"Mad rainbow" screens

Mr Softy · 27 November 2002, 13:21

This is a question that is wandering in me small head since I was a teenager:

It happens with some games : when you load them, something that I call " The Mad-Rainbow Screen of Radiance" happens : you have lots of colors being displayed horizontally and very quickly (actually looks like a bug, but it's not).
What was that for? Monitor calibrating? Fun? Something else?

Big-Byte · 27 November 2002, 13:31

Decrunching.

You had a lot of compacks? (Multiple games on one disk)

If you have any Defjam CCS compacks lying around then please get them converted and upload them.

Mr Softy · 27 November 2002, 13:54

I'm affraid I'm not tech-skilled enough to understand your answer!

What's decrunching? Is it related to memory?

No I don't have "compacks"... I don't THINK so to be precise... I had some cover-disks with two or three pd games on each but that's all.
Most of my disks where original commercial games, and a few cracks.

[edit : oh and I remember I had a game that displayed "decrunching - please wait" before the title! I don't remember what game...]

LaundroMat · 27 November 2002, 14:31

Decrunching is a forerunner to what we'd call unzipping nowadays. The information was "crunched" (ie compressed) to fit on one or more disks, and the "decrunched" (ie decompressed) in memory to restore to its initial state.

The flashing colors you saw were just a visual indicator of the decrunching process.

Who brought up this term anyway? Did it come from Nicolas François' PowerPacker?

(And about compacks - I might have a Defjam/CSS lying around with Stuntcar Racer and - damn forgot its name... That game with the knight battling through some bloody 2D screens. Music by Art of Noise, iirc).

rattus · 27 November 2002, 19:28

hehe, I loved those psycadelic de-crunching screens! the Amiga was truly the "hippy-computer"!

Big-Byte · 28 November 2002, 12:44

Dont forget the flashy screen effect was thought up way before the Amiga came out. Used on spectrum and vic 20 / c64 to let the user know that games were loading..

Drake1009 · 28 November 2002, 14:17

Not nescesarily loading though. I've seen many a cracked C64 game where the screen would do that for a bit before starting a game. Probably decrunching too.

AEV · 29 November 2002, 16:22

@LaundroMat

I'm pretty that game your referring to is called Onslaught, if you have the same compact I have.

LaundroMat · 29 November 2002, 17:23

Correct!

27 November 2002, 13:21	#1
Mr Softy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Sweedzerland Age: 44 Posts: 329	"Mad rainbow" screens This is a question that is wandering in me small head since I was a teenager: It happens with some games : when you load them, something that I call " The Mad-Rainbow Screen of Radiance" happens : you have lots of colors being displayed horizontally and very quickly (actually looks like a bug, but it's not). What was that for? Monitor calibrating? Fun? Something else?

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27 November 2002, 13:31	#2
Big-Byte Long time member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: UK Posts: 754	Decrunching. You had a lot of compacks? (Multiple games on one disk) If you have any Defjam CCS compacks lying around then please get them converted and upload them.

27 November 2002, 13:54	#3
Mr Softy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Sweedzerland Age: 44 Posts: 329	I'm affraid I'm not tech-skilled enough to understand your answer! What's decrunching? Is it related to memory? No I don't have "compacks"... I don't THINK so to be precise... I had some cover-disks with two or three pd games on each but that's all. Most of my disks where original commercial games, and a few cracks. [edit : oh and I remember I had a game that displayed "decrunching - please wait" before the title! I don't remember what game...]

27 November 2002, 14:31	#4
LaundroMat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: In the cellar. With your mum. Age: 49 Posts: 404	Decrunching is a forerunner to what we'd call unzipping nowadays. The information was "crunched" (ie compressed) to fit on one or more disks, and the "decrunched" (ie decompressed) in memory to restore to its initial state. The flashing colors you saw were just a visual indicator of the decrunching process. Who brought up this term anyway? Did it come from Nicolas François' PowerPacker? (And about compacks - I might have a Defjam/CSS lying around with Stuntcar Racer and - damn forgot its name... That game with the knight battling through some bloody 2D screens. Music by Art of Noise, iirc).

27 November 2002, 19:28	#5
rattus Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 328	hehe, I loved those psycadelic de-crunching screens! the Amiga was truly the "hippy-computer"!

28 November 2002, 12:44	#6
Big-Byte Long time member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: UK Posts: 754	Dont forget the flashy screen effect was thought up way before the Amiga came out. Used on spectrum and vic 20 / c64 to let the user know that games were loading..

28 November 2002, 14:17	#7
Drake1009 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Denmark Posts: 2,284	Not nescesarily loading though. I've seen many a cracked C64 game where the screen would do that for a bit before starting a game. Probably decrunching too.

29 November 2002, 16:22	#8
AEV Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 57	@LaundroMat I'm pretty that game your referring to is called Onslaught, if you have the same compact I have.

29 November 2002, 17:23	#9
LaundroMat Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: In the cellar. With your mum. Age: 49 Posts: 404	Correct!

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