As promised recently we are going to release Marble Blast Platinum 1.50 in a beta build to the public. You will be able to access many new features of 1.50, although some have been either disabled or removed until the final build, or a later beta build.
Among the many new features in 1.50, you will have access to an improved Single Player and an all new Online section. With the Online section we have limited the amount of levels available in Marble Blast Gold/Platinum and Multiplayer. As such we also limited the amount of super challenges and achievements available.
One of the main features that will be kept throughout these builds is the ability to do a console trace log. This is done so you can replicate crashes in the game and send us the console.log file with the trace on. This means we can pinpoint where the crash occurred and therefore help us fix it for future builds. Please note that if your console.log file is over 30 MB (and up to 100MB on the Mac version), then Marble Blast probably crashed due to insufficient memory.
Before downloading, please read this Q & A guide we created for you that will, we hope, answer many of your questions regarding this beta build.
--- Download link coming soon! ---
Q: I'm on Windows/Mac/Linux, does this work for me?
A: Yes! MBP 1.50 was designed for Windows, Mac and Linux in a single universal build.
Q: When you push new beta updates and/or release the final build, can I simply overwrite the new version over the old one?
A: No. The beta is under a different directory name than the final, 'platinumbeta' as opposed to 'platinum'. We might also add or remove files which the anti-hack won't like. As such we prefer if you deleted your platinumdemo directory (Windows, Mac and Linux) and deleted your library data for platinumdemo (Mac only). You can however backup your config.cs/dso, mbpprefs.cs/dso, lbprefs.cs/dso and your ignition files.
Q: I'm on Windows, can I play against a Mac user? (and vice versa)
A: You can definitely play them on Challenges and Super Challenges, but you cannot play Multiplayer against one another due to engine limitations. Platinum will recognise if you're on Windows/Mac and will warn you if your opponent is on the other Operating System.
Q: I'm on Linux/Unix. Who can I play against?
A: You can play against other users on Windows and Linux, but not those on Mac.
Q: Can I create, play and share custom levels in the beta?
A: No. We removed all share options during the beta in order to reduce the amount of crashes you may experience.
Q: I experienced a bug/crash. What do I do?
A: If you can replicate the crash, then do so while having trace enabled. You can enable console trace by entering the command trace(1); without the quotes into the console right before you do whatever it is you did to experience the crash.
IMPORTANT: trace logs will spam your console and create large console.log files. To stop the trace, put trace(0); without the quotes into the console. If the trace is left on, it will eventually crash Marble Blast due to insufficient memory and the console.log file will be with a filesize of 30-100 MB.
Please note: you may experience that when you have your trace on, Marble Blast will suddenly cease whatever bug it is you wanted to replicate. That is a known problem and nothing we can do about it. Simply leave the trace on and with some luck, Marble Blast will crash where it should have. Disable the trace post-crash point so it doesn't spam your console and re-enable the next time you get to the point where it previously crashed without the trace on.
Q: I don't like this. Marble Blast Platinum crashes so much!
A: While we are doing extensive debugging to find all the possible causes, some do slip by. Unfortunately some crashes are known and are related to the Marble Blast engine, which means we cannot fix them.
Q: There are barely any achievements and no ratings! What gives?!
A: We have disabled ratings and limited the amount of achievements for now as we will be wiping out all user data as we transition from beta to final release, and merge with the current 1.14 Leaderboards data. We might add some more achievements or ratings in later builds.
Q: Will we get more custom levels and achievements?
A: Certainly! A few new level packs are in progress, and we have plenty of new achievements for you to try out. Of course currently they are due for the final 1.50 build rather than be tested, but we'll see.
Q: How will updates work?
A: When a new beta build will be available we will update the server to the new build number. Once it is updated the game will prompt the player to download the new version. You will not be able to play multiplayer and/or log into the online section until you update to the latest version.
Q: How often will the beta builds be updated?
A: As often as we can, but it can take an upwards of a month before we will release an update. We won't update for minor bugs but if a major bug is found we will update the build as soon as we can.
Q: How many betas will we have before the final release?
A: Depends on how we feel like it and the number of bugs reported. We are continuously adding new features and doing a lot with the game that will be pushed out to the public via the beta. Once we are satisfied with what we got, we might push out a Release Candidate build which will essentially be an almost-final 1.50, followed by 1.50 itself. Unless we do RC2...
Q: Where can I tell you guys that you're awesome?
A: This topic is good. Or make a new one called 'MBP 1.50 is AWESOME' or post in one that says how awesome we are.
Q: New website/PQ WHERe?
A: Shut up and enjoy 1.50. You got MP. Quiet. Down. Sit. NO! SIT! Roll over. Good boy.
"matan, now i get what you meant a few years back when you said that "the level in mbg is beyond me" after the last rampage i noticed things were insane, and now i truly feel that too" - Dushine, 2015.