Shareplay Newsletter #3 June 16th, 1998

SharePlay Newsletter
No. 3, June 16th, 1998, Tuesday

Dear SharePlay Newsletter readers,

In this issue you can read about:

1. Space Merchant closed beta started
2. IP address change for Panumbra
3. Panumbra version 2.1 status
4. E3 report

1. Space Merchant closed beta started

We are happy to announce that Space Merchant is released to the first wave of beta testers today. For this first stage only 30 players were selected. Testing will be staggered, with more testers being added at each stage, so if you have signed up and didn't get in the first round you may well find you will be included later, and of course everyone will be able to play in the open beta. The next stage, with 100 testers, is scheduled for the end of next week.

The Magellan Conflict is in the middle of programming, beta is expected to start around end of July.

2. IP address change

For various reasons we have had to change the IP address of our Panumbra server, and this resulted in our site being down during Monday afternoon. We ask that you don't link to or bookmark our IP address directly, as this may cause problems. Should anybody be linking directly to the server they will need to update their links. Go to the play demo page to find out the proper new link: http://www.shareplay.com/playdemo.htm.

3. Panumbra 2.1 progress update

I know you are all waiting for the new release - especially with the latest server crashes :(. We discovered some problems which obliged us to redesign a very central piece of the server. This redesign will delay our testing schedule further. We will keep you updated on the expected release date. Sorry for the delays.

4. E3 update

If you have not visited our website lately, we published a report about our E3 experience. Don't expect a comprehensive coverage, but there are lots of fun pictures of us!

Thank you for reading our newsletter.

Regards,

Marta Gabnai and the SharePlay development team