Crash 1997 new.media.gathering 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕� Opening words You are reading the invitation information for Crash 1997, released on the 19th of March. This file is formatted for 80x50 text mode. All times listed are in Mountain Standard Time (Canada). All currency listed is in Canadian Dollars. The Crash 1997 organizers reserve the right to change any information relating to this event, at any time, without notice. The information presented here is not final; an asterisk in the left most column denotes new information. We will try to update this file at least twice a month, so please keep looking for releases that may be more recent. This information is available in the following forms at the following locations: * HTML (Currently a Netscape 3.0 800x600x16bpp or 24bpp version is * available): * Web page - * http://cal.shaw.wave.ca/crash * Textfile - * http://cal.shaw.wave.ca/crash/crash.zip * Remember to purchase your tickets in advance because space and * resources are limited (ticket sales will begin as soon as the date and * location are finalized). Groups rates will be made available; contact * us. If you are looking to participate in the success of this event please contact us. Crash 1997, in a minimal sense, is a "demo-party". A demo-party is an event for computer enthusiasts from around the world to get together, interact, discuss, ideas, compete, and have fun. Crash 1997 is more than this. The focus will be on hosting additional competitions and activities in the hopes to introduce new ideas and art forms into the demo scene. The competitions will be focused around realtime audio/visual presentations for the PC, although not limited to any one platform or criteria. * We are interested in your input. Please keep in mind that with the * small number of North American demo parties it will be necessary for * you to give us your feedback. It is your comments and ideas that will * shape the future of the North American demo scene. If you disagree * with an idea presented here, contact us. You can not help to better * the demo-scene if you do not let your ideas be known. 旼컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Contents * Opening words * Where and when How to get there * Timeline * Activities * Competitions * Rules and information Services/Event features Questionnaire Sponsors * Contact information/Organizing * Closing words 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Where and When The location of the event is in Western Canada, in the city of Calgary, Alberta. It will be held in North America's largest indoor soccer arena. The event place consists of two domes, each dome containing four regulation length indoor soccer fields. There will be only one entrance from the outdoors. This entrance is to the slave arena. From here there are two indoor passage ways that lead to the master arena. The master arena is where the main activities will be held. This arena is a self-supporting "bubble-like" structure, with it's entrances ressembling "revolving air-locks". Fortunately there are two of these revolving air-locks, as this will most likely be the epicenter of traffic. For obvious reasons one door will be used to enter the structure while the other is to leave. Hopefully this procedure will minimize any inconveniences people have attempting to traverse from one area to another. The event will take place over a three day period. A quarter (one soccer field) of the slave arena will be sectioned of as best as is possible to make room for sleeping arrangements (sleeping is not required and may be difficult). Although 24 hour activities will be provided in the master arena, for those of you who require your sleep, you will need to provide yourself sleeping attire such as a sleeping bag, blanket, or pillow. 24 hour washroom and shower facilities will be provided and are located in the slave arena. Both arenas contain no windows and are almost entirely shut off from outside light sources. This means that both arenas can become extremely dark and dynamic light sources can be used. This will allow for ideal viewing conditions of all feature presentations. * The doors will open at 10:00am on the 22th of August (Friday), and * close at 8:00pm on the 24th of August (Sunday). Due to structural limitations we are limiting the person capacity to four thousand people. Because of the local interest an event of this caliber will produce, it will be in your best interest to purchase event tickets in advance as this will guarantee your entrance and access to resources. Unlike previous North American demo-parties, Calgary is in the part of Canada where the majority of people speak english. It will not be necessary to know French. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 읕� How to get there The choice of transportation is up to you; how you prefer to travel, how much you are willing to spend? Perhaps the simplest method is by plane. You will arrive at the Calgary International Airport. From there all you need to do is catch the Crash 1997 shuttle bus which will take you directly to the event place. There will be a nominal fee for the shuttle. If you choose to drive there is ample parking, free of charge. It is reasonable to expect that there will be bus trips from the colleges and universities of neighboring cities. If your school or group is interested in organizing a trip to Crash, please contact us as we will assist in everyway we can. Group rates may be made available to large organizations planning to attend. We are also planning for three cross-continent direct-transportation routes. This will consist of multiple chartered greyhound busses (dependant upon demand). All three routes will arrive at the party place. The origin of these routes will be California, Florida, and Quebec. The path the routes take, and the cities the routes stop along will be dependant upon the cities of individuals who request this system (Request may be made through e-mail). We will not, for economic reasons, be able to pass through every location requested, but we will attempt to plan the routes so that they come as close as possible. The cost of using this system will be a function of the distance from pick-up. Tickets for this system must be purchased in advance, and the earlier your request is made, the more likely it is that we will pass directly through the city of your request. If you are planning on using this system it would be to your advantage to purchase the event tickets in advance as well. 旼컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Timeline The current timeline is subject to change as more activities are introduced. Refer to this section for a quick reference of activities. This particular version of the timeline is extremely premature as the times and lengths of many activities have not been concluded. * A complete version of the timeline will be made available at the * event. Friday: 6:00am - Organizers begin setup 10:00am - Doors Open 6:00pm - Opening ceremonies Saturday: 10:00pm - Crash the Rave opens to the public Sunday: 5:00am - Crash the Rave closes to the public 9:00am - Demo-scene competitions begin 5:00pm - Awards and closing ceremonies 8:00pm - Doors close 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Activities There will be many activities at Crash 1997. The organizers will attempt to add as many activities as possible up till the day of the event. If you have any comments regarding the current activities, or would like to see additional activities made available, please contact us. * The focus of Crash 1997 is to explore new forms of technology in art. * To spread knowledge, awareness, and proffessionalism in this area, we * have selected competitions to be the main incentive. We will be * offering some standard demo-party competitions, as well as additional * competitions which we feel help to promote the ideas present with * Crash. * In addition to the competitions, you will find events that serve to * demonstrate technology in art. * An "intelligent" rave will take place from 10:00pm Saturday till * 5:00am Sunday. The rave will feature a creative variety of * underground music, countered with interactive visuals and lighting. * A fashion show may be preceed the rave. * Movies from an independant developer film festival may be shown on the * large screen during less active hours. Movies will be selected from * entries which meet the ideologies of technology in art. As a result of being located in a soccer arena, one soccer field may be used to host a round-robbin between demo-groups willing to participate. Although this does not relate to the Crash theme, we are offering this as an activity if sufficient interest is displayed. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Competitions Most competitions will make use of the main presentation area (big screen, audio system). There are prizes awarded for the majority of competitions. (Please refer to the Rules.) Demo-competition: The biggest attraction of Crash 1997. In the demo-competition you will find a blend of all main competitions. This competition incorporates music, 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional art, and programming. Demos are a 5 to 15 minute presentation of the talent that makes up the team. Intro-competition: This competition is similar to the Demo-competition, with a focus on size. Everything must fit within 65536 bytes of data. 4Kb competition: The 4Kb competition is focused on the programmer. The programmer is given 4096 BYTES to develop a presentation. Everything about this is an exersize in size. The common calculator has more memory then 4096 bytes, so if you think this competition is not impressive, keep in mind that what you are viewing will fit in the memory of your calculator. Animation raytracing Competition - Animation(1): This is so that 3d artists may demonstrate their skills. This competition is meant for giant computer generated animations that usually take days to render. Animation competition - Animation(2): This competition is usually based entirely upon public vote. The more effectively an animation entertains, the more likely it is to place. This is likely to be one of the more humourous portions of Crash. The animations are usually hand drawn (as opposed to raytraced or rendered). Ray Tracing: This is much like painting in 3 Dimensions. The artist builds a model of the 3 Dimensional image, gives the computer instructions on how to draw the image in 2 Dimensions, then the computer calculates the corresponding picture. Art Competition: The art competition is a competition where the artists draw a picture "Freehand" whether it be a mouse or tablet they use to draw with. The is no computer aid in producing the 3 Dimensional effects upon this 2 Dimensional image. Music 4 channel: In the early days of computers 4 channels was all the processor could handle. This competition is in one way nostalgic, and in another sense, challenging for the artist. The musician must produce a musical master piece with only the use of four simultaneous instruments. It would be unfair to have a 4 channel tune competing against a 32 channel tune. Music multichannel: In this competition the musicians can have as many channels as they want. Foreign competition: If you have produced a presentation for a computer that is not PC based, this competition is for you. Be sure to bring the required hardware for the presentation. Wild competition: Here's the scenario. You get up on stage, and you have 2 minutes to entertain the crowd. The winners will be selected by how long/loud the crowd screams. Scene Jeopardy: If you have ever seen Jeopardy you have seen this event. We are going to take up a collection of "Demo-Scene" trivia, and prepare a test. Whoever wants to compete can take a white paper test. The top 3 scorers of this test will be eligible to compete in "Scene Jeopardy". Basically 3 people and a host get up on stage and try to answer the given questions. On the big screen we are going to have a similar layout to Jeopardy. Do you know enough? There will also be many other competitions and events during Crash 1997. Additional competitions considered: Lasertag Diskthrowing Cola Absorbing Coolest Computer Eating Contest Fastest Typer Best New Effect Wet Noodle Master Network Games There will be many surprise competitions through-out the event. For example you might here us yelling on the intercom: "First one to the front desk with light cycles written in DEBUG.EXE wins 50 bucks!" Here is the cash prize table to date. This table assumes a 1000 person pre-registration. Prize values will adjust proportionately to the amount of people present (the actual cash prizes will be fixed August 22nd). Frequent the Crash webpage to find out how many advanced tickets have been sold. Demo-competition Intro-Competition 4K Competition 1st Place $10,000 $2,000 $500 2nd Place $5,000 $1,000 $250 3rd Place $2,500 $500 $125 32C Music Art Competition Animation(1) 1st Place $500 $500 $500 2nd Place $400 $250 $250 3rd Place $300 $125 $125 4th Place $200 5th Place $100 Animation(2) 1st Place $500 2nd Place $250 3rd Place $125 * Additional prizes including cash, software, hardware, Crash * merchandise, etc, will be annexed as tickets are sold, additional * sponsors are obtained, and competitions are finalized. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕� Rules and information * Each three day event pass entitles the holder to enter once in every * competition (the entry must be of the pass holders own creation). * The computer the entries will be run on will be a (subject to change * as new hardware standards are introduced): - Intel Pentium 166 Mhz - Chaintech IFM1 Motherboard (T2 Hx Chipset) - Gravis PNP Ultrasound with 1024K onboard. - SoundBlaster AWE 32 - Fujitsu 2.57 gb HD (Pico Bird 9) - ATI Expression Pro with PC2TV (12 ns ram) - UniVBE (or equivalent VESA 2.0 drivers) will be an available configuration option. - 16 MB EDO Ram The competition computer is being provided by Intelligent Solution Computer wholesalers. * The competition machine will have Windows 95 Revision B installed. * The demos will be run from a Windows' version of DOS; NOT a DOS * window. The AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS will be released in a * later version of this textfile. The latest version of UniVBE will be * installed in the path, so if you require it simply execute it in a * .BAT file. Several common DOS extenders (DOS4GW, CWSDPMI, RTM32, * DOS32) will also be located on the path. You may execute any of the * files contained on the path from inside your demo (this allows a 4Kb * intro to use a DOS extender). When you submit an entry your picture will be taken with a digital camera. When it comes time to receive prize money, the person who picks up the money will have to match the picture. Demo-Competition - Maximum Size is 4096 Kilobytes - Maximum showing time is 10 minutes (The demo can be longer) - Pure animation files are not acceptable. This includes executables that just run an animation. - Demos must support a nosound option. - The file name must be ISO-9660 compliant (Standard MS-DOS file names). - The demo may not uncompress itself to the hard drive. - The demo may not save any configuration files nor write to the hard drive. - Demos should not require more then 550K of base memory. Intro-Competition - Maximum Size is 64Kb (65536 bytes) - Maximum showing time is 7 minutes. (The intro can be longer) - Pure animation files are not acceptable. This includes executables that just run a animation. - Intros must support a nosound option. - The file name must be ISO-9660 compliant (Standard MS-DOS file names). - The intro may not uncompress itself to the hard drive. - The intro may not save any configuration files nor write to the hard drive. - Intros should not require more then 550K of base memory. 4K Intro-Competition - Maximum Size is 4K (4096 bytes) - Maximum showing time is 3 minutes. - Animations will be allowed. - The file name must be ISO-9660 compliant (Standard MS-DOS file names). - No music (this is to simplify the judging process.) - The intro may not uncompress itself to the hard drive. - The intro may not save any configuration files nor write to the hard drive. Animation Raytracing Competition - Maximum showing time is 3 minutes. - Maximum Resolution is 640x480. - The file name must be ISO-9660 compliant (Standard MS-DOS file names). - Due to the complexity of animations (The multiple standards) the rules here are not complete. Animation Competition - Maximum showing time is 3 minutes. - Maximum Resolution is 640x480. - The file name must be ISO-9660 compliant (Standard MS-DOS file names). - Due to the complexity of animations (The multiple standards) the rules here are not complete. Art Competition - Maximum Show time 15 Seconds. - No Maximum resolution or Pixel depth. - Picture format must be a format compatible with CSHOW V9.03a. No executables. Pictures will be shown with CSHOW. - No Raytraced, scanned, ripped, borrowed, pictures or you will be disqualified. - 2 Pictures must be entered, one with a signature or group identification and one without. - The file name must be ISO-9660 compliant (Standard MS-DOS file names). - 5 stages of the picture will be required to verify its production. Music (MultiChannel) - Maximum Size is 1024Kb. - Maximum Length to be heard 3 minutes. (Length can be longer) - Thirty Two Channel Maximum. - The tracker name will not be shown on the big screen, only the size and number of channels. - The file name must be ISO-9660 compliant (Standard MS-DOS file names). Foreign competition - Maximum Showing time 5 minutes. - If the machine isn't a PC, bring it. The projector can handle S-Video and RCA. We will have a VCR at the party place. - No illegal audio/videos. Wild Competition - Maximum time 2 minutes. - Nothing illegal. The judging for Crash 1997 is going to be a little different then all other competitions. We are going to have the traditional judges panel, and voting system. We are adding a few new elements. Here is an example: The winner of the 4K competition will have the option to judge code for the 64Kb and 4096Kb competitions. The coder of the winning 64K will have the option to judge the 4096K demo. Same for music. The winner of the 4 and 32 channel music competitions will have the option to judge the music portion of the Intro and Demo competitions. No judge may evaluate their own production. A coder may only judge the coding portion of the presentation, a musician may only judge the audio portion of the presentation, and so forth. Judging criteria and example sheets will be provided at a later date. A portion of the judging will also rely on public vote. To vote you must have the valid voting program. This program will be made available at a later date. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕� Services/Event features This will be a full-featured event. Almost everything you could require for a three day excursion will be provided for you. All services are available 24 hours each day unless stated otherwise. The master arena will contain most of the main attractions as well as several other smaller displays and activities. The main entertainment system will consist of a large screen projector and a powerful P.A. system, as well as several other interesting devices that will promote the eclectic atmosphere of this event. The projector is likely to be a 20 foot by 15 foot rear projection display capable of receiving S-Video and RCA input with a resolution up to 1600x1200. Due to the size of the projected image, a 320x200 pixel image will contain pixels over 2.5 cm in length and width. For this reason, the image will be filtered through a resolution enhancement device that will raise the quality of all images to the full 1600x1200 resolution. The primary use of this device will be to display realtime graphics generated by PC, although the input device is capable of displaying VHS and other sources of input. The audio system will be a real kicker with 20,000 watts of sound on each of four speakers and two 2x18 sub-woofers. The audio equipment will be configured with two of the speakers and two of the subs making up the left and right channels, while the final two speakers will make up the rear channel. All sound will be processed through a Dolby Pro-Logic decoder for true surround sound. This is the approximately the same configuration they use for giant concerts (raves), so believe us when we assure you that it is LOUD. The projection screen will sit against the far wall of the master arena. Immediately in front of this screen will be the presentation/dance floor. On the four corners of the floor will be located the audio systems output. Surrounding the floor will be several different forms of light sources. Regarding personal hygiene; washrooms and shower stalls will be located in the slave arena. You will need to provide yourself with a towel, soap, tooth brush/paste, hair comb, etc. Meals and snacks will be available for a cost set by the providers. A bevy of food variations will be provided, from fast food to fine dinning. The event place hosts an onsite restaurant and licensed lounge as well as snack and pop concession machines. We are also communicating with several fast food chains to provide a stand with your favorite fast food items. Current fast food providers in mind are SubWay, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Pizza Hut. Addressing the issue of smoking; smoking will be allowed in the master arena and outdoors. The turf in the slave arena is non-removable and will burn. Anyone smocking in the slave arena will be tagged. If there are any burns on the turf in the slave arena those who are tagged will be responsible for the cost of damages. If they are not willing to pay for damages, the cost will come out of the prize money, and the names of the individuals not willing to pay the fine will be released on the internet. If you smoke, smoke in the master arena, outdoors, or in the lounge, and you have nothing to worry about. We are planning to provide several IPX Hubs as well as the necessary cables and network cards. Anyone with access to a computer may sign-out a network card and cable so that they may connect with the network Hub. There will be several network game competitions organized. You will need to provide yourself with a computer that meets the competitions requirements (requirements are set based on the lag a computer not up to specification would cause on the whole of the network). We will provide all the necessary networking hardware and software. Internet will mostly be accessed the same way. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Questionnaire We would like to hear from you. Please feel free to fill out this questionnaire and e-mail it to us. If required you may modify this form to suit your suggestions. Q: What other "demo-parties" have you been present at? A: Q: How long are you planning to visit Crash 1997? A: Q: Do you plan on entering any of the competitions? If yes, which ones? A: Q: What "demo-groups" are you an active member of? A: Q: What is you function in these groups? A: Q: What platforms are you familiar with? In what way? A: Q: Age/Sex? A: Q: Food preferences/Fast food chain (if not listed above)? A: Q: Activities you would like to see that weren't mentioned above? A: Q: Your piece of scene trivia to add to the data base? (For Jeopardy) A: Q: Favorite demo/intro? (The most popular demos will be shown on the bigscreen (when there are no events) A: 旼컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Sponsors Current Sponsors are (in order of signing up): - Xi - H2O Entertainment - Intelligent Solution Computers We are currently communicating with several company's in regards to the role they may assume in sponsoring the event. They are not listed here because the details of their sponsorship have not been completed at this time. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 읕� Contact information/Organizers For any questions or comments feel free to email crash@shaw.wave.ca. The cost of admission will grant you access to all of the activities that take place at Crash. This also means you are eligible to compete in all competitions. The pre-purchasing of event tickets will guarantee your entry, as there is a limit of 4000 persons. By pre-purchasing your tickets you can reserve a work table next to the big screen or elsewhere if you prefer. Ticket sales will begin as soon as the date and location are finalized. Check the Crash Home Page for updated information. Ticket Cost: Individual 3 Day admission : $50 Group (5 people) 3 Day admission : $225 ($45 per person) Individual Single Day admission : $20 The cost of this event may be more then you would expect, in comparison to other North American Demo-Competitions. Please keep in mind that this is in Canadian Dollars, and you do pay for what you get! The money made from this event will be used to pay for all equipment, activities, as well as the cash prizes. The organizers are hosting this event, contributing their time, without the expectations of making any money. If many more individuals pre-purchase tickets then anticipated, we will adjust some of the cash prizes appropriately. There are going to be many Crash items such as: Crash T-shirts Crash Posters Or pre-order the Crash CD. Which will have all the entries from Crash 1997. We would like to here from you. We are interested in what you feel will help to make this a more enjoyable, more successful, event. The main organizing is being done by the current Xi members: Maxwell Sayles (Fysx) * email: fysx@shaw.wave.ca Shawn Sterling (Seks) * email: seks@shaw.wave.ca * Additional organizing and promotional design by: * * Neil D. Voss (ndv, sequencer) * email: ndv@shaw.wave.ca Crash 1997 is NOT being organised by a Large Corporation out to make money. Crash 1997 is being organised by 3 guys in a basement. Want proof? Go on IRC and talk with us. We are usually there around 9:00pm-Midnight Mountain Standard Time. Efnet irc.openface.ca - #coders (fysx, seks403, ndv/sequencer) or Anothernet neato.org - #trax (fysx, seks403, ndv/sequencer) As Crash 1997 draws near, the demand placed on us increases. During the event, we will need as many helpers as possible to help ensure that everything goes smoothly. If you do volunteer, you are eligeable for a free Crash 1997 t-shirt. The following job positions are available if you are willing to volunteer your time: Setup and Strike: This would require you to move large amounts of heavy equipment around. This position would require your presence before and after crash opens and closes to the public. We will begin setup at approximately 6:00am on Friday, and begin the strike after the event closes, approximately 10:00pm on Sunday. Security: This job will run the duration of the event. It will most likely require many individuals. We will require individuals to accept entrance fees and give out the appropriate arm bands, tag and check incoming and outgoing computer equipment, enforce arm band laws (such as liquor and visitation length), and enforce smoking laws. Technition: Someone who is knowledgeable in regards to computer hardware. Basically this person would setup computer hardware, lights, cables, power, or whatever else would be needed. He/She would need experience with networking, as this is where we anticipate most of the problems will arise. 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕� Closing words * It is the support of the many individuals in the "demo-scene" that has * allowed this event to gain as much momentum as it has. We are * counting on you to continue this support by attending. By * pre-registering your ticket, you are demonstrating to us that * everything we are doing is being done for a reason. Perhaps, this is * the simplest way of showing you believe in the North American * Demo-Scene. We appreciate it. In the event that not enough people pre-register, we will give full refunds to any individuals who request it. We are open minded to all suggestions you are willing to offer. Please contact us and let us know how we can make this a more enjoyable event for you and everyone who participates. We hope to see you there.