Editorial: Scene+ #30

SCENE+ Publisher, coder, and person responsible for the content: L. C. D., Prager Str. 92/11/12, A-1210 Vienna, Austria. Phone: +43/1 272 34 63 / +43 676 5621809 / Email: lcd.one@aon.at.
Distribution together with SUC-Session: Thomas Eberle & Fred Dürkes, Rainäckerstr. 4, D-70794, Germany. Phone & Fax: (0049/711) 77 50 33. Spectrum- and SAM-related advertisements and classifieds are free of charge and can take any format: text, screen picture, or demo.

Hello SCENE+ readers.

Noticed something? LCD is finally reachable via more than just snail mail: I now finally have not only a cellular phone (commonly known as a "handy"), but also Internet access and an email address. Granted, I don't check in all that often, but sometimes there are quite a few interesting things to find, and my absolute favorite hunting ground on the net is the Russian Spectrum websites, where I download Spectrum stuff by the megabyte. While browsing them, I keep stumbling across fascinating programs and games, as well as previews of upcoming releases. Unfortunately, most of it comes in .TRD and .HOB formats. Master of Orion, King's Bounty II, and Pirates are just a few examples of these titles.

There are also several interesting PC utilities for the Spectrum, and Taper is hands down the best. There is a whole bunch of Spectrum emulators as well—not just for PC (X128 0.92 is out!), Amiga, or Archimedes, but also for lesser-known platforms: Atari ST, Mac, Psion Series 5, or even the Sony PlayStation. If there is enough demand, I could put together a Zip disk containing all the interesting stuff from the Internet that isn't hosted on World of Spectrum—meaning the latest X128 release alongside all the interesting .TRD, .SZX, and .TAP files and utility software. The price would be 10 DM if a Zip disk is enclosed.

Back to Scene+: as promised, I have included the Worms preview; it plays best with the ULA Corrector sold by 8BC. Part 16 of Vortex is finally here as well. I originally wanted to include the playable demo of WALKER (the Amiga version was a huge hit back in the day), but the .TAP version, which worked like a charm in X128 v0.92, refused to run on an actual Spectrum 128. A real pity, but I will probably have to drop the author an email. The game itself looked brilliant, with that wonderfully animated walker! I worked on getting it to run right up until the last minute.

The game title screens were well-received last time, so here is a continuation. The pictures I submitted to the graphics compo are also included—since I was the only participant, I took all top three places! Aside from that, there are a few digitized pictures I downloaded from the web.

I am slowly running out of material for future issues, and if nobody heeds my call for contributions, I will probably be forced to call it quits with the next issue. I need pictures, games, and demos, so pull your weight! That is all for this issue. I hope you enjoy the contents, even if some of the demos are getting a bit dusty.