New Editorial

[Dustin]

Funny... the domain name "ihateneopets.com" is owned by neopets.

I wonder how many domains they own. Buying ihateneopets.com was a smart move.

[Meech]

*edit: I sounded like a total moron, so I deleted most of my post. Sorry about the idiotic rant...

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People who would rather complain will continue to do so regardless of what TNT or anyone else says about the matter. Personally, as this is a game and I come here to relax and enjoy myself, I would rather adopt a positive viewpoint about the new changes, accept the things I have no control over, and continue to enjoy myself. For the record, I do subscribe to Premium, I do plan to purchase NeoCash when the Mall is established out of beta, and I have purchased plushies from Claire's and Ltd Too. Neopets has provided me with free entertainment for 6 and a half years, it has been one of my favorite and most-visited websites, and I have absolutely no problem contributing to the company financially. I personally don't believe that TNT has a sinister hidden agenda behind their statements in the Editorial. I very much appreciate the amount of effort they put forth (towards something they obviously care about as much as we do).

Yes, yes, yes!

[GIR]

You know that whole "NC Mall items will not give you an in-game advantage" thing? Well, guess what. One of the items that improves your ability to play and score higher in Shenkuu River Rush is now available... in the NC Mall. They sure do a great job of keeping their promises.

[usagi665]

I love pay-to-play games, it keeps many annoying people out of them, so an addition of a cash shop to NeoPets is good news for me. However, I would still like to see the legal reason for renting the items. I have heard of certain MMORPGs doing this, but they were the Korean server versions of them, so I'm interested in knowing why they have this rule on their US site. I still may buy some of the items even if they're only for rent, but if they were permanent then I would've undoubtedly spent $30 on there already.

[Teelie]

You know that whole "NC Mall items will not give you an in-game advantage" thing? Well, guess what. One of the items that improves your ability to play and score higher in Shenkuu River Rush is now available... in the NC Mall. They sure do a great job of keeping their promises.

Probably a case of the right hand not talking to the left. Maybe they should meet.

[mogster500]

What about the books that were mentioned in the news? HarperCollins Joins with Online World of Neopets

Now they're going to have books packaged with a item code (that's absolutely fine, they do it with most of their merchandise), but they also say that it'll be used to access special features and areas of the site...

[shapu]

You know that whole "NC Mall items will not give you an in-game advantage" thing? Well, guess what. One of the items that improves your ability to play and score higher in Shenkuu River Rush is now available... in the NC Mall. They sure do a great job of keeping their promises.

Probably a case of the right hand not talking to the left. Maybe they should meet.

Which items are those?

[Pickles]

You know that whole "NC Mall items will not give you an in-game advantage" thing? Well, guess what. One of the items that improves your ability to play and score higher in Shenkuu River Rush is now available... in the NC Mall. They sure do a great job of keeping their promises.

Probably a case of the right hand not talking to the left. Maybe they should meet.

Which items are those?

It's so far, only the Winged Talisman.

[shapu]

Does this actually affect gameplay? I've never played the game (can't install the plugin at work, no time at home), so I'm curious whether this device actually does anything.

[Nefasturris]

Does this actually affect gameplay? I've never played the game (can't install the plugin at work, no time at home), so I'm curious whether this device actually does anything.

People on the Neoboards are saying it does. It "makes you fall slower".

[GIR]

Does this actually affect gameplay? I've never played the game (can't install the plugin at work, no time at home), so I'm curious whether this device actually does anything.

It also says on the instructions page in the game that the Winged Talisman, Bracers of Fury, Helm of Recovery, Speed Beads, and Pack of Holding all improve the game in various ways. The Speed Beads increase your speed, and Pack of Holding gives you extra points at each level.

[Scythemantis]

Good. If you're an adult like myself who has to work to survive, you can't just play Neopets for hours on end. I'm lucky if I visit the site more than once in a single week, and in my six years of playing I have never even seen more than 200,000 neopoints in the same place.

A minor advantage in certain flash games for a couple of my hard-earned dollars is the LEAST they could offer me. Everything about the NC mall so far is completely, totally fair.

[Runevalkyrie]

From this week's editorial

TNT, I approved of the NC Mall since it was released, but the recent addition of the winged talisman (which improves game-play during Shenkuu River Rush) seems to go against anything you have ever said regarding Neopets and money. For $4 USD players can buy an item which makes it easier for them to play a game that gives Neopoints and trophies?? What about the players that can't purchase from the mall? Are they doomed to never be able to have a trophy from River Rush just because they don't live in the US or Canada and people with less talent can just buy items to make the game easier? ~karlsomewhat14

To be honest, it ended up in the Mall due to a communication breakdown amongst the staff. The item was nominated to be placed in the Mall, but it was sort of in limbo. Everyone had differing opinions on it and we were discussing those opinions, but it ended up being approved to go up anyway. Basically, we fudged a bit.

As for the differing opinions... well, each side had valid points. You have to be good at the game in the first place or the item does no good for you. Essentially, it doesn't make a very poor player into a superstar, trophy-winner overnight. Also, users who are great at the game will already be earning their 1,000 NP maximum each go anyway and can't earn any more, so it doesn't make anyone "rich" from using it. Those users who can't earn 1,000 NP in the game without the talisman could be spending the same time playing a different game they're better at, so all the talisman did was let them earn the NP on a game they like more. Obviously, though, the other folks at the table worried about the affect on trophy spots. Trophies earn Neopoints, and they earn prestige, which is part of the game as well. (Unlike with Mall wearables, you can't tell who earned the trophy on their own or who earned it with the help of the Winged Talisman, though, interestingly, the same can be said for the other Shenkuu River Rush game-play items you can purchase for Neopoints.)

Anyway, this is why we were in debates and the item shouldn't have gone up just yet. But it did go up, so we gauged your reactions, watched high score lists, monitored the Neopoints won, etc. (things we always do when we launch something new). We know "functional" items would sell very well, and one of the reasons the Mall exists is to earn revenue, but we don't want anyone to be able to buy their way through the game of Neopets. So, we're trying our best to come up with items that are useful but don't give anyone a huge advantage - the perfect balance. We can think about these things until our brains implode and not know what exactly will happen with certain items, so this was a very informative accident. We'll keep trying more items, and some of them won't work, but the only way for us to know is to test them. So, in the future, you'll see more and different types of items in the Mall. Feel free to send us your feedback, or even your own item ideas.

(By the way, thanks to the folks who sent in feedback and participated in boards that discussed the item rationally and logically - those who understood both sides but still expressed their concerns with the item. It's our decision, but we *do* actually listen, despite what some think. Complaints without valid reasoning or logic do nothing to help us see your points!)

In the end, we decided to take the talisman down come Tuesday when we had the next Mall update. It should be noted that no one who has earned a trophy since it sold has purchased the talisman. We'll continue to watch it since those who purchased the item paid for it and are able to keep it until it expires, but so far, it has not been detrimental to the high score list.

[satiran]

And another snippet from this week's editorial:

Hey, TNT team! *high fives* I've noticed that every world in Neopia seems to have its own paint brush (Halloween pb for the Haunted Woods, royal for Meridell, etc.). Shenkuu is a beautiful world, and I was wondering if there were secret plans to release a Shenkuu-ish pb in the future? *please * ~mamadough
*high fives* Altador doesn't have one, either! Won't someone think of Altador?!

Truth is, paint brushes are a bit different now with customisation. We have several new paint brushes we're dying to release, but we have to think carefully before we do so. One of our rules for wearable items is that you should never be able to make your Neopet look like you bought a paint brush when you didn't. (Basically, if you've never purchased a pirate paint brush, you shouldn't be able to dress your Neopet up as a pirate using regular wearables.) So, when thinking up wearables, we have to be sure we don't overlap, and that we don't prevent ourselves from releasing cool paint brushes in the future. But it does work the other way, too. We don't want to restrict the cool wearables we make by saving them solely for an expensive paint brush.

Erm... that was basically a long way of saying, "It's on our list, but we have to think about some things first." We will say, though, that if we work everything out, our first new paint brush is scheduled for October. Ohhh, SPOILER! It's not Shenkuu, so what could it be?!

New paint brush in October, hmm...

[Regan]

Hi TNT. I have a question that has been bugging me for a while. I have a Neofriend who is on maybe three times a week, and I sent her a nice neomail a month ago. Then a few weeks ago, I sent her one or two Neomails. She hasn't responded yet, but I KNOW she has been on, because I see her on the Neofriends Beta List. Is she reportable because she is ignoring me? This is confusing me, and I would love to know! Please remove my username if this gets in. Thank you! ~[removed]
Erm... no. If they are avoiding you because, say, they borrowed an item and haven't given it back, that's a different story, but simply choosing to not respond to your Neomails is in no way breaking Neopets rules.

Perhaps my most favourite editorial question to date.