New Comp - LBC
Bengy
... little big competition
... The Atari Three In One.
... dedication. skill. creativity.
... http://www.magicos.de/lbc.html
sponsored by: st-computer +++ Paskud +++ AtariFan +++ Therapy Seriouz
Software +++ DurSoft +++ Patrick Eickhoff +++ Triple a Mag +++ Woller GmbH
+++ Didier Mequignon +++ RGF Software +++ Application Systems Heidelberg
+++ Mario Becroft +++ More to come!
1 .: introduction
Following the enormous success of last years MagiC Game Contest, MagiC
Online and the place2be are proud to present their next generation
competition, that will once again unite the existing community and breathe
new life into the Atari platform.
This year the organizers are able to provide not just one contest, but
three. Besides two coding contests, the "Little Big Competition" also
features a special graphics contest in cooperation with the Atari Icon
Library.
Dedication, Skill and Creativity. The Atari 3 In One.
2 .: big ports, little helpers and a new look
We have decided to split this years contest into three categories.
.. big ports
The aim of this contest is to create the best possible software port
to the Atari platform. There is an abundant amount of quality software
packages available, complete with sources, waiting to be ported to our
platform. Why not take the challenge to create the best possible Atari
version?
- see rules for the exact requirements of the port
.. little helpers
The aim of this contest is to create a (relatively) small and useful tool
or
utility; a program which simplifies everyday use and/or increases overall
productivity. Interested entrants may examine features from other
platforms, deciding to merge the best features of these systems with the
elegance of the Atari environment. More Creative participants may choose to
implement their own innovations; innovations that will dramatically increase
the ease of use and/or efficiency of certain tasks. Will you be the one who
revolutionizes the Atari platform?
- see rules for the exact requirements of the tool/utility
.. a new look
Every user is not a skilled programmer; but every user is equally
important
to the survival of our platform. This contest celebrates this fact by
encouraging the use of artistic and aesthetic skill: to create a modern new
look for the "Atari Desktop 2001". For a long time, the Atari desktop has
been a eclectic mixture of Icon Sets, background pictures, and winframes
which were mainly adapted from other platforms. Our aim is to create a new
coherent and original looking desktop. So here's the plan:
- icon set
Originally, the Milan II had planned on introducing Glow Icons to the
Atari
platform, but now it's up to us. The first part of the Atari Desktop 2001
competition is to create the best looking set of glow icons. If you are not
familiar with this style, you are encouraged to view the sample images of
some Amiga conversions on the compo-pages. (Courtesy of Joachim Fornallaz)
- background pictures
Create the best looking background picture for use in our
favorite Atari desktops.
- winframes
N.AES 2 and MagiC 6 both introduced the possibility to change the
appearance of the window elements by using winframes. So the aim is to
create the best looking winframe.
- see rules for the new look contest for the exact requirements
Any individual who wants to take part can contribute to one of the
subcontests mentioned above. You don't have to create an icon set,
background picture(s) and winframe(s). At the end of the contest the Atari
Community will separately vote for the best icon set, picture and winframe.
After that we will compile a package out of the best contributions (and
possibly fill in some Amiga glow icons, which otherwise might be missing)
into the "Atari Desktop 2001" package. All icon sets will be added to the
Atari Icon Library.
3 .: little big sponsors
Our contest wouldn't be possible without the kind help of our sponsors.
Here is the place to say thank you and introduce:
st-computer (http://www.st-computer.net/)
st-computer is the largest Atari computer magazine in circulation. With a
full-color layout, professional staff, and a generous spirit; st-computer
is truly a winner.
Paskud - Grzegorz Pancher (http://www.rsi.pl/paskud/)
Grzegorz Pancher is a popular musician who has utilized the powerful
elegance of the ST in a Studio-setup to produce some very popular polish
CD's. He shares his passion for Atari computers with others by producing
and selling several products, (including an IDE interface for the ST and
Falcon RAM cards) and servicing Atari computers. "Paskud" has
generously sponsored (5) of his ST IDE interfaces (for HDD and CD-ROM).
AtariFan (http://atari-fan.idz.pl/)
AtariFan is the premiere Polish magazine that has already established
a proud name for itself, even in its infancy. They are kindly sponsoring
a free subscription of AtariFan for the year 2001 with a free CD.
Therapy Seriouz Software (http://www.therapy-seriouz.de/)
Therapy Seriouz Software are the developers of Smurf, the graphic
manipulation program that blows away its counterparts in both functions
and speed. They are kindly sponsoring one full copy of Smurf.
DurSoft (http://dursoft.atari-computer.de/)
DurSoft Developments has made it possible for all Atari computers to take
advantage and utilize Digital Cameras. By packing features into PhotoTip,
DurSoft has provided all of us with the definition of quality software.
DurSoft is supporting us with one full copy of PhotoTip
By packing features into PhotoTip, DurSoft has provided all of us
with the definition of quality software. DurSoft is supporting us with the
one full copy of PhotoTip.
Patrick Eickhoff (http://funmedia.atari-computer.de/)
Patrick Eickhoff is the developer of the great multimedia tool FunMedia.
It has been in development for some years now and proves that you do not
have to stray away from the Atari platform to have access to innovative
multimedia tools. Patrick is kindly sponsoring one full copy of FunMedia
(on CD)
Triple A Mag (http://www.triple-a-mag.de/)
Triple A Mag, the once Atari-only magazine, has recently expanded its
horizons and now covers the Amiga, Atari, and Acorn platforms. Their
attention to detail and support is outstanding, and so are their
contributions to this competition. Triple A is supporting us with 100 DM
in prize money and 3 full subscriptions.
rgf Software (http://www.rgfsoft.com/)
Richard Gordon Faika is one of the most active Shareware authors for the
Atari platform. Tools like Arthur or the outstanding editor Luna are in
daily use by many Atarians. Richard sponsors two "Moon"-Packages which
include Arthur 2000 (+ all libraries), the latest Luna version and the
latest release of the Luna Text Compiler. Worth 174 DM!
woller systems (http://www.woller.com/)
woller systems is a well respected Atari dealer as well as the initiator of
many new products for our platform. Some of their products are: N.AES,
GEM-TV Milan, Milanblaster. Like last year woller is generously sponsoring
3 copies of N.AES.
Application Systems Heidelberg (http://www.application-systems.de/)
Information pending
Mario Becroft (http://gem.win.co.nz/mario/) Mario is the well known hardware
(and software) developer that continues to release must-have products at
affordable prices. Whether it's connecting a PC keyboard to your ST or
adding some extra Midi ports, Mario has just what you need. Mario kindly
supports us this year with one Atari and Amiga serial mouse interface.
Didier Mequignon (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/didierm/)
Didier is an extremely gifted programmer who constantly pushes our
platform to the edge, as is evident with his many essential programs.
AniPlayer, his main project, has introduced many users to the joys of
multimedia movies and digital sound. Didier is showing his support with (3)
registrations to Aniplayer.
We have not yet decided which prizes will be given to what contest. But
we will keep you informed. If you would like to support us by
sponsoring our contest then feel free to contact us!
4 .: registration and support
If you want to take part in one or more of the contests, then please
register by filling out the form on the compo-pages. This is needed to
decide whether to skip one of the contests or not. You have no obligations
after registering, it is just for information purposes. It also helps to
verify that no one works on the same port.
It is also possible to register for the contest as a team of people (to
be able to finish bigger projects). Just enter the names of all team
members separated by a comma into the registration form. Although you won't
receive any help from us when it comes to deciding which team member gets
what prize.;-)
Any individual can contribute with several productions to all three
contests. It is possible to work for one or more teams and on one-man
productions. Whatever, just be productive.;-)
If you register you also have the option to receive free newsletters from
us, which keep you informed about the latest contest news (new sponsors
etc.).
This year we are also able to offer a free translation service to all our
contestants (kindly provided by TransAction and DDP). This way we can
assure that the user interface (probably even the manual) of all
contributions is available in all major languages.
If you need beta-testers (with a certain system configuration), feel free
to contact us and we will see what we can do.
5 .: rules
.. contributions
big ports and little helpers
- All programs must state that they were "Produced for the "Little Big
Competition" both in the readme's and Info Box!
- Programs may be shareware but may not be crippled in any way.
- Programs have to work under both MagiC and N.AES (2).
TOS support is optional.
- using extended MagiC objects is allowed as N.AES 2 supports them.
- Programs can make full use of system extensions which are freely
available. We even encourage you to make your contributions support
modern features like BubbleGEM, OLGA etc.
- Programs may make full use of NVDI 5's extended VDI calls
- Programs which need network/internet support of some kind may use every
TCP/IP stack available for the Atari (STiK/STinG or MiNT/MagiCNet
preferred).
- Porting a software may also include reprogramming a software (big ports)
- A port should either feature a GEM-interface or shell (exception:
e.g. games running in fullscreen mode - VDI output still required of
course). Contact us if you are unsure. (big ports)
- system requirements can be set freely (minimum processor, RAM,
resolution etc.). Note: People who can't use your software
won't be able to rate it. On the other hand people who see software
pushing their 060 to the limit might be very happy and give high rates
to your software.
- Adding hardware specific parts (e.g. direct screen access) is
only allowed as an optional feature to speed things up on original Atari
hardware.
new look
- the icon set needs at least 12 entries
- icon sets must offer 2, 16 and 256 colour versions of their icons
- 16 and 256 colour versions have to glow
- other animated features are optional
- NVDI 5 palette has to be used
- icons have to be your original artwork (no conversions from other
platforms!)
- background pictures can have any of the following standard sizes:
640*480, 800*608, 1024*768
(supporting several resolutions is welcomed)
- NVDI 5 palette has to be used for 16/256 colour pictures
- colour depth can range between 1-16 Bit
(supporting several colour depths is welcomed)
- pictures have to be your original artwork
(scanning is allowed)
- you have to create the winframe(s) for both MagiC and N.AES (2)
- see the example archive which contains a MagiC and N.AES winframe
- winframes must support all colour depths
- NVDI 5 palette has to be used
- winframes have to be your original artwork
(no conversions from other platforms!)
- Instead of making a standard MagiC winframe you can also make an
enhanced NatFrame winframe as NatFrame is free.
.. voting
An exact description and rules for the voting procedure will be included to
the vote forms.
6 .: deadline
Deadline for all contributions is May 12th 2001. No contributions will be
accepted after this date.
Contributions shouldn't be released before the deadline, otherwise we'll
have to disqualify this entry.
Absolutely no contributions that are publicly released prior to the May 12th
deadline will be accepted. This includes public "alpha" and "beta" releases.
The aim of this competition is to spark the creation of /new/ software and
"themes" for our platform, therefor, no existing programs, icons, winframes,
or Background images may be updated and entered into this competition.
Failure to comply with this rule will ultimately result in
disqualification. Entries may not be released prior to the deadline to
ensure equality and fairness to everyone involved. All entries will have the
same timeframe to be tested and voted upon. Furthermore, until the official
closing of the competition and judging, ALL programs/sets will ONLY be
available in a single archive. Individual downloads will be made available
after this time. All contributions will be available for download on May
13th from the compo-pages.
7 .: the team behind this years contest
This years contest has dramatically grown in size and we are glad that
some loyal Atarians offered us their support and help. So here is the place
to introduce:
Bengy Collins (http://magicos.de/)
Co-Organizer Bengy Collins runs one of the largest English portal sites,
Magicos.de. Bengy also has a monthly column in the German ST-Computer
magazine. Co-Organizer of last years MGC 99.
Jan Daldrup (http://place2be.de/)
Jan Daldrup runs the largest International portal site, place2be.de. Jan
works for the German st-computer magazine. Co-Organizer of last years MGC
99.
Joakim Högberg (http://gokmase.atari.org/)
Co-Organizer of the "...new look" subcontest, Joakim is the Father
of the "Atari Icon Library" and continues to prove beneficial to
the Atari community by his continued work on essential utilities. Him and
Dan Ackerman are currently working on aICQ.
Rafal Kawecki (http://kawecki.atari.org/)
Rafal is the webmaster of a popular Polish news page and will represent
our contest in Poland. He translated the contest pages, kindly provided us
with sponsors and manages the contact with Polish authors.
st-computer - Thomas Raukamp (http://www.st-computer.net/)
Thomas Raukamp, current editor in chief of the largest paper based Atari
magazine left, gives us the opportunity to constantly inform all readers of
st-computer about the contest. Thus we are able to reach a far bigger
number of Atarians including those without Internet access. st-computer is
also generously sponsoring the contest.
TransAction (http://transaction.free.fr/)
DDP (http://www.cix.co.uk/~derryck/index.htm)
TransAction and DDP are crews of people who support the Atari Community
by providing high quality translations of recent software releases. This
year they also kindly help all contestants of the coding competition by
freely offering their translation service to them.
Joachim Fornallaz (http://omnis.ch/jf/)
Joachim Fornallaz, the respected author of essential utilities and Milan
webmaster, has kindly volunteered to create a custom GEMSetup
Installation routine. The custom GSU will ship with the final LBC archive
and will allow for easy and uniform installation.
Take care,
Bengy