pouët.net

I am in New Zealand. So not a prime location for demoparties, i have relatives in australia, germany and russia, its long overdue for a visit(russia) so may plan it via some demoparties unless i find myself totally sucking at this and am too umberassed to show my mad skillz.

Thanks for all the advice, its been a long time since i asked for help in any forum and had productive input.

Noone mentioned C, is it just too painful for this? Thats my only question.

Thanks.

From my point of view :

1) produce something (and take the necessary time for this)
2) build a personal website in order to spread what you have done (but don't put it online until next step)
2) do a scene-release of your production (preferably at a demoparty, if you can't on pouet)
3) spend limited time on pouet (given the level of cruelty seen here, take some distance with what you'll read in your production's comment)
4) goto 1

The first 2) is facultative, everybody will get it fully understood :)

I'm also in NZ. Although there aren't any parties here, there's one in Melbourne in July. http://www.syntaxparty.org/

Dude, don't start as a coder on pc. It's the most under-regarded platform to start with. From my point of view, I'd say:

1) Find a old(or exotic alternativelly) platform (c64 comes to my mind). The oldest the hardware, the bigger the scener's erection.
2) This advice also works in the case you really want to start on pc. Target the lowest sizes possible. The smallest the filesize, the bigger the scener's erection.
3) If you really want to start as a demo coder on pc, prepare the kleenex for crying. It's the most under-regarded position to be in. You've been warned.
4) For minimal frustration, combine 1 and 2.
5) What uncle-x said.

And do note that lostsoul can only speak for himself, not the entire scene. I hope that people who get an erection about filesize are far and few, and most people care about the quality of the production, and not the platform. Coding on old platforms is quite fun, but it's much easier to actually get stuff done on the PC, and that's quite the motivation booster. But try out different stuff and see what feels most fun.

As far as C programming goes, C is an excellent language for making demos. Most PC sceners se either C++ or C, with a few doing stuff with C#, Java, Python or more obscure languages.

lostsoul: are you really not coding on pc just to please other sceners?

Hope you guys get the irony in my post. maybe it's too ironic, i totally second preacher's opinion in real.

Start hanging out on CSDb instead. Much more rewarding.

lostsoul: hmm your really fooled me with those 32b dos releases :( Now i wait for cluebus to pick me up

If you guys need some source code to see how things shouldn't be done, shoot me an email as I've got plenty of examples.

I'm not sure what cTrix and gaiasword plan for remote Syntax party entries, but I reckon if you whinge enough (or join disasterarea!) there'll be no problems with you guys submitting stuff remotely ;)

(by the way, britney at double speed is actually ok)

(especially when you run the signal through a big muff)

Forgot to leave my email - ript at disasterearea.net. Cheers!

fuck. without the 'e' ... Damn beer. ript at disasterarea.net. phew, I can read.

alumuum: you _can_ do it in c if truly insist, but this _is_ 2007 and oop does have some advantages ;) but in all honesty, when you're getting started, you'll easily learn more by hanging for an hour around a group trying to finish their demo at a partyplace than you ever would by simply reading and experimenting on your own for over a month. plus the motivation to actually release something instead of just sitting around wondering and planning, skyrockets through the multiverse.

OOP is just a name for glorified assembly language. If you start designing great systems and frameworks, it's very easy to lose the fun in it and just give up. My advice is to make a very simple framework and the concentrate getting stuff on the screen. The fancy stuff can be made afterwards.

Also, you should come to Breakpoint in Germany during Easter. Flying from NZ to hang out and drink beer with a bunch of people you don't know may sound stupid, but you'll be happy afterwards.

there was this sociologist dude from new zealand this year at breakpoint :D so its not entirely unprecedented ;)

And Chuck in 2005.. so yeah, it's not entirely unprecedented.

oh yeh, i vaguely recall having met him aswell :D

alumuum: you won't need C++ to get started. C++ might rather be a hassle for your first steps.

The day you want to make bigger stuff requiring more complex architecture, go for C++, but for the time being, stick to C and focus on effects and ideas, because in the end, that's all that matters and it's all that the end-user will see ;)

i think i was on the plane with him back to london even, now that i think about it.. O_O there were no direct connections porto - frankfurt hahn in 2005 i believe.. yeh.. i might even be recalling things properly! quite an achievment considering how much booze i had during those breakpoints O_O

I am still doing it enough well in pure C and I don't know what's the function of OOP :)

I guess I agree with preacher. Don't start with something big, just write some dirty code to throw some stuff in the screen. And then watch the shit moving around in patterns and be happy! It's motivating indeed =)

I only have one advice: as soon as you see yourself enjoying working more on the framework and tools around instead of a demo.

STOP!

I think first and formiost i am going to need some attire(whats a scene t shir ti can buy), germany over easter doesnt sound like too bad an idea, what % of people there speak english/russian there fluently enough for me to hang out. Although german drinking songs sound cool too.

Downloaded hugi e zine or whatever people call it, read some of that, seems relevant to my interests.