THE FUTURE IS BEFORE YOUR EYES : SUNDOWN 2008 : 12-14th SEPTEMBER 2008 : UNITED KINGDOM
The UK's premier demoscene party is back for 2008 and is due to take place from the 12th-14th September at the same location; the Budleigh Salterton Town Hall. Based in the peaceful seaside town of Budleigh Salterton, part of Devon on the South-West coast of the UK, Sundown returns for the fourth time to celebrate the demoscene culture and provides 72 hours of non-stop demoparty action.
This year sees our continuing trend of year on year improvements in the form of:
MASSIVE Big Screen and superb clarity projection courtesy of Stage Electrics
Highly improved, non flammable quality soundsystem
Another Free-for-all projection screen for scener use
Competitions in conjunction with the mighty Bitfellas
OPEN Competitions for remote participation in many categories
Space for up to 100 people
Drinking is FULLY permitted but you cannot buy drink from us unless we give it away (which does happen!)
Much more to be announced!
We're also working on further improvements with the potential of having a full lighting and VJ setup, and we're also considering running a few live acts too (so, Reed, please return our calls, haha!).
This years team consists of the following:
Ruairi (rc55) Fullam - Party Organiser
Bren (syphus) Ratliff & Andrew (ne7) Lemon - Competition Organisers
Matthew (dotwaffle) Walster - Intranet Admin
Design / Branding and Invitation are courtesy of the TRSI demogroup.
Sundown 2008 is an established U.K. based demoscene party, now in it's fourth year. The demoscene is a computer subculture dedicated to showcasing the talents of musicians, artists, designers and programmers in a competition based atmosphere with clearly defined limitations.
Competitions held are generally as follows:
Old School - Productions that are targetted at older computers with a static configuration (an increased technical challenge, pushing limitations on older hardware via efficient programming).
New School - Productions that are targetted at high end modern systems - challenges being exploiting of new hardware facilities and production skills.
Intro - A production that cannot exceed 64kb in size (a quite severe limitation, combining resourcefulness with innovation).
Music - As a general composed using specific methods or software or a general musicianship competition.
Productions in the Old and New School sense generally require a good sense of direction and always have a synchronised soundtrack to add to the atmosphere.
Participants to Demoscene parties generally stay in the party hall from Friday until Sunday (showers of course!) to exchange ideas, participate in judging the entries to competitions and often taking part in "Fast" competitions - creative competitions held within the time constraints of a single party.
The party is held in Budleigh Salterton, which is a small peaceful village near the city of Exeter. It's a long way from London, but certainly accessible from there and there is also a local airport, or if you're driving by car we have comprehensive directions from the M5.
This year, once again we are also offering a shuttle service from London based airports thanks to Vampy and Vespa of TZT.
More information is available on the Travel Information section.
If you require bed accomodation, there are a handful of local bed and breakfasts who can accomodate at a reasonable fee.
The party will start on Friday 12th September at around 6:00pm, however we'll be happy to accept early arrivals if you let us know in advance. The entrance fee is £30 for UK visitors and £20 for International visitors - this will cover our costs for setting up the party and any eventualities that may occur - and also if we have any supplemental cash left over we will use this for the competition fund - after all, it's a good cause!
The Venue
The venue is the same as the last two parties - we're using the Budleigh Salterton Village Hall, with it's newly installed Kitchen facilities which provide access to high power microwaves, industrial ovens and readily available hot water for any caffeine based heated beverages!
The hall itself is theatre style, and we can accomodate up to 100 sceners easily. There are some rooms in the back of the hall with a limited amount of space for sceners who would prefer to sleep in peace away from the party noise, and I'm glad to say this year we can allow sceners to stay in there.
Party Features
Demoscene all the way!
Competitions for Old and New School productions, both Demo and Intro. (If there are a lack of entries, we will combine pending approval of attendees).
Big kicking audio system - Provided by Stage Electrics - our new soundsystem
Projection presentation - not the biggest screen on earth but certainly a great quality projector and fine for the party.
Space for up to 100 people maximum.
Drinking allowed - but be in control, please!
The Party Network will be back this year offering internet access throughout the party.
COMPETITIONS
This years competitions are brought once again in conjunction with the mighty BitFellas!
BitFellas is a forward-looking demoscene community providing many resources for the demoscene including the BitFellas news feeds, the BitJam Podcast and Radio Stream, and many many other resources worth exploring.
The unique and positive approach of the BitFellas community is something that exists throughout Sundown. Check out the BitFellas site, sign up and spend some time exploring the wealth of resources available.
So... what competitions are there?
All competitions are open except Meaty's Quiz and the Photo Competition - meaning you do not have to be at the party to enter a production:
NOTE: WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO COMBINE OR CANCEL COMPETITIONS IF THERE ARE TOO FEW ENTRIES.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO PRESELECT OR NOT SHOW A PRODUCTION WITHOUT NOTICE.
GROSSLY OFFENSIVE, RACIST OR ILLEGAL WORKS WLL BE DISQUALIFIED.
We are also strongly considering running FAST compos also. Party atendees are encouraged to add their own ideas to Sundown, so if you're up for running something competitive and fun, make a post in the forums or speak to an organiser directly! :)
Open Newschool Demo
Compo machines:
PC: TBC - expect a high end system. Windows and Ubuntu Linux entries welcomed.
PC: D3DX extensions allowed.
Amiga: Amiga 1200 + Blizzard 060 50Mhz Accellerator, Scan Doubler. (Supports USB transfer also). Standard Amiga 1200 also available.
Compo rules:
Windows demos must use ONLY the latest RELEASED directx runtimes.
Maximum file size is 64MB.
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
For entries above 2MB, please upload somewhere and provide us with a way we can access the file.
If you require a location to upload to, please contact us.
Open Newschool Intro
As Newschool demo except...
Maximum file size is 64KB (65,536 bytes) in one executable file.
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
Platforms must be supplied at the party unless listed below or risk having them run under an emulator!
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
For entries above 2MB, please upload somewhere and provide us with a way we can access the file.
If you require a location to upload to, please contact us.
Open 4ch MOD Competition
Must be 64KB maximum. (65,535 bytes)
Must be 4-channel Protracker / Soundtracker M.K. Module
Make sure to advise your playback requirements
Must be a maximum of 5 minutes
Songs are subject to preselection, non-played songs will not be released and you will be notified
The songs will be played using Protracker on an Amiga 1200
You can specify a particular version of Protracker if required
We reserve the right as a last resort to play your songs under emulation
Open to everyone, BitFellas or not! :)
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
Open Synth Chiptune Competition
Must be a pure chip tune (adlib / ahx / sid / hively / snd / sndh / nsf - any synthtracker but no samples. Not V2!)
NO SAMPLES or DIGIDRUMS for YM TRACKS!
Make sure to advise your playback requirements
Must be a maximum of 5 minutes.
Songs are subject to preselection, non-played songs will not be released and you will be notified.
We reserve the right as a last resort to play your songs under emulation.
For any specific enquiries about formats not listed here, please ask in the forums.
Open to everyone, BitFellas or not! :)
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
Open ASCII Graphics Competition
Entries must state whether its Amiga or PC.
Amiga Entries will be shown using Topaz or Pot Noodle.
PC entries will use Acidview with internal fonts.
54 Lines Maximum.
76 Columns Maximum.
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
Open Old School Graphics Competition
We aim to cover any old school graphics format, even multiframe / interlace graphics.
We do reserve the right as a last resort to run graphics under emulation.
We require that the image has no animated elements.
Please advise us in advance of your presentation requirements.
Old School Platforms include any 8 or 16 bit system, Amiga OCS/ECS but not AGA.
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
Open New School Graphics Competition
The entry has to be delivered in .bmp, .iff, .png or .tga format. Jpeg or any lossy format is HIGHLY DISCOURAGED.
Recommended resolution is 1024x768 pixels, any other resolution will very likely be bicubically resized to 1024x768, maintaining aspect ratio.
The entries will be shown once on the bigscreen and uploaded to the party intranet directly after the compo, so visitors can judge the entries on their own screens.
You may optionally include up to 4 (four) logically named working stages of your entry.
You must also include a list of the tools used, to be displayed on the big screen.
Only still images are allowed, no animations.
Please make sure that your entry is free of third-party rights! (For example, you may not include photographs if you don't own the copyright or have a legal license for it).
Entries must be submitted at the party or via e-mail to rc55 at rc55@rc55.com.
For entries above 2MB, please upload somewhere and provide us with a way we can access the file.
If you require a location to upload to, please contact us.
Open Streaming Music
Allowed Formats: MP3, OGG, Mpeg-4 or MusePack.
Renoise RNS or XRNS only if there are NO VST's (if they are used, encode to another format).
We support Renoise up to the very latest version.
5 Minutes Maximum.
We reserve the right to fade tracks that are highly repetitive.
We reserve the right to preselect works and disqualify them from party presentation (but we will NOT release your works publicly).
Party Only - Photo Competition
Must be supplied as a JPEG.
Party Only - Meteorik's Demoscene Quiz
Teams to be decided at the party.
Join #ukscene (IRCnet) to find out more!
BOOKING
There are two options, either pay via PayPal or bring cash to the party. PayPal is currently preferred as it helps pay for the party in advance.
UK Visitors: £30
International Visitors: £20.
PayPal address: rc55@rc55.com
Make sure you note on your transaction your name, nickname and mention Sundown.
TRAVEL INFO
Once again this year we are extending our support for international visitors by offering car pooling from all over the UK thanks to UK Sceners. This way you can easily take advantage of low cost airlines to get to the party. So far car pooling has been offered from Heathrow, Stansted, Luton and Bristol airports. Check the forums for more information. Get in quick and reserve your place.
For travellers both domestic and international arriving at Exeter Aiport or any Exeter Bus or Train Station, the forums have a thread where you can arrange a FREE pickup by the Sundown shuttle team.
If you wish to come to Sundown and are struggling to get suitable information or have a specific requirement, please ask in the forums also.
For those of you who use Google Maps for route planning from within the UK, the destination address is Station Road, Budleigh Salterton, East Devon, Devon, EX9.
Trains from within UK
The nearest train station is Exeter St. Davids (which has a direct service to most major UK cities).
From there you can call us and we can pick you up, or you can get a taxi (which will cost probably around £25).
If you require collection however, please let us know well in advance via the forums!
Bus from within UK
Exeter has a main bus station accessible by all major UK cities - this station also does bus services to Budleigh via Exmouth.
Take the National Express (http://www.nationalexpress.com/) - it'll make you smile! ;)
Travelling from France by Ferry
Brittany Ferries offer a Roscoff to Plymouth connection, both ways costs around £49 / ~€71.
From Plymouth you can get a direct train to Exeter and we can collect you from there.
Please let us know in advance if you wish to travel this way! :)
You don't have to be a scener to come, everybody is welcome!
Here's the scoop regarding hall capacity. We have:
32 Tables that can accomodate two people, or three with laptops at a push.
Roughly 250 chairs.
A reasonable amount of room to chillout.
With this in mind, we are aiming to be able to accomodate around 80-140 sceners. Tables will be first come first served, but don't hesitate to bring your computer if you want to, we will be as creative as possible accomodating you.
So far we have 11 people have paid, 55 people planning to go, 5 people likely to go,33 maybe's, 15 people awaiting a reply from.
No Smash, Evilpaul, Baz, truck or Equinox sadly. :(
RULES
General Rules
We are not responsible for your equipment or your well-being. Make sure you secure your belongings appropriately and take adequate precautions to secure your equipment and yourself. We rely on mutual trust and responsibility to make these events a success, so please behave as such.
We will not tolerate excess drunkenness. Please drink responsibly. You are liable for any damage caused to any equipment in the venue if you damage it as a result of negligence or drunkenness. We will also expect you to clean up any mess you make thoroughly.
Respect UK Laws Common sense here - no fighting, intimidation, vandalism, drug-taking or piracy will be tolerated. We will throw you out.
Declare all your electrical items upon entry We may consider the use of desk fans or other equipment on their individual merits - however all items that will attach to the power supply have to be checked with us first, no exceptions.
Be considerate at night Budleigh is a small village - please be considerate at night, be peaceful and encourage others to do so also.
Just be cool everyone, let's have a lot of fun.
Competition Rules
Unless stated, you have to be present at the party to compete. If it is a group production, one member needs to be present, or if the production is from within the UK or Ireland we will consider allowing it upon our discretion.
If it doesn't run, it is disqualified - however we will give everyone an opportunity to test their demo's on the competition PC.
We will not release disqualified demos to the public.
No ripping or copyright violation.
No racism, child pornography or grossly offensive productions allowed.
We reserve the right not to show productions we consider not valid for showing.
We reserve the right to distribute your productions in any way we see fit.
We ask you to consider a Creative Commons license to ensure the long term preservation of your works.
We reserve the right to skip very long demo parts if we feel it is necessary, so please offer functionality for this using your own good judgement.
Original material only please. No rips, copies or re-releases, unless it is Rob is Jarig.
PAID: 
