Hi! This is a very special sort of "mailing list". No real mailing list, because asides from this file, no mailing list stuff is done. So what for is this list? If you are a coder and need help with some Amiga Texturemapping stuff or you are looking for new Team members for your latest project, maybe you will find somebody on this list... and his email... To the person who got this list : Please fill in something in the section about yourself on this list or if you do not want to be on this list, remove your entry and tell me to kill you of the list. This list is also a list of what standards people are supporting on Amiga, and what wishes they have from Amiga Technologies. Note: I will give the information on this list to Amiga Technologies, Phase 5 and the developpers of CyberGraphX, but not now... i will do this as soon as some more people are on the list !!! Coders/graphicians/musicians for Amiga games/demo that are up to now not on the list, please send me mail !!! If that list will grow BIG soon, i will be able the information to Amiga Technologies and Phase 5 soon... but only people who are serious about supporting Amiga, please !!! By the way, the order in which the different people appear on that list is only the order in which i GOT the replies to my questions... nothing else :) This list may also be interested for developpers of GFX Boards who want to contact people that could write games/demos/low level support libraries for their boards... ____________________________________________________________________________ Amiga Demo/Game coders/graphicians/musicians/sound guys "Mailing List" V 1.2 1. Why this list ? 2. emails and comments 3. How to get on this list 4. Next Amiga Texturemapping conference 5. Up to date "open questions". 6. List of coders/graphicians/musicians 7. Some statistics... 8. THE AMIGA THE GUYS ON THIS LIST WANT !!! NOTE : On ever case, be sure to read chapters 1,3,4,5, 7 and 8... there is a short version of this list available without this LONG text chapter 2. ____________________________________________________________________________ 1. Why this list As time went by, the Amiga Texturemapping FAQ got very huge, interesting if you want to inform yourselves about a LOT of things, but if you are for example a developper and want to reach certain people, then it is a bit complicated to look in that huge FAQ for the correct people... So i created this list. It only features a list of emails, and some comments from this people where they may state, what they are doing about Amiga Texturemapping. Developpers on the list will receive updates of the list by email, and other interesting infos (New Engines, new graphics hardware, new graphics software, that has to be taken into account, together with the email of the authors, if those are willing to give them to me for the list. Announcements about the Amiga Texturemapping conference (TM by MagicSN, no, no Trade mark, just joking :) ) will be made on this list too. From now on i won't send any longer personal invitations to the Conference by email. I will only release public information on comp.sys.amiga.games and on this mailing list. (Okay, that statement is : Beginning after the 31th October conference... one time i will send personal invitations... the last time...) Later i changed this to a general demo/game list instead of a list for only Texturemapping coders (even if it sometimes looks that "game coder" and "texturemapping coder" is the same in these days. The list is open for graphicians and sound/music guys too... or people doing game design or people from software firms... 2. emails and comments Answers to those question list only in the BIG version of the list... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Steffen Haeuser email: haeuser@tick.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de *** Comment about currently running projects : *** *** I am the keeper of the Amiga Texturemapping FAQ and the keeper of the *** Amiga game/demo coder list. I am also in with the rtg.library *** project, programming the EGS version of the library. I am also very *** interested in bringing people together who maybe are interested in *** creating an Amiga Texturemapping Game together. As system i own an *** expanded A4000/040 and i am a "030/040+Graphics Board" advocate. *** (Soon Power Amiga advocate :))) ) I just recently restarted coding that *** 256 color Dungeonmaster clone of mine, now basing it on rtgmaster.library, *** and it will probably use 640x480 screens now... I am doing some *** graphics Board support code (EGS+CyberGraphX) for Nemac 4, too... *** Now, let's talk a bit to myself, asking me questions... :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Alex Grasso email: Contact me through Steffen Haeusers email. I don't have Internet access. *** Comment about currently running projects : *** I am a graphician. Just that. My speciality are textures and fantasy *** and science fiction motives. I know a bit about Raytracers too, but am *** most familiar with "usual" Paint programs like DPaint and that stuff... *** Currently i am doing graphics for Warp_S/Nemac 4 (Commercial game) and *** for a PD/Shareware game that i am doing together with Steffen since *** quite some time. __________________________________________________________________________ Name: Oskar Sundberg email: gary@canit.se *** Comments about currently running projects : No info up to now... *** Only that the thing is called ToH... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Thore Bjerklund Karlsen email: tbk@oslonett.no *** Comments about up to now running projects : No info available up to now... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Marcus Dyson (of Team 17) email: Doctor@team17.com *** Comments about currently running projects ? *** Our current/recent Amiga projects are Alien Breed 3D, a Doom Stlye game for *** all AGA Amigas, Speris Legacy, a Zelda style game for all 1Mb Amigas, *** Worms, the best game ever! and Alien Bred 3D Special Edition, a high-res, *** high end version of Aline Breed 3D. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Matthew Waters email: Matthew@mattwms.demon.co.uk *** Comment about currently running projects: *** XP8 is a verticaly scrolling shoot-'em-up for the AGA amigas. *** 128 colours, 50fps screen update, 2 player mode, ray-traced graphics. *** HD installable, supports extra RAM, disc drive, accelerators etc. *** Ready in two weeks! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Chris Mair email: cmair@direct.ca *** Comment about currently running projects : *** - Did not get one as i forgot to ask - But this is Shade, the *** game with the Textdemo engine, as i know... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : John Hendrikx email: John.Hendrikx@grafix.xs4all.nl *** Comment about currently running projects : *** John said me (Steffen Haeuser) i should write something down *** for him, as i know about the project. Here it goes : *** This is the Textdemo engine, *** a texturemapping engine for high-end-Amigas, that will feature *** ECS, AGA and graphics Board support in 8, 15, 16 and 24 Bit *** (depending on the used hardware). Textdemo won't use crappy *** things like copper chunky. Only the best is good enough for it. *** There are two games in the making using Textdemo : Shade and *** Mystic Tank. Currently John is working on the graphics Board *** adaption. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Mark Sibly email: blkmagic@ihug.co.nz *** Comment about currently running projects : *** *** Finishing up Gloom Deluxe/Gloom data disk. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Alex Amsel email: Alex@teeth.demon.co.uk *** Comment about currently running projects: *** We are currently finishing XTreme Racing, a texture mapped racing *** game along the lines of Super Mario Kart. It supports 1-8 players, *** serial links, and is optimised for various processors (not PPC!!). *** If it sells well we will make it graphics board compatible probably *** via a patch on an extra tracks disc, along with the full race editor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Oliver Groth email: O.Groth@link-m.muc.de *** Comments about currently running projects : *** We are doing another texture-mapping game for amiga. It is fully OS conforme *** and uses the advantages a given Amiga models provides ... It is nearly *** finished now. It supports several graphics devices. The main problems *** we got in coding was the absence of memory protection and universal support *** for graphics devices. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Steven Rennocks, Systems Director of OTM Ltd email: otm@otmltd.demon.co.uk *** Comments about currently running projects : *** Right, we're a publisher of Amiga and PC software mainly, we are not a developer, *** but if any of the people on this list are developing titles and looking for *** a publisher then please please put us in touch :) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Kevin Picone email: uwdesign@lin.cbl.com.au *** Comments about currently running projects : *** Underware Design, presently has two major projects on the desk top, so to *** speak. *** a) Reality 3D, *** Reality 3D, is actually the base first person 3d technology behind a *** still undefined game project. Basically it's a hybrid of ID softwares *** popular Wolf 3D / Balde Stone engine technologies, while also *** introducing some new features to this engine standard. *** b) Metal Combat, (pet name) *** Metal Combat, is the basis for a virtua figther styled beat'em up *** engine. At this point the 3d rendering system is still early in it's *** development. *** Underware Design, is a collection of young Amiga die hards based in *** Australia... (ie. Down under ;) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Lubor Kolar email: xkoll04@vse.vse.cz *** Comments about currently running projects : *** Now we are making dungeon-style game in SAS C, we have only 3d-engine. *** No rolling, but steps like Dungeon Master. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Antti Lankila email: andezl@kastelli.otol.fi *** Comments about currently running projects : *** My engine slightly overpasses the one demonstrated in PC-game ROTT *** (floor, ceiling, sky and wall texture mapping). I am currently working *** on sprites (objects) and doors, and I am about to add doors and *** non-orthagonical walls, too. My engine will be released as a sort of *** smallish game in the near future, after I have developed it a *** little more. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Hans-Joerg Frieden email: hfrieden@fix.uni-trier.de *** Comments about current projects : *** I'm currently doing a game like Fade To Black on PC. It is still in the *** early (not even alpha) stage. Will support Picasso gfx and *** rtgmaster.library. First demo to be released somewhere next year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Peter Elzner email: HAWK@blanker.ruhr.de Snail Mail : Peter Elzner Grudene 6a 58644 Iserlohn Tel.: 02374/84425 *** Comments about current running projects : *** I already finished my first Shareware game "Diamond Caves", it can be found *** on AmiNet. I'm currently working on a Breakout clone (with options like 2 *** players at the same time, new extras,...) and a Shanghai clone. I consider *** it *very* important to not only support ECS *or* AGA *or* gfx-boards but *** to write programs that work on every configuration. To achieve this, I offer *** an option to choose a different gfx-file for different gfx-chips (like 32 *** color gfx for ECS, 256 colors for AGA/gfx-boards). OD-routines are a must *** if you want to support gfx-boards. *** Remember: They are a lot of poeple who upgraded their A2000/3000 with a *** gfx-board (inlcuding me) but we are *not* able to run hardcoded AGA-games. *** BTW: I'm coding in Oberon and Assembler and I'm drawing my own gfx (for *** now :-) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : J. Saarinen email: jsaarinen@kone.fipnet.fi *** Comments about currently running projects: Up to now none given... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Petri Häkkinen email: mystic@tlti.tokem.fi *** Comments about currently running projects : *** I've written some PD games, some of them can be found from the aminet: *** Bloodfest (game/role), ZhandulinHelmi (game/role) Finnish only!, PucmanWorlds *** game/misc), MachoKillers (game/shoot), My3dEngine (gfx/aga) just a preview *** demo version of my coming game(?). They all are written in Amos, but I have *** added some machine code to some of them.So I can program in assembly too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Michael Kracik email: xkracik@cs.felk.cvut.cz *** Comments about currently running projects : *** *** Work on a 3D engine similar to Heretic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Steven Birch email: steveb@mistral.co.uk *** Comments about currently running projects : *** *** At bit about me - I'm 24, a graduate in artificial intelligence, *** currently working on a 3D flight-sim style game under the working *** title of "Microlyte warriors". It should be published before Easter 96 *** by Guildhall Leisure under the Acid label. The engine features faded *** sky/ground, depth shading, lightsource shading, split screen 2 player *** mode, multitasking, serial link, action replays, different planes and *** flight models + more :) Priority is to get the plain AGA&ECS versions *** finished, but then I hope to do the Deluxe/Special Edition thing, with *** texture mapping/gfx board support in time for new fast Amigas :) I would *** also like to release the level editor so people can make their own *** landscapes (objects are videoscape format, so can be done in most 3d *** modellers) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Johan Hanson email: Johan.Hanson@abs.se *** Comments about currently running projects: *** My name is Johan Hanson. I am 20 years old, studying to get the *** additional points to enter a university course in computer science. *** I have used computers since 1989 and Amiga since 1991. *** I am fluent in 680x0 machine language, and I also know some C/C++, E *** and PowerPC machine language. *** WWW Homepage: http://www.abc.se/~m8816/ *** Current demo/game projects: *** - Demo game, and reusable libraries for Obsession Development which *** is a young company still looking for a publisher. *** - Demos in the euroscene group Eternal. *** *** Current other projects: *** - A objectoriented general-purpose programming language. *** - Several patches which makes Workbench nicer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Timo Suoranta email: tksuoran@cc.helsinki.fi *** Comments about running projects : *** *** My name is Timo Suoranta, I'm from Helsinki, Finland. I am working on *** light multiplayer strategygame, like old Empire, only lot better. I am *** looking for computer AI help. Demo available from my homepage. *** Web: http://www.helsinki.fi/~tksuoran/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Alberto Longo email: alblon@maxonline.it *** He did not answer to my mail up to now, but what i know for sure : *** *** - He is the coder of Breathless. *** - He will support High-end Amigas. *** - Up to now he won't support GFX Boards, but he is thinking over a *** special version for a spring release (AGA version : December), *** if i got it right. *** - Amiga is not the only platform for that he is coding (PC the *** other, if i got it right). *** - He does commercial games. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Bjorn Fogelberg (Cyberpunk Developments) email: Bjorn.Fogelberg@Synchron.ct.se *** Comments about currently running projects : None given... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. How to get on this list As this is no real mailing list, no automatic SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE. Simply give me the same information like the others gave me for this list. My email is haeuser@tick.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de I will mail the latest version of this list to the people on the list every few weeks or months (if you do not want this, tell me). I will post it to the news and similar stuff too. And i will give the answers i got to Amiga Technologies, Phase 5 and the developpers of CyberGraphX. 4. Next Amiga Texturemapping conference The next Amiga Texturemapping conference will be on 1st December, on irc channel #amitmap, 17:00 GMT 5. Open Questions A. Attic Software is looking for a guy who could do the DSA III 3D Engine for an Amiga Version. Contact address : Attic Entertainment Software Mr. Hamma Sigmaringer Strasse 84 D-72458 Albstadt If you want to do it using the net, you could contact (using FIDO) Wolfgang Schulz 2:246/8010.9 He is not exactly the guy whom you will have to contact, he is only some guy working at Attic Software (but maybe he can give you an email to reach Mr. Hamma). B. Many people need now developper support for future Amigas or want to know what is going on. Contact addresses at Amiga Technologies and Phase 5 for them : Amiga Technologies : gbo@amiga.de (PR and announcement stuff) rudi@amiga.de (Developper support) Look at http://www.amiga.de too... Phase 5 : phase 5 digital products POWERUP-Programm In der Au 27 D-61440 Oberursel Germany NOTE : You are able to order now : - Information about POWERUP - Information of the Powerup Developper Support Program - Information about the PowerUP Evaluation Boards for Developpers (shipping in January...) Phase 5 is interested in commercial, PD and Shareware developpers for PowerUP Boards *NOW*. And they work together with Amiga Technologies. So probably the Board will be at least mainly compatible with Power Amigas (at the Computer 95 they said "fully compatible", but they did not know up to then what Amiga Technologies is doing with the Graphics Hardware) C. What is most urgent for demos/games on GFX Boards seems to be the low level support (direct access of the VRAM, Double Buffering, maybe scrolling... even more important than 3D stuff implemented !!!) It may even be a urgent thing if CyberGraphX/rtgmaster.library throw AGA out of business as to demos/games... So... if you are the manufacturer of a Graphics Board, the writer of graphics board drivers or something like that and you happen to know how to access the VGA chips of a certain Board DIRECTLY, please send me a mail (for rtgmaster.library...). The manufacturers that i was contacting up to now refused to tell me how to do this and i had to deal with the libraries (and mostly Double Buffering was not supported... :( ) Of course i know of MoveScreen and such things... but that is not the perfect solution... and it seems to me that some things (WB-Emulations, NetBSD drivers, Shapeshifter/Emplant drivers, Animation show programs) probably HAVE to access those VGA chips for DBuffering... or am i wrong ? And, for example for EGS Boards... if i asked them about the Board interna they REFUSED and simply sent me a EGS developper disk containing Autodocs for the egs.library (The manufacturer of the Piccolo Board was this :) ) Probably there was some misunderstanding :((( 6. List of Coders/Graphicians/Musicians List of Coders and official guys from software firms : - myself - Oskar Sundberg - Thore Bjerklund Karlsen - Chris Mair - Matthew Waters of Weathermine Software - John Hendrikx - Chris Mair of Fusion Productions - Mark Sibly of Black Magic - Alex Amsel of Silltunna Software - Oliver Groth - Lubor Kolar - Antti Lankila - Hans-Joerg Frieden - Peter Elzner - Petri Haekinnen - Jyrki Saarinen (Nose/Stellar) - Johan Hanson (Misagn/Eternal) of Obsession Developement - Alberto Longo of Field of Vision Software (only some information about the guy written down by myself) - Marcus Dyson of Team 17 (only something written down by myself what he stated on comp.sys.amiga.games) - Timo Suoranta - Steven Rennocks of OTM - Kevin Picone - Björn Fogelberg List of Graphicians : - Alex Grasso List of Musicians : - No one, up to now ... :( 7. Some statistics : (Not everybody gave absolutely clear answers to every question, mostly on things that are not 100% to overlook up to now... so numbers may differ as to different questions...) Note about that special handling of TEAM 17 in these numbers... as Mr.Dyson said it is not sure, if Team 17 will stay with Amiga... if they stay, they will probably support a lot, if not... nothing... Sorry that i miscounted in the first release some times ... i hope this numbers are correct now... but even if i miscounted one or two votes, the tendency still will be correct... :) And sometimes there were answers were it was difficult to say about how to interpret them (all that "Maybe"s, or stuff like "Low price and AGA compatibility", what as far as i know is a contradiction... Number of Coders/guys of software firms : (only those counted that replied the questions...) 24 Number of Graphicians : 1 Number of Musicians : 0 Number of coders supporting High-End : 20 (+ Team 17 unsure + 1 answer "Maybe") Number of coders supporting Graphics Boards : 15 (+ 4 answers "Maybe") Number of Coders interested in doing Power Amiga games/demos : 14 (+ Team 17 unsure + 7 others "Maybe") Number of developpers interested in a much better developper support system (or thinking support currently sucks...) : 22 Number of coders that will probably continue to support Amiga : 15 (+ Team 17 and 6 others depending on success of Amiga Technology, on developper support, on existing market or such things...) Number of coders supporting Graffiti : 4 (+ Team 17 and 9 others "Maybe") Number of coders supporting ECS : 13 (+ Team 17 + 2 others "Maybe") Number of coders supporting AGA : 20 (+ Team 17 + 1 other "Maybe") Number of coders supporting CyberGraphX (and NOT supporting it using rtgmaster.library) : 11 (+ Team 17 + 2 others "Maybe") Number of coders supporting rtgmaster.library : (Note: rtgmaster.library runs on an installed CyberGraphX system too... popularity will probably depend on what CyberGraphX 3.0 will be able to do...) 9 (+ Team 17 + 7 others "Maybe") Number of coders interested in 3D library functions : 18 Number of coders interested in Low Level library functions : 18 As to this stuff, mostly Direct Video access and Double/Triple Buffering was considered a "must", and 3D functions would be great, but the most urgent thing... these low-level things... Future Amiga GfxBoard : Custom Chips : 17 : 8 Some people stated "Both". I counted this as vote for Amiga Gfx Boards AND as vote for Custom Chips... Is Compatibility between Power Amiga and PowerUP needed : not needed ? 21:2 (with some people indicating that it will be a hard job "that one is not holding back the other and if it would be inpossible to do current Zorro III systems 100% compatible with future PCI systems, compatibility would not be the main issue... but most stated, compatibility would be an issue that HAS to be at all cost...) Faster Bus systems : Stay with Zorro III ? 20:2 (+2 "possibly","if it is affordable for the user") I think, these numbers give something to think over... Should future Amigas contain AGA : Contain NO AGA AT ALL (price issue...) 2 (AGA) : 19 (Scrap AGA) As to Low price vs. AGA i counted an answer "Low price" as an indication to count the answer as "Scrap AGA". To get the exact comments, read this list :))) Some guys mentioned the possibility of an AGA (or maybe AAA ?) PCI Board... 8. THE AMIGA THE GUYS ON THIS LIST WANT I tried to read a bit "between the lines". Sometimes people said different things... but the following is what most people want :) !!! Of course i am not 100% objective, but i really tried only to count numbers... PLEASE READ THIS VERY CAREFUL, AMIGA TECHNOLOGIES AND PHASE 5 !!! Of course this is a dream and not everything may come this way... but this is what coders *HOPE*... This Amiga has a Power PC inside. It uses a Graphics Board (that possibly has some 3D functions in hardware, possibly not). This Board is connected with PCI to the system. There are Amigas with Power PC 603e and others with Power PC 604 around (and in 1997 maybe even faster ones, using the Power PC 620 or what else is coming after the 604...) On this Amiga runs an Amiga DOS in Power PC Native code (or at least a partially ported Amiga DOS). There is a 68k Emulation available. A "normal" Amiga with a PowerUP Power PC of Phase 5 and a CyberGraphics Board is 100% compatible to this system (!!!), even as to what graphics goes. CyberGraphics is a part of the OS. The system is no longer AGA compatible to make it cheaper to build, but AGA is available on a PCI Board (with drivers for CyberGraphics). Zorro III is available on some sort of PCI Bridge Board, but it is no longer built into the system by Default. As to games, all games are playable on a ECS+PowerUP+CyberGraphics system. Of course, maybe an old graphics Board will slow things down. Also, a Zorro II only system will slow things down (but maybe there will be a board with direct connection to the PowerUP ?) The Graphics Board that comes with the official Power Amiga is very fast. And its CyberGraphics drivers are very good optimized. There is no longer an "A1200 style model". There are 3D supporting Boards available, and the latest version of CyberGraphX supports a very easy to use interface for Double/Triplebuffering, scrolling, sprites, direct access to the VRAM (or maybe CyberGraphX has swallowed up rtgmaster.library and included it to the system... here my crystal ball to see to the future is a bit foggy... :) ) This code directly accesses the registers of the VGA chips, but it provides a standard interface for doing this... this library is what demo/gamecoders appreciate the MOST of all this phantastic new CyberGraphX release... :) CyberGraphX comes with every Amiga... There is a standard library collection for 3D effects, sound and picture loading and such stuff... some nice highlevel functions and all that... partially this library is done by former members of the Demo scene, who provided their own private code for it... At Amiga Technologies there are several guys doing Developper-Support stuff, and there are printed manuals and documentation of the Amiga DOS 4.0 available with Autodocs, Includes and explanations. It is possible to reach the Developper-Support, using email, Compuserve, FAX and Phone (FAX and Phone at least reachable in Germany, where Amiga Technology is sitting). 9. How to get more info about Graphics Boards... In the same lha as this file there is a readme "Graph.txt" giving more information about Graphics Boards, including emails of the guys to contact to get developper information... MagicSN haeuser@tick.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de