o.0 .---------------------------------------------------`---'------. .___. | >> S · E · C · R · E · T · L · Y · ! << | |: .| ____|____ _________ ________ _____________________________ _____| |. :| ._\ ____/__\· ____/.\ .___/.\____ ·/· ____/ . . /· |__\· \ _|___| |: \_____ ·// ___/ :|: |/ :|: _/ _// ___/ :|_|. :|_// l ·\_ \/ ·/| |____ _/_____ .|____ .|___\ .\____ .| |: .|____ /\_ _/:| l_____j l_____j l____jnOp!\___/ l_____j |___| l_____j |_____|__| | | (___) `---------------[ magic was just the beginning ]--------------' M E K K A S Y M P O S I U M 2 0 0 2 I N V I T A T I O N T E X T v e r s i o n [ 03 - mar - 2002 ] .-----------------^[secretly!]^------------------. ¦ // ¦ ¦ / · .__ __j ___ __ _ ¦ ___ _ _ ¦ _ l_ | ) (__j (__/_ _X__ : _ ¦ _ _ ___ )_)\ _ ¦ ¦ _ /(_( \_\/_ _ : _ <--------------------------------------> _ : _ _\/_/ Y : : Y¬ ! ¦ o1. Welcome .......................... ¦ ! : ¦ o2. General Info about MS2002 ........ : : · ¦ Features ......................... ¦ · . ¦ o3. Travel Info ...................... ¦ . ¦ Travel Info - Bus/Fight Trips .... ¦ ¦ o4. Rulez ................ ........... ¦ ¦ o5. TimeTable ........................ ¦ ¦ o6. Organizers - Contact Info ........ ¦ ¦ o7. Competitions ........ ............ ¦ ¦ Atari Platform Compos ............ ¦ ¦ Amiga Platform Compos ............ ¦ ¦ C64 Platform Compos .............. ¦ ¦ IBM/PC Platform Compos ........... ¦ ¦ o8. Music Compos ..................... ¦ ¦ o9. Graphic Compos ................... ¦ ¦ 1o. Miscellaneous Compos ............. / ¦ ¦ _ _ // ¦ `---------------------^\Y/^----------^[mvøs]^----' _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 1. W e l c o m e :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ - -' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ The mekka & symposium is a demo-scene party that is organized annually at Easter. Roughly 1400 young Multimedia artists gather here for four days in order to meet similarly-minded people, to exchange ideas and to participate in the competitions, in which individuals and groups show off their talents in a certain form of electronic art called Demos. ms2002 is the eighth event in a traditional party series that started back in 1995, when 300 mostly German visitors attended the BlackBox Symposium. For this year's party, we expect 1400 visitors from all over Europe, and beyond -- "sceners" come to celebrate with us from countries as remote as Estonia, Israel and the USA! This is no LAN or gaming party. People playing Qu*ke or Half-Life on our events would be considered non-creative by our "serious" visitors, and as a matter of fact, the participation of gamers on our parties has always been exceptionally low, which makes the MS one of the last big enjoyable events for real sceners. Nevertheless, everybody is invited to join, provided they respect the underlying principles of this scene -- in other words: if you want to play games, look out for alternative parties, for example our successful Planet Insomnia party series! [www.planet-insomnia.de] _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 2. G e n e r a l I n f o a b o u t M S 2 0 0 2 :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ The party place is located in Fallingbostel. Situated between Hamburg and Hannover, this is the only town in Northern Germany that offers a hall suitable for both the expected amount of visitors and for our budget. At this place, the MS parties have been taking place since 1997, so we know its infrastructure and limits quite well. The party starts on Good Friday (March 29, 2002) at 12:00 CET and ends on Easter Monday (April 1, 2002) at 12:00 CET. The address of the party place is: Heidmarkhalle An der Heidmarkhalle 1 D-29683 Fallingbostel GERMANY The entrance fee amounts to 40 Euro. We don't accept currencies other than Euro. We don't have single-day visitor tickets. Mat/Ozone gets in for free. Girls do not get in for free, sorry. There is no table reservation, and no possibility of paying in advance. If you want to have a better opportunity to choose your seats, we suggest that you arrive early. Money which is left is spent on the repair of damages to the hall and on competition prizes (in this very order, so please behave). If you bring your own computer equipment (you don't pay extra for this, of course), please bring your own power connectors. We might have some in stock for sale, but you better don't rely on this. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ F e a t u r e s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ Lots of competitions for Atari, Amiga, PC and C64 - and some platform-independent ones such as a Graphics competition and various music competitions. Atari support has been added in this version of mekka & symposium for the first time since 1996! Competitions presented on a big screen (8 x 6 sqm, NEC XT5000 projector with 5000 ANSI lumens), including powerful sound equipment - yes, the sound will be loud if you are sitting in the first table row. No, we will not turn the volume down. Choose your seat at the front side of the hall if you want loud sound (note that you don't need your own stereo to make even more noise), or at the remote side of the hall if you are in need of a quiet place (note that some guy next to you will be pissed if you turn up your own stereo too much). Also, some wax to put into your ears when you want to sleep will really come in handy. Place for about 1400 visitors plus equipment; enough power for everyone - but: please do not bring equipment you don't really need. This has two advantages: You can't lose it, and it can't bring the power down (see here for more on the subject of electricity) A warm sleeping hall - Just like on ms2000 and ms2001, comfortably small and warm. Of course you can sleep in the main hall as well. If you want to, you can also stay at the local youth hostel, which is located about half a kilometer from the party place (note that you need a membership!): Jugendherberge Fallingbostel DJH Landesverband Hannover e.V. Liethweg 1 29683 Fallingbostel Germany Phone: +49 5162 2274 If you really can afford it: A listing of hotels is available on the Fallingbostel homepage. [www.fallingbostel.de] A party network will be available in a somewhat rudimentary fashion. We have a complete GBit backbone with 100MBit TP cabling to all the tables, but we're lacking the switches or hubs for the tables themselves. If you want to be on the safe side, bring your own hub or switch (100MBit TP uplink at the tables). Food supply - there's a city nearby, with shops and bars; and we have inexpensive drinks and snacks available on the party 24 hours a day. Of course you may and should also bring your own food and drinks, as it will be less expensive this way. A nice snack-bar providing fries, hamburgers etc. will be situated next to the main hall, operating during daytime. Clean toilets. Yes, the Heidmarkhalle has reconstructed part of the building, and integrated a larger number of new, fresh toilets. Let's keep'em like this! :-) Several music live acts, about which we won't tell more about at this point. No, we won't have Welle:Erdball another time... Traditional entertainment provided by Steeler, cool party t-shirts ... and the unique Mekka & Symposium party feeling! _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 3. T r a v e l I n f o r m a t i o n :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ by Car :. ========== If you intend to come by car, you can reach Fallingbostel via highway A7. The correct exit is announced as "Fallingbostel", number 47. We have a map on our home page which guides you from the highway exit to the party place. Enough parking space is available directly in front of the hall, without additional fees. by Plane :. ============ As Fallingbostel is situated between Hamburg (in the north) and Hannover (in the south), you have the choice between those two airports. Fallingbostel lies more or less directly between those two cities, so it doesn't really matter where you arrive. In the following, I'll describe how to get from these airports to the party place. From Hannover airport :. ========================= There's a "S-Bahn" line S5 that connects the airport with the central train station ("Hannover Hbf"). The S5 departs every 30 minutes, costs about 3 Euro and takes 12 minutes to the train station. An alternative is taking a Taxi to the central station, which costs about 20 Euro and takes about 20 minutes. At Hannover Hbf, there's a train going directly to Fallingbostel, which costs about 12 Euro. You might want to check out exact time schedules at the Deutsche Bahn TravelService [reiseauskunft.bahn.de]: Enter "From" = "Hannover Hbf" and "To" = "Fallingbostel". More info available from the Hannover airport page. [www.hannover-airport.de/english/start.htm] From Hamburg airport :. ======================== This is a little bit more complicated. Use the bus line 110 ("Airport Express") to the "S-Bahn" station "Ohlsdorf". In the bus, pay for a ride to "Hamburg-Harburg" (about 3 Euro). At Ohlsdorf, use the train S1 direction "Wedel", and get out at "Hauptbahnhof" (central station). There, change for the train S3 direction "Neugraben" or "Harburg", and get out at "Harburg" (not "Harburg Rathaus", that's too late). Now, leave the "S-Bahn" area and go to the "Deutsche Bahn" area, where the big trains depart. From there, there's a train going to Fallingbostel, costing about 12 Euro, but during the ride, you have to change trains at Soltau. You might want to check out exact time schedules and details for these trains at the Deutsche Bahn TravelService: [reiseauskunft.bahn.de] Enter "From" = "Hamburg-Harburg", "To" = "Fallingbostel"). More info avail- able at the Hamburg airport page. [www.ham.airport.de/english/index/index_f.htm] by Train :. ============ When coming by train, you have to use some major train to either Hamburg or Hannover (whichever is nearer to you), and change for Fallingbostel there. In Hamburg, you can arrive at three possible locations: "Hamburg-Harburg" (the train to Fallingbostel goes from there), "Hamburg Hauptbahnhof" (central station, use the S3 as described above to get to Harburg), or "Hamburg-Altona" (also use the S3 as described above to get to Harburg). ...and once you're in Fallingbostel :. ======================================= Once you've arrived in Fallingbostel, you can make use of the free 24h bus shuttle service we will set up just like last year. But you must contact us in advance [mailto:rawstyle@ms.demo.org], so that we will really pick you up (please include number of people and expected time of arrival). If you're coming without equipment, you can also take the walk (roughly half an hour); watch out for the "Bahnhof" / "Railroad Station" in the center of our map. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ T r a v e l I n f o - B u s / F l i g h t T r i p s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ A very comfortable way of getting to the party place is to use one of the various bus trips organized by sceners from all around Europe. Not only is this way of travelling safer than driving back on your own without having slept for days, you'll also be in the right party mood when arriving in Fallingbostel :-) Thank you guys for organizing these group trips! Please notify us if your bus trip is missing in this list [mailto:rawstyle@ms.demo.org] From.....: Denmark Organizer: Depth - webmaster@depth.org More Info: http://www.depth.org/symbus/ From.....: Estonia Organizer: Kiste - kiste@scene.ee More Info: http://www.scene.ee/mekka/ From.....: Finland (flight trip) Organizer: MFX - linja@welho.com More Info: http://www.themfx.cjb.net/ From.....: Poland Organizer: Payda - payda@scene.pl More Info: http://www.mekka.vdb.pl/ From.....: Sweden Organizer: Rebels - gemini@booze.de More Info: http://buss.dhs.org/ From.....: Switzerland Organizer: Unlock - unlock@profzone.ch More Info: http://bustrip.vantage.ch/ From.....: Hungary Organizer: Tomcat - corporal@freemail.hu More Info: http://freax.hu/mekka/ _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 4. R u l e z :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ We are not responsible for stolen or damaged computer equipment or other items you bring with you. We aren't responsible for personal injuries either. Take care of yourself, your friends and your luggage. We've never had much trouble with theft on our parties, but it might be better to think twice about taking a certain valuable thing with you onto the party. The use of alcohol is explicitly forbidden. After facing severe damages and personal attacks on previous parties due to heavily drunken individuals, we chose to put up this rule from 1998 on. Drunken guys won't be let inside, disturbing guys will be put outside. Don't consume Vodka in front of the stage. Don't vomit onto the floor. We will throw out Gamers in order to make more space available for arriving sceners. Don't play games. We strongly advise you to follow this rule, for your own safety. In case we discover that you are destroying things, either intellectual property (hacking the network system), or physically damaging the building or people, you can be sure that we will take very special care of you. This year we will again supply you with enough electric power. To make this event as pleasurable as last year, please don't bring stuff like: toasters, fridges, any kitchen equipment, heaters or cheap extension sockets with you. These things are responsible for power failures, because they trigger the ground fault protection, which is required by law and is there for your own safety. So please leave those kind of things at home. We won't refund half-written CD-Rs after a power failure. Extension sockets that are not conforming to the VDE norms (which essencially means defect ones and those without earth contact) will be confiscated and destroyed. Please respect German law. Illegal actions, especially regarding software piracy, can not be approved of. Dutch visitors should be aware of the fact that weed consumption is illegal over here. Last but not least, have fun! And if you have ideas of what might be fun on the party, don't hesitate to contact us, even on the party. You're part of the party. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 5. T i m e T a b l e :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ The MS2002 Time Table... ... is not yet available. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 6. O r g a n i z e r s / C o n t a c t I n f o :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ Main Organization :. ===================== Handle..: Hardball/Amable Contact.: hardball@ms.demo.org Function: General Organizing Handle..: Chaotic/Farbrausch^Padua Contact.: chaotic@ms.demo.org Function: Staff, Beam, Misc Handle..: Raw Style/Farbrausch^Lego Contact.: rawstyle@ms.demo.org Function: WWW, Scene PR, Compos Handle..: Gandalf/Phantasm Contact.: gandalf@ms.demo.org Function: Press, Sponsors, Power Handle..: Decca/Lego Contact.: decca@ms.demo.org Function: Voting, Misc Handle..: Acryd/Farbrausch Contact.: acryd@ms.demo.org Function: Power, Network More Organization :. ===================== Handle..: Steeler/Phantasm Contact.: steeler@ms.demo.org Function: Entertainment, Fun Compos Handle..: Sierra/Destiny Contact.: sierra@ms.demo.org Function: Music Competitions Handle..: Gizmo/Farbrausch^Icebird Contact.: gizmo@ms.demo.org Function: Graphics Competitions Handle..: Ryg/Farbrausch Contact.: ryg@ms.demo.org Function: IBM PC Competitions Handle..: Hoogo/Padua Contact.: hoogo@ms.demo.org Function: C-64 Competitions Handle..: Gott/Elitegroup Contact.: gott@ms.demo.org Function: Console Competition Handle..: Raw Style/Farbrausch^Lego Contact.: rawstyle@ms.demo.org Function: Amiga Competitions Handle..: MC Laser/TSCC Contact.: lotekstyle@lotekstyle.de Function: Atari Competitions Handle..: Gandalf/Phantasm Contact.: gandalf@ms.demo.org Function: Wild Competition _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 7. C o m p e t i t i o n s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ Competitions are the core feature of any decent scene party. They are the ultimate medium to present one's work to a large audience and compare one's creativity directly to that of others. Consequently, in competitions on major parties, new milestones are set for demo technology because people keep constantly improving their skills in their quest for fame in the scene. Each year again it's hard to determine which competitions to hold. You hold too many, people get bored (and the time table gets overflowed) -- you hold too few or make the rules too restrictive, some people get upset because they feel that they can't unfold their whole creativity. Also, there has always been the aspect of tradition. Many people (including us, the organizers) have been in the scene business for over ten years; sometimes it's not easy to make major changes to rules which had been established for a long time. We hope that this year's selection of competitions again suits your taste. If not, you may of course contact the coordinator of the respective competition by mail for further discussion. Some fun competitions will be organized by Steeler; if you have an idea about something funny, feel free to contact him! Some more notes :. =================== Everyone intending to participate in one of our competitions has to be present at the party. We don't accept contributions via mail. The sole exception to this rule are the Demo competitions; here we welcome external entries as well. Contact Raw Style for further information. [mailto:rawstyle@ms.demo.org] All entries will be spread during and after the party, without exception. For demos running on exotic hardware, we'll try to provide you with DivX recordings. Please try to keep your entries short and interesting. This applies especially to the Demo competitions, where you should be prepared for multi-hour shows! Thus, by reducing your Demos to the interesting core, you might as well help keeping the show interesting. It is not possible for an individual to take part with two entries in one competiton. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ A t a r i - P l a t f o r m C o m p o s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ For the first time since 1996, we try to hold some Atari competitions, in order to support a sub-scene that has been neglected during the last couple of years by almost every scene party. By adding these competitions, we hope to raise the general awareness for the Atari and its importance in the pioneering days of the scene. Demo Competition :. ==================== A unified competition for both the classic Atari ST and the Falcon. - Falcon 030, Maximum size is 8 MB. If you use any extensions and add-ons you have to supply the machine for presentation. - ST: Maximum size is 2DD disks. Config: 8MHz, 1MB RAM. 96K Intro Competition :. ========================= - Maximum size is 98304 bytes (ST or Falcon). 4K Intro Competition :. ======================== - Maximum size is 4096 bytes (ST or Falcon). The Atari competition rules are maintained by MC Laser / TSCC, please mail him for further information or discussion. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ A m i g a P l a t f o r m C o m p o s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ The competition machine, kindly provided by Infinity / Creative Minds, is equipped as follows: - A4000, MC68060 @50MHz - PPC 604e @233MHz - 128MB RAM - Cybervision PPC - WarpOS & PowerUP Assigns and installation scripts are forbidden (this means that unpacking the archive and running one program is all that is necessary to start the demo). Custom libraries may be used, but not installed outside of the contribution directory. Demo Competition :. ==================== - Maximum archive size is 10 MB. - Please hand in the latest versions of any libraries you think are needed together with your contribution. 64K Intro Competition :. ========================= - The intro is a single executable file, with a maximum size of 65536 bytes. - The use of libraries not delivered with OS3.5 and PPC OS's is not allowed. 4K Intro Competition :. ======================== - The intro is a single executable file, with a maximum size of 4096 bytes. - Booting AmigaOS without startup-sequence, running SetPatch and then simply running the 4K executable from a standard PAL screen must be everything that's necessary to start the intro. - Only 68K entries are allowed. The Amiga competition rules are maintained by Raw Style, please mail him for further information or discussion. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ C 6 4 P l a t f o r m C o m p o s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ You may choose between a C64 with a new or with an old SID-chip with or without a cartdridge. It's connected to a 1541-II floppy drive. All releases must be handed in on 5.25" disks. As of this year, any entry that participates in a competiton will be released, -- no exceptions. Please hand in your entries as early as possible. This helps us to better plan and stick to our timetable, since some entries often need more time and care than expected. This will ensure your entry to be shown properly. Demo Competition :. ==================== - Maximum size is a standard 5.25" DD disk (both sides). - The demos may require user (keyboard/joystick) interaction. 4K Intro Competition :. ======================== - Maximum size is 4096 ($1000) bytes (=16.12 blocks). - Every 4k entry should preferably be executable using the RUN command. If you have a long pre-calculation time, please try to also include a (bigger) version without any precalculation delay. C-64 Graphics Competition :. ============================= All formats/modes are allowed. The entry must be handed in as an executable file or as Koala/Amica. Any sounds or extra info-screens included in the file will not be shown/played. It would be nice of you to forget about additional music or effects and give us something serious for the show. The inclusion of working stages of your picture is appreciated and will be mentioned during the competition. SID Music Competition :. ========================= All formats allowed. The entry must be an executable file. The C-64 screen will not be shown during the competition. We will play up to 3:30 minutes of each tune. You may choose between a C-64 with a new or with an old SID-chip. About 10 to 15 songs will be selected by a Jury to be played for the audience. All entries will be made available for listening and voting via the network and disks, which will be available at the info-counter. The C-64 competition rules are maintained by Anonym and Hoogo, please mail them for further information or discussion. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ I B M / P C P l a t f o r m C o m p o s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ The competition machine is equipped as follows: - Pentium IV 1.6 GHz - 256MB RAM - Quadro2 EX 32MB - Soundblaster Live! 512 Value - Windows98SE with lastest Detonator Drivers und latest DirectX (probably DX8.1) - Linux 2.4.x with XFree86 4.1.x and latest NVidia Drivers and SDL. Be sure to link any other libs either statically into your executable or supply a dynamic lib with your demo. Please have sources of all required libs and your demo with you, so we can recompile everything on the compo PC, if somethings fails. - MS-DOS demos are likely to fail, because of modern ages hardware. Demo Competition :. ==================== - Maximum file size of all files (zipped): 10MB. Intro 64K :. ============= - Maximum file size of all files: 65536 bytes. Intro 4K :. ============ - Maximum file size of all files: 4096 bytes. Notes to Win Coders: No exotic libraries will be installed. The given configuration is a fresh installed Win98SE with latest Microsoft Updates, drivers etc. If you need special libraries, provide them yourself, but keep in mind, that they will count into the file size limit. Notes to DOS Coders: All productions will be started under Windows! Please consider making a native Win32 Demo, as this is more portable today, and you benefit from enhanced graphics and sound compatibility. If your demo does not run under Win98 you're out of luck. Notes to Linux Coders: You can assume a fairly new Linux distribution, with custom made kernel, X and important libs. XFree 4.x with accelerated OpenGL drivers will be available. If you plan to make a Linux demo, please contact the competition organizer in advance, and tell him about your requirements. For any complaints, comments or whatever contact the competition organizer: ryg@ms.demo.org. Some comments on this year's rules :. ====================================== There have been quite some questions concerning those, so we decided to list the reasons for our decisions as well as the opinions that stand behind them. First off, the size limit, which is 10MB (zipped) this year. This is 2MB more than last year, since we understand that with hardware that can render insane amounts of polygons per second and MP3 soundtracks, demos will get large if you want to use that potential. However, 10MB is really quite much, and the demoscene has always been about achieving something within more-or-less tight limits. If your demo is too big, you might either try something that compresses better than ZIP (like the excellent URARFileLib by UniquE of Vantage) or make your demo somewhat shorter, which will both decrease the size of MP3 soundtracks and required content, AND make the demo competition more interesting to watch -- remember, we usually have quite some amount of releases, and it surely is in no one's interest if the watchers fall asleep during your demo :) Then, about the graphics card: We decided to stuff a GeForce2GTS into the compo machine, which is still a bit above the average scener's graphics hardware. Some people have asked why we don't use a GeForce3 instead - which has two primary reasons: First, GF3 is not really widespread hardware, and we think that releasing demos in a competition which nearly no-one can watch on his own PC is nonsense. Second, both Vertex and Pixel Shaders (which are the primary new features of the GeForce 3) can either be approximated or emulated to a significant degree by current hardware. Vertex Shaders can be software emulated, which, though not nearly as fast as Hardware TnL, still offers quite decent performance; Pixel Shaders actually don't really exist on GF3, instead they are mapped to register combiner states, which you can modify using OpenGL extensions on *any* NVidia card from TNT1 up, and with nearly all of the interesting features offered by Pixel Shaders (like Per-Pixel Lighting) accessible from Geforce 1 and up. Last point, the machine will have 256 megabytes of RAM; not much to say on this one, it should be enough for any current demo if you take care of your memory usage. If either of those limitations seem to harsh to you, please consider putting your demo into the Wild competition instead, which will have neither of those limits. You can execute the Demo on any hardware configuration you like, which we'll try to do in realtime for realtime productions. This year, we'll note what type of Wild production it is (i.e. whether it's an Animation, Realtime, etc.) and on what Hardware it's running on on the Bigscreen. Please don't whine about your production having no chance against rendered Animations, past years have shown that our voters do care whether something is realtime or not and running on limited hardware or not and take that into account (look at Hitmen's "Bitte 8 Bit", for example). I hope this clears up the reasons for our decisions. - ryg/farbrausch, January 2002, for the whole MS organizing team. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 8. M u s i c - C o m p o s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ We have three music competitions (in addition to the C-64 SID music competition). MP3 / OGG Music Competition :. =============================== - Submit your tracks in either of these formats: - MP3 128kbit/s or higher - OGG 128kbit/s or higher - Audio CD - Maximum playing time 3:30 - Only one entry per competitor allowed In this competition, about 10 to 15 songs will be selected by a Jury to be played for the audience. Nevertheless, all entries will be made available for listening and voting via the network! Tracked Music Competition :. ============================= - MT2, IT, XM, S3M, DBM and MOD formats allowed - No compressed files - Maximum file size: 1024 KB - Maximum playing time 3:30 - Only one entry per competitor allowed In this competition, about 10 to 15 songs will be selected by a Jury to be played for the audience. Nevertheless, all entries will be made available for listening and voting via the network! 15 Seconds Music Competition (Intro/Jingle Competition) :. =========================================================== - MP3, OGG, MT2, IT, XM, S3M, DBM and MOD formats allowed - Maximum playing time: 15 seconds! - Only one entry per competitor allowed In this competition, we intend not to do a preselection. Responsible organizer for the music competitions is Sierra. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 9. G r a p h i c - C o m p o s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ We have two graphics competitions (in addition to the C-64 graphics competition). The following rules apply to both of them: - Maximum resolution is 800x600 in 24 Bits TrueColor. - The entries must be handed in in IFF, PNG or TGA format. - A quality preselection will be done. All selected entries will be shown at least twice, at different daytimes. The inclusion of several working stages of your picture is absolutely required! Entries without working stages have a zero percent chance of being shown and will be disqualified immediately. The working stages will not be spread. There are no restrictions whatsoever as to the tools being used. You can pixel, scan, raytrace -- whatever you want, as long as you provide working stages. You must supply a listing of the tools and software you've used to create the picture! These data will be shown on the big screen directly before your entry. Freestyle Graphics Competition :. ================================= This is an unrestricted graphics competition where you can hand in everything you like -- as long as you're following the rules stated above, of course. "Robots vs. Knights" Graphics Competition :. ============================================= Entries for this competition should deal with the theme that is obvious from the title: "Robots vs. Knights" -- it's your choice how to interpret it! Use the standard graphics competition if you don't want to be restricted in your creativity. Responsible organizer for the graphics competitions is Gizmo. _ _ __ ___ __ _))_ ::. - - -- --- /\_\ - /____\ - .: - - -----------------------\/_/--------^\ //^---------<<<<··---. \(Oo)/ :: \/ | /\../===+ 1o. M i s c C o m p e t i t i o n s :. | _/__\/__\_ __ | \/!!\/!!\/ .--··>>>>-----^\\ /^------------/\_\----------------^[mvøs]^----' \__/\__/ ---' \/ \/_/ --- -- - - ¯¯¯ ¯¯ ¯ ¯ 32K Game Competition - (for Atari, Amiga, PC and C-64) :. ========================================================== - Size of all files: 32K - Competition machines are the same as in the platform-specific competitions - The game will be played on the bigscreen by the coder (not live though, this competition will be pre-recorded some hours before the show). - If you are planning networked games, contact us in advance. - We will do a quality preselection on this competition. - For PC only: Game must be playable with keyboard and/or mouse only. However if you have support for some special device (joystick or whatever) be sure to bring it along. Console Competition :. ======================= And another time we offer you the chance to take part with your crazy console demos in the MS console competition. You can participate with any game console you like, for example Atari 2600, Megadrive, SNES, Vectrex, Game Boy (Standard, Colour or Advanced), PlayStation (One or PS2), N64, Dreamcast, XBox or Gamecube. Of course you are allowed to bring every other console you like, but please make sure that you're following these rules: There is no size limit; get the full POWER out of your machine and kick some ass. You must deliver your demo already recorded on video tape, in PAL VHS or S-VHS. And bring your game console with you so that you can prove that the video tape is not faked! (otherwise you will be disqualified!). If you have problems recording your demo, please get in contact with us before the party (Thank you.). Else we can't guarantee that we are able to show your crazy console demo at the MS. If you could provide a DivX version of your entry in addition, you would save us some work, thank you. - Of course you must be present at the party. - Lame demos will be disqualified :)) If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact Gott. Wild Competition :. ==================== Here you can deliver anything that doesn't fit into the other categories. We will not have separate Wild ("classic") and Video competitions, as the number of entries in the former would be too low. The most welcome contribution medium is a VHS or S-VHS tape recorded in PAL; you can optionally hand in a graphics file containing some information about the hardware used to create your entry. If you can't tape the thing yourself (if you are using really Wild hardware...) please contact us in advance. There aren't many restrictions on this competition. Your entry should be related to computers, though. People are not interested in watching yet another skateboard video. Please help keeping this competition interesting! There is a maximum time limit of 8 minutes, and a quality preselection will be done. Stuff that is absolutely irrelevant will be thrown out in order to make the competition more interesting. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact Gandalf. More infos are available at: http://ms.demo.org - -------------------------------------------------------------------- - stuff collected, formated 'n designed by: Mr.Vain / Secretly! ©'2002 last content touch-up by raw style / farbrausch 03-mar-2002 We hope to see you all at the partyplace! ;) - -------------------------------------------------------------------- -