Yesterdays by Focus
PROUDLY PRESENTS TO YOU: - YESTERDAYS -- 7 YEARS OF STYLE - IED ALL LAWS OF NATURE BY STILL BEING P - - WELCOME BACK TO THE GLORY DAYS MY FRIEND !! THE MASTERS OF STYLE HAVE RETURNED AT LONG LAST TO PRESENT YOU A SMALL REMINDER OF HOW THINGS USED TO LOOK WHEN LIFE WAS STILL GOOD, COURTESY OF COMPYX (CODE & GFX) AND TDJ (TEXT) WITH MUSIC BY ZAGOR OF HORIZON. SCREENS SUCH AS THESE WERE VERY POPULAR AROUND THE TURN OF THE DECADE, A TIME WHEN THE C64 WORLD CONSISTED OF THOUSANDS OF ENTHOUSIASTIC SCENERS, MANY OF THEM TRULY SKILLED, RESULTING IN A VAST AMOUNT OF DEMO'S. NEVER AGAIN THE WORLD WILL SEE SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE GATHERING OF TALENTS, OR THE QUALITY-PACKED SCREENGEMS THEY PRODUCED .. BUT ALAS, THE YEAR IS 1997 AND ALL THAT REMINDS US OF THOSE HAPPY TIMES IS THE HUGE LIBRARY WE OURSELVES HAVE COLLECTED ON FLOPPY-DISKS, OR WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON MORE MODERN MEDIA SUCH AS CD-ROMS AND THE INTERNET. EVEN THOUGH OUR TRUSTY 8-BITTER HAS DEFIED ALL LAWS OF NATURE BY STILL BEING POPULAR, THINGS ARE LOOKING BLEAK. BECAUSE MORE THAN JUST A DEDICATION TO THE GOLDEN AGE, THIS DEMO ALSO SERVES AS A CONTRA-REACTION TO TODAY'S BREED OF C64 DEMO'S, THOSE PACKED WITH UGLY LOOKING BIX PIXEL EFFECTS. I MYSELF WAS SHOCKED WHEN, AFTER TAKING A SABATTICAL YEAR DUE TO PROBLEMS OF A MORE PERSONAL NATURE, I MADE MY RETURN LAST X-MAS, AND SPEND SEVERAL HOURS CHECKING OUT THE 1996-BATCH. I FOUND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT ALMOST EVERYTHING WE HAD BUILD UP THROUGHOUT THE YEARS SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN THROWN AWAY. THE DISTINCT C64 STYLE, WHICH MADE ME AND MANY OTHERS SO PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS SCENE, HAD ALMOST DISSAPEARED. IT WAS REPLACED BY MATHEMATICAL-PERFECT CLONES OF EFFECTS SEEN MANY TIMES BEFORE ON MORE POWERFUL MACHINES SUCH AS THE PC. EFFECTS THAT, TRUE ENOUGH, SHOWED THE MAGNIFICENT CODING SKILLS OF THOSE WHO IMPLEMENTED THEM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME SO LITTLE STYLE AND FEELING FOR WHAT THE C64 REALLY IS ABOUT. NOW DO NOT GET ME WRONG, THERE ARE SOME NEW-STYLE C64 DEMO'S WHICH MAKE EVEN ME AWE, BUT THEY ARE VERY RARE. MOST OF THE TIME IT JUST FEELS LIKE I AM WATCHING AN 8086-MACHINE EQUIPPED WITH CGA, OR EVEN WORSE, A HERCULES VIDEO-CARD, PROVIDING COLORS THAT WOULD MAKE A BLIND MAN CRY. ALSO, I RECALL A TIME WHEN HAVING THE SLIGHTEST GLITCH IN A PART WOULD MAKE YOU THE LAUGHING STOCK OF YOUR PEERS, WHEREAS NOWADAYS THIS ALMOST SEEMS TO BE MANDATORY. SURE, THOSE THINGS TEND TO DISAPPEAR ON BIG SCREENS AND AS SUCH NEW-BREED DEMO'S MAY SCORE WELL ON PARTIES, ESPECIALLY AMONGST THE LESS-WISE PC SCENERS, BUT IT DOES NOT MAKE A GOOD DEMO IN MY EYES. NOW DO NOT FORGET, THIS PARTICULAR JUDGE HAS MOST LIKELY SEEN MORE DEMO'S ON SEVERAL PLATFORMS THAN ANY OF YOU, AND MADE A GREAT DEAL OF THEM HIMSELF AS WELL. AND MAYBE I'M NO WIZARD WHEN IT COMES TO BUMP-MAPPING AND THE LIKE, BUT AT LEAST I KNOW HOW TO CREATE A -REAL- C64-DEMO. WELL THEN, YOU MIGHT WONDER IF ALL HOPE IS LOST FOR OUR SCENE .. TO BE HONEST, AFTER THE X97 PARTY I HAD INDEED SUCH FEELINGS, AS I EXPRESSED IN ISSUE 21 OF THE DISKMAG 'DRIVEN'. WHEN WRITING THAT ARTICLE I WAS ANGRY, VERY ANGRY INDEED, WITH GROUPS THAT SHOW NO CLASS, GROUPS WHOSE PRODUCTIONS HAVE NOTHING GOING THAT MAKES THEM STAND OUT FROM THE REST, THUS RESULTING IN A LOT OF INTERCHANGABLE DEMO'S. BUT MORE THAN A MONTH HAS PASSED BY SINCE THEN, AND I HAVE DECIDED THAT I WILL NOT RUN AWAY FROM WHAT IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I HAVE EVER FACED IN MY SCENE-LIFE. FUELLED BY THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE FEELING THE SAME WAY AS I DO, PEOPLE WHO HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES TO BE REAL C64-SCENERS JUST LIKE I HAVE, PEOPLE IN GROUPS SUCH AS CREST, GRAFFITY, BYTERAPERS AND MANY MORE, FUELLED BY THAT KNOWLEDGE, I HAVE DECIDED TO INVEST MY ENERGY ONCE MORE INTO THIS SCENE, AND TO TRY MAKING IT AS BEAUTIFUL AND APART FROM OTHER SCENES AS IT ONCE WAS. SO BRING ME YOUR UGLY 4X4 PIXEL EFFECTS, YOUR WORTHLESS REAL-TIME DOOM SCREENS, YOUR DISGUSTING LOOKING LANDSCAPES, AND WATCH ME AS I DESTROY THEM ALL USING REAL C64 POWER !! HATE ME IF YOU MUST, I SIMPLY DO NOT CARE, FOR I WILL -NOT- HAVE YOU RUIN EVERYTHING ME AND ALL THOSE OTHERS HAVE CREATED !! I WILL MAKE YOU SEE THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO SAVE OUR BELOVED SCENE, AND THAT IS TO RETURN TO OUR ROOTS .. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT BIG PIXEL EFFECTS SHOULD BE BANNED FOREVER, BUT BY GOD, TRY TO IMPLEMENT THEM WITH SOME CLASS, SOME STYLE, SO THAT THE FINAL RESULT WILL BE WORTH LOOKING AT, AND BEAR THE MARKINGS OF A TRUE C64 PRODUCT INSTEAD OF A PC-DEMO-CLONE. IT HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE, IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT IT WILL TAKE JUST THAT LITTLE EXTRA EFFORT TO PULL OFF. PROVE TO ME THAT YOU ARE INDEED A REAL C64-ER AFTER ALL, MAKE ME PROUD, PROVIDE ME THE 'BUZZ' THAT I SO DESPERATELY SEEK .. CAN YOU DO IT .. CAN YOU DO IT I ASK YOU !! OR DO YOU TAKE THE OTHER WAY, THE FALSE WAY, OF BEING CONTENT WITH RELEASING HALF-FINISHED STUFF .. FOR IF YOU DO, MAY YOUR SOUL BURN IN SCENE-HELL, AS IN THAT CASE YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY DOOMING OUR BELOVED SCENE. NOW, ONCE MORE, THAT IS A FATE WHICH I WILL FIGHT AGAINST WITH ALL THAT I HAVE. AND I AM NOT ALONE .. THE UNFORGIVEN ARE BACK:MIRAGE - JEROEN TEL - COMPYX - ADAM - ANORGANIC - JAYCE - MCA - PDB - SANDER - AND YOURS TRULY, THE DARK JUDGE. 1990-1997, FOCUS FOREVER, IT'S A SCENE THING, YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND .. - ANGRY OR CONFUSED ? EMAIL THE DARK JUDGEFOR A HEALTHY DISCUSSION AT TDJ - BART.NL,OR LOOK FOR HIM ON CHANNEL #C-64 ON IRC. LET US ALL JOIN TOGETHER TO RETURN THE C64 SCENE TO THE TOP WHERE IT BELONGS! - WELCOME BACK TO THE GLORY DAYS MY FRIEND !! THE MASTERS OF STYLE HAVE RETURNED AT LONG LAST TO PRESENT YOU A SMALL REMINDER OF HOW THINGS USED TO LOOK WHEN LIFE WAS STILL GOOD, COURTESY OF COMPYX (CODE & GFX) AND TDJ (TEXT) WITH MUSIC BY ZAGOR OF HORIZON. SCREENS SUCH AS THESE WERE VERY POPULAR AROUND THE TURN OF THE DECADE, A TIME WHEN THE C64 WORLD CONSISTED OF THOUSANDS OF ENTHOUSIASTIC SCENERS, MANY OF THEM TRULY SKILLED, RESULTING IN A VAST AMOUNT OF DEMO'S. NEVER AGAIN THE WORLD WILL SEE SUCH AN IMPRESSIVE GATHERING OF TALENTS, OR THE QUALITY-PACKED SCREENGEMS THEY PRODUCED .. BUT ALAS, THE YEAR IS 1997 AND ALL THAT REMINDS US OF THOSE HAPPY TIMES IS THE HUGE LIBRARY WE OURSELVES HAVE COLLECTED ON FLOPPY-DISKS, OR WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON MORE MODERN MEDIA SUCH AS CD-ROMS AND THE INTERNET. EVEN THOUGH OUR TRUSTY 8-BITTER HAS DEFIED ALL LAWS OF NATURE BY STILL BEING POPULAR, THINGS ARE LOOKING BLEAK. BECAUSE MORE THAN JUST A DEDICATION TO THE GOLDEN AGE, THIS DEMO ALSO SERVES AS A CONTRA-REACTION TO TODAY'S BREED OF C64 DEMO'S, THOSE PACKED WITH UGLY LOOKING BIX PIXEL EFFECTS. I MYSELF WAS SHOCKED WHEN, AFTER TAKING A SABATTICAL YEAR DUE TO PROBLEMS OF A MORE PERSONAL NATURE, I MADE MY RETURN LAST X-MAS, AND SPEND SEVERAL HOURS CHECKING OUT THE 1996-BATCH. I FOUND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT ALMOST EVERYTHING WE HAD BUILD UP THROUGHOUT THE YEARS SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN THROWN AWAY. THE DISTINCT C64 STYLE, WHICH MADE ME AND MANY OTHERS SO PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS SCENE, HAD ALMOST DISSAPEARED. IT WAS REPLACED BY MATHEMATICAL-PERFECT CLONES OF EFFECTS SEEN MANY TIMES BEFORE ON MORE POWERFUL MACHINES SUCH AS THE PC. EFFECTS THAT, TRUE ENOUGH, SHOWED THE MAGNIFICENT CODING SKILLS OF THOSE WHO IMPLEMENTED THEM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME SO LITTLE STYLE AND FEELING FOR WHAT THE C64 REALLY IS ABOUT. NOW DO NOT GET ME WRONG, THERE ARE SOME NEW-STYLE C64 DEMO'S WHICH MAKE EVEN ME AWE, BUT THEY ARE VERY RARE. MOST OF THE TIME IT JUST FEELS LIKE I AM WATCHING AN 8086-MACHINE EQUIPPED WITH CGA, OR EVEN WORSE, A HERCULES VIDEO-CARD, PROVIDING COLORS THAT WOULD MAKE A BLIND MAN CRY. ALSO, I RECALL A TIME WHEN HAVING THE SLIGHTEST GLITCH IN A PART WOULD MAKE YOU THE LAUGHING STOCK OF YOUR PEERS, WHEREAS NOWADAYS THIS ALMOST SEEMS TO BE MANDATORY. SURE, THOSE THINGS TEND TO DISAPPEAR ON BIG SCREENS AND AS SUCH NEW-BREED DEMO'S MAY SCORE WELL ON PARTIES, ESPECIALLY AMONGST THE LESS-WISE PC SCENERS, BUT IT DOES NOT MAKE A GOOD DEMO IN MY EYES. NOW DO NOT FORGET, THIS PARTICULAR JUDGE HAS MOST LIKELY SEEN MORE DEMO'S ON SEVERAL PLATFORMS THAN ANY OF YOU, AND MADE A GREAT DEAL OF THEM HIMSELF AS WELL. AND MAYBE I'M NO WIZARD WHEN IT COMES TO BUMP-MAPPING AND THE LIKE, BUT AT LEAST I KNOW HOW TO CREATE A -REAL- C64-DEMO. WELL THEN, YOU MIGHT WONDER IF ALL HOPE IS LOST FOR OUR SCENE .. TO BE HONEST, AFTER THE X97 PARTY I HAD INDEED SUCH FEELINGS, AS I EXPRESSED IN ISSUE 21 OF THE DISKMAG 'DRIVEN'. WHEN WRITING THAT ARTICLE I WAS ANGRY, VERY ANGRY INDEED, WITH GROUPS THAT SHOW NO CLASS, GROUPS WHOSE PRODUCTIONS HAVE NOTHING GOING THAT MAKES THEM STAND OUT FROM THE REST, THUS RESULTING IN A LOT OF INTERCHANGABLE DEMO'S. BUT MORE THAN A MONTH HAS PASSED BY SINCE THEN, AND I HAVE DECIDED THAT I WILL NOT RUN AWAY FROM WHAT IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE I HAVE EVER FACED IN MY SCENE-LIFE. FUELLED BY THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE FEELING THE SAME WAY AS I DO, PEOPLE WHO HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES TO BE REAL C64-SCENERS JUST LIKE I HAVE, PEOPLE IN GROUPS SUCH AS CREST, GRAFFITY, BYTERAPERS AND MANY MORE, FUELLED BY THAT KNOWLEDGE, I HAVE DECIDED TO INVEST MY ENERGY ONCE MORE INTO THIS SCENE, AND TO TRY MAKING IT AS BEAUTIFUL AND APART FROM OTHER SCENES AS IT ONCE WAS. SO BRING ME YOUR UGLY 4X4 PIXEL EFFECTS, YOUR WORTHLESS REAL-TIME DOOM SCREENS, YOUR DISGUSTING LOOKING LANDSCAPES, AND WATCH ME AS I DESTROY THEM ALL USING REAL C64 POWER !! HATE ME IF YOU MUST, I SIMPLY DO NOT CARE, FOR I WILL -NOT- HAVE YOU RUIN EVERYTHING ME AND ALL THOSE OTHERS HAVE CREATED !! I WILL MAKE YOU SEE THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO SAVE OUR BELOVED SCENE, AND THAT IS TO RETURN TO OUR ROOTS .. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT BIG PIXEL EFFECTS SHOULD BE BANNED FOREVER, BUT BY GOD, TRY TO IMPLEMENT THEM WITH SOME CLASS, SOME STYLE, SO THAT THE FINAL RESULT WILL BE WORTH LOOKING AT, AND BEAR THE MARKINGS OF A TRUE C64 PRODUCT INSTEAD OF A PC-DEMO-CLONE. IT HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE, IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT IT WILL TAKE JUST THAT LITTLE EXTRA EFFORT TO PULL OFF. PROVE TO ME THAT YOU ARE INDEED A REAL C64-ER AFTER ALL, MAKE ME PROUD, PROVIDE ME THE 'BUZZ' THAT I SO DESPERATELY SEEK .. CAN YOU DO IT .. CAN YOU DO IT I ASK YOU !! OR DO YOU TAKE THE OTHER WAY, THE FALSE WAY, OF BEING CONTENT WITH RELEASING HALF-FINISHED STUFF .. FOR IF YOU DO, MAY YOUR SOUL BURN IN SCENE-HELL, AS IN THAT CASE YOU ARE MOST CERTAINLY DOOMING OUR BELOVED SCENE. NOW, ONCE MORE, THAT IS A FATE WHICH I WILL FIGHT AGAINST WITH ALL THAT I HAVE. AND I AM NOT ALONE .. THE UNFORGIVEN ARE BACK:MIRAGE - JEROEN TEL - COMPYX - ADAM - ANORGANIC - JAYCE - MCA - PDB - SANDER - AND YOURS TRULY, THE DARK JUDGE. 1990-1997, FOCUS FOREVER, IT'S A SCENE THING, YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND .. - ANGRY OR CONFUSED ? EMAIL THE DARK JUDGEFOR A HEALTHY DISCUSSION AT TDJ - BART.NL,OR LOOK FOR HIM ON CHANNEL #C-64 ON IRC. LET US ALL JOIN TOGETHER TO RETURN THE C64 SCENE TO THE TOP WHERE IT BELONGS! -