file Marble Blast Development Timeline

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12 Sep 2015 00:31 #1

Hello all,

Our entire Marble Blast Community Staff have been meeting monthly to ensure the continuity and development of this wonderful and inspiring community, and without you, the community, none of us would be here today. Even today we're seeing some of the most impressive additions to the game with help from our core developers, HiGuy and Jeff, the extremely talented Dierking, the marvelous Whirligig, and so many others. Finally, we've been receiving a lot of questions from members of the community regarding future content updates and releases of anticipated titles such as Marble Blast Fubar and PlatinumQuest. After much discussion from the Marble Blast Community Staff, we've decided to release this news update to provide a more transient look into the future of the Marble Blast Community.

Let's start off with the more sensitive subject; the longevity of Marble Blast. Due to recent discussions among the current Marble Blast Community Staff, it's clear that a majority of our current leaders and developers will not be continuing to maintain the community beyond the next few years. While we respect, cherish, and enjoy the community we've spent so many years contributing to and supporting, all good things eventually come to an end and as some of our veteran members move on to larger projects and bigger life events, the time for Marble Blast must also end for them. It is our expectation that you, The Community, will continue to support and further expand the lifespan of our beloved Marble Blast, and we will actively search for our respective replacements as we look towards retirement from Marble Blast. You will always have a several week notice before any member of the current Marble Blast Community Staff plans on departing. At this point in time, all of our current staff members are expected to remain for the next 6 months.

With that being said, all further development beyond the next major release of Marble Blast Platinum has halted, and all further development beyond the currently planned features for PlatinumQuest have ceased.

All updates to Marble Blast Platinum will cease beyond the 1st of January, 2016, with some exceptions. Due to time constraints, 1.60 will have a "rolling release", where new features will release over the course of a few months. This was ultimately decided to ensure development maintained strict deadlines and you, The Community, are able to enjoy some of the new features without having to wait for everything to be finished in one update package.

Additionally, the new Shader Engine and PlatinumQuest will see a guaranteed release in 2017. After PlatinumQuest releases, the game will no longer be updated with the exception of Seasonal Events and Custom Levels and critical hotfixes or security patches, which includes general support in both the forums and in-game chat.

Furthermore, Marble Blast Fubar will be open to the public for beta testing before the end of 2015, and with a full release in the first few months of 2016. Marble Blast Fubar will see periodic content updates over the course of 2016 through mid 2017, with all development and support ending by January 2018.

Finally, we are officially confirming a series of Seasonal Events, some of which will release later this year and early next year, that will continue to make a re-appearance during their respective timeframes each year going forward for the online client of Marble Blast. We can't spoil the details now, but you'll hear about the next event Soon™.

To provide you with a more clear development path, we've officially released the Marble Blast Development Timeline document for your viewing pleasure. We will do our best to stick to the deadlines provided in this document within a 60-day window, but please keep in mind Development Timelines (especially those that project several years in the future) are subject to change and the proposed release dates demonstrated by this document are subject to change pending development progress in the future.

So while we are planning for the end, our entire team is motivated to strive for the absolute best work for you, The Community of Marble Blast. It has been and will continue to be a great ride for all of us as we extract what we've learned from the development and participation in this game and apply it to our future endeavors.

We would like to thank this fantastic community for their support, as well as all those who have helped us on development of both Marble Blast Platinum and PlatinumQuest over the past 8 years. It has truly been an honor to work and speak with each and every member of the team and the community, and we hope you will all continue to support and maintain our creations for many years to come.

Best regards,
- The Marble Blast Community Staff

"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.
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13 Sep 2015 13:04 #2
So this basically means that Marble Blast is ending or becoming a dead game? That's so sad! :(
I have a few questions, and they all start with "eventually."

1. Eventually, will the leaderboards be shut down? Will we not be able to access them anymore? I understand that this is looking far into the future, but I hope that they will continue to operate.
2. Will the forums be shut down, like the sad old orange forums, containing only the echoes of a once-grand community?
3. What will happen to our accounts? Will they just get deleted?

I might have a few more in due time, but these are all I have for now.

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13 Sep 2015 14:04 #3

NatureFreak wrote: So this basically means that Marble Blast is ending or becoming a dead game? That's so sad! :(
I have a few questions, and they all start with "eventually."

1. Eventually, will the leaderboards be shut down? Will we not be able to access them anymore? I understand that this is looking far into the future, but I hope that they will continue to operate.
2. Will the forums be shut down, like the sad old orange forums, containing only the echoes of a once-grand community?
3. What will happen to our accounts? Will they just get deleted?

I might have a few more in due time, but these are all I have for now.


I think you're reading too much into worst case scenarios NatureFreak. I think Matan explains perfectly in the quote below what they want to happen.

IsraeliRD wrote: While we respect, cherish, and enjoy the community we've spent so many years contributing to and supporting, all good things eventually come to an end and as some of our veteran members move on to larger projects and bigger life events, the time for Marble Blast must also end for them. It is our expectation that you, The Community, will continue to support and further expand the lifespan of our beloved Marble Blast, and we will actively search for our respective replacements as we look towards retirement from Marble Blast


I'll give you my take on this article. As sad as it is to see people contemplating to leave, it's only natural that people want to go out and try new things. The Marble Blast legacy has already been in the hands of the community for a long time and the fact that responsibility might be changing hands does not equate to the game's certain demise. Seeing as this is likely a gradual process there will also be time to find the right replacements and help them settle into their roles. As long as there are players left that love this game they should be able to find compromises to fill the gaps and keep it afloat. Hopefully over the next year or two the younger generation of Marble Blasters will continue to mature aswell and be ready for some responsibility if necessary. It's the circle of life, people come and go. What we can do is respect and admire what they have achieved in their time here and wish them good luck with future life goals. After all this is a hobby, not a job.
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13 Sep 2015 14:59 - 13 Sep 2015 16:27 #4
This is actually not sad news to me, not sad at all in fact. Providing a deadline for the beginning of 2018 (as proposed) gives incentive for determination in tying all loose ends. This is a very good thing, because had you not done this, it would be no surprise if PQ/Fubar continued to drag out for years to come because the developers were already fading away from the game. I think I speak for many when I say that we would rather have a proper conclusion to the game's development than an unnoted decline in activity until the game's eventual death. And since it would have either been one or the other, I'm happy that we can look forward to the culmination now rather than anticipating when it will be.

I'm very grateful to have been part of this community since 2010 and to have witnessed many things that could be done with the MB engine. Jeff and HiGuy particularly have truly revolutionized the game and were perfect examples of what the next generation could offer. I don't believe we would have even gotten this far had it not been for their dedication and interest in further developing the game, and so for that I applaud them. I also think that all of the newly adopted staff members were wonderful additions, so I'm optimistic for the future of the community's status and overall advancement. I'm glad that we have had people dedicated to making the game more fun for us, the end-users, but at some point we do need to realize that these same people have lives outside of the game as well. And as someone who believes in living life to its absolute fullest, I whole-heartedly support the decision to move on from whomever chooses to do so. Everyone made the journey fulfilling, because everyone who was apart of it contributed in some way. It isn't the game that makes the experience; it's the people in the game that make it all the worthwhile. And that can never be taken away.

So, thanks for everything and enjoy the rest of your short lives. :)

As we draw nigh to the end, I'll likely reiterate in one way or another; though, I may add more sappiness.
I love you, but your attitude is like that of a shrew. Your options? Take a pill or be my kill. Might I suggest that you wear a vest. Perish in class or be banished to the land of bluegrass, where dreams don't exist as you'll be eternally pissed.
Last edit: 13 Sep 2015 16:27 by Joey.
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14 Sep 2015 23:41 #5
I predict a huge amount of new community members once PQ comes out ;)
I played marble blast

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15 Sep 2015 00:16 - 15 Sep 2015 00:19 #6

NatureFreak wrote: So this basically means that Marble Blast is ending or becoming a dead game? That's so sad! :(
I have a few questions, and they all start with "eventually."

1. Eventually, will the leaderboards be shut down? Will we not be able to access them anymore? I understand that this is looking far into the future, but I hope that they will continue to operate.
2. Will the forums be shut down, like the sad old orange forums, containing only the echoes of a once-grand community?
3. What will happen to our accounts? Will they just get deleted?

I might have a few more in due time, but these are all I have for now.


As Rigel said, you're thinking of the worst case scenario. It is my personal opinion that the newsletter should be reworded, but w/e. The point is that no, the game isn't dying. When Rigel left in 2007 there were completely different staff member compared to now, only Matan was around back then, and the game is still alive 8 years later. See it more as a staff change rather than the death of marble blast.

Regarding the leaderboards and if they will be shut down, the answer is no. Same with your accounts and the forums. There might be some technical difficulties regarding that, but we can absolutely solve all of that to keep marble blast alive.

Those who have worked on marble blast for years now need time to do other things, they don't want to always have Marble Blast dev work in the back of their minds. Some will leave completely, some will be less active, some won't leave at all.

As we draw nigh to the end


Once again, it's not the end of marble blast ;) Also keep in mind that there are years before the DEV timeline ends.
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Last edit: 15 Sep 2015 00:19 by Kalle29.
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15 Sep 2015 04:10 #7
In my opinion, this definitely does not signify the end of Marble Blast, but possibly the shift from an old era to a new one. For example, the beginning of Marble Blast was the GarageGames era (2003-2006) of development. After that, the development shifted to the Platinum Team, which consisted of Matan, Ian, Pablo, Phil, Oaky, Lonestar, Perishingflames, Moshe, Andrew, Jase, as well as others. Over time, development of Marble Blast Platinum shifted to developers such as HiGuy, Jeff, etc. Now, the PlatinumQuest team has added new members, such as Kalle29, Buzzmusic, RDsEmpire, and Threefolder. This shows that despite the changes of the staff, the Marble Blast Community has still prospered and I see this not as the sign of an end, but of a new beginning.

So I don't think MB is going away any time soon, and I believe that it may become even more prosperous.
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