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Wednesday, June 30, 2010

1st of July Blue Mars Update!

The Blue Mars MMO is back Online.

What's new in the July 1 Client release?

  • New Zoom way up feature! (with mouse scroller)
  • Many new features for private messaging (PM)!
    • Clickable hyperlinks are here.
    • Copy and paste is now enabled.
    • Offline PMs are now enabled. You will receive offline PMs when you log in!
    • Fixed a bug that caused the WASD keys to move the avatar when chatting privately.
    • Groups for private messaging are now enabled.
      1. Click the Friends icon to open the Friends list.
      2. Click the group icon at the top of the Friends list panel.
      3. Type a name for the group, then click Done.
      4. Drag and drop names from your Friends list to the new group.
    • Mute / Unmute a person in your friends list to block or receive messages from them.
      1. Click the Friends icon to open the Friends list.
      2. Click the group where the friend is located to open the group.
      3. Click the friend's name to open the options menu.
      4. Choose Mute or Unmute.
    • Private chat status icons added:
      PM status icons
      To change your status: Choose the option from the menu at the bottom of the Friends List window.
  • Bare feet! You can now remove hair and shoes from your avatar body.
  • Command line options are now supported by the client software.
  • Crash log: The client software now creates a crash log file to assist in troubleshooting (default location: My Documents\My Games\Blue Mars\game.log).
  • Voice chat log files have been moved from C:\VivoxLogs to My Documents\My Games\Blue Mars\VivoxLogs (default location).
  • Fixed a bug that caused City-limited clothing items to not be correctly constrained to the designated city.
Developer Release Notes:
  • New Developer tool features.
  • New Developer MyPage features.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

5 Minutes with Scott Matsuda, Lead QA at Avatar Reality

--Jasmine Spearing, Marketing Associate

What was the first video game you ever played? What was great about it?

Asteroids, when I was a kid. I always wanted to shoot laser beams and blow things up; I was so amazed that I could play a game that allowed me to do that. I was fascinated by the way video games brought my imagination to life.



What is something you would like to see more of in Blue Mars, content wise?
I would like to see more mini-games, and also a "top 10" board to showcase highest scores and best times.

What do you wish people knew about the QA process?

The QA process is done manually, not automatically. Each submission is individually inspected before it is released in Blue Mars to ensure that it works properly. A lot of people don’t realize that.

What do you like to do when you're not working?

I like to spend time with my wife, go fishing, or swimming, and recently I've started playing a game called Modern Warfare.

Where are you from originally?

I’m originally from Hilo, which is located on the Big Island of Hawaii. After running out of funds to finish college, I joined the military and put in my 4 years of service. Because of the lack of jobs in Hawaii, I moved with my girlfriend to California, where I worked for a startup gaming company for 3 years. Eventually, I heard about Avatar Reality and their Blue Mars project, so I applied for a position, and here I am. I am so grateful and lucky to have this opportunity to work in my chosen career field in the state that I grew up in.

Did you always want to work on video games?

I went to college to become a lawyer, and then when I joined the military, it was to become a paramedic. Neither of those was for me. I found the job that makes me the happiest. And I wouldn't have found it unless I went through those steps. They helped to lead me here, which proves to me that everything in life happens for a reason.

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Monday, June 7, 2010

This Week: New Members will receive 1,000 BLU$! Tweeters could win 2,500 BLU$!

--Jasmine Spearing, Marketing Associate

Tweet about Blue Mars and be eligible for 2,500 BLU$ per day during our Twitter Event!

From June 7 to June 13, if you are not already a member of Blue Mars, create a new Blue Mars account and log in to win 1000 BLU$!

You've heard about Blue Mars, but haven’t gotten around to joining yet? Now is the perfect time! Explore the most visually stunning 3D virtual world in the solar system, and get 1000 BLU$ FREE to buy some awesome Blue Mars fashions!

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Sign up for a Blue Mars account at http://www.bluemars.com/! It only takes a minute to register! Then just follow @bluemarsonline on Twitter, and tweet us your Blue Mars UserID! That's it! When you log into Blue Mars for the first time, your account will be credited with 1000 BLU$!

Already a Blue Mars member? GREAT! Enter our Twitter contest for a chance to win your share of 10,000 BLU$ per day! All you need to do is:

1) Follow @bluemarsonline on Twitter.

2) Tweet this:
Sign up for BlueMars by June 13 & get 1000BLU$! RT this to enter to win 2,500BLU$! http://bit.ly/blublog @bluemarsonline

3) Be sure to tag @bluemarsonline in the tweet!

4) Then tweet us your Blue Mars UserID, and you will be entered to win!

We will be randomly selecting 4 Blue Mars tweeters to win 2500 BLU$ every day during this event! Tweet as many times as you want, you will be re-entered to win each time!

WINNERS!

Monday June 7

Ai_Nieuport
Ideajuice
MightyMik
Rivenhomewood


Tuesday June 8

Patrapp
aguigizmo
VirtualContent1
MightyMik


Wednesday June 9

CallieDelBoa
emmajean50
big_winner
Sylverstone14


Thursday June 10

sevenhelldragon
VikiMahogany
geminitedesign
labencore


Friday June 11

turboweevel
orielletherein
junestormcrow
ozlo


Saturday June 12

intoxbm
elischlegal
alanrycroft
rivenhomewood


Sunday June 13

jackstraw54
GLAPilot
SDeliveryJones
SLZIN


Congratulations to all our winners, and thanks to everyone who participated!

Official Rules:

• Tweet about Blue Mars to be eligible for one of the four 2,500 BLU$ prizes we will award each day!

• If you are not already a member of Blue Mars, create a new Blue Mars account during this week and log in to receive 1000 BLU$. Remember to tweet your Blue Mars UserID to @bluemarsonline!

• Anyone found making duplicate accounts will be disqualified, and will not be rewarded the 1000 BLU$ for a new member account! Come on guys, play nice!

List of Blue Mars Events this week:

Ongoing through June 30:

Blue Mars June Treasure Hunt in various places around Blue Mars. BLU$ prizes for those who find six of these locations before the end of the month. New screenshots are posted every Tuesday and Friday at http://QuestAhoy.com Sign up here.

June 7 Monday:

Trivia Tease in Blue Mars Welcome Area. Trivia questions from around the world for BLU$ awards. Play as we welcome the new members. 1pm HST/ 4pm PDT/7pm EDT/ midnght GMT Sign up here.

Costume Party in Blue Mars Welcome Area. Mix and mingle with the Martians and other cool costumed creatures. Join us for music and fun! Sign up here.

June 8 Tuesday:

Martian Boneyard Game Teamwork in Blue Mars Arcadia. Let's work together to solve the mystery. 11am HST / 2pm PDT / 5pm EDT / 10pm GMT. Sign up here.

Trivia Tease in Blue Mars Welcome Area. Meet and greet new friends and answer random trivia questions for BLU$ prizes. 1pm HST / 4pm PDT / 7pm EDT / midnight GMT. Sign up here.

June 9 Wednesday:

Happy Hour in Blue Mars Welcome Area. Chat, get the news, play challenging games for BLU$. 11am HST / 2pm PDT / 5pm EDT / 10pm GMT. Sign up here.

Trivia Tease in Blue Mars Welcome Area. Meet and greet new friends and answer random trivia questions for BLU$ prizes. 1pm HST/ 4pm PDT/ 7pm EDT/ midnight GMT. Sign up here.

June 10 Thursday:

Two orientation sessions for new Volunteers in BlueMars Dragon City.9am HST/ noon PDT/ 3pm EDT/ 8pm GMT. Sign up here. 4:30pm HST/ 7:30pm PDT/ 10:30pm EDT/ 3:30am GMT. Sign up here.

Martian Boneyard Game Teamwork in Blue Mars Arcadia. Let's work together to solve the mystery. 11am HST / 2pm PDT / 5pm EDT / 10pm GMT. Sign up here.

Trivia Tease in Blue Mars Welcome Area. Meet and greet new friends and answer random trivia questions for BLU$ prizes. 1pm HST/ 4pm PDT/ 7pm EDT/ midnight GMT. Sign up here.

Thursday Bowling Bash in Blue Mars Beach City Bowling Alley. BLU$ prizes for the winners. 3pm HST / 6pm PDT / 9pm EDT / 2am GMT. Sign up here.

June 11 Friday:

Trivia Tease in Blue Mars Welcome Area. Meet and greet new friends and answer random trivia questions for BLU$ prizes. 1pm HST/ 4pm PDT/ 7pm EDT/ midnight GMT. Sign up here.

Music Night in Blue Mars Welcome Area with guest DJ, Sage Sapphire. BLU$ prizes for participants. 3pm HST/ 6pm PDT/ 9pm EDT/ 3am GMT. Sign up here.

June 12 Saturday:

Bowling for BLU$ in Blue Mars Beach City Bowling Alley. BLU$ prizes for the winners. noon HST/ 3pm PDT / 6pm EDT / 11pm GMT. Sign up here.

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Friend us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/bluemarsfb

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