I just got a closed beta invite to Blue Mars, which is labeled as a “next generation virtual world.” It sounds like it will appeal to people who enjoy Second Life and other 3D virtual spaces. There are some key differences with Second Life though:
- The UGC component appears to lean toward professional content developers rather than an “anyone can build” kind of focus. I have seen some contradictory statements here though.
- Scripting is Lua based. Awesome, because I know a bit of Lua.
- It is build on the Crytek engine, meaning a few things: It has the capability to look gorgeous, requires a big download (looked like over a gig…small by MMO standards but large for vw standards), and isn’t cross platform. Windows only =(
I’m looking forward to trying it out. Unfortunately the NDA will prevent me from blabbing too much about it….
Tami Baribeau is the Associate Producer for Metaplace, Inc, currently working on Island Life. She is also the Lead Editor of feminist gaming blog The Border House, and the National Facebook Games Examiner for Examiner.com. She can be reached on Twitter or by email.
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You might want to double-check Clause 1B, right up at the top of the Beta’s TOS https://bluemarsdev.com/DeveloperRegistration/ .
That’s for the developer program, not the player participant test I was accepted into.
I think I’m okay.
Apple is overrated anyhow
Hi Tami,
This is Jim Sink, CEO of Avatar Reality. I just noticed your post via twitter. Thanks for participating in our closed beta. We’re going open beta at the end of the month. At that time, we’re lifting the NDA for players. It is a shame about the Apple “failsauce.” All the same, I hope you have a great time with Blue Mars. There is so much more on the way.
Best regards,
Jim Sink
Hey there, thanks for commenting here
Maybe you can help me out a bit – is this Windows 7 compatible? I’m not able to even complete the installation, as it’s failing to extract the web data. It keeps redownloading over and over. =(
It is Win7 compatible. Try turning off your antivirus during installation. I had the same problem. Is it failing right at 100% and redownloading?
Just found your Blog today, great stuff!!! I am really looking forward to the exciting journey Blue Mars will no doubt have!!
See you in there!!