Prebeta launch tomorrow is not looking good. We’re all working hard today, but some things that are just outside of our control - they’re not worth getting into here. I’m frustrated, but determined that we’ll be able to find a solution soon.
Best-case scenario, things work out and the 500 prebeta invites go out tomorrow; worst-case scenario, you have to wait another week. At least that’s my best estimation at this point.
Anyway…we will try to think of some way to thank you for your endless patience. In the meantime, a new trailer will be revealed in the next day or so, so stay tuned…
We have been pushing development as hard as humanly possible. To be completely honest and transparent with the community like I’ve always tried to be, there have been eleventh hour changes outside of our control that we have come up against in the past 3-4 hours. We will be working this weekend and trying to get ready by Monday. Rest assured we are all trying our best. I will update you more on Sunday evening.
On February 8, we will be giving prebeta access to around 500 of our current members. So, if you’re an Atmosphir member right now, all you have to do is enter your username on this form(Update: This is now closed). The exceptions are Players’ Club members, who have already been entered and need not sign up again. If you are among the first 500 signups, you will then be notified by email next Monday with information on how to access the beta.
Here’s some more clarification if you’re looking for it.
Q: Why aren’t all 20k users being let in on February 8?
A: That was the original plan, but there are too many outstanding bugs to be considered ready for that large of a group at this point. By limiting it to 500 at first, we can get the most dedicated fans in, which is a much more manageable amount for giving feedback, stress-testing the servers, and playing multiplayer. Those who have stuck by Atmosphir through all of this don’t deserve to wait any longer, and are more willing to overlook bugs than the general public. If we receive more than 500 signups, we will continue adding people in during the following days and weeks. Our revised plan is to get all 20k in by early March - slowly but surely.
Q: I don’t have an Atmosphir account yet. Can I still sign up?
A: Not on this form. The best thing for you to do is sign up on our waiting list here. Depending on demand, expect your invite in 1-3 more months.
Q: What happens to my atmos/club membership?
A: After the migration, we will be transferring these over later this week. However, you will not be able to buy more atmos or club memberships until we have our new store set up, which is still 1-2 weeks away from being fully implemented. If you do get access next week and find something wrong with your account, email us immediately and we will take care of it.
Q: What about all the items I bought, will those be saved?
A: The current plan is to have everyone start from the default basic set, and be given back all their atmos they ever got - from the initial 100 free atmos, further purchases, buildup from weekly club amounts, or contest winnings - and be able to buy things all over again from scratch. This seemed like the only fair way to do things given that the looks/textures/animations of many items have changed, and gives you a second chance to buy what you want. All prices for this period will be the same as they were before.
Q: Will I be able to access all of my old levels?
A: Yes. Every old level will show up in the play browser with a “convert” button next to it that you will have to manually press to reconfigure it to fit within the new Atmosphir system. As reported before, some extremely large levels might run into conversion issues. For these, I would recommend opening them in design mode and saving them as a draft, with the hope we will improve optimization in the future. As a means of comparison, I was able to convert Platformed: World 2 just fine (a large mountain temple), but not Genesis Fortress (an even larger multi-tiered castle).
Q: Why do the dates keep changing? Can’t you guys ever stick to a launch date?
A: We have a very small team working on a very big game. While we are working around the clock to reach our milestones, unfortunately a lot of things have taken much longer than originally anticipated. We are essentially working with three systems - the Unity engine, the web backend system (called the MFP), and the website itself. Before we were solely focusing on the game, there was an unorganized web backened component, and the website was almost an afterthought. Now, for better or for worse, the 3 systems have to work together and can’t exist without each other. While that makes for a faster and more flexible game, it also adds to the complexity and means a lot of venturing into unknown territory. Our publicized launch dates have been our best guesses, but quite often we have reached those points lacking the high quality standards we want to achieve. I can assure you that not a second is wasted, and with each passing day the game gets exponentially better. But we apologize for this, and will work towards setting more realistic goals with a reasonable amount of buffer time in the future.
Dave gives another development update about the new website and search filters, converting old big levels, launch date stuff, and co-op Horde mode-esque levels. blip.tv | youtube
Dave once again gives a Stratosphir update from the comfort of his small studio apartment kitchen. No time for fancy videos or graphics, just incoherent rambling for 15 minutes. But hopefully it gives you a look at where we’re at in development. blip.tv
Well everyone, the time has come. Today the Editorial Staff will bid farewell for a time, and join the rest of the community in anxiously awaiting Project Stratosphir. But before we go, we have one last excellent Level of the Day for you all. Here it is, the final review in the current age of Atmosphir…
Many people in the world are fascinated by the sheer beauty of water. Whether it is a romantic walk on the beach or a stroll along a river, these aquatic landmarks always seem to bring a sense of wonder to our daily lives. But how many of us have actually thought about what lies beneath the water’s surface? Most of us would just assume that there are fish, weeds, and other aquatic life. But what if there were more?
When a river in the Amazonian Rainforest dried up several centuries ago, it disappeared without a trace. No one bothered to take the time to fully explore what rested where water used to reign supreme. That’s all about to change when you mistakenly fall into a stone temple hidden beneath the surface of the rainforest in Protector by Papaya255.
Protector has amazed me in several ways, the first being the excellent atmosphere around you from the very beginning. You truly do get the feel of being in an underground, flooded, stone temple. The design of the walls and floors themselves give signs of age. A slight haze in the air only adds to the musty feeling present here. Gameplay itself is also great. From the very beginning, interesting gameplay elements are shown with a simple falling platform race; simply activate the platform and race to its landing point to use it as a platform to reach the other side. It only gets better from there, with challenging uses of hazards and cleverly hidden powerups. Placement of treasure throughout the level only serves to add to this level.
Now as of yet, I have not managed to find my way to the surface. Of course, by the time you read this, that might have changed. But because I have not, I’ll have to trust that Robcozzens has managed to do an excellent job earning a high score (as he always manages to do). Right now he sits at the top with a score of 4518. So I’m going to issue my usual challenge to you now… Can you beat it?
So congratulations to you, Papaya255, on yet another excellent level. Looking forward to many more once Stratosphir launches!
Once again, on behalf of the Editorial Team, I cannot thank you enough for the support that you, the readers, have shown us. We truly would not be anything without you. While we are excited for the new game as much as you are, we will also be excited to begin the next generation of reviews. And so today, we turn the page and take the next step… -Colinnn
The dictionary defines exploditron as “no results found”, so we can only guess as to what ninjablade523 had in mind with his title. My guess is that it has something to do with the many bombable blocks you will have to explode to make your way through this floating structure.
The Floating Kingdom of Exploditron bears a striking similarity to the ever-popular Ruins levels: there are around the corner jumps, jumping from one floating structure to another, and jumps to and from ladders. But it manages to pull off a lot of the fun of those levels without being as keyboard-smashingly difficult.
To provide an enjoyable experience for the largest audience, ninjablade523 released easy and hard versions of this level. All the obstacles are the same, but in easy mode you start with more lives and don’t have a time limit. Veterans will want to tackle the hard version straight away, but even beginners should be able to conquer the easy one. -robcozzens
Staff Score: 3955 (robcozzens - on the hard version of course)
According to the dictionary, a paradox is “a statement or proposition that, despite sound reasoning from acceptable sources, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless.” Maximumdragon’s latest level certainly lives up to its name.
This is a fiendishly difficult masterpiece that continuously leaves the player senseless. There is a nice bit of platforming included in the package, just so you don’t grow tired of wandering around the dark-owl filled castle. The unique finish flag structure also makes this level stand out: you can finish after each segment of the level. If you beat the first room, you can win, but your score and glory will climb higher side-by-side with the amount of areas you complete. I can’t stop playing this level; it’s addicting. So far I’ve only beaten the first part, but as the only staff member to have beaten the level, my score of 55675 stands as our highest, but I am sure many players could beat it if they tried hard enough. -EdacOnag
Escape the Reactor is Munchy’s official sequel to his moderately successful second installment of the exploratorium series- Primary Reactor. The story continues from where Primary left off- after destroying the Primary Reactor’s power supply you must escape from it, dodging toxic sludge and nuclear radiation, and generally just getting the heck outta there before it a splode! D:
First off, this level is huge. There is a huge amount of space to explore, and thankfully, said space has not been wasted. In every single cavernous room with a roof beyond physical perception there are massive girders, deadly spikes, sludge flows and pipes- more than enough to fill up the space and really give the otherwise massive level a deliciously cramped and chaotic feel. But not only that, the grey hues combined with the sickly greens and pallid blues of the sewage flows and fog (respectively), give the level a steamy, slimy feel. Combine all of these clever atmospheric devices together and you get an intense and highly satisfying result; you get all the feel of an apocalyptic cyberpunk meltdown, every little detail going towards this incredible goal, a goal that has been achieved, a goal that others should hope to achieve themselves…
Possibly the best feature that Munchy has included here is the ability to actually fly around the level, particularly within the rooms that it compliments best; those with high-vaulted ceilings and more open spaces than the others. Although said flying is not explained in the story in any way, I have come up with my own theories… Could it be that the radiation has granted your character super-powers? Do the comet tokens contain mystic energy? Or are you simply imagining it all, the entire mission a product of a radiation-induced coma…? -DuffyZeEmu
