@database BenSpeaks
@author "Ben Vost"
@$VER: 1.4 (12.02.97 - AFCD12)
@node MAIN "Welcome to AFCD12"

@{b}AFCD12
April 97@{ub}

OK. How familiar is this situation? All bids are in for Amiga Technologies
GmbH, the final decision over who owns the company will be revealed by the end
of February, hopefully. By the time you read this, the situation should be
resolved, indeed, it may even be revealed in the news pages of this month's
issue. But from where I sit, high in Vost towers, I'm in a delicious state of
anticipation.

My only worry is that anticipation will turn to frustration and then downright
anger if the AT buyout progresses in much the same fashion it did last year
with VIScorp nominally at the helm. It's getting to the point now that every
remaining Amiga user the world over must be thinking to themselves, @{i}"Get on with
it! Somebody, anybody, please just buy the Amiga!"@{ui}. Even our constant telephone
calls from Kevin seem to have dried up, presumably because he's realised that
nothing ever happens quickly with the Amiga.

Having said that, Amiga Format is still going from strength to strength. We
made a huge amount of profit last year compared to some of Future's other
computing mags, you know, the ones devoted to the world's most popular machine,
and we're actually getting more products than we can review in a month at the
moment.

That notwithstanding, I've still decided to take a week's holiday (I'm writing
this from home) in order to reacquaint myself with my Amiga and to generally
mooch around. I've had inspiration for several Lightwave animations that will
no doubt be popping up on AFCDs in the future and I've also decided to revamp
my website. The only problem is choosing what to do with it, and it with. In my
position as ace reviewer I am obviously bombarded with all the latest software
at no personal cost and I'm now in a position to ponder whether I should render
3D images for the website, paint them and then save jpegs from Art Effect or
make webmaps using Personal Paint 7. Ah well, I guess I'll just have to use 'em
all. It's a hard life. @{b}*sigh*@{ub}

All the best,

 @{"Ben" link "thought" 0}

PS. @{b}STOP SENDING YOUR MODULES! WE CAN'T USE THEM!@{ub} (If you don't
understand why, try taking a look at the @{"submissions advice" link "sadvice" 0})

PPS. If you want a look at my website, you're more than welcome to visit
http://www.subway.demon.co.uk. If you want. Thanks. Umm. That's all. Thanks.

@endnode
@node sadvice "Submissions advice"

                      @{"Print this file out!" system "c:copy AFCD12:-ReaderStuff-/Submission_advice prt:"}

                      @{b}HOW TO SEND US YOUR SUBMISSIONS
                      ===============================@{ub}

@{b}IMPORTANT! We can no longer accept your music modules as submissions for the
Amiga Format CD owing to copyright problems with sound samples from copyrighted
sources. Thanks for all your music submissions up till now, but please don't
send any more...@{ub}


We want you to send us your programs, animations, pictures, game tips and
cheats, hacks, hardware projects, basically anything you can think of that you
have done with your Amiga. It must be your own work - no passing off Chris
Achilleos' greatest masterpieces as your own, and we need a variety of things
from you in addition to your submission and we need them on your disk.

     @{b}1.@{ub} We need your name and address so that we know where to send your prize.
	You should also put your name and address on labels on your media.


     @{b}2.@{ub} We need two read me files accompanying your work; one for us and one
	to go on the CD itself (title them @{b}AF_ReadMe@{ub} and @{b}ReadMe@{ub}). These can be
	as in-depth as you want them to be, but should contain instructions for
	us on getting your work running if it is a complicated procedure,
	including things like necessary libraries and so on. The readme that
	will go on the CD will be the introduction of your work to the whole
	Amiga Format reading world so check your spelling and grammar and show
	people just what is so good about your work.


     @{b}3.@{ub} If your work requires files such as libraries which you cannot send
	us owing to copyright reasons make sure we know about them so that we
	can either arrange to put them on the CD, or warn our readers about
	them (you will probably do this in your CD read me).

     @{b}4.@{ub} Be aware that we won't be as interested in programs that need to
	boot or that require to be in a certain place on the CD, unless, of
	course, that place happens to be in your directory on the CD. Your
	directory will almost certainly have the path:
	@{b}"AFCDx:-ReaderStuff-/your_name/"@{ub} but then no-one will be able to run
	your program except from the CD, limiting its usefulness or appeal.

	If we do put something on the CD that needs to autoboot, it will almost
	certainly only be as a DMS that readers will have to extract to disk
	before they can use it.


You can send us your work on pretty much any sort of media whether it be floppy
disks (high or double density, but don't send us work on high density disks
unless you yourself have a high density drive. High density disks used in a
double density drive aren't as reliable as using double density disks), a
floppy disk back up using AmiBack, Quarterback or any of the shareware backup
tools, Zip disk, Jaz cartridge, SyQuest 44MB, 88MB or 105MB or EZ Drive, DAT
tape backup from any of the above-mentioned programs (the only thing we're not
very keen on is the Video Backup System that Power Computing sell in the UK,
we've had nothing but trouble with it), FTP upload to @{b}ftp2.futurenet.co.uk@{ub},
(you'll only be able to put your file in the incoming directory, you won't be
able to see it once you have finished uploading, but don't worry, it'll be
there. Make sure that you name your file with AF at the start so that we know
it's for us) basically anything apart from a listing on paper. We don't want
to have to type in your program too!

We will return any media more expensive than high density floppies via
registered post, so you won't have to worry about losing seventy quid's worth
of Jaz cartridge.

Send your submissions to:

	@{b}CD submissions
	Amiga Format
	30 Monmouth Street,
	Bath, BA1 2BW@{ub}

@endnode
@node thought "Thought for the month"

@{b}On my soapbox again!@{ub}

I'm actually feeling quite mellow this month, thanks to my week's holiday, but
I would just like to point out one thing. Games on the Amiga. I'm very well
known for whinging about the fact that I won't buy a game that doesn't install
on my hard drive or that doesn't take advantage of the memory I have in my
machine or its processor speed (after all, I do have an 060 and about 80Mb of
ram). Recently, it seems that all this whinging from me and others is starting
to pay off. Vulcan released Burnout - a game that @{b}requires@{ub} a hard drive and
6 meg of ram and Epic are promising a CD-ROM-based graphic adventure built on
the same lines as the classic LucasArts games. OK. So we're weren't all that
impressed by Burnout which turned out to be a glossy but poor quality remake of
the excellent shareware game Knockout 2, but the thing is that games companies
are actually starting to think about games that actually drive the hardware
forward rather than holding it back.

I was even talking to a guy from new Canadian games company Aurora Works last
week about their new game and d'you know what? The inital release will require
a graphics card and will prefer an AHI sound card! They will release an AGA
version of the game, but it will be cut down because of the fact that the
hardware isn't really good enough for what they have planned.

Now, I haven't seen this game at all yet, but I hope it's really good. Even if
it isn't Format Gold quality but still entertaining, I really hope that
graphics card owners the world over buy it in their droves just to prove that a
game based on more than a base 1200 is worth coding. The PC has a famed
tradition of pushing the hardware boundaries back every time a new blockbuster
is released - @{i}"Want Quake? Oh I'm afraid it won't run on your 386 sir. Would you
like to upgrade your machine?"@{ui} - and it's now time for the Amiga games companies
to do the same.

Maybe then we'll get back some of the developers who've cravenly abandoned the
Amiga scene...

Evenin' all.

@endnode