What's New 
by Toby Kamp

                                                                                                

Avara Released!

The long awaited release of Avara is here. Avara offers fast paced action through incredible 3D battlefields. It's unique and flexible level designing capabilities allows players to create their own battlefields. And it's networkable! Play alone or play against people from all around the world over the Internet.

 

Avara.com

Ambrosia has purchased a new Internet server. It's a powerful 200mHz DELL Dimension XPS Pro200n (whatever that is). Don't worry, no windows here. We unix-ized it and set up a brand new web site, Avara.com. The new server will also handle all traffic for the Avara Internet Tracker and act as a mirror site for other Ambrosia products.

What will you find at Avara.com?

Our Webmasters, Vetere and Zebe have collected some interesting and helpful information for your Avara-ing pleasure:

            Wide Open Spaces 

            Fiction from Joshua Bruce. Check out the ongoing stories that Avara has created. Here
            you will find tales of the invasion by evil UFOs. Wide Open Spaces is also a place where
            the beta testers come to life (image that ;). You can find a sample here in this issue.

            The Avara HyperArchive 

            The Avara HyperArchive is chock full of information to get you going in Avara. It
            contains a Newbie Guide (which you will find later in this issue), a Quick Primer, a
            Brag Page, a list of people on the IRC #Avara channel, level editing resources, and a
            collection of the Wide Open Spaces stories.

            Etiquitte and Newbie Tips 

            A must read for anyone interested in Avara. When you get into a public situation,
            it is a good idea to have some knowledge of what is expected from you. Consideration
             and manners are found all over the Internet, and Avara is no different.

            ftp.Avara.com 

            Because Avara levels are so easily made, it only makes sense to include a place where
            folks can share their creations with others. ftp.Avara.com already has several levels
            for your downloading pleasure. Feel free to check them out.

MacWorld in 1997?

This August we attended the MacWorld convention in Boston (Rule #1 - Don't drive in Boston). We physically met a lot of the people we do business with (usually over the net) and also had a chance to shake hands with many of our customers. We checked out the booths and all the latest product offerings from both the small up-and-coming companies to the large industry leaders. Matt Burch came along for the ride as well. He discovered the Parsoft booth, and never left the cockpit of A-10 Cuba. Those who were there will remember "Syntax" as a formidable opponent. The big question everyone asked was, "Where is your booth?" In 1997 we
just might be there. 

1996 MacUser Shareware Awards

We are also proud to say that Escape Velocity won first place in the 1996 MacUser Shareware Awards in their Fun and Games category. Check out the article on the web at http://www.zdnet.com/macuser/mu_1096/handson/shareware.html. Congrats, Matt! 

Winners Announced

The Barrack High Score Contest has come to a close. Hundreds of scores from all around the world poured in. Competition was fierce. The leader jockeyed around and exchanged leads several times. The final results are now posted. Check to see how you fared against the best players from around the world.