| STAR TREK
AUSTRALIA.com is the latest generation in a series of sites that I have created since I
first got my hands on an IBM-Compatible in the mid-nineties. I was always an 'AMIGA' man, but changes in technology forced me over to
the 'evil' world of IBM machines (which I am sure all AMIGA fanatics once swore they would
never do!)
I was already quite proficient in DELUXE PAINT III, that
awesome (and by today's standards 'very simple') graphics application. In fact, I was
using the various effects, such as animation and morphing in my work as a Night Club D.J.
I was able to create advertisments for upcoming events, businesses, and the occasion
personal message. Remember, this was back in a time when the Nightlife Video system had
barely hit the shelves, and video effects on Night Club Big Screens were new and
supposedly expensive. Clubs forked out thousands on text-based effects machines, but with
a simply hook up with my trusty old AMIGA, I was able to churn out mind-blowing visuals.
However, the COMMODORE company eventually went the way of the Dodo, and I began my journey
on an IBM compatible.
My cousin bought me my very first PC graphics app, COREL
PHOTOPAINT 7. Holey cow - what a jump!
It shat all over the old FX produced by my trusty 1MEG AMIGA, and I new that
I had found something that I may be able to share with the world.
Artwork started flowing as I learnt more basic fundamentals
of CGI (and tried to learn the interface of a new graphics app - which is always the
hardest part, eh?)
Although I had no 3D skill at this time, I was able to
'cut' an existing ship image from someone elses image, and 'paste' it into one of my own
scenes. Unfortunately, like many internet newbies, I didnt credit any of the original
authors (didnt think I needed to back then), so my images were eventually picked up by
some of the original ship artists, who were .. not very pleased, to say the least.
Thankfully, the misunderstanding in net ettiquette was
pointed out to me, and I changed my ways and began to credit every image I made with the
correct names etc.
I still had no 3D Skills though, and I so wanted to create
my own ships.
Luckily, a young but extremely talented modeller called TACHY took me under
his wing, and started me down the CGI road that has led me to where I am today!
I was taught the basics of 3D STUDIO MAX, a powerfull (but
bloody expensive) rendering application. After much practice, I became good enough to
create my own images and Meshes, although I am far from being as talented as many of the
people around today.
All I needed now was a way to show my works to the world -
of course, the Internet!
But alas, I had no idea what html was, let alone figure out how to write a
webpage! (This was back before the days of FRONTPAGE, DREAWEAVER, HOTDOG etc..)
Fortunately, another cousin got me interested, and by
viewing source codes and asking LOTS of questions to various people over mIRC, I grasped
basic HTML, and DEVILSWORLD was born!
It was a single page, loaded with huge chunky graphics, and a looong vertical
scroll.
Coded entirely with NOTEPAD, it was far from the beast it is today.
Fortunately, Microsoft FRONTPAGE came out, and it made my
life soooo much easier!
I was able to incorpotrate FRAMES into the site, thus anabling smoother
navigation and allowing me to expand the catagories.
After a couple of years, I had a huge amount of images
(mostly of Trek, but also from other Genres) and several incarnations of DEVILSWORLD had
come and gone. By the time I was up to DEVILSWORLD6, I had gone from 100 visitors a month
to over 15,000 a week. In fact, before my LiveStats went offline, I was getting over
2,500,000 HITS a month!
Why DEVILSWORLD6?
(my old site) No, there is no satanic content here - I was simply named it that because my
NickName is Devil, and I wanted a site to put my stuff on, so what better name?
Why am I called DEVIL?
Well, thats a name i picked up at school - again, not for any satanic reason - its because
I am originally from the arctic wastelands of Victoria, and when I migrated to the tropics
of North Queensland my skin was as white as a sheet. This spawned names like 'Tasmanian
Devil' (from down south), and it eventually abbreviated to just 'Devil'. So there!
DEVILSWORLD6 saw several refits and went through several
servers, but it is not until now, where I finally have a domain name (a gratious present
from his mightyness, TACHY) that the site can finally become the hub of the online Star
Trek world, and not only that, TACHY has also gratiously granted the use of his server for
the site.
So, please enjoy this gift to you all - my legacy if you
will. Long after I have turned to dust, at least I will have accomplished something that
may live on indefinately, as there is an 'Image by Andrew J. Hodges' on over 1 million
computers around the world. 50 years from now, some kid may do a search on the archives of
some holonet, and may come across my images. If he asks himself, "I wonder who this
Andrew J. Hodges was?" then my spirit will live on....
...then again, there may be a massive catastrophy that
destroys the internet and all digital data, in which case my legacy will be several blurry
photos of me flashing my bum-cheeks at various parties and locations..... |
