The real problem with a situation like this is that not everybody is pulling the same way. The parties involved roughly fall into three categories: the creditors, the liquidators and the investors. The investors, or potential investors anyway, such as Commodore UK and CEI, are keen to have the remains of the company sold on as quickly as possible, and so is every other right-minded individual in the Amiga community. On the other hand, the creditors - the people to whom the now bankrupt Commodore companies, in all their guises, owe money - are more concerned with getting as much of that money back as possible. Some of them may have financial pressures of their own, so they may appreciate a fast result, but many can afford to wait if that means they'll get more out of the deal.

The liquidators are caught in the middle. On the one hand they are mindful that the value of the company, the money they could get from any potential investors, is diminishing every day this sad tale drags on. On the other hand, they could be sued by the creditors if they aren't seen to be doing a good job. Added to that, they are sure to get paid whatever happens. So, while the management buy-out team, CEI and every Amiga owner on the planet are crying out for a quick decision, the people who will make that decision aren't in any particular rush. However, I'm pleased to say that it looks like the entire process is heading to the courts for the final bidding phase, so a result can't be far away.

You may be wondering why there is a picture of an odd-looking mountain on this page. The answer is reasonably straightforward. Arthur C Clarke has a new book out. It isn't a sci-fi novel, but a book of science-fact - a rather well-produced examination of the possibilities of terraforming Mars. What the hell has this got to do with your favourite Amiga magazine? Well, the book is illustrated with pictures of the planet as it undergoes terraforming which were created in Vista Pro, which you may remember from an Amiga Format Coverdisk.

Arthur used the software to construct images of how the landscape would look in each stage of development, and the resulting book is very interesting indeed. Take a look at page 32 for the full story. In the meantime, here is a picture I rendered of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, on a spare A3000 we have in the office. Not bad, eh?

Before I let you get on with the rest of the issue, I'd like a quiet word with all the people who contact the mag by E-mail. This is absolutely the last time I'm going to explain. When sending an E-mail to the mag (at amformat@futurenet.co.uk), you absolutely must include in the subject line, one of the following topics: Mailbag (letters to the editor), Workbench (take a wild guess), Competition (for ANY competition), Queries (for mail order and other mag-related questions), Subscriptions (for er, subscriptions). Do not mark the mail urgent - this only serves to annoy me, and will incur my wrath. On that note, have a good time with the rest of the issue. AF

EDITORIAL

EDITOR Nick Veitch
Deputy EDITOR Sue Grant
PRODUCTION EDITOR Richard Jones
GAMES EDITOR Stephen Bradley
STAFF WRITER Steve McGill

DESIGN

ART EDITOR Sue White
DEPUTY ART EDITOR Frank Bartucca

PUBLISHING

PUBLISHER Greg Ingham
GIZZA JOB Dale Bradford
CIRCULATION MANAGER Jon Bickley
CIRCULATION ASSISTANT Kate Elston
JOINT MD Greg Ingham

CONTRIBUTORS

Stevie Kennedy, Graeme Sandiford,
Tim Smith, Richard Baguley, Jason Holborn.

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GROUP AD MGER Mary de Sausmarez
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SALES EXECUTIVE Diane Clarke
CLASSIFIED SALES EXECUTIVE David Matthews

PHOTOGRAPHY Ashton James

PRODUCTION

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AD DESIGN Claire Russell, Lisa Withey
ADMIN ASSNT Suzannah Angelo-Sparling
COLOUR SCANNING & IMAGESETTING Jon Moore, Chris Stocker, Jason Titley, Mark Gover, Simon Windsor, Oliver Gibbs

COLOUR ORIGINATORS Phoenix Repro
PRINTED IN THE UK BY St Ives PLC

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