Marble Blast Portable

[Aether]

Version 3 Released!

Introducing Version 3:
Hello everybody! I'm really excited to announce the release of Version 3 of Marble Blast Portable. I've been doing a ton of work on this version, and I think you're going to be really happy with the results – I know I am! I've made a lot of changes and added several new features. I'll go into detail about each below.

Small Initial Download
One of the biggest issues with making a portable computer game is file size. Games are big, and unfortunately, there's no fixing that. To make a game portable, you need to include every file that the non-portable version has. If the non-portable is huge, the portable version will be huge as well. Sure, you can compress a portable game's virtualized file system, but that only shaves off a little bit of file size. Overall, the game will still be really big. That was the problem with versions 1 and 2 of Marble Blast Portable. Every game was included with every download. This made an extremely large download of over 950MB. It's just not practical to have you download that big of a file every time I release an update. With the release of Version 3, you won't have that problem anymore. The initial download size is under 7.5MB! How, you ask? Read on.

Introducing Components!
When I included every game with Marble Blast Portable, the program was over 950MB in size. If I were to add another game (Say PlatinumQuest comes out and I add it, for example), Marble Blast Portable would've been over 1GB to download with every release. That's WAY too big! That's why I'm introducing the brand new component feature of Marble Blast Portable! It is, in my opinion, the best solution for the file size problem.

I’m no longer bundling games with the initial download of the Marble Blast Portable launcher program. When you first download it, you get the launcher’s interface and nothing else. You have to add the games you want on your own. I’ve created a virtual container for each different game, which you can download and add to the portable whenever you want. On top of that, each game is now completely optional – you choose which ones you want to download and take with you. Let’s say you want Marble Blast Platinum and Emerald, but no others. That’s no problem! You simply don’t download the components for the other games.

Adding a component is super simple. The file you download is named “[Game].R[Version].game,” where [Game] is the game’s name (Marble Blast Gold, for example), and [Version] is the release number for that component (.R1.game is release 1, .R2.game is release 2, and so on). Just move the downloaded file into the “Components” folder (included with the launcher), and you’re all set to play!

Since the games themselves are rarely updated, you won’t need to download new releases for components very often. The components that are uploaded right now will be compatible with all future launcher versions. So if a Marble Blast Portable update is released, you only need to update the 7.5MB launcher program. You will only need to update a component if a game itself is updated (Let’s say Platinum 1.2 comes out for PC. This is a case when a component would be updated). If I ever decide to add a game to Marble Blast Portable, you won’t need to download your components all over again. You’ll only need to download the new game’s component and update your launcher program.

Hopefully this wasn’t too hard to understand, but if you don't quite understand what I'm talking about, watch the video linked at the bottom of this post. It should clear things up a bit.

And Finally, a New Interface
If you couldn’t tell from the user interfaces of the last two releases, I’m a fan of fancy-looking programs. But after I used Marble Blast Portable on several netbooks, I came to the conclusion that the old interface, which used several large icons placed around the same window, just wasn’t practical. I’ve completely redesigned the interface in version 3, and I like the result. The window is much smaller now. There should be no problem using it on tiny screens. I made this change by moving all games into a dropdown menu, and only showing one icon at a time. Also, I’ve added a much-requested feature to the interface – an exit button! Finally, there’s no more splash screen before the launcher opens, since several people requested that I remove it. Hopefully this new interface is still just as easy, if not easier, to understand.

Download!
This post is where you should look for any and all updates to Marble Blast Portable and its components. Remember – you don’t need to redownload everything if an update is released.

Launcher:
The launcher will be updated to add new games, fix bugs, or add new features. Check this list below for updates to the launcher.

• Marble Blast Portable Launcher (Current Version: 3.1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended). -or- Download from DropBox

Components
Each component has its own release number. Check this list below for updates to components.

• Marble Blast Gold (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• Marble Blast Platinum (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• Marble Blast Advanced (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• Marble Blast Future (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• Marble Blast Emerald (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• Marble Blast Opal (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• Marble Blast Revived (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• George’s MBG Mini-Mod (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  
• Marble Blast Elite (Current Version: Release 1) - Download from FileTrip (Recommended) -or- Download from DropBox
  

---

For anyone having some trouble understanding how to use components or upgrade from a previous version, here's a little tutorial video for you (watch it on YouTube, since the embedded player's quality is lower):


Enjoy!
-Aether

[William]

Nice work!

[Pablo]

Looks great. I wish there was some way you could release it.

[phil]

Nice idea... just wondering, how much space did you manage to save?

[dobrakmato]

Good job!
@phil: I think its about 850 MB.

[Aether]

Aug 1, 2011 12:21:50 GMT phil said:

Nice idea... just wondering, how much space did you manage to save?

Uncompressed, all five games totaled 852MB. Compressed, and including the launcher, the game is 515MB.

Aug 1, 2011 11:44:04 GMT Pablo said:

Looks great. I wish there was some way you could release it.

I'm working on it. But that's gonna require a lot of new code that I just didn't feel like adding last night.

Before I spend all that time making a legal portable, will people actually use it? I won't make it if nobody wants it.

[William]

[obligatorypointingoutofnobodyjoke]

Aug 2, 2011 4:04:54 GMT Aether said:

I won't make it if nobody wants it.

[/endobligatorypointingoutofnobodyjoke]

Yeah... I can't see myself using it, but I'm sure many will find it useful, especially due to the fact you've got one EXE for everything, not masses of folders and stuff. Handy on a memory stick.

[[DWARF] RDs.empire]

That app could be wery usefull and i would use it since i have like 2 hdd sitting arround.
I suggest you to finish it since i will propably use it.

[awengrocks]

It'll be nice if you'll release it

[amunra]

OMG Yes I'd use this!

[Jkk39]

Yay! ^.^
Good job. Mac Version please. :3

[Aether]

Aug 2, 2011 19:52:18 GMT Jkk39 said:

Yay! ^.^
Good job. Mac Version please. :3

Sorry bud. I don't have a clue about mac coding. I'm a Windows guy. Mac and Linux builds aren't happening. Not from me anyway.

[Jkk39]

Aug 3, 2011 1:27:57 GMT Aether said:

Aug 2, 2011 19:52:18 GMT Jkk39 said:

Yay! ^.^
Good job. Mac Version please. :3

Sorry bud. I don't have a clue about mac coding. I'm a Windows guy. Mac and Linux builds aren't happening. Not from me anyway.

That sucks, but oh well. I have a windows program on my mac.
Question: Do you need the full version of Marble Blast to run this?

[Aether]

Aug 6, 2011 22:54:19 GMT Jkk39 said:

Aug 3, 2011 1:27:57 GMT Aether said:

Sorry bud. I don't have a clue about mac coding. I'm a Windows guy. Mac and Linux builds aren't happening. Not from me anyway.

That sucks, but oh well. I have a windows program on my mac.
Question: Do you need the full version of Marble Blast to run this?

The way I have it coded, you need a copy of Marble Blast Gold (ignition or non-ignition version) on one computer to activate the program. After it's activated though, it has all the game files it needs to run packaged inside, so it can be run on a computer that doesn't have Marble Blast installed.

Also, expect a release in a day or two. I'm just about done with the legalization, so it's just about ready to upload!

[Threefolder]

Oh yes! This looks amazing! Get ready to update for PlatinumQuest when it comes out.

[Jkk39]

Aug 7, 2011 4:52:45 GMT Aether said:

Aug 6, 2011 22:54:19 GMT Jkk39 said:

That sucks, but oh well. I have a windows program on my mac.
Question: Do you need the full version of Marble Blast to run this?

The way I have it coded, you need a copy of Marble Blast Gold (ignition or non-ignition version) on one computer to activate the program. After it's activated though, it has all the game files it needs to run packaged inside, so it can be run on a computer that doesn't have Marble Blast installed.

Also, expect a release in a day or two. I'm just about done with the legalization, so it's just about ready to upload!

Ok, so. From what I understand, I can activate it on my mac, then run it on the windows program?

[Aether]

Aug 7, 2011 17:30:45 GMT Threefolder said:

Oh yes! This looks amazing! Get ready to update for PlatinumQuest when it comes out.

I already plan to update this for the releases of PlatinumQuest, Opal, and Emerald 2.

Aug 7, 2011 22:27:34 GMT Jkk39 said:

Ok, so. From what I understand, I can activate it on my mac, then run it on the windows program?

Nope, sorry. The activator is a Windows program and it looks for the Windows version of Marble Blast Gold. Like I said, this packaged is not built for Mac. Although, we can talk after it's released. As long as you can prove to me you have a full copy of the Mac version, I can activate it.

[Jkk39]

Thanks Aether!

[Aether]

Just a quick update, everyone. Everything is done being coded. I just released a copy of the finished version to a few friends of mine for testing. Plus I just added Marble Blast Opal to the launcher tonight, so that will be included as well! As long as no major bugs are found, expect a release in under a week!

[iCometBlue]

Can't wait! Also maybe you should include revived in there, tbh I think its a fun mod.

[Pablo]

Looks great. I'll definitely be getting it. Have you considered adding a way for people to link in more mods, like Revived? They could select them with a dropdown menu.

[- rollcage (¬‿¬) -]

Yes, I agree with pablo, but it looks very nice!

[Perishingflames]

Use the 1.20 icon for MBP:
i.imgur.com/d7t2p.png

[Aether]

Aug 11, 2011 12:45:04 GMT Pablo said:

Looks great. I'll definitely be getting it. Have you considered adding a way for people to link in more mods, like Revived? They could select them with a dropdown menu.

I planned to do that in the first place, but the problem is that depending on which version of MBGold you have, mods might not work on other computers. The Yahoo version, for example, has registry keys that prevent it from being run on other computers, so it makes a portable kind of pointless. If you guys are willing to wait, I could probably make it possible, but that's going to be very difficult... Maybe I'll release the version that can't add mods then update it at a later time. We'll see, but I agree the feature would be nice.

Aug 11, 2011 15:08:44 GMT Perishingflames said:

Use the 1.20 icon for MBP:
i.imgur.com/d7t2p.png

Ehhhhhhhh, I custom made the one that's in the launcher now, and honestly, I think it looks better than that one. Besides, the launcher is only for version 1.14 since 1.20 isn't available on PC.

[Perishingflames]

Besides, the launcher is only for version 1.14 since 1.20 isn't available on PC.

May be a surprise coming sometime soon...

[Aether]

Fine, made the change

[IsraeliRD]

I would (personally) much prefer if you used the original MBG icon, since it is MBG. Likewise, you should get Emerald and Opal's icons as well (unless not provided, in which case you can do your own).

You'll have to expand in the future for MBFubar, E2 and PQ

[Tech Warrior]

Opal and Future do not have icons. Advanced has many possibilities for an icon...

However, may I ask where you got the Future icon on your device? I'd sure like that as the icon for Future. Also, I do agree that you should add Revived, as well as, well, all the released mods.

[Aether]

Aug 12, 2011 1:12:53 GMT IsraeliRD said:

I would (personally) much prefer if you used the original MBG icon, since it is MBG. Likewise, you should get Emerald and Opal's icons as well (unless not provided, in which case you can do your own).

You'll have to expand in the future for MBFubar, E2 and PQ

I was going to use all of the original icons at first. But Future, Opal, and Advanced don't have an icon, and Emerald's was way too small to put into the launcher. So after I made the GUI based on my custom-made ones, it turned out that the MBG icon was too small too, so I recreated it. If it looked good, I would've used the original, but it just didn't match the GUI well. I had no idea Fubar was still going to be released, so I'll add that one comes out, but I already plan to release updates for E2 and PQ as well

Aug 12, 2011 2:02:35 GMT Tech Warrior said:

Opal and Future do not have icons. Advanced has many possibilities for an icon...

However, may I ask where you got the Future icon on your device? I'd sure like that as the icon for Future. Also, I do agree that you should add Revived, as well as, well, all the released mods.

If you can show me a better icon for Advanced, I'll use it
The icon I used for Future is either the start pad or end pad from the game's files (can't remember which, too lazy to check). I just turned it into an icon
Seems people want MBRevived included, so I'll add it. But all mods? That'd lead to one HUGE portable... Like I told Pablo, I'll try to figure out a way to add custom mods to the launcher.

[Tech Warrior]

Ok well, how do you change an image into an icon?