Hello Neopians! It’s our birthday! We’ve done quite a bit since our last release notes. Here are the deets:
What's New
Neopet's Birthday
This year marks our 25th birthday, in celebration of this big milestone we’ll be hosting an event on site with lots of goodies!
Claim your free 25th Anniversary Celebration goodie bag and NC in the NC Mall!
Spin the wheel at the new Wheel of Celebration page, only available during the birthday celebration!
New Neopet Birthday Cupcakes for the next year!
New 25th Anniversary Paint Brush and Petpet Paint Brush!
General Updates
Dr. Landelbrot's Voidworks - This new game has been adjusted and is now available to play daily! For more information on Dr. Landelbrot's Voidworks, visit the FAQ.
Cosy Campfire Collection - A new plot game has become available as a daily! Help Tavi collect campfire ingredients! For more information on Cosy Campfire Collection, visit the FAQ.
Tea Time With Tavi - Tavi needs everyone's help again in this brand new game! Complete quests for Tavi and help her serve tea to her friends! For more information on Tea Time With Tavi, visit the FAQ.
As of November 11, 2024 - The plot has been paused to make exciting improvements based on your feedback. Thank you all for your energy and insights — your involvement has been incredible! Learn more about the pause on the FAQ.
As of November 11, 2024 - The Quest Log had it’s prizes rotated, stop by and complete quests to claim new prizes!
As of November 6, 2024 - Increased rate of codestone drops in Quest Log - Daily quests.
As of October 16, 2024 - Terror Mountain Scratchcards updated!
As of October 10, 2024 - Hidden Tower Shop Inventory update to include new items and a new Retired Hidden Tower Capsule!
Bug Fixes
Pets should no longer refuse to use certain items, such as Bloat-B-Gone!
Voidworks: Users can now earn the Go with the Flow achievement (while the plot is active!)
Cosy Campfire: Fixed bug with prizes missing from hard mode
Styling Studio: Fixed bug with NC Pet style remaining on abandoned pet
Fixed issue with Elderly Boy and Elderly Girl Lupe not appearing in customisation app
Fixed issue with high scores not being recorded for Fruit Machine
Fixed issue with Impressive tier on Test Your Strength
Fixed issue with newer images becoming blurry when uploaded
Known Issues
Introduced issue with newer images becoming too sharp when uploaded
What's Next?
Winter Starlight Celebration and other festivities in December!
Stay tuned for The Void Within Lost in the Dark Q1 2025!
Hello Neopians! Dr. Landelbrot needs help assembling the void dampener! Today is the release of the very first game of the plot, Dr. Landelbrot’s Voidworks! Here are the deets:
Dr. Landelbrot’s Voidworks- Assist Dr. Landelbrot in directing the flow of void essence!
For more information on Dr. Landelbrot’s Voidworks, visit the FAQ.
Battledome Updates
As of July 24, 2024 - Opponent turn information is hidden from network processes in the dev console view until both parties have submitted their turn.
As of July 11, 2024 - TVW Plot challengers now appear on BD history records!
As of July 17, 2024 - Battledome is now accessible through the navigation bar in Games dropdown and Games Room.
General Updates
8/1/2024 - Space Faerie Scratchcard pool has been updated with new prizes! If you’re a premium subscriber check it out, happy scratching!
Bug Fixes
Voidworks
Fixed Prize popup display issue. (prize and points were still granting)
Improved display/playability on mobile with better use of screen real estate (Known issue that it is really designed for portrait mode not landscape)
Hello Neopians! Today marks a significant release for the Void Within plot, the battledome component! We have done a few updates and fixes in celebration of the release. Here are the deets:
As leaders deliberate and heroes gather, the sinister forces behind the 'Grey Curse' afflicting Neopia brazenly reveal themselves in an all-out attack on Brightvale. Vira, the cursed Acara, was spotted alongside a mysterious Yurble, commanding an army of otherworldly creatures they have been overheard referring to as 'shades.' After receiving word that this shadowy swarm is wreaking havoc across the land of Brightvale, Torakor has already begun mobilising reserve troops to the erudite kingdom. If you have the strength to help defend Neopia, now is the time to wield it!
Volunteer Centre - Not much of a fighter but still want to support? Join the Volunteer Centre at the Neopian Hospital to help support Neopia's efforts in the battle against the void!
For more information on the Volunteer Centre, visit the FAQ.
Reserve Barracks - To help defend Neopia we have opened the Reserve Barracks in order to organize against the attack!
UI Improvements
We have listened to feedback from users and implemented a few adjustments to the plot hub, as well as clearing up confusion around the first achievement!
The "From the Very Beginning" achievement has been updated to read "Joined in the first week" and has been awarded to all users who participated in any plot content during the first 8 days of the plot. (June 17 through June 24)
When a new achievement is ready, there will now be a notification on the Rewards tab of the Plot Hub. Upon navigating to the Rewards page, you will be able to see which achievements were rewarded, denoted with a badge that says 'New!'
Additionally, achievements have had a face lift so that it is now easier to distinguish between Complete and Incomplete achievements!
The point requirements for final tier in the Trophies section of the Rewards page have now been updated to make it more clear that the final tier is not an indication of the maximum amount of available points.
Void Essence Collection
Dr. Landelbrot and Neopia need your help! Void Essences is scattered around Neopia, gather as much as you can to help with Dr. Landelbrot's research. There is also a community challenge happening now! Start collecting for a chance to get special rewards.
Upon reviewing user feedback, we have implemented a few changes!
The Void Essence Collection activity has been updated so that the maps will now be randomized for each day! Those who wish to have more of a challenge can search across the lands of Neopia to collect any Essence that is seeping in from the Void! And.. those who don't can just wait for others to find it first (^:
Learn more about Void Essence Collection on the FAQ
Battledome Updates
We have the following updates:
New Challengers: It appears we have some new challengers in the battledome! As the plot goes on more will appear so stay tuned the story!
Raised Battledome NP limit from 1500 to 50,000! This is a permanent increase and that will stay post plot as well.
Increased Battledome item limit from 15 to 30 for the duration of the plot
PVP Round Improvements
Battledome Conversion - The desktop version of the battledome has been converted! (no big layout changes made but should play nicer on tablets and the like) Happy battling!
Altador Cup Updates
The press tour has begun for the Altador Cup, make sure to stop by to see what the teams have been up to!
For first time in years, Dacardia will be a 19th team joining the Altador Cup!
Re-balanced caps on games and rankings
Bug Fixes
Slushie Slinger - Fixed a bug to make sure slushie color remains the same when customer grabs the drink and that art is placed properly.
User's plot trophies - Fixed bug with viewing them
Battledome Foresight Glitch - We had rolled out fixes previously, however, we have reviewed some edge caes and added additional fixes. If you come across any more edge-case scenarios, please submit a ticket.
Laaaaag! - Yes, we had some er, 'prolonged slowness' at launch and some hours after that are resolved. Thanks for your patience!
By July 8th afternoon we fixed plot-related lookups and updates so they no longer got behind.
The new Reserve Barracks activity is putting extra burden on the pet servers that cache the images of your lovely customs. We are having to monitor and take temporary measures (gears and stars) to get things back on track.
Eliminated some periodic slowness of serving images. This particularly came up in the AMA regarding slow loading of pets - July 9th afternoon
Neomail Replies - This feature broke around the time that Jumpstart took over Neopets. Someone replies to your Neomail, you will be able to see what you originally wrote to them in the response!
Known Issues
We are aware of a bug that is preventing players from earning Plot Points for collecting Essences. We are still looking into this issue and affected users will be awarded any missing points based on their total Essence collected! There is no need to write in a ticket for missing Plot Points as this will be a mass-correction, but if you believe that you are missing credit for collecting any Essence(s), please write in with the category 'The Void Within' so we can investigate!
What's next?
We are planning to further enhance the rewards page to show you how many Plot Points were earned for each achievement awarded, so stay tuned for that!
We appreciate your patience and all of the feedback you have offered thus far! We hope you enjoy all of the new updates today!!
Hello Neopians! Today we're starting an exciting journey as we embark on the beginning of The Void Within plot! Along with this exciting plot kickoff, we've also made some bug fixes, page conversions and more to enhance your Neopets experience. Here's the deets:
The Void Within
Across Neopia, an eerie stillness hangs heavy in the air. The Grey Curse that plagues the land has spread more than just the absence of colour, shrouding the globe in an oppressive blanket of unease. Even the most lively of Neopian Central streets have slowly turned into vacant alleys as whispers of ominous visions and ancient evils stirring diffuse across the various lands like plumes of smoke.
With each passing day, a palpable sense of dread grows, as if the fabric of Neopian reality itself teeters over the abyss of something unspeakable… something utterly incomprehensible. Unseen tendrils of darkness unfurl and root about the cosmos, clawing at the fringes of vibrant realms. It feels as though the stage has been set for a sinister performance, and all of Neopia lies in wait for the curtain to rise.
The Void Within hub page for all your plot needs, remember to visit the page often for all the latest things happening in Neopia!
For more information on The Void Within, visit the FAQ.
Page Conversions
We have migrated the below pages from the classic site to the new shiny HTML5 template and made it mobile friendly!
2024-05-23: Giant Omelette - even the Omelette is feeling grey!
2024-05-09: Colztans Shrine - though it looks a little different hmmm...
Bug Fixes
Back to Homepage link changes on a couple pages to to go /home/ (Fixed in various places by April 22nd)
Beauty Contest(BC) and Art Gallery(AG) FAQs updated
Some Maintenance performed on database server that houses Trudy's, Guilds, Neofriends (also had to lower update rate) and others to improve server speed.
Fixed an issue with sending password resets (Fixed March 26th)
The Feldon Dinksy Collibridge stamp was not sticking to the album page. We have applied a liberal amount of sticky goo to make it stick and stay stuck (Fixed April 16th)
Shop Wizard searches for items sold in User Shops now exclude frozen users! (Fixed April 16th)
"Hello fellow freethinker!" The Mind Control avatar no longer requires time travel to obtain (Fixed April 17th)
Pet Care - Down with boring books! We are trying to break from a long-time Neopets tradition of your neopets hating things for no particular reason.
NC Purchase - Improved NC purchase and redeem process. Users should see updated NC balance swiftly.
Premium Subscription - Fixed a scenario where premium perks were not updated and synced with renewal date.
Neoboard Reporting - When reports are made on first post of a Neoboard thread, a fix was made to ensure the report does not have issues and gives feedback.
The release you've all been waiting for! NC Pet Styles are finally here!
A bit of information about this release:
All existing pets formerly known as "UCs" have been updated to our new Pet Styles system. Qualifying pets should receive a Style item that corresponds to their previously "UC" look.
Styles cannot be transferred with a Neopet via the pound, they will be removed like other NC wearables.
Styles can be transferred to other users via NC Giftboxes, like all other NC items.
For more information on NC Pet Styles, visit the FAQ.
Styling Studio
The Styling Studio is a brand new feature that it used to obtain NC Pet Styles for your pets!
Here is a short rundown of how it works:
Purchase Styling Studio Supplies or Deluxe Styling Studio Supplies from the NC Mall.
Visit the Styling Studio, and select a species for a pet that you own.
Select the Neopet you would like to transform and the Supplies you would like to use.
Presto change-o, you now have a new Style, applied directly to your chosen pet!
For more information on the Styling Studio, visit the FAQ.
Styling Chamber
Along with the Studio, the Styling Chamber is another new feature for managing your NC Pet Styles!
Purposes of this feature:
Similar to the Customise page, this feature allows you to apply and/or remove Styles from your pets with ease.
Additionally, you can use this page to move Styles from your Chamber and send them to your Inventory.
Any Styles obtained via the Styling Studio will be automatically sent to your Styling Chamber.
For more information on the Styling Chamber, visit the FAQ.
Bug Fixes
Items purchased from the General Store now count towards 'Purchase Item' Quest Log quests.
Items purchased using Dubloons on Krawk Island now count towards 'Purchase Item' Quest Log quests.
Sending your referral link to a friend and having them complete the sign-up process now counts towards the 'Refer a Friend' Tutorial Quest task.
Animated Neopet images have been returned to Petlookups!
2024-01-25: Fixed NC prices when purchasing Supplies from Styling Studio to display discount price.
2024-01-25: Fixed issue with items showing as multiple stacks for same item in Styling Chamber.
2024-01-25: Removed ability to press buttons multiple times in Styling Studio while processes are running.
2024-01-25: Fixed Active Pet images in Profile Menu updating regardless of which pet you transform in Styling Studio.
2024-01-25: If you only have a single pet of a certain species, that pet will be automatically selected when selecting a species in the Styling Studio.
Known Issues
Users are experiencing occasional issues collecting their Daily Bonus Reward after completing Daily Quest Log Quests.
Some users' Neopets, including those wearing NC Pet Styles, may appear smaller than intended on the Home page.
Some Neopets' images wearing NC Pet Styles may appear as 'cogs' in certain areas.
Some Neopets may occasionally appear without all of their wearables in the Styling Chamber. Refresh the page to remedy this.
2024-01-25: Some pets wearing NC Pet Styles are appearing blurred in certain image locations.
2024-01-25: Not all qualifying Old Pets received their Old Pet Trophy as they should have.
It's finally here! The update that you didn't know you wanted! We've converted our "Preferences" pages to a new "Settings" area! We've moved a few things around, condensed some things, and even included Neoboard Settings as well! All of the previous versions of these pages should now redirect to the appropriate new area.
To assist you with adjusting to this new development, here is a small guide to help you find what you're looking for!
The following settings have been moved from "Site Preferences" (/preferences.phtml) to "General" Settings:
Block Trudy's Surprise
Block Battledome Challenges
Block Guild Invitations (Under 'Guilds' Section)
Enable Guild Mailings (Under 'Guilds' Section, now called 'Guild Mail')
Only Neofriends Can Contact (Under 'Neomail' Section, now called 'Friends Only Neomail')
Only Neofriends Can Give You Items (Under 'Neofriends' Section, now called 'NP Item Gifting')
Plain Text Neomail (Under 'Neomail' Section)
Block User-to-User Neopet Transfers (Now called 'Block Neopet Transfers')
Closet Limit
Block Neopet Transfers
Flash Game Challenges (Now called 'Games Room Challenges')
Theme (Now called 'Classic Site Theme')
Beta Theme (Now called 'Site Theme')
The following settings have been moved from "Site Preferences" (/preferences.phtml) to "Privacy & Security" Settings:
Login Birthday Prompt (Under 'Security' Section)
Stealth Mode
User Status (Now called 'Online Status')
Displaying Your Age
Displaying Your Journal (Premium only Setting)
The following settings have been removed from use:
Site Bandwidth
Remove Social Networking Buttons
Skip Support Site Logout
The following settings have been moved from "My Profile" (/userinfo.phtml) to "Account" Settings:
First Name
Gender
Country
US State
Zip/Postal Code
Password Change
The following settings have been moved from "My Profile" (/userinfo.phtml) to "Profile" Settings:
Interests
About Me
All of the settings that were found in "Email Preferences" (/email_pref.phtml) can now be found in "Email" Settings
"Change Your Email" (/email_change.phtml) can now be found in "Email" Settings (Email change links should also now direct to this area.)
"PIN Preferences" (/pin_prefs.phtml) can now be found in "Privacy & Security" Settings, under the 'Security' section.
"2-Factor Authentication" (/prefs_2fa.phtml) can now be found in "Account" Settings
All settings under "Neoboard Preferences" (/neoboards/preferences.phtml) can now be found in "Neoboards" Settings.
Our Abuse Report Form has also been relocated and can now be found in "Privacy & Security" Settings.
We have also taken the liberty of relocating some of our informative pages around the site:
Our Privacy Policy (/privacy.phtml) can now be found in "Privacy & Security" Settings
The "Safety Tips" section of the Chat Rules page (/chatrules.phtml) can now be found in "Privacy & Security" Settings (Under 'Safety & Privacy Tips')
Our Account Security page (/security.phtml) can now be found in "Privacy & Security" Settings
The "Wall of Shame" (/wallofshame.phtml) can now be found in "Privacy & Security" (Under 'Safety & Privacy Tips')
Our About Us page (/aboutus.phtml) can now be found in "About" Settings (and yes, the avatar still works!)
The "Rules & Guidelines" and "Disciplinary Actions" sections of the Chat Rules page (/chatrules.phtml) can now be found in "About" Settings
Our Terms of Use (/terms.phtml) can now be found in "About" Settings"
Our Ad Choices information (/adchoices.phtml) can now be found in "About" Settings
IMPORTANT NOTE: This update has been in the works for a long while, but with our recent change in leadership, we have been working on reimagining some of these settings options, and there may be additional changes coming in the near future! We apologize for breaking your neck with continual reorganization, but we didn't want to hold back this update any longer! Thank you for your patience!
Account Activation Notice
A much smaller, but still valuable update - we have finally added the Account Activation Notice to our converted pages! Now newly created accounts will get the annoying fun reminder on every page!
Bug Fixes
Multiple fixes on the new Neopets Homepage
Multiple Wearable fixes on multiple items
Password Reset has been updated to solve the 'unknown error' issue
Premium lapse now properly directs users to select their Idle Pets
Known Issues
There is no convenient link to the 'Smilies' page of the former Neoboard Preferences.
PayPal purchases are currently experiencing error screen when completing purchase, rather than a receipt.
So guess what? We've magically integrated Ruffle technology into Neopets! Now you can relive some of our Flash games from the past. Isn't that just fantastic? If you have any questions about how it all works - Ruffle Integration FAQ
Tutorial Conversion
We've finally tackled the first part of the Tutorial Conversion with an update to the sign-up launch page! You know, because we really love holding your hand through every little step. Don't worry. There's more to come!
Community Central Updates
Brace yourselves for the shiny new Community Central Updates. We spruced it up to make it extra fancy and put the calendar back in! You're welcome!
Spotlights & Contests Page Conversion
Spotlights just got a whole lot better looking. We've given them a design update that'll make your eyes pop. Prepare to be dazzled. Check it out here!
Inventory Improvements
The Inventory Update has arrived! We've given you a shiny new toolbar to navigate your spaces, and brand new toggle to unstack your items!
Pet Central Page Conversion
You asked for it, and we delivered. The Pet Central page has undergone a fabulous conversion. It's all shiny and new, ready to cater to your pet-loving needs.
Pronunciation Page Conversion
Have you been struggling to pronounce the names of your favorite Neopets and Heroes? Well struggle no more, because we've brought back the pronunciation page!
Neopian Times Submission Rule Change
We updated the NT Submissions Page rules with a brand new rule regarding collaborations. Because, you know, rules make the world go 'round. So get your submissions in order!
Neopia Globe Update
We've waved our magic wand and transformed the Neopia Globe Map. It's like a whole new world, or should we say, a whole new Neopia? Take a full spin and explore!
Bug Fixes
Fixed multiple occurrences of 403 errors reported by users throughout the site.
Resolved a glitch in the Battle Dome where the user's move set was sent to the opponent when selecting the "Fight" button.
Temporarily fixed an issue with petpetpets not attaching properly when using the inventory refresh function.
Addressed a problem where wings could not be attached to 8bit bodies in the Wearable customization option.
Restored the back button missing from the closed state of the Tombola game.
Corrected a bug where clicking on a premium featured game would lead to a broken link.
Implemented a fix to prevent infinite neopoint gain through the exploitation of turning in maps (Forgotten Shore) if maps are found cheaply.
Investigated and followed up on treasure claiming reports for proper resolution.
Fixed logic issues in the Treasure Map map turn-in process, ensuring that owned maps are respected.
Optimized the status check for Trudy's daily to prevent 1-minute selects and system failure.
Resolved an issue related to the sending Gift Boxes.
Fixed an issue where the "Drackonack - Hungry" avatar was not being awarded when viewing the new inventory.
Adjusted the NC Archive wheel wedge placement to align correctly with the wheeled container.
Rectified the problem where the Spotlight Description and Category were not appearing for some user lookup entries.
Corrected the display issue of yesterday's team results image in the Altador Cup when viewed on iOS devices.
Added the missing link to Moltara in the world map, ensuring it is now accessible.
Fixed a bug in the NC Collector's case where items could not be clicked if the specific item was not present in the user's inventory.
Resolved an issue that prevented users from voting on previous categories in the Neopies NP 2023 when they had voted on the Final category.
Investigated and resolved the issue with multiple items in the Permanent Dyeworks 2023, ensuring they now appear on pets when equipped in customization.
Fixed the appearance and conversion of the Silver Candle Tree Foreground on pets in the customization window.
Corrected spacing and capitalization issues on "The Brain Tree" webpage.
Updated the AC Staff Tournament page to prevent users from using the UI Drop/Add player without selecting Change Team.
Fixed the redirection issue when leaving The Caves in Moltara, ensuring users are directed to Moltara City instead of the Explore page.
Resolved the redirection problem when leaving The Coffee Cave in Roo Island, directing users to Roo Island instead of the Explore page.
Fixed the search functionality to return results without adding a backslash in front of username underscores.
Fixed the input validation to prevent errors caused by typing too fast, ensuring accurate entry of numbers in the authenticator code text boxes.
Allowed movement of the Varia Plushie to the shop or gallery as intended.
Resolved the error message received when turning in certain treasure maps and receiving prizes.
The Mystery Island Theme has been added for use in our beta site! You can check it out now in your preferences!
Other Theme Updates
Our other themes have also received a bit of a face lift!
Character images have returned to the footers of each page!
Neoboard colors now change depending on your theme!
Link colors once again match the theme of your choosing!
Test Your Strength
Test Your Strength has reopened in the Deserted Fairground! Why don't you head on over and give it a shot?
Quick Reference Updates
You may have noticed already that your lovely pets are now visible again on the Quick Ref page!
Bug Fixes
Proper back buttons added to Pet Care popup on homepage.
The link to Faerie Bubbles on Faerieland map now directs to the new HTML5 game.
Worms now function correctly in Moltara City and Caves.
Formatting fixes to the random events.
Keyboard inputs now work when browsing and buying from shops around Neopia.
Users no longer get stuck selecting Idle Pets after loss of Premium Membership.
Minor fixes to the inventory pop-up - can no longer submit without selecting an option.
Petpets with the same name now show up properly in Petpet Puddle.
Minor fixes to NC Collector's case.
Issues with users having no active pet resolved.
Customise button in Pet Care popup now routes directly to the pet selected.
Many, many (we mean A LOT) of wearable fixes.
And many other behind the scenes updates to improve the Neopets experience!
Updated Dec. 20th: Fixed Customisation App to save static thumbnails for UC Pets again!
Updated Dec. 21st: Fixed multi-factor authentication issue with typing too fast or pasting code
Known Issues
World Map: The link to Moltara is missing from the location on the world map.
World Map: The link to Lutari Island directs to wrong URL.
Some links still caution "Leaving Beta" despite directing to pages that have now been converted.
UC Thumbnail fix: There are a small selection of wearables we have made as a static layer which can conflict with a UC Pet body and make it appear invisible. This is cosmetic. Changing out the offending item and resaving until we have a fix is the workaround for now.
What's Next
Thank you all for your feedback on the survey. The team is working on the first phases of the UC Pets release.
The Almost Abandoned Attic is back on Neopets! If you have an account more than three years old, check out the link below before items get snatched up!
Other/Misc Updates
HTTPS certs were added across the site
We have made updates to the Money Tree to allow for a better user experience.
We added neoboard prferences in two places after "cleaning up" the neoboard page links. (intended for 0.4.9 release)
Click on the profile icon in top left, then the arrow next to Settings to expand the sub-menu.
Neoboards will now allow for HTTPS links within posts
Fixed links within the maps to lead to the correct games
Fixed a 404 error displaying when returning to Haunted Woods from Edna's Tower
Fixed a 404 error displaying when returning to the Deserted Fairgrounds from Test Your Strength
When transferring pets on mobile, we have updated the sizing of the cancel button
Many, many fixes to converted items not showing up correctly within Neopets
Known Issues
Currently, there isn't a try-on feature in the collector's case. However, the NC Mall try-on feature should work for those NC Collectibles!
If there are worms, they may be a little disoriented right now.
What's Next
We are working on updating more pages as well as events to bring you the best-looking pages
We are sorting through the survey that you all have filled out and discussing as a team how we make fixes to the Battledome and bring new plots to the game
Something has happened! Random events are back on the mobile-friendly pages of Neopia, where you can have a bank error in your favor or even get a visit from Dr. Sloth himself!
Bug Fixes
We've been squashing a few bugs since our last release! Here are some fixes you may have already noticed:
Wheels will no longer disappear when clicked on and fail to display prizes.
Wheel of Monotony no longer spins indefinitely if the player switches tabs.
Database updates and miscellaneous fixes.
Known Issues
The Faerie Bubbles Game has a balancing issue where colours not remaining in-game will show up to shoot, making the levels very difficult to pass. We are working to address this issue ASAP.
You cannot currently collect neopoints after playing the new games, we are working to update this week. Fixed 10/22
What's Next
The team is still hard at work bringing additional Pet Slots to Neopets! We're aiming for a holiday release.
We are bringing a fresh new look to the Advent Calendar just in time for the holidays. More details to come!
Call us cartographers, we are continuing to improve and bring maps up to date for the site.
At long last, updates to Customisation are here that will drastically improve your experience with the feature! Loading times have been improved. An issue of Neopets not showing up in thumbnails is fixed. The only caveat to this is that UC Pets still need to undergo some fixes, but these issues will be addressed prior to the re-release of UC Pets.
If there are any further issues with Customisation (surrounding the page itself and not individual items), please reach out to our Customer Support with as much information as you can provide, including your username, number of pets, closet size, browser, and what you are experiencing.
Please note that our recommended closet size is 650 items! If you have more than 2,500 items in your closet, you may want to move some to your Safety Deposit Box in order to improve loading times in Customisation.
Mobile-Friendly Wheels
Over the last few updates, we've been converting the Wheels from Flash and with this next update, we've made sure they are mobile-friendly. Now you can spin Wheels easily on the go! May the odds be ever in your favor.
In celebration of Discovery of Meridell Day, we have released a new mobile-friendly site theme. Visit your preferences to check it out.
Bug Fixes
If you lose an item while spinning the Wheel of Misfortune, Mediocrity, or Excitement, it will not remove any recently acquired items.
Known Issues
NC Food Items cannot be fed to your Neopets currently through the new Feed system in the Homepage.
A recurring Database Error is appearing when some users try to Create A Pet.
Igloo Garage Sale is giving some users a "Suspicious Score" error when they submit their scores.
What's Next
Maps, maps, maps! It's been too long without the maps and we are working hard to bring them back flash-free.
More converted games! We're in the process of testing a new batch of games and making sure they are up to snuff. Ready to pop some Faerie Bubbles?
As mentioned previously, we are going to be adding more pet slots! Stay tuned for a more in-depth announcement.
Message from TNT
It's been a while since there's been a new beta update and Altador Cup had a lot to do with that. We're making a lot of changes internally to ensure that we get more frequent updates in a more consistent pace. We will also be communicating more frequently with the community about upcoming releases and plans with the help of our new Community Manager, who we will be introducing soon. Thank you for all your continued support!
You can now search for pets, items, users and more by clicking the magnifying class in the upper right of the top navigation bar. Further improvements to the search system will be coming in a future update.
Community Central
Test your knowledge with the Daily Puzzle, check out the latest spotlight winners, or find a new fansite on the now mobile-friendly Community Central page.
Create a Pet
Whether it's a pet day you've been looking forward to all year, or you just don't want to adopt, the Create a Pet page is now mobile-friendly, so you can add another adorable pet to your family while on the go. Newly created pets from this point forward will also come with a bandana in the colour of your choice.
Quests
Several quest-givers around Neopia have made the jump onto the mobile-friendly site template. They eagerly await your help, so go find them some junk, I mean stuff!
Kitchen Quest is now mobile-friendly. You'll also notice that any stat increases rewarded will now go to your active pet.
You may notice few more games linked in the mobile-friendly gamesroom. These are classic games that don't rely on Flash, but aren't mobile-friendly yet either. We will continue to add these links to the gamesroom in small batches until all currently playable games are accessible from the page (yes, including Battledome). So far the games added are:
Happy Tyrannian Victory Day!!! The Tyrannia site theme is now available for use on mobile-friendly pages. Visit your preferences to check it out.
We are continually converting and fixing wearable items for HTML5 customisation.
For those who missed it, we released mobile-friendly versions of the Festival of Neggs and Grey Day site themes over the past couple months. As always, you can try them out using the "Beta Theme" dropdown on the preferences page.
We've made some minor improvements to the keyboard-accessibility of the main navigation bar, although this is not the final state for the menu. Stay tuned for more fully-featured accessibility updates in the future.
Bug Fixes
Neofriends with usernames longer than 15 characters will now send you to the correct userlookup in the Community dropdown menu.
The clock in the top navigation bar should now be large enough to fit all times on a single line.
We've made some minor adjustments to a few site themes to address visual and layout issues, including Tis the Season, Winter Holiday and Haunted Woods.
The height of the loading image that appears when collecting interest at the bank has been reduced.
If such a thing as a Giant Jelly existed, it might have been giving you the same type of jelly every day instead of a random jelly, but that certainly wouldn't be the case anymore.
Known Issues
Visuals related to pilfered avatars on the Neoboards aren't scaling correctly with the size of your browser.
A back button may be missing when visiting Tiki Tack Tombola while it's closed.
When viewing the list of Neoboards within a particular Neoboard category, buttons to navigate between pages should be appearing at the top of the page in addition to the bottom.
Users may experience intermittent issues with numbered page links on the Neoboards not taking you to the correct page.
Items up for auction that are displayed as a stack in the inventory may prevent you for using the copies of the item not up for auction.
Some browsers may report Flash elements present on the mobile-friendly bank page, despite no Flash elements being visible.
Petpetpets won't attach to your petpets in the mobile-friendly inventory.
What's Next
The Altador Cup is coming up, and will require the majority of our developer focus. The mobile-friendly Altador Cup site theme will also be released during the event.
As mentioned in the previous release, we are working on HTML5 versions of all the Flash maps you know and love.
Broader site updates and events will continue to be announced via the New Features page.
We <3 the holidays, and we hope you do too! The Valentine's Day site theme is now available for use on mobile-friendly pages. Visit your preferences to check it out.
Although the mobile-friendly version of this theme is available to everyone for now, make sure to exchange Mysterious Valentines Cards with a Neofriend on the 14th if you don't have the classic version of the theme unlocked, so that you can keep this theme after the beta is over.
The Wheel of Monotony will be coming soon. Users spinning the wheels on smaller devices like phones in portrait mode will notice that the experience is less than optimal due to characters taking up a significant amount of screen real-estate. We wanted to get the wheels out and playable as quickly as possible, but additional layout changes will be coming in a future update.
Profile Menu
Phase 2 of the profile menu is now available if you tap the thumbnail of your pet in the upper left corner of the screen. You'll notice more links available than before, but organized hierarchically so as not to take up too much screen real-estate all at once. The link to Neohomes has been left out intentionally, as this feature is currently in flux with a V3 planned rather than a direct 1-to-1 conversion of Neohomes 1 or 2.
Additional Features
Premium users rejoice! Space Faerie Scratchcards are now Flash-free, so go scratch through your backlog.
The Gypsy Camp has been renamed to The Wanderer Camp, and items including the term gypsy have been renamed.
The "Help" board has been moved to the "General" section of the Neoboards.
Bug Fix
The "Premium" link in navigation when viewed on smaller devices should now redirect to the appropriate page for non-members.
Known Issues
We are actively working on improving accessibility across the mobile-friendly parts of the site. This process may take some time, so we appreciate your patience and support.
Some alerts and notifications in the alerts dropdown aren't updating correctly, including Trudy's Surprise.
When resizing your browser window on desktop, the Space Faerie Scratchcards will scale down, but won't scale back up again.
We'll be looking at having features like wheels and scratchcards update your Neopoints counter immediately without needing to refresh the page.
Error messaging for score submission in HTML5 games still need further adjustment.
Navigation FAQ
Confused about where to find something? Read this to learn more about some of the navigation features still in progress.
Q. I can't find where to update my avatar for the Neoboards!
A. Neoboard settings will eventually be found within a new, consolidated and easier to navigate settings system.
Q. How do I find my pet's petpets?
A. We hope to bring petpets to the homepage, so that they can be seen sitting next to their Neopets and can be interacted with from there.
Q. The "Take Photo" button when I interact with my pet doesn't do anything!
A. We are working on revamping the "Send Your Pet" feature to integrate with social media platforms in addition to the current email and neomail options. This button will become active once this feature has been updated.
Q. The search button doesn't do anything!
A. We are looking to revamp site search functionality with improved features and a layout for results more adaptive to different devices. An initial version of the feature very similar to the classic site search is planned for release first, with the more robust update coming separately later.
Q. I can't find links to certain pages on the new map-less map pages!
A. Hidden secrets and easter eggs are an important part of the Neopets experience. While its unfortunate that you'll have to get to some of these secret pages through other means for the time being, we didn't want to spoil everything during this transition. However, Flash-free visual maps have been in the works and will be rolled out soon.
Neoboard Pens now wrap based on device width, and no longer break the Neoboards layout.
Searches on the Shop Wizard page can now be refreshed using the "Resubmit" button.
Searches on the Shop Wizard page and using the Super Shop Wizard can be submitted using the enter key.
Links to the Quick Stock and Item Transfer Log pages have been added to the Inventory page. Neither the Quick Stock or Item Transfer Log pages have been made mobile-friendly yet. The inventory page is still a work in progress, and will receive further updates in a future release.
The animated fireplace on the homepage for the "Tis the Season" theme now scrolls with the rest of the background.
An issue with line-spacing for text in the "Flash is no longer supported" module has been fixed.
An issue with popups retaining a theme-specific dropshadow on the Wheel pages has been fixed.
Backing styling for dropdowns in the "Neopets Green" theme have been fixed.
Known Issues
Scoring thresholds for HTML5 games are still being adjusted.
Cheatcodes and easter eggs are missing from some HTML5 games.
The "Premium" link in navigation when viewed on smaller devices isn't redirecting to the appropriate page for non-members.
Items and/or pets may not be loading on the customisation page for some users. If you are experiencing similar issues, we'd appreciate you taking our customisation survey.
Some unconverted customisation items, like "Chef Table Foreground" are strobing when viewed on a pet on the customisation page.
Issues from previous releases are often not relisted every release. Even if an issue is not listed here, we may already be aware of the problem and are looking into it.
What's Next
A larger update with the following features will be released later this month:
As the year draws to a close, it has come time to say goodbye to Flash, but not goodbye to Neopets! We're excited to continue making the site better, more mobile-friendly and Flash-free in the new year.
Wheels
We've begun converting the wheels found around Neopia so they'll still be playable when Flash is gone. The ones we haven't converted yet will be out real soon! Also keep in mind that what you're seeing now for the wheels is just a first version with basic functionality. They may not be perfectly mobile responsive, but an update to existing wheels will be coming in a future release.
You may notice that the "View Classic" link is no longer available in the left-hand dropdown menu. As discussed previously, all pages that have been converted will be the default while all classic pages will be remain available for pages we have not yet converted.
Flash Messaging
You may also notice a message about Flash in place of a Flash element in place. If you are still able to access Flash, you just need to do the same thing you've usually done to allow Flash in your browser and it'll appear again. When the times comes that the browsers stop supporting Flash, you'll need to wait for that element to be converted before using it again.
Alternative URLs for Classic Features
Although you will no longer be able to switch between classic and beta for converted pages, there are a couple large features we'd still like to give you classic access to until their converted counterparts are more complete. Although most browsers and operating systems will no longer be supporting Flash player at the end of this month, if you are somehow able to use Flash, you can enjoy these classic features for a while longer.
Throughout the year, we've made a lot of progress on converting wearables to HTML5 but we've still got work to do going into 2021. This includes fixing the Customisation app so that everyone can use it. In this release, we've updated the NC Mall Try On feature to work without Flash for converting assets. You'll be informed whether an asset has been converted yet or not.
Score submission is back on for beta games! We'll be adjusting payouts as we get more user data, so keep in mind that they may change.
The doors used to navigate the pound are now Flash-free. A larger overhaul of the pound pages will be coming in a future release.
The number indicating how many of your Neofriends are currently active will no longer display in the navbar. This information will still be available inside the community dropdown menu.
What's Next
The Winter Holiday theme is coming next in a smaller content update in
January. Create A Pet was going to be part of this release, but thanks
to our changes to the rules recently, we decided to make some additional
changes. The remaining wheels will also be coming ASAP, as well as a new
Community Central hub page!
'Twas the week before the Day of Giving, when all through the site, not a Petpet was stirring, not even a Tigermouse. The stockings were stufftacular and hung with great care, in hopes that a holiday theme would be near; when out in the preferences there arose such a clatter. So go take a look, to see what's the matter!
"Tis the Season" for all, and to all a good night!
Additional Features
Many small tweaks have been made to the beta site navigation when viewing the site logged-out, in order to address bugs with the visuals and layout.
A link to our support page has been added to the footer at the bottom of the page for users who are logged in.
What's Next
This is just a small update, serving primarily to give you access to the converted "Tis the Season" theme in time for the holidays. Another large end of the year update will be coming really soon!
We've begun bringing the site into a mobile-friendly layout when viewing the site without logging in. As part of this, the login and new account signup flows have been updated. Further steps in the signup process, like creating a pet and experiencing the tutorial will be included in a future release.
This is just an initial rollout of this flow, we already have additional features/improvements planned that will be coming in the future, including the possibility of two factor authentification.
For now, if you're not logged in, most pages will still show up as their classic version rather than the new mobile-responsive version. There is still page-specific work to be done for pages that contain account-specific information but are still visible to users without logging in. In the future, we want to make as much of the site accessible without logging in as possible.
New Logged Out Homepage
If you visit Neopets.com without logging in, you'll notice that the homepage looks quite different. As the Neopets franchise expands, we want to make sure that you can easily learn about all things Neopets. Check back to that page for all the latest brand news and updates. An additional section for brand news is coming soon.
Navigation Dropdowns
You'll notice that a couple dropdowns are now available in the navigation menu, one for "Community" and one for "Shop". These have been in our plans for quite some time, so we're excited to finally bring them to you to make your experience moving around the site a little easier.
This isn't the end of our ongoing navigation work, however. We also plan on overhauling the content you find in the left-hand-side profile menu.
Map Quick Links
Not all of the maps of Neopia will be fully HTML5 ready and in the beta by the end of the year. To make sure that you can still find your way around in the meantime, 38 map pages now include direct links to all regularly visible locations on the map. Seasonal/special map links will be added in a future update, and you'll have to access any secret links using the direct URL until its map has been brought over into the beta.
Support
We're officially unveiling the first step on our overhaul of Neopets' support system. You'll find that all support links in the login and registration flow will now direct you to the V1 for a support page on jumpstart.com. We'll continue to develop this system in future updates.
Bug Fix
Previously, scroll bars were always visible for the Super Shop Wizard results on Windows computers, even if the content wasn't scrollable. This has been fixed.
Known Issues
There are still some issues related to score submission for HTML5 games. We're looking to adjust our score thresholds to match new scoring behavior in the HTML5 games and make score submission available again soon.
There is a visual issue associated with the loading icon when collecting interest at the bank.
Your NP total in the bank doesn't appear to update with Battleground of the Obelisk boons.
There are some minor visual issues with elements in some of the beta site themes.
Currently, if you have the Tis the Season theme set as your active theme for the classic site, it will interfere with the layout of mobile-friendly beta pages like the homepage.
On iPhone 7+, the bottom navigation currently disappears on smaller devices after logging out.
Some of the UI in the login and registration flow currently scrolls independently from the footer, rather than pushing the footer below it.
What's Next
Winter theme(s) will be converted soon for the holiday season. We've also been looking at features like Create-a-Pet, the NC Mall, the Safety Deposit Box and your Stock portfolio. However, our primary focus for the remainder of the year will be converting as many Flash elements on the site as possible.
In addition to making the bank page more mobile friendly, we've made the following adjustments:
We've moved your account information from the top to the sections where that information is relevant.
When visiting the page after exceeding your daily withdrawal limit, the withdraw button will no longer be available to help avoid confusion.
If you have your gender set to "other", the bank manager will no longer greet you as sir or madam.
Your account level will now be reflected in the visual style of the page.
Reminder: You can quickly access the bank from any page by clicking on your total Neopoints on hand in the upper righthand corner of the screen.
Site Themes
Space Faerie Premium
The Space Faerie Premium site theme is now available while in beta mode. Remember, you can change your beta site theme independently of your classic site theme via the classic preferences page.
We're making your beta experience a little bit spookier, just in time for Halloween! Enjoy the Haunted Woods theme, but remember that if you want to keep it after beta is over (and you don't already have this theme in classic) you'll need to visit the site on October 31st at 11:59pm NST.
Score Submission
We've been hard at work hammering away to tighten security on our HTML5 games, and we could use your help in checking for any holes in our work. We'll be re-enabling score submission on HTML5 games in the beta Gamesroom from October 29th to November 2nd, meaning you'll be able to earn Neopoints while playing on your phone! Once the two days are up, we'll pull score submission down again so that we can comb through our logs to make sure no cheaters got through. If everything's ship-shape, we'll bring back score submission permanently soon after.
Have fun!
Additional Features
The following changes were all made based on user suggestions.
On the Premium Portal page, clicking on the Stocks graph will now take you directly to your stock portfolio, rather than the main stock market landing page.
The categories on the Inventory page have been reordered to prioritize more frequently used items.
We've increased the number of pets visible on the homepage for wider screens from 3 to a maximum of 6. The number of pets visible is still dependent on the width of your browser window.
The styling for the Inventory page when a user doesn't have any NC or NP items has been fixed.
The mobile beta Inventory page will now grant inventory related avatars.
Inventory items currently in trades will now show up in the mobile beta inventory.
When using the pet care feature on the homepage, the title "Success" no longer displays when an error occurs while attempting to use an item.
The topics that you've created on the Neoboards, plus topics created by TNT, will once again be much easier to find and identify, thanks to the color coding of those topics to green and blue respectively.
On smaller devices when creating a new topic on the Neoboards, or replying to an existing topic, an extra space will no longer be visible when the bottom navigation is hidden.
Known Issues
The homepage pet care system still needs to be updated to reflect the changes we've made to item popups for the inventory page.
Buttons in the Super Shop Wizard aren't currently mapped to any keyboard keys.
What's Next
We're currently working on converting the login and registration experience, as well as continuing to make adjustments to existing features based on user feedback. We've also adjusted our strategy so that more maps will be converted to HTML5 faster in the future, and quick links to each map destination will be available on map pages in beta soon.
The default search criteria for the Shop Wizard will be updated from "Containing" to "Identical" in a future update.
No Neopian's adventuring kit is complete without their knapsack. Being able to quickly view and use items on the go is a must, and now its easier than ever. All inventory popups now open up in the same window as your main inventory, plus we've added a couple extra features as well.
If you have more than one copy of a particular item in your inventory, those items will now stack and display the total number of copies you have.
Categories! Now you can view groups of items based on their major use including:
Food
Toys
Books
Grooming Items
Healing Items
Wearables
Battledome Equipment
Furniture
Sorting! Does it bother you when things are in a seemingly random, chaotic order? Now you can sort your inventory alphabetically. We've also made it so you can switch between NP and NC items via a toggle instead of needing to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page.
For those of you frequently refreshing the page, your tab and filter settings will carry over on refresh as long as you don't navigate to a separate tab or window. As soon as you close the tab or browser, these settings will return to default.
Known Issues
We know you'd prefer not to deal with a full page refresh to update your inventory every time you've used an item. Unfortunately, we just couldn't make that happen right now. As with all features, we'll be looking at your feedback to make any further adjustments down the line.
Mystery Capsules may take a while to load in the beta inventory for the time being. If you're having trouble, try closing and reopening the popup or refreshing the page.
If you have Battleground of the Obelisk perks that show up when using items, these perk elements won't resize based on your device yet. We'll be converting all features related to the Battleground of the Obelisk together in a separate release.
What's Next
In addition to the upcoming features we've mentioned in previous releases, we've also been working on the National Neopian Bank. Among a streamlined look and visual flourishes to reward those working towards Ultimate Riches, we're hoping to make the withdrawal limit clearer when reached and add support for non-binary greetings.
The Shop Wizard has opened a rift between classic and beta, bringing with him a wealth of goodies old and new for premium users. Haven't checked out beta in a bit? Now might be the perfect time to switch back and make it a part of your regular routine for playing Neopets on the go.
Premium Portal
Those of you who have been premium members for a while may remember the premium portal, a page for premium users to call their home. As part of the mobile beta, we're introducing a spiritual successor to this feature, in order to house all of the premium links and features that you don't need immediate access to at all times. We may upgrade this page in the future based on your feedback to add more features and potentially more customisability.
The "Premium Bar" as you've come to know it simply won't fit on smaller devices, and although we've explored different menu options, we feel the premium portal offers the best of both worlds. However, the Super Shop Wizard will still be easily accessible on any page.
Super Shop Wizard
Although most of the Premium Bar has migrated over to the Premium Portal, we know how important it is that you have quick access to the Super Shop Wizard while restocking. Premium Members can find the icon to open the Super Shop Wizard popup in the upper left of the screen, just below the navigation bar and to the left of the Bookmark icons. You can toggle this popup by clicking this icon, or the red "X" in the popup itself.
Additionally, we've set the "Identical to my phrase" option as default, and added an error message if you attempt to search "Price Only" while having Galleries selected. We're working on a way to prevent you from accidentally having both options selected at the same time.
Shop Wizard
For those of you who aren't premium members, don't worry! We haven't forgotten about you! Along with the Super Shop Wizard, we've polished up and converted the Shop Wizard page as well. This feature used to be located at "/market.phtml" along with your user shop listings, but has now been moved out onto a separate page. If you get lost, you can always find the shop wizard at www.neopets.com/shops/wizard.phtml while in beta mode.
Site Themes
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad the basic theme isn't your only option anymore? That's right, site themes are back! Six classic site themes have now been converted to be used in the mobile beta, with more on the horizon.
To change your site theme in the beta, visit your classic preferences page or click the "Settings" icon in the beta profile menu. You'll see a new "Beta Theme" option just below your classic theme selection. This means that, for the moment, your theme selections will be set separately for classic and beta.
To allow all of our beta users to explore and give feedback on the converted themes, we've temporarily granted all beta themes to all users, even those you would typically need to earn on the site. In the future, we'll be restoring these themes to their rightful owners and if you haven't earned them yet, you'll have to get back on the grind. Enjoy this sneak preview while it lasts!
The site themes currently available in the beta are as follows:
The Neopets Basic theme you've seen in the beta so far has received a fresh coat of paint.
Altadorian Constellations
Neopets Yellow
Neopets Red
Neopets Blue
Neopets Green
Neopets Purple
We will continue to roll out converted themes on a more regular basis in the future, starting with the Space Faerie Premium theme.
The converted and upgraded preferences pages aren't ready for release quite yet, which is why you'll need to visit a classic page to change your beta theme. Rest assured this is only temporary.
Additional Features
Do you travel between beta and classic pages a lot? Don't mind the surprise of landing on a classic page while you're on your phone? Now you can disable the "leaving beta" warning popups by checking the "Don't show me this again." checkbox in the popup the next time you visit a classic page from beta.
Lawyerbot has insisted that we restore the footer to all pages on all devices. However, the content of the footer isn't final yet, so stay tuned.
Bug Fixes
We've removed some unsightly white lines that appear when selecting or dragging your pets in the homepage pet carousel.
We've fixed an issue where images weren't properly displaying for news items in the beta news dropdown.
Known Issues
We've been aware since the release of the converted Neoboards that users with Neoboard Pens experience layout issues on smaller devices. We will be fixing this, and have no plans to discontinue Neoboard Pens. Thank you for your patience.
Unsightly white lines may appear when selecting or dragging new buttons in the beta on some browsers.
What's Next
Inventory. It's core to just about everything you do on the site, and it's coming soon.
The Space Faerie Premium site theme.
We're still in the process of converting all maps on the site over to HTML5. However, we don't want to hamper your exploration while you wait, especially as more and more pages are converted. Expect quick links to map locations similar to those below the globe of Neopia on all map pages soon.
Dropdown menus for several navigation links will be coming, we swear.
No updates here, but we are continuing to monitor the Mobile-Friendly Beta Neoboard for any bugs or suggestions you have and are working hard towards fixing those that have already been mentioned. Thanks for your continued patience as we advance towards the next big release in the beta.
What's Next
We are super excited to bring you some themes so you can see how mobile switches things up, including swapping out the homepage background. Also, as mentioned before, our next big update will include the return of some premium features.
You can now change which of your pets is set to active through the pet care menu on the homepage.
Bug Fixes
The colouring pages were experiencing intermittent render problems related to a 3rd party cloud service. These issues have been fixed.
The "View Classic Site" button was redirecting to the classic homepage instead of the classic version of whatever page you are on.
The active user count was still displaying over the "Community" button on smaller devices where the navigation buttons are on the bottom of the screen.
Known Issues
Some users who participated in the Krawk Island Disappearance plot will get redirected to a different version of the Governor's Mansion page that we didn't update for this release and plan to add to next one.
What's Next
There are a few minor pages and features that didn't make it into this release that will be coming up soon, and we've made further progress on larger features as well.
We've looked into the stars above Altador to see the future, and mobile friendly site themes are coming soon.
We haven't forgotten about our premium users, and are excited to show you how we've integrated your suggestions.
After opening up the beta to all users, our top priorities have been fixing bugs and adjusting our roadmap for the future based on your feedback. Here is our first set of bug fixes along with some extra content as well. We will be releasing smaller updates like this more regularly between large feature releases to keep you up to date with our progress.
Mystery Island Map Update
In the last release, we shared a work-in-progress version of the beta Mystery Island map as we experimented to find the best way to experience site maps on smaller devices like phones. We will continue to make further tweaks in future releases, but wanted to get the latest updated version into your hands. Check it out!
Colouring Pages
We've all been spending a lot more time indoors lately, and sometimes you need a break from minigames or Nerkmid runs. So to help pass the time, we've made some improvements to the pages that host our Neopets colouring book pages and brought them into beta.Colouring pages are now available in beta for the following lands. Print and enjoy!
Previously in the beta, a set of converted pages were automatically bookmarked for all users. However, this system never fully worked the way we intended, so we have removed these automatic bookmarks to give you full control over which pages you deem most important. You can always reference these release notes to see what pages have been converted. Additionally, a number of pages in the last release were not made available to be bookmarked. We have updated our list of pages that can be bookmarked to include these, as well as some pages within the Neoboards.
Additional Features
We're slowing chipping away at the vast amount of content on the site, so here are a few more dailies and other pages you can now more easily visit on mobile devices.
We still won't tell you what it's for, but wanted to make sure you stayed away, even on your phone!
Bug Fixes
The Secret Ninja Training School is now accessible via the beta Mystery Island Map.
The phrase "Dress Up" in the pet care menu has been updated to "customise" to reflect the use of the term elsewhere on the site.
The "Yes" button in the warning popup when leaving the beta has been changed from blue to green.
The count of how many of your Neofriends are currently online has been temporarily disabled in the navigation (above the "Community" link). This feature may be reinstated once the community dropdown menu has been implemented.
Some additional padding has been restored to the pet carousel on the homepage when only one pet is viewed at a time on smaller devices. This means that the arrows for switching between pets will no longer move up and down when switching between pets.
Final functionality has been added for the "Details" button within the pet care menu, allowing you to visit your pets' lookups. Pet lookups have not yet been converted, so this link will take you out of the beta.
A bug involving padding below the remaining character count on Neoboard Topics and the "Create a Topic" page on some devices has been fixed.
The way in which news and alerts notifications are cleared has been improved.
The total number of notifications now appear above the notification bell in the site navigation. This number combines your news notifications and your alerts notifications.
The news feed in the news & alerts dropdown has been updated to change how content is loaded in, allowing for news items in this feed to never expire.
Five links in the navigation have been updated to allow pages to be opened in other tabs or windows by right or middle clicking. This functionality is not available for links leading to pages outside of the beta. However, we plan to update this in a future release.
Users will once again be limited to taking 10 items a day from the Money Tree.
A bug related to the interaction between the Rubbish Dump and the Money Tree has been fixed.
We have fixed a bug that was preventing the beta customisation page to load for many users. We understand that some users are still experiencing issues, and are continuing to look into issues in regards to the beta customisation feature.
Known Issues
In updating the news dropdown, we've encountered an issue with news items not displaying on some phones and struggling to load news items on some desktop browsers. We should have this issue resolved shortly.
What's Next
After reviewing user feedback, we've decided to prioritize the following larger features for future updates. As always, let us know what you'd like to see brought into the beta next!
Giving premim members access to a premium dropdown menu with some of the links you're used to seeing in the premium bar
Getting you access to some mobile friendly site themes, with more to come at a later date
Finishing dropdown menus in the mobile friendly navigation so you have easier access to all of your regular pages, even if they haven't been converted yet
We're also looking into giving you the option to keep the profile menu open at all times on desktop
In between these larger releases we'll be putting out smaller bundles of content, which may include things like sets of site themes, dailies and other smaller pages that only need a little touch-up to be mobile-friendly.
Premium members can now access the premium boards directly from the main board index, without needing to switch to a separate Premium boards page. (Don't worry, these boards are still only accessible to premium members.)
We've reorganized the index of boards so that boards are now grouped by category and easier to find.
You can now see the total number of topics, comments, and most recent post for entire boards, not just topics.
In a future update, we will be overhauling how you add html tags and smilies to your topics and replies (giving you direct access to the full smiley catalogue more easily). For now we hope you'll still enjoy using the boards on your mobile devices using the current system.
We will also be moving and combining the forum rules and Wall of Shame pages in a future update. We know how important it is that all users have easy access to the rules and guidelines of the entire site, not just the Neoboards.
For the time being, you won't be able to directly access your Neoboard preferences from the Neoboard pages. The Neoboard preferences page has not yet been made mobile-friendly, and will eventually be part of an overhauled and consolidated settings system accessible through the profile menu.
Before you even ask, we are aware of the new features you'd like to see added to the Neoboard system. We've been discussing some of these internally, but can't make any promises. These things are a lot more complicated/costly than you may think.
increasing the character limit for topics & replies
increasing the time limit before replies are automatically purged
liking/reacting to topics & replies
tagging other users or quote replying
Mystery Island
Mystery Island is the first land to make the switch to being mobile-friendly! Not every feature on the island is ready quite yet, but a large portion are now available for testing. The following pages have been converted, along with the Mystery Island map itself, so checking it all out should be a breeze.
Pet Care Updates
Pet images now display within the pet care popup.
Bug Fixes
Addressed redirect error when using items in new homepage Pet Care feature.
'lbs' now displays as the unit of measurement for item weight within the Pet Care feature.
The Discarded Magical Blue Grundo Plushie of Prosperity should now provide the full set of random outcomes.
Items that are currently in the Trading Post will no longer display as part of your inventory when using Pet Care.
Preferences for viewing either the beta or the classic site view are now stored on our servers, so users will no longer be switched from classic to beta view on different devices, or based on expired cookies.
User Suggestions
We've been lurking on the boards to see what you think, and we've heard some great ideas! Here are a few things you're asking for that we're going to look into. (No promises!)
When clicking through to the customisation page from Pet Care, the page should open up with the pet selected that you were viewing in Pet Care.
An indicator and countdown should be visible for each pet on the homepage that is currently in the Neolodge.
The Neopian Standard Time clock visible at all times in the primary navigation bar.
We've seen users mentioning web push notifications. This is definitely something we want to do, but we probably won't be able to work on those kinds of features until most, if not all, of the site is Flash-free and mobile-friendly first.
Some users have requested that the profile menu (the side panel on the left showing your pet) remain open by default. This is something we've discussed internally for the news dropdown as well. However, making this compatible with fluidly responsive page content would require resources we can't dedicate right now, but we haven't eliminated the possibility sometime in the future.
Accessibility features are, regrettably, often one of the last things addressed in a development cycle. We're proud to have such a diverse community, and we want to do everything we can to make sure Neopets.com is accessible to anyone who wants to play. Look out for better coverage of disability considerations in a future update.
Known Issues
We know not every page on Mystery Island has been converted yet. If you're looking for the Island Market, Mystery Island Kitchen, Trading Post, Tiki Tours or Training School on your phone, you'll have to wait a little longer.
Some links are currently generating in a matter that prevents users from right clicking to open them in a new tab. Although we will be changing this for links where we can, any links generated dynamically won't be available with this functionality. This includes all links that give you a "leaving beta" popup first.
What's Next
What do you want to see make it into the beta next? Are you waiting on your favorite dailies, or a larger feature like Neomail? Let us know on the Mobile Beta Neoboards.
Altador Cup
The Altador Cup is coming up soon, and we're sure you're wondering if it will be mobile-friendly. The Altador Cup is one of our largest annual events, and although it will eventually be fully mobile-friendly, we just can't squeeze that in this year. Instead, we will have a page available within the beta to deliver important stats from the event. Have you decided what team you'll be joining this year?
Now you can easily customise your pet from the comfort of your phone, or on your computer without using Flash! Please note that our Meepits are hard at work converting your customisation items out of Flash, but it's taking some time. Some of our items may not be converted yet, and thus not available for preview in the beta view.
The Presets feature will return in a future update.
Pet Care
Visiting the Neopets.com homepage is going to be a very different experience moving forward. No longer will you be bombarded with tons of banners and news items. Instead, we've made the homepage into a little home for your pets!
Here you'll be able to quickly and easily feed & groom your pets on the go, as well as a few other quick-actions.
Does this mean we're filtering your inventory natively now? Yes, so stay tuned for the new inventory page coming your way in a future update.
Plus, don't be surprised if Petpets come to cozy up to their owners here soon as well!
News, Alerts & Site Events
Having trouble keeping track of everything going on on the site?
Well we've got a few quality of life improvements to help with that.
First, any time there's a major ongoing event happening (like Festival of Neggs ), we'll let you know straight on the homepage when a character comes to visit. Additionally, you can preview the latest news headlines right from the News & Alerts dropdown, and handle all of your alerts (like Trudy's Surprise, trade requests, etc) without leaving whatever page you're on.
Games
The following minigames have been converted from Flash to HTML5 so that you can play them on any device:
We'll be regularly rolling out more converted games in the coming weeks.
Don't worry, all of the extra information you're used to seeing on games pages isn't gone forever. We're completely overhauling the layout of games pages so that all of that content is mobile friendly, as well as the Gamesroom itself, which you'll see in a future update. For now, we wanted to get you playing the games themselves as quickly as possible.
Additionally, score submission has been temporarily disabled for games within the beta. If you'd like to submit scores for a game, please switch over to classic view and play again.
Dailies
Wouldn't you love to visit the Healing Springs while riding the bus, or donate to the Money Tree on the toilet? Well now you can! For now, you can easily visit the following dailies pages on any device, and we'll be rolling out more and more in the coming weeks!
Money Tree NC Donations are not mobile responsive yet.
Shops
104 Neopian shops are now available to peruse on any device. We can't list all 104 here, but if you're used to seeing "/objects.phtml?type=shop&obj_type=" in the URL for a shop, rest assured it's been converted. We've also set the "Shop" link in the navigation bar to temporarily send you to Neopian Fresh Foods to get a taste of these shop upgrades. Happy shopping!
Bookmarks
You may have noticed the little flag and heart icons that are now in the upper left of your screen. Premium members may already be accustomed to the Dailies system of quick-links for easier navigation. We've expanded on that idea to allow all users to easily bookmark most pages (not just dailies) straight from those pages. Additional features surrounding bookmarks will be available in future updates.
Switching out of the Beta
If, for whatever reason, you no longer want to be looking at the beta version of any of the pages we've previously discussed, simply click on the "View Classic Site" button in the profile menu to return to the site as all non-beta viewers see it. To get back into the beta view, click the "View Beta" link that's now on the right side of the "Logout" button for you.
Known Issues
If you notice the following p3s, erm I mean bugs, no need to report them. We're already on the case!
If HTML5 games are not fully loading after retry you may get better results by clearing your phone's cache.
HTML5 games don't currently fluidly resize with your device width.
When clicking on an HTML5 game, it may automatically switch to fullscreen mode. This is temporary functionality for us to test out fullscreen mode.
We've provided you with some starter bookmarks to help find some converted dailies easier while the maps are still Flash-based. However, these additional bookmarks don't currently show up on the Bookmarks page, and the messaging within the bookmarks dropdown is incomplete.
Icons for bookmarks are currently temporary, and will eventually be specific to certain bookmark categories.
Viewing news or alerts items does not currently clear the notification icons.
If you attempt to navigate to a Neopian shop from an external link with a slightly rearranged URL, the shop may not display as able to be bookmarked. Internal links should all redirect to the version of each shop that can be bookmarked.
The Neopia Central map is still a Flash-based map, despite now sitting within the beta view. For now the unconverted map needs to be included in the beta view so that you can enjoy the Neopian shops, but Neopia Central is high-up on our list of maps to convert.
The link to customise your pet within Pet Care currently reads "Dress Up" instead of the "Customise" terminology used elsewhere.
Pressing the "View Classic Site" button while in Beta view currently redirects you to the homepage instead of sending you to the classic version of whatever page you are currently on.
The response popup when using items within Pet Care reads "Success" even if errors are returned.
After using an item within Pet Care, before refreshing the page, unrelated text on the page (primarily in the navigation bar) shrinks.
The content within the popup displaying the result of using an item in Pet Care is not restyled to fit the new beta view (text font and button style).
News items within the News dropdown are not currently formatted with links in the intended manner.
The new Mystery Island map is a work in progress both visually and functionally. You may notice issues with lag when hovering over locations on the map, and visual glitches with the glow in and around locations when hovering over them.
Future Updates
There are a few links and items you'll see in this new layout that aren't fully functional quite yet. We're working hard to flesh these features out, but wanted to get you access to earlier versions in the meantime.
The magnifying glass icon in the navigation bar will allow you to search the site, with some improvements to the site search feature.
The "Community", "Shop" and "Premium" buttons in the navigation bar will likely be getting dropdowns in the future as those sections of the site are converted.
The "Shops" link in the navigation bar temporarily links directly to the Neopian Fresh Foods shop for your convenience. This link will change as more of the site is converted.
The "Active/Inactive" button in the lower right of the Pet Care preview will allow you to set one of your inactive pets to be your active pet.
The icons associated with "Hunger" and "Mood" in the Pet Care preview will change based on your pet's hunger and mood level respectively.
The box in the upper right of the Pet Care preview will display the selected pet with their full background customisation, and will be resizable to a full-view.
The "Details" button in the Pet Care preview will link to your full pet lookup.
The "Take Photo" button in the Pet Care preview will eventually function similarly to the current "send your pet" feature, with potentially additional social media integrations.
A fullscreen toggle button will be available for viewing HTML5 games in full screen.
Additionally, we wanted to reassure you that site themes are not going anywhere!
Those will be coming soon, with new mobile-friendly twists on all the classic themes rolled out in stages, as well as new mobile-only themes in the future.
What specific pages will we convert in the next release? Well that's a Mystery...
