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                                                            ascii by: ZXPKNOBB
--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Table Of Contents
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
     Opening:
           Message From the Editor
           Letters From Our Readers
     Columns:
           In Tune -- Wayfinder's "Secret Service"
           Monthly Software Review -- Massiva X.044
           The Zen of Tracking -- Out of Tempest Depths (with poem)
           Screen Lit Vertigo -- "Sonic Vertex" by d'oH (party-version)
     Features:
           Music Etiquette
           Inscene '99: A live report
     Closing:
           Credits

--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Message From the Editor
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
     We got a huge issue for you folks.  Bigger than the average (in fact,
  our third largest to date according to file size).  We got a full rack
  of articles for you, and then some.  Rather appropriate considering this
  is our anniversary magazine.  It's official, everyone....

     WE'RE 1 YEAR OLD!

     Meanwhile...as I type this I'm in between homes.  I'm living at a
  friend's house...but by the time most of you read this, I'll have moved
  to my new apartment in Virginia.  Leesburg, Virginia for those of you
  who are in the states.  I'm glad that this is a big issue...because
  revisions and formatting gave me a lot to do while I am here with
  nothing else to do.  But I've made a keen observation (okay, not that
  keen) -- there aren't often many guest articles from writers outside the
  magazine.  If you have something to say, send it along.  Worst that is
  going to happen is that I won't print it.  Nothing that revisions
  couldn't fix.  =)

     Well...moveing on to the stuff you actually care about:  This month's
  issue of Static Line.  First of all, I have a new co-writer for my "In
  Tune" column.  Everyone know's Setec...well now you get to read his
  views on music.  First on the block is a tune by Wayfinder titled
  "Secret Service."  Next on the review list is a review of Massiva X.044,
  a midi sequencer that trackers may find interesting.  Check out Louis's
  column for more information.  Dilvish is back this week with some Zen
  for you.  Not only do you get a complete article, but included this
  month is a poem that many of you will enjoy.  I wrote an additional
  article this month detailing some common views on Tracking Ettiquite, a
  must-read article for the newbies out there.  And finally, we have one
  of our article barons, Seven, cranking out the steam for you with two
  articles.  In his regular column this month, Seven reviews the work of
  d'oH: a demo titled "Sonic Vertex."  Then, as if that isn't enough, he
  provides us with a live report from the Inscene '99 demo party.

                --Coplan


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  In Tune
    Wayfinder's "Secret Service"
  By:  Coplan and Setec
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
     First of all, let me reintroduce Setec.  You all know him, he's
  written many articles for us in the past.  Well, now he's my partner for
  'In Tune.'  Expect some very interesting columns here in the future.
  Needless to say, Setec and I have very different views.  =P

     Anyhow...this month we're reviewing a song by Wayfinder titled
  "Secret Service."  The song took 7th place at the Mekka/Symposium '99
  Multi  channel Music Compo.  You can attain the song from the Kosmic
  Website,  but I recommend grabbing the file from our website...as it may
  be easier  for you to find.

     Oh, just a quick note before I begin.  I normally try to get ahold of
  the artist before I review their works before a public audience.
  However, for reasons that prevent me from doing so, I haven't a way  to
  contact Wayfinder.  If it was a surprise to you, Wayfinder, I
  appologize.  Meanwhile...enjoy the review.

  -=- Coplan -=-
     First of all, I must warn everyone...I am temporarily living at a
  friend's house (see message from the editor).  This affects my review in
  two ways.  First of all, I'm useing my friend's stereos system.  It's
  one of these high-end Kenwood stereo's of which I don't have access to
  the rest of the time.  The other is the fact that I don't have a real
  desk here, and I'm uncomfortable typeing here.  This only means that it
  has taken me several days to complete this review.  I appologize if it
  appears choppy.

  On with my review.

     The intro to the song struck me as odd.  I don't like the phone (if
  that's what it is), but I do like everything from when the lion roars.
  The introduction is a little rough around the edges up until this point.
  Then in comes the brass riffs (high, low, high, low, so on).  Setec
  didn't like this so much (from what I understand, anyhow), but I'd have
  to disagree.  This part, though unique and unnecessary, is rather
  invigorating to me.  Then, you got that really awesome base riff (bass
  guitarists like my roomate may like the riff a lot).  In my opinion, the
  intro ends at order 7 when the boy comes in and says "It's about peace
  and love...."  A good transition, though I question what it's
  transitioning to.  I like the synth strings in the background at this
  point...they help to tie the other instruments together and still
  empasize the chord progression.

     In order 14, we get our first use of the brass samples for anything
  other than the baground lull.  This is also the first time we can hear
  the quality of those samples.  Frankly, I'm dissapointed in the quality.
  On the other hand, brass samples are very hard to use and very hard to
  create good samples (usually, you need about 10 samples just for that
  instrument).  I'll give Wayfinder a lot of credit though...he uses them
  very well throughout the song.  Then, we get the flute.  I have to agree
  with Setec...this is the best flute sample I've ever heard (got a copy
  on my hard drive already).  At first, the flute has a very good
  role...but it tends to be repetative.  Don't worry, that all changes in
  order 17 where it gets a little more funky and rich.  Unfortunately, at
  order 20, it falls back to the same-old riff.  It rises again in order
  17 (point for the good).  We should see a lot more variety like this in
  songs -- even in dance music.

     There is yet another really good transition starting at order 27.  It
  ends with that kid saying "it's about peace and love...."  Once again,
  however, I'm not sure what it's a transition to.  I would've liked to
  have seen some movement changes as well.  Oh well, it is a dance
  song...gotta keep the beat up so as not to confuse people.  The fadeout
  at the end of the song isn't so bad as one would think.  Keep in mind
  this is a dance peice...and it is set up to be faded into another dance
  tune.  Though slightly uneventful, it is justified.

     Overall, I liked the tune.  Stylistically, it is unique.  Yah, I
  agree  with Setec that it can get repetative (copy and pasted a lot) but
  I  don't think that it denies too much of the character in the song.
  Whether it was intended as a dance song or not...it is.  It's a great
  tune to dance to.  My roomate and I were danceing to it last night (of
  course we did hold a bit of a party, and had a few beers in us) and we
  had a lot of fun.  Wayfinder will be happy to know that I have a few
  friends that want more of your stuff.  Kudos.

             --Coplan


  -=- Setec -=-
     Well, this being my first review for Static Line I guess I should
  warn you that my reviews tend to get a little chaotic. So bear with me.

     Okay. "Secret Service" by Wayfinder. First thing that stroke me about
  this tune was the rather awkward intro. It just sounds bad to me and the
  general quality of the samples seemed to low compared to the rest of the
  track. It slowly builds into a very very nice groove, though. I have
  always had a thing for phased guitars and the ones used here are very
  nifty. These are complemented by a steady bass and a rather genuine beat
  (unfortunately). A little more work on the percussion might have
  benefitted the piece greatly. I am just not too fond of these simple
  bass drum to clap beats. With the obligatory open hihat in between. If
  you are gonna go with this you need to spice it up with at least a few
  upbeat snare strokes or something similar.

     Next comes an extremely well executed transition that brings in some
  nice strings, kept firmly in the background of the mix. Then,
  unfortunately, it all goes down when those god awful brass samples are
  brought to life. Damn -- those things really bite my ears. Dump those few
  patters though and Wayfinder introduces what is probably the nicest
  single flute sample I have ever heard. I would have sworn the flute lead
  consisted of sampled snippets from a real player. I went to find out and
  found a single sample. Amazing. Looking closer at the flute tracks I was
  stunned at how few - well, none - effects were used to accomplish such a
  great sound. There is a reminder for you; it is not always nescessary to
  flood your tracks with effects.

    The tune continues with some flute solos and ends up in a rather dull
  volume ramp down closing. Never do these unless it really fits the
  track. It is quite possibly the most boring and generic way to round off
  a tune. Experiment a little more! Don't look at the ending as just a
  matter of wrapping up the piece. It is a part of the tune, it needs just
  as much work as the main part of the tune. Unfortunately it is rare to
  see a very well built closing in tracked music. People tend to forget the
  importance of endings. Don't forget that it is the last thing the
  listener hears before passing judgement to your tune. So you had better
  make sure he gets a good impression. Surprise him, do something that
  was never expected. And damnit, this sort of volume slide is what we all
  expect. *Yawn*

    The tune leaves me with a sence of disappointment. It could be a great
  piece if a little more effort had been put into introducing a b-part
  that differed from the main part. It seems like it just builds into a
  groove and keeps on going with it, instead of venturing beyond it. Again
  this is about surprising the listener, doing something unexpected. This
  tune just has too much of a copy and paste feel to it. It is still worth
  a listen though. At least to dig those flute leads, they are excellent.

                --Setec


  Song Information:
     Title:  Secret Service
     Author:  Wayfinder
     Filename (zipped/unzipped):  fdg-010.zip / way-ss16.it (IT 2.14)
     File Size (zipped/unzipped):  1.3 MB / 1.4 MB
     Source:  http://www.kosmic.org
              http://pigforce.warande.net/fridge
        Alternate:  http://ic.l7.net/statline/current.html

     "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 and Setec'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!


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Montly Software Review
    Massiva X.044
  By:  Louis Gorenfeld
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
     I realize that this is a magazine focusing on trackers, but I felt this
  program deserved some attention.  It is a MIDI sequencer, but is filled
  with keyboard controls and shortcuts which make it slightly faster and
  easier for people who do not own a MIDI-capable synthesizer.  In
  addition, it supports AWE and SBLive! effects such as filter sweeps, EQ,
  and Sound- fonts.

     It has a number of functions you can perform on patterns.  One makes it
  easy to draw out a simple repeating drum pattern or bassline (you set
  when the notes hit, and it sticks it in).  Another quantizes the notes
  in a special way so that they sound a little more natural (groove
  quantize).

     The MIDI in support is decent, and will quantize the notes as you play
  them (togglable).  It also features a lead-in and metronome (what
  doesn't?).

     Surpisingly, editing is pretty good:  You create chunks of music of
  different sizes (like patterns) that you can pick up and move around
  easily. There does not, however, seem to be a way to fuse patterns
  together.  You can also name parts of your song so that you can go to a
  pull-down menu to skip around easily. For example, you could mark the
  bridge of your song so that if you want to edit it, you can just skip
  right to it.

     However, even with these advantages over most sequencers, several
  problems make this program fall very short of its full potential.  One
  drawback is that it is yet another piano roll styled editor, and this
  makes keyboard control a bit clumsy (though it is precise).  At least
  the author made it easy to set velocities of notes: there is a chart
  underneath the piano roll, and all you have to do is click and drag the
  volume of the note you want to change.

     Another major problem (and the biggest I feel) is stability.  When
  using the AWE's output, the program crashed three times in a half-hour.
  Not only did it crash the program, but forced a reboot.  This never
  happens with other programs on my system.  It later stopped crashing
  (after I stopped clicking on the event list button), but even then it
  corrupted some graphics in memory when I exited the program much the way
  certain old DirectX 1 games did.

     If the author fixes the bugs, this could be a great program for
  synth-less people who want to write webpage music and get sick of people
  complaining about not having ModPlugin for their platform (you know who
  you are!).  In an hour I was able to write about a minute of a done song
  with just the computer keyboard.  So far this is the best free MIDI
  program I have seen: it is easy to learn, fast to use, and precise.  Now
  if they'd just get some of those bugs nailed.

     Rating      : 3/4
     Requirements: Windows 95, GMIDI soundcard (preferrably not FM), MIDI
              keyboard nice to have but not necessary.  Lots of spare time.
     Homepage    : http://home.c2i.net/jaase/massiva.htm

                --Louis Gorenfeld

--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  The Zen of Tracking
     Out of Tempest Depths (with poem)
  By:  Dilvish
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
  -=- A Poem -=-
     Out of tempest depths and rising mists
     the pains of life, and death, and hell will shift
     sorrows take a different form amung the found
     the pains and anguish come around
     what is lost is always found for those who search it out
     footfalls echo through the empty halls
     centuries of dust have staled air and walls
     so many live their lives and never see
     the simple, quiet truth - eternity
     but when you knock, the doors begin to swing
     spirits, with your soul, begin to sing
     the son, once lost and dead, returns again
     and pain, the fated calf, again is slain
     those who watch and never truly see
     will search throughout their lives and never be
     the holy spirit that their spirit made
     to live on earth, and thrice deny the grave
     as mighty Peter thrice denied the Son
     but in the end, the heart in Peter won
     life could never live without an end
     but he who ends will soon begin again
     echos and reflections never cease
     and he who makes a choice will always be
     the father of that choice eternally

  -=- Zen -=-
     Too many people ignore their spiritual being.  Many actually deny
  it's existance and live a purely temporal life.  As musicians, we cannot
  afford to do that.  Without spirit, you may attain skills - you may even
  express and convey emotion - but you will never, no matter how hard you
  try, or how long you live, reach the everlasting depths of spiritual
  expression.

     You will never escape your body and return to sing of life beyond the
  mortal veil.  You will never share the visions and the blessings
  reserved for the faithfull.

     As you develop spiritually, you will begin to understand what our
  existance is about.  You will begin to understand what you should really
  be doing with your life.  You'll stop wasting it away chasing after
  bigger and better toys that only make you smile until you take them for
  granted.

     I must warn you, though.  Spiritual development is not a lazy work.
  You have to actively search out and ponder great truths compiled by
  others over the centuries.  You'll have to decide what you want to
  believe, and share the knowlege you find with others.

     The spirit worlds are not a solitary place.  Without insights and
  feedback from other people, you may never find your way.

     As you begin to comprehend eternity, you will see many things you
  knew all along, but never understood.  It's like seeing in 3D for the
  first time.

     The world around you will come to life.  You will have a much deeper
  understanding and apreciation for your fellow man, and, the best part
  is, you will learn to create on a level you never before imagined.

     I can't begin to tell you what to study, or what to believe, but I
  can tell you that the more you read, the more you will understand.  Do
  not make the mistake of assuming that any one religion has and exclusive
  on spiritual insights.

     I have learned a lot from Budhism, the Bible (particularly the
  ministry of Christ and his established church, as well as Isaiah and
  Revelations), Native American religion, Celtic religion, and, more than
  anything, the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
  Saints, which has provided me with some very profound inspiration in the
  area of understanding the eternities, and at the same time, reminded me
  that eternity might be infinately complex, but it can always be reached
  through the most simple means.

     The path to understanding is built on just a few concepts, but it's
  very easy to lose your wasy.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

     The universe is built in layers from everlasting to everlasting.
  That means there can be nothing more important than anything else.
  Remove any link, and the chain is broken.  Eternity is constructed much
  like tightly woven fabric stretching infinately in every direction.

     Everything depends on everything else.  You can see this very clearly
  in studying nature, and astronomy.  If we hope to succeed as a race (the
  human race), and excell as individuals, we should emulate this
  construction socially.  We should bond together tightly and take
  advantage of each others' unique gifts.

     To get along enought to do that, we need to fill ourselves with the
  spirit of charity.  Charity is a wholy selfless act.  It is the purest
  form of love.  It is everlasting patience with each other.  It is a deep
  desire to understand and fullfill the needs of our fellow man, while
  enduring and forgiving trials of friendship without complaint.

     If we as a race can master charity, there is realistically no limit
  whatsoever to the great things we can accomplish together.

     If we could all come together that way, our mortal veil would be
  lifted forever.  We would all share a collective knowlege and
  understanding never before dreamed of.  Imagine the music we could make
  then.  Music without substance would cease to be.

     I paint a very idealistic picture.  We all know there are people out
  there who couldn't care less about unity or understanding.  People more
  concerned about buying their next quarter-pounder with cheeze than
  understanding or striving for happiness.

     That doesn't mean that you as an individual can't be happy.  When you
  fill your own heart with love, patience, and understanding, and begin to
  look at pain and tradgedies as great opportunity to learn and appreciate
  joy that much more, you will gain the strength to rise above any storm.

                --Dilvish

--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Screen Lit Vertigo
    "Sonic Vertex" by d'oH (party version)
  By:  Seven
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
  Found at http://popsyteam.rtel.fr/VIP
  2nd place at VIP'99

  System Requirements:
     Sure: 2MB HD, Midas-compatible soundcard, VGA-card
     Guessed: 8 MB RAM, any Pentium.

  Test Machine:
     PII 350 64MB SB16, Win98 in dos-mode (BOOTGUI = 0)
  No problems under dos or windows (dos-box).

  The Demo:
     Hmm, a 256-color demo. We don't see that very often today, and it is
  almost always a sign that this is the first demo of a new group. Too bad
  there is no info-file included (except the VIP-entryfile), so I'm only
  85% sure my little theory applies here. The effects are rather simple
  ones: a rotozoom, fire, a particle-starfield-tunnel, a julia-fractal...
  The timing of the effects is OK, except for the tunnel (takes WAY too
  long), and the fire with particles (too short. Maybe it looks
  interesting because it's too short :)). And they seem to like Homer
  Simpson, as you can guess from the group-name and the effects: Homer on
  a rubber pillar, or Homer surrounded by donuts. These Homer-textures
  are,  together with the credit-font, the only pictures, and I'm not sure
  if they are drawn or ripped. Points for originality: the joke in the
  beginning (A really ugly-colored rotating texture, with "Do you feel
  sick? It's our feeling too!"), and the mirrors used with the fractal.
  Takes far less CPU-time and does still looks good. Bad point: not
  everyone in the world speaks French, I thought English was standard
  language for messages in demos?

  The Music:
     Really typical demo-music: 70% percussion without being techno, with
  a catchy tune is repeated in several variations. Maybe it's a bit too
  repetitive, but I think it's the best part of this demo. Synchronization
  is very limited, and at the end the music is just cut of instead of
  faded out. Winamp shows that almost 50 seconds are not played, so I
  suspect there will be an additional part in the final version (hey, I
  know party-coding is awful :)).

  Overall:
     Despite its second place at VIP, it's not very interesting. Feel
  free to ignore it, or at least wait for the final version. For the
  die-hard demo fans, it's only 700 KB zipped, and it runs like charm, so
  go ahead and check it if you're curious.

                --Seven


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Music Etiquette
  By:  Coplan
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
     Welcome to the demo-music scene, a place where you can freely create
  music to your liking useing samples of your choosing.  Just be a little
  careful if you'd like to make and keep friends in this scene.  This
  month, I expect many of you "newbies" to the scene to learn something
  new.  I've seen an aweful lot of songs out there with blatent sample
  rips, and things like that.  Here are a few pointers...

  CREDIT ALL SAMPLES:
     This one should be plain old common sense!  It is with me, as it is
  with almost any song writer.  You grab a sample from a Skaven tune,
  according to most of his music text, he wouldn't care so long as you
  credit the sampler.  This is true with most trackers.  The point is, if
  you didn't create it, it should have someone else's name written on it.
  You wouldn't want someone playing your song and claiming they wrote it
  would you?  I rest my case.

  CREDIT SAMPLES PROPERLY:
     Okay, so I'm hitting the samples thing a bit hard.  But it is
  something that is a big problem these days; people just aren't creating
  their own samples.  To make things worse, there are so many millions of
  samples out there that it's difficult to keep track of them all.
  Chances are, the samples from the song written by another tracker may
  not all be entirely created by him either.  Hopefully he has credited
  his samples properly, because if he has, you'll want to write THAT name
  on your samples list.  For example, I have one song that I created with
  samples that I got from Word Macro.  However, Word Macro has credited
  those samples to Skaven...so, I write Skaven next to the sample.  On
  occasion, it's also acceptable to write "unknown" or "???" next to the
  sample.  Be honest, you don't know where you got the sample...so don't
  credit someone who doesn't necessarily deserve the credit.

  COMPLETE INFORMATION OF ORIGINAL WORKS FOR REMIXES:
     There are several remixes of original songs out there.  There's
  nothing wrong with that, it's an art form that is difficult to do (if
  you've never tried a remix, trust me on this one).  However, it would be
  nice to see ALL the information given from the original track.  Now I'm
  not saying you should include the dedications or the message about how
  he likes to play strip poker with his cats.  That's useless to the
  listener.  On all remixes, you should include the following information
  from the original work:  The author's name (alias and real if given),
  e-mail address of author, the filename of the original work (compressed
  and expanded), your source (where you found it on the 'net), and of
  course the original name if you change it slightly.  It is entirely
  unfair to not list the source and filename, because then the listener
  can't fairly judge if you did a good job or not.

     Sometimes, people remix commercial tunes.  In this case, one should
  list the band name, the song name, the album name and if possible, the
  publishing company.  That isn't courtesy, that's copyright law!  On an
  unrealted note, if you remix something that is less than 7 years old,
  without rights (which you must purchase from the publisher) you can not
  legally accept money for your tune.  This includes compilation CDs such
  as archives.  There may be acceptions for non-profit organizations, but
  I don't know that off the top of my head, and isn't worth the research
  right now.  Just realize that you'll have to complete the research if
  you would like to get money for your tune.

  MENTION CONTRIBUTIONS:
     So you jump on #trax and one of us reviews your unfinished work.
  When it's finished and released, I'd expect to see a short message of
  thanks to that person listed in the song.  This may even hold true even
  if you didn't use any of the feedback...simply because it's time given
  to you.  A simple mention such as "Thanks for the feedback, Susie Cream
  Cheese."

  INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION:
     Plain and simple, include your e-mail, ICQ number, AOL Instant
   Messenger ID...anything that will allow others to contact you.  This is
   for your benefit.  I can say that I've turned down three tunes this
   month simply because I don't know how to get in touch with the artist.
   This is in part what spawned this article.  Plain and simple, if you
   don't include this information...it's only YOUR loss.

   WEBSITES -- DON'T FORGET FILE SIZE AND STYLE:
     Most people are good with listing the author of a given track on
  their websites. However, an awful lot of you forget to list the file
  size and the style of music it is.  I'm lucky to have a fairly fast
  modem.  But not everyone is so lucky.  File takes to long to download?
  Most people will say "Screw it," and move on.  This brings us to why you
  list the style.  Maybe this person really likes orchestral music, and
  your peice is orchestral.  If the file size is too large for that person
  to download, if you have it labeled as orchestral, he may download it at
  a time where he doesn't need the bandwidth (like when he sleeps).
  Consider it a way to let listeners know what to expect so they don't
  curse you in the long run.  On a similar note...make sure it's labeled
  properly.  Don't know?  Ask someone else.

   REVIEWS -- ASK, DON'T COMMAND:
     I don't like to consider myself a snobby reviewer.  In fact most
  people who I've reviewed for will agree with me.  However, it is really
  difficult to enjoy reviewing a song that someone sent me that is well
  over 4 MB, and the person includes a message such as "review this...."
  This has happened on more than one occasion!  Most of those got trashed.
  It's only polite to ask someone if they could review your song
  first...then send it.  This is especially true for e-mail, because many
  ISPs have a size limit on what it'll accept as an attachment.  To prove
  that I'm not being a jerk...I have reviewed a couple Obsidian  Dream
  songs that was well over 3 MB simply because they asked before sending.

   SHARE YOUR WORK, AND EXPECT OTHERS TO DO THE SAME:
      Someone reviews a song for you, they may ask you to do the same in
   the future.  If you have the time, I'd suggest doing so.  First off,
   it'll help you to learn by analyzing their song.  But most importantly,
   it'll keep the door open with welcome mat in place whenever you want
   another review.  No time?  Simple explain that you don't have time, and
   offer to give it a listen at a later date.

   LISTEN TO YOUR OWN WORK:
      Before you unleash it unto the world, make sure that your song fits
   your standards as well as standards commonly accepted by the better
   part of the scene.  This hold true when you ask for opinions of your
   work.  After all, we like to hear good things about our music, and why
   not comb through it ourselves first to increase chances of hearing good
   things?

      Well, that should cover most of the bases.  If I've forgotten
   anything, please send me a message.  For the most part, this can be
   common sense.  Practice these techniques, and I garuntee you'll make
   and keep friends in the scene (barring that you don't screw up some
   other way -- I wouldn't recommend fire-bombing a demo party).

                --Coplan


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Inscene '99
    A live report
  By:  Seven
----=--=------=--=------=--=--
  -=> Editors Note:  The times in this report are given in military time.
     To convert to conventional time, subtract 12 (if greater than 12)
     from  the first number.  For example:  20:36 is the same as 8:36pm
     (pm because  we had to subtract 12).  If your value is 00:31, then
     the time is officially 12:31 am.  I hope this clears things up a
     bit.  On a different note, I assume Seven refers to "Murphy," the guy
     who created "Murphy's Law:  Anything that can go wrong, will go
     wrong."  You'll see what I mean.

                --Coplan

  -=> Note from Seven:  [Notes in brackets were added after the party.]


  FRIDAY:
  -------
  -=- 20:36 -=-
     After about 1:30 hour driving, we [Baxter/Green and I, Seven]
  have arrived at Wilsele-Putkapelle, and thanks to the route-description
  with photos, we found the partyplace in no time. Upon arrival, about
  40 people where already present. It's the first time Inscene is being
  held, there are 85 reservations, so there will probably between 100 and
  150 people. [Later it turned out to be between 70 and 80] Let's hope it
  will be cozy :) All my equipment survived the journey, the only thing
  not working is my brand-new Ethernet card as I hadn't bought cable yet.
  I expected this to be for sale at the partyplace (from sponsors), and
  one of the organizers said this will be the case tomorrow, but they will
  make a UTP-cable for me after they finish setting up the net. Nice
  guys.

     Hmm, they are announcing something about a coupling cable they need
  for something, and if someone could lend it to them. The problem is that
  we're sitting at the back, the soundsystem is playing techno with a
  tunnel-effect on the bigscreen (cool but a bit boring), and behind us
  people are testing their speakers, so we can't really hear what they
  say.

     OK, I'm going to try finishing my 4K.

  -=- 21:27 -=-
     Hmm, I've underestimated the influence of music on coding :) But
  there's some improvement, first they were playing child-tunes ("Kabouter
  Plop" etc), now it's rock. The effects shown on the bigscreen are
  Winamp-plugins. I don't use it very often, so I didn't recognize it
  (Shame on me). Half an hour ago, someone tapped on my shoulder with the
  words (I quote) "Hey, assembly god, can you give me the source of a
  waitretrace?" I suppose he was joking :). He wanted to make a 4K, and as
  I can stand some competition, I gave it to him (and of course I've not
  much to fear from someone who doesn't know a waitretrace <grin>). Almost
  everyone is either playing hard music or games.


  SATURDAY:
  ---------
  -=- 1:16 -=-
     More people have arrived, and there has already been a food run
  (organizers go for the food [mainly pizzas] you ordered), and the
  opening ceremony has happened (1 hour delayed). Not many people. A DJ is
  doing a live performance: house/techno, not really my style. I'm having
  trouble with lots of nasty, hidden bugs in my code.

  -=- 3:21 -=-
     That DJ is still performing, and one guy on the next table with large
  speakers is playing techno too, so I keep my headphones on, while trying
  to add some more stuff to my 4K. Most of the bugs seem to be dead.
  Baxter is browsing the net. The French-speaking guy next to me is
  playing a hunting game, with really cute rabbits and Bambi-style deer,
  you have a zoom on your gun so you can target them and see them explode.
  A bit sick. It's allowed to test the entries. I'll make use of that.

  -=- 3:34 -=-
     The rules for the surprise compos have been announced: for graphics
  and ansi, you must draw something about chickens, coca-cola & dioxins
  (three things Belgium is famous for :)). For the music, you have max 4
  channels, max 8 samples, and 1 or 2 must be very strange. For the
  coding, you must make a random effect (except a fire) in 256 bytes. They
  also said the compo-machine had a harddisk-crash (Murphy strikes
  again), but it will be fixed soon. Hey! Silence! [People decreased the
  volume of their speakers when the orgos wanted to say something or when
  there was a compo, and after the event, it took some time before
  everyone increased the volume again] Let's try to extend the music a bit
  [The intro of the music in my intro :)]

  -=- 6:22 -=-
     The silence didn't last very long :-/ Music is deafening, as usual.
  Three guys with professional cameras and heavy spotlights are walking
  around, filming the room and sleeping sceners under the tables. When
  asked, they said they where from the VRT, one of Belgium's national
  television stations. Too bad they couldn't say when the program would be
  broadcasted. Late in the evening, I hope, and with a warning for the
  sensitive watchers :). When I gave my entry to the organizers for
  testing, it turned out that the compo-machine did not have a
  VESA2-compliant videocard on board, and Univbe didn't recognize the
  chipset (it's one of the newer 3D-cards). So they will swap the
  gfx-card. Murphy didn't seem to like the organizers, as they have also
  had a defective CD-ROM, in addition to the HD-crash. Baxter is watching
  avi's from the net, old wild-demos mostly. There is one very impressive
  from Orange. When I've finished that damn 4K, I have to check these out.
  [Too bad I never found them...]

  -=- 8:42 -=-
     The music-compo has started. Everyone has lowered the volume of their
  speakers, so the music is actually audible. Some pretty good tunes,
  really. The TV-crew has taken some interviews (fortunately not with me,
  phew), and is sitting at a table, looking very tired. I guess they
  aren't used to skipping a night sleep :).

  -=- 11:16 -=-
     'Real Reality' by Never was shown on the bigscreen, and it was great!
  People applauded several times during the demo. The TV-crew has left.
  They have probably enough material for their freakshow. The ansi & ASCII
  competitions had each only two entries, which were rather poor. The guy
  at the projector made some funny remarks about "the excellent quality."
  Damn I'm feeling tired. But guess what? My 4K was a bit too large! But
  after compressing it with Jibz's Apack, I had 800 byte free! I'll have
  to fill the space somehow...

  -=- 16:32 -=-
     A hard-disk throwing compo has been held, with an old HD that weights
  4 KG. Someone managed to throw the thing over 9 meter far. [At the prize
  ceremony Space (one of the main organizers) said it was 10 meter and a
  few cm] Corona & Andromeda (both from Green) have arrived too, and are
  currently working on an entry for the surprise coding compo. Too bad
  it's been a long time since they have worked in assembler: they were
  wondering why "xor ax, ax int 16" didn't work. When I said interrupts
  numbers are hexadecimal (16H), Andromeda asked if that made any
  difference :D. The organizers are making another pizza run, too bad we
  had bought french fries ten minutes before [Hungry & not enough
  patience.] The music competition has just started, but windows crashed
  after 10 seconds. They try again with a DOS-player.

  -=- 21:53 -=-
     Oops. I totally forgot about this report. Was busy doing other
  things, like eating, coding and trying to stay awake. Not easy. The film
  "The Matrix" was shown on the bigscreen, really cool, unless you try to
  concentrate on something else. The music competition had only five
  entries, quite logical due to the low number of attendants [at least we
  had a chance to listen to all tunes, what would be different if it was a
  party with +1000 people and 50 entries]. The 4K-intro compo should start
  in a few minutes, if the schedule is kept. I didn't managed to fill all
  space in my intro, as it kept crashing whenever I changed something. I'm
  glad that I'm finished with it, and I started browsing the net with my
  brains at zero (as if someone notices the difference :)).


  SUNDAY:
  -------
  -=- 00:14 -=-
     The 100Kb game compo took place, with two decent entries and one 100%
  batch-file driven ascii-game :) Compos are already more than 3 hours
  delayed. Hmm, the ray-trace compo passed, and the graphics should follow
  in ten minutes. There's techno played on the main soundsystem. Most
  people are browsing the net or working, I see no gamers anymore.

  -=- 1:25 -=-
     The graphics & the 4K-intro are passed. The good news is that I'll
  have the first place! The bad news is that there where no other entries.
  Damn! I sure would have liked some competition. But hey, I'm happy it
  didn't crash or something.

  -=- 3:48 -=-
     There where 2 not-very good 64K-demos, and one "wild" entry, which
  was basically a slideshow of wild animals. It seems few people are
  willing to spend time in making a quality entry for a small party. After
  that, we became sinners, outcasts, criminals: we played Quake at a
  demoparty (Hey, it was at night! Nobody saw us! They were all
  sleeping!!). The one and only demo (Magnus Effect/Aspirine) was a
  Linux-demo using OpenPTC, so it is difficult to know how good it is.
  According to the Linux-fanatic DJefke, who is sitting behind us, demos
  can do more under Linux than under Windows. I don't know and I don't
  care, I'm going to catch some sleep.

  -=- 9:12 -=-
     Up & awake (more or less) again. There's not much to do, I suppose I
  have missed the surprise graphics. Lots of people are sleeping, one guy
  is even laying on his sleeping bag in the parking lot outside the
  partyplace. Feeling hungry, let's get breakfast (breakfast = anything
  you eat after you've been asleep, regardless what it is and of what time
  it is). [ The coding compo was skipped because there was a virus on the
  compo-machine, probably infected when the orgos booted from a submitted
  disk -- Murphy strikes again].

  -=- 13:30 -=-
     Not much new, except that Baxter & I didn't know the deadline for the
  voting (prolly asleep when they announced it) [Indeed], and so I filled
  in the votesheet for nothing (yes, good old voting on paper).

  -=- 15:20 -=-
     The prize ceremony is happening, and since this is a small party,
  almost everyone who competed did win :). The combination of the facts
  that some people competed in several compos, and that every winner gets
  a T-shirt & some software, leads us to the conclusion that some people
  will get enough T-shirts for the rest of the year. (one guy got 5
  T-shirts, which he put on over each other :)). For the demo-compo,
  they are currently trying to show it again. Ok, it's running now. I'm
  not gonna describe it now, as I will review it. Hmm, it has an extra
  part at the end that wasn't shown the first time. [It wasn't until I was
  at home that I realized that I can't run a linux demo. And it wouldn't
  be fair to describe it by memory, as my memory is not really in good
  shape.]

  -=- 16:56 -=-
     When the makers of Magnus Effect got on stage to collect their
  prizes, they had the occasion to say something. One of them said: "Thank
  you all for playing games and watching porn during the party, and
  listening to MP3's instead of creating an ass-kicking demo." I agree
  with their statement: winning is nice, but it's less exciting if you're
  the only participant. Space said they will organize Inscene again next
  year, and everyone cheered. After that, people started to pack up.
  Baxter & Corona are playing Half-Life, and there are about 25 people
  left at the moment. Someone thinks this is a reason to play techno
  REALLY loud.

     [When we were waiting for Corona's father to pick him up, one of the
  orgos asked if we wanted to help empty the remaining beer-supply. We
  accepted :) We talked a bit about what we thought of the party (small
  but very nice) and what they would do different next year (start
  organizing sooner and with more people, 3 men with the help of a few
  friends during the event is just not enough). After that, we drove home.

     As conclusion, I think Inscene was very good for a first-time party.
  The network was fast, there where no power failures (according to
  Appel/Ecolove, if that had happened, only half a table would have had no
  power, 1 table = 12 meters), and the number of entries was not that bad.
  If there would have been 10 times more people, making it a medium-sized
  party, we would have had 50 tunes, 10 4k-intros, 20 64k-intros and 10
  demos, which is about average. I hope it will be bigger next year,
  without losing the quality it already has. I'll be there anyway!

                --Seven

--=--=--
----=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------=--=------
  Editor:             Coplan / D. Travis North / coplan.ic@rcn.com
  Assistant Editors:  Ranger Rick / Ben Reed / ranger@where.are.u.com
                       Subliminal / Matt Friedly / sub@plazma.net
  Web Manager:        Dilvish / Eric Hamilton / dilvie@yahoo.com
  Columnists:         Coplan / D. Travis North / coplan.ic@rcn.com
                       Calvin French / frenchc@cadvision.com
                       Dilvish / Eric Hamilton / dilvie@yahoo.com
                       Louis Gorenfeld / gorenfeld@vrone.net
                       Seven / Stefaan / Stefaan.VanNieuwenhuyze@rug.ac.be
  Staff Writers:      Acell / Jamie LeSouef / jlesouef@melbpc.org.au
                       Darkheart / Zach Heitling / darkhart@san.rr.com
                       Psychic Symphony / psychic@esoterica.pt
                       Setec / Jesper Pederson / jesped@post.tele.dk
                       SiN / Ian Haskin / sin@netcom.ca
  Technical Support:  Draggy / Nicolas St. Pierre / draggy@kosmic.org
                       Jim / Jim Nicholson / jim@kosmic.org

  Static Line on the Web:  http://www.ic.l7.net/statline
                           ftp://demo.cat.hu/scene/DiskMag/StaticLine

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     See you next month!

-eof---=------=--=------=--=--
