Blue-News

Signs of Things to Come

// February 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // News, Updates

The Long Awaited Roadmap Is Finally Here

Since nearly the beginning of the Blue Mars beta, developers and users alike have been asking for a roadmap to better gauge the underlying direction and development process of Blue Mars. Community director Glenn Sanders answered the much requested information today in a post on the official Blue Mars blog. In it, he highlights many features that have been asked for quite vocally, such as improved avatar movement, enhanced camera movement and controls, clickable hyperlinks in the Chat box, new and improved avatar meshes, Avatar attachments and animation rigs, and the ability to import custom avatar shapes and skins, as well as many other features which can be perused through here.

While the latest post lightly refers to this list as a roadmap, it isn’t exactly a proper roadmap. The main elephant in the room is the exclusion of any kind of tentative dates as to when these features might make it to the end users, as well as the exclusion of any kind of priorities list. Depending on where one stands in the Blue Mars universe one could assumed that a few key features will come before the others, though there is nothing whatsoever to give even a hint (users could be more interested in avatar customization as well as camera controls and chat functions, whereas developers could be more keen on the new mesh features and SDK installer).

This is not to say that this list isn’t welcome (it’s very welcome) just that it could use some clarifying points and more detailed information as to how this roadmap will be implemented. Also, this is hardly the last word on this matter, and it’s totally possible for there to be another update on the roadmap that gives more concrete information in the near future.

A Short Note

// January 5th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // News, Updates

Dear readers,

Blue-News.com was started in order to chronicle happenings and activities within the Blue Mars universe. The past month and a half was a difficult time for all of us here at Blue-News (Job loss, major computer problems, health issues), but thankfully things have quickly turned around and we are excited about this new year to come. We sincerely apologize for the long silence during the last half of November and the whole month of December and look forward to interacting with you in the near future!

Sincerely,

The Blue-News Team

Happy Halloween!

// October 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Updates

Zombies Greet Any and All Who Have the Patch!

Blue-News would like to wish you all a safe and happy Halloween, whether you’re out trick or treating, at a party, or in Blue Mars being attacked by the zombies!

In order to enjoy this last minute surprise, you’ll need to download a small patch to take part in the festivities.  You’ll be greeted by the zombie bots in a darker, murkier environment than the usual welcome area.  Some of the pumpkins float up and down, while some of the obelisks fall over and right themselves.

Atmosphere: Something Sometimes Lacking in Blue Mars

We did notice on a pumpkin or two that the stem was untextured, but we’re willing to look past that since the update is just for fun and a welcome change from the drab and boring welcome area we’ve all grown accustomed to.

Under the Venezian Sea

// October 9th, 2009 // No Comments » // Updates

A Tale of Two Cities

We’ve heard word that there will be an underwater city of sorts coming to Venezia, and it looks like it’s taking shape already.

The submersed portion of the growing locale is very different from the topside.  Whereas the buildings on land are very classical in design, the undersea quarter is very futuristic, almost alien.

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Latest Patch 0.0.4910.5

// October 3rd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Updates

The latest Blue Mars patch arrived on September 25th, 2009.

This being only a minor patch, not much has been affected.  What has changed are some welcome additions, and some minor bug fixes.

The first and most apparent change is the addition of a floor and some potted vegetation in the welcome area.  Not being able to walk on water may be a setback for some, but it does add to the overall visual appeal and makes the welcome area seem less primitive.

Also of particular note, frame rates have been improved with this update, which is always a great thing.  The only strange thing is that the release notes specifically mention that this is only for Shade City.  Also in Shade City, there’s been an addition of a day/night transition when navigating up the stairs. Should be interesting.

Two bug fixes have also been reported as being fixed, one being that there are now more clothes available for female avatars, namely, bikinis (and there’s already some controversy over in the forums about this) as well as the “report issue” button being fixed in certain areas.

If you haven’t upgraded to this patch yet, you can do so by clicking this direct link.