ANATOMY OF THE HORROR

Hey yes, you read well: it is in fact the last left from this set of texts (bizarre enough I recognize it)! I confess that I didn't know too much what there to put in without falling in the most obvious self-centeredness... Therefore, to finish in beauty, I deliver you here the interview of Megastep for a duck of which I don't remember the name anymore... It must date 1994 I think...

Since, quite a lot of water flowed under bridges: the game has never been made on PC but is put down (one is not anxious to make prick itself/themselves our idea!); while going to Sophia Antipolis, I recovered this dear Megastep that explains me UNIX/LINUX on PC... In short, " dream team " will be able to can be to review the day...

I hold to finish to specify that my famous NDMM (" Note Of Myself " for those that took the subway under way 8 -) are not evidently origin: I have just added indeed them to liven this text; -) of some applicable commentaries; -)

Voilà! Good reading to all!

Interview of MEGASTeP (Subject collected by Ultiman)

The Reporter : Megastep, present you to the Reporter's readers.

MegasteP : I am called Stéphane Peter, and I make part of the group KrySTal Dreams. We make a game currently on Atari ST and PC. I am in IUT of data processing in Lyons, I am 18 years old, the other members of the group make something else: the graphist (Laurent, alias IGOR, 18 years), is in faculty of biology, and the last (Cédric, alias QueST, 17 years) in Terminal are. (NDMM: then this text dates of... 1995!)

The Reporter : How did you come to him data processing?

MegasteP : Hey well, these small babyish (computers) fascinated me always... I remember that at the age of 8 years, my father had bought a book on him data processing, and I had read him everything. There was a MINUSCULE initiation to the Basic. To the following of what I wrote my first program on paper (AND WITHOUT COMPUTER). It was a thing can of the style INPUT " Hello that is you " :PRINT " goodbye ". (NDMM: it is everything that I know how to make in programming... Bouh, I am ashamed! : -) Then I got to the club of data processing in the college, during one year, and I had my first micro : an Atari 520 STF.

I remember that of times I took programs in books, that I recopied on paper and that I tried to make function on computers of stores... In general that didn't work. In short, I had my Atari then, and the first thing that I made was to load the Basic given with to recopy programs that I had taken to the library (what didn't stop me from playing with also!) (NDMM: welcome to the club!).

One day, I went in a store (very sensible to the computer radius), and the seller seemed to feel problems. It is necessary to say that it was a big surface (NDMM: that, is necessary to say that it is not still of them gifted! Hold, I am going to make me of the new friends me: -)... He/it wondered that I managed to make start a game on CPC (NDMM: he/it was not effectively gifted that one... He/it was even very bad... A way of value stallion of the nothing; -). To the following of what he/it proposed me to help him to test other games,
including on ST I never understood the utility of the thing, but I passed for a small genius. (NDMM: me also it arrived me! But not in data processing... Me, it was to explode flies with a rubber band... Each his/her/its domain of predilection; -)

Then I started making projects of games on ST (NDMM: similar that Miguel! Re-welcome to the Club!). I bought ST MAG every month during a long time (and I buy it again today). It was a very complete magazine, stuffed of initiations that I devoured. I learned the GfA Basic quickly, and even of notions of 68000. I can am bought myself the STOS, a Basic to make games. With my neighbor who took care of graphics, one began a project of game that happened during the second world war, quickly buried project... Then we hardly started a project of adaptation of Knights of the Zodiac ", still in STOS. Too hard for us, we were only they kids, and them others didn't make anything! Graphics were hopeless...

Then we began a script of role game. But we remained some there, in spite of a beginning of programming in GfA this time, more pleasant to program but as usual he/it had there that me that worked. To the time I was in second.

And then my neighbor set free me in saying that we didn't have any luck, but I didn't quit (NDMM: perseverare diabolicum!). In class I unearthed a buddy good enough graphist, and since him is (NDMM: was) my regular graphist. But I abandoned the idea of the JdR that seemed to me too vast and too classic.

I looked for during a long time a really new game idea... and finally I had the idea. Precisely the kind of game for that I looked: innovating, original and interesting. The first draft of MICRO BUILDER had been born! I immediately wrote a script of 20 pages.

The Reporter : can you explain us the principle of this game?

MegasteP : In summary, it is a game of simulation to the " Sim City " in which you are to the head of a computer company. You manufacture your machines, your soft, you make teams, of lounges, etc... Of way very realist and interesting. It was there are 2 years and half about... But there one went there seriously. Laurent (the graphist) worked hard and I was motivated very. In short we advanced indeed and I invested myself a lot in the project (we were again in second). Programming in GfA, Laurent drew on ST what I told it and he improved... Gradually the soft took shape.

Besides, I have the luck to live in Lyons. However in Lyons is Infogrames, at that I know someone. I showed him our soft to his/her/its all beginnings, and he/it liked the idea, what has us of as much motivated! In short, all went well. We were two to work over and gradually that advanced. We kept our secret project jealously, to avoid that one doesn't prick us the idea (that I put down since).

But STROKE OF THEATER, my pôte of Infogrames told us that he/it received a similar soft project to ours (a simple script). And there I had balls to make pass me. In short, I threw a squint on the project competitor and I raised his/her/its address. To the following of what I wrote him to ask him a complement of information (I hesitated one moment to add a bomb) (NDMM: I recognize very there your sadistic side: -). And seer that his/her/its project was 100% paper and that besides it had had some interesting ideas (NDMM: well yours!), and that he/it had him as an Atari (coincidence!) (NDMM: the big minds meet!), I proposed him to join itself/themselves to us... What he/it immediately made (NDMM: me as I wanted my part of the cake! 8 -)!!

The Reporter : And they got married and had a lot of small games...

MegasteP : besides his/her/its support was us useful enough... When the game became playable enough, it became testeur. But his/her/its project was A LOT too complex, and I should have purified. With it, the game would not have held on a CD-ROM, with the only codes executable: -). Without forgetting his/her/its reports of bugs. In short, at the end of one moment he/it had made to pass Laurent in terms of sum of work early. He/it made a gigantic work (NDMM: thank you, thank you, but my ankles swell... ; -), even though he/it didn't correspond still to the mind of the game... with him it was especially the pure and hard commercial simulation with pictures and graphs of everywhere. (NDMM: one is not there to make a game of Monopoly: the economy and the trade don't support the mediocrity! And then, I like knowledge well why I win and / or why I lose to a game). We were then three on the game that already simmered since quite a lot of times.

It is why us we are regrouped under the appelation KrySTal Dreams, that I found in a stroke of head. In fact that doesn't mean to say, but that makes a few demomakers on sides, even though I never touched to the world of the demo. À me only, I assumed programmer's functions, script writer, musician and me coordinated actions of the two another one of best that I was able to... But in addition, with studies that made a lot. What made that I especially worked during vacations, still in GfA on STE. Finally our soft became more and more complete, and one day while looking " on TV at Micro Kid's " I saw the promotion of the contest " Soft That Can ".

The Reporter : Speaks us this contest...

MegasteP : from this moment one put the packet to be able to show the maximum on our stand. And finally I went there with Laurent (Cédric, the third, didn't come because he lives toward Avignon, and us in Lyons). (NDMM: without forgetting that I passed as the French Ferry... But good, it was marginal; -) The material not being provided, I should have brought my hardware in the train (monitor, ST, hard drive). Arrived once one gave us our stand and... there was not an adaptator! Impossible to plug the computer! Finally we managed to unearth one, after having galéré, of it. It was unpleasant because the vigil I had not had the time to compile the soft, and the worse it is that he/it didn't walk! (NDMM: Murphy is among us!)

In short balls what... We had some hours to eliminate a bug who made all to plant, and every compilation took 15 minutes! Finally, I dropped, while hoping that the following day to the opening of the festival I would have the time of the éradiquer. And oh miracle suddenly the soft stopped to plant! It was of as much more astonishing than thereafter he/it only planted one or two times during the two days that he/it remained us, a true miracle!

Therefore we can present it in good conditions to the jury, in spite of the poverty of our stand (I had not foreseen any decoration whereas a lot of another one yes). And the discount of prices arrived, presided by Jean-Michel Blottière - very beautiful discount of prices of the remainder. We had made the tour of stands, and honestly there were few games enough and I knew that the our would be kept by the jury, because more intelligent ". The jury was especially composed etc. Therefore of teachers, of professionals, the game pleased them, and they gave us the price of the best game, without no surprise. Us we are made interviewer then by Jean-Michel Blottière, before thereabouts 1000 people. Us we are even made cheer by the public atarist (what was not the case of the PCisteses, arf!).

What has us distinctly more surprised, it is the big price of the jury, the supreme reward... I didn't expect there at all! In fact, after, they told us that all those that had seen our soft had adored him! They had liked everything, of the programming to graphics, without forgetting the educational aspect and the script. In short it was the glory... (NDMM: without forgetting the pognon, women, the alcohol, the lust... Oups! I get lost there... ; -) Followed themselves some articles etc. of it in newspapers, of contacts with publishers, That is from that time on that we saw the necessity to convert the game on PC (we were all 100% Atari). I already had as project of réécrire the soft in C, adapted better and less buggy than the GfA. Indeed, all publishers told us that the soft was pleasing them, but that they wanted it on PC. I made the acquirement of a Pentium then to program in last July. The conversion of the soft in C++ and ASM has just begun (I initiated to the programming on PC during vacations). (NDMM: I had told you that he/it was not clear; -) he/it has a sadomasochistic bottom enough pronounced... 8 -)

On PC the game will be in Terrific-VGA, 640x480x256 colors. I am writing routines and me réécrirai the graphic motor. Laurent bought a Falcon, what permits him to make graphics Terrific-VGA for the PC version. I intend to make a Falcon version very then. But good, there is the job, because I owe all réécrire so to speak, and that already weighed 16000 lines of GfA. In addition, them PC is often aberrant to program... For example the SVGA fashion is excellent, and yet they found the means to waste it while obliging the programmer to address the RAM video via an all small window of 64Ko. (NDMM: the perfection is not this world...)

The Reporter : Thank you... On another topic, that think you of the shareware? Did you already exercise this fashion of diffusion?

MegasteP : Yes, I already exercised him. I find that this system is a good idea, but in France I don't believe that many have themselves recorded. I have écit a program on ST that I put in the Shareware, and well I ever have anything received! It was a program of interfaçage STE-calculator Casio, original enough. It is necessary to say that I didn't make one immense pub of it, and the version that is distributed was not limited... What doesn't encourage to record itself/themselves. I have since fact a version that himself unbridled by a password, but I never distributed her because I don't have any more Casio, therefore I cannot test the program more, it is hopeless... (NDMM: if you are interested by this software, I always have him! In case, say the and I will put it with the next Toxic-Mag! But he/it is not supported anymore since chandeliers)

The Reporter : to finish, do you have a message to make the Reporter's readers spend?

MegasteP : Well, I would say that there is not bad nor good machine, only of machines on which one explodes itself... I say that to them extremists who tell " my mine he/it is better than your yours ". Him main thing it is to make what pleases us on our machines, whatever they are.

The Reporter : Thank you Megastep.

OK, I hope that you appreciated this instructive strong text (if, if!). Whatever he/it is some, thank you to Megastep for all and strongly the return in strength of KrySTal Dreams!