With a great feeling we’re pleased to inform you that we managed to win at Russian Flash Awards in two categories — “3D” and “Technical achievement”. Anton Volkov and Vladimir Babushkin flew to the capital to take part in a ceremony. They’re back with some diplomas and two strange-shaped prizes.

The present from Adobe is an invitation to represent Russia at Adobe Max 2008, this December in Milan.

Thank you everybody for your support and critics!

During last month we cleaned up the code, fixed annoying bugs, fasten engine performance by 25%, wrote documentation for classes and methods, and created some articles and tutorials for developers. We developed platform website, prepared licences, made through user registration for all Alternativa services, translated texts to English and placed everything on a new hosting.

Let us invite you to alternativaplatform.com!

You can get to know about our company and our products, register and get your free Alternativa3D non-commercial engine library.

There are some new services for developers:

• docs.alternativaplatform.com — documentation, articles and tutorials
• help.alternativaplatform.com — help on classes and methods
• bugs.alternativaplatform.com — bug and suggestions tracking system
• forum.alternativaplatform.com — experience exchange and talks

Welcome!

We’re glad to announce that we’re already working hard to make Alternativa3D availiable ’till the end of May. We’re planning to open SWC-library for non-commercial use, and also preparing licenses for commercial use in any projects. We’re also creating developers portal, useful support system and on-line documentation.

Thank you everybody! Your feedback gives us energy to move forward.

We’re growing and just began to set against each other’s chair hacks. A month ago Alex Khusainov started to work with us, and yesterday we got a new face again — Andrey Kopysov.

	Alex Khusainov — java-programmer. He did server software development and support for “Uralsvyazinform” company. Now he’s working at platform server core for us.
	Andrey Kopysov — beginning but promising AS3-programmer.

In a next couple of weeks we’ll introduce another new face to you.

First of all, thank you for patience and comments. This post is about last year results and future plans and about our changed vision.

The most important thing is that we don’t consider our project as a game anymore. Making a game, we were making a platform — powerful system which can be used to create games or any other multiuser media in the Net. Things that happened and following situation analysis led us to a new vision, more scaled and simple at the same time.

Okay, “Alternativa” is a platform, which allow users to create, apply and support multiuser browser media in Internet. Platform includes server core (data exchange, synchronization, servers load management), client side (3D-engine, GUI and other client’s apps), admin tools (payment support, through user registration, statistics), documentation (”how to create and apply projects” guide, public methods and classes reference book etc.), support system (portal, forums, FAQ etc.), and of cource applications made on the platform. Part of this work is done already, part has to be done.

Alternativa Platform — simple and usable integrated dev tools, “world editors” and free resources to use in projects too. Every user (single human or a company) will be able to create its own personal 3D-world and tune it according to own preferences. We’re aiming to let talents grow, to allow developers making money, to give business a new opportunity promoting products and services through connected multi-user interactive services.

Every technology is good by its applications, and is judjed by this point of view. One of the first apps on Alternativa Platform is a multi-user browser action game, it is being created by ourselves. We’ll give you some details later, this project is on its pre-production phase now. Making this game, we’ll “cut” all the tech we have, see the platform from application development point of view, test our methodology, and we will improve dev tools, editors and other convertors for users.

We also carrying on negotiations with a lot of people about creating many things within Alternativa Platform — from casual games and promo-spaces to educational and social projects.

Alternativa Game is now a subproject, which will be implemented later, on a ready platform.

Thank you everybody who is reading us. Your support is giving us energy to move forward.

P.S. By the way, we’re getting ready to move in a new bigger and more comfortable office… Hurrah! :)

Thanks to this blog we got in touch with comrades from Oddcast, and in a middle of January, with no fear about -26 C’ (-14 F’) weather here, they flew from NY to meet us in person and to exchange some thoughts.

Oddcast is in virtual Flash-avatars business and they are very successful.

2 days past in a long conversations about technology, virtual worlds, avatars, markets and distribution. We also paid some attention to local places — ice town on a big square, russian restaurant with some good vodka, and so on.

Secret screenshot:

After launching demo all engine disadvantages came up. Processor loading is not distributed well — say, we had 30-40% without any changes to scene, which in not a Good Thing. Also we had some too complicated optimization methods.

First of all (with thanks to your feedback) we decided to code perspective correction and to re-write “honest” Z-sorting with some new optimization tricks.

After all we managed to create new, 5th version of engine which will have different architecture (not changed since 2.0). It will suppurt multiply cameras, perspective, Z-sorting using BSP-trees. “Changes listeners system” is already implemented.

And sure, we’re also making engine-server integration.

In the depths of the office there is an “Alternativa Game” version for the people with luxuriant imagination.