We have done a major site upate, even if its hard to tell immediately

SMX Upgrade
We have upgraded to the same code base as TM2 Exchange.

o Future changes are now shared between the two exchanges
o Awards have replaced ratings.
o All ratings of 4 and 5 stars are converted to awards.
o All ratings of 1 to 3 have been discarded

Please visit us after playing maps to award the maps you have enjoyed

Note: Feel free to add some words to your newly converted awards!!! You can list awards you have given by going to your account page and clicking on the link to show given awards.

Unreleased Maps
o At upload, you can choose to upload maps in unreleased state
o You can then share links to the map
o Unreleased maps can still be added to servers for testing.
o Convert the map to released status when you are ready.

Live Online Chat
IRC (internet relay chat) is now available under the 'About MX' menu drop down. Its a chat window in which you can chat to other users. It is moderated and there is often moderators there, so please understand to respect other people, just as you would anywhere else on MX.

Fixes
o Duo accounts work again
o Map listings icons align nicer
o More room in listings for map names

Any problems, let us know on the Site Discussion or Bugs forum.

Now that we have taken this step, we hope to bring some more updates in due course.

steeffeen & Titishu have worked on this title pack for several months and it's finally ready for the public. There is a real ball (item) and a whole load of custom objects to mix into your maps.

Vist the manialink: SpeedBall

Or read about it, on the Maniaplanet Forum

Looks like is should be fun!

Nadeo now gives a 'replay' service which auto records all Elite matches. You can access your replays by using the manialink replays.

What are manialinks?
These are like in-game web pages. There is an address bar at the top left of the screen in the game, from there you type the name of the manialink to visit.. so in this case its just: replays

It's now possible to invite your friends to play Shootmania Elite.

The Elite mode can be so much more fun when you know the group who you play with. . You can invite people on a daily play limit guest account, or a super guest account which cost 5000 planets (returned to you if they then buy the game)...

You can read all about how this will work on the Maniaplanet Blog, or by just clicking on the link in the newly designed Elite station. (Make the elite station full size to see the new look!).



We might as well take this opportunity to let our friends try out the game for free!

A little late news on the site finances and server. By the 1st Feb 2013 we paid for the MX / TMX server for another year! This is great news as we did it without needing to request new donations and support. So we would like to say thank you to everyone who supported the site during the past year, for making the next year possible.



Of course, in another year (actually its 11 months now), we will face the next payment, so if you ever thought of donating but did not, maybe now is the time.

Whether or not you can donate, please pay attention to the MX Supporters window on the front page and give these maps a try, it can be your thank you to the people who supported the site.

Video makers! Nadeo are running a video making contest for mania planet games, which is open until 25th March.

Shootmania Storm is one of the categories, and the winning storm video attracts a $400 Amazon Gift card !!!

The rules
o You must use the ManiaPlanet music
o You can only submit one video
o You can not use copyrighted material
o Format of video: 720p or 1080p, H264, .mp4, Stereo sound

Check the post made by Cerovan on the Maniaplanet forums : A videos contest on ManiaPlanet!

Today sees the launch of the Shootmania Open Beta, which is free for everyone to try, so don't waste any time before downloading the game and playing!

Here is the download link

Take your time to explore the various game modes and of course, the in game map editor, which will let you build new maps which can be uploaded to this site, in order to share with the community.

As the date for the open beta draws near, another large update is ready which will download automatically when you launch ManiaPlanet.

Read the full detail from the MP Forums
http://forum.maniaplanet.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16349&start=0

A new update to Shootmania is available....



ManiaPlanet will peform the update for you next time you open it up.

Other news is that the release date for the 'final version' has slipped until 10th of April. However, a new fully open beta phase is now expected on the 12th of February, lasting up until the release date in April.

Check out ManiaPlanet's Official Blog for the full story : http://blog.maniaplanet.com/