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Welcome to Virtopia 2
Welcome to the Virtopia 2, and upcoming free 3D MMORPG. Virtopia 2 is a follow-up to the popular Virtual Petz/Virtopia browser-based RPG game, and will feature all the same gameplay elements, species, and creatures from it's predecessor, but more.

Currently, Virtopia is in open alpha testing phase, which means anyone can download it and participate in the testing of the current release. Hit the download page to find out how to get started.

Development Notes

5/12/2002
Really close to a new release, but a few problems that need fixed are holding it off. Here's some of the things I'm working on for the upcoming 1065 release:

• World map with location and direction indicator. (This is in and working!)
• Geographic grouping of players and entities. I think I have this working on the client-side, but it needs implemented on the server.
• Particle effects. They are working, but need optimized, and we need an excuse to have them in the game... potential fountains, spawning effects, parting effects (when somebody leaves the game).
• Effects manager thread. Handles the spawning and animation of effects.
• Entity animation (monsters). This won't be ready by the next version, but is in process.

5/9/2002
No new client version, but there's several changes on the server, including monster AI, geographic entity separation to cut down on network traffic and the number of other entities/players your client has to handle. So as you get further away from a monster or player, they'll drop from your client to keep performance up.

I've also been working on a particle emitter for special f/x, you can see a screenshot of the first attempt right here.

5/4/2002
Version 1060 is out, and you must intall download it to connect to the server. There's been a change in the server's network protocol that requires the new client version.

As usual, find the latest version on the download page.

4/15/2002
Version 1050 is out, with the first stab at skeletal animation. Eventually each character will have a number of animations unique to their race, but right now there's just basic stuff for walking, falling, and waving (Press W).

Go get the latest version on the download page.

4/10/2002
1046 is out. It's been awhile since I've released, I've been pretty under the weather, and have an awful lot of *real life* things going on right now.

I've re-written the frame-to-frame animation and management threads, added LOD to scenery (but not all models of lower LOD levels available yet).

I've also done quite a bit of clean-up and optimizing, and most players will see a performance increase with this version.

I've also added several new screens of the current (non released) dev version, with more trees and scenery than you can shake a stick at... check them out with the screenshots link above, in the 4_10_2002 section.

4/2/2002
Version 1045 is out as a self-extracting executable. This is the last complete download for a while, upcoming releases will be partial updates--this is the new "baseline" you need to start with if installing the game for the first time.

This version adds a moon and a sun to the world, which helps give a better sense of "time" and location, as well as your heading. A few other minor additions are in this version.

Version 1045 also eliminates random scenery--we'll be adding scenery generation to the server very soon, so the world may seem a little "sparse."

Note: This version still reports as 1042b, although it is actually 1045.

3/29/2002
I'm moving the Virtual World Server to a new machine--you'll need to re-download version 1043, now known as 1043c to update your client to connect to this new server.

3/29/2002
Version 1043 is out, with some server-side entity testing. Use the Enter/Return key to attack the ball that will be placed in the world. Get right in front of it, face towards it, and hit RETURN to kick it.

3/28/2002
Version 1042 has been re-released as 1042c. The model downloader was broken in the original 1042, and has been fixed in this version.

3/27/2002
Version 1042 is going up now. I've added auto-download of new scenery and player models, and lots of behind-the-scenes improvements.

Check the downloads page for the new file.

3/24/2002
Version 1041 is out. This version has better lighting at dusk/dawn, and at night (with moonlight), as well as a stronger flashlight (Use "F").

This version also features a fleshed-out stats panel, which has some dummy information presented, but the compass is accurate.

3/22/2002
Version 1040 has been RE released, with a few updates, including a flashlight (press "F"), and improved connection procedures that should cut down on the errors people are getting while connecting. If you downloaded version 1040 before 1:00pm CST today, download and install the updated 1040.

3/21/2002
Version 1040 should be released shortly, as soon as I test a transition change from night to day.

This version offers the biggest visual improvement in the game so far, with transparent water effects, cloud and star layers, and some lighting improvements.

It's still *very* dark at night, but the stars improve the sense of location. We'll be adding moonlight (moonlightS?) and other lights to the world for night-time travelling soon.

3/19/2002
Version 1039 is out. Grab it on the download page.

This version adds: