Propaganda 24 ch06

From C64 Diskmag Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
   +--------------------------------+
   |SCENE ILLUSTRATED - HIGHLIGHTING|
   |SCENE ILLUSTRATED - HIGHLIGHTING|
   +--------------------------------+
             HOSTED BY DUKE
  T
- THE OPINION POLLS            VOTING
  _________________            ______
  T
- THE SCENE TODAY              INTERVIEW
  _______________              _________
  T
- THE SCENE TIMELINE           QUIZ
  __________________           ____
  D
- DEBATE OF THE DAY            ARTICLE
  _________________            _______
  T
- THE READERS' PAGE            LETTERS
  _________________            _______

     +T--------------------------+
     |THE OPINION POLLS - POLL #1|
     +---------------------------+

LEGEND is back in the scene. They have
promised to become active and once
again be a factor on the C64. What do
you think?

1. LEGEND will not release anything.

2. They will not be able to meet the
   expectations.

3. They will probably do okay.

4. LEGEND will rule like they did in
   the past.

5. I have no opinion on this matter.

      +T--------------------------+
      |THE OPINION POLLS - POLL #2|
      +---------------------------+

SECOND TO NONE becomes the first real
C64 BBS on the internet. Will this mean
the final end to the American based
BBS's?

1. Definitely.

2. Maybe.

3. No.

4. I do not know.





      +T--------------------------+
      |THE OPINION POLLS - POLL #3|
      +---------------------------+

The magazines try to each out to become
more useful it its readers. What do you
miss the most in today's magazines?

- Better scene coverage.

- Something new.

- Interaction.

- Fun.

- Nothing.

    FIND THE RESULTS OF THE POLLS IN
             PROPAGANDA #25

+T--------------+
|THE SCENE TODAY|    A LEGEND LIVES ON..
+---------------+    ___________________

LEGEND was formed in BELGIUM at a time,
where the C64 was probably the most
talked about computer in the world -
and the scene behind it was quite over-
populated with game and demo
enthusiasts.

It was an ambitious group of people,
who stood behind the achievements of
LEGEND - and they impressed everyone,
even to the degree, that IKARI saw it
as a wise move to team up with them.
They now had power, respect, friends and
foes - but best of all, they ruled the
charts worldwide. LEGEND was on its
way to becoming a true legend.

Everyone with a COMMODORE 64, with or
without any connection to the scene,
has to admit knowing and respecting the
achievements of this group. They have
had a hand in releasing some of the
biggest titles ever, and with POWERPLANT
as the most gifted cracker in the world,
no job was big enough to be passed on
to others.

But all adventures must eventually come
to an end, and so did this one. LEGEND
withdrew from the scene to pursue other
markets. LEGEND never gave up on the
market, the market gave up on LEGEND.

 d=b +----------------------------+ d=b
 'o' |PROPAGANDA - who dares wins!| 'o'
 /_\ +----------------------------+ /_\


Today it is our privilege to welcome
back LEGEND by presenting an exclusive
interview with one of the main
characters behind the legendary team.

WESTBAM, formerly known as NARC, was
primarily known as the supplier, co-
leader and voice of LEGEND on the
American boards. We meet him in this
exclusive interview, and talked about
the group, the members, the wares and
the comeback to the COMMODORE 64.

        +----------------------+
        | (D) DUKE, PROPAGANDA |
        |                      |
        | (W) WESTBAM/LEGEND   |
        +----------------------+



(D) Welcome Michael. Thank you for
    granting us this exclusive inter-
    view.

(W) You're welcome, man. I'm always in
    the mood to talk to "real" scene
    elites from the old days of course.

(D) I appreciate it. Okay, let us begin.
    We have tons of stuff to cover.

             +------------+
             |THE COMEBACK|
             |THE COMEBACK|
             +------------+

(D) The news of the return of LEGEND has
    been spread throughout the world,
    and the response has been very
    positive. What is the reason for

    this surprising comeback, and who
    mastered the plan?

(W) Well, first of all, I don't really
    agree on that the response has
    been positive. Most groups that
    "rule" this scene nowadays comment
    the comeback with phrases like:
    "They cannot compete anymore"...
    Quite amusing I might say. Well,
    the actual idea came from UNCLE D
    and myself. We wanted to move some
    kind of homepage up looking like an
    old 64 BBS to have a place to talk
    to old elites. Then, ANTITRACK and
    POWERPLANT were involved in these
    plans on additional help. To get
    this project straight, we noticed
    there was still some kind of scene
    alive, and we also noticed we

    could still release games faster
    than other groups (we think at
    least).. SO we decided to give the
    64 a last highlight with the
    comeback of one of its most
    successful groups of all time...

(D) I will be looking forward to seeing
    you guys unfold yet again. The
    expectations for a quick return to
    the charts are high, perhaps even
    overwhelming. When can we expect to
    see something solid from you guys?

(W) We were pretty sure from the
    beginning, that people will expect
    something special from us, and we
    hope we can live up to these
    expectations. We plan to start
    releasing games as soon as our new

    HQ - SECOND TO NONE - has been
    finished coding. This start can be
    expected for somewhere in September.

(D) The scene is quite different today,
    as the competition may not be as
    intense as it was, when LEGEND was
    ruling the charts. Where do you
    plan on finding the motivation to
    impress people, and even remain as
    a group?

(W) Motivation, good question man. I
    think the members of LEGEND have
    always been tied with the 64
    development pretty harsh and
    working with this system again after
    years should be enough motivation
    to lead the computer into its last
    years I guess.

    Talking about a group. I don't think
    we have a member that thinks of any
    better place to stick in the 64
    scene than LEGEND - The Will of God.

(D) Loyalty is admirable quality.
    What about SHOCK then? Have you
    spoken to SKATER about bringing it
    back to the scene?

(W) SHOCK will never be released as a
    disk magazine anymore. Still, also
    SHOCK will have its revival. But
    how, that is still secret.. We shall
    see..

(D) I will be looking forward to see,
    what that is all about.



              +---------+
              |THE GROUP|
              |THE GROUP|
              +---------+

(D) The majority of the scene is well
    aware of the highlights, that
    shaped the glorious success of
    LEGEND. But for those who were not
    around or just fail to remember,
    please give us a history lesson on
    the LEGEND past up to present date.

(W) LEGEND was formed in late 1987 as a
    group that imported NTSC games to
    Europe. Legend got pretty well
    known back then already because of
    the high quality pal fixes we
    released. In 1988 the group had its
    first success with releasing games

    first. LEGENDS breakthrough was
    caused through EXCALIBUR being
    founded and starting to fix. So
    LEGEND+EXC started releasing games
    first in a wide mass. The death of
    EXC followed our partnership with
    NORTH EAST IMPORTERS, which had
    with HORIZON the best NTSC fixer
    ever. This was the time LEGEND
    basically dominated the scene. After
    the split of the I+T coop (the best
    coop ever) most of their members
    joined LEGEND and lead LEGEND into
    an ever more dominating position.
    After almost 5 very successful
    years, most members were kinda fed
    up with the 64 scene, so LEGEND died
    in 1993. At that time we had started
    our PC activities which made LEGEND
    - The Will of God, the #1 European

    PC group for a year. But a few very
    important members getting busted
    put an end to these activities in
    1994. Now in 1997 we finally found
    together again to give LEGEND a
    revival nobody expected..

(D) Glad to see, you are back on the one
    true system. What is the single most
    memorable performance, you believe,
    LEGEND had as a group?

(W) The most memorable point in the
    history must have been the fact we
    started to beat I+T, the strongest
    competition back then.. Although
    ILLUSION, CENSOR DESIGN or
    DOMINATORS have been strong
    competition as well, beating IKARI+
    TALENT was the highest mountain we

    climbed.

(D) It was certainly a highlight, we
    will all remember. What is the
    worst episode LEGEND had as a group,
    you would most like to forget about?

(W) The worst moment was the death from
    EXCALIBUR before we started to trade
    with NEI. We basically got sliced
    into pieces by EXODUS & their
    European partners..

             +-----------+
             |THE MEMBERS|
             |THE MEMBERS|
             +-----------+

(D) LEGEND has always featured a long
    line of greatly talented and

    mature members, which appears to
    still be the case with the comeback
    just made. Please give us an
    actual memberlist, and a short
    description of each legender.

(W) The revival memberlist looks like
    this: GOLDFISH, POWERPLANT, XXX,
    ANTITRACK, DOC, FLETCH, UNCLE D,
    MIDFIT, WESTBAM. These people come
    back for sure. We are not sure about
    additional members yet. However,
    the group will keep its policy to
    have a small amount of members.

(D) Many of the names in LEGEND appear
    to be of people, who were known for
    their laziness at times. To be
    honest, who is in the group for a
    purpose, and who is in the group

    acting as passive members for
    nostalgic reasons?

(W) I don't agree on the point LEGEND
    had lazy members. With lazy members
    we wouldn't have reached the place
    we reached I think. People that
    didn't want to do anything for the
    group's success have always been
    removed. All of the above mentioned
    members will be active. Old LEGEND
    members besides will still be
    remembered, but won't be part of
    the comeback I guess..

(D) I agree, activity results in
    success - if you have the talent
    of course. GOLDFISH was once the
    leader of LEGEND. He called the
    American boards often, and was

    famed for his outgoing nature. When
    he decided to stop his activities,
    the burden of leading the group was
    put in the hands of others. Now that
    he is back, who will be the leader -
    if any?

(W) In the first years of existence
    GOLDFISH & POWERPLANT were in
    charge. After GOLDFISH gave up on
    the C64, I took his position over.
    Nowadays we don't need a "leader"
    anymore I think. But for group
    concerns, POWERPLANT and myself are
    in charge of everything.

(D) DOC is one of the most notorious
    crackers the world has ever seen.
    He has had a hand in hundreds and
    hundreds of games, but despite of

    that, he has remained anonymous.
    In fact, DOC never (in my recollect-
    tion) wrote a scrolltext or
    appeared in an interview. Who is
    DOC? Does the scene interest him?
    And why the silence?

(W) DOC didn't go for the fame unlike
    most other crackers. He enjoyed
    cracking just for the hell of it.
    He never wrote scrolltexts as he
    didn't really care about it.
    Nevertheless he is probably the
    best 64 cracker ever (member of
    JEWELS, IKARI, I+T, LEGEND). He
    cracked games NOONE else was able
    to (e.g. TOKI)...

(D) He will remain one of the great
    mysteries of the scene then, unless

    you could talk him into writing one
    of them scrolltexts to tell us
    about who he really is. Secrecy
    tends to invite interest - you know.
    Being involved with the C64 is a
    very timecostly affair, at least if
    you have ambitions towards getting
    anything done. How do you manage
    your time?

(W) Well, back then most LEGENDERS were
    students so time wasn't a problem at
    all. Nowadays most of us work and it
    is indeed a problem finding the time
    to do this crap. We'll see how it
    works out.. I have no idea yet.

(D) The C64 will probably work its way
    into the schedule, like it always
    has done for all of us.

          +-----------------+
          |THE OTHER SYSTEMS|
          |THE OTHER SYSTEMS|
          +-----------------+

(D) The PC and the Amiga were partly
    responsible for putting an end to
    LEGENDs involvement on the C64. What
    was the nature of the involvement
    you guys had on other systems? What
    systems were there, and are you
    still engaged in any activities
    outside of those on the C64?

(W) Well, LEGEND people had been
    involved on both, Amiga and PC. I
    cannot name up all projects, the
    most important one was PC/LEGEND
    for sure. About other projects, I
    could only name up the ones I did.

    On Amiga I was involved with
    PARADOX, THE PRODIGY, CLASSIC, On
    PC I was with RAZOR 1911 and PC/
    LEGEND. I will participate on a
    PC project again, but we will see..

(D) You have been involved with an
    impressive list of groups, I must
    say. What would you say is the
    difference between the Amiga, the
    PC and the C64 scene then?

(W) The C64 has a scene. The others do
    not! There has never been a real
    Amiga/PC scene. It's just very
    harsh competition for 5O% bugged
    releases. No such things like wars
    on subboards, etc.. It is entirely
    different and hard to explain.


(D) Alright, we will leave it at that
    then. The PC is the place to be, if
    you are hooked on technology. The
    C64 is the place to be, if you are
    hooked on a scene experience. Do
    you agree on that observation?

(W) I totally agree with you.

(D) Haha.. Short answer, but right on
    the money! What do you believe
    being a C64 scener is about?

(W) Hmmm, now that is a wierd question.
    Can't we cut this out?? Haha...

(D) Sure.. Except PROPAGANDA is uncut :)
    You could have answered: getting
    wares, having fun, breaking the law,
    meeting folks from around the world.

              +---------+
              |THE WARES|
              |THE WARES|
              +---------+

(D) We have passed the days, when the
    fullprice titlegames was coming in
    on a frequent basis. Today most of
    the games come from smaller software
    houses and off the hands of the
    demo-scene - or at least, so I have
    heard (I am no game freak). How do
    you plan on getting a hold of the
    games, in a market that has become
    so difficult to manage?

(W) We have discovered several ways on
    getting our hands on enough
    releases we think. Apart from that,
    coders that want to have their

    games cracked in a decent way at
    least can always donate them to us.
    If i'd code a game and knew it'll
    get cracked anyhow, I'd prefer to
    have it cracked by a cracker like
    PWP, ATT or DOC - I think.

(D) It is an advice, that is hereby
    passed on to the gamemakers out
    there. So, do you plan on cracking
    any and all releases on the market?

(W) Well, you always have to plan on
    getting everything. Then you can
    release several games as there's
    always some games you get beat on.

(D) It is impossible to get all, luckily
    though - or less the cracking-scene
    would be pretty boring. There are

    many talented crackers in LEGEND.
    How do you plan on dividing the
    responsibilities among these people,
    considering all of them are capable
    of taking on any protection?

(W) That depends on who has the time and
    motivation. ANTITRACK and POWERPLANT
    are looking forward to the originals
    again.. We always had several
    crackers, and we always found to
    keep the fire burning.

               +-------+
               |AMERICA|
               |AMERICA|
               +-------+

(D) America nolonger play as important
    a role in the illegal scene, as it

    did in the early 9O's. Who do you
    plan on signing as partners in
    America, or do you plan on solving
    the fixing problem yourselves?

(W) Well, talking about fixing, we
    actually recruited MIDFIT, a
    promising NTSC fixer, for these
    purposes. Apart from that, we still
    have connections to some other old
    US fixers, that will help us out if
    needed.

(D) What about HORIZON and NEI? Do you
    know, what he (they) are up to these
    days?

(W) HORIZON is working as a programmer
    for CA (Computer Associates)
    nowadays. He sure won't come back to

    the 64 scene. About other members,
    like GRIM REAPER or TDO, we will see
    I guess.

(D) Speaking of American fixers. Don't
    you find it interesting, that
    HORIZON and X-FACTOR were names of
    American fixers, but also of
    European demo groups? Well, I do.
    Anyway, the American boards have
    seen better days, and more people
    look towards the internet to solve
    their communication problems. Do
    LEGEND plan on revisiting the
    American boards, or do you believe
    in the internet as the future
    center of the C64?

(W) We don't really plan on playing a
    big role on US boards anymore.

    BBS's are dead. The internet rules
    everything I think..

(D) It is certainly the future. No one
    can argue with that.

            +--------------+
            |SECOND TO NONE|
            |SECOND TO NONE|
            +--------------+

(D) LEGEND has already taken a big step
    towards giving the C64 sceners a new
    playground on the internet. Although
    a private site, it is already a huge
    success, and the elite parts of the
    scene is flocking to the place.
    Please tell us about SECOND TO NONE
    and the original board, that once
    had the name.

(W) SECOND TO NONE was the LEGEND/NEI/
    EXC HQ back in the 9O's. It was one
    of the best boards back then because
    of its active elite users, and the
    speed wares got there. Every group
    knew they'd have to upload their
    games over there to make sure to
    get the first release. Nowadays
    SECOND TO NONE will be the first
    real 64 BBS on the internet.

(D) The first highlight scored by
    LEGEND since your comeback. :)
    How do you get on SECOND TO NONE?

(W) SECOND TO NONE can be reached via
    WorldWideWeb. To gain access you
    have to contact the User Administra-
    tors, UNCLE D, GENE or me.


(D) I have an account on SECOND TO NONE,
    and I can assure the readers, it is
    definitely a lot of fun. But, as it
    is private, many sceners are going
    to miss out on a cooler scene
    experience. Do you plan on releasing
    the system in the future, when it is
    fully developed, so that other
    groups/people might have an
    opportunity of using it?

(W) SECOND TO NONE will remain private.
    But every 64 scener that is
    interested to get on there can
    leave e-mail to the user administra-
    tors to get an account, no problem.
    As soon as QCBBS will be finished,
    the program will be granted to
    other 64 groups to have more boards
    to call again.

(D) That is a great gesture from LEGEND.
    QCBBS will serve the scene well, and
    encourage more activity. People fear
    though, the start of internet boards
    may be the final blow to end the
    days of the original boards. But
    then again, why should people go
    through the trouble of getting
    calling cards, breaking the law and
    abusing their telephones, when they
    can use the internet with the
    same result?

(W) Exactly. Why should anyone risk
    his neck on abusing CC for calling
    a 24OO baud BBS. It is ridiculous
    transferring data at a speed of
    24OO baud, while we have ISDN
    128K available.


(D) And with SECOND TO NONE, the
    internet has replaced the last of
    what the original boardscene had
    to offer. May it rest in peace.

              +----------+
              |THE FUTURE|
              |THE FUTURE|
              +----------+

(D) In closing, please let us in on the
    future plans (or starting plans
    rather) of LEGEND.

(W) Well, we'll attempt in releasing
    games again with the known LEGEND
    quality and quantity. Apart from
    that, we are working on several
    games and a protection for a
    company that will start publishing

    64 games again.

(D) Sounds promising indeed. Thank you,
    Michael, for taking part in this
    interview. Good luck with LEGEND,
    and hope you will enjoy your second
    stay on the C64!

(W) Thank you for wasting your time on
    this interview. And remember, the
    dragon haunts... AGAIN!!


           WESTBAM of LEGEND
           _________________

     +----------------------------+
     |UP NEXT                     |
     |UP NEXT - THE SCENE TIMELINE|
     +----------------------------+

          +T---S-----T-------+
        - |THE SCENE TIMELINE| -
          +------------------+

When did the following events occur?

-The world famous musician, GUY SHAVITT,
 left the 64 to pursue goals on the PC.

-The Dutch based group, BRUTAL, died.
 Most members went on to form INBREED.

-The American hacker, MUTANT-X, returned
 to the 64 and teamed up with F4CG.

-RED SECTOR INC. ruled the release
 charts, while SUCCESS did the voted.

    The answer can be found later in
           Scene Illustrated.

         +-------------------+
         |+-----------------+|
         ||DEBATE OF THE DAY||
         ||DEBATE OF THE DAY||
         |+-----------------+|
         +-------------------+

         THE SCENE EXPERIENCE!
        _______________________
I
It is a joy to be a part of the C64
scene. A joy, that is quite unique and
certainly special. Why? Because there
is nothing like it in the world.

When you first visit this scene, you
will become immediately addicted and
never leave. In spirit or in a more
direct sense.


The scene is inhabited by a large group
of people, who work together, against
each other or for each other. It is
about the C64, but now always. It is
also about a society of open-minded
people, who has been brought up working
with people across boarders, even
continents. There are no politics or
race in the scene.

Though it is said to be a dog eat dog
scene, it still seems more humane, than
the world we live in. This world is
controlled, while the scene is a great
believer in anarchy. Though anarchy is
considered a chaotic type of ideology,
it appears to have just the opposite
effect in the scene. The sceners know
the scene, and they know how to move
within it.

The scene is not a place for ruthless
thugs though, laws prevent these types
from trespassing. Although it is
unwritten laws, they are followed by
all, upheld by all and protected by all.

These laws and ethics, if you will,
secure the rights of the scene people,
the progress of talent, and the best
interests of the scene.

However, all is not golden these days.
The scene is old, and shows ever growing
signs of weakness. The ingredients
needed to keep the scene healthy are
running outm abd attempts to nurture
and provoke more of these ingredients
have not been as successful as we could
have hoped.


What are these ingredients? Well, they
are quite simply ACTIVITY! If you move
around in the scene, it will blossom.
If you leave it be, it will fade away
and eventually die. The scene cannot
live on past greatness, those days are
long gone, and although they are fun to
remember, they do very little for the
future - a future, we all want the scene
to have.

The scene was built on passion, and it
will shine once again on passion. How
will it shine? It will shine by feeding
it with activity, a lot of activitiy.
Activity in the form of interest in the
scene, productivity and good old Tender,
Love and Care.
                            LOAD PART II
                            LOAD PART II
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Toolbox