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			   pHaAtTT! iT's dA

	mekka & symposium 1998 invitation text file, version 1
       --------------------------------------------------------

		 The German Easter Party organized by

	       lEGO . aMABLE . sMASH dESIGNS . tEKLORDS
	       pHANTASM . pOLKA bROTHERS . cUBIC & sEEN

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-++++-+++-++-+-+-

 0x00	.o.O[ --- t a b l e   o f   c o n t e n t s

	0x01	Introduction
	0x02	Location & Date
	0x03	Bus Trips
	0x04	Features
	0x05	Competitions
	0x06	Food
	0x07	Network
	0x08	General Rules
	0x09	Time Table
	0x0a	The Organizers
	0x0b	More Information
	0x0c	Releases


 0x01	.o.O[ --- i n t r o d u c t i o n

	In the last years, this demo scene event has grown to the best
	and biggest German party and its name can sometimes be heard
	together with "The Party", "The Gathering" or "Assembly" in the
	same sentence.

	That doesn't mean it's just another huge anonymous lamer
	conference; in 1997 we had 750 visitors, in 1996 the Symposium
	had 640, the Mekka 300 visitors, in 1995 the BlackBox Symposium
	had also around 300 visitors.

	This party is known for its "scenish" flavour, for prominent
	sceners being there and for high-quality releases. Attenders
	come from all important platforms, that is mainly the C64, PC,
	Amiga and some other systems such as the Atari. For the Mekka &
	Symposium 1998, we expect about 850 visitors having four nice
	Easter days.


 0x02	.o.O[ --- l o c a t i o n   &   d a t e

	The party place is situated between Hamburg and Hannover, in a
	small town called "Fallingbostel". Most of you already know this
	hall from the Symposium & Mekka '97 and we are confident that
	the space will suffice one more time. Some mistakes we've made
	last time will be corrected, so we'll have a dark hall in the
	day-time, better sound equipment and clean toilets. The address
	is:

		Heidmarkhalle
		An der Heidmarkhalle 1
		29683 Fallingbostel
		http://www.fallingbostel.de/ ;-)

	A phone number will be published on our WWW site a few days
	before the event starts.

	If you're going to come by car, you will be driving down the
	highway A7 - Fallingbostel is announced. From the highway exit,
	there will be signs directing you to the party place. Also,
	people living there will know you by your weird look and gladly
	point you the way to the Heidmarkhalle.

	When coming by train, you have to use some major train to either
	Hamburg or Hannover (whichever is nearer to you), and change for
	Fallingbostel there. Then you can make use of the free 24h Bus
	Shuttle service we will set up like every year. You should have
	contacted Raw Style (for address see below) in advance, just to
	be sure. If you're coming without equipment, you can also take
	the walk (half an hour).

	We'll open the doors on Friday, the 10th of April, 12:00
	CET. The party will last until Monday the 13th, 12:00 CET.

	The entrance fee for the whole time amounts to 40 DM (about 25
	US-Dollars). We don't take foreign currencies. Girls and
	Mat/Ozone get in for free! There is no table reservation, and no
	possibility of paying in advance! Money which is left is spent
	on the competition prizes. Bring your own power connectors!

	There will be an external sleeping hall right besides the party
	hall.  Nevertheless, if you need a quiet place to sleep, you can
	stay at the local youth hostel, which is located about 500m from
	the party place. If you have the necessary member card and you
	are interested, this is the address:

		Jugendherberge Fallingbostel
		DJH Landesverband Hannover e.V.
		Liethweg 1
		29683 Fallingbostel
		Phone: +49 5162 2274


 0x03	.o.O[ --- b u s   t r i p s

	1. Preliminary route: Nürnberg (Germany) - Bamberg - Coburg -
	Kassel - Fallingbostel.  Small detours are possible, and the bus
	will also pick you up in any city in between.  This trip is
	organized by e605/sdi: e605@f-t.de or phone 09504 674.

	Are you organizing another bus trip to MS98? Please contact Raw
	Style so we can add it to this section!


 0x04	.o.O[ --- f e a t u r e s

	Just a short overview, details are coming up below:

	>> Lots of competitions for Amiga, PC and C64
	>> Competitions presented on a big screen of 6x4 m^2
	>> Powerful sound equipment
	>> Place for 1200 visitors plus equipment
	>> Live music performances (even non-Techno!)
	>> Traditional entertainment provided by Steeler!
	>> Party network with Internet access
	>> Internet cafe
	>> A city nearby, with shops and bars
	>> 24h Drinks & snacks available on the party
	>> ...and the unique Mekka & Symposium party feeling!


 0x05	.o.O[ --- c o m p e t i t i o n s

	The first version of the compo rules we published was very
	restrictive - some of you might remember. In the course of
	events, some people complained about them. Some complaints were
	well-reasoned, some were not. After three months of discussing
	and making the rules more open, we came up with this final rule
	set. We find it's a good compromise between technical progress
	and keeping a kind of scenish spirit by limiting possibilites.


	GENERAL RULES ==================================================

	>> The competitor must be present, or in case of group
	   contribution, at least one person of the group.

	>> All entries must be delivered until deadline (for time table
	   see below)

	>> There will be a preselection for the music competitions (we
	   can't show 200 modules). The selections will be based on
	   quality, not on names or music styles.

	>> No contribution disks, videos etc. will be given back.

	>> You have to agree that we'll spread your contribution during
	   and after the party, via Internet, BBSs, CD-ROMs etc.

	>> Just in case: The rules might still change; stay tuned to
	   announcements.


	C64 COMPETITIONS ===============================================

	Two fine competitions to honour the roots:

	The C64 Demo Competition
		Maximum size is a standard 5.25 DD disk (both sides).

	The C64 4K Intro Competition
		Maximum size is 4096 bytes (not more than 16.12
		blocks...).

	Note that there are also the C64 Graphics and C64 Sound
	competitions...

	The competition computer contains a new SID and an Action Replay
	MK6, and is connected to a 1541-II floppy drive.


	IBM PC COMPETITIONS ============================================

	The PC Demo Competition
		The summed size of all the files belonging to the Demo
		must not exceed 6 megabytes (6291456 bytes).  The demo
		must work with an SB16, too.

	The PC 64K Intro Competition
		The size may not exceed 64 kilobytes (65536 bytes).

	The PC 4K Competition
		The size may not exceed four kilobytes (4096 bytes). A
		nosound option doesn't have to be provided.

	The configuration of the PC and some general notes go like this:

	>> CPU: Intel Pentium 166MHz, 512K Level 2 Cache
	>> RAM: 32MB
	>> Sound: Gravis Ultrasound PnP 1MB and SoundBlaster 16.
	>> Graphics: An S3 Trio64V+ (80C765) based card with 2MB of
	   display memory, SDD 5.3a or later will be running.
	>> We will be running MS-DOS 7.0: Win95 is not running,
	   it has been shut down into MS-DOS mode.
	>> Maximum resolution is 800x600. Please try to avoid excessive
	   mode switches, as this may lead to considerable video beam
	   drop out times.
	>> All entries (except the 4K ones) must also work if no
	   soundcard is present, or they must provide an explicit
	   -nosound option.
	>> All entries must be handed in on double- or high-density FAT
	   (MS-DOS) formatted disks.


	AMIGA COMPETITIONS =============================================

	The Amiga Demo Competition
		The summed size of all the files belonging to the Demo
		must not exceed 3 megabytes (3145728 bytes).

	The Amiga 40K Intro Competition
		The size may not exceed 40 kilobytes (40960 bytes). 40K,
		not 64K!

	The Amiga 4K Competition
		The size may not exceed 4 kilobytes (4096 bytes).

	The competition Amiga is a 68060-based machine. We don't know
	yet whether it will be an A4000 or an A1200, and it doesn't
	matter either.  Your contribution has to work on a 68030 with
	8MB FastMem.  Assigns and installation scripts are
	forbidden. Custom libraries may be used, but not installed
	outside of the contribution directory. All entries must come on
	double-density (!) Amiga disks.


	GRAPHICS COMPETITIONS ==========================================

	The Graphics Competition
		Maximum resolution is 640x480 in 24 Bits TrueColor.  The
		entries must be handed in in IFF, PNG or TGA format.
		JPEGs will not be accepted, due to the loss of quality.
		The size of the file shouldn't grow beyond an MB, unless
		you've made some stupid error.

	The C64 Graphics Competition
		All formats/modes are allowed, the contribution must be
		handed in as an executable file on a standard C64 disk.

	The ANSI Competition
		Due to the rising number of ANSI-painters, the
		competitions are flooded by many entries not worth to be
		shown, making a proper voting impossible.  To avoid
		having a preselection, we decided to organize the ANSI-
		compo like a traditional fast-compo.  Thus, every
		participant has to paint a logo and some objects that
		are declared some time before the deadline.  You will
		have three hours for creating your entry.

		AcidView 3.99 is the official compo-viewer.  First, the
		picture will be shown in Textmode (80x25) using a BPS of
		2400 and then again in VGA.  Comments and suggestions
		may be sent to Paul Nothdurft@2:240/5527.23 (aka
		Trate/FBK&Purge).

	All the entries will be shown at least twice, at different
	daytimes.


	MUSIC COMPETITIONS =============================================

	The MOD Competition
		Allowed are ProTracker modules only, that means four
		channels, and playable with all the usual mod players on
		all the usual platforms.  The only restriction is: Don't
		use more than 447 kilobytes (457728 bytes). We will show
		twelve selected entries to the audience, using
		ProTracker V2.2a on Amiga.

	The XM Competition
		Don't use more than 713 kilobytes (730112 bytes). We
		will show twelve selected entries to the audience, using
		the latest FastTracker on an AWE64. Only XM modules and
		other formats playable by FastTracker are allowed!

	The C64 Sound Competition
		All formats allowed, the entry must be an executable
		file delivered on a standard C64 disk. The C64 screen
		will not be shown during the competition.

	We will show 4:27 (four minutes and twenty-seven seconds) of
	each song.


	OTHER COMPETITIONS =============================================

	The 32K Game Competition
		For PC and Amiga. The above configurations apply.
		Maximum size of all files is 32768 bytes. Temporary
		files on the harddisk are allowed, they will not be
		included in the byte count. They will be removed before
		playing the game. The coder will play it on the big
		screen. If you are planning networked games, contact us
		in advance. We will do a preselection on this
		competition to ensure that no two-hours gag program will
		win again, instead of one of the games into which the
		programmers have put a lot of work!

	The Wild Competition
		Use any hardware you want, and hand in your work on a
		VHS or S-VHS tape. You may also bring your wild
		hardware, but please get in contact with the organizers
		in advance to make sure we can actually connect it to
		big screen beamer.

	The Fast Intro Competition
		The one thing that must not miss on any party. Surprise
		surprise ;-)=


 0x06	.o.O[ --- f o o d

	We'll sell sandwiches, snacks (Mars, Snickers etc.) and
	Coke/Sprite etc.  all the time. Currently we can't guarantee
	that there will be more food supply, but we give our best to
	have a snack-bar with fries, hamburgers etc. in front of the
	building. Besides that you can still walk those few meters into
	the city of Fallingbostel and make use of the shops and bars
	there (most shops open only on Saturday). Of course you may also
	bring stuff from home.


 0x07	.o.O[ --- n e t w o r k

	There will be a reliable party network with high-speed Internet
	access.  Details will follow later, but we are planning a Fast
	Ethernet (100Mbps) system!


 0x08	.o.O[ --- g e n e r a l   r u l e s

	The usual legal mush: We are not responsible for stolen computer
	equipment or other personal items you bring with you. We aren't
	responsible for personal injuries either. Take care of yourself,
	your friends and your luggage. We didn't have much trouble with
	theft on our parties, but it might be better to think twice
	about taking a certain valuable thing with you onto the party.

	The use of alcohol is hereby explicitly forbidden. After facing
	severe damages and personal attacks on the last party due to
	heavily drunken individuals, we chose to put up this
	rule. Drunken guys won't be let inside, disturbing guys will be
	put outside. Don't consume Vodka in front of the stage. Don't
	*vomit* onto the floor.

	If we find you to be destroying things, either intellectual
	property (hacking the network system), or physically damaging
	the building, you can be sure we won't forget you.

	Please respect German law. Illegal actions, especially regarding
	software piracy, can not be tolerated. Dutch visitors should try
	to be aware of the fact that weed is an illegal drug here.

	Have fun! And if you have ideas of what might be fun on the
	party, don't hesitate to contact us, even on the party. You're
	part of the party.


 0x09	.o.O[ --- t i m e   t a b l e

	Friday, 10th April

		12:00	Opening
		16:00	Opening ceremony

	Saturday, 11th April

		15:00	Deadline I:
				All music and graphics competitions,
				Wild competition, 4K Intro.

		18:00	C64 Music competition
		20:00	Graphics competition
		23:00	Wild competition

	Sunday, 12th April

		01:00	C64 Graphics competition
		08:00	Module competition

		10:00	Deadline II:
				All intro competitions, Game 32K.

		11:00	4K Intros Amiga, PC, C64
		13:00	Graphics, repeat
		14:00	XM competition
		16:30	Game 32K competition
		17:30	C64 Graphics, repeat

		18:00	Deadline III:
				All demo competitions.

		18:00	40K Intros Amiga
		20:00	64K Intros PC
		22:00	PC demo competition

	Monday, 13th April

		00:00	Amiga demo competition
		02:00	C64 demo competition

		05:00	Voting deadline
		10:00	Prize giving, closing ceremony
		12:00	End of the party


 0x0a	.o.O[ --- t h e   o r g a n i z e r s

	These are only a few addresses, they should cover most anything
	you might want:

	Hardball / Amable (PC, general organization)
	Malte Kanebley - Im Dorfe 3 - 21629 Neu Wulmstorf - GERMANY
	[hardball@ms.demo.org]

	Raw Style / Lego (Amiga, competition organization)
	Michael Krause - Mannesallee 24 - 21107 Hamburg - GERMANY
	[rawstyle@ms.demo.org]

	Gandalf / Phantasm (Amiga, general organization)
	Frank Schliefer - Am Musterplatz 27 - 21220 Seevetal - GERMANY
	[f_schliefer@vcc.de]

	Chaotic / Smash Designs (C64, general organization)
	[chaotic@dame.de]

	Decca / Lego (Amiga, general organization)
	[ham00665@mail.hamburg.roses.de]

	MoM / Cubic Team (PC, Network organization)
	[lukas@dn.demo.org]

	Steeler / Phantasm (Amiga, Entertainment)
	[steeler@ms.demo.org]

	Sultan / Teklords (Amiga, Security)
	[sultan@ms.demo.org]

	Doj / Cubic Team (PC, general organization)
	[doj@cubic.org]

	Crash / Polka Brothers (PC, general organization)
	[polkab@aol.com]


 0x0b	.o.O[ --- m o r e   i n f o r m a t i o n

	It pays to have a look at our WWW page now and then. It is
	located at "http://ms.demo.org". Don't hesitate to contact any
	of the organizers personally, if any questions are open! The
	guestbook is also a matter of expressing criticism, but we
	consider it more nice if you were also to send us a personal
	e-mail in addition.

	There will be an Amiga and C64 invitation intro, to be released
	at The Party VII.


 0x0c	.o.O[ --- r e l e a s e s

	28-Dec-97	Amiga 40KB Invitation Intro ("ms98-ami.lha"),
			C64 Invitation Demo ("ms98-c64.zip")
	26-Dec-97	Invitation Text, Version 1 ("ms98inv1.txt")
			(incl. updated rules, time table, bus trips)
	14-Dec-97	Invitation Text, Version 0 ("ms98inv0.txt")
	30-Jul-97	First Announcement ("ms98-v01.txt")


@BEGIN_FILE_ID.DIZ
============================================
X=--       Mekka & Symposium 1998       --=X
X=--        Invitation Text File        --=X
X=--             Version 1              --=X
X=--       (Easter 1998, Germany)       --=X
============================================
@END_FILE_ID.DIZ




