Hey Poptropicans! First of all, there’s been a change of plans regarding the release of Arabian Nights, Episode 2 (Lair of Thieves) – although it was previously reported that it would come out Nov 25 (Tuesday) for members and Dec 11 for all, a more recent tweet is now saying that early access for members will start Dec 11, and everyone else must wait until Dec 30 to play. 😦
@musicjamfan Early access for members is Dec 11; and public launch Dec 30. Apologies if we caused the confusion. Thanks for checking in.
In the meantime, check out our Behind the Scenes: Overview & Theory post to find out more about Arabian Nights: Ep. 2, with scene backgrounds, plot ideas, and more!
As the most wonderful time of the year approaches (with the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you ‘be of good cheer’), it’s time for Poptropica’s annual holiday wish list! Click here to print out your very own 2014 copy, and be sure to check out the PHB’s Merchandise: A Guide to Poptropica Shopping page for info on the plethora of Poptropica goods available!
(UPDATE: As Brave Tomato and Limelight have pointed out, if you look closely at the personalized T-shirts and hoodies, you’ll see a few former PHB authors’ Poptropicans on them: Shaggy Tornado on the pale blue shirt, Icy Comet on the pink hoodie, Green Boa’s name on the gray hoodie, and Super Thunder on the hot pink shirt. Subtle shoutout – thanks Pop Creators! 😀 )
PopStorm #7 recently popped up on Twitter – this one’s an a-meow-zing collection of fat cats. Aren’t they just purr-fect? 😉 Fur real though.
Last last week saw Poptropica comicsreturn after a little hiatus, but it looks like we only got two more strips since then before the Creators declared another break. However, our young Frankenstein monster-creating heroes will be returning in 2015!
Did you know that Poptropica Creators sit at home wearing big orange beaks on their faces while conferencing about common rooms for the app over Google Hangout? Well, that’s what this tweet and picture tells us. Not exactly sure who’s who, but from the list we do see a “Chris” (update: it’s Chris Messner) and “Jeff” (Kinney? Heim?). Thoughts? 😛
Anyway, that’s all for now! This post’s bad pun is: what’s popping, Poptropicans? Oh wait – that’s the catchphrase we use for comments around here… well, how about an answer to the question? Popcorn’s popping, Poptropicans. 😉
Hey everyone, and welcome back to our BTS Overview & Theory series! This time, we’ll be covering Arabian Nights, Ep. 2: Lair of Thieves, written by myself (Spotted Dragon), Samwow5, and HPuterpop. Plus, in honor of Slippery Raptor joining the team, he will be helping us with this round! Click here to read the theory for Arabian Nights: Ep. 1, written by Slanted Fish. 🙂
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW (but that’s what you want, isn’t it?)
Overview of evidence
The next installment of Arabian Nights Island is just around the corner – we mentioned earlier that early access for members starts Nov 25, and it opens Dec 11 for all… HOWEVER, as of a more recent tweet, it looks like the Creators have pushed this back in their schedule: early access for members is now set for Dec 11, while everyone will get to play starting Dec 30.)
Episode 2 is called “Lair of Thieves“, and the official tour page was recently updated with this description:
In the den of the forty thieves, danger lurks around every corner. To outwit the most dangerous thieves in the desert, you’ll need a little help evening the odds — and you’ll find it in the form of an incredible magic power!
Oddly enough, the behind the scenes files show that this episode is called The 40 Thieves.
Strange, right? Well, let’s just continue with the name being “Lair of Thieves.”
Let’s take a a look at some of the major Arabian Nights themed Daily Pop sneak peeks. Click to enlarge all images featured in this post.
Busted: They don’t make them like they used to.
Lock Up: Barring anything unexpected, you’ll be here for awhile.
The Matrix: Gird yourself for a grid.
The Crew: Wherever they go, trouble follows.
Cribs: This is where the magic happens.
Blocked: They’re giving us the hard cell.
Gear Up: They’ve got the supplies, but little demand.
Sentinel: Keeping watch, but who watches the watchmen?
Fat Stacks: Towers of treasures. Mounds of money.
In Secret: First rule of a secret hideout: don’t put a sign up.
In Too Deep: There’s deep undercover and there’s which way is up.
Peace Offering: Don’t get left behind at the altar.
Which Way: Oh, right.
Turban Core: Into the heart of a den of thieves.
Fallen Arches: Nothing golden about these.
Treasure It: Easy to get, incredibly hard to keep.
It Goes Down Every Night: This must be what jail is really like.
Cave In: But can you cave out?
Also, check out these two images in the same scene… very similar, but if you look towards the top, you can see a little difference. Could that added Poptropican be us, spying in the lair of the 40 thieves?
Alert: Be careful in a den of thieves.
Arabian Nights sneak peek via Poptropica’s Twitter
Maybe some dialog will hint at what’s to come? Here is all the text we could gather up:
Now this reveals a lot! It looks like we will have to disguise ourselves to fit in among the thieves, as well as break out of/into some jail cells! We already knew that we would be in search of a magic lamp, but something bigger seems to have popped up. Hmm…
Hopefully the items we found will reveal what’s really going on? Sadly, we are not able to view entire images, since they are protected files.
Magic Sand
Cell Key
Formula
White Robe
Thieves Garb
Viper Skin
Gunpowder
Borax
Quicksilver
Well, the magic sand and/or gunpowder may help us break in to/out of cells… and on that note, it seems like the viper skin will aid in creating the magic sand! …And on THAT note, since we have a formula containing “viper skin,” “borax,” and “quicksilver“, maybe those three items (plus more?) will create magic sand when put together! Oh, the suspense! Of course the cell key will help us unlock a cell and we will have to make the white robe black to fit in with the thieves. Looks like everything fits together! 😀
All that’s left is to put together some scenery. Below are the scene layers of the lair’s entrance.
There is nothing much to say about these images, considering it is just the entrance.
Next up we have some of the scene layers for the Treasure Keep. Here are just the relevant ones:
In the interactive layer, you can see part of the floor crumbling. Could this be the result of our magic sand?
Next up are the scene layers for the cells.
Again, we see some unstable floors and what may possible be the magic sand bomb-like things.
Last, we have the scene layers for the Sanctum.
Well, we see an oil can in the interactive layer, and if we math it up with the other layers, it looks like it is inside a barrel. That might be a useful thing to remember in the quest.
Final theory
In “Lair of Thieves,” our Poptropican will be searching for the magic lamp that the Sultan requested (in episode 1), while trying to outsmart the thieves in the lair we entered at the end of the previous episode. We will disguise ourselves to fit in with the surrounding thieves and try to gather up ingredients to make “magic sand”, which will help us navigate their lair. While sneaking around, we stumble upon a huge supply of lamps and possibly something more.
That’s what we think of Arabian Nights Episode 2, but what do you think? Comment below! The episode will be released to members on Tuesday in three weeks (on Dec 11), so be ready (and it comes out Dec. 11 30 for everyone)! 🙂
Hey Poptropicans! There are a couple of new ads on Main Streets: one for boys, and one for girls. To get to either ad, just click on its respective banner in the home page carousel when you first log in, or the button on the ad card you may automatically receive upon logging in.
For the girls-only Monster High: Freaky Fusion ad, all you need to do is click on the billboard to receive two prizes: the monstrously fashionable Bonita Femur costume, and a printable Wish List.
(Thanks to Magic Fire of The Poptropica Package for the pics & insight. By the way, if you’re brought to an ad-less Main Street – like I was – try visiting a SUI. If you still can’t see it, it may be because you don’t meet whatever mysterious criteria have been set for the target audience, be it age, gender, or location.)
For the boys-only Hot Wheels: Street Hawk ad, just watch the video for your prize: a Hot Wheels: Street Hawk Remote Control! Press spacebar and the car will turn into a plane that will fly around your screen and exit upwards. Your character will be left in awe, saying, “Wow, it went 200 feet!”
Also, the Creators recently recognized a few more Land creations that have impressed them, which you can view on the official blog or below (click for full size):
Creepy Singer made a spectacular brick abode.
Golden Leaf gave us this floating domicile.
Prickly Monster made, well, a prickly monster!
Quick Tomato is the lord of this manor.
The good news is, everyone (not just members, as is currently the case) will get to play a bigger, better version of Land in early 2015! 😀
Anyway, that’s all for this post – be sure to catch up with everything else in the posts below! This post’s bad Pop-pun is: stay popping, not flopping.
What’s popping, Poptropicans? Blake here, with a round of the Poptropica Help Blog’s Punch Out!!!
Has everybody gotten their retro video game references out of the way? Yes? Good. In all seriousness, Blake here, with a recap of Poptropica’s latest Twitter posts. First up, for all you Android fans out there, the Poptropica app is finally available for Google Play!
Yes, now you can frolic in Poptropica wherever you go! And all for the price of — wait, there is no price. It’s FREE! Just download the app from Google Play to get started.
By the way, this image was posted on Poptropica’s Instagram. Yes, after lots of retweeting other players’ Instagram posts, they’ve joined in on the Insta-bandwagon! You can follow them at PoptropicaCreators.
Next up, let’s take a look at the latest new doodles Poptropica’s been tweeting. Here’s PopStorm #6, which explores what Poptropicans would look like with shoes:
This is a great addition to the PopStorm series, and the one in the middle with the glasses reminds me of Groucho Marx. Oh Groucho, why did you have to go? D:
This next one is another possible teaser to an Island based on the Poptropica comics. What’s going on with these balloon animals, you ask? Well, as a hint, the tweet links to Funbrain’s page for the official Poptropica comics…
And finally, we have a blast from the past. Close your eyes. Are you closing them? Of course not, you wouldn’t be able to read this post otherwise! Anyway, just imagine the monsters from Cryptids Island back in kindergarten. Do you see it? No? Maybe this doodle from Poptropica artist Jon Pitcher will help. Who knew little Chupa had a secret crush? 😉
This has been “Let’s Imagine!” with Blake. *little rainbow star thingy from The More You Know pic floats above head* Enlightening, was it not?
Well, that’s it for the Poptropica Help Blog’s Punch Out!!! today. I just defeated Tyson by a series of button-mashing combos, so it’s time for me to go soak my thumbs in ice! Stay popping, Poptropicans.
Frustration alert! The new Shrink Ray SUI has a lot of glitches. 😦
Hey everyone! The Creators just announced the re-release of Shrink Ray as a SUI (sound updated island) – made even more fun with new music, sound effects, and a bigger screen! Right now, only members can play the new version of Shrink Ray Island. No word yet on when it’ll release for all, but non-members can play a demo right until the point where you’re hit with the shrink ray.
Also, now that it’s a SUI, Shrink Ray has joined all the colored islands at the front of the Map, so you don’t have to scroll through all those pages to play. If you need a walkthrough, check out our Shrink Ray Island Guide, complete with pictures!
Unfortunately, as I warned you guys above, the new SUI is pretty glitchy. So far, I’ve had to restart 3 times and have spent 4 hours on it – I even missed dinner! But if you do make it to the end, remember to check your finish ranking on the World Champions Map!
Anyway, I did enjoy the new music on this island – I just wish it hadn’t been so glitch-heavy. 😛
🦄 Ponytropica 🦄 