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From: rjc@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell)
Subject: Re: AMIGA DEMOS: Europe VS. USA
Message-ID: <1991Apr24.041131.6321@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu>
Keywords: demos
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Organization: The Internet
References: <1991Apr23.071311.46295@vaxb.acs.unt.edu> <1991Apr23.164302.6289@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <16972@chopin.udel.edu>
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 91 04:11:31 GMT
Lines: 90

In article <16972@chopin.udel.edu> jon@chopin.udel.edu (Jon Deutsch) writes:
>In article <1991Apr23.164302.6289@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> rjc@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell) writes:
>>In article <1991Apr23.071311.46295@vaxb.acs.unt.edu> wright@etsuv2.etsu.edu writes:
>(wow -- a follow-up to my own original post -- )
>
>	OK, maybe there isn't anything AWESOME about copper tricks and
>	vectorballs... BUT what is awesome is what these "Euro-kids"
>	actually *DO* with these tricks!!  To get the speed and smoothness
>	of such complex animations without system bogging *is* very
>	difficult programming -- EFFICIENCY!  There are many many demos
>	(euro and us) that will slow down and speed up do to system overhead.
>	The *good* demos won't do this - no matter what they are doing.
>	You can't just say these kids are taking the easy way out by writing
>	demos.

  Almost none of the Euro demos I've seen use the OS. They completely disable
everything and perform a take over. As for programming style, take a 
look at "sinscroll.lzh" in amiga/demos/euro on ab20. This is the most
sloppy poorly coded thing I have ever seen yet it is smooth as hell
(in PAL mode). I don't think it will run on >68000's either since
I'm sure I saw a few "move sr,<ea>"'s in there.

>	Another *big* thing that is being overlooked is the amazing
>	artistry that is involved with many of these productions!
>	It some, the graphics are superior to things I've seen 
>	as sporting event intros!  These kids could make a lot of money
>	if they knew how to channel their talents!

 No arguement there, however the art is not "lightyears" ahead of
what is done by professionals, or Eric Schwartz.

>	Artistry doesn't stop at graphics, either -- 
>	I CANNOT believe what these kids are doing with a measely 4
>	voices of sound!!!  WOW- for instance, Cryptoburner's demo
>	("crb1.exe" on xanth)  has a soundtrack that rivals anything
>	that *I'VE* written or produced on my multi-thousand dollar
>	MIDI setup in my room (for what they're working on, at least).
>	There are some beautiful/funky/creative/awesome scorers out there.
>	It's amazing.  It seems as though quite a lot of talented musicians
>	are spending a lot of time scoring these demos,
>	and I send kudos out to them -- hopefully they will
>	take it one step further and actually do something financially
>	constructive with these amazing talents.

  Some of the music is good, however alot of it just the same old
rhythms with different samples. Some of the old Rob Hubbard, Martin
Galaway, and Ben Daglish music from the C64 sounds better.

>>
>>  One thing I am sick of in the US is the way intelligence and creativity
>>are put down. Why does being a "nerd" have bad connotations? If anything,
>>it should be encouraged. I wonder how it is in Europe and Japan? 
>
>	Intelligence and creativity are NOT put down in this country.
>	What is put down are people who focus their entire lives on
>	subject, and don't care to spread themselves out personally
>	or socially.  Someone who spends their entire childhood coding
>	is considered a freak (or "nerd") because man is a social beast:
>	It is not socially acceptable to concentrate 100% of your time
>	and energy into such an abstract and antisocial hobbie.  

 I am not talking 100%, I am talking about excelling at certain things.
Perhaps you haven't been in highschool for awhile, but basically
anyone in the computer or chess club was _automatically_ a nerd 
no matter what his social habits were. If you did too well in your
classes (like having >3.8 GPA) you were probably a nerd. The old 
stereotypical bifocal geek with pocket protector and pants that were
too small is a myth.

        Care to explain why your "cool" it you spent 95-100% of your
time taking drugs and hanging onthe street corner?

>	There are many intelligent and creative people who learn how
>	to manage their time.  These people are able to function normally
>	in our current society, but are still able to code to their heart's
>	content - it just means you have to find a *balance*.
>
>	That's the key word -- balance.

   Yea, it sounds like a nice plan, but it has nothing to do with how people
choose to label you. Try getting a date by telling a woman your a
physicist, there was a big thread about this in sci.physics and alt.sex
a while ago.


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