Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!oodis01!uplherc!esunix!blgardne
From: blgardne@esunix.UUCP (Blaine Gardner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Software Development And Piracy (somewhat lengthy and hot stuff)
Message-ID: <1152@esunix.UUCP>
Date: 8 Dec 88 21:21:15 GMT
References: <5866@louie.udel.EDU>
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation
Lines: 42

From article <5866@louie.udel.EDU>, by BRENNER_%DULRUU51.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu:
> GET YOUR FIRE EXSTINGUISHERS READY - QUICK!
> 
> Now all that talking about programming clean and orderly and all those
> people dooming games authors for taking over the machine and copyprotecting
> their games made me really angry.

I'll simply say: If this is your attitude, please go back to programming
the C64. I'll never buy any of your games.

I'll concede that _some_ application could require everything the
machine has to offer. But there is NO reason for a game like Emerald
Mine, Marble Madness, or a chess game to take over the system.

A far worse sin than hogging the machine is assuming you know the
configuration of the system, without checking to see what is there. I've
got 3M of RAM, a 70M hard disk, two floppies, and a 68010 processor. If
you assume I've got a 68000, and use that illegal (on the 68010, 68020
and 68030) instruction, then your program won't run. Don't tell me to
use DeciGel, you wrote the program wrong. Don't tell me to run
NoFastMem, allocate memory correctly. Don't tell me to "disconnect your
external drive", df1: is internal on my 2000, and I'll be damned if I'll
disassemble my computer to play your bloody game.

Unless you're trying to do some realtime work, don't tell me that
multitasking is impossible, or unnecessary. I don't begrudge Skychase
taking over my system because I can see the amount of work that's being
done. The frame rate and reaction speed of this two player dogfight is 
the best I've seen on the Amiga. But it CAN be run from the Workbench,
it CAN be run from the CLI, it DOES work with FastRAM.

If you don't need all that horsepower, then let me use my machine!
Shanghai, Mean 18, Battle Chess, Ameoba Invaders, Asteriods, Gravity
Wars, and others all allow me to use my computer any way I wish. There
is no reason for 90% + of the games I've seen not to do the same.

I bought my Amiga because of the freedom it allows me, don't try to clip
my wings!
-- 
Blaine Gardner @ Evans & Sutherland    580 Arapeen Drive, SLC, Utah 84108
Here: utah-cs!esunix!blgardne   {ucbvax,allegra,decvax}!decwrl!esunix!blgardne
There: uunet!iconsys!caeco!pedro!worsel!blaine
"Nobody will ever need more than 64K."    "Nobody needs multitasking on a PC."