The Pulse 21
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preface
+ WELCOME TO + + THE PULSE MAGAZINE - THE FEBRUARY EDITION + -------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the 21th edition of the world-wide distributed scripture THE PULSE MAGAZINE - released by SHAPE on a monthly basis. This is your magazine guide to the World of information within the Cracking, Demo and Modem-scene. We send our respect and greetings to our friends/colleagues; PROPAGANDA, SKYHIGH, VANDALISM NEWS, DOMINATION, RELAX, NITRO, IMMORTAL FLASH and ROCK'N'ROLE. Also a giant hello to all our friends and supporters world-wide. INSTRUCTIONS : Use JOYSTICK in PORT II and move LEFT/ RIGHT to switch between pages. Press FIRE to reach the menu. COMMENTS FROM THE EDITOR PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- PRIDE OF THE FATHER-MACHINE.. Welcome to another edition of THE PULSE MAGAZINE, this edition representing the 21st in a fine collection. We have opened a brand new chapter of our own personal history, but also welcomed the beginning of a new year - a period that will hopefully be eventful for all of us, as we continue our activities on the Commodore 64. THE PARTY 5 was a somewhat acceptable event. It may not have been the best way to spend a holiday, but meeting fellow sceners is never a total waste of time. The best moment at this event, was however the demo-competition. The demos were a true success, and were applauded by the general audience, which was dominated by PC and AMIGA sceners. It was a proud moment for the old father-machine! COMMENTS FROM THE EDITOR PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- But having passed a period packed with C64 events, magazine anniversaries among other activities, we look towards the next big thing to carry us into the future. But having had a lot of fun during most of 1996, it is with optimism, that we engage upon the challenge of the future. Because the future belongs to those that dare take it on - and much can be said about the Commodore 64, but it is definitely not scared of new challenges. With that in mind, let us all make an extra effort to create a better atmosphere in the C64 scene. We owe it to each other, but most importantly, we owe it to the scene itself. I would also hope for a bigger attendance at the C64 events across Europe. Today there are more than a thousand sceners who do not take part in these C64 parties - get your acts together and meet up. Imagine what fun it would be! COMMENTS FROM THE EDITOR PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- The entry into 1996 also highlighted another special event for THE PULSE MAGAZINE. Having celebrated our 20th edition anniversary, we moved onto the ancient and proud label of the demo-group SHAPE. We hope of becoming much stronger in the future, with the aid of this talented group. With that being said, I leave you to enjoy this fine edition of THE PULSE MAGAZINE. It is once again packed with news, views, entertainment, information and lots of good debates. We hope to have selected the best of text for your enjoyment, but would also like to hear from you, what your views are on our magazine program. We are at your service! Happy C64 February! DUKE, General Editor! THE HOUSE STAFF PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL EDITOR DUKE/SHAPE ASSISTENT EDITOR CROSSFIRE/MOTIV 8 ILLEGAL EDITOR JAZZCAT/ONSLAUGHT NEWS CORRESPONDENT MR.WAX/CHROMANCE INTERNET CORRESPONDENT PLAYBOY/F4CG EURO CORRESPONDENT KBS EURO CORRESPONDENT MACX/AMBUSH PROGRAMMING CRITIC MR.SEX/BYTERAPERS INC. MUSICAL CRITIC SYNDROM/TIA/CREST GRAPHICAL CRITIC EARTHQUAKE/ANTIC/CS The young and ambitious swapper, MACX of AMBUSH, signed with the staff, and will operate as our second European correspondent. THE CREDITS PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- PROGRAMMING THE SYNDROM/TIA/CREST GRAPHICS EARTHQUAKE/CS/ANTIC MUSIC DRAX/VIBRANTS/CREST THE INTERNET ADDRESSES PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- DUKE AH-PULSE@CYBERNET.DK JAZZCAT JAZZCAT@VISION.NET.AU CROSSFIRE C01@AABC.DK SYNDROM HARTUNG@RMHS2.URZ.TU-DRESDEN.DE MR.SEX B150542@PROFFA.CC.TUT.FI EARTHQUAKE DSC@INFORMATIK.TU-CHEMNITZ.DE THE PULSE MAGAZINE HOMEPAGE ON THE WWW -------------------------------- HTTP://WWW.TU-CHEMNITZ.DE/-DSC/PULSE/ HOW TO CONTACT PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- In case you are not an owner of an internet account, you can reach us at the following two addresses for our editorial. We gladly accept News, Information, Reports, Statements, Reactions, Addresses or whatever that may be relevant to the readers of THE PULSE MAGAZINE. All material must be made available to us no later than the 25th of FEBRUARY. Please notice the special address for the ADVERTISEMENTS. THE PULSE MAGAZINE WHQ ADVERTISEMENTS XXXX XXXXX XXX XXXX XXXXXXXXX XXX XXXXXXXXX XX XXXXXX X XXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX (This address not for swapping, unless you are a mag-editor) THE PROGRAM GUIDE PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- PREFACE INTRODUCTION/EDITORIAL NEWS JOURNAL NEWS/FACTS MONTHLY RELEASES 1ST RELEASES WORLD OF DEMOS DEMO REVIEWS SATIRICA SATIRIC STORIES/VIEWS PROFILE INTERVIEW/TALKSHOW SCENE ILLUSTRATED DEBATE/INFORMATION THE BOARD REPORT NEWS/REPORT MEET THE PRESS INTERACTION/MEDIA THE INTERNET REPORT INFORMATION/USERS OVERALL CHARTS VOTED CHARTS/ANALYSIS ADVERTISEMENTS SWAP ADVERTS THE CONTENTS OF THE PULSE MAGAZINE GENERAL INFORMATION PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------- THE PULSE MAGAZINE is a complete C64 scene based magazine. As the only C64 magazine, we are dedicated to giving you an insight about all the corners of the scene - in short, we cover the world, because the C64's business is our business. The contents of this edition may not have to be the opinion of all editors in the staff of THE PULSE MAGAZINE. Each editor is of their own seperate opinion, but feel free to express that opinion without having to express the overall opinion of THE PULSE MAGAZINE. Thanks must go to those that helped us in the making of this edition. We depend on help from all sceners, therefore we urge everyone to take part in our many debates as well as sending us news and information. We appreciate the support!
news journal
+ NEWS JOURNAL - MONTHLY SCENE REPORT + -------------------------------------------------------------- We bring you another exclusive update of the current scene situation, as it looks in the eyes of the News Journal reporters. Join us every month, for an inside look at the news with competent views. We would like to present the most thorough coverage of the scene, but we need your help to do that. Lend us a helping hand, and give your support. NEWS JOURNAL is hosted by DUKE. Newsgathering by CROSSFIRE, MR. WAX and DUKE! Address : XXXX XXXXX XXX XXXXXXXXX XX XXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX Telephone : +XX - XX XX XX XX (15.00-24.00 ECT). E-Mail : AH-PULSE@CYBERNET.DK ACRISE + EXCESS (GER, HOL, POL, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- The brand new co-operation introduced to the scene in December '95, appears to have started the new year rather annonymously. But according to members, they are soon to release their biggest asset, the magazine NITRO. Another magazine will shortly reach the directories as well, this one known as SANFORIZED. Meanwhile ACRISE+EXCESS signed on ECHO of PLUSH to the side, who will remain a member of PLUSH though. In addition, they decided to remove CREB from the co-operation, because they were discontent with his personality. At least that was the official reason! BOARDS : COVERAGE +XX - XXXX - XXXXX MEMBERS : Alien Prophet, Authentic, Artex, Beat Up, Bordeaux, Cat, Decoy, Echo, Fli, Gash, Hornet, H-Bloxx, Master S, MHD, Nasty Boy, Red Rock, Riddler, RHX, Sentinel, Spermbird and Twynn. ALPHA FLIGHT (GER, HOL, POL, USA) -------------------------------------------------------------- The German phreakers, CHOTAIRE, covered the headlines of ALPHA FLIGHT in the beginning of the new year. It appears CHOTAIRRE has grown tired of the scene, and the C64. According to VORTEX of HITMEN, CHOTAIRE was done calling boards, as the C64 scene was apparently "too lame for him", and that he did not care for it anymore. But reading a message written by CHOTAIRE, which was spread on the American boards, the reason for his inactivity in the scene, is due to personal problems. He recently went through a car-accident, and will most likely loose his drivers- license, and pay a lot of money in fines - because he was driving too fast. As chotaire previously worked as a self- employed courier, he will be out of work - and suffer even more difficult financial difficulties. Perhaps this should explain his current discontent with everything which is understandable! ALPHA FLIGHT (GER, HOL, POL, USA) -------------------------------------------------------------- The otherwise normally past paced group, appeared to have had a nice entry into the new year - with few internal problems and other hassles. It is therefore an unchanged side we are able to report upon. BOARDS : HOLIDAY INN CAMBODIA XXX - XXX - XXXX THE EVIL ISLAND XXX - XXX - XXXX ESCAPADE +XX - XXXX - XXXXXX MEMBERS : Ancient Mariner, Calypso, Chotaire, Cryonic, Ignorance, Marc, Max, The Mercenary, Pol Pot, Ream, Shuze, Skinhead, Styx, Xenox and Zapotek. CHROMANCE (GER, HUN, SWE, USA, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- CHROMANCE are in the midst of negotiating a possible signing with a new American board, BASS PLANET. It is possible it will take over the role as WHQ, making FINAL GENOCIDE the official Canadian HQ. But we will see. Meanwhile the Polish section kicked out SAGE, BLAZE and SCATMAN, which reduces the otherwise large and powerful division. BOARDS : FINAL GENOCIDE XXX - XXX - XXXX OVERDOSE +XX - XXXX - XXXX EDGE OF MIDNIGHT XXX - XXX - XXXX COUNTY JAIL +XX - XXXX - XXXX MEMBERS : Alias Medron, AMC, B0lee, Deviant, Fusion, Griff, Immortal, Janee, Jaydee, Jazzy D, Lion, Lotus, MC Byte, Motion, Mr. Wax, Pete, Skud, Skull, Spermbird, Syco, XXL, Techno, Vector, Wozio, Zar and Zeyex. F4CG (BEL, ITA, USA, GER, POL, AUS, SWE, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- The incredible F4CG released a catchy Public Relations letter to us, explaining all of the latest occourances within the group. We appreciate this, and encourage all other groups to do the same. But on with the news, which revealed the farewell to MOLOCH, who finally said goodbye to F4CG officially. He is now only a member of the American demo- group, 9TH HELL. Last month we reported in MEET THE PRESS, that the infamous swapper, WALKER, was to leave F4CG to serve in the Swedish army. As this 10-month period has already started, F4CG has had to find others to take over the much appreciated work he previously put in for the group. $IXX, also known as D-MoB on the AMIGA, has taken over parts of WALKER's contacts. But we predict WALKER will resume his swapping when his army duty is over. F4CG (BEL, ITA, USA, GER, POL, AUS, SWE, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- * NEWSCOPY announced that the TRIBUTE 2 will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden by late June 1996. This event will be announced through an official flier, and through the use of other popular media's, such as the Internet and the board-scene. This event is once again the most promising of the year, and this time a lot of major groups have announced their interest in taking part. THE PULSE MAGAZINE will of course be there to tell you the details of this event - although we encourage everyone to honour the C64 by showing up. The infamous leader of F4CG, SOLAR, returned from his trip to the states, and with NEWSCOPY they have announced shifting into topgear in 1996. The SNES-project is a growing institution leaving room for NEWSCOPY in the C64-organisation, and SOLAR on the SNES. But according to NEWSCOPY, SOLAR will still be immensly active on the C64. F4CG (BEL, ITA, USA, GER, POL, AUS, SWE, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- * A brand new member was admitted into F4CG on trialbasis. His name is CHA$H, a Polish megaswapper, who will operate under MAJA of F4CG. The decision was made, as F4CG wants to strenghen their position in Poland - which is currently a pure battlefield, with many groups trying to control this area. F4CG demodivision, headed by DRAZ, will be launching a sequel to W.O.I.I.F.T.D. at X'96 in Holland. Unlike printed elsewhere, GOZ (coder) was not kicked from F4CG. Studying hard, he felt more comfortable not being on the active memberstatus. Should he thus be doing things occassionally, he will be doing so under F4CG. TOTAL CAOS goes by this treatment as well. Even though on the independent barrier, PROPAGANDA will be launching a sistermagazine March 1996. F4CG (BEL, ITA, USA, GER, POL, AUS, SWE, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE PROPAGANDA MUSIC, it will cover the SID, musicians and the like with articles, reviews, interviews and much more. "SID-chip music has since the start been very appreciated and highly acclaimed. Looking back, there are more legendary musicians than coders & artists, thus triggering the decision", say NEWSCOPY and $IXX. $IXX will be editor of the magazine, under steady observation. BOARDS : DREAM PARK XXX - XXX - XXXX FTP : INTERPARK BBS.CC.UNIUD.IT WWW : http://www.algonet.se/-motley/propa.htm MEMBERS : $ixx, Antitrack, Aristo, Bitman, Cha$h, Cyborg, Cybersurfer, Decoder, Devil, Draz, Fen1, Hain, King, Maja, Morris, Motley, Mr. Alpha, Neotec, Newscopy, Playboy, Smasher, Sneaper, Solar, Therion, Total Caos, Walker and Worm. HARDCORE (GER, USA, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- It would appear the lack of activity within the ranks of HARDCORE, has begun to take its toll on certain members. The sysop of THE BLUE GALAXY, GALACTUS, has announced his desire to join a new group, due to the lack of support from the European HARDCORE members. He remains in HARDCORE in hope for an improvement on the activities though, but the future is looking grim for the HARDCORE establishment in the states. BOARDS : THE BLUE GALAXY XXX - XXX - XXXX IN LIVING COLOR XXX - XXX - XXXX MEMBERS : B-Wyze, BingoByte, Blockbuster, Carlos, Communist, Dooze, Galactus, Leeway, Nebula, Rap, Shocker, Volunteer, Q-Tip, Zoomo and Zore. HITMEN (GER, SWE) -------------------------------------------------------------- HITMEN decided to boot out DODGER from the group. According to CURLIN, he was removed due to his inactivity and complaining. BOARDS : THE DUNGEON XXX - XXX - XXXX MYSTICAL PARADISE +XX - XXX - XXX - XXX WARES AQUARIUM +XX - XXX - XXXX MEMBERS : Arrogance, Curlin, Groepaz, Hi-Lite, Jihad, Jinx, Lawnmover Man, Moby, Peacemaker, Raze, Racoon, Sabotage, Tyron, Tranziie, The Ministry and Vortex. MOTIV 8 (DEN, GER, USA, NOR, HOL) -------------------------------------------------------------- The Danish based group, MOTIV 8, celebrated their 2 years birthday in January 1996. With this joyess occasion, they signed on NUKE, a swapper from Holland, who were accepted into MOTIV 8 on trial. Meanwhile CROSSFIRE stated to the media, he wanted to underline the fact, that he is still very much active on the Internet. There you go! BOARDS : IN LIVING COLOR XXX - XXX - XXXX MOUNT OLYMPUS +XX - XXXX - XXXX FTP : INTERPARK BBS.CC.UNIUD.IT MEMBERS : Bird, Clive, Crossfire, Eddie, Greenfrog, Grego, Ibanez, Iceball, Larry, Mason, Merlin, MHD, Nuke, Spider, Stone and TMG. ONSLAUGHT (AUS, DEN, GER, HUN, TUR, USA, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- BIZARRE/ONSLAUGHT was busted for VMB hacking. According to a message posted on the boards, all of his equipment was taken away. But according to JAZZCAT/ONSLAUGHT, he should return to the active role for ONSLAUGHT and VANDALISM NEWS in a matter of a few weeks (late February). The German Telecom wants him to pay $20.000 for VMB hacking, but he will try and fight it. Meanwhile RAMIREZ/HARDCORE and THE UNHOLY/DEMONIX teamed up with ONSLAUGHT. THE UNHOLY remains a member of DEMONIX, but only as his second group though. Those who may have thought, that RAMIREZ had already quit HARDCORE are wrong, although he did post he left HARDCORE a couple of months ago - because he was angry at the group. But it was untrue. All of this does not matter anymore though, as he is continuing his career in ONSLAUGHT. ONSLAUGHT (AUS, DEN, GER, HUN, TUR, USA, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- * With those news, the ONSLAUGHT data's looks as follows. BOARDS : DOWN BY LAW XXX - XXX - XXXX DEAD ZONE XXX - XXX - XXXX WESTPOINT +XX - XXXX - XXXX MEMBERS : Bizarre, Code 18, Donar, Digahole, Deekay, Gop, Grafee, Grize, Hard-Sequencer, Heavyhead, Homeboy, Jazzcat, Jolz, Kinley, Meff, Morbid, Morrisey, Mr. Brain, Rap, Shades, TMM, Trouble, Vengeance and Witty. REFLEX (GER) -------------------------------------------------------------- A group that has stormed the charts, and all demo-lovers, through the last 2 years, must be said to be REFLEX. This German based group, won the most prestigious demo- competition in the world, as they snatched the first price at THE PARTY 5 in Denmark for their fantastic production, MATHEMATICA. They also proved their status as the most active demo- group, with an additional 2 demos released at THE PARTY 5, and that alone must be noted as some sort of record in today's standard. Well done REFLEX! MEMBERS : Felidae, Quiss, Smiling Guru, Zorc, Hogan, PVT, Roder, PVCF, Dr. Kaos, Happymaker, Odysseus, Beathoven, Jim Jack and Jonny Walker. SCS + TRC (HOL, GER, POL USA, etc.) -------------------------------------------------------------- It seems the infamous co-operation are walking into a new year with a cleaning-job on their mind. At least so it would seem, as MOREN stated the following people had been removed from the memberstatus : CASE, CAVRON, CRUZE, DANNIE, GUZZLER, JITY, JRC, MISTRI, MR. DISK and SAILOR. This also means STATE OF THE ART, which is sysoped by CAVRON, no longer figure as European HQ for the co-operation. BOARDS : THE DUNGEON XXX - XXX - XXXX FTP : THE DIGITAL DUNGEON UTOPIA.HACKTIC.NL MEMBERS : Action Jackson, The Alchemist, Arrogance, Bacillus, CBA, Coolhand, Count Zero, Credo, H-Bloxx, Lord Crucifier, Micron, Moren, Nectromanic, Replay, Silver, Spectator, Splatterhead, Stake, Titanic and Trax. SHAPE (NOR, DEN) -------------------------------------------------------------- The ancient demo-group, SHAPE, returns to the map as an active demo releasing group. The latest demo released is called BLUE FOREST, and it should be followed by the 10th year anniversary demo released in the near future. BLUE FOREST is the first major SHAPE release since the HORIZON party in 1991, but now SHAPE appears to have returned to an active state. In the near future, music and graphics- collections, as well as tools are also expected to be released by the SHAPE label - all to come in 1996. But perhaps the biggest surprise of the new year, was the successful signing of THE PULSE MAGAZINE, which is now released under the SHAPE label. The reason for this surprising group choice, was simple to General editor DUKE. "SHAPE had approached me months ago, and had shown their interest in signing the magazine. But although hesitant at first, SHAPE (NOR, DEN) -------------------------------------------------------------- I decided to give it a try, especially after they proved they were active with the release of BLUE FOREST". DUKE feels SHAPE is a good label for THE PULSE, as they will be able to provide new outfits, with original music and graphics by SHAPE members. But despite the joy of being back in the same group with the musician, GLENN RUNE GALLEFOSS, DUKE is somewhat disturbed by the fact, that he is the only member with a regular handle. "It is odd, but SHAPE has a tradition of their members not using handles - although I would prefer if they found some" stated DUKE. BOARDS : DRUGSTORE +XX - XXXX - XXXX MEMBERS : Andreas, Duke, Eivind, Glenn Rune, Haakon, Hans Petter, Kjell, Kristian, Morten, Richard, Rolf Runar, Snorre and Sveinung. WORLD-WIDE NEWS NEWS JOURNAL -------------------------------------------------------------- - The infamous Finnish demo-group, ORIGO, may return to the market with brand new demos in the year of 1996. According to DESTINO of ORIGO, he told NEWS JOURNAL new productions were on its way. Whether it was meant more as a joke is not certain, but we can all hope they will live up to that promise. - BONZAI is rumoured to make a welcomed return to the grand old C64-scene. According to SCORTIA, he was still active as a musician on the C64, and he also entered the F4CG music competition at THE PARTY 5. But it remains to be seen, whether we will have the enjoyment of the skills of such talented former BONZAI members as CRUSH and SCORTIA - who were both at THE PARTY 5! - WORLD-WIDE NEWS NEWS JOURNAL -------------------------------------------------------------- * - A brand new trend has bombed the C64-scene, as certain groups have developed what is known as "Porno-divisions". This interesting new idea has been accepted by members of HITMEN, MOTIV 8 and F4CG. But knowing the minds of most C64 sceners, this trend could easily spread widely within the following months. - A small Amiga group known as POWERFORCE, has announced the desire and interest to try out the C64 as well. This could lead to future cracks and activity on the C64 in the coming months from this brand new group, which is much appreciated. That concludes this months edition of NEWS JOURNAL. We would appreciate news support, but also let us know if we have any possible wrong news printed. Thank you! /DUKE
board report
+ THE BOARD REPORT + -------------------------------------------------------------- - February 1996 - ----------- Another month - Another year...THE PULSE MAGAZINE is still here, as will it be for a long time.. Before starting off, I'd like to thank anyone who've send me e-mail on the internet - I'll do my best to get back to you all as fast as possible.. Others who wish to get in touch with me regarding anything about this chapter, please place an e-mail for me on the following address: C01@DEC5102.AABC.DK --------------- From last issue and in the future, we will be putting in a couple of extra pages, containing the updated numbers of the various boards around, in Europe aswell as in the states, and therefore, any informations about changes is extremely wel- come placed to me by e-mail aswell..! -More!- THE BOARD REPORT................................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- As most people thought, PANDORA seems still to be alive, and their german HQ, SANITARIUM, is still running under this very label. There was problems with the hardware though, as the 40 megabyte HD broke down and all data was lost. As a result of this, all old users has to call to re-apply for access. In order to prevent another crash, sysop, MOSES, installed the original CBASE v3.2 and added several things himself, such as the cur- sor menu, intern app mod, auto poster, auto logoff, blacklist, paramenu. He removed all backdoors and according to himself the system should now be 100% crashfree and reliable.. Finally, he installed a 730 megabyte HD, which brings his board among the ones with the most drive space for wares..Moses Modded! A board named COVERAGE was opened in Germany. Sysop is RED ROCK/EXCESS and it runs as HQ for EXCESS and ACRISE. The board can be reached at +49/2572-97438.. -More!- THE BOARD REPORT................................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- According to what is written in the latest demo by SHAPE, BLUE FOREST, they claim to have opened a board in Norway, with JEDI/SHAPE as the acting sysop. The number should be +47/5157-5227, trying to call though, no carrier picks up at any point. One can wonder if it was just meant as a silly joke or if it really IS their intentions to open a board...In which case it is definately a positive step.. Swedish FAIRLIGHT and HITMEN HQ, WARES AQUARIUM, recently suffered a giant crash and all messages and uploads for the last months got lost. Most likely, all newer users (one month or more..) might have to apply for a new account, as the userlog didn't survive the crash either! Tough luck there! :-( One can only hope that Sweden's #1 board through the last many years will recover and go back online within too long!!! -More!- THE BOARD REPORT................................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- Canadian CHROMANCE-HQ, THE FINAL GENOCIDE, had a code installed by sysop, DEVIANT.. This apparently, cause he had to be able to use his phoneline for BOTH the board and to re- ceive voice calls.. Anyone calling the board that does not have the code will not get access to the board!!! The code is '#11', and you type it after hearing a couple of rings and getting a pause on the line - you type the code and you get a carrier... ..quite simple, really! If you are using cards or other codes to call you will discover this pause right away and just do as ex- plained above...if you are calling manually (direct, that is!), you just enter "atdt 1.403.476.1766,,,#11,#11,#11" or something along those lines...SURELY, you will have to toy a bit around with the configurations of the modem, but you'll figure it out soon enough.. -More!- BOARD NUMBERS UPDATE......................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- Stateside: ------- Down by Law Onslaught+Domination XXX-XXX-XXXX Dead Zone Onslaught+Vandalism News XXX-XXX-XXXX Evil Island Alpha Flight+Relax XXX-XXX-XXXX Holiday Inn.. Alpha Flight+Relax XXX-XXX-XXXX The Dungeon SCS*TRC+Hitmen+Demonix XXX-XXX-XXXX Dream Park F4CG+AVT+Propaganda XXX-XXX-XXXX In Living Color Motiv 8+Hardcore XXX-XXX-XXXX Blue Galaxy Hardcore XXX-XXX-XXXX Final Genocide Chromance XXX-XXX-XXXX Edge of Midnight Chromance XXX-XXX-XXXX Corr.of Conformity Storm+Driven+Triad XXX-XXX-XXXX Fortress of Doom Atlantis XXX-XXX-XXXX -More!- BOARD NUMBERS UPDATE......................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- Europe: ----- The Escapade Alpha Flight +XX/XXXX-XXXXXX Warez Aquarium Fairlight+Hitmen +XX/XXX-XXXX Mystical Paradise Hitmen +XX/XXXX-XXXXX Mount Olympus Motiv 8+Domination +XX/XXXX-XXXX State of the Art ??? +XX/XXXX-XXXXX Monster Independant +XX/XXXX-XXXXXX Coverage Excess+Acrise +XX/XXXX-XXXXX County Jail Chromance +XX/XXXX-XXXX Sanitarium Pandora +XX/XXXX-XXXXX The Decadence Independant +XX/XXXX-XXXXX The Studio Triad +XX/XXX-XXXXX Digital Wizard Palace +XX/XXXX-XXXX Power Engine Atlantis +XX/XXXX-XXXX Highway Noice +XX/XX-XXXXX BOARD NUMBERS UPDATE......................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- Europe (continued): ------------- Future Zone Fairlight +XX/X-XXXXXX Fosie Wrath Design +XX/XXXX-XXXX Einstein Motiv 8 (PC) +XX/XXX-XXXXXXX Australia: ------ Fish Bowl Fairlight +XX/XXXX-XXXX - -- --- ----- --------------- ----- --- -- - Many thanks to each and any person who gave a kind and helping hand collecting and updating all these numbers !!! - -- --- ----- --------------- ----- --- -- - + THE PULSE MAGAZINE + ..first with the last! - -- --- ----- --------------- ----- --- -- - BOARD NUMBERS UPDATE......................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- Comments: ------- * THE MYSTICAL PARADISE is online again after having been offline for a few weeks around christmas and new years eve while the sysop has a well deserved holiday on the beaches of Grand Canaria.. Great trip, Rene?! Humba! :-) * To our knowledge, STATE OF THE ART is currently group- less after the sysop, CAVRON, was kicked out of SCS*TRC, as posted by MOREN on Dream Park.. * According to several people, the sysop of Canadian board FINAL GENOCIDE, DEVIANT, should be searching for a new group for his board. One could think this was a bit fast con- sidering the fact that CHROMANCE just took it over.. More on this board, read first pages before calling! -More!- BOARD NUMBERS UPDATE......................................February 1996 -------------------------------------------------------------- Comments: ------- * One of the polish CHROMANCE-boards, OVERDOSE that is, was removed from the list due to it turning out not being a C64-board, but a PC-board running for a group by the name of FREEZERS.. * Unlike said in the last few months, PANDORA is NOT(!) dead, and their EHQ, SANITARIUM, STILL runs under this label.. * Word is, that THE DUNGEON will be put back online in the end of January, so one can only have high hopes.. :-) * According to TYRON/HITMEN, WARES AQUARIUM is curr- ently offline due to a giant crash which destroyed the entire system.. All right...That's it for this month.. In case of reactions etc. don't hesitate to get in touch with me, either by leaving me mail on the internet, or by leaving me e-mail on MOUNT OLYMPUS (user #2!).. By the way...Those not ALREADY on it, send either me or ICEBALL/MOTIV 8 a piece of e-mail and ask to be added to the MOTIV 8-mailing list... Further details will be given as we receive your mail...HOWEVER, do NOT contact ICEBALL about anything regarding THE PULSE MAGAZINE !!! CROSSFIRE/MOTIV 8 ..or..ICEBALL/MOTIV 8 c01@dec5102.aabc.dk anniels@dec5102.aabc.dk -------------------------------------------------------------- + THE PULSE MAGAZINE + ..no further introduction needed! --------------------------------------------------------------
monthly releases
-------------------------------------------------------------- + Monthly Releases - January + -------------------------------------------------------------- Presented to you by Jazzcat/Onslaught Welcome once again my friends to the report of the first release cracking scene based on the American boards. As your usual specialist in this segment i present the month of January releases from the major crack groups of the c64. Major Usa boards: Down By Law X-XXX/XXX-XXXX Onslaught Whq. Dream Park X-XXX/XXX-XXXX Avt + F4cg Whq. Dead Zone X-XXX/XXX-XXXX Onslaught Ushq. The Evil Island X-XXX/XXX-XXXX Alphaflight Ushq. Holiday Inn Cambodia X-XXX/XXX-XXXX Alphaflight Whq. Now the official report and charts of the month of January.. -------------------------------------------------------------- Alphaflight 1970 (Ger,Hol,Pol,Usa,Uk) Points: 14.3 -------------------------------------------------------------- Having just had a great Christmas period concerning releases, they continued their grace into the new year. Firstly came WORLY (5.4) which was translated and ntsc/pal fixed. Soon after came the Paradise Soft game JOE (4.2) ntsc/pal fixed. Several days later yet another full game reached the boards, this being TURBO RACER (4.4) from Butterfly Prod. which was also ntsc/pal fixed. Keeping up the pace with all other groups, the flight then released MICK WORDS PRV (0.3) and a utlity called F.B.M. EDITOR (-) Great to see this old German based group still giving superb competition and quality. -------------------------------------------------------------- Atlantis (Ger,Hol,Usa) Points: 4.4 -------------------------------------------------------------- The Atlantis crew stepped back into action this month with a release, SHOOT OUT (4.4) from Nofx, was ntsc/pal fixed by Avantgarde. -------------------------------------------------------------- Avantgarde (Ger,Uk,Usa,Pol) Points: 5.1 -------------------------------------------------------------- The German power house returned to activities with quite a good amount of fixing for other groups. They did however also release some own wares. To start with came APOLLO 14 PRV (0.7) from Evolution/Poland, a promising platform game. Then came DELITE (4.2) a puzzle game ntsc/pal fixed. -------------------------------------------------------------- Chromance (Hun,Ger,Usa,Can,Pol) Points: 15.1 -------------------------------------------------------------- As usual a very productive month for the Hungarian based team. Starting with ALIOTH (4.4) from Lk Avalon and ntsc/pal fixed. Soon after this came SHIFTY BALLS (4.3) from Techno Art and ntsc/pal fixed also. After a week break the wares rush started once again for them with the releases of TOXIK PRV (0.4), HANGMAN PRV (0.3) from Faith Designs and then the cool BALLZ 1 100% (5.7) from Lk Avalon, which was ntsc/pal fixed and translated. Towards the end of the month they put out a good music editor called PROFESSIONAL SOUND STUDIO V2 (-) from Vermes/Biw. -------------------------------------------------------------- F4cg (Bel,Swe,Usa,Pol,Ita) Points: 0.3 -------------------------------------------------------------- Nothing much this month, but towards the end a ware reached the boards, that being MANGANOID PRV (0.3) -------------------------------------------------------------- Hitmen (Ger,Usa,Pol) Points: 5.1 -------------------------------------------------------------- The German based group has provided a good flow of releases in the term of fixes and first releases over the past months. They started with SUMMIX (4.4) from Digital Excess, which was also ntsc/pal fixed. Then came COLONY PRV V2 (0.7) with intro picture and being bigger overall, made the earlier released Mayhem version not countable. -------------------------------------------------------------- Laxity (Ger,Hol) Points: 5.3 -------------------------------------------------------------- This new crew to the first release scene are appearing more and more often. Their sole release this month being BLOB (5.3) from Imaic Productions and ntsc/pal fixed by Avantgarde. -------------------------------------------------------------- Motiv 8 (Den,Usa,Ger) Points: 7.8 -------------------------------------------------------------- The Danish based team turned two years old in style with some releases. BOUNCER (3.3) was earlier released on pal only but later fixed by Chromance. Then came BOXES PRV (0.2), almost an entire month passed until the last days when CONFUSION QUEST 2 PRV (0.0) from Eagle Int, being a Game maker game. Then AMERICAN BASKETBALL HEROS (2.1) from C159 Productions, already running ntsc/pal. After this they ended the month with the Uk low budget titled FUZZY FISHERMAN 2 (2.2) from Xl.c.us & Eagle Int. already running ntsc and pal. -------------------------------------------------------------- Onslaught (Aust,Hun,Ger,Pol,Usa) Points: 0.7 -------------------------------------------------------------- The Onslaught slowed down after their active Christmas period with only two releases. The first to reach the boards was the cool DRUG BIRD PRV (0.5) and not long after came SPINBALL PRV (0.2) from Pure Fun Bytes/Canada. -------------------------------------------------------------- More... -------------------------------------------------------------- Success & Trc (Hol,Ger,Usa,Pol) Points: 0.6 -------------------------------------------------------------- The ruling co-op have been a little bit quite compared with their normal intensity. In the month of January they provided a nice release with INCERATOR PRV (0.8) a very nice looking shoot'em up. Their normal flow of wares is expected for next month. -------------------------------------------------------------- Xenon (Hol,Ger) Points: 0.3 -------------------------------------------------------------- They appeared once again on the boards with a small ware called STONED PRV (0.3) Lets hope they manage more next month. Over to the charts... + Official Charts - January + -------------------------------------------------------------- Pos: Group: Releases: Points: #1 Chromance 6 15.1 #2 Alphaflight 5 14.3 #3 Motiv 8 5 7.8 #4 Laxity 1 5.3 #5 Hitmen 2 5.1 Avantgarde 2 5.1 #6 Atlantis 1 4.4 #7 Onslaught 2 0.7 #8 Success*Trc 1 0.6 #9 Xenon 1 0.3 F4cg 1 0.3 -------------------------------------------------------------- + Official Fixer Charts - January + -------------------------------------------------------------- Pos: Group: Fixes: Points: #1 Chromance 4 17.7 #2 Avantgarde 3 13.9 #3 Hitmen 1 4.4 -------------------------------------------------------------- General Comments: Quite a few releases compared with December, but a lacking in software quality does disappoint. Acrise & Excess also released a preview called CRAZY NEWS but unfortunately it doesn't work after the intro. Still great to see so many groups participating in the rush for first releases. the ntsc/pal fixing leaves something to be desired with only a few dominate figures left in the scene. Any complaints and informations can be sent to: Mail: Jazzcat/Onslaught XX XXXXX XXXXXX XX XXXXXX, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX. Internet: jazzcat@saturn.vision.net.au Vmb: +XX/(X)XXXX-XXXX (Australia) XXX/XXX-XXXX (Usa) or you can reach me on any c64 bbs or on the popular #c-64 channel on Irc. Sincere Regards; Jazzcat/ONSLAUGHT
satirica
+ SATIRICA - THE AUTOPSY OF THE SCENE + -------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome back to the domains of SATIRICA. We take pride in basing out stories on lies and rumours. This means, if there is something contriversial being spread around about you - feel safe, that you will be able to read about it here, along with the rest of the world. Since the last edition, a lot of people have been sending us letters and post-cards, as well as notes through the internet. To those two took the time to write, we would just like to say "The same to YOU!". REGARDING SATIRICA, The stories included in SATIRICA are pure fiction, all of which are based on a satiric state of mind. We do not want to offend anyone, but rather pass on a smile in these trying times. We hope you will enjoy the read. General Editor, DUKE. THE PARTY REPORT SATIRICA -------------------------------------------------------------- The computer event of the year has surpassed us all, and for those of you who saved your money by staying home and watching re-run episodes of BAYWATCH. We will now cover episodes at the party, which did not reach the headlines in other magazines - this is what we managed to cover. HEARD AT THE PARTY : MACX/AMBUSH "In two years I will be SIXtyfourTEEN. I can't wait!!". CROSSFIRE/MOTIV 8 "Just a few hours of this damn party, and I am going back home to watch BAYWATCH!!". NEWSCOPY/F4CG "Damn those stupid delays. I really was going to release the paper-edition of PROPAGANDA, but some funny looking German type American immigrant stole it. At least so I heard?". GREENFROG/MOTIV 8 "I cannot understand why the crowd hated my cute 10 min. long bouncy-graphics-green-frog-part. I can sit and enjoy it for hours!!". COUNT ZERO/SCS+TRC "Damn that green frog part, damn it to hell!!". JACK ALIEN/AVANTGARDE (the first day) "Ahjhsdjf.. dkjdf.. beer.. akafjdf.. adfdf.. beer..". JACK ALIEN/AVANTGARDE (the second day) "Ahsdhkf.. shdfjhf.. headache.. sdfjdf.. headache..". JACK ALIEN BACK ON STAGE.. -------------------------------------------------------------- The infamous cracking legend, JACK ALIEN of AVANTGARDE, returned to the stage at the party. We are not talking about the stage, as in "the active stage" - but in fact the actual stage at the party. When moving around the party, looking for a good rumour to spread around, we overheard two C64 freaks talking about JACK ALIEN's drinking adventure at the party. This event had similarities to the last party in Denmark, as JACK ALIEN supposedly was seen sleeping on the party stage, with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels in his right hand. "The similarities are amazing" stated RRR, who were covering the party for RELAX MAN magazine. "Except at the last party, he was sleeping on stage holding JACK DANIELS, the actual person, in his right hand" told RRR to the appalled audience of people gathered to listen in on the great rumour. DEMO INFILTRATES COMPETITION.. -------------------------------------------------------------- While the small group of C64 party-attendee's had prepared for the C64 demo-competition, they knew little about what was cpoming to them. When the first demo was introduced on the screen, they were shocked and appalled. They quickly realised it was the return of the notorious demo "JUDAS", known as the forbidden demo. The arrangers of THE PARTY 5 were stunned, stating to BAD PARTY NEWS "Damn it, JUDAS keeps popping up at the C64 demo-competitions. We have no other alternative but to call the police to investigate who made this filth". But when the JUDAS demo had run for just a little while, the competition area was overrun by people from all over the hall, who were all amazed by the controversial demo. The ignorant AMIGA owners were amazed by the JUDAS demo, stating to appalled C64 freaks "Wow, that C64 is really a special kind of - CONTINUED.. computer. It is good clean and wholesome". The PC people were equally amazed as during the JUDAS demo, one enthusiastic PC demo-freak shouted from down the hall "Hey guys, the PC competition is on the big screen". When confronted with the fact, that it was a C64 demo showing, he replied "Really? But it's REAL!! I am voting for this one!". The creators of the JUDAS demo are still free, but they can expect a costly investigation in the near future. The arrangers of THE PARTY 5 will not tolerate a return of this demo, as it will most likely draw PC and AMIGA freaks back to where they came from - The C64 age! Meanwhile at the house of BIZKID/CAMELOT "That CUPID sure is the best snow peeing artist I have ever seen. No shit!". JAZZCAT ESCAPES ISLAND.. -------------------------------------------------------------- The infamous and mentally disturbed editor of DOMINATION, JAZZCAT of ONSLAUGHT, announced last month he had plans to escape the isolated island of Tasmania, and attend the notorious computer event in Denmark. "I am gonna make a run for it, I tell you, If I have to I am gonna blast my way out of here" stated JAZZCAT to NEWSFREAK MAGAZINE before the party was opened. But things were not to go as planned, even though JAZZCAT had loaded himself with money from the long journey. He boarded a plane from TASMANIA, and made his way to Denmark. But as he felt he had a little time on his hands, he made a stop in Germany to supply himself with much needed drugs at PSYCHOBILLY's hacienda. "That's when the shit happend man" stated JAZZCAT, who was caught smoking 3 joints - shouting "Hey copers, I was framed!!". But when JAZZCAT thought he was going to spend the Christmas holiday behind bars (again), he managed to come up with a CONTINUED.. brilliant idea. "I pleaded insanity, and they let me go" said JAZZCAT in a laughing tone. "Haha, I pleaded the same, that time I was charged with killing my neighbours dingo's, and they let me go back then as well". JAZZCAT was sent back to the streets, and after having found a cap, he was on his way to Denmark. When he finally reached the party location, the cap-driver called the police on JAZZCAT, because he refused to pay for the journey. "Hey, I offered him a signed DOMINATION disk - but the guy refused. Some people have no respect" stated JAZZCAT to the Danish police, as he was put in jail for 3 days. When finally let go, he managed to reach the party in time - well, in time for the end. "Next year I will go two months in advance, and find a spot outside the part place with a sleeping-bag" stated JAZZCAT, while searching for a cap to take him home to Tasmania. TAXI!!! SATAROCA UNCOVERS CONVERSATION.. -------------------------------------------------------------- In the light of our attempt to become good and noble journalists, we decided to uncover a private conversation between NEWSCOPY and JAZZCAT. We cut out all the juicy parts, but found room for this instead. <J> I told you, his name is VENGEANCE! <N> That's what I said, VENGAENCE! <J> Look at what you are saying, it's wrong. His name is VENGEANCE. <N> What's your problem anyway JAZCAAT? <J> Argh.. Now you screwed my name up NEWSSOPY! <N> Look who's talking, you just did my name wrong! <J> I have no time for this. In the future, my name is JAZZRAT - and my partner is VENGINCE! <N> I will make a note of it! <J> Thank you.. Erhh.. THE SATIRICA TOP 5 LIST.. -------------------------------------------------------------- Five ways suggesting THE PARTY 5 was a smash hit; 5. The C64 competition drew more spectators than any other competition. So what if most were laughing? 4. The bathrooms succeeded in remaining clean more than 3 hours into the event! 3. The rock-hard floor in the sleeping-hall kept everyone from sleeping, making people stay active on their C64's. (Only 4 people died due to lack of sleep!!). 2. The big screen showed a THE PULSE advertisement 24 hours a day! 1. PC's and AMIGA's were stolen! YEAH! BOD GOES CYBORG MODE.. -------------------------------------------------------------- The infamous royalty to the scene, BOD/TALENT, announced on the DAVID LETTERMANN show, THE TOO LATE SHOW, that he was absolutely sure he was a cyborg. "It all happened, when my mother gave birth to me - and there was no father involved" stated BOD, who refered to a similar incident with a bloke called JESUS - or something. "The odd thing was, my mother had been playing around a C64 just before my birth - which aroused my suspicion" claimed BOD, who had already been denied as a possible subject for the ALIEN-TASK-FORCE in England. "I will go all the way to the top with this" shouted BOD, while trying to rip off DAVID LETTERMANN's hair - insisting he was wearing a hair piece. According to an English tabloid magazine, CYBORGS'R'US, another Englishmen should have gone through the same mysterious birth. The person in question, should be DERBYSHIRE RAM. Except his mother had played around with a 19th century calculator! SCENE FRIENDS - EPISODE 1.. -------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to a brand new series copyrighted by SATIRICA. This special show is called SCENE FRIENDS, and takes part in an apartment located in ZAANDAM, just outside of Amsterdam. Here we join CBA, TIM and NIGHTSHADE of SCS+TRC - who have decided to live together, as scene-friends. TIM bursted out knowingly "Well, my name is TIM. But my friends just call me TIM!". CBA asked "Why don't you find yourself a new and much cooler name, maybe like JOEY?". TIM wondered, perhaps this was a good idea. "But JOEY sounds like I am a little wimpy dude, maybe JOE would be better?" TIM said enthusiastic about having found himself a new name. CBA suddenly jumped up, and shouted - "I've got it, you need a last name too!! I know it sounds crazy, but I've seen it before!!". TIM was shocked, two names for one person in the scene - was it possible? CONTINUED.. CBA calmed TIM down, telling him about the acclaimed American freaks - MASSIVE ONSLAUGHT, GRIM REAPER and of course the infamous ANTI CHRIST (ed. What?). TIM was convinced, he was going for it. CBA suddenly jumped up again - being the jolly type of energentic type of dude he was. "What about STALIN for last name?". TIM liked the idea, although he was amazed no one had ever thought of this before. "JOE STALIN" TIM thought to himself. "Yeah, that would be a cool handle". But CBA stopped him "Maybe JOSEPH would work better" wanting to make the name as cool as possible. "WOW" shouted TIM - "JOSEPH STALIN.. I'll be the envy of all American sceners". And he was! To be continued.. NICE-GUY BIZKID CELEBRATES 20TH.. -------------------------------------------------------------- The infamous magazine, SKYHIGH, which has been on top of the charts for a year-long period, has just recently celebrated its 20th anniversary release - and on top of that, to make it even more nostalgic, it was released on the day of birth for BIZKID's membership in the FRIENDS'R'US club. "It was a tribute to all my friends in the world, in hope that I will get more" stated BIZKID to WISE TO BE NICE-GUY magazine. But so far the tremendous success of SKYHIGH has not gone to his head, he chooses to remain just like every other average dude. "I did have some problems in the beginning of my success period, where I did not take notice of other people's feelings" claimed a sad BIZKID to SCENE SCANDAL magazine. When SKYHIGH had first reached the prestigious 1st position - CONTINUED.. in the charts, BIZKID had a problem of being too wild. According to BIZKID, he used to walk up to the counter at a shop, take a number, and then run away. "Image their surprise when there was nobody there, when the number came up, hah!" laughed BIZKID. But there was more where that came from, and BIZKID started ringing door-bells, for thereafter to run away. "I was terrible, I knew that right away" stated BIZKID, who is still taking part in a special rehabilitation program set up by NICEGUY # 1, NEWSCOPY! Meanwhile at the house of VENGEANCE of ONSLAUGHT "Go'day mate. Let's put another shrimp on the barbie-doll!".
scene illustrated1
+ SCENE ILLUSTRATED - DEBATE AND INFORMATION + -------------------------------------- Welcome to SCENE ILLUSTRATED, our debate and information section with guaranteed entertainment. As always, your host is General Editor, DUKE. This is what is in store for you. SCENE ILLUSTRATED will give you the best of news, debate and scene information on a monthly basis. We will keep your blood boiling with the profound SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT topics. In addition to our debates, we offer independent articles written by various sceners about various issues. We will also keep your knowledge about scene history intact, with the MONTHLY TIMELINE - see if you remember the happenings. If you have any sorts of information suitable for a larger audience or an article with a scene-related topic, please send it to us before the 28th of February. But first, we bring you this months OPINION-POLLS! + THE SCENE ILLUSTRATED OPINION POLLS + ------------------------------- OPINION POLL # 1 ------------ THE PARTY 5 was considered a success, with what the demo-competitions was concerned. What is your opinion about the demos that participated? 1. I thought the demos were very lame, I hated the competition. 2. The demos from the competition were a smash hit. I loved them! 3. I was somewhat satisfied about the demos. 4. I thought it was a little disappointing. I had hoped for better demos! OPINION POLL # 2 ------------ The American boards are today the only base for 1st-releases. How do you feel 1st-releases should be handled by the media? 1. The boards are the ideal location for 1st-releases. They should remain the capital for cracked games! 2. A game should be noted as a 1st-release, when it is made available to the magazines. It should not matter from which place it is released - just as long as it is spotted by the magazines. 3. The Internet is the most qualified place for 1st-release counting. It should take over as the official base! 4. The boards and the Internet should share the title as base for 1st-releases. OPINION POLL # 3 ------------ Today most C64 sceners are suffering from laziness - and the activity level has decreased immensely over the years. How much time do you spend on your C64 a week - in general? 1. 0-5 hours. 2. 5-10 hours. 3. 10-15 hours. 4. 15-20 hours. 5. 20-?? hours. 1995 SCENER'S CHOICE AWARDS SCENE ILLUSTRATED -------------------------------------------------------------- The year of 1995 is already over, and we are left with a lot of really good memories from our various scene experiences with the Commodore 64. A lot of people will look back on the year of 1995 as a fantastic year, and I am sure we will all find, that certain individuals or groups stood out, and gave the C64, and the scene that surrounds it credit. Made it a place that guarantees a good time! The March edition of THE PULSE MAGAZINE, will give you a unique opportunity - in fact a world premier, of honouring the best groups and individuals of 1995 with the Scener's Choice Awards. The winners will be awarded with the acknowledgement of the voters, and will hopefully use the honour into creating new and fabulous products, that we can all enjoy. - 1995 SCENER'S CHOICE AWARDS SCENE ILLUSTRATED -------------------------------------------------------------- * The nominations for the 1995 Scener's Choice Awards will be made by you, the readers. All you have to do, is make a list of your preferred candidates in the different categories, and we will do the practical work, such as counting the votes. The following categories will require your votes - but do not vote for yourself or anyone in your group. Thank you! BEST GROUP BEST CRACKING-GROUP BEST DEMO-GROUP BEST MAGAZINE BEST SCENER Give credit where it is due, cast your votes before the 25th of February! THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- THE PARTY 5 was an event, that highlighted the Christmas holiday for many of us. This event having been probably the best event for the Commodore 64 freaks the last couple of years, should prove to be the same once again. The event, which is probably the largest underground gathering for computer enthusiasts in the world, was attended by roughly around 2800 people. In addition, there was approx. between 4-800 people visiting on day-cards. This was an alternative used by those, that only had interest in visiting the party for a few hours, and then save the cose of having to pay the full entrance fee. A PARTY? Ever since the very first computer freaks had arranged a meeting, this event had been called a copy-party. But when THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * having attended such a "party", we generally find it is a very misleading name. An event, such as THE PARTY, has nothing to do with what would be recognised as a party. It is more likely a Conference. A group of people meeting to share their ideas, views, thoughts and skills. But most importantly, a common interest in their hobby - working with computers. This event, which rightfully ought to be called "An independent computer underground conference" - if we have to be politically correct, does not allow drinking or loud behaviour. Therefore it cannot - and most importantly should not, be called a party. It would be appropriate to change the name of all events, calling them what they really are - a conference. But in all fairness, there are certain events that do allow people to go a little wild (without of course offending anyone) and drink alcohol. Those events are the real parties, THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * and should be separated from the cold and clean arrangements, that highlights good moral - instead of good fun! PROUD MOMENT! But on with the show - and to the important details about what THE PARTY 5 had to offer on the C64 side. It was time for the much awaited C64 demo-competition. I had my doubts about tjhis one, although I knew the demos were of very high quality - particularly the winning one by REFLEX. I knew this, because HEAVYHEAD of ONSLAUGHT was kind enough in asking me to join the jury. This meant I had the luxury to meet real talented people, one of which was a fellow Dane, SLAMMER of CAMELOT. But once again, the credits for organising the C64-competition (sorting demos, finding 5 THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * jury members, taping the demos for the competition, etc.) was done by HEAVYHEAD of ONSLAUGHT. He also offered me a detailed list of the results after the party, but I had to catch a train. But moving on to the actual event, the highlight of any computer gathering - the competition itself. It started off in a jolly mood, showing the much appreciated demo entitled "JUDAS". I think most people are familiar with this demo, and in my view it should enter the competition every year. People may shake their heads when I say this, because the demo is far from the standard one could expect at such a competition - not to miss out mentioning it is very silly. But we in the jury, felt it would be a good idea, to start off with something easy - and something funny, just to attract as big a crowd as possible. The actual code and graphics of this demo, must THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * be the quality, that some ignorant PC and AMIGA freaks think the C64 is only capable of - and this was the reason we chose to start with the JUDAS demo as well. But then the demo- competition started for real, and the PC, AMIGA among other system users, were amazed by the fantastic routines, graphics and music the good old Commodore 64 was boasting. The difference between the C64 demo-competition and every other, was the crowd. I think the C64-competition attracted more people than any other competition, and everyone was reacting to the stunning routines (especially pulled off by the magnificent REFLEX) with a spectacular roar through the hall, as if a goal had been scored in a World Cup final. It was amazing, truly amazing. This was the proud moment, a short one, but lenghty enough to bring new hope for the future - even for the sceptic C64 freaks. THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * I am sure most C64 sceners walked away from this competition, thinking about new projects to work on. This was an event not easily forgotten. The competition, and the party, had come to an end. most people had already packed their gear, and had head on home. But for those of us who had more time - and ability to stay awake, we were able to witness the traditional prize ceremony (of some sort). I know I may be a semtimental fool, but I would think the best way to go about this, would be to present number 5 first - moving on to the number 1 (which would not be announced or revealed till that very moment). Okay, this was the way they did this as well, but before anyone had been called to collect any prices, all of the results were displayed on the screen. This meant, there was no glorious path to the stage - as everyone had already THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * consumed the news of the winning names. The best way to go about this, would be to play the title tune of the demo, that had won the certain prize, while the winners would be moving on up to the stage. It would give the viewing people a little more show, and certainly it would have been a little more exciting than this. It was terrible, I had never been so bored before. It was better back in 1992, when SUN DANCER and STEVE (members of THE PULSE of course - hah) presented the C64 results and awards on the stage. But here we go with the results from THE PARTY 5. - PLACE POINTS ENTRYNO. NAME OF GROUP -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2035 4 REFLEX 2 841 5 OXYRON 3 420 8 SMASH DESIGNS 4 370 2 <'Kju:> 5 337 3 NO NAME 6 245 6 ANTIC PRODUCTIONS 7 237 1 JUDAS 8 90 12 TALENT TECHNOLOGIES 9 74 7 SIESTA 10 65 11 NO NAME 11 41 9 GNUMUMS INC. 12 25 13 ACCESS DENIED 13 24 10 NAPALM The winners were presented with $300, runners-up got $200 and the 3rd placed received a mere $100. The arrangers of THE PARTY 5 refused to hold any graphics or music competition at the big screen, therefore it was once again up to the "little people" to put their own little competition together. It was held by F4CG and REFLEX - who supplied the gear. Here follows the results. GRAPHICS COMPETITION THE PARTY 5 -------------------------------------------------------------- 1. PVT of REFLEX 2. CREEPER of ANTIC 3. RAYDEN of CHALICE CALAMITY of LAXITY (shared 3rd place). MUSIC COMPETITION THE PARTY 5 -------------------------------------------------------------- 1. MITCH of CREST + DANE of TRIAD (co-op tune). 2. JEFF of CZP/CAMELOT 3. FANTA of BASS/OXYRON THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- THE ATTENDEE'S THE PARTY 5 was once again heavily dominated by PC- and AMIGA freaks. But if you had patience, you would spot an occasional C64 at random positions around the hall. But there were quite few of them, and I predict that had a very simple reason. It appears most C64 enthusiasts do not bring their computers to these events anymore, which is understandable, as they certainly are difficult to drag around - and then you are forced to constantly guard your area, otherwise it would certainly get stolen (many people had their computers taken, but it seemed hard-drives on the PC was the most frequent stolen item). I did not bring my computer either, as I had the opportunity of using KBS' computer - thank you for that KIM. THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * But returning to the subject of the attendee's at this party. There was plenty of room for people at this giant place, and an estimated 2800 people were cool enough to meet up (not counting the visitors on day-cards - which was mentioned previously). But what keeps shocking me every year, is the fact, that the arrangers will let anybody willing to pay the entrance-fee into the hall. This means, all the rookies - who have no other desire, but to play on their computer the entire event through. Okay, it is a free country, but there is nothing special about an event, if it has no standards. I think it should be reserved only for those who are involved in some kind of computer scene - or game-producing label of course. The party was held in the "Dronning Margrethe Hallen" in Fredericia, Denmark. This location had room for probably 1000 visitors more than the 2800 attending, but it was nice to THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- * have certain areas, that could work as havens - if you needed a break from all the noise and people. The C64 people that meet up proved to be more than I had first thought. Talking to various people, and cruising the hall myself, I found the following people at the party. There may have been more, but due to the amateurs who call themselves party-organisers, I could not get a complete list. ACRISE+EXCESS, ACTIVE, AMBIENT, AMBUSH, ANTIC, ATLANTIS, AVANTGARDE, BYTERAPERS INC., CAMELOT, CENSOR DESIGN, CHALICE, COSMIC STYLE, CREST, F4CG, FLASH INC., HITMEN, MOTIV 8, NO NAME, NOICE, LAXITY, ONSLAUGHT, OXYRON, PARALYZE, PLUSH, REFLEX, SCS+TRC, SIESTA, SMASH DESIGNS, TABOO, TALENT, TRSI, VIBRANTS, WOW and X-RATED.
scene illustrated2
THE DAY AFTER SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT -------------------------------------------------------------- That concludes our major coverage of THE PARTY 5, held in the Christmas holiday in Denmark. But before we end this report, we would like to share with you a little sun-shine story (at least it was for us). When we wanted to release THE PULSE at the party, I managed to persuade the arrangers into giving me a page on the big screen - advertising the Anniversary edition of ours. Well, they were hesitant at first, and it was easy to see they had little respect for the good old C64. But after exchanging a few words, they agreed to put it up with the big AMIGA and PC announcements. This was how it read: C64 Sensation! The 20th Anniversary edition of The Pulse Magazine Released by The Media Prodigies Available Exclusively at THE PARTY 5 Grab it at table #72! ANOTHER TRIBUTE TO THE C64 SCENE ILLUSTRATED -------------------------------------------------------------- The year of 1995 also marked the event of another C64 party - this one new to the market though. The name of this event was the TRIBUTE - and being held by the people behind PROPAGANDA, it was promoted as possibly the C64 event of the 90's. But despite the goodwill of the organisers, and all of the special arrangements exclusive to the C64 freaks, it turned out to be somewhat of a failure. The main reason was the low attendance. But even though the scene did not support this event, as much as one could have hoped, the arrangers of the TRUBUTE thought about giving the scene another chance - and throw the biggest C64 event ever. We spoke with NEWSCOPY, editor of PROPAGANDA, who is one of the leading arrangers of the TRIBUTE - about the possibility of a TRIBUTE party in 1996. <D> DUKE of THE PULSE. <N> NEWSCOPY of PROPAGANDA. -------------------------------------------------------------- <D> Greetings my good colleague. It has been a while since the somewhat successful TRIBUTE was held in Sweden last year, and you have had some time to consider the possibilities for a sequel to this event. But first of all, what did you think of THE PARTY 5 as a C64 event? <N> TP5 was a disappointment, regarding the organisation. Actually the worst I have seen through all my years. But what amazed me, was the atmosphere among us 8-bitters who had a great time all through the days. Our primitive, but much appreciated competition (thanks for the help with the equipment, REFLEX!) in art and audio had a selfspeaking standard, and the demo-competition itself was a true orgy. It was wonderful looking at the weak support during the dull AMIGA and PC competitions, while were screaming ovations to virtually everything we saw on the screen (All but TALENT, that really made complete fools out of themselves, and have no manners whatsoever. Bucketheads - for 20 minutes, I was ashamed to be on the 64!). <D> The demo-competition sure was a great experience. The TRUBUTE gave you severe financial problems. Perhaps you could tell us a bit about the first event, and the reason why you were sued by the owners of the party locations! <N> Well, we all had high hopes for TRIBUTE. Sending out 3500 invitations, we sincerely calculated for 1000 participants. Not more, not less. It was saddening seeing only 210 addicts, considered the effort put into the event. However, TRIBUTE was still the biggest 64-only event held in the 1990's. In preparation of the amount of people we originally expected, my deal with the GOTHENBURG community was 30 separate rooms, a cafeteria and a big hall (where all the events would take place). Having an open agreement, we did not sign the leasing-contract nor the other juridical papers that circulated around the event. Friday morning, day one of the TRIBUTE, we decided to seal of parts of the place. We realised people were not showing up in expected masses. The topfloor was sealed as well as many of the rooms, opening only 15, the cafeteria and the big hall. This would have decreased our leasing-agreement with 45%, making it a fairly decent situation for us. Now, we have always been known to enjoy a drink or two. With 210 people, we had a cosy weekend ahead of us. G*P and AVT did their share of drinking and weedsupplying JUCKE/G*P and FREESTYLE/AVT did a good job as well. The situation never was out of control, but in the jolly haze, I figure some of the attendats were confused with the staff sleeping on the stage, pissing on doors and not answering people's questions. It did not ake the rest of the bunch long to follow! After the event, I, SOLAR, DEFF and JACK DANIELS cleaned the place with help from the cleaning- personel. Sixteen 250 liter-plastic-bags with bottles, yoghurt on the tables and puke in the big hall were factors that we removed quickly and neatly. When closing, we did so confident we had done a marvellous job, and deserved a night downtown. It did not take many days, until I ran into the first hazzles with the Gothenburg community. Claiming I had used the entire school and violating charges such as drinking, smoking and loud music, I was requested for the full agreement as well as being sued. During the entire 1995, I have been going through an awful phase with letters, phonecalls and negotiations, until just recently, when my lawyer managed to come to an end with bureaucracy. 5000$ was an incredible amount to come up with, but believe me, I am just glad it is over. <D> May the scene bless you PER, for having the desire to stage a new event - having been pulled through such a mess. THE PARTY 5 did not show any signs, that there is a growing interest within the C64 in attending these types of events. Why is that, and how come it always seem to be the same group of people gathering at these parties? <N> Many people on the scene are from a strange generation, and have never understood the good thrill of a party. We are few, on a small market. We know each other, and enjoy a good time. Let us make it one. Actually, Alex, I have noticed an increasing amount of people in Denmark every Christmas, TP5 being something of a highlight. X96 seems to be going towards the same outlet, as well as the promised TRIBUTE 2. It might very well be, we finally have some of the non-believers releasing how important AND entertaining a part really is. It might be, that I am Swedish. We have a long history of traditional parties, looking back at the fine memories from the TRIAD and FLT party in 1987. From there, the show has just passed on. <D> With that in mind, I must thank everyone that chose to participate in any party - in the name of the C64. It is important we keep our name respected among other computers, otherwise we will disappear from their knowledge. But let us talk about the possible sequel for the TRIBUTE 1. Have ypou thought about it, and if so, when will it take place - and what will be the difference from the first party? <N> The "possible" TRIBUTE, is very much a concept we believe in. Leaning from some of the mistakes from the original TRIBUTE, we have a more reliable plan. We wanted to make TRIBUTE an old-fashioned event, using class- rooms, but we realised it only decreased the activity a great deal. Instead we are focusing on a big hall, and a sleeping hall. The VERY successful Jeopardy will still be there, competitions and a bar. The F4CG moonshine that was so appreciated in Denmark this Christmas, will once again run down peoples throats. Whether we will be making a second movie is yet uncertain. The demo-competition we are holding this time, is unique. My opinion is, that today we have plenty of people knowing the machine by heart - demos are incredible good, but very much aline. Therefore, we are ketting all groups, use whatever they like for their creations, be it homebuilt 64-adaptations, extramemory, turbocards or whatever. All participants are allowed. The same goes for the music and the graphics competitions. People have been asking for a second TRIBUTE since we closed the doors to the first one. I know some people had a bad experience from the first one, but we cannot be to blame for the low attendance (if you consider 210 C64-users low attendance), considering the enormous effort we put into it. We will be printing 2000 invitations, pass it on through scenepress, the Internet, boards and the traditional invitation-file (also appearing as textfile on PC and AMIGA). I am careful in not making promises, but we already have a great deal of people ready to show up. Haha, when I think of it, we ran into an Amiga trader in Denmark this Christmas who asked us "TRIBUTE, wasn't that the C64-party where everybody went to the liquor-store?". We just laughed our butts off! <D> Hah, I suppose that loquor-store owner was able to go on holiday after your adventure in Gothenburg. Well, once again, thanks for sharing some of your spare-time with us PER. I do hope to participate at THE TRIBUTE this summer - in companionship with the noble CROSSFIRE! <N> Yes, I do hope so too. Don't you dare quitting THE PULSE this time, like you did then. Haha, What about Holland then? <D> Holland is a possibility (perhaps BIRD of MOTIV 8 would be interested in the trip, and then CROSSFIRE and me could drive along) - we will see. In terms of the existance of THE PULSE this summer, I think it is safe to say, we will stick around for 1996 - then we will see what happens later. This far it has been a pleasure working with such splendid people in our staff! Up next - The Monthly Timeline! + THE SCENE ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY TIMELINE + -------------------------------------------------------------- When did the following events occur? - The former great, ALPHA FLIGHT, returns to the scene. - The legendary demo-group, ONEWAY, makes a short return to the scene. - DECOY DESIGN, later known as SANDER, returns to the scene. He joined up with GENESIS! - The best board in the charts is DIVINE ULTIMATUM. - The best cracking-group in the charts is ILLUSION. Read the date later in Scene Illustrated! + THE SCENE ILLUSTRATED OPINION POLL - ANSWERS + -------------------------------------------------------------- OPINION POLL # 1 ------------ What do you plan on doing, to make 1996 a better C64 year? 1. I plan on doing nothing - I am bored with this. 2. I will continue on the same path, doing what I have time and need for. Nothing special because it is 1996! 3. Oh yes, I plan on going double-up on my activities in 1996, and try to get the best out of the scene. 4. Argh. I am already tired from my activities in 1995, I plan on taking a break on the heavy activities in 1996! 1=14% - 2=44% - 3=25% - 4=17%. Answers = 36 people. OPINION POLL # 2 ------------ The quality of the magazine charts have been questioned by several magazine editors. What is your opinion about the general voted charts, in today's magazines? 1. I never read the charts. I have no interest in them! 2. I think they are as they should be. People can vote for whomever they please! 3. The voters should keep track of the new groups and releases, instead of constantly voting for dead groups and people. It is time we restore our charts! 4. I love the charts - I vote like the charts are! 1=11% - 2=25% - 3=58% - 4=6%. Answers = 36 people. OPINION POLL # 3 ------------ There has been a lot of debate whether magazines from the past, such as SHOCK, MAMBA and ELITE should be inferior to those of today. What is your opinion? 1. I never read magazines! 2. I think today's magazines have worked up a standard, that is much higher than that of the former greats! 3. We will never see the same quality as in the beginning of the 1990's. Back then the mags were great! Today they are bad! 4. I think the standard has been constant, which means the mags of today are equal in quality as back then! 1=0% - 2=78% - 3-8% - 4=14%. Answers = 36 people. + THE SCENE ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY TIMELINE + -------------------------------------------------------------- The events previous described happened in the month of June, 1993. Source : PROPAGANDA, issue 10. Produced by GENESIS PROJECT in July 1993. That's it from Scene Illustrated! /DUKE
world of demos
WORLD OF DEMOS -------------------------------------------------------------- Well, last issue we said you would be facing the reviews from THE PARTY 5 this issue. Unfortunately several things got wrong, so we don't have WOD ready this month... The main reason is that I (Syndrom) am recently facing a LOT of work for studying and I have to pass some important exams aswell. Earthquake is having almost the same problems and Mr.Sex' situation is even worse. Due to the time his studies require he cannot work for the WOD-staff anymore. We wish him good luck anyway and thanks for all you did so far... If anybody would be wanting to join in where Mr.Sex left, he should send his application to one of THE PULSE staff-members. more... WORLD OF DEMOS -------------------------------------------------------------- Another thing left to be mentioned is that from this time the outfit should be running smoothly on the NTSC-system aswell. There are some rastertime-problems left in the Menu, but the text-screen should be working 100%. I want to say 'Thank you' to ELWIX of STYLE from the US, without his help this would not have been possible... That's already all for this month, be sure that we will return with full power next issue... /WOD-Staff
meet the press 1
+ MEET THE PRESS - A WORLD OF MAGAZINES + -------------------------------------------------------------- The media in the scene has profound power to be a positive influence. This is where we come in, welcome to another edition of MEET THE PRESS. The section dedicated to take on the media - the organisers in the C64-scene. MEET THE PRESS also operates as the official reaction section of THE PULSE MAGAZINE. We invite you to send us your thoughts and views, be they positive or negative, about this magazine. We will print your letters in the next edition, if they reach us before the 25th of February. This edition we have a huge program for you. We have taken a look at the Internet take-over, and come up with some very surprising news. We also bring interesting media-related articles with news and views, as well as the obligatory magazine updates. General Editor, DUKE, bids you welcome. THE MEDIA TODAY THE INTERNET TAKE-OVER -------------------------------------------------------------- The C64 magazines have already adapted themselves fairly well to the latest feature in the scene, the world-wide used Internet. This new feature, which is becoming more popular every day, has raised new questions in the methods used by the media. The biggest question however, remains the difference between the roles of the Internet, and the established board-scene. Does there exist a difference, should there be one? And if so, what should the difference then be? But there is no denying the facts, the Internet has slowly - but certainly, taken over the role of the American boards. At least in terms of instant communication between sceners, and this method is being used more frequently than ever before. Today the Internet is a must, at least if you want to keep up the pace of your competitors in the scene. In other words, the Internet has become a big institution in the scene. THE MEDIA TODAY THE INTERNET TAKE-OVER -------------------------------------------------------------- * The American boards, which has been wildly popular over the years, are in a state of despair. The amount of people calling the boards are very few, and compared to the former years, the boards appear to be in an unrecognisable state. The days of being considered as the best communication centre for enthusiastic C64 scene-members are long gone, and they are but waiting for the last devastating blow. This could come from the Internet, as the evolution continues into the new year of 1996. But the American boards can rest assure, that as long as the magazines recognise them as the only base for 1st-releases, they will remain in business. But with the swiftly growing popularity of the Internet, perhaps it is time for the mags to consider a drastic change. This change would be, make the Internet the future base for the 1st-releases, opening up - THE MEDIA TODAY THE INTERNET TAKE-OVER -------------------------------------------------------------- new opportunities for the scene. It would also give groups, who have not previously had the possibility of reaching the boards, a chance of competing with the established cracking groups. It seems any way we look at it, a change is on the way. But who will take the initiative, recognising it could be a very unpopular one. With us to debate this question, we have invited JAZZCAT of ONSLAUGHT, a frequent visitor on the American boards, and also representing ONSLAUGHT as a cracking-group which has earned much fortune on their relations to the American boards. But first, let me introduce a dear colleague of mine, NEWSCOPY of F4CG, who is the General editor of one of the favourite 1st-release chart magazines, PROPAGANDA! THE MEDIA TODAY THE INTERNET TAKE-OVER -------------------------------------------------------------- * <D> DUKE of THE PULSE <N> NEWSCOPY of PROPAGANDA <D> It is nice to have you with us again PER. The first question that comes to mind, one editor to another, how much do you think the Internet has effected the scene this far? <N> In general Alex, the net has not yet come to its full effect scenewise. Numerous are the 64-related people online, but most of us are still fairly confused with the immense size of the net. We have our roots in small, private systems, having to share with approximately 30 million other people. Expanding quickly, we have huge FTP's, E-mails, home- pages and the IRC. The IRC has so far been the most interesting facility, giving us something we have never had before. Still, it is primitive and does in no way reflect the discussions on the boards. The subs still offer the unique feature, that everyone can take part of the same discussions - no matter when one calls in. The IRC demands everlasting presence. It will probably take another year for the scene to evolve netwise. During 1996, I sense the awareness of software will rise on the net, reflecting the attitude we see on the boards. The mere fact is tremendous valuable, and will trigger further involvement. <D> Do you feel the Internet will continue to grow into the scene, becoming more and more important - perhaps even playing a great role in keeping the scene alive in the future years? <N> The net has already done a great deal for the future scene. We have started a movement towards the net from the net from the boards. Some of us have appeared as rolemodels while others have been quick to follow. Although hilarious, most people working with computers will sooner or later be connected to the net, and with that in mind, many of the 64-people will continue to keep in touch with each other - be there software or not. Scenewise, we have channelled our energy on a new (?), powerful medium. We are thrilled by it, as much as with the releases of wares, mags and demos. With the net, our organisation will continue to thrive for another couple of years. <D> The magazines has a great responsibility, as they are able to more or less dictate the behaviour of the cracking- groups. The 1st-release charts are the source of this power, and it works as a great motivation for the cracking-groups to remain competitive. What is your opinion of this role the media plays, and how much do you feel the cracking-groups look towards the 1st-release charts as a motivation factor? <N> It is true that magazines have a great responsibility, and over the past 2 years their impact has grown immensely. However, we shall not be the dictating behaviour at any point. With common sense, we can draw up guidelines for what we consider appropriate. The perfect harmony is a stimulating communication between media and productive groups, where progress is always in focus. The firstreleasing-concept is what pushes all groups further, and speaking as both participant of F4CG and editor of PROPAGANDA. I do support the charts as a concept. However, the concept of focusing stateside/ boardside is today somewhat dusty. In many ways, we have to think again. Judging the charts, is a delicate task, and few handle the job correctly. I am honest when I say I only have the highest of confidence in DEFF and MARC in terms of judgement. Many of the topgroups today say that they do not bother about the charts, but they do. Oh yes, they do. Whenever a magazine is released, you have them popping up like flies complaining, commenting or crediting. Nobody wants a minuspoint. Looking at it, releasecharts is the only true statistical proof of who's really on top. Notes and sheets only give a vague opinion from the public. <D> The American boards have been the only acceptable base for 1st-releases since the beginning of the charts, and since then there has been no other alternative considered by the magazines. But is the exclusion of all other alternatives today not the same, as encouraging the sceners to engage in criminal activities? Certainly the cracking of games is in itself an offence, but the usage of calling-cards can be much more dangerous! <N> Involving ourselves in criminal activities might be a hazardous factor, but we have through all the years done so by choice. 1995 more or less triggered a painful fadeaway of the American boardscene, and being raised in the old-school, I was furious at the fact. The American decline weakened people, their interest of being in control and their energy to keep walking for never-ending progress. It is however interesting seeing when somebody by chance gets hold of a PBX, system or the like. Like bees to honey, you have them all back stateside. People have, and always give the boards top-priority - whenever there is a chance to get there. Unfortunately, that is not the issue today. Phreaking is difficult and few master the art. Turning our heads and focus towards the net, seems as the most probable thing to do. <D> With that in mind, why not adapt ourselves on the Internet? The Internet has already proven to be a communication method with a promising future, and it is already frequented by more sceners, than the boards are able to boast today. Why stick with the boards then, when the Internet is available for anyone - also those who only have access to a C64, and it is cheap and legal? <N> Bringing on new movements and ideas to the scene must be handled carefully. Adapting to the net, there is still much to do. How do you plan on handling the releases, for instance? If say, ONSLAUGHT are working on the same title as TRC+SCS, and upload it onto DIGITAL DUNGEON (TRC+SCS FTP). The manager of the FTP can easily stall the ONSLAUGHT version and await the extra hour for the TRC+SCS version. Do groups have the mail releasing-information to the magazine-editors to prevent this? Rules have to be made, unwritten laws have to be created. And by golly, Alex, there are no subs on the net! An uninteresting newsgroup, nonsense related and as interesting as THE TRIBUTE to read. No, instead we should start a mailing-list. No, we should start a couple of them! One about the wares, one for rags & rumours and one for the discussions. By golly that'd compensate the arousing features from a board. It'd even make the net a pleasure to connect to! <D> Great idea! What do you think PROPAGANDA will do in the future, in terms of its 1st-release coverage? <N> From PROPAGANDA 21, we will be covering the net as a source of firstreleases. With that in mind, we will look on the American boards as well as on INTERPARK (F4CG FTP) and DIGITAL DUNGEON (TRC+SCS FTP). We can only hope for groups to follow. The rules for a firstrelease, will still be the same. In my eyes, it will also be a chance for smaller groups, who earlier have been set back by the lack of cards. I hope we can change directions slightly with PROPAGANDA facing the future, and I hope other mags will follow. We have to accept, that what was born on the 64 almost 10 years ago (the firstreleasing concept, that is), has to be altered and adapted slightly. Come join us! <D> Thank you very much PER. It is always a pleasure! The next guest has just recently found his way to the Internet, but he remains one of the few active callers to the American boards. He has most certainly learned the trade of the 1st-release business, having been a part of LEGEND - and today one of the most prominent figures in the ONSLAUGHT line-up. Please welcome, JAZZCAT of ONSLAUGHT - also known as editor of DOMINATION. <D> Thanks for joining us in this controversial debate DAVE, I am sure you have a strong opinion on this subject. But first of all, I would like to know what you think of the Internet, having been a user of it for a while? <J> Firstly, my first appearance on the super highway was around 2 years ago. Then I was using credit cards to give me 24 hour access. Now I have a legal account and it gives me more time to explore. IRC is simple fun, FTP and WWW is a part of the more productive side. Immediate access and immense speed, and the fact that a lot of the scene now turns to the net because of calling out problems, gives me good reason to be there to remain in contact with some people that don't appear on the boards. It's great, although I hope it doesn't get too commercially hyped. <D> But although you have decided to join the Internet again, you have kept your links to the American boards. What is the reason for this, considering the Internet serves the exact same options - and it is legal? <J> I have always enjoyed the boards more, I am someone you could call a traditionalist, we all are in a certain way, considering we are still on the C64! In a different side though, I have always been on the boards since I have had a modem. The first-release scene, is a great great aspect my group and past groups have focused on, and this is where the boards come in. As long as I can call out I will always call the boards, besides someone as nice as me could not afford to miss out on all the 'ragging' and 'wars' that take place. ;) <D> I understand you completely. The boards are the place for the most fun - but it requires a certain level of activity, that has not been there for a long time. The board-scene has always been a product of the C64 history, while the Internet is a new invention made by the PC-users. Do you think the boards should be protected due to its historic importance to the C64, or is it a matter of using whatever method, that proves to be best? <J> Boards should be protected, how can the original way the C64 scene developed and matured survive, if the new sceners are brought into a scene that has changed. I think the Internet should be regarded as a mere 'addiction' to the way the scene is. The C64 scene is 'the original' and that's how we should keep it, let the PC scene be charmed by the net. <D> We cannot deny the fact, that the boards represent a very important period of C64 history. They are also another factor to seperate us from the other systems. Anyway, you are one of the frequent callers of the American - as well as European boards. What is your opinion of their current state, and who calls them on a regular basis these days? <J> It is quite hard for most major groups to appear on the USA boards on any sort of regular basis these days. Long distance companies such as AT&T and MCI have black- listed BBS numbers, making them impossible to call through their service. This in itself has stopped the flow of phreakers to a minimal. But still there are quite a few still calling, the most consistent people over the past few months, have been the German based HITMEN, CHROMANCE/Hungary and ONSLAUGHT. AVANTGARDE have shown decline with WEASEL being the frequent representative these days. SCS+TRC have shown some activity, but they are mainly based on the Internet. Most USA boards are up all the time, some problems still occur for THE DUNGEON and DOWN BY LAW, but TEI, DEAD- ZONE, DREAM PARK and HIC, still remain as the main boards of the C64 scene. <D> The American boards continue to hold the rights, as the only base for games, which are fighting for the rights to call themselves 1st-releases. Do you think we should keep this rule, or is it time we allowed the Internet to exercise the same rights? <J> We should always keep to the boards, there are quite a few reasons for this. One of them would be, that the Internet is too easily accessible. I see it as if you cannot call to the boards, you are not worthy to be there anyway. Quite harsh and arrogant I know, but it keeps the tradition. Anyone can call the net, and not everyone can call the boards. So I think the boards give that extra spark of tradition, respect and the original way of the scene. <D> What do you think the future holds for the board-scene, and do you think it is possible, that the Internet will take over the role from the boards in the future?
meet the press 2
<J> The board scene will still be around for a while yet. The Internet will always be bigger and in other ways, better, than the boards. I do not think we will see a day where the Internet will be a role in the 1st-release scene. Possibly by then anyway, there will not be anything worth releasing, maybe we could add a flavour of the use of both of them. <D> A combination of the two does also sound right to me. Thank you for your time, we will be seeing you in the 1st-release charts Dave! -------------------------------------------------------------- That concludes this months edition of THE MEDIA TODAY. My thanks go to NEWSCOPY of F4CG and JAZZCAT of ONSLAUGHT. Be sure to take part in this months opinion-poll, which is concerned about the issue we just debated. - CELEBRATING BEST MAGAZINE MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- There are many candidates to the title as best magazine of 1995. Last year was one of the most productive in the history of magazines on the C64, and there are certainly a lot of different opinions on who is the most deserving production. The best magazine is one of the categories, in the PEOPLE's CHOICE AWARDS, presented by THE PULSE MAGAZINE. We invite you to take part in this new and special feature, which is presented in SCENE ILLUSTRATED - the chapter available in this months edition of THE PULSE MAGAZINE. Read the information about the awards, and send us your votes - this is your chance to thank the productive people of 1995. Just do it! MTP MEETS EDITOR OF RELAX MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- We will continue our popular feature, and present you with a brand new and famous editor. This month we have invited one of the editors of RELAX MAGAZINE, a magazine that has risen strongly in the charts through 1996. Without further ado, please welcome, RRR of OXYRON. <D> Nice to see you again TIMO. Life seems to be going well for you at the moment, and your engagement with RELAX have proven to be a success - at least colleagues within the industry have complemented your work so far. Having made a name for yourself in the scene as a successful graphician, what made you begin a new career within the media? <R> There is a fascination around the media, a fascination which caught me back in school when we edited a news- paper, and the chance to edit articles in a scene magazine always interested me. The problem was set up a competent staff with people who share(d) this idea. My effort in scene journalism started back in 1989 when we released the RELAX for the very first time in late September. Here and in the next station, the Bitmania, I have been working only in the background, preparing and supporting news and addresses among other things people do not recognise. The ADDYBOOK in early 1993 it started on a more serious basis, but the real break- through has been made with VANDALISM NEWS, where I participated as co-editor and graphic artist. In 1994 I started my activity for SKYHIGH, returned to VANDALISM NEWS, returned to SKYHIGH and found finally my "new" home, the RELAX magazine. When I rejoined the RELAX magazine staff, I enlarged my activities in this area, so I do not think starting a new career is a fitting definition for the effort I put in here. <D> You have certainly built up a nice career on your resume. RELAX MAGAZINE have proven to be a very competitive production, and the voters have recognised it as a top magazine as well by its current status in the charts. How would you describe RELAX as a magazine, in the overall C64 media picture? <R> The RELAX magazine is a very actual magazine, covering the latest news in order to be the host for the latest information, and of course offering the most fair release charts in my opinion. For sure it is not a secret, that we get our news directly from the boards/Internet, directly from spokesmen of the involved groups, instead of believing in something mysterious we find on our vote- sheets or wherever else. All releases of the release- charts are going to be tested on two different NTSC systems, and all cracks are going to be checked by one of the best crackers around these days, to make sure, that we know what we are talking about when we create these charts. As we are an independent production, you will hardly find any personal propaganda unlike in most other contributions to the magazine scene, trying to keep out any personal hassles with the only aim to release an INDEPENDENT and RELIABLE publication, what seems to be the most important difference in the overall CBM 64 media picture. We have put our effort in facts and informations, with a few entertaining sequences instead of being a book of fairy tales trying to manipulate the readers with their propaganda. <D> There has been a lot of discussion between magazines, that productions such as THE PULSE MAGAZINE, RELAX and PROPAGANDA - among others represented the cracking and modem-scene, while SKYHIGH and NITRO - among others represented the demo and mail-scene. What are your views on this, and what do you see as the criteria for qualifying as a magazine within a certain area? <R> It is no big secret anymore, GOOD magazines cover both aspects from the scene, the modem and the mail-scene, as the CBM 64 scene consists of both parts, and you can not ignore any part of the scene these days, as the scene is decreasing day by day, and ignoring each other can be one more reason to increase the final end of the scene. The only qualification can be the correct mixture of journalism on the one hand, and a necessary background on the other hand. Magazines like VANDALISM NEWS, DOMINATION, THE PULSE and finally RELAX MAGAZINE have recruited a staff working in the different "part's" of the scene giving them the chance to add actual reports in an every single issue. In my opinion magazines just covering one part of the scene are out of fashion these days, what is of course only my personal and subjective opinion, and does not represent the majority of the scene. <D> RELAX MAGAZINE was released a couple of years ago as a different magazine, but made its reappearance when THE PULSE MAGAZINE stopped its production for a period in 1994. RELAX then claimed the responsibility of taking over where THE PULSE left off, and was announced as the successor within the industry. What parts of RELAX has been inspired from THE PULSE - or do you feel you have developed yourselves past what THE PULSE represented? <R> Without any doubts, THE PULSE was the leading magazine before its break, and after it disappeared we felt that there is a big gap we wanted to fill, as THE PULSE was the magazine people cared about when it came to NEWS and RELEASE CHARTS, next to the partly very interesting articles and discussions. Therefore we copied some structures from THE PULSE, merged them with our very own idea how to edit a magazine, and so the RELAX was reborn. But anyway, there is actually nothing, that has not been seen in one or another way before, so there is actually nothing, that has not been seen in one or another way before, so there is no connection to THE PULSE left. Except for the friendship between us. When it comes to similarities, for sure we have to name the review chapter, where we take a look closer at the demos spread around. Here people do not have problems to recognise who lead us using this system with a programmer, a graphic artist and a music composer judging where they use to be specialists in their topic, as in fact only THE PULSE and RELAX MAGAZINE are using the intelligent system, what is for sure the best method to prevent such kind of chapter. Surely we have developed all over the years, and of course as well a lot within the past few months, as a magazine which does not make any progress is losing its attractivity. Our aim is to increase our production as long as we can run it on the basis as hobby, because when it is getting out of control, and taking in the status of a job, much fun will be lost, and the fun makes us creating it in the way we actually do it. What does not mean, that we do not take it serious or that we can not care about it! <D> There is no doubt that 1995 has been a good year for the C64 scene media, and never before has so many magazines developed into top productions. What is your opinion about the scene media of today, as opposed to what we had in the past? <R> In former days there was always a leading magazine on top, such as SEX'N'CRIME, MAMBA and SHOCK just to name a few of them. The situation today is completely different, with a bunch of at least five so-called board magazines doing a brilliant job, and some few mail-mags being high ranked and more or less nice to be read. It is quite hard, or to be more exact impossible, to define the current leader in here, and that makes the media rather interesting these days. Any reader might appreciate this scenario, as this palette of quality magazines has never been seen before, and so 1995 might have been the most interesting year when it comes to magazines. We truly hope that in 1996 this competition, in fairness and honourableness, will continue. Like said before, it will be a paradise for the readers, as all magazines have to compete on the best possible level, otherwise they might become uninteresting for the masses. <D> What are your ideals and ambitions as a magazine editor, and what do you dislike the most about the media and magazines as a whole? <R> My very personal ideas, representative for the entire RELAX MAGAZINE staff, is OBJECTIVITY, FAIRNESS and HONOURABLENESS, as we can probably announce, that RELAX is, not only in our opinion, one of the most objective magazines around, instead of being just another propaganda medium unlike other competitors. I dislike when people bring in their personal problems in their magazines, merged with unobjectivity and commer- cialism. Many editors add articles only in order to please their readers, and to be sure still having sympathy and to be(come) successful in the charts. Sometimes, while reading magazines, I get the strange feeling, that a lot of articles and chapters were edited to increase the text amount instead of having another important reason to be published. I use to say here less can be more. People who influenced me a lot in my current style of writing are mainly GENE, former editor of SHOCK, and of course you, DUKE, as it is no secret that I always respected your way of writing articles and organising your magazine, and this is for sure not said only because I am in THE PULSE writing at the moment. <D> Thank you TIMO, I appreciate that. Having just entered the new year, what are your predictions for the year of 1996 - in terms of scene developments? <R> As the activity in the CBM 64 is decreasing day by day, it is for sure quite hard to define a preview of what will happen. For sure one of the so-called board magazines will take over the top of the magazine charts sooner or later, as the mail-scene finally remarked, that board-magazines are quite interesting as well. When it comes to the modem scene a lot of activity move over to the Internet, as it is for sure the part of the scene which will increase, accessible for almost everyone who is interested in it, and not only by the "chosen circle" of persons calling out for free. The demo scene will for sure present some outstanding productions at the X-96, SYMPOSIUM '96, ASSEMBLY '96 and THE PARTY '96, and wherever else parties will be held. I would appreciate it to see people releasing demos not only at these conventions, but as well in the meantime, what is a sure guarantee to see it much better spread, and for sure this would be another step closer back to the old spirit of demo productions. <D> I agree with you, and again I feel the media is responsible for encouraging demo-groups to release more often. Which is why reviews tend to be insufficient alone, but perhaps 1996 will produce new features in the demo-line of journalism. I had the pleasure of meeting you at THE PARTY 5. What was your overall opinion of this meeting, and what do you think of it as a C64 event? <R> I have enjoyed our discussions concerning different topics too, but let us better start answering this question right now. THE PARTY V was overall a quite interesting meeting when it comes up to CBM 64 and personalities, as profiles from VIBRANTS, CENSOR DESIGN, BONZAI, FLASH INC., CAMELOT, CREST, ANTIC, REFLEX, BYTERAPERS and my group OXYRON among others have set up the quality of THE PARTY V on a very high level when it comes to the demo scene, and without any doubts it is the demo scene with their productions which make conventions like this interesting and worth to be visited. On the other hand you get the feeling, that the CBM 64 visitor is accepted as paying visitor who is allowed to have a look on the best CBM 64 demos prepared for this party, while on the Amiga and PC more competitions entertain the audience, such as graphic and music as well as different intro contributions next to the spotlight of the interest, their demo competitions, being the inspiration for a lot of CBM 64 trackmos these days. For those who are interested in further details, just have a look in the party report in RELAX magazine, December edition (issue #15). <D> Which by the way was a smashing report, nice work! All right, that should be all. Thanks a lot for the talk, I wish you the best in the future. Cheers mate, on another successful year for the C64! <R> It was a pleasure to be here, sharing my ideas with the public. Thumbs up for you and your productions as well, may the year of 1996 become successful for you, in real life and of course in the computer scene. Up next - Well, that's nice. What is it? - BOARD, DEMO OR MAIL MAGAZINE MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- The media is perhaps the strongest core in the scene right now, this based on its healthy situation - having constantly improved over the years. But even though the media has not been the victim of the downfall of the C64, it has been faced with a remarkable problem - What is their position in the scene? There are many magazines available on the market today, and all of them offer a wide range of different service-minded articles, statistics and news. But it seems the readers have misunderstood the complete message made by the magazines, as many of these has been labelled and accused of favouritism of certain areas in the scene. One of these magazines is THE PULSE MAGAZINE, having been called a typical board-magazine since its very birth. But also other magazines are tired of being misjudged, and they are therefore using - BOARD, DEMO OR MAIL MAGAZINE MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- greater strength, to reach their audience with the materiel they have yet to be acknowledged for. When a problem of this character appears, the best solution tends to be information. Because information is the best weapon against ignorance. We will therefore invite you to a demonstration of the monthly program served by THE PULSE MAGAZINE. After listing the actual contents of this so-called board-magazine, we will determine what areas it covers the most - which should give a complete picture, of what type this magazine is today. But for such a comparison to be possible, we have decided to divide the potential readers into seperate groups. Those in the Mail, Internet and Board-scene. The type of the chapters are represented by the locations of which we most frequently receive and direct our information, which are essential in the creation of the chapters. Let us take a look!
meet the press 3
CHAPTER TYPE -------------------------------------------------------------- PREFACE No Type. NEWS JOURNAL Mail, Internet, Board. MONTHLY RELEASES Board. WORLD OF DEMOS Mail, Internet. SATIRICA Mail, Internet, Board. PROFILE Mail, Internet. SCENE ILLUSTRATED Mail, Internet. THE BOARD REPORT Board. MEET THE PRESS Mail, Internet. INTERNET REPORT Internet. OVERALL CHARTS Mail. ADVERTISEMENTS Mail. With these statistics, we are able to draw the following conclusion which is readable on the following page. BOARD, DEMO or MAIL MAGAZINE MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- * Mail-related chapters - 8 Chapters (67%) Internet-related chapters - 7 Chapters (58%) Board-related chapters - 4 Chapters (33%) No-area-related chapters - 1 Chapter (8%) This should be clear evidence, that THE PULSE MAGAZINE has been wrongfully accused of being a typical board-magazine. We understand, that it may be easier to put labels on people, intead of taking a deeper look. But we would advice you to make a similar investigation, as the one previously used, of the magazines you review. At least it seems the only proper and fair approach! - RRR BREAKS NEW RECORD MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- The main editor of the German based magazine, RELAX MAGAZINE, has broken what could be described as an unofficial record. The multi-talented scener, RRR, is currently actual as editor for RELAX, but he has also had a hand in the outfits of many other magazines. He has drawn graphics for VANDALISM NEWS, DOMINATION, SHOUT! and DRIVEN next to the graphics for RELAX. He is therefore the most used graphician within the magazine industry, and the demand keeps going. In the coming months, an incredible number of 6 magazines will be using his graphics. But according to RRR, he is enjoying the demand on his graphics, and will continue figuring as a graphician in the OXYRON line-up. Due to his success as a magazine editor for RELAX MAGAZINE, one could have predicted he would have had to choose which line of work to pursue. But by the looks of it, RRR will not make such a decision, and instead continue both careers! TRIBUNE WRONGFULLY ACCUSED? MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- In the November 1995 edition of MEET THE PRESS, we uncovered what appeared to be a sad story in the C64 media. In this report, we had looked at an edition of THE TRIBUNE - which had boasted on the amount of blocks (2100 uncrunched text). In this event, we had compared the amount of blocks represented by the chapters which were "Scene related" and those that were "Non-scene related". We came to a rather shocking conclusion : Scene related text - 342 blocks (46%) Non-scene related text - 405 blocks (54%) The blocks that were counted, was of course crunched, even though we had printed uncrunched - although it should be obvious having already stated the magazine contained 2100 blocks of uncrunched text. It would appear everyone got the TRIBUNE WRONGFULLY ACCUSED? MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- * idea of our article. All except one, NASTINESS INC., the notorious editor of THE TRIBUNE. In the 53rd edition of THE TRIBUNE, he claimed our statistics were wrong - even though he should know the crunched amount of blocks better than anyone. But having insisted upon getting a fair review - we can now truthfully say, THE TRIBUNE did ONLY contain roughly around 46% of scene-related text. When stating roughly, we reserve the rights to be a couple of percent off. But in my opinion, the percents are in the favour of the non- scene related chapters. According to these statistics, THE TRIBUNE is more of a non-scene-related magazine. Although NASTINESS INC. tried to defend himself by calling me (editor of the article - DUKE) the words "lame", "joke", "ass" among other intelligent accusations, the facts are the same. THE TRIBUNE is the least qualified magazine in the scene, to claim a position in the "SCENE" magazine charts. VANDALISM NEWS SUFFERS PROBLEMS MEET THE PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------- It would appear the most stabile and successful magazine in 1995, VANDALISM NEWS, has had a somewhat disturbing entry into 1996. The main editor, VENGEANCE, has had a period in which he wanted to get away from the scene - which is understandable, considering the high level of activity, he has kept through 1995. But other problems has faced the Tasmanian based magazine, as the co-editor BIZARRE, was fined by the German Telecom - and could be in severe problems, after having been caught for hacking VMB's. But eventhough VANDALISM NEWS is delayed on their 27th edition, they are said to be back in the business, which they have dominated through 1995 in excellent style. We hope problems will prove to be minor, and on a level, that is easily fixable. SUBJECT : SKYHIGH, 20th edition. LABEL : CAMELOT. -------------------------------------------------------------- The current chart leader, SKYHIGH, celebrated their 20th release, with an amazing 3 disk-side edition. On top of that, they waited with the release until the 16th of January, which had nostalgic meaning to SKYHIGH. The reason was, SKYHIGH was first released 3 years ago, on that exact date. But although SKYHIGH may have gone a little over the top with the 3 disk-sides, it could become a new trend from this magazine. When SKYHIGH celebrated its 10th edition anniversary, it started releasing on 2 disk-sides. With the 20th edition anniversary it was released on 3 disk-sides, although I doubt this will be the regular size from now on. This special anniversary edition has everything a celebrating production should have. There are special features, the regular contents, as well as heaps of articles to make this edition special. This edition is so packed, it should go on holiday! Read it! SUBJECT : RELAX, 14th edition. LABEL : PHUTURE. -------------------------------------------------------------- RELAX became the very last magazine to hit the scene in 1995, at least it was released on the 31st of December 1995. But although this edition continued the shape of those released previously, it was highlighted by THE PARTY 5 - represented in Denmark by General editor, RRR. This report that was written about this event, was the best available - produced in detail by RRR in the editorial section. Like many other magazines, RELAX offered their view on the most valuable performances in the year of 1995. That was perhaps the only difference between a normal edition released by RELAX, but except for the entry into a brand new year, it was no special occasion for RELAX. This magazine is one of few in the top, that did not celebrate an anniversary edition - but they are on their way. Hopefully soon, they will introduce a new and more colourful outfit, as this one has done its time! SUBJECT : ROCK'N'ROLE, 20th edition. LABEL : ROLE. -------------------------------------------------------------- Perhaps one of the oldest magazines to return, ROCK'N'ROLE, released their 20th anniversary edition. This copy is the first one I got my hands on since their comeback, and it was quite a nostalgic experience for me, to watch a new release of this institution in magazine history. But despite of that, I was left with a sense of disappointment, considering the quality of ROCK'N'ROLE, compared to those that has raised the magazine standard immensely. But it is nonetheless a comeback that is most welcome. The original editors, EFFY and COMMANDER - among others, have always been responsible for creating a good read. Although R'N'R must be considered a very alternative magazine, it is still one, that is sure to return to the charts it used to rule. A nice feature in this magazine, is the attention it gives to the fairly unknown people - who would never be mentioned elsewhere! SUBJECT : DOMINATION, 6th edition. LABEL : INDEPENDENT. -------------------------------------------------------------- The wildly popular DOMINATION returns to our screens as promised, and looks to be in the form of a life-time. The General editor, JAZZCAT, is responsible for most of the contents, and his remarkable scene knowledge and touch on the pulse, gives DOMINATION an edge rare to magazines of today. But pulling off such a performance almost single- handedly, can be extremely exhausting. Therefore JAZZCAT has decided to expand on his ambitions, and will most likely be admitting new members into the DOMINATION staff. This mag is a guarantee for a splendid read. The contents cover most C64 relations, world news, demo reviews, magazine affairs, satiric stories, game industry and much more. DOMINATION is therefore a magazine, that appeals to all types of sceners, making it a C64 production readable by all. This has also been recognised by the voters, who loves this one! SUBJECT : HEAVENDOWN, 1st edition. LABEL : POWER RANGERS -------------------------------------------------------------- HEAVENDOWN is a brand new magazine to an industry, that is already doing well with high quality productions. That reason alone, makes one wonder, why the creators of HEAVENDOWN even thought about putting this together. But we will take a look at it just the same. Although the outfit is similar to what was popular in the late 80's, it most likely will not become a success in this decade. But had the editors been qualified in their editing, the outfit would not have mattered as much. THE POSTMINISTER and the GURILLA HERO (well..) are responsible for the editing of this magazine. This combination is perhaps the worst ever made in magazine history, as both are extremely silly, and appears to be rookies on every area known on the C64. It would therefore appear to the trained eye, that this production is nothing but a fake magazine, and should be considered as such! Avoid this one, it is awful! SUBJECT : CONTROVERSIAL, 7th edition. LABEL : ACCEPT. -------------------------------------------------------------- The German based magazine, CONTROVERSIAL, returns to the market with their 7th edition. This one released at THE PARTY 5. I have not had the pleasure of reading this magazine before atleast it must have avoided my attention somehow. But scanning through the contents of CONTROVERSIAL, I discover that there is actually nothing controversial about it - let alone interesting. It is filled with sloppy editing, cursing words everywhere - and basically a complete disaster. I really wonder why the people behind CONTROVERSIAL decided to do this magazine, none of them have any skills at editing a magazine, and it looks to me, like a failed attempt to become famous - at something! But CONTROVERSIAL will probably continue its path, trying to inform the public on their views. The news is not there, the information is not there, the English is hardly there - but the editors are there! NEXT MONTH ON THE MEDIA TODAY - EDITING METHODS -------------------------------------------------------------- The scene offers many different types of magazines, all of them written in different ways. But what is the real difference, considering that most cover the same areas? We will try to uncover this difference in next months edition of THE MEDIA TODAY - and hopefully come to some conclusion, about why certain magazines reaches the top of the charts - while others plummets to the bottom, eventhough they feature almost the same text. Be sure to send us your opinion on this subject, if you want to take part in our debate! -------------------------------------------------------------- That concludes this months edition of MEET THE PRESS - now more than ever. We will be back next month, with another detailed update on the media situation - one that has grown to be incredible large and exciting. Thanks for reading folks! /DUKE
advertisements
ADVERTISEMENTS Edited by KBS -------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to this years first edition of the Advert-chapter! As you know, this is the place to be, if you have the need to get in touch with other like-minded freaks. Adverts for The Pulse are now welcomed on the following fax-number: +XX XXXX XXXX. Or use the usual address: KBS, XXXXXX X, XXXXXX XXXXX, XXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXX Due to public demand, net-addresses, phone-numbers, fax- numbers and BBS-numbers will now be published along with your usual mail-address, starting from this issue! And from now on, the addresses will be sorted by group. If a person is in several groups at the same time, this person will get listed under what group of his ever comes first in the alphabet. F.i. Dr. Doom of U-Turn/DLE is listed under D and NOT under U... JUICE DEVELOPMENTS -------------------------------------------------------------- Searching for a company to publish the new C64 Juice-game "Baby Man" (almost finished). I'm also very eager to get in contact with anyone who know something about SNES, NES or Game-Boy! CRUZER/CAMELOT/JUICE DEVELOPMENTS XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XX XXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX Tel: +XX XXXX XXXX -------------------------------------------------------------- JUICE DEVELOPMENTS AA - AG * = Legal+Illegal + = Legal only -------------------------------------------------------------- * SPERMBIRD/ACRISE+EXCESS/CHROMANCE, XXX XXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXX * TRUSS/ACRISE+EXCESS, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XX.XX, XXXX XXX. XX, XXXXXXX + THE AUTHENTIC/ACRISE+EXCESS, XXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XX.XX., XXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX Tel: +XX XXXX XXXX * GLUT/AGONY DESIGN, XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XX. XXXXXXXXXXX XX, XX-XXX XXXXXX, XXXXXX * SONOR/AGONY DESIGN, XXXXXX XXXXX, XXXXX XXX. XX, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX AH - AN -------------------------------------------------------------- * SHUZE/ALPHA FLIGHT, XXXX, XX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX, XXX XXX, XXXXXXX * ZAPOTEK/ALPHA FLIGHT, XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX, X.X. XXX XXX, XXXX XXX, XXXXXX Internet: sveinung.bergkvist@hit.no * MACX/AMBUSH, XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX Tel: +XX/XX/XXXXXX Internet: macx@kajen.malmo.se * CRUSHER/ANGRY, XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXX XX, XXXX XX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX AN - AT -------------------------------------------------------------- * DEREK/ANTI/ASPHERON, XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XX. XXXXXXXXXXX XX/X, XX-XXX XXXX, XXXXXX * GARTH/ARCOSS, X. XXX XXXX, XXX. XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * CHAOTIC/ATLANTIS/NETPHREAKERS, XXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX XXX, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * FREDDIE/ATLANTIS, XXXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XXXXXXX X, XXXXXXX * NEOTEC/ATLANTIS/F4CG, XXXXXXX XXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX AT - CA -------------------------------------------------------------- * TROOP/ATLANTIS, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XX XXXX, XXXXXXX * INTRUDER/AVANTGARDE, XXXXXX, XXX XXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXX + GLENN/BLUES MUZ'/SHAPE, XXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX X, XXXX XXXXX, XXXXXX Tel: +XX XXXX XXXX * HEAVY HEAD/CAMELOT/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXXXX X, XXXX XXXXX, XXXXXXX BBS: +XX XXXX XXXX (West Point) CH - DE -------------------------------------------------------------- * SYCO/CHROMANCE, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * ALMIGHTY GOD/DESERT NOMADS, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX XX. * PHOENIX/DESERT NOMADS/U-TURN, X.X. XXX XXX, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXX (ed. the sourcetext was partially damaged, so I had to cut out the damaged adresses) DF - EQ -------------------------------------------------------------- * DR. DOOM/DIGITAL EXORCISM/U-TURN, XXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX XXXX, XXXX XX XXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXX * JUNKIE/DOOM PATROL/PALACE, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX X, XXXXX X-XXXXX, XXXXXXX * CODA/DYTEC, XXXXXXXXXXX "XXXX", XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * SPARK/ELYSIUM/TABOO, XXXXXX XXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXX XX/X, XX-XXX XXXXXX, XXXXXX * R.B./EQUINOXE/LEPSI, XXXXXX XXXXXXX, XX. XXXXXXXXX XXX/X/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXXX XX., XXXXXX ER - FE -------------------------------------------------------------- * MAJA/F4CG, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX X/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXX, XXXXXX * WALKER/F4CG, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX AXEGRINDER/FENIKS, XXXXXX XX XXX, XXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XX XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * GRAFEE/FENIKS/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX X/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXX FF - HI -------------------------------------------------------------- * SHOCKER/HARDCORE, XXXXXXXX XXXXXX, XX XXXXXX XXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * VOLUNTEER/HARDCORE, XXXX XXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * JAYCE/HITMEN, XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXX * MARCUS/HITMEN, XXXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * RACOON/HITMEN, XXXX XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXXX HI - LA -------------------------------------------------------------- * TRANZIIE/HITMEN, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXX Internet: xxer@algonet.se * SEBALOZ/KEEN ACID/LEPSI, XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX XX/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * ANGELDUST/LAXITY/U-TURN, XXXXXXX XXX XXX XXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XX XXXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX Tel: +XX/XXX/XXXXXX * VIOLATOR/LAXITY/NOFX/U-TURN, XXXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXX, XXXXXX Tel: +XX(X)XX-XXX-XXXX LB - ME -------------------------------------------------------------- * FRANK/LEPSI, XXXXX XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX XX/X, XX-XXX XXXXX, XXXXXX * ICE/LEPSI, XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX XX/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * SCARE/LEPSI/NEOPLASIA, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * CRUZE/LITHIUM/SCS+TRC, XXXXXXX XXXXX, X XXXXXXXX XX., XXXX XXXXXXXXXXX, XXX, XXXXXXXXX * CYKE/MEGAUNIT, XXXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX MO - MO -------------------------------------------------------------- * BIRD/MOTIV 8, XXXXX XXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXX X, XX.XX., XXXX XXXXXXXXXX BBS: +XX XXXX XXXX (Mount Olympus) * CLIVE/MOTIV 8, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX X, XXXX XXXXXX-XXXXX, XXXXXXX * IBANEZ/MOTIV 8, XXXXX X. XXXXX, XXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * ICEBALL/MOTIV 8, XXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX XX, X.XXX, XXXX XXXX X., XXXXXXX * MERLIN/MOTIV 8, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XX XXXXX, XXXXXXX MO - NO -------------------------------------------------------------- * STONE/MOTIV 8, XXXXXX XX-XXXXX, XX XXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXX Internet: stone@berlin.snafu.de * TG-ACME/MOTIV 8, XXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX XXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXXXX Internet: tonnyg@stud.sarphi.no * ARISTOCRAT/NIPSON, XXXXXX XXXXXXXXX, X.X. XXX XXX, XX-XXX XXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * MAVERICK/NIPSON, XXXXXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX XX, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * FUNXILLA/NO NAME/U-TURN, XXXXX XX XXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXX X, XXXX XX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX NO - ON -------------------------------------------------------------- * GRIMLOCK/NOFX, XXXXX XXXXXX, XX XXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXX + ZZAP/NOICE, XXXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXX * ASV/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXX' XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXX * BIZARRE/ONSLAUGHT, C/O XXXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXXXX * DOOM/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XXXXXX XX, XXXXXXX ON - ON -------------------------------------------------------------- * GOP/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXX XXXX, XXX XXXXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXXXXX, XXX, XXXXXXXXX * JASON/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXXXXX * JAZZCAT/ONSLAUGHT, C/O XXXXX XXXXXXX, XX XXXXX XX., XXXX XX. XXXXXX, XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX * MORBID/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXXX XXXXXXXX, XX XXXXXX XXXXXX, XXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXX, XXXXXXXXX * RAMJAM/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXX-XXXXX, XXXXXXX ON - PA -------------------------------------------------------------- * RAP/ONSLAUGHT, XXXXX XXXXXXXXXX, XX. XXXXXXXX X/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * VENGEANCE/ONSLAUGHT, XXXX, X XXXXXX XXXXXX, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX * RRR/OXYRON, XXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * DOMEY/PANIC CREATIONS, XXXXX XXXX, XXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * JER/PANIC CREATIONS, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX X-XX, XXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX PB - SC -------------------------------------------------------------- * FUNNY/REPLAY, XXXXX XXXXX XX., XXXXXXX XXX. XX, XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * NIGHTSHADE/SCS+TRC, XXXXXXX XXX XXX XXXX, XXXXXXXXXX X, XXXX XX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * SAILOR/SCS+TRC/TABOO, XXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXX X, XX-XXX XXXXX, XXXXXX * SPECTATOR/SCS+TRC, XXXXXX XXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX X, XXXX XX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * SPLATTERHEAD/SCS+TRC, XXXX' XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXX X, XXXX XX XXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX SC - ST -------------------------------------------------------------- * TITANIC/SCS+TRC, XXXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX XX/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * BLASPHEREIRON/SEMINARY, XXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXX X/XX, XX-XXX XXXXXX, XXXXXX + ANDREAS/SHAPE, XXXXXXX X. XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX X, XXXXXX + ELWIX/STYLE, XX XXXXXXXXXX XX., XXXXXXXXXXX, XX XXXXX, XXX + RAY/STYLE, XXX XXXXXX, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXX, XXXXXX, XXXXXXXX XXXXX, XXX SU - ZZ -------------------------------------------------------------- + CRESH/TABOO, XXXXXX XXXXXXX, XX. XXXXXXX X X, XX-XXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXX Internet: st/03@sco.zs/.pwr.wroc.pl * RAMBO/THERAPY, XXXXX XXXX, XXXX X. XX/X, XXXX XXXXXXXX, XXXXXXX * VERGO/THERAPY, XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX, XXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX * RAVE/TRIAD, X/X XXXX XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXX X, XXXXX XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXX Ok, that was this months edition of the advertisements. Hope you had hours of fun. Tune in next month! Signed, KBS/PULSE