Skyhigh 14 ch05 MAD On

                 mad on







              - mad on... -


it should have been in skyhigh eleven...
yet i (mad/padua) got too wound up in
packing three years into three absolutly
amazing months.
so, here you are, a very old chapter by
a wise old mad. the points are still
relevant in the scene today...

before this, i had better clear up some
questions a few of you may be asking...
yes, i am already on the revealed staff,
(i have a thing for danish mags...) and
i was supposed to be editing the all new
update magazine. it will be a few months
before we even consider releasing update
again. so why write for two (or more)
magazines? well, i only write about the
software industry for revealed, and i
will only write about the demo scene for
skyhigh.
biz kid wanted someone with experience,
good english, a flair for writing and
enthusiasm... but got me instead...
sorry biz...



any of the points i raise in this text,
you can agree/disagree with or even add
to. simply write to either biz kid or me
and your views will be in the next
reactions chapter (along with my reply).



+ should size compromise style?

expanding sprites has never really been
a stylish thing to do in a demo. the
result is blocky and ugly.
yet, in the past months, there have been
a few demos in particular that have used
expanded sprites to display routines.
mr.sex's screen-sized wibbly wobbly
dragonball featured expanded sprites to
provide the size, which although this is
blocky and unstylish, it is still quite
impressive because of the size.
but should coders do this? should size
compromise style?



+ unfair reviewing.

a while ago (around february '94), there
was a demo review in a certain magazine,
which featured a music review by a well
known musician (as you can see, i'm not
using names, although it is obvious...).
the demo review was for the spirit demo,
'tales of mystery', and the musicians
under the spotlight were cane and dos.
the reviewer seemed to hold a big grudge
against both musicians, due to their use
of filtering. changing the filters on an
old c64 gives a clicking sound, which is
not present on the new c64. as the tunes
were composed on new c64's, and reviewed
on and an old c64, you can understand
that the music sounded inferior.
the same applies with digis. if you hear
a digi tune on a new c64, it isn't too
good. but should you review a digi music
on a new c64 when you know that it will
be a biased review? no, in my opinion
it would be pointless to tell both old
and new c64 owners that a tune is crap
unless you have heard that tune on both
computers.
i guess that is the point i am trying to
make here. the reviewer did not have the
right to judge music he could not have
heard properly. that is like me doing
graphics reviews when i'm not wearing my
glasses...
the musics by cane and dos are amongst
the best i've heard. they are both very
talented musicians using a very cool
music routine. if you have an old c64,
then i'm sorry, but you are missing out
on a real audial experience. i suggest
you sell your grandma and buy a new one
(a new c64, not a new grandma...).



+ 'elite'.

i know that rrr covered this months ago,
but i have a few points that i want to
be known. the word elite is just another
cliche, it has lost all meaning due to
overuse.
so what is 'elite'? well, a dictionary
definition is this... 'a group of people
regarded as superior in some way and
therefore favoured'. now when i think of
superior sceners, none of the ones i
think of regard themselves as elite.

and that is the difference!

sceners regarded as elite, and sceners
regarding themselves as elite...

maybe i'm taking this too seriously, i
don't know. it seems the one true way
to be 'elite' is to keep your mouth shut
and work hard at your chosen proffesion
in the scene-system. some people i know
have done this, and some prefer to take
the easy option, labelling themselves as
some envied deity...



+ so what next?

so what next? i'm talking about effects
left to be seen on the humble c64. are
we nearly at an end of breakthroughs?
maybe, but each time i say that, i am
forced to eat my words. but new effects
are few and far between, so what else is
there?
i'm glad to see design has improved in
demos, and i believe that is where the
future of the demo lies. what started
with the faultless 'dutch breeze' has
become a standard for the top groups to
follow (in their own style of course!).
the trackmo format has become essential
to the overall styling of a demo, and
originality in displaying graphics and
effects is important also.
there are alot of very able coders in
the scene today, and the competition is
on to see who can show off their code
the best, not who can code more vector
sides etc...



so, that is it for this month. i will
save the remaining burdens that plague
my tormented mind for another time. now
i will rest my weary eyes, and think of
a better world...

zzz z  z   z



(mad)

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----------------------------------------
              - mad off -
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it's been a while. to those who have
contacted me in the past four to five
months, i apologise for not writing to
you all personally.

my next (and last) big sending will be
the forthcoming padua release. after
that, i will only keep in contact with
my very best friends in this scene.
i'll disclose that information in the
usual accompanying disknotes...

so am i quitting? well, yes and no. i'm
stopping 'swapping' because of certain
other distractions in my life, and my
time now has some value to it.
the past three months in my life have
made it worth living...

i will continue sendings to a chosen few
guys (after the big padua sending).
i have not left padua, nor do i intend
to, and quite alot of my graphics are to
be used in the new demo.
after that, who knows?


expect the new padua demo around the new
year!




(MAD)