Blue Mars (video game)
Encyclopedia
Blue Mars is a 3D massively multiplayer virtual world
platform currently in open beta. It falls in the general category of social virtual worlds allowing user-created content.
Blue Mars was inspired by a vision of the future when the power to terraform whole worlds is within our grasp. The name Blue Mars represents possibility and hope.
Despite the title and the fact that Mars
has been terraformed, the game has nothing to do with the Mars Trilogy
by Kim Stanley Robinson
.
allows 3rd parties to create virtual worlds, MMOG games, simulations, shops, businesses, entertainment venues, clothing, custom avatars, furniture, virtual homes, and other items. It consists of four main parts: the client software, the Sandbox Editor SDK suite, the website, and the host servers.
The client software is a free download, and includes the "Welcome Area", face editing area, default avatars, clothing and animations. Additional cities to visit are optional downloads via a "Places Browser". New cities and updates to existing ones are offered as downloads when they become available.
The editor suite is a free download after upgrading to a developer account. It currently consists of nine editors with specialized purposes (Animation, Block, Body, City, Cloth, Furniture, Interior, Item, and Shop), a developer version of the client software for testing, and reference and sample data.
Both the client software and Editor suite utilize the CryEngine
2 rendering engine
originally developed by Crytek
. The video game Crysis
also runs on CryEngine 2. The graphics engine is being modified by Avatar Reality, and features not part of a combat game but needed for a virtual world are being added. Content can be created on many 3rd party 3D and graphics programs so long as they can output a COLLADA
interchange file format 3D model or TIFF or Direct Draw Surface image formats. They are then converted to CryEngine native .cgf and .dds formats as needed via the provided development tools.
The website provides account registration, access to player inventory and friends lists, and member and developer forums.
The host servers deliver city data files, individual item and avatar files, and player interaction and updates when logged in. Currently in the demonstration stage is a "Fusion Render Cloud" system with remote rendering for devices without adequate graphics cards , and without the need for a client download and installation.
September 2, 2009 - Reached "open beta" status, with version 0.5822.
December 17, 2009 - version 0.6589 of the beta software was released. This version added a "places browser", which allows selective downloading of city data, and Flash functionality within the player client. At the same time the website was revamped, new cities opened, and pricing was announced for city hosting.
February 18, 2010 - version 0.7470 was released. This version added a "Body Editor" to create custom Avatars.
April 5, 2010 - version 0.8237 was released. This version added custom hair creation, and improved chat features in the client software. The "world" at this point consists of 15 visitable cities with a small number of activities and working shops.
July 1, 2010 to Current version - Details of changes can be found on the Blue Mars Developer Wiki Release Notes Page
The development roadmap plans release of more features incrementally on roughly a six week cycle.
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
platform currently in open beta. It falls in the general category of social virtual worlds allowing user-created content.
Blue Mars was inspired by a vision of the future when the power to terraform whole worlds is within our grasp. The name Blue Mars represents possibility and hope.
Despite the title and the fact that Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
has been terraformed, the game has nothing to do with the Mars Trilogy
Mars trilogy
The Mars trilogy is a series of award-winning science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the intensely personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost two centuries...
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
.
Platform and Technology
The platform being developed by Hawaii-based Avatar RealityAvatar Reality
Avatar Reality is a Honolulu-based game studio founded by Henk B. Rogers and Kazuyuki Hashimoto in December 2006. Rogers with Alexy Pajitnov is known for creating Tetris and introducing it to the world and especially to US markets, and Kazuyuki is best known for developing the game Final Fantasy...
allows 3rd parties to create virtual worlds, MMOG games, simulations, shops, businesses, entertainment venues, clothing, custom avatars, furniture, virtual homes, and other items. It consists of four main parts: the client software, the Sandbox Editor SDK suite, the website, and the host servers.
The client software is a free download, and includes the "Welcome Area", face editing area, default avatars, clothing and animations. Additional cities to visit are optional downloads via a "Places Browser". New cities and updates to existing ones are offered as downloads when they become available.
The editor suite is a free download after upgrading to a developer account. It currently consists of nine editors with specialized purposes (Animation, Block, Body, City, Cloth, Furniture, Interior, Item, and Shop), a developer version of the client software for testing, and reference and sample data.
Both the client software and Editor suite utilize the CryEngine
CryENGINE
CryEngine is a game engine used for the first-person shooter computer game Far Cry. It was originally developed by Crytek as a technology demo for Nvidia and, when the company saw its potential, it was turned into a game....
2 rendering engine
Rendering engine
Rendering engine may refer to:*Game engine, a software system designed for the creation and development of video games*Ray tracing , a technique for generating an image by tracing simulated rays of light...
originally developed by Crytek
Crytek
Crytek is a German video game company founded in 1999 by three Turkish brothers: Cevat, Avni and Faruk Yerli. Crytek's main headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany, with five other studios in Kiev, Budapest, Nottingham, Sofia and Seoul. The company is best known for developing the game Far Cry and...
. The video game Crysis
Crysis
Crysis is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek , published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar...
also runs on CryEngine 2. The graphics engine is being modified by Avatar Reality, and features not part of a combat game but needed for a virtual world are being added. Content can be created on many 3rd party 3D and graphics programs so long as they can output a COLLADA
COLLADA
COLLADA is a COLLAborative Design Activity for establishing an interchange file format for interactive 3D applications. COLLADA is managed by the nonprofit technology consortium, the Khronos Group....
interchange file format 3D model or TIFF or Direct Draw Surface image formats. They are then converted to CryEngine native .cgf and .dds formats as needed via the provided development tools.
The website provides account registration, access to player inventory and friends lists, and member and developer forums.
The host servers deliver city data files, individual item and avatar files, and player interaction and updates when logged in. Currently in the demonstration stage is a "Fusion Render Cloud" system with remote rendering for devices without adequate graphics cards , and without the need for a client download and installation.
Features
Avatars can freely move around in locations known as "cities", and interact with scripted objects and other avatars. Each location may have custom features added by the city designer for entertainment, game, shopping, business or other uses.- Account Settings: Custom display names, friends list, and groups.
- Avatar Customization: Custom clothing, hair, body shape, and skins can be applied. In world face editing and makeup.
- Communication: Local text and voice chat, and text private messages.
- External Links: Adobe Flash integration with client, outbound and inbound URL links.
- Money System: Internal "Blue Mars Dollars" are used for shopping and rentals. They can be bought with real money, earned within Blue Mars, and cashed out by developers via PayPal.
- City Specifications: Maximum dimensions are 16x16x8 km playable volume per city, with 8x8 km terrain map. Maximum file size 1 GB of unique compressed data, with 64K placed objects, and 16K rendered objects and 4K active scripted objects at any one time. Maximum numbers of concurrent avatars, rented land blocks, and shops depends on hosting price plan.
Development History
June 2009 - Avatar Reality started closed beta testingSeptember 2, 2009 - Reached "open beta" status, with version 0.5822.
December 17, 2009 - version 0.6589 of the beta software was released. This version added a "places browser", which allows selective downloading of city data, and Flash functionality within the player client. At the same time the website was revamped, new cities opened, and pricing was announced for city hosting.
February 18, 2010 - version 0.7470 was released. This version added a "Body Editor" to create custom Avatars.
April 5, 2010 - version 0.8237 was released. This version added custom hair creation, and improved chat features in the client software. The "world" at this point consists of 15 visitable cities with a small number of activities and working shops.
July 1, 2010 to Current version - Details of changes can be found on the Blue Mars Developer Wiki Release Notes Page
The development roadmap plans release of more features incrementally on roughly a six week cycle.