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Hi WayneK, as you have probably noticed n00w was not one of my handles on the scene, and probably WayneK was not yours. If you start by telling me which groups you were a member of and which handles you used, there’s a chance I will remind if our paths crossed during the scene. If you just care and you don’t want to reveal that publicly, send me an e-mail: myname_is_bond[at]yahoo.fr.
Also in the meantime I’ve read your question about Hoan and the answer by Foxy. It seems obvious that Foxy did not know Hoan personally. Although I never worked with him directly, I worked with other people who did, and I did know him as we met several times, generally in cordial and respectful conditions. In my post, the part about Aces, I mention Obi Wan / Quartex and he was the same person. Hoan was not as bad as a cracker as Foxy said, but yes some people gave him that reputation of lazyness. Sure he did not succeed in everything, but who did? Also when I said I ordered a fucktro to DMX / Phoenix against Aces and Diabolics, then Dr Soft and Hoan came to my place and were left outside, I was surprised to see that Hoan was there as I had nothing against him. The only one I wanted to fuck was Dr Soft, because at a CBC copy party he was just too arrogant and he talked to me very badly.
But the true story about Hoan you want to read is that when he was in Quartex, he was working at AMIE, a Paris-based shop specialized in Amiga hardware and software/games. It’s the shop where I bought my first Amiga 1000 (a collector signed by Jay Miner, unfortunately later seized by the cops). So, for Hoan, that was one of the reasons Quartex released so much cracks in the old times. Hoan received the games directly at the shop, and he had an Amiga readily to crack them onsite. That eliminated the problems of the original supplier, transport times, go and see the cracker or find a way (warp/modem, fedex or else) to send him the original, and in case this one was fucked up (as in the story told by Foxy about Gaston), there was always another original in the stocks.
Added 15 seconds later:
>could also be a guy called Laurent(megaforce) who did this a couple times… 😉
Probably Nasty Boy, organizer of Megaforce France.
Added 14 minutes later:
> I would love to also read about PaRaDoX, Quartex, Anthrox, PRESTiGE, Crystal and especially Betrayal, so if there is anyone
> that used to be in those groups back in the day, it would be awesome if you could take us (or me at least!) on a “behind the
> scenes” whirlwind tour of the past.I have plenty of anecdotes about Quartex and Paradox as I was very involved – so please don’t hesitate to ask questions, I have a few about Crystal, and for Prestige only what Blackbird told me – I had already retired when they were born. I can’t say anything about Anthrox (below the radar for me), and Betrayal has been very short-living – a one-crack group which released mostly utilities and only some trainers, as far as I know.
Great stuff NOOw, suc ha fantastic read, please tell us more about all the main groups. Crystal Quartex, Paranoimia.
Do you still have any of your old Amiga games ? Dungeon Master ? Dragons Lair ? 6-disks TSK Crew & Accumulators version or any other rare stuff ?
Please be more specific than “tell us more”, it’s just too vague! Among the three Quartex is the one I knew the best. Paranoimia I supplied the games and TGS were the intermediaries I didn’t have a modem at that time, so I’ve never been directly in touch with Jürgen for instance. It was like Foxy said about Skid Row the leaders didn’t know all of their members. It was quite impersonal.
Crystal I just supplied two games, they missed Turbo GT but were quick enough on Baby Jo. Yes they had some flaws in the organization: processes, cards, etc. they seemed to not control everything, and I had the habit to work in organizations where everyone had a strictly defined role. Or either they were just not good at welcoming new members. It seemed that the group was running itself, and was quite well running, but there was no true leader at the helm. On the other hand, Crystal were really nice people, not like the baddies at Skid Row, even nicer than Quartex members (and it also means: nicer than me!). All those I’ve known during my scene life were very cool, and talented people, not only when I was in but also in other occasions, such as when I retired from the scene and became a not-so-active member of Melon Dezign.
At the end of 1991 before the police came for me, when I left Crystal and decided to join the new Nemesis adventure, it was mainly because I had taken the habit of a proven organization with seasoned professionals. Nemesis was approximatively Quartex minus the French members who had been or were fearing to get busted. So I already knew quite everyone, in particular the crackers and those in charge of the organization.
With reference to Quartex, but without Olivier in the new Nemesis, I knew Henk (Zelnik) and Adrien (XTC) were good organizers, who were able to take quick decisions, to rapidly find the right cracker for the right game, to supply virgin/business cards at any time, etc. And I forgot to mention: they paid everything in advance. I must say that I had a preference to work with Adrien, because Henk was sometimes very authoritarian and often managing through carrot and stick. On the other hand he was trustable, if you dared to be persistent and authoritarian with him, so when you finally had the carrot it was rewarding. I don’t remember having had the stick, so it was good enough for me. On his own, Adrian gave the impression to be more friendly with a constant mood, so it was easier treating with him on an equal manner, without conflicts.
Regarding your second question and the old amiga games when I’ve been busted all my old disks were seized. It was a pity I had so many rarities, notably internal utilities of different groups, the tools I had developed myself, assembler routines of my coders which were supposed to be used in future Delight demos, and a lot of my musics which had not yet been spreaded and thus have been lost forever.
Btw if you’re just looking for the games you have a chance to find them here:
#3054 n00w:
___
Supplied over 70 games and preview games (of which more than 10 insides) for over 5 years … how many on your side?
hmmm… good idea… for me 72 probably… lol… nahw, i think just a couple more. anyhow, nice read !… i wish i could remember as much as you guys can,,, ahwell … good excuse > “we are old” … lol! cheers
Subster
and btw; me wasnt just supplier, crack inc , ministry , dynamix > found, not to mention from first minute skidrowdie 😉 ahwell i miss the Copy Parties alot !…
The count wasn’t for you, but for Foxy aka “Dominator” – sorry I can’t help but laugh about this handle which is kind of a true synonym of impotence, according to Freud followers.
Sure I’ve seen countless intros with Subzero or SSR quoted as supplier(s). That makes a big difference between us, as I probably would have been much more “famous” if I kept the same pseudonym from the very beginning. But you’re from Germany, and at the given time you didn’t face the same legal threats as we did in France.
A good example of this was Push Over supplied by ????? to Crack Inc., a group you founded. So I’ve worked for you as a supplier. What a paradox, hehe!
Apart from this detail, it’s funny that there are quite some similarities between our courses on the scene. I’ve also been founder and organizer (Delight), co-founder (Interpol, Paradox II), 1st-minute member of various other groups, and musician – you haven’t mentionned this point, but it’s worth noting too!
Btw, you may hear from me one day or another.
Best regards,
ya, you’re welcome, we may meet at Revision 2013… or some other place, we’ll never know… 😉 now you got me anyways, hmm supplied pushover… iam guessing iam too old to remember who that was. About “foxy” i almost said everything about back in the glory days at some bbs’s, besides, iam not counting him as supplier at all, with his handful supplied games… 😉 lolz… have a great day cya.
#3059 n00w:
Please be more specific than “tell us more”, it’s just too vague!
OK, how did these cracking groups pay for the hardware? Where was Quartex headquartered, and how is it that after 1993. it just up and disappeared?
What started happening to PaRaDoX after 1993.?
Why does Mouscron 1 and Amay show up consistently in a lot of cracks, what was magical about those two locations, and please let us get to know the people behind them – as people. Who were they? Where are they now?
Did you know anyone from Skid Row? What happened to Skid Row? They also resurfaced a year or two ago on the PC, in what seemed like a powerful demonstration that a true cracker will always crack on any platform. Then it seems like to me, that they suddenly disappeared again. Why, and what happened?
Added 5 minutes later:
I am also fascinated by the fact that most, if not all of the titles by SSI were cracked by Skid Row. What is the connection? How did it work?
Which tools did the likes of PaRaDoX, Skid Row, Crystal an PRESTiGE use? What kind of hardware did they have?Why did PRESTiGE suddenly disappear in 1996? Is my suspicion that some of the Skid Row members like Blackhawk and AVH, joined PRESTiGE?What happened to Hellion and Corsair?Who WERE the people behind Betrayal?What about Anthrox? Were they U.K. based?So many questions, so very few answers… I would really, really love to know how many of these people went into a legitimate career in computers? Where are they now? What are they doing today?Hi Annatar! I may be able to answer some of your questions._OK, how did these cracking groups pay for the hardware?_They paid their Amiga themselves, for the most part I think. Vast question, a lot of people, a lot of possible hardware, a lot of situations…_Where was Quartex headquartered, and how is it that after 1993. it just up and disappeared?_1988 born in Germany (fusion of The Champs-Bitstoppers) with Robin (ex-Dynamic Duo) as cracker, and in the U.S.A. (Waremonger, Bigfoot…). A few members from various countries joined over time.1991 became in majority a French group with members all over Europe, the U.S. and Australia, when Paradox renamed into Quartex. End of 1991 I was busted with a lot of other French members.1993 for me Quartex was in minimal service. 1991 was the last year they were very productive. Years later they were reactivated with some ex-Prodigy members. During all this time Waremonger/Steve (sysop of Link to Perfection) applied his motto about lifetime membership. He and Bigfoot remained loyal from A to Z._What started happening to PaRaDoX after 1993.?_I left Paradox in 1993 but remained friend with Max. He got busted for Nintendo copiers in France at the end of the year, then fled to Majorca/Spain. As far as I know they did less Amiga, more consoles. More business, more money. Me not taking part in anything related to this._Why does Mouscron 1 and Amay show up consistently in a lot of cracks, what was magical about those two locations, and please let us get to know the people behind them – as people. Who were they? Where are they now?_Thanks to Subzero you already have the answer about Amay. For Mouscron 1, there are several PO Boxes… Duncan (The Band, Paranoimia, etc.) was behind at least one of these._Did you know anyone from Skid Row?_Me, among others 😉 But although I appear in 1992 memberlists I was in the outskirts of the group, as supplier. Though, I knew a few other members…_They also resurfaced a year or two ago on the PC, in what seemed like a powerful demonstration that a true cracker will always crack on any platform. Then it seems like to me, that they suddenly disappeared again. Why, and what happened?_Cannot respond to this. Since I have a PC (1995) I never had any pirated software, neither on PC, nor on consoles._I am also fascinated by the fact that most, if not all of the titles by SSI were cracked by Skid Row. What is the connection? How did it work?_Some groups also had suppliers in the U.S. and SR was one of these. I guess also that you can find SSI games cracked by other groups. Looks like a coincidence. I don’t see any conspiracy theory._Which tools did the likes of PaRaDoX, Skid Row, Crystal an PRESTiGE use?_Tools available for everybody. Plus special monitors, helpers, warpers, etc. developed by the crackers themselves, depending on the crackers – some had more and/or better tools than others. Plus phreaking Tools, AmieXpress Tools, etc. some publicly available others not._What kind of hardware did they have?_Their Amigas, harddisks, blablabla 🙂 – oh yeah, USR HST modems of course (or some older stuff in the 80’s)._Prestige:_Cannot say anything. Didn’t have anymore Amiga and it was years after i had left the crack scene. There are late 90’s BBS dumps somewhere on the Web or on some FTP, where you may find a few answers._What happened to Hellion and Corsair?_Hellion: last time we heard about him he was in Diamonds & Rust with Bob Duncan. In 1992 I think.Corsair: stopped everything in 1991, like his brother Mr Video. A nice burnt smell was floating in France, enough to fear some of the toughest. Only Agile remained a little active here at year’s end, then they joined Quartex to not be so active.Plus, I guess, studies are more important to build a life than doing crazy things with pirated software._Who WERE the people behind Betrayal?_Mainly SCSI. Also look for FICA if you want more information. And a bunch of dudes like Xag, Caddie of Defjam, also English and Italian people.I think one of the reasons why people ask about Betrayal is that SCSI lived in various countries (first Italy, then Germany, NY/USA, Germany again, Switzerland…), so it made complicated for people to locate him and put a country name as home for this group._What about Anthrox? Were they U.K. based?_Anthrox had U.S. roots (see the group Power from which they were born) and a lot of U.K. members. Power itself was more or less a spin-off of Punishers which was mainly an Australian group also with a lot of U.K. members. You find all three continents well represented in Anthrox, which also opened to more countries in Europe._So many questions, so very few answers…_I don’t have all the answers but I hope this helps you now have less questions._I would really, really love to know how many of these people went into a legitimate career in computers? Where are they now? What are they doing today?_Most of them do have legitimate careers, some in Computers, others not (cf. Strider/ex-leader of FLT in US politics for instance). But I’m not sure they would like you and other people to know. In addition they also have wives, children, and Amiga is far back behind them. Let’s wish them happiness.Interesting stuff n00w, but I have to disagree about Anthrox… both the leaders (Mungo & Hydro) were from the UK, and as I remember they existed at the same time as Power & Punishers (mainly US/Australian). I guess that people from Punishers (Ice, especially) joined later when ATX moved from mainly a UK demo group to a cracking/training-focused group – which was a good move since they stayed at the top of the World Charts as #1 trainermakers for many years (Ice did some very fast but not very good trainers, Skol made some fast+excellent trainers!).
Hi Wayne, I must totally second that about Anthrox. I came across these Power releases recently and thought “eureka” with Punishers > Power > Anthrox but you are totally right. They started as a demo group in the UK as far back as July 1990 at least, with Mungo, Hydro, Aztech, etc. Like most, I’ve always been considering Anthrox as a trainer group, and that’s why I came to this quick conclusion, but it looks like I should have double-checked before. When Ice and others joined in December 1991 the group radically changed. I didn’t have so many contacts at Anthrox past my access on Martyrium, and certainly no contacts with them before they did trainers.
Cool stuff 🙂
Re Prestige, all I can say is that in summer 1995, I decided to quit the scene and to focus once of all on my engineering studies. As a consequence, Mok did leave as well and I am afraid soon after the entire Amiga division went down. But then apparently the PC division did become quite important and I know that Mok did some cracks for them as well. But that was another story…Prestige Amiga was truly a fantastic group for about 2 years and we were really a leading force. But contrary to most of the other cracking groups, we remained very humble and down to earth. Our egos were kept to a very normal level and this regardless of the success we were having. And there was a tremendous sense of friendship within the crew. We were really driven by a desire to produce quality and keep “cool”.Unfortunately there were less and less games released and consequently the entire cracking scene died quietly but surely…And the rise of the PCs scene did not help at all.I personally felt that it was getting too much about money with all these groups selling console copiers, PC cracks, CCs etc etc…In the past, money used to be a means to run a group (i.e. buy originals, pay phone bills, buy some H/W if needed etc..). But in the early 90’s some people thought they could make serious money with all these illegal stuff and the whole thing got quite nasty…Anyway, I miss sometimes the adrenalin I was getting back then with late nights cracking, training, coding, organizing things, chatting etc.. 🙂Well someone’s gotta keep this thread alive… thanx for making me register here and pop in for a minute! 🙂 All of these conversations brought back proper Amiga memories for me! I still have a few Amigas in storage from back in these days and I *know* I have BBS backups somewhere… I really should dig them! Mainly as a reminder to all the good people I crossed paths with back in those days bus also things like all the ascii art I created for bbs pages, warez descriptions, and adverts ahahahaha! I still have my originally USR 14.4K HST…. should bronze that shit! ATX4B0&A0&B0&H2&I0&K0&M0&N6a FTW! Ahhh “0 dayz HST only” …..makes me smile to think about some of the “eliteness” of those days… 🙂
Shadowvex ~ The Fiend Club BBS ( Delight WHQ / Alphaflight WHQ / Crystal USHQ )
BBS backup? cool How big is it? anything good inside?
I would love to see the ascii art pages you createdFor historical purposes I’m very interested in a backup of your BBS. PM send.
bitman, http://www.BigBookOfAmigaHardWare.com
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