Yes, that's a giant hotdog commando
Speaking of MMOs disguised as multiplayer first-person shooters, here's a multiplayer FPS disguised as an MMO: The Combat Zone, a new experience in Sansar with art by Nya Alchemi and programming by Gindipple. (Who also tracks overall Sansar usage.) It's a paintball shooter in a desert map that'll remind gamers of classic Counterstrike maps, but with a twist: "The map is generated on the fly at startup," Gindipple tells me, "so it's always different a bit in here."
Another difference: Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg's avatar is a cut-out practice target! (That's him with the rainbow shirt, the pokey hair.) No hidden meaning there: "It was just his iconic outfit and I needed something to shoot at in the beginning when I didn't have anyone around to test," says Gindipple. In fact, Altberg himself visited and played recently: "He loved it, he really is a kid at heart when he's in VR. Several Lindens swarmed me one night unexpectedly to come check it out. They get excited to see the things we make with their platform. Sansar is still in its early stages, but when you mix in some creativity with that we start to show off its huge potential."
Scheduled games happen every day 7pm PST, but anyone can jump in whenever they like. Here's more tips from Gindipple, along with some gameplay footage from Linden staffer Torley:
"I would suggest [new player] swing by the marketplace and search 'paintball' to start with, some creators have come forth and made some really nice outfits for this... for new players I have some instructions in the staging area where people load in. Desktop users can type 'get gun and they can adjust its position with 1-6 keys. Holding a gun isn't a requirement, but it does give you a nice laser pointer for guiding your shots." Also, there's a spectator area to watch the action play out before jumping in yourself.
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