Steve Evans pontificates.
As this is the first version of the online magazine, I thought I would put pen to paper, or in this case, fingers to keyboard, and tell of our struggle to bring the HTML version of the popular DMC based disk mag. For those of you who don't know what a DMC version is, have a read of "A blast from the past" in "The Dungeon's" Section, and all will be revealed.
About 9 months ago, Ray and Ian asked on the mailing list if anyone could write a simple web site for The Crypt, and I being the fool I am, said "Yes". And so The Crypt web site was born. In the beginning it was a very simple site with only the barest information on it, and a section for people to download the latest versions of the DMC version. And as time progressed (And I learnt a bit more about HTML) We managed to make it what it is today. The mandate I was working with, was to keep it as simple as possible, so that it could be viewed in the basic screen mode for the Amiga ( High Res-640*256) Up to what most people use for the PC (1024*768) So that is why if your viewing this on a PC or like me, an Amiga with a graphics card, none of the pictures will fill the screen, they all will have a black border round them, but I thought this would be best so that everyone could view them on whatever screen mode they use. And things were going along fine until December of last year, when Ray had the bright idea of making an online version of the mag, and I was asked (Ray has a nasty way of cajoling people into things) if I could make it. Well, after some thought about it, and a bit of working things out on paper. (Why is it, After all these years with computers, we still write a lot of it down on paper?) I thought it could be done. So I had a look around at other online magazines, but I never really thought they had the atmosphere of the disk based mag. I found most people use black text on a white background, which is fine for everyday use, but no good for what I wanted, which was to make it as close to the original as possible, which meant loading graphics, a nav bar at the bottom (though I had to change half the buttons, as HTML doesn't work the same as DMC) And the biggest pain, music in the background. In the DMC version you can choose between three pieces of music as you read the mag, but with the HTML version, you can only have one. Also the DMC version plays MOD's, so the Amiga can load the MOD version no problem, but PC's don't do this natively, but they can play MOD's through WinAmp. So the problem I have while I'm writing this is, do I convert the MOD's to WAV's? Or do I give instructions how to set up a PC browser to play MOD's via WinAmp? Hopefully, by the time you read this, I will have sorted that one out.
So back to making the HTML version. If it hadn't been for the hard work of The Ferret, converting ASCII text to HTML, (I know he will say that all he does is use a small program and he just "drags and drops" the files and the program converts it for him, but I know how meticulous he is with it, and I've even got him writing some HTML so he can specify what colours to use). I don't think this version would have got of the ground without him, as he has to convert everything twice over, once for the DMC version and once for the HTML version, so a lot of the credit must go to him for making my life a lot easier. Ray has also helped a great deal, making sure the graphics were right, and by wielding a big stick over us :) So the online version was born, and we hope you have some idea of what fun it is to read an Amiga disk mag.
I haven't included any Javascript in this version for two reasons. The first being, I am still learning it :) The second, that all Amiga browsers don't support full Javascript yet, and as this is mostly for Amiga users, there is no point in putting too much in.
Well there you have it. A quick run down on what went into this first HTML version of The Crypt, we hope you will enjoy it, and remember, we don't get paid for doing this, this is our hobby. I am a Painter and Decorator by trade. And all the other guys and girls who bring you this wonderful read, do it because we like to bring you the best stories, articles and jokes that we can. And we really do need your input for YOUR magazine. So drop us a line in our guestbook, tell us what you think. Or maybe, write an article yourself for The Crypt 17. We would love to hear from you!
Web master (whatever that means)
