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Want to make a demo in 16-bit screen mode without sacrificing the speed?

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                        Text Mode Demo Competition
                          - Deadline 11.11.96 -

                        TMDC Infofile version 1.2
               (c) 1996 Sol/DEE and the The Joker/Crusaders

The invitation demo is out! Download TMDCINVI.ZIP!
Everything changed (important stuff at least) is marked with '::'


_____What?

        The demos today seem to move in the same direction as
        the PC market; more processor power, more resolution,
        more memory, more colors, more sound..
          At the same time new demo competitions are introduced.
        Hornet introduced 8086 demo competition (with three or
        four contributions!), Assembly.org introduced 4k intro
        competitions, Imphobia has its coding competition, etc.
        All these have rules that limit the task somehow. Code
        size, speed, processor type.
          So we introduce new competition with a new limit: the
        video mode. We have seen some demos in text mode (and
        some demos with few parts in text mode), and we like
        them.
          Why? They are sort of C64ish: they push the limits of
        a resource you didn't think as possible. On the other
        hand, textmode gives you very low resolution and very
        many colors.
          Do you think textmode is childish? Do you realize that
        everything done in higher resolutions can be also done
        in textmode? Simply by using IBM-charset characters
        176,177,178 and 219 plus fore and background colors, you
        can easily get more than 500 colors on-screen at the
        same time (and you are NOT limited to those characters)!
        Converting any routine to textmode could be simple filler
        recode or a generic framebuffer copy function.
          On the long run, we're trying to get the wasted talent
        of numerous brilliant ansi artists into proper use. :)


_____When?

        Due to numerous requests, we have moved the deadline to
        11.11.96 (Feel free to figure which is day and which is
        month). This doesn't mean that you must hold on to your
        products until the last day; please send them AS SOON AS
        POSSIBLE to make sure we get them. (Delays due to transfer
        problems etc may be tolerated).

        Results should be out before the end of November.


_____Where?

        The competition is held in the Internet, but you don't
        have to have internet access to contribute a demo.
        You may send your contributions to:

        email: MIMEd to joker@crusaders.no
           UUEncoded to jari.komppa@pcb.compart.fi
        IRC: _TJ_  (#CODERS)
        BBS: TRK +358-0-874-2789 28.8k (Dubius HQ/DEE HQ/Hysteria HQ)
                 +358-0-857-4506 14.4k (node 2)
::               (Anon uploads are now possible; log on to either
::                node as TMDC, password TMDC, and you'll get prompt
::                to upload).
        Snailmail:
                Sol/DEE                 The Joker
                Laurintie 116           Stationsveien 56
                Vantaa  01400           2010 STROMMEN
                Finland,Europe          Norway, Europe
        (Please include Self Addressed Envelope and International
        Reply Coupons if you want to have your disk(s) back).

        Especially if you use email: make sure we have received your
        demo! (Do NOT resend it before we ask!!)
        We will post a list of received demos every now and then
        after we start receiving them (just titles and groups; no
        scoring before final results).


_____Rules?

        - The organizers reserve the right to disqualify any demo,
          and the right to change the rules at any time.
        - ONLY CONTRIBUTE FINAL VERSIONS! (You may give us 'more
          final' versions before the deadline though).
        - The organizers will release the demos when the judging
          is done.
        - The demos must be previosly unpublished.
        - The authors will retain copyright to their productions.
        - You must include .nfo and file_id.diz file in the
          package. In addition, you may add 'readthis.org' with
          info for the organizers only (we will delete this file
          before releasing the package).
        - Remember to include (snail)mail address info in either
          .nfo or the readthis.org file!
        - Maximum file size is 1447424 bytes in a ZIP file, and
          10 megs uncompressed. (This limit is to make them
          easier to distribute on disks - the size is under one
          HD disk since we will add info file about the compo in
          every ZIP). If you use DOS4GW, you don't need to
          include it in the ZIP. (Everyone has it already).
        - Maximum demo length (in time) is not limited, but you
          should remember that too long demos are boring.
        - The complete demo must run in some textmode (including
          setup screen if applicable). Valid textmode screen
          modes are:
          40x12, 40x14, 40x21, 40x25, 40x27, 40x43, 40x50,
          80x12, 80x14, 80x21, 80x25, 80x27, 80x43, 80x50.
          You *MAY* support other modes, but we will judge the
          demos in one of those modes.
          (All of these modes can be set through use of interrupt
          calls, so no outs are required).
        - Font and palette changes are not allowed; neither are
          other hardware tricks like splitscreen or startaddress.
          (Changing font means you want higher resolution, and
          that's not the point of this competition. Changing the
          palette is also out of the question; you can change
          colors on screen in other ways).
          EXCEPTION: Light backgrounds may be enabled (ie. the
          blink attribute may be disabled). Other 'tweaks' (except
          refresh rate tweaks) are NOT allowed (partially since it
          would make the mode control impossible, and partially
          since it simply is not the point of this competition.
          Take it as a chiptune compo for coders).
        - User must be able to quit the demo at any moment by
          pressing ESC.
        - Sound support: At least 1024k GUS (either native, MEGAEM
          (midi) or (IW/MAX)SBOS (SB/adlib)). (We use GUS Classic,
          GUS MAX and GUS PNP cards).
        - The demo must run on Pentium 120 with 8 megs of RAM
          under either QEMM, EMM386, HIMEM or plain boot.
          (Judging will be done on P120 and P133 machines with 16
          megs of RAM, tho).
        - The demo must not write anything on harddrive (neither
          in current dir nor on C root or anywhere else).
        - Complete animation demos are not denied, but remember
          the size limits..

        Also suggested, but not madatory:
        - Autodetects and command-line options are a good idea.
        - Demos should run through once and quit - or loop if
          a certain command-line parameter is given.
        - Nosound and SB support would be nice.
        - If you use nonstandard text modes with the valid
          resolutions (for instace Liket's 60hz or 50hz modes)
          please make them optional. If you don't, you'll risk
          incompatibility with the compo machines.

-- -- - 8< - -- -- cut here for fidonet posts -- -- - 8< - -- --

_____Prizes?

        1st place - Full registered version of Remedy
                    Entertainment's Death Rally.
                  - 1st pick from CD pile.
                  - 386dx25 w/4MB RAM, 40MB HDD, VGA card.
                    (doesn't include keyboard or monitor, tho..)
                  - Assembly T-shirt.
        2nd place - 2nd pick from CD pile.
                  - same kind of 386dx25 as above.
                  - Assembly T-shirt.
        3rd place - 3rd pick from CD pile (if any choise).
                  - Assembly T-shirt.
        4th place - 4th pick from CD pile (if any choise).
                  - Assembly T-shirt.
        5th place - Whatever CD is left in the pile.
                  - Assembly T-shirt.
     6-10th place - Assembly T-shirt.

        As for what CDs to pick from, you have two Imphobia
        'Dreams' CDs, and three A.C.E Demos Collection CDs.

        A.C.E demos collection CDs were donated by A.C.E BBS:
        <mailto:cdace@ace.epita.fr>
        Imphobia Dreams CDs were donated by Imphobia:
        <mailto:darkness@genesis.be>
        Assembly t-shirts were donated by Assembly Organizing:
        <http:www.assembly.org> <mailto:assembly@assembly.org>
        Death Rally was donated by Remedy Entertainment:
        <http:www.remedy.fi>

        Other donations welcome!


_____Jury?

        The jury consists of DEE and Crusaders members who like
        good PC, c64 and textmode demos. Each member of the jury
        gives every demo 0-3 points; jury member cannot give
        points to a demo from his group (ie. if a DEE member
        makes a demo, 50% of the jury may not give him votes).
        There will be re-voting in case of a tie.


_____Resources?

        Sol/DEE has released a textmode FLI/FLC player (will full
        Watcom C32 source). It can currently be found (at least)
        from:
        ftp:ftp.cdrom.com//pub/demos/incoming/code/txtfli.zip
        It should be enough to show that you can do anything in
        textmode.
          The Joker(TJ)/Crusaders has released full code to his
        textmode demo that won the Distortion'96, and the demo
        consist of 3d-vectors, texture-mapping, goraud shading,
        zoom/rotate, good music and plasma-routines.
        It's coded in pascal/asm. Get if from :
        ftp:ftp.cdrom.com//pub/demos/incoming/code/ringnes.arj


_____Other?

        Please note that this is NOT a joke competition! You
        CAN do all plasmas, whirls, vectors, and stuffs in text
        mode. And due to the reduced resolution and virtually
        truecolor palette, you can do much more than what you
        could imagine doing in 320x200 or even higher graphics
        modes.

        If you have any questions, send them to either
        joker@crusaders.no or jari.komppa@pcb.compart.fi, or use
        the other contribution addresses mentioned above.

        Signed,
                Sol/DEE and The Joker/Crusaders
                9th October 1996

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