Demo Competition Rules

• The minimum machine configuration for testing and judging will be:
  • Windows XP with the latest service pack (SP2)
  • Latest release of the DirectX runtime (9.0c)
  • .NET Framework v1.1
  • 512 MB or more of system memory
  • 866 MHz Pentium III CPU
  • SB Live! sound card
  • 2X AGP motherboard
  • Graphics card:
  • Radeon 9800 Pro XT 256 MB DDR
  • NVidia Go 5700
  • The debug DirectX runtime will be selected for testing and the retail DirectX runtime will be selected for judging.
• Several "retro" platforms from the classic hardware museum will be available for use in the demo competition. The platforms are as follows:
  • Tektronix 4014 & 4010 display terminals (specifications)
  • Amiga 2000
  • Commodore 64
  • Atari XL
  • Atari 1040ST
  • Texas Instruments 99/4A
  Entries targetting these platforms may be judged separately.
• If you need a different machine configuration, please contact the organizers.
• Maximum size is 16MB (16,777,216 bytes) uncompressed.
• Maximum run time is 10 minutes. Any entry exceeding 4 minutes will be judged on the first 4 and then terminated.
• The user must be able to exit the demo at any time when the escape key is pressed.
• No user input should be required beyond an optional initial configuration dialog.
• All demo entries must be self contained:
  • Each demo must contain an executable file that launches the demo.
  • Shall not depend upon any data outside of the submitted ZIP file ("data" does not include things like fonts, DLLs, etc., that are part of a standard OS install).
  • Graphics must be generated real-time, not a simple playback of an off-line rendering
• All entries will be judged on a machine not connected to any network
• No entry shall modify any existing file on the disk and any temporary files created as a result of execution shall be deleted when the program ends.
• No entry shall write to the system registry.
• DOS demos must be able to run under the OS version described above without any special modifications.