mekka & symposium 1998 invitation text file, version 2 The German Easter Party organized by lEGO . aMABLE . sMASH dESIGNS . tEKLORDS pHANTASM . pOLKA bROTHERS . cUBIC & sEEN - 0x00 .o.O[ --- t a b l e o f c o n t e n t s 0x01 Introduction 0x02 Location & Date 0x03 Bus Trips 0x04 Features 0x05 Competitions 0x06 Food 0x07 Network 0x08 General Rules 0x09 Time Table 0x0a Guest Registration 0x0b Sponsors 0x0c The Organizers 0x0d More Information 0x0e Releases 0x01 .o.O[ --- i n t r o d u c t i o n In the last years, this demo scene event has grown to the best and biggest German party and its name can sometimes be heard together with "The Party", "The Gathering" or "Assembly" in the same sentence. That doesn't mean it's just another huge anonymous lamer conference; in 1997 we had 750 visitors, in 1996 the Symposium had 640, the Mekka 300 visitors, in 1995 the BlackBox Symposium had also around 300 visitors. This party is known for its "scenish" flavour, for prominent sceners being there and for high-quality releases. Attenders come from all important platforms, that is mainly the C64, PC, Amiga and some other systems such as the Atari. For the Mekka & Symposium 1998, we expect about 850 visitors having four nice Easter days. 0x02 .o.O[ --- l o c a t i o n & d a t e The party place is situated between Hamburg and Hannover, in a small town called "Fallingbostel". Most of you already know this hall from the Symposium & Mekka '97 and we are confident that the space will suffice one more time. Some mistakes we've made last time will be corrected, so we'll have a dark hall in the day-time, better sound equipment and clean toilets. The address is: Heidmarkhalle An der Heidmarkhalle 1 29683 Fallingbostel http://www.fallingbostel.de/ ;-) A phone number will be published on our WWW site a few days before the event starts. If you're going to come by car, you will be driving down the highway A7 - Fallingbostel is announced (a map is available from our WWW site). From the highway exit, there will be signs directing you to the party place. Also, people living there will recognize you by your weird look and gladly point you the way to the Heidmarkhalle. When coming by train, you have to use some major train to either Hamburg or Hannover (whichever is nearer to you), and change for Fallingbostel there. Then you can make use of the free 24h Bus Shuttle service we will set up like every year. You should have contacted Raw Style (for address see below) in advance, just to be sure. If you're coming without equipment, you can also take the walk (half an hour). We'll open the doors on Friday, the 10th of April, 12:00 CET. The party will last until Monday the 13th, 12:00 CET. The entrance fee for the whole time amounts to 50 DM (about 25 US-Dollars). We don't take foreign currencies. Girls and Mat/Ozone get in for free! There is no table reservation, and no possibility of paying in advance! Money which is left is spent on the competition prizes. Bring your own power connectors! There will be an external sleeping hall right besides the party hall. Nevertheless, if you need a quiet place to sleep, you can stay at the local youth hostel, which is located about 500m from the party place. If you have the necessary member card and you are interested, this is the address: Jugendherberge Fallingbostel DJH Landesverband Hannover e.V. Liethweg 1 29683 Fallingbostel Phone: +49 5162 2274 0x03 .o.O[ --- b u s t r i p s 1. Preliminary route: Nuernberg (Germany) - Bamberg - Coburg - Kassel - Fallingbostel. Small detours are possible, and the bus will also pick you up in any city in between. This trip is organized by e605/sdi: e605@f-t.de or phone 09504 674. 2. A bus from Switzerland is being planned with stops in Zuerich, Basel, probably Bern and Genf, and all cities along the route to Fallingbostel. The info page at >[http://www.space.ch/scene/buenzli/meksym97.html] > Lots of competitions for Amiga, PC and C64 >> Competitions presented on a big screen of 6x4 m^2 >> Powerful sound equipment >> Place for 1200 visitors plus equipment >> Live music performances (even non-Techno!) >> Traditional entertainment provided by Steeler! >> Party network with Internet access >> A city nearby, with shops and bars >> 24h Drinks & snacks available on the party >> Cool party t-shirts >> ...and the unique Mekka & Symposium party feeling! Tracer/Bizarre Arts (5schmoec@informatik.uni-hamburg.de) is planning a DeBUG developer meeting and an official demonstration of BeOS, the new operating system for PowerPC and Intel computers. The IRC channel #ms98 on IRCNet has been open since January; drop by and meet the organizers and the visitors! 0x05 .o.O[ --- c o m p e t i t i o n s The first version of the compo rules we published was very restrictive - some of you might remember. In the course of events, some people complained about them. Some complaints were well-reasoned, some were not. After three months of discussing and making the rules more open, we came up with this final rule set. We find it's a good compromise between technical progress and keeping a kind of scenish spirit by limiting possibilites. GENERAL RULES ================================================== >> The competitor must be present, or in case of group contribution, at least one person of the group. >> All entries must be delivered until deadline (for time table see below) >> There will be a preselection for the music competitions (we can't show 200 modules). The selections will be based on quality, not on names or music styles. >> No contribution disks, videos etc. will be given back. >> You have to agree that we'll spread your contribution during and after the party, via Internet, BBSs, CD-ROMs etc. >> Just in case: The rules might still change; stay tuned to announcements. C64 COMPETITIONS =============================================== Two fine competitions to honour the roots: The C64 Demo Competition Maximum size is a standard 5.25 DD disk (both sides). The C64 4K Intro Competition Maximum size is 4096 bytes (not more than 16.12 blocks...). Note that there are also the C64 Graphics and C64 Sound competitions... The competition computer contains a new SID and an Action Replay MK6, and is connected to a 1541-II floppy drive. IBM PC COMPETITIONS ============================================ The PC Demo Competition The summed size of all the files belonging to the Demo must not exceed 6 megabytes (6291456 bytes). The demo must work with an SB16, too. The Win95 Demo Competition The summed size of all the files belonging to the Demo must not exceed 6 megabytes (6291456 bytes). Full DirectX usage is allowed. The competition machine will have a 3DFX card and a Pentium MMX 166. The PC 64K Intro Competition The size may not exceed 64 kilobytes (65536 bytes). The PC 4K Competition The size may not exceed four kilobytes (4096 bytes). A nosound option doesn't have to be provided. The configuration of the PC and some general notes go like this: >> CPU: Intel Pentium 166MHz, 512K Level 2 Cache >> RAM: 32MB >> Sound: Gravis Ultrasound PnP 1MB and SoundBlaster 16. >> Graphics: An S3 Trio64V+ (80C765) based card with 2MB of display memory, SDD 5.3a or later will be running. >> We will be running MS-DOS 7.0: Win95 is not running, it has been shut down into MS-DOS mode. >> Maximum resolution is 800x600. Please try to avoid excessive mode switches, as this may lead to considerable video beam drop out times. >> All entries (except the 4K ones) must also work if no soundcard is present, or they must provide an explicit -nosound option. >> All entries must be handed in on double- or high-density FAT (MS-DOS) formatted disks. AMIGA COMPETITIONS ============================================= The Amiga Demo Competition The summed size of all the files belonging to the Demo must not exceed 5 megabytes (5242880 bytes). The Amiga 40K Intro Competition The size may not exceed 40 kilobytes (40960 bytes). 40K, not 64K! The Amiga 4K Competition The size may not exceed 4 kilobytes (4096 bytes). The competition Amiga is a 68060-based machine. We don't know yet whether it will be an A4000 or an A1200, and it doesn't matter either. Your contribution has to work on a 68030 with 8MB FastMem. Assigns and installation scripts are forbidden. Custom libraries may be used, but not installed outside of the contribution directory. All entries must come on double-density (!) Amiga disks. GRAPHICS COMPETITIONS ========================================== The Graphics Competition Maximum resolution is 640x480 in 24 Bits TrueColor. The entries must be handed in in IFF, PNG or TGA format. JPEGs will not be accepted, due to the loss of quality. The size of the file shouldn't grow beyond an MB, unless you've made some stupid error. The C64 Graphics Competition All formats/modes are allowed, the contribution must be handed in as an executable file on a standard C64 disk. The ANSI Competition Due to the rising number of ANSI-painters, the competitions are flooded by many entries not worth to be shown, making a proper voting impossible. As a result, the entries will be preselected. More information is given at the party. If you want to take part in the jury and NOT in the competition, send your application with references to: Paul Nothdurft@2:240/5527.23, nothdurft@metronet.de (Trate/FBK). All the entries will be shown at least twice, at different daytimes. MUSIC COMPETITIONS ============================================= The MOD Competition Allowed are ProTracker modules only, that means four channels, and playable with all the usual mod players on all the usual platforms. The only restriction is: Don't use more than 447 kilobytes (457728 bytes). We will show twelve selected entries to the audience, using ProTracker V2.2a on Amiga. The XM Competition Don't use more than 713 kilobytes (730112 bytes). We will show twelve selected entries to the audience, using the latest FastTracker on an AWE64. Only XM modules and other formats playable by FastTracker are allowed! The C64 Sound Competition All formats allowed, the entry must be an executable file delivered on a standard C64 disk. The C64 screen will not be shown during the competition. We will show 4:27 (four minutes and twenty-seven seconds) of each song. OTHER COMPETITIONS ============================================= The 32K Game Competition For PC and Amiga. The above configurations apply. Maximum size of all files is 32768 bytes. Temporary files on the harddisk are allowed, they will not be included in the byte count. They will be removed before playing the game. The coder will play it on the big screen. If you are planning networked games, contact us in advance. We will do a preselection on this competition to ensure that no two-hours gag program will win again, instead of one of the games into which the programmers have put a lot of work! The Wild Competition Use any hardware you want, and hand in your work on a VHS or S-VHS tape. You may also bring your wild hardware, but please get in contact with the organizers in advance to make sure we can actually connect it to big screen beamer. The Fast Intro Competition The one thing that must not miss on any party. Surprise surprise ;-)= 0x06 .o.O[ --- f o o d We'll sell sandwiches, snacks (Mars, Snickers etc.) and Coke/Sprite etc. all the time. Currently we can't guarantee that there will be more food supply, but we give our best to have a snack-bar with fries, hamburgers etc. in front of the building. Besides that you can still walk those few meters into the city of Fallingbostel and make use of the shops and bars there (most shops open only on Saturday). Of course you may also bring stuff from home. 0x07 .o.O[ --- n e t w o r k Our network will run TCP/IP and IPX. Make sure that your equipment is ready for Twisted Pair (RJ45 connectors). There is only one, if any, BNC connector at each table, so bring your own cables and terminators. We'll have a typical party network with local servers etc. A fast Internet link is under construction. Our network crew will be online soon, to give you further information. 0x08 .o.O[ --- g e n e r a l r u l e s The usual legal mush: We are not responsible for stolen computer equipment or other personal items you bring with you. We aren't responsible for personal injuries either. Take care of yourself, your friends and your luggage. We didn't have much trouble with theft on our parties, but it might be better to think twice about taking a certain valuable thing with you onto the party. The use of alcohol is hereby explicitly forbidden. After facing severe damages and personal attacks on the last party due to heavily drunken individuals, we chose to put up this rule. Drunken guys won't be let inside, disturbing guys will be put outside. Don't consume Vodka in front of the stage. Don't *vomit* onto the floor. If we find you to be destroying things, either intellectual property (hacking the network system), or physically damaging the building, you can be sure we won't forget you. Please respect German law. Illegal actions, especially regarding software piracy, can not be tolerated. Dutch visitors should try to be aware of the fact that weed is an illegal drug here. Have fun! And if you have ideas of what might be fun on the party, don't hesitate to contact us, even on the party. You're part of the party. 0x09 .o.O[ --- t i m e t a b l e This table will be changed marginally in March, to include the live acts and the competitions added in 1998. Friday, 10th April 12:00 Opening 16:00 Opening ceremony Saturday, 11th April 15:00 Deadline I: All music and graphics competitions, Wild competition, 4K Intro. 18:00 C64 Music competition 20:00 Graphics competition 23:00 Wild competition Sunday, 12th April 01:00 C64 Graphics competition 08:00 Module competition 10:00 Deadline II: All intro competitions, Game 32K. 11:00 4K Intros Amiga, PC, C64 13:00 Graphics, repeat 14:00 XM competition 16:30 Game 32K competition 17:30 C64 Graphics, repeat 18:00 Deadline III: All demo competitions. 18:00 40K Intros Amiga 20:00 64K Intros PC 22:00 PC demo competition Monday, 13th April 00:00 Amiga demo competition 02:00 C64 demo competition 05:00 Voting deadline 10:00 Prize giving, closing ceremony 12:00 End of the party 0x0a .o.O[ --- g u e s t r e g i s t r a t i o n We want to create a list of people coming to MS98. In case you're coming, we would like you to send a mail to Crash/Polka Brothers (crash@ms.demo.org) or a snail-mail to any of the other organizers containing the following data: Group, number of people coming, handle(s)/name(s) and computer system. The data will be published here as soon as possible! 0x0b .o.O[ --- s p o n s o r s Network equipment: SMC, Inc. Silicon Graphics Novell Amiga prizes: Amiga International - two Amiga 1200! Küster Datentechnik - various prizes 0x0c .o.O[ --- t h e o r g a n i z e r s These are only a few addresses, they should cover most anything you might want: Hardball / Amable (PC, general organization) Malte Kanebley - Im Dorfe 3 - 21629 Neu Wulmstorf - GERMANY [hardball@ms.demo.org] Raw Style / Lego (Amiga, competition organization) Michael Krause - Mannesallee 24 - 21107 Hamburg - GERMANY [rawstyle@ms.demo.org] Gandalf / Phantasm (Amiga, general organization) Frank Schliefer - Am Musterplatz 27 - 21220 Seevetal - GERMANY [f_schliefer@vcc.de] Chaotic / Smash Designs (C64, general organization) [chaotic@dame.de] Decca / Lego (Amiga, general organization) [ham00665@mail.hamburg.roses.de] MoM / Cubic Team (PC, Network organization) [lukas@dn.demo.org] Steeler / Phantasm (Amiga, Entertainment) [steeler@ms.demo.org] Sultan / Teklords (Amiga, Security) [sultan@ms.demo.org] Doj / Cubic Team (PC, general organization) [doj@cubic.org] Crash / Polka Brothers (PC, general organization) [crash@ms.demo.org] 0x0d .o.O[ --- m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n It pays to have a look at our WWW page now and then. It is located at>[http://ms.demo.org]