** Maggie pages / 957 words ** ** Re-use leftovers from AC12 ** ** MAGBOYS.GIF on disk as label here as usual ** We make no secret of our continuing enjoyment of the strange world of the demo coder. This time around we bring you a longer than normal review of the most astounding music demo of recent times, apparently written on the PC Pacifist ST emulator. We also take a look at some out-takes from the tragically lost Binliner Falcon demo. The source code and early work in progress has thankfully been released, so we yet may see something of this enterprise in the near future. Next issue there should be a full show report in these pages of the forthcoming Easter coding convention "Error in Line", which will be attended by members of the Maggie Team. Chris Holland ** BC ** http://rg.atari.org ** /BC ** ** italics ** Richard Spowart and Chris Holland are The Maggie Team, Inc. ** /italics ** --- Binliner Demo preview screens by Avena Falcon only Entertainment - Freeware There is a tale attached to these screens, as these were, in completed form, and with quite a bit more added on besides, intended to be the follow-up to the groundbreaking 1997 demo 'Sonoluminescenz'. The main coder, Tat, lost enthusiasm somewhere along the line, and binned the whole project. Fortunately, he has decided to release the work completed so far, in the form of the source code, and also the three preview screens completed. This is their story. ** BIN_LAND.JPG here ** The first screen is an early version of a textured and continually generating fractal landscape. It is very quick, and obviously DSP powered. ** BIN_WORM.JPG here ** The next screen is called Freaky, and is some kind of very elaborate tunnel feedback effect, most aptly described as a visitation by a psychedelic version of one of the giant worms from Dune. ** BIN_WORS.JPG here ** The piece de resistance, and the best indicator of what the final finished article would have looked like, is a screen called Worship. It is an amazing sequence, with beautifully lit multiple spinning "angels", bio-luminescent blobs flying around them, set against a dark and brooding worldscape. Probably the most complex demo effect screen ever seen on the Falcon, and one which makes the loss of Tat from the Atari scene, all the harder to bear. Just maybe, someone else can pick up where he left off? Overall: 90% --- Do Things Demo by Cream ST, Falcon, and PC emulators! Entertainment - Freeware ** DOTHINGS.JPG here ** This is a welcome return to the Atari demo scene, after a long time away, by the German crew Cream. What they have to offer us is an ST demo at heart, but it can run on almost anything Atari related, even the Pacifist emulator on the PC. A technical 'first' for this demo, is that the majority of it was coded on Pacifist, rather than a raw ST or Falcon! Also a large part of the graphics were prepared with Photoshop to save time, in my view, an excellent use of the available tools to hand. It can run as a classic autobooting floppy disk, it is presented to us as an MSA file, but there is a considerately provided TOS executable for those of us with hard drives and reasonable (2Mb and above) RAM sizes. Running the demo starts you off with a parade of title graphics and options screens to wade through. You know that you are seeing the first part of the demo "proper" when a brilliant sixteen colour loading screen picture, hand-drawn by Agent-T, leaves you in "confusion"! The first of many of Tao's wonderful specially composed tunes starts up at this point, a YM tune, with distinctive SID-like overtones. A bunch of self-confident credits stab their way onto the screen, the prequel for the first main part of the demo. The "effect" part of the demo is next, a beautiful liquid-like swirling tunnel plasma, with an almost 3-D feel in some places! Hard to describe, fantastic to see in action, and very well interpreted for an ST's limited range of colours on screen. This is a single effect, but with many variations on the theme, all of them wonderful. More credits, and a great number of greetings push to the front of the screen to make themselves seen as well. The mid section of the demo is, predictably perhaps, a music selector with around a dozen or so Tao tunes awaiting your ears. This screen has a slightly Cyberpunk feel in its design. The first surprise is that these Tao Tunes are all SIDchip based, with a sound quality very much like a modern day Commodore 64! Well maybe not so much of a surprise, if you think of it as a logical progression, Cream produce a Sidchip player, next step, a Sidchip composer. Banging on the spacebar produces the next article of goodness, an Agent-T produced slideshow, this seemingly done in some kind of watercolour effect and looking confident, self-assured, and totally brilliant. Interesting story line too. Having watched the slideshow, and enjoyed the tunes, you might well think that this is all, but there is one final surprise.. Yes, the reset demo, first seen in Things that make you go Hmmm makes a return visit to this demo as well. Having perfected a reset routine that works on all machines, there was never any sense in Cream keeping it for only one demo. This final part consists of a return to the swirly plasma with credits seen earlier, but with more abstract objects blended in, such as a Peace symbol, and most stunning of all, a pair of eyes, in a 3D fashion. Again, the effect needs to be seen to be really believed, but it is classy and understated.. I enjoyed watching Cream Do Things, and I'm sure you will too! Overall: 85%