545 lines
27 KiB
Plaintext
545 lines
27 KiB
Plaintext
![]() |
.Start.of.DemoNews.094.........................................................
|
||
|
|
||
|
______/\___________________________ __ ________________ ___ /\_______
|
||
|
\____ \ ________ _ _ ______ \ / \| \ ________ | \/ ______/
|
||
|
/ | \ _) \ \_/ \ | \ / \ \ _) \ | \______ \
|
||
|
/ | \ \ | \ | \ / \ \ /~\ \ / \
|
||
|
\_____ /_______/___| /________/ \____\_____/_______/_________/________/
|
||
|
\_____/ |____/
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
DemoNews Issue #94 - June 11, 1995 | Size : 27,524
|
||
|
------------- | Subscribers : 1445
|
||
|
DemoNews is a weekly newsletter for the demo scene. | Last Week : 1429
|
||
|
It is produced by Hornet at the site ftp.cdrom.com. | Change : +16
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
<CONTENTS>
|
||
|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
Uploads
|
||
|
|
||
|
Articles
|
||
|
|
||
|
Introduction................................Snowman, GD, Trixter
|
||
|
The Future of the Demo Platform.............Maverick
|
||
|
Behemoth - 120Mhz Pentium for Demos.........Trixter
|
||
|
|
||
|
Advertisements
|
||
|
|
||
|
Impulse '95.................................Phoenix
|
||
|
|
||
|
Subscribing
|
||
|
|
||
|
Closing
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-[Uploads]-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
=----------------------------------------------------------[File Information]-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
All files listed below are on ftp.cdrom.com or one of its mirrors.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Ratings are completely subjective and do not necessarily reflect opinions
|
||
|
of the demo scene in general.
|
||
|
|
||
|
ftp.cdrom.com too slow? Try our mirror at ftp.luth.se. You may even
|
||
|
upload to this site under /pub/msdos/demos_upload.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Demos marked [n/a] generally mean that we couldn't get them to run at all.
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-------------------------------------------------------------[Demos:General]-=
|
||
|
Location /demos/alpha/1995 Size Rated Description
|
||
|
=-------------------------------- ---- ----- ---------------------------------=
|
||
|
/../../humor/demos/csx_nope.zip 423 *** Compsex Media Traps present NOPE
|
||
|
/../1994/c/cia_snow.zip 76 **+ Old BBS intro called Snowtro '93
|
||
|
/0-9/4kflight.zip 4 **** TG95: 4k Flight by Scoop
|
||
|
/0-9/4kr.zip 4 ***+ TG95: Intro by Xenogenesis
|
||
|
/c/cal4k.zip 3 ** TG95: Intro
|
||
|
/c/cass.zip 4 ***+ TG95: CassiopeiA
|
||
|
/c/classika.zip 601 [rip] Classica by Renegade
|
||
|
/d/dst_bnw.zip 691 *** Black and White by Distorsion
|
||
|
/e/epsilon.zip 410 ***+ Epsilon by Infiny
|
||
|
/f/flight_.zip 1340 ***+ Flight by SiN from DemoBit '95
|
||
|
/h/h!klooni.zip 176 ***+ Halcyon by Daclone
|
||
|
/l/libfina1.zip 1222 ***+ Liberation by Force ][
|
||
|
/l/libfina2.zip 348 ***+ Liberation by Force ][
|
||
|
/l/lib_updt.zip 23 [n/a] Liberation by Force ][ (update)
|
||
|
/s/slow.zip 1125 **** SLOW! by the IBB from DemoBit
|
||
|
/t/therapy.arj 627 ** Therapy by Trillian
|
||
|
/t/three.zip 55 ***+ Three by the Heretics
|
||
|
/y/y_blfix.zip 335 ***+ Blues (bugfix) by Symptom
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-------------------------------------------------------------[Music:General]-=
|
||
|
Location /demos/music Size Rated Description
|
||
|
=-------------------------------- ---- ----- ---------------------------------=
|
||
|
/disks/1995/e/ems-mx01.zip 912 ** Maxi-Release 1 E/M/S
|
||
|
/songs/1995/midi/askuaskm.zip 2 *+ Ask You Ask Me ???
|
||
|
/songs/1995/mod/a/amu-enwa.lha 53 **+ Endjingle Warner Amusic/Bass
|
||
|
/songs/1995/mod/a/amu-mudt.lha 141 *** Tears in the Mud Amusic/Bass
|
||
|
/songs/1995/mod/t/tiedup.zip 112 *+ tied.up [Anonymous]
|
||
|
/songs/1995/mtm/j/joe.zip 260 **+ Joseph Mega-Mix Rush
|
||
|
/songs/1995/mtm/k/k_death.zip 135 ***+ Death From Above Maelcum/Kosmic
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/a/asy-4u.zip 214 **** For you AsYntote/JapoTek
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/b/blakstar.zip 285 **** Blackstar One Mozart/CTM
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/b/blue.zip 176 *** Shade of Blue Primal
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/d/d-crimsn.zip 134 **+ Crimson PeriSoft/Defiance
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/d/d-educ.zip 166 **+ Education PeriSoft/Defiance
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/d/d-jesus.zip 134 ***+ Jezuz Techno PeriSoft/Defiance
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/d/d-swipe.zip 83 ** Sideswipes PeriSoft/Defiance
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/e/exodus.zip 233 **** Exodus Thanatos
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/f/fina-gls.zip 202 **+ Galactic Sndwv. Bolleke
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/f/freedom.zip 67 ***+ Spacest. Freedom Krystall/Astek
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/g/guardian.zip 149 **** Last Guardian William Petiot
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/h/hecatomb.zip 235 **+ Hecatomb Vile
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/h/hell.zip 66 ***+ Hell Lair Black Thunder
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/h/hypo-had.zip 71 *** Hypothermia Hadji/dmk
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/i/icross.zip 139 * Iron Cross Kevin Kumshot
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/k/k_solar.zip 184 **** Solaris Krystall/Kosmic
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/k/k_sub.zip 186 *** Subterranean ChuckB/Kosmic
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/k/k_thngz2.zip 101 **** Things 2(Flight) Floss/Kosmic
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/k/k_zebra.zip 191 *** Zebras in Love LordPeg./Kosmic
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/s/sky_love.zip 678 ***+ Love Distort. D.J. SkyJump
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/s/stgntion.zip 175 ** Stagnation Zeus
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/t/takeme.zip 204 *** Take me to t. Krystall
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/t/thungod1.zip 58 * Thunder Godd. Loki
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/w/whatever.zip 320 *+ Call it What. Banshee
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/w/wicked.zip 88 *+ Wicked Illus. Krystall
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/z/znc-dnce.zip 41 * Dance Like A. Zinc
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/z/znc-orch.zip 74 ** Steamed Orch. Zinc
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/z/znc-teen.zip 45 * Smells Like . Zinc
|
||
|
/songs/1995/s3m/z/znc-trst.zip 38 **+ Trust The Cu. Zinc
|
||
|
/songs/1995/xm/g/gl-fatal.zip 487 **+ Fatality Orches. DW
|
||
|
/songs/1995/xm/h/hapiness.zip 140 *** Happiness [?]
|
||
|
/songs/1995/xm/m/mission.arj 292 * Mission Impossi. Slice, Fly
|
||
|
/songs/1995/xm/p/pressure.zip 307 *** Blood Pressure Scirocco
|
||
|
/songs/1995/xm/p/psychorx.zip 213 ** Psycho Remix Trifixion
|
||
|
/songs/1995/xm/s/sykoindr.zip 255 *+ SyKo Industr. Trifixion
|
||
|
/songs/1995/xm/w/wutisluv.zip 315 *** What is Love Nathan Strong
|
||
|
|
||
|
=--------------------------------------------------------[Music:Non-Reviewed]-=
|
||
|
Location /demos/music Size Description
|
||
|
=-------------------------------- ---- ---------------------------------------=
|
||
|
/programs/players/cp10l.zip 258 Cubic P. 1.0Lite by N. Beisert
|
||
|
/programs/players/fmod103.zip 34 FireMOD 1.03 by FireLight
|
||
|
/programs/trackers/digitr22.zip 94 DigiTrakker by N-Factor
|
||
|
|
||
|
=----------------------------------------------------------------------[Code]-=
|
||
|
Location /demos/code Size Rated Lang Description
|
||
|
=-------------------------------- ---- ----- ---- ----------------------------=
|
||
|
/graph/bd-2d3d.zip 12 ** A 2d and 3d tutorial
|
||
|
/graph/techfun.zip 32 ** A Concentric Circle example
|
||
|
/graph/tmapshad.zip 203 **+ Texturemap shading example
|
||
|
/sound/bwsb120a.zip 320 ****+ ABCP BWSB Sound System Required
|
||
|
/sound/bwsb120b.zip 517 ****+ ABCP BWSB Sound System Optional
|
||
|
/utils/sck_uuc2.zip 8 *** UUencoding/decoding tool
|
||
|
|
||
|
=------------------------------------------------------------------[Graphics]-=
|
||
|
Location /demos/graphics Size Description
|
||
|
=-------------------------------- ---- ---------------------------------------=
|
||
|
/pictures/td_trm1.zip 148 A raytrace from Tonedef / iCE
|
||
|
/pictures/td_ufo1.zip 147 A raytrace from Tonedef / iCE
|
||
|
/utils/akm-md35.zip 161 Master Draw v3.5 by Arkham
|
||
|
/utils/akm-mm10.zip 85 Master Modeler (3d) v1.0 Arkham
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-------------------------------------------------------------[Miscellaneous]-=
|
||
|
Location /demos Size Description
|
||
|
=-------------------------------- ---- ---------------------------------------=
|
||
|
/party/asm/1995/asm95pur.zip 295 Plane-Trip to ASM95 by PURE
|
||
|
/party/tp/1994/uc95_p4.arj 1456 Contrast, differences in TP94 and UC95
|
||
|
/party/tp/1994/uc95_p4.a01 822 Contrast, differences in TP94 and UC95
|
||
|
/party/wired/1995/w95inv10.zip 22 Pre-invitation to WiRED'95
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-[Articles]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-------------------------[Introduction]--[Snowman, GraveDigger, and Trixter]-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
SM: Hello all, and welcome to the 94th issue of DemoNews.
|
||
|
TX: Hey, I actually made it here before Snowman. Wow.
|
||
|
GD: This week was a rather slow one. Only two articles and an advertisement.
|
||
|
But I finally finish classes. :)
|
||
|
SM: But GraveDigger, I thought you had classes over the summer?
|
||
|
GD: My regular classes end tomorrow, and I go back July 5.
|
||
|
TX: Heh, I haven't had classes since, oh... three years now. I make
|
||
|
money now. ;) Of course, what I wouldn't give to go back...
|
||
|
GD: Our first article this week is by Maverick. It discusses different
|
||
|
operating systems which could change the demo scene.
|
||
|
TX: Well, the Behemoth is turning out to be the perfect PC. I'll fill you
|
||
|
in to the speedy details in the next article: "Behemoth - 120Mhz
|
||
|
Pentium for Demos".
|
||
|
GD: I wish I could afford one. :(
|
||
|
TX: You can--Amazingly, Behemoth only cost $3000. Not too bad,
|
||
|
actually, if you have to buy a new PC. And Optic Nerve *still* won't
|
||
|
run, so it's not *perfect*. ;)
|
||
|
SM: After the Behemoth article is an advertisement for GD's demo party..
|
||
|
GraveDigger, care to elaborate?
|
||
|
GD: Sure. The party is called "Impulse" and is a for-fun-only party.. not
|
||
|
to be taken too seriously! Just a chance to get together and have some
|
||
|
fun, demo-party style.
|
||
|
TX: How are you going to fit 30 people in your house?
|
||
|
GD: Well, it's not going to be at my house anymore.
|
||
|
SM: Those are _all_ the articles we have for this week. Can you believe
|
||
|
that?
|
||
|
TX: That's it? Wow, we must be going for quality instead of quantity. :-)
|
||
|
GD: Oh well, its still a nice collection of articles.
|
||
|
SM: Well folks, this has been Snowman...
|
||
|
TX: ...and the ever-busy Trixter...
|
||
|
GD: ...and GD...
|
||
|
<>: And we are OUTTA HERE.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-------------------------------[The Future of the Demo Platform]--[Maverick]-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
Make no mistake about it. Windows 95 is going to be *the* biggest launch in
|
||
|
software history. It will be a worldwide event, accompanied by Uncle Bill
|
||
|
on satellite, loads of plasticky Microsoft events and a deluge of media
|
||
|
coverage. Why should you O demo coder, artist or musician, give a
|
||
|
proverbial monkey's?
|
||
|
|
||
|
Well, coz Win95/98 is bound to make a significant impact on the number of
|
||
|
desktops that run a DOS/Windows combination. Now Winever does allow you to
|
||
|
install *without* an underlying DOS install. That's bad. It's the reason
|
||
|
why OS/2 demos don't exist and Windows NT demos haven't even been thought
|
||
|
of. But, despite Microsoft's lies to the contrary, they haven't dispensed
|
||
|
with DOS entirely.
|
||
|
|
||
|
You can play games and demos designed for DOS only (ie. everything worth
|
||
|
playing/looking at) but they will have to run through the horribly flaky
|
||
|
DOS box. Yes, it's horribly flaky. I'm not just making this up, BTW. I have
|
||
|
installed and run the beast and I'm thoroughly unimpressed. It's slow,
|
||
|
bug-ridden and unreliable - ie. a perfect beta release.
|
||
|
|
||
|
It seems that only DOS-4G or other protected mode progs run reasonably well
|
||
|
under Windoze 95-disks-to-install. The graphics interface is something
|
||
|
called WinG, which is a rather nice API through which all graphics
|
||
|
functions must be made. Nevertheless, it's what it's sitting on that causes
|
||
|
the problems. Give me #include <jugi's_graph_lib.h> anytime or even (gasp!)
|
||
|
SEGMENT WORD PUBLIC USE32 as a starting point.
|
||
|
|
||
|
So what?
|
||
|
|
||
|
DOS's death has been trumpeted around the world for about 10 years now. It
|
||
|
hasn't died because people still make money from it. It won't die because
|
||
|
people use it, much like languages that are still used (spoken languages I
|
||
|
mean) won't go away just because some professor says so. But the installed
|
||
|
base of DOS only machines will decrease, slowly, but surely. And, unless
|
||
|
you've written your demo to work under a DPMI server, Win95 users probably
|
||
|
won't benefit.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Some demo scene members may not care. The demo scene is pretty much an
|
||
|
underground culture anyway and has needs and tastes that differ from the
|
||
|
rest of the computer world. (Example: *Everyone* outside the demo scene
|
||
|
loves Creative Labs. *Nearly* everyone inside the demo scene think they have
|
||
|
a major attitude problem and that their products stink and that their SDKs
|
||
|
should be deleted unmercifully. Why? :-)
|
||
|
|
||
|
My conclusion is simple: let the world struggle with Win95/2000. Demo scene
|
||
|
members and game coders are the only ones who *really* appreciate demos
|
||
|
anyway and they're not likely to be rushing out and installing Bill's
|
||
|
Folly. (Example 2: My wife just said "very nice" when I showed her DOPE and
|
||
|
then without missing a beat said "would you like some more coffee?") But
|
||
|
then she does have 1,000,000 redeeming features ;-).
|
||
|
|
||
|
Watch out for Win95. But keep up with that DOS and pmode coding...
|
||
|
|
||
|
Next time: Linux. It's free. It's an operating system. It's frightening
|
||
|
because its Unix and if you've never used Unix it's a whole new ball game.
|
||
|
BUT - it can run DOOM in a window, it has full Gravis and SB support,
|
||
|
X-windows (also free), C,C++, and ASM tools included, Mod and S3M players
|
||
|
(I kid you not they're as good as DMP and multitask too!), CD-ROM audio
|
||
|
players, MIDI players, games with source, and paint progs (free) that could
|
||
|
rival DP-II in a pinch.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Maverick/SerenIty
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
=----------------------------[Behemoth - 120Mhz Pentium for Demos]--[Trixter]-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
The Behemoth--A review of the Gateway 2000 Pentium 120 MHz Computer
|
||
|
|
||
|
Greetings, all. I am writing to you from the Behemoth--the Pentium 120 I
|
||
|
received last Friday from Gateway 2000. This computer has the distinction
|
||
|
of being the fastest DOSbox in the world (at least for the next two months,
|
||
|
anyway, until the Pentium 133 and 150 come out). For everyone's benefit,
|
||
|
I've not only described the machine, but provided some observations related
|
||
|
to the demo scene, game players, business use, and people running
|
||
|
UNIX/Linux.
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____External Observations
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The motherboard comes with 4 PCI slots and 4 ISA slots (not ISA/VLB). As
|
||
|
a result, no VLB boards can be installed, obviously.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The PCI controller is on the motherboard :-( but can be disabled if
|
||
|
necessary :-/ and is very fast anyway. :-)
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The keyboard connector is that small bus-like connector--it's a good
|
||
|
thing I like this keyboard, because I think I'm stuck with it.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The Bus mouse that came with it plugs into the motherboard. My trackball
|
||
|
has taken a leave of absence because I have discovered that Bus mice are
|
||
|
more accurate and smoother than serial mice--probably because a serial
|
||
|
mouse only communicates at 1200 baud. :-)
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Internal Observations
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The BIOS is an AMI, but oddly, the copyright date on it says 1992 (?).
|
||
|
No matter; when you enter it, it's a full Plug-And-Play BIOS, and it even
|
||
|
has some nice options like automatically configuring the hard drive
|
||
|
parameters when you install a new hard drive. It also simulates
|
||
|
Plug-And-Play for older ("legacy") ISA cards by allowing you to "disable"
|
||
|
IRQs for devices you know are already in use. Finally, the BIOS has full
|
||
|
on-line help, which is extremely useful when you're trying to decide if you
|
||
|
should modify the "Static Ram Cache Pipeline Stall threshold" parameter.
|
||
|
;-)
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The video board shipped was an STB Trio, which uses an S3 chipset that I
|
||
|
can't determine right now. It is a windows accelerator. The DOS
|
||
|
performance is better than I expected, and is quite reasonable for the
|
||
|
technology.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The hard drive is *fast*, even for an IDE. It surprised me. (It's a
|
||
|
Western Digital Caviar 1 GB.) However, it came as one large >1GB
|
||
|
partition, which used 32K clusters, which is incredibly wasteful. When I
|
||
|
repartitioned it to <1GB, I *gained* over 300 MB free (because I have lots
|
||
|
of small files)!! I wonder if many people know about this...
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The 16 MB of RAM is not "normal" RAM--it's a new, faster type of ram
|
||
|
called "EDO" RAM (for Extended Data Out). It requires less refreshing from
|
||
|
the CPU, so the CPU has about 10-15% more time to do other things. The end
|
||
|
result is that a machine with EDO RAM performs 15% faster then if it had
|
||
|
normal RAM.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The internal CDROM drive is an IDE/ATAPI quad-speed CDROM drive from
|
||
|
Sony. However, it's not a normal CDROM drive--it's a three-disc CDROM
|
||
|
jukebox! While it's certainly better than switching/swapping CDROMs all
|
||
|
the time, all that glitters is not gold. For instance, I encountered many
|
||
|
annoying problems:
|
||
|
|
||
|
- It takes about 10 seconds for a CD to swap in and out of the drive, so
|
||
|
if a program tries to auto-detect hardware or look for a file on all
|
||
|
local drives, the CDROM drive churns away for over half a minute
|
||
|
swapping all three discs in and out. This starts to get annoying if the
|
||
|
installation program keeps doing this.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- This same problem applies to Windows multimedia device programs that
|
||
|
can play CD-audio; it laboriously checks all three discs to check for
|
||
|
audio before giving you control.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The drive has two speeds: 150K per second and 600K per second.
|
||
|
Sometimes, especially with older multimedia programs, the 600K is too
|
||
|
fast and the video playback suffers (video running ahead of audio, jerky
|
||
|
playback, etc.) It would be good if the drive could be "told" to slow
|
||
|
down from time to time, but the option doesn't exist.
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Hardware Compatibility
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The Gravis Ultrasound was the first peripheral installed, and it worked
|
||
|
flawlessly. (I wish I could say the same about the driver
|
||
|
installation--Gravis makes good hardware, but their software/drivers suck.)
|
||
|
This is different than a Pentium 90 I had to work with earlier, which did
|
||
|
not like the GUS and wouldn't let it work properly (stuttering sound,
|
||
|
complaining about no NMI, etc.)
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The Video Capture board was next, and it worked as well, but I had to
|
||
|
move the port address, memory address, and IRQ to a different location,
|
||
|
oddly enough. While the Bus mouse interface was to blame for taking over
|
||
|
IRQ 12, I think the blame falls on the capture board, not the computer, for
|
||
|
having to move the port and memory addresses.
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Observations for DemoScene Members
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Mod Players that worked correctly were DMP 3 and 4, Capamod 2.22, and
|
||
|
Cubic Player .96.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Demos that ran flawlessly: Second Reality/FC, Crystal Dream 2/Triton,
|
||
|
Big Deal/ACME, Holistic/Cascada, Heartquake/Iguana, Symbology/Admire,
|
||
|
DOPE/Complex. All ran in the *full framerate*, with the exception of parts
|
||
|
of Holistic, CD2, and DOPE, which are CPU-intensive effects. (Those demos
|
||
|
ran at about half the full framerate, with the exception of Holistic, with
|
||
|
it's Phong (?) Race car, which was about 10 fps.)
|
||
|
|
||
|
(If you'd like me to custom-test a demo or program that I haven't mentioned
|
||
|
above for you, go ahead and email me at trixter@mcs.com and I'll email you
|
||
|
back with the results.)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Some real treats were:
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The chessboard in CD2 runs at least about 35 fps--way cool.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- All light-sourced texture mapping and "flying letters" in Holistic ran
|
||
|
at the full framerate with no "shearing" of any images.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Symbology/Admire was good to begin with--now it really shines.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- The Final Option ran on this computer--it wouldn't on my 486.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Some disappointments were:
|
||
|
|
||
|
- DOPE doesn't look much better than on a 486-66 VLB (maybe if the Phong
|
||
|
was real... ;)
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Second Reality's end part (with the flying ship in a city) has such a
|
||
|
high framerate that you can see just how coarse the fixed-point math is;
|
||
|
sadly, it looks *worse* than if it were at a low framerate, where you
|
||
|
wouldn't notice it.
|
||
|
|
||
|
And of course:
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Optic Nerve/Silents PC *still* doesn't work! Argh!
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Observations for Game Players
|
||
|
|
||
|
Before trying to run any game, I suggest you have a config-file
|
||
|
database/menu for getting different games to work; I use a program called
|
||
|
"autocon" that works well. Using one of these programs is better than the
|
||
|
DOS 6 [menu] configuration because if a game installation automatically
|
||
|
changes your autoexec.bat/config.sys files, you can always restore the
|
||
|
original if you don't like it, or suck the changes right into the database
|
||
|
under that program's header.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Games that were tested were Mortal Kombat 2, Wing Commander 3, and Under a
|
||
|
Killing Moon.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Wing Commander 3 ran faster in 640x480 resolution on the P120 than it
|
||
|
did on a 486-66 in 320x200 with local-bus. (This is also partially due
|
||
|
to a PCI video card as opposed to a Local Bus card on the 486).
|
||
|
Needless to say, it was extremely impressive! The video did not skip,
|
||
|
either. Loading the spaceflight engine took about 45 seconds on the
|
||
|
486--it took only *5* seconds on the P120. (This is due to a faster
|
||
|
CDROM drive as well).
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Mortal Kombat 2 took a bit of tweaking to come up. After several
|
||
|
lockups, I removed anything that Mortal Kombat 2 didn't need from my
|
||
|
config.sys or autoexec.bat, leaving only the ultrasound environment
|
||
|
variables and smartdrv (disk cache). Then, it performed flawlessly.
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Under a Killing Moon ran beautifully, and not having to swap CDs was
|
||
|
fantastic. Full-screen 640x480x256 rendering was around 12-30 fps,
|
||
|
depending on scene content. A lot of people have asked about the video
|
||
|
speed rating Under a Killing Moon provides, so here it is, along with
|
||
|
others for comparison (all numbers are rounded downward):
|
||
|
|
||
|
386/40, ISA Cirrus Logic 5424: 3000 KBytes per second
|
||
|
486/66, ISA Cirrus Logic 5424: 5000 KBytes per second
|
||
|
486/66, VLB Cirrus Logic 5428: 8000 KBytes per second
|
||
|
486/66, PCI ATI Mach 64: 16000 KBytes per second
|
||
|
P5/120, PCI S3 (unknown): 23000 KBytes per second
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Observations for Business Use
|
||
|
|
||
|
There's not much to say here, because the machine was built for business
|
||
|
use from the start. Since the crux of business today is Microsoft Windows,
|
||
|
it came with the following Windows enhancements:
|
||
|
|
||
|
- 32-bit file access turned on
|
||
|
|
||
|
- 32-bit disk access provided by a special Western Digital 32-bit disk
|
||
|
driver
|
||
|
|
||
|
- Windows-accelerated video chipset, with appropriate
|
||
|
drivers
|
||
|
|
||
|
Microsoft Access, Excel, and Word all load in two seconds, from click
|
||
|
(mouse double-click) to blink (blinking cursor waiting for input). And no,
|
||
|
there is no floating-point math bug in this Pentium, so all numerical
|
||
|
analysis programs return correct information every time.
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Observations for Linux Users
|
||
|
|
||
|
At the time of this review, I have not had a chance to fully work with all
|
||
|
of Linux's features, like the IDE CDROM interface. However, the OS itself
|
||
|
installed easily and dealt with my >1024 cylinder hard drives without a
|
||
|
hitch. There were no apparent slow-downs that could have been caused by
|
||
|
timing slip-ups.
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Conclusion
|
||
|
|
||
|
Even with it's "bleeding edge" problems, I recommend this machine without
|
||
|
any hesitation to anyone requiring the utmost speed in DOS. If you use
|
||
|
plan to use it for Windows, I'd get a faster Windows video accelerator; if
|
||
|
you plan to use it for UNIX, I'd get SCSI peripherals instead of IDE.
|
||
|
Otherwise, this thing is a screaming demo/game lightning bolt!
|
||
|
|
||
|
-Jim Leonard trixter@ftp.cdrom.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-[Advertisements]=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
=----------------------------------------------------[Impulse '95]--[Phoenix]-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
Brett Neely (aka Gravedigger/Hornet) and I (aka Phoenix/Kosmic) are
|
||
|
organizing a small-scale demo-party to be held in Syracuse, NY, USA, on
|
||
|
July 28-30, 1995, called Impulse.
|
||
|
|
||
|
We are expecting only around 30-80 people (among them members of Kosmic,
|
||
|
Psychic Monks, and 3Some), but still need help. We are looking for
|
||
|
possible companies to sponsor and people who can contribute equipment
|
||
|
(although we can get most of what ne need), or just help out.
|
||
|
|
||
|
If you can, your help is invaluable. Or, if you would like to attend,
|
||
|
please contact us so we can put you on our mailing list.
|
||
|
|
||
|
EMail GD at: gd@ftp.cdrom.com
|
||
|
or me at: vossa@rpi.edu
|
||
|
|
||
|
Thanks.. - Andy Voss - Phoenix/Kosmic -
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-[Subscribing]-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____How to subscribe to DemoNews
|
||
|
|
||
|
#1 E-mail to listserver@unseen.aztec.co.za (any subject line will do)
|
||
|
|
||
|
#2 On the first line in the body of the mail, write:
|
||
|
|
||
|
subscribe demuan-list FirstName LastName
|
||
|
|
||
|
Examples:
|
||
|
|
||
|
subscribe demuan-list Christopher Mann
|
||
|
subscribe demuan-list Snowman
|
||
|
subscribe demuan-list r3cgm@dax.cc.uakron.edu <---- WRONG!!
|
||
|
|
||
|
The listserver will automatically take the return address of your
|
||
|
mail. That address is where newsletters will be sent. You can not
|
||
|
specify an alternate address.
|
||
|
|
||
|
#3 Send it
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____How to UNsubscribe to DemoNews
|
||
|
|
||
|
#1 E-mail to listserver@unseen.aztec.co.za (any subject line will do)
|
||
|
|
||
|
#2 On the first line in the body of the mail, write:
|
||
|
|
||
|
unsubscribe demuan-list
|
||
|
|
||
|
Do not specify any address or name when you unsubscribe. The
|
||
|
listserver will automatically take the return address of your mail
|
||
|
and unsubscribe it. You can not specify an alternate address.
|
||
|
|
||
|
If you know that your e-mail address will soon expire, please
|
||
|
unsubscribe it.
|
||
|
|
||
|
_____Having Trouble?
|
||
|
|
||
|
If you have difficulty with the listserver, feel free to write Snowman
|
||
|
at r3cgm@dax.cc.uakron.edu.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
=-[Closing]-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
|
||
|
For questions and comments, you can contact Hornet at:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Handle Address Area
|
||
|
----------- ------------------------ -----------------------------------
|
||
|
Dan Wright dmw@inca.gate.net Freedom CD coordinator
|
||
|
GraveDigger gd@ftp.cdrom.com columnist, file mover, musician
|
||
|
Snowman r3cgm@ftp.cdrom.com organizer, editor (DemoNews), coder
|
||
|
Trixter trixter@ftp.cdrom.com coder, web master, file mover
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
...........................................................End.of.DemoNews.094.
|
||
|
|