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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.

Again, that form is: https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/minorstudios.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dGh3Z2hidXdDNzJaSHMzVWhFSjFQV3c6MA (Update: This is now closed).

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.
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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.
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A quick look at 10 new upcoming play and design features that you might not have heard about yet.

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Another quick look video of a jungle mountain level created with the new version of Atmosphir. Check out new features like respawnable bomb block puzzles, diagonal moving platforms, waterfalls and more.

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A quick 6-minute look at a level created entirely with the new Atmosphir engine. This new release features in-browser play, cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, and a dynamic website that keeps track of all your experience and stats.

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Dave and Martin answer your questions in a special super-long episode from Minor Studios’ offices in Buenos Aires!
blip.tv/file/2715072

A quick look at some new stuff we’ve been working on with Atmosphir. You’ll see scalable objects, water, ledgehang moving, upside-down birds, sideways spike traps, capturing the flag, gravity shifting, moving platform waypoints, and explosions.
blip.tv | youtube