file_id.diz
HI EVERYONE, OVERLANDERS SHAMEFULLY PRESENT YOU 'PONG': FAKE CRACKED, TRAINED
AND FILED ON MARCH 14TH, 2025. CREDITS: CODE BY RATI AND JANEK,
GRAPHICS BY MIC/DUNE AND MUSIC BY DOCLANDS. NOWADAY'S LIFE LEAVES US
WITH VERY LIMITED TIME TO ALLOCATE TO OUR PLATFORM OF LOVE. SO, WE WANT TO
THANK TOM FOR THIS VERY CLEVER IDEA OF MAKING A FAKE CRACKTRO. LET'S
SALUTE GREAT CRACKTRO MAKERS OF THE OLD DAYS: <R.AL>, TSUNOO RHILTY, RATBOY,
DOM, FURY, KRUEGER, TDS, -ME-, RANK XEROX, MAXI, OXBAB, AN COOL AND NIC. YOU
WERE THE REASON WHY WE LAUNCHED GAMES AT THE TIME. A FEW GREETS TO
CLOSE FRIENDS: UNLIMITED MATRICKS, LEGACY, DUNE, SECTOR ONE, OXYGENE,
MR STYCKX, VRETROCOMPUTING, FENARINARSA, REPLICANTS, M-CODER AND SAMSOFT.
SPECIAL HI TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE UNION AND OF THE BLADE RUNNERS.
FINALLY, HELLO TO THOSE WHO KEEP THE ST DEMOSCENE ALIVE
: DHS, SMFX, NEWLINE, SYNC, MYSTIC BYTES, HEMOROIDS, AVENA, OMEGA, NOEXTRA,
EXTREAM, DEKADENCE, ACID TEAM, NOEXTRA, BITBENDAZ, EPHIDRENA, CREAM, PHF,
PARADOX, D-BUG, MEGABUSTERS, FLUSH, MEUH, BAKI AND MIKRO AND SEDMA, EFFECT,
DEFENCE FORCE. YOU ROCK THE HOUSE GUYS. TO YQN: YOUR <MATE> TUNE GOT ME IN
TEARS. THANK YOU MAN. RATI OUT.
HI ST MANIACS! DOCLANDS HERE (FUN FACT: THIS PSEUDO WAS CHOSEN IN REFERENCE TO
JEAN-MICHEL JARRE'S DOCKLANDS CONCERT - BUT WITH A TYPO! ) AFTER AN ABSENCE OF
WELL OVER 33 YEARS, I'M TAKING UP THE KEYBOARD TO GIVE A BIT OF MATERIAL TO
THOSE WHO READ THE SCROLL-TEXTS (WHICH I RESPECT JUST AS MUCH AS THOSE WHO
READ THROUGH THE CREDITS AT THE END OF THE MOVIES!). WELL, THIS LITTLE
CRACKTRO CODED BY RATI AND JANEK DOES SOME GOOD: I'D SAY IT'S REFRESHING (AND
THE EMBEDDED CRACKED GAME JUST ROCKS!). 3 YEARS AGO, WHEN I'VE WATCHED THE
FIRST LOVE DEMO, I WAS AMAZED THAT SOME PEOPLE WERE STILL PAYING ATTENTION TO
THE WORLD OF OLD MICROCOMPUTERS. WHAT A SURPRISE TO SEE THAT, BEYOND THE DEMO
VIDEOS AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE, SOME PEOPLE ARE STILL CODING ON THE MACHINES OF
OUR YOUTH (AND SOME DID CREATE JUST FANTASTIC EMULATORS LIKE HATARI OR ZEST -
A FPGA ONE !!). ALSO, WHAT A DELIGHT IT IS TO LISTEN AGAIN TO THE MUSIC OF
YESTERYEAR, IN OLD YM STYLE, WITH SID VOICES SOMETIMES OR EVEN DIGIDRUMS
(JESS, YOU'RE MY HERO). NOTE THAT FOR THE MUSIC (CALLED 'IN A BIND') YOU'RE
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO, I STUCK TO OLD YM STYLE AND USED ARKOS-TRACKER TOOL,
CREATED BY TARGHAN (AVAILABLE ON WINDOWS, MACOS AND LINUX). THIS MADE ME
REALIZE THAT THE CPC AND MSX COMMUNITY IS STILL VERY ACTIVE. IMAGINE: THESE 8
BITS MACHINES ARE EVEN ABLE TO PLAY YM TUNES WITH 9 CHANNELS (WITH SOME HW
ADDON, OK)! JUST FOR THE LOVE OF THE YM SOUND!!! A BIT OF HISTORY... BACK IN
THE OLD DAYS, AROUND 1988, MY BROTHER (ADSO) AND I MET RATI AND JANEK AT A
COMPUTER SHOW IN PARIS, FRANCE. WE WERE AMAZED BY THE USE OF THE ATARI ST HIGH
AND LOW SCREEN BORDERS, SHOWED IN SOME DEMOS (BTW, THESE BORDERS ARE ALSO USED
IN THE DEMO YOU'RE WATCHING - A NICE TOUCH!). WE BROUGHT THEM AT OUR PLACE
WHERE THEY SHOWED US HOW TO DO. THEY ALSO INTRODUCED US TO THE OVERLANDERS
GROUP, THEN MOSTLY MADE UP OF GAME-CRACKERS. BUT THE DEMO CODERS WERE STARTING
TO TAKE OVER IN THE GROUP, THANKS TO MR BEE, DIM AND ZIGGY, AMONG OTHERS. I
REMEMBER SPENDING EVERY SATURDAY CHATTING WITH ZIGGY ABOUT HIS 3D ROUTINES,
HIS FULLSCREENS TRICKS AND IDEAS TO USE THEM. ONE DAY, ZIGGY WANTED TO DEVELOP
A YM2149 PLAYER. HIS WORK ALLOWED ME TO CREATE SOME MUSIC (WHERE EACH TRACK
WAS REPRESENTED BY A LINE OF DC.B, WITH A PITCH AND DURATION FOR EACH NOTE,
JUST SEPARATED BY COMMAS: IT WAS A FAR FROM THE TRACKER-LIKE MODE THAT BEN AND
JESS'S PLAYER WOULD USE, LATER ON). BUT ZIGGY WAS A FORERUNNER AND HE MADE
POSSIBLE TO USE THE BUZZER-LIKE SOUNDS LEVERAGED IN THE HAUNTING PLASMA-SCREEN
MUSIC, CODED BY DIM, FOR THE PENDRAGONS' LIGHTNING DEMO (CLEVER DUDES, YEP!!)
- I'LL REVAMP THIS MUSIC ONE DAY, IN A BETTER WAY, SINCE IT LACKS A TRUE BREAK
... ALSO, NOTICE THAT ZIGGY'S PLAYER WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST TO BE ABLE TO
EMULATE C64 SID VOICES ON ATARI ST. JUST SPLENDID. BUT I HAD TO MOVE ON TO
BEN'S YM-TRACKER - IN TEXT MODE TOO - AND I DID COMPOSE TWO PIECES OF MUSIC,
ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL TO THE PREVIOUS ONES, BUT NEVER USED IN DEMOS (CALLED
FRENETIC AND ZOOMER PREVIEW - FOR THE RECORDS). AND THEN, THE HYPER-CREATIVE
JESS TOOK OVER FOR THE OVERLANDERS, WITH A STRIKE FORCE THAT I ENVY HIM (HE'LL
DISCOVER IT WHEN HE READS THESE LINES!): HIS MUSIC FOR THE FINAL CREDITS FOR
FROGGIES OVER THE FENCE DEMO IS A VERITABLE ODE TO YM-SOUNDS AND THOSE TO
COME. BUT NOW, I'M BACK!!! WELL, THAT'S IT FOR MY LITTLE TALK - SO, THANK YOU
FOR READING SO FAR. FINALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO CELEBRATE THE COMPOSERS I
LISTENED TO, SO MANY TIMES ON HEADPHONES BACK IN THE DAY: JEROEN TEL, ROB
HUBBARD, GUNNAR GAUBATZ, DAVID WHITTAKER, JOCHEN THE HIPPEL (AND I'M
FORGETTING MANY OTHERS, OF COURSE) - WHAT HOURS OF PLEASURE WITH SQUARE SOUNDS
I HAD WITH THEIR CHIPTUNES!!! THANK YOU, GUYS... AND ALSO, WITH THEIR NEW
PRODUCTIONS, I'D LIKE TO THANK: DMA-SC, JESS (WHO NEVER STOPS), 505 AND OF
COURSE THE LATE MODMATE AND ULTRASYD, WHO WERE BOTH SO GOOD (AND THAT I ONLY
RECENTLY DISCOVERED). A LAST THING: I'D LIKE TO ALSO THANK HIROSHI KAWAGUCHI
FOR THE INCREDIBLE FM MUSICS HE DID CREATE FOR OUTRUN ARCADE GAME. THEY WILL
FOR EVER RESONATE IN MY HEAD!! SO, MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU GUYS.
SEE IN A NEXT VENTURE.
HEY GUYS, MIC FROM DUNE ON THE KEYBOARD. FIRST OF ALL, HATS OFF TO ALL OF
YOU WHO MADE IT SO FAR INTO READING THIS SCROLLTEXT. I WILL TAKE THIS
OPPORTUNITY TO SEND A FEW GOLDEN REGARDS TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE. A BIG HELLO
TO ALL MEMBERS OF DUNE: AATEC, ALRIK, CASPER, CHUCK, CIRCEE, CORBEAU, CORTEXX,
DAN, EVIL METAL, EXTREM, FAHRENHEIT, FELIX, FLOOPY, JADE, MECHANOID, MEERCLAW,
MEPHISTOW, MORTON, OBI-WAN, SCORPIO, TECHNO, TERENCE, THADOSS. LET'S CONTINUE
WITH A FEW MORE INDIVIDUALS, SHALL WE? HI TO: BABAR, DMA-SC, ST-GHOST,
ZERKMAN, MON, LEONARD, MARCO BREDDIN, TANIS AND OF COURSE ETERNAL SALUTES TO
ALL THE VALIANT PIXEL PUSHERS ON THE GOOD OLD ST. LET ME GIVE YOU A FEW NOTES
ABOUT THE ART IN THIS INTRO: THERE'S A LOT HAPPENING ON SCREEN, SO MY TAKE ON
THIS WAS TO PRIORITISE THE ANIMATED ELEMENTS. THAT'S WHY I WENT WITH THIS VERY
SYMMETRICAL AND GEOMETRICAL PICTURE WHICH, WHILE STILL BEING THERE, DOESN'T
GET TOO OVERWHELMING AND CREATES A NICE CONTRAST WITH THE SMOOTHLY ANIMATED
CURVES. I ALSO WENT FOR A SIMPLE COMPLEMENTARY COLOR SCHEME (COLD/WARM) THAT
HELPS READABILITY. THAT SAID, I TOOK SOME LIBERTY WITH THE LOGO WHICH STANDS
OUT WITH ITS VERY CURVY AND ENERGETIC STYLE BUT, IN MY MIND, THIS FITS THE
BILL OF THE TYPICAL DEMO OF THE OLD DAYS WHERE YOU WOULD MISMATCH A BIT THINGS
(BUT NOT ON PURPOSE LIKE HERE OBVIOUSLY). AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE THROWN A FEW
RASTERSPLITS IN THE MIX TO STILL KEEP THINGS COLORFUL, AS YOU WOULD ALSO
EXPECT FROM SOMETHING OLDSCHOOL INSPIRED. ANYWAY, YOU HAVE ALREADY REACHED THE
END OF MY RAMBLING, TAKE CARE AND SEE YOU IN SOME OTHER PROD OR EVEN GAME, WHO
KNOWS?
JESS AT THE KEYS. LIFE IS A BITCH. LIKE MANY ATARI ST DEMOSCENERS, I WAS
RECENTLY DEVASTATED TO HEAR OF TORSTEN'S (MODMATE) PASSING. I WAS STUNNED,
UNAWARE HE WAS FIGHTING CANCER'S CRUEL INJUSTICE. IN 2024, TORSTEN
CONTACTED ME, SURPRISING AND HUMBLING ME WITH MIDDLE-EARTH DECONSTRUCTED AND
JESSFLUENCA. OUR BRIEF EMAILS REFLECTED OUR DEEP MUTUAL RESPECT. I GREATLY
ADMIRED THE AMAZING CHIPTUNE ARTIST HE'D BECOME AND TOLD HIM HE WAS CRUSHING
IT. TORSTEN WAS A POLY ARTIST, A FAST LEARNER, AN EXTREMELY TALENTED PERSON.
I ONLY KNEW HIM THROUGH HIS JAW-DROPPING PRODUCTIONS, AND I'M SURE THE WORLD
OF CREATIVE PEOPLE WILL MISS HIM AS I WILL. THE DEMOSCENE MIGHT BE OUR BEST
WAY OF CELEBRATING OUR PEERS WHO LEFT THAT REALM. AND I'M PROUD THE
OVERLANDERS DECIDED TO DEDICATE THAT EXQUISITE PONGTRO TO MODMATE.
I'M ALSO MORE THAN THRILLED TO SEE THE GREAT COMING BACK OF DOCLANDS WHO
FINALLY LET HIMSELF DROWN AGAIN IN THE CHIPTUNE OCEAN. THAT'S ABOUT TIME
BUDDY! ALSO THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS ;) BUT I AM THE ONE WHO OWE YOU AN
ETERNAL DEBT: I'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE DAY YOU KNOCKED AT MY PLACE AND MET YOU
FOR THE FIRST TIME. THAT WAS MY REAL FIRST JOB INTERVIEW IN MY LIFE, THE ONLY
THAT MATTERED, TO GET TO JOIN THE MIGHTY OVR CREW. MY LIFE CHANGED FOREVER
SINCE THEN. THAT SAID, I'M GLAD YOU'RE TAKING UP THE TORCH BACK, I WAS
STARTING TO CRAMP UP :) MIC, RATI, JANEK, DOCLANDS, YOU ROCK AS USUAL!
CHEERS Y'ALL.
THE FINAL WORDS BELONG TO ME (JANEK). WAZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAA.
I HOPE YOU DIDN'T DESTROY YOUR EYES
READING THIS VERY LONG SCROLLTEXT. THAT'S NOT HUMAN. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? I'VE
GOT ONLY ONE DUTY: WRAPPING THIS UP. SO SEE YOU IN OUR NEXT PRODUCTION GUYS.
AS RATI SAID TO MODMATE ONCE: <YOU'RE NOT DONE WITH OVR YET>.
AND THAT'S A WRAP!