Amiga Format
Encyclopedia
Amiga Format was a British
computer magazine for Amiga
computers, published by Future Publishing
. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE
to EMAP
, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format
into two separate publications (the other being ST Format
). At the height of its success the magazines sold over 170,000 copies per month, topping 200,000 with its most successful ever issue.
, which it both predated and outlived. Whereas Amiga Power was strictly games-only, Amiga Format covered all aspects of Amiga computers, both hardware
and software
, both productivity
and gaming uses. A further spin-off was Amiga Shopper, which dealt purely with the hardware and "serious" software side of the Amiga scene.
The magazine offered various multi-issue tutorials on different productivity software, such as C
programming or LightWave
graphics rendering. The last tutorial was cut short in the middle because of the cancellation of the magazine.
Amiga Format pioneered the concept of putting complete productivity software on a magazine coverdisk as a response to a moratorium on complete games titles being cover-mounted.
Amiga Format was the second-to-last regularly issued print magazine about the Amiga in the United Kingdom. The last was Amiga Active
, which ran for 26 issues from October 1999, although Amiga Format was the only such magazine after CU Amiga Magazine's closure in October 1998 until the launch of Amiga Active.
edition of the magazine, all the Readers' Games were also included on the covermount
CD-ROM. Most of the games were written in AMOS BASIC
or Blitz BASIC
.
In one issue a competition was run to find the best game developed by a reader using a previously covermounted version of Blitz BASIC. A game called Total Wormage was entered by Andy Davidson but did not win – this game was later further developed and published by Team17
as the successful game, Worms
. Although this story has become popular part of the Worms mythology, nobody who was judging the games actually remembers seeing Worms at all...
would have on the Amiga.
Interviews were conducted with Chris Wiles (managing director of Active Technologies), Neil Bothwick (founder of the Wirenet ISP
), Alan Redhouse (of Eyetech), Wolf Dietrich (head of Phase 5 Digital Products
), Andrew Elia (of AmigaSoc), and Ben Hermans (of Hyperion Entertainment). In the final issue, a special interview was conducted with Eric Schwartz's cartoon character Sabrina.
sent to subscribers with each issue. The tone of the newsletter was less formal than that of the magazine, and it would often provide behind-the-scenes information on the activities of prominent members of the Amiga Format staff. Backstage also gave details of the contents of the Subscribers' Superdisk (an extra floppy disk
sent to subscribers, whose contents were also stored in a password-protected archive
on the cover CD), and featured special offers for subscribers.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
computer magazine for Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
computers, published by Future Publishing
Future Publishing
Future plc is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography. Future is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers...
. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE
ACE (games magazine)
ACE was a multi-format computer and video game magazine first published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing and later acquired by EMAP.-History:...
to EMAP
EMAP
Emap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format
ST/Amiga Format
ST Amiga Format was a computer magazine that covered the Atari ST and Amiga computers. It was published by Future Publishing to cover the ever growing market for the, then-new, 16-bit home computers. At first, the issues were equally balanced with coverage for both Commodore Amiga and Atari ST...
into two separate publications (the other being ST Format
ST Format
ST Format was a computer magazine in the UK covering the Atari ST during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like other members of the Future Publishing Format stable - PC Format and Amiga Format, for instance, it combined software and hardware reviews with columnists, letters pages and a cover...
). At the height of its success the magazines sold over 170,000 copies per month, topping 200,000 with its most successful ever issue.
History
Amiga Format can be thought of the "mother" or "big sister" magazine of Amiga PowerAmiga Power
Amiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
, which it both predated and outlived. Whereas Amiga Power was strictly games-only, Amiga Format covered all aspects of Amiga computers, both hardware
Computer hardware
Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...
and software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
, both productivity
Productivity
Productivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
and gaming uses. A further spin-off was Amiga Shopper, which dealt purely with the hardware and "serious" software side of the Amiga scene.
The magazine offered various multi-issue tutorials on different productivity software, such as C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
programming or LightWave
LightWave
LightWave 3D is a high end computer graphics program developed by NewTek. The latest release of LightWave runs on Windows and Mac OS X.- Overview:...
graphics rendering. The last tutorial was cut short in the middle because of the cancellation of the magazine.
Amiga Format pioneered the concept of putting complete productivity software on a magazine coverdisk as a response to a moratorium on complete games titles being cover-mounted.
Amiga Format was the second-to-last regularly issued print magazine about the Amiga in the United Kingdom. The last was Amiga Active
Amiga Active
Amiga Active was a monthly computer magazine published by Pinprint Publishing, it launched at a time when most other Amiga magazines had already closed, and as a result only had one major competitor Amiga Format. A large proportion of the Amiga Active staff were from CU Amiga Magazine, which closed...
, which ran for 26 issues from October 1999, although Amiga Format was the only such magazine after CU Amiga Magazine's closure in October 1998 until the launch of Amiga Active.
Reader Games
A notable regular feature in the later stage of the magazine (introduced by then-editor Nick Veitch) was Readers' Games. Here readers of the magazine could send in games they had programmed themselves, and the magazine staff would then publish a brief review of them. In the CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
edition of the magazine, all the Readers' Games were also included on the covermount
Covermount
Covermount is the name given to storage media or other products packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper...
CD-ROM. Most of the games were written in AMOS BASIC
AMOS BASIC
AMOS BASIC is a dialect of the BASIC programming language implemented on the Amiga computer. AMOS BASIC was published by Europress Software and originally written by François Lionet with Constantin Sotiropoulos.- History :...
or Blitz BASIC
Blitz BASIC
Blitz BASIC refers to the programming language dialect that was interpreted by the first Blitz compilers, devised by New Zealand-based developer Mark Sibly. Being derived from BASIC, Blitz syntax was designed to be easy to pick-up for beginners first learning to program...
.
In one issue a competition was run to find the best game developed by a reader using a previously covermounted version of Blitz BASIC. A game called Total Wormage was entered by Andy Davidson but did not win – this game was later further developed and published by Team17
Team17
Team17 Software Ltd. is a video game company best known for developing the Worms series of games , but it has made many other games, notably Superfrog and the Alien Breed series. Most of its early releases were on the Amiga home computer system and featured trademark smooth scrolling, and detailed...
as the successful game, Worms
Worms (computer game)
Worms is a series of turn-based computer games developed by British company Team17 Software. Players control a small platoon of earthworms across a deformable landscape, battling other computer- or player-controlled teams...
. Although this story has become popular part of the Worms mythology, nobody who was judging the games actually remembers seeing Worms at all...
Emulators
While the continuing uncertainty about the Amiga platform's future slowed software development, there was an increase in the interest surrounding emulation software. Long time contributor Simon Goodwin contributed one of the longest running series to the magazine, which broke down emulators by target platform and went through the mechanics of getting them workingJust the FAQs
Introduced in issue 129 and continuing until the final issue, Just the FAQs consisted of a single page each month containing an interview with a prominent figure in the Amiga community, with the exception of the January 2000 issue (published in December 1999), which instead explained the limited effects the Year 2000 problemYear 2000 problem
The Year 2000 problem was a problem for both digital and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits.In computer programs, the practice of representing the year with two...
would have on the Amiga.
Interviews were conducted with Chris Wiles (managing director of Active Technologies), Neil Bothwick (founder of the Wirenet ISP
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
), Alan Redhouse (of Eyetech), Wolf Dietrich (head of Phase 5 Digital Products
Phase5
Phase5 Digital Products was a computer hardware manufacturer that made boards for the Amiga computer. Their best known products were accelerator boards which replaced the CPU with a faster model...
), Andrew Elia (of AmigaSoc), and Ben Hermans (of Hyperion Entertainment). In the final issue, a special interview was conducted with Eric Schwartz's cartoon character Sabrina.
Backstage
Backstage was a four page newsletterNewsletter
A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in...
sent to subscribers with each issue. The tone of the newsletter was less formal than that of the magazine, and it would often provide behind-the-scenes information on the activities of prominent members of the Amiga Format staff. Backstage also gave details of the contents of the Subscribers' Superdisk (an extra floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
sent to subscribers, whose contents were also stored in a password-protected archive
File archiver
A file archiver is a computer program that combines a number of files together into one archive file, or a series of archive files, for easier transportation or storage...
on the cover CD), and featured special offers for subscribers.
External links
- Archived articles originally published in Amiga Format:
- Amiga audio, networking and system stability
- A long-running series of articles about emulators (for other computers running on Amigas)