Category: Web Development

Whether it’s the PHB or Poptropica.com, these websites get updated from time to time, and these posts are here to document those developments.

Clubhouse, Escape from Pelican Rock Island, Haxe Javascript, Pets, Store

See what’s in store on Pelican Rock 🐦

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! This is Gentle Dolphin bringing the latest Poptropica news.

The Creators have been hard at work moving the game and its many islands to the Haxe platform. There’s been exciting development: Escape from Pelican Rock Island is now playable on Poptropica’s Haxe build!

The island is currently in early access, so only members can play it right now. On the bright side, it’s available to all players on the Flash version of the game. (Thanks to PERCY JACKSON1010 for the tip.)

Looking at the map, the next islands coming to the Haxe build will be Mythology Island, followed by Shrink Ray Island, as we previously reported.

Before you start your prison-break escapades, make sure to stop by Bert’s Basement Gym and check out its common room store with your a-droid-able friend Quippy. If cuteness is a crime, then Quippy is guilty as charged. You’ll find them accompanied by a pelican on their head and dressed in a classic striped prison uniform.

Three of the four items—Prisoner Costume, Pet Bird Follower, and Escapee Dr. Hare—were originally made to promote Escape from Pelican Rock’s release, but the Handcuff Toss is new! Equip it and press the spacebar to throw your handcuffs in the air like you just don’t care.

handcuff toss

Are you guys excited to return to the near-impenetrable walls of Pelican Rock? If you need help at any point during your stay, check out our Escape From Pelican Rock guide for tips, tricks, and trivia.

Common rooms aren’t the only stores receiving updates. The three other in-game stores received some updates as well.

This week’s Poptropica store lineup is mostly the same as last week’s, but a few items were swapped. In costumes, Dangerous Waters and Mech Pilot have been replaced with Clown and Fierce Lion*. Also, the creepy Zombify ability was swapped with the lovely Love Potion* in the pranks section.

The Pet Barn also boasts a lineup of new and old accessories for your precious pets. Our returning items this time around are Sorcerer Hat*, Flower Headband, Black Pointed Bangs, Round Glasses, Hero Mask, Grey Beard, Zomberry Eyes, Yellow Dead Eyes, Cute Blue Eyes*, and Big Brown Eyes*. We also have five new items: Reading Glasses, Green Cloak, Fairy Wings, Bat Wings, and Bandana.

Finally, the clubhouse store has a new array of familiar furniture and wallpapers. This time around, the decor store features 21 items, 12 of which are members-only.

Don’t forget that the Poppies 2020 nomination round ends tonight, so make sure to fill out our survey and let us know who/what you feel deserves to win an award. Maybe you want to nominate some of the new pet items for Best Pet Accessory, or your favorite furniture items for Best Clubhouse Decor. Get nominating before time runs out!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Haxe Javascript

Between the shifting cracks on Haxe

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, how’s it hanging? With Poptropica’s post-Flash developments, things have been changing on Haxe, but if you’re not a new player, you might not have noticed because they’re designed for newbies. And if you are a new player, well, you might not be aware of what’s different!

At least one eagle-eyed player, though, has been keeping track: PHB reader Perfect Fish reported some developments seen in Poptropica’s Haxe build over the past week. Last Monday, for example, new players would get a tutorial pop-up screen explaining the basics of the game’s mechanics:

That’s now gone, though, along with this character naming screen we’ve seen before in Flash (albeit in different colors) and more recently in Haxe. Perfect Fish says he was able to keep his customized pre-scripted name (“Lucky Jumper”) on Haxe in this short-lived experiment that could’ve freed us from the names assigned to pre-made characters. Will it ever return?

While the naming option didn’t stay long — perhaps the Creators are still fine-tuning it? — the second step of character customization does remain, and new players can find it by talking to Amelia (that’s the girl by the blimp) on Home Island and saying, “Customize how I look!”

By the way, notice that new pop-up in the lower right corner nudging you to create an account? Looks like the Creators are putting a lot of energy into showing the ropes to new players.

Anyway, after you choose that customization option with Amelia—and remember, it only shows up for newbies—you’ll be greeted with this “Choose Your Style” screen. We’ve seen this appearance editor screen before too, back in 2019, although it used to show up before you even made it to Home Island.

With all these subtle changes on Haxe, it seems the Creators are still trying to figure out the best way forward when it comes to the new player’s experience on this new platform, and it’s possible different features will keep moving around as the Creators keep experimenting.

What suggestions do you have for the future of character customization and newbie tutorials? Leave them in the comments below — maybe they’ll inspire the Poptropica Creators!

~/🐠

Bonus Items, Haxe Javascript, Member Gifts, Membership, Store

Classic Islands are back, but not forever

Slanted Fish

Hey, Poptropicans! From the (temporary) return of classic islands (!!) to hot new summer items, there’s a lot to cover in this post. Let’s get started.

Players have been requesting the return of the classic, old school islands since they vanished from the map last July. Although there’s a backdoor way to access them, the popular demand ever since their disappearance has always been to officially reinstate them into the game itself. And now, they’re back!

Four monochromatic, nostalgic pages of glorious classic islands await.

The Creators have been listening, and this week they finally decided to bring back the classic islands. Though the team is still busy porting the islands to the Haxe Javascript build of Poptropica, they figured they would let us play the old islands while Flash is still available. To get started, find Early Poptropica Island on your map in Poptropica. Either the Flash or Haxe version will do…

…But as you can see, there is one major catch: it’s for members only. (Non-members, fear not: we’ll get to how you can join in on the fun, too.)

If you are a member, though, you’ll get a screen inviting you into Early Poptropica Island. Clicking “Play” will redirect you to the old Flash login page, where you’ll need to enter your login again to be brought to Early Pop.

From there, you can hop onto the blimp to travel across the various classic islands, as pictured earlier in this post. (And if you need them, we’ve still got guides for every island.) Keep in mind, however, that since this is old technology (Action Script 2), these islands can sometimes be buggy.

Why members only? Reddit user theodoor03 reached out to Poptropica support to ask this question, and shared the following response he received: in short, “Because of the islands’ age, they require a good deal of extra maintenance per player. [Poptropica] simply would not be able to support every player trying to access them right now.”

If you’re a non-member, don’t worry. You can still play the classic islands with the aforementioned backdoor method, which is to use idk’s Old Island Directory (also listed on our Glitching page). There are just a few more steps you’ll have to follow compared with before Poptropica’s members-only update, which are all outlined in the notes of the teleporter tool.

Happy exploring—while you can! Since Flash will be gone at the end of 2020, there’s only about half a year left before these islands are no longer playable, membership or not. Make the most of this moment!

Some players have reported seeing a new cinematic trailer video for Poptropica when logging into the Haxe build. The 30-second clip animates a sea of familiar islands, from iconic ones like Mythology and Arabian Nights (where Scheherezade is summoning… herself?) to classic ones like Twisted Thicket and Zomberry Island. You can watch the epic video here.

Could this be reassurance that some of these older islands will return in the future after Flash? (Hopefully for all players, too.)

Another week, another store update! Here’s what’s in on the first week of June. In total, we have 21 items in stock, 9 of which are for members only. Most notably, the Graduate costume is free for all! (And while you’re flapping about in these robes, take a moment to read the PHB’s 2020 commencement address as a note of encouragement for all Poptropicans!)

This week’s costumes are: Graduate, Spring Fling, Unicorn Girl*, Clover Kid, Lilac Star, Hiker Cutie*, and Wild Child*. (Lilac Star and Clover Kid are relatively cheap at 75 credits.) For followers, we have the Deer*, Chick, F.R.E.D. (from Galactic Hot Dogs), and Classic Pack*. Just two powers this week: Snow Fall and Flower Planting*. In pranks, there’s Hypno-Powder*, Silly Streams, Squirrel Prank*, and Bunny Wand. Finally, in miscellaneous: Marshmallow Roaster, Hiking Shoes, Classic PopGum*, and Balloons. (* = members only)

According to the Home Island billboard, store items will continue to rotate weekly, just as they have for the past couple of months. Huzzah!

And finally — it’s not only a new week but a new month, which means member gifts! June kicks off summer in the northern hemisphere, so the three flavors of Popsicles are quite fitting here. Members can also throw it back to 2015 with the Hover Scooter and Drone Flying Follower.

Like its real-life counterpart, the Hover Scooter (also known as a hoverboard) doesn’t actually hover, but simply glides, as shown in the gif below. Your Poptropican also suddenly puts on shoes to ride it.

The Hover Scooter and other June member gifts in action.

That’s it for this post! Share your thoughts in the comments—what islands do you want to see return in post-Flash Poptropica? what stands out to you in the new cinematic trailer? why is Poptropica bringing back a dead trend?—and we’ll see you next time. Stay safe, Poptropicans. ✊

Gentle Dolphin contributed reporting to this post. Thanks also to Purple Claw (former PHB staff) for tipping us off on several news items.

24 Carrot Island, Haxe Javascript, PoptropiCon Island, Store, Survival Island, Timmy Failure Island

Get equipped with Quippy’s common room stores 👽

Gentle Dolphin

Hey Poptropicans, have we got a lot to look at this time!

In addition to the monthly rotation of store items, four new shops have popped up around Poptropica, each with their own themed items. Plus, the game’s showing signs of progress on the friends feature, and for the first time in a long time, we even get to see some official concept art. Let’s explore!

First, let’s take a tour of the new shops, which are all located in various common rooms on different islands. These common room stores feature themed items for those islands—some new, some we’ve seen before. However, these stores are only available in Poptropica’s Haxe Javascript build, and are unlikely to be made for Flash, which will soon be obsolete.

These common room stores are available on four islands so far: 24 Carrot, PoptropiCon: Episode 1, Survival: Episode 1, and Timmy Failure.

Our first stop is the cinema on 24 Carrot Island. You will find Quippy hovering by the entrance. They’re offering Dr. Hare-themed goodies for sale: Hare Hotshot (which was the former BETA Carrotene bonus for members who helped beta-test the sound-updated 24 Carrot Island), Dr. Hare Plush Toy, Light & Shadow Hare*, and the Rabbit Ear Prank*. (* = members only)

While waiting in line to get into PoptropiCon (Episode 1), you can stop by the Facili-Tee store to buy cool costumes such as the Tinfoil Robot and the Supernova (basically recolored from a Tron ad). You can also show your love of Old School Islands by wearing the Lunar Colony Cosplay* and Game Show Cosplay*. Quippy is ready for the convention with their own adorable cardboard cosplay!

While traveling in our blimp, we get caught in a storm and become stranded in the snowy forest of Survival Island (Episode 1). Thankfully, we’re not alone. A wooden Quippy can be found at the frozen pond under the big tree to the right. They’ll offer feathery friends like the Blue Woodpecker follower and the Owl Head Rider, as well as a Ghillie Suit* and a Frozen Body power*.

Our final stop is Timmy Failure Island. The bad news is that Timmy Failure Island is only available to members. The worse news is that you need to have a membership on an account in Haxe Javascript, as Flash-made accounts are separate from ones made in the newer Haxe build.

If you have an active membership on a Haxe Javascript account, you can access the island and its common room. Though Quippy looks as if they came out of a garbage truck, the store items are anything but trash. We have a Total costume, a Señor Burrito follower, Timmy’s iconic red Scarf*, and a mighty “GREATNESS” banner*. (Strange to list some items as for non-members when the whole island and its store are for members only!)

You can do more than shop in common rooms, of course. The Creators are hard at work implementing the friends feature to the new Poptropica, and new Haxe players now have a fourth dialogue with Amelia when they first land on Home Island: to meet new friends!

In common rooms such as the Blast-off Arcade, you can befriend other players by selecting “Want to be friends?” from the chat menu. If they say yes, you’ll even get a pop-up message saying the friend was added successfully! (It might also say the user isn’t registered, if that’s the case.)

Despite this, the player profile and friends page aren’t ready just yet, so there’s no way to view your friends on Haxe at the moment. But the signs are there that this popular feature is being worked on!

Over on the Creators’ Blog, the Creators shared an inside look on how they created the adorable Quippy. Early concepts show the artists figuring out how to show players the common room stores — did they want a droid, a kiosk, or something else? Once they settled on a droid, they chose some of their favorite designs and explored them further…

All this hard work and creativity culminated into one of the most unique and adorable faces in Poptropica. A friendly droid equipped with a luminous smile and a keen fashion sense. The magnificent Quippy.

The Creators ended their post with a word of encouragement for budding artists and avid gamers:

If you love games and art, consider learning more about becoming a games artist! There are a lot of ways to get involved in the making of video games outside of coding, and game artists are a critical piece of the team. After all, what’s a game without the art!?

That wraps up this post! What do you think of Quippy and the presence of all these new stores? Thoughts on Poptropica’s Haxe build so far? Share in the comments, and if you haven’t yet, catch up to our other posts below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬