@database BenSpeaks @author "Ben Vost" @$VER: 1.5 (15.05.97 - AFCD15) @node MAIN "Welcome to AFCD15" @{b}AFCD15 July 97@{ub} Hi all, The tension in the office today is palpable. We're all getting ready for whatever news Gateway give us tomorrow at the press conference when we'll know for sure whether we'll all still have a job this time next year. We've packed up the A4000s, sorted out deals for new game demos, new software and more to arrive at the show for us and more. By the time you read this, you will know what the outcome of the show was, and what Gateway had to say, so I think I'll leave it there for the time being. See ya, @{"Ben" link "thought" 0} @{b}HEY!!!! READ THE SUBMISSION ADVICE! THEN YOUR STUFF MIGHT GET ON THE CD!!!@{ub} 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}Lightwave! Grrrrr!@{ub} With apologies to all that think I should stop moaning in this section of the CD, I have to tell you about my experiences with Lightwave now that I have been using it for about two months now. I've had a lot of stick for giving Lightwave what some people regard as a ludicrously low mark in Amiga Format (58% in AF95), but not only do I still stand by the mark I gave it, I would probably give it an even lower mark now. The new features of Lightwave 5.0 are superb, there's no doubt of that, but putting in new stuff at the expense of introducing bugs into things that were working perfectly previously is unforgivable. Examples? OK. Go into the motion graph requestor in the Modeler - an extremely valuable tool. Previously, if you used the mouse buttons to drag the key or change its value, the window was updated in real time. Now, not only isn't it, but you have to use the cursor keys to move to a previous key and then back again to check the settings. How this slipped through the net is beyond me. Then there's the problems with Lightwave's animation facility. I've just spent this afternoon rendering some frames for an animation using Surface Effectors (absolutely brilliant - wait for the review next month), so I thought I might as well get a quick anim out of the deal as well as the frames. The animation turned out to be five times the size of the 24-bit frames and the wrong size (I rendered the frames at 160 x 120, but Viewtek reported the anim as being 768 x 576). Now, Lightwave's anim facility has never been that hot when divorced from the Toaster, but it's not the only problem to do with animation. In this version of Lightwave you still cannot save a preview - again, a pretty essential function. Lastly, the more I'm forced to use Lightwave on a standard PAL screen, the more annoyed I get. Why do I have to suffer the reduced resolution when my machine is perfectly capable of opening a screen of 1152 x 900 in 24-bit which is extremely fast and obviously much more colourful? The poo-flavoured icing on the urinal cake is the fact that Newtek are not even currently engaged in any Lightwave development for the Amiga. They just announced v5.5 with loads of new features "for all the important platforms". Needless to say, this did not include the Amiga. I spoke to a representative on the sales and support line who told me between chewing her gum that "You know, we're, like, waiting to see what, you know, happens with the Amiga, you know. No, we won't be fixing the bugs in 5.0 - there's no, like, development for the Amiga." So there you have it. Newtek put up the price and drop the support. My overall verdict for it is now just 40%. I shall expect your howls of discontent soon. @endnode