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Galahad/FLT · 08 June 2023, 00:09

My two pence worth.

Pointless!

I love David Pleasance, I love that he had the forethought to do the Batman Pack and others and really help get the Amiga into homes across Europe.

I was gutted back in the day when Commodore UK couldn't buy what was left, whether or not the Amiga would have lasted any significant amount of time more, I can't say, but I think there would have been more general optimism, whether that helps a company survive, I don't know.

But that was back in 1994.

In 1998, I pretty much walked away from Amiga. All the promises of stuff didn't happen nor materialise, as far as I was concerned, Amiga was dead as a platform, and there was no hope that a new machine might come out to challenge all comers as it did before.

And then 2 years later, I was back, a cursory look on the Internet, and people remembered me and the stuff i'd done.

But the Amiga "scene" as it was back in 2000, was a mess, so fragmented, little to nothing happening, hopes and dreams of doing stuff were just that, hopes and dreams.

Software wasn't really forthcoming, plenty of talented people, but not enough free time to do anything.

WHDLoad went from strength to strength, I think that was a major reason why so many people came back, got their Amigas out of cupboards, next thing they knew, they were spending money on a machine they hadn't used in a long while.

I would say that since 2010, things really started to pick up, the trickles of sofware turned into something more. Lots of people from the demo scene that had largely quit the Amiga like I had, started coming back, demo programming, dentro, intro, cracktro, music, graphics, sure it was never going to be like it was in 1991, but you could see things were picking up.

New games, unreleased games finally seeing the light of day, then there was the accelerator market that was joined by several new people, prices coming down, now it wasn't quite so expensive to upgrade an Amiga to something that wasn't horrible to use in the 2010's.

Amiga repair services sprouting up, Amiga vendors, more commercial games, more demos, more cracktros, just generally more of everything, a massive change from what was happening in 2000, which frankly, was a whole heap of not much!

And where are we today? No more the "would be great if we could collaborate to make a game", people are collaborating, and making more games than ever, the Amiga scene has NEVER been as vibrant as it is today, the market for pimping Amigas and for writing software, its building up and up.

Magazines ffs, theres at least 3 of them, some are in the shops...... And the Amiga scene returned, people getting together and making time to make stuff on Amiga again, so much talent around, and some are even getting a return on investments.

What a sea change since 2000.

We as a community saw to that.

....But apparently, what the scene really needs is something "Official" setup that we have to pay for so everything is centralised in one place.

It's like the Internet was never invented!

The community on EAB and all the other forums and sites, has managed to muddle along just fine to where we are now. We don't need and didn't ask for an "official" website which claims it will help fund projects, but somehow needs our money to make that happen?!?!??!?

Amiga is now a hobby for me, i'm almost 50 years old, I have a business to run, i'm writing a game for a publisher (for Amiga!), and I just don't see how this AGA Directory website even remotely comes into play here.

If i've got a coding problem, I'll go on EAB, because frankly, thats where all the talent is, or i'll go ask friends who have already done it for their advice.

Everything we have NOW, works. All the forums work, the communities self govern to root out morons, and spammers, we already have our "AGA Directory"....... its called the Internet!

20 years ago, when the Amiga scene was so fragmented, something like this proposal would have been welcome, but not now, not after the hard work has been done, by a community that did it for the love of wanting to do it for others.

I can't support this, its detrimental to the Amiga community, its making an "EXCLUSIVE" club, when the LAST thing the Amiga needs is EXCLUSIVITY.

I think the kids call it "gatekeeping". I call it madness. If the Amiga community isn't free and open for all, then the Amiga DIES when all of our generation that was with the Amiga when it was new, dies, and I don't want that to happen.

Its why i'm happy to share information and answer questions I can, because I want more prospective people to want reasons to join us and help carry the Amiga name on into the next generation.

I don't want to be miserable at the thought that when i'm 70, all that is left of those that give a damn about the Amiga and its memory, is an ever diminishing group of people that will vanish, taking the Amiga with it.

I give my time freely, and other than occasional donations to Scoopexs website and EAB, within reason, I want to keep it that way.

People should not be put off by the financial impact, it will simply stop people joining us.

Peace!

08 June 2023, 00:09	#157
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 9,014	My two pence worth. Pointless! I love David Pleasance, I love that he had the forethought to do the Batman Pack and others and really help get the Amiga into homes across Europe. I was gutted back in the day when Commodore UK couldn't buy what was left, whether or not the Amiga would have lasted any significant amount of time more, I can't say, but I think there would have been more general optimism, whether that helps a company survive, I don't know. But that was back in 1994. In 1998, I pretty much walked away from Amiga. All the promises of stuff didn't happen nor materialise, as far as I was concerned, Amiga was dead as a platform, and there was no hope that a new machine might come out to challenge all comers as it did before. And then 2 years later, I was back, a cursory look on the Internet, and people remembered me and the stuff i'd done. But the Amiga "scene" as it was back in 2000, was a mess, so fragmented, little to nothing happening, hopes and dreams of doing stuff were just that, hopes and dreams. Software wasn't really forthcoming, plenty of talented people, but not enough free time to do anything. WHDLoad went from strength to strength, I think that was a major reason why so many people came back, got their Amigas out of cupboards, next thing they knew, they were spending money on a machine they hadn't used in a long while. I would say that since 2010, things really started to pick up, the trickles of sofware turned into something more. Lots of people from the demo scene that had largely quit the Amiga like I had, started coming back, demo programming, dentro, intro, cracktro, music, graphics, sure it was never going to be like it was in 1991, but you could see things were picking up. New games, unreleased games finally seeing the light of day, then there was the accelerator market that was joined by several new people, prices coming down, now it wasn't quite so expensive to upgrade an Amiga to something that wasn't horrible to use in the 2010's. Amiga repair services sprouting up, Amiga vendors, more commercial games, more demos, more cracktros, just generally more of everything, a massive change from what was happening in 2000, which frankly, was a whole heap of not much! And where are we today? No more the "would be great if we could collaborate to make a game", people are collaborating, and making more games than ever, the Amiga scene has NEVER been as vibrant as it is today, the market for pimping Amigas and for writing software, its building up and up. Magazines ffs, theres at least 3 of them, some are in the shops...... And the Amiga scene returned, people getting together and making time to make stuff on Amiga again, so much talent around, and some are even getting a return on investments. What a sea change since 2000. We as a community saw to that. ....But apparently, what the scene really needs is something "Official" setup that we have to pay for so everything is centralised in one place. It's like the Internet was never invented! The community on EAB and all the other forums and sites, has managed to muddle along just fine to where we are now. We don't need and didn't ask for an "official" website which claims it will help fund projects, but somehow needs our money to make that happen?!?!??!? Amiga is now a hobby for me, i'm almost 50 years old, I have a business to run, i'm writing a game for a publisher (for Amiga!), and I just don't see how this AGA Directory website even remotely comes into play here. If i've got a coding problem, I'll go on EAB, because frankly, thats where all the talent is, or i'll go ask friends who have already done it for their advice. Everything we have NOW, works. All the forums work, the communities self govern to root out morons, and spammers, we already have our "AGA Directory"....... its called the Internet! 20 years ago, when the Amiga scene was so fragmented, something like this proposal would have been welcome, but not now, not after the hard work has been done, by a community that did it for the love of wanting to do it for others. I can't support this, its detrimental to the Amiga community, its making an "EXCLUSIVE" club, when the LAST thing the Amiga needs is EXCLUSIVITY. I think the kids call it "gatekeeping". I call it madness. If the Amiga community isn't free and open for all, then the Amiga DIES when all of our generation that was with the Amiga when it was new, dies, and I don't want that to happen. Its why i'm happy to share information and answer questions I can, because I want more prospective people to want reasons to join us and help carry the Amiga name on into the next generation. I don't want to be miserable at the thought that when i'm 70, all that is left of those that give a damn about the Amiga and its memory, is an ever diminishing group of people that will vanish, taking the Amiga with it. I give my time freely, and other than occasional donations to Scoopexs website and EAB, within reason, I want to keep it that way. People should not be put off by the financial impact, it will simply stop people joining us. Peace!