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]