Scene Zine Monthly for December 16th, 2003 [Issue #9]

Published By Scene Rep

The Monthly Ramble
By Christofori

Well, it has come time (finally, some of you will be saying) for this, the final issue of the Scene Zine for 2003! It's an honor to have been a part of this project since the beginning, and I'm looking forward to several more months of hard work and dedication. You should be looking forward to more responsive content in the Scene Zine, and some changes and possibly even a new design for our site. That is, of course, entirely dependant on feedback; you see, if we don't get feedback, we won't know if we're covering parts of the scene that you want us to cover. As for the site, we've already received a mound of feedback on it, rest assured -- and the redesign is in the works!

It's the holiday season already, and we at Scene Rep want to give you a little present. Many of you already know what part of it is about. I'm speaking of course about the much-anticipated interview with Saurin Shah, creator of Trax in Space. Don't fear, that article is included lovingly in this issue, right next to several other outstanding submissions. Want to write about something too? Know a cool scener that you think the rest of us should know more about? Interviews are always good material for the Scene Zine! We accept submissions each month, and our deadline is the 14th day of every month (so we have time to edit and proof everything). We always publish by the evening of the 16th. Also, we will be filling a music reviewing position and need someone that 1) is dedicated, and 2) has review experience. Interested? Let us know! Without your continued support we cannot continue to provide this free and dependable service. Therefore we request you give us feed back on this issue and any previous issues. It's just polite.

Well, on with the show, so to speak. We've got, as I've mentioned already, several outstanding articles in this issue, and I hope you're looking forward to reading them as much as I enjoyed putting them all together!

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Monthly News

Competition Invitation

"This World Is Supervised By Video" (an international competition with different genres). In our civilization a lot of things are heading in the wrong direction (as you surely have already noticed...). SINNsitiv is not willing or able to give you the perfect solution. But we - as humans and artists - think to be in the position and maybe duty to bring some of them in the limelight!!! And as we have to start somewhere, we would like to let you know that the idea of security is lost in aspiration of power and control, but the world we are living in is being surveyed by video more and more...

It is with this theme that SINNsitiv starts its first international competition. Our questions for you: Do you want total monitoring? Does this kind of control keep you safe? Will freedoms be lost this way, and is this a price you are willing to pay? Let your mind flow and imagine what this theme means to you. And then, create art interpreting this theme and send us your contributions when they are ready. Be critical, be innovative; provoke, don't be shy. You can compete in any form of art that you wish. Paint and send a picture, or do a scan of your drawn or painted image. Play your piano and record it, or track some music on your computer. Write a short story or a poem. Make a photo or record your performance art on tape. Shoot a movie, or program interactive executables. Whatever you feel or think by reading the theme, express it and take part in our small competition. Everybody is welcome at SINNsitiv as always!

To stay non-commercial and also have no boundaries, we decided to do without sponsoring. So aside from some small gifts (our own productions, like coming audioCDs and radioplays) for the winners, having fun while participating in this competition is all we can offer. But all who participate will get a CD-Rom featuring all entries and a hi-quality cover sent by post. If you would like to download the stuff, to save material and money, let us know. We are thankful therefore!

To make it fair for you & easier for us to manage the compo, we had to figure out some minor rules. Here they are.

1. You have to deliver your entry in one of the following formats, but in anyway in best possible quality: Graphics & Photos (GIF/IFF/JPG/PNG/PCX/PSD/ASCII/ANSI), Musics (MP3/WAV/AIFF/OGG/any tracker format), Texts (DOC/RTF/ASCII/HTML/Wordworth/FinalWriter) and movies & interactives (MPG in SVCD or VCD, AVI, Flash, Alambik, IFF/GIF-Anim, HTML, Guide). Other formats may be supported but can not be guaranteed. (Contact us for suggestions!) Please configure the format fitting your artwork well, no senseless high quality or extreme downsized crappy stuff. All have to be delivered compressed (lzx/lha/zip/ace) and with a text file about your name, title of your artwork, shipping address, statement about the authorship and maybe a description/comment if you would like.

2. Big files (like WAVs for hi-quality audio) have to be delivered on CD-Rom - as we do not have save fast network here - as also real facts (like original photos we shall scan because you have no scanner or tape because you are not able to digitize your bands live recordings) via post way. Others can be sent to us by e-mail or giving us a link to your entry at your web space (wise way for files bigger than 500kb). Our addresses for your entries are: info@sinnsitiv.de or via post: SINNsitiv c/o Marc Oberst Gießerstraße 62 04229 Leipzig Germany Europe.

3. You give SINNsitiv the right to translate your work or work's title into german or english (the original will be kept for sure). This also includes that you should contribute in these both languages only. (This is only related to whole texts, not to titles of pictures or music tunes!)

4. You allow SINNsitiv to publish your art at our web site, and distribute it via CD-Roms. Your entry has to be free from copyright by any persons other than you. But of course you will retain your own copyright.

5. Racial, sexist and pro violence art (against any being) will be skipped directly.

6. The number of entries are not limited per author. But please do not flood us with the 1001 poems you have written so far!

Contact us if we missed something important or if you have any problems with the rules or something else.

Deadline for sending your entries is 31.03.2004 (Entries must be postmarked by this date), but earlier submissions are very welcome! Have fun!!!

www.SINNsitiv.de

Northern Dragons Redesigns Web site

Recently the Northern Dragon's demo group web site was redesigned. This is a sign that we have become more serious in our craft and have become much more of an organization. Look towards 2004 as we release new demos, take on new members and challenges. Also check out our previous demos as we had sent off a 4k, wild, and browser demo to Assembly 2003. Festival!

www.northerndragons.ca

Scene Zine still needs more content.

Email the editor.

We're an extremely diverse e-zine and as you may know we publish every 16th. Therefore we need a lot of content to keep going. Currently we are suggesting that if you are an artist and would like to give us some tutorials on how you create art we're very happy to feature it. That's just one suggestion and we'll accept just about anything demoscene related. Enjoy this issue and be sure to contribute next month!

Send us your news!!! We'll put it here next month!

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Reader FeedBack

From Luke "Thorn" Dickinson

Hey there Mr. Groove. ;)

I'm not sure if it's asking too much, but is there any way I might be able to get my hands on an advance copy of that interview with Saurin Shah? I know a lot of the musicians that used to be a part of Thorn's Tracker Ring, the ones with whom I still keep in contact, would be *very* interested in hearing what he has to say.

Also, I tried to e-mail Saurin personally, using the e-mail address given on Trax in Space, but it bounced, and I don't know of any other way to contact him. Did he leave details with Christofori?

I won't bug you with questions, but I'd appreciate anything you can tell me! :)

Regards,

- Luke "Thorn" Dickinson

P.S. Some of the more dedicated and close-knit members of TTR reside over at http://www.contradanza.com - feel free to join us in idle chatter at any time, if you so wish. :)

Send us your feedback!!!

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Modular Tracking
By DJ Mirage

In this article I have a brief interview with someone who programs a modular tracker, which we will talk a bit more about the future, and a bit about his personal time to track.

SR: Please state your name, and a little about yourself.

JM: My name is Josep Maria (aka [JAZ]) and I'm the main (not the only) developer of Psycle.

SR: So, what in your words is a Modular or Hybrid Tracker?

JM: I think there are two key features for one to be named this way:

The first one is the inclusion of Plugins (hence, the "Modular" part), which breaks the limits of what a sample-based tracker puts on you. These limits are the difficulty (sometimes) to find the sample that sounds the way you want, and the inherent limitation of a sample: it can't be modified "on the go".

The second feature (which stands for the "Hybrid" part), is the inclusion of options previously only seen in sequencers and/or professional software, which is the mixing capabilities (apply effects, route the sound...) and the ability to sequence different parts of the composition at the same time (multitrack or multipattern sequence).

This conjunction makes of the tracker a software which is easy to use and powerful at the same time.

SR: A member from the Scene Rep forums asks: "What is there in modular trackers such as psycle that would prevent me from skipping them and just moving on directly to sequencers, vst instruments, live instruments and such?"

JM: Well, in the case of Psycle, there's an initial reason: it is free (and open source). But aside from this, the reason comes down to a basic thing: If you like more the piano roll/drumstep type of interface, or the tracker one. Each program has its good and bad points:

In the case of Psycle and buzz, people find it quite easy to put "machines" in the machine view, connect them, arrange them, add effects and play with it. (Psycle is easier because you can actually play the machines directly while you're on that screen, or while tweaking them).

On the other hand, sequencers like Cubase or FruityLoops try to keep your focus more on the sequence of the song so you work it more. Also, note that these trackers already use VST's and can communicate with MIDI hardware so it is not exclusive of Professional software.

SR: What will be the future of a modular tracker vs ordinary tracking?

JM: Both ways of tracking aim for the same: to make music. Modular tracking just (tries to) give(s) more ways to do it.

Lately, modular tracking is being used also in demoscene. Coders are making their own plugins and player engines to avoid using samples (which usually takes more memory). Having said this, I really think that modular tracking will replace sample-based tracking, since a modular tracker is really a superset of the second (i.e. it can use samples as well). Sample-based ones will remain like curiosities i think. (or pieces of art, if you prefer ;) )

SR: What's your opinion about so called ordinary tracking?

JM: Well, it's where it all started! :) I like it, but I used to find myself short of samples. Creativity was limited to what you had (alright, with modular trackers and machines, you have similar problems, but you can adjust them to fit your needs better). Probably making music with one of those shows off your skills better. Mine are not much good :P

SR: So you are a programmer of psycle, you probably don't have much time to track for yourself..

JM: Hahah! I actually don't have time to track when I'm on the IRC channel getting bug reports and feature requests ;) (btw, greetings to all at #psycle EFNET)

Back to the question, coding does indeed take time off of composing, but after that, you can actually make it better. This is because as a developer, you not only fix bugs, but also add features, and your next songs improve.

SR: Do you use any other software than psycle when you find time to track?

JM: I like to test other software from time to time to see new ideas and how fast tracking (and sequencing) is evolving, but apart from this, I don't use multiple programs. If something exists on another software that I like, I see if I can put it into Psycle. That's all.

SR: Where can people contact you (or other psycle programmers) to request a feature, or do a bug report for psycle?

JM: We have our great community! ( ok.. It's a bit small, but we are friendly :P). So if you are a user, the best place you can go is to Psycledelics: and stay in the forums (yes, I post there regularly). Also, as I've said before, we have an IRC channel at the EFnet network which is #psycle.

Developers can also check here, which is where the sources of the program are stored.

SR: I would like to thank you for this interview!

Click the links for more information about:
- Psycle
- Buzz

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3DS Max Editable Mesh Modeling - Special Scene Zine Installment
By Patrick Groove

The following links provided will direct you to a video tutorial on basic modeling with an editable mesh. The video was produced by Patrick Groove and p3rs0n along with music by Tito.

High Resolution [12.8 MB]
(http://www.scenerep.org/videos/sr_editmesh_tutorial_high.mov)

Low Resolution [6.4 MB]
(http://www.scenerep.org/videos/sr_editmesh_tutorial_low.mov)

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Texturing in 3DS Max. The crash course.
By Patrick Groove

I will assume that you know basic modeling in 3DS Max for this exercise and perhaps a little about the material editor. In this tutorial we'll go over the basics and make sure that you can make a basic texture within 3DS Max. Note that this tutorial does not cover lighting. This is important because all materials and textures within an environment display differently depending on the light. Therefore do not add any lights into your environment for this exercise.

The first thing you will do is add a sphere in the perspective view port. This will be our base shape to view our material applied to an object. The reason we'll use a sphere is that it is very easy to edit with converted meshes and more importantly 3DS Max displays materials in the material editor as spheres in the default slots. Once you have the sphere on your screen press "M" on your keyboard. This will open the material editor. As shown in the diagram the circled slot is the one we will use.

For this exercise we will create an alien skin. The color's that we use in the following steps are up to you and feel free to experiment throughout the steps. The elements of our alien skin will be as follows:

It will have its own "grain" or pours.
It will have its own color.
It will have its own shine.
It will have a bump map (advanced way of making something appear bumpy)

Let's start with the grain. To accomplish this we will use a cellular map which is built into 3DS Max. The cellular map has its own settings such as color and spread. As the name applies it creates a celled pattern.

Shaders are used to add a component to a material that attempts to re-create how light interacts with a surface. There's seven different shader's to choose from all of which have their own parameters.

Anisotropic: Creates surfaces that are not circular which is good for hair, glass, or metal.
Blinn: Creates smooth surfaces and is a general purpose shader.
Metal: Creates metallic effects.
Mutli-Layer: Layers two anisotropic highlights.
Oren-Nayar-Blinn: Really good at matte surfaces like fabric or fibrous materials.
Phong: Another smooth surface shader but doesn't handle highlights as well as Blinn.
Strauss: Has a simple set of controls for both metallic and non-metallic surfaces.

In 3DS Max there are usually multiple ways of doing one thing but for simplicity's sake click on the button beside "Diffuse" in the Blinn Basic Parameters. Blinn is the default shader and I'll be working with it throughout this tutorial.

Once you have a new dialog box open look for the "Cellular". Choose it and press "Ok" at the bottom. This will be the basis for the grain of the skin. Once you have chosen that you'll note that your options are Coordinates and Cellular Parameters. We won't work with coordinates in this tutorial but will setup the Cellular Parameters. First set the color. I chose a green.

Note the steps outlined in the provided image (on the right):

1. Set the cell and division colors to closely match each other. The cell color is the fill of each circular shape or cell if you will. The change will be reflected in the sample slot. The colors should not have the exact same colors as you will see the resulting material as one solid color.

2. Set the spread, and size of the cells. This determines how big the "graininess" will be. Note that your own skin on your hands has variations of pour density.

3. Step "up" a level. This will bring you back to the shader parameters among others.

You can now apply the material to the object in your environment if you wish to see what it looks like at this point. Simply drag and drop the sample slot on to the selected area. Be careful if you ever have multiple objects in your environment which are selected. The material will apply to all of them. Pressing "F9" will render your object from the selected view port.

The next thing we will do is add a shine to this skin. This is done using the Specular Highlights parameters under your shader parameters.

I used the displayed settings for skin but you can use it as you like. This is of course an experiment to familiarize your self with some basic material editing. The specular level is to allow reflectivity where the higher you set it the higher its reflectivity to light. That's not to be confused with reflectivity of other objects as that is a job for a ray traced material (see the help file). Glossiness is fairly self explanatory. A billiard's ball for example would have a high specular level but a low glossiness. On the other hand a soccer ball would have a lower specular level but a higher glossiness.

Now on to a bump map which is an extremely interesting parameter. What it does is take any map applied to it then translates the shades of that map into perceived depth. Lighter shades become high peaks and lower shades to black are lower depths. An easy way to apply a bump map to an already existing texture which is to be matched is to copy the diffuse map to the bump map. That is done in the displayed list. Now render it and see what it looks like! You can change the amount as well for more or less bump depth. You should make a note that a bump map does not change your mesh in any way therefore it will just look like it has depth without carving gully's and creating more substance.

I hope this helps you make your models look great for your demos and general artwork! Most importantly I hope you learned something.

 

 

 

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TiS: Free advice from the peanut gallery
By Novus

As I'm writing this, it's still late November. Initial word of the upcoming comeback of Trax In Space is still fresh. Christofori has teased everyone behind the scenes at Scene Rep about his interview with Saurin, but he's tight-lipped about what was actually said. So, just like everyone else, I'm counting down the days 'til December 16th.

Trax In Space... back in action again. It was almost unthinkable when it collapsed, and still was just 2 weeks ago. Now, everything has changed. So many unanswered questions, so many different ways to do this... and so many different ways to screw it up royally.

Saurin, forgive me for this, but I can't keep my mouth shut. (I know, I know, that's nothing new.) But the great thing about free advice is that it's free. :) And hey, maybe someone else is planning a scene web site and could benefit from this as well. So, here we go:

Don't focus on the musicians. The tendency in the tracking scene is to bend over backwards to cater to the artists and musicians. But let's be real: as long as you provide a stable web site with a good interface, the artists are going to come. It's one more chance at exposure for their music. They will come, and they will register, and they will list their songs, and they will come even if you make no effort to get them to come. That's not where you should aim your energy.

Do focus on the visitors and downloaders. Having 84,000 songs with nobody there to download them is pointless. So, focus on Joe Listener, who just wants to find a good song or two. Give him the content he wants. Give him something he can't get anywhere else, and he'll keep coming back. That will lead to a healthy and thriving community, and that in turn will bring in more musicians. But it all starts with Joe Listener.

Don't go commercial. Taking TiS commercial last time was perfectly okay in my book. You know me, I'm an out-and-out capitalist. But clearly, it didn't work. It generated a lot of mistrust and suspicion among the oldskool die-hard sceners, feelings that still exist to this day. (More on that later.) And going commercial drove up your expenses, which forced you to go out on a limb financially, and you don't need me to remind you of what a disaster that became. Keep it non-profit this time. The site will be more stable, and your risks will be much lower.

Don't make TiS a reviewing site again. Last time around, you wanted every song to be reviewed because you wanted to help the artists. But TiS was constantly swamped with new songs, and the only way to review them all was to recruit a massive and unwieldy cadre of amateur reviewers. Quality control over the reviews became impossible, which made the reviews useless for artist and listener alike. And even then, you STILL couldn't get every song reviewed. So, don't try it again. Instead, assemble a small, dependable and skilled team of reviewers and pick out the best songs for review. Give the artists good examples to learn from, and give Joe Listener a good song or two to try out.

Don't offer free file hosting. First of all, it's not necessary; The MOD Archive and Scene.org already fill that niche. Second of all, it's a huge expense. I'm sure you remember well how difficult it was to arrange for that much storage space and bandwidth, and it was just one more thing that made TiS so difficult to maintain. Instead, let the artists be responsible for
hosting their own files, and just offer them the ability to link to their song from TiS. (On that note, put in a script that disallows URLs from FortuneCity or GeoCities, both of which block third-party server downloads. Other archives right now are cluttered with unusable song links aimed at those servers, and that wastes Joe Listener's time.)

Do offer at-cost file hosting. Sometimes an artist just needs storage space, but doesn't want to go to the trouble of designing their own web site. And it can be difficult finding space to store larger files or MP3s. So if it's feasible, make storage space available to users for a small fee, just enough to cover the expense. Make it clear that it's at-cost, and you'll dodge the complaint that you're trying to make the site commercial again.

Don't pander to your enemies. There are people who will dislike you no matter what you do. You could become a monk who runs a soup kitchen for orphaned kids, and they'd criticize the sodium levels in the soup. Screw 'em. They're small-minded, and they're not worth worrying about. Don't let them get under your skin, and certainly don't let them alter the way you run TiS. If they don't like your web site, let them start their own.

I've given a lot of "don't"s, so I'll end with a "do." Do have fun with this. If you like what you're doing, it's going to be reflected positively in the quality of the site. You have a golden opportunity to rejoin the scene and to do some positive things. So, have fun. Your visitors will thank you.

Good luck, man. Here's hoping you get it right this time. :)

Latez!
Novus

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Interview with Blisaed
By Network19

Network19 delves into the person we all know as Blisaed with the intention of finding out a little of what makes this guy tick.

SR: Can you first tell us a bit about yourself (name, age, location)?

Blisaed: Yep... My name is Matthew Paul Centonze, I am 19 years old and I live in Pomona, California USA.

SR: How did you first get involved with tracking and writing music?

Blisaed: Music to me has always been a really big part of my life. I remember when I was really little, I had a record player and I'd always listen to my fathers Phil Collins records. I basically grew up around music, started piano lessons real young but didn't stick with it, wish I did though. When I was 12 I started a garage punk band with my friends and we played for about 3 years. I quit the band when I was 15 and decided I wanted to venture on my own. I stumbled along some techno IT tracks on the web one day and really started getting into electronic music soon after. I downloaded Impulse tracker to see what it was about and it really interested me but at the time it looked so hard to do, so i kinda just blew it off. A few months later around January 2000 i set a goal to make a song and that's when it basically started. I used tracking software for a 2 years, slowly worked my way out of tracking and used reason for a year and have now been using Cubase SX for about 2 years.

SR: What software/hardware do you use to write your music?

Blisaed: Cubase SX and a bunch of VSTi's, I dont have any hard synths which kinda of sucks, but my goal is to get a cd produced to get a little cash for some synth racks.

SR: What are the main styles/genres of music you write?

Blisaed: Hmmm... That's a hard one... I'd have to say experimental/idm/ambient/dnb/blisaed style :)

SR: What are your favorite Netlabels?

Blisaed: Right now, Monotonik... They have a lot of cool artists on there.

SR: What do you think the best thing about the online music community is?

Blisaed: The best thing about the online community would have to be all the friends I have met. It's awesome to have people who you can relate to and inspire off of.

SR: What do you think the worst thing about the online music community is?

Blisaed: Nothing really...

SR: Who are your favorite scene and commercial artists?

Blisaed: My fav. scene artists right now are xerxes, grandma, vizion, you (net19) and kaneel. My fav. commericial artists are telefon tel aviv, hybrid, darkhalo, Brian Eno, dntel, and Mandy Moore...

SR: What other interests do you have other than tracking and writing music?

Blisaed: It's funny, I work at Blockbuster so much it seems I have no time for interests these days hehe, but when I'm free, I enjoy spending time with my lovely girlfriend Kaila, kicking back with the bros, smoking cigarettes, watching movies, go to church on sundays, talking with my online buds, and just having a fun with ever comes up.

SR: Anything else I've missed or comments you would like to add?

Blisaed: To mark, I just want to say thanks for your interest and the interview. :) and to blisaed listeners out there, be on the lookout for my debut cd on Apegenine Recordings. Check here for more info. Thanx a bunch, I'm out...

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Trax in Space: The Rebirth
By Christofori

For some of you, this will be the moment you've been waiting for (for nearly a few weeks now, at any rate). For others, this will be an interesting look into some of what Saurin Shah, creator of the once giant music site Trax in Space, is planning for the rebirth of the site. Do keep in mind that "TiS2" (as some are already calling it) is still very much in the planning stages, and as such, Saurin can't always go into a lot of detail at this early stage. Without further ado, here's the meat and potatoes of Scene Rep's exclusive interview with Trax in Space creator Saurin Shah!

SR: So, here we go. Many readers have already seen the Static Line article where you discussed some of what happened with the original TiS, so we'll not get into much detail with that. So as for TiS2, I as well as undoubtedly many others have seen the recent note that a new (or reborn) TiS will be coming soon. What were the factors that made you want to start anew with the TiS Concept?

Saurin: First, I needed time off from the scene and the first TiS to figure out just exactly what I wanted. I realized that my passion for music went unfulfilled. Something was missing in my life. I also had a chance to learn more about the music and entertainment world. I watched how the music scene changed and yet stagnated. It seemed as if the music scene had hit a barrier. On one side, you have the re-emergence of Napster, the introduction of Mercora, and the success of iTunes.

SR: Right...

Saurin: All geared toward music listeners.

SR: Exactly.

Saurin: On the other side, you have the musicians. Who was catering to them? MP3.com? Laughable almost. The scene? Sure, but what serious artists take the scene as it is seriously? Did you know that in some cases the modern tracking scene is not even on the radar of the rest of the music world? And it should be. The scene has some of the most talented artists in the world. Somewhere in between the scene and iTunes lies the first TiS -- yet it had many mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and had some new insights and ideas for a TiS2.

SR: Aside from some of the others that helped in many aspects in TiS1, there was MisterX (Kim Kraft). What's your current status with him? Have you two kept in touch? And, have you spoken with him regarding the new TiS?

Saurin: We had kept in touch, but not in a while. He had things in his life to take care of, and I was pretty engrossed with work and education. I do plan on contacting him once I lay some groundwork for TiS2.

SR: Great. So back to TiS2. So far, as I understand it, you're very much in the planning stages. What things will be the most different from how the original incarnation was? In other words, what will be the biggest changes?

Saurin: More of a focus on musicians. Though we will still want to engage their fans, TiS in its later stages started to offer more for musicians... it was a step in the right direction.

SR: I remember in a brief and previous discussion that you had mentioned something about that to me. How will the new service feel to the end user (musician)? What kinds of things will make them feel more at home this time around?

Saurin: Now we will not do just a community message board and all of that. This will geared toward serious musicians. Here is what I mean by "serious":

The site is not for immature musicians. Note I did not say young musicians. Immature means that the musician has not grasped the concept of the value of time, their talent, and money. They do not have to be talented or old, just care about their music. They do not have to want to become rich and famous, but they must value their skills and music. Basically these musicians will be put in touch with equally serious artists and others related to musicians. They will be able to exchange services in something I call the "artist's marketplace." It's a way for musicians to get in touch with vocalists or lyricists, musicians to get in touch with Graphics Artists, musicians to get in touch with Production Specialists...

SR: Ah, I see...

Saurin: All of these are on the same level as trackers, not necessarily professional, but enthusiasts and passionate in their work.

SR: Right, interesting idea.

Saurin: Reviews would be an essential part and there will be a component for listeners, too. We will help musicians get their music, if they wish, into pay-for-download places like the Napster and iTunes. Everyone works with each other based on how much they value each other's ability -- the idea being that the peer community will help incubate the artists and help them improve.

SR: Aside from the obvious incentives that you've mentioned, what else will TiS2 itself be able to offer to, say, someone mostly interested in just getting their music heard by other people?

Saurin: What other people do you mean? Fans, labels, A&R, producers, who?

SR: Let's say, for instance, just your general people out there looking for new and exciting music. Before, there were review systems in place, which might actually give a general enough idea for someone to find music that they liked... I know you're focusing more this time around on the musician, but there's also the fanbase and just the people out there who want to listen to everything.

Saurin: Oh sure, that will all be there too... but it will be different. Some of my new concepts will help clean-up the quality of reviews.

SR: Can you talk about how the reviewing will be different/better this time around?

Saurin: Listeners will be able to find new music, because it is a part of the musician-centric site. The system will be better. The quality should improve and the worthiness to the artist will increase. However not everyone will like it, because of the marketplace concept some artists may not be able to get reviews from the top reviewers. Mostly everyone will be able to, who is willing to participate. Reviewers are rewarded on quality as perceived by the artist.

SR: So, the same "core" of the previous reviewer system will be present in this incarnation as well then? Only, perhaps more streamlined then?

Saurin: Some of it yes, and some of it different. There will be a base system, but reviewers will be given more freedom. Artists will have the choice to vie for the attention of the best reviewers.

SR: I see. So, what would make one artist's vie .. I don't want to say more *important* than another artists' actually, but.. What would put one particular artist over some of the others when vying for the best reviewer to listen to their music?

Saurin: Ah that is the whole crux of the marketplace. It depends on the agreement the reviewer and the artist come to... Its hard to explain without giving away the "surprise." It is a different and, yet, very normal system. The surprise is for a Part II interview.

SR: Okay then, fair enough!

Saurin: I should note that anyone attending the DigitalHollywood conference in January should seek me out. I'll be there.

SR: So, then, let's go on to the new Marketplace concept. You've already mentioned how you'll tie in with some sites like Napster and the like. How, or in what ways, will you approach this?

Saurin: This will be approached as a musician-centric business. The site will sustain itself and give something back to its creators, and the musicians and other participants will be the real winners. Due to my experience with trackers and online music, I have the ability to grab the attention of the larger players out there. We will never forget the musician -- we will bring our musicians to the rest of the world. Whoever wants to join the ride is welcome. However we don't want low-quality music, so the site, again being musician-centric, will help them improve.

SR: Have you already begun working with some of these other sites, then? Any collaborations you can comment on?

Saurin: I can say that I am in high level talks with some already. The DigitalHollywood is the first of many. I may be a panel speaker at another DigitalHollywood or Jupiter Media conference.

SR: Ah, very cool!

Saurin: Musicians will have a voice as long as I am around.

SR: So you view yourself (somewhat, perhaps) as an agent for the musicians who will make use of TiS then? Or, TiS itself will be the "agent?"

Saurin: Incubator and Marketplace Medium are better words.

SR: Ah, Of course.

Saurin: Though we may not represent musicians, it may be an option later. Right now we will let professionals handle that and facilitate the musician's interaction with these other agents. TiS earns its keep by allowing the participants in the marketplace to interact. Places like Napster are part of the marketplace.

SR: I see. I must say, this is a fairly ambitious aspect; much more so than the first TiS..

Saurin: It is more ambitious, but there is an equal amount of experience and savvy behind it.

SR: So TiS will bring everyone to the table, in that respect.

Saurin: Yes. But from the point of view of musicians. It is not only more ambitious than the first TiS, but it is also less risky and more likely to succeed.

SR: Great. Sounds like you've given these aspects quite a lot of thought; how long have you been seriously planning the rebirth of TiS then?

Saurin: The ideas have been floating around for the last year or so, but they really have begun to coalesce in the last few months. As I study what is going on in the music world -- both scene-side and industry-side, I noticed that the musicians still were not represented.

SR: I see. Speaking of the amount of risk and what all is at stake, since word of a 'new' TiS has been spreading (and, it has!), people have been wondering what will make a new TiS work, when so much began to fail the first time. In what ways will this TiS be able to maintain itself better, and stay out of trouble? It can't exactly be an easy thing to reinvent TiS in this way... How will you avoid the same pitfalls that were faced by the original?

Saurin: TiS had a lot of issues good and bad. This will be more streamlined, focused, and cognizant of what the mission is. To serve musicians. I have learned quite a bit since then and am much more capable of handling this. I paid too much attention to the nay-sayers the first time. This time, all the risks associated will be carefully evaluated, and the plan thoughtfully written. Then I and a few others will execute the plan. Its a simple concept, but this will be done with skill. More skill than the first, I mean.

SR: Right, as no doubt you've really learned from the first time around.

Saurin: There will be no money pit. There is no guarantee of success, but this one has the markings of a revolutionary concept for musicians. Some musicians will hate it, but most will love it, and the site will try to introduce trackers to non-trackers. Sure the trackers may have their own culture, but the interaction with the outside may help bring new ideas into the scene. Everyone who participates gets what they want.

SR: Right. So back to the music and the musicians; will there be any "requirements" for the musicians who sign up? Will their music have to meet certain requirements to be listed on TiS?

Saurin: No requirements. Participation in the marketplace and their listeners will determine their popularity, perhaps. No requirements. We want musicians to improve. Everyone starts somewhere. Our hopes are that all the musicians will be able to reach a stage, where there music is something they can use to further their careers as musicians if they want to.

SR: Great!

Saurin: There are some really interesting concepts that will illicit a "Wow" feeling. It will be interesting to see the scene shift again!

SR: Can you discuss any of these "Wow" concepts at this time?

Saurin: Part II. I need to solidify my thoughts. The people who know about the "Wow" concepts are under NDA (non-disclosure agreement) with me.

SR: That's understandable.

Saurin: Suffice it to say: All the participants win. It will be shocking and head-turning -- yours is the first exclusive interview. Now there are some magazines lined up to hear more. But you get the first shot!

SR: And I, on behalf of Scene Rep, greatly thank you for that honor!

Saurin: To the sceners out there who think I am corrupting the scene, they need to remember that what I do always has helped the musician and will in the future. I can safely say many artists have felt a void by TiS not being there -- if my deluge of emails is any indication. Let me paraphrase a recent email: "Saurin, It is great to see your message that TiS is returning. I am a new musicians -- only three months (this email was a few weeks ago, TiS has been down for 2 yrs)... I have heard much about you and TiS. you guys are a legend." -- This is why I do what I do. The musician and the passion. Also a sticky point for me. IUMA claims that they were the first musician site/archive on the Internet in 1993. Lets give proper credit to the Hornet and Acid people. And of course TiS -- circa 1992/1993 (aka Nebula).

SR: Understandable. Of course, it's almost certain that you will be met both by welcoming arms, and often times, a high degree of criticism and, there is the potential to be shunned by some of the scene. I'm sure you're aware of this, and we've already touched base on this a bit.. but how have you prepared yourself (and TiS) for the response?

Saurin: I look for healthy criticism. Without it, I may not be aware of weak points and areas of improvement. I also understand the personal nature music has and the need to stop change, because some people do not want to leave their comfort zones. I am not about comfort zones, I am about progress and helping musicians do more with less. I want the musicians to focus on their skills and not waste their time or money doing something that others could easily do.

SR: Well spoken. So, let's shift gears for a moment and go "behind the scenes" in a way.. What kind of system will be powering TiS this time around? Do you already have the hosting and storage aspects mostly ironed out? Will certain key players again be involved in this aspect?

Saurin: Nope those are minor details to be worked out. There will be some input from music industry leaders. Also I make an open call for volunteers interested in making this a reality. On a side note, I want to plug my video game company -- start-up -- Erresea. I need willing graphics artists and programmers. They can contact me for more details.

SR: So, getting back to the scene itself. There will undoubtedly be many sceners who will feel that the new TiS is all about commercialization. How would you address this type of discussion?

Saurin: Well it is not about commercialization. Interestingly the marketplace allows me to give both sides exactly what they want at the same time. It is about progress and a musician concentrating on his/her skills.

SR: Right.

Saurin: I invite everyone else who has better ideas to do them. The more the better for the musicians. I have no problem, and with a bit of pride, I will add that I do not know of any other tracker site that had: 50,000 active musicians, 150,000 songs, and over 1.5 million (unique) visitors per month.

SR: So, I'm assuming you've pretty much already designed a "battle plan" or timeline for certain things to happen before TiS2 will officially launch. Can you discuss what's in the coming months for the planning and execution of TiS?

Saurin: The first step is the continued development of the plan. The second step, some months away, will be to begin to develop the plan and site.

SR: Now I figure you might be reluctant to comment anything specifically on this question, but if you were to say (as of tonight) when you'd expect the new TiS to go live, when might that be? How many months do you foresee?

Saurin: Hmmm I do not want to commit to a date yet, because it is too early. However it will not be in the next six months.

SR: Understandable.

Saurin: Its not that I want to give you vague answers, but that we are still in early planning stages.

SR: I understand completely... I'm actually trying to ask as wide a variety of questions as possible, in the hopes that more people will be able to get the scope of where you're at now, and where you're going.

Saurin: I want your readers to understand what's happening and be very open with them.

SR: I appreciate that, and I'm sure that our readers will as well. We've covered the basis of your plans on the artist/musician system, touched on the marketplace idea, and also discussed the reviewer system a bit. What other aspects will there be, both similar to and different from the original TiS?

Saurin: The site will be noticeably more professional and musician-centric. Some of the smaller features will be gone. No shop.

SR: What about the communal aspect that was present in the original TiS? I believe you've touched a bit on some of this already, but what are the plans for the new site (for instance, forums, chat, etc)?

Saurin: Oh yes! Those will be there. That is an important part. The site will continue to foster a musicians community -- again we want everyone to participate.

SR: Great, good to hear. Will TiS be forging partnerships with software (or perhaps even hardware) developers for musicians?

Saurin: Yes.

SR: Anything you can comment on at this time?

Saurin: Unfortunately that is an area which I have not spent too much time on yet.

SR: I understand. We'll be looking forward to some more details, perhaps in part II!

Saurin: Hopefully. Any last questions? I have to wrap it up and head for the airport. My sister-in-law who happens to be a top-ranked, rising singer in India, is at the airport!

SR: Ah, I'll hurry! On a more content-related side, how will TiS handle "covers" or remakes of songs? What will be the effect of copyrighted material? And how will the artists' individual rights be affected by listing their tunes on TiS?

Saurin: This will not be tolerated. Musicians should respect other's works. As long as its legal, we will accept it.

SR: All right, fair enough. What are the rights of the musicians who list their own, original, music on TiS then?

Saurin: There are some surprises there too -- in short, its up to the musician. This is one of the "wow" areas.

SR: Ah, I see.

Saurin: Musicians will love it.

SR: Good to know! Well, I don't want to keep you - but any last thoughts or ideas we've not touched on that you can talk about at this time?

Saurin: Thank you for the opportunity to tell you about TiS2. I am very excited about it and I hope the musicians out there are too. TiS pioneered music before. This time we will put pioneering in the hands of the musicians.

SR: Great!

Saurin: Anyone interested in helping, please contact me.

SR: Well, I thank you very much for your time, and I greatly appreciate that you've given your time for this interview! I know that our readers will also be looking forward to hearing more from you in the future! And I'm looking forward to hearing more about the special aspects and "wow" areas we weren't able to hear about tonight.

Saurin: Alright, TTYL!

If you are interested in contacting Saurin about TiS2, please feel free to E-Mail him.

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Demos Exposed
By Polaris

Hello fellow Demo Sceners! In the last issue of Scene Rep I focused on the latest demo developments to play "catch up". This month, I take advantage of that catch up for a very special seasonal issue. Grab a cup of your favorite eggnog and prepare to unwrap this article - as It's my gift to you!

Imagine... you tear madly into this article.... Wondering what lies beneath the shiny wrap. What treats are in store? Some juicy new demos? A seasonal issue of windows os xmas demos? No - for this issue... I bring you an entire new scene of demos! That's right. An entire scene awaits you for exploration with your PC. I bring to you [drum roll please].... Amiga demos! Now, before you run off to buy your own amiga....or wonder if I've cracked... here is the secret. Emulators have evolved to the point on the PC that it's possible to run lots of Amiga demos. No special hardware required, run them on your very own PC. So let's install one of these emulators, and run some Amiga demos! :-)

I must place Creditz where creditz are due. I have to send Syntax / Northern Dragons a big thank you for doing so much research on all that is Amiga, and helping me so much for this article. The best of the season to you man!

System Requirements [for WinUAE]:
CPU: Pentium 233 MMX or higher processor
OS: WINDOWS 95/98/2000. [no NT 4.0!]
API: Direct X 8.0+
RAM: 64-Megs or higher
SOUND: PCI sound-card
VIDEO: PCI or AGP graphics-card

WinUAE Installation[12 steps to demo goodness]

1. WinUAE requires DirectX 8.0 or newer. If you don't have DirectX installed [or aren't sure] get it and install the DirectX 9.0b runtime here.

2. Download WinUAE - The Windows Port of the UAE Amiga Emulator. For this article I downloaded the WinUAE (0.8.22R9) Installer. [I used R9 as I was having some problems win 8.23)

3. Run the WinUAE install exe. You can do this by opening your downloaded file InstallWinUAE0822R9.exe.

4. The installation will prompt for an installation folder. I stuck with the default C:\Program Files\WinUAE, and selected install. If you change this you will have to adjust some of the instructions further down accordingly.

5. Once installed the system will show the latest "readme" file for WinUAE. Close this window when you are done browsing.

6. Are you done? Almost. WinUAE needs just a few more pieces.

7. You will require a kick start rom. [a.k.a as a ROM-image, ROM-file, KickFile, or KickROM)]. These files form the BIOS [basic input output system] of the Amiga. It's software that defines how the hardware works. You can get them in an Amiga licensed package "Amiga Forever" from http://www.cloanto.com/download/, or just the rom files from http://www.watts5.demon.co.uk/amiga/kickroms.zip.

8. Drop the kick start roms files into C:\Program Files\WinUAE\roms [you will have to create this folder]. The files should look something like the enclosed screenshot. [don't be alarmed if your WinUAE folder doesn't have some of the sub folders you see there. Those directories are created when the program is run for the first time]

9. WINUAE has a lot of configuration options. These can sometimes be a little challenging to keep op top of - so they put these files into "configuration packs". Download the combined winuae configuration pack from this page on www.classicamiga.com.

10. Once the file has been downloaded; extract them into C:\Program Files\WinUAE\Configurations.

11. Now - each of the configuration files will point to rom files that are not in our \roms folder. This means that we will want to change each configuration file to point to the right rom file. So... for each configuration file - select:

   a. Configurations TAB: Load Configuration [each one in turn]:
   b. ROM TAB: You will see the rom file pointing to something like: D:\Fellow\roms\Kick3_0.rom This will be your guide for what rom file to select in step C.
   c. Change this to C:\Program Files\WinUAE\roms\Kick30.rom [* note - the one you select should match in version number]
   d. Go back to the Configurations tab.
   e. Re-Save the configuration with the same name.
   f. Repeat step A with the next configuration till you are all done!

12. Relax. Enjoy! Celebrate! You are now ready to run your first emulated Amiga Demo :)

Our First Amiga Demo - How to Run a Selection! (Let's start cooking)

Okay... at this point I'm sure you are chomping at the bit. You want to run an Amiga demo. So let's do just that - and run our first emulated Amiga demo. The steps are basically the same for each demo, so this will illustrate how to run each one.

1. Download your production. For this example, I used "I want to believe" by Arkham [1996]. You can download it here.

2. Extract the Zip file to a folder of your choice. You will end up with an Amiga disk "IWantToBelieve.adf" and a text file.

3. You will notice that the site indicates it's an AGA30 demo. So load WinUAE and load the AGA30 config.

4. Verify that the chipset got set to AGA on the Chipset Tab. If not, move it to AGA.

5. On DF0 select the [...] icon and choose the "adf file" [as shown in the screen shot].

6. On The display option - remove [full screen]. I find it works better.

7. On the ROM tab - select the kick31.rom. Despite it's supposed to use the kick30.rom; I find that it doesn't work.

8. Select ok... and the prod will run!

9. Enjoy! Your first emulated Amiga demo!

*** Kicking It Old School: Three Xmas Themed Selections *** (Let's cook something warmer)

#3:Kill Santa Claus (by Dark Age in 1998) - [Download Link]:
To run: Follow the "How to Run a Selection instructions", including the setting the AGA option and the kick31.rom. You can also follow these additional steps for the "smoothest" production.

1. CPU TAB: select 68020+fpu. Fastest possible emulation, but maintain chipset timing, JIT Cache Size - 8 mb

2. RAM: Chip 2mb, Fast 8mb, Slow 1MB, Z3 Fast - 512 MB, RTG 32 MB

This production is a fun introduction to the Christmas theme. There isn't much here to do with Santa Claus - other than the title of the production. The graphical effects are decidedly old school - a warping plasma, and rolling voxel style landscapes.

The music of this production is what makes it shine. It's a rock tune, and has that aesthetic electronic cyber punk feel to it. It's well integrated; and has an excellent beginning, middle and end.

All in all this is a fun prod, with a great tune!

#2: X-mas New Year Demo (by Drifters in 1991) [Download Link]:
To run: Load the ECS13 configuration. Ensure that ECS chip set was selected. Select the disk and hit OK!

We continue with the xmas themed productions with one that really gets into the spirit. Equipped with fun effects; this production is a fancy scroll text.

Expect to see a vector ball snowman, snow effects, sprites and scrollers... all in old school style and goodness. This isn't so much a demo as a greeting - but it sure is fun!

#1 - Sounds of Christmas (music disk by Paradise, 1992) [Download Link]:
To run: Load the OCS13 configuration. As always, make sure the chipset [ocs] was selected. Select disk1 and disk2, and hit ok!

Our final xmas themed production is a music disk. Normally I wouldn't include music disks, but it goes with our theme and makes our final installment.

Graphics include scrollers, star fields, and 3d rotations. Be sure to use your mouse on the icons on the right panel of the screen. It will let you change to various tunes, as well as fun views.

A really neat thing to do is see the wave form displays. Now you know where Winamp's first visualizations came from :-). Excellent old school goodness.

*** Kicking Some Classics *** (Let's set the stove on fire!)

Okay folks, now it's time to kick things up a notch. Here are some selections of top Amiga demos, and notes on how to run them :-). I've put a comment for each one so you know what to expect. I'm not going to review these in detail... just load them and enjoy them! You have one for every shopping day left till Christmas!

#9 - 242 (by Fairlight, 1991) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: An extensive multimedia experience with a sound track that reminds me of second reality.

#8 - 9 Fingers (by Space Balls, 1993) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: I've never scene graphics like this. This uses video extensively; but instead of becoming "blocky" with squares of pixilated graphics - instead everything seems to be rendered as triangles. Very, very cool!

#7 - Asylum (by Arkham, 1992) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: The design rocks in this production. Everything flows, there is no "break" while things move. Everything is part of the next scene! Music by Moby!

#6 - Crionics Megademo (by Crionics, 199?) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: If you aren't satisfied with just one production; why not have three in a selectable mega demo. Use your mouse up and down + the left mouse button to choose one of three demos! :-)

#5 - Desert Dream (by Kefrens, 1992) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: Probably one of the strongest demos circa 1992. Powerful production, with music and characteristics that feel like a future crew production. Very much an effect demo - it has less strong ‘design'... but still has that touch of something that gives it a "out of this world" feel, with a touch of humor.

#4 - Jesus on Es (by LSD, 1992) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: With a strong dance rave feel, and a solid tune. Production will have some graphical errors due to emulation. This mixes rave, dance and old school - all in one!

#3 - Red Sector Megademo (by Red Sector, 1989) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: Bizarre vocals with a monster scroller make this easily remembered.

#2 - Scoopex Megademo (by Scoopex, 1989) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: Don't worry. It will start by making your screen look weird. But a splash screen will show - and request that you press a mouse button to start. Each piece of the prod is started by mouse buttons as prompted by the demo. It's kind of neat - a demo that runs at your own pace!

#1 -State if the Art (by Spaceballs, 1992) [Download Link]:
To run: Load ECS 13, ensure Full ECS selected.

In a Nut Shell: A talented demonstration of vectorized graphics. A strong rave / dance feel. Really cool!

*** Where to now? *** (cooking for life)

Okay folks, that wraps up our Amiga special. But it doesn't end here. Check out the following places for more Amiga demos:

http://www.back2roots.org/
http://www.pouet.net/
http://ale.emuunlim.com/demos.htm
http://amiga.nvg.org/amiga/

Conclusion

Folks! I hope you've enjoyed this special article and that I've given you something to explore. This is my last demos exposed article. In the New Year "Demos Exposed" will be brought to you by Guybrush of Northern Dragons. This will enable me to author a column about how to make demos. I'm excited by my new assignment, and I know that you will have a lot of fun with Guybrush as he continues to guide you in the world of Demos Exposed. :-) See you next year!

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