E.X.Illusion by Aura
We're flying high...
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Some words (about copyrights etc.)
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This is release 1. Release date 1.5.1995.
It is only allowed to copy the demo as long as no profit is made with it.
It is not allowed to put the demo in any PD-collection or putting it on CDs
etc., spreading in commercial BBS or commercial ftp-sites wothout asking the
autor. If you want to put the demo on your CD or PD-collection, contact us
(adresses below).
The sourcecode of this demo including all library functions (over 14.000
lines of assembler code (both 030 and DSP, not including the tracker-replay
and tables of course)) are free avaible. Just send me letter and one disk.
Even if there are pretty few new coders on the Falcon, probably anybody is
interested. For the sourcecode there are the same spreading rules as for the
demo (but you have to contact me to get the source).
You should find this demo at least at:
ftps: ftp.uni-kl.de BBS: Gorezone (49) 484 160 69
atari.archive.umich.edu Dreamscape (49) 897 917 128
ftp.cnam.fr
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Some words (about languages)
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I am very sorry for my really bad english. At school, I was only interested in
in other things (and a bit lazy in these ways). But you got luck: my french is
two times more bad !
You probably noticed the german poems in the demo, they are resulting of my
-stronger- interests in literature and history. Nobody will translate them and
if you do not understand them: don't mind, just listen.
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Some words (about the people)
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Again the credits (this time a bit more excessive):
- Poems: Heinrich Heine
(taken from "Buch der Lieder")
- Concept and Code: BDCannibal / AURA (Jochen Knaus)
- Music: DOMM / Animal Mine (Dominik Bohn)
- Plasma Pics /
Colourcycle Animation: Herm / Mugwumps (Markus Hermann)
- Logos, Brainbug Pic. JMS / Newline (Jan Mathias Steinforth)
- Trackerreplay (*): Chris / AURA (Christian Cartus)
- Packer (*): AXE / Superior (zzzzz....)
(*) It wasn't done originally for this demo.
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Some words (technical)
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Gererally: all graphics (except the starts behind the balloons) are realtime
calculated, even all the plates exploding etc... are transformed in real time
(each object). In some scenes, there are over 30 objects rotated individually.
The 3D graphics is not such as fast as these by EKO or by Percy/Light, as it
only uses the DSP for "parttime" calculations. At first, I wanted to write a
game and develloped an engine for it. As I recognized, I wouldn't have the
time to finish a game, I started to write the demo with the finished engine.
The DSP only transforms all objects, then transforming the world system and
sorting the polygons (no BSP are included, as polygons change their position
between each other). The datas are transmitted each frame (between DSP and
Host), that's for the game, changing this afterwards wasn't possible (because
of the memory organisation). As I got pretty troubles using a DSP-protracker
player (my screenhandler runs asyncron to the vbl-irq), I have to remove the
subrouts running parallel to my 3D-calculations (they needed the DSP-receive
irq). So I loose about 40-60 scans each VBL, just beacuse of transmitting the
datas and not beeing able to work parallel to the 3D-calculations.
Yes and ? No and, as you noticed, I didn't change it, althought I know, where
these brakes are. At the end, I only wanted to make the scenes and finish the
demo, not coding again these low level things. I just wanted to say that, I am
a coder, and things have to be said. Resume: Much respect to the engines of
EKO and Percy, my system is not such as fast.
Probably you are asking where real gouraud shaded (and not only interpolated
filled) and texturemapped polygones are. Or - like Stallion allways asked -
where the lightsourcing is gone. I didn't thought of including lightsourcing
in the game and so after stopping the game it would be toooo much work chang-
ing the datastructures (as the normals have to be precalculated and filled in)
And to say the truth: I don't like lightsourcing on flat polygons, as it's
nearly a strange flickering not making it any more realistic (as flat polygons
ever can suggest a "realistic" touch).
The Falcon-bus is not able to do fast and complex texturemappings, so I refuse
to include.
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Some words (about adresses)
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Contact BDCannibal at: Jochen Knaus
Jos-Fritz Str. 7 (bei Mailwald)
79110 Freiburg
Germany
EMail: knaus@ruf.uni-freiburg.de
IRC: "gulli" on channel #atari
(at least 2 minutes per month logged in...)
Contact DOMM at: Dominik Bohn
Ute-Stra₧e 30
53179 Bonn
Germany
Contact Herm at: Markus Hermann
Julius Bausenwein-Str. 14a
8709 Rimpar
Germany
Contact JMS at: Jan Hathias Steinforth
Hägewiesen 9
30916 Isernhagen
Germany
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Some words (a non-scrolling scrolltext)
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I think I spent about 400 hours develloping this demo (it is a nearlly one-man
demo, only music and graphics were done by other peoples). I worked all the
holidays, spend too much time... (I started in June). Probably you say: and,
where IS the result. 8.5 minutes picshows, and you need one year... Yes...
There could be many things changed, added or made better, but the demo will
released today (no motivation to work on it).
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Some words (about money and such things)
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Money makes the world go round... (Probably you know the little comic by JMS
and me). Indeed it does. Socialism failed, and I think every last bit of freak
spirit will fail some days, too. But a long way till then. I made this demo
just for fun, for myself, for the music and the other little things sometimes
makes you smiling in the mad coders world [;-)]. Enough joking: Don't send any
money, this is my contribution to the free software scene. I raise my hands to
the FSF (Free Software Foundation), to the guy who send me 10 DM for Lamemmine
(and who sadly never replied my thank-you-letter), to all the others demo
freaks hoping there still will be GOOD non-commercial software in some years
(e.g. like POV, the Gnu-compilers or Linux (or of course Gemini)).
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Some words (future in general)
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I am afraid of.
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Some words (about my future in a special way)
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Ignoring everything going wrong in our little world, I will keep on coding,
surely not another demo, but I am really pleased to see many games were made
by demofreaks (Und Jürgen: wenn Du das Spiel NICHT fertigbekommst, dann...).
Studies takes lot of time, but I think I can spend enough time to do little
games or just technics for use and learn. At first, I will do some UNIX-stuff
with C++ (if you get account to SGI workstations, you will not refuse !), but
in 2 or 3 month... Who knows. (Just wait (but don't forget to enjoy the blue
sky sometimes)).
Perhaps a little mail from you can increase my motivation to do stuff for the
Falcon.
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Some words (you allways wanted to read)
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There will be no group greetings (no, here they are: greetings to all groups
still ruling the scene). Just some personal messages:
Domm: Die Musis sind echt stark ! Danke nochmals.
JMS: Lief viel schei₧e, lief viel raus auf anderes, ich hoffe, es war
alles nicht so schlimm.
Herm: Dankscheen nohmals für die vielen Pics (auch wenn sie nicht in
SVGA sind...). && Scandion: Wo denn nu "Hasch misch ?".
Dragon: Ich freue mich schon richtig auf das Game (und wenn's noch 4 Jahre
dauert (wegen der Toolprogramme in Assembler...)).
Tobias(DV): Wie war das mit dem Creditspart :-) ? Anyway: big hi und wann
geht das Spiel ab ?
Stallion: Tja, so ist das Leben eben. Ich hoffe, Du verstehst mich auch ein
wenig (ein bissle reicht ja schon).
Titan: Super Danke für den Future Composer Player (schade, da₧ kein Platz
mehr auf der Disk war...). Um Deinen Nepal Urlaub beneide ich Dich
ganz gewaltig !
Sethos: Geschichte Studium. Hmmmm. Ich hoffe, wir sehen uns mal wieder.
Chris: Augen zu und durch.
Mr. Bond: Dein Ausscheiden aus der Szene ist der herbste Schicksalsschlag
seit Einbau eines 16-Bit Busses in den Falcon durch Atari. Über-
haupt: Tag und hoi (Sollte Dich dieser Text jemals erreichen...).
Percy: Goile 3D-Routinen. Schade, da₧ vielleicht nie was fertig wird.
dirch: Vielleicht können wir in Zukunft ja mal was zusammen auf die Beine
stellen (POV stellt ja echt eine gute Basis dar).
Weiterhin sollten Aeon, Scandion, NewMode, Zaxx, A.t und ALLE Independents
(wirklich alle) nicht persönlich unerwähnt bleiben.
Dazu die Leute, die es gewagt haben, mich im Tischfu₧ball auf der FB-3 zu
schlagen...
Zu guter Letzt Dank an alle Organisatoren der "Fried Bits 3" um Frank und Mar-
tin (die Namen der anderen sind mir entgangen...).
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Some last words
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It doesn't matter if you love or hate the demo, I hope you had relaxed some
moments in our fast and faster world.
It was a try, I had to do it. Ideas are strange, ideas are nor real, ideas are
not reducable to three dimensions.
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"SCHWEIGEN IST FEIGE, REDEN IST GOLD" (nach dem Song von Westernhagen)[ back to the prod ]