Aminet 44/Aminet 44 (2001)(GTI - Schatztruhe)[!][Aug 2001].iso/Aminet/demo/mag/GDS-DISC11b.lha/text/DiskMagsReview

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«ac»«»
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«c1» *** THE DISKMAGS REVIEWS ***«»
«al»«»
«c3»BY ZEROX/GODS«»
«as»«»
«c2»Last time I reviewed mags was many years ago. Infact I guess the magscene
was at its best back in 1995 with so many «c5»great mags «c2»around; like «c5»RAW, ROM
and Upstream. «c2»During December 1994 till February 1995 there were 12
good mags to be reviewed. Nevertheless, it's time to review the best mags
around nowadays...«»
«as»«»
This time I'll review the following diskmags:«»
«»
«»
«»
«c4»NAME:                                     ACTUAL RELEASE DATE:«»
«»
«c5»Devotion #1                       (End Of July)«»
The EuroChart #41         (End Of September)«»
ShowTime #15                  (Middle Of November)«»
«as»«»
«c2»Latest news is that Devotion was declared dead two days ago
but the EuroChart 42 will be out the next days!«»
«»
Last  time I was  accused of being  too
soft,  so this  time I MIGHT be a bit
harder.  I'll be as objective as I can
even though  I  got   friends working on
all the mentioned mags. But remember
that the  reviews are only my personal
opinion.  The reviews are not ment
as bad critics.  Infact I hope it will
be constructive and give the makers of
the diskmags  some hints for what they
might improve.  Ok,  now it's time for
the reviews...«»
«c1»DEVOTION #1«»
«»
«c6»Code By:  «c4»Mr.Tickle/DarkAge«»
«c6»Gfx By:   «c4»Adam/DCS«»
«c6»Music By: «c4»Teis/Spaceballs, Tecon/Planet Jazz and Reed/Damage.«»
«»
«c6»Main-Editors: «c4»Darkus/Haujobb & Magic/Nah-Kolor«»
«»
«c6»Cliparts: «c4»Optic/DCS&Talent«»
«»
«c6»Title Picture: «c4»Anthony/ex.DreamDealers«»
«»
«c6»NO intro«»
«»
«c2»Devotion is something so rare as a new
international amiga diskmag, and therefore
I was looking forward reading it. Darkus
has for years been working on his magplans
(including projects as UnderWorld), so I
was pleased that he finally succeeded!«»
«»
«c6»Code:«»
«»
«c2»The first thing that comes to mind, and that is different from other mags
around, is that the code makes it possible for not only ordinary AGA users,
but also others by using a graphicscard, to actually read the mag. So this
is quite extraordinary. The mag also got a clipart-routine, and it's
system friendly. Instead of the usual page-counter, Devotion got a slider
showing how much of the article that remains. It has only two arrows,
one to the left and one to the right. No up or down buttons. But then
again, you can use the keyboard to go from one article to the next without
going back to the menu. Apart from that, it looks like most other mags.
It's easy to operate. Nothing more to add really, as the mag hasn't any
special features I noticed.«»
«»
«c7»I give the code 7,5-8 out of 10.«»
«»
«c6»Gfx:«»
«»
«c2»The panels were done by Adam/DCS. They're quite ok. Nothing amazing, like
in the last issue of EC for instance, but not bad either. I liked the
panels anyway. Adam also did the fonts, and they were pretty good and readable.
Also many cool background pictures were included.
Optic/DCS did the cliparts. As usual he did a good job. I really enjoyed
them. But there were definately too few cliparts in this issue. It was hard
finding them in the articles. When it comes to the title picture, I can't
say I liked it. I hope a better one will be used in the next issue, in
addition to lots of new cliparts.«»
«»
«c7»I give the gfx 7 out of 10.«»
«»
«c6»Music:«»
«»
«c2»The first issue of Devotion offers 3 modules! The first module is done
by Teis/Spaceballs. I don't know why this one was chosen to be the first
one as it's definately not diskmag music. Teis has done lots of modules for
intros and demos, and they fit perfect there. But I don't think his module
for Devotion should be used in any diskmag. The second module done by
Tecon/Planet Jazz was quite ok. After a quiet opening the module
could be considered as typical diskmag music. Also the third module was
pretty good. The Laid Back Funk by Reed/Damage is good diskmag music after
my opinion. At least the 3 modules offer some variation.«»
«»
«c7»I give the music 7 out of 10.«»
«c6»Contents:«»
«»
«c2»The most important aspect of a mag, is always the articles!
There were 64 files included, which is quite much nowadays. But when you
remove about 10 introduction & editorial files, the 6 chart-files etc. then
there aren't that many articles. But then again, there were around 45
articles or so which is ALOT compared to any international diskmag! So the
staff should get credit for that. I also found quite many of the articles
enjoyable, especially some articles from Wade, Darkhawk, Alvin, Makke and
Darkus were interesting. Perhaps there weren't that much to read in BYTES,
but quite many interesting aspects about the current scene. I would like to
read more about the demo-scene, but at least there were lots of stuff for
us editors. The bad parts of
the first issue of Devotion, were in the news and advert-department. I
found ONLY 5 adverts. And as for the news, only 8 groups were mentioned and
no memberslists were added. Some of the news were hot though, but some
weren't. Like the "news" that Bridgeclaw joined DarkAge as a double member
when it happened one year before the release date of Devotion. This could
easily be changed though, as Nah-Kolor have lots of good swappers which can
supply both hot news and lots of adverts. The chart is different from other
charts, so it was quite interesting too. Perhaps the swappers and others
which can't find their name on the charts won't like it though?
All in all, I think the contents are of high quality. Especially considering
this is the first release.«»
«»
«c7»I give the contents 8 out of 10.«»
«»
«c6»Overall:«»
«»
«c2»I think the first release of Devotion can be called a success. When the
scene is screaming for international mags, Devotion delievers! It got lots
of articles (at least with todays standard) and interesting topics. I look
forward to the next issue.«»
«»
«c7»I give Devotion  7,5-8 out of 10.«»
«»
«»
«c1»SHOWTIME #15«»
«»
«c6»Mag:«»
«»
«c6»Code By:  «c4»Modem/DarkAge«»
«c6»Gfx By:   «c4»Cheetah/Ephidrena and Made/Bomb«»
«c6»Music By: «c4»Spektra/Appendix & Fukk My Face, Reed/Damage and Racoon/DarkAge«»
«»
«c6»Cliparts: «c4»Modem/DarkAge and Keen/?«»
«c6»Title Picture: «c4»Unreal/Kengooroo«»
«»
«c6»Main-Editor: «c4»Modem/DarkAge«»
«c6»Co-Editors:  «c4»Ghandy/DarkAge^Gods^Faith, Dire/DarkAge and Zito/DarkAge^Reason«»
«»
«c6»Gallery:«»
«»
«c6»Code By:  «c4»Modem/DarkAge«»
«c6»Gfx By:   «c4»Mrk«»
«c6»Music By: «c4»Kfd/Trinity«»
«»
«c6»Title Picture: «c4»Lanch/Trinity«»
«c6»Photo Editing: «c4»Modem/DarkAge«»
«»
«c6»Intro By: «c4»Fearmoths«»
«c6»Gfx By: «c4»ShaneTheWolfTheDog«»
«c6»Music By: «c4»UncleBoose«»
«c6»"Code" By: «c4»TheVariousSlimeCreep (Done in VideoTracker according to rumours)«»
«»
«c2»Actually an intro by Ephidrena was ment to be used, but instead the
Promotro-intro got included in the archieve.«»
«»
«»
It was great that this chartmag returned after some trouble. I'm glad that
D.I.S.C. and ShowTime didn't merge, so the scene will get two very special
mags around. Modem has been working hard to release this issue, and it
returned in full strengt; with a main-part, diary, gallery AND charts!
And now the show continues.... and more surprises will appear in the next
issue I'm sure... ;)«»
«»
«c6»Code:«»
«»
«c2»It has been said that the code is very old and need to be updated.
Personally I think the code is pretty good and don't need to be updated
much. It's easy to select articles by mouse, and also go from article to
article by using the mouse or keyboard. It's no problem to switch from the
mag-part, to diary or the charts. Nothing at all annoyed me. The code
supports a clipart routine, and it's system friendly. And you can naturally
choose between various modules. The Gallery part is
also quite ok. It allows us to see pictures in high-quality (many colours).
I don't have much more to add. In my old tradition, I'll give a half point
extra in the code department as an intro was added.«»
«»
«c7»I give the code 7,5 out of 10.«»
«»
«»
«c6»Gfx:«»
«»
«c2»The panels were pretty good... but haven't been changed in some years,
since issue 11 I think. The background is also quite fitting. Nice fonts.
There were only a few cliparts, but those were good. As for the gallery
panels, I think they were nice. When it comes to the title pictures,
the first one (the mag part) was quite weird, but cool. The one for
the Gallery seemed to be a bit faded, but from the contours it looked to be
a pretty good picture too. Anyway, I of course liked the main title picture
of last issue much better, hehe. The charts gfx I've always liked a lot,
it's very good.«»
«»
«c7»I give the gfx 7-7,5 out of 10.«»
«»
«»
«»
«c6»Music:«»
«»
«c2»There were 4 modules in ST; 3 in the mag part and 1 in the gallery part.
The first module by Spectra was kind of diskmag music and quite ok I guess,
but a bit boring and "noisy" for my taste. The second tune by Reed reminded
me on the first tune at first, but it changed and I think it's a pretty
good diskmag module. The third one from Racoon was very relaxing and I like
it! The song for the gallery was done by Kfd, and it's cool with some bass
elements.«»
«»
«c7»I give the music 7-7,5 out of 10.«»
«»
«c6»Contents:«»
«»
«c2»Now to the part that really interest me, the contents! ShowTime is a
chartmag, and the most important thing is therefore the charts! Actually
ST offers 95 votes, which is quite much nowadays and more than their rival
EuroChart. So it's quite impressive. I've always enjoyed the ST charts,
and this time was no exception. But I did detect a few mistakes, like the
intro Radomized Sheep from Loonies was ranked both at 12th and 18th place.
And the musician Jazz/Haujobb got both 13th and 16th place. Apart from
that, it looked good. The diary included 27 groups, which is not bad at
all. Some of the news were old though, and some quite fresh. The Gallery
had 15 nice pictures by various sceners, however some of the pictures were
quite old. Nevertheless, I liked the gallery. When it comes to the main-
contents, I found 40 files. And out of that, I guess 29 were articles
(including the scene corner). I at least enjoyed some articles from
Ghandy, Darkhawk, Krabob, Zito, Modem, Lahve and LoadError. So there should
be something for everybody.«»
«»
«c7»I give the contents 7 out of 10.«»
«c6»Overall:«»
«»
«c2»I'm happy that Modem had the time and energy to release ST now.
I enjoyed this issue, and hope that DarkAge will continue their good work.
They've got a lot of friendly members in their staff, so I don't think it
will be a problem to get support.
I also think they'll strenghten both the mag-part and the chart-part in future
issues as some more good members will support it.«»
«»
«c7»I give issue 15 of ShowTime 7-7,5 out of 10.«»
«»
«»
«c1»THE EUROCHART #41«»
«»
«c6»Code By:  Quedax/Depth and Cytron/Depth«»
«c6»Gfx By:   Slayer/Appendix«»
«c6»Music By: Curt Cool/Depth and Estrayk & Evelred Of Paradox and Capsule«»
«»
«c6»Cliparts: Budgie/Absurd&Apathy&Appendix«»
          Darklight/Veezya«»
          Encore«»
          Kempy/Veezya«»
          Malmis/Apathy&Void«»
          Da Freak/Vortex^RNO«»
«»
«c6»Title Picture: Slayer/Appendix«»
«»
«c6»Main-Editors: Curt Cool/Depth, Cytron/Depth & Darkhawk/IRIS«»
«»
«c6»NO Intro«»
«»
«c2»The EuroChart is the oldest chartmag around.
It has been done by Crusaders, Static Bytes, Depth
and now in cooperation between Depth & IRIS. The
latest years, this chartmag has also been the ONLY
regular release. Therefore the mag has been very
important for the scene.«»
«»
«c6»Code:«»
«»
«c2»Not much have changed in the code-department
for many years. Infact, the code is almost the
same as it was 5 years ago when it was done
by another coder. But a few things have changed
though, like a small bug has been removed.
In any case, the source has not been very
updated for years. But then again, why should it?
It's real easy to operate by using a mouse, but
much harder when trying to use the keyboard when
entering the chart-section. Anyway, I didn't get any problems
at all when I used the mouse and nothing really
annoyed me. The Eurochart is system friendly,
you can exit the mag and return to your other
programs. The mag also offers a search-function,
which is not that usual these days. However, I have
seen better search-functions. The mag also got
a good clipart-routine, but then again... all mags of
today got that.«»
«»
The mag is divided into 3 different parts; the charts section,
the EuroNews and the Gallery. And all parts have ok code.
I noticed one bug though. In issue 41 it was not possible to
enter the gallery from the news-section. However, you could
reach the gallery from the charts.«»
«»
All in all, it's a pretty good code.«»
«»
«c7»I give the code 7 out of 10.«»
«»
«»
«c6»Gfx:«»
«»
«c2»The panels by Slayer are really great. Very detailed and perhaps a bit
original too. It got to be among the best panels I've seen the latest
time. The title picture is pretty good too. The EuroChart also offer
15 cliparts, which are quite much. Some of the cliparts were good, some
not that good. There was a huge gallery this time, with lots of nice
pictures. I guess the Paparazzi The One, was behind most of them... ;)
The gallery routine makes it possible to show the pictures in many colours,
so the quality is good. Apart from that, the EuroChart gives us amazingly 103
pictures of sceners & productions in the chart-section! The bad part is
perhaps that only two system fonts are used. However, they are easy to
read.«»
«»
«c7»I give the gfx 8,5 out of 10.«»
«»
«c6»Music:«»
«»
«c2»This time the EuroChart offer only two modules. Well, two is actually more
than enough. As usual the first module is done by Curt Cool, and I really
like it. It got a cool melody and above all, it fits perfect in the mag.
Also the other module is typical diskmag music after my opinion. Not much
more to say about it really.«»
«»
«c7»I give the music 8 out of 10.«»
«»
«c6»Contents:«»
«»
«c2»The most important part of a mag, is of course the contents. As for a
chartmag, the charts are most important.«»
«»
This time there were only 83 voters, and that's not very good I'm afraid.
It's really sad that so few take the time to fill out a votesheet. And I
guess even less will vote in the future, especially now as rumours are
indicating that certain sceners from Poland will boycott the EuroChart.
However, the chart section itself is pretty good... and for now, 80 votes
are enough to make it interesting. The EuroStatistic is always cool.«»
«»
When it comes to the EuroNews-section, I fast had a look at the news and
the adverts. There were quite many adverts, which show us that the swapping
scene is still alive. As for the news, there were lots of them. Some were
hot, and some were not. But I think the news-section was good.
Especially writing the memberslist of the various groups is great.«»
«»
Then we have the articles! There were 52 files this time, and if I'm nice
I could say that there were 37 articles (including the party-invitations),
the rest were editorial files etc. This is infact quite much when it comes
to nowadays mags, and especially chartmags! And looking back in time,
before Depth took over the EC, I can truly say that the contents have
become much better now.  I found at least interesting articles from Curt
Cool, Darkhawk, Wade and Slayer in this issue.«»
«»
«c7»I give the contents 7,5 out of 10.«»
«»
«c6»Overall:«»
«»
«c2»The EuroChart is a great chartmag with lots of talented
members among its staff. It got good gallery, news and adverts
sections. The chart section is also pretty good, but it should get
more votes in the future. The latest years more articles have been
added as well, and the quality has improved. What will happen in the future
is hard to say, whether the staff will try to improve the chart-section or
the article-section. In any case, two active groups are supporting it and
I'm sure the regular releases will continue.«»
«»
«c7»I give this issue 7,5-8 out of 10.«»
«»
«»
«c2»Now  at  the very  end  of the diskmag
reviews, I'll tell you in what way I'll
try to review the diskmags in the next
issue of DISC.«»
«»
«c1»CODE:«»
«»
«c4»I'll check out if the diskmag has got:«»
«»
1. User friendliness«»
«»
Which means... can you operate the mag
by using both mouse, keyboard and joystick?
Are the gadgets easy to use?«»
«»
2. Cliparts«»
«»
Does the diskmag support a good clipart
routine  that  makes  it  a  bit  more
interesting to read? Many colours?«»
«»
3. Search function«»
«»
Has the  diskmag got a search routine?
And if it does, is it good?  Can it be
used in all parts of the mag,  or just
in a few areas?«»
«»
4. Multitasking«»
«»
Is it possible to go  out  of  the mag
and work with  other  programs  at the
same time,  without quitting the mag?
Is it system friendly?«»
«»
5. Different modules?«»
«»
Can  the  mag manage to load different
modules?«»
«»
6. Fonts«»
«»
Does the  mag have a routine for using
different fonts?«»
«»
7. Printer function«»
«»
Is  it  possible  to  print   out  the
articles from the diskmag?«»
«»
8. Other special features«»
«»
Does  the  mag  have  something  else?
Like  special  features,  or just some
ordinary additional coding?
Examples:  Choice  to  choose  between
different palettes, columns, pointers,
etc.  Or   maybe   specialities   like
animations etc.«»
«»
9. Intro«»
«»
Has the mag got a nice intro?«»
«»
«c1»GFX:«»
«»
«c4»I'll check if the diskmag has:«»
«»
1. A title picture«»
«»
Does  the  diskmag  have a nice  title
picture?«»
2. Cliparts«»
«»
Does  the  mag  have  many   different
goodlooking cliparts?«»
«»
3. Menu panels«»
«»
Has  the  diskmag  got a nicely  drawn
panel?«»
«»
4. Design«»
«»
Is  the  design  special?  Is it good?«»
«»
5. Fonts«»
«»
Are the fonts  good?  Is  it  easy  to
read  the  articles?  Are  there  many
fonts?«»
6. Scanned Picture«»
«»
Are there any scanned pictures?
A gallery?«»
«»
7. Special features«»
«»
Does the mag offer very nice animations?
Or other special gfx features?«»
«»
«c1»MUSIC:«»
«»
«c4»I'll check...«»
«»
1. The number of modules«»
«»
Are there more than one module?«»
2. What kind of music?«»
«»
Is it typical diskmag  music?
Does the music suit the diskmag?«»
«»
3. Variety?«»
«»
Does  the  module got many patterns?
Does  it  have  variation,  or  is  it
more or less boring?«»
«»
4. Special features?«»
«»
Does  the  mag  have any special sound
effects?«»
«»
«c1»CONTENTS:«»
«»
«c4»1. Updated«»
Are  the  files updated or are most of
them  old?   Old  news   or   outdated
topics?«»
«»
2. Good articles«»
«»
Are articles well-written or just some
short files without any meaning?«»
«»
3. Gallery/Charts«»
«»
Does the  mag have either a gallery or
chart?  Or maybe both?  And  are  they
good and updated?«»
«»
4. Number of files«»
«»
Does the diskmag only have a few files?
Is it properly supported?«»
5. Special features«»
«»
Does  the  mag  got  some very special
files? Very hot and  interesting  news
or interviews? Scandals?«»
«»
Overall:«»
«»
Is the overrall look good?
Does the code,  gfx and  music fit in?
Improvements from earlier issues etc.«»
«»
«»
Ok,  that was it...   remember that it
can be hard to take on such a huge analysis, but I'll do my best.«»
«»
«»
«»
«»
«»
«c2»At  the  very  end of this  article, I
want  to  give  all  diskmag makers an
opportunity  to  get   their   diskmag
reviewed!  So  if   YOU  are  making a
diskmag,  then send it to me, and I'll
try  to  review it for  the next issue
of DISC! That's it for this time...«»
«»
«»
«e»