@database BenSpeaks @author "Ben Vost" @$VER: 1.5 (04.04.97 - AFCD14) @node MAIN "Welcome to AFCD14" @{b}AFCD14 June 97@{ub} I don't think I've ever played so many games in such a short space of time. The feature I've written on new games, cloned games and ported games this month has opened my eyes. Now, as a rule, I don't actually play all that many games on my Amiga, the ones I do play tend to be the kind of game you can play while waiting for something to finish - Workbench games like Soliton, MUIBackGammon or WBPairs. But now, I'm hooked on Scions and Invasion Force, the kinds of games that steal days away from you if you let them, and I'm convinced that the Amiga is still a very viable gaming platform. OK, right now, we don't have FMV sequences and huge rendered intros, but at the end of the day, this is just window dressing. Once you've seen these pre-rendered sequences, just how often do you sit through them again? The only places where the Amiga is let down are graphical power and processor power. Today's Doom clones are OK, but they aren't a patch on those on the PC or Mac (well, apart from Quake, but that's pretty slow). More importantly, we don't have our own versions of Screamer or Twisted Metal Tour mainly because AGA just isn't that great. However, it looks like one half of the equation might be resolved with Phase 5's PowerUp board. These beasties, available for the A1200 and as an add-on to an existing CyberStormII in a big box Amiga, will power the Amiga with a RISC processor capable of hundreds of millions of instructions per second rather than the paltry five MIPS or so for an 030. That sounds great, especially since the price for these new upgrade cards isn't going to be very steep at all, but what good will it be for the PowerPC-owning Amiga games player if none of the software companies want to support it. The Amiga games industry has long been the opposite to that on the PC where software development drives the hardware along. It's time for Amiga games companies to start pushing the boundaries a bit themselves. It's great that Vulcan have announced that they will only be bringing out CD-ROM games from now on, but there a lot of Amiga owners that have had CD-ROM drives for a couple of years now so they're not exactly setting our news pages on fire with that announcement, are they? Give us games that really use CD, games that support AHI and RTG graphics cards, games that use (nay require) 030 or faster processors. But most importantly, give us good games and we'll buy 'em. See ya, @{"Ben" link "thought" 0} PS. OK, you've stopped sending us your modules, but still more than half of your submissions are @{b}not@{ub} getting onto the AFCD. If you don't know why yours hasn't appeared then maybe you should check out the @{"submissions advice page" link "sadvice" 0}. @endnode @node sadvice "Submissions advice" @node MAIN "Submissions advice" @{b}HOW TO SEND US YOUR SUBMISSIONS ===============================@{ub} @{b}IMPORTANT! We can no longer accept your music modules as submissions for the Amiga Format CD owing to copyright problems with sound samples from copyrighted sources. Thanks for all your music submissions up till now, but please don't send any more...@{ub} We want you to send us your programs, animations, pictures, game tips and cheats, hacks, hardware projects, basically anything you can think of that you have done with your Amiga. It must be your own work - no passing off Chris Achilleos' greatest masterpieces as your own, and we need a variety of things from you in addition to your submission and we need them on your disk. @{b}1.@{ub} We need your name and address so that we know where to send your prize. You should also put your name and address on labels on your media. @{b}2.@{ub} We need two @{"read me" link "readme" 0} files accompanying your work; one for us and one to go on the CD itself (title them @{b}AF_ReadMe@{ub} and @{b}ReadMe@{ub}). These can be as in-depth as you want them to be, but should contain instructions for us on getting your work running if it is a complicated procedure, including things like necessary libraries and so on. The readme that will go on the CD will be the introduction of your work to the whole Amiga Format reading world so check your spelling and grammar and show people just what is so good about your work. @{b}3.@{ub} If your work requires files such as libraries which you cannot send us owing to copyright reasons make sure we know about them so that we can either arrange to put them on the CD, or warn our readers about them (you will probably do this in your CD read me). @{b}4.@{ub} Be aware that we won't be as interested in programs that need to boot or that require to be in a certain place on the CD, unless, of course, that place happens to be in your directory on the CD. Your directory will almost certainly have the path: @{b}"AFCDx:-ReaderStuff-/your_name/"@{ub} but then no-one will be able to run your program except from the CD, limiting its usefulness or appeal. If we do put something on the CD that needs to autoboot, it will almost certainly only be as a DMS that readers will have to extract to disk before they can use it. @{b}5.@{ub} Lastly, your submission @{b}must@{ub} include the following text within your AF_ReadMe file, otherwise your submission will @{b}not@{ub} go on the CD: @{fg highlight}In respect of all material which forms my reader contribution to Future Publishing's Amiga Format I hereby warrant that:- (1) the material is original and does not infringe any other material or rights; (2) the material does not contain any material which is defamatory, obscene or indecent and is exempt from classification under the Video Recordings Act 1984; (3) that there are no legal claims against the material provided; (4) that I have full power and authority to provide this material to Future Publishing.@{fg text} (There is a version of this text as a file in the -Look_here_1st!- drawer on the CD.) You can send us your work on pretty much any sort of media whether it be floppy disks (high or double density, but don't send us work on high density disks unless you yourself have a high density drive. High density disks used in a double density drive aren't as reliable as using double density disks), a floppy disk back up using AmiBack, Quarterback or any of the shareware backup tools, Zip disk, Jaz cartridge, SyQuest 44MB, 88MB or 105MB or EZ Drive, DAT tape backup from any of the above-mentioned programs (the only thing we're not very keen on is the Video Backup System that Power Computing sell in the UK, we've had nothing but trouble with it), FTP upload to @{b}ftp2.futurenet.co.uk@{ub}, (you'll only be able to put your file in the incoming directory, you won't be able to see it once you have finished uploading, but don't worry, it'll be there. Make sure that you name your file with AF at the start so that we know it's for us) basically anything apart from a listing on paper. We don't want to have to type in your program too! We will return any media more expensive than high density floppies via registered post, so you won't have to worry about losing seventy quid's worth of Jaz cartridge. Send your submissions to: @{b}CD submissions Amiga Format 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW@{ub} @endnode @node readme "How to make a Read me file" If you are unsure about how to make a readme file it really is very simple. If you have a word processor of some description (Wordworth, Final Writer or the like) you can create one in that - you must just make sure that you save the text as ASCII text; there will be an option in the Save As... requester or program preferences. If you don't have a word processor, but you have a text editor for a programming language or for some other reason - we put Gold Ed on our CD every time the authors release a new version, you can use that, in fact, it would be ideal for the purpose. If you don't have a third party text editor, you have two provided by Commodore with your Amiga. In the tools drawer you should find MEmacs, but just opening a shell window will get you to ed. To edit a new file in ed, type the following line at the shell prompt: @{fg highlight}ed ram:AF_Readme@{fg text} This will create a new text file in RAM: called, yes, you guessed it, AF_Readme. It won't have an icon, but don't worry about that, we can always add one for you, just make sure you put it in with your submission. @endnode @node thought "Thought for the month" @{b}On my soapbox again!@{ub} Morning all. Today is Friday the 4th April 1997 and the Amiga has a new owner, the fourth in its history. Oddly enough, as has been noted by somebody on Usenet, the owners of the Amiga are following a trend. Firstly, we had Amiga, Inc. before the machine was even released. They were swiftly snapped up by Commodore and we all know what happened to them. Our third owner was Escom and their downfall was followed by the purchase of Amiga Technologies by Gateway 2000. Have you spotted the link yet? No, well, tenuous as it certainly is, the link between these companies is their position in the alphabet: @{fg highlight}A@{fg text}miga, Inc. @{fg highlight}C@{fg text}ommodore @{fg highlight}E@{fg text}scom @{fg highlight}G@{fg text}ateway 2000 So, what if the curse of the Amiga strikes once more and takes out Gateway? Might we end up with... IBM? What if the Amiga drags them down (strange as it may seem)? K? K, K, K, hmm, can't think of a @{b}really@{ub} big company in the computer industry beginning with K and I don't think Kellogg's would be too keen (their cereal packets would have to be made considerably larger in order to give Amigas away free!). So onto M. Well, the biggest computer company I can think of that begins with M would have to be Micro$oft - our fiercest competitor, though they know it not. Now, if the Amiga could take down Microsoft, that would be impressive... @endnode