4 ms·

The Best Of The 2009 Demoscene - incredible mem management

47 points by aresant 17y ago

paraschopra 17y ago
Pouet.net is an excellent source of demos One group's demos are especially impressive - http://www.theprodukkt.com/demoscene http://www.theprodukkt.com/demoscene Just watch their fr-08 or play that 64 KB FPS
nostrademons 17y ago
I don't really see what the title has to do with the article - it said that these are for "demos", i.e. no size limits, and the #1 entry came in at about 60 MB. It'd be a lot more impressive if they fit that into 4K.
- Confusion 17y ago
  Well, it used to be just 4K of executable code. Perhaps the code used to produce the video was still extremely small?
  - nostrademons 17y ago
    The article explains. Since computers have gotten so much more powerful, the demoscene has fragmented - 4k/64k demos are now called "intros", and "demos" refers to programs with no limits except that they must render in realtime.
    - thibaut_barrere 17y ago
      From my memory, this split (4k/64k/more) existed long before 1995. More recently, see http://ind.untergrund.net/ http://ind.untergrund.net/ for a list of very small (like 32, 256 bytes - not kb).
      - jcl 17y ago
        Sure. The split has existed since at least the second Assembly in 1993. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_demo_party#Demo_and_intro_competition_winners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_demo_party#Demo_and_in... I haven't been able to find an earlier example of the split; prior to that, it seems demos simply did not compete with size limitations.
- enqk 17y ago
  Still, you can compare 60MB vs 2GB of RAM or ~512MB of gpu memory.
spitfire 17y ago
The technical overview of direct to video is very interesting. It's sort of funny, it is the modern day pixel-draw-image effect. With GPU's the old demoscene of low level hw hacking is still alive. Not only that but you're seeing some serious artistic effort put into these things. Not just 3ds shows which were a problem in the late 90's early 00's. Wonder when we'll start seeing demo's at moma.
- thwarted 17y ago
  I've been wishing for years that digital-only media had a better representation and recognition at publicly accessible museums, not just relegated to the odd art-opening gallery showing, on par with colored paste applied to fabric with horse hair.
joshu 17y ago
I'm kinda sad that these things can run in realtime on modern hardware, but my fucking computer can't play a low-res video of the actual animation without stuttering. First video felt a bit like an autechre video.
- aw3c2 17y ago
  Your computer is not the culprit, Flash is.
  - gnosis 17y ago
    You don't need flash to watch the videos. If you follow the links for each video you can download them in mp4 format.
p0nce 17y ago
The point of real-time is also not to watch a video. The real thing is almost always better. If you want to watch it real-time it can be a good idea to ask the author for more compatibility. Also check this 64k, my favourite this year: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53643 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53643
- romland 17y ago
  Whoa. Thanks for that link! I only follow the demoscene sporadically these days as I always lose a couple of hours everytime I end up at Pouet! By following that link I also had the pleasure of ending up on your demoscene group . I had to watch a few, and timestamps may be off here (could only watch the video) but at 2:02 in "Extatique" I had this shiver down my spine as it sent me back to the 90's Amiga scene with resizing-bob-starfield (only lasted for about 2 seconds before I was yanked back to reality, though). :D Nice productions! PS. Nice to see that you guys seem to provide source for everything! Edit: link for those who might be curious: http://www.vimeo.com/8607459 http://www.vimeo.com/8607459
  - p0nce 17y ago
    Hey thanks. The low-tech feel of this demo wasn't intended tbh :) For casual watchers, good stuff from recent years: Stargazer/Orb & Andromeda: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51438 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51438 The Beauty/Einklang.net: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50144 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50144 Texas/Keyboarders: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51448 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51448 Receptor/TBX: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51449 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51449 Rudebox/ATZ: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53937 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53937 Masagin/Farbrausch: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50131 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50131 Everything ASD: http://pouet.net/groups.php?which=1317&order=release http://pouet.net/groups.php?which=1317&order=release
thibaut_barrere 17y ago
Are there other (former/current) demomakers around here ? I released these ones a long while back (ie circa 95-98): Obez/KlOon http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=17268 http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=17268 (soft real phong rendering) Nikki/Jinrikisha http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=1368 http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=1368 I'm planning to experiment with ruby-based demo (maybe using Jemini - see http://www.learnivore.com/search/jemini http://www.learnivore.com/search/jemini) when I'll have more time this year.
- daeken 17y ago
  I'm an assembly hacker (long time reverse-engineer, lately focused on compiler/kernel development) looking to get into the demoscene, but I've spent more time thinking and less time doing. I've built a few little fun things that are almost demo-related (I built a (x86 PC) bootblock breakout game that used the actual VGA memory to do collision detection, and a few other little things), but no actual demos. Is the best way to get into the scene to just start building things, or is it worthwhile to seek group contacts and try to get on an established team? This will likely sound horrible for someone who wants to get into the scene, but I have a hard time coming up with an idea that's both interesting and doable given the restraints in which I want it to operate. This has been my biggest stumbling block so far, but I think that once I get one real project under my belt, I'll be considerably better off. As a sidenote, if anyone here is interested in starting up a little group, I'm game.
  - thibaut_barrere 17y ago
    Well back in the days, I just started out experimenting with some effects (ie standalone piece of graphic effect), or music. At some point I had various effects available handy, so I started sharing this inside the college, met a few people, went to demoparties etc. After that people approached me to ask if we could work together etc. Well I think the most important thing is to try doing a little something, see how it goes etc. This can be time-boxed like any other hobbies.
  - p0nce 17y ago
    Start building doable things, and start now. The tricky part is not to find interesting ideas but to find the time to implement these.
elblanco 17y ago
I dare anyone to look at these and not declare them art. Participating in the scene is one of the most fun activities I've ever done.

47 points by aresant 17y ago

Pouet.net is an excellent source of demos One group's demos are especially impressive - http://www.theprodukkt.com/demoscene http://www.theprodukkt.com/demoscene Just watch their fr-08 or play that 64 KB FPS

nostrademons 17y ago

I don't really see what the title has to do with the article - it said that these are for "demos", i.e. no size limits, and the #1 entry came in at about 60 MB. It'd be a lot more impressive if they fit that into 4K.

Confusion 17y ago
Well, it used to be just 4K of executable code. Perhaps the code used to produce the video was still extremely small?
- nostrademons 17y ago
  The article explains. Since computers have gotten so much more powerful, the demoscene has fragmented - 4k/64k demos are now called "intros", and "demos" refers to programs with no limits except that they must render in realtime.
  - thibaut_barrere 17y ago
    From my memory, this split (4k/64k/more) existed long before 1995. More recently, see http://ind.untergrund.net/ http://ind.untergrund.net/ for a list of very small (like 32, 256 bytes - not kb).
    - jcl 17y ago
      Sure. The split has existed since at least the second Assembly in 1993. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_demo_party#Demo_and_intro_competition_winners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_demo_party#Demo_and_in... I haven't been able to find an earlier example of the split; prior to that, it seems demos simply did not compete with size limitations.
enqk 17y ago
Still, you can compare 60MB vs 2GB of RAM or ~512MB of gpu memory.

spitfire 17y ago

The technical overview of direct to video is very interesting. It's sort of funny, it is the modern day pixel-draw-image effect. With GPU's the old demoscene of low level hw hacking is still alive. Not only that but you're seeing some serious artistic effort put into these things. Not just 3ds shows which were a problem in the late 90's early 00's. Wonder when we'll start seeing demo's at moma.

thwarted 17y ago
I've been wishing for years that digital-only media had a better representation and recognition at publicly accessible museums, not just relegated to the odd art-opening gallery showing, on par with colored paste applied to fabric with horse hair.

joshu 17y ago

I'm kinda sad that these things can run in realtime on modern hardware, but my fucking computer can't play a low-res video of the actual animation without stuttering. First video felt a bit like an autechre video.

aw3c2 17y ago
Your computer is not the culprit, Flash is.
- gnosis 17y ago
  You don't need flash to watch the videos. If you follow the links for each video you can download them in mp4 format.

p0nce 17y ago

The point of real-time is also not to watch a video. The real thing is almost always better. If you want to watch it real-time it can be a good idea to ask the author for more compatibility. Also check this 64k, my favourite this year: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53643 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53643

romland 17y ago
Whoa. Thanks for that link! I only follow the demoscene sporadically these days as I always lose a couple of hours everytime I end up at Pouet! By following that link I also had the pleasure of ending up on your demoscene group . I had to watch a few, and timestamps may be off here (could only watch the video) but at 2:02 in "Extatique" I had this shiver down my spine as it sent me back to the 90's Amiga scene with resizing-bob-starfield (only lasted for about 2 seconds before I was yanked back to reality, though). :D Nice productions! PS. Nice to see that you guys seem to provide source for everything! Edit: link for those who might be curious: http://www.vimeo.com/8607459 http://www.vimeo.com/8607459
- p0nce 17y ago
  Hey thanks. The low-tech feel of this demo wasn't intended tbh :) For casual watchers, good stuff from recent years: Stargazer/Orb & Andromeda: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51438 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51438 The Beauty/Einklang.net: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50144 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50144 Texas/Keyboarders: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51448 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51448 Receptor/TBX: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51449 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=51449 Rudebox/ATZ: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53937 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=53937 Masagin/Farbrausch: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50131 http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50131 Everything ASD: http://pouet.net/groups.php?which=1317&order=release http://pouet.net/groups.php?which=1317&order=release

thibaut_barrere 17y ago

Are there other (former/current) demomakers around here ? I released these ones a long while back (ie circa 95-98): Obez/KlOon http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=17268 http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=17268 (soft real phong rendering) Nikki/Jinrikisha http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=1368 http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=1368 I'm planning to experiment with ruby-based demo (maybe using Jemini - see http://www.learnivore.com/search/jemini http://www.learnivore.com/search/jemini) when I'll have more time this year.

daeken 17y ago
I'm an assembly hacker (long time reverse-engineer, lately focused on compiler/kernel development) looking to get into the demoscene, but I've spent more time thinking and less time doing. I've built a few little fun things that are almost demo-related (I built a (x86 PC) bootblock breakout game that used the actual VGA memory to do collision detection, and a few other little things), but no actual demos. Is the best way to get into the scene to just start building things, or is it worthwhile to seek group contacts and try to get on an established team? This will likely sound horrible for someone who wants to get into the scene, but I have a hard time coming up with an idea that's both interesting and doable given the restraints in which I want it to operate. This has been my biggest stumbling block so far, but I think that once I get one real project under my belt, I'll be considerably better off. As a sidenote, if anyone here is interested in starting up a little group, I'm game.
- thibaut_barrere 17y ago
  Well back in the days, I just started out experimenting with some effects (ie standalone piece of graphic effect), or music. At some point I had various effects available handy, so I started sharing this inside the college, met a few people, went to demoparties etc. After that people approached me to ask if we could work together etc. Well I think the most important thing is to try doing a little something, see how it goes etc. This can be time-boxed like any other hobbies.
- p0nce 17y ago
  Start building doable things, and start now. The tricky part is not to find interesting ideas but to find the time to implement these.

elblanco 17y ago

I dare anyone to look at these and not declare them art. Participating in the scene is one of the most fun activities I've ever done.