Hey everyone! After hardly six days since the Creators’ first announcement, Arabian Nights Episode 1: How Bazaar has appeared on the Haxe map! And, as promised, it’s open for members and non-members alike to play.
Arabian Nights, as shown on the Haxe map.
I’ve just run through the new How Bazaar, and here’s what’s I found to report: it seems that, unlike Mythology Island, the Creators made the decision to keep Arabian Nights the same as its Flash equivalent. Most of the scenes remained almost exactly as those in Flash, and the only differences I could spot in the entire island were minor dialogue changes.
Better yet, I experienced very little lag whilst playing. Despite the pop-up ads between scenes, the gameplay was quite smooth! I’d say that overall, Arabian Nights has given me fresh hope for what can be done on Haxe. If Arabian Nights can be executed so well, maybe the islands still waiting for a port will turn out awesome too.
By the way, bring along the PHB’s Arabian Nights Island Guide for handy help as you play through the episode!
A couple scenes from Arabian Nights on Haxe.
For the first time in a while, Quippy has appeared on time! You’ll find the little droid—sporting a cunning thief garb—in the Rumi’s Rugs common room, waiting to deliver his newest stash of Arabian Nights gear.
Did Quippy join the ranks of the Forty Thieves?
And speaking of the Arabian Nights gear pack, let’s see what’s in store! The four new items include: Arabian Style, Silent Thief, Desert Lizard Follower*, and Purple Smoke Bomb*. (Two of which are members-only.)
It’s the latest desert fashion.
The Creators haven’t yet mentioned if the later episodes of Arabian Nights are planned to be released as well; although, in separate news, they did mention in their most recent post that they’ve already received hundreds of submissions in the Create Your Dream Island contest! Wow. Competition is getting real, and there’s still plenty of time left to submit your ideas! All this Arabian Nights stuff is sure to get creative juices flowing.
That’s all the news today! What are your opinions on the new Arabian Nights? What islands do you hope to see converted next? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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!
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