Scoopex

Scoopex is a legendary demo and cracking group, born in Austria early 1989 by members of Megaforce after that group died. Originally under the leadership of Ranger, the group exists up until today, still under the slogan 'Rangerism Isn't Dead'! Some of the information below is based on information from the group's homepage, particularly the news items. Also a special thanks to TMB for some additional corrections and information. Corwin was previously known as Shadow/Commandofrontiers on the c64. 1989 - The group was born in the early months of the year, and "Crazy Typer's First" was likely their first ever release, followed by "Crazy Typer and J.O.E's 2nd". The intro "Vectrex" [04/89] was released in april, announcing the joining of austrian ex-Energy members Picasso, Osterman and Anty. Its coder Brain Matrix liked this name so well, that he changed his handle to exactly that; Vectrex. The Austrian division travelled to the Piranhas Copy Party in Switzerland at the end of april, but it is believed that no releases were made (perhaps "Vectrex"?). They did however release the "Mini-Sine Intro" [05/89] shortly after returning home, and also the the "Mac Fonts 1" [05/89] intro around this time. The group travelled to sweden for the Digitech - IBB Summer Confence in july or august, and released the demo "Glory Stars" [07/89] to a disappointing 16th position. The slideshow "J.O.E's Slideshow 2" [07/89] was also released here. The demo "Xenomorphs" [08/89] was then released in august. This year also spawned two foreign sections for the group; sweden and finland. The swedish division, consisting of Panther (code), Jesus (music), Merriman (code), Zwullo (code) and Eddie (gfx), released their first production for the group in the shape of the one-screen demo "Big" [89]. The members all faded away in time, and a new swedish division was later born in late 1990. It is possible that at least Jesus, Eddie and Panther were later together in Surprise! Productions. The finnish section was born late in the year, and released the group's biggest demo success so far, "Seven Sins" [10/89] in october. Austrian coder Crazy Typer (ex Megaforce, 08/89) left the scene late in the year, after releasing his final production with "J.O.E's Slideshow 2" back in july. The group "Share and Enjoy" (SAE) joined sometime during the year (certainly before may) as a subgroup, but was kicked after a couple of months, allegedly due to 'lameness'. Their releases for the group includes at least the "Megademo" [89] and "Mini-Sine Intro" [05/89]. 1990 - At the Swedish Elite Easter Conference in april, the finnish section released "Mental Hangover" [04/90], one of - if not THE - most important demos in history. It won the competition, but more importantly it defined a new genre in demos - Trackmos. Suddenly, Scoopex was a leading group in the demo scene! The Austrian section followed this with demos like "Beast Sonix" [05/90], "Green Surprise" [06/90] and "Elefant" [06/90] in the following months. Around the middle of the year (perhaps may?) two Australian members, Bigot20 and Syntech, were kicked. The Australian section was then reinforced with The Corporal and The Teacher from Rebels. Then all English members left to form Genesis with former members of Oracle. Their German board 'HIGH SOCIETY' was closed toweards the end of the year. Lowtec left to join Angels late in the year. The last demo release of the year was Slayer's "Chromium" [11/90] at the Halloween party in november, a demo that was said to be disappointing to many when it first arrived, but today is mentioned favourably as one of the first demos to successfully synchronize its effect to the music. Sadly, it was to be Slayer's final release for the group, as he left the scene after being drafted to the finnish army. After Uno/Phenomena's contribution to "Chromium", he (gfx), Photon (code), Judas and Invid all joined Scoopex a month later, in december. Also swedish Redskin joined this month. Musician Uncle Tom (Tomas Dahlgren) also rejoined from Razor 1911 in december, but unfortunately he slowly faded away from the scene, and never contributed to another production (though a few of his old tunes were used in productions upto 1992). Perhaps his greatest legacy to the scene - and a piece of music that will forever echo in the minds of amiga demo lovers everywhere - is his fantastic "Madness Took Me" from "Mental Hangover" [04/90]. 1991 - This year signified a big change, when original organizer Ranger (Peter, also sysop 'WORLD OF WODKA') stepped down, and a new man was put in charge: Austrian sysop Trade ('NO RESPECT'). Following the joining of some members in december of last year, a full swedish section was built. The English division of the group died around May and its leader Turmoil (Nick) left the scene; no information on what happened to their cracker Electra (ex Slipstream, 07/90), but at least he is no longer with the group. This year also featured several memorable releases, perhaps most notably the group's collaboration with Phenomena and Rebels on the legendary musicdisk "Crystal Symphonies" [91]. The demo "Vector Fart 2" [07/91] is the only one, to our knowledge, that was released for a competition this year. It was released for the demo competition at the Byterapers - Scoopex - Bloodsuckers Gathering 91, but was unplaced in the demo competition. Other releases this year was the "Stunner Dentro" [91] and "Import Intro" [10/91]. German sysop Andy ('DINKELATORS PALACE', 10/91) joined Spreadpoint late this year. Norwegians Jawbreaker (code), Pal (gfx, both ex Razor 1911 old) and Perplex (code) joined to form the norwegian section in october, but all quickly left again, likely in november, to form Offence. This led to the death of the initial Norwegian division, but a new one was later formed. 1992 - This was a poor year for demo production in Scoopex; The musicdemo "Smooth Chimes" [92], the demo "Seen Before" [11/92], the intro "Too Late" [92] and the intro "The Party 2 40k Intro" [12/92], as well as four issues of the chartmag "World Charts", were the only releases. In addition, their subgroup Surprise! Productions also made a few productions. This group, previously holding a similar position in TRSI, was kicked after half a year. The sole exception was coder Spycatcher, who was offered a position with Scoopex. January (some of this possibly happened as early as december last year) was an eventful month; Angeldawn, Autopsy, Tiger and a few other members from Model joined Scoopex, taking the chartmag "World Charts" with them; Octoplex changed his handle to Face The Facts; Bulldog left; geman sysop Bomber joined from Crusaders with 'PEARL HARBOUR', but left again after only a short while; Dr.Easton and Twilight joined. Swedish coder Protec (ex Photon/Phenomena, new 12/90) left the scene to code games early in the year. His sole contribution to the group was the announcement intro "Stunner Dentro" [91], as far as we can find. American sysop Planet Master ('THE EDGE', 08/92) left for The Silents to be their new WHQ sometime between august and october. Finnish sysop Zebra ('THE ZOO', 07/91-) left for Damones sometime after august this year. "The Party 2 40k Intro" [12/92] was released at The Party this year, the debut productions by new coders Tech and Antibyte, who would later play a significant part in the further history of Scoopex. 1993 - Lots of releases were made early this year, most from Antibyte with the help of Tech - among them were two invitation intros for the "Cebit 93 Invitation" - a party they also hosted in march - and the "Official invitation Eastern Conference 93" intro for the SEMI Party in austria in april. American sysops Voyager and Snow Queen ('FASTTRAX' WHQ) left early this year. At The Gathering, two releases were made, none of which were for the competitions. Norwegians Jaz and Decker released the music disk "Scoopex Plays 2 Unlimited" [04/93], which proved mildly successful for the group, while new member Colorbird's intro "Cageball" [04/93] was a relatively uninteresting affair. At the SEMI Party itself, that same weekend, Antibyte and Tech released the "SCX-NRG-MTU Party 40k Intro" [04/93]. Just a few weeks after the easter holidays, both Jaz (code) and Decker (gfx) ended their memberships, leaving for Andromeda. Other releases this year was the intro "Ectobyte" and the demo "Maxima" from Flasher Jack and the french section. Frenchmen Acid (gfx) and Flasher Jack (code) left late this year or early next, and were at least in Paradox in april of 94. 1994 - In 1994 Trade stepped down as leader of the group, and turned the leadership over to another Austrian; coder Antibyte. He has not yet been replaced. Norwegian graphician Absurd (ex Suspiria, 04/94) joined Stone Arts and was there in december of this year, but rejoined early next year. The intro "Laziness Took Me" [02/94] was released in february, closely followed by the 3-disk musicdisk "Scoopex Melodies" [03/94] in march. The 64k intro "Halloween" [04/94] was released for the Saturne Party 2 intro competition, where it finished in fourth place. German swapper and graphician Plasma (Lee Wijant, ex Vision) got kicked due to inactivity late in the year. The AGA intros "No Human Vibes" [11/94] and "And Love For All" [12/94] rounded off the year. Apart from this, also some issues of Mr.King's packmag "Nevermind" was released this year. A pc section was formed, and released a small dentro called "Forbidden Areas" [07/94], featuring the graphical talents of Made. 1995 - This year signified a 'second birth' for the group. New organizer Antibyte undertook a major cleanup in the group, reducing the amount of members from over 100 to a more normal 20 people. This included old legends like Slayer (Tommi Junttila) and Uncle Tom, that never officially left the group, but were now finally removed from the memberlist. The results of this cleanup was a more focused, more quality-oriented group that gave the scene some quite memorable releases this year. Norwegian graphician Absurd rejoined from Stone Arts in the early months. Norwegian graphician and swapper Snuffy (ex Cadaver) left to be independent in may. The demo "Alien" [06/95] was released at Abduction 95, and came 2nd in the competition. Made's slideshow "Artcore" [07/95] followed in july. After this, the chippack "Noname" [95] came out. At Assembly in august Ninja's demo "Iso" came 3rd. December came with The Party, and the group released two intros this year; Ninja's "FreeYourMind" [12/95] and Antibyte's "Zero Gravity" [12/95] - placing 3rd and 11th respectively. The intro "666 (Don't Forget The Sign" [95] was also released this year, though the exact release date is a little more uncertain. Not content with his impeccable slideshow "Artcore", French graphician Made (early 94-07/95) left for Bomb! sometime between the months of july and october. 1996 - Turkish graphician Kris left for Clique in june. Lots of member movement in october; talented danish coder Boogeyman joined from Passion; Motion and TNT left; Alias sold his Amiga and finally Gangsta renamed to Case78. Come november, musician Deck sold his amiga and bought a pc; he and Oxbow were 'moved over' to the pc section. Other news in november was that danish Scope (coder of a.o. "MagBox" for Balance) joined from Passion and Balance, that JCS was out of the group, and the release of the 64k intro "Quantum" [11/96] (Ninja/Made/Deck) at the Saturne Party to a disappointing 9th position. The official Scoopex homepage was launched in december, done by Tactica. At The Party at the the end of the month, the 40k intro "Zero Gravity 2" [12/96] (Antibyte/Made/Deck) came 2nd in the competition. Boogeyman's debut production, the dentro "Satyanarayan" [12/96] (Boogeyman/Made/Tactica/Deck) was also released at The Party, but outside the competition. 1997 - January sees danish musician Prophet (ex-Subject/Balance^Passion) joining, and Splatterhead rejoining. Another dane followed in february, with the joining of graphician Prowler/ex-Passion. At the very end of march came the high-point of the year for most Germans with the Mekka Symposium party; only a sixth position in the demo competition was achieved this year, with Antibyte's "The Sign" [03/97]. April saw the joining of danish swapper Decoy (Puzzle doublemember), german graphician Acryl/ex Session and another dane; Bird/Rebels. A fix for "The Sign" on 060 processors was also released this month. Calvin, one half of the Gfx-Twins, left the scene in May. An intro for Sardonyx' diskmag, "Seenpoint #5 Intro" [05/97] was done by Antibyte. June came with the Abduction 97 party in Finland, and the 64k intro "Phorce" [06/97] came 2nd in the competition by a single point! Scope left (Jesper Giørtz Behrens) the scene this month, but they were reinforced with Nomad, Fishwave and not least polish graphician Lazur from Anadune! At the Wired 97 party in july, the intro "Performance" [07/97] won the competition! Assembly came in august, and the intro "Zero-G III" came 2nd in the competition. Deck came 7th in the music competition. Calvin of Gfx-Twins returned to the scene! September came with more happy news, as Stelios/Axis decided to rejoin Scoopex. The Chip-music collection "Gosh" [10/97] was released in october, and the big news this month was that also Syntax (code) and Sane (editor, both ex Sardonyx) had now joined their main editor Fishwave in Scoopex, and that future issues of their diskmag "Seenpoint" would be released under this label! Also, Decoy left Puzzle to be in Scoopex only. November saw restless Stelios leave the group once again, this time for Sonik. Other news this month was that french swapper Chris (Christophe Kumor, 94-) left to be in Bomb! only, which he had been a doublemember of, Acryl leaving the scene, and scoopex management deciding to downsize the group. As a result of this, Oxbow and Thorin are no longer members. Finally december came, and with it The Party. The demo "My Kingdom" (in cooperation with Haujobb) WON the demo competition, Antibyte's intro "Superautodrome" WON the intro competition, and both "Seenpoint #7" [12/97] and Lazur's slideshow "5977" [12/97] was released. The demo was not released at the party, but was taken home for some final fixing first. Kidlove/Haujobb, 2nd in the graphics competition at TP, joined a few days later. Ninja decided to take a break from the scene. 1998 - In january, danish coder Vention (formerly of Kefrens and Polka Brothers) joined the group, and the final version of "My Kingdom" was released. February came, and with it two more intro releases: "Torque" [02/98] came 2nd at Flag 98, while "Haupex" [02/98] (in cooperation with Haujobb) won at Scene Meeting 98. In addition, the fixed version of "Superautodrome" came out, and it was decided that there would no longer be pc and amiga 'sections'. March came with the news that Acryl rejoined the scene, and that graphician Bay Tremore joined from Haujobb. April came around, and with it the Mekka Symposium party. This year, "Superautodrome 2" [04/98] won the 40k competition, and "Seenpoint #8" [04/98] was released. Vention (Martin Gram) left the amiga scene in june, and decided to join CNCD on the pc instead. Darklon (code) joined in july. August came with the major Assembly party, and this time the intros "System Crime" [08/98] and "Effusion" [08/98] were presented to 2nd and 6th positions, respectively. Kidlove came 2nd in the graphics competition, and Deck finished 11th in music. "Infestation #86" [08/98] was also released in august. French coder Psy (Stephane Pouyet, new late94) left the amiga scene in september, but a new coder was recruited in the shape of Metal Designer from Nah Kolor. In october, Bay Tremore left in favour of his music career. November came, with some major changes in the memberlist: Optima (code) joined from Depth, Prophet (Kristoffer Schultz)left the scene, Arthur/GFX Twins left the scene, and finally dane Prowler (Klaus Bonjaminsson) and frenchman Patriot (Sebastien Seu, trade sysop 'FLOODLAND') were both kicked due to a lack of contact. Then came december, always the highpoint of the year. Calvin/GFX Twins left the scene before The Party, but at the year's most anticipated event Scoopex once again triumphed majorly in the competitions. "Alien 2" [12/98] won the demo competition, "1000%" [12/98] won the intro competition, while "Moving" [12/98] in cooperation with Darkage, came 6th in the intro competition. It was the crowning of another highly successful year for the group.