Neo-Neopets?

[Mongrel]

From the Twin Skies forum....

Lastly, I can confirm that we're working on a new Virtual Pet site. It's going to have some elements of Twin Skies but won't be set in the Twin Skies universe. I'm not going to say anything more though, Donna would shout at me if I gave the game away!

Don't be worried. It's going to be the most awesomely absurd thing on the Internet. We're not really aiming to compete with Neopets or anything else out there, we just need an outlet for all the ideas that are too silly for Twin Skies!

This is an interesting turn of events, and I didn't think I'd see this day...but since it's here, let's speculate!
How do you think this site will compare to Neopets, both the older site we knew and its current incarnation? What elements of Neopets (past or present) would you expect to see? What elements of Neopets would you want, or not want, on this new site? Do you plan to check it out if/when it is released?

I'm trying not to get too interested, since it's likely to be a long time before the site is released, but I'm still looking forward to seeing what an older and wiser Adam and Donna do with their second virtual pet site. One thing's for sure: we won't be able to adopt Macy Gray.

[Pink]

No ads at all, we're planning to support the game with microtransactions. Obviously don't quote me on that because business models and market forces are very vulnerable to change, but that's our plan.

Honestly, I hate ads. I argued for months against the banners on Neopets, the offers on the signup form that permanently ruined your email address, the immersive advertising, Neopets Premium etc.. I hated it all from the start and so did Donna. There's a good reason that we left the company shortly after that ugly big banner went up on top of each page.

So...not trying to "quote him on that" as he says, but I'm really hoping that they can pull this off. I used to be a premium member of Neopets and never had to deal with them until I let my premium drop. They take SO long to load and are SO flashy. I actually can't play as long as I used to because of them because they end up giving me a headache with all the action going on on the screen.

Aside from the no-ads, I'm really excited to see what kind of art/ideas they come up with for this new virtual pets site. I'm also hoping that it will be aimed at people a little higher in age than Neopets.

...that's my 2 cents worth, at least.

[Mongrel]

I used to be a premium member of Neopets and never had to deal with them until I let my premium drop. They take SO long to load and are SO flashy. I actually can't play as long as I used to because of them because they end up giving me a headache with all the action going on on the screen.

Firefox + Adblock. They are your friends!

Aside from the no-ads, I'm really excited to see what kind of art/ideas they come up with for this new virtual pets site. I'm also hoping that it will be aimed at people a little higher in age than Neopets.

Higher in age than original Neopets, or current Neopets?

[Pink]

CURRENT Neopets. lol...let's just say I don't tell a lot of people that I play a game popular for tweens. (no offense)

[beanmommy]

I used to be a premium member of Neopets and never had to deal with them until I let my premium drop. They take SO long to load and are SO flashy. I actually can't play as long as I used to because of them because they end up giving me a headache with all the action going on on the screen.

Firefox + Adblock. They are your friends!

Not to take this too far off-topic, but does anyone have a good guide for using Firefox and Adblock to optimum effect on the Neopets site? I used to have a virtually ad-free existence, but at some point recently some setting got messed up, and now I've got those Overture Sponsored Links at the bottom of every page and can't figure out how to get rid of them again. I've been just trying to ignore them, but today I've got the birthday sidebar (yay for me) and I'm remembering all over again how nice it was when those ads were blocked...

Feel free to PM replies if that would be less annoying to those trying to stay on topic.

[Mongrel]

I think if you add *sponsored_links* as a filter that should work. If not, you could try downloading/redownloading a subscription list.

[unspecialfish]

I'm excited for a "Neopets" from scratch. Smaller economy, wiser staff, less traffic (at first). All positives as of now!

[Himmelsdemon]

I think if you add *sponsored_links* as a filter that should work. If not, you could try downloading/redownloading a subscription list.

Yup. Something (my) subscription list doesn't cover, though, are those white letters on a black background. To block them, just add #div(class^=ad_wrapper) to your list.