pouët.net

Go to bottom

TMDC 1996 results

----------------------------------------------------------------------
--  .:##:.       .+ Text Mode Demo Competition Results file         --
##############-+###---------------######:..------------------..+####.-
#####'###. '"' ####          .### `##########.            ..#########
      ####     ####         .####     +#########.       .####'   `###
      ####    .####.       .#####   :###'  '+#####.    .##+      .###
      ####    :####+      ######:   ####      :####:  .##'       ####
     :###'    ######.   +##':###   .###:        ####  ##'       .###'
     +###     ###+###,###'  ###:   +###         '### +##        ####
     ###:     ### +####'    ###    ###+          ### ##'       .###
     ###     :###   ""     :##:    ###'         :##'.##        `"
     ###     :##:          ###     ###         +##' ###
     ##:     +##'          ##:    .##'       .###'  `##.
    :##      ###          :##     :##      .###'     ###.
     ##      ##:          ###     ##'   ..#####:     `####       .#
-----##------##-----------#'------+. .######'---------`##########'----
--                       Afterword '#####'               `#####' [Sol]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  First thing off, pardon me for my horrible English. I haven't had
too much practise lately.
  A textmode democompo is much like a chiptune compo for coders. It
gives you limitations, but these limits don't stop you from doing just
about anything (Okay, you can't use palette, but you couldn't use
wavesequence samples in chiptune compo either).
  Also, as with chiptune compo, you can focus on the less-used
potentials in the product. In chiptune compos, the composers learn to
use the commands better, creating hall-effects etc, and some even
learn to use arpeggios so that you don't want to hit escape right
away. So, what's there in a textmode demo that you might use?
  The resolution is worse and anyone who uses more than 15 minutes to
think a bit can create a "truecolor" mode out of textmode with a
simple translation table. These two things let you create pretty
advanced demos with crossfades from one moving effect to another,
anti-aliased vector scenes etc.
  Also, chiptunes tend to have better melodies than the 'sample-
trickery' tunes that always take a meg. In textmode demos, you might
consentrate on the design more than the code quality, and this is what
I would like to see. If people learn to create well-designed textmode
demos, the design skill might leak back to the "real" demos, as well.
  Textmode gives you new options, but also new problems when designing
a demo. Should the demo be watched from near (ie. do you make small,
detail-filled fx with tiny text (such as this font)), or from afar
(ie. do you make grand fx that require the viewer to see the whole
image)? "Tremor" by DEMOlition, for instance, is a demo that should
be watched from afar.
  I hope that the major demoparties (asm,tp,tg etc) take up a
textmode democompo with these limitations (well, size and running
time I don't care about, but please leave the screen mode limitations
as they are). Even if that happens, we might organize TMDC next year
also. I'm going to the army, so I might not have time for it, but
we'll see.
  So, how did the compo go? First demo arrived 12 days before the
deadline. That's early. I've been asked several times "how many
demos have arrived" even when there was over a month to the deadline.
Another impossible question I've been asked is "do you think this
demo will make it to the top 10" when only two demos had arrived.
  Two days to the deadline I told the people who asked directly from
me, that they may have five days extra to finish their productions.
TJ did the same. The morning of 11.11, I had three demos, and knew
that at least four were in the works, probably six. Unfair? Well,
we weren't actually drowning in compo entries.. About half of the
demos arrived after the deadline, so I think giving the coders that
bit of time was worth it.
  What about the quality of the demos? Some of the demos are worse
than the invitation demo, but they're still better than the "old"
textmode demos out there. None of the demos was as quite good as I
had hoped for. Two are pretty good, but not exceptional. All in all,
not bad for the first textmode democompo of all time.
  What did we get out of this? Nothing much; a little fame, perhaps,
postage costs, mostly. And several textmode demos that aren't even
ours in any way (the authors still own their productions). What will
we get in the future? Flames, in any case; however well we voted,
there are always people who think in other ways. Even the fact that
we had to organize TMDC proves that different opinions exist. Was it
worth all the trouble? Perhaps. Time will tell.
  To make this results file differ a bit from the majority, I'll write
some comments/critics about every demo here as well. That's something
the party organizers really can't do due to lack of time.   -- Sol/DEE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--                            Results                               --
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rank Demo name/author              | Points
- -|- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -|- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 1.| D'Orzo by Recreation          | 6  8  9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 = 93
 2.| Tremor by DEMOlition          | 8  8  9  9  9  9  9  9 10 10 = 89
 3.| Dentaalispirantti by tAAt     | 6  6  6  6  8  8  8  8  8  8 = 72
- -|- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -|- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 4.| Textasy by The Enterprise Crew| 4  5  6  6  7  8  8  8  8  8 = 68
 5.| Spaceless Spot by tAAt        | 1  4  5  5  6  6  6  7  7 10 = 57
 6.| Textmode Windows by FiveCoders| 4  4  4  4  5  6  7  7  7  8 = 56
 7.| Textosis by Vinlandia         | 2  3  3  4  4  5  5  5  5  7 = 43
 8.| True Lameness by Alpha Design | 1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  2 = 11
(9.| Fartart by tAAt               | disqualified )
Sol,Nitro,!Cube,Teque,Tremor - TMDC jury @ .fi
The Joker,Mike,Shady,Wobba,Floyd/ATC - TMDC jury @ .no
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--                            Commentary                            --
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Tremor" by DEMOlition (tremor.zip)
    A demo from Singapore. Ever heard of the Singaporean scene? They
  even have their own annual party. To see the cream of Singaporean
  scene, check out the demos by Waterlogic.
  + Arrived very, very early.
  + Very good "palette" - probably hand-made?
  - Nothing really new.
  - Greets are almost unreadable.
"Spaceless Spot" by tAAt (spspot.zip)
    Another production from the Finnish jokegroup. Mostly animation.
  + Arrived early.
  + Starts well.
  - Not too many real effects.
  - Not much of a design.
"Textosis" by Vinlandia (textosis.zip)
    So, there are more than two groups in the .ca scene after all =)
  + Arrived early.
  + Nice ansi logo.
  - A bit amateurish.
  - Leaves machine in _very_ unstable state.
"Dentaalispirantti" by tAAt (different coder) (dentaali.zip)
    Bunch of old routines, but at least it shows that those routines
  CAN be used in textmode as well.
  + Same stuff you'd expect in gfx modes.
  - Tad bit short
"Textmode windows" by Five Coders (5c_tw.zip)
    No, textmode is not enough even for me :) Too bad it's largely a
  joke.. the routines would have been enough for something grand.
  + RealTime RayTracing
  + SidPlay musics :)
  - It's still a joke.
"Fartart" by tAAt (disqualified) (fartart.zip)
    This was diaqualified since it's almost same as "Spaceless spot"
  and I don't want to let someone grab too many prizes with the same
  crap :)
"True Lameness" by Alpha Design (ad_lame.zip)
    I didn't expect anything from this one, and was positively
  surprised. It's *not* a brilliant piece of art - it's just a demo
  coded in basic. 'Crap' might be a good word.
  + Good try :)
  + Shadepobs!! :)
"D'Orzo" by Recreation (rcn-orzo.zip)
    This is what even I'd call a demo.
  + color use, vector engine, etc etc. the stuff you'd expect from
    a 'real' demo these days.
"TEXTASY" by The Enterprise Crew (TEC) (txtc1.zip)
    This one arrived really late - part of the jurying had to be
  redone. We accepted it anyway since the author had had some hardware
  problems..
  + Original.
  - Late.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--                               End                                --
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Go to top