Amiga milestone demos - 30 years ago

[dissident]

Here are some productions from 1988 which impressed me very much those days and still do:

Northstar - Megademo II http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=12211

Northstar - Megademo III http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=9088

DOC – Demons are forever http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=7066

Megaforce – Megademo 1 http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=10384

OKS Import Division – Intro disk http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=18042

[Vousti]

Lame stuff, I know much better. Most of the megademos are boring.

[DamienD]

...just so you know Vousti; your post was reported to the moderators by various members.

No need to be like that... Well then, let's have your ultimate demo experience... please list in this thread for all

[LuMan]

While we wait for Vousti to respond I'll pitch in..

Vision Megademo IV

Not particularly groundbreaking, but I first saw it on an Amiga in Dixons, running on a 33" TV (which was bloody HUGE in those days!!), with the sound piped through a Pioneer separates HiFi. I was totally blown away by the colours, the massive skull sprites and the sound.

When I finally got an A500 I got the demo and spent the whole night reading the scrollers!

[dissident]

Originally Posted by LuMan

While we wait for Vousti to respond I'll pitch in..

Vision Megademo IV

Not particularly groundbreaking, but I first saw it on an Amiga in Dixons, running on a 33" TV (which was bloody HUGE in those days!!), with the sound piped through a Pioneer separates HiFi. I was totally blown away by the colours, the massive skull sprites and the sound.

When I finally got an A500 I got the demo and spent the whole night reading the scrollers!

Hi LuMan, definitely a very cool production, I also like very much. I saw this demo also on a friend's big televion for the first time, the sound connected to a stereo system. And I also spent hours reading scrolltexts of different demos.

But my aim is to get to know more cool stuff from 1988. Sure, that in this year, the demo hype on the Amiga just started. Next year, in 2919, there will be more productions from 1989 to look back and everyone can choose of.

[dissident]

Cmon guys, where are the oldschool demo fans?

So it's up to me to deliver some new hints.

For me, a milestone is a production with an extraordinary cool design, coding, gfx, music or ideas. I know that from today's point of view these productions are nothing special, but right back in 1988 they were. People wanted to explore the new Amiga hardware and push some frontiers of what's possible and what's not.

Crackerintros were something special in the first years. Very often I didn't play the game but watched the crackerintro before for a long time, reading scrolltexts or listening to nice music.

And here are my crackerintro favourites of 1988:

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=9133 This short tune was the coolest one I ever heard those days.

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=13200

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=26320

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=64917


Kefrens, one of my favourite groups did this nice megademo with cool corkscrew scrollers that still fascinate me: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=31310 Not to forget the very cool song of the nightmare part.

And more nice intros/demos:

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=1622

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=34060

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=14639

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=33491

[Foebane]

I love the Amiga Demoscene, but not really for these old proto-demos that the groups were cutting their teeth on: most of them were about one-upmanship back then, and the constant use of scrollers, copper bars, bobs, sprites and logos (sometimes garish) and (because the tracker format was new) endless use of the same stock samples in tunes - basically, they showed lack of variety and imagination, and dare I say it, humour and design. All of that came later.

Then again, Scroll on HAM is a wonderful demo of the famous Amiga image format, and the two pics used are lovely, detailed and colourful.

[Apollo]

Thats how meanings differ. Personally, I like what we called the RGB colors ($f00,$0f0,$00f) and the scrolltexts. Sure, from from a technically point of view many demos/intros which came later where better.

But this were the time when the guys were exploring the machine in assembler. I am pretty sure many of them did not have a copy of the hardware reference manual and only a copy of Kuma Seka assembler from some tool collection. I personally like this era very much. Years later the question for the coders was not HOW to operate the line mode of the blitter but how FAST you could achieve it.
I often smile when I watch some intros from '87/'88 when they just used a looped audio sample. Or when you see that the font used is topaz. Or color cycling intros (only one static picture), remember the Headbanger Intro? Once I saw an intro which was basicly a graphics.lib screen and then banging the hardware over it. Its that technically imperfection which I like, because they didn't knew better.

[chip]

I really like both : old school and new ones

I'm not interested in technical details

I just look to the fun part

Very difficult to find a demo which i don't like

[mcgeezer]

I remember when I used to take my Atari ST to the local computer club...

The guys with Amiga's would sit at the back with the speakers facing the ST owners.

When I seen and heard this demo I'd had enough and bailed on the ST.

Also the Dragons demo

Cebit '90

Budbrain....

Also the Spread point demo was amazing, when all those scrollers started waving up and down the ST owners just started crying - but I can't find a video of it. Must keep looking.

Geezer

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by mcgeezer

Also the Spread point demo was amazing, when all those scrollers started waving up and down the ST owners just started crying - but I can't find a video of it. Must keep looking.

[ Show youtube player ].

[mcgeezer]

Originally Posted by StingRay

[ Show youtube player ].

Nice one StingRay.

[Foebane]

Originally Posted by mcgeezer

I remember when I used to take my Atari ST to the local computer club...

The guys with Amiga's would sit at the back with the speakers facing the ST owners.

When I seen and heard this demo I'd had enough and bailed on the ST.

Also the Dragons demo

Cebit '90

Budbrain....

Also the Spread point demo was amazing, when all those scrollers started waving up and down the ST owners just started crying - but I can't find a video of it. Must keep looking.

Geezer

I had an Atari ST before my A500, but I never saw anything or even knew about the Demoscene then...

Yep, I can imagine the pounding beat of "Follow Me", not to mention the beckoning skeleton, enticing the ST owners!

I liked Cebit 90 a lot, and I have both Budbrain demos, too. I like the imagination of the first one, and whilst Kaos is great, I prefer Africa.

I really must have a look at that Spreadpoint demo.

[SyX]

One of my favourites of that era is Xenomorphs by Scoopex.
[ Show youtube player ]
I got it in a floppy with another nice intros, but I remember to have a lot of fun reading in the scroll text the story about how this intro was made, even now reading a few lines brings an smile for the old times, pure nostalgia...

[LuMan]

Originally Posted by dissident

. And I also spent hours reading scrolltexts of different demos.

Hahaha. Hey, dissident! I thought I was the only person sad enough to enjoy an evening reading scrollers! Looks like I wasn't alone!!

There used to be some great messages hidden in them, like those outing other coders as being plagiarists, or lamers, or worse! I might even load a few up tonight and have a good read...

[jizmo]

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but to me Magic Circle's Big Font demo is what Amiga was all about in the eighties: Huge scrollers, pixel perfect graphics and tons of colors that no other computer could come even near to.

[ Show youtube player ]

Also, any 1988 intro with Banana's superb 'Echoing' takes me instantly back to the good ole days.

[ Show youtube player ]

[Foebane]

Originally Posted by LuMan

There used to be some great messages hidden in them, like those outing other coders as being plagiarists, or lamers, or worse! I might even load a few up tonight and have a good read...

Have a look at this scroller: It's not from a 1980s demo, but it is probably the most elaborate, smooth and fullscreen 3D scroller I've ever seen, and they painstakingly wrote the code for this just to INSULT someone! I find that sort of thing really funny.

[ Show youtube player ] (Click to 5:16 for scroller)

[StingRay]

Hehe, the classic "Fuxxorings to Lord Helmet" scroller.

Not from 1988 but 1987 instead. And definitely deserves to be mentioned here: Tech Tech by Sodan and Magician 42. Incredibly well coded for its time and the first ever demo I remember on Amiga which was trackloaded. One of the early milestones when it comes to Amiga demos.

[Leffmann]

Does anyone know the story behind that "fuckings to Lord Helmet" scroll text?

[jizmo]

Originally Posted by Leffmann

Does anyone know the story behind that "fuckings to Lord Helmet" scroll text?

Lord Helmet's take of it with comments from Hydra