(·· AMIGA · ARENA ··) .-----------------------------------. | I · N · T · E · R · V · I · E · W | `-----------------------------------' This is a Interview with me,released in "Obligement" Issue 43 (16.02.2004) Thanks to David Brunet who makes it! 1) Hi Olaf ! Could you please introduce yourself at our readers ? Hello,as some of you perhaps know,my Name is Olaf Köbnik and i live in Germany. I was born in the Summer of 69 ;-) and i work since my vocational education as a locksmiths. I am interested in many things but beside my Amiga hobby i am a big "Heavy Metal" Fan! 2) When and how did you start using an Amiga ? Actually, what is your personnals Amiga configurations ? My first Commputer was the good old C64 an then in the End of the 80s I bought my first A500. After the release of Workbench 2.0 i bought for my A500 a switch to change between WB 1.3 and 2.0 but when the A1200 came out,it was obviousfor me to buy it! :-) Later i bought A4000/30 and today i own A 500 with 2 MB Fast A 1200 with 8 MB (Billzard 1220 + 4 MB) A 3000/HD with 4 MB Fast and a Piccolo Card A 4000/40 with Picasso II +,40 MB Fast,CD Rom, 2 GByte HD,Vlab,SCSI Scanner My every Day Amiga is a Amiga 4000/60,80 MB Fast,Picasso IV + Paloma Modul, Plextor CD Burner,1 GByte and 2 GByte HDs and a Toccata Sound Card. 3) When and for which reasons do you have created Amiga Arena ? What are the objectives of Amiga Arena ? When i start in 1998 the Amiga Arena,i dedicate to do something new, not another Amiga Homepage with a lot of Links or another Amiga News Site. I wanted to support the Amiga PD and Sharware Developer avtive! Because this people make it possible,that the Amiga has survived all the years. There a so many good Free and Sharware Software for the Amiga, but in the end of the 90s i felt that we lost more and more good developers. My goal was to support the developers and motivate them and to show the people that there is still good software available and that this Software was worth to support or registrate. So i think till today the Amiga Arena is the one and only Site who makes so many special offers for Shareware possible. With this special offers i wanted to make it possible that the users see and belive in the continue of developing in Amiga Software. I have believed that all the user think like i do and due to that will perhaps registrate for a lower price or destroy their crack version to see that it is important to support the last developers on the Amiga. While searching software fot the Arena i got in touch with many ex Amiga developers and another part of the Amiga Arena was born. I asked them if they would give a free full Registerd Version to the Amiga Community because it would be better to use a free legal Version as a crack. And so i could make it possible to release some good Shareware Games and Tools for free! But for me it was more important if it would be possible to continue the development of the Software. So i make it possible to get some source codes,if i find a developer for continue the Software. For example one of my biggest success was the continue of AmiATLAS,PuzzleBOBS, Aqua - German Version and Octamed Soundstudio. A big thank you to Gerd Frank who continue the developing on AmiATLAS and Octamed Sound Studio. FileX is one of the Sharware Tools for example. 4) What are your future plans for Amiga Arena ? This is not so easy to answer because without Shareware Software or generel new Software the Amiga Arena is dead. And without Feedback,it makes no sense to make special offers avilable, because no one used it or is interested in it. I hope you guys understand what i mean,i can only try to "move something". I do it for you and for the Amiga,if you dont like it,i have to stop it! But I have to wait to see what will be happen in the future. But that means not that i am inactive. For example in the last weeks i have tested some Games (beta test) or write articles for a magazines. I support AmiATLAS with new Guides and try to help where i can help or my help is needed! ;-) 6) You have made a lot of interviews. Now you seems to know the Amiga communauty very well. What do you think about the Amiga communauty and its evolution since 4-5 years ? When i looked back in 1998 the situation was not so good too, and i saw every month a nother amiga developer go. But there was "hope" and we had "one" community! Today we have the smallest community,we can have,the amiga market is dead and after i visit the last Amiga Show in 2002 in Germany-Aachen,it was disappointed to see what we call today know a Amiga Show! (Only 100 - 200 Visitors) I dont know if some of you remember our big Amiga Shows in Colone,that was a great time! so when i look back to my interviews and see who is still active today, i must truly say that there a not many people here. But i think i tell you nothing real new,we all know that the situation is month for month worse,but know there is again "hope"! :-) 7) You have produced "Amiga Arena Games Edition 2002", a good compilation of Amiga games.Is another compilation is planned ? Thank you,if you like the CD :-) No,there is not another CD planned,because today the most Amiga Fans have Internet access and you can find many sites with Amiga games in the www. Peole dont care if the games a legal or not - unfortunately. I make the CD as a "present" for my visitors,the can get all the stuff on CD i ever released and as a big Bonus you can registrate WHDLoad for your Games for half the price. You only have to pay 10 Euro for the CD and you get two cool things on one CD :-)) 8) With the small Amiga market, are you satisfied with the number of copies sold of your different products (Amiga Games Edition, ETeacher,...) ? As some of your readers know,i dont release the Software under the label "Amiga Arena". With my partner Sebastian B.,the founder of www.funtime-world.de, i only make it possible to release this Software. My goal was not to make money with the release of the Software because for me, it was important to motivate the developers,to show the Amiga Useres that there is still some new Software possible. But the sales are very low :-(( Not that we publish bad software ;-) All our Products get good ratings and the price is very cheap, but do not ask me, why the users hesitate to buy it :-(( 9) Generaly, when you approach developers for they give full version of their software, what is their reaction ? Is it easy to convince them ? Which developers have refused your proposition ? I have to say that the answers of the developes are positive and some of them are happy to read after a long time a mail from a "Freak" like me who still uses a Amiga! ;-) Many have no contact to the Amiga Scene today but you know, many of them are inside still Amiga Fans! ;-) So i must say a big "Thank YOU" to all the people who supports me with they Software. Ok,there a some people who wants to give a free keyfile etc. etc. but this i must accept. 10) On your website,there is now lots of software freely available. Do you have planned to collabore with Aminet for making only one "super software archive" ? I must fairly say,i never premeditates this solution. But there are some problems to do it,i have only the permission to put the software on my side. Second,i put some Games on Aminet after i released it on my site first, i think if people visit my site they will find a little archive with software, but in Aminet it is easy to overlook good software if you dont know for what you search. 11) What are your favorites games on Amiga ? And on others platforms ? Puh,there a many games on amiga i like to play today, i must say i only have a PSX 2 and on this machine i like games like GTA - Vice City, Tom Raider,Need for Speed,Jak etc. On my lovely Amiga my favorites are: (not in a special order) ChaosEnigne,lionheart,Payback,Turrican,AlienBreed,Another World,Beneath a steel Sky,Dragonstore, Flashback,Legends,OnEscape,Fire and Ice,Ruff n Tumble,SuperFrog,Traps n Treasure,Foundation,The Settlers, Banshee,ProjectX,All Terrain racing,Elfmania,Lamborghini,Roadkill,PinballIllusions,SlamTilt,Speedball2, SWOS,Exodus,HistoryLine,SimCity2000,Napalm and many many more,as you see i love to play Amiga Games! ;-) 12) What is your opinion about the AmigaOS 4 and the AmigaOne ? Will you support it in the future ? We all know the situation,and why it takes so many years to see a Amiga PPC OS. In the End of 2001 i was very,very disapointet that there was no AmigaOS 4.0 available, but we all know that it is a little wonder ithink,that the Hyperion Team,now make it possible! What i know about AmigaOS 4.0 and what i know from beta testers etc. it must be great! :-) The AmigaOne? I dont care about the Hardware today,because i want only THE AmigaOS. I hope the AmigaOne will be get some cheaper in the future,because not everyone will buy the AmigaOne to have AmigaOS 4.0! 13) What is your opinion about MorphOS and the Pegasos ? Do you own it or will support it in the future ? I think MorphOS is a good alternative for Amiga Fans, if there would be no officially Amiga PPC OS in development. But for me personally,i see no reason to change to MorphOS or to buy a Pegasos. Because i can get in the next time, what i was waiting for so many years - THE new AmigaOS on new Hardware. If i support it? Not directly,i must fairly say,i am not interested in MorphOS. 14) What is your opinion about the AmigaDE ? I dont know to much about it,but i like the idea behint AmigaDE. It is only sad to see that too much time waysted to push it. Amiga Inc. need new ideas and visions to make money in the future. 15) What is the situation of the Amiga in Germany ? I think Germany is one of the biggest Amiga Country ;-) We have with the german Magzine "AMIGAplus" one of the last "big" magazine with, i think more than 2500 readers. With the "AmigaFuture" we have another good Magazine. I think more than 300 readers read it regurlalry and some of you know perhaps one of the best german Amiga Magazines ever the "AmigaMagazin" it is still alive! ;-) With www.amiga-news.de we have one of the best news sites and many Amiga Fans are there. But it is very hard to say how many a "real" Amiga Users,who use the Classic Amiga, how many are WinUAE or Amithlon Users etc. etc. And it is hard to say who will be the favourite OS in the Future! 16) If tomorow you are the boss of AmigaInc/Genesi with lots of money. What will be your three first decisions ? Dream on ;-) If i would be the Boss of Amiga Inc. i would force the development of AmigaOS to all Plattforms. I would contact all ex Amiga developers and game developers like Team17,Delphine Software, Bitmap Brothers etc. to come back and make a re-release of some "classic" Games! I would like to support all free and sharware developers and the Amiga Demo Scene to show the World Amiga is back - "back for the Future"! :-) 17) It's the last word now, do you want to say something at ours readers ? First a big thank you to you all,who support the Amiga and Amiga Developers all the last years. End a big thank you to all Free and Sharware Developers too! Now we have the one and last chance to see AmigaOS back on new Hardware and i hope that the Community will go the new way in a new Amiga Future. If you like to see new software or updates etc. please give feedback to the developers. you can believe me,that it is one of the most important reasons why so many projects have stopped in the past. Without feedback we will see no new Software. Support the developers and the developers supports you! If you have ideas,wishes etc. dont be shy,to contact the developers. And if you can help,please help,many Teams search for people who can help and when you "only" translate a text,write a guide etc. be a part of the Community and dont wait that other will do it! Yours Olaf .... __ -- © Amiga Arena 02/2004 -- __ .... aMIGA aRENA - fEEL tHE fIRE!