We are pleased to be launching the first of the Katrina releases.  The goal of this, and the upcoming releases, is to fix bugs and improve performance.  We believe that today's release is a good start at acheiving that goal.

There are several items that, while fixed, you will not see the fix until we release the new client.  I have noted which those are in the Known Issues section.

Fixes:
Zone borders - After our release in November it was discovered that zone borders were no longer maintaining their on/off status after a server was rebooted.  We have found the cause of that issue and have resolved it.  From now on, your zone borders (neighborhood/lot, development/lot and paz) should stay as they were set, on or off, even after server restarts.

Voice in Zone IM fix - Sometimes the Zone IM window doesn't work for voice.  We have tracked down the circumstances that cause voice to not work in Zone IMs, and after some investigation, have found a fix that doesn't require a server restart.  Now you can turn on the Zone IM via the Zone Preferences page and voice will work immediately.

Skydome Fix - After the release of the CC Metro area we noticed that the rotating sky from CC Metro was leaking into other parts of the world.  We have fixed this so that the skies of There stay where they are supposed to be.

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Disappearing Paintgun - Recently, members started noticing that their paintguns were being returned to inventory if they were taken out outside of zones.  The cause was a piece of very old code that was incompatible with the new layering code (the ability to make multiple copies of an area to allow for large events).  After several long days this issue has been resolved.  May Zephyr again be the land of shootouts and ambushes!

SUV Parts fixes - With the release of the developer program SUV parts, it became rapidly clear that they didn't quite work as well as expected.  There were several bugs involved in the parts issues:
-- Paintjob did not change hood color
-- Applying and removing parts removed other parts from the vehicle
-- It was possible for two of the same category of part to be applied to an SUV
The above issues have all been resolved. 

Known Issues:
-- Parts are currently not able to be auctioned by resellers.  Engineering is investigating this.
-- On an SUV that has been customized and is listed in the auctions, there is no means for a buyer to see the vehicle.  A try-it of the vehicle gives the buyer a Stock SUV.  Engineering is investigating how to change this.
-- SUV Parts are not Try-It items.

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Removed Spacefog - Several releases ago, we introduced fog. Not just any kind of fog, space fog (or spog, like smog without the asthma) which blocked the view of the islands from space. We didn't mean to, and it was universally not liked. So we found big fans and blew the spog away! Now when visiting space, your view of the islands will no longer be obstructed.

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Volume Control Fix - Since the beginning of There, members have reported needing to modify their volume controls on every login.  We believe that we have resolved this issue, and once set to your preferences, the volume controls should retain those settings until the next time you change them.

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Nametag Rendering - When in crowded areas, or when in a chat group, avatar nametags would not render correctly.  The symptoms would range from looking ugly to looking like random blocks with squiggles and pixels. The nametag font is now anti-aliased, so that it shows more clearly, and should never look like a random block of squiggly pixels.

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Login Lockout - The login code has been modified so that the login by email address is subject to the same 3 bad passwords lockout that login by avatar name has. As with the login via avatar name, using the correct password zeros out the incorrect password login attempts.
--Security Reminder - Never share your password or personal information with anyone.

New Stuff:
Unlimited Download - The There client has a menu option which allows you to specify your internet connection speed ( There -> Customize -> Connection).  This setting tells the servers how fast to send data to your client.  The slower the connection speed, less data sent, and longer for the world and textures to load around you.  We have added "Unlimited" to the list.  This setting tells the servers to download all data, and the only limiting factors are your internet connection and computer speed. The results during beta tests were amazing, entire hoods downloading in just a few minutes!

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Postcard - You can now show friends what they are missing when you're in There.  Take a picture and email it to a friend using the new There Postcards!
1) Click on There->Therecam->Create a photo post card
--Picture will be stored in your system (for example C:Documents and Settings"aviename"My Documentsthere.postcard.temp.html)
2) A page shows up with: YourImage, Fields for To Address, Subject, and Personal Message
3) Fill in the fields and click  'Send it Now' to show your friends out there what you're doing In There!

Known Issues:
-- If you run your client in a wide screen format, your postcard image will come out looking a little smooshed.

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Better Asset Serving - The avatar servers AvMans are busy machines, in some cases too busy. On top of being the source of all information for your avatar and your stuff, each of the AvMans has all of the assets that are in world, causing it to fit downloading that new model and texture to you into the login and load of other avatars.  We thought that was silly!  We have added the ability to serve assets from non-avatar AvMans.  These new servers will only have the job of sending out assets to users, taking that load off your home AvMan.  The result is that your home AvMan is happier because it isn't doing the asset serving any longer.

Card Tables -
Hearts - We are thrilled to announce Hearts, the first new card game in 4 years! Tablatronix has designed this new card game for us. They can be found here: ShopCentral -> Playthings -> Game Tables -> Hearts Tables
-- Hearts is a 4 player game in which the goal is to have the lowest score
--- Hearts cards and the Queen of Spades are point giving cards
-- The rules can be found here http://webapps.prod.there.com/sg/rules/there_hearts.html
-- Clicking on the Hearts logo on the Hud displays game information (Points in the Game; Table Host; Round #)
All Cards -
-- Card tables now come in many styles; in addition to Blue Swirl and Tiki, we are adding 'Reno', 'Moroccan', 'Goth', and 'Celtic' tables
-- The seating action tags are labeled 'Hearts Table Seat #' and 'Spades Table Seat #'; so that you know what game you are sitting down to

Please note that Hearts tables will not be available in world until Friday at the earliest.  Tablatronix has been very hard at work since the last beta test, and he has submitted even more fixes since then.  These need to be tested internally before cards can be released publicly.

Video Emotes - We are introducing new technology to There. With this new feature, we will be able to list video emotes in ShopCentral. A video emote is a snippet of a movie, that the owner of the emote can play using a 'command.  While we are introducing the code to support the video emotes, we are not releasing any emotes at this time.  More information and instructions will be made available when they are ready for release.

Known Issues:
-- Video will not play on Windows Vista.
-- Video will only play on clients in DX8 mode
--- Click here to find out how to change the renderer to DX8 from OGL

Zone Cache Improvements - The way that the information for the zones/browse page and the zones for the Schedule an Event pages are loaded, is that we have created a cache of the information, which provides a faster response than having to dynamically display the information every time. In an effort to further improve webapps performance, we have fiddled with the cache building for Zones/Browse. The result is that the Zones list should populate faster, and improve the Schedule an Event process.

CC Metro Update - This release includes many zone updates to the CC Metro area. 
-- Coca Cola Cantina - now introducing Benches!  No really! The benches stay out, so you can sit on them.
-- MCR Store - We've fixed up the place, and the MCR Store is open for business!

Known Issues: You will see this fix when the new client is released.

Profiles - We are pleased to present the first phase of the new profiles. The new profiles have not yet been integrated into the client, but can be accessesd here: http://webapps.prod.there.com/scripts/profile.py/GetProfile?name=<aviename>  (remember to replace <aviename> with your avatar name).  You will still have all of the old functionality that the original profiles provided. Some of the features that the new profiles offer are:
-- Your own personal URL www.there.com/<aviename>
-- Ability to mark parts of your profile as private
-- Ability to change your subscriptions to There newsletters
-- Ability to manage your club memberships via your profile


Fixes:
Zone borders - Pixel, Samsyn
Zone IM fix - Samsyn
Skydome Fix - Samsyn
Disappearing Paintgun - Samsyn
SUV Parts fixes - TheChaz, Samsyn
Removed Spacefog - Samsyn
Volume Control Fix - Vertex
Nametag Rendering - The Chaz
Login Lockout - KatKat

New Stuff:
Unlimited Download - Vertex
Postcard - Skippy
Asset Avman - Vertex
Hearts - Tablatronix, TheChaz
Video Emotes - Vertex
Zone Cache Improvements - KatKat
Coke Stuff - EngeeDave, DangerKitty

Server Maintenance and Resucitation - The entire Service Operations Department
Testing - Kirzten, Mommm, Light67, and many beta testers