Credits
- Written by — NoRecess
Credits as they appear in the release.
The first Ghoul’s Fanz, released under Scorpion in 1993. cpcrulez credits one author on it, which is right: this one I wrote by myself.
Read it online
Every rubrique of the issue, read straight off the disc image and published here in the order of its main menu. Pick one to read it.
Choose a rubrique above to read it.
1Editorial
Translated from the text published in 1993.
Hello everyone…
Okay, let me introduce myself.
My handle is NO RECESS.
I am part of the group SCORPION. I own a CPC 6128 with a stereo amplifier and a printer. I know BASIC on the CPC inside out, and I started on ASSEMBLY about six months ago.
I have made a demo and a fanzine — or rather this fanzine, because I want to pass my passion on to you: the CPC. I love demos. I have a lot of contacts, among them RAINBIRD, ORPHEE, LONGSHOT, ABLAZE, MARABU, CATLOC, MEMORY & RSX, SONIC 3', ANTOINE PITROU, EPSILON and plenty of others I have forgotten. It is thanks to all those contacts that I was able to gather the information I have written up in this fanzine.
By the way, this fanzine is called GHOUL'S FANZ. Why ? 'COZ it is a fanzine made entirely with GHOUL'S WRITER by TOM ET JERRY of GPA. That lets me write articles quickly and keeps them easy to read.
And the best is still to come: GHOUL'S FANZ comes out EVERY TWO MONTHS ! Every two months you will find a new issue…
But the work it takes is hard ! If anyone wants to help me with the job, write to me — the address is at the end of this article.
I am planning a big change for issue 3 or 4 of GHOUL'S FANZ if this fanzine does well.
The rubriques I am offering you this month are rather primitive, though: only ACTUALITES, DEMOS and FANZINES came out reasonably well, in my opinion. As for BASIC and ASSEMBLEUR, they are rather badly done. (Especially BASIC, which is a complete mess…). And ASSEMBLEUR is plain weak: not technical enough and, above all, badly explained. With good reason: that article is two or three months old. Back then I was still a very small Sunday programmer…
And just for you: I have adapted this fanzine for the CPC 664 and the CPC 464 with a disc drive. I even had to adapt my demo UTOPIA for CPCs with 64K of RAM. That demo is going to appear in the POWER SYSTEM MEGADEMO…
I am also putting another demo on the disc (the PLASMA DEMO by GOZEUR) and a little-circulated plasma program written by ODIESOFT. Unfortunately for CPC 464 and 664 owners, those last two demos need 128K of RAM…
Right, let me give you my address. You can write to me there to ask for demos, for help, for freeware or shareware, and so on… Here it is:
NO RECESS / SCORPION STORQ Arnaud 14, Allée des Narcisses 83320 CARQUEIRANNE FRANCE
I am looking forward to your letters !
Right, it is time to have a look at the other parts of this fanzine… Enjoy !
NNNN OOOO N N O O N. R. P. N N O O N N O O (C) NO RECESS PRODUCTION N N OOOO RRR EEEE CCCC EEEE SSSS SSSS R R E C E S S RRR EE C EE SSSS SSSS R R E C E S S R R EEEE CCCC EEEE SSSS SSSS
A GREAT CODER ON CPC ? YES ! SCORPION IS A NEW TEAM ON THE CPC SCENE....... WAIT'N'C ! READ DEMONIAK, RUNDSCHLAG, M & C, QUASAR CPC, AND M & C AGAIN... GOOD BYE FOR GHOUL'S FANZ 2 ! N.R.P.
2News
Translated from the text published in 1993.
First of all, you should know that the A.F.C. is being reborn! No, it's no joke... To start with, the A.F.C. is a swapping club entirely dedicated to the CPC. You want SOUNDTRAKKER musics? ASSEMBLY routines? graphics? freeware and shareware? demos? fanzines? or loads of other stuff like that? That's what the A.F.C. is for... Now, let me give you some information about the A.F.C. (which I asked the editor of PHASER for)... There's an annual fee of 12 stamps (only) which will go towards sending out the newsletters, the A.F.C.'s fanz... to be paid when you join the A.F.C. Of course, if the A.F.C. were to stop its activities, the members of the A.F.C. would quickly see to sending back the stamps you sent... Now, here are the A.F.C.'s commitments: Every month you'll receive a newsletter (to get news about fanzines, demomakers...), You'll be able to get in touch with everyone who is a member of the A.F.C. (and there are plenty), You'll be able to own fanzines both current and not (back issues), but also routines (musics, rasters, vumeters, etc...), You'll be able to get demos (not ALL of them, but a huge number all the same!), You'll be able to get in contact with foreign fanzines (Germany, Greece, England, Holland...), You'll be able to get the addresses of various swappers (distributors) of demos, fanzines and more, You'll be able to get the A.F.C.'s paper fanzine for free every month or every 2 months (a fanzine written by all the A.F.C. members who want to take part), and plenty of other things like Advertising or Scanning services... And that's not all! So you see, the CPC is well and truly on the move! Interested in the A.F.C.? To become a member of the A.F.C., write to:
A.F.C.
BROUDIN Sébastien 4, bis Avenue GAMBETTA (Appartement 30) 60600 CLERMONT
In a few weeks now, the POWER SYSTEM MEGADEMO will be out. For those not in the know, this demo brings together quite a few people on CPC like RAINBIRD, ANTOINE PITROU, TARGHAN, EPSILON, ALN, and me of course! Yes, it's true! I really did create a part for the demo... My part for the POWER SYSTEM MEGADEMO is a rather nice demo... I won't tell you any more! Just know that this part is my first demo, and that I'll try to do better in my next productions...
I've heard talk of a possible ONLY FOR YOUR EYES 2... Is it true? The first one was nice... AST SYSTEM was, back then, still a small group... By now, AST SYSTEM must be at a good technical level programming-wise! Maybe that demo is even out already... I'll give you more info in the second issue of GHOUL'S FANZ!
ORPHEE is coding a demo that will gather TARGHAN's best musics and will be called CRYSTAL DREAMS... Did you like the musics from the BORDELIK MEETING 3 DEMO and from a few articles of DEMONIAK 4? Heh heh heh, I can't wait for this demo! The code is already well under way and ORPHEE hopes to finish it within 2 or 3 months! I hope I'll be able to review this demo in the third issue of GHOUL'S FANZ...
TARGHAN is finishing a utility that will let you "rip" graphics, code and musics without needing the HACKER... He's also preparing a new demo.
STW of POWER SYSTEM has left the CPC... A shame, I thought his MORTAL DEMO wasn't bad at all, especially on the graphics side... However, POWER SYSTEM has grown stronger with HYDRIS joining their group... But as if that wasn't enough, POWER SYSTEM is about to take a second blow: EPSILON's departure. No, this is not a bad joke... EPSILON is going to officially announce his departure in the POWER SYSTEM MEGADEMO. That could be a real shock for the already ailing CPC. But now the following question arises: "Will POWER SYSTEM still survive?"... Only the future can tell us that. But if the whole of POWER SYSTEM drops us, well then... I'd rather stop here on the subject.
Do you own the program SUPER CHEESE CRUNCHER? This program is a cruncher created by ANTOINE PITROU, or so the presentation claimed... It's crap! Indeed, this program is the pirated version (by whom?) of ANTOINE PITROU's series of super powerful crunchers... This program is really not powerful compared to ANTOINE PITROU's CHEESE CRUNCHER 1.1... What's more, you'd have to be a complete moron to create a "change the colours" option, right? So I think the guy who coded this program is a real asshole!!! Trashing the reputation of a super programmer like ANTOINE PITROU is a stupid idea and I'm weighing my words... There you go, sorry if I got a bit carried away, but I absolutely had to say it!
DEMONIAK 4 is a great fanzine (see the FANZINES section). Don't order issue 5 of DEMONIAK because it's still a long way from coming out. Indeed, the writers are currently working flat out on demos, so be patient a while before ordering it... That said, DEMONIAK 4 is a huge success (according to ORPHEE...)! Good for them! In my opinion you're the best current French team on CPC... Keep it up!!!
EPSILON has made a music compilation called SOUNDTRAKKER, which gathers loads of well-known SOUNDTRAKKER musics used in demos... So you'll be able to use in your own programs the magnificent musics from the BORDELIK MEETING DEMO 3 (parts two and three), or the one from the second part of PRODATRON's latest demo on CPC, called DIGITAL ORGASM. The musics are ripped out of the software (demos or games in general) thanks to version 7.0 of the HACKER. Each music's player is well thought out: a vumeter with a display of the machine time... Actually, this compilation is a "REMIX 95" of TOM ET JERRY's MUSIC PACK series. (By the way, the music you're hearing right now is one of the musics taken from SOUNDTRAKKER Volume 2... Yes indeed, this compilation is already on its second volume!).
FUTUR'S is preparing a great adventure game called AVENTURY... The game's release will be a smash hit since demomakers like OFFSET or RAINBIRD are taking part in it... Techniques never seen before on CPC will come to life thanks to this game... I hope to tell you more about it in the next 2 or 3 issues of GHOUL'S FANZ!
On the games side, over in Germany they're preparing, and maybe have even finished, the "most best super-game" on CPC (according to the weird French of the German MARABU, one of my many contacts...). This game was created by ODIESOFT, and on the music side, CRITTERSOAP took part too. The game is called MEGABLASTERS... The two names mentioned above are both demomakers belonging to the H.J.T.! The game will, if all goes well, be distributed by EPSILON of the group POWER SYSTEM.
Since we're talking about Germany, let's carry on! ABLAZE is preparing his first MEGADEMO. The intro and 2 other parts of the demo are already coded, and with the third and final part nearly finished, I can't wait for his demo!
Still in Germany, there's THE fanzine on CPC. Better than QUASAR CPC, this fanzine looks more like a real magazine (use of a print shop to publish the fanzine, articles written by famous demomakers of the likes of LONGSHOT, FACE HUGGER, CATLOC or ABLAZE for example, etc...). For more details see the FANZINES section.
The CPC scene in Greece is starting to stir, it seems! Indeed, demos have been created over there (much to my surprise)... They're rather nice! I'm eagerly awaiting the next demos by CATLOC, in my opinion the leader of the Greek scene... By the way, a disc fanzine has been started over there. It's called S.E.X. (for Sex Entertains Xenomorph) and is reviewed in this issue in the FANZINES section.
We often talk about demos... The latest productions have been innovative (BORDELIK MEETING DEMO 3, MADNESS DEMO or DIGITAL ORGASM, to name but a few...), but many people still wonder: "But which one is THE demo on CPC?"... Many will answer that THE DEMO is the best demo. In my opinion, the best demo on CPC is GOZEUR's latest production on CPC, called MADNESS DEMO. Indeed, this demo uses very advanced Hardware techniques like the Vertical Rupture which, when cleverly thought out, allows multi-mode on the same line (by the way, LONGSHOT had stated in one of his articles published in the magazine Amstrad Cent Pour Cent that multi-mode on the same line was practically impossible. That's true, but GOZEUR's effect actually uses several lines (so to speak...), hence the possibility of multi-mode!) Personally, I think GOZEUR showed real guts to manage to synchronise everything in his demo, because these (his?) techniques are really hard to pull off...
Right, since we're on the subject of demos, I'll keep going! Here's my "TOP 9 DEMOS", which is actually a ranking of the best demos on CPC. This ranking is of course a personal one. By the way, if you have any to send me, don't hesitate to do so! (My address is in the EDITO section). But before handing you my "TOP 9 DEMOS", I'd like to clear up a little point about an article in Amstrad Cent Pour Cent concerning the roundup of the best demos on CPC. Indeed, MEGADETH, the writer of that article, had declared: "I recently heard an AMIGA music on CPC. (...) You must be thinking it's the work of the Logons or the Germans. Well, think again — it's actually CJC of the CCC who pulled off this feat." In fact, all CJC did was distribute musics transferred by FEFESSE for the LOGON SYSTEM, without of course the slightest permission from them, following a mistake caused by STEPHANE SAINT-MARTIN and one of his accomplices... How complicated it all is! Read DEMONIAK 3 for more info! (The address is written in the FANZINES section). But hey, I'm not here to weep over the death of the group LOGON SYSTEM... That said, I still have to give you my "TOP 9 DEMOS", right? So here it is!
! TOP 9 DEMOS - Classement realisé le Jeudi 17 Mars 1995 par NO RECESS. ! ! Ordre de preference ! Nom des demos ! Commentaires ! ! 1 ! MADNESS DEMO ! Sans commentaires... ! ! 2 ! VOYAGE 93 ! Vous aimez la 3D ? ! ! 3 ! S&KOH ! Fabuleuses Ruptures... ! ! 4 ! THE DEMO ! Superbe MEGADEMO ! ! ! 5 ! SEA YOU SOON ! LE Plasma sur CPC. ! ! 6 ! PARADISE DEMO ! Chiante à la fin... ! ! 7 ! ULTIMATE MEGADEMO ! 3D primitive mais cool. ! ! 8 ! MOVING PIXELS MEGADEMO ! Sympathique demo... ! ! 9 ! BORDELIK MEETING 3 ! Good CODE'n'ZIK'n'GFX ! !
If you don't like my ranking, tell me... In that case, obviously tell me your reasons too!
Right, back to the usual gossip...
I've just got hold of a new game that comes to us from the German scene, or more precisely from the team MOVING PIXELS, or MOPS. The name of the game is SPOTS94. It's a brilliant puzzle game whose hero is, I believe, one of the characters from COOL SPOTS on console. (I can't really tell you, since to me consoles mean graveyard... But the main hero is all red and wears little black sunglasses!). The aim of the game is to fill a given field with your "team". Let me explain: SPOTS has to defeat his opponent by gobbling up his territory, even to the point of totally wiping his opponent out! Of course, I can't describe all the rules of the game at the risk of putting you to sleep! SPOTS94 lets 4 players play simultaneously (Woo, that's huge...). Every time the CPC takes time to think, you can see a counter that keeps the player waiting (like, for example, a PC-style loader in the vein of the PARADISE DEMO loader). The musics are excellent (KANGAROO and WEEE!, do you know them?) since they were created with BSC's SOUNDTRAKKER... The general presentation of the game is very nice. Major flaw of SPOTS94: a non-reconfigured screen. Even if the game doesn't miss it too much, I think using an OVERSCAN screen would have made the game even more interesting. Finally, this game is distributed as SHAREWARE, so a sum of 40 francs is asked of you if you use and therefore keep this game. This game is one of the best puzzle games on CPC along with PUZZNIX and MOLECULARR 2... Finally, here are the first 3 CHEATs that I found myself (after some long games...), which will let you, if you find the following ones, get to the ARCADE part, a part I've never seen... So, go to the ARCADE option and enter these three words (in order): FLUTE, CLEAN, BETTY. You'll then be at level 10! Good luck... (By the way, if anyone has found the next CHEATs, give me a shout!)...
A new version of GHOUL'S WRITER is in the works... TOM ET JERRY (the creator of this great program) confirmed it to me. Unfortunately, because of a compatibility problem, the program won't be in overscan... Personal message for TOM ET JERRY: how about using ruptures?
On the fanzine side, I don't think FANTASIA will ever come out... Indeed, there's a kind of "blockage" in the writing of the fanzine... That said, EPSILON recently put out one last issue of NEW ARCADE since FANTASIA was at a standstill... Zap over to the FANZINES section to see the review of this fanzine!
As for me, I'm coding another demo, already tougher than the one released in the POWER SYSTEM MEGADEMO... But I'm taking it easy on this one (work obliges...), so don't expect a demo from me every month! That said, it will come out for sure...
To finish, I'd like to give a BIG FUCK to all those who, one day, wanted to crack a game — and succeeded. Indeed, because of them, the publishers of games and other programs stopped producing software on CPC because the profits were insufficient... Bunch of assholes! The TB CRACKERS and the FAMOUS C.A.C.H. did make some nice intros though, that's true and I admit it... But that's all in the past now! Proud of yourselves?
While I'm at it with the FUCKINGs, I'd like to give an enormous FUCK to LA POSTE. Indeed, in my region of the Var, the postmen found nothing more amusing to do than go on strike! Result: the mail is delayed, and consequently my replies to my correspondents are delayed too...
There you go, that's about all I had to tell you on the news front for this first issue. At the same time I've tried to step a bit outside this kind of traditional section, by giving you for example my "TOP 9 DEMOS" or the FUCKINGS for demomakers... (No GREETINGS, because I'd risk making people jealous if I forgot anyone!).
Finally, don't forget that GHOUL'S FANZ is bimonthly, so you'll see an issue every two months! (That's cool, isn't it?)
One little remark all the same: this text is HUGE! If you've managed to read everything up to these very words, you'll have read... 15 pages in one go, or the equivalent of 20K of compressed text! The shame of it is that I won't be doing such a long — and such an interesting (at least I hope so...) — article again any time soon. Indeed, I had to look all over the place, in other fanzines, around my contacts, etc... All that to grow this text to its maximum!
By the way! To come back to my part for the POWER SYSTEM MEGADEMO, it's included on this disk... It's actually option 7 of the menu, called UTOPIA, and I adapted it so that a CPC 464 or 664 can view it properly without the banks it originally used! And who do you thank for that?
END OF ARTICLE - TEXT FINISHED ON 21.03.95 FOR GHOUL'S FANZ 1 - (C) NRP
3Assembly
Translated from the text published in 1993.
For the ASSEMBLY column of the first issue of GHOUL'S FANZ, I've decided to tell you about a few functions of the GATE ARRAY...
Personally, I use the DAMS assembler/disassembler from MICRO-APPLICATION. For all of you who don't own this kind of software, you won't be able to go any further in this article...
There's a BASIC column that should suit you just fine...
Also, think twice before criticising the programs I put in the fanzine... I'm not a super programmer! I've got my own way of coding...
Right, well, come on, let's get started!
Just to fill you in a bit, the GATE ARRAY (I'll call it G.A. from now on) lets you create multi-mode effects, and allows connecting the extra 64K on a CPC 6128...
First of all, in an ASSEMBLY program that wants to use this kind of technique, you have to position yourself on the screen thanks to an instruction called HALT. This instruction has the effect of "jumping" six and a half characters down vertically... Let me explain: see the diagram below...
Ecran du CPC > ----------------------------------
! 1 !
! ------------------- !
! 2 !
! ------------------- !
! 3 !
! ------------------- !
! 4 !
! ------------------- !
! 5 !
! -------------------- !
! 6 !So we cut the screen up into 6 zones numbered 1 to 6...
And when I say the screen, I mean the whole screen...
Whether the screen is in overscan or normal, it makes no difference to the G.A.
For example, say we want to create an effect in part 3 of the screen. You'll have to type a HALT instruction 3 times. Centring the effect in that part means centring it correctly relative to the screen...
But watch out: if we want to create an effect in, say, part 2 and in part 4, we'll have to do something like this:
HALT ; Partie 1 HALT ; Partie 2 CALL EFFET1 ; Saute au premier effet HALT ; Partie 3 HALT ; Partie 4 CALL EFFET2 ; Saute au second effet
All the operations done on the screen should be made one after the other. You can't start with part 4 and then do part 2...
Right, to change the colours in ASSEMBLY, you do this kind of operation:
LD BC,#0000 ; BORDER 0,0 CALL #BC38 LD BC,#0000 ; INK 0,0,0 LD A,0 CALL #BC32 LD BC,#1A1A ; INK 1,26,26 LD A,1 CALL #BC32
But to send a value directly to the G.A., you have to go about it differently. You have to talk to port #7F00...
Here's how to do the equivalent of the program above:
LD BC,#7F00+16 ; BORDER 0 OUT (C),C LD A,84 OUT (C),A LD BC,#7F00+0 ; INK 0,0 OUT (C),C LD A,84 OUT (C),A LD BC,#7F00+1 ; INK 1,26 OUT (C),C LD A,75 OUT (C),A
Right, let me explain in detail... We use port #7F00, we access the BORDER of the screen by adding 16, we validate, we put in the accumulator the value 84 which equals BASIC's value 0 (I'll come back to that later), then we validate. Then we start again, accessing the BACKGROUND of the screen by adding 0, we validate, etc... For colour 1, the number is 75...
Right, here's a table of the conversions to make between the G.A. and BASIC... So these are the colours represented in it.
00 -> 84 05 -> 93 10 -> 70 15 -> 78 20 -> 83 25 -> 67 01 -> 68 06 -> 76 11 -> 87 16 -> 71 21 -> 90 26 -> 75 02 -> 85 07 -> 69 12 -> 94 17 -> 79 22 -> 89 03 -> 92 08 -> 77 13 -> 64 18 -> 82 23 -> 91 04 -> 88 09 -> 86 14 -> 95 19 -> 66 24 -> 74
So, to change colour 1 to dark green (9), you'd do:
LD BC,#7F00+1 OUT (C),C LD A,86 OUT (C),A
There you go, it's dead simple! I hope you've understood...
But what's the use of all this?
Well, these operations, coupled with HALTs, let you create multi-colour effects!
Take a look at this program:
HALT ; Partie 1 HALT ; Partie 2 LD BC,#7F00+3 ; On selectionne l'encre 3 OUT (C),C ; On valide LD A,78 ; On met dans l'accu. 78 (orange) OUT (C),A ; On valide HALT ; Partie 3 ... La couleur 3 reste HALT ; Partie 4 ... toujours orange... LD BC,#7F00+3 ; On selectionne l'encre 3 OUT (C),C ; On valide LD A,67 ; On met dans l'accu. 67 (jaune pastel) OUT (C),A ; On valide HALT ; Partie 5 ... La couleur 3 reste jaune !
Oh yes, so we can vary the colours across the 6 parts of the screen!
That's cool, we already know how to put every colour of the CPC on screen!
But that's not all...
It's also possible to change the current mode!
How? By entering a value like #8C for mode 0, #8D for mode 1 and #8E for mode 2!
Here's how to enter a mode and a colour at the same time:
LD L,#8C ; On prepare le mode (ici mode 0) HALT ; Partie suivante OUT (C),C ; On valide LD A,64 ; On met la couleur 64 (gris) OUT (C),A ; On valide la couleur OUT (C),L ; De meme pour le mode
There you go, that's cool, isn't it?!?!
Right, that's it for the most important part of this course on the G.A.'s effects on the screen...
Just so you know, you could for instance change the position of the screen thanks to register 2 and so develop what's called a Screen-Waggle (or distortion), but that's another story which I might well explain to you next time!
There you go, this course is over for owners of a CPC with 64 kilobytes of RAM, like the CPC 464 and 664!
Now, for CPC 6128 owners, I'm going to put together a little article about that additional memory which is starting to rust from never being used!
First of all, you've got 64K more than the 464s and 664s...
These 64K are divided into 4 blocks of 16K each.
So there are 4 blocks accessible via the G.A.
Calling them up is simple!
Type LD BC,#7F00+#C4 and you'll have connected the first block.
(Don't forget to validate with OUT (C),C!)
Why the first? Because block 1 is #C4, block 2 is #C5, block 3 is #C6 and block 4 is #C7.
Each block is accessible in turn between #4000 and #7FFF, but it doesn't wipe out the #4000 to #7FFF block of main RAM...
No — to get back to main RAM, all you have to do is:
LD BC,#7F00+#C0 OUT (C),C
There you go, you know everything you need to know for now! Next time, I plan to introduce you to rasters, wobbles, checkerboards, and even the effect achieved in the BORDELIK MEETING DEMO 3 demo! And all that in the next issue... Don't miss it, it'll be brilliant!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me, but don't ask me hyper-technical stuff (have pity...)!
END OF ARTICLE - FINISHED ON 24.03.95 - (C) NO RECESS PRODUCTION (N.R.P.)
4Basic
Translated from the text published in 1993.
Today, I've decided to talk to you about protections for BASIC programs... I'll try to be as clear as possible.
Before starting, create a simple BASIC file to test your protections on...
There, are you ready? Then fasten your seatbelts and off we go exploring...
Right, to begin with, I'm going to describe the most rudimentary protection there is on our good old CPCs...
Save your program with the following syntax:
SAVE "FICHIER .BAS",P
Now reload it, then list it. Nothing appears on screen — it's as if the program had been wiped from memory... And yet, if you run the program again with RUN "FICHIER .BAS", the program will work normally!
Now, how do you list a program saved with this protection?
If you own the utility DISCOLOGY, or any other utility capable of renaming a file along with its options, then the operation is more than simple: just rename the program, removing the [P] option, and your program is unprotected!
There's also another, easier way... A very long time ago (in 1985!), PRIDE UTILITIES created a very short program that lets you directly list a file saved with this protection — the only thing you have to do is run the utility...
Now, I'm going to describe a little trick to you...
By saving your file like this...
SAVE "FICHIER .BIN"
... people might think your program is in BINARY!
Careful! The program will still be BASIC! Don't go thinking you could then, for example, crunch the program... No, I'll say it loud and clear: BASIC cannot be saved as BINARY.
Right, from now on, we're moving up a level.
Before starting, you should know that the CPC stores its programs in memory starting from address 368...
First I'm going to explain a few essential points so you properly understand how a BASIC program is stored.
Memory is like a gigantic rack of pigeonholes where you could put a piece of data in, or read it...
Each slot in this rack is called an address. For your information, on every CPC we have an enormous rack of 65535 slots. Each of these slots is therefore numbered from 0 to 65535.
A BASIC program always starts from address 368, and the length of the program must not exceed about 30000 slots... In conclusion, an address is just a slot in memory.
In each address, there's a piece of data. This data is called a byte and lies between 0 and 255.
Now, you should know that the program sits in memory in what's called a compacted form (trying to take up as little room in memory as possible)...
Memory would fill up fast if every instruction took as many characters as the instruction has! Think of the PRINT command. Reading it, you can see there are 5 letters... The CPC, though, will encode this instruction as a code — one byte, to be precise... This code is called a token.
You also need to know what the hexadecimal system is... When you learn to count, that's the decimal system. There are 10 digits numbered 0 to 9... The CPC has 3 systems: decimal, hexadecimal and binary. That last one won't be any use to us for protections... The hexadecimal system, on the other hand, will serve us a lot. In this system, there are 16 digits numbered like this:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F,10,11,12,13,14...
No, I haven't been drinking! To represent digits worth more than 10, the hexadecimal system uses the letters A to F.
To avoid conversions, from now on I'll always speak in hexadecimal.
How do you do the decimal/hexadecimal conversion?
Type PRINT HEX$(368) for example (which, I remind you, is the start of a BASIC program...). Then you see the value 170... To enter a hexadecimal value, you always put the '&' sign in front of the number. Type PRINT &170, and 368 appears. The CPC has quite simply done a hexadecimal/decimal conversion...
Note that we could have converted an address... Here, type PRINT &C000, and 49152 appears.
Finally, to put a byte into an address, you have to type the following command, the first value being the address, and the second, the byte.
POKE &2000,&3E puts the byte &3E into address &2000. To read a byte held at an address, type:
PRINT PEEK(&2000), and 62 appears... The computer gives the result in decimal form. It's up to you to do the conversions...
Mind you, we could have put PRINT HEX$(PEEK(&2000))...
Now, every value greater than 255 (&FF) must be coded on 2 bytes.
So the value &C000 is coded by the bytes &C0 and &00. We say that &C0 is the high byte and &00 is the low byte. This value (&C000) will be coded in memory as low byte then high byte.
If this value is stored at address A, we'll have:
PEEK(A)=&00 and PEEK(A+1)=&C0
So to get this value back in decimal form, you have to do PRINT PEEK(A)+256*PEEK(A+1)
Right, I hope I haven't put you too much to sleep, but sorry, you absolutely have to go through all this to make good protections...
Come on, let's carry on... The changes we'll make to our program will only concern the first 2 parameters of a line: its length and its number.
To view the program in its compressed form, use the little "editor" that appeared in an issue of AMSTAR & CPC, which I hasten to pass on to you:
INPUT A:FOR I=A TO HIMEM:PRINT I,PEEK(I),HEX$(PEEK(I)),CHR$(32
OR PEEK(I)),PEEK(I)+256*(PEEK(I+1):NEXT
To use this editor, you have to enter the address you want to list memory from, and on each line you'll get: the address, the value stored at that address, that same value in hexadecimal, the corresponding ASCII code above 32, and the value coded on the current byte and the next one, in low byte, high byte form.
Launch the editor and enter &170... The first two parameters of a line being its length and its number, you can check that the value coded on the 2 bytes &170 and &171 really is the number of the first line of the program. So you can change it with the POKE command described above... I'll come back to that a bit later...
A line is coded in this form:
The length of the line first, coded on 2 bytes (low and high), then the line number, also coded on 2 bytes (low and high).
Then come the encoded BASIC instructions, and the end-of-line marker with the byte &0...
Come on, now you know everything! We can (at last!) change a line's line number... (Without changing the real programming order: for example, line 10, once changed, will still be line 10 even if a LIST shows a different value after your fiddling).
You want to put in a number (your date of birth, for example)? Nothing simpler!
Do PRINT HEX$(61079) (my date of birth...). You get a number; now you just have to break it down in low byte, high byte order...
Note: by setting the line number value to 0, you won't be able to list that line, even though DISCOLOGY can...
Right, it's not enough to just mess about with the first line, and that's why we need to know the address of the following lines... I strongly advise you to work with a sheet of paper beside you!
So the length of the line is coded on 2 bytes at the start of the line. If you add this value to the value of the address of the first byte it's coded on, you'll find the address of the start of the next line.
To hide the second line of your program, just increase the length of the first line by the value of the second line... So it'll be something like POKE &170,X+Y... Line 20 will get executed even though it doesn't show up in a LIST!
So now you know how to find the number of each line?
Perfect, we're going to be able to change the number of any line of our program...
Imagine a line 30 coded at 426 and 427 (sorry about the conversions!)... To replace the line number (30) with (for example) 6128, do PRINT HEX$(6128) and the result is &17F0. So you have to do POKE 426,&F0:POKE 427,&17 and that's it!
One of the most interesting parts of this course...
Imagine we want to make line 50 loop back to line 40 in your program. To do that, just give line 50's length the opposite of line 40's length (e.g. 25), i.e. -25. The number being below 0, we therefore have to do: PRINT HEX$(-25) and we get &FFE7... So you have to do POKE 502,&E7:POKE 503,&FF!
I'd like to point out that for the last few examples I got some help from the magazine AMSTAR & CPC...
Come on, yet another trick, as always...
I'm going to talk about the TOKEN. You need to know the conversion values from when the CPC translates the program into compacted form... Got them in front of you? Perfect!
Find in the program the TOKEN corresponding to your instruction, then change it with a few POKEs to another TOKEN...
Example of a program modified with TOKENs...
10 MODE 1
15 POKE 393,204 20 OUT 1,100,10 25 POKE 393,185
30 LIST
(Published in ACPC).
Hide lines 15 and 25 and the trick is done! If you don't change the TOKEN back during the program, you're going to get a bug!
Right, this article is over!
Phew... To be totally honest with you, I've never written so much for an article!
If you didn't understand a thing, or you want to ask me for info or advice, don't hesitate to write to me... (My address is in the EDITO, I think...).
By the way, it's true I rushed this article a bit towards the end, but hey... it's no big deal, as long as you understood!
You can make some superb protections with what I've given you today!
I could have gone even further, but that wouldn't be BASIC any more... It'd be more like some weird language crammed with incoherent instructions, with mega-bugs when you list it, etc...
If you've made something great, don't hesitate to send it to me!
Right, I'll leave you now. You can press the ESCAPE key to go back to the menu!
5Fanzines
Translated from the text published in 1993.
I'm going to review the following fanzines...
- DEMONIAK 4
- NEW ARCADE 6
- S.E.X. #1
- RUNDSCHLAG #16
- QUASAR CPC 7
Let's start with DEMONIAK 4... It's by the authors of the BORDELIK MEETING DEMO 3, so before starting the review, I suppose you already see who I'm talking about... No? Why, ARKOS of course! Come on, let's get going. First of all, issue 3 was already not too bad, but there were bugs and the main code was in BASIC... Now the monkey has become a man and DEMONIAK is 100 percent ASSEMBLER. The fanzine fits on one disk crammed to the brim with compressed articles. Every section is like a mini demo! As you read through DEMONIAK 4, you'll see vu-meters, checkerboards, ripples, rasters, animations, scrollings... And the text? Enormous! Thanks to DEMONIAK 4, you'll know how to make a writer worthy of the name, you'll know how to do ripples and rasters in BASIC, you'll know how to unpack a file packed with CROWN CRUNCHER or CROWN IMPLODER, you'll know how to program properly with the 3D CONSTRUCTION KIT, you'll know everything about the latest news, fanzines and demos... I could go on for pages! This fanzine holds 15 sections plus 1 turn disc and 2 menus (weird colour-wise)... And DEMONIAK 4's flaws? None, or almost none... The EDITO section isn't compatible with CRTC 1, but hey, no big deal! Sometimes the colours are badly chosen (the interview section bothers me a little), the music on the side B menu is weird (but it's not unwelcome, and even goes perfectly well with the background picture)... Right, here's the final verdict: DMK 4 is the best disk fanzine ever seen on CPC. I think that makes it clear, doesn't it? To contact them, here's the address to get it... (Guaranteed 100 percent free of typos and spelling mistakes!).
NEVO Anthony Le Louya 35290 GAEL
You must surely know the NEW ARCADE series! There was 1, 2, 3, 4, the latest issue 5 and... NEW ARCADE 6! EPSILON, NEW ARCADE's editor-in-chief, decided to keep publishing his fanzine because he got a huge number of encouraging letters for issue 5... And that's just as well, because NEW ARCADE 6 ranks among the best disk fanzines! Right, now for the review... At the start there's an introduction that looks more like a demo than a fanzine intro! Indeed, the music is excellent (SPACE DEBRIS by BSC, second part of the DIGITAL ORGASM demo, know it?), the vu-meters are well done (raster vu-meters), and EPS and NA6 sprites move in whatever direction you want. The only flaw is how slowly the writer displays. After a quick press of the ESC key, the fanzine itself appears, and that's it. Indeed, NEW ARCADE 6 is a fanzine unlike the others: it's always the same screen, only the text changes. The advantage? The text takes priority, at the expense of rasters and other DEMONIAK 4-style effects (checkerboards, rasters, etc...). That said, you'll have no fewer than 15 sections at your disposal... fitting on just one whole side. Right, on to the content of the fanzine itself. You'll learn how to easily create vu-meters (also called equalizers), RSXs, CPM loaders, cool stuff with SOUNDTRAKKER musics, and you'll learn everything about the game L'OR DES AZTEQUES (review and solution of the game)... What's more, there's a feature on the SOUNDTRACK on CPC, news about freeware and shareware utilities (hey, GHOUL'S WRITER!), and there's even the history of the fanzine itself! And that's not all: on the disk there's a built-in copier that can copy NEW ARCADE 6 for all your contacts, and even DAMS sources for the BASIC and ASM course! And, I repeat, all that fitting on a single side! Well, this fanzine is great... The only slightly annoying thing in the end is having the same music for every single section! Go on, here's EPSILON's address...
KASTRIOTTIS Christophe 18, rue PIERRE CURIE 78700 CONFLANS STE HONORINE
Right, on to another fanzine, and this time it comes from abroad. Its name? S.E.X., or Sex Entertains Xenomorph... The title is rather provocative... but that's normal, seeing as S.E.X. is a provocative fanzine! This fanzine is made by B.E.N.G., but don't expect to see 3D or anything like that, I think you've got the wrong section... Right, let's begin! After a nice little introduction (the code is in BASIC...), the menu appears. Here, same principle as NEW ARCADE 6. The screen is in overscan and you get a choice of some thirty sections (I can't remember any more!). The fanzine takes up 2 sides. Sometimes, at the start of a few articles, you can spot a digitised photograph of a naked woman or a killed man... It's funny to see that kind of picture in a fanzine. Come to think of it, could it be a selling point for spreading the fanzine? I don't think so... Indeed, the text is, once again, ENORMOUS! For the first issue, CATLOC took part, but there are actually others too, though mostly Greek demomakers... Which makes sense, seeing as S.E.X. is a Greek fanzine! So the articles are written entirely in English. What's cool is that I manage to understand everything! In the first issue of S.E.X. there's a very thorough article on rasters by CATLOC, and some cool stuff for those who like programming in BASIC. The rest of the fanzine is stuff like NEWS, NEWS and NEWS... 3 parts for the NEWS, isn't that a bit much? Well, you'll learn loads of things worth knowing thanks to S.E.X... So this fanzine is a must-have, even if a few things bother me (the texts in English, the repetitive music, the texts with broken-off words...). To order it, write to me rather than ordering it from Greece, to save you the complications of shipping abroad. My address is in the EDITORIAL section.
In the ACTUALITES section I told you about a fanzine made in Germany which is, in my opinion, THE paper fanzine on CPC. Its name is RUNDSCHLAG. Lots of demomakers contribute to this fanzine, for example CATLOC, LONGSHOT, MARABU, ABLAZE, FACE HUGGER, ANTOINE PITROU... This fanzine calls for a print shop, and above all it has the look of a hyper-technical magazine. Indeed, if we French consider QUASAR CPC to be the best CPC fanzine, I can assure you that RUNDSCHLAG really is the best INTERNATIONAL paper fanzine on CPC! Some figures: 250 readers a month, and that number keeps on growing, exactly 50 pages crammed with practical information, reviews, CHEAT MODEs, plans for electronics projects or games... In short, this fanzine is essential. I have issue 16 of RUNDSCHLAG in my possession. With this issue, I learned how to do a key test in the simplest way in the world, without the system! (I actually used the routines supplied in RUNDSCHLAG in my demo UTOPIA). No comment needed, this fanzine is BRILLIANT. But how do you get hold of it? Heh heh heh, I saw that one coming... I, NO RECESS, am the distributor of RUNDSCHLAG in FRANCE! And that's no bad joke... But the fanzine is unfortunately not free... Indeed, the means used for RUNDSCHLAG (printing, postage) require a certain amount of money, or a currency of exchange. That currency is called the I.R.C., for International Reply Coupon, and is currently worth around 6 francs 70. You send me a certain number of coupons and I'll send your order back to you as quickly as possible. You should know that I'm making a commitment to be the link between Germany and France (it was actually MARABU who contacted me about distributing the fanzine), and that every order received will result in your desired order being sent back. So now, the prices. You'll need 4 IRCs to order one issue of RUNDSCHLAG, or 17 IRCs for a subscription to the next 5 issues of RUNDSCHLAG. Finally, and if you wish, if you enclose a blank disk, I'll send it back to you with the RUNDSCHLAG programs (yes indeed, RUNDSCHLAG has its listings on disk for every issue, things like ModeMax V1.0 by JUGGLER)... By replying to MARABU about his offer, I made a commitment to build a serious link between France and Germany. And I intend to honour that commitment!
Well, what do you know, earlier on I was talking about QUASAR CPC 7. While it's true that RUNDSCHLAG is the best international paper fanzine on CPC, we mustn't forget QUASAR CPC, which remains 1 of the best, if not the best fanzine easily available in our parts... This fanzine is very well known, so if you don't know it yet, I reckon you're a little newcomer to the world of computing! QUASAR is a fanzine made from A to Z on CPC, thanks to a CPC. This fanzine is very nice to look at, the graphic digitisations are very beautiful. The contents of issue 7 are very complete: news, reviews, beginner and advanced ASSEMBLER courses, a CPC PLUS section, more reviews, and little programs, without forgetting the usual stuff that makes up a fanzine... This fanzine's advantage is how easy it is to distribute: the price is free, except for the postage costs, which come to 6 francs 70. The second advantage: how simple it is to understand and present. This fanzine is very clean, very cool, and you'd miss it if you didn't own it... To own it, you must write to this address:
RIMAURO Gilles et Philippe 8, chemin des Maillos 09200 SAINT-GIRONS
Right, I'll stop here as far as fanzines are concerned.
I know, I haven't reviewed many fanzines, but the fact is I own only very few fanzines.
Finally, if you'd like me to advertise a fanzine, or even your own fanzine, send me a copy at my address (written in the EDITO section), on disk or on paper.
Right, I'm off!
P.S.: A personal message: only fanzines will allow the CPC to survive even longer...
END OF ARTICLE - FINISHED ON 24.03.95 - (C) NO RECESS PRODUCTION
6Demos
Translated from the text published in 1993.
Today I'm going to review the following demos (some of them are starting to get old, but I still find them brilliant, so here's my review of them!):
- THE FACE HUGGER'S PART OF THE GOS PARTY 4 MEGADEMO
- HARDWIRED
- DIGITAL ORGASM
- SENTINELS DEMO
- MORTAL DEMO
- BORDELIK MEETING 3 DEMO
- MADNESS DEMO
- SEA YOU SOON
- UTOPIA DEMO
So, let's get started... FACE HUGGER had made a part for a MEGADEMO with a new effect on CPC. The screen is split into 2 main parts: a hardware scrolling and the effect. This effect consists of moving some kind of multicoloured snakes around in 3D. These tubes are absolutely huge and there are 4 of them. Actually, a tube is made up of several ball-shaped sprites (like the 3D part of his ULTIMATE MEGADEMO). The effect is guaranteed! The demo comes with a piece of music that is itself very nice... This demo is an absolute must-have, all the more so since it's only 16K in size! I forgot to say that this demo was created in 1992 and comes to us from Germany, just like the demo I'm about to review now, called...
... HARDWIRED! This demo is already a bit more recent (1993). ODIESOFT of the group HJT is its creator... Here again, there's a brilliant effect, and above all one never seen before! But it's not really a demo, it's more of a test that ODIESOFT created. Actually, the screen is a simple horizontal overscan with a picture that fills the whole screen (the image is pretty weird, mind you, but I can make out a man and a HARDWIRED logo spanning the full width of the screen...). But where's the effect? In the picture! It's actually a superbly done "plasma" effect... Indeed, right in the middle of the picture there are shapes moving about, like a woman dancing or cigarette smoke... The colours are darker where the effect is. Well, since I can see I'm struggling to express myself (it's hard to describe an effect never seen before, you know!), I strongly advise you to select option 8 from the menu, which will let you watch the demo! By the way, I had to compress the demo to keep it from taking up too much space. Result: only 12K, thanks to ANTOINE PITROU's CHEESE CRUNCHER 1.1! To get back to the demo, a piece of music goes with it and I can tell you I like it a lot. Oh, and ODIESOFT has created a game called MEGABLASTERS, and word is this game is brilliant, better than all the latest games released in France!
DIGITAL ORGASM... Behind this slightly provocative title hides a very beautiful demo created by SYMBIOSYS. The code is by PRODATRON, the graphics are signed MADE and PRODATRON, and the music is by BSC (except the tune in the demo's intro). Speaking of which, let's talk about the demo's introduction. After a menu displayed in mode 2 with several colours on screen (rasters), we see the introduction. This part features a hardware scrolling and a nice sprite animation. But the most important thing in this part is the music, which comes from AMIGA (yes, you read that right, AMIGA...), digitised thanks to PRODATRON's fantastic DIGITRAKKER (well, well...). What's astonishing is that this kind of music eats up so much CPU time while playing that it's almost impossible to create anything at all! So a big well done to PRODATRON for pulling off this feat! (Which is only normal, mind you, seeing as PRODATRON is the author of DIGITRAKKER...). The scroller's font is very beautiful. Let's move on to the next part, called CONSTELLATION VECTORS. At the top, a logo, at the bottom, a writer, and in the middle... yet another effect never before seen on CPC. It's sprites (balls) moving in every direction along Lissajous paths, and all of it in 3D! It's very beautiful to watch, all the more so since every parameter can be adjusted (like his THIRD AXYS part in VOYAGE 93)... This part is superb! The music is magnificent (created by BSC, the creator of SOUNDTRAKKER) and is certainly the most beautiful ever heard on CPC... The funny thing is that PRODATRON doesn't hesitate to state in the note (or bulletin...) of his demo that this part "isn't too hard to code"! Then, the second part of the demo. Here, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you what it contains, because this part doesn't work on CRTC 1! Only the music is there... But for the others, I'll translate what PRODATRON put in the DIGITAL ORGASM note about this part... So here's the passage: "The hardware part of this demo. This part was the first part I finished for DIGITAL ORGASM. I coded it twice, because the disk with the part on it got formatted when I wanted to give a preview of it to ALIEN! The plasmascroller is a new effect on CPC." PRODATRON. I hope these few words from PRODATRON will satisfy you regarding this part, called ZENITH-PART! So let's move on to the last part of this demo, called OUTRO, or THE END if you prefer... Here, nothing special, not even any music or overscans, only graphics magnificently drawn by MADE... These graphics were meant to go into the third part of the demo, but PRODATRON never managed to code it! So here they are, so they don't go to waste... There you go, that's all for the description of this demo, which you absolutely must own on pain of dying stupid!
Right, on to another demo. The latest production from GPA, created by TOM ET JERRY, called SENTINELS DEMO. This demo is a nice demo created by the creator of GHOUL'S WRITER! Actually, it's more to advertise GHOUL'S WRITER and MULTI MARK (another powerful shareware that handles disks in nearly every format and, among other things, repairs disks like the MARK ERROR program that appeared in an issue of CPC INFOS, again by TOM ET JERRY!) that TOM ET JERRY created this demo. Right, on to the demo itself! No introduction — the demo is made up of a single part. At the top sits a SENTINELS logo which changes to make way for TOM ET JERRY's address. In the middle of the screen is the main part of the demo (I'll come back to that later...). At the bottom, there's a hardware scrolling with a font I like a lot. Right, back to the central screen, bounded by two white rasters. We see a writer appear, a rather cool 3D vumeter that's very nice to look at, some advertising for GHOUL'S WRITER and MULTI MARK, a weird effect (diagonal bars passing over other diagonal bars and acting like a XOR or something like that (a good idea, I think)) and a moving raster effect... That's all for the demo's screen. The music was created by TOM ET JERRY with the help of SOUNDTRAKKER... The demo as a whole is very nice to look at, but not very innovative... The demo fits into only 19K and was packed with ultra-powerful crunchers. This demo is a must-have! By the way, all the demos from this one onwards date from last year (Earth year 1994).
STW of the group POWER SYSTEM created a demo called MORTAL DEMO. This demo contains an introduction made up of a scrolling in mode 2, with the rest of the screen in mode 1. So there's an STW logo and an AMIGA-style vumeter (4 channels), and a writer, and a SOUNDTRAKKER tune. The introduction is graphically beautiful, but what's a pain is that STW tells us his life story in it! Oh well, let's move on... to the next part. And here we come to a really very beautiful screen. At the top, a logo you can swap for another by pressing the up and down arrows, I think. In the middle of the screen, there's a beautiful picture created using the screens from the fanzine CPC FOR EVER 2, from the same group again (POWER SYSTEM). (Personal note: doing alright, not too hard to follow?). The picture changes to leave an empty screen... Nah, of course not — to make way for logos, in fact the logo from the title screen of the game DRAGON NINJA... (Personal note: nice logo-pinching there — no wonder your demo can look graphically beautiful...). By the way, at the top there's a little vumeter which gives a nice effect, because the tunes have regular notes... Then at the bottom sits a scrolling with a very beautiful font drawn by STW. Actually, the scrolling looks like a hardware scrolling, but with only a vumeter alongside it, I'd sooner think it's a scrolling done with LDIRs... Anyway, the whole thing is really beautiful to watch, with two cool tunes (you can switch between them with the f1 and f2 keys). But well, all this is old news now, seeing as STW has left the CPC scene...
Now I'm going to tell you about the BORDELIK MEETING DEMO 3. This demo was created during the meeting held in August 1994 in COLLERET at RAINBIRD's place (hi there!). First up appears a little news bulletin about the demo. Nothing special to report, so let's move straight on to the first part of the demo, coded by RAINBIRD. This part is the demo's introduction. After a pretty funny sprite animation, a BORDELIK logo appears. At the top of the screen, a very beautiful ARKOS logo can be made out through moving rasters. In the middle of the screen there are vumeters — a bit ordinary, it has to be said... At the bottom, there's a very fast writer with a beautiful font created by RAINBIRD. The second part is already more technical. At the top, a BORDELIK logo, with moving sprites in the background spelling out the word MEETING. A bit further down, enormous raster-vumeters dance to the rhythm of the enchanting music. In the middle, an enormous (it too!) chequerboard doubles as a game. Indeed, you can speed up or slow down the chequerboard's scrolling speed. And the feeling of acceleration is brilliant! A sprite moves about too (you can change it). I'm particularly fond of the animated finger (FUCK YOU)... At the bottom, a hardware scrolling flows past with a magnificent font converted by RAINBIRD. This part is well made, all the more so since GOZEUR took part in it (the author of the MADNESS DEMO — see the next review)... Finally, the third part, the most innovative for my taste. This part contains a tune created by TARGHAN (just like the previous part). This tune is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever heard on CPC, like BSC's SPACE DEBRIS tune in DIGITAL ORGASM. For more information about TARGHAN, go and see the NEWS section! But back to the demo... At the top, an ARKOS logo (which took all of RAINBIRD's talent to pull off), at the bottom a hardware scrolling done by RAINBIRD (the most beautiful font on CPC might well be this one!) and in the middle of the screen is an effect that stopped me cold: the use of rasters to create a kind of vertical scrolling... The technique is simple, mind you — but someone still had to come up with it! Indeed, this effect is brand new on CPC. If you want more details about this effect, go take a little look at the ASSEMBLER section, where you'll see how to create one! This effect makes it easy to create letter zooms or zig-zags, or whatever comes into your head... Right, this demo is brilliant! But before wrapping up with this demo, know that this meeting has a history. There was the BORDELIK MEETING 1 (a demo came out of it), the BORDELIK MEETING 2 (a fanzine of 2 jam-packed pages came out of it)... and the 3rd! And it's not over: the BORDELIK MEETING 4 is planned for around August 1995! The saga of the BORDELIK MEETINGs isn't done being talked about...
Now I'm moving on to THE demo on CPC, called MADNESS DEMO. This demo was created by GOZEUR. It uses techniques never seen before! At the top sits... Phew! What a job... Before starting, know that there's a multi-mode effect on the SAME line, something never seen before. Logos scroll past one after another (these logos are very beautiful), drawn in mode 1. In the middle, there's a mode 0 screen containing an enormous GOZEUR logo which bounces at the start (I think GOZEUR is using hardware techniques...). Then a scrolling appears, very beautiful but a pain to read. Vertical rasters appear afterwards. And then it's brilliant: next comes a zoom-scroller (I named it that because of the technique used), which consists of a scrolling that grows and shrinks. It's ultra-smooth and brilliant! It's THE effect of the demo! Then afterwards, vertical rasters grow and shrink... Anyway, I'd never have the patience to write it all down! In the screen below sits a horizontal chequerboard (never seen before either!) or a plasma effect that's much smoother than his PLASMA DEMO (if you want to see that demo, go to the menu and pick option 9...). At the bottom, a vumeter made of METALLICA sprites moves from bottom to top (they're enormous... Could that be hiding the use of hardware techniques?), and at the very bottom of the screen there's a hardware scrolling with a font converted from PC... (the one used in the PLASMA DEMO, but with different colours — the font looks better this way). Anyway — did you like OVERFLOW's S&KOH demo? Did you like the PLASMA DEMO? Then this demo is made for you! This demo uses ruptures (vertical, line by line...). Unfortunately for us, GOZEUR has left the CPC scene in favour of PCs and AMIGAs. (By the way, GOZEUR has got his ROTO-ZOOM working and is preparing a pretty cool shoot'em'up. The last words he wrote to me were: "passions change"...). But GOZEUR left the CPC scene with a very beautiful parting gift.
SEA YOU SOON! No no, I'm not leaving you, don't worry... It's only the title of RIC's last demo on CPC! Just like GOZEUR, RIC wanted to make a killer demo to say goodbye to the CPC scene. And he pulled it off! After a rather simplistic introduction (multi-mode with a mode 1 text at the top and a mode 0 sprite animation), we get to see the demo itself. At the bottom, a scrolling (hardware?) moving behind a little RIC sprite; above it, an ENORMOUS plasma taking up all the rest of the screen. The plasma created is the most beautiful plasma ever seen on CPC: it's ultra-smooth and ultra-fast! (sometimes too fast!). You can change the plasma's path and its shape with the arrow keys. You can also quit the demo with the space bar. A tune that gets a bit annoying in the end comes along with the demo. The text in the scroller is very weird: had RIC been drinking? Right, this demo has to be in your software collection!
Right, now I'm going to review... my own demo! Actually, this demo is my first demo. By the way, you can watch it by picking option 7 from the menu. I adapted my demo specially for GHOUL'S FANZ so that a CPC664 can run it properly! (The original version uses the memory banks for the return to BASIC). This demo is included in POWER SYSTEM's MEGADEMO. At the top you can see clouds converted by RAINBIRD, a bit lower down a logo created by INNOVATION (a mate of mine), a bit further down, a NO RECESS logo. There's a ripple on this logo, running at two ripples per frame. The result isn't very pretty, but it has the merit of being the first... (Note: you know, it's really hard to type an instruction like "CALL ONDUL" twice!)... Actually, I'd have preferred to put in a normal ripple, but time was too short for me to sort that ripple out. A bit further down sits an utterly worthless writer. Indeed, sprites serve as the text. The display is really ugly to look at, all the more so since there isn't even any line erasing (like, for example, this article at the bottom of the page)! Crap beyond belief — this writer is my first writer... The font is beautiful, though, even if I added punctuation marks! (The comma is botched!). A bit further down sits a chequerboard. Frankly, it's rubbish! Look at the bottom, in the middle: one raster is slanted... That's due to a synchronisation problem that did my head in! On top of that, this chequerboard can't be redefined (up and down arrows, where are you?). No, this demo really is rotten through and through. I wonder how you can get attached to it if you think it's good! I myself can only see flaws in it! Those who find it weird that I slag off my own demo like this have understood everything: this demo IS weird! Look, you see the NO RECESS logo? Guess why those colours? At the bottom of the logo I'm in the 3rd or 4th HALT (I can't remember which). I changed the ink of colour 1 at the bottom of the logo for the writer. Then I tried the raster, but it took up too much CPU time! So to make up for it I had to make another green stripe... Sad, isn't it? What's more, I can't even display a sprite from #8000! The clouds and the logos are transfers from #C000 done at the start of the program... Even sadder, isn't it? But hey, I reckon the one merit of this demo is that it's in overscan, something I still didn't know how to do 2 months ago!
There we go — that's it for this article, as long as the NEWS section! Let me give you a personal opinion: I find that demos are getting more and more beautiful, and above all more and more innovative, even if some people say that finding new effects is now almost impossible!
By the way, you can write to me to ask for any of the demos mentioned in this article — I'll gladly copy them for you!