AW 5.2 Released Today

Hey everyone!  Activeworlds 5.2 was released today and comes with a few new, very noticable features.

The toolbars now exist as a HUD on the display. 

• Several toolbars are now transparent and have moved to new locations in the browser.
• Global chat has been integrated to the browser!  Each world has 5 channels.  Most public worlds currently have local and global enabled.
• Gaming commands are now a preset as specified in Options > Configure Controls
• CAV updates; existing cavs have been wiped and will need to be remade.
• Bots will not need to be recompiled but their aw.dll files should be brought up to the latest SDK build.
• View a full list of changes on the ActiveWiki

Overall I'm pretty content with many of the changes made... and there are, of course, bugs to be worked out on patch day.  As usual, though, my biggest complaint is that they haven't gone quite far enough.  Perhaps the most embarrassing example of this is the half-implementation of the browser HUDs. Though the toolbars are installed (as you can see in the screencap), the chat, tabs, and web windows are still in their familiar blocky formats.  I wouldn't disgrace your vision with a screenshot of those up together... it reminds me of a poorly formatted, 90's website.

It can't be helped, I guess.  As a bit of an aside, 5.2 has been completed by Chrispeg for about 6-7 weeks, and he's already begun work on 5.3.  Word of getting some more of these transparencies up is spreading.  An Ogre AW Viewer was also mentioned in a town hall meeting a few weeks ago... we'll see about that. :)  That would certainly be an exciting time, as I think Renderware has about had it.

Anyway, more later.  I've got finals stuff to be working on.

Masen Keep Commons - Photo Blog

Hey everyone... just stopping by to offer some interior shots of the recent updates at Fort Masen.  If you didn't catch the blog from a few days ago, there's some new content there... including quests and new digsites.

Christmas Millionaire - Photo Blog

Noticeboard: GZModels Holiday Sale

From the AW Forums:

GZModels is pleased to announce its Holiday Sale. Starting Nov 26th through 11:59 pm January 2nd, 2012, all models in GZModels world will be 25% off. While you are there don't forget to check out out latest arrival, Hibiscus Bushes. These gorgeous plants have just arrived from the tropical regions of VR to grace your world with beauty and color. Fifteen varieties to choose from in a wide range of colors. GZModels! Where the magic of modeling come to life. We believe it's the little details that breathe life into a world. ;o)

Teleport: GZModels World