Better Late Than Never - A MEGADEMO, 31 YEARS IN THE MAKING
What Is It?
In traditional Atari demo style, this is what you'd consider a "MegaDemo", or a collection of demos all together one one floppy. It's got an intro, a reset demo, selection menu and a bundle of old-school demo effects that you probably thought were long dead!
I threw the proverbial kitchen sink in to this one, so it's got rasters, scrollers, hardware scrolling, 3D and VU bars - and who could forget the lemmings?!
This MegaDemo is coded in 100% STOS, using Lee Upcraft's "Stars" extension as well as the amazing Missing Link and Misty extensions. I embarked on the final part of this project between May and November of 2023.
This probably isn't the most technically advanced MegaDemo you've ever seen. Let's just say I did this for me.
I threw the proverbial kitchen sink in to this one, so it's got rasters, scrollers, hardware scrolling, 3D and VU bars - and who could forget the lemmings?!
This MegaDemo is coded in 100% STOS, using Lee Upcraft's "Stars" extension as well as the amazing Missing Link and Misty extensions. I embarked on the final part of this project between May and November of 2023.
This probably isn't the most technically advanced MegaDemo you've ever seen. Let's just say I did this for me.
Screengrab from "Thingummybob & Whatsisface" .
The Story
Screengrab from "Easy On The Eye".
I originally got inspired to code a STOS MegaDemo somewhere around 1992, but as is the usual with all big projects, it fell by the wayside and stayed in a big box of floppy discs. I briefly picked it up and carried on work in 2014.
Eventually I decided that I had to finish it, ripping the contents of the floppies (which still worked!) on to my Mac Mini and continued to code using Hatari. Periodically, I'd transfer everything back to a floppy disk to ensure it still ran on my old Atari 520STFM.
The demo runs great on native hardware and on a basic half-meg ST. I've used GGN's STOS fixer to ensure it runs on as many TOS versions as possible. However, be warned that I can't test every configuration and you run it on your hardware at your own risk!
Eventually I decided that I had to finish it, ripping the contents of the floppies (which still worked!) on to my Mac Mini and continued to code using Hatari. Periodically, I'd transfer everything back to a floppy disk to ensure it still ran on my old Atari 520STFM.
The demo runs great on native hardware and on a basic half-meg ST. I've used GGN's STOS fixer to ensure it runs on as many TOS versions as possible. However, be warned that I can't test every configuration and you run it on your hardware at your own risk!
Credits
As always, no demo is complete without its greets. I'd like to thank the kind guys over at Atari Forum for their support and constructive feedback, as well as Tom for his great technical know-how. The demo scene has changed a lot in thirty years, so it's hard to know who else to greet!
Finally, I'd like to thank my wonderful partner, JJ, for her support and encouragement. A guy's gotta have a hobby!
Finally, I'd like to thank my wonderful partner, JJ, for her support and encouragement. A guy's gotta have a hobby!
Screengrab from "This Space For Rent".
Inject some old school scrolltext into your life and click on the "Download" button! (If you're using a Greaseweazel, the floppy is double-sided, 79 tracks, 9 tracks per sector)