Upcoming releases

Great news guys! I can't wait to see these new changes! Keep us updated and glad to hear all the levels are coming back! I like RC better than beta 4

Wow this is awesome and i like that the donations give you credits and ALL the multiplayer levels and advanced and expert and RC1 sounds better (like Dushine said). Gosh everyone has to thank these guys, thank you.

Yay! Expert levels are finally back! Can't wait to do Battlecube Finale and Mastering the Marble again! RC1 will be AMAZING!

A shop is interesting, but I'm going to just save money

Glad that a 'full' version of MBP will be released, can't wait to enjoy all those new features and stuff. The shop thing seems cool too, might be tempted to donate some money then.

[Removed]

Users of this site can donate money if they want to, and it goes directly to the server costs. I have no problems paying for the site and the server for years to come since I’m dedicated to this community and ensuring it is enjoying this game and the website. I could also go and put ads on this website to help the costs but that would be annoying everyone.

This “expensive” package you’re talking about is a requirement for maintaining not only this site, but also the in-game option of online play. I believe I should explain in-depth what the three types of packages are available nowadays and what we chose:

• Web / Shared hosting services, which many of us remember when we started this site and it was pretty bad. It’s dirt-cheap (usually $15/yr.) and is geared towards small blogs and other sites with low traffic. As such when we entered with our higher traffic and requirements for online play, we got massive lag and lots of down-time.

• Virtual Private Server (VPS) – An intermediate package that gives us dedicated “virtual” CPU core(s), RAM, Hard Disk space and bandwidth. We still share the node with others, but we get our own dedicated ‘condo’, per se. These are much more expensive, often starting at $100/yr. for really low specs and as high as $2,000/yr. for lots of room. Our package sits on the lower end, but thanks to proper research we’re saving more than $100/yr. than if we were on other companies for the same specs we use. The package we got is sufficient for our traffic and in-game without killing the site. We have 99.99% uptime and even unlocked further in-game options (dedicated servers [Tsuf Mk 1/2]) that otherwise would be inaccessible.

• Dedicated servers – The best package that gives you your own dedicated CPU, RAM and plenty of disk space and high bandwidth. Effectively it’s an entire machine for yourself and you can nearly everything you want. Those are for high-traffic websites as well as companies. You’re looking at least $800/yr. for the basic entry package if you do your research (normally $1,000/yr.), and as the specs increase so are the figures.

In the case of Marble Blast Platinum 1.50 users do not have to pay to use any of its features. What do users pay for? Cosmetic enhancements which in this case are in the form of additional marble skins that otherwise would not be available to choose from. If a user cannot afford to donate money then the only thing they are out are additional skins. Considering the amount of skins already available then you can clearly see they aren’t out of anything.

I cannot speak for Aayrl or Marble Blast Fubar, but from what I have heard from his suggestions they are pretty good. I can however say that like with Platinum if they cannot afford to donate money they are not out as much as users who can.

The EULA is something that I can worry about, not you. I do thank you for worrying though but it is something that I’ve made the decision about months ago and something that other users of this community made a decision about years ago.

If a user wishes to donate then they are free to do so, and they do not even have to use the shop. If you or anyone else would like to talk more about the shop, feel free to send me a personal message.

I don't exactly like the idea of a shop, either. A donation is something that is given as a gift, just to show appreciation and nothing more. A donation with a personal reward is almost entirely just a purchase, even if the money then goes towards costs. "Support" may at least seem okay, but a "supportive purchase" is more of what it is.

You are giving people a strong incentive for something they wouldn't normally care to give money to, to pay for the costs. It's using the desire for "additional content" to obtain money from a product that doesn't belong. It doesn't well justify the cause.

With the reward of more content, some people who can't (or don't want to) pay will feel cheated. If it gives others an unfair advantage, especially competitively, that would be even worse. The only thing I can think of that wouldn't make gameplay unfair would be custom marble skins or particles. Even then, someone could simply not show them off, or someone could copy it and give it to someone else, where they could use it for themselves, even offline.

I felt iffy from the start of the "donation" button, but Jeff and others have emphasized that it's really asking for money in a deceptive way; asking for money where people will expect something huge, but not get it. What if people donated huge sums of money? Would it all go to the servers? I'd expect some of it will have to go somewhere. And it's not even yours, so keeping it would be wrong.

The only reason I play Marble Blast still is to show off my skill to my siblings and others in the community, as well as for the enjoyment. I don't want cool custom skins or effects or whatnot. I want to have fun in one of the few games I have, that still work for however old this computer is. I'll still play. I'll still try to help out others who also just want to play. But for donating, the cause just isn't worth it.

Jeff probably has stronger feelings for being against this, spending money where it seems to be of little point. I also haven't typed this much in a while. I don't think people care as much as they used to. Even if others have differing opinions, this is mine and I'll leave it as that.

As for new features, I'm for it if it makes for a more enjoyable game play, but only just for the game.

Alright. I figured this point would be brought up the instant it was suggested to me that a 'Shop' was going to become a part of the site at some point post-launch. Before you all jump on the 'Boycott MBP' and 'You're Breaking the EULA' bandwagon, allow me to clarify the vague 'Shop' feature that's in the works (as best as I understand - I am not part of the Shop development team):

Let me first make it very clear that You are not expected NOR required to donate any amount of money in order to download, install, and play the game with other players.. Please note the usage of the word donation. We are not demanding that any user at any point in time must pay us for usage of the modification to the game, which falls in perfect sync with the original terms of agreement lined up in the original OK from the shareholders when the mod was initially conceived so many years ago.

With this in mind, we are obviously aware of the challenges this poses to walking the line of borderline illicit activity. There has been much discussion amongst the development teams to ensure we are not breaking our current agreement to ensure both parties are satisfied, while at the same time providing a convenient way for both users and staff to enjoy the game and maintain our web services.

Now let's take a look at the 'Shop' feature. While I cannot speak on behalf of MBP, since I am not associated with the MBP development process, I can provide a full disclosure of any items that MAY be featured in the 'Shop' that reflect MBF:

- Users will be able to purchase a CUSTOM MULTIPLAYER SKIN PACK, including several reskinned versions of the MBF marble for usage in MBP Multiplayer Games. This is purely aesthetic and provides no advantage over other players whatsoever. If we want to get technical, I designed the skins, and therefore I technically own the rights to distribute my artwork.

At this point, nothing beyond the extent of the MBFubar skins will be available in the online store. MBFubar will continue to be a standalone singleplayer client with no multiplayer capabilities aside from the ability to chat with users on Webchat and MBP Leaderboards / MBP Multiplayer, and it will be freely available and distributed without the original core engine files to ensure it conforms with any agreements.

As far as MBP goes, the only items that I am aware of at this time that will be offered in the in-game store is a series of marble skin bundles that are unlockable for MBP multiplayer. As far as I know, these items are also purely AESTHETIC and provide no statistical advantage over other players (aside from bragging rights).

Let's look back at the general topic here; the shop will be fueled by DONATIONS. We are not asking users to hand us money hand-over-fist, and we are certainly not attempting to give users a certain advantage over other players that may choose to not help support the site. The idea behind the shop is to reward donators with exclusive and unique flags in a couple of databases to allow them to stand out from other users. This is already evident by the unique donation achievements that can be seen on the user profile on the website.

The sole idea behind the donation-funded shop is to reward users who donate 'x' dollars at some point in time with a simple flat credit number that they can then use to buy special aesthetic upgrades for their Multiplayer gameplay experience, and an additional small amount of credits added to their account each month to show our appreciation for their contributions to helping keep our website, multiplayer, and our community alive.

I lastly would like to make it very clear that I do not support pay-to-win models, and I do not typically donate my money to third party sites for cosmetic upgrades. I spent a lot of time discussing with the development teams to ensure the 'Shop' feature you are hearing about provides no advantages to any users and that we do not overstep our boundaries with the original terms of service. I'm also making it clear that I am not involved in the development process and currently have no knowledge about its contents other than the database flags that I may implement for Marble Blast Fubar. Finally, I want to ensure everyone understands that this is a donation system that rewards donators with unique database flags, and in no way is an attempt to re-sell Marble Blast content to users. I think you'll find that all of MBP's content is available to all users regardless of their donation status, and the same goes for MBF (when released).

To touch on the issue of where the donations go, all donations are currently fueling a custom PayPal account built specifically for this site, and its resources are currently used to pay for this website's hosting fees directly. The only user with access into that account is IsraeliRD himself, and the rest of us aren't even able to see what numbers are coming out of it.

Promarbler and Jeff have both brought up some critical and integral points in this discussion, and I openly encourage others to express your comments or concerns on the subject so that we may better serve you - the community. I certainly hope you do not see this as a purchase of additional content, since the only 'content' we plan to provide is aesthetic and gives players no in-game advantages whatsoever. The true idea behind the Shop is to give users a choice of fun items and skins to choose from for helping the community stay running.

Would it help to rename this feature the 'Rewards' or 'Donator Perks' section?

I will closely monitor this thread and provide feedback as best as I can, though my time online is limited these days.
Thanks,
~Aayrl

The shop thingy is amazing but I have a question. How to earn credits other than Donating(well I can't donate because I don't have credit card)

Unless there is option to donate money using mobiles phones, I'll not donate anything (because I can't, because f*ck credit cards)

How many "points" would each marble skin cost?

Marble BlastKid wrote: i have an idea, could there be a computer player you could play against??

Well I too asked that, they said"too hard, marble bots require too much calculations"

how about using the marble blast powerup coins system?

Well, that would be a direct copy of shop in marble blast powered up

Hey folks, stepping in to answer a couple questions, as promised.

@ Lee Zi Xian : We are fairly set on the credits currency system, so I do not think a rebuild of the system it self is in planning.

@ Marble BlastKid : If I recall correctly, HiGuy or Jeff (can't remember which of the two) had dabbled with ghosting aliases, which were essentially previous runs of the player going through the level to show you in real time your best run for a level. I also recall this required a substantial amount of work and hand-waving magic to accomplish, and ultimately was not deemed feasible to further develop. The same idea was proposed when Multiplayer Co-Op aliases were conceived, but again I believe this idea was later scrapped as a result of difficulties communicating over the web in a smooth fashion (Krishiv pretty much got the nail on the head with this one).

@ Kwill : Currently, marble skins come in packs of 5 each. On top of this, we have several 'tiers' of Donator levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum) depending on how much you have donated to the site in total. A handful of marble skin packs are available to all users, regardless of donation status, and some will be unlocked based on your donator level. This way, users who assist with the website fees will have more selection and more unique skins to select from. I believe the cost of any given Marble Skin pack is 500 credits. Please keep in mind the shop is still in its early stages, and this number and package style may be subject to change later on.

@ TheJoseph98 : I believe PayPal has a mobile app from which your phone bill can be charged a certain amount to fulfill a PayPal donation button. You can click this link to find out more about this feature . I believe this will open the PayPal app on your mobile device when you bump the 'Donate' button on the mobile version of the MarbleBlast.com website, and from there you should be able to donate via phone. I have not tested mobile-based donations, so I am not fully positive how that system works.

@ Kwill : I believe users will be able to earn a few credits (between 1-3) based on their end-game standings from ranked multiplayer games. I am not 100% certain what the mechanism behind this will be, since I am not being disclosed any of the details (and I am not sure if I am even supposed to be discussing this). I can imagine a game will be required to have 4 players from 4 unique IP addresses (to prevent one user from making several accounts and 'credit farming'), and you will need to place in the top 3 to earn a credit (1st = 3 credits, 2nd = 2 credits, 3rd = 1 credit?). I will let HiGuy or IsraeliRD disclose the details behind that as they further develop and refine the system.

As always, I encourage others to express their comments or concerns about this system so that we may further refine it to fit the needs and desires of the community. Please, don't be shy to share your honest and humble thoughts

~Aayrl

can you upload this to Mediafire? i can't download this

Do you mean the release candidate? Because it isn't available yet, and won't be for quite some time. For beta 3, you could try the alt links in the download description, but I'd also rather have it mirrored on Mediafire as well.

Also, in response to Aayrl's post... I think I overreacted a little bit after seeing what Jeff wrote, and I think your post effectively resolves most of my questions and disputes. I can see that you made sure it was both acceptable and reasonable. "Rewards" sounds okay with me, but I still don't like it called a donation. I'd rather have it be a matter of earning "credits" from how often you play the game, rather than performance in a MP match. It would be unfair for some of the marblers who simply can't keep up.

I think I overreacted a little bit after seeing what Jeff wrote,

I wouldn't say that. You're reaction was fine I wanted them to make it very clear as to what this "shop" was going to be selling. In the first post, Matan stated " purchase packs and bundles to unlock special items"

Packs and items is too generic, so immediately, I thought Level Packs and other content that would have to be started to pay for. Considering it is marble skins and the like, I really don't....care. I was just hoping that it wasn't "useful" content that everybody could be missing out and would have to feel obligated to donate to get good stuff. But they cleared that up, so all is good.

Are you sure playing the advanced and expert levels are still free even though there's going to be a shop along with Marble Blast Platnium?

All the content in the game is going to be free. The shop merely offers customizations, like certain skins.

At this point in time, all multiplayer levels will be provided to the user upon release of MBP 1.50 (IsraeliRD or HiGuy can confirm that). You may not see all of the available MP levels until the release, for ease of download size and to reduce stress on our servers, as some of the files can be quite large. The development team also does not want to spoil some of the content and have some surprises for you at launch. I can say there's a couple unique multiplayer levels that I'm sure most members will find groundbreaking and offer a completely different multiplayer challenge altogether.

~Aayrl

I know all the names of MP

New MP levels! Me and krishiv are going to have fun with the new levels.
Oh and krishiv,can u list out the mp levels?

Can't say that in public, only privately

Well I am probably going to keep donating a bit more cause its helpful and its like a sign of that you support the site. But I'm not saying its bad to donate, I would say just do what you want.

If I donate, it would be from the kindness of my heart because of all the hard work you've done; not because of any type of reward. (I can't donate anything at the moment though.)

I cannot donate because I live in the Philippines.

My father/mother won't let me donate.

Me too, Im too young to have a credit card. And if I had one, my parents still wont let me donate.