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_\\__T_A_T_I_C___L_I_N_E_____________________________________ December, 2001
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\\//__ Monthly Scene E-Zine ________________________________ 243 Subscribers
_____________________________________________________________________________


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  Table Of Contents
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     Opening:
           Message From the Editor
           Letters From Our Readers
     Features:
        SceneSpot Update
        Coma 3 Party Report
        Law of Convolution -- Fundamentals of Synthesis
        Memory Madness
     Columns:
        Music:
           In Tune -- "dreamcoat" by mistrial
           The Listener -- Music from Aural Planet and funkymuskrat
        Demo:
           Screen Lit Vertigo -- "Gerbera", "Polyester Pimp Deluxe"
                                 and "Don Quijote V2.0"
        General:
           Editorial -- The Scene Rebirth
           Link List -- Get Somewhere in the Scene
        Closing:
           Credits

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  Message From the Editor
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     well, as promised, we're back!  Yes, it was another crazy few months,
  and I'm sorry we missed a month in there.  But I assure you, it was well
  worth it.  We have a lot to share with you this month, as you will see.

     We have some very special feature articles for you this month.
  First,  we have a first-hand record of Coma 2 in a party report from the
  one and only Phoenix (aka: feen).  Then, Seven offers his take on how
  the  availability of cheap RAM might affect the demoscene in "Memory
  Madness". If you want to get caught up on what I've been doing with
  SceneSpot, you can learn  about that this month too in my "SceneSpot
  Update".  And finally, we  have a very special article from Setec
  concerning some more basics on  synthesis theory, the "Law of
  Convolution."

     Of course, all our regular columns are back as well, and plenty of
  reading to do there as well.

     As always, we're always looking for more articles, more columns and
  so  on.  The larger we can build our writing staff, the better this
  magazine  will be.  If you have any interest in writing, even if you
  don't know  what you'd write about, e-mail me at coplan@scenespot.org.

     Well, that's all for now.  I will let you read on through this issue
  of  Static Line.  Until next month, enjoy!

                --Coplan


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  SceneSpot Update
  By: Coplan
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     I'd like to take this opportunity to get everyone up to date on the
  latest happenings for SceneSpot.  For those of you yet unaware,
  SceneSpot is a Scene web resource project that is currently being
  undertaken in conjunction with Static Line.  While SceneSpot hosts
  Static Line, and Static Line drives most of the site, there are still
  many features that SceneSpot has to offer the average user.  Check out
  SceneSpot:  http://www.scenespot.org

     It's been around for a while, but Tune Tracker keeps growing.  Tune
  Tracker is basically a way for people to announce their song releases
  and keep track of other people's song releases.  Many of our members
  currently use it often, but the user base is growing, which means more
  songs keep popping up.  But now, Tune Tracker should be easier to
  navigate, as we have finally installed an index system to browse more
  than the latest tunes.  And the search function now works for Tune
  Tracker as well.  In the future, one can expect some more in-depth
  searching, and broader features of Tune Tracker as well.  On a side
  note, you must be a SceneSpot member to submit songs to Tune Tracker,
  but you need not be a member to view the latest releases.

     The Links database is finally fully functional.  Members and
  non-members alike can submit links to the database.  If approved, these
  links get collected into the database for all to see.  It's a good way
  to get your scene related sites noticed.  Eventually, this database
  will replace the vast links list that appears at the end of every
  Static Line issue.

     For those of you who aren't aware, any member can submit news to the
  site.  This can be party announcements, software releases, and other
  scene happenings.  It's a good place to stick your news brief.

     There is much more to come in the next few months.  A voting booth
  should be popping up soon, in which you will have a voice in what gets
  developed next.  Tune Tracker will continue to grow with many new
  features planned, and the Group database will also continue to grow.
  Keep checking back for the latest news and resources on SceneSpot.  And
  as always, if you think you have something you might be able to
  contribute, send an e-mail to coplan@scenespot.org and let us know what
  you can do.

     As always, thank you for your feedback and support as we strive to
  make SceneSpot the perfect site for you.

                --Coplan


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  Coma 3 Party Report
  By: Phoenix
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     I haven't written one of these reports in years, so either I'm going
  to have to write nonstop without thinking or else it won't get done.
  So, let's begin.

     Friday, November 16, 2001:  After buying some party food/drinks, and
  waiting far too long for an oil change, I'm on the road somewhere around
  3pm.  The trip goes well, though with no-one else to talk with for 6
  hours, a bit dull. I had expected tighter security at customs.  But even
  with a purchase of vodka at the duty free shop, I was pratically waved
  through into Canada once again. I couldn't find the right exit for the
  University of Montreal (well, I didn't know quite what to look for), but
  after a stop and map-check, I found my way back and reached the site
  shortly after 9pm, right when parking became free.

     Coma was held in the Polytechnic building of the university, on the
  top (6th) floor. A few signs directed me up an elevator.  I saw some
  people on laptops down the hall, but they were just students!  Who in
  their right mind does classwork on a Friday night? :) Further down was
  the room for Coma.  I signed a sheet, filled out computer info for
  security purposes, and scoped it out.

     The room was rather small, but at least there were some people there.
  I found fellow DC5-mate TheFinn, who had flown all the way from Oregon!
  (no fear of terrorists here). We managed to get a cart and brought my
  stuff up.  This was actually the first party I'd brought my computer to,
  and I had several boxes with CDs, ads and misc stuff.  I was able to set
  up close to the entrance. I was told I would have my own projector to
  show demos with, but I found out that some other university group took
  it, oh well.  I had to settle with my old 15" monitor.  This year there
  was a network connection, and TheFinn was on #trax for a short while,
  but I didn't bother hooking up to it.  More people started coming in,
  and it appeared that more people were around the first night than the
  first night of Coma2 in 2000.  I met up once again with the Suboptical
  guys + Anterabae/Astrid, a couple guys from Maryland, DCB (including
  Snibble!), some ex-NAID organizers, and a few people I hadn't seen in
  years, including Depth/Excused and Mental Floss (former fellow Kosmic
  musician).  After showing some demos on my machine, we headed to the
  first couple compos, wild and animation.  Instead of a dinky screen,
  they were held in an auditorium, just across the hall!  This was pretty
  cool, but the entries didn't quite live up to it :).  The wild compo
  included mixed computer animation and film from Zelkor/Razor1911 and a
  silly short film made by some ex-NAID organizers, though it wasn't made
  for Coma.  The best animation was a stereoscopic one, where you relax
  your focus to get a fake 3D effect.  I couldn't do it but I saw many
  others holding fingers up to their eyes trying.  Afterwards I put on a
  pair of headphones and entered the 10 minute tracking compo.. well, I
  felt I had to enter something!  I dubbed my short tune "I am an old
  fart".

     The next morning (I didn't sleep, having had much (caffeinated) Mt. Dew
  & Absolut Citron) I went out to breakfast with Sylphin and Mr. Khan,
  where we discussed NAID, the naid.net site, and jobs, while bearing with
  some horrible fussy American lady next to us.  Back at the party, I met
  up with Anonym/Padua, known well in the European C64 scene, and the
  "thematic" compo was announced. The theme was "cucumbers".  I
  contemplated making a demo, but I didn't get around to it.  The guys
  from Suboptical (Sylphin & Vastator, backed up by Kindred and Diver777)
  were still frantically working on their demo.  I checked out a seminar
  for Game Boy Advance coding.  Unfortunately I was getting tired by this
  point, and found myself almost falling asleep.  It was put on by Gladius
  (or was it Phil Rate?) and RV.  It was kind of neat to see all the
  technical capabilities of the system, but it kind of seemed like one big
  ad for their Paragon 5 music system.  Following this was, huzzah, my one
  big ad for MindCandy, the DemoDVD project!  But I tried to have fun.  We
  made promotional Video CDs for Coma, which had 7 demos on them, but I
  only had time to make nine copies.  So I played a "name that demo" game
  to give them away.  Around 20-30 people showed up for the giveaway,
  which wasn't too bad since that was nearly half the people present at
  Coma at the time.  After this came the gfx and music compos, which I
  must say left me disappointed. But it makes me want to get back into
  tracking, since maybe now I can win a compo :).

     Saturday night I went into Montreal with a bunch of guys looking for
  food. We found a Middle Eastern place called, get this, "Monssieur
  Falafel".  Almost as amusing as PFK. :)  It was a quite cold walk, but a
  lot of fun talking about the North American scene and ripping on the
  lamers within.  I missed the 10 minute gfx compo, but life goes on.

     Finally came the demo competition.  This year there were 13 entries,
  one more than last year.  That wasn't too bad, considering the rather
  short notice and somber mood this year.  But then, this was the only
  compo with serious prizes. Two-time Coma winner Creative Impact returned
  with Project Ayumi, trying 3d character animation this time.
  Unfortunately, it had an unfinished feel to it and seemed to bore the
  crowd enough into giving them a relatively shameful 7th place.  Which is
  too bad, since they put a good amount of effort into it (and I liked the
  music too).  Suboptical's demo looked and sounded nice on the big
  screen, which is typically what they aim for.  It ended up 4th though; I
  imagine it confused the audience a little toward the end.  MadBrain, a
  young multi-talented guy from the Quebec city area, made a demo with
  nothing but cubes.  The crowd was entertained and gave it 3rd place. It
  included house scenes, a guy driving (wildly) with cube wheels, cube
  fire, and a cube fountain, among other things.  2nd place went to the
  recently reformed Razor 1911 demo group, this time based in France but
  with a French- canadian member as well.  It was pleasing to the ears and
  eyes, nothing fancy, something which may not have done so well in Europe
  but just fine in Canada. And the winner?  A trio of Montrealeans dubbing
  themselves "The Project" created a humor piece called "ABCDemo" which
  was one large laugh-out-loud demoscene satire.  It features two
  faintly-familiar-looking cartoon characters, dubbed simply "Fido" and
  "Bobo", who show a five-step how-to-make-a-demo tape. The voice acting
  is great, the jabs are even better, but what they rip on is actually now
  considered old and outdated, at least by the Euros.  Still, the crowd
  enjoyed it enough to vote it the winner.  They got $500 (Canadian) or
  so, which is at least better than the single French-language games most
  everyone else won.

     After the awards were given out, I finally got some sleep.  There was
  just one classroom for sleeping, but all the Montreal people went home
  so there was plenty of room and it was more than quiet enough.  By the
  time I got up Sunday and found the shower (yes, there was just one, two
  floors down), most everyone had left.  I said goodbye to the remaining
  few, handed out my two remaining VideoCDs, and headed for home, once
  again without trouble.

  So to sum up, here are some pros and cons of Coma3, compared to last
  year:

  Pros:
  - Better location.  I didn't like the 6th floor bit, but it was cool to
    be back at a university.  And the auditorium across the hall was
    great!  Much better than a church basement.  I wouldn't complain if
    Coma4 were held in the same place.  And next time we should just take
    over the whole damned floor, who needs to study over the weekend
    anyway. :)

  - Better big screen, for sure!  The audio was high quality, but IMO not
    loud enough :).

  - Friendly atmosphere.  You can talk to about anyone there, though some
    people were a bit shy.

  - Nothing got stolen, of mine at least.  My stuff was right out in the
    open, so maybe I was lucky.

  - The demos were a little bit more entertaining than last year.

  - The organizers did a pretty good job of moving things along and making
    sure people got where they needed to.

  Cons:
  - There just was not enough enthusiasm or interest.  I hate having to
    blame the hard-working organizers, but I saw very little advertising
    for Coma3, and there just weren't enough activities.  How about some
    outdoor compos? Live performances?  Demo shows? (okay, I should've
    brought it upon myself to do more of the latter)  There were around
    100 people at the demo compo, but during the rest of the party it was
    hard to count more than 40 or so. The reason?  The rest just didn't
    feel it was worth staying around the whole time.  With more people
    helping out, that can be changed next time. One suggestion is for more
    sceners/ex-sceners with scene-related jobs (games, gfx, music) to have
    their companies sponsor the next Coma.  More prize money always
    results in better compo entries. :)

  - There were 13 demos, true.  But count the number of _American_ demos.
    None.  ZERO.  This felt like a nail-in-the-coffin for the American
    scene, even when the Canadians were still pushing on.  I don't know if
    the current war and terror scare can be blamed for this, maybe.  As a
    citizen of the U.S. of A., I feel this shrinking trend _can_ be
    reversed.  Just look at all the sceners on ojuice.net with American
    flags next to their names.  Where are they?  We can't really call it a
    "North American" scene when just one country is productive.  At least
    I had the DemoDVD excuse. :)

  - Some people complained about the public-only voting.  It's true that
    people tend to vote for demos with weird/silly gimmicks in them,
    regardless of quality, but I'm not sure if having a jury would have
    changed the results much.  Voting was done on a 1-to-10 scale per
    entry, which was good, but having a jury voting more on technicality
    couldn't hurt.

  - We still have a loooong way to go to get back up to a NAID-level
    party.


     There, I hope I didn't bore you to tears with my Coma3 report.  I had
  a fun time, and I'm still hopeful for the Western hemisphere.  See you
  at Coma4!

                --feen/dc5 aka Phoenix/Hornet


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  Law of Convolution
     Fundamentals of Synthesis
  By: Jesper Pedersen (aka: Setec)
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     This article focuses on the fundamental law of sound synthesis: The
  law of convolution. It is a very short, simple law, but the implications
  of it are tremendous. And it is my experience that it is rarely
  understood properly by people without any synthesis theory background,
  due to the fact that at first it is not entirely intuitive.

     Before rushing into the actual law, we need to establish a few basic
  concepts. Mainly the representation of sound in the time-domain and the
  frequency-domain. These are simply two different ways of visualizing
  sound, which are however vital to the understanding of the law of
  convolution.

  NOTE : All of this requires the fundamental understanding that a sound
  consists of multiple frequencies, determining the timbre of the sound.
  If these concepts are a bit hazy to you, I suggest you read a former
  article of mine, "See the Sines:  Basics of Sound" published in Static
  Line issue #9: March, 1999.  You might want to also check out another
  article, "Subtractive Synthesis: The Basics" published in Static Line
  issue #27: November, 2000. (Both articles are available at the
  SceneSpot/Static Line site: http://www.scenespot.org/staticline ).

  Time-Domain:
     One way to represent sound is to use a graph showing time along the
  x-axis and change in air pressure along the y-axis. This is the
  representation you usually see in a sample editor and in the sample
  windows of trackers. It is the most common way to visualize sound. So
  what can be visualized using this domain? Mainly, changes in amplitude
  over time, since the amount of change in air pressure is - in a
  simplified case - perceived as amplitude. This is very intuitive and all
  of you probably understand this.

     One thing, however, that the time-domain is not that good at
  visualizing is the harmonic contents of a sound. It might give you an
  idea as to how "bright" the sound is, but you won't be able to really
  visualize the complete harmonic contents. Which brings us to...

  Frequency-domain:
     In this domain, the x-axis represents frequency and the y-axis
  amplitude. So this directly gives you the harmonic contents of the
  sound, the amplitude of each frequency contained in the sound. So what
  are we lacking here? Well, exactly what the time-domain was so good at
  picturing; changes in amplitude. The 2-dimensional version of the
  frequency-domain gives you the harmonic contents AT A FIXED TIME. It
  does not contain any information about how the harmonics change over
  time, it gives you the contents at one instant in time. This is why
  sometimes, 3-dimensional graphs are used for frequency-domains, time
  being the third axis.

     Okay, so you should have a pretty clear idea of the different domains
  and their use. So here is what it is all about, the law of convolution:

        Convolution in the time-domain is equal to multiplication
        in the frequency-domain and vice versa.

     Now, the object of this article isn't to explain what convolution is.
  This is a topic that reaches far beyond the scope of this article, but
  something I might touch in later articles. However, the idea I want to
  get across here is that:

        Multiplication in the time-domain is equal to a CHANGE in
        the frequency-domain and vice versa.

     So without specifying excactly what is changed and how, the
  implications of this law are still surprising. If you are not yet
  impressed by any of this, stop to think for a moment about this last
  version of the law; whenever you multiply one waveform with another in
  the time-domain, the harmonic contents of the sound is changed. Still
  not surprised?

     This actually means that whenever you apply an amplitude envelope in
  your sampler or in a tracker or whatever editor you use, you are not
  only changing the time-domain of the sound, you are also altering the
  harmonic contents of the sound. Now if this seems to go against your
  everyday experience - and indeed intuition - then it is because the
  amplitude modulation you will usually apply via envelopes will consist
  of a waveform with a VERY low frequency. So although harmonics are added
  to the sound, they are two low-pitched for you to hear them. But as soon
  as the modulation waveform reaches an audible frequency, you will start
  hearing these changes.

     This fundamental law of synthesis reaches far beyond the concepts
  that I have described in this article. Reverberation is another area
  that uses this law with great results. Even filters can be simulated
  using so-called Impulse Responses and convolution in the time-domain.

     To understand the basic ideas of IRs and their use, it must be
  understood that a single horizontal line in the time-domain - an Impulse
  - contains ALL frequencies at equal levels, a vertical line in the
  frequency domain. Whereas a single horizontal line in the
  frequency-domain naturally corresponds to a sine wave, which is the only
  wave containing just a single frequency.

     So what are Impulse Responses? These are recordings of the response of
  something to an Impulse. This means that there is an IR for the room you
  are sitting in. Your room will bounce sound of walls, creating
  reflections of the sound, what is usually known as reverberation. These
  reflections will create a sound that contains several different versions
  of the intial Impulse, spread out in time and with varying amplitude.

     Now, convolution works by combining a source sound with an IR, so
  that at each and every time-domain component of the IR, the source sound
  is played back at an amplitude corresponding to the current IR
  component. See how this will work to create an effect to make it sound
  as if the source sound is played in the room where the IR was recorded?
  We are excactly duplicating the reflections of the room, their position
  in time as well as their amplitude. And from the law of convolution this
  means that we are changing the harmonic contents of the sound as well.
  This is why reverb doesn't simply add "room" to the sound, it also
  changes the timbre of the sound quite a lot.

     IRs can be recorded - or simulated more often - for filters as well.
  Or microphones, guitar amplifiers, etc. And so, all these components can
  be simulated through convolution. With - as always - a convolution in
  the time-domain creating changes in the frequency domain.

     Well, it seemed like I ended up describing - in simple terms -
  convolution as well. It is a very interesting topic and one that reaches
  into pretty much any area of synthesis. Now the way I described how
  convolution works is correct, but you can imagine that realizing it
  exactly how I described it - actually playing the source sample at each
  point of the IR - is a pretty demanding task. An IR lasting, say 5
  seconds, will contain:

       5s * 44100Hz = 220500 samples

     And according to how I described it, this is how many times the
  source sound would have to be played and mixed. Quite a lot, and pretty
  heavy on even the fastest processors.

     So rather than doing this, sound processors use advanced mathematical
  theories to reach the same goal. But the fundamental idea of how
  convolution works remains. And the law of convolution is always there.

     Ain't it clever? :)

     As usual, any comments, questions or corrections you might have, feel
  free to mail me about it. I am not a genious when it comes to sound
  synthesis, this is purely a study on a hobby level, so if I have any of
  these concepts mixed up or misunderstood, please correct me.

                --Jesper Pedersen
                  Setec / pHluid
                  jesper@befunk.com


--=--=--
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  Memory Madness
  By: Seven
----=--=------=--=------=--=--

     We all know computers and their components become faster, better
  and/or cheaper every year. It's a fact of life, a law of nature, and
  I've become so accustomed to it that I sometimes find myself wondering
  in a shop why the food or the clothes haven't dropped significantly in
  price the last six months. But even then I'm sometimes taken aback by
  the speed of progress.

     Last week I was reading The Register (www.theregister.co.uk) where
  they mentioned that the prices of RAM chips were at an all-time low. I
  checked the website of my local hardware shop, and behold: a 512 MB
  PC133 DIMM costs only 116 Euro! I jumped on my bike, raced to the shop
  and placed an order.

     To clue some of you youngsters in: the first time I bought extra
  memory, 5 or 6 years ago, I paid about the same for a 4 MB chip. Exactly
  one year ago, I paid 100 Euro for my extra 64MB! We're talking about a
  7-fold increase in MB per Euro, in one single year! In fact, if I didn't
  have a crappy motherboard with only two (yes 2) memory slots, I would
  have gone for the 3 times 256 MB, which costs only 99 Euro. Three
  quarters of a gigabyte RAM, I've had a harddisk a fraction of that size!
  It's madness, I tell you!

     Of course the situation today is exceptional: there's a recession,
  the PC market is saturated, the events of 9-11 haven't helped consumer
  confidence in any way, but the memory manufacturers are still producing
  lots of chips. There's a gross overproduction, chips are sold at dumping
  prizes and the manufacturers are basically waiting to see who's gonna go
  bankrupt first, so that production will decrease and prizes will rise
  again (As a reference, a 128 MB SIMM EDO costs a whopping 483 Euro!
  That's 4 times *more* for 4 times *less* memory, of an outdated and
  slower type, simple because it isn't made anymore ). Maybe the launch of
  WinXP will result in people buying more memory or new computers, but if
  that will be enough to eliminate the big stockpiles?  Who knows...

     Anyway, when my order arrives I'll have 128 + 512 = 640 MB RAM. As a
  wise man once said, "640 MB should be enough for everybody!" (or
  something like that :>) That obscene large amount of memory has got me
  thinking about a few things. For instance, we're quickly nearing the 4
  Gigabyte limit that's imposed on all 32-bit CPUs. In fact it's worse,
  because many operating systems reserve a large hunk of the memory space
  for their own use (Win9x uses 2 GB and WinNT 1 GB, IIRC). And you don't
  want to upgrade from 2 to 3 or 4 Gig RAM if only the OS can profit from
  that extra headroom. I hope from the bottom of my heart that by that
  time we'll have all upgraded to 64-bit processors, instead of falling
  victim to, say, "MS XMS-32" or "EMM for WinXP", or similar hacks from
  the era of the 640KB DOS limit. (If you don't know what I'm talking
  about, praise yourself very lucky).

     But, to stop bragging and to go back on the topic of this fine mag:
  How will this influence the demoscene? Will it result in more and more
  sloppy coding? Will people use uncompressed BMPs or TIFFs for the images
  in the demos, because the're too lazy to use a decompression lib, "and
  hey, memory is cheap"? Will they keep all the MP3's of their super-duper
  multi-part demo in memory from the start, instead of deallocating one
  when it's been played, and loading another when showing a picture or
  using another thread? Will we see "This demo needs at least 2 GB
  RAM"-errormessages in future productions?

     The answer to the previous questions is definately "Yes!", simply
  because all of these things happen already (OK, except that last one).
  Adding memory is not going to improve the situation. But I certainly
  hope that there will be at least a few coders who actually make use of
  the extra capacity. For example, imagine this: some years ahead, you
  watch a normal 3D demo, but it's optimized for memory and CPU usage.
  While you're admiring some nifty effects that the 3D card is drawing
  with pixel shaders, the CPU is secretly doing software raytracing,
  rendering to the 2 Gig memory. At the end of the 5-minutes demo, a 30
  second movie is shown, at the same quality of Shrek or Final Fantasy.
  That would be something impressive! (Technically, at least).

     In short, I hope that the coders, especially those with a job and a
  big fat PC, will not squander all that memory, but will either create
  never-seen-before effects, or remember the kids who had to use their
  dad's old PC with "only" 512 MB RAM, and the sceners in countries where
  new hardware is a luxury for the happy few, and thus optimize their demo
  so that it runs on a 2-year old PC. Yes I know it's unlikely, but I can
  hope...

     </Rant>

                --Seven


--=--=--
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  In Tune
     "dreamcoat" by mistrial
  By:  Coplan
----=--=------=--=------=--=--

  -=- Introduction -=-
     Here I am, ever wandering about the 'net, ever trying to find some
  good music to listen to.  For me to like a tune, it only has to do one
  of to things:  1) relax me or 2) entertain me.  There are very few
  tunes that I've listened to that do both.  I don't mean to make it
  sound like I'm really that obtuse.  In all honesty, entertainment and
  relaxation are two opposite emotions to me.  But, on the rare occasion,
  I have a relaxing tune with so much dynamics in it that I am also
  entertained at some level.

     The song, "dreamcoat", by mistrial (of Hellven) just happens to be
  one of those songs.  So, I'll share it with you today.


  -=- The Tune -=-
     Let me start by saying this is not your typical song.  I actually am
  not quite sure how one would classify this one.  I would say it's a
  blend between DnB, Ambient and Trance.  But then again, I've never been
  good at classifying these borderline styles (and especially with the
  electronic styles, there are so many sub-styles as well).

     As I said in my introduction, this song is very relaxing.  If you turn
  it down below that critical volume point, you can just sit and dream the
  day away.  It's the type of song that you might be able to use in one of
  those old continuous, repeating demos.  You could loop this song for
  hours, and not really notice that it ever ended.  Don't get me wrong, I
  have nothing against songs with no definate mood changes.  This is why
  ambient music was created, isn't it?  But the song has a very even,
  mellow tone throughout the song.

     Need I remind you, I did also say that the song was very entertaining
  as  well.  When I say "entertaining", I don't mean that the average
  mellow tune doesn't entertain me.  I mean it has a very interesting and
  unique feel to it.  It's one of those songs that has a feeling like no
  other.  This song in particular has a very characteristic percussion.
  This is why I think one could easily classify the tune as a DNB song.
  While it is by no means the focus of the song, it definately adds a
  level to the song that is almost required in a tune like this.  The
  percussion itself is always evolving throughout the song.  It creates
  the mood of the song, for the most part, and it truly defines the song.
  There are a few parts in the song where there is no percussion, and it
  is at these points that you appreciate the amount of time that was
  dedicated to the development of such an interesting percussion line.
  It pulls you it, it gets you excited, and then it dissappears, making
  you want for more.

     There is a lot of perepheral things happening throughout the song as
  well. Those subtle little q-blips and that very low-volume, low
  frequency clean synth in the background add a very unique depth to the
  song.  In a musical style that is not rock, these little things are
  essential, and quite often make the song -- sometimes even without being
  noticed.  These are the things that made Jean M. Jarre the world famous
  composer that he is.  These are the things that put Mike Oldfield on the
  map (as crazy as his music is).  And these are the things that mistrial
  pinned down for this song.  Brilliant work.

     Otherwise, the song might seem a bit repetative and simple to some.
  But that's the beauty of music.  Simplicity can have as much affect on
  a person as a truly complex and dynamic tune.  Just because it's
  simple, though, doesn't mean that it isn't going to be dynamic.  This
  is a perfect example of how dynamic a simple tune can sound.  But I
  will agree, the chord progression is very repetative.  And considering
  it is carried out in the foreground of this song, it might drive some
  traditional thinkers nuts.  But I find it very refreshing that it is
  used in such a way.  There is still enough going on in the song to keep
  your interest throughout the entire score.


  -=- Conclusion -=-
     Well, "dreamcoat" might not be a download for everyone.  If you're
  into DNB and/or ambient, you will definately want to grab it.  The
  mixing quality of the song is very well done.  The sample quality is
  also very impressive.  As a whole, the song sounds like it was mixed
  very professionally.

     If you do grab the song, I have one warning.  While I've been writing
  this review, and a little before perhaps, the song has been repeating on
  my stereo.  It's been repeating for well over an hour now.  I could stop
  it right now, and it would still repeat in my head for another few
  hours.  Play it a couple of times, but stop it before it etches itself
  into your brain.

                --Coplan


  Song Information:
     Title:  dreamcoat
     Author:  mistrial of Hellven
     Release date:  November 15, 2001
     Length:  6.24
     File Size:  5.85 MB
     Source:  http://www.hellven.org


     "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!


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  The Listener
    Music from Aural Planet and funkymuskrat
  By:  Tryhuk
----=--=------=--=------=--=--

     It's been quite a long time since I wrote something for Static Line
  and paid a full attention to it. There were an unhealthy many reasons
  for this, and I won't torture you with them. The point reason I am
  mentioning this is that I want to cater (again) to young readers to
  support the magazine.  Although any magazine needs its regular staff, it
  also needs articles from its readers, something that will spice up
  every issue. We all had to be readers first and if you want the Static
  Line to live, you have to help it.

     I felt quite funny when I started to write a first review for this
  issue. It really sucked compared to articles I've written for previous
  issues. Unfortunately for you, this doesn't stop me from mentioning a
  few interesting songs I heard during last few days.


  -=- "Stimulation 2" by Aural Planet -=-

  http://www.auralplanet.com/download/free/Aural%20Planet%20-%20stimulation2.mp3

     I believe that everyone knows this great group. "Stimulation 2" is
  one of the free releases at the side of the commercial CDs: "Lightflow"
  and "Part Second". Its style nears most to dnb. A reason for this is
  that a lot of attention has been given to the beat (of course). Still,
  its drum line has elements of progressive styles like 2step, which tend
  to mix simple house beats with styles that have richer drum line. No
  matter what style this track is, it is an effective composition that
  pulsates with energy. I know this "review" doesn't help much, but a few
  days ago it really fit to my mood and made the workday less painful.


  -=- "...presenting Superbeat" by funkymuskrat -=-

  http://hellven.microspy.org/hv054_-_funkymuskrat_-_presenting_superbeat.mp3

     As you would guess, I've always been a fan of Ari aka: Stalker, aka:
  funkymuskrat. The reason:  His obvious talent for mixing experimental
  elements of his own with awesome leads which are simple, but work
  amazingly well. He also has a very good feeling for chord progressions,
  like Necros, and this all makes for his unique music. His latest release
  for Hellven is exactly one of his exceptional tunes that demonstrates
  his musical ability.  Ari has also released a musicdisk made in
  cooperation with clover.  It contains 5 tracks of "chill out" music.  If
  you are into this style, you might as well give it a try. I have to
  mention it again: Ari belongs to people with style.


     Well, I feel this is enough for today. But as a bonus, I'll mention
  another tune:  "Plateau" by Mosaik (aka: Radix). It is a pleasant
  ambient work. Nothing else to say. You can find it at:

  http://www.scene.org/~radix/mp3/mosaik-plateau.mp3

     Then of course, there are releases by tdr which keeps high standards.
  But it is too difficult to pick one release. You'll have to choose for
  yourself what fits to your taste best. I wasn't disappointed, but I also
  wasn't excited that much by any of the tracks.

     See you next month.

                --Tryhuk


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Screen Lit Vertigo
     "Gerbera", "Polyester Pimp Deluxe" and "Don Quijote V2.0"
  By:  Seven
----=--=------=--=------=--=--

  -=- Gerbera by Moppi Productions -=-
     (final version)

  Found at moppi.inside.org
  2nd place at the Assembly 2001 democompo.

  System requirements:
     7.8 MB HD, +500Mhz CPU and "mucho RAM", windows, OpenGL compatible
     3D card (Radeon cards crash according to the info file)

  Test Machine: PIII 900 192MB, SB1024, GeForce 2MX 32MB, Win98

  The Credits:
     Code: memon
     3D: memon, gstep
     Design: sumo, memon, gstep
     Music: sumo lounge, dj holik
     Guest Star: johnny park

  The Demo:
     Unless you've lived under a rock the past month, you already know
  that the first place at Assembly was taken by the Amiga demo
  Lapsuus/Mature Furk. Since I know zilch of coding on an Amiga, I'll skip
  it and review the second place, Gerbera by Moppi Productions. In case
  you don't remember, Moppi Productions are the folks that brought us the
  cute cartoon-rendered Kolme pienta pukkia (Three little goats) and Hannu
  & Kerttu 2000 (Hansel and Gretel 2000).

     Their latest production has cartoon-rendering too, but rather than
  using it all the way, Gerbera mixes it with flatshaded objects,
  photorealistic textures, video fragments and simple icons. This could
  easily result in a demo that hurts your eyes, but Moppi manages to keep
  everything in equilibrium, making the different styles complement each
  other. It starts with solid black ribbons surrounded by really fluffy
  clouds. Next we meet two friendly-looking robots, one DJ-ing and the
  other dancing. Although they are rendered cartoon-style (with black
  outlines), the interior of the polys is not flat-colored but has a
  metallic shading, giving them a very distinct look. The robots live in a
  hi-tech but rather desolate world, void of any non-mechanical life.
  There are giant floating objects (cities, or maybe factories) slowly
  hovering over the highways. On top of the 3D scenes, there are smaller
  effects like flocks of wireframe squares, morphing transparant curves
  and lines, and bars with horizontal blur. Short slogans are sprinkled
  through the demo, balancing between nonsense and thought-provoking. Some
  examples: "Dirt makes us honest. Honesty makes us devoted" or "Preset
  goals makes us blind for real ones. Trust us, you wouldn't like that".

     The music is DNB-ish, and very relaxed. There's a slow melodic
  background with short recurring melodic themes, with on top of that a
  flurry of beats, scratches and little robot sounds. This dual speed fits
  the demo very well, with the slowness of the scrolling backgrounds and
  the floating cities on one hand, and the speedier secondary effects on
  the other.

  Overall:
     Gerbera is a very original and well-balanced demo. It has excellent
  design, good-looking visuals and a great soundtrack, and manages to
  create a solid atmosphere. It requires quite some horsepower (those
  fuzzy clouds make the framerate drop noticably, even though my machine
  exceeds the requirements), so some people may not be able to enjoy
  Gerbera until their next upgrade. And one minor point that I've noticed
  in way too much demos: please please please, hide that ugly mouse
  pointer when you create your render window!


  -=- "Don Quijote V2.0" by Frogwise -=-
     (party-version)

  Found at www.scene.org
  2nd place at the TRSAC PC democompo.

  System requirements:
     7,7 MB HD, Windows, a Geforce 3D card with OpenGL. "Lots of RAM helps"

  Test Machine: PIII 900 192MB, SB1024, GeForce 2MX 32MB, Win98

  The credits:
     Code: Phat cat
     2D/3D: Skinny panda
     Music: Wentakura/Uprough

  The Demo:
     Don Quijote V2.0 is a 3D demo with a story, mixed with minimalistic
  design elements. Most of you probably know the tale of the crazy knight
  Don Quijote (or Don Quixote, Google returns 53800 vs 74000 matches) who
  fights windmills with his servant Sancho. In the demo, two planes named
  after the knight and his helper attack a facility that at first seems to
  be a nuclear factory for genetically modified crops, but later it
  transforms in something quite different. The story is nice, but develops
  too slowly, IMHO some of the first parts could have been cut or
  shortened.

     The landscapes and 3D objects look nice and finished, the artist
  hasn't used ultra-detailed textures everywhere but instead has resorted
  to simple gradients where applicable. It reminds me of Le Petit Prince,
  but without the cartoon rendering. Contrasting with the 3D eyecandy are
  the simple Danish design elements: the startup logo, the very
  minimalistic credits, the numbering of the parts in the upper left
  corner, the texts of the story in different fontsizes and directions,...

     The music starts slowly, almost ambient, but goes into a disco-ish
  beat with an occasional voice sample. It's weird, but then so is the
  demo. The volume changes a lot without reason, and the sound effects
  seem some seconds out of sync with the images. Besides, the planes sound
  more like tractors.


  Overall:
     Don Quijote V2.0 is a different kind of 3D demo, not quite like the
  usual camera flights. The models and the texts have a funny touch, and
  you can even perceive a nature-friendly morale if you watch it enough.
  If you're convinced 3D animations belong to the wild compos only, you
  can skip this one safely, but if you're still doubting a little, check
  it out. But remember to lower the resolution, a default of 1024x768 is a
  bit heavy unless you've a geforce 3.


  -=- "Polyester Pimp Deluxe" by The pimp brigade -=-
     (final version)

  Found at ftp.chscene.ch/parties/TRSAC/trsac01/PCDemo
  (latest version at http://www.demoscene.org/~pleksolar/TPB-01.zip)

  1st place at the TRSAC'01 PC democompo.

  System Requirements: 7.3 MB HD, Windows, CPU > 350 Mhz, works on a TNT
     but a Gforce is preferred.

  Test Machine: PIII 900 192MB, SB1024, GeForce 2MX 32MB, Win98

  The Credits:
     Code: Plek/Solar, Ile/Aardbei
     Graphics:  Shifter/TKB
     Music: Okkie/Rbi

  The demo:
     As you can see from the credits, the Pimp Brigade consists of a bunch
  of Dutch sceners from various well-established groups. Usually the
  result of such a cooperation is a joke entry or a demo with an
  incoherent feeling, but Polyester Pimp Deluxe is actually a pretty good
  production. It's a effect-driven demo, no 3D environments or stories,
  but it follows a not-so-serious blaxploitation theme. Think of pictures
  of blacks with large hairdos, slogans like "Bitch" and "Superfly!", plus
  a very fitting funky soundtrack. They also follow a kind of theme in the
  effects: a main effect in the foreground, and a simple effect made with
  moving cubes in the background. The code isn't very original: metaballs,
  morphing blob, particle effect, twirling object-with-tubes-on and such,
  all of which we've seen hundreds times before. On the other hand, the 3D
  objects are a bit special, the color scheme is easier on the eyes that
  the famous dutch TBL-goa-colors, and the speed by which the effects
  change is right on: long enough to get an appreciation of what you see,
  but too short to become boring. And there are in fact two effects that I
  liked a lot: an explosion of cubes, probably inspired by the wild demo
  Red Dot/Oryx (2nd at Bizarre'99), and some weird-looking globes with
  flares at the end, when the music has already ended.

  Overall:
     Polyester Pimp Deluxe is a nice demo with good code, solid design and
  a pinch of humour. It's not the best demo you'll ever see, but it's
  certainly above the average.

                --Seven


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Editorial
     The Scene Rebirth
  By: Coplan
----=--=------=--=------=--=--

     I had a bad day a few days ago, and I jumped back in #trax for the
  first time in weeks.  Yes, I still frequent the channel enough to know
  what's going on in most fellow #traxer's lives.  Mind you, for a while,
  that wasn't very many people.  But I jumped in that fine day, and #trax
  was the busiest I've seen it since the mid to late '90s.  What gives?

     Thinking it might have been a fluke, I've been visiting the channel
  every night when I get home from work (Work, you know, that thing that
  prevents me from getting this mag out on schedule?).  Sure enough, the
  channel has been hopping.  I'm idleing in there as I write this, and
  there are 36 people logged into the channel.  If you use the old handy
  #trax-active-member-calculation formula, you will know that only 8 of us
  are really active.  But we're all online, and we still chat about things
  that may or may not relate to the scene.

     Coma 3 was just held, and while it is still a very small party by
  most  demo party standards, it still had a record showing.  Part of this
  is  obviously due to the fact that the organizers are starting to get
  the  hang of running a party.  Part of this has to do with the fact that
  return-party-goers bring their friends.  Part has to do with the fact
  that it is the third party, and people expect all of the above.  Well,
  regardless, a good portion of that has to do with a somewhat renewed
  activity in the scene.

     Is the Scene reviving itself?

     I have always argued that the scene was not so much dead as it was
  evolving.  From day one, the scene has been growing in size, and
  changing in medium, technology and skill.  Technology has become so
  advanced that the scene has almost become an eclectic art-form, to some.
  The scene is no longer at the cutting edge of technology as it once was.
  Hell, the scene isn't even ahead of the gaming industry anymore (yes, it
  used to be, then DOOM came out).  The scene did change, and the scene
  did evolve.  It's no longer about being the most innovative.  It's now
  about being the most creative with the tools we have.  It's no longer
  about doing things that no one else can.  It's about putting some
  thought into our creations.  The scene, in any aspect, has started to
  become a fine art, of sorts.  It is practiced by few (well, a lot, but
  considering the number of people on the 'net).  Even fewer participate
  regularly.  But it's still here, and it's starting to catch interest
  again.

     But before we whip out the party hats, and start drinking to the
  re-awakening, realize that it hasn't completely happened yet.  We can
  still miss the boat if we don't all act now.  If you have anything you
  can contribute to the scene, don't hesitate.  If you have any reason to
  go to a party, do it.  If you have any reason to host a party, or a
  competition, or anything, do it.  Frequent sites like SceneSpot
  (shameless plug) or Orange Juice.  Post messages at naid.net (for you
  North American Demosceners).  Do whatever it takes to become a part of
  the scene.  It helps draw curiosity from others, and that's the pool we
  want to tap into.  Outsiders support the scene as much as the insiders,
  never forget that.  If what we're doing is cool, the insiders have
  something to show off.  Then the insider want to be here.  It's all
  circular, but effective.

     Push the scene, for what it's worth.  It's worth a lot more than you
  think it is.  It's a lot more alive than you believe it is.  It's alive,
  it's well, it's growing...and it's very hungry for more.

     Feed it!

                --Coplan


--=--=--
--=--=------=--=------=--=----
  Link List
----=--=------=--=------=--=--

  Portals:

      Orange Juice.............................http://www.ojuice.net
      Scene.org.................................http://www.scene.org
      SceneSpot.............................http://www.scenespot.org
      CFXweb.......................................http://cfxweb.net
      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
      Danish Scene..............................http://demo-scene.dk
      Hungarian Scene........................http://www.scene-hu.com
      Italian Scene...........................http://run.to/la_scena
      ModPlug Central Resources..........http://www.castlex.com/mods
      Norvegian Scene............http://www.neutralzone.org/scene.no
      Planet Zeus..........................http://www.planetzeus.net
      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.au.scene.org
      Scene.org Netherlands...................ftp://ftp.nl.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
      Bypass.................................http://bypass.scene.org
      Calodox.................................http://www.calodox.org
      Cocoon..............................http://cocoon.planet-d.net
      Confine.................................http://www.confine.org
      Damage...................................http://come.to/damage
      Delirium..............................http://delirium.scene.pl
      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
      Freestyle............................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://www.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
      Outbreak................................http://www.outbreak.nu
      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
      Spinning Kids......................http://www.spinningkids.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.de
      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
      Fairlight Music.....................http://fairlight.scene.org
      Five Musicians.........................http://www.fm.scene.org
      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
      pHluid..................................http://phluid.acid.org
      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://tokyodawn.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
      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
      TUHB.......................................http://www.tuhb.org
      WildMag..................................http://www.wildmag.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
 <*>  #trax e-mail list.............................................
         .............http://www.scenespot.org/mailman/listinfo/trax
      Underground Mine.............http://www.spinningkids.org/umine

  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
  Writers:         Coplan / D. Travis North / coplan@scenespot.org
                    Dilvish / Eric Hamilton / dilvie@yahoo.com
                    Psitron / Tim Soderstrom / tigerhawk@stic.net
                    Setec / Jesper Pederson / jesped@post.tele.dk
                    Seven / Stefaan VanNieuwenhuyze/ seven7@writeme.com
                    Tryhuk / Tryhuk Vojtech / vojtech.tryhuk@worldonline.cz
  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---=------=--=------=--=--
