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Suzy B Software 2
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Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso
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maggie14
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synergy.doc
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synergy.doc
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1995-04-27
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191 lines
0660103030566
9[....................................................]
Ç
à T h e S y n e r g y M e g a d e m o . .
ä Synergy Productions proudly present, etc..
ÇIn a quiet period for ST stuff, the Synergy demo is a welcome
burst of light into a darkening scene, but what was it actually
like.. Read on..
ä
ÇA two-disk mega-demo sort of thing, well slightly underweight in
some categories for a 'mega' as there are only six screens
selectable from the main menu.. That's right, a main menu.. More
on that a bit later.. However, each of these screens is a
heavyweight contender for disk space in their own different ways..
Firstly, an introduction sequence to kick off with, the first few
seconds of disk access produce a well-crafted black and white
'Synergy Design' Jigsaw style logo which could well find its way
onto a letterhead or business card of the future.. The music
abruptly changes to a modfile tune with the next part of the
intro, a sharp title sequence as pictures, words and phrases, some
very odd phrases bounce on to the screen in time with the music..
Each individual member is introduced in this way..
In time, the music and piccys fade out and a orange-gold hand-
sculpted 'Synergy' logo appears midscreen, moves to the top of the
screen to make way for the rather tasteful menu selector screen..
This consists of a texture-mapped cube, each of the six sides
bearing the name of a different sub-demo in a different and
distinctive text for each.. The selector cube is in the foreground
of a subtly rastered landscape and multi-shaded skyä..Ç The music is
a good soundchip tune, although not one as technically advanced as
some in the sub-demos..
The first demo selected is a perplexing affair called 'Pajaro',
which is Spanish for 'Bird', or 'Lucky Bird' to give that meaning
a precise context.. Put very simply indeed, this part of the demo
is a deluxe biographical presentation of all ten Synergy members
of the sort found in many diskzines, with questions ranging from
the trivial, to the very trivial..
Some of the questions posed, particularly of the male members do
fall into the "Do we really need to know äthat??Ç " category, such
as Ejaculation distance!?!?!?!? Otherwise, the usual questions on
personal likes and dislikes, favourite flavour ice-cream etc, are
in there.. (An interesting point, for a group which seems to take
itself very seriously - more on that vexed topic later - is that
many of the responses for what individual group members thought of
other group members seemed to be recycled from other parts of the
questionnaire??) Strange or what??
à
ÇOtherwise, this part of the demo does not overtax your ST,
although the Synergy advanced iconography, well-presented text,
and very tasty SID-voice tune are to hand..
The second part of the demo is a demonstration version of a
forthcoming soundchip editor/composer for the ST, ChipMon II,
featuring SID-voice and other advanced effects.. This demo version
allows you to play around with it, and the short example tune
provided.. To get a fully-enabled version requires that you
contact Synergy.. This demo is on the second disk, which can boot
up ChipMon seperately from the main demo..
The first 'proper' demo comes with the screen called 'Symbiosis',
- when man and machine become one, - according to the authors..
Straight in with a superb SID-tune and a split-screen, the upper
half with a starfield rushing towards the viewer from an invisible
horizon, and on the bottom half, from that same invisible horizon,
something rather more solid-looking, a snowball field?? The scene
transforms to raindrops, this time looking sideways on as the
drops fall at a 45 degree angle, and the credits for this part of
the demo are printed up on the screen, the side-borders killed..
We find out that this part of the demo is due to the efforts of
Odessey Design..
The main part of the demo starts with formations of 3-D vector
bobs, uninspiring at first (deliberately so) but swiftly
developing in interest.. The traditional vector patterns are
there, then new formations such as a very fast jet plane, multi-
spline objects, and even a walker with animated movements.. The
difference between these and more run-of-the-mill stuff, is that
these bobs are very slick and fast, coming from a far-point on the
screen horizon to the front of the picture in very little time at
all, also they remain visible in the distance for a lot longer
than normal, giving more depth then you would normally expect
in this sort of demo.. For the purists and effects junkies, this
is probably the best part of the demo..
The next selected screen is another megademo staple item, a game..
This one is a version of 'Pacman', called 'Crapman' (the game for
real heroes!!) As a Pacman derivative, it is not too bad at all,
and turned out to be quite playable, even when I was only using
the cursor keys, as my joystick is firmly plugged into the
Falcon.. Of course, the basic game has been expanded somewhat as
there are several different types of screen, some of which are
bigger than the normal ST screen, and are kept as a scrolling
virtual screen, some screens are more complex than the standard
game, with more places to get trapped in etc.. The in-game
graphics are of a good standard, and there is a humourous 'tour of
Europe' theme with animations of Crapman being silly in between
levels..
The pre-game selection area features a similar tasteful icon
selector to that found in 'Pajaro', with a multi-lingual option,
including Dutch, English, and even 'Jive' which is exactly what it
says it is.. You are even allowed to save your high score when you
exit to the main menu.. So I did..
The next 'proper' screen is called 'Having a period in 3-D space'
and is dedicated to that particular genre of demonstrations.. THis
starts in a strange but effective fashion with a bouncing title
text mapped onto a textured hilly surface and the weirdest little
girls voice ever sampled..
The main part of the demo is a series of presentations of
different 3-D effects, five or six of which are actually
interesting.. (Not their fault, but 3-D tends to be boring) I
particularly liked the polygonal objects 'swimming' around the
screen like they were fishes.. The last part of the demo allows
user-definable starfields, dot-globes, and other dot-objects..
We rush to the final part of this demo with the credits screen,
and yet another good SID-tune.. The demo alternates between the
sort of large-pixel vector dot effects that made Synergy famous in
the DiskBusters Magazine issue six intro, and well-presented fancy
text screens giving the credits for individual screens.. The dot-
effects are slick and quick, with the persistent slow-fade shading
that makes this effect so good to look at..
Unfortunately, included with a lot of the text, is a rather over-
gilded view of Synergy, themselves, how they relate to....
Themselves... need I say more?? We draw a veil over that bit for
the moment and move to the last part of the demo where you get to
see pictures of all the individual members of Synergy..
And that is that..
üRatings:-
Graphix:- 89% - ÇFor a general very high standard of presentation,
even the digitised pictures look ok on the ST, the hand-drawn
stuff, and the general look and layout of the demo is even more
impressive..
üSonix:- 85% - ÇOne of my favourite bits of this demo, the sample
quality was only average STFM replay quality, but their SID-tunes
are good ones and very listenable..
üGee-Whiz:- 80% - ÇThe main menu selector screen, and much of the
Symbiosis screen were improvements on the ST, but this demo is
mainly notable for the impeccable presentation of established
stuff..
üOverall:- 85% -Ç I think it could have got more, apart from the
fact that this demo was a bit unbalanced in some areas..
Personally, three non-demo screens are a bit too much for a demo
with only six screens.. Out of these, I would make a case to keep
'Crapman', maybe ChipMon II, and ditch the 'Pajaro' Screen and
some of the philosophising weighing down the credits screen..
Synergy have set themselves as being that bit more articulate than
normal, and with a working relationship that is very special to
them.. This is very good to see, and we all hope it continues long
into the future.. Unfortunately, this was expressed all over the
demo, and some views and ideas that should have been kept within
the group were allowed free rein all over this demo..
"The collective is Greater than the Individual." - Really?? They
probably only refer to the collective talents of these very
capable and pleasant people, but it could equally refer to those
nice clean efficient young men in Black uniforms that were such a
hit in Europe in the period between 1939 and 1945!! Maybe
something that Mao Tse Tung said?? Or even to the soul-destroying
guff of those heavily armed crank cultists who burn to death in
isolated ranch-houses in America. The point is üNever forget you
are an individualÇ, otherwise you are a grey mindless sheep waiting
to be manipulated by stronger personalities with unscrupulous
designs on your life.. Now they've got me doing it!!
Anyway, it is far more effective to let your code do the talking,
you will impress a lot more people that way..
(Final note, at least two of Synergy have Falcons!! Yehaaaa!!!)
(C) CIH March '94..
ü
