Ask Poptropica Siri, Uncategorized

Ask Poptropica Siri #8: Roblox, Rumblings, and Releases

🌸Smart Icicle🌸

Ask Poptropica Siri is a Q&A segment here on the PHB where you, dear readers, are invited to send in your Poptropica questions to have them answered with all the wisdom you can expect from a Smart Icicle.

Hey everyone! It’s been a hard time lately for the fandom, particularly with Poptropica’s controversial Roblox developments. So, I wanted to cool it down by answering some questions…

What do you think of the Poptropica Roblox games? ~Magic Snowball

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I am totally fine with Poptropica’s Roblox games. I feel neutral about this situation, even as a Roblox player myself. I think they are just having a break and trying new things. Although others are angry about it, at least Poptropica is still actively developing on their own platform, so that’s a good sign.

Do you think the Creators even care enough to bring the old islands back? ~Silver Shell

This question came in before the big announcement of 13 old islands returning via Steam, but yes, I do think they care! They brought Zomberry to Roblox, and previously released the Zomberry Hero mini-game on Pop, which means they haven’t forgotten their old lore. Even if they play around with Roblox, they will never give up on Poptropica.

If there was one old island which could release early and you were given the choice, which one would you pick? ~Dangerous Dragon

Oh wow, so many choices! Well, I’m going to cheat a little and pick two: I would want either Skullduggery or Astro-Knights to be brought back. They were fun to play, even if they are the most difficult out of all of the islands ever made. Although we’ve lost a lot of old islands, they are still in our hearts and hopefully can return someday. 💙

How can you send in your questions to Ask Poptropica Siri?

That’s a great question! You can use the following methods:

  • 📧 Send an email to siri (at) poptropi (dot) ca. This way, you’ll get to keep your questions a surprise when they get answered on the blog.
  • 💬 Comment on the latest Ask Poptropica Siri post. Your questions will be publicly visible before they appear in a Q&A post, but this allows others to interact with your question if they so choose. If you don’t have an email address, you can enter a fake one in the email field when you post your comment.

Before I go, I would like to share two movies I’m looking forward to this April: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Fantastic Beasts 3.

That’s it from me! See you next time! 

~🌸📚❄️🌸

Galactic Hot Dogs Island, Steam Bundle

Wiener Hints at Leaner Steam Islands 🐕💨

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, steamy sounds of more clues incoming!

Since the announcement of some old islands to return on Steam, Poptropica’s been sharing daily clues as to what those islands may be. The third hint is but a lone image: a pink wiener dog. 🌸🐕

While a few islands of the past had their share of dogs, the specificity of the clue being a wiener dog seems to point strongly to one in particular: Galactic Hot Dogs. In this island based on the eponymous graphic novel series by Max Brallier (son of former Pop publisher Jess Brallier), we hop aboard a spaceship called the Neon Wiener, which has a hot dog inside.

If we want to look to other possibilities for the clue, we might also consider the B.A.D. guard dogs you have to dodge in Spy Island, or Spitsy, a slender dog who helps you dig up the time capsule in Big Nate Island.

Spy Island dogs
Snacktime for Spitsy.

With the three hints we’ve seen so far, rumors have been circulating about the choice of the 13 islands to return on Steam: they may all be newer old islands, as opposed to super longtime classics. These newer old islands are sometimes known in the fandom as SUI (Sound-Updated Islands) or AS3 (ActionScript 3, the Flash-based programming language) and include islands released from around 2013 to 2015, which had bigger screens and sound, and may be easier to port as the technology isn’t as old as AS2 (encompassing all pre-2013 islands).

As Tough Spinner points out, these AS3 islands had been playable on the Poptropica app before they were removed in early 2022 to match with the desktop experience. Those now-missing islands are the complete sets of episodes for Survival, Mission Atlantis, PoptropiCon, and Arabian Nights, as well as standalone islands Reality TV: Wild Safari, Mystery of the Map, Shrink Ray, Galactic Hot Dogs, and the original Mythology Island. Maybe these are the islands returning via Steam…

Some of the islands from the Poptropica app before they disappeared in early 2022.

…but that’s nine islands (counting episodes as part of a full island), leaving four more, since we were promised 13 islands on Steam. It just so happens that there are at least four more AS3 islands that were never ported to the mobile app: Virus Hunter, Monster Carnival, Mocktropica, and Monkey Wrench (whose return was promised last year). Poptropolis Games was also re-released as an SUI/AS3, though it was originally an AS2 island.

Yet another possibility for some of the Steam islands could be those AS3-turned-Haxe islands that already exist on desktop: 24 Carrot, Time Tangled, Timmy Failure, and Escape From Pelican Rock — a perfect four. (The former two are OGs from 2008, but later remade into SUI/AS3 format.) Hopefully not, since we can already access them, and it wouldn’t really be in the spirit of “old islands” as promised…

Branching Out: Time for us to make like a tree, and leave.

The fact that Galactic Hot Dogs was never really a popular island among the fandom also makes it an odd choice, but it lines up with the AS3 islands theory, as do the rest of our best guesses for the other hints so far (Shrink Ray and Mythology). But who knows? Maybe we can still have hope for a few truly older AS2 islands… time will tell.

For a bit of nostalgia about islands old and new, check out our updated Poptropica Music collection under the Pop Plus tab here on the PHB! 🎵

Formerly known as “Behind the Scenes,” we’ve recently updated this page to remove outdated links as well as share previously uncovered Poptropica music files as embedded audio so you can listen directly on the page. For a taste, enjoy this track from Monster Carnival at daytime:

There’s more! Pop into the PHB’s Poptropica Music page to hear tunes from Mocktropica, Time Tangled, and many more. Enjoy!

~🐠

Jade Scarab Island, Social Media, Steam Bundle

Ghostly Rap and Jade Scarab on Map 👻🐈

Agent Bubbles

Hello Poptropicans! Two important posts from the Creators today, both pertaining to islands. Let’s pop in for a look!

As promised, here’s another hint for the upcoming 13 island releases on Steam: “I’m a sailor that’s neither living nor dead. I’ll transport you to the danger ahead. My role is restored; climb into my boat to collect your reward. Who am I?” (In case you missed it, check out yesterday’s hint here!)

This one can apply to multiple islands, considering the many sailor characters present among all the, well, islands. We’ve seen guesses ranging from Ghost Story Island (Valiant Lovejoy) to Skullduggery Island (sailing galore!).

But as Gentle Dolphin speculates, the one that seems fit most may be Mythology Island, with the hint possibly referring to Charon, the ferryman of the underworld (“neither living nor dead”) who takes you to Cerberus (“the danger ahead”).

While a remastered version of Mythology currently exists in the game, Charon’s River Styx minigame was one of the parts cut out from the controversial Haxe version. “My role is restored,” then, may be a hint for a return of the classic and popular Mythology Island.

Do you have any guesses as to which it could be? Fortunately, many future hints are promised, so we can continue guessing! We’ve seen Poptropicans on the lookout for space, carnivals, superheroes (and supervillains!), and many more. Stay tuned!

The other announcement is that Secret of the Jade Scarab Island is now on the map and will be available to all players “before you know it!” No current date is set, but it’s nice to see the long-awaited Dream Island winner at last, with our little kitty friend making another appearance! 😊

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Baron's Airship, Fan Art Features, Member Gifts, Social Media, Steam Bundle

Kick Back at the Cabin of Curiosities ☺️🍹👟

Gentle Dolphin

Hey, Poptropicans! Yesterday’s big announcement certainly grabbed our attention, but let’s not forget the other stories lost in the shuffle.

The Red Baron is back with new treasures for all, so let’s climb aboard and check them out. Head into the Cabin of Curiosities and check out the winner of March’s costume contest: Spa Day by Chilly Feather!

The soft robe, cucumber face mask, and drink make this the perfect thing to wear after a long day of exploring Poptropica. This free ‘fit also comes with an equally free pair of pink bunny slippers, which the Creators clarify are not made from Dr. Hare. Sure, Creators, we’ll take your word for it… for now.

The Baron seems to have taken a liking to this particular costume, as she can be seen wearing the same cucumber face mask. She’s chillaxing after finding some fancy footwear. Players can purchase Grey Loafers, Red Shoes, and Yellow Flipflops for their feet as well as a Shoe Rack for their clubhouses, all of which cost 100 credits each. 👟👟

But wait, there’s more! Members can check out April’s member gifts: a pair of Butterfly Wings, a Butterfly Follower, and a Baby Fox Follower. This gift pack definitely fits the ongoing spring season, but I can’t get over how everything is so… orange. Not sure what you guys think about color choice, but five year old me would have loved these. 😂🧡

The hype for Poptropica’s Steam release has officially begun! On social media, the Creators released their first hint at one of the returning islands: “Don’t be shocked when life gives you lemons.”

The two most popular guesses so far are Survival Island and Shrink Ray Island, which use lemons in certain puzzles. The player powers a radio with a lemon battery in Survival Island: Episode 3, and CJ writes a secret message with lemon juice in Shrink Ray Island. Which classic island could this be referring to? 🤔🍋

Finally, the Creators featured a meme redraw by Instagram user happyclonetrooper aka Maroon Ring. Don’t worry, Maroon, we’re sure that Pop’s Steam game will have plenty of medallions for you to collect.

That’s all for now. What do you think of these new items? Which islands do you hope will appear in Pop’s Steam port? What do you think of the color orange? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

—Gentle Dolphin 🐬

Social Media, Steam Bundle, Uncategorized

Full Steam Ahead: 13 Old Islands and Realms Returning as Downloads 🏝

Agent Bubbles

Poptropica fans waited in anticipation after the promise of a big announcement today. And at long last, we received the news:

Poptropica has selected 13 old islands as well as the Minecraft-esque Poptropica Realms to port for download on Steam, the video game distribution platform. Currently, there’s no word of an exact date or which islands will be included. However, they will be “dropping daily hints” starting tomorrow, so keep an eye out and start guessing!

While this is definitely exciting (and long overdue), we find it a bit odd for an online game to make the move to Steam. After all, why not just upload them to the Poptropica website?

Perhaps this could be related to Poptropica’s longevity. Many similar online games have either moved on to new platforms or simply shut down over time. Porting old islands to Steam could allow fans to continue exploring their favorite islands even in the event Poptropica itself has to shut down, as the game could live on without their servers.

Old promo image: this does not hint at the exact islands to come!

Plus, years of waiting (and an abandoned attempt with Pop Worlds) have shown that Pop seems to have had a lot of difficulty getting older Pop islands up and running on their own Haxe-based platform. The struggle of technology and moving away from Flash may be another factor in deciding to make this content on another platform.

This bundle will also include several features from the online game, including the ability to “customize personal clubhouses, adopt pets, and access multiplayer features like the arcade and common rooms.” It’s currently up in the air if this will be free or how much it will cost. The release date will be “in several weeks.”

Was this a response to desperate fans’ pleas? Either way, this may be a sign that Pop will focus on rebuilding itself, and prioritize past promises over new ideas. Also, will the islands be completely true to the originals, or will they add features such as unreleased music?

Which islands would you like to see? How do you feel about the Steam port, and what do you think it means for the future of Pop? Let us know! (I am 100% begging for the return of Astro-Knights and Ghost Story, as many of you probably would have guessed! 😆)

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles