Today we delve into the depths of the dangerous and unstable world of multiplayer. Why do I say dangerous? Because players like daimon, KaituoKid, and I love to kick some butt. And why would I say unstable? Because connections can time out at any second, and objects like lasers may be left suspended in mid-air. I’d like to give every person reading this guide the best chance of winning a multiplayer match as well as the best experience while playing in one. It’s a short guide instructing you on the basics of what items are best for what circumstances, and what kinds of weapons are the best to use. It will also touch upon the optimal situations when First-Person and Third-Person views should be used.

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As of now, only about two thirds of all the weapons are available in Stratosphir. Below is a list of which weapons do the most damage at the moment. This is how the information stands now, and it will likely change quite soon. The best weapons in the game are the short sword and the pulse sword. Each only take three hits to knock someone out.

The best way to take a weapon better than your is to block, and then quickly hit the opponent while they’re stunned, or to jump on their head.

• Scimitar (Anubis Sword) – 6 hits
• Wooden Sword (default) – 5 hits
• Fists – 10 hits
• Pulse Sword – 3 hits
• Short Sword – 3 hits
• Bounce Hammer – 5 hits (I’m pretty sure, I honestly can’t remember)
• Head-bouncing – 3 hits
• Lasers – 4 hits
• Bombs – 2-4 hits depending on the accuracy of the shot

Hopefully soon, Minor Studios will effectively balance out weapons, because using my Scimitar is just annoying.

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In Atmosphir, there are many different preferences that you can set to get the optimal play experience. For me, I like to turn the auto-camera off, the auto-aim on, the First-Person off, and auto-block on. I haven’t found exactly what auto-block does, but it hasn’t seemed to effect me in any way. As for the other preferences, read below the find what time is the best to use them.

Auto-Camera. So far, I have not found any benefits of auto-camera. It just get’s annoying with the camera resisting the way I want it to be facing. If I were you, I would leave this option permanently off.

Auto-Aim. There are a lot of players who hate auto-aim simply because it helps you with your shooting, and they say it is cheap in multiplayer matches. I leave this preference on, because otherwise is almost impossible to hit people. It’s not very great, but it should be enabled all the time if you want the best chance of getting a KO. If you think you’re good enough, turn it off, and compare how many KO’s you get. I’m certain auto-aim will help you significantly.

First-Person. First-person shooting view is best used in an instance where you are 10-15 blocks away from your opponent. It is too hard to see during close combat, and when you are a large amount of blocks away from someone, it is very inaccurate. I’ve chosen to leave this preference off simply because there are more situations where I don’t need it than situations where I do need it.

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Hopefully I’ll see all you readers in a multiplayer session soon, and good luck! I hope this guide helped you to improve your playing skills, and that you enjoyed reading. Happy multiplayer-ing!

Munchy365 has made quite a name for himself over the past year or so by creating some of the most awarded levels in Atmosphir history. I received a PM from him yesterday asking if I would be able to help him test a new Co-op level he’s working on. I said ‘sure’ and joined his session.

Playing Co-op last night was a blast! I’ve never seen moving platforms used in such an inventive way! And almost throughout the entire level, munchy or I stood upon each other’s head, taking a ride to get to taller ledges. We had to work together with absolutely no jump power completely hazards puzzles and defeating challenging bosses all created by the wonderful mind of munchy.

I really look forward to the release of the level, and I recommend everyone plays it with a friend of theirs. It was a great level that can only get better!

On Friday night, the user marcod hosted a long-awaited Atmosphir LIVE Episode 14 podcast starring ZettaKuma and I in a Skype conversation. Marcod was contemplating a cancellation of the show, but after Friday night’s turnout, this thought has been wiped from his mind. We had nearly 20 people watching marcod play requested levels and ZettaKuma, marcod, and I battling it out in multiplayer Free Combat. I believe I won all of the matches we played, except the last one, which lagged out and didn’t work out very well. Everyone had great fun chatting with fellow players and watching the show. In conclusion, it was a great show, and we all can’t wait for the next!

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Also on Friday, Minor Studios released already the second update to the new version of Atmosphir–version 0.7.3. There were a few things added to the game, namely improvements on searching and searching filters as well as the moving spike block and a FPS mode. There are also LOTD images on the main menu, which will be updated hopefully every few days. Other than that, there wasn’t much else to the update, just a couple cool new features.

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Adz just released a screenshot of some new character items. A knight suit and a cat mask.

Keep updated at Atmosphiric for all your Atmosphir news!

Dave just posted a thread containing a screenshot of a new block that should hopefully come to us tomorrow–as he said it should be out before the weekend. I look forward to this, because this sure looks very awesome, but I’m not expecting it tomorrow. I’ve learned not to trust Dave with dates anymore, after how delayed Project Stratosphir was. So, look for this in your design toolbox within the next few days!

In February of last year, users within the Atmosphir community were hard at work on their Tutorial09 levels. Back then, they didn’t have the tools we have today. That didn’t even have the Muka Tribe to work with. Now, over a year later, we are coming near to the closing of the current design challenge, just like last year, Tutorial10.

Basically, all you have to do is design a level that will teach beginners how to play in Atmosphir. Simple as that. Now that Minor Studios has added the info sticker, designers will be able to talk to the player, giving them descriptions and instructions during the level.

Your Tutorial10 entry must be submitted by Monday, March 8th, which at the time of writing is in exactly 4 days. Most if not all participants have already entered with their very own levels, but do not be discouraged! You still have 4 days, so you should give it a shot!

As always, the top three winners with receive Atmos as follows: First place will receive 1000 Atmos, Second will receive 500 Atmos, and Third will receive 250 Atmos. In addition to this, some of the very best levels will be chosen to become “official” tutorials, showing up in the ‘Tutorial’ filter in the play browser.

All the new features that have come with the new update open an entirely new world of opportunities; from scaling, to free rotating, even to dialouge! I wish all of the 500-or-so Stratosphir players a wholehearted good luck, may the best level win!

You can also read Dave’s full announcement here.