Jumpstart 8.12.09

Today, at long last, a new Jumpstart was released. This morning, the Minor Studio’s twitter us updated with a notice saying they were filming. Roughly five hours later, the new Jumpstart was released.

The first thing to be reviewed was the final set of results for Mini09. After some very exciting voting, here they were:

10) The Obstacle Crab by Krakrjakz – Very interesting level. I was not actually able to beat it. The goal is to lure the crab around in order to complete certain challenges.

9) Bridgebuilder by Groud – One of my favorite levels. You must find all the moving platforms in the level in order to build a bridge across the valley.

8) Shooting Shaman by Boberto – Another interesting level. The goal is to shoot all the Muka shaman before time runs out. Another level I didn’t manage to finish.

7) Race Through the valley of the Gods by Cmmatzat – This level took me a few tries, but I did beat it. Challenges include running along a wall, climbing a mountain, and flying through several floating rings.

6) Muka Carnivale Game by Bigdrip681 – Similar to Shooting Shaman, the goal here is to fire bombast moving mukas.

5) Vertigo by Drfuzzyness – A classic survival. A moving platform travels across the level, and your goal is to stay on it until it reaches the end.

4) Ando Prime by Munchy365 – In my opinion, the best looking Mini09 level. Race a moving platform to the finish flag.

3) The Two Minute Test by Mrcoble – The first Mini09 level I played, and one of the best in my opinion. See Jumpstart for Dave’s opinion.

2) Evolution of Speed by Frodo – Hey, it’s the winner of the Level Spotlight not too long ago! See Jumpstart for Dave’s opinion.

1) Time Trial Tower Dash by Colinnn – It’s my level. Although Munchy told me to brag, I couldn’t. So see Jumpstart for Dave’s opinion.

As usual, that’s 1000 Atmos for first, 500 for second, and 250 for third.

Next, Dave talked about Space09. Click here for my article: http://atmosphirian.blogspot.com/2009/08/space09.html

Next was a Project Stratosphir update. Things are going well. Nearly all of the art assets have been imported. Also, all levels are now playable under the new engine. A few new features were seen in the video as well. First, it would appear that the health bars above enemies have been replaced by numbers representing their health. Second, it would appear that we get to fire lasers. They’re testing an over-the-shoulder view, which is looking interesting. A crosshair of sorts was also seen.

Finally, there was a mini mailbox. First, Dave was asked how many levels can be entered into Space09 by any one player. There is no limit, but it would be wise to focus on a single level. Second, Dave was asked if NPCs will be available with the new engine. Apparently they will not be added right away, but they will in time. Finally, Drfuzzyness gave Dave a cheat code for thirty extra lives. That was interesting.

After destroying the camera with a paper ball, we were given a nice surprise. A minute or so of cats attacking Atmosphir cutouts (and each other!) followed the video, closing with a name: Catmopshir. You really have to see it yourself to understand.

To watch the new Jumpstart for yourself (if you haven’t already), click here: http://atmosphir.com/news/2009/08/jumpstart-81209-space-30-lives-and-catmosphir/

That’s all for today everyone. Good luck with Space09!

7.31.09 Mailbox

Today the second Mailbox was released. For those of you who do not know what that is, it’s a series of Q&As done by Dave (Okaysamurai). The questions are submitted to him via Twitter, and he selects a few to answer.

Today had some more interesting questions than last week, in my opinion. Here’s a basic summary of the session:

Multiplayer and Locked Doors. It’s uncertain what will happen when a player opens a door in multiplayer. Will the door unlock for only that person, or others as well? One thing Dave suggested was a key respawn.

Multiplayer Rankings. Dave would really like to see this happen.

Previous versions of Atmosphir. The suggestion was made that MiSt re-release previous versions of Atmosphir to celebrate the 1-Year anniversary of the Beta. Dave liked this idea.

Favorite Mods? Dave thinks that the concept of mods is a good one, and it really brings out the creativity in people. A few of his favorites were AtmOsphir and Atmosphir HT (Hey, the same ones that won the MOD Spotlight!).

Time it takes to develop a level? As Dave put it, you can’t just crap out a level. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a winner.

Office Tour. See video.

Making a level for multiplayer. All it will really take to make a pre-existing level compatible for Atmosphir is a few more spawn points, some alterations to the rules, and a few other things.

Pay Pal. It’s coming.

Do Zombiez 8 Atmosphir or atmozphir at zombiez? I honestly couldn’t figure this question out. Dave had some kind of reply, but without knowing the question, I can’t sum it up. Some kind of paradox.

Moving Platforms and Stratosphir. They will be compatible when the new engine is released.

Camera Control. Dave would like to add some kind of camera control options for the “hardcore” gamers.

What would you pay for? Dave really liked the idea of unlocking blocks in-game, or paying Atmos to skip the work and just get the block. I’m sure Boberto wasn’t too pleased by this answer.

GAMES. They probably won’t be coming anytime soon, but if/when they do, they will be more of a “playlist” than a chain of levels.

All in all, it wasn’t too bad. We got a lot of information from this Mailbox. It would seem that Stratosphir is coming along nicely. Adz also made an interesting discovery, which can be found here: http://www.atmosphir.com/forum/index.php?topic=6978.0

Seems as if Dave let a few other things slip that we might not have noticed at first. Thanks to Adz for finding these!

Until next time, Atmosphirians!

Mailbox 7.23.09 Summary

Earlier today, Minor Studios released the July 23^rd edition of Mailbox, which is the continuation of the Atmosphir Journal. Sadly, this was not recorded in his kitchen. On the bright side, many players’ questions were answered. Below is a basic summary of all questions asked.

In-School Resources. Dave would like to insert Atmosphir into the educational environment through the use of proxy servers, written resources, school versions of Atmosphir, etc. All that was said was the possibility, and no timeline was given.

Dave does not have a second job. Working on Atmosphir takes up nearly all of his time.

Goat and Human friendships. According to Dave, it cannot happen.

Project Stratosphir will be released by the end of the year. As long as everything goes according to plan, multiplayer will be released for Atmosphir by the end of the year. Once again, this is if everything goes according to plan.

Dave’s refrigerator contents. Not much, because Dave is traveling lately.

Maximum number of players in multiplayer. Right now, Stratosphir supports a total of five players. Dave hopes that this can be raised to a total of twelve. Co-op hopes to be a total for four.

New engine footage. See video to watch.

Upgrading to new the engine. Nearly all of the resources have been imported, excluding character models. This is due to the new physics being used for the player. Aside from a few players, very few actually know the name of the engine.

Gravity rules. Odds are there will be high and low gravity variables. Most likely, there will be the option to change gravity within the level by the player, or in the rules by the creator.

Saving money in a tough economy. Dave and his friends have saved money by staying within a $5 limit for meals, as well as entertaining themselves with cheap entertainment, such as free games.

Coffee or Tea? Hot chocolate.

Incomplete games. Dave has never beaten Dead Rising, Fallout 3, Zack and Wiki, and Super Monkey Ball for the iPhone.

Altogether, none of this news was revolutionary. Most of it was pretty common knowledge, but it was reassuring to hear it from Dave himself. Everyone remember to thank him for doing this, as he is taking the time for these updates at our request.

Do you have a question for Dave? You can submit your own questions for answering at www.twitter.com/minorstudios.