Mekka/Symposium'97 Demo Party - Official Invitation File V2.1

Invitation: Version 2.1                               Release date:
02.03.97

                                  MEKKA '97
                                SYMPOSIUM '97

                           The Official Invitation

                         +------ Easter 1997 ------+

                          Polka Brothers * Phantasm
                             Lego * Smash Designs
                                Amable * Avena
                                   Teklords


 +----------+
+  Contents  +
 +----------+

   1.  Introduction
   2.  General Information (Date, Location, Bustrip, Price)
   3.  Features
   4.  Competitions
   5.  Network
   6.  Timetable
   7.  Organizers / Contacts
   8.  History
   9.  Disclaimer


 +---------------+
+ 1. Introduction +
 +---------------+

   Nearly one year ago two great parties took place:

   -> Mekka'96 (29th to 31st of march):

      Mekka was held  the first time in 1996  and was a great success. 
Over
      300 attenders from different countries joined the event. Before
Mekka,
      there was no real  party for the german pc demo  scene in our
country.

   -> Symposium'96 (5th to 8th of april):

      Symposium took place  the 9th time  and about  650 attenders  from
all
      over Europe came to be part of this special event.  The
multi-platform
      party got  a good reputation  cause it is a  scene party  organized
by
      scene people.

   At eastern 1997 these both parties will be combined  - not competing
like
   last year - to provide you even more fun, entertainment and
partyfeeling.

   It does not matter what kind of computers you like  - we will support
all
   platform and  most of them  will be represented by  well known and
famous
   demo groups for sure.

              - PC - Amiga - C64 - Atari Falcon - Acorn RISC PCs -

   This time Symposium/Mekka'97 will be an event not to miss - and
remember:

                     If you don't come... it's your fault!


 +------------------------+
+  2. General Information  +
 +------------------------+

   Date:
   -----

     Join us at Easter 1997

     -> Friday 28th to Monday 31st of March 1997.

     The doors will be opened for you on

     -> Friday at 12:00 CET and closed on Monday at the same time (12:00).

   Location:
   ---------

     The party will take place at

     -> "Heidmarkhalle Fallingbostel" between Hamburg and Hannover
                                (approximatly 100km to the south of
Hamburg)

     with enough space for all of you (sure!).

     By car:
     -------

       You can  reach  the  partyplace via the  highway "Autobahn A7", 
exit
       "Fallingbostel".  You will find signs directing you from this exit
to
       the party.

     By train:
     ---------

       You will have  to get to station  "Fallingbostel"  with the
"Deutsche
       Bundesbahn".  We will setup a  bus-shuttle service  to the party.
YOU
       MUST contact:

       -> Michael Krause - Mannesallee 24 - 21107 Hamburg, GERMANY
          raw...@blackbox.dame.de, ii7...@fh-wedel.de (Raw Style/Lego)

       in advance to make sure that our bus is at the train-station when
you
       are arriving.

     Bustrip:
     --------

       Of course you can come by bus too.  At the moment we have
information
       about at least four bustrips coming from

       -> Switzerland  and collection  attenders from south germany too. 
If
          -----------                                 -------------
          you want to join this bustrip  or you need additional 
information
          about this bustrip you can contact Furball: 
                                                         
"fur...@space.ch"

       -> Germany: This trip is  organized by  PSIONIC/T.C.F. and will
start
          --------
          in Gaertingen/Stuttgart.  The bus has  space for about  40
persons 
          including their hardware equipment.  Please contact psionic if
you  
          need more information or want to register to his bustrip:
                                                  
"psi...@osg.bb.bawue.de"

       -> Sweden: This trip is organized by Excel/Balance and Newt/Abyss.
If
          -------
          enough people come together there might even be more than one
bus.
          All this is  not absolutely  sure yet,  but if you are
interested,
          you can send Excel a mail: 
                                                  
"exc...@freenet.hut.fi"

       -> Hungary / Austria / Czech Republic: This  bustrip  will  start 
in
          -----------------------------------  
          Budapest and  maybe make  intermediate  stops  in Austria  and
the 
          Czech Republic. This trip is organized by Tomcat/Controlled
Dreams
          and  will cost  around  100 DM  (from Budapest).  You can 
contact 
          "Polgar Tamas, 1139 Budapest, Kartacs utca 7"  by  phone 
(english 
          spoken of course) "(+36-1) 140-0598" or via email:
                                                     
"tom...@ursus.bke.hu"

       If  you have  information about  any other  bustrips  or you  want
to
       organize one please contact:

       -> Malte Kanebley - Im Dorfe 3 - 21629 Neu Wulmstorf, GERMANY
          ama...@aol.com (Hardball/amable), voice: +49-4168-8611

   Table Reservation:
   ------------------

     In the  last week  we got  a great  response on  our invitationtext 
we
     released only a few days ago.  We decided to let you reserve your
table
     even if you do not want to pay in advance. Please send your
reservation
     to

     -> Malte Kanebley - Im Dorfe 3 - 21629 Neu Wulmstorf, GERMANY
        ama...@aol.com (Hardball/amable)

     Your registration should include the following information for each
     person you want to reserve a table:

     -> Realname

     -> Handle/Group (if you don't have one... leave it out)

     -> Platform (PC, Amiga, C64, Atari, Acorn, etc.)

     You will receive a confirmation as soon as possible.

     ! But please don't panic,  there really is enough space for everybody
!

   Online Table Reservation:
   -------------------------

     You can also register online at

     -> The "Digital Nightmare BBS" (Login Name=Mekka, Password=Mekka):

                                 [X75] [V110]
                                     | |
        +-----[NUMBER]----+[SPEED]-+-+-+-+-----[TYPE]-------+-[ONLiNE]--+
        | +49-5121- 39236 | 16.800 | O O | ZyX16.8 V32.b    | 00-24 CET |
        | +49-5121-157635 | 19.200 | X X | ZyX19.2 V32.b    | 00-24 CET |
        | +49-5121-157636 | 64.000 | X X | iSDN ONLY        | 00-24 CET |
        | +49-5121-157107 | 36.200 | X O | USR V.everything | 08-24 CET |
        | +49-5121-157108 | 28.800 | X X | V.34 V.FC        | 00-24 CET |
        | +49-5121-157109 |128.000 | X X | iSDN ONLY        | 00-24 CET |
        +-----------------+--------+-----+------------------+-----------+

   Price:
   ------

     The entrance fee  amounts 40 DM / person (about 25 US-Dollars).  We
are
     not able to change foreign currencies.

     The organisation is !NON-COMMERCIAL!  As usual the entrance-fee will
be
     distributed among the winners of the competitions.

     Pay in advance (possible until 10.03.97):
     -----------------------------------------

       If you  decide to pay  in advance  you can save 5 DM / person.
Please
       transfer  the  entrance-fee (35 DM / person) to the  following 
bank-
       account:

       -> Name of the Bank : Kreissparkasse Harburg
          Bank-Nr (BLZ)    : 207 500 00
          Account-Nr (Kto) : 211 00 888
          Name             : "Malte Kanebley"

       You will have  to choose  a password  to protect  your money. 
Please
       attach this line [german: "Verwendungszweck"] to your money order:

       -> "97"-HANDLE-PASSWORD-REALNAME

       Additionally you have to send an email or snail-mail to

       -> Malte Kanebley - Im Dorfe 3 - 21629 Neu Wulmstorf, GERMANY
          ama...@aol.com (Hardball/amable), voice: +49-4168-8611.

       This is important  because we need this  to verify your money
reached
       us properly. You will get a  confirmation and an  entrance-ticket.
Of
       course, we will reserve a table for you.


 +-------------+
+  3. Features  +
 +-------------+

   -> Everyone talks about *Internet* and so do we.  We will have a
Internet
      cafe installed for you with lots of terminals for IRC (17) and Web
(5)
      access.

   -> Visit our IRC channel  #sym97  to get the latest news and
information.

   -> An ethernet  network  running  with a  big fileserver  and  party
chat
      connected to the IRC.  Our equipment will hopefully provide a fast
and
      save party network all 72 hours. See chapter 5 for more details.

   -> Network: we are selling network equipment like NE2000 network cards
or
      ethernet cables and connectors for a fair price.

   -> We will present all compos  on a big screen of 6 * 4 squaremeters 
and
      a powerfull Dolby Surround music system.

   -> 100% public voting on all compos for everybody at the partyplace.

   -> There will be a  quiet place for you to sleep  if you decide not to
do
      this in front of your computer or under the table ;)

   -> Food: We will sell drinks (Coke,Water) and cold snacks like
(Snickers, 
      Chips, etc.) for a cheap price.  We can not provide  warm food
(sorry)
      and the shops in the city have only opened on Saturday from 09:00am
to 
      04:00pm (that's only 7 hours during the hole party!) but you will
find 
      McDonald's and  some nice  restaurants in the city.  Of course you
can 
      bring your own food with you.

   -> Every night there will be a mind blasting laser show.

   -> Live performances  on the stage by  Noisedrift, Ronny/Teklords and
the 
      FX Performer and Noodles/Phantasm.

   -> Flake/TRSI, the author  of the  well known  Amiga  anti-virus 
program 
      VirusWorkshop  will hold  a small  conference  giving  details  on
the
      latest virus techniques  which are becoming  more evil and
destructive 
      than ever before.

   -> The German BeBox Users Group (DeBUG) will also meet with us. We try
to
      make room  for a presentation  in the  Be Demo Tour  series which
took 
      place also on The Party VI last X-Mas.

   -> Many  other  features of  which we are not able or not willing to
tell
      you yet.

   Now that we're organizing this party, you might think that all you can
do
   is  visiting  it.  This is wrong:  We give you the one and only chance
to
   produce  yourself.   If you want to give a lecture on something or if
you
   have  another  idea of enriching the event, you're very welcome to do
so.
   We would like you to contact someone of us as soon as possible, though.


 +-----------------+
+  4. Competitions  +
 +-----------------+

   First of all we must send a big  THANX  to our sponsors that support
this
   event with hardware-, software- and cashprizes (alphabetical order):

   -> Amiga Plus Magazin

   -> Creative Labs

   -> I.S.M./beTON

   -> Kuester Datensysteme

   -> Mecomp GmbH

   -> Oberland Computer

   General competition rules:
   --------------------------

     -> The Rules may change until the party starts.

     -> At least one of the competitors must be present.

     -> We must have all entries until deadline.

     -> We will have  a preselection  for the music compos.  Only 15
entries
        will be presented.  The preselection will be done by a jury of
known
        scene people.

     -> The entry must be released at the party - not at any time before
and
        not on other parties taking place at the same time (we will
exchange
        us with the organizers of all other parties).

     -> You must release a "final"-version of your productions at the
party.

     -> You have to license us to put your production on any digital media.

     -> The entry must be  one archive with  description (FILE_ID.DIZ). 
The
        name  of the  archive  MUST be  compatible with  ISO 9660:  only
the
        characters "A"-"Z","0"-"9" and the underscore "_" are allowed!

   System configuration:
   ---------------------

     PC:
     ---

       -> The production must support a GUS or SB and

       -> your production MUST support NOSOUND too.

       -> The program must NOT use the commandline  to select the
soundcard.
          (use a soundcard-selection-menu or use a autodetect-function).

       -> 1oo% VGA-Register compatible videomode MUST BE SUPPORTED.

       -> Additionally you can use VESA 2.0-videomodes, too!

       -> Chipset specific code (ET4000, S3, 3D-Chips etc.) is not allowed.

       -> Your can test  your production up to 3 times on our PC  to fix
the
          latest hardware-problems.

       -> The Competition-PC will have following configuration:

          Prozessor       : Pentium 166
          RAM             : 16 MByte (minimum)
          L2-Cache        : 512 KByte
          Videocard       : fast PCI-Videoboard with 2 MByte RAM
          Soundboard      : - Gravis Ultrasound with 1 MByte RAM
                            - Creative SoundBlaster AWE32
          Operating System: DOS 6.2
          Max. Base-Mem   : 600 KByte (= 614400 Bytes)
          Memory Configs. : HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE; no FlatRealMode!

     Amiga:
     ------

       -> Processor: 68030 running at 50MHz, AGA. 68060 is optional.

       -> RAM      : 2 + 16 MByte

     Atari:
     ------

       -> Standard Falcon configuration

     C64:
     ----

       -> New SID

       -> Action Replay MK6

       -> 1541-II disk drive.

     Acorn:
     ------

       -> Bring your own ;)

   Competitions:
   -------------

     Demo (PC, Amiga, Atari, Acorn, C64):
     ------------------------------------

       -> Maximum size PC, Amiga, Atari, Acorn: 6 MByte (= 6291456 Bytes).

       -> Maximum size C64: standard 5,25" DD disk.

       -> Must not require installation (Assigns, Libs, Drivers, etc.).

       -> Write access to the disk is NOT allowed.

       -> For PC: It must be possible to interrupt the Demo with ESC.

       -> Only the first 15 min. of the Demo will be shown on the screen.

     Intro (PC, Amiga, Atari):
     -------------------------

       -> Maximum size PC: 64 KByte (= 65536 Bytes).

       -> Maximum size Amiga: 40 KByte (= 40960 Bytes).

       -> Maximum size Atari: 96 KByte (= 98304 Bytes).

       -> Must not require installation (Assigns, Libs, Drivers, etc.).

       -> Write access to the disk is NOT allowed.

       -> For PC: It must be possible to interrupt the Intro with ESC.

       -> Only the first 10 min. of the Intro will be shown on the screen.

     Intro 4KB (PC, Amiga, C64):
     ---------------------------

       -> Maximum size: 4 KByte (= 4096 Bytes).

       -> Sound (MIDI, AdLib, PC-Speaker or whatever you want) is possible.
          [Please include nessesary drivers]

       -> Write access to the disk is NOT allowed.

       -> Only the first 5 min. of the Intro will be shown on the screen.

     Game 32KB (platform indepentant):
     ----------------------------------

       -> Maximum size: 32 KByte (= 32768 Bytes).

       -> Just code a little, funny game,  e.g. jump'n'run or shoot`em`up
or
          whatever you want (KLF: what about magic carpet 32KB? ;).

       -> The coder of the game will play it on the big-screen.

       -> Write access to the disk  is allowed  (hiscore, playerinfo,
etc.).
          If these files are *not needed*  to run the game  they can
increse
          size by 8KB (so 40KB possible).  We will delete these files
before
          running the game on the compo-pc.

     Java 32KB (mostly platform indepentant :)
     ------------------------------------------

       -> Maximum codesize: 32 KByte (= 32768 Bytes).

       -> Only compiled client side Java code (.class files). No
Javascript.

       -> Must be callable over the network and from the local disk.

       -> Must run on the latest Internet Explorer  AND  Netscape
Navigator.

       -> We will run your applet on the compo PC under Windows NT 4.0 and
a
          desktop  size  of 640x480.  The browser  will  run  with
maximized
          window size. 

       -> Code whatever you want (Demo, Game, Paintprogram, ...).

       -> Sound possible (MIDI, Wave, Calculated, ...).

       -> Maybe  controlled by  keyboard or  mouse.  If  the  program 
needs
          interaction by the coder will play/use it on the big screen.

       -> Up to 32 KB of extra files (HTML file with <applet>-tag that
calls
          your java code, additional gfx or sound files (GIF, JPG, WAV,
MID,
          AVI, ...) that are included with the <param>-tag, ...).

     Protracker Module (4 channel, platform indepentant, except C64):
     -----------------------------------------------------------------

       -> Maximum size: 1 MByte (= 1048576 Bytes) unpacked.

       -> Only the first 3 min. will be played during the competition.

     Music (multichannel, platform indepentant, except C64):
     --------------------------------------------------------

       -> Maximum size: 1.4 MByte (= 1457664 Bytes).

       -> For PC: must be playable with Cubic-Player 1.7.

       -> For other platforms: must be executable.

       -> MIDI is not allowed.

       -> Only the first 3 min. will be played during the competition.

     Music (C64):
     ------------

       -> All formats allowed, executable file.

       -> The C64 screen will not be shown during the compo.

     Graphics (platform indepentant, except C64):
     ---------------------------------------------

       -> Allowed formats: max. 800x600 24bit, IFF, GIF, PNG, JPEG, LBM.

       -> Raytracing is possible.  We need at least  three significant
steps
          of the picure.

       -> Scanned pictures are not allowed.

     Graphics (C64):
     ---------------

       -> All formats/modes allowed.

       -> Must be an executable file.

     ANSi (all platforms):
     ----------------------

       -> Amiga und PC charset possible.

       -> Will be shown with 14400 bps.

       -> Not more than 200 Lines!

     Wild/Video:
     -----------

       -> Anything possible.

       -> Use any hardware you want.

       -> You must bring  your hardware with you  (we need F-BAS,
Composite,
          VGA or RGB-output) or give us a VHS or S-VHS tape.

     Surprise:
     ---------

       -> We will have some surprise-competitions at the party, too.

       -> You really think we would tell you those compos yet?

       -> ...of course not. But there will be FAST and FUN-COMPOS!


 +------------+
+  5. Network  +
 +------------+

   A LAN (Local Area Network) with several servers will be on the Party.
The
   Party Server will be used to publish all entries after the competitions.

   Every table gets  an own network cable  with a terminator  (BNC
10-BASE-2
   Thin-Ethernet). We will support the following frames:

   -> Ethernet IEEE 802.2 with iPX
 
   -> Ethernet IEEE 802.3 with iPX

   -> Ethernet Type II    with iPX & TCP/iP

   Please note, that we DO NOT SUPPORT NeuBEUI, DLC or DEC-NET!

   That's what  you need to  connect yourself  to the party  network and
its
   party server:

   -> An ethernet cable  and a T-Connector (we do NOT support  Twisted
Pair,
      unless you bring your own hub with you ;)

   -> A Novell NDS  (Netware Directory Services)  client OR  you can  get
an
      instant client from the net-crew.

   -> For the instant client  you will need the  ODI Driver for your
Network
      adapter.  This client does NOT run with Windows 95  even if Windows
95 
      includes it's own ODI Driver.

   We are  selling network  equipment like  NE2000 network  cards, 
ethernet 
   cables and connectors for a fair price.

   If you want  to spread your releases  over the network you can  share
the
   files with Windows 95/NT/WfW  or get a permission by the  net-crew to
put
   them on the Party-Server.

   Our network is supported by (alphabetical order):

   -> Novell

   -> Proteon

   -> Silicon Graphics


 +-------------+
+  6. Timetable +
 +-------------+

   Friday:
   -------

     12:00   The party will start

     24:00   Liveact "Noisedrift"

   Saturday:
   ---------

     01:00   Lasershow

     15:00   DEADLINE for Wild/Video, Grafix, Music, Ansi, 4KB Intro
             DEADLINE for all Acorn-, Falcon- and C64-compos

     20:00   COMPOS   Wild, Grafix, ANSI, 4 Channel Musik

   Sunday:
   -------

     00:30   Liveact "Ronny/Teklords"

     01:30   Lasershow with Liveact "Noodles/Phantasm"

     10:00   DEADLINE all other compos (Demo, Intro, Game)

     10:30   COMPO    Intro 4k

     15:30   COMPOS   Musik, Intro

     19:00   COMPOS   Game 32k, Fast Intro, C64 Demo, Atari Demo

   Monday:
   -------

     00:00   COMPOS   Acorn Demo, Amiga Demo, PC Demo

     05:00   DEADLINE Voting

     09:00   Prize ceremony

     12:00   We will close the doors

   Additionally the video beam and sound system will go down every night
for
   at least 4 hours so you can have a rest  or do whatever else you need
the 
   silence for.


 +--------------------------+
+  7. Organizers / Contacts  +
 +--------------------------+

   The  groups  involved  in  organizing the MeKKa/Symposium '97 are

   -> Amable (for PC),

   -> Avena (for Atari),

   -> Lego (for Amiga),

   -> Phantasm (for Amiga),

   -> Polka Brothers (Amiga),

   -> Smash Designs (for C64) and

   -> Teklords (for Amiga and PC).

   But  what  do  names mean?  It's the experience that matters.  And
that's
   what  we  can  *boast*  with:  ten  Symposiums, the  Mekka'96, the 
680xx
   Convention  1993  and  an in-depth knowledge of the scene provide us
with
   the power necessary for organizing such an event.

   More information:
   -----------------

   -> On our extensive World Wide Web pages:

        http://134.28.37.10/~frank/Sym97/

      You can find the invitation intro (Amiga) and demo (C64) here.

   -> On the Black Box BBS:

        +49-4105-84619  (v34)
        +49-4105-669011 (ISDN)

   -> On the Digital Nightmare BBS: 

        You will find the numbers in Chapter 2 "General Information".

   -> Directly from the organizers:

      PC:
      ---

        Malte Kanebley - Im Dorfe 3 - 21629 Neu Wulmstorf, GERMANY
        ama...@aol.com (Hardball/amable), voice: +49-4168-8611

        Jan Tegtmeier - Reinckeweg 9 - 22399 Hamburg, GERMANY
        teg...@tu-harburg.de (Starcode/amable)

      Amiga:
      ------

        Frank Schliefer - Am Musterplatz 27 - 21220 Seevetal, GERMANY
        gan...@blackbox.dame.de (Gandalf/Phantasm)

        Michael Krause - Mannesallee 24 - 21107 Hamburg, GERMANY
        raw...@blackbox.dame.de, ii7...@fh-wedel.de (Raw Style/Lego)

      C64:
      ----

        cha...@blackbox.dame.de (Chaotic/Smash Designs)

      Atari:
      ------

        mic...@hh3.maus.de (Jet/Avena)


 +-----------+
+  8. History +
 +-----------+

   Version 1.0 (09.12.96):
   -----------------------

     -> First invitation text released.

   Version 1.1 (19.12.96):
   -----------------------

     -> Bustrip from sweden added.

     -> Timetable added (deadlines only).

     -> Pay in advance only possible until end of february.

     -> Compo rulez changed a little bit.

   Version 1.2 (27.12.96):
   -----------------------

     -> Table reservation added.

     -> Rulez for Ansi-Compo specified.

   Version 2.0 (25.02.97):
   -----------------------

     -> Bustrips added.

     -> Online Table reservation site added (Digital Nightmare BBS).

     -> Pay in advance now possible until the middle of march.

     -> Features added (liveacts, conferences) and updated (food support)

     -> Added a list of our sponsors in chapter 4 (competitions).

     -> No anonymous compos anymore.

     -> No gfx-chipset specifiy code for pc.

     -> Compo pc updated.

     -> 4k Intro for C64 added.

     -> Game 32k now for all platforms.

     -> Gfx compo rulez changed (max. resolution).

     -> Wild and Video compo combined.

     -> Timetable updated (deadlines) and added (compos, liveacts).

     -> Chapter about the party network added.

   Version 2.1 (02.03.97):
   -----------------------

     -> Java Compo added.

     -> New bustrip from Hungary added.


 +---------------+
+  9. Disclaimer  +
 +---------------+

   -> We are  not responsible  for your  equipment  you bring  to the
party:
      keep an eye on it.

   -> We are not responsible for possible accidents during the party.

   -> We are not interested in troublemaking people and will throw them
out.

   -> You have to pay for everything you damage.

   -> You have to bring  your own wires  with you.  There is only one
power-
      connection for each table/computer.

   -> Of course hacked, cracked or illegal programs are not allowed.

   -> Racism is not allowed.

   -> You are under German law  and everything that's forbidden  outside
the
      party-place will be forbidden inside, too!


                         +----------------------+
                        +                        +
                       +  END OF INVITATION-FILE  +
                        +                        +
                         +----------------------+