Hello LCD,
Finally, something from me again! It's been long enough without me nagging you with critiques.
In your last letter, you asked me for some feedback regarding SCENE+ magazine. That is, whether I knew of any improvements, or if there was anything that urgently needed fixing. (What a poet!)
To start: in the main menu screen, there are still 3 small errors. Shame on you, Johan! [sic]
Next, launching SCENE+: it runs in 3 stages, but one gets the impression it runs in 4 stages. It feels a bit tedious and unfriendly. Couldn't you tap that wonder kid from Holland for a suggestion? Take a look at the program "SCENEload" on one of the disks.
Also, a bit more info in the Galleries would be welcome. For example, "Gallery #20: bank 1/8" (or 3/8) or something similar would be very nice. Still, those are all minor details. What really gets on my nerves is the fact that to select something, you sometimes have to press "0", other times "SPACE", or even the "M" key. One key for all cases (sounds like a TV series title?), e.g., the "SPACE" key.
You can see that this time I went through the magazine with a very fine-toothed comb, so here comes another remark: didn't Wolfgang already write to you saying that at some point, one has to simply be satisfied? I think that as far as SCENE+ is concerned, with or without these "improvements," you can be very proud of your magazine, and furthermore, that in this form it is already complete. Lay your mind to rest, man!
The second question about screen$ or programs is fulfilled with the enclosed disks, I hope:
- Part 2 of the animal screen$ (66 pieces + 1 Parrot)
- 2 disks full of 'images' of famous people (151 pieces)
- "CLIPSTICK3", the new Clipstick, but now without the Cat disk error and with extra disk Load and Save features (2 disk drives), as well as a 'SCRAPBOOK' Load/Save option.
- "ViewRoyal2", the new View-Royal, now with an automatic SlideShow option in the VIEWER mode.
Both programs can run on the Opus as well as the +D/DISCiPLE; they are already configured for them.
Then the 3rd question: how full should a magazine (reading disks) actually be? That isn't so easy to answer. Does it have to be overfilled? Short and clear: NO!
What can one expect instead? That is easier to answer:
- General info and articles
- Current info (Hot news) and letters to the editor
- Programs (utilities, etc.), 1 to 3 items
- Games, 2 to 4
- Demos, 1 to 4 (number of programs, games, or demos depending on their size)
- Pictures, 30 to 80 images in banks of 10 (for clarity), preferably of 3 or 4 types.
Examples: 30 Star Trek, 20 Star Trek, 30 Animals, 20 Disney, 20 Derrick, 15 Animals, 10 Fairytales.
With that, you have the main part for each issue, plus extras like a good story (such as yours). The story doesn't necessarily have to be about computers, but should have something to do with them, the future, or electronics, to whatever extent (I think).
And then maybe a few sounds (music?) and you're done. (A little joke.) In all seriousness, one couldn't wish for more, whether that ends up being 180 KB or 600 KB. Usually the total will be between 300 KB and 500 KB, I think, and who could complain about that?
Looking at it at first glance, I'd say: hey, isn't that pretty much exactly what you've always been doing up until now? As I said before, lay your mind at ease, man!
Until next time, with friendly regards,
Johan Koning
Hi Johan!
Great to hear from you again! I was already afraid my magazine had become too perfect and you ran out of suggestions.
Don't worry about the few small errors in the title picture: I have removed the two superfluous pixels and the attribute error, and gave it a fresh look so it stays up to date after the upcoming merger. You will see this, along with a completely revamped design, starting in February with Issue #25.
Since I am handing the letters section over to SUC-Session, there will also be some changes in the content, but the page count of SUC-Session will likely increase. Hopefully not too much, otherwise postage will cost me more than I anticipated.
As for the bootloader program, I will think of something to make the whole thing look better, but all changes will take effect only once the merger is complete. Right now I am quite stressed because four more issues are waiting to be finished, a small competition is in the works, and so on.
The inconsistent keys were really sloppy of me, resulting from having developed the programs independently of each other. I will take care of that too. However, displaying more info in the galleries might cause issues: as you may have noticed, memory is completely full. I would have to push the lower boundary from 260 to 270 or so. Maybe I'll go further and build in something more than just that.
I'm kind of sorry, but I just can't let my thoughts rest. "He who rests grows rusty," and I can't afford rust in inaccessible places—especially not in my brain! Contrary to what X-Terminator and Fred believe, I am not an android, definitely not related to Lt. Commander Data, and therefore cannot simply open a maintenance hatch and pour in rust remover.
Perhaps I've mentioned it before: Clipstick does not seem to work properly with the +D, which is why I cannot use it. Besides, it seems to have already been published in OUTLET.
The content of SCENE+ mostly depends on what gets submitted. If no sounds are sent in, I can't include them, so I am dependent on the readers. I hope that with growing popularity, more programs will be submitted to SCENE+, although I harbor no illusions that German or Austrian programmers can produce software as good as Russian coders (why is that, anyway?).
You think my story VORTEX is good already? Just wait: I'm currently writing Episode 13, and things will get truly interesting and exciting once the Suspirions enter the picture.
Well, that's all for this time. As mentioned, a lot will change starting with Issue #25.
Stay tuned!
L.C.D.
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