PIC:barclip2.ilbm

CL9:              IT IS OVER
PIC:barclip2.ilbm

CL4:           By Darkhawk/IRIS

CL1:It is sad, but it is true, the classic
Amiga scene is dead..  Sure, there are
still  groups and sceners present, but
these are present in very low numbers,
and  are idling far more than they are
creating.  The final spark of life, of
energy,  has  left  us, and now we are
patiently waiting for the lights to go
out, so that we can all go on with our
lives.

CL0:But  wait!   We  can let the lights go
out,  or  we can move into a new room,
where  we can meet up with others, and
create  a  new  light.   We  can still
attempt  to stay alive and whats more;
to  prosper.  It requires interest and
a spark of motivation to awaken in us,
because  as  it  is  now,  most  Amiga
sceners  do nothing, and only wait for
the end.  And let's face it, it IS the
end for the classic Amiga now, whether
we like it or not.  I certainly do not
like it, but facts are facts:

CL1:I write this in November.  It has been
3 months since the last Amiga release,
one demo and 2 intros at the Assembly,
where  they  held  merged competitions
for all platforms.  Ok, to be fair, Up
Rough   has   also  released  a  small
soundtool  after  that,  but  it  is a
fact;  virtually no Amiga releases get
out  anymore.   The  next  ones  might
first come at the Breakpoint party, if
nothing   else  happens  before  that.
Also,  to  maybe get 5 releases a year
is  not  enough  to  sustain  a scene,
these  are desperate attempts at doing
something,    while    the    internal
consistency   of   the   scene  is  in
shambles.  The releases are scattered,
temporary   lights   in  an  ocean  of
darkness,  and  the lights are getting
fewer and fewer.  This can only end in
one way, and it seems like people have
settled  in for this, accepting it, so
they can get on with their lives.

CL0:The  PPC  Amiga  scene  is  not in any
better    shape,   releasewise,   with
Encore's   Symphony   demo  being  the
latest   release.   Many  sceners  are
sleeping,  or  have  left quietly, and
now  we  are  in the final days of the
Amiga  scene  as we know it.  However,
we  should still have enough light and
life in us, to mount a last attempt at
survival.   It  will require a massive
change  in  the scene, a transition to
something  new.   But  most of all, it
will  require  a  will to work for the
scene   and  to  promote  the  scenish
ideals,   i.e.    to  get  non-sceners
interested.    Unfortunately  in  this
case  all too few sceners want to work
for  the  scene  anymore, because they
have  mentally  quit  the scene a long
time  ago, only being wandering husks,
attending  parties and doing something
now  and  then,  while  they  inwardly
think  that it is all over.  There are
a very few notable exceptions to this,
but  they can be counted on one hand I
think.

CL1:However,   this   is   it,  this  will
probably  be  the last issue of the EC
with  this code, the last EC with this
chart,  and  maybe  the last EC on any
68k  Amiga,  although we'll try to get
the  new  code  running  on 68k Amigas
too.   The  reason for this is simple:
It  is  over,  and we need to make you
all  aware  of  this,  so  that we can
start    something    new,   together.
Otherwise the Amiga scene will go down
the path of swapping.  Dead for years,
but  still  some act like it was still
alive.

CL0:We might not like it, but we have come
to  a  deadend  now.   We  might still
prefer  the 68k Amiga scene, like some
of  us prefer the OCS scene, but if we
don't change paths now, there won't be
any  scene  left  at  all.  Naturally,
hardliners  can  choose  to stay where
they  are, and produce for themselves,
and  not for any audience, or we could
turn  our  productions into .avi files
for  a  wider  audience  to enjoy, but
that  is  hardly  what we want either,
and  in  any  case  it would be rather
pathetic.   What  we want is a larger,
more  creative,  motivated scene, that
is  still  a continuation of the Amiga
scene.  Some have always been lured in
by  the  PC scene, when they felt that
the Amiga scene wasn't enough anymore.
This is still happening, I can see the
trend  when  I  flip  through  the  PC
diskmag  Pain; a lot of old and not so
old Amiga names making their impact in
the  PC scene, and hardly coming back.
In  fact,  the  Amiga  scene is on the
brink  of extinction now, and how many
are  left working solely on the Amiga?
Loonies,  MAWI,  Potion, Encore, IRIS,
TBL,  Creative  Minds, and some people
in  Scarab  to name the most known and
productive.    Most   of   these  will
probably  not do much more for the 68k
scene  though, you can read more about
that   in   the   'Hired  Demoscening'
article.  The conclusion:  It is over.

    PIC:budgie





CL7:IT IS BEGINNING...

CL1:It  is not surprising that we have few
real  options  left,  if  we  want  to
survive  as  a  scene.   It  is  quite
simple;  either  we focus on the 2 PPC
Amiga  systems  out  there  now, or we
die.   Amongst the normal Amiga users,
there  is  quite  a  war  going on, in
regards  to  what computer is the best
one,  the  AmigaOne  or  the  Pegasos.
Some  would say that the Pegasos isn't
a  real  Amiga,  but then I'd say that
the  AmigaOne  isn't either.  They are
continuations,  the  one in brandname,
the other in spirit, of the Amiga, but
naturally,  they  are  quite  far away
from  what  we  understand by 'Amiga'.
This  in  itself  is  a good reason to
stay  on  the  68k  scene, but that is
unfeasible, as that scene is dying for
real  now,  and  soon  there  won't be
anything  left.   So, we should accept
this,  and take a stand; do we want to
make  this  needed  switch, and try to
create  a  new scene, or do we want to
end it all?

CL0:It  will take motivation and time, you
will  have  to  make  priorities, just
like  you  did in older days, when the
scene  was  still  a  priority:   do I
spend  this  weekend  on coding?  Do I
buy this new computer?  Questions like
that  need  answering.  Please, decide
for  yourself  whether you have enough
motivation  for  contributing  to  the
Amiga  scene,  and follow through with
your conclusions.

CL1:What  we  need  now,  is  a  wholesake
emigration   of  the  surviving  Amiga
scene  members  to  the new system, no
more,  no  less.   We  are  too few to
maintain  a  scene  on the 68k Amiga's
anymore.   We feel this, we know this,
we  are sliding towards the end, where
we  cannot  support ourselves, or feel
enough joy in doing what we do.  If we
continue  down  this  path, it is over
for  us.   That is not neccesarily bad
however,  all  things die, and need to
die  too,  so  we  can get on with our
lives,  having  fond  memories  of the
time  spent  in  the weird scene.  But
there   is   another   way.    If  the
surviving  Amiga  scene  decides to go
PPC  for real now, buy and support the
new  Amigas,  aswell  as  produce  and
campaign   for,  scenish  releases  on
these computers, the remaining sceners
of the 68k scene can be the fathers of
a new Amiga scene.  We can attract new
and old Amiga users to our scene if we
want,  and if the Amigas sell well, we
can establish a new scene and carry on
from  there,  spreading our values and
design.    We   can   help   the  next
generation of Amigas to emerge, and we
can  nourish the scenish spirit inside
ourselves.

CL0:Shall  we do this?  Our future depends
on how you answer this question.  Each
and  every scener left on the Amiga is
important,   and   has  to  make  this
decision.  Choose well and embrace the
choice you make.



        PIC:op1



