_//\\________________________________________________________________________ _\\__T_A_T_I_C___L_I_N_E_____________________________________ December, 2000 __\\_________________________________________________________________________ \\//__ Monthly Scene E-Zine ________________________________ 187 Subscribers _____________________________________________________________________________ --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Table Of Contents ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- Opening: Message From the Editor Letters From Our Readers Features: Conference 7007 Official Results Dialogos 2000 Official Results Columns: Music: In Tune -- Eterman's "A Comet's Path" Retro Tunage -- "He said" by Setec Demo: Screen Lit Vertigo -- Demos by Incognita and Inquisition Intro Watch -- Intros by Fresh! and Freestyle General: Editorial -- Timing Scene Sense -- Chiptunes & You Scene Dirt -- News & Rumors Link List -- Get Somewhere in the Scene (updated) Closing: Credits --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Message From the Editor ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- November is traditionally a busy time. Somehow, I managed to avoid all the rushing around this year. We got a complete issue for you this month. I'm back with In Tune (co-written this month by Eino Keskitalo). PsiTron returns for another installment of Scene Sense. Don't worry, he's nicer this month. =P Tryhuk is back, covering a favorite of mine for Retro Tunage. Then, Seven and Gekko have given us a full selection of demos and intros to check out. Also, many thanks to Gekko for cleaning up our links list for us. We also got some party results for Conference 7007 and Dialogos 2000. You'll definately want to check out the Dialogos results, as they have a very oldskool feel (I did not alter them for the mag). Very cool! For those of you with party reports, feel free to drop them to us. We're interested in party reports and results from all around the world. Well, I've been gearing up for my Best Songs of 2k report for January. If you have anything from the year that you wish to point out to me, please contact me. There's a lot out there, and I garuntee, I havn't heard it all. Until Next Month! --Coplan --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Letters From Our Readers ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- -=- Letter from Psychic Symphony -=- Just mailing to say you are all doing a great job, Static Line is getting better and better, a lot better articles recently. Someone please tell Setec and Tryhuk they are working overtime and we are loving every minute of it. keep on going! --Psychic Symphony --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Conference 7007 Official Results Prepared By: Gekko ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- 2000, Hungary 272 visitors (+girls) demo compo: 1. high voltage / inquisition 2. konputer:54 / fresh! 3. firg 2000 / firg 4. 1989 / united force 64k intro compo: 1. accelerator / dilemma 2. sys64738 / digital dynamite 3. single / fresh! truecolor compo: 1. hyperewil / ir^astral 2. astral hope / magicboy^astral music compo: 1. dive / vincenzo^molecoola 2. way to eternity / kvazar^euthanasia 3. back to the town / magnetic^inquisition mp3 compo: 1. god make the sunrise / vincenzo^molecoola --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Dialogos 2000 Official Results ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- -=- Editor's Note -=- I don't normally allow formatting outside of the 72 column system we have as a standard for Static Line. However, this month I am making an exception for this wonderful oldskool style result file. You will agree, there is no way I can format this to fit the 72 column standard and still maintain the classic appeal of ascii art. It is still within 80 columns, so most of you won't be affected anyhow. Thanks to Gekko for bringing this to us. --Coplan -=- . .. . . . . ..: . . . . .. . : :.. : _____ _____ _____ _____ : _____\\ _/_ _ _ _\\_ \_ ___ _ __\\_ \_ ___ _ __\\_ \_ ___ : \ _/ (_ _\\/_ / // /____ / // _//_____ / // //_____ \ \ / (_ _ // _// (_ / \_ / / \__ / /______\ __\ /___\____\ \ /_______\ / /________\ / / <-diP/dTR-_ ________\-----_ _____\_____\----_ ___________\-----_ ___________\- . . : : : diALOGOS 2ooo oFFiCiAL rESULT fiLE : : : : : : : : : : : : PC 4K Intro : : : : stoerfall ost - freestyle 868 : : Judas! - PigPen / oCCult 574 : : 4Ke - Ctulhu/HeadcrasH 176 : : shit - HCR FAN CLUB 114 : : I like my crow soft! - MadMan/real.fake 78 : : Sexy Duck - mad/os^real.fake 30 : : : : : : : : PC 64K Intro : : : : fresnel - kolor 742 : : lovemachine - bypass+unik 578 : : Understate - delta9^TUM 538 : : : : : : : : PC Demo : : : : fr-06: black 2000 - fb ^ farbrausch 448 : : frauen pausenlos 3 - fake of pmf 402 : : Digital - Magic Dreams vs. Unik 212 : : dumbnut - eichel 210 : : Hochfrequenzkinematographie - skp 134 : : ASC-TRIX - all^hicknhack 132 : : Netherworld - StyX/HeadcrasH 128 : : flashback - void main 122 : : Spacken in Space - TnT & Skyrunner 96 : : one minute - Xsolution 88 : : : : : : : : MP3 Music : : : : Statuesque - Velvet/Park 242 : : Starship Sirius Alpha - Skyrunner 160 : : Fernweh - jco^diewissenden 154 : : I Dont Love You - nomix / void main 126 : : DB-Hater - CJ Imperium 110 : : Soul - Phantom^xsolution 102 : : tripplebuffer (short version) - saundkaschber l88 : : Prymer - tell them not me 76 : : : : : : : : Pixel Graphics : : : : colaris - peachy/haujobb 414 : : intergrate - janne & visualice/haujobb 324 : : wild beast - arancia/squirrelz 228 : : autsch! - satchmo 166 : : Talkshow - Saffron/TBL 136 : : das könnt jetzt bischen piexeln - tomic/unik 122 : : A308 - Diver / TUM 118 : : Jennifer Lopez - Mucky Of Confine 110 : : bLuE - B Chara aka Gabi / Kaki Arts Technologies 100 : : Sollten sie dennoch mit diesem Produkt nicht... - Toaster of Seminar 98 : just a girl - RiVeD / TUM 96 : : Blink - kp/farb-rausch 72 : : unfinished - bombjack/freestyle 54 : : fetz - velvet/park & manka/TPOLM 36 : : Dunkelheit - Tomaes/Tap 36 : : Kiss me where it smells funny - Jigga/oCCult 36 : : linux rockz - biff/kaki arts 0 : : : : : : : : Wild : : : : RBP 2 - biff / Kaki Arts Tecnologies 408 : : KickFlip - T.U.M 312 : : Pixelica - Critikill, CP, Warder 312 : : Down and Dirty - Jigga/oCCult 174 : : the chair - chairkeepers 166 : : : : : : Raytracing : : : : Oelmalerei - D.Fox / Digital Overflow 358 : : Sentinel of heaven - nyce/strontium9o 296 : : Freedom! - dEGRYSIN 292 : : morgensbeimcdonalds - scientoz / eichel 290 : : DarnID proudly presents: The Sword of Anno 819 - DarnID /CMOV 194 : : SpaceheadLup - Grafix / void main 138 : : robolution - da_duke1 26 : : : : : : : : Multichannel Music : : : : Daydreamer - Velvet/Park 166 : : If I only could (Compo Edit) - Netpoet/Park & Bacter/Quasars 142 : : Gitarrenfresser - Skyrunner 140 : : Lecture Auditorium - pratwurst 130 : : dekonstruct - deep trouble - geniuz / mo playaz 106 : : Shock Hazard - jco^diewissenden 82 : : Mighty Men & Magic Tales - PaP / Access Denied 82 : : try to be - maxx of kolabore 62 : : Florite - CJ Imperium 62 : : Rock it now - Tomaes/Tap 20 : : 666 - Thunder/MagicDreams 0 : : : : : : : : Four Channel Music : : : : Aeroplane - Velvet/Park & Manka/TPOLM 208 : : Viva la senora - Skyrunner 194 : : Sounds in one Box - Netpoet/Park 170 : : The Specialist - Smash of J´ecoute 122 : : dirty hieroglyphics - dhg/unik 98 : : Nightmares On MOD - Dipswitch/DCS 98 : : Supahstar - Looza 62 : : quadrophone hack - maxx of kolabore 56 : : Tribute to the forgotten age of chiptune - Tomaes/Tap 36 : : Bullshit - CJ Imperium 0 : : Anima - ThUmB 0 : : : : : : Wild Grafix : : : : : : falling down - chunnie & ace 158 : : axe effect - nyce/strontium9o 156 : : Der Traum eines Bodysprays... - DRAGooN of deranged 120 : : ebola tut weh - tomic^unik 96 : :Der heilige Schneemann und die Nazispinne - Der Grafiker of BooneCrew 94 : Deoschneeklappstuhltreppe - LupGrafix / void main 82 : : crap-fast - demoteam23 72 : : The Snowman Solution - Mucky / Confine 58 : : Snowman - Ctulhu/HeadcrasH 52 : :Schneemann mit Deo und Stuhl auf der Rolltreppe - MadMan/real.fake 52: : Schnee(mann)-Beseitigung - Skyrunner 40 : : Schlick - PaP / Access Denied 34 : : Just meltin - subc^drg 32 : : Schutzmarke - Jigga/oCCult 26 : : lieber ein schnemann im ... - cy-man at real.fake 26 : : : : : :.. ..: . :..................................................................: . logo & design by dipswitch/dcs^dtr --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- In Tune Eterman's "A Comet's Path" By: Coplan With: Eino Keskitalo ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- -=- Introduction -=- Many months ago, I invited readers to write reviews of any song they wish to review. Eino, if you all remember, was the first to do any such thing. This past month, he recommended a song to me and suggested that we each do a review. I grabbed the song, "A Comet's Path" by Eterman, and decided it was definately worth a review. So here we are this month, each posing our own sides to the same song. Thanks to Eino for bringing the song to us. -=- Coplan -=- The first thing I'm going to explore, as I usually do, is the samples. If you look at the samples, it seems like a pretty typical set of samples. But if you go into the instrument panel, you'll see that Mr. Eterman is quite a skilled tracker. A typical instrument set, in Eterman's song, is four or five variations of the same sample. To some, it might seem redundant. But to any audiophile, this is the key to exceptional quality. Each instrument in a set (take the three sets of strings, for example) has slight variations between each. One has a faster approach and fades almost as fast. Another fades in slow and sustains for a (relatively) long time. The best sets in the list is the Drum Kits. Having a drum kit, multiple samples mapped to the same instrument, makes tracking with percussion a bit easier. Eterman used different octaves to seperate the samples: I've never seen this before, but it makes logical sense. Typically, because of the nature of one-note percussion instruments, you can get away with seperating samples by notes. So far, Eterman has a typical drum kit. But there are two drum kits! Compare the two, and you will find that he has done some volume and behavior changes with the second set. That will add an extra dose of reality -- as even percussion instruments don't always sound exactly the same. My recomendation to the reader is to study these instruments. You'll definately want to grab the drum kits, the cello and the attack synth. They are the best I've ever seen of each. The tune is pretty atmospheric -- a cross between contemporary and New Age. Eterman does a wonderful job of weaving a tapestry of images, feelings and ambience throughout the song. There are parts where it seems as though Eterman slips out of key. I'm not sure I like it, but it is a stylistic method that is acceptible in modern music. If you were to actually trace the song, you'll see he actually never slips out of key. Instead, he changes his chord progression in a way that seems like he does. Aesthetically (for me, anyhow), this does nothing to the song as a casual listening peice. There is a distinct reason I say this tune is atmospheric: The song lacks a traditional structure. In my honest opinion, that makes the song special. New Age, Ambient and many electronic share this common trait -- a fluid transition between parts of a song, and no part is climactically greater or lesser than any other. In order to make sense of this, think of any popular orchestral peice. I'm going to think of Tchaikovsky's "Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 1 in B flat major" (Opus 23). (Side note: Weren't peice names from the Baroque era annoying?). If you know who Tchaikovsky is, you know this song -- whether you know it or not. The beginning of the song starts with the piano player hitting chords in a very regulated manner. This goes on for a little bit -- very sharp, very crisp. Then, the peice turns into a very solemn peice. Eventually, we hit a climax and the song gets very sharp and crips (and almost violent) again. Eterman's song is the complete oposite of this structure. If you were to weight one part to the next, they all seem elementally similar and balanced. This makes the song very relaxing and very tame. Mind you, it is relatively difficult to do as well as Eterman has done. After all, it is very hard to write a song like this and keep people interested long enough to listen to the whole tune. Tchaikovsky had it easy. If people started to loose interest and doze off -- he threw in some sort of climactic orchestral hit, and change moods. Eterman doesn't have it so easy, but he kept me interested (and i'm easily distracted). The percussion in this tune is incredible. I already alluded to that when I pointed out the unique way of setting up his drum kits. That alone makes the percussion sound very realistic. But he carries through with a complete package as he make sure every hit is unique. There is a bit of repetition in the percussion, but there needs to be in every song out there. General rule of thumb about music, percussion and base instruments are the static elements of the song. It is against those that every other instrument is compared, and the rest needs to be a variation. This is why music exists -- a series of patterns and non-patterns. Pattern and lack-there-of go hand in hand. Remember that. I have one major problem with this song. The ending to the song distrubs me. The introduction was so well written, the song was so tightly engineered. When it comes to the ending..."A Comet's Path" fell off a cliff. No dramatic stop. No fade out. No unique finishing riffs. The percussion carries on for a few beats, and then just stops. Nothing signals the end, and nothing clarifies it as THE END. It sounds like he was going to add another pattern...but never got to. It even seems to build up for another transition. Then, silence. Lord knows, however, that I am over-critical about intros and endings. Usually, they are the first things I look at in a song. So, one must expect that I'll be less than forgiving if someone isn't tight with their intros or endings. All in all, I'm glad Eino pointed out the tune to me. I have downloaded a few other Eterman tunes, and I would say they are well worth it. So, grab this tune and a couple others. You'll enjoy it. --Coplan -=- Eino Keskitalo -=- Let's start with the author's own impression of his song: "Some kind of space fantasy/orchestral, but I can't say for sure." Well, there are spacey strings to rich set of melodic instruments and a nice percussion set keeping pretty much to the background, some giving off a measure of celtic/mediveal feeling. Overall, however, A Comet's Path sounds quite synthesized. I personally think it fits perfectly, the instruments blended together create a solid, defining atmosphere. Anyhow, this sort of soundscape adds to the compactness of the overall feeling. There shouldn't be a thing grabbing you from yer collar and forcefully pulling you into the world showcase in this musical display. Nae, this one somewhat stays on it's side of the screen. I found it quite compelling, it suits perfectly and impresses the listener without drowning him/her into noise. It is well balanced and disciplined. Holds together even with the quite complex chord progressions, I'd guess the steady, simple bassline works great here. I really like the way the song builds up with very subtle movements. The whole song progresses by simply progressing; parts flow from one to another, adding and leaving stuff behind without forcing the listener to notice, at least not on the first time around. This inevitably results as a tune which unravels a bit every time you give it a listen. Tunes length, impressive-to-some over seven minutes neither needs no auxilary justification. It simply is that way, it does not feel like it was long, a listen is not time wasted. --Eino Keskitalo eino.keskitalo@purkki.mbnet.fi Song Information: Title: A Comet's Path Author: Eterman Filename (zipped/unzipped): em_comet.zip / em_comet.it (IT 2.14) File Size (zipped/unzipped): 765 kb / 851 kb Source: http://www.traxinspace.com Alternate: ftp://ftp.scenespot.org/static_line/suppliment/em_comet.zip "In Tune" is a regular column dedicated to the review of original and singular works by fellow trackers. It is to be used as a tool to expand your listening and writing horizons, but should not be used as a general rating system. Coplan's opinions are not the opinions of the Static Line Staff. If you have heard a song you would like to recommend (either your own, or another person's), We can be contacted through e-mail useing the addresses found in the closing notes. Please do not send files attached to e-mail without first contacting us. Thank you! --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Retro Tunage "He said" by Setec By: Tryhuk ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- As usually, I had a bit trouble choosing a song for a review, but then I stepped into a directory with music of Setec and I decided immediately for a track called "He said". After all, this magazine was staffed by the "Immortal Coil" complex for too long. Style of the track doesn't ride up out of Setec's usual style, but that's exactly what I like - experimental structure that consist out of dark sounding synthetic sounds in bass frequencies and only few partials, and contrasting sharp leads with partials running across all frequencies. The song is kept in one piece by bold and solid percussion and bassline. And it is nice that Setec tried to make them sound at least a bit different than the usual dnb (and other) stuff. Anyway, most important is that the song holds melodical elements well combined with vocals and you don't have to listen to some crazy cacophony. Setec's music reminds me another musician that has this specific style of music: Hunz. If you have never heard a song by Setec, and if you are into experimental music, this track is a good one to start with. And don't get frustrated out of other his songs. Among many average tunes hide some very good ones, and I think that this one belongs among them. Song Information: Title: He said Author: Setec Release date: may 1998 Length: 3m41s (3m37s trimmed) Filename (zipped/unzipped): ic-hesd.zip / sc_hes8.xm File Size (zipped/unzipped): 360kb / 1415kb Source: http://www.ic.l7.net/musicold.html ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/music/songs/1998/i/ic-hesd.zip Alternate: ftp://ftp.scenespot.org/static_line/suppliment/ic-hesd.zip --Tryhuk --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Screen Lit Vertigo Demos by Incognita and Inquisition By: Seven ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- -=- 2nd Floor by Incognita (pre-final version) -=- Found at www.scene.org 1st place at BcnParty System requirements: 8 MB, Direct 3D "and a card with mucho ram" Test Machine: PII 350 128MB, SB16, TNT2 M64 32MB, Win98 The credits: ent/incognita library & 3d code, synchro trace/fuzzion 2d gfx, synchro Reality3D/RGB animations reboot/incognita max exporters, idea, scenes dem/zoran music The demo: 2nd Floor starts with 2 minutes of loading and decompressing. Some warning icons are shown, and a bearably readable message "Warning. The following program may actually provide some sort of content. Caution is advised." When the progress bar has reached the end of the screen, black flat lines are drawn on an invisible 3D surface, forming a logo. The animation reminds me of the way logos of Movie or TV companies are drawn. In the main part of the demo, we follow a strange human figure through a real-world environment. The figure itself looks exactly like the little men you see on icons for the men's toilets, or for "emergency exit" signs: completely black, rounded arms and legs, a circle as head, no details. Although it's a flat, paper-thin figure, it moves in 3D. The environment is just the opposite: it looks very realistic, but it's only made of photos. It's more than just a background, due to the way the 2D figure walks around in it, and due the subtle blurring of edges of the other photo-people with the real world. We follow the figure when he gets up, takes a shower, and walks to the railway station. The shower is also in icon-style, but unfortunately all other objects are photo-based. The Message of the demo is brought to you (not so subtly) by short slogans in a big, rather ugly black & white font. I won't tell you the contents of the Message (hmm, as if *I* would know it), but it's not exactly very optimistic. To give you an idea: "Like kittens in a bag, waiting to be drown". The music (an MP3) is of the electronic genre (not my favorite style), very repetitive beeps and ploinks. Except for an increase of the rhythm halfway through the demo, it doesn't change very much. Overall: A very fresh and original idea, the mix of realistic 2D and abstract 3D elements works perfectly. The only drawback is that the sharp, realistic, high-res images take a long time to decompress, an eats up masses of memory. I just bought 64MB extra ram this month and it isn't enough already, because there are multi-second delays at the end of the demos :( I hope the final version will be less resource-hungry, else I'll regard it like The Non-Stop Ibiza Experience/Orange: something to check again when I've a better PC. -=- High Voltage Electric Experience by Inquisition (party-version) -=- Found at www.scene.org 1st place at Conference 7007 System requirements: 20 MB HD, nothing mentioned about memory but I guess 32MB should be enough. DOS with DPMI manager or Win9x, VESA supported but not required. Test Machine: PII 350 128MB, SB16, TNT2 M64 32MB, Win98 The credits: MRC: FX code, 3D engine, design Zoom: Graphics, animations, modeling, design Charlie: code, video & sound system Magnetic: main music Innocent: end music The demo: High Voltage is a good old DOS-demo, in a low-res hi-color mode. Unfortunately, the soundsystem doesn't detect my soundcard, despite the correctly set BLASTER environment string :( Since I didn't found a way to circumvent the autodetection, I chose the low-level alternative: fire up Winamp, and play the XMs in the background. It's not perfect, but with careful timing it gives only half a second out-of-sync. As you can guess from the title, the theme of the demo is electricity, and Inquisition manages to follow it through the entire demo: from the start, where a laser beam burns a lightning logo in a rock, till the end in a (nuclear?) reactor. There are some upgrades of popular effects, like the twisting voxel pillar, which radiates light now, or the tunnel lit by a discoball, which now morphs between a square and a circular tube. IMHO, that last effect would have looked much better if you could also have seen the rays shining, but we can't have it all :) There are some good transitions between effects, such as the hexagons that (as in Zilog/Sunflower) cover the previous scene, revealing a raytraced picture. Then, for a short time, a light shines through the hexagon grid using radial blur. Nice idea. Beside the raytraced picture of a robot in a laboratorium, there are a lot of impressive logos and slogans, mostly in blurred or light-emitting fonts. This style fits with the theme, and also minimizes the aliasing effects of a 320*200 mode. A girl-type picture is presented with the slogan: "electricity is sexy". The software 3D engine is not very advanced, it doesn't seem to use mipmapping for example. The greeting part suffer from this, I can hardly read certain groupnames. The scenes are not very complex either, there's a hand with lasers at the fingertips, a doom-style reactor, a bunch of flares flying through a tunnel,... The main tune is a typical funky demotune using drums and synths. It contains also some soundeffects such as the laser beam, that help to set the mood, and also to synchronize. The endtune is a simple melody with a few synthesizer sounds, repetitive but very nice. Overall: The small txt file warns that this is a "VERY unfinished party version", but I think it's quite good already: great design, nice music, some original effects. Things that could be improved are the autodetection of the soundsystem :), the timing of the last 3D sequence, adding mipmapping. Also, using compressed images instead of raw rgb dumps could easily halve the demos size. --Seven --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Intro Watch Intros by Fresh! and Freestyle By: Gekko ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- -=- Single by Fresh! -=- 3rd in the 64k intro compo at Conference 7007 (Hungary) Requirements: Windows, OpenGL, 3d card, sound card Download: ftp://thot.banki.hu/incoming/conference/64k/03/frs!sngl.zip This is a recent Hungarian intro I love so much. This style is great. But you have to be in the right mood to be able to enjoy it. I think that this is why it did not won. The winner (Accelerator by Dilemma) is also a very good intro, but that one is easier to digest... A poem (Everything But The Girl song lyrics) is shown. It is about the feelings after a broken-up relation. The music is a calm, gloomy IDM tune by Just. The intro uses very few colors and all of them are misty-cloudy. This reflects the mood of the poem just perfectly. Remage made a lot of minimalist effects. All are flat shaded, they are in a white fog. I try to list a few of them. There are planes and tunnels made up of little six-sided objects. These are very very spectacular as they get out of the fog. The most complex effect is a blob. It has two surfaces; there are positive and negative blobs (spheres and a torus). Oh and maybe it's not evident, this is not only complex but also looks fine. There is a Fresh logo by Immortal Rat. It is only a simple square with a pattern, but it looks fine and it fits in the intro well. In fact it was made at the party place, because the intro was much less than 64k, and Remage could not fill the rest with anything else but graphics. This intro reminds me to 96 by Damage (demo at Mekka 2000). That one is also about love and sadness, and some effects are also similar. Remage actually have not seen that demo before the party. Anyway, both of them are great and this intro is not a rip-off at all. If you think you like this gloomy/minimalist style, go download. -=- Stoerfall Ost by Freestyle -=- winner 4k intro at Dialogos 2000, Germany Requirements: Windows, OpenGL, 3d card, sound card Download: ftp://ftp.scene.org/pub/parties/dialogos00/4k/ The credits: muhmax - code yamato - code vudu - sound code mindflower - music Dialogos is a small party, but this year it brought a very good 4k: Stoerfall. It was even called the best 4k intro ever at the Orange Juice forum. Stoerfall has music, this is in itself a big deal in 4k. It is a fine little IDM tune. What we can see is a 3d flight in a small factory. It shows a working machinery with an assembly line and moving robot arms. The objects are flat-shaded with a good choice of colors. Watching it again you'll notice that the whole intro is very simple. What it has is music and one 3d scene (completely made up of cubes and tubes). There are no textures, no graphics, not a single letter of text. I think that it's okay; the guys wanted to squeeze as much as possible into 4k, they had to make compromises. The result is quite impressive. --Gekko --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Editorial Timing By: Coplan ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- Time, as we all know, is the greatest natural resource. I don't have enough of it, nor does anyone else. To make matters worse, we have to throw in such human requirements as Sleep. Don't get me wrong, I like sleep. But I definately don't like being required to do it. So what the hell am I talking about? What does time have to do with the Computer Based Demoscene and Music Scene? This is where I shout out loud: "WAKE UP!!!" When you're talking about a demo, timing is everything. Things need to happen in a certain way, and at a certain moment, in order to be aesthetically pleasing. The same holds true for music. I'm going to focus on the music -- because if I start talking about demos, people will laugh at me. I'm no expert about demos. Music is all about time. Percussion? Timing. Bass Riffs? Timing plus pitch (and some effects). Lead instruments? Yep! There too. All musicians should know this, but there are a few out there that have surprised me: There is an underlying force in music that dictates the timing of every instrument in the song. This force is called Tempo (again, sorry for those of you who know this already). If you don't obey this force -- you're wasteing your time, as well as everyone else's. There are people in the world who naturally don't understand this concept, and it shows when they try to dance. Unfortunately, some of these people actually try to write music as well. If you are one of these unfortunates, perhaps the use of a metronome might help. But what about with tracking? The use of a metronome in tracking is very difficult to pull off. For one, you typically don't track on the fly like one might play a piano. But, most trackers (Impulse Tracker, Fast Tracker, ModPlug too) have a built in metronome. You'll notice that every fourth, or every 6th line (it changes, or it can be changed) is highlighted a different color. This is your metronome. The beauty of this metronome is that it is accurate independant of the tempo, which you set elsewhere. If the patterns scroll by faster...so do the highlighted lines. When you've mastered the use of this (most likely, you already have), then you can get funky and stray from this regimented system. I point this obvious detail out, this month, because I have downloaded a few songs that don't follow the tempo. The bass drum is the one instrument that everyone seems to get correct. But for some people, it ends there. A few minor rules about tempo: You CAN change tempo -- In a song, you can change the tempo. When you do so, make sure you change at a down-beat. Typically, one doesn't need to change the tempo of a song, but you can do it. One or Two tempos -- When you write your song, if you change tempo too often, the song will sound very choppy. Traditionally, artists never changed Tempo. Even Mozart maintained a constant tempo as he varied his movements. Just because the song appears slower, doesn't mean the tempo has changed. Tempo See, Tempo Do -- If you don't understand the concept of Tempo, and you aren't working with it, I garuntee that your music will come out like crap. This is the one rule of music that you can't break. As I said earlier, Tempo is the underlying force to every song -- and it will show through regardless of what you layer on top. Some Down, Some Up -- General rule of thumb: What must go up, must go down. This isn't just a rule of gravity anymore. If you have a percussion instrument that likes to play on the up-beat, make sure it also plays on the down beat, at least most of the time. This doesn't necessarily apply to melodic instruments, as popular forms of music (like Ska and Raege) are known for their instruments playing on the up beat. But, what is up if nothing is down? Beats Me -- Yes, this is redundant, but it is very important: If you don't control yourself, Tempo will. If you work with it nicely, it won't ruin your song. I know this is a bit more instructional than my typical editorial. But it is something that seriously bugs me. Many people write music tempo-bound -- that is to say that didn't follow any guidelines when working with their tempo. It is something that takes practice, if you aren't a natural, and something that you need to always be conscious of. Time is always of essance with music. Don't forget that. --Coplan --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Scene Sense Chiptunes & You By: PsiTron ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- This month, I decided to do something a bit different. I already had an article written to clarify my views of the scene, but thought that I ought not beat the horse TO death, just maybe NEAR death. So, for something a little different that many should have seen comming: Chiptunes And You. The chiptune, it seems, has often been overlooked or at least ridiculed as being old and, well, gross in today's DemoScene. Especially for some of the `newbies' who may be too young [in the scene] to realize the history and magic behind chiptunes. But some still respect this important characteristic of the DemoScene. After all, the only place chiptunes can be found in the commercial world is the GameBoy. And alas, the GameBoy's days are numbered. And so, it seems, are the chiptunes; at least for the average Joe. But while mere game enthusiasts turn their back on chiptunes, the DemoScene is ready for the soon to be orphaned songs of generated waveform pleasure. Why, might an anti-chiptunist inquire: "Do people still listen to this crap?" Well, my poor mislead friend, for many reasons: They are nostalgic - they bring back the days of vector gaming, the TG16 (PsiTron's favorite console system - although the NES follows suit to the definition of a chiptune to a much better degree); and let's not forget the SID chip. Yes, the SID chip: A mysterious chip that seemed to have come from OUTER SPACE! Complete with filtering, the SID chip served many C64 users with a wopping 3 channels of mathematically generated signals of pleasure, and 1 for samples. Of course, at the time of the C64 there were few alternatives with exception to what is now known as chiptunes. Nonetheless, many still listen to the songs created for use with the SID (Sound Interface Device for those that are unaware) because the damn thing was so advanced and unique for it's time. The biggest reason may be that the developer (Bob Yannes, who also was the co-founder of Ensoniq) was a musician himself. Nonetheless, whether or not one likes the SID and chiptunes in general, few can dispute that, for many, it brings back the old days of 8-bit gaming. Chiptunes also seem to have their own styles and genres. Many contain some of the most complex and interesting leads on this side of Venus. And yet others are mellow and almost ambient, a style associated with the pure sine tune (commonly used in chip compos because they require one to find new methods never before thought of - a good practice for any musician). Which lends light to the most important aspect of chiptunes: they are challenging. Whether an avid chip-composer uses 2 or 32 channels of music, they have to make everything fit together in a way that does not explode the listener's cranium into many small projectiles. Not only injuring the listener, but others around him. And yet while doing so they must present some sort of sounds that create music, and not just music, but good music. Many make the absolute most of the tracker. Almost requiring at least the use of volume slides, and usually vibrato. Chiptune composers, at least ones actively practicing the art, are constantly in search of better methods to make those simple generated waves that we know and love sound better and better. And, thus, in doing so not only do those who surf the sinewaves make better chiptunes, but they also have a better understanding of how to use the tracker to it's highest potential. I believe that this concept has evaded many composers, both new and old. Whether you enjoy mp3's, Impulse Tracker, or even ModEdit :), it is all about knowing the limits and knowing to break them, and then (if you are a pure tracker), bask in your 1337ness :). After all, in order for most any musician to become successful, chiptune lover or not, finding new and different ways of doing things is the key. Chiptunes seem to dramatize this idea. For, unlike a mod without effects (which will simply sound flat and dull), chiptunes generally sound rather nasty without some innovation thrown in. Back in the day when waveform-generation was all one had, composers HAD to be innovative. Otherwise the game or demo would be dull and boring to play. If you do not believe me, simply go download chiptune from a reputable artist (for links see the tail end of this article). Having done so, open your favorite tracker and, after listening to the song, run through the samples. Having done that, if you still have your hearing (for pure chips can be interestingly irritating if played at high enough octaves), visit a few patterns and see just what kind of effects are being used; more importantly, how the artist uses them. You should find that it is much more than just merely throwing a bunch of hand drawn and generated samples into a tracker. Of course, we mustn't forget the most 'sensual' meaning to a few chiptunes. So, if you have a really nice sub-woofer, crank out a lovely little sinewave, throw the woofer face up under the bed and enjoy! Having said this, I encourage each and every one to listen to chiptunes Listen to them loud, listen to them proud. But remember, save your ears, and your mind, and make sure you practice safe chiptune listening. Always screen your chiptunes first, making sure there is not a cruel composer who wishes to plan a sine at B-9 :) Doing so will not only make you happy, but will make your neighbors and friends happy too! And maybe someday even you can start making your own chiptunes, and with practice maybe make chiptunes that are as good as some of the chiptunes by: Radix, Beek, Skaven, Wave, Martin Galway and many others. And if you would like to hear some chiptunes of your own, why not make a stop by http://www.hornet.org. Or for some sites purely related to chiptunes: http://www.chiptune.com http://www.chiptunes.org, and http://www.chiptune.de. And there are a multitude of other sites, from SID to IT (and there are even a few MP3s floating around - imagine!). Of course, if you enjoyed the sounds of the Commodore 64, why not check out http://stud4.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426444/ - a site which provides a good amount of links to SID music databases and new hardware alternatives for the SID chip (such as Hard-SID and SidStation). They also have links to SID emulators if you are as broke as I am :) Yes, chiptunes and you, with the massive power of today's computers, such as the Athlon, what the hell else would you do? I mean, damn, what's the point of having a super-fast computer if it can't waste it on 4 channel chips! So there you have it - for those of you who do not like chiptunes, well, you probably still do not like them. But perhaps a few of you now know where to find a style that is as close to the DemoScene as one can get. Or you have a better understand of why effects are important in tracked music. Or maybe not, but oh well, it was fun to write, and I hope it was as equally fun to read. --PsiTron (Feel free to flame, I am interested in feedback) --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Scene Dirt News & Rumors By: Coplan ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- -=- Orange Juice's New Look -=- If you havn't been to Orange Juice since they unveiled their new look, you might want to check them out. The interface changed severely, but it's still the same old information center. http://www.ojuice.org -=- 3D Contest for 3D Prophet II -=- Bjorn's 3D World, Hercules and NVIDIA are sponsering a demo competition of sorts to show off their GeForce chip. The contest has started, but it doesn't end until January 19, 2001. Visit the page for more info. http://www.bjorn3d.com -=- New Synthesis Party Web Site -=- The official Synthesis Party has moved to their new web site. A new design, and more information available. http://www.synthesis-party.net --Coplan Scene Dirt is a semi-regular column offering the latest tidbits of information to its readers. If you have any bits of information that you think should be here, contact coplan (coplan.ic@rcn.com) and offer as much information as possible. --=--=-- --=--=------=--=------=--=---- Link List ----=--=------=--=------=--=-- Many thanks to Gekko for updating our link list. It was a much task, and I'm glad that he was able to take the time to do this for us. In the future, we might not include the links in our magazine. We'll probably have them avaiable from our SceneSpot web site. But, for now, they will remain. And now, for the new link list... --Coplan Portals: Orange Juice.............................http://www.ojuice.net Scene.org.................................http://www.scene.org SceneSpot.............................http://www.scenespot.org Pouet.net.................................http://www.pouet.net Demoscene.org.........................http://www.demoscene.org Scenet....................................http://www.scenet.de Demo.org...................................http://www.demo.org Czech Scene................................http://www.scene.cz Hungarian Scene........................http://www.scene-hu.com Italian Scene...........................http://run.to/la_scena Norvegian Scene............http://www.neutralzone.org/scene.no Polish Scene...........................http://www.demoscena.pl Russian Scene..........................http://www.demoscene.ru Spanish Scene............................http://www.escena.org Swiss Scene..............................http://www.chscene.ch Archives: Acid2.....................................ftp://acid2.stack.nl Amber.......................................ftp://amber.bti.pl Cyberbox.....................................ftp://cyberbox.de Hornet (1992-1996)........................ftp://ftp.hornet.org Scene.org..................................ftp://ftp.scene.org Scene.org Austra........................ftp://ftp.nl.scene.org Scene.org Netherlands...................ftp://ftp.au.scene.org Swiss Scene FTP...........................ftp://ftp.chscene.ch Demo Groups: 3g Design..............................http://3gdesign.cjb.net 3State...................................http://threestate.com 7 Gods.........................................http://7gods.sk Aardbei.....................................http://aardbei.com Acid Rain..............................http://surf.to/acidrain Addict..................................http://addict.scene.pl Agravedict........................http://www.agravedict.art.pl Alien Prophets...................http://alienprophets.ninja.dk Anakata..............................http://www.anakata.art.pl Astral..............................http://astral.scene-hu.com Astroidea........................http://astroidea.scene-hu.com BlaBla..............................http://blabla.planet-d.net Blasphemy..............................http://www.blasphemy.dk Bomb..................................http://bomb.planet-d.net Broncs..................................http://broncs.scene.cz Byterapers.....................http://www.byterapers.scene.org Calodox.................................http://www.calodox.org Cocoon..............................http://cocoon.planet-d.net Confine.................................http://www.confine.org Damage...................................http://come.to/damage Eclipse............................http://www.eclipse-game.com Elitegroup..........................http://elitegroup.demo.org Exceed...........................http://www.inf.bme.hu/~exceed Fairlight.............................http://www.fairlight.com Fobia Design...........................http://www.fd.scene.org Freestylers..........................http://www.freestylas.org Fresh! Mindworks...................http://kac.poliod.hu/~fresh Future Crew..........................http://www.futurecrew.org Fuzzion.................................http://www.fuzzion.org GODS...................................http://www.idf.net/gods Halcyon...........................http://www.halcyon.scene.org Haujobb......................................http://haujobb.de Hellcore............................http://www.hellcore.art.pl Infuse...................................http://www.infuse.org Kilobite...............................http://kilobite.cjb.net Kolor................................http://www.kaoz.org/kolor Komplex.................................http://www.komplex.org Kooma.....................................http://www.kooma.com Mandula.........................http://www.inf.bme.hu/~mandula Maturefurk...........................http://www.maturefurk.com Monar................ftp://amber.bti.pl/pub/scene/distro/monar MOVSD....................................http://movsd.scene.cz Nextempire...........................http://www.nextempire.com Noice.....................................http://www.noice.org Orange.................................http://orange.scene.org Orion................................http://orion.planet-d.net Popsy Team............................http://popsyteam.rtel.fr Prone................................http://www.prone.ninja.dk Purple....................................http://www.purple.dk Rage........................................http://www.rage.nu Replay.......................http://www.shine.scene.org/replay Retro A.C...........................http://www.retroac.cjb.net Sista Vip..........................http://www.sistavip.exit.de Skytech team............................http://www.skytech.org Sunflower.......................http://sunflower.opengl.org.pl Talent.............................http://talent.eurochart.org The Black Lotus.............................http://www.tbl.org The Digital Artists Wired Nation.http://digitalartists.cjb.net The Lost Souls...............................http://www.tls.no TPOLM.....................................http://www.tpolm.com Trauma.................................http://sauna.net/trauma T-Rex.....................................http://www.t-rex.org Unik.....................................http://www.unik.ca.tc Universe..........................http://universe.planet-d.net Vantage..................................http://www.vantage.ch Wipe....................................http://www.wipe-fr.org Music Labels, Music Sites: Aisth.....................................http://www.aisth.com Aural Planet........................http://www.auralplanet.com Azure...................................http://azure-music.com Blacktron Music Production...........http://www.d-zign.com/bmp BrothomStates.............http://www.katastro.fi/brothomstates Chill..........................http://www.bentdesign.com/chill Chippendales......................http://www.sunpoint.net/~cnd Chiptune...............................http://www.chiptune.com Da Jormas................................http://www.jormas.com Fabtrax......http://www.cyberverse.com/~boris/fabtrax/home.htm Five Musicians.........................http://www.fm.scene.org Fridge...........................http://www.ssmedion.de/fridge Fusion Music Crew.................http://members.home.nl/cyrex Goodstuff..........................http://artloop.de/goodstuff Ignorance.............................http://www.ignorance.org Immortal Coil.............................http://www.ic.l7.net Intense...........................http://intense.ignorance.org Jecoute.................................http://jecoute.cjb.net Kosmic Free Music Foundation.............http://www.kosmic.org Lackluster.....................http://www.m3rck.net/lackluster Level-D.................................http://www.level-d.com Miasmah.............................http://www.miasmah.cjb.net Milk.......................................http://milk.sgic.fi Mah Music.............................http://come.to/mah.music Maniacs of noise...............http://home.worldonline.nl/~mon MAZ's sound homepage..................http://www.maz-sound.com Med.......................................http://www.med.fr.fm Mo'playaz..........................http://ssmedion.de/moplayaz Mono211.................................http://www.mono211.com Morbid Minds..............http://www.raveordie.com/morbidminds Noise................................http://www.noisemusic.org Noerror.......................http://www.error-404.com/noerror One Touch Records......................http://otr.planet-d.net Park..................................http://park.planet-d.net Radical Rhythms.....http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/merrelli/rr RBi Music.............................http://www.rbi-music.com Ruff Engine................http://members.xoom.com/ruff_engine SHR8M......................................http://1st.to/shr8m Sound Devotion................http://sugarbomb.x2o.net/soundev Soundstate.........................http://listen.to/soundstate Sunlikamelo-D...........http://www.error-404.com/sunlikamelo-d Suspect Records........................http://www.tande.com/sr Tequila........................http://www.defacto2.net/tequila Tempo................................http://tempomusic.cjb.net Tetris....................................http://msg.sk/tetris Theralite...........................http://theralite.avalon.hr Tokyo Dawn Records........................http://tdr.scene.org Triad's C64 music archive.............http://www.triad.c64.org UltraBeat.........................http://www.innerverse.com/ub Vibrants................................http://www.vibrants.dk Wiremaniacs.........................http://www.wiremaniacs.com Zen of Tracking.........................http://surf.to/the-imm Programming: Programming portal......................http://www.gamedev.net Programming portal.....................http://www.flipcode.com Game programming portal...............http://www.gamasutra.com 3D programming portal.................http://www.3dgamedev.com Programming portal......................http://www.exaflop.org Programming portal............http://www.programmersheaven.com Programming portal.....................http://www.freecode.com NASM (free Assembly compiler)......http://www.cryogen.com/nasm LCC (free C compiler).........http://www.remcomp.com/lcc-win32 PTC video engine.........................http://www.gaffer.org 3D engines..........http://cg.cs.tu-berlin.de/~ki/engines.html Documents...............http://www.neutralzone.org/home/faqsys File format collection...................http://www.wotsit.org Magazines: Amber...............................http://amber.bti.pl/di_mag Amnesia...............http://amnesia-dist.future.easyspace.com Demojournal....................http://demojournal.planet-d.net Eurochart.............................http://www.eurochart.org Heroin...................................http://www.heroin.net Hugi........................................http://www.hugi.de Music Massage......................http://www.scene.cz/massage Planet Chartmag............http://www.agravedict.art.pl/planet Pain..................................http://pain.planet-d.net Scenial...........................http://www.scenial.scene.org Shine...............................http://www.shine.scene.org Static Line................http://www.scenespot.org/staticline Sunray..............................http://sunray.planet-d.net Total Disaster...................http://www.totaldisaster.w.pl TUHB.......................................http://www.tuhb.org WildMag...........................http://www.wildmag.notrix.de Parties: Assembly (Finland).....................http://www.assembly.org Ambience (The Netherlands)..............http://www.ambience.nl Dreamhack (Sweden)....................http://www.dreamhack.org Buenzli (Switzerland)......................http://www.buenz.li Gravity (Poland)............http://www.demoscena.cp.pl/gravity Mekka-Symposium (Germany)...................http://ms.demo.org Takeover (The Netherlands).............,http://www.takeover.nl The Party (Denmark).....................http://www.theparty.dk Others: Demo secret parts....http://www.inf.bme.hu/~mandula/secret.txt Textmode Demo Archive.................http://tmda.planet-d.net Arf!Studios..........................http://www.arfstudios.org #coders..................................http://coderz.cjb.net Demonews Express.........http://www.teeselink.demon.nl/express Demo fanclub........................http://jerware.org/fanclub Digital Undergrounds.....................http://dug.iscool.net Doose charts...............................http://www.doose.dk Freax................................http://freax.scene-hu.com GfxZone............................http://gfxzone.planet-d.net PC-demos explained.....http://www.oldskool.org/demos/explained Pixel...................................http://pixel.scene.org IRC Channels: Scene.........................................ircnet #thescene Programming.....................................ircnet #coders Programming....................................efnet #flipcode Graphics.........................................ircnet #pixel Music.............................................ircnet #trax Scene (French)..................................ircnet #demofr Programming (French)............................ircnet #codefr Graphics (French)..............................ircnet #pixelfr Scene (Hungarian)............................ircnet #demoscene Programming (Hungarian)......................ircnet #coders.hu Programming (German)........................ircnet #coders.ger --=--=-- ----=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------ Editor: Coplan / D. Travis North / coplan@scenespot.org Columnists: Coplan / D. Travis North / coplan@scenespot.org Dilvish / Eric Hamilton / dilvie@yahoo.com Gekko / Gergely Kutenich / mont@tar.hu Louis Gorenfeld / gorenfeld@vrone.net Psitron / Tim Soderstrom / TigerHawk@stic.net Setec / Jesper Pederson / jesped@post.tele.dk Seven / Stefaan / Stefaan.VanNieuwenhuyze@rug.ac.be SiN / Ian Haskin / sin@netcom.ca Subliminal / Matt Friedly / sub@plazma.net Tryhuk / Tryhuk Vojtech / xtryhu00@stud.fee.vutbr.cz Virt / virt@bellsouth.net Technical Consult: Ranger Rick / Ben Reed / ranger@scenespot.org Static Line on the Web: http://www.scenespot.org/staticline Static Line Subscription Management: http://www.scenespot.org/mailman/listinfo/static_line If you would like to contribute an article to Static Line, be aware that we will format your article with two spaces at the beginning and one space at the end of each line. Please avoid foul language and high ascii characters. Contributions should be mailed to Coplan (coplan@scenespot.org). See you next month! -eof---=------=--=------=--=--