Category: Islands

Bonus Items, Haxe Javascript, Mythology Island, Store

Quippy has arrived with bundles of friends and all things Greek

LJ

Howdy, Poptropicans! It’s Lucky Joker here, and today I’m sharing with you some modernized features and new additions to Poptropica. Let’s see what it’s all about. (Note: the following updates are for the Haxe version of Poptropica only!) This post has been updated with more content since it was published!

The friends profile, which was first introduced to the game back in 2012, has been altered to receive an “upgrade” – as the creators put it. Seems borderline plain to me, but what do you think? Take a look for yourself:

So how it functions… The left button at the top right corner with a house icon directs you to your clubhouse. To visit a friend’s place, click on the “visit” button next to the person whose house you wish to drop in on. (Note: The decorations in any of the clubhouses I go to don’t match the ones I see on my Flash account. Maybe Haxe clubhouse furniture arrangements aren’t compatible with their Flash versions?)

Regarding actual friends, there seems to be a limit on the number you can have. I don’t know what the amount is exactly, but when I tried to add more by clicking the + button, it informed me that my limit was already exceeded. I guess in all fairness, this new friends page is still in its beta mode, so it’s not a surprise it’s a little faulty. We’ll see how, or if, these features get updated in the future.

UPDATE: The Poptropica Creators made a quick video walkthrough on the friends beta, showing the current features, which are (the long awaited) changing of your character’s display name, adding friends by username (so you aren’t just friending strangers, as this narrator put it), and visiting their clubhouses. Check it out:

They also shared on the official blog that “In the official release, you’ll be able to remove friends AND you’ll be able to hang out in clubhouses together!” If all goes well, we can look forward to future Poptropica parties in clubhouses! 🥳

Next, we have a follow-up on a post from yesterday. Our favorite droid, Quippy, has finally arrived (better late than never!) to Mythology Island’s (Haxe) common room – and even came appropriately attired in an ancient Greek chiton and laurel wreath.

There are 4 item cards including a Lightning Staff and Icarus costume (which are both members only), along with a Cyclops costume and Mythology Surfer outfit (available to everyone!).

Also, a new limited time bundle for the island is available for 1000 credits in the Pop store, which appears as a pop-up if you access the store through Mythology Island. The bundle includes a Greek God Growing Power, as well as Wings of the Gods and a Pet Leaf Crown. I’m quite a fan of these items, I must say – especially those wings!

UPDATE: The store itself also has an individual Greek Goddess Outfit and an Aphrodite Love Power. (Thanks PercyJackson1010!) With the special vanity mirror, when you press space bar, all the characters around you will be struck with hearts for eyes. 😍

UPDATE: Check out the related video the Pop Creators made, which introduces the limited time bundle and the Quippy on Mythology Island!

So what do you think about the updates? Do you like them, is it a hard pass, or are you some where in between? I’m pretty so-so about it in whole, but I’m willing to cut the creators some slack. At least they’re listening to us more these days!

Well, that about wraps up the coverage for today. I thank you once again for reading and I’ll talk to you all in the next one. Pop on!

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Haxe Javascript, Mythology Island

Mythology Island remastered for Haxe with some challenges axed ⚡️💪

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, big Pop drop this weekend: a remastered version of Mythology Island is now on Haxe for all players (not just members)!

The new version has some differences compared with the classic—we’ll get into more details below—but for now, if you need a refresher, our old Mythology Island Guide can still help you through the puzzles!

A deep dive indeed…

If your account isn’t on Haxe, you can use idk’s Format Loader and select “HTML5 (Haxe JS)” to switch over, or you can simply make a new account on Poptropica to play on Haxe. If you’re confused about it, read here about the differences between Flash and Haxe.

The key differences with the new Mythology are that it’s been made easier, with various challenges from the old version removed, and some dialogue altered to nudge players on what to do. Since there have been some drastic changes, the PHB plans to release a separate guide for the new Mythology Island — so stay tuned for that!

Where is the Mythology Island we so idolized?

For the curious, here are the major changes (spoilers ahead):

  • The Museum of Olympus is optional (the room with the statues of Greek deities).
  • Main Street and the base of the Tree of Immortality are combined into one scene.
  • Hercules is away on a lunch break, and a queue has formed outside Herc’s Hero Hut, which is no longer a space we can enter at any point in the island.
  • The reed pipe is given to you at the Grove of Temples (outside a facade of Apollo’s temple, which can’t be entered), and so is the pipe tune, without having to first master the tune.
  • For cleaning Hades’ temple, the boy gives you the starfish (used for Poseidon’s temple offering) instead of the now-removed drachma.
  • The beach is gone, and with it, Aphrodite’s hangman challenge of Greek deity names. Instead, she’ll be in front of the common room, Midas’ Gym, ready to give you her teleportation mirror.
  • The entrance to the Minotaur’s maze is already open — no reed pipe puzzle here. The snake challenge comes first, not last. And there’s no magical thread for the maze.
  • The mini-game to cross the River Styx in the underworld? Gone.
  • Aeolus’ wind boost is free — no drachmas here!

Even with many elements removed from the original, and changes that aren’t quite additions, the new Mythology can still be considered a full island much more than Reality TV: Wild Safari was, and took me at least an hour to complete (though part of that can be attributed to some lag I encountered while playing).

However, initial feedback from the Poptropica community has not been positive. Players have been sharing on spaces like the PHC Discord that the changes to the classic island feel like a dumbing down that offers no challenge, which might be okay for younger players, except that fandom activity seems to indicate that there aren’t so many children playing the game anymore as there are teens and older.

Here’s one video from Isaac of the Dimension Bros voicing out such a perspective, lamenting that the remake feels spoon-fed and doesn’t take the opportunity to add new challenges (skip to 2:48 to get to Mythology commentary). He mentions full screen ads ruining the experience, although other players have reported not seeing ads.

And here’s another one with similar concerns from Jia (Magniventris), also an older player who has loved the game since childhood and has stuck around for the nostalgia:

Whatever you make of the new version, though, the Creators’ Blog assures that these changes were made with player feedback in mind. Here’s what they said:

We collected feedback from players and looked closely at the island data to see what players loved and didn’t love about the original Mythology Island that came out in 2010. The Pop Creators then revised some of the gameplay and scripts to make it more fun!

Are the Poptropica Creators pulling a Hercules on us?

Have you played the remastered Mythology Island on Haxe yet? What did you think of the changes? Or if it’s your first time playing Mythology, what are your impressions? Let us know in the comments below and on our PHC Discord server! ⚡️💪

Sneak Peeks, Zomberry Island

Spinning with sneak peeks for friends and Zomberries

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, friends! Gentle Dolphin here with the latest Poptropica news! Today, we’ll be taking a look behind the curtains and seeing some future updates as well as what goes into the making of an island experience.

Back in May 2019, the Creators asked players for feedback on how to improve Poptropica’s friends feature. Now, in October 2020, we finally get a sneak peek of the new friends feature coming soon to Haxe!

The one feature fans requested the most was the ability to find and add their friends via usernames, which was part of the original friends feature back in 2012. It looks like the Creators will be implementing this small but handy feature back to the Poptropica Friends experience. One interesting thing to note is that it looks like you can either accept or deny friend requests from other players, similar to Facebook.

Seeing the username feature return makes us wonder if any other old features such as pop quizzes and medallions will also return to Poptropica Friends, whether immediately with the update or later down the line. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case.

Hopping over to Instagram, the Creators posted another sneak peek. This one is a short video showing a few kids inside a large spinning device, and the caption doesn’t give any more information. The design reminds me of a nut and bolt, so maybe it’s a hardware-themed fair attraction or observation tower? Judging by how fast it’s going, something may have gone wrong. What do you guys think?

With the Zomberry Hero special event going strong, the Creators posted a special behind-the-scenes look at the making of this event. We’ll only be covering the bare essentials, but you can read the original post for a more in-depth look of their creative process.

First, the Creators shared some concept art for the opening comic page. The artists start with a rough storyboard, then create a formal sketch closer to the game’s art style. Once the sketch is approved, the artists can then create the final piece.

Several artists also help design the various levels that players will explore, following a similar process to the comic artists. They also play a role in helping the developers understand how certain elements will work in the game.

After the art is complete, the developers can move on to animation and coding! As you can see below, the game’s assets are animated in Adobe Animate, and everything is coded in Haxe Javascript (the game’s current engine).

Last but not least, there’s the factor of sound. Not only is Jeff Heim’s music a big part of the experience, there are also the sound effects, such as the eerie moaning of the zombies. This audio sample here was made by an anonymous Pop Creator with the help of blankets!

What do you guys think of these sneak peeks? What other fan-favorite features do you wish to see return in the future, and what do you think that Instagram video is about?

There’s one week left to enter our annual PHB Halloween costume contest so make sure to submit your entries before October 30! Also, don’t forget about Poptober and Community Creations, which are ongoing until the end of this month. We love what you guys have been sharing so far, and we can’t wait so see what else you have in store!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day! 

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Contests, Fan Art Features, Haxe Javascript, Social Media, Zomberry Island

Not gone in a Flash: bring on the bevy of blimps, Beevs, and berries 🫐

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! We’ve got a bunch going on in the Poptropica fandom this week: news of what’s to come beyond Flash, Instagram story highlights, and contests past, present, and future. Let’s pop right in!

In the comments of their latest Instagram post about the Zomberry Hero special event, the Poptropica Creators confirmed a couple of salient details: 1) that “nothing will get lost” regarding the old islands currently on Flash, and 2) old (Flash) accounts will be transferable to Haxe, with more details coming “towards the end of the year.”

That’s certainly something to look forward to! In the meantime, if you’re not yet caught up on Poptropica’s preparations for the end of Flash by the end of 2020, check out the following PHB articles:

And if you have more questions, shoot them at Poptropica’s CEO here — we’ll be sending some of your questions for the Poptropica team to answer in an upcoming Q&A here on the PHB!

That’s not all that’s new on Poptropica’s Instagram. On their profile, the Creators added two new story highlights, Fan Art and Zomberry, so you can view some of their past stories even after the initial 24 hours.

  • New story highlights on Instagram: Fan Art & Zomberry
  • Promo for Zomberry Hero

Check out the fan art they shared this week, including a few from PHB staffers Gentle Dolphin and Lucky Joker, and several blimps!

Speaking of Poptropica fan art on Instagram, remember all the fantastic features of Dr. Beev creations? The Poptropica Creators posted several more on the official blog, and announced that they decided to “give a bunch of artists 10,000 credits”!

Gentle Dolphin was among those whose Dr. Beev art was featured, and she confirmed that the Creators sent a DM on Instagram to ask artists to send their usernames in order to receive the 10,000 credits prize.

And there’s more from the Creators’ Blog post:

Also, if you’re under 13 and not on the gram, we’ve got you covered. We’re working on an all-new submission system so everyone can participate!

Poptropica Creators’ Blog, “Paging Dr. Beev”

Sounds like we can look forward to more contests in the future that aren’t limited to Instagram, so people of all ages can participate!

On the subject of contests, the Creators have unveiled the first 30 winners of the Zomberry Hero event who beat the game without restarting. They’ve each won a free one-month Poptropica membership! For tips on the game, check out our Zomberry Hero Guide.

There are still more chances to win a free Poptropica membership! Enter our Halloween Costume Contest as a hero, villain, and/or with a group costume — there are just two weeks until the deadline, and already plenty of entries you can browse through for inspiration! 🎃

We’re also loving all the Poptober art you all have been sharing on the PHC, our Discord server. If you’re not already on, join the server to meet other Poptropicans, discuss Poptropica, and more! See you there. 😄

~🐠

Astro-Knights Island, Guest Posts, Reviews

Ramble Review: Astro-Knights Island 🚀

Slanted Fish

Welcome to another Ramble Review! This guest post comes from MaryannTheConqueror, who will be rambling about Astro-Knights Island.

It’s no secret that I love Astro-Knights Island, and from what I’ve seen, many others feel the same. There is an abundance of fanart of all its major characters, and even some minor ones! Despite this, it is strangely ignored by the Creators, a trend I’ve noticed over the past few years.

“Lost in the Stars” by MaryannTheConqueror

Again, Astro-Knights was a big deal during its heyday. It was so difficult that it was the first and only island to have a built-in official guide. The villain (who I shall get to) won the Villain Showdown hosted by the Creators’ Blog back in 2011, against the likes of Zeus and Dr. Hare.

And yet, hardly any content related to it gets released anymore. Most ads for Poptropica featuring many classic villains leave Mordred/Binary Bard out of them, and we’re lucky to see any Astro-Knights references at all, despite its continuing popularity, even after it was among the many classic islands removed then brought back but locked behind the membership paywall.

The story of this Island had potential. Serious potential. I’m saying right here, right now, that it could have easily been turned into a book series, game series, or even a TV series that expanded on it, and with the right writers, it could have been one of the most unique ideas in decades. This isn’t just my inner fangirl speaking (though I can’t deny that my 14-year old self is influencing the writing of this article) — this is from what I’ve observed in the creative world.

Astro-Knights is a clever blend of historical medieval fantasy and futuristic technology (sometimes referred to as “clock punk”). There’s space travel, epic boss fights, a lore connected to one of the most famous Western legends, the legends of King Arthur. Of course, now I’m just stepping around what I consider to be the best character not just from the island, but from the entire game, and one of my greatest examples of Poptropica’s squandered potential.

But first, let me give you a little bit of, as TV Tropes calls it, “fridge horror.” A couple times during Astro-Knights, it is mentioned that Mordred made his near-fatal ascent into space twenty years ago. Meaning he was trapped in space for that long, without any human contact that we know of. Imagine going through quarantine but for two decades, with no contact from family members or friends of any kind.

Binary Bard is what is known as a tragic villain, similar to Azula (from Avatar: The Last Airbender) or Sweeney Todd (from the Sondheim musical). He’s a character who, through a mix of his own bad decisions and circumstances beyond his control, was sent down a path with little hope of him ever turning back, except maybe through a very carefully written redemption arc (I might talk about my mixed feelings with a certain sequel island another time).

I was very disappointed that the Astro-Knights book (anyone remember those?) did little to expand on him or the lore of this island. These are the characters and stories that can go very far if allowed to do so, and I am sad to say that, just like its villain, the fate of Astro-Knights is tragic.

Less is Mordred.
Less is Mordred.

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by MaryannTheConqueror. If you did, be sure to check out the first Ramble Review on Twisted Thicket Island, and stay tuned for more! And of course, join in on the fun on the PHC Discord.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. You can find some tips and guidelines on our page on how to Write for the PHB, and share blog posts on the PHC.

📰 If you have an idea for a PHB post, send it in! ✨