Customer Reviews

Mindcandy Volume 2: Amiga Demos

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It has been 4 years now since the release of Mindcandy Vol.I, which featured PC Demos and was a huge success. Mindcandy II, Amiga Demos is finally finished. The Demos were originally written for the Commodore Amiga Computer and are available for download on the Internet for free.

You can enjoy them paying absolutely nothing, if you have the hardware to run them. Most people don't and even the ones that used to have one don't have a working one anymore.

The Disc was made for the Demosceners of the early and mid nineties, but that does not mean that it is only something they will be able to enjoy. No, for them is this DVD a "must buy" (or they were no real scener anyway).

For everybody else is this a small piece of computer history. Pleasant designed with matching music running in the background. Not a boring book that gives you the tech details like "imagine this, the computer this was designed for had less than 10 Mega Hertz tact frequency and was 8 bit. Today's home PC's have 2, even 3 GIGA Hertz and are 64 bit" ... yeah, whatever that means :).

If you watch the DVD together with a old school scener and you see him suddenly overly excited about a specific part of a demo that might not get you excitement up to the next level don't worry. It only means that it was hard to do back then. Say something nice like "fascinating" and continue to watch the show.

If you are still undecided, go to [...]previews and download for free the Trailer and/or the preview disc for free to get a glimpse of the complete disc which is packed to the roof with OVER 3 HOURS of old school entertainment.

If you look at your PC today it may be difficult to imagine a time when physics calculations were difficult for computers, full-screen animation was exceptional and such commonly available thing as the internet wasn't even a buzzword. Yet, in the early 1990s that's exactly the state computers were in and even then we already called them state of the art.

At that time some kids that were part of a computer art movement commonly referred to as "the scene" set the standards for computer art. They programmed home computers to show graphics, animations and play music beyond what the machines had ever been designed for. At parties they gathered and competed in their skills. Later they would work in the computer industry and develop the games millions would enjoy.

This is the sequal to MindCandy 1: PC Demos and features an unprecedented compilation of Amiga demos from the 1990s. It is a historical archive of the development of computer art. Produced by the very same people that were part of that development it features ultra-high quality of original productions from the era and a 20 minute documentary on the experience of visiting a demoscene computerparty.

This is a MUST HAVE for each and everyone that was part of the scene and a recommendation to everyone interested to know how computer multimedia all began.

I had high expectations for this disc, to the point where disappointment was almost inevitable. Having finally seen it, I can safely and (I think) fairly say that Mindcandy 2 has in every way utterly exceeded my expectations. If you liked Mindcandy 1, you will love Mindcandy 2; if you were in any way disappointed by the first release, this second instalment will almost certainly make up for it.

First off, the content is superb: although my first computer was a Commodore, I have never even seen an Amiga in person, so I'm not qualified to comment on the relative importance or impact of the demos selected, but I do know that many of the demos on here are ones that are written and talked about a lot: titles like Desert Dream by Kefrens, State of the Art by Spaceballs, Lapsuus by Maturefurk, and Silkcut by the Black Lotus. Alongside these are a few demos I had never heard of, which are nonetheless still well worth watching.

But with almost two decades' worth of content from the productive and hard-core Amiga scene, it shouldn't be too surprising to see excellent examples of code, graphics, sound, and design. What one might not expect is the professional caliber of the presentation. Everything from the commentary to the featurette to the animated menus is amazingly well-done. It is evident that a lot of time & thought went into every aspect of this DVD: the team has really raised the bar since their first production.

Let's face it, not everyone "gets" demos; if you don't, this disc will probably not change your mind. If you are even a little bit interested, however, both the demos and mini-documentary here may help you to catch the demo bug. If you are already a fan, do not hesitate.

This is a great video with extremely good production quality. The demos will certainly bring back the memories. For non-European Amiga users, there is a feature on this DVD where you get to experience one of the scene parties that are very common in Europe. As an American, I've always wondered what I had missed. Now I know. I enjoyed every minute of this DVD, even more than Mindcandy Volume 1. If you loved the Amiga or the demo scene, you should own this DVD.

Let's make it short.
This DVD is about bunch of amazing Amiga demo. Showing Amiga capability to displaying things on screen (including 3D) along with Audio.

People who made this demo really pushing the limit of Amiga hardware capability. Every demo will have commentary sub-title to explain things.

Great demo with great price

I was always more on the PC side of things, although I did remember seeing several of these Amiga demos. All in all, a good spread of demos with representation of most of the best for each year.

If you were there during the Demoscene you will like it.
If you spent as much time marvelling at the demos that played while Blood Money was loading into that trainer you will certainly like this.

This item is the computer graphics and sound version of high art, way before IBM invented the term "multimedia."

The video quality is spotless. Somehow it is a direct digital conversion--not an artifact can be seen.

Others in the audience will just stare at the screen perplexed and wonder why you spent the money on this.

Of course, you bought this because your Amiga hasn't been booted in 15 years.

Don't forget to see how the other half lives--order Mindcandy Volume 1 and see how stone-aged those PC demos were compared to these amazing Amiga demos.

The chosen demos were quite nice, but there would have been space for so much more (Mindcandy 1 was double sided)

Where's Pulse by Nerve Axis? Where's My Kingdom by Haujobb? Where's Ocean Machine by TBL? Where's Odyssey by Alcatraz? It's not that there weren't other good demos available, they're just not included. Of course in some cases the authors of DVD might have been unable to get permission to include certain demo, but still there are so many classics missing...

But then again, this is (afaik) the only DVD of its kind (amiga demos) and design is very good, so it's worth buying.