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!

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YouTubers

📺 Pop YouTubers: making art, rapping smart 🎨🎤

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, we’re back with another spotlight on YouTubers fuelling their creativity with Poptropica!

This first video comes from an artist called roseshards, who typically posts animations and paintings of cats on her channel. Here, however, Rose takes on a challenge to make good art using the easel on Counterfeit Island. Can it be done on this limited drawing feature? Watch her struggles and successes:

With just a computer mouse (for the most part) and no undo button, this talented artist was able to turn out a pretty spectacular painting, wouldn’t you say? If you’d like to try out this easel for yourself, check out our post on the situation with classic islands to find your way to Counterfeit Island.

Onto a different art form, a little-known rapper going by the name Yung Boy recently dropped a track called “Garrett” and dedicated it to Poptropica. This rap follows a guy named Garrett, who finds himself on 24 Carrot Island, explores a bit, then moves on to Mythology Island. Check it out:

This Poptropica rap seems to be the first of its kind, and it was pretty slick, right? The gameplay captured in the video goes great with the beat, and the seemingly simplistic lyrics flow well. Sure would be cool to see more of these!

That’s all for this post. Hope you enjoyed these creative videos! And if you’re inspired to make some Poptropica fan art of your own, check out the PHB’s Community Creations. Keep on rocking, Poptropicans! 🤘

Store

Bargaining Clover & Singer, Lightning shocker

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! We’re entering a new week, which means another rotation of store stuff. Here’s what’s in for week 3 of June:

Half of the costumes have switched from last week, as did all the powers and pranks. It’s a good time to snatch up the Clover Kid and Rock Singer, which are currently in store for just 75 credits! But it’s a shame that the Lightning Wielder, which was the winning design of Poptropica’s costume contest, was made members only, after it had been released for free earlier this year.

This week’s items are:

  • Costumes: Lightning Wielder*, Hiker Cutie*, Gone Fishing, Unicorn Girl*, Navy Raglan, Red Heart*, Clover Kid, Rock Singer
  • Followers: Deer*, Chick, F.R.E.D., Classic Pack*
  • Powers: Snow Fall
  • Pranks: Squirrel Prank*, Bunny Wand, Hypno-Powder*, Silly Streams
  • Miscellaneous: Marshmallow Roaster, Hiking Shoes, PopGum (classic flavor)*, Balloons

Nine out of 21 items (about 43%) are members only this week. The store items are the same in both the Flash and Haxe versions of the game.

That’s all for this week’s updates! In case you missed it, check out last week’s post to see the recent updates to two other Poptropica stores—the pet barn and clubhouse decor store. Keep on popping, Poptropicans! ✨

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YouTubers

Pop YouTuber Spotlight: Dimension Bros 📺

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! It’s been a while since we’ve spotlighted YouTubers playing Poptropica, but there’s a new duo on the scene with plenty of Pop (and other fandoms) to share. Meet Dimension Bros, Isaac and Theo!

Rather than show gameplay, these bros sit in front of their cameras and talk about a topic related to the Poptropica universe, sometimes throwing in relevant pictures. Here’s one of their recent videos where they discuss “The Current Poptropica Situation” in regards to loss of islands, whether the Poptropica team are evil capitalists for the membership paywall, and more:

They also raise the question of what will happen to our Flash accounts since they are currently separate from Haxe, a concern that is relevant for all of us nostalgic players with plenty of old items and costumes that may not be converted to Haxe, perhaps due to time, manpower, or both.

Also, hey, there’s a shoutout to the PHB starting around 7:20! It’s in response to our sharing of Theo’s Reddit post showing what Poptropica support said when asked about the membership paywall situation on the old Flash islands. Although the PHB may not warrant as big of a freakout as if we were Poptropica itself, it’s still a fun moment in the video. 😄

The first Dimension Bros video released, only about a month ago, is a masterpiece of research entitled “The Poptropica Timeline.” 🌏

Here, Isaac and Theo consider when in the world’s historical timeline all the islands may have taken place and put them in chronological order while trying to keep with the Poptropica canon. It’s a bit like our PHB post on World Geography with Poptropica Islands, but with history. Check it out:

As of this posting, Dimension Bros have one other Poptropica video entitled “Making Our Own Poptropica Islands.” Here, they share about many of the ideas they have for Poptropica islands, including Rockstar Mystery Island, Quarantine Island, Cryptids Island 2, and more. 🦕 Hear ’em out:

Pretty creative stuff! Looks like there will be more to come from this channel, which has both Poptropica and non-Poptropica content, so keep watching and consider subscribing to Dimension Bros on YouTube.

Stay awesome, Poptropicans! ✨

Galactic Hot Dogs Island, Pets, Store

A galactic load of store updates

Gentle Dolphin

Hello, everyone! Gentle Dolphin here with the latest Poptropica news. We have few things to cover today including not one, not two, but three store updates! Let’s start things off with the typical weekly Pop store rotation.

Aside from the followers section, everything is different from last week. We have fun summer outfits including Nature Lover, Gone Fishing, Navy Raglan Outfit, Rib Wrap Outfit, Chomper Outfit*, Red Heart Outfit*, Ice Cream, and Big Burger. (* = members only)

Let out the power within with Flower Power, Torch, Phantom*, and Electrify*. (Side note: The Torch and Electrify powers look different in the Haxe version compared to the Flash version. The glowing effects don’t appear, so your avatar just has a color filter with some animated fire and lightning.)

You can get a little mischievous and transform people with the Troll, Zombify, and Medusa pranks. Finally, you can buy some miscellaneous items such as the Marshmallow Roaster, Hiking Boots, and a Colorizer Tool*! The Colorizer lets you quickly color your hair or skin tone, but you can already do that for free at the New You shop on Home Island. 😜

The Pop store isn’t the only place receiving changes. The Pet Barn has gotten a similar treatment. The pet store now has a smaller selection of new and old items, regardless of which version of the game you are playing.

Some familiar pet accessories are present including: Yellow Pigtails, Rainbow Horn*,Blue Tiara*, Pink Sunglasses*, Pilot Mask*, Eye Patch, Spike Collar*, Pink Tutu*, Butterfly Wings*, Flower Necklace, Zomberry Eyes, and Star Eyes*. All players can buy their pets new items such as the Buccaneer Hat, Monocle, Yellow Dead Eyes, and Dizzy Blue Eyes.

The clubhouse store also has a new lineup of furniture you can use to decorate your virtual home. We have 23 furniture items, with 10 being for members only (that’s twice as much as last time!).

Man, that’s a lot of store updates. Looking at all this makes us ask, “Will the pet and clubhouse stores also receive weekly updates?“

There hasn’t been any official announcement regarding this, and frequently updating three stores is pretty ambitious. Probably not, but we’ll keep an eye out just in case.

Now, let’s move on to some other game-related updates. You may come across some new loading screens while playing the Haxe version of Poptropica. These screens highlight some of the things you can do while playing the game such as buying items, customizing your look, and pampering your pet.

Poptropica has also been promoting the graphic novel series Galactic Hot Dogs, which was made into its own island back in 2015. When you log in, you automatically receive three interstellar gifts: three Galactic Hot Dogs books, a Mega Dog Costume, and an Ice Blaster (which was a store item last month).

The publicity doesn’t stop at prizes. On Home Island, you’ll find two Galactic Hot Dogs promos on the billboard. I wonder why Poptropica is promoting the Galactic Hot Dogs series now? The last book came out in 2017, and Galactic Hot Dogs Island was released in 2015. There doesn’t seem to be a new book coming soon, so are they building hype for the island’s release on the Haxe build? We’ll have to wait and see…

GHDbillboards

That’s all for now. What do you guys think about this week’s store lineups? Do you think the other stores will receive weekly updates as well? Have you read the Galactic Hot Dogs books? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬