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** ** *** * ** **** v1.0
by T.O.Y.S.
Another fantastic Falcon demo, for a BIG Falcon!
We were pleasantly surprised to hear, a few weeks before Error in Line,
about the resurfacing or springing back to life of the reclusive but
talented Swedish crew T.O.Y.S. Apparently Peylow had rediscovered things
such as working sensibly to targets, and working to a deadline, and
really, seriously, intended to complete a demo in time for the second
Error in Line! Based on fragmentary reports, it sounded very promising,
a true Falcon-buster, and another demo like the DHS 'Don't Break the
Oath' which promised to make use of of extra hardware, indeed, breaking
the holy 4 megabyte limit!
Alongside the much anticipated DHS blockbuster, this looked like it was
going to be one of the highlights of the Error in Line party, so did the
reality match up to expectations?
It starts, depending on the version you got, either with a ropey looking
blue plasma background and a zooming text to announce the demo. My
memory serves that the party version had some kind of 'porno-texture' at
this point!? The music starts up, slowly, growling in anticipation, with
a cheeky subversive burble of Sidchip creeping onto the MP2 file.
Quickly brushed aside, as the individual letters of 'WAIT' zoom onto the
screen. They swing frantically to the music in 3-D, whilst some more
text appears at the bottom of the screen. The pace of the music has
picked up, and the effects appear, almost too fast to register!
A huge multicoloured textured diamond is first, with individual credits,
switching to spinning dots or light spangles. Once the credits have been
blasted out of the way, the 3-D poly returns, with a monochrome 'window'
on screen tracking it, and killing the colours for the small area that
it encloses. A very nice effect. Not forgetting all this is going on
with some cool background textures at the same time!
A quick spurt of grot-blue inbetween plasma with some more text effects
is next, the text showing some fade/blur tendencies.
Almost before we have caught our breath, the next 'real' effect, with
another complex 3-D poly, with glittering points of light at the edges!
Surely not an effect seen on Atari before!? This screen, and others
leads me to think that T.O.Y.S have been watching a lot of recent demos
on certain "other" machines!
Next up, and just as quickly, we get another complex object, this time,
with a background texture that matches it. Then, another neat touch, as
we see a vector outline fade on and off briefly on the polygon. This is
cute in a cool fashion, and I suspect, "influenced" by a demo somewhere
on another platform!
Can they top this? Yes they can, as a simple sphere comes onto the
screen, still textured of course, and with light beams emitting from it,
as if there was a huge disco party, or internal explosion going on
inside it!
A fresh object, and a chance for a few greets, with a spiny tree or
whiplike object coiling on screen, with points of light attached. Then
out of there, and onto something else that looks like a piece of paper
that has been screwed up.
The music slows, ready for one of the major set-pieces of the whole
demo. This is the T.O.Y.S aquarium simulator! Complete with 3-D Fish,
sadly missing since Sono', and with an uncommon to aquariums lamp post,
which really works, as it lights up with simulated lens flare! We are
given but a little time out to appreciate this, as the music picks up
once more..
A further brief interlude with the 'work in progress' blue plasma, then
a burst of cheering on the soundtrack announces a textured 3-D Fuji logo
spinning, with more beams of light bursting from it!
Some more credits accompany a constantly morphing polygon, then switch
to a screen with melting 3-D blobs set against a cartoon texture. A
little pacman munches his way across the screen.
Then as if we haven't seen enought, a lot of the preceding effects are
flung back at us, rapidfire fashion, as if to show how quick their demo
system is?
The next major 3-D set piece scene comes up, with a four cornered
monolith shown releasing a fiercely spinning captive energy ball, caught
in the middle.
Final bit now, a 3-D poly hand opens, to release lots and lots of little
balls! Then the music stops, and we are on the end credits
For the correct terms to pad out my inadequate descriptions of the
individual effects, here is a piece of the original readme file that
came with the demo. Thought it might help...
[Effects in order of appearance]
Abdicative alpha blending, clipped stretch blitting, environment
mapping, vector dots, depth shaded tunnel, sparkle phong shading,
morphing vector, clipped hidden line vector, volumetric lightning,
radiosity ball, cartoon shaded phong, multi object scene replay,
morphing phong, 3d meta blobs and a few variations of those.
(Thanks guys, that was a big help!)
As I've mentioned before, this demo seems to be strongly based on
current high end Amiga and PC stuff, perhaps more obviously influenced
by such sources than DHS and the rest? This isn't necessarily a bad
thing, if these effects haven't been seen on anything with a Fuji logo
before.
Ways in which the TOYS demo is better than the DHS demo!
..The Individual effects are stronger.
..There are more of them as well.
..Three good set pieces with lots going onscreen.
..It seems to be better on unaccelerated Falcys too.
One major criticism I have, it is over far too quickly! T.O.Y.S could
have made a lot more of the effects. The demo seemed to rush through a
packed program, and it would have been nice to linger in a lot of
places. Next time, slow it down please! This demo was perhaps too much
of a slave to the fast-paced soundtrack? There is a more minor
criticism, there were some rough edges on view which compared it
slightly unfavourably to the DHS demo. They would have lost the rather
makeshift looking blue background plasma for instance..
In conclusion, a very strong and inventive demo, which perhaps could
have been better still, with a little more breathing space given to the
individual screens, and a little tidying up.
We want more playfulness from TOYS, they are too good to miss!
Ratings..
Graphix:- 86% - Some interesting textures, nothing much still, all used
in a dynamic sense.
Sonix:- 85% - Good tune, but perhaps rushing the demo along a bit too
much?
Gee-Whiz:- 95% - Lots and lots of great 3-D! A huge number of new (to
Atari at least) effects, and some genuinely impressive stuff too!
Overall:- 90% - Another demo from EIL 2 that deserves to be called an
all time classic. A reworking to slow it down, relax, let the effects
breathe a little would make it even better!
CiH, in the final hours before the Alive! issue 2 deadline on April 22nd
2001!
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