"Har dee FUCKING Har, 4th. ;) Nice work in the first eC HO pack though. I only yawned twice."   ÜÜ  ° Ý ßßÜÜÜÞÜ  ÜÜÜ  °Ü Þ ±Ý ÝßÛÛÜ Ü  ßÜßßÜÜ ßßßÛ ²ÜÜ Ý  ܲÛß ÜÜÞÜ ²Ý ÜÝßÜ ² Û° ÜÜÛÛÜß ßÜÝÝ°Ü Þ  Ü Ý   ßÛÛÛß ßßßÜÜÜ ß² ÛÛÜ°Ý    ± Þܲ ÝÝ°²Ûßß Üܲ  ÞÜ ÞÜÜÝ  Þ°ÜÜßÜÜ ßÛÜ ÜÜ ß°±ÜÜ ßß  ÜÛ °  ÞÛßÛÝÜÜ ßßß ß ß²ÜÜÝ   ß° ß°²²ßß  ÜÜÝÞ°°ÛßÝ ÛÛ ßÜÜ ±Ý   ßÜßÝ ßßÜÛÝ ß ÜÜÝ ÜÜ ²²±°ÝÜÜ ßßß   ßÝÞ±°±Ý  ÞÞ ßß Ü°ÜÞnrc ßß Ü°ÛÛÝ ÜÜ  ß±°²Ý ±°±°Ý ß  ÜÜÝ ÜÜ   ß °±²Ý ÜÜßß ßÛÛ °Ý ßÞ°°ßÝ  Þß °Ý±Ý °°° Ý ßÜÜ ß °²Ý °Ü²Û ÜÜ ßß °Ü  ÛßÝ ß Ü±² ÝÞ Ý°ß Þ°ÛßÝÞÜß  °ݱÝ ÞÛßÛßß ßÝ Þ   °± ÝÞÜÛ² ÝÞÞÝ°ß ÜßÝ ÞÞ° ß  Þ Û± ÝÞ Ý ßÞ° ßÞ° ß Þ ßßÞ°ß ß "ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH! I got stuck doing the .NFO again." That was me, around this time last year. "ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH! I got stuck doing the .NFO again." That's me about an hour before this release. Some things n ever change. This is, of course, the January 1997 DARK Collection. Welc ome. Outside my window it is currently nighttime, and bitterly cold . A fitting weather condition for our pack. (Canadian weather doe s *not* suck. It blows. It blows snow, to be exact.) 1996. 12 regular releases. (OK, so one was irregular. I promise never to use that retarded naming convention again.) 13 if yo u count the "Best of '95". To most of you, this doesn't seem like any  great feat. Other groups have been doing it for years. I must poin t out, however, that DARK began as a bi-monthly release group, and de spite several jerky attempts to change the flow, "monthly" was somet hing us cynical DARK members smirked at when it came to our own Collec tions. But we broke with our tradition and found a rhythm we could  live with. Hurray. Twice as much packaging for me each year. Twi ce as many .NFOs. (A mercy killing would be greatly appreciated right ab out now. I promise, I'll make it quick and painful... err, painless!) Putting my personal misery aside, I can honestly say I'm lo oking forward to this year! There's just something in the air... ap art from frozen water molecules. This has been a boring introduction. I'm sick of it. It's  putting me to sleep. If this .NFO were in HTML format, there'd be an icon beneath this paragraph with "Punch It" enscribed upon it. Onc e clicked, a .WAV file would blare a recording of Supreme Terrorist Priso n Breaker screaming "WAKE THE FUCK UP YOU PILLOW-BITING, SCROTUM-SNIFFIN G SPACE CADET!" But that'd mean a lot more work on this .NFO, and I can't h andle that. Turn out your lights, and welcome to the DARK... -  Xypher Matryx  PS. This introduction was nothing more tha n an excuse to further irradiate your skull and impair your vision. Now read on . ÜÜÜÜ ÛÛÛÜÜÜ°°°°ÜÜ ÜÛÛÛ ÛÛßßßÛÛÛÜÜÜ ²Ü ° ÜÜ° ܲ ÜÜÜÛÛÛ ßßßÛÛ ßßÛÜÛß ßßÜ ²°°Ü±²ÛÜ ÜÛ²±Ü°°² Üßß ßÛÜÛßß ÛÛÛÝ°° ÞÞÛÜ°±Û °Û°±²ÛÛ²±° Û° ±°ÜÛÝÝ  °°ÞÛÛÛ ÛÛßÜ ÜÜÛÛ²Üß² Û°±²ßÝÞß²±°Û²ßÜ ²ÛÛÜÜ ÜßÛÛ ßß ßßÛßܲ±°Ü ܱ²  ܱÜUpdates Ü±Ü ²±Ü Ü°±² ÜßÛßß ßß °° ÜÜÛÛܲÜß² ° ß±°ßß° ±ß °²ßܲÜÛÛÜ Ü °° ßßßßݱÛÝÞ°Ý °° °° Þ°ÝÞÛ±Þßßß ß ßßÛßÜÛÜÜÜÜÛÜßÛßßxm ßßßßßßßß Though he was accepted a few months ago, Neon Horse  only recently returned from an urban riot control seminar to learn of his D ARK member- ship. When asked how he felt about this development, he repl ied "This is terrific! Now I've got plenty of dummies to kick to crap out  of!" Carnifex, DARK Senior (Sinecure) in charge of all things mundane, spent many long hours re-vamping the DARK FAQ. He invites you to r ead through it carefully, and kick the shit out of him for each and every  spelling mistake. (This does not apply to the author of the .NFO, who  is under tremendous pressure to release the Collection. ;) Oxygene and Xypher Matryx, working in f everish tandemn, managed to correct many of the errors in the updated version of DARKGen/ 2, DARK's incredible Application Generator. This does not, however, me an to say that everything's fine and dandy. We encourage you to report  any bugs or mistakes remaining in the program. ÜÜÜÜ ÛÛÛÜÜÜ°°°°ÜÜ ÜÛÛÛ ÛÛßßßÛÛÛÜÜÜ ²Ü ° ÜÜ° ܲ ÜÜÜÛÛÛ ßßßÛÛ ßßÛÜÛß ßßÜ ²°°Ü±²ÛÜ ÜÛ²±Ü°°² Üßß ßÛÜÛßß ÛÛÛÝ°° ÞÞÛÜ°±Û °Û°±²ÛÛ²±° Û° ±°ÜÛÝÝ  °°ÞÛÛÛ ÛÛßÜ ÜÜÛÛ²Üß² Û°±²ßÝÞß²±°Û²ßÜ ²ÛÛÜÜ ÜßÛÛ ßß ßßÛßܲ±°Ü ܱ²  ܱÜThe eCHO Conspiracy Ü±Ü ²±Ü Ü°±² ÜßÛßß ßß °° ÜÜÛÛܲÜß² ° ß±°ßß° ±ß °²ßܲÜÛÛÜ Ü °° ßßßßݱÛÝÞ°Ý °° °° Þ°ÝÞÛ±Þßßß ß ßßÛßÜÛÜÜÜÜÛÜßÛßßxm ßßßßßßßß I'm sure you're all familiar now with the upstart group by th e name of eCHO, founded by a renegade DARK Senior . Now, this ex-Senior (we'll call him "The Last Drop-out") made many slanderous rema rks about the fine DARK establishment. Though we hardly believe in stooping to their  base level, it is important that the truth come out! How did we come about this truth? Our agents-in-the-field/Te rror Troopers in the VGA Department, Bu rnout and Prison Breaker, caught one of the traitorous bastards in a carefully planned strike! Locke d in a sound- proof chamber, and tied to the DARK Shred-o-Rama Rack(c), it took very little time to crack this fiend. Here's where it gets intere sting! The Last Drop-out was actually brainwashed into betraying his  former colleagues! The infamous "Snowhat" was apparently  responsible for this heinous crime! Yet together, they masterminded the marshalli ng of a force unequalled in recent history, using their devastating " Clout Ray" and the promise of "eCHO-ality for one and all". For that pu n alone they deserve a swift death! But that's not all! Snowhat and The Last Dropout plan to sac rifice each and every one of their loyal followers in the hopes of p leasing their evil god Chan'ANZEE! This will no doubt open a Te le-Flood-Gate from the nefarious realm of "Lay'MarZ", and the final invasi on will begin! OH THE INHUMANITY! The only way we may combat this horrible event is if all dedi cated artists band with us to beat back the eCHO plague! Quickly, while you still can! Load up DARKGEN/2 and send us your portfolio! We  can win this war! WE'LL SILENCE THEM FOREVER! DARK ILLUSTRATED 1997! THE ONE AND ONLY! PPS. If any of you meatheads took this serio usly, you really don't have any business reading this .NFO file, or even partak ing in the scene. Get a sense of humour already. PPPS. I warned you Nav, I was gonna get you back. ;) G'day, boss. ÜÜÜÜ ÛÛÛÜÜÜ°°°°ÜÜ ÜÛÛÛ ÛÛßßßÛÛÛÜÜÜ ²Ü ° ÜÜ° ܲ ÜÜÜÛÛÛ ßßßÛÛ ßßÛÜÛß ßßÜ ²°°Ü±²ÛÜ ÜÛ²±Ü°°² Üßß ßÛÜÛßß ÛÛÛÝ°° ÞÞÛÜ°±Û °Û°±²ÛÛ²±° Û° ±°ÜÛÝÝ  °°ÞÛÛÛ ÛÛßÜ ÜÜÛÛ²Üß² Û°±²ßÝÞß²±°Û²ßÜ ²ÛÛÜÜ ÜßÛÛ ßß ßßÛßܲ±°Ü ܱ²  Ü±Ü Filenames  Ü±Ü ²±Ü Ü °±²ÜßÛßß ßß °° ÜÜÛÛܲÜß² ° ß±°ßß° ±ß °²ßܲÜÛÛÜ Ü °° ßßßßݱÛÝÞ°Ý °° °° Þ°ÝÞÛ±Þßßß ß ßßÛßÜÛÜÜÜÜÛÜßÛßßxm ßßßßßßßß  Filenames work like this: XXXXX-##.*  XXXXX is a five-letter abbreviation of the artist' s alias. (Should the alias fall within five characters or less, the entire alias w ill be used.) ## represents the current number of pieces the art ist has produced for the year of 1997. * can be any valid extension for images, executabl es, data files, or musical compositions. The most common are DRK for  ANSI images, JPG/GIF/ BMP/etc... for high-resolution graphic images, and MOD/S3M/XM/etc... for music data files.   PPPPS. Our web page problems are finally being resolved. If you buy any of that, you may want to consider becoming a DA RK member. ;) ÜÜÜÜ ÛÛÛÜÜÜ°°°°ÜÜ ÜÛÛÛ ÛÛßßßÛÛÛÜÜÜ ²Ü ° ÜÜ° ܲ ÜÜÜÛÛÛ ßßßÛÛ ßßÛÜÛß ßßÜ ²°°Ü±²ÛÜ ÜÛ²±Ü°°² Üßß ßÛÜÛßß ÛÛÛÝ°° ÞÞÛÜ°±Û °Û°±²ÛÛ²±° Û° ±°ÜÛÝÝ  °°ÞÛÛÛ ÛÛßÜ ÜÜÛÛ²Üß² Û°±²ßÝÞß²±°Û²ßÜ ²ÛÛÜÜ ÜßÛÛ ßß ßßÛßܲ±°Ü ܱ²  Ü±Ü DAR'chives  Ü±Ü ²±Ü Ü °±²ÜßÛßß ßß °° ÜÜÛÛܲÜß² ° ß±°ßß° ±ß °²ßܲÜÛÛÜ Ü °° ßßßßݱÛÝÞ°Ý °° °° Þ°ÝÞÛ±Þßßß ß ßßÛßÜÛÜÜÜÜÛÜßÛßßxm ßßßßßßßß The Lethal Aspect World Headquarter s Xypher Matryx The Regency Internet Headquarters H alaster  Clockwork London DARK Member Board Seraphim Mad Cows?!?DARK Member Board Night Stalker Savage ExileDARK Member Board Acidic Soap Sight & Sound  DARK Member Board    Drone-Fly  Special Sauce DARK Member Board  Samurai   The Way Station DARK Member Boar d The Anarchist  Via the Internet, DARK packs can be obtained from  The Regency's FTP  site, at treg ency.res.cmu.edu, or from the ACiD Artpacks Archive at  ftp.cdrom.com (/pub/artpacks/incoming/a rtpacks/) Most DARK members can be contacted through e-mail (addresses available in the memberlist), and some may be found lurking on the IRC,  in channel #dark. (EFnet)   For more detailed information on DARK Illustrated , DARK's own F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) text file is included in this arc hive. Filename: DARK-FAQ.180 ÜÜÜÜ ÛÛÛÜÜÜ°°°°ÜÜ ÜÛÛÛ ÛÛßßßÛÛÛÜÜÜ ²Ü ° ÜÜ° ܲ ÜÜÜÛÛÛ ßßßÛÛ ßßÛÜÛß ßßÜ ²°°Ü±²ÛÜ ÜÛ²±Ü°°² Üßß ßÛÜÛßß ÛÛÛÝ°° ÞÞÛÜ°±Û °Û°±²ÛÛ²±° Û° ±°ÜÛÝÝ  °°ÞÛÛÛ ÛÛßÜ ÜÜÛÛ²Üß² Û°±²ßÝÞß²±°Û²ßÜ ²ÛÛÜÜ ÜßÛÛ ßß ßßÛßܲ±°Ü ܱ²  Ü±Ü  Conclu sion Ü±Ü ²±Ü  Ü°±²ÜßÛßß ßß °° ÜÜÛÛܲÜß² ° ß±°ßß° ±ß °²ßܲÜÛÛÜ Ü °° ßßßßݱÛÝÞ°Ý °° °° Þ°ÝÞÛ±Þßßß ß ßßÛßÜÛÜÜÜÜÛÜßÛßßxm ßßßßßßßß A few final words for this poor shmuck -- I'd like to thank  a few for their efforts both within DARK and outside of it: The Green HornetYou will never cease to amaze me. But you still owe me twenty bucks. Prison BreakerChrist, haven't they jailed you for an Apocalypse yet? (You dirty Liptonite.) EpitaphYou nagged me back into action. If ev er we meet, I swear to kill you quickly. (With a wristwatch, no less.) CarnifexAs much as I'd like to throttle you f or each deadpan remark and monotonous drone, you've always been a reliable ally over the past four years. (Historical revisions notwithstanding.) The High-StrungA valuable asset to our ongoing  efforts. Danke. Net/Web-Team(s)(Now get your shit together. ;) And of course to every single DARK member who's had to put up  with my abuse and evasion in whatever forms they took. I'd have you all executed for putting me in this position, but the door out of the thro ne room seems to be locked from the outside. Hrmm.... P^5s. Much respect to The 4th Disciple and w atOr for sticking to their guns and bringing eCHO to life. I witnessed a lot of PR  problems you guys suffered before the first release, and it's a relief to see eCHO didn't crumble at the first signs of trouble. Hope it gets eas ier for you down road, though speaking from experience, you're in for a r ough ride. Good luck. ÜÜÜÜ ÛÛÛÜÜÜ°°°°ÜÜ ÜÛÛÛ ÛÛßßßÛÛÛÜÜÜ ²Ü ° ÜÜ° ܲ ÜÜÜÛÛÛ ßßßÛÛ ßßÛÜÛß ßßÜ ²°°Ü±²ÛÜ ÜÛ²±Ü°°² Üßß ßÛÜÛßß ÛÛÛÝ°° ÞÞÛÜ°±Û °Û°±²ÛÛ²±° Û° ±°ÜÛÝÝ  °°ÞÛÛÛ ÛÛßÜ ÜÜÛÛ²Üß² Û°±²ßÝÞß²±°Û²ßÜ ²ÛÛÜÜ ÜßÛÛ ßß ßßÛßܲ±°Ü ܱ²  Ü±Ü Coming up...  Ü±Ü ²±Ü Ü °±²ÜßÛßß ßß °° ÜÜÛÛܲÜß² ° ß±°ßß° ±ß °²ßܲÜÛÛÜ Ü °° ßßßßݱÛÝÞ°Ý °° °° Þ°ÝÞÛ±Þßßß ß ßßÛßÜÛÜÜÜÜÛÜßÛßßxm ßßßßßßßß Next month marks the 4th Anniversary of DARK Illustrated rele ases. So what's in it for you? A DARK Collection Extravaganza, of cou rse! As is tradition, we wheel out the big guns to blanket you with a sp ectacular array of visual explosions! Don't miss out! DARK0297 .ZIP is the pack to watch out for. SAUCE00DARK Newsletter 01/97 Multiple Authors DARK Illustrated 19970131^