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CL9:           Diskmag Review
PIC:barclip2.ilbm

CL4:          By Darkhawk/IRIS

CL1:Since the last issue of the Eurochart,
which  was  shortly  after  Breakpoint
2003,   there  have  been  3  diskmags
released.   It  is  now  up  to  me to
review these diskmags, as I usually do
here.

CL0:3  diskmags  besides the 2 releases of
the  Eurochart  during  3/4  of a year
would  usually  be  quite respectable,
but  the  pure numbers are misleading.
There  has  been  one  scenish diskmag
release  in  this time, the two others
are  diskmags stemming from the scene,
but  with  content that is not dealing
much  with  scene  matters as they are
now.   However,  each  of the releases
are  respectable  in  their  own  way,
though  I  will  not shy from critique
where  appropriate.  Let's have a look
at them then.

CL7:Jurassic Pack #12 by Scarab & Moods

CL1:Maybe  this  was  the last issue of JP
ever,  or  maybe  me writing this will
make  them  release  another  issue in
order  to  spite  me.   In any case, I
fear  the  future  for  this mag looks
dark,  just  as  the future for the EC
and the scene in general does not look
particularely bright.  The maineditors
work   more   on   PC,  supporting  PC
diskmags  while supposedly waiting for
the  coder  to fix something so that a
new  issue  can  get  out.   You can't
blame  everything on the coder though,
I  think there is a lack of motivation
editorwise  in  releasing  the JP too.
This  is  as  I  wrote understandable;
there  hardly is a scene left to write
about,  or  much  less receive support
from.   I do hope JP will come through
though,  and  keep its presence in the
Amiga  scene,  no  matter  where  that
scene  goes.  Without JP, we loose the
only  direct  competition  the EC has,
and  that  would  be  a shame for all.
Indeed,  who  is to say that we can go
on,   if   we  are  the  only  diskmag
released?  Everybody need stimulation,
opposition  and  enemies,  mhh?  So, I
sincerely  hope  Zito  and Ghandy will
pull    themselves    out   of   their
respective  chairs,  and  carry on, we
all  depend  on  eachother,  you know.
Oh,  and  don't focus too much on lack
of  support.   Support  is a luxury we
editors    do    not   have   anymore.
Hopefully  we  will  get it back again
when    the   scene   grows   bigger..
Hopefully  the  scene WILL grow bigger
again.   But until then, it is best to
accept that there will be virtually no
support,  to still keep up and to save
what  can  be  saved.  Hrmm, I digress
from my review now, sorry.

CL0:Getting  on  with  it, the code is the
same,  clearly  and easily the best of
the    diskmags   released   nowadays,
feature  and  stability wise.  It runs
on  pretty much anything and after the
last  bugs have been ironed out, works
like a charm.

CL1:As usual, there is a huge gallery (ok,
with  internetbandwidth  the way it is
now,  2mb  is  not  really that huge a
thing anymore.  Time flies), with very
good   graphics,   a  funky,  pleasing
module   and  high  quality  scans  of
sceners.  Zito's one group Moods might
be  overrepresented on these pictures,
and  there are no sensational pictures
of  Ghandy  puking  or  Chaos  getting
throttled   by  angrey  Amiga  sceners
wishing  him back or anything, so that
might  be  a  little  tame.  Still, an
impressive  gallery,  consisting of 12
pictures.   The music was done by DocD
of  Moods, and the panels are the same
as before done by Dan Dee of Scarab.

CL0:The  intro  graphics done by Darklight
of Veezya look simple but beautiful to
me,  but the panels inside the mag are
by   contrast  functionable,  but  not
outstanding.  What is outstanding, and
that in a major way, is the 15 minutes
long  main  magtune, done by X-ceed of
Darkage  and  Floppy.   This is one of
the  best magtunes, I have ever heard,
and I have pretty much heard them all.
It  is  damn impressive, beautiful and
engaging.   I didn't think anybody had
the  skill  and  will  to  do  such an
artistically      outstanding      and
aesthetically pleasing module anymore,
and  sadly  I was also right it seems,
as he did this tune in 1995, though it
has  never  been  released  until now.
Well   this  alone  makes  it  a  very
positive review, the module belongs in
the  player  of every Amigan out there
and  is  called  Dual Personality.  In
contrast,  the  bonusmodule by Oddjobb
(earlier known as Jester of Sanity) is
kinda' crappy, although I'm sad to say
so,  Jester  being one of my favourite
oldtime musicians.

CL1:Now  we  move  over  to  the articles.
There   are  40  of  those,  including
editorial  ones.  As usual, all center
around  the  scene  and  around  news,
investigation,             interviews,
partyreports and interviews.  As such,
they  are  informative  and  of a good
quality in general.  Grammar is ok and
the  articles  are scenically diverse.
For  those  who want more than scenish
newsrelated  articles, Gone manages to
come  up  with  several retrospective,
introspective  and  debating articles,
most  centering on the scene.  Some of
the  articles  also  clearly show that
they  were not written exclusively for
JP,  but  instead  intended for the PC
mags  Hugi & Pain, and then re-used or
co-used  in JP.  I still think this is
cheating,  and  demeaning  the  unique
nature  of  the Amiga scene, using the
same  work  for  both scenes.  Yes, at
first it might be used in order to get
a   closer   interaction  between  the
scenes,  which is good, but it is very
tempting just to use it in order to do
half  the  work  and  get  double  the
credit,  so  to speak, while it at the
same  time alienates Amiga sceners, if
it  is used too extensively.  Oh well,
this   is   my  opinion,  but  nothing

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serious,  the articles are mostly well
done  and  interesting  enough.   This
issue   might   be   a  little  small,
compared to other JP's, but it is also
at least in part a party issue, and it
is still of a fine quality, so this is
no  problem.  What might be a problem,
is  that this might have been the last
JP.  We shall see about that.

CL0:Summing  it  up,  this is a worthwhile
read,  the  main module is outstanding
and  the  graphics  range from good to
passable.  Like the EC, this is a kind
of  must-have  release for any scener,
and  the  only real scene diskmag left
apart from the EC.

CL1:There  are however other comers to the
title  of  scene diskmag, and we shall
look  at two others who have also been
released  in the meantime now.  Before
we  are done, we shall find that these
also show promise in different fields.

CL7:Saxonia #2 by Void

CL1:As   I  write  this,  the  release  of
Saxonia  3  should draw near, but I do
not  think it will get released before
we release the EC.  In any case, issue
2  was  released  the  4th  July  with
updated  code,  3 modules, clipart and
53  articles.  The panels are the same
as last time I reviewed the mag.

CL0:So, codewise, Saxonia is still simple,
but  functional.  However, the mag now
features   support   for  clipart  and
modulechanging,  which  might  be  the
biggest visible improvement.  It still
lacks   a   point  and  click  article
selection, the lack of it really makes
the  mag  suffer  in  regards  to user
friendliness and overall 'beauty'.

CL1:The  cliparts  by Da Freak are varied,
mostly  in  a  relaxed style, and they
fit  in  well  enough.  The panels are
simple,  but  not  ugly.   That's  all
there is to it, speaking of graphics.

CL0:The mag features 3 modules, the first,
entitled  Purple  Squirrel is also the
best module by far.  I am not too sure
about  who  made  it  though,  as  the
credits  does  not  list  a modulename
together  with  the  musicians,  so my
guess   is   that   it   was  made  by
Powerslave  who  is  listed  first, it
being the first module.  The other two
modules  are  too  monotonous and cold
for my taste.

CL1:But  now  over to the articles.  There
are   indeed  a  lot,  even  when  you
discount the editorial ones.  They are
also quite varied.  However, depending
on  whether  or  not  I  wanted  to be
diplomatic,  I  could  either say that
the  editorial  of Saxonia brilliantly
demonstrates   that  the  concerns  of
Rumrunner  spawn different fields, and
that this is not just a scene mag, but
a general mag, where everything can be
discussed   with   and  told  to,  the
reader.   Or  I could write that it is
boring,  amateurish  and  besides  the
point  to  waste words on how military
service   sucks,   aswell  as  calling
government     officials     dickheads
unworthy   of  life.   This  is  quite
childish  and  has  no  place  in  any
serious  publication,  much less in an
editorial.   Looking beyond that, this
issue   of   Saxonia  is  indeed  much
improved  in  all aspects, compared to
the  1st  issue.  A respectable amount
of  guest writers appear (Zerox, Zito,
Magic,   Powerslave,   Kempy,  Ghandy,
Optimus,  Bregade11  and  myself), and
Rumrunner   himself  deals  with  many
topics,  most  scenerelated,  himself.
Yes,  indeed, this is not a bad second
issue   articlewise,  looking  at  the
current  standards of the scene.  Most
articles   are   still  written  in  a
relaxed,  easygoing manner, that might
not  appeal to more 'serious' sceners,
and  the  various articles are more or
less  dumped  down,  with  not much to
bind them together in regard to topic.
There  are  also  more speculating and
olden   times  focused  articles  than
there are investigative and newsminded
articles,  but whether that is good or
bad is up to personal tastes.

CL0:As  for the grammar in this mag, it is
not  too  bad,  an  improvement on the
first  issue.   If  I had to remark on
something  particularely  negative  in
that   regard,   it   would   be   the
grammatically  ugly  and messy (though
otherwise     brilliant,    naturally)
article  by Darkhawk which is included
in the mag.  He should really take his
time  and  actually LOOK at what he is
writing,  before  rushing his articles
off   via   email,  because  he  feels
arrogantly  above such trivial matters
as  writing  a  grammatically pleasing
article.   And  his  (mis)use  of  the
comma!?   Aargh,  this  is ugly beyond
belief,  I expected better of him.  Oh
well,  these things happen, but I hope
he  has  red  ears  now,  and  will do
better  in  the  future  (I will try..
Sorry - DH).

CL1:Concluding  this  review,  I  must say
that  Saxonia is still a small mag, in
regards  to  the  goals of the editor.
Although he has managed to collect and
write   53   articles,  they  are  not
related  too much, there is no overall
theme, and the presentation due to the
magengine  is poor.  Modulewise, it is
also somewhat poor this time.  Beneath
that however, it is hard to ignore the
fact that Rumrunner has managed to put
together   a   respectable  amount  of
articles,  many  quite  fresh and with
different perspectives than usual.  It
is  worth  your  time  to read through
these  articles.   Now, after the soon
to come release of Saxonia 3, it might
be  an  idea  for Rumrunner to set his
goals  a bit higher, it seems he might
be able to pull it off.  My suggestion
would  be to improve upon the code and
especially   upon   the  graphics  and
interface.   The  articles do not need
much improvement; they are mostly able
to stand on their own now.

CL7:Cows and Snakefights #5 by Nukleus

CL1:This   is  a  somewhat  old,  and  not
particularely  well-known mag.  I have
never  reviewed it before, as the last
issue  was released in 2000 (the first
one  was  released  in 1999), and back
then  people  kinda' ignored this mag,
focusing   on   the  bigger  scenemags
instead.   I  have been guilty of this
too,  I  admit.   The  release of this
issue  came  as  a  bit of a surprise,
though  it was announced a month or so
before, there even was promotion intro
for  it,  released  at  fYANICA 10.  I
thought  the  mag  was  dead,  and was
intrigued at seeing it released.  What
I  remember  of  this  mag  were awful
graphics,   simple   code,  and  awful
grammar.   Yes, sorry to be blunt, but
that   was  how  the  previous  issues
seemed  to  me.  To be fair, the staff
did manage to include some interesting
articles   now  and  then,  some  with
interesting twists.

CL0:With   this  issue,  I  will  be  more
thorough  in  my reviewing, since I've
never  reviewed it before.  First off,
codewise  the  mag is simple but fully
functional.   There  is  a  screenmode
selector  popping up at the start, and
the  mag multitasks.  Apart from that,
not  much  is happening code-wise.  It
can    show    pictures,   fonts   and
animations,  and  it  can  play music.
However,  it works well enough.  There
is  a  bar  in  the  left  side of the
screen  displaying  all  the articles.
Only  the first 9 letters of the names
can  be  read  though,  which is a bit
confusing.   From that bar, you select
articles,  although  you  can also use
the arrowbuttons.

CL1:The  music is old, or sounds old and I
guess there are some of the (in)famous
ST  samples  in  them.  However, being
the old git that I am, I actually like
this.   Overall  the modules are a bit
massive   and  not  really  background
music.   This is no big deal, as it is
rather   well   made,   in  a  simple,
oldsk00l  sort  of  way,  which I find
very  attractive  myself.  I am infact
impressed   with  3  of  the  modules,
Blindlight   by  DJExtreme,  H2so4  by
Gunrider,  and  especially CnS by dIS.
It  has  not  been often in the last 5
years,  if at all, that I have found 3
good  modules  inside a diskmag.  They
are  oldskoolish,  and will not be for
the  taste  of  everybody.   I  myself
would   like   to   congratulate   the
musicians  for this though, especially
Gunrider  and  dIS.   All in all there
are  6  modules (although 7 are listed
in   the   credits),   and   there  is
something  very  pleasing  in the fact
that  you  can  make  the diskmag play
them  one after another automatically,
which is seldom seen.

CL0:However,  I  had  a hard time figuring
out  HOW this was achieved through the
controls  (I  still don't get it), and
it  also  took  me some time to locate
the  controls  for  the  music  on the
mainscreen, which brings us right over
to  the  graphics.  I know Browalia is
an oldskool pixelartist, and that does
count    for    something,   but   the
intropictures    are    still    quite
primitive  and  ehrm..   Ugly  infact.
More  than  that,  the mainscreen is a
confusing  mess,  controlwise.   It is
hard  to know where to click with your
mouse,  and  the  DOWN button seems to
have  been  left out altogether on the
screen,  while  the  DOWN  buttons  is
there.   Weird!   However, the rain in
the  background,  while  simple,  does
lift  up the overall impression of the
graphics, and is a nice touch.
 
CL1:Browalia  of  Nukleus  has  been the
maineditor  of  the mag for all of the
issues,  and  this  is true now.  Text
wise,   CnS  issue  5  can  muster  24
articles,  counting editorial articles
too.   This  is  usually  rather poor,
quantity  wise,  but  I am not so sure
that  even  the  EC  has a much higher
number than that this time, so I guess
I  have  to  say  that  the  number of
articles  is  befitting of our current
scene.

CL0:Some  of  the  articles  are  actually
rather  good,  offering an interesting
read,  though  the english is somewhat
poor  in  most  of them.  Still, it is
better than in previous issues, and it
is  usually  easy enough to get to the
meaning  of  the text.  The content is
mainly  about  parties  and interviews
with  sceners.  There are a lot of old
and  reused  party reports in the mag,
which   is   not   very   interesting.
However,   there  is  also  a  general
article  about  parties  from 1993 and
until  now.   While  the writing style
takes some time getting used to, it is
rather  enjoyable reading.  Of note is
also  the interview that has been done
with Celebrandil of Phenomena.  Again,
this  might be me being nostalgic, but
it    was    very   entartaining   and
interesting reading about his views on
the scene, his small anecdotes, aswell
as getting an insight into his current
life.   Indeed, as interviews go, this
one was something of a scoop, I'd say.
The  other interviews are also worth a
read.

CL1:There  is  a guestwriter in this issue
of  CnS  too,  and  that is none other
than  the  maineditor of JP, Zito, who
sounds  even  more  defeatistic than I
feel,  in  an  article where he states
that  nobody  cares  about diskmags or
editors  anymore,  and that basically,
everything   is   over  for  diskmags.
Well, that certainly doesn't bode well
for  JP  issue  13  one might say, but
then  again,  13  is an unlucky number
they say.

CL0:To  sum  it up, there are not too many
articles,   some   are  reused,  while
others are quite interesting and worth
a  read.   This  is  quite  normal  of
course.

CL1:Overall,  Cows  and  Snakefights  is a
mixed  bag,  but  still  manages to be
interesting   enough   to   warrant  a
download  and  some  positive remarks.
Kudos to Nukleus for releasing it, and
I hope this issue wasn't the last!



           PIC:shade1

