Highly Anticipated 3.4 is Released!

The wait is over for the release of Active Worlds Version 3.4! Version 3.4 will offer users many significant improvements including parametric water, moving cloud layers, gradient sky, sound effects, game world support features, enhanced content rating control, configurable movement/action control, improved avatar animations, chat balloons, movement enhancements and new browser sounds...just to mention SOME of the new features! Version 3.4 has jam-packed the most new features of any released version to date!

Here's a brief look at a few of the 3.4 highlights:

World Options

• Parametric Water: Water can be used to fill the world with an endless rolling ocean that avatars will actually "float" in. The water will generate waves based on its own depth (distance above the terrain) and will manipulate the surface texture to create a "liquid" look.

 
• Moving Layered Clouds: This new world option allows world owners to create up to three layers of moving clouds in their world, giving the sky an increased realistic look and feel.

 
• Gradient Sky: This option controls the look of the space your world is contained in, including the color of each area of the sky. These colors will fade to one another across the sky, allowing you to create different effects. For example, you could set the west color to orange, and the rest of the colors to blue or black to create a "sunset" effect.

 
• World Sound Effects: Three new options have been added to control specific sounds in the world. The "Water Enter" sound plays when the user enters the water and begins swimming (when the mid-point of the avatar drops below water level) and the "Water Exit" sound plays when the user emerges from the water. The "Footstep" sound plays twice every time the user walks the distance of their own height.

 
• Gravity: This can be used adjust the intensity of the normal gravity in your world, or even reverse it's pull. There is also an option to control the underwater gravity, allowing avatars the ability to float in water.

 
• New World Content Rating and Icons: A new world rating, PG-13, has been added. World owners should check your world ratings and adjust them as needed. The world ratings will now be visible in the world list. The new world rating icons shows each world's open or closed status as well as the rating set by that world's caretakers. Pre-3.4 world servers that do not report their world rating to the universe will show a question mark instead of a rating.

  The World Ratings feature allows world owners to give an indication to their visitors of the type of content they can expect to encounter in their world. There are four rating levels available:

  • G - This world is suitable for all ages; children are welcome.
  • PG - This world may not be suitable for all ages; parental guidance is advised.
  • PG-13 - This world is generally unsuitable for young children, below the age of 13. Parental guidance is strongly advised.
  • R - No one under 17 admitted. Adult topics may be presented and discussed. In addition, material may be present that some adults may find objectionable.
  • X - This is a strictly adults-only, 21+, world which may contain material of a pornographic or other potentially offensive nature. (Note: If a world has a website that contains 21+ content, a world message or bot message that says 21+ or if the contents are strictly adult in nature, world owners need to make the necessary rating change to X.)

Browser Features

• Enhanced Rating Control: The maximum rating can now be password protected in the general settings dialog. This means that parents may now lock the browser from entering worlds above the given rating. Worlds that exceed the maximum rating will not appear in the world list.

  By clicking on OPTIONS - SETTINGS - GENERAL tab, you may select your preferred rating. If no rating password has been set, simply click on the rating drop-down to change your maximum rating. If a rating password has already been set, type it into the rating password box and then click on the ratings drop-box to change your maximum rating. If you wish to set a rating password, click the Set Password button and a dialog box will appear in which to specify the ratings password you would like to use. If you would like to modify the rating password, first type your old rating password into the rating password box and then click the Set Password button and specify the new rating password in the Rating Password dialog box.


 
• Configurable Controls: The basic keyboard and mouse button controls are now configurable. To setup the keyboard input, go to "Configure Controls" under the "Options" menu. Configurable controls means greater flexability.

 
• Move Mode with Quick Chat: A new Quick Chat function has been added, to allow you to switch quickly between moving and typing when in the new Move Mode. Press the F2 key to enter Move Mode, or the assigned Toggle Move Mode key, and then you can use typing keys for movement if you have assigned them to movement functions. When you want to type something, just press the Enter key or your assigned Quick Chat key to enter Quick Chat mode.

 
• Improved Avatar Animation: Avatars may now fly, run, swim, jump, or fall. Also, instead of the wait sequence, avatars will perform the hover sequence when flying or float when swimming.

 
• Improved Chat Balloons: The "text over the heads" system has been replaced with a nicer-looking system of comic-style chat balloons. Users will have "round" balloons, while bot names and text chat will appear in square bubbles. You can choose between the new "comic style" chat bubbles and the original transparent style.

 
• New Browser Sounds: The browser now plays a sound when a telegram arrives and when selecting, deselecting, or editing property and terrain. These sounds can be disabled under OPTIONS - SETTINGS - GENERAL.

Complete details on all of the new features in version 3.4 may be located in the comprehensive online help files at: https://www.activeworlds.com/help/aw34/.