Letters: Guido Schell & LCD

Guido Schell
12.10.1997
Auf dem Stocke 37
D-32584 Löhne

Hello LCD,

My god, what is going on with you? Scene 17, the May issue, reached me in August! And then the merger with the SUC. I'm still debating whether I should consider that a good or a bad thing; I have mixed feelings about it. The fact that everything will now only appear every two months isn't great, but it's understandable. I can well imagine how much work it all takes.

Now, the thing is: I hold a dual membership. Thomas writes that he doesn't have an idea about this yet. Well, I do: if it's supposed to be fair, the membership should simply be doubled for the remaining period. Or perhaps a discount for next year. I don't think there are too many dual members anyway, so a solution will surely be found.

Other than that, not much new here, except for this: I will probably become a father for the second time in May! That definitely means even less time for computer stuff. In the summer, I usually have better things to do anyway—another reason why I haven't written for so long. I also wanted to finish part 5 of the "+D Ecke" first. Part 5 has already been published by the SPC, but not yet in SUCSESSION. That's simply because SUCSESSION has been published more on schedule lately than the SPC magazine—not because I'm playing favorites. Thomas always wants to be up to date. If you want, feel free to print this letter in Scene. I'll put it on the enclosed disk together with the +D Ecke.

For a while now, I've had a DISCiPLE interface here. Is there anyone out there who still works with it? I have a few questions. So, guys, get in touch! Maybe write directly to me? Thanks!

Hoping to receive a new Scene soon and hear from you again, I'll say bye for now!

Hello Guido,

First of all, I am not God (hey!, I think you know who I mean?), and secondly, SCENE had indeed gotten into a bit of a spin lately. But if I push myself and lock my room door properly, nothing will stop me from finishing this issue at least on time before the meeting... Just a moment, please, I hear the phone ringing.

Nobody was on the line—probably another one of those who need psychiatric treatment. That makes me hungry, wait a second...

That's what I needed! One moment more, I think my girlfriend is here...

Alright, where was I? Right, the delayed release is usually due to two facts: first, hardly any letters reached me for the feedback section; second, there's the PC and the Amiga, and the fascination of raytracing has gripped me. By now, I have transferred almost all the "Legacy" ships into the computer. For several planned strategy games, I'll probably generate the units this way too, or at least the title screens and covers.

Believe me, the merger between SUC and ASC is the best thing that could happen to me. After all, SCENE+ will be read by even more people, and I quietly hope that a few articles and programs will trickle down to my part of the magazine. In the end, SUC-Session won't just be a magazine with a cover disk, but two magazines complementing each other (at least that's my hope).

Your suggestion isn't bad at all, but there are already SCENE+ readers who have paid several years in advance, which certainly speaks for the magazine. I have resolved to bring order to the chaos by the end of the year, and the first steps have already been taken: the most elaborate materials for the issues up to December are already finished or almost finished. Upcoming galleries, articles (one of them once again a real treat for coders), and several title screens are completely done—just like the man who coded them.

By the way, how do you like my new Tape Label Master? I wrote a Disk Label Master back in 1988 (and it still looks good today, although it's very slow). Unfortunately, it only works with the Seikosha GP 500 or other 7-pin printers via Interface 1, but maybe one day I'll turn it into a better program for 24-pin/inkjet printers. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

My heartfelt congratulations on programming a new citizen of Earth! Hopefully, he'll become an outstanding programmer. So far, I've always avoided passing on my genes through certain protective measures. I know all too well what it's like when screaming keeps you away from the computer at night—or away from sleep, if I could even find the time for it.

Having better things to do in the summer? Do you travel without a computer? Nowadays, there's a Pentium laptop the size of a wallet with a color display. With a Z80 emulator, it would be almost an alternative to the Spectrum to take everywhere—but as I said, only almost. For some reason, I still prefer the Spectrum, probably because it makes less noise during operation, consumes less power, or simply because I'm fed up with waiting two minutes before I can start typing a letter or until the system finally boots up—and then there's Window$ (why not Gate$?).

I certainly hope you don't play favorites with anyone, as that only leads to arguments and ugly words; for instance, I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable if you favored me. I think the scene has become a bit too small. Of course, one should rid the scene of all evil (where are you, Theo Devil?).

Ahem! I said ahem! Haven't you ever noticed that I also have a disciple—I mean, a DISCiPLE? And I must say I know my way around it pretty well. Just write down what you want to know! For instance, how to format disks in single-density mode (not +D compatible, as it's only 256 bytes per sector instead of 512)?

Alright, that's it for now. Thanks again for helping me reactivate the letters column. So long! Eternal life for Spectrum!

L.C.D.