Computer clubs of St. Petersburg - history of computer clubs in St. Petersburg

Computer clubs in St. Petersburg
 by AmoNik

                   Part one. Tractor drivers

The first time I learned about the existence of computer clubs was probably
from the magazines "Computer Price" and "Computer Business Market", where
on the last pages they printed a catalog of clubs indicating
number and configuration of computers, cost per hour and packages,
club location and phone number. These magazines could
take it for free from computer stores in the city. They were brought
once a week and laid out on counters or window sills. I
I went downtown every week to the Kay stores and
"Computer World" is behind the magazines, since on our outskirts there is no
there were large computer stores, but small magazines did not
brought. But previously I did not pay attention to this page with
clubs and became interested only after hearing about one such
my friend Dimka Tokarevsky told me about it at the club.

Computer clubs appeared in our city back in 1996
(for example, club "VIRTUS"). But as a mass phenomenon they began
appear in 1998, when I learned about them. That's when
advertisements began to be printed in magazines and pasted on the walls of houses.

Dimka then often told me on the phone or when
came to me to play on the Spectrum, which is not far from the school
the institution where he studies, in the cinemaZenit opened
a small computer club where you can play on computers
for money. These computers were brought from home by enthusiasts and
united into a peer-to-peer network running Windows 95.
Computers were all different in their configuration, starting with
80486 and ending with Pentium processors. All were equipped
ZDFX graphics accelerators.

After studying, Dimka often came to this club and watched
how people play. And we played most often in the online modes of Quake.
Dimka later told me what map they played on today and where
who dived. So, without ever playing, Dimka already knew where
what gun should you look for? In general, he's so interesting
told me that I decided to look at it personally and,
maybe play.

Therefore, on October 11, 1998, Dimka and I met at the station
metro Park Pobedy and went to the Zenit cinema.

(I remember this exactly, I was just sitting without the Spectrum. When I had
The power supply on Scorpio burned out, and then I went into debt to
replace it and repair the board. Otherwise Dimka and I would play
at my place, not at the clubs :))

The club was located in the cinema building right next to the entrance on the first
floor and to the left of the stairs leading to the cinema foyer. Along
there were several tables on the walls, on which 4 or
5 personal computers. When we entered the club, all the seats
in front of the computers were busy. In addition to the players there were also
spectators and there were many of them.Mostly middle school students from
seventh to ninth.

The cost of an hour of play was 10 or 12 rubles (about one
one third of a US dollar). We decided to take an hour to try it out.

But then it turned out that the first computer would only be available for an hour
in two. And we need two computers to start playing
it was possible at the same time. We knew in advance what to play,
it may not be possible, since those who want to play sign up for
several hours ahead. That's why Dimka and I don't really
upset. Besides, Dimka remembered that there is a nearby
some kind of home for youth creativity and there is a computer club there, in
which you can also play with. And we went there.

It turned out to be in vain, since on the weekend everything turned out
closed. Dimka remembered again that Zanevskaya Square has
gaming club where card board game lovers gather
games of the AD&D genre and play their own fantasy. But they have
the club has two or three computers and perhaps we will be able to
play. We got on the subway and went to this club.

This club was quite famous in amateur circles
tabletop battles. I don't remember what it was called. located
it is in the basement of a residential building with a separate entrance from the corner of the building.
Inside there were tables and glass display cases, behind which stood
boxes of board games. And at the farthest from the entrance
there were actually three personal computers on the walls, only
for some reason turned off.

We askedfrom the local administrator, is it possible to play on
computers and is there a Quake game? The admin replied that I should play
you can, but there is only Quake II. He named the cost of an hour of play
16 rubles for us, and Dimka and I thought about it, is it worth it? Admin
stared at us and asked what the problem was? I explained
that at the Zenit club the cost is significantly lower, but there
queue, and now we’re thinking: play here or go back there. Admin
He said that, alas, he couldn’t offer us anything cheaper. B
In general, after consulting with Dimka a little, we decided
try here and pay for an hour. And it was that rare one
a case where I paid for myself. Later, most often Dimka
paid for himself and for me, since he started many years earlier
work and while I was a poor student, he had already bought himself
powerful gaming computer.

The countdown seems to have started when we turned on our computers.
and the operating system loaded. Quake II shortcuts were right there
on the desktop, and you didn’t have to search for the game for a long time on disks. B
First of all, of course, we started setting up the buttons. Now
it sounds funny, but then I had absolutely no idea how
can be controlled by simultaneously moving the mouse across the table and clicking
buttons on the keyboard. Therefore, from controlling the mouse to me (and
Dimka) had to refuse. And I assigned the buttons as usual to
Spectrum, i.e. QAOP Space. It turned out that this was enough for
movement, but not foraiming. I had to add more
several buttons to control the camera (sight) in the game.

Of course, the controls turned out to be inconvenient and at the same time
We were unable to move around the level while aiming.
From the outside it probably looked funny, but sometimes we even
we managed to hit each other, and we had fun.  Bye to us
the third player did not connect. He did a great job with
simultaneous mouse and keyboard control. Therefore he
began to knock down Dimka and me like blind kittens. I started yelling
so that he fails and does not interfere with our play. In the end it's
The admin heard and asked the third player to get away from us, and he
got offended, left the game, having first killed our game
server. Damn cheater.

The paid time expired quite quickly, and we trembled
fingers, but the happy ones left the walls of this club forever.
Then for a long time they remembered who hit whom that day and how
we were cool. In general, we had fun playing.

                     Part two. "Anril"

Some time later, computer clubs began to appear
everywhere and grew like mushrooms after rain. And these were already
truly clubs with the same equipment, normal admins
with time tracking programs, not a bunch of households
computers under the cinema stairs and a man with a notebook for
time records.

One day, while flipping through the pages of a magazine in search of a club to...
was closer andcheaper, I found the club "Unreal" on the avenue
Enlightenment near the now abandoned "Festival" cinema.
Actually, of course, it’s not exactly close to home, but it’s not like in
"Zenith" is almost at the opposite end of the city.  I called
Dimka and offered to play with him in the new club.  He
agreed, and I explained in detail how to get to the club.

We met in front of the entrance and entered the club, which
located in the basement of a multi-storey residential building with a separate
entrance from the end of the building. The entrance was closed by a metal door with
peephole, and on the door hung an intercom with a button
call.  I pressed the button, but no one asked us anything
and the door just opened slightly. From the inside it became clear that the door
locked with an electromagnetic lock with remote control
controls, and the peephole was a video camera. There was a booth behind the door
security with tinted windows. We didn't see what was behind them.
 and just walked past the booth into the gaming room.  Nowhere else
We have never seen such serious security.

The gaming hall was divided into three parts by the load-bearing walls of the building with
a common passage between the halls. In each room there were several
computers.  I don’t remember the club admin at all. The prices were
moderate, and computers productive. One hour cost 12
rubles  But there were also packages. It's just a few hours
in a row, sold at some discount.  For example a package from
three hours cost 30 rubles. Mostthe big package was six hours
for 45 rubles. The first time we took an hour.

We played Quake 2 and Quake 3. All games ran without brakes, and
we really liked the third Quake, it's all so colorful and
motley.

This time we already tried to play like white people, i.e. on
keyboard mice. I managed to practice a little in such management
at Andryukha Arsentyev’s house. I also played Quake 2 and got started
something will work out. Dimka and I weren’t really bullied, seeing that we
We're playing, maybe for the first time. We tried to just jump in front of
us and quickly hide before we take aim as
follows. Overall, I really enjoyed the game this time.
more.

We liked it at the club. The atmosphere is cozy, the people are friendly, and
there were girls. Dimka and I often went to this club later.
Of course, each time we took packages for three or six hours.
And we came to this club for the first time at night. Moreover, at one time
The club had a "one hour free" promotion. It was necessary
buy as much time as you want and get another hour
free. But this action was valid only in the morning
time after the club opened at night.

                    Part three. "Bristol"

Once I walked past the Institute of International Educational
Programs and saw a sign on the wall. It was written on it that
The computer club "Bristol" was opened in the courtyard of the IMOP dormitory.
I immediately taxied to the new club.

The club waslocated on the second floor of a two-story extension to
IMOP dormitory. They were connected to the hostel by a passage to
second floor level. On the ground floor of the building there was a kitchen, and
the second floor was partially rented out. It always smelled inside
prepared food and baked goods.

At that time, the club had one hall and there were about 15
computers. On the right at the entrance to the club there was a soft sofa, on
where sometimes I saw some individuals squeezing girls.
Opposite the sofa (to the left of the entrance) there was a counter, like in a bar, and
The club administrator was sitting behind the counter and he was also the cashier. It was from him
only the top of the head is visible. Behind him there was a small
room with network equipment. The gaming hall itself was further away,
already after the bar counter.

The room was extended towards a single, but large
windows. Computers stood on both walls from the window. On sunny days
the whole hall was filled with light, but for some reason the curtains on the window
decided to hang it. There was still a passage to the next room, but
it was filled with partitions, and behind them was piled some
it's trash. Later, a second hall of the club opened in that room and there
More modern and faster computers were installed. Second hall
was larger and had windows on two sides of the building. By price
it didn't matter which room to sit in, but we tried to occupy
seats were in the second hall when it opened.

Dimka and I went to Bristol quite often. Several times
stayed overnight.The night cost 40 rubles and those who wanted to play
there were a lot. Mostly schoolchildren. In addition to games there was
film library and you could watch pirated copies of films.
But I didn't look.

At Bristol we played Quake 2, Quake 3, Delta Force,
Delta Force 2, various Need For Speed games, Carmageddon
2000 and Half Life. And when did the early beta versions of the game appear?
Counter Strike, then we switched to it more than completely.
In this club we first encountered the clubadmin system,
which warned that the paid time was coming to an end and
Then I forcibly minimized all windows and blocked the launch.
Before this system appeared, the admin had to run around on his own
through the halls and round up players who have run out of time. Us with
Dimka once managed to overstay his time by almost 20
minutes. The admin who came running was angry, but did not demand money from us for
extra time.

Most often we went to the club only with Dimka, but sometimes we
managed to gather a crowd of his friends. So one day it came to us
9 people. Moreover, everyone except Dimka and I played for the first time.

There was no security at the club, and for this they once
paid the price. One day I came to play and found a closed
door. There were no announcements. I knew that Denis often visited
in a club with his friends and an admin he knew worked there.
I went to Denis to find out what happened. Denis said,
that the club was committedarmed raid at night and
All the computers were taken out. After this, "Bristol" several
was closed for months. And when it opened again, it was already under the guise
internet cafe But I didn’t go to this club anymore.

The club did not exist as an Internet cafe for long and soon
closed completely.

                   Part four. "Berserk"

After the first closure of the Bristol club, I started looking
other clubs within walking distance from your home. One of these
I found the newly opened club "Berserk" in the building
LNPO "Electronmash" On the reverse side there were some kind of auxiliary
rooms with high ceilings. That's where the club opened.

At first, the Berserk club lured players with free
an hour from 8 to 9 am, after the night's games. Dimka and I, and later
and Vadim, we enjoyed using this special
proposal. I arrived early because I lived closest to
club, took a place by the door and fought off the shkolota with kicks.
Then Dimka and Vadim squeezed through to me with difficulty and we
they entered the club in the first rows after the doors opened.

Like in Bristol, there were two halls, but the second hall
It didn't start working right away. And in the first room there are computers
stood in four rows - two rows along the long walls and two more
row between them in the middle of the hall. The computer configuration was
Celeron 333-433/bChMb RAM/Riva TNT. There were a lot of games, but there were
some problems with the network.

Sometimes it was not possible to find game servers,or during the game
the server went offline. And when the second hall opened, there
installed several more powerful PCs: AMD Duron
700/128Mb RAM/GeForce 256. This room was called "VIP", and
it cost more to play. 18 rubles per hour, versus 10
rubles in the first hall. Since the bulk of the players were
schoolchildren from the fifth to the ninth grades, then no one has them
there was money to sit in the VIP room. We used this
Dimkoy. If there were no more empty seats in the main hall and there were people
stood in line before entering the club, then Dimka and I calmly
went into the second hall and played in relative silence, without
schoolchildren in a large spacious hall. We've played there often
in Unreal Tournament. Later they installed more in the second hall
computers are cheaper, and the hall is no longer “VIP”.

We went to this club right up until 2003. After graduating from university I
did not return my student card and bought a student card with it
a travel card for our mutual friend Kolyan. Kolyan in
gratitude every month he took me to the Berserk club, where we
they played with him. Kolyan gave me money for the ticket and
paid for playing time. Then Kolyan was caught several times in
subway when he tried to pass through manually
turnstiles and did not show a student ID. My card
blocked, and we stopped visiting the club.

                     Part five. "Arctic"

Once Dimka and I failedbook for the night
places in nearby clubs. All seats were taken. We
We called clubs based on the list from the magazine, and places were found in the club
Arctic near the Primorskaya metro station. The path is not close. But we
they promised air conditioning, a refrigerator with drinks, a lot of computers and
a bunch of games. We were not deceived. Just wait until the end of time
we couldn’t, and as soon as the metro opened, Dimka and I
We left the club and went home. I started to pass out on the subway.
About a thousand times I fell asleep for a few seconds and then
woke up, and then fell asleep again, and so on ad infinitum. I,
Of course, I passed my station and I had to return. A
when I got out of the subway and wandered towards home, I was somewhat
Once I managed to fall asleep while walking. Almost hit my head on
asphalt and with difficulty reached the house. He immediately fell on the bed and
slept until evening. The day was lost.

After such adventures, I decided that I would never sleep again
I won't go. That's what Dimka and I decided on.

             Part six. "M19" and the closure of clubs

The club "Gluck" opened very close to my house, on the second
floor of the Bublik shopping center. The club did not exist at all
did not last long and was not popular at all. I was there alone
once, and there was no one there except me. Now (as of April
2018) only the inscription “LUK” reminds of the existence of the club
on the windows of the room where the club was. The letter "G" got lost somewhere.
And in the club premisesa veterinary clinic and store opened
engineering plumbing. After "Glitch" "Berserk" closed, and next
there were no more clubs with the house. But I wanted to play.

At that time, both Dimka and I already had our own
personal computers at home. But there was no Internet, that’s all
anyway, to play together, we either had to carry our
PCs visit each other, or go to the club. Several times Dimka
actually brought his PC to me, since he had
car. But he lived on the diametrically opposite end
city, and the journey through traffic jams took hours. It was very
inconvenient, so we decided to find a club on neutral territory
approximately in the city center.

We met on the square near the Technological Institute. Here
there were three clubs nearby - well advertised
“Ladoga”, “M19” and a completely unknown Voenmekha club. We
tried to get around them all.

We couldn't get into Ladoga due to a long queue
who want to get there. There were no players at all in the Voenmech club.
Dimka and I came to an empty room, played Starcraft for an hour and
left there. But we liked the M19 club, and then we
only visited him.

This club was located on Moskovsky Prospekt, 19 - in the building
VNIIM im. Mendeleev on the second floor. During our first
visiting there were only two gaming halls, but later
Two more halls have opened. There were a lot of people, but there were empty seats
have always been. There was also a VIP room where Dimka and I onceplayed
surrounded by the local club team.
The set of games was standard, but everything was decorated more beautifully and
more convenient. There were no shortcuts on the desktop. They were beautiful
menu where games were sorted by genre. Instead of harsh
admin running around the halls, there was a "clubadmin" system, and
messages about the imminent end of game time were given by voice
in Russian, and not with a half-screen message, like
it was in Bristol.

We probably played M19 a dozen times, and then Dimka became
disappear on business trips for many months, and we completely stopped
go to computer clubs with him.
And now we play via the Internet. But this is completely different
history.

April 2018
 * * *

Alone Coder> 
I myself have not played in such clubs. I only know that near "Radik"
there was one club, my classmates went to it a couple of times. Via network
I first played with Cyberdaemon at Crutch's apartment, in normal
Doom - it was in 2000.

What hours did you usually play? And what did they do theregirls? Were
competitions? We once held a Carmageddon tournament, but
seems to be not in a club.

AmoNik> 
Most often we played during the day on weekends. If in Berserk, then
We went in the morning and for some reason on weekdays. I can assume that I have
that day there was a military department at the university, but I did not attend it. Vadim,
Accordingly, he also came with me. But Dimka to that
was already working at the moment, and how he managed to play with us, I no longer
I can explain. I would ask him, but the only contact with him is
via VKontakte, and he’s there at best twice a year
appears. At night we almost always went from Friday to
Saturday. Although I remember cases when Dimka, after a night at the club
I went straight to work.

Gaming tournaments were definitely held, but I never attended them
was present. Every week one of the clubs staged fights. Not
I remember the name of the club. Passed by a couple of times, but never
I decided to go and watch the tournaments. It seems like they played Quake 3.

The girls in "Bristol" were just sitting there for furniture. One time only
in "Anril" we played with a girl and ended up with Dimka very
satisfied. She was good at Quake 3.

It turns out that the Ladoga club still exists. I'm a lot
surprised by this fact.

Destr> 
We had like "clubs" - basements with speck,where they made fun of 
money. Well, at train stations in big cities in the 90s I met 
Spectrums are there next to Sea Battle and other towns. 
But there was nothing remarkable (of course, that wasn’t the case back then) 
it seemed). 

Cyberdaemon> 
Once upon a time, somewhere in the early 2000s, in the basement of the indoor market - now
"Dashkovskaya Fair"(https://yandex.ru/maps/-/CBqJyPVj-D)- was 
gaming club. Even the official one had a sign saying 'as expected', with
indicating the details of an individual entrepreneur (then still a state of emergency). Friends called. Was
some kind of promotion - you could play all night for the price of 3 day ones
hours. In general, I somehow didn’t really like it, because there are all games
were exclusively for playing online - CS and the like.
Subsequently, the club itself somehow quickly disappeared from there.
And herehttps://goo.gl/maps/TpЧPgUsj9zJ2there was another one 
gaming club. Not just games. You can advertise his activities
see on the windows. Closed last year (photo from July 2017).
True, I have never been there, because I play team games online
games, my inner introvert does not like and does not want, but for
single games, my house is full of different devices. (I mean
computers and consoles, not what you thought.)

I’ll add it, although it may no longer be necessary. Slot machines stood
in the Cosmos cinema, in Prioksky, (all that remains of it -
https://yandex.ru/maps/-/CBqЧFбtfwA).In preschool age
(first half of the 80s) they often took me there to watch cartoons, and
I often played before the session. There were many different machines, but I
I only remember Sea Battle, since I only played that. Others
were too complicated for me.In elementary school (mid-late 80s) I sometimes played with
friends in the Prioksky Palace of Culture(https://yandex.ru/maps/-/CBqЧFKClcD).
There were also many different Soviet gaming machines in the foyer
automata. In the summer of 1990, I moved from Kanishchevo to
Dashki-Pesochnye and another era in my life has already begun, oh
which I already told.