UCM22
.tHE .sIRIUS .cYBERNETICS .cORPORATION
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Interview with LIG LURY of NEW TREND, done by moondog
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At last here we have another interview with a former Atari coder of NEW TREND...
UCM... - Hi andreas, long time no see! Since we started a row of articles in UCM
that have the aim to discover what former Atari scener's are doing
nowadays, and since I stumbled over New Trends webpage some months ago,
I decided to choose New Trend this time... so, how are you?
LIG.L. - I think that things are going very well for me. But when I look at the
list of questions in this interview I feel sad.... just kidding
UCM... - I wont bore the crowd with always the same questions here, but a little
excurs in your computer history would be fine... so how have you
started, what was your way and where are you now?
LIG.L. - I started 1985 on the Commodore with a VIC-20 homecomputer (3,5 kb ram)
and developed some games in Basic just for the fun of it. After that I
switched to the C-64 and spared my free time gambling all those great
games. Then finally I arrived on the Atari and stayed some years with
it. I soon started coding assembler and got in touch with the demo
scene. I founded a groud called TCM and started releasing my stuff.
After joining the alliance Electricity we released the megademo "A
grumbler in a rutting season" (does anybody know this demo?). This was
my last production on the ST.
I joined New Trend and switched to the Falcon. I think this was my most
productive time. But after releasing 2 Falcon demos ("When dreams
become reality", "Strange Circumstances") I smoothly went to the PC and
started doing more serious programming.
The first thing was a game (is this serious?) called Semtex for OS/2,
this was a clone of the great Atari Dynabuster game from TSCC.
After some time I started programming in Java and joined a Multimedia
Company and did 3 years of backend coding for them. Sounds boring but
earns my living....
This year I joined a new company also as a Java developer and that's
what I am doing right now.
UCM... - You were the last new member that joined N.T. and that was in 1993
after the first Fried Bits party. You were known as Mr. Pee of The
Cyclemasters before. Can you tell us a bit about your pre-New-Trend
history? Was TCM the only band you were a member of before? What was
the reason to join New Trend in the end?
LIG.L. - As I mentioned above I was the founder of TCM and we were only 3 active
members at the beginning. After some time the others got very inactive,
that was the main reason why I joined New Trend.
UCM... - New Trend was one of the first demo groups on the Falcon at all and
since some of the nowadays Atari freaks were still shiting in their
pants at this time (just kiddin...) it would be nice if you could tell
us a bit about this times of big changes in the Atari scene... how do
you feel in view on the fact that you were one of the first Falcon demo
coders? How it feels to be one of the founders of a new demo scene?
LIG.L. - I never have seen it this was :-) We didn't created something new, it
was the same thing on a new machine. The start on the Falcon wasn't
easy, there wasn't many documentation and the only thing which I had
known about the DSP was that DSP is written DSP......
And if you look at our first Falcon demo, you will notice that most of
the effects where coded on the ST (16 colors :-). We just used the
power of the Falcon to boost them. I was the only New Trend member with
a Falcon at this time, so I was the only one able coding pure Falcon
effects.
UCM... - Unfortunately New Trend was also one of the first bands that left the
Falcon scene, just after "Strange Circumstances" your second big Falcon
demo. Why have you quitted the scene that fast? Was this really your
last production or have you worked on some other stuffs that just were
not finished?
LIG.L. - Only Mr.Bond anounced in the demo that he is leaving the Atari scene.
The others continued the work on the Atari, but we never released
anything anymore after this point as far as I know.
UCM... - What would you say today to the two New Trend Falcon demos if you would
have to rate them? Are you satisfied with them in comparison with other
demos that were released at that time?
LIG.L. - This is a hard question, both demos were really hard work finishing
them. But I think we can be satisfied with what we have done.
UCM... - Hehe... and while I mentioned "Strange Circumstances" above, I have a
question to you that burns since long times under my fingernails, grin.
What can you tell me about the fact that this demo was released for 2
times, or better, that this demo was given in 2 competitions (DCC 2 and
Fried Bits 2)? What do you think today about this and what was the
reason to do it?!
LIG.L. - The demo I have given in the DCC 2 compo was the pre-version of Strange
Circumstances. It was only 1/2 of the effects we put in the final
version. And considering the fact that all screens where rewritten and
I added a lot of smooth and stylish transitions between the effects I
don't think that both version are identical.
UCM... - I know that you appeared on many other Atari parties, had you never the
idea to try to join the active Atari staff again, after you saw the
things that were going on?
LIG.L. - I am really impressed that the Atari scene is still alive. But I must
say that I don't have seen any Atari demo stuff recently.
UCM... - Except Dragon all other New Trender's disappeared at the same time on
Atari, are you still in contact with them, just as to Mr.Bond, Dragon
or Ice Cube?
LIG.L. - We have met at some parties from time to time. Mainly at the InterJam
party where I was one of the organizers. But in the last years I have
lost the contact to nearly everyone on the Atari. The only exception
was Inter mainly because we live in the same city and I worked with
Samurai for the same company.
UCM... - Since no one knows what happened to Ice Cube, maybe you can answer this
question?
LIG.L. - Ice Cube is the brother of Mr.Bond, so he should answer this question.
UCM... - I know that you were working on some game project on OS/2 together with
LoST of Inter. It was a Dynabusters clone called "Semtex"... at that
time all wondered about the way to change to OS/2, can you tell us why?
LIG.L. - We started to develop the game for DOS and switched to OS/2 because the
developing for DOS is a lot easier on this platform (no more resets
when the games crahes :-).
Then we did a port of the game to OS/2 because there weren't many games
for this system and we wanted to change this. But "Semtex" was a cross
platform game, we always had a DOS version and since 1 year we also
have a Windows version (thanks to Lucky).
UCM... - What are you doing nowadays? I don't think you've stopped coding at all
and so on what system are you working nowadays?
LIG.L. - I'm doing E-Business applications with Java. I don't do many coding in
my sparetime, but I have the dream to do a oldschool megascroll demo in
a Java applet... wait for it.
UCM... - Have you still contact to the scene, esp. the Atari scene? Are you
still following the things that are going on there or aren't you
interested anymore?
LIG.L. - Only to Inter, we are trying to have some meetings from time to time
and then we are talking about the good old times.
UCM... - If you're still following the things going on, what do you think about
the nowadays Atari scene in comparison with the scene as you were an
active member?
LIG.L. - Sorry, I have no plan what is going on today.
UCM... - In just one week the Mekka/Symposium party will take place again and
since 1996 it will be the first time again that there are Atari
competitions held there... will you attend to the party or aren't you
interested anymore?
LIG.L. - I would like to go to a big party again. Just for meeting some people,
but I think I would only come for one day and I wouldn't bring a
computer at the party place.
UCM... - At last some questions about your homepage. How did it came that you
put the page to the net, esp. since you aren't active for years? Was it
some kind of memories to "better times"? And why it only deals with the
falcon productions? As far as I know there were several New Trend
productions on ST as well but there are no screenshots and no files to
leech there... is it because it is your page and you joined as
New Trend went to the falcon?
LIG.L. - The page is still active because it was a good platform for putting my
Java applets on. At the time when I made this page the good times for
the ST where allready over, so I was to lazy to put this stuff on the
page.
UCM... - Hum, before we come to the end let's have some brainstorming. I will
give you a bunch of words and you just have to write down the things
that are coming into your mind right after reading them... just answer
in single words or even short sentences please...
a.tari - Had a great time with it.
b.ond... mr bond - licence to code
c.oding - now my job
d.emoscene - cool
e.lectricity - many talented guys
f.alcon - great computer, sadly to late
g.ames - if the game is bloody.... great
h.elp - Why does I have to press F1 to get help on PC?
i.nter - Karlsruhe rules!
j.aguar - great console, sadly to late
k.eine ahnung ... 680x0? - still use one every day in my palm computer
l.azer - red bull
m.r. pee - don't know this guy
n.ew power generation - carnera
o.bnoxious - one of the best falcon demos
p.arties - no sleep
q.uestor - gedenk-nop
r.ecords - I always listen to them
s.trange circumstances - work
t.ragedy for you - cool loader screen
u.nlimited bobs - I can do one more
v.iruses - protect yourself
w.arum - the first falcon demo that impressed amiga users
x.moon - great game, but I wan't more blood :-)
y.ak - flashing screens -> headache
z.oomer - one of the things which a demo coder does over and
over again
UCM... - Ugh... still alive? Ok... then we will give you time to breath again.
At very last we will give you the possibility to write something you
want now, so you can greet someone or write down some message for our
readers...
LIG.L. - sorry I can't write anymore................. Stop...... I really would
like to greet all the great people I have met during all these years
and I'm sure we will met somewhere somtimes again.
UCM... - Fine and many thanx for your patience and fight through all the
questions untill you reached this very end...
To get back to the New Trend article, follow the link below...
>---> Where Are They Now? Part 2 <---<
.tSCc. moondog
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