==The complete history of CPC Demos==
===Foreword by NoRecess===
===GERMANY, A PRECURSOR===
Everything started in Germany with MCS and its [[httpFile://wwwMCSDemo3.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=8078||MCS Demospng]], that raised up big interest for many people. After some spheres that went up and down through the screen while modifying background's content (a judicious color-cycling effect), we then had a huge bouncing MCS logo in a later part. As you may realize it, it was already not that bad for the time, and he did much better in the following productions. We had, for the really first time on CPC, effects made of rasters. Of course, nowadays nothing is extraordinary about this, but at the time - it was completely amazing to get more that 16 colors in a logo !
Everything started in Germany with MCS and his [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=8078 MCS Demos], that raised up big interest for many people. After some spheres that went up and down through the screen while modifying background's content (a judicious color-cycling effect), we then had a huge bouncing MCS logo in a later part. As you may realize it, it was already not that bad for the time, and he did much better in the following productions. We had, for the really first time on CPC, effects made of rasters. Of course, nowadays nothing is extraordinary about this, but at the time - it was completely amazing to get more that 16 colors in a logo ! MCS did many more demos that, to be honest, did not give anything new to show. At the same time of MCS's glory, an other German a Danish demo-maker, [[JLCS]], showed us other CPC abilities, with an impressive usage of CRTC's register 2 that allows to a logo, if well designed, to give the feeling to be floating through the air.
===THE FRENCH'S WAKE-UP===
[[File:RedTKCDemo.png]]
True fact : the first ones involved with demos were the Germans.
It's kind of sad that Dr TKC left off the CPC after that, because his work presaged a new era inside the French demoscene.
===LONGSHOT'S INVOLVEMENT===
Another fanatic of hardware scrollers was Longshot[[File:Revolog. In his Longshot Demo, we had a wonderful horizontal hardware scroller, with a font transferred from PC. This demo was only a warming-up, but his Revolog demo was, in its time, a true revolution since it consisted of, get ready, a horizontal hardware scroller, a vertical one, a PC font, horizontal rasters (including split-rasters), with also a music transferred from Atari ST !png]]
Another fanatic of hardware scrollers was Longshot. In his Longshot Demo, we had a wonderful horizontal hardware scroller, with a font transferred from PC. This demo was only a warming-up, but his [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=7799 Revolog] demo was, in its time, a true revolution since it consisted of, get ready, a horizontal hardware scroller, a vertical one, a PC font, horizontal rasters (including split-rasters), with also a music transferred from Atari ST ! Let's note our friend Longshot introduced ST tunes conversion to CPC, but not only that. Before the Longshot Demo and Revolog, and times before Titus with [[Crazy Cars 2 ]] game's intro, he did use an enlarged screen (technic called overscan) in one of his demos. It's funny to note that overscan, so simple to implement with our poorly-featured Amstrad CPC, is so complex to implement on Atari ST, despite the fact of being a 16 bits computer.
===DRINKING WITH THE MALIBUS===
[[File:MalibuDemo4.png]] At the same time of Longshot's early work (we can not yet consider Logon System as a team, since it was made of a unique member then - like everyone else !), the Malibus Crackers demos were released. Even if their work was not that impressive regarding the other demo-groups of the time, they acquired a privileged status thanks to their [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=8209 Malibu Demo 4 ] demo (Naminu, main programmer of the group, joined Logon System few times after). In this demo, we had the opportunity to discover an overscan-formatted screen with a scroller moving through all the screen, that made also use of another parallax scroller, the whole thing enhanced with multiple video modes on same unique screen, and so on..
===FEFESSE (RIP)===
[[File:Yaointro.jpg]]
Yaoooo Demo by Fefesse
===MISC STUFF===
[[File:TrashDemo.png]] Krad'os Crackers - Trash DemoWe Demo We just can't ignore another pioneer of the demo on CPC : the GPA team. While their demos were not cutting-edge for the time, they made a Mad Sinus Scroller that was able to work on a stock 64Kb CPC machine, while the one of P007 was only able to work with 128Kb.
Also, the Krad'os Crackers proposed, with the Trash Demo, a gem with fantastic graphics. M. Zebigboss (the visual artist of the group) realized splendid mad-balls. The programming-side was also very good, since Mister Plus implemented the demo in overscan, with a scrolling in mode 0, a writer in mode 2 using plenty of rasters inside.
===FINLAND DENMARK JOINED THE COMMUNITY=== [[File:Remix1ByNWC.png]]
[http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=7589 Remix demo ] by N.W.C
At this time, the 2 main challengers in the course of the best demo were France and Germany. But Finland Denmark entered the challenge too and actually represented a terrific player. [[NWC ]] (New Way Cracking) did, before everyone else, a demo that was (in my opinion) THE demo on CPC. It proposed a [[Remix I|remix ]] of the best CPC musics.
On top of that, he filled the whole screen with tons of fantastic rasters, and impressed people with an hardware horizontal scroller (once again, before anyone else - but I can't prove it, since announced dates looks a little bit unrealistic).
===SWEET FRANCE===
[[File:AmazingDemo.png]]
The Amazing Demo by Logon System
===INCREDIBLE NEWS===
I recently heard an Amiga music on CPC. Yep, you read it right. Amiga. You should be thinking Logon System did it, or some German guys... all wrong ! CJC from CCC did this exploit before anyone else. This fanzine maker succeeded in what most of famous groups were about to complete (according to what those groups were claiming). But CJC did it first, too sad for them. ===A TERRIFIC FOLLOW-UPThen UP=== [[File:TerrificDemo.png]] Then [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=8746 The Demo ] got released. No need to describe it anymore, since it has been largely exposed at the time by all writers of this magazine (it's true fact they received a tiny gift from Logon System for good reviews...).
After that, Terrific Demo was born, made by a bunch of inspired German people: Thriller, BSC, MCS, Whee... a killer team, to round up the thing. This mega-demo added some interesting ideas. For example, menu was not a text pointing to a part, but a small labyrinth where the user had to move inside and find doors corresponding to a dedicated part. Also on the topic of good ideas, Whee created a very great part (to me, the best one of this demo) that, while playing a self-made music with digidrums, was displaying a giant horizontal scroller with tons of rasters inside. As shown in the above member-list, an uninspired MCS was also participating to the demo.
===POUM'S PREFERRED DEMO===
[[File:ParadiseDemo.png]] [[Paradise_Demo|Paradise Demo]] Another megademo that made itself a name was [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=7910 Paradise Demo ] from Paradox. This demo showed us a new side of demo-making. It proved that, without being gods of programming, it was possible to create something very interesting.
It contained a menu, made by Gozeur, that was looking more like running simulation than a simple menu. To select a part, we had to move a knight that was moving through a medieval set (all using hardware scrolling). Also, parts reached interesting level. I particularly enjoyed the one called Pix Time, that showed a square made of dots (pixels) moving in 3D (all axes). Another gem was the one called Artificial Paradise from Syntax Error (GPA). This part featured a sinus scroller, as also a wonderful scroll following a circle path. It worth to mention that some parts were highly inspired by other demos (the giant vertical scroller looks like the one from Fred Crazy in The Demo)... but who can claim to discover everything ?
===GERMANY BEING BACK ON TRACK===
Another impressive demo was [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=7714 KKB First], a German demo made of two parts. The first one, which is actually just an introduction, features overscan, with tons of synchronized rasters, with a pleasant music. But actually, the interest remains in the second part. It features an impressive number of scrollings, rasters and music. Everything fitting in only 64Kb of memory. It was very good-looking, which is usually not a standard with German demos (as for the technical side of things, sadly).
===ECSTASY HAS A NAME===
[[File:S&KOH by Logon System.png]]
[[S%26KOH|S&KOH]] by Logon System Another living god gave us light and showed things like never before : Overflow from Logon System, of course. He created one of the most revolutionary hardware techniques on CPC. With his [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=7591 S&KOH ] demo, he demonstrated that CPC could move 2 huge bobs (spheres) vertically (each bobs being huge sprites with a width of half the screen). But it was not enough, the main part featured a fantastic hardware scroller, some Logon logos moving in front of a fixed background, and, most impressive, a wonderful bitmap displayed using a roll with variations.
===BEST OF THE BEASTS===
Face Hugger Ultimate Megademo[[File:FaceHuggerUltimateMegademo.png]]
I think that, but this is only my personal point of view, the best demo for now is the [[Ultimate_Megademo|Face Hugger Ultimate Megademo. You may think this is the one displaying the maximum of hardware scrollers at same time, or that it features tons of sampled musics... well, actually not. But we would never figured out that CPC was able to manage true 3D. Not 3D with simple dots, but some real complex objects using vector-balls, 3D cubes, or ships coming out directly from Stars Wars movie and the likes, and featuring flat triangles (not wireframe)... impressive.]]
I think that, but this is only my personal point of view, the best demo for now is the [http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=7548 Face Hugger Ultimate Megademo]. You may think this is the one displaying the maximum of hardware scrollers at same time, or that it features tons of sampled musics... well, actually not. But we would never figured out that CPC was able to manage true 3D. Not 3D with simple dots, but some real complex objects using vector-balls, 3D cubes, or ships coming out directly from Stars Wars movie and the likes, and featuring flat triangles (not wireframe)... impressive.
===Credits===
Written in French by Slash/Logon System
Translated to English by [http://www.norecess.net NoRecess/Condense]
Submitted by Arnoldemu
[[Category:Demos| ]][[Category:CPC History]]