article.1 43 Blade : Improvement or trash ? ------------------------------------------------------------- Over the past 3 years, I have watched the growth and trips of the art scene as a whole .. and I have been impressed, as an artist, at the outstanding artwork that has come out of it. But, the climax of the 'scene' was about a year ago, when there were just a few groups.. Acid, Ice, Blade, & Integrity. Now, we've cut that down to Acid & Ice. Legend came on strong with a few artists who, in my opinion, had good potential but it just wasn't enough. I wrote this article to talk about one group in particular, Blade. Blade released it's first pack in March of 1994. The group, run by Mindcrime, gained artists and respect fast .. proving it would be around with the big boys (acid & ice) for awhile. I used to talk to Modeus Khahn when he first joined Blade and he said he enjoyed what he was doing. I thought "Man I wish I was good enough to join Blade". I kept up with all the packs and watched the artists come & go .. Chromatik and Modeus Khahn being the key players for Blade. But then all of a sudden, people lost interest, and Blade lost artists. Soon Blade got to the point where (June& July of 1995) no one wanted to look at the packs, and Blade lost it's image. Tired but willing , Mindcrime held on to Blade, and kicked some ass to keep it alive. I felt that I had finally gotten to the point where I could release for a bigger group (after putting together my own pack). So I took all of the artists who I had been associating with and tried to get them to apply. They thought it was a good idea and soon enough Mindcrime had a new Blade staff. I felt that we gave Mindcrime more energy to keep the group alive, as it was getting pretty weak. So we released the December pack, being the first pack put out with the new staff. Bad reviews, but a pretty good pack. Then January ... much better. More new artists, more good art. We are all happy. So if you are an inspired artist, or an experienced artist, we would be glad to accept your application. Hopefully Blade will be around as long as neccessary. I'd like to say personally that I have enjoyed working with Blade, and I would like to congradulate Mindcrime on his outstanding efforts with Blade and how great of a job he's done with it. I would also like to say to all the Blade members, it has been nice working with ya'll .. and I hope you will continue the good work without me ;] .. take it easy. -pushead article.2 74 aaaa aaaaaaa aaaaaaa aaaa aaaaaaa aaaa aaaa aaaa `"&$ $$$$ $$$$ `"&$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$aaaa $$$$ $&a. `"&$ $$$$ $&a. $$$$ $$$$ `"&$ $$$$ $$$$ `"&$ aa . $$$$ $$$$ $&a. $&"' $$$$a `"&$ $&a. $&"' `"&$ $&a. .a&$ `"&$ $$$$ $$$$ ,a&$ $$$$ $&a. $$$$ ,a&$ $&a. $$$$ $$$$ $&a. $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ k2 $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$a&"' $$$$ --------------------------------------------------------------- Infiniti Productions (c) 1996 :: Introduction & Information --------------------------------------------------------------- [INTRODUCTION] As a member of the Infiniti staff, I would like to greet all the artists out there who started doing art the same way I did. I have been doing artwork for about 7 years , working with many young people who are very talented and have great potential . I , along with a good friend of mine , Murray Stokely , felt that it was about time we put the work we did to good use , and to make money . So , we decided to form a coorperate business called Infiniti Productions. [INFINITI?] We started Infiniti to help businesses get in touch with the computer industry , and to present them with art & programs which they can use to better their business. [DESCRIPTION] We create programs , demos , introductions, commercials, web pages , and whatever the company needs done relating to the computer. [APPLICATIONS] We are now accepting resumes to work for Infiniti from those who : o Can program under DOS/OS2/Windows NT o Can draw quality sVGA graphics o Can create sVGA animations o Can compose music in the S3M, MOD, or MIDI format o Have experience writing HTML and VRML WWW pages o Deal in Wholesale Computer Hardware [EMPLOYMENT] Infiniti Design is NOT an equal oppurtunity emplyer. We hire the most qualified personal, regardless of sex/race. [PAYMENT] Those who work for Infiniti recieve payments based on the quality of their projects, not the amount of time spent on them. [INFORMATION] If you are interested, you may contact us at : [VOICE] o art & organization : Kevin Foster (904)268-4626 [BBS] o infiniti support & information : (904)287-9862 [INTERNET/WWW] o murray@jax.gulfnet.com article.3 114 Title: Goodbye from DE... Date: 12/03/95 From :Darkened Enmity When :12/03/95 at 09:17p To :All This announcement should come as a surprise to no one. After four years of designing, coding, and supporting Oblivion/2, I've decided that I no longer want to be part of the Oblivion/2 team. I intend to pass the software on to Hex of 313. Along with his programming ability and knowledge of the software, Hex brings to the team a knowledge of hardware and networking that I've always lacked. There are many reasons for me wanting to move on. Chief among them is my lack of motivation. I've lost my enthusiasm for Oblivion/2. It has almost come to the point where I'd view programming, reading suggestions, and offering support as nothing more than a job. While I realize that programming Oblivion/2 is a fairly desirable job, it started off as a hobby, and I can still remember the fun I had working with the other three members of the team trying to think of new and original features. I no longer try to think of new features, and I'm not having fun. One could say that Oblivion/2 has grown too big for me, but that forgets that I've wanted nothing but domination over all other underground software packages since day one. I think it would be much better to say that the software has changed, the modem scene has changed, and I've changed. Another reason for my departure is that I don't think that I can continue to competently develop Oblivion/2. As I'm sure many have already guessed, I'm one of modeming's college casualties. I've been hooked by the internet, by freedom, and the possibilities offered by an environment where I come into contact with more than my high school's 450 people. I no longer call any boards nor run one myself, two things that I believe a software author should do. While I'm sure beta sites could pick up the slack with their suggestions, I'm unwilling to become a slave to the standards that I set when I was 15. Additionally, while I have about the same amount of free time as I did while in high school, I have fewer contiguous hours of time which are essential to a programmer. Besides that, I do wish to spend more time on recreation and on my studies than I did in high school, as it appears that I'll have to apply to graduate school with a degree (or two) from Ohio State University, and some time in the far future, get a real job. The last reason that I'm giving up on Oblivion/2 is that it's no longer making money. This seems very cynical, but I would be lying if I said that money didn't motivate my programming of Oblivion/2. I do value my time, and I don't think I'm getting the proper return on the time that I've invested. Before I hypocritically blame piracy, I'm going to have to blame myself. I failed to discern the motivation for sysops to register. For a while I had thought it would be the quality of the software, and made the best software that I could. When I became satisfied with the software and felt that I had few more major features to add, I worked on perfecting the software, confident that people would register to enjoy our support. For a while this was the case as the software was very difficult for beginners. Then, Oblivion/2 revolutionary features became standard, and by tolerating unregistered sysops to continue to run the software, I allowed a culture of cracked sysops to thrive. These sysops were able to release packages to make the software easier to use and free sysops from needing our support. While this is surely a sign of successful design, people who loved the software had little desire to show their love by lightening their wallets. Add to this Oblivion/2- inspired softwares (that I can't condemn since Oblivion/2 was once a Celerity knock-off) with authors naive or enthusiastic enough to give away free copies and an abundance of people who don't want to run Oblivion/2 because "whine, everyone else is using it," and we have a financial problem. While I have doubts about modeming's prospects given competition with the internet, I believe that Oblivion/2 can endure to the end (if it does come). Clearly, for Oblivion/2 to survive, we will have to move back to revolutionary new features. This, however, will not be with me. In conclusion, please don't express any sympathy for me (although I do expect a couple of f--- you's). I started programming a bulletin board software when I wanted to. I put up a board when I wanted to; I took it down when I had to, but about when I would have wanted to. I learned a lot, and now I'm giving up on the software, to no one's surprise, when I wanted to. As soon as I save this message, I'm going to feel regrets and look on my Oblivion/2 days as pleasant memories. While I do feel that I missed out on much of my teenage years, I will remember building an empire out of nothing, becoming a "household" name, and being, at times, obnoxiously obsessed with the software. It really has been a good experience. And to answer everyone's last question, no, I'm not going to continue modeming. I really have grown weary of it, although I will respond to email sent to katz.60@osu.edu And I sign for the last time, Darkened Enmity And for one time among countless many, Eric A couple of greets, To the sysops of the three Oblivion/2 WHQ's besides the Fringes: Hypodermic of Lethal Injection, Keener of Elements of Evil, and Bad Influence of the Dark Half. I know two of those three people won't read this, but I suppose they are worth noting. To HiPE, the tiny ansi group that supported Oblivion/2 in the early days. It sure took a long time for other art groups to catch on. To the most enthusiastic of the beta sites who have continued a long tradition started by Sir Ebral Palsy. If I had half of your enthusiasm, I'd be programming Oblivion/2 forever. article.4 91 Base Name :Impact - BBS advertisements Title :Re:DeadNet Comment :SysGod From :Darklord When :11/21/95 at 04:53p To :RAGE Status :[EchoMail] (Without quoting Rage's message- Finally someone else sees beyond the shiny penny.) Released Under EViL Productions, (c) 1995 Blah, Blah. Ok, its been a long time coming, but its partially here. Im not I-Net fluent, BUT, I am well versed enough to know what Im talking about on the subject. I patronize it, but it is muchly kept seperate regarding my activities, and logically so- I cannot understand why, anyone would choose I-Net as a springboard for underground activities. Meaning: (But not limited to) Warez. Send them and Recieve them for cheaper- BULLSHIT. Read on. This is what underground networking is supposed to be for. I-Net is huge, BUT also the stomping ground for much more than our micro-culture. It also, is so big, The authorities cannot police it well enough. This is a double edged dagger too friends- WE cant keep a grip on it's security either. If I need to lay it out further- Your "parcels" are being moved through a system belonging to multiple people and organizations that you cannot claim to be "secure". In fact, not opinion, its also much easier to track this type of traffic. DUH! REALLY? WOW. Now- explain to me the logic in continuing to do so, beyond one either being stupid, or so egotistical that you feel you cannot be touched. Its bad enough for us as it is (our) way, tell me how in the hell adding "straight" providers and geek-assed net surfers trading PD assed shareware pieces of shit softwares, and Mommy and Daddy looking for shit so junior can get research info on Barney for school, IMPROVES on our agenda(s)? Dont even try this one. Now, yeah, just like everything from SCSI to EDO RAM (was), it's "new" and "pioneers" in our "culture" will make names for themselves by doing so. It's way cool to have your embedded directories and sites hidden right under their noses. UH-huh. Ok. At what potential cost? This isnt a low percentage thing here gang. Its actually upper more than likely eventually. S T O O P I D if you ask me. Yeah, (In my favorite Beavis and Butthead Drawl) Huh... Huhh.. huh.... I'm gonna provide I-Net access on Me' pirate board. THATS COOL. I think that has about as much chance as being successful (for YEARS now) as either Beavis, or Butthead running a multimilliondollar corporation. Sheesh. Get a grip. I see most of the shineyness likend to a brand new penny in a toddlers eyes. Its still the same thing to an adult, but, still insignificant for OUR uses on a secure, logical basis, and if really put TO use by us and expected to turn a secure "profit" (meaning continuation), STILL a worthless piece of shit. I-Net has pros. but none for what we really need them for. Im not against using it either, I DO. BUT. In my winding trails in this hobby, I keep Underground where it belongs. And PD where IT belongs. Try advertising your pireet (purposely spelled) board on FIDONET. SAME FUCKING THING. Oh yeah, me logical all right. About as logical as dipping your dick with a condom on in a tank of acid. Cheaper my ass. If youre set up right, you wont need this. then again, if you dont have the time or money to put into this hobby, just call on the weekends thank you. Or better yet, go out and get a fucking job. This hobby is no place for whining about COSTS. Even pirating has it's taxations. Thats life. Replies to this oughtta go down in history. I'll remain LOGICAL, if you can. ;> /(_/~/\ /\~\_)\ \___ (.\^/.) ___/ (\__/) \/ >{o>  vi/SoD/OBVB article.5 34 -------------------------------------------------------------- Art Payment -------------------------------------------------------------- I'm writing this article in response to the ignorant attitudes towards purchasing computer artwork that I've seen in the last few months. I couldn't think of a bigger waste of time than spending 10+ hours on an ansi, then just giving it away to someone you dont even know. Of course artists charge, if they can make $20+ a peice for an ansi, why the hell should they make freebies? I personally wouldnt ever pay more than $20 for a long ansi, but I do realize that there are people in the world that pay $50+ for ansis, so I would expect some of the better artists to throw big price tags on there ansis. It is especially true with more usefull real world art forms such as high resolution graphics and coding. A good vga artist could sell screens on the professional level for $500+ a peice, yet people constantly bombard artists like Catbones and Borian for free vga's. Fuck, if I was ever that good, I wouldn't make a free screen for my best friend. The point I'm really trying to make here is that, if an artist wants to charge money for his work, let him! If he is succesful, and people send him alot of money, then good for him.If not, then he will eventually start doing free requests again. Another thing that bothers me (this is turning more into a bitch about nothing article) is when people expect me to whip out loaders for them just because they made me a ansi? I think there is a slight difference in time consumption. I put out maybe 1 loader a month if I'm productive. A typical ansi artist can put out a kick ass font in less that an hour. So uhm, bottom line, people can charge if they want to, and dont ask me for loaders! heh.. - sb out! article.6 66 -------------------------------------------------------------- Rumors and Shit -------------------------------------------------------------- Woah.. look what we have here.. a nice little section in BTH where all the biggest and best rumors can be spread.. ok, here it goes. - legend is dead. + snake grunger is in ice + grimlock is thinking of forming his own group, opium + everlast was in charge of putting out the january pack + neurotic is no longer drawing ansi's - lord jazz is the third anti-christ. ( i think this one is true ) - acid is picking up a macintosh vga artist?! - pushead is giving up on the ansi scene. - union is alive again. + people are going around irc with "`union" , "`k0w", in their nicks. + someone tried to recruit me + they have something to do with saga - your mother is kind of ugly. ( another verified rumor ) - www.ice.org is just a big rumor from the russians. - cia is finally dead. - You can send your rumors to murray@jax.gulfnet.com - Rad Man looks like 'kubiak' from 'Parker Louis can't lose'. [Editor's note: Kubiak looks suprisingly like that big guy from E.R. Oh, that IS him.] - Infiniti Issue 5 is finally going to be released, but will of course, be no competition to BTH #3. - BladeView/2 will be the best viewer in the scene. - iCE Draw is no longer being developed. - Chromatik has decided to give his life to God, and God, in return, has made CK his featured ansi artist. - The login matrix on Succotash is rumored to be so elite that it has actually caused witnesses to faint and/or become woozy. - The recent string of message network errors has actually been part of an evil plan by Scribble to ruin Mindcrime's reputation. Scribble has been caught and duly punished. (Hey, this is Scribble. I've managed to sneak away from the dungeon they were holding me in. Help me! It won't be long now before they...ahhhh...eeeeeeeeek ) Pay no attention to him. He's delusional. Many of the above rumors are just figments of our sick imaginations. Unfortunatly, some of them are actually quite true. We'll leave the decision up to you. article.7 132 ------------------------------------------------------------ Electronic Magazine Review - December 1995 ------------------------------------------------------------ If there's one thing that an editor of an e-mag does, it's research.Being the editor-type-person of Beyond The Horizon, I have taken it upon myself to try to read as many emags as I possibly can, researching ways to make BTH a better publication. I didn't get much out of the mags this month, as I only really saw two of them, so I figured I'd at least use them to write a review article. The two emags I had the chance to read this month were Higher Mental Plain (issue 2) and Visual Intensity (issue 1). At the end of the written review I have included a numerical scale (1 to 10, 10 being the best) rating the individual features of the magazine. Now, I find it necassary to point out that the opinions stated in this article are MY FUCKING OPINIONS! They in no way reflect the opinions of BTH or Blade Productions as a whole, and if you find MY OPINIONS to be really damaging to you're overinflated ego, then feel free to hunt me down and kill me. Now, on with the reviews. ------------------------------------------------------------ Higher Mental Plane Issue Two ------------------------------------------------------------ Let us begin with HMP two. For those of you unfamiliar with Higher Mental Plain, it's Hooptie's newest venture into the magazine world. As for Issue Two, let's just say I wasn't impressed. The interface, for one, was the same as last months. Hooptie added some features to it so that the user could at least find about a seconds worth of entertainment out of it,but it was still those annoying background flames. My major gripe with this is that the flame effect is an overused demo effect that went out years ago, and I hated it back then, too. Issue number one may have been able to get away with it, but when It popped up in issue two, I had had enough of that. Okay, enough about the interface. The coding itself was halfway decent. It loaded fast enough, and didn't seem to have any real bugs. Then again,I didn't try it on my 486, only on my p133, so for all I know it could be slow as balls on a normal computer.Anyways,on to the content. Here's where the magazine REALLY fell apart.Aside from the articles from my boy Tron Powerhouse, the content just sucked.Hooptie does bill this as something of a comedic magazine,but I just can't see the humor in an article about his exploits as Fart Man. Is the world really so bad that we need to revert back to pre-school jokes about farting? Hooptie's rants and raves about his high-flying living-on-the-edge life may have been mildly entertaining the first time around, but now they're just getting annoying. VERY annoying. Overall, there really just isn't any content in this magazine worth reading. Tron Powerhouse's series of article's on the internet is rather entertaining, and Hack's article almost broke into the right side of the entertainment barrier, but the rest of the mag wasn't worth reading. Hopefully, Hooptie can start to act a bit more his age and put out something that is actually a tad bit intelligent in the next issue (Aside from his article's on coding, which were actually well written and informative to coders, but I'm not a coder.. sooo...). Coding - 9 Interface - 2 * User Interface with Interface - 8 Readability (How long it keeps your attention) - 2 Layout - 3 Content - 3 Overall - 4 ------------------------------------------------------------ Visual Intensity Issue One ------------------------------------------------------------ Moving on, we come across a new magazine by the name of Visual Intensity. This magazine pretty much focused on reviews, so I guess its one of those art pak review type magazines, which are generally void of any intellectual content. I guess I'll just have to rate this one on the layout and overall appeal. My first gripe is that it was way too slow. The loadup did all this unnecessary shit and slowed down the loadup time.The layout itself was pretty decent. The main interface was nice, and the sub-interfaces were also well drawn. One of the major problems was the lack of a reader interface. It basically just loaded the text and threw it on your screen without any form of reader. The magazine did have two articles (i think there was two..) but they really weren't anything of interest. One was an editorial where some guy spouted off about the fact that he didn't like logos, and the other was a scene overview or something. One of the impressions I got from the mag was that these guys haven't been in the scene too long. One of them said something about how the scene has been declining for the last year. Being in the scene a little over three years now, I personally think that the last year was a boost for the scene.There was much more interaction, especially on big message nets and the internet. But anyways, this article isn't about my feelings on the scene, thank god. One of the articles also stated something about little groups being formed and then dying. This year was NOTHING compared to previous years in this department. As for the reviews, they were okay. The top 5 ansi picks weren't great picks though. These guys seem to like the 'girly' pics, and I think there were more ansis worth mentioning. (Nootropic's H.R. Giger pic, for one). The reviews themselves offered some decent points to the artists. On a more personal note, they really ripped up last months blade pak.. ehe.. which is perfectly fine with me, but they did fuck up on one thing. Hey Guys - I don't know where you got the blade pak from, but here's a tip. All blade paks since the very first have been zipped using a Pkzip Authenticity Verification stamp. That means that unless you see that -AV when you unzip it, it's not the real pack. If you did indeed LOOK for the file_id.diz, and didn't find one, then you're pak wasn't Verified as Authentic, and I suggest you grab a new copy before distributing that one. There was indeed a file_id.diz in the archive, as there always has been. Coding - 4 Interface - 6 Readability - 8, there wasn't much to read. Layout - 7 Content - 7 Overall - 6 ------------------------------------------------------------ Article by Mindcrime ------------------------------------------------------------ article.8 128 - History of Forum Hacks - Take a look at this, I bet your saying to yourself yeah the regular V-X logon screen what about it. Read on... Volume in drive C is ViSiON-X .99E Directory of C:\ViSiON-X . 11-11-94 3:29p .. 11-11-94 3:29p LOGIN EXE 12033 11-11-94 3:41p SYSTEM2 EXE 9823 11-11-94 3:41p SYSTEM3 EXE 9823 11-11-94 3:43p APPLY COM 24933 11-11-94 3:44p CHECK COM 11102 11-11-94 3:46p LOGOFF EXE 3002 11-11-94 3:46p FEEDBACK COM 13818 11-11-94 3:48p CHAT COM 9412 11-11-94 3:48p 10 File(s) 1785136 bytes free C:\ViSiON-X>system2 SYSTEM2.EXE 1.00 written for ViSiON-X OS/2 .99E (c) 1992 ViSiON-X Programming Team procedure system1; var u:userrec; begin if configset.matrixtyp=2 then begin writeln; writeln (^S'SYSTEM1.EXE'^R' 1.00 written for LSD OS/2 '+versionnum); writeln (' (c) 1990 LSD Programming Team'); delay (500); end; splitscreen (4); top; writeln (usr,'[System Password Entry]'); writeln (usr,'[System Password]: ',configset.systempasswor); write (usr,'[Has Entered so far]: '); bottom; dots:=true; This screen in V-X was actually slightly changed from its original LSD code. Above is the code taken out of the LSD source. To get a better idea about all the BBS programs that were based from Forum I have included a tree below. Forum (Kenneth J. Duda) TCS Havok Emulex (Unknown) (Unknown) (Unknown) Emulex/2 (Sam C. Brown) Celerity LSD (The Byter) (The Slavelord) ViSiON Oblivion/2 (Crimson Blade) (Darkened Enmity) FuSioN (Charles Lindsay) Ŀ LiQUiD (Execution Style) ViSiON-X ViSiON/2 (Ryec) (Crimson Blade PiPELiNE LiQUiD (Net Distortion) (Sought After) Insomnia (Execution Style) Forum Hacks have been around for a long time and today Celerity, Oblivion/2, Pipeline and Vision-X are still active. Celerity and LSD were very popular BBS programs at one time. Today Oblivion/2, Pipeline and Vision-X boards make up the majority. Forum source given out to make your Forum board more custom lead to the first hacks. Leaked LSD code combined with Havok code brought about Vision. Which split up into Vision-X which was programmed by Warlord. After dealing with the law Crimson Blade came back to program Vision/2 which was later given to Net Distortion, who changed the name to Pipeline. Liquid was a Vision hack. After a split up between the authors Execution Style started Insomnia. The first copies of Oblivion/2 were hacked from Vision with added features. Soon later in versions 2.00 and above it was totally rewritten. The name Oblivion/2 was an idea to continue the failed Havok hack Oblivion. After installing a copy of Fusion .10, Vision/2 .69b .71b .84b .85g, Oblivion/2 2.0 2.25 2.3, Vision-X .98 .99e, Pipeline .03b, Liquid 1.18, Insomnia 1.0 and Celerity 2.02. Over the last couple days I was pretty amazed at what I saw. I was impressed with the changes that went from Obv/2 2.0-2.3 Double the features were added at least. Vision/2 also was pretty impressive to look at the changes that it went threw. After checking out Pipeline I found it to be almost the same as Vision/2. It is still lacking in some features though. I do though like the use of the files that are used with screens such as the matrix to show where the light bars go. Vision-X did not interest me the software seemed to be the same thing with the exception of minor graphics. I did though get a laugh when I unzipped my V-X .98 Crack. It had a Countdown to Chaos zip comment, which was Crimson Blades board. Fusion, Liquid and Insomnia seemed to all be the same thing with differnet names. Celerity seemed simmilar to LSD. My advice to you if your thinking about running a Forum hack is to set up a copy of Obv/2, Pipeline and V-X then take a look at which is has the most features and is most configurable. Im sure Oblivion/2 will come out on top. You can grab a copy on ftp.uoknor.edu /bbs/msdos/oblivion/ I might update this file in the future catch me on IRC in #Blade or send me some mail at k2112@nai.net - Meltdown article.9 100 Live with it. - Article by Bedlam * --------------------------------------------------------------- Lately i've been reading a lot of articles about how much the ansi scene sucks and all that stuff. Some people complain about all the lamers in the scene about their constant bitching and begging and all that. Some people say they don't like the new styles and wish the "old-skool" art would come back. Some don't like how some of the more well known groups are dying and how people keep making new groups. Some people just think it's totally stupid to "draw in colored blocks" because it will never get you anywhere. To all of you i say this: LIVE WITH IT. Everybody complains about the lamers and some even write articles about fixing it. Well first of all i don't think it can be fixed. You can't keep the lamers away, so why try? We all started out "lame," most of us beginning in piracy or online gaming. We've all got different stories about how we got into the scene, and how we made it into our first big group. But everybody forgets that they weren't always well known or well liked. We all started somewhere, and for all the lamers out there, there's a bunch of them who have lots of potential and just haven't learned about it yet. It takes a while to get around and see all that the online world has to offer. So why blacklist the next generation of artists? All you're doing is being close- minded because you don't realize that if we isolate ourselves we'll all get pretty bored and the scene will die. About the new styles of art, i can't argue much about that except to say that new styles come and go, and you can't stop it. I was never around to "enjoy" the old stuff, and looking back at stuff from 92 i laugh. No matter how much you liked the old school stuff, stuff of that style and quality would never be released with any self-respecting group anyway. Quit your bitching. To everybody who doesn't like the surge of new groups, good and bad, i once again will tell you that you can't stop it. ACiD and iCE will not die for a long time, and they will continue to put out quality art, mainly because there are a lot of people who are good enough to release with them, and are happy having the affil. Then there are some who get tired of being number one; they want to start a group of their own and help it rise to become one of the best groups around. Don't put people down for that! The world is based on the fact that people get new ideas and want to start new things and bring change. It has been said (and not incorrectly) that some people start groups because they themselves (and their friends) could not get into an existing art group. Why complain about that? If they're all really that bad and have no potential then they will die or if they last they're gonna be the only people looking at their packs, but at least they're having fun. If they're that small they're not getting in your way, so why even bother with them. Some will rise and become popular; most will die. It's just another part of the scene that cannot be stopped. To anybody who thinks any aspect of drawing ansi is stupid, i say leave us alone then. There are people who say that ansi is stupid because it will never do anything for you in life. That all depends on how you look at it: sure nobody's ever gonna make a living drawing ansi (even though i've seen people talk of their ansi career ;) it probably does develop the artist's creativity; and to many people, ansi is fun, and it doesn't matter if you can't make a living off of it, it's a hobby - something to pass the time and give you enjoyment - not something to monopolize on (unless of course you can charge money for them, but you're not going to pay the rent with that). There are also people who say that copying comic books and such is stupid, and that it's not actual art. Why not? T he artist is interpreting another person's work. Interpretation is art you know. It's all part of the hobby and nobody is ever going to get the whole scene to do all original, non-comic type art. Again: live with it. Finally i'd like to say i think everybody is forgetting the whole point of ansi (rip and vga is loosely included): to make the boards look cool, and to advertise. Ansi art was originally started to put on boards, so that bbsing wasn't the same monotonous colored ascii and text. Everybody gets in an uproar about all different things having to do with drawing ansi, but they all seem to forget that the main reason we're all doing this is to make the scene more lively, more eye-candyish, if you know what i mean. And if an artist wants to make an ansi for a board that already has 10 that it can't use because it has so many, big deal; if he wants to make a local board's first ever "big group ansi" then great, it's nice to help out the little guy. Beyond all this politics there are people running boards, and all they want is for them to look nice. Why can't we just help them all out and stop whining about everything. Nobody's gonna radically change how things are, it's just going to happen. Sit back and let things go, have a good time, and draw some ansis for your favorite boards (or whatever art you do ;) * Original article appears on Bedlam's Web Page, Riot City, at http://shoga.wwa.com/~mcgrath/bedlam . Reprinted with permission. article.10 1 iv.1 145 .sc. Darkened Enmity author : Oblivion/2 interviewer: Shivan Bastard date: December 5, 1996 ܰ ۲ media: Internet Email ۲ Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 23:54:06 -0500 X-Sender: katz.60@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu To: murray@jax.gulfnet.com (Murray Stokely) From: katz.60@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Eric Edward Katz) Subject: Re: interview > Wow Great!.. Lets see first of all for those who havent heard, > explain to us whats going on with Oblivion/2? I've decided that I no longer want to be a part of the team. The reasons behind this are explained in my goodbye letter. [Editor's note: DE's goodbye letter has been included in this issue of BTH, available in the articles section] > Who are the current members of the Oblivion/2 team now that > you've decided to move on? For years, Oblivion/2's team has been rather fluid. At the core has always been me and Lord Tracer, but there have always been intense beta sites and even unofficial support boards. Now that I'm moving on, the details of the new team will have to be decided between the new programmer, Hex and Lord Tracer. Clearly, Bad Influence and Patriot who run the WHQ and the nets, respectively are going to still be big influences on the software's development. > Have they helped you since the beggining, or have you just now > handed them the responsibility. Bad Influence and Patriot have been using Oblivion/2 for a long time, probably since v1.15. That's from mid-'92. I haven't known Hex very long, but he is very knowledgable about Oblivion/2 and Pascal, and certainly more enthusiastic about both of them than I am. > What are you studying in College? I'm majoring in Mathematics and Physics. I probably will go as far as graduate school in Mathematics and actually work in academia. > Do you have any plans to further your programming skills into > a career? Probably not. I hope to learn C and Unix in the future, so I can get some temporary jobs to make some money, but I think I'd probably grow bored of a career in computers. Too many people have been weaned on computers, and I think the competition will be intense by the time I start looking for a job. The last thing I want to be is expendable. > How old were you when you started programming Oblivion/2? I was fourteen. It was during my first week of high school that Inferno and I got together to work on a software. > Are there any plans on releasing the source code to an older > oblivion version, like maybe 2.10 or 2.25? No. I don't even think I have those source codes, and I really don't want to see Oblivion/2 hacks. The software really does mean a lot to me; I don't think I'd be able to give it up so honestly if it didn't. > Have you spent much time with the software since the release > of 2.30? Did you ever begin to implement JAM messages or SPAM > script programming? Yes, I did, mostly from the time after the release of v2.25, but before I left for college. JAM implementation is not far from being finished. I know I could polish it off in five hours if I wanted to, but I haven't; that I haven't been able to sit down and hammer out a little code says enough about my departure as anything I've said. As far as SPaM, I really enjoyed writing it, but as I've said a trillion times, implementation is going to be murder. There may be things that Hex wants to work on SPaM, which is beyond any doubt, the most incomprehensible, but probably the coolest code that I've ever written. > What about registration money, will you still be recieving > your fair share? (i would say 100% considering all the help > you've given us through the years) I don't know about that. I've yet to work out the details, and I really don't like publicly talking about money. Anyway, I want to make sure that Hex gets a good share of the money to motivate him towards the more commercial aspects of the software. If I don't, I'm sure he'll become disgusted if his hard work is not adequately rewarded. Besides, Oblivion/2's existence is dependent on its commercial success. New registered sysops are the lifeblood of the software, and it is in them that we find new beta sites and even team members. > What do you think of the future of BBSing? I really don't know. I tend to think that the online services and the internet have taken away good new users and are creating a bit of a brain drain from modeming. Anyone who wishes to use online communication to get information about his interests is going to use the internet as he can contact people from all over the world. Then, the only thing left for BBSes will be contacting locals. This may be the end for the "national scene". > Will the internet eventualy destroy all need for BBS's? I don't know about destroying the need. BBSes thrive because people call them. Even if BBS's do some things better than the internet, it won't make a difference if no one calls them. > How do you view the BBS 'scene' in 5 year, in general, and in > regards to Oblivion/2? I don't know if the scene will be around. I tend to doubt that Oblivion/2 will be around. Five years is a lifetime in modeming. > Is there anything you would like to add, to insure that there > are no misunderstandings? I don't really know. Probably just that four years, and four years in modeming, in particular, is a very long time. Sysops usually burn out in one or two, regular users in about the same amount of time, and very rarely do people go without a vacation. Too often Oblivion/2 has seemed like a term paper with no due date, and even if that pressure wasn't motivating me, I do think that this is the right time for me to make my departure. Eric Edward Katz katz.60@osu.edu iv.2 208 Interview with Somms of Legend interviewer: shivan bastard date: December 5, 1995 media: Internet Email Smms^Legend Date: Tue, 5 Dec 1995 14:47:11 -0800 (PST) From: jeff lindsey X-Sender: fopp@netcom6 To: Murray Stokely Subject: Re: interview On Tue, 5 Dec 1995, Murray Stokely wrote: > {general information} > > How were you when you first started in the art scene? How was I? Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand the question exactly.. I guess I was fine. :) > oops, heh.. i meant, how OLD were you? =) Ah, ok... I started drawing ansi around September of '93, so I was 19. > > What do you like to do away from the computer? Let's see... rock climbing a lot, jamming with friends, snowboarding, girls , hanging out. The occaisional drug when I happen to have the time. :P > > What do you think about the internet, in competition with > BBS's? > What are BBS's? I think the whole BBS scene is really dying... the Internet is a double-edged sword, especially IRC. It brings everyone closer, but because of all the new I-net mediums being produced, web pages and all, it tends to make modeming obsolete. > I dont know about that, but it is alot easier to grab the > packs off the inet than anywhere else.. what channels do you > and the legend mems chill in? #legend? Yeah, if I'm on IRC at all, I'm in #legend and other channels. From what I can tell the other legend guys do the same. I must agree with you, it is convenient to get packs off IRC or the web. We're such a drive-thru generation. > [group information] > > what were your main reasons for dropping ACID for Legend? Geez, go read the text file! Seriously though,don't read it. It's more of a representation of my thoughts at the time I left, so... Now that I've had time to cool off, and see Legend mature and develop, I have mixed feelings. The first thing that pushed me away from acid was when I woke up one day and realized it wasn't the acid I joined in the first place. All my buds were either gone or not drawing, and what I saw in the packs gave me anything but inspiration. Sure, there were occaisional wicked ansis here and there, but that's the way it was across the scene. No one was producing those packs that really blew people's minds. No one was upping the ante as a group, getting things stirred up ansi-wise. The second factor was a call from DD, who seemed to share the same sentiments. He was talking about starting a new group, but to me it sounded like just another "almost as good as ice or acid". Neurotic was into it, so it sounded like a chance to launch a new project. My viewpoint once I became seriously interested was to make a group of people that could once again push ansi; do something for the scene, because everoyne knew it was lagging. So we made a list of everyone we'd ever want to draw with, and went down the line calling people. I'm surprised we got as many people interested as we did. The original response to the idea was overwhelming - unfortunately, a lot of people cooled down and backed out in those first few crucial days. But none of us cared, we knew that Legend was going to be cool. :) > > How long do you think Legend will last, honestly? Hm, that's a tough one. None of us are really in Legend to last, or to be this eternal group from hell kept alive because the leaders have a lot of spare time and "dont want it to die". We're going to keep doing what we're doing until we're sick of it. And honest truth here, Legend as a group is so tight that outside influences don't mean shit. If the group ends, it's because we end it, not because shit "fell apart". > Who 'leads' Legend, as in assembles the packs, accepts, > invites new members? Another tough one. Leadership in Legend is kind of an arbitrary thing, because none of us wants to lead it. Lets' take a close look at the whole "leader" idea for a second. First off, a leader's main purpose is to keep shit in line. Most of the guys in Legend HAVE their shit in line, and don't need babysitting. A leader also makes important decisions for the group. Legend makes decisions based on a general concensus - whether it's through the mailing list or spur-of-the-moment on IRC. And it's not like we have tons of decisions to make. We all draw, and we zip the stuff up at the end of the month. The biggest decision we make each month is who "does" the pack. It's usually just a matter of who has the time and wants to do it. Legend tends to run itself, and personally I wouldn't have it any other way. > If Legend Suddenly died, for real this time, what would you > do? join another group? back to acid? If Legend died the moment I finished this interview, I don't know what I would do. Maybe I would go back to ACiD, maybe I wouldn't. Maybe I would quit the scene, who knows. Chances are if I was still interested in producing good ansis, I'd kick it in another group and "retire" - the last thing I want to do right now is work my ass off or start another group. > Who in your opinion is the best artist in Legend? Hmm... a real tough one, because I can't name people without risking hurting others' feelings. But fuck it, I'm a fairly honest guy. :) If you mean best as in who technically draws the best, Iodine leaves most of us in the dust. If you mean who's style and pics I like the best, that would either be Grimlock or Iodine. Though I am getting partial to Noot's crazy shit... > What do you think of the recent mergers of Acid with Integity > and Acid with Saga? I don't think merge is a good word. Nothing was merged, groups were just absorbed. I think the whole idea of a "merge" is a bit ludicrous. Who can expect a ton of artists, who's group just died, to follow a few "leaders" to another group? Maybe if you're a mindless artist it works out great, but I'd do whatever I wanted to at that point, whether or not it's in the best interest of the seniors. These particular group deaths were expected and predicted. Saga was just a matter of time, and Integrity seemed like they were on a plateau. They were steadily producing good packs, but people tend to like change, and I know they had more integrity than to let shit get out of hand. In a way, it was a good thing for most of Int. > If you had to pick the best ansi of all time, what would you > say it was? My favorite ansi of all time? Shit, let's see... I have a few. Off the top of my head - T2's Death Row, TT-CIT6.ICE, AE-VUDU.ANS, Grimlock's TRN ansi... > If you had to pick the best artist of all time, who would you > say it was? Alter Ego. He had such wicked style, and it was all backed by a very good understanding of how ansi works and it's visual limitations. Also, I'd say Tempus Thales. That guy knew more about graphics than most VGA artists today. He did things in his ansis that were technically WAY above his peers. > > If you had [getting repetitive?] a favorite GROUP of all time, > who would you say it was? My favorite group... of course I'm going to say ACiD, because it was always my dream and it was where I grew up. Call me biased, because that's a biased answer. I also have a lot of respect for Gothic. They put out some really nice work. > > Whats the most $$ you've ever recieved for an ANSI? Gawd, not this question again. I just had a discussion on #acid about this shit. For the record: the most I have ever received for work was $100 U.S. It was for the ansi SO-LR1.ANS and one 25-line screen. The original pay was $80, but the note said something about another $20 to "make sure it rocked." For what I was drawing at that point, I thought it was a pretty damn good ansi. :) > thanks for the cooperation. make sure and grab the next Blade > pack and see your spot in the emag 'BTH'.. lateron.. Shore. lates... iv.3 142 -------------------------------------------------------------- Nootropic Interview -------------------------------------------------------------- -- interviewer: mindcrime -- date: january 27th, 1996 -- medium: irc, #bth -- the original capture has been altered to enhance readability Alright, first off, how long have you been in the ansi scene, and what was your first group? > ack.. i've been in the actual scene since about august '95 i'd say, although my first group was in march or something.. confused? well, it's easy.. i was a pd lamer guy who did ansi, and i was not looking for a group, nor did i know of a scene.. so rainmaker, currently of ice and dark, asked me to do ansi for his music group (ddt)... > but i never really got into the scene until later. i went through ddt, got hooked up with watOr (currently the plain guy), and his group Furi (dig the packs on evil intent)... > so my first released ansi was with furi 05/95 :) > i was introduced to the scene by Scrupulous who was the #3 poster on my lame msg-only board. :) then i wanted to join dark. > .. Hmm.. Sounds like you've been around.. Your artwork has really made an impact on the scene with its rather 'different' style. Who has had the most influences on your art? > argh... it's always been different. i discovered the scene in stages, and it really shows. my first influence was gothic, and really old ice packs. then as i delved further into the scene i discovered halaster's tutorial in the fire 08/95 pack. that was a big influence... > anyways... i was always a clean shader until i started looking at newer ice packs and saw kamikazee's stuff. then i went wacko. > and since then, desalvo, aphex twin, and the green hornet have all made an impact.. I noticed that you've done several H.R. Giger based ansis. Has he influenced your art at all? > giger?... well, yes. i stole a giger compilation from my school's art deptartment, and i really dig the dark sinister edge the guy has. so i drew a few pieces, and yeah, the style has definatly become a part of my works... > i think giger influences my greyscale stuff more than my coloured works. And a great part, might I add..ehe..I've pretty much lost track, what group are you in now? > argh... don't give me that treatment :) i've been with apathy for a month now, and i've been with fire for what... nearly three months?.. something like that. > people seem to think i group hop a lot..i dunno. half the time it's that groups die on me, or the head honcho turns out to be a dickhead.. Do you draw outside of the computer at all? > outside?.. er. a bit.. i take art class, and i doodle all the time. nothing serious though... and if people think my ansi stuff is fucked, well..my real-life stuff is incomprehensible. > i was thinking of doing something with penguin palace and all. but i have no idea what the hell i'd do. :) Ahaha.. Sounds good to me. What other hobbies do you have besides art? > erp.. part-time psychologist?.. well.. just think of coffee table philosophers.. i'm a kind of guy that wastes time just thinking. i don't play much sports, don't go out too much... .. read a lot. Sounds like me, ehe.. What do you think of the future of the ansi medium? Will it die out in favor of VGA anytime soon? > erm.. i think that people are anticipating changes much too fast..sure, everything is moving at light speed, but really... when was the last time we had the speed of modems become obsolete? ie, when's 14.4 gonna die off? 2400 took years to disappear... i think ansi is the same. sure, it's gonna fade eventually.. but not anytime soon. i give it 10 years. Wow.. that's a pretty long time..eh.. > bbses will always be popular until the phone companies start installing personal fiberoptics at an affordable price. even then, people will prefer the cozy feeling of a bbs over the enourmous impersonality of the WWW. Yeah, I totally agree. How do you think the internet is going to effect the art scene in the near future? > well, i think as the internet advances,all it's going to do is improve communication and distribution. maybe sometime in the future we'll be having online ansi drawing sessions (or something equally time-wasting)... but it'll all be gradual. Speaking of bbses, Yours is looking pretty kick ass these days. Where'd you get the name 'Jive Soda'? > :) i really have no idea... it's just the way i think of things.. i was originally thinking of "Dive Soda"... but i thought that was rather LD-biterish. so what else is there? Live Soda? Hive Soda?... I chose Jive for no particular reason... > so really it's nothing sk8rish :) Ahaha.. Cool. Well, thats about all I have. Any closing comments, shout-outs? > i wanna know when someone's going to rip me. i'm savouring the moment. ah, hello to armageddon donut, dairy queen employee extrodinaire. Hahah.. Nobody could ever rip you and get away with it.. Anyways, thanks alot man, I appreciate it. > hey, snot a problem. > :) iv.4 1 iv.5 0 intro.bth 21 beyond the horizon - issue number three --------------------------------------- Greetings and salutations. Welcome to the latest and greatest installment of Beyond The Horizon. Alot of you are probably wondering exactly where issues 1 and 2 are. Well, they were released in the Blade March 1995 and December 1995 epics. Unfortunatly, blade hasn't been too popular lately and thus I decided it would be best for the mag to start releasing it as an individual. Anyways, we here at bth feel that this issue is, by far, the best yet. Shivan Bastard has worked his ass off to make this one of the finest publications ever assembled. We have some excellent content, and an awesome interface accompanied by some great reading music to enhance the overall experiance. If you're not listening to the music right now, I suggest you reload the mag. It's worth it! Well, that's just about all I have to say. Enjoy the magazine, and feel free to write us with your questions, comments, and even submissions. Take it easy. ...mindcrime.blade president,bth editor-in-chief... notes.bth 15 beyond the horizon #3 - programmers notes ----------------------------------------- Here it is bitch! issue number 3. Added some background music, and some more effects. Hope ya like the finished product.. If you have any trouble with the background music or anything else, send me some email. I will trade the source code to this or anything else I've done IF you have something decent to offer in return, I always like different ansi scrolling routines, JPG display, regged libraries, ... gr33ts:pushead,subconsciousness,mindcrime,kiwi,scribble,zork! ...shivan bastard.bth coder... contact.bth 22 contact information ------------------- if you would like to contribute to beyond the horizon, or just voice an opinion or harass the members, please use one of the following forms of contacting us... we are currently looking for art pack reviewers. if you are interested in doing the reviews for bth4, contact us. boards- alderaan - 908.224.8780 nuclear holocaust - 904.287.9862 internet- mike@exit109.com, mc@acid.org (mindcrime) murray@jax.gulfnet.com (shivan bastard) - bth staff. credits.bth 15 Beyond the Horizon - Issue Numba Three - February 1996 ------------------------------------------------------ Layout and Design: Mindcrime/Shivan Bastard Coding: Shivan Bastard Music: Chakra (Pinion) Main Interface: Zork Article Selection Interface: Subconsciousness/Mindcrime Reader Interface: Pushead/Facsimile File_id.Diz - Nootropic -- Writers -- Mindcrime, Shivan Bastard, Pushead Darkened Enmity, Darklord, Bedlam, Meltdown -- Special Thanks -- Somms, Darkened Enmity, Nootropic review.1 195 January 1996 ACiD Acquisition ۲ ۲ ܲTM ۲ ۲ ۲ ۲ ۲ ۲ ۲ ܲ ۲ ۲ ߰ ۲ ܲ P R O D U C T I O N S rk! "F o l l o w T h e L e a d e r" ACDU0196.ZIP ::: Reviewed by Mindcrime of Blade Productions! -------------------------------------------------------------- Mindcrime's Comment -------------------------------------------------------------- Filename Artist Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- AN-IDES1 ANS Anubis Composition needs work. As does the shading. The integration with the background is choppy. Not acid quality work. .....................< 5/10 >.. BL-EVIL2 ANS Black Lightning Very nice. Composition is rad, colors are nice. Shading is prime. Font could have used a bit more work. .....................<7.5/10 >. GR-LGCY ANS Grifter Decent pic. Composition could have used work. Shading is pretty good, Font is original and well done. Colors are well used. .....................< 8/10 >.. KH-SUPER ANS Killa Hertz Good composition, but color integration is hideous. Nice font, but again, could have used better colors. Shading is a but rough, but okay. .....................< 7/10 >.. KM-ACID1 ANS King Midas Pic is sweet.. Reminds me of the olden days of ansi. The top (sig) could have been better, and the pic could have used a background. Shading rocks out, and the colors are well used. Bottom font very old school. Well done. .....................<8.5/10 >. KM-FORUM ANS King Midas The majority of the pic is very nice, and the font is simple but rocks out old school. The only problem with the pic is the teeth on the top figure. They just look out of place. Otherwise, great pic. Good shading, great composition. .....................< 8/10 >.. KM-PROPH ANS King Midas The skull is VERY well drawn, shading is great, colors work well. Composition on the rest of the ansi is decent. Font could have used better outline shading. Background is weak. .....................<7.5/10 >. SB-FREEZ ANS Spellbinder Rad pic. Composition is decent, shading is really cool. The font is decent but a little scratch. Very vivid colors. .....................<7.5/10 >. UNS-ARAC ANS Unsane Both fonts are really rad. But the pic itself falls a bit short. It starts out very nice, but the teeth and chin area are weak and look rushed. Colors are decent and shading is nice. .....................< 7/10 >.. US-PULSE ANS Multiple Artists Um.. The fonts are nice, but the pic is weak. The face lacks detail, and body is misproportioned. .....................< 6/10 >.. US-WLUST ANS Multiple Artists Very rad. The pic is well drawn and shaded very nicely. The background works very well and the fonts are nice. Colors are great. .....................<8.5/10 >. DG-NEO1 RIP Degenerit Nice pic. Well drawn. Colors are nice and vivid, shading looks good. The font could use work and it needs a background. .....................< 8/10 >.. IV-ACID2 RIP Inner Vision Composition is weak. Colors are decent. No font. .....................< 6/10 >.. SA-STATC RIP Soul Assasin Pretty rad rip-mation. Looks good. Spawn is well drawn, but could use some color. .....................< 7/10 >.. ZV-CS360 RIP Zevo Nicely drawn cityscape. Colors are used well, and the font looks great at the bottom. Well drawn all around. .....................< 8/10 >.. CS-CDINC GIF CatBones Spiderman is rad as hell. Very well drawn with the Cat touch. Cool fonts, decent background. .....................< 8/10 >.. CS-PBLNK GIF CatBones Wicked design. Could have used more colors perhaps, and the font is a bit weak. .....................< 7/10 >.. CS-SPRTG GIF CatBones Rad little pic. Very well drawn ,vivid colors, nice font. .....................< 8/10 >.. CS-TOUCH GIF CatBones Kinda weak picture. Background is okay. I've seen better from Cat. .....................< 6/10 >.. CS-TREMR GIF CatBones Rad picture. Well drawn. Very nice colors. Background works well with the picture. Could have used a better font. .....................< 8/10 >.. KO-ACID GIF Kosh Rad concept. Well drawn, nicely rendered. Decent colors. .....................< 8/10 >.. PR-GRAVE GIF Primal Very nice font. Snake pic is a bit weak, but the background rocks. Would like prime on a web site. .....................< 8/10 >.. PR-SOULT GIF Primal Colors are weak, but the picture and backrground are really nice. The face could have been drawn better. .....................< 7/10 >.. US-ALIEN GIF Cat+SpellBinder Both artists draw typical to their style. Cat's alien is quite cool, the colors are vivid and it is well composed. Spellbinder's fat angel type thing is decent. Colors are great, but the composition is a little weak. .....................<7.5/10 >. -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Picks -------------------------------------------------------------- Best ANSI : KM-ACID1.ANS by King Midas Best GIF : CS-CDINC.GIF by CatBones Best RIP : ZV-CS360.RIP by Zevo -------------------------------------------------------------- General Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- A pretty decent pack all around. King Midas put in a great ansi showing. It's great to see him drawing again. Cat had some decent looking vga's, but I've seen better work from him. The rest of the ansi was decent, but could have been better. Not a bad month for acid. - mindcrime (bth staff) review.2 145 iCE! December 1995 [2/2] ޲ ۲ ۲ ۲ ޱ ۱ ޱ߲ ۲ ۲ ۰ ޲ ޲ ޲ ߱ ߱ ߱ ޲ ۲ ۲ ۲sL!/sPL ޱ ޱ ICE1295?.ZIP :: Reviewed by Shivan Bastard & Pushead of Blade! -------------------------------------------------------------- Shivan Bastard's Comment -------------------------------------------------------------- Filename Artist Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- CU-SPLAT ICE Cold 'n Ugly Coposition is nice, background and header are a little messy. .....................< 6/10 >.. HN-ICE05 ICE Highness Ive seen this before. .....................< 4/10 >.. KA-LNO ICE Kadaver uhh., good shading I guess, but the composition sucks .....................< 4/10 >.. LM-ARKA1 ICE Lemonade Looks pretty good in vga, nice shading, way to busy for text mode though, cant tell what anything is! .....................< 6/10 >.. LM-ESD ICE Lemonade too distorted, rough,unfinished looking. .....................< 4/10 >.. LM-GOOP ICE Lemonade fun, old school toon. .....................<6.5/10 >. MD-ICE1 ICE Mass Delusion Around the chest of the creature it gets a little rough, but not bad .....................< 6/10 >.. MT-BOOYA ICE Misfit the shading looks great, espec- ially around the eyes. Shouldn't have cut it off, would've made a great 300 liner =) .....................<6.5/10 >. MT-EREB5 ICE Misfit shading could be better, font sucks. .....................< 7/10 >.. PS-TERM1 ICE Parasite looks great, should've draw the rest of the body, to add better perspective. .....................< 8/10 >.. TCL-BT1 ICE Tical old school toon with a shitty font. .....................< 6/10 >.. TE-EVIL1 ICE Tetanus weird demon guy emerging from the darkness, looks unfinished .....................< 6/10 >.. TE-XMAS ICE Tetanus Absolutely no shading in this christmas toon, makes the face look VERY flat. .....................< 5/10 >.. TG-ZG1 ICE Toon Goon after the head, it gets too jumbled together. .....................<6.5/10 >. TGH-NEC2 ICE The Green Hornet too much distortion, unnatural black lines used for shading. .....................< 5/10 >.. TGH-SOAS ICE The Green Hornet Hair looks awesome, shading a bit rough, but nice pic. .....................< 8/10 >.. US-ICE ICE LS/MM A little messy, but not bad. .....................< 6/10 >.. US-SUN ICE AM/KA/TGH the arm is way too blocky, shading is rough, but a nice pic. .....................< 7/10 >.. US-UC1 ICE tetanus/?? Funky toon action, looks good. .....................< 7/10 >.. LS-ICE2 RIP Lord Soth The chic is pretty good, but the yellow background ruins the picture. .....................< 5/10 >.. PRM-NTHW RIP Prizm not bad, could have used more depth, maybe replace the font with a background, then adding a small font overlapping both. .....................< 5/10 >.. BN-SPLIT GIF Borian More weird alien things from Borian! Nice font, lighting. .....................<8.5/10>.. SQ-SMASH GIF Squidgolato? Nice VGA fontage .....................< 6/10 >.. -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Picks -------------------------------------------------------------- Best ANSI : CU-SPLAT.ICE by Cold 'n Ugly Best GIF : BN-SPLIT.GIF by Borian -------------------------------------------------------------- General Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- I refuse to use that gay pd viewer in the packs, so I didnt review any of the JPG's (almost all the vga's were JPGs) Is it so hard to convert them to GIFs or PCX's? Pack's might be a little bigger, but better than having another viewer. Nothing spectacular from the ANSI side. But iCE continues to put out quality Packs, and in the last few months they have proven to finaly be better than ACID in over all quality. - shivan bastard (bth staff) [Editor's note: Hey SB, Try QPEG. It's a great shareware VGA viewer that I use on all .JPGs. It's fast and efficient, and I highly recommend it] review.3 128 ܲ ܲ ߲ ߲p r e s e n t sܲ L E G E N D߲ 0 5 LEGEND05.ZIP :: Reviewed by Shivan Bastard & Pushead of Blade! -------------------------------------------------------------- Shivan Bastard's Comment -------------------------------------------------------------- Filename Artist Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- CN-DSOC1 ANS Corwin of Amber I've had enough of the grey background fades. Some weird brown monster in the foreground NOT Legend Quality (6) EV-INT ANS Everlast A little too jumbled together The face is looking good though EV-MOLD1 ANS Everlast Jumbled mess of shapes, would be considered good in most pax but not in Legend. GL-DEM1 ANS Grimlock Pretty good for first attemt at a non-comic book ansi, too bad he still owes me one! ID-TDU1 ANS Iodine 100% unreadable font, gray monster thing looks OK though LEGEND05 ANS Iodine Its just a Memberlist?! MS-LEG1 ANS Mr. Sinister Should've spent more time on it looks half done,NEVER apologize for your work, if its not done, dont release it! -7- NC-BH1 ANS Neurotic hair, eyes, body, lighting, shading, its all good -8.5- NC-HP1 ANS Neurotic Looks pretty awesome at first, but the head is mishaped and out of proportion. Legend realy needs some font artists for these awesome pics NC-IZ1 ANS Neurotic Breasts, torso, looks great. The arms appear a bit long and The leg is distorted. -8- NT-33 ANS Nootropic Zip this crap up with the fonts -2- NT-ALIEN ANS Nootropic Distorted jumbled mess of less than 50 lines,and weird mess of shapes at bottom, I assume is a font -3.5- NT-GIGER ANS Nootropic Although i much prefer ANSi's drawn from life, or a picture (comic) the surrealistic scene here is pretty cool -6.5- NT-IESUS ANS Nootropic uhh, quality control? -2- NT-SCNNR ANS Nootropic Looks alright in VGA, but its an ANSI, and in text mode I find the ANSI incredibly distorted, NOT Legend quality. SG-HP1 ANS Snake Grunger Pretty cool, Id like to see Snake Grunger try a longer pic gets better every pack -6.5- SG-HUMA1 RIP Snake Grunger cool RIP font, cool character cound've, should've spent more time on the subject. SG-TRN1 ANS Snake Grunger Cool gremlin guy on a computer complete with ACIDVIEW on the screen and a mouse, keyboard! SO-RGN ANS Somms YES! Somms is the man! cool font killer pic, action shot, not a standard pose! US-LGND1 ANS Multiple Artists Some Cartoon guy puking green stuff -6.5- US-TROM2 ANS Multiple Artists Kick ass ansi, but 40 line explanation wasnt neccesary ;) -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Picks -------------------------------------------------------------- Best ANSI : NC-BH1.ANS by Neurotic -------------------------------------------------------------- General Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- I am sorry to keep ranking on such a popular artist, but I just cannot stand Nootropic's distorted style. I couldnt tell what ANYTHING was on ANY of his Ansis. I've seen him draw some cool stuff,just not in this pack Neurotic seems to still be the most productive and best of the talented group. Grimlock and Somms are also up there but they never release. Snake Grunger has improved dramaticaly. Nice pack, probably the best of the month. [Editor's note: Nootropic rules the earth] review.4 244 ߲ ܰ ޲ we're back, yes it's ޲ ۲ ۲۲ ݰ ߲۲ ݰ ܰ ܲ ۲ ݰ ޲ ߰ ۰ ۲ ޲ hal ۲ ܲ ߲ ޲ fire pack for february '96 ޲ ܲ ߰ FIRE0296.ZIP ::: Reviewed by Mindcrime of Blade Productions! -------------------------------------------------------------- Mindcrime's Comment -------------------------------------------------------------- Filename Artist Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- 33-TSP1 ANS Eerie Decent pic, seems to cut off pretty abruptly. The hair and face are typical Eerie stuff, pretty elite. The font is simple but rad. .....................< 7/10 >.. AD-FOO ANS Armageddon Donut Pretty rad. Lots of colors, nice composition on the main pic but some of the smaller ones could use some work. Nice concept-font. .....................< 6/10 >.. DH-TFD43 ANS Donut Hole Alrighty pic, but the subject is kinda lame. Decent shading, composition lacking a bit. Font is too plain, needs more. .....................< 4/10 >.. FR-FORS1 ANS Fractal This should really have an .ASC extension, but nonetheless it is a really rad ascii pic. Nice font as well. .....................< 8/10 >.. GK-OLS1 ANS Grind King Really rad 23 liner. nice font, and the pic around it is well thought out and well drawn. .....................< 8/10 >.. HAL-MISA ANS Halaster Font. Decent one at that. .....................< 7/10 >.. NG-DP1 ANS Nosegos Nice toon. Very well drawn, Simple yet entertaining font. Well done. .....................< 8/10 >.. NG-TR1 ANS Nosegos The head is decent, but the arm/body structure needs work. The hair could use work as well. Simple calvin-esque font. .....................< 5/10 >.. P1-BH1 ANS Prisoner#1 Nice composition. Typical P1 rough shading on both pic and font, pretty rad though. The torso just rocks, but it grows weaker around the legs. Overall pretty nicely done. .....................< 8/10 >.. P1-BKNET ANS Prisoner#1 Fonts deserve reviews too, damnit. This is a pretty rad one. 'black' is cool, 'net' could have used more work. .....................< 6/10 >.. P1-FIRE ANS Prisoner#1 Very nice pic! Font coukd have used work, the colors are attrocious . But the pic is definetly rad as hell. .....................< 8.5/10 >.. P1-MIN2 ANS Prisoner#1 Very excellent pic+font. Great looking shading, vivid colors, great composition. Both fonts done well and compliment the pic nicely. Well done! .....................< 9/10 >.. P1-TBF ANS Prisoner#1 Decent font. Colors are nice, composition is weak. .....................< 5/10 >.. PN-ENRGY ANS Panacea Decent new school-esque pic and fone. Nice shading, toon-type composition. Not bad. .....................<6.5/10 >. PN-FONT2 ANS Panacea A decent logo collection. Nice colors on the fonts, but not very creative. .....................< 6/10 >.. SX-COUR1 ANS Sinister X Nice pic. Scratchy composition, but nice shading. The face and hair could have been done better to make the pic great. Rad font. .....................< 8/10 >.. TE-INS01 ANS The Extremist Simple font, old school shading .....................< 5/10 >.. TG-TEQ ANS Tang Nice font, pic could have used work though. Too scratchy. .....................< 6/10 >.. US-STAT ANS HAL+MAG M Could this combination of artists BE any better? Fucking rad ass pic, and totally cool font. Shading+Colors are great! .....................< 9/10 >.. US-TOR1 ANS Numb+P1 Sweet rendition of Aeon Flux, Nice shading, great colors, nice font. .....................< 8/10 >.. BM-GYRO1 RIP Bedlam Pretty cool monochrome-type pic Sweet font, nice shadowy pic. Overall very nicely done. .....................< 7/10 >.. GL-CALTB RIP God Amoung Lice Uhm. Needs color. Black and white just doesn't work in rip. Decent pic though. No font. .....................< 4/10 >.. GL-SMASH RIP God Amoung Lice rAD! Totally sweet pic, very good composition/detail. Nice background. Could have used a nice font, though. .....................<8.5/10 >. GL-MORFR RIP God Amoung Lice Rad rip animation. Uses old school stop-motion techniques, looks almost like and old Gumby claymation Pretty cool tho. .....................< 5/10 >.. LI-REG RIP The Lite Alright Pic, Alright font. nothing special. .....................< 5/10 >.. SA-BMENU RIP Shaolin Pretty sweet for a menu. The pic is simple yet well drawn. The font is pretty rad. Background is a nice compliment to the pic. .....................< 7/10 >.. SA-REG RIP Shaolin Decent. Not much of a font, not much detail on the pic. Could have used a good amount more work. .....................< 5/10 >.. SAM-ARK RIP Stone Amnesia Pretty sweet. Shading could have used more work,but the pic is still nice. Font looks like it was rushed. .....................< 7/10 >.. SX-TP1 RIP Sinister X Very nice. Decent pic in the foreground, Very nice pic in the background. Nice Shading, well drawn background. Nice font. .....................< 8/10 >.. US-BHP RIP TL + SA Um. Kinda cool. Simple. Decent background. Subject matter just isn't great. Doesn't lend itself to being a good pic. .....................< 5/10 >.. US-MYTH RIP TL + SA Cool. The background is really nice and the main picture is rad. Could have used better shading on the main. Font is just plain cool. .....................< 9/10 >.. FS-TABLE JPG Firestone Decent vga. Subject matter is weak, but still well drawn. .....................< 6/10 >.. GL-ELVIS GIF God Among Lice Um. What is it? (Nice Sig) .....................< 4/10 >.. P1-BH GIF Prisoner#1 Really nice. Well drawn, well shaded. If it was original I might have creamed. .....................< 9/10 >.. P1-PHNM GIF Prisoner#1 Pretty cool for a small vga pic. Nice shading. .....................< 7/10 >.. SX-ST2 JPG Sinister X Very nicely drawn comic pic. Background doesn't blend well with pic, could have used more work. Cool looking font. .....................< 8/10 >.. -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Picks -------------------------------------------------------------- Best ANSI : P1-MIN2.ANS by Prisoner#1 US-STAT.ANS by Halaster and Magnetic M Best GIF : P1-BH.GIF by Prisoner#1 Best RIP : US-MYTH.RIP by Shaolin and The Lite -------------------------------------------------------------- General Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- Overall a very nice showing from fire this month. They seem to be showing the scene that they are a force to be reckoned with. Prisoner#1 was busy as hell, and cranked out some excellent work. I would have liked to have seen more from Halaster. Excellent pack. - mindcrime (bth staff) review.5 125 2/96 ۲ܰ #28 ܲ ߲ ܰ ޲m p۲ ۰ ۲ o ۲۲ mOnkeys On pOrches! thing numbah 5 MOP-9602.ZIP ::: Reviewed by Mindcrime of Blade Productions! -------------------------------------------------------------- Mindcrime's Comment -------------------------------------------------------------- Filename Artist Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- 28-GYRO ANS Number 28 Nice pic of the Maxx. Nice composition, good shading. Ends a bit abruptly. .....................<8.5/10 >. 28-JL01 ANS Number 28 Very nice toon pic. Good comp, nice colors. Well shaded. .....................< 8/10 >.. BB-LOGO5 ANS Scribble Nice colors, good composition on most fonts. Overall good logo collection. Well shaded. .....................< 7/10 >.. IX-LOGO5 ANS Illusion X Decent fonts, rather creative. Good colors, nice shading. .....................< 7/10 >.. MOPLOGO5 ANS Multiple Artists Bedlam's Jive Soda matrix is just plain rad as hell, and the rest of the fonts are okay but unimaginative. .....................< 7/10 >.. WI-TST1 ANS White Insanity Um... No. This would have been more at home in a wballz reunion pak. .....................< 2/10 >.. 28-MOPHH RIP Number 28 Cool picture, nice composition and decent shading. Nice font by Bedlam. Could have used a background. .....................<7.5/10 >. BM-ALIEN RIP Bedlam Look! Spawn! I haven't seem him in a while. Good job by Bedlam on this spawn rip, looks great. Great integration between font and picture. Nice font. .....................< 8/10 >.. BM-HYP RIP Bedlam Nice composition, good shading. Could have been a bit brighter. Good integration between font and pic. .....................<7.5/10 >. BM-NACHO RIP Bedlam Leonardo was always the coolest turtle. .....................< 7/10 >.. BM-SYN RIP Bedlam Very nice wolverine. The face is a bit odd, but the body is near perfection. Could have used more of a background. .....................<8.5/10 >. TR-JI1 RIP Trip Weak picture. Bad composition, needs more shading. Face needs more detail.Needs a background. Decent font by bedlam. .....................< 4/10 >.. BM-MAJIK GIF Bedlam Rad calvin and hobbes pic. Nice looking backrgound. Pretty rad ass font. Bedlam's sig is just plain cool. .....................< 8/10 >.. TD-GYRO GIF Tweed Decent looking font. The pic is small and leaves too much blank space. .....................< 5/10 >.. TD-MOP2 GIF Tweed Tweed seems to like those lens flares. Simple font, not very creative. .....................< 5/10 >. US-ALD1 GIF Cat + Bedlam Excellent. One of the better vga's i've seen in recent months. great composition, simple yet effective font. Overall very very nice. And the fact that it's for my board almost made me cream. .....................<9.5/10 >.. -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Picks -------------------------------------------------------------- Best ANSI : 28-GYRO.ANS by Number 28 Best VGA : US-ALD1.GIF by Cat and Bedlam Best RIP : BM-SYN.RIP by Bedlam -------------------------------------------------------------- General Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- Overall a pretty nice pak. Strong on the vga and rip side, although rather week on the ansi side. Bedlam had a very strong showing with some nice pics in both the rip and vga mediums. Hopefully mop can pick up some more ansi artists and kick up the quality in that department. - mindcrime (bth staff) review.6 136 ߲ ߲ ߰ ܰ ߲ ߲ legend presents.. LEGEND06.ZIP ::: Reviewed by Mindcrime of Blade Productions! -------------------------------------------------------------- Mindcrime's Comment -------------------------------------------------------------- Filename Artist Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- EV-KF1 ANS Everlast Ugly font. Boring shading. .....................< 3/10 >.. EV-TDE1 ANS Everlast Rad.. Excellent composition, great use of colors. Nice shading. Background could have been shaded nicer, Font could use work. .....................<8.5/10 >. GL-NH1 ANS Grimlock The bottom of the picture is awesome, but the head part is kinda wierd. The font is tre cool. .....................< 8/10 >.. GL-SPAWN ANS Grimlock Did someone say spawn? Decent composition of spawn sans mask, Shading is nice, font is okay. .....................< 6/10 >.. ID-LGND3 ANS Iodine Rad legend font. Nice colors, cool shading. .....................< 7/10 >.. ID-RGNCY ANS Iodine Decent font. Nice leaves, but the colors/shading/composition on the font are weak. .....................< 6/10 >.. ID-SNAKE ANS Iodine Decent font. Colors are kinda drab, composition is messy. Decent shading. .....................< 6/10 >.. ID-TSCRT ANS Iodine Pretty cool font. Small and creative. Nice shading, good color choice. .....................< 7/10 >.. NC-NAID ANS Neurotic Weak font. Decent colors. Cheezy shading. .....................< 5/10 >.. NC-NHP2 ANS Neurotic Nice Maxx. Good composition, Very nice colors. Good chading. Could have used a nice font. .....................< 8/10 >.. NC-TB1 ANS Neurotic Very nice pic. Excellent composition, great colors. Nice shading. Theres just something about a chic with purple lipstick that makes me horny ;) Could have used a better font. .....................<8.5/10 >. NC-TERB6 ANS Neurotic Weak font. Decent colors, bad shading. .....................< 5/10 >.. PC-LGDN ANS P-Chan Pretty cool. Kind of old school style in both shading and comp. Pretty cool font. .....................< 7/10 >.. STC-BIO ANS Stone The Crow Decent pic. The face is kinda weak. Could have used more detail. Alright font. .....................<6.5/10 >. STC-HYP ANS Stone The Crow Decent pic. The face is kinda weak. Could have used more detail. Alright font. .....................<6.5/10 >. STC-PIR ANS Stone The Crow Nice pic. Cool subject matter, Nice shading. Decent comp. Decent colors. Nice font. .....................< 7/10 >.. US-DOINK ANS EV + STC Weak composition, decent colors and shading. Alright font. .....................< 6/10 >.. US-KONGO ANS EV + STC Pretty cool, nice use of colors Cool shading. Very excellent font. .....................<7.5/10 >. -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Picks -------------------------------------------------------------- Best ANSI : NC-TB1.ANS by Neurotic -------------------------------------------------------------- General Comments -------------------------------------------------------------- Pretty nice showing from Legend this month. I think the main thing these guys need to work on is their fonts. Fonts often make or break a good overall ansi and alot of their fonts a really weak. Nice showing from Neurotic. I would have liked to see more from Iodine and maybe something from Somms. Overall a pretty nice pack. - mindcrime (bth staff) review.7 0 review.8 0 review.9 0 review.10 0 ansi.1   ۲       ߲  ۲ ܰ  ܱ ߲   ߲    ܱ   ܲ   ܲ  ۲          ܲ          ۲ܲ        ܱ  ߲ ߰    ۲  ߲߰            ߲ܰ߱ܰ  ܰ        ۲   ߲۲۲۲۲       ܲ      ߲              ߰߱۲         ܲ       ܲ  ۲          ߲    ߰  ܲ    ߲ ߰  ߲   ߲  ܲ       ߰   ۲  ۲    . ߲ܲ  ߲   ۲ ۲                 ߰۲            ߲߰ܲ    ߰    ܲ       ܲ    ܲ     ܲ  ߲          ܲ     ܲ    ܲ  ۲  ܲ    ߰        ܲ      ߲                 ܲ   ܲ            ܲ   ۲         ܲ         ܲ߰  ۲             ܲ    ۲       ۲ ۰       ۲    ۲ ޲      ޱ       ۲      ޲       ۲           ۲   ۲           ߰        ۲                   ۲۲     ߲   ݰܲ ݲ ۲    ߲۲                     ߲       ߱              ܲ     ۲                      ߲   .                       ۲۲   ޲ ޲           ۲۲        ޲  ۲ ߱  ۲۲          ۲          ۲          ۲    ܲ۲           ߰    ݲ  ۲      ܲ      .޲ޱ  ۲         ܲ                  ܲ                                              ۲   ߲ ۲  ܲ  ߲             ܰ            ܰ ۲۲ܰ         ۲۲   ۲            ޲۲۲  ۲  ߲ ߲ ۲   ߲ ۲۲                  ۲۲  ۲   ۲ ۲۲     ۲ ۲ ߲             ޲    ܲ                 ۲ ߲ ۲            ߲ ۲߲                                  ߲  ۲      ۲    ߲  ۲       ۲  ۲ ۲     ۲            ۲۲ ܲ           ۲     ߲        ޲  ۲   ߲             ۲ ۲ ۲۲      ޲      ۲۲ ۲۲            ۲۲       ۲     ޲۲۲    ܲ         ۲                                            ۲۲        ۲  ۲ ۲   ۲        ۲        ۲           ݲ        .  ߲ ۲   ۲  ۲   ޲      ۲۲      ߲      ܲ۲۲  ۲  ߲    ߲߰ ۲۲۲   ۲ ۲  ߲   ܱܲ     ߲۲۲        ܲ ۲۲ܰ     ߲۲      ߰     ܲ ߲ܲ     ܲ ߰  ߲   ۲      ۲   ߲  ݲ ۱               ۱ ܲ    ܲ۲߲ ۰         ܲ  ݱ         ߰ ܲ ݲ   ݰ        ۲  ۲ޱ    ۰ ޲                     ۲     ݰ   ݲ   ۲     ݰ ۲        ܲ  ۲   ۲߲    ݱ  ߲    ߱ ܱ  ۲    ߱ ܰ   ޲޲  ߱ ۲ ۲      ߰ ߰      ۲       ܰ     ߱ ܲ  ܱ      ۲ ۲   ۲߰ ܲ  ߲    ۲ ߲ܲܲ  ۲   ۱   ߲    ޲     ݲ             ߱               ߰  ۲         ۲        ۲߲  ۲  ۲                    ߲  ۲ ۲         ۲  ۲    ߲ ۲      ܲ   ۲  ۲    ܲ  ܰ         ۲  ߲   ۲     ݲ   ޲  ܰ        ۲   ۲ ܲ   ۲     h a l  a s t e r ' s ۲ ܲ         ߲ ܲ ߲ܰ       ߰         ߰                        ܲid             ܲ۲                ܲ           ߲    ܲ        ߱ܰ      ߰   ܲ         ۲                      ܲ ܰt e l n e t :  t r e g e n c y . r e s . c m u . e d u    ansi by somms (legend)  this ansi is dedicated to Shoot the - er, Stone the Crow   ansi.2  neurotic(legend) h i   e  d    ^five line greet                    ܰ     ܲܲܲ   ۲    ܲ ޲  ۲   ߲ ߱    ܲ      ۲     ۲   ߰          ߰۲          id    ۱      ۲                       ߲۲    ߲ ߲ ߲  ߲       ۰߲     ߲         ܲ            ߲      ߲        ۲                   ۲۲                 ۲                         ޲                                       ߲                      ޲      ߲      nc                 ߲ ܲ ߲    ۲              ޲ ۲                           ܲ   ܲ                                                 ߲                          ۲      ۲            ۲  ߲  ߲          ۲  ۲         ۲ ۲                         ۲              ޲                ۲                       ۲            ۲            ۲ ۲              ۲                             neuroti c  ߲                       ۲        ۲            ۲          ۲             ۲                                    ܲ                   ۲         ۲ nc۲        ۲ ܲ         ۲          ۲             ۲                                               ܲ                                   ߲                                                                 ۲   nc      ۲           ۲    ܲ       ۲           ۲                                                                        ۲              ۲                                    ܲ                                    ۲     ۲    ۲ ܲ    ۲   ۲      ۲۲۲           ۲      ۲۲ ۲۲         ۲ ۲۲  ܲ        ۲  ۲ ۲۲            ۲      ۲    ۲                                                               ܲ                       ۲      ۲      neurotic ۲                                        ߰           ߰                ߰                                           ۲     ߰                                       ܲ       ۲                       ۲              ۲                 nc          was            her e         ܲ        ۲۲          ۲  ۲        ۲             ۲                                             ۲           ۲           ۲                        ߲                     neuro tic                                     ۲                           ۲                             ܲ                      ۲      ߲     ݰ   ۲             ۲۲     ۲                         ܲ۲     ۲       ۲    ۲      ۲              ܲ                       ۲        ۲ ܲ      ۲     ۲        nc                     ߰                   ۲              ۲         ۲           ۲۲۲۲  ۲        ۲۲        ۲       ۲    ۲   ܲ۲  ۲  ۲  ۲ ۲  ߲ ۲    ۲  ۲  ۲   ۲۲ ۲   ۲  ۲ ۲ ۲  ۲       ۲       ۲  ޲      ۲          ۲      ۲         ۲      ޲                    ۲                     ۲   ܲ                         ۲ ܲ                nc޲                                                         ޲              ߲        ۲                ۲        ޲       ۲       ޲                                    ޲                                                      nc                         ۲  ۲  ۲ ۲   ۲ ۲  ۲                         BioHazard/2 - Telnet to hooptie.whc.net - ArtWorx  Support - HMP emag WHQ    Original Artwork by J. Scott Cambell, Jim Le e, Alex Garner and Scott Williams  Send $ to Jason P. / PO Box 215 / Orl eans, Ontario / K1C 1S7 / Canada for ansi  Piccy and Font by Neurotic of Legend   ansi.3     ۲ ۲             ۲    ۲                                         ܲ     ܰ  ۲۰۲۲ ۰۲ ߲  ۰۱  ۱۱ ߲ ۲   ۲  ۲۲   ۲  ۲  ܰ ۲  ۲    ۲߲߰ ۱      ۲   ۲   ۱ ۲۲ ܰ  ܰ  ۲߰ ߰߰         ۲      ۱۲   ߲   ۲۲۰ p1      ۲۲            ߲        ۲    ܰ                 ۲    ۱   ۲ ۲    ܲܲ ۰ ۲ܰ     ߲         ޲  ܱ     ۲ ۲   ۲        ߲         ۲        ޲  ۲    ܲܲ  ܲ۲ ۲ ߰    ߲   ۲           ۲      ۲               ۲  ۲   p1   ۲     ܲ  ܰ   ۲۲    ۰۲۲ܲ۱۲ ۰۲ ߲  ۱۲ ۱۲      ۲ ۲ ۲۲    ۲ ۲  ۲۲   ۲  ۲  ۲   ۲     ܲ  ۲   ۲  ߲ܲ  ۲    ۲   p1   ۲ܱ   ߲߲  ۲ ܲ  ۲۲  ߲ܲ ۱ ۲۲ ۰  ߲۲     ܱ    ۲߲  ۱ܱ  ۰߲  ۰  ߲   ۲   ߲   ܰ ۲۲ ܲ    ۲ ۲۲޲   ۲  ۲۲  ۲    ۲  ܱ     ۲   ۲  ۲۲  ۲۲  ܲ  ۲  ۲  ܲ   ۲۲  ܲ    ۲ ۲      ۲۲       ۲ ۲ ߲۲۱   ۲ ۲ ۲۲۲۲۲ ߲    ۲ ۲۲۲۲۲ ߱  ۲ ۲۱ ۲۲    ۲۱  ۲۲۲       ۱۲ ۲۲      ܲ ߲ ۲۲ ߲ ۱۲   ۲    ۲۲۲ ߲ ܱ ۲ ߰  ۲   ۲  ߲߲߰ ۲۲  ߲  ۲۲ ߲ ۲ ܱܲ   ۲         ܲ߱    ߲۲    ߱    ߲۲     ޲ݲ   ۲ ܲ   ۲      ߲ ۱ ܰ        ߲ ۲۲   ܲ   ۰ ۲       ߲ܲ۲۲   ۲    ܲ  ܰ      ۲    ܲ ܲ ݱ     ߲ܰ ܲ  ߲ ۲۲  ۰    ߰    ۲۲   ۲  ܲܲ  ߲  ޱ     ܲ      ܲ       ܲ   ܲ   ܲ  ۲ ۲      ܰ  ۲۲   ۲ ߱۲۲ ۲ܲ۲۲ ۲    ߱۲  ߰۲߰ ۲ ۲  ۲۲ܲ    ۲ ߱        ߲ ۲ ۲ ۲     ߲ ۲۲۲ ܲ ۲      ۲۲ ۲ p1     ۲            ۲ ܲ                       ۲         ۰                 ۲ ܲ             ܲ۲ܲ۲            ۲߲ܲ         ܲܲ        ۲   ݲ        ߲۲  ۲۲ ߲          ܰ    ߲                   ܲ ߲       ݰ ۲    ܱ۲     ۲۲۱   ߲۲        ۲      ܲ ܲ۲    ܲ         ۲   ۲         ۲۲     ߲  ߰     ۲    ߲        ۲      ߲۲    ۲۲   ۱ܰ ߲   ۲    ۲۱۲ ۲ ߲     ۲    ۲۲۲ ߲   ܲ  ߲  ۲۲   ߲       ۲ ۲  ߲   ۲۲ ߲ܰ ۲۰۱۲    ۲ ߰  ۲۲ ۲ ޲ ۲ ۲۲۲    ۲߲  ܲ ۲ܲ ߰۰     ۲  ܰ      ߲    ۲    ߲  ܲ ۱ܲ       ۲߲  ۲ ߲۲     ܲ   ۲  ۲۱۲  ۲  ۲  ۱   ߲ݰ߲ ܲ  ܲ  ߰۲۲ܲ ۲߲ ߱ ߱    ۲   ۰ܲ  ۲߰    ܱ   ߱  ۲ ߲ ۲ܲ  ܲ۲ ۲ܲ  ۲    ۲߱  ߱ ܲ    ߲۲߰   ۲ ܲ    ܲ ܲ  ߰     ߰ܰ    ۲ ߲  ۲ ۲ ܲ߰        ۲߲۲߱ܲܲ ߱   ܲ ߲۱ ۲  ܲ    ܰ ۲ ܲ    ۲۲  ۲ ۲۲ ۲ ߲߱ ޲  ۲ݰ ۲۲  ۲۲ ۲߱   ۲۲ ۲۲۲۲ ۲   ۲ ߲ ߰߱۲߲    ܲ   ۲۲ ܲ ۲       ߲۲۲ ۲۲  ۲    ۲  ۲ ۲ ۲   ܰ  ܲ۲ ۲۲߱  ۲  ۲  ۲ ߱  ߲۲    ܰ  ߰   ۲۲۲ܰܲ  ۲۲ ۲ ܰ ߰  ۲ ۲   ۲߱  ۲߲۲ ۲ ۲۲۲ ۲ ߰  ۲  ۲۲    ۲   ۲۲۲  ۲   ۲۲   ܰ   ۲۲۲  ۲    ۲۲       ۲۲۲     ۲۲  ߰     ߰   ۲          ۲۲    ߲            ߱  ۱   ۱   ܱ    ۱۱   ۲     ۱ ۲  ۱ ۲  ۱  ۲  ۲  ޲  ۲  ۲ ۲ ۲         ۲߲   ۲      ۲  ߲  ۲            ۲   ߰    ߰       ۲   ߰                ۲     ۲  ۲            ߲           ۲                                                  ۲   ۲      ۲ ۲        ۲            ۲       ۲                  ۲ܲܰ  ߲        ߲   ߰ ۲               ۲  p1       ۱۲          ߰ M I N R O T  H A D     The exciting, new BBS door game programmed by The Hitman [Acid]   Ansi by Prisoner#1 [Fire] ---------------------------------------------------------- --------------------  Ansi by Prisoner "I really suck." NumberOne  [Fire] - prisonr1@ix.netcom.com  Special thanks to Actraiserfrom whom  I ripped the font...Where did you go, AR?   Title of this piece: "A Goblin Steals a Child in the Night ." - 100% original     ansi.4 Reign in Blood    .           ߱   .   ܲ      ܰ      ۱ . .    Yet another ANSi from King Midas of ACiD     ܲ   Productions.. my first ansi of the new      ߲ܲ   year. Fuck the greets.. they are hidden .       Anyho w.. if you would like an ANSi email      q  me at kingmida@ netcom.com . Yes the shit      z   costs money , but it's cheap, or I will        work for favors or cool clothes.. This  ߲     ANSi is dedicated to RaD MaN, Cause  ܲ  ܲ he is one elite muth a fucker!    ܲ ܲ    This is your pass to Hades!  Muhuhahaha! Greets go to: Mr SINISTER: YOU ARE THE LAMEST LAMER OF T HEM ALL YAS LYING BASTARD! MR SINISTER IS LAME AND HE SUCKS .. tical: whatsup homey, we need to get together. Prisoner 1: Fire is some  cool ass shit... I can't think of anyone else... so just.. KILL THE WHITE  PEOPLE.  ۲۲   ۲    ۲     ۲            ݰ       ۲۲ ݰ      ۱۲۲   ۲     ޲۲۲ ޲۲   ۲  ۲޲۲۲     ۲۲۲ ۲۲۱    ۲ ۲۲    ۲ݲ۲ ۲   ޲  ݲ ۲۲ܲ   ޱ   ݲ۲  ް    ۲      ۲۲           ܱ    ܲ                           ۲           ܲ        ߲    ݲ               ߲    ߲                       ۲            ܱܲ ۲    ޲۲    ۲۲  ݲ  ۲ ۲  ۲۲   ۱  ߲۲ ۲۲      ۲۲         ߲ ۲ޱ  ۲   ۲  ۲۲      ۲     ۲۲   ܲ      ۲۲      ۲۲۲  ۲ ޲ ۲     ۲ݲޱ  ߲      ߲            ߰                                                     ޲                 ۲        ܲ       ݲ۲               ۲۲   ۲ݲ ۲۲     ߲߲߱޲     ߲۲ݲ ۲         ۲ ۲۲    ۲۲     ۲ ۲ ܰ    ۲  ۲     ۲ ۲      ܲ      ۲۲  ۲ ۲۲۲ ۲   ޲  ۲ ۲   ܲ۲ ۲۲  ޲      ۲ ۲  ޲       ۲   ޲   ۲ ޲ ޲  ۲  ۲ ޲   ۱ ޲   ۲   ۲ ޲۲  ۲     ۲   ۲   ۲   ۲ ޲۱     ۲۲  ޲۲   ۲  ۲      ۲    ۲ܱ   ܲ ۲ ۲ ۲ ۲۲۲۲   ۲ ۲ ۲۲ ܲ ۲۲  ۲۲ ۲  ۲۲۲  ۲۲ ߲۲۲۲۲۲     ۲ ۲   ޲۲        ޲۲      ߰   ۲                                   It was unexpected..  and yet it was hundreds of years in the making. They should have thought about the consequ ences  of their building injustice. They should have forseen th e revolution against their kind... And yet they continued. ..          ۲       ۲۲߲ ۲   ۲۲ ۲߱۲                                            ۲                                                          ۲  ۲   ۲۲ ߲     ۲                ߲        "ACiD Is The Best, Fuck The Rest" - King Midas Production - Shout out to DONUT HOLE WOO!  ansi.5   ܰ           ۲                          ޲  ܰ                     ݰ               ۲                                p   ۲       a   ۲          ۲        ۲         ۲        ۲     ۲               ۲                             ܰ                                    ݰ                         ܲ   ۲                  ۲                                                             p            a                       ޱ                                                                                                                                                                                                       ܰ        ܱ                                                                                                                                            ߰        ܲ             ۲       ۲                            ۲               ߲  ߱               ۲ ۲          ޱ ۲            ۲                             p        a                   ޲    ۲                                 ߲                                                               ߰  ߲                           ߲        ޲                 ޲                    ߲ܲ ߲    ۲        ޲    ޲    ߲  ܲ            ܲ      ޲   ޲  ܰ      ۱              ݰ ߲         ܲ        ޲       ۲     ۲                        ۱       ܲ      ۲     T R E M  O R ..                 x s ys:tetanus x                  ܲ x (519) 651-0513  x            x iCE member board x iniquity  x all art x shivnet  x jellonet x ..   -----İ------ ------- Ansi by P arasite/iCE, 1996 ! chendi@ math.umbc.edu http://math.umbc.edu/~chendi   ansi.rev 15 -------------------------------------------------------------- Reviewer's Notes -------------------------------------------------------------- Feburay Review Team: Shivan Bastard,Mindcrime Since the bulk of BTH3 was completed we have added three new reviews: legend06, mop-9602, and fire0296. These packs were rather good and I must say that these past few months have not been as bad as the populous believes. The ansi wasn't as good as it could have been, but nonetheless quite good, and the vga/rip was definitly up to par. These top five ansis are just a sampling of what we looked at. - mindcrime [bth editor-in-chief]  bbs.rev 200 -------------------------------------------------------------- BBS Review -------------------------------------------------------------- Hello uhm, being a acidic modifier and all, I've seen some of the best bbs setups around, and I thought I'd do some investigation this month to see just who has the ultimate setup. -------------------------------------------------------------- AlderAAn -------------------------------------------------------------- Statistics - Area Code : 908 Sysop : Mindcrime Users : 41 locals / 251 ld Affils : Blade WHQ, Acidic WHQ, MOP + CIA EHQ, More.. Software : Oblivion/2 Graphics : ANSI Only Theme : Convenience Store Setup - Without a question,the best looking setup I've ever seen. Alot of times heavily modded boards seem to go a little overboard with the mods, for example, some boards take like 3 minutes just to log on to the main menu. With my script on AlderAAn i can get there in 15 seconds.. Ansi graphics are everywhere, Chromatik of iCE is mostly to thank for them. Fresh new ideas, pulldowns, lightbars make this a definate board to call, if not for the files/msgs, just to check out the setup. The only constructive critism I could give, is maybe implement some more random ansis. After 86 connects they arent as fresh as they used to be. Files - 1 Gig of Art Packs and Demos, a well organized collection of all the major releases from the last 3 years, plus alot even farther back than that. Looking for the november 1992 Acid Pack, the first blade pack? Some of the packs from groups that have been dead for over 2 years? Also specializes in bbs modifications. All the acidic, illness releases can be found here, as well as most of the smaller modding packages. Messages - Speednet WHQ Agoranet WHQ, Oblivion Support Net, and Yolk net. A message conference for each area of the BBS. Art and BBS Support at its finest! -------------------------------------------------------------- Jive Soda -------------------------------------------------------------- Statistics - Area Code : 905 Sysop : Nootropic Users : alot Affils : legend,iesus,more? Software : Iniquity? Graphics : ANSI Only Theme : Internet Client Setup - Smooth ansis everywhere, glad im at 28.8, i think it would be a little to slow at 14.4. Lightbar menus for everything. The main menu is a random lightbar to go to ftp site, newsgroups, irc, ext.. for the different areas of the bbs. Good use of random ansis so the board always looks fresh. Pulldowns are occasionaly misplaced, and are always a little slow. Most of the lightbars messed up occasionaly, especialy the file listings, thats the only reason i could tell the board was running iniquity. Files - Alot of smooth stuff in here that i havent seen anywhere else. 100% art. packs,emags,solo collections,art programs, and a little iniquity support. Not sure how much space hes got, at least 500 megs, and all quality stuff. Messages - A small weakness is the message section. about 15 local bases. No nets or anything.. Didn't see a QWK option either Mostly art bases, and one internet and iniquity support base. -------------------------------------------------------------- Succotash -------------------------------------------------------------- Statistics - Area Code : 408 Sysop : Rad Man Users : Alot Affils : Acid Founder Board, CNB, more Software : Oblivion/2 Graphics : ANSI Only Theme : Multiple Themes Setup - When I first called, I had heard so much about it, I was expecting an awesome setup, but thats not what makes this board great. This board is one of my favorites because of the personel, just about every acid member, everyone cool in the entire art scene calls here. Best of all NO LAMERS out of the thousands of ANSIs people have made for this board, not one has the number, nor does the Agoranet nodelist. The only way to get the number, is from Rad Man himself, even if you do get the number from someone, you wont be validated. It comes off as a PD board of some kind during the application process. There are a few original mods here and there (ftp imitation when you go to the file menu) but basicaly, its a simple setup, with generic lord jazz menus, but its one of the most elite boards left, so that makes it cool heh =) Files - 2+ gigs of Art and Demos. All the Acid Productions ever released, as well as a massive collection of older packs and demos. Well organized. Messages - Agora Net, Speed Net, (art related nets) I would like to see a demo net or two but not too many of them in the US. -------------------------------------------------------------- Sin of Damnation -------------------------------------------------------------- Statistics - Area Code : 313 Sysop : Darklord Users : Alot Affils : none Software : Oblivion/2 Graphics : ANSI Only Theme : none Setup - Nice looking setup, not overdone. Nothing special, but alot of small details that add up to a pretty good looking board. There is absolutely no interest in art on this board so I definately have to say it is the best looking WAREZ board I've seen. Most of the modding done to this board makes the regular operations easier and more efficient, rather than just make it look pretty. Files - This is where the board gets its reputation, 5+ gigs of Hard Drive Space, unlimited offline storage through cd-roms all offline files are listed online, you make a request, and it is online by the next time you call. Only a few file areas, grouped by dates. Makes for easier management on the sysops part with such a huge selection. Whenever your look- ing for a file, you just do a search. Messages - EvilNet WHQ - High quality, national underground net. Oblivion/2 Support Nets were carried up until this week. I assume some more nets will be picked up in the near future Message Menu System is modded nicely. -------------------------------------------------------------- Results -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Setup - AlderAAn Runner Up - Jive Soda I've seen alot of great BBS's come and go, and honestly there just arent that many great setups around. I feel like I should mention a few of the better setups of the past - Glue, Terra Firma, the OLD huma, infiniti zend, ext.. Theres still a few awesome setups left, but not as many as there were.. One thing i think i should mention is BBS software, some people still havent caught on, its cool to be different and all, but if your not running Oblivion/2, you just cant make the perfect setup. Lightbars for example tend to get misplaced with iniquity, impulse and most others. If you know of some more great looking boards out there, (besides nuclear holocause =) ) send them my way, I'll try to review them one of these days. - shivan bastard (bth coder) www.rev 136 -------------------------------------------------------------- WWW Review -------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings. Seeing as the world wide web is all the rage these days, we here at BTH thought that we'd help ease your time on the web by reviewing a few web pages, ranging from the wildly popular to the pages that you never knew existed. Read on. -------------------------------------------------------------- Superunknown -------------------------------------------------------------- -- url: http://www.csusm.edu/public/guests/fm/su.html -- maintained by: flood myth (ultramega web productions) -- last updated as of this writing: 1/22/96 graphics: *** content: ***** layout: ***** overall: **** Superunknown has long been know as the 'yellow pages of the scene', and it tends to live up to its name quite well. The content of this page is always excellent. Flood Myth shows a very solid grasp of HTML 3.0, using several layout techniques that add to the enjoyment of the page.The graphics are decent, although a bit out of place at times (a dog at the main menu? I don't get it.) One thing that was kind of annoying was the fact that the Netscape 'Back' button always brings you completely back to the Front Door matrix, due to the layout techniques FM uses;But this is compensated for by the constant matrix at the bottom of the screen. You just need to get used to not hitting back (at least, I did.) Some of the info wasn't completely up to date, but that is entirely the fault of the info providers (group presidents, etc.) and not that of Flood Myth. The page seemed fast, probably due to the use of frames, so the page doesn't need to reload the graphics every time you move to a new area. Overall, the page seems to be content and HTML oriented, rather than art oriented. Very nice design, and an overall great source of scene information. -------------------------------------------------------------- ACiD Productions -------------------------------------------------------------- -- url: http://www.acid.org -- maintained by: wonder monkey -- last updated: 01/21/96 graphics: **** content: **** layout: ***** overall: **** The acid web page is a simply a great page. The main source of information about Acid Productions on the net, this page has some great looking art and a nice layout. The main page links to a plethora of art and information, as well as several other scene related pages. All of the Acid VGAs released in the last aquisition are online for your viewing pleasure. The RIP art is also there, converted to VGA for web viewing. The main image map links to all the Acid info you'd ever want,including members, mailing lists, and newsletters. It also has an online request form, and a seemingly endless gallery of acid art. All acid aquisitions are also on line available for download. One of the cooler things the page offers is the 'ACiD Graffiti Page', a oneliner-type posting board for people to throw messages up to.Overall a great page and a great source of acid information. -------------------------------------------------------------- CiA Home Page -------------------------------------------------------------- -- url: http://www.naples.net/~nfn01908/index.html -- maintained by: devastator -- last updated: no clue. less than two months ago. graphics: * content: ** layout: *** overall: ** Well, the CIA Home Page used to be pretty cool, so I thought I'd go back and see what was up. Much to my dismay, it has been turned to crap. No backgrounds, one overused CIA logo, and a bunch of text. The only thing of interest here is the CIA member list and info file, both of which seem to be close to up to date. Overall, not worth linking to unless you have a desire to learn about CIA. Hopefully they'll get back into it sometime soon. -------------------------------------------------------------- Nuclear Holocaust Systems World Wide Web Pages -------------------------------------------------------------- -- url: http://jax.gulfnet/user_pages/murray -- maintained by: shivan bastard (infiniti design) -- last updated: info not available graphics: **** content: ***** layout: **** overall: **** This page just recently went up, maintained by our good friend Shivan Bastard. The page covers a wide array of scene-related material,including programming, art, and demos. The page seems a tad bit slow, most likely due to its high consentration of vga art. The design of the page is quite nice, and the main matrix is layed out real well. The content is nice, with a great deal of programming information and soruce code. The art scene related page goes into incredible depth in explaining the various art forms (ansi, demos, vga, rip, music).This is a very nice touch. I'd also like to mention the great job Spirit Walker did with the art on these pages. Very nice, but a but racy at times . Overall a great page, and well worth the link. -------------------------------------------------------------- Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that does it for my little WWW Page review. I haven't really surfed around on the web in a while, so I just went to some of the links I had written down, or had been to a while back. For the next issue I'd like to get in some little-known pages, so if you'd like me to review your home page, just drop me a note at mike@exit109.com :) And while you're at it, check out the blade home page at http://www.exit109.com/~mike/blade as well as my personal home page, Operation:Mindcrime, at http://www.exit109.com/~mike . These pages should soon include a link to a Beyond The Horizon related web page as well. - Mindcrime program.rev 152 -------------------------------------------------------------- Program Review -------------------------------------------------------------- Hello uhm, being a programmer and all, or at least acting like one, I thought it would be cool to review some of the productions by other scene coders. so, this month I'm going to give you a detailed review of the current Art Viewers available. -------------------------------------------------------------- ACiDView -------------------------------------------------------------- Product Information - Acidview v4.00b (c)1995 Acid Productions(tm) Programmed by Skull Leader Interface - The new attempt at pulldowns is a fresh idea. Its original, and a nice looking touch. All of the new screens look killer. All the features work, definately one of the best, and probably always will be the most widely used. Features - I'm going to ignore the lack of jpg display, because of the fact that Acid doesn't release alot of them, and nor should they, if their viewer can't display them. Ansi scrolling is nice, but its a step behind in that it does not offer real smoothscrolling. There is a smoothscroll option, but it is terribly slow. Rating - Most widely used, and for good reason <8/10> -------------------------------------------------------------- iCEView! -------------------------------------------------------------- Product Information - Iceview v.65k (c)1995 Insane Creators Enterprise(tm) Programmed by Friar Tuck Interface - I don't realy like the vga interface. It takes a bit too long to load up, and it doesnt look as cool as alot of the ansi interfaces out there. Change the screen, (maybe i'm just used to the group logo being at the top?) then ill be happy. [Editor's note: As I understand it, the interface is actually a modified ansi pallete, drawn with the top secret icedraw program :) ] Features - Wow, heh, this has it all. Only thing missing is maybe JPG viewing. (Pretty gay to have to include a shareware viewer in the packs for those. Why not just convert them?) ANSI Smoothscrolling is the best I've seen. Flawless, no glitches, even under Windows 95. The configuration file is a nice idea, that adds alot of power to the program, allowing you to customize specific keys, etc. Rating - More powerful than ACiDView, but interface could use some work. <8/10> -------------------------------------------------------------- DarkView -------------------------------------------------------------- Product Information - Darkview v3.11 (c)1995 Dark Illustrated Programmed by Mist of Death, Sudden Impact, and Epitaph Interface - wow, no contest here. this shit rocks, selectable interface (ansi or vga). Best looking VGA interface I've ever seen. S3M kicking in the background, wave of Darth Vader when you exit. Features - Where has this been hiding? Damn, DARK has so much programming talent. This might just be the best viewer available right now only one thing missing : smoothscroll everything else kicks ass, better than acidview, iceview. I gotta talk to the guys who made this, damn. Rating - Best viewer out of the ones I reviewed. <9/10> -------------------------------------------------------------- PyroView -------------------------------------------------------------- Product Information - PyroView v5.0 (c)1995 Fire Productions coded by wm? Interface - Uh, get a new ansi. the current one doesn't look that great, vga screen saver kicks ass. Features - Lacks the ansi in vga mode option to be a real contender. Actually, not many features anywhere in the program, only a 25-50 line toggle. I couldn't find anything else, I think it displays RIPs (which is no easy task) and it's simple to use, but still. Needs some more options, (file mask,ice color, modem simulation,vga mode, ext). Rating - Keep trying guys. <5/10> -------------------------------------------------------------- Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------- Well shit, back in my day, we had viewers in every pack damnit! CiA didn't include a viewer, even though at one time, they had a pretty cool IntenseView. And Legend doesn't believe in anything but Art in the packs. Can't review Bladeview cause I'm kinda biased (just wait for bladeview/2). And thats all the viewers i can think of, I refuse to look in gay, new art packs, so i might have missed a few, but who cares. I found Darkview and iCEView to be the most powerful and ACiDView and Darkview the easiest on the eyes. All depends on your tastes, but I highly suggest everyone go grab the Dark pack later, shivan bastard (bth editor)