arranging the various windows is an arduous task because they are sluggish and display with all sorts of strange bugs (on my system at least). But aside from these problems the player is good. If you have a super-fast PC I'd recommend it wholeheartedly, but it doesn't run well at all on a system like mine. If you want a player where you can play your MODS, SIDS, MP3s OGGs and more obscure formats all in one playlist with no troubles, then this is what you've been waiting for.

These two shots highlight a couple of differences in the structure of Deliplayer 1 and 2; of course, Deliplayer 2 is highly customizable so it can be displayed in just about any way you want.

You can download Deliplayer 2 (Release Candidate 3) here.

The official homepage is here.

Both players have their strengths and weaknesses. XMPlay is lightning quick and takes up little memory, but the larger Deliplayer supports more formats and has more options; so it really comes down to a matter of taste and resources when choosing which player is right for you.

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Monthly Scene Music Reviews
By drq

I wasn't at Assembly, but that didn't stop me from checking out some of the compo entries. There is some great stuff there, and since I found it difficult to decide which songs to cover, I let the results decide for me: I simply reviewed the winners in three of the major music categories, namely Oldskool, Instrumental and Vocal. Three very different tunes, to say the least. (Full results are available here.

Reed - Cyberdragon

Here's the winner of the Oldskool compo, an exceedingly groovy chip number with clear disco tendencies. It's build around a thick, aggressive bass line that embodies funk in every sense, while some synth bleeps play the part of the rhythm guitar. The drum beat is a simple as they get, but that's not a drawback, as anything more elaborate would probably have cluttered the sound and reduced the funk factor. There's no lead melody, and I instinctively want to complain about this, but the truth is a melody isn't really needed. The bass provides quite a lot of melodic intensity as it is, and in combination with the synth riffs it all sounds very full and complete. No room for a lead here, really; it would sound cramped. Less is more, as they say.

There is a little melodic break, however, in the second half of the song. The drums vanish, and while some arpeggios bubble away in the background a pretty straightforward synth lead takes centre stage. A wise move by the composer; instead of taking his groove too far and exhausting the listener, a moment of calmness is added as contrast, and then when the beat comes back on it feels even groovier than before. All in all, this strikes me as a song where all elements complement each other to such a degree that the sum is much greater than the parts. (If that cliché ever was true, it's true here.)

Download .mp3 (4.58 mb zipped)

!Cube - Acula class

"Acula class" won the Instrumental category. The genre of the .ogg file is set to "soundtrack", which is very appropriate, as it would probably work well as the score to some dramatic scene involving great suspense and an immediate but mysterious threat, the prospect of loss and death and perhaps victory at a great cost, and... sorry, I got carried away. The visual potential of this piece is great; you can easily turn the insides of your eyelids into your own private cinema if you play it loud and let your mind drift.

The intro is slightly Vangelis-esque with menacing strings and synth bass. Then the brass section of the orchestra toot their horns and the flood gates open. This is the heaviest and most spectacular part of the composition, much thanks to the brass. There's nothing worse than puny sounding horns in a piece like this, but here they sound potent and full of restrained power, just like I want them. If they sound realistic is a different matter though, and I'm not a good judge in that respect, but I don't really care as long as it sounds good in the mix. The strings sound good as well; the synths add an interesting colour to the texture and the drums provide some solidness. When it comes to instrumentation and production, there's really nothing to complain about. I don't know how it was done, but I know that there are VSTi's and stuff these days that are capable of pretty amazing things, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of those was involved.

Now, where was I? Right, after the dramatic segment, there's a more quiet part. Through the direction the harmonies take here, a feeling of sadness is conveyed, but with an undertone of hope. I picture the hero and his girlfriend, saying farewell on a windy hilltop. It's executed with great control and attention to detail and the result is great. But then, as the music reaches a minor climax, it just trails off. I must admit I'm left a bit disappointed: no conclusion is reached. It feels like the intro promised more than this. Yes, it's a splendid piece of music, and it does a wonderful job telling the story, but I want to know how the movie ended! Still, if you like orchestral music with a fantasy feel, you need to hear this. It doesn't get much better.

Download .ogg (4.31 mb zipped)

Aisth - Pearls

Aisth placed first in the Vocal compo with this little song. It starts out with some pads and what sounds like a treated stringed instrument that I can't quite place. A beat (which reminds me of some of Xerxes's percussive exercises) soon enters the mix, and on top of that the female vocals. They're very calm, almost sleepy, with a laid back jazzy edge. And they fit perfectly. The melody isn't exactly catchy, but as it meanders through the song it takes you with it and doesn't let go until it's all over. The voice has a fragile quality, like ice crystals; I don't know why, but this feels like a wintry song, bringing to mind frosty lawns and frozen ponds.

The arrangement is quite homogeneous - there's no element that really sticks out, as though it's all covered with a layer of snow, and as the song progresses it develops only slightly in terms of instrumentation and not at all when it comes to atmosphere or mood. I'm not sure if this is a flaw or not; if you're feeling melancholic on a cold winter day it might be a nice soundtrack. It's a very cool and serene piece. I must remember to put it on in November if I'm feeling a bit low.

Download .mp3 (4.84 mb zipped)

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Breakpoint03 - Sir GarbageTruck Speaks!
By Christofori

I recently was able to sit down for a rather lengthy chat with Sir GarbageTruck, an American scener who's been involved in the demoscene for quite some time. He is also an admin at Nectarine, and he knows many, many, many sceners. I found out that he had attended the Breakpoint '03 party this year, and caught up with him to get his side of things that went down at the party. I had in mind several questions for the 'interview' - but, if any of you know SGT, you might be aware that he 1) is quite verbose, and 2) can type like a madman with his tail-end on fire! Anyway, while I didn't end up asking many questions, I was able to get SGT to talk all about his experiences at Breakpoint '03.

<Chris\SR> Well first off, let's get your name and where you're from, as well as any other personal info you'd like to share
<SGT> Hi, I'm Arnold Schwatzenegger, and I'm <cut to commercial> and that's my decision.
<SGT> Oh wait, no I'm not.
<SGT> I'm Sir Garbagetruck, ex-LSD, currently Danish Gold/Rabid Moose/Automobile.
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> I'm from the states, tho Tomcat/Greenroom thought I was Canadian. I told him thanks for the compliment, but I'm one of them Garsh-durned Americans.
<SGT> not that Canadians and Mexicans and Columbians and Peruvians aren't.
<SGT> note I said "The States." I know who's interviewing me (:
<Chris\SR> Ah, of course. :)
<SGT> I rarely give my real name, as, well, I chose this handle, and it's something I'm comfortable with. You can call me Truck and I'm fine with that.
<SGT> Folks at work sometimes call me Truck. It's just, well, me.
<Chris\SR> I understand you were at Breakpoint03. Could you relate your experiences from the party for our readers?
<SGT> There was this party, see, and it was in Germany, in a place called Bingen.
<SGT> Bingen is in the wine country I guess.
<SGT> It's not North, it's South, and it's not really in the Black Forest area, or in Bavaria, or at least of what I know
<SGT> I got to visit some places before Breakpoint, and next year I'll see more
<SGT> and the guys in Ko:ln (Cologne) say I have to visit there too (:
<SGT> which I do.
<Chris\SR> Of course, see everything :D
<SGT> Anyway, so, I crashed at Banana's place (the author of Echoing) and we showed up at about 1 pm on the first day
<SGT> and met Genetic Gemini and Spekulatus, and I think we met Lomaxx soon afterwards
<SGT> and I started drinking Budweiser so I could be seen as an American drinking Budweiser.
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> Budweiser is made in cz.
<Chris\SR> ... and is sold in local convenience stores everywhere! :P
<SGT> So anyway there was lots of mulling around and looking around and being amazed and saying hi to folks and just being generally in a total 'w00tage' mood because I was finally frikkin at a party (:
<SGT> XXX/Haujobb came up and introduced himself. Banana, who knows XXX, had mentioned I'd come, and he had to say hi to the guy who came all the way over (:
<SGT> mind you, I did NOT go the furthest
<SGT> Sh0ck and Ript did, they're from Melbourne Australia
<Chris\SR> Ah, yes
<SGT> and THEY competed. (Next year I have to compete.)
<SGT> (I made a deal with kb/Farb-Raush that I wasn't allowed back if I didn't compete)
<Chris\SR> Ah, haha
<Chris\SR> You'd better get some ideas :P
<SGT> (kb prolly figgers thats one way to keep the annoying truck away (: No, actually, I don't think kb has issues with me. I think he'd tell me if he did (: )
<SGT> ideas and I do NOT have problems meeting.
<Chris\SR> kb's actually a nice guy, I've gotten a chance to correspond with him a few times in the past
<SGT> anyway, so, I met nosfe/MFX and he was wearing his kilt. this is the coolest thing.
<SGT> yeah kb is very friendly and knowledgable.
<SGT> all the FR guys are, really.
<Chris\SR> Yep :)
<SGT> Actually everyone I met was. From the guys who still were using their c64's
<SGT> (which is just the BEST THING EVER)
<SGT> I mean seriously the c64 is an amazing computer and it's great that folks still do stuff with it.
<Chris\SR> Many agree that it seemed ahead of it's time
<SGT> And the obligatory 'fsck off Tulip' goes here. You may want to edit that out.
<Chris\SR> lol
<SGT> just so long as you mention that I said something about the state of the current c64 situation with a corporation.
<Chris\SR> No problem :)
<SGT> Anyway, yeah, c64 was amazing. Amiga was more amazing, but c64 was amazing.
<SGT> anyway I got to talk to some c64 guys who explained how to turn my NTSC machine into PAL, but I don't think I remember how and I'm NO GOOD with solder.
<SGT> and let's see, um, oh yes met Fury and Clary, and Warhead
<SGT> I think it was Warhead?
<SGT> hmm... Clary will correct me later (:
<Chris\SR> :)
<SGT> Clary/Drifters is really an interesting scener, she's French but she's not a French Scener. I think she'd want me to put it that way
<Chris\SR> I see
<SGT> but Clary would be seen by me frequently bugging the organizers about something or another for the entries because she HAD to be sure it was all ok (:
<SGT> something about things in the past (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> anyway, XXX showed me and others some of VisualIce's oil works
<SGT> wanted to get 'em but ya know, cash, plus transport over here...
<Chris\SR> Definately
<SGT> VisualIce oil painting is like his pixel work, very much his style
<SGT> oh and then I met the Hungarians for the first time
<SGT> Poko offered me some Hungarian brandy.
<SGT> and I had a swig.
<SGT> I think, really, the reason he offered it upon finding out I was an American was to see me pass out (:
<SGT> cuz you know we're all lightweights.
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> (Mind you this is ANOTHER reason Tomcat thought I was Canadian. Cuz you know, Canadians can drink.)
<SGT> anyway so I didn't, and it was GOOD stuff too (:
<SGT> (apparently however poko had spilled some on the train or something, I forget the story, Tomcat should tell that one anyway)
<SGT> anyway so the rest of the time whenever Poko saw me we had to drink together, and unfortunately I didn't have time to do that most of the time I was too busy running around seeing everythign I could (:
<SGT> and meeting everyone I had to, tho I missed some folks
<SGT> anyway so let's see, um, hmm, went in, met FlapJack I think at that point but didn't know who he was
<SGT> FlapJack/Madwizards, and yes dude I still owe you the shirt, ok wait hold on
<SGT> I have to order FlapJack's shirt
<SGT> oh wait I don't remember what size
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> right well I'll go find Flapjack later and order his shirt.
<SGT> See I was wearing this shirt that said "You don't know me" on it
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> anyway so, Flapjack loved the shirt and swore I had to get him one
<Chris\SR> It's a good shirt :)
<SGT> it is
<SGT> I was still in a bit of awe and kinda going "holy shit who are all these people and wow this is pretty...wow" so I wasn't sure what to think of Flapjack at the time (: but he's just like mister uber-friendly pole, and quite an interesting conversationalist
<SGT> he can go from being completely drunk and partying to stone cold sober discussing economics in like .0001 seconds
<Chris\SR> haha
<Chris\SR> You've just got to envy those people, at least on some level :P
<SGT> ok so um gosh I don't remember how much else went on, I mean I went up to kb and told him I made it but he was working the 'beamer'
<SGT> they call projectors 'beamers' in Europe I guess
<SGT> course mobile phones are 'handys'
<SGT> it's just interesting because they're English words, sort of, I mean wouldn't handy be... um well I forget what german for hand is
<SGT> something like man or something
<SGT> but maybe that's French.
<SGT> I'm really crap with languages, I only know like 1 word of most languages.
<Chris\SR> Of course :)
<SGT> Cept Finnish, Finnish I know 4. 3 cursewords and truck (:
<SGT> and more than one word for truck.
<SGT> I would also like to say REKKATURVAT RULES
<SGT> anyway so later that night there was Cre...oh yes I met Crest too (: Crest does demoshows at parties, he gets the demos lined up to do a show showing good stuff from past years to now
<SGT> good stuff
<SGT> anyway met Crest, oh and Phoenix and the guys from the demoDVD team
<SGT> one of whom is in Corvallis, OR - sort of our backyard ya know.
<SGT> Anyway later that night it was Crest's Demoshow, and it was amazing, plus a fellow Crest knew (Dan? I forget) he was there too and brought his Amiga so there were many Amiga demos for once
<Chris\SR> very cool
<SGT> saw Nerve Axis' Pulse, that just rox
<SGT> and Smoke Bomb
<SGT> Smoke bomb is the SHIT
<SGT> plus a lot of really, really good pc demos too.
<SGT> the one at the end I need to find out what it was, it was very atypical
<Chris\SR> What was the food like? :D
<SGT> heh. Well, Elend/Spekdrumm got hairschnitzel!
<SGT> the food wasn't bad really considering we were miles from nowhere
<SGT> I mean MILES from nowhere
<SGT> the nearest town was like 2 miles away
<Chris\SR> Haha
<SGT> I think that's like 8 kilometers or something.
<SGT> (Have to get that in too.)
<SGT> (later we'll have the joke about celcius and farenheit)
<Chris\SR> I'll get the exact number if you'd like
<Chris\SR> lol
<SGT> well I can do that too
<SGT> -Dioxide/#Amiga!- 3218.7 meters = 1.10 miles = 3519.10 yards = 10559.10 feet = 126719.10 inches = 1.7 naut.mi. = 159.10 chains = 639.10 rods = 1759.10 fathoms
<SGT> there we go
<SGT> ok so anyway, then it broke up for the evening and it was 'attempt to get sleep' time
<SGT> it was midnight or 1 am
<SGT> Banana slept in his car, which was prolly much warmer than the main hall which had a HUGE problem in that the heating tubes b0rked
<Chris\SR> Hehe.. Many ppl I've spoken with get.. oh.. one to two hours of sleep :P
<SGT> so it got down to, what I heard, -20 celcius
<SGT> -Dioxide/#Amiga!- -20 celsius = -4 fahrenheit = 253.1 kelvin
<SGT> which is cold.
<SGT> and I didn't have a sleeping bad.
<Chris\SR> Quite so.
<SGT> bag.
<SGT> it was a bit cold, and I did not go to the fire, because I was STUPID
<SGT> I had a towel (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> yes, I took a TOWEL to breakpoint to sleep under.
<SGT> mind you I'm not a small person either.
<SGT> Banana asked me if perhaps I had this Hitchhikers fetish.
<Chris\SR> lol
<SGT> which I don't, but that might have had a TAD to do with the whole thing.
<SGT> so the first night I attempted to sleep in the main hall, and I slept by where Clary and Fury had their things set up
<SGT> and the fellow who was with them, I forget his nick
<SGT> handle
<SGT> back in the day we had handles (:
<Chris\SR> Yep.. BBS's and stuff :)
<SGT> right so, turns out that the guys working on a demo by us were TBL
<SGT> The Black Lotus
<SGT> TBL have some pc demos but they've gone back to Amiga only of late
<SGT> and TBL are amazing
<SGT> (heys to Emoon, where are you anymore dude)
<SGT> and they were working on Magia
<SGT> and I may have distrurbed them slightly
<SGT> but I don't know, cuz, well, it was very, very cold and difficult to balance myself on 3 folding chairs
<SGT> so eventually I got like maybe an hour of rest
<SGT> and got up and was walking around, and others were trying to sleep
<Chris\SR> that's "normal" though :)
<SGT> well it's abnormal for it to be -20
<SGT> c
<SGT> it was COLD
<SGT> most everyone had gone to the fire cuz it was warmer
<SGT> and they were drinking more than I was at that poitn I think
<SGT> so next morning I meet Poko and he's up (like a person who can DRINK, DDT...)
<SGT> but perhaps It's best to bug DDT about this in person so I get get whacked in the head in person (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> anyway so Poko convinces me that we should go downtown to get beer
<SGT> so we get on the bus.
<SGT> they had a shuttle bus that came by so folks could get showers.
<SGT> which was just the best idea (other than the food trucks)
<SGT> (more on food in a bit)
<SGT> so we go to get beer in town and buy like 2 cases of some 8% alchohol, I think it was 8%
<SGT> normally I guess the beer is 6 or 7%
<SGT> also it wasn't a Toom, it was just a little grocery
<SGT> Toom is a big chain in Germany, they have a separate area for liquids
<Chris\SR> Ah
<SGT> cept of course milk cuz they dont' do milk like we do
<SGT> anyway we got 2 cases, with cans
<SGT> most suggested we get bottles cuz in Germany you pay a fee for the bottles and cans
<SGT> but, well, Poko thot the cans were better, and they prolly were really cuz there wasn't a way to reclaim the fee
<SGT> you have to return with your receipt
<SGT> making it a bit of a pain, some say.
<Chris\SR> I could see that...
<Chris\SR> :)
<SGT> anyway, so while on the trip down I meet a guy from Oklahoma who had been living in Germany for 4 years
<SGT> and he had talked to me on irc before Breakpoint, and had thought he might go
<Chris\SR> ah, great :)
<SGT> and he did, tho I'm not sure how much fun he had, but he said he had to do it
<SGT> he left after 1 1/2 days I think but I think he got some of the atmosphere anyway
<SGT> we had a nice chat on the bus, I think the rest of folks were just in shock from alchohol/morning/cold
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> anyway at one point due to the overloading of the bus (they really didn't have any idea the bus would be SO popular)
<SGT> we all had to get out to go over a bump or it would have bottomed out
<Chris\SR> lol
<SGT> anyway so getting back on the bus - they made circular trips
<SGT> they wouldn't let Poko and I back on together, only one of us
<SGT> so I told Poko to go on, and he thot I should get on anyway (:
<SGT> but I didn't and I walked with another dude who's name I never did get up to a local electronics store so he could get a nic card
<SGT> and we went back and missed the last bus ):
<SGT> so we went back to the grocery in hopes of finding other sceners who knew the bus schedule
<Chris\SR> Oh my :(
<SGT> cuz the c64 music compo was starting
<SGT> anyway so we're in the parking lot and we see some sceners (:
<SGT> pretty easy to find sceners vs townspeople (:
<SGT> and he says somethign to them in German, probably "do you know when the next bus will be by" and they look at us strange
<SGT> and he repeats it and they all go "English please!"
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> cuz they were from Sweden and Norway (:
<SGT> which, of course, makes it really easy for me, since I dont' have to learn new languages
<SGT> which is what kb had said, don't try to learn German just for the trip
<SGT> I'll learn more German BEING there
<SGT> tho not this year.
<SGT> anyway, so they had a minibus and needed to go to the showers, but some weren't out of the place yet
<SGT> grocery
<Chris\SR> right
<SGT> so I asked who was who and it was the guys from Razor demodivision, like Dubmood
<SGT> I knew Dubmood's stuff but didn't know him personally, and it was a trip cuz he was constantly from then on coming up to me drunk and saying "Sir GARBAGE TRUCK!" and we'd toast each other and stuff (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> also Slumgud was there, and he insisted I didn't know of him but I told him "um, dude, I know " and rattled off a bunch of Norwegian sceners I hang with
<SGT> and he went "oh, um, ok, yeah, you do" and smiled (:
<SGT> so they needed to know how to get to the showers, and I thought I remembered, and I did sorta, we got to the area and I was pretty much able to figger it out
<SGT> tho I kinda felt a bit guilty cuz I got to sit in the front seat that way
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> but then we dropped off some who went to take a shower
<SGT> but the showers closed at 10 or noon or summat, and that's what time it was
<SGT> but we went back. I dunno what the others did.
<SGT> I think one was Pipe, I'm not sure.
<SGT> anyway not important on MY trip (:
<SGT> ok so we went back, and it was time for some other compos, and Poko saw me and insisted I have a beer and so I tried but I had to go for the compos which were starting
<SGT> oh and I was also talking to Smash/FLT and Sh0ck and Ript too about stuff, they were all coding frantically for the 64k compo
<SGT> which was the next day, but you know, party coding
<SGT> it's a tradition
<SGT> (:
<Chris\SR> yep :)
<SGT> and um I forget what the compo was, tracked music maybe?
<SGT> lomaxx was a bit upset because his was cut in preselection
<SGT> no wait that wasn't tracked music
<SGT> that was streamed music
<SGT> they had compos for sid music, tracked music, and streamed music
<SGT> which is as it should be
<Chris\SR> right :)
<SGT> course they might also do YM music sometime for the Atari folks, but possibly not because the YM chip is just ... ow
<SGT> tho there are some composers I've learned that can do stuff with it that sounds good
<SGT> but YM, ugh, horrible sound thing
<SGT> Rob Hubbard said to Atari that they shouldn't use it, as I remember
<SGT> but they did and of course no one seriously used the atari soundchip
<SGT> cept the demo guys
<SGT> and of course Amiga people don't talk to Atari people (: Well, NOW we do (:
<SGT> so let's see, um, contest, yeah, and it was a cool one and I don't remember exactly everything that happened, I met more folks, stashed the blankets - oh yes Banana let me borrow blankets and a air mattress but I forgot the air mattress the first night
<SGT> so I stashed the blankets in Santa's car
<SGT> but then later that night after the compos - oh wait I remember
<SGT> Scene.org awards!
<SGT> this was SO killer
<SGT> I think it was at 6 pm
<SGT> scene.org awards, and I was up front for this
<SGT> I learned that you need to get a seat early the next day, but that day I'd been going up front to get a seat anyway
<SGT> anyway so the scene.org awards went down, and Melwyn and Steeler were in suits
<Chris\SR> hehe
<SGT> and they were trying hard to do the whole thing professional but they really didn't have much else to say, and were a tad nervous (but very professional) so it wasn't really smalltalk city
<SGT> but hey it also wasn't canned crap
<Chris\SR> There you go :)
<SGT> so anyway they had the scene.org awards and they showed some stuff I had not seen before
<SGT> tho I had seen Variform the night before and thought it was pretty crap
<SGT> and the 2nd time I saw it during the awards I was like "ok this is pretty crap"
<SGT> and then the 3rd time, cuz it was nominated for more than one award, I _GOT_ it
<SGT> and it's just a great demo (:
<SGT> also got to see Coccoon's Raw Confessions
<SGT> which won for best graphics
<Chris\SR> :)
<SGT> and, well, I mean, it should have
<SGT> but I think maybe it should have won best of 2002 as well
<SGT> Variform is a great demo, but I think maybe Raw Confessions goes a bit further in terms of allover depth
<SGT> Variform appeals to demosceners
<SGT> Raw Confessions appeals to sick, twisted individuals (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> and those who can see it for what it is, a really violent art thing
<SGT> TBL were nominated for Little Nell, which I saw later - it was amazing, just stunning what they do with an 060 Amiga
<SGT> and they also had AND's amazing 64k intro - which has music by AND, gfx by AND, and coding by AND
<SGT> he's Russian, and the demo is just amazing
<Chris\SR> Ah yes
<SGT> some say it may be over-saturated, but hey, I'll take that over boring browns (like quake) anyday
<SGT> also they had one from TPOLM called 'tom thumb' which was stunning
<SGT> it's a realtime calculated movie
<SGT> but, well, each frame is calculated to a tiff file and then to watch you have to slam them all together
<SGT> but it depends on what seed you give it what it produces
<SGT> it's just pretty amazing.
<Chris\SR> I see
<SGT> so it's not realtime like what we normally think of, in fact I don't know that it's realtime at all
<SGT> but it is calculated (:
<SGT> anyway, so the awards were killer, and they showed Variform the 3rd time and tons got up to dance to it and I think that's when I got it
<SGT> cuz, I mean
<Chris\SR> Well, perhaps in the sense that one day there will be machines that CAN do that in realtime :)
<SGT> there's just something about the way it goes
<SGT> Kewlers
<SGT> Presents
<SGT> A demo
<SGT> called
<SGT> Variform
<SGT> for Assembly
<SGT> 2 thousand
<SGT> and
<SGT> Two
<SGT> WE
<SGT> ARE
<SGT> BACK!
<SGT> just the WE
<SGT> ARE
<SGT> BACK
<SGT> bit - it's just so... so real (:
<SGT> it's the whole scene wrapped up in 3 words (:
<Chris\SR> hehe
<Chris\SR> yes
<SGT> (well, that, and :"prepare for part 2"
<SGT> )
<SGT> anyway so day 2 has some more compos but I forget what
<SGT> and I'll prolly have them in the wrong spots
<SGT> but then day 3
<SGT> oh wait I froze that night, and met Weasel/Padua, and more folx
<SGT> but it was important to meet Weasel because Appy (Apprentice) who is the only member of Pr0ces$ 1541 who I still know where he is.... he hung with Weasel during his trip to Europe a few years ago
<SGT> and I had to bridge that gap, cuz I knew Weasel from back in the day too, but not as well as Appy, but I knew Appy real well
<Chris\SR> Ah yes, cool
<SGT> cuz well we formed Pr0ces$ 1541
<SGT> which was a demo crew that, well, we did once make a demo that I released sort of but it was internal (:
<SGT> but important because I actually finished one (;
<Chris\SR> hehe
<SGT> ok so let's see then I have the air mattress that night, but I can't find santa, so I can't get the blankets
<Chris\SR> lol
<SGT> but they moved the big heater thing from the admin area to up front
<SGT> and some folks spent the night under it trying to stay warm
<SGT> tho they did get the heating vents somewhat fixed
<SGT> it was still freezing cold
<SGT> maybe the Wild demos were that ngiht I forget (:
<SGT> anyway so I spent that night sitting next to the heater thing dozing off in a chair, waking up every so often to wake my legs up (they'd go to sleep)
<SGT> and conversing occasionally with the folx who came by.
<Chris\SR> hehe.. I bet
<SGT> anyway it got to be like 5 am and I stopped trying to sleep and went about and was talking to the folx who were up and moving about, and oh yes I'd run into Allanon the previous day
<SGT> he comes up to me and goes "are you Sir Garbagetruck" and I go "yup" and he goes "Allanon"
<SGT> mind you I've known Allanon for 10 years but didn't know he was gonna be there
<Chris\SR> Ah, another surprise :)
<SGT> so then we had some chats
<SGT> and I ran into, yes the Wild demo was the night before
<SGT> and there were some really good ones
<SGT> and some average ones
<SGT> the ones I remembered most were Nosfe's Revolt
<SGT> which I don't believe would get much airplay here in the states
<SGT> Nosfe's the first anarchist I've ever met who was an Anarchist because he likes people and life
<SGT> the others I've met dislike people and life and are basically people I would like to see fewer of
<Chris\SR> ah
<SGT> but Nosfe is cool.
<SGT> and his film was thought provoking and challenging, at least to me.
<SGT> Which I think I've told him, if not, I am now (:
<Chris\SR> hehe :)
<SGT> but he says his films normally get banned for some reason or another
<SGT> either too violent or too much nudity
<SGT> anyway they had a Silents demo too, that Laxity did the music for
<SGT> and they had a revisit to 'Desert Dream' cuz it was 10 years old
<SGT> Desert Dream of course being a very important demo
<SGT> ok so that morning I'm walking about and I see Amiga balls jumping on a PC screen and I'm like "um... hmm...that's unusual"
<SGT> and it had a lot of mods to select from
<SGT> and it turns out it was the Total Kaos BBS demo for the wild compo, but it woudlnt' run on the compo machine so it couldn't run
<SGT> but it ran fine there
<SGT> and I talked to the dude who was there, who I didn't know, but have since come to know, Xenusion
<SGT> oh crap watch I'll have screwed the spelling of his name up, I'll bet
<SGT> no I didn't (:
<Chris\SR> You're good with names, better than I anyway :)
<SGT> that was the ... yeah the pixel art compo showing (first one) must have been Saturday too
<SGT> cuz I'd seen that pic the day before
<SGT> and was like "how the..."
<SGT> and so he showed me that pic that he'd done and I was like "wow, I saw that yestarday and I cannot believe you did that in photoshop"
<Chris\SR> It is impressive :D
<SGT> but now I've seen a LOT of his work and it's like... "ok could you maybe just... ok how do you do that, it's been like, a day and you managed to compose a pic that would take Michaelangelo 100 years to do"
<SGT> he's just damned good
<SGT> luckily he's in Danish Gold too (:
<Chris\SR> :)
<SGT> so I get to work with him now, which is cool
<Chris\SR> definately :)
<SGT> unfortunately due to my last month of working on other things than scene stuff, I'm behind on my current project
<SGT> so I think he may be a tad upset and rightfully so
<SGT> so I must get on this
<SGT> other project
<SGT> but after I ramble on some more
<SGT> anyway so he gives me a beer, a really good german beer
<SGT> he says later that it would have been a shame had no one done that
<SGT> I'd had lots of other beers tho but this was something else (:
<SGT> unfortunatley slengpung is down or I'd show you the pic of me with the beer from Xenusion (:
<SGT> and allanon
<SGT> anyway, so, after that morning of waking up, more compos!
<SGT> the 64k compo I think was first
<SGT> maybe not
<SGT> oh wait no, the 4k compo
<SGT> yes 4k was first
<Chris\SR> oh, okay
<SGT> and I was in back this time with sh0ck and ... no I wasn't
<SGT> ok the 4k I saw in back with sh0ck, ript, and Smash
<SGT> ript had a 4k intro that was in ascii graphics
<SGT> was pretty damn cool too
<SGT> had music and stuff
<Chris\SR> right
<SGT> it looked killer from the back (:
<Chris\SR> I bet :D
<SGT> but it got stomped on by the monkey on the beach one
<SGT> and then they showed the realtime raytrace one
<SGT> and at first it was like, there were static images
<SGT> then they started flying over them
<SGT> and moving them about and stuff
<SGT> water effects if I remember, again I was in the back
<SGT> and this won't run on my box here, I think it requires a geforce4 or summat
<Chris\SR> ah
<SGT> and I just have a geforce2, other than a 4 pci
<SGT> which I'm not going pci to get geforce4 stuff yet
<SGT> I might later, cuz some demos need it
<SGT> like Smash's 64k intro
<SGT> anyway those were amazing and then it was streamed music was it?
<SGT> yeah some of that and also more mixing outside
<SGT> the sun came out Sunday and people went outside
<SGT> and I finally got to the fire
<SGT> and realized what a FOOL I'd been not to go to the fire
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> I mean they TOLD me the whole time with signs and stickers and so on
<SGT> "the real party is outside"
<SGT> DUH!
<SGT> ok so anyway
<SGT> entrance, also I think this is a morning shot
<SGT> these are Avatar's pix btw, not mine, even tho they're on my server
<SGT> but you can get an idea of the opening area
<Chris\SR> definately
<SGT> the green truck is the beer truck (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<Chris\SR> You know that one well? :P
<SGT> main hall, just beyond what the first pic showed
<SGT> this has no tables
<SGT> you can see a 'heating tube' in that pic
<SGT> the very front is where they put the 'big screen'
<SGT> some said it was too small. but hey, it was amazing to get a screen up that worked in there
<Chris\SR> hehe
<SGT> the organizers did a killer job on the party
<SGT> yes this is the big screen, testing
<SGT> note how it is able to project even tho the one door is open
<SGT> a good projector (:
<Chris\SR> definately, lots of lumens :)
<SGT> tables. this gives you an idea of the size
<SGT> cuz those were all filled within 3 hours of the doors opening
<SGT> also the red/white things on the tables are power cords
<SGT> don't look at all like ours (:
<Chris\SR> yeah, I noticed :)
<SGT> oh so I forgot my power cord for my laptop, right? but I brought the brick
<SGT> so we tried to get a replacement for it , oh wait
<SGT> no I remembered the cord
<SGT> but of course it didn't work in the german outlets of course
<SGT> so we tried to find a converter
<Chris\SR> hehe
<SGT> but counld't
<SGT> but since it took the same socket as the ps/2, banana let me borrow his ps/2 cord
<SGT> that was cool (:
<Chris\SR> :)
<SGT> IBM thinkpads have a stepdown brick that uses a standard ps/2 type plug
<SGT> so you can get them powered in any country (:
<SGT> anyway
<SGT> Imbiss Brager
<SGT> this was the van with the currywurst
<Chris\SR> ah
<SGT> and other wursts, and pretzels
<SGT> pretty good really, considering it was cooked in that van
<Chris\SR> yeah
<SGT> the vendors did not speak English well, they spoke German as they were older
<SGT> but folks could communicate with them well enough, you could always point (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> it was interesting buying things in Euros too
<SGT> cuz they use coins
<SGT> which you knwo, it's just unusual
<Chris\SR> lol
<SGT> I guess we're like the only country really using single bills
<Chris\SR> Probably so, anymore anyway
<SGT> other countries are using single coins, and 5 unit coins, and 10 unit coins
<Chris\SR> yep
<SGT> mind you the Netherlands no longer has their 2 1/2 guilder coin
<SGT> that threw me
<SGT> cuz it means kids in the Netherlands had to learn fractions
<SGT> anyway
<SGT> there was another van lemme see if there's a pic
<SGT> no but here's the infodesk (:
<SGT> another way to deal with food at parties
<SGT> we had brought some food from the Toom as well, like waffle packages
<SGT> not frozen waffles, dry waffles, like muffin packages
<SGT> pretty good really
<SGT> and of course we had to get Haribo candies
<SGT> which are like gummi candies to the nth power
<Chris\SR> definately.. from the Black Forest area?
<SGT> yep
<SGT> that's the brand name, Haribo
<Chris\SR> Ah, heard wonderful things about them :D
<SGT> yeah they are just damn fine
<SGT> ok so this is what happens when they play Paniq/Messiah on the loudspeakers outside
<Chris\SR> I've had the dry waffles stuff too
<SGT> me jamming to Paniq/Messian, Poko looking and telling me to go in front of the main mixbox, my towel around my neck and my hat with the 'real party is outside' sticker
<SGT> Avatar says this picture pretty much sums up my Breakpoint experience
<SGT> and I agree. it just rocked (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> oh and Clary, next to Poko, missing it all (:
<SGT> well, missing me jamming (:
<SGT> ok so, let's see, after the afternoon of fun in the sun, it was time for the 2 big compos
<SGT> 64k compo and demo compo.
<Chris\SR> right
<SGT> 64k compo was first, and they had I think 13 entries, maybe 12
<SGT> lemme check
<SGT> oh yes the 4k intro for Amiga was the previous day too, it was pretty good
<SGT> and they should have had a 64k intro compo for Amiga but they didn't have any entries
<SGT> or they only had 1 or 2
<SGT> so no compo ):
<Chris\SR> ah
<Chris\SR> yeah
<SGT> this was upsetting because Potion's Planet Potion had just blown people away the previous year
<SGT> Planet Potion is just the SHIT
<SGT> ok let's see
<SGT> and I stupidly forgot that there were 2 demo compos
<SGT> 1 pc, one Amiga
<SGT> obviously the Amiga one is more important (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> (oh yeah, that'll get the newschool pc people on my case. Apparently at the awards show Louie/TBL said somethign to that effect.
<SGT> I dunno that it's important at all, but it is something that people are making things on the Amiga and c64 platforms still. It's still the scene, it's still do stuff with what you have but DO STUFF)
<SGT> anyway.
<Chris\SR> definately :)
<SGT> 12 entries in the 64k pc compo.
<SGT> The first was Proof of ANSI by Never and Text-Rausch, and it was, well, ok. It had some issues really.
<SGT> Sh0ck and Ript got 10th place, not bad really
<SGT> smash/FLT's demo (with music by Reed) suffered from bad drivers on the compo machine, and fastcoding
<SGT> it worked with updated drivers and they did show it again properly but of course everyone mostly had gone outside again
<SGT> and it was amazing with the new drivers ):
<SGT> he came in 5th, he was upset that it screwed up but still felt good about it placing I think, but I know the dissapointment was pretty bad
<SGT> it was a good demo
<SGT> perhaps good enough for 3rd had it not screwed up
<SGT> anyway 2nd to last shown was this demo by a group called Farb-rausch
<SGT> or, um, Farb-raush ? sorry guys I only learned this year it's not Far-Brausch
<SGT> Farb = color
<SGT> Raush/Rausch = rash
<SGT> or something like that, sickness, or something
<SGT> at least that's how it was explained, tho I dont' think we have an English word for it
<SGT> which, well, that works (: I mean, why Anglicise it (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> while trying to come up with the name for the new group I'm forming here in the states (applications being accepted)
<SGT> I considered using a foreign word or name, cuz so many are English
<SGT> also considered using a native American word, like Snoqualmie
<SGT> cuz it's a local group so far
<Chris\SR> ah, cool
<SGT> but, well, considering how many interested folks I'm finding here (:
<Chris\SR> :)
<SGT> anyway. so I chose Automobile cuz, well, it works for an American group.
<Chris\SR> yeah.. I think so anyway :)
<SGT> (some folks say it's childish, and I don't recall saying I was gonna grow up (: )
<SGT> right so fr-30 pops on
<SGT> and so the first screen goes up, with the legs
<SGT> and then the first vocoder singing
<SGT> and then the tits
<SGT> and then more singing
<SGT> and the face
<SGT> and by this time everyone is clapping and jaws are dropping
<SGT> you clap when you approve of something at a European demoparty, or at least at Breakpoint you did
<Chris\SR> right
<SGT> and so the whole thing goes down and everyone is like "well they did it again"
<SGT> so they go to the last one
<SGT> BoyC says that at this point, Tomcat was sitting behind him and TomCat says
<SGT> "they may as well not show this one"
<SGT> and they threw up the last entry, Conspiracy/Project Genesis
<SGT> and the first part rolls... and it's impressive, with the flowers and all
<SGT> and goes "prepare for part 2" which had somewhat become a cliche by that time (:
<SGT> and then part 2 rolls, with the city scape and the space cars
<SGT> or flying cars
<SGT> and then that fades and up comes part 3
<SGT> at this point folks are going "ok wait a minute, it's been, like, 5 minutes, and it's still going. and this is GOOD"
<SGT> and then the thing with the underground pipes and so on, and then the big gear thing with the greets
<SGT> at this point I go "ok if they make that gear thing move it's over, they've done it"
<SGT> and then they fscking did it, that gear thing started moving
<SGT> and then came part _4_
<SGT> and the credits and the landscape and the flag and everyone was like "holy crap that was 10 minutes of demo in 64k..."
<SGT> so I know where Gargaj and BoyC are, cuz I'd met them just prior to the show
<SGT> and I said "you did it, you won, congrats" and Gargaj was like "no, no Candytron won"
<SGT> "but thanks"
<SGT> and some folks were coming up but not many knew who or where they were
<SGT> so we go out to the lobby and folks are coming up to them and saying "congrats that was great"
<SGT> and BoyC is excited, but still in denial that it was that good
<SGT> and Gargaj is in shock, people were suddenly treating them like they'd conquered the FR goliath
<SGT> and KB comes over and says "that was really good." and Gargaj is like "um. wow. thanks."
<Chris\SR> hehe
<SGT> and then Gizmo-FR comes over and says to BoyC "congrats. you won."
<Chris\SR> that had to be some moment :D
<SGT> and BoyC is like "no, no way man, you guys won"
<SGT> and Gizmo is like "wanna bet?"
<SGT> and BoyC is like "sure."
<SGT> so they bet a coke. and BoyC is like "wow. holy crap. we... really...did something" and Gargaj is in total shock over the response.
<SGT> I took this all in, it was just amazing and I wouldn't trade being there for that for anything
<Chris\SR> I bet, it sounds truly awesome
<SGT> mind you, I missed the next day at the awards ceremony where gizmo gave BoyC the coke he'd won
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> anyway they did the Amiga demo later that night, and they had 3 entries
<SGT> the first one was really good, but a bit dated perhaps
<SGT> oh heh I forgot FR minus 06
<SGT> HANDS UP IN THE HANDS UP IN THE HANDS UP IN THE
<SGT> people hated it (: but it was killer fun, and FR have the right attitude
<SGT> if you havent' seen it, it's worth laughing at.
<Chris\SR> okay, I'll dig it up and watch it :)
<SGT> anyway, then they played Madwizards Fate Fits Karma, which was an amazing powerpc demo
<SGT> tho I was starting to fade and I think I dozed during part of it
<SGT> and they sorta knew that TBL would take it, cuz, it's TBL (:
<Chris\SR> haha, all the alcohol and sleepless nights catching up to you? :P
<SGT> but never give up folks, never give up, look at what conspiracy did (:
<SGT> well not til a bit later, but yes (:
<SGT> so anyway, they showed MAGIA
<SGT> and MAGIA is magic
<SGT> they did their standard 'zoom in with increasing detail' bit, that they do so well
<SGT> but they cut it at points and slid everything 90 degrees
<SGT> and then it was another scene
<SGT> it was astounding
<SGT> and again I had seen them piecing the bits together the first night, and I hope I didn't wake them with snoring
<SGT> I was worried about htat
<SGT> and then the PC demo compo
<SGT> which had a lot of good entries, the realtime raytraced one by federation against nature was damn good
<SGT> I liked the Squoquo demo too, it had Genetic Gemini's music in it, but some say it suffered cuz they put the words up
<Chris\SR> that's a 50/50 street with me :P
<SGT> he was also a bit upset that the speakers distorted his drums, but kb also was concerned about that with his and, well, as he pointed out - I think it was kb - well hell whoever it was
<SGT> every production had the same speakers so it was the same thing for everyone
<Chris\SR> right
<SGT> the Squoquo's mansion words, however, are possibly more trite than the ones in Hunz' "Broken Wings"
<SGT> which I believe are the words lyrics to any song ever.
<SGT> with the possible exception of the 'snakey' song by Green Jelly:(o)
<SGT> and of course anything off Metallica's St. Anger
<SGT> ok anyway.
<SGT> The Popular demo. Amazing. Amazing amazing amazing, but I dozed off twice during it.
<Chris\SR> oh you evil evil man :P
<SGT> and then the last demo shown was Relais by Kolor
<SGT> tho I have a problem with Kolor saying they suffered because of size limitations
<SGT> I just am NOT impressed with demos that are large
<SGT> for me, the quality of a demo is inversely proportional to the size
<SGT> with some exceptions
<Chris\SR> Well it takes such talent for people to make the same quality (visual and audio) in such small sizes.. so yes, it's truly much more impressive
<SGT> and I'm sure someone will probably have to discuss "inversely proportional" with me again
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> I had that discussion once with someone I forget who
<SGT> anyway I think we were both right but I'm sure they still don't see how inversely proportional is correct for what we were discussing
<SGT> which may have been demo size (:
<SGT> anyway Relais was even MORE amazing, to me, than the Popular Demo
<SGT> tho the Popular Demo is of course the all over winner for most because, well, it's THE POPULAR DEMO
<SGT> I mean seriously, it's correctly named.
<SGT> it just LOOKS great.
<Chris\SR> it is great, yeah :)
<SGT> Is the Matrix a good movie because of the script? well, no, it really isn't as good, say, as Dogma
<SGT> but it's a better film because it has the effects down, and it's accessable to more folks.
<SGT> or, not better.
<SGT> it's a more accessable film.
<SGT> same here, the Popular demo is accessably by every single living and non-living creature.
<SGT> plants actually grow better when near people that have seen it on the bigscreen at Breakpoint...
<SGT> but Relais was just a spectacular production as well, and hopefully will be nominated for a scene.org award
<SGT> so then I tried to sleep that night in thesleeping hall, and I had my blankets I think
<SGT> I forget (:
<SGT> anyway I tried to sleep in the sleeping hall and I closed all the windows I thought
<SGT> but someone came in later and closed the one remaining one
<SGT> and I discovered that I was freezing to death (:
<SGT> so I had to get up and go thaw, so I went to the fire, and had ... oh wait no I went to the fire first and had good talks with Uncle-X before I had to pass out
<SGT> Uncle-X helped me to understand various aspects of the MFX demos that aren't neccesarily approachable by, well, everyone
<SGT> and this is when PS suggested that I really take another listen to Dune
<Chris\SR> ah, I see
<SGT> basically sort of a "you may think you're open to all this but you're not being really open"
<SGT> or well sort of. anyway, I've been able to see some of this stuff better by examining it from a different angle, or sometimes more than one
<SGT> I still think that some demos which people call great are bloated sea mammal corpses laying in the middle of an airport runway
<SGT> stinky and difficult to remove and the big question being "why"
<SGT> Halycon/Chimera being the big one
<Chris\SR> That's a good thing though.. I mean you have your opinions, but are open to different points of view
<SGT> I just do NOT get why folks like that at all, I think it's an emporers new clothes type thing
<SGT> again philosophical stuff to discuss by the fire at a party (:
<Chris\SR> hehe
<SGT> so anyway next morning after talking to Elend and watching Nosfe clean up stuff and be just generally one of the coolest people I've ever seen in a 'responsible' role - cuz, he, well, was being responsible for stuff when others werne't and all - basically I gained a lot of respect for Nosfe that morning, because he was taking care of things that needed to be, but still being Nosfe
<Chris\SR> hehe
<SGT> and watching Diamondie be in shock over the whole thing, it may have been sleep depravation too, but she was for soem reason awake
<SGT> I ambled off to the car to find Banana, and we left cuz I had a plane I had to catch at 11
<SGT> I thot it ended Sunday when I read the initial itenerary
<Chris\SR> Ah, well you caught most everything though right?
<SGT> next year I'll have to be sure I can stay an extra day or 2 cuz you need sleep after that
<Chris\SR> the important stuff anyway :)
<SGT> oh yeah the only thing I missed was the ending ceremony
<Chris\SR> yeah
<Chris\SR> which, it sounds like, you might have slept through :P
<SGT> which is important but still not as important
<SGT> yes I prolly would have (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> but yeah it would be good to help them clean up next year I'm thinking
<Chris\SR> Well it definately sounds like you had a wonderful experience at the party. It was my goal to see what the party was like; to let our readers know what they are like, etc.. So when you've gone into so much detail, it's great :D
<SGT> tho I dunno you may be right I may be more of a problem as they have to push me around
<Chris\SR> lol
<Chris\SR> naw :P
<SGT> Well like I said in the report for Hugi - the only way to do it is to BE there
<SGT> and you also have to PARTICIPATE
<SGT> it doens't really matter how you participate, just so long as you DO SOMETHING
<SGT> the scene is as much social as it is technical
<SGT> or artistic
<SGT> so, 3rd question? (:
<Chris\SR> lol
<Chris\SR> Actually, I've got to get.. work tomorrow
<Chris\SR> Not much of an 'interview' after all, eh?
<Chris\SR> A great story though
<Chris\SR> !!!
<SGT> no more a "I was sort of there while he was typing!"
<Chris\SR> haha
<Chris\SR> Well, my excuse is that you type too damn fast :P
<SGT> well yes (: I do (:
<SGT> I flunked typing, now I do close to 80 wpm or summat
<SGT> so if I could one or two last things.
<Chris\SR> Sure
<SGT> ok #1: Rabid Moose "Thanks for the stuff" will be released soon. Get this if you are interested in seeing an oldsk0Ol demo that breaks the scrolltext size record.
<SGT> do NOT get this if you don't like reading scrolltexts. The demo was made for fun, and most people who aren't greeted won't exactly see a reason for it (:
<Chris\SR> Okay.. hehe
<SGT> but if you know me or Nameless you prolly should get it and read thru it, and if I forgot you let me know so I can remember to next time.
<Chris\SR> Cheers :)
<SGT> #2: Danish Gold guys: yeah - um, right, getting to that right NOW
<Chris\SR> hahaha
<SGT> #3: I still don't know if I'm going to Pilgrimage, but I'm thinking I should. If I do, I don't know that I'll have an entry. If I do have an entry it may suck. Please, this isn't because of anything other than I didn't think I was going until I was suddenly able to over the past 3 days.
<SGT> I've finally got the moneys I was supposed to get over the past month, and, well, now I can. but not thinking I would I was working on other things.
<Chris\SR> Well it'd be great if you could go, of course, I bet there's several people that will be looking for you :)
<SGT> #4. If you're in the states and you are interested in talking about forming a demogroup, please contact me. I'll either get you started on your own group or something else may work out (:
<SGT> well yes I know I need to meet Troll. If for no other reason so we can yell at each other about our requests on Nectarine (:
<Chris\SR> haha
<SGT> #5. Enjoy Assembly - everyone who goes - and Enjoy Evoke and Buenzli
<SGT> #6. Nectarine and TK BBS and the BBS's rule.
<SGT> yeah that's it (: I'm done (:
<Chris\SR> hehe
<Chris\SR> okay :)
<Chris\SR> Well good luck with your projects; it sounds like you keep pretty busy. It was great getting to talk to you :)
<SGT> Yup, I keep busy but the problem is completing projects (:
<Chris\SR> Okay :)
<Chris\SR> Thanks again

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