From:	leathm AT solwarra DOT gbrmpa DOT gov DOT au (Leath Muller)
Message-Id:	<199705290249.MAA25390@solwarra.gbrmpa.gov.au>
Subject:	Re: Demos (Was How the Quake source got out)
To:	adalee AT sendit DOT sendit DOT nodak DOT edu (Adam W Lee)
Date:	Thu, 29 May 1997 12:49:19 +1000 (EST)
Cc:	djgpp AT delorie DOT com
In-Reply-To:	<199705290147.UAA22665@sendit.sendit.NoDak.edu> from "Adam W Lee" at May 28, 97 08:47:17 pm

> >I would just like to point out a few things (and I haven'tlooked at the
> >demo's yet):
 
> Well, look at them and you'll see what I mean.

I will, and I have seen a lot of demo's before - I come from the Amiga world
which seemed the most popular demo computer of all time...
 
> >i) Quake's engine is now actually old (nearly a year)

> So is Inside, so is Machines of Madness, etc...  Quake's engine was dated
> when it was released.

Quake was dated when released? Ummm... sure...
 
> >ii) Quake runs in a real time game environment, and is not a dedicated 'demo'

> Well, these demos are all calculated at realtime, with lots of stuff
> happening randomly.

Lots of stuff happening randomly? So, if I run these demo's twice in a row,
they will be different both times?
 
> >iii) Quake real time interprets lotsa of customisable QuakeC code as well as
> >running a real-time 3D environment

> It doesn't interpret it realtime, it pre-does it...  Also, these demos do
> just as much if not more than quake does per cycle.  You also have to
> figure in that these demos are not allowed to be over 5MB in size or 5 min
> in length according to competition rules.  The sound is also software
> mixed unless you have a GUS, which takes a huge chunk of CPU time...

Ummm - I am pretty sure that you will find the QuakeC is 'compiled' into
12 byte instructions and codes which are then interpreted by the game when
you run it... I think your missing the point between demos and games...
 
> >Of course, there is no doubting there is lots of demos which look really cool,
> >but are they being used in a fully blown game?
 
> These demos aren't made for games, they're made by teenage kids like
> myself for thepurpose of making demos...  They make 'em for competitions.

Exactly. They are _not_ made for games...  Get one of these guys to go and
write an engine that renders a Quake world and does _everything_ Quake does
at the same speed Quake does it (ie: a Quake emulator of sorts), let me play
the game with their engine and then I'll be impressed if it runs faster...

Leathal.

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