Happy New Year!
We at City Hall are ringing in 2009 with a brand new way to communicate with all of Whyville: "The State of Whyville" address.
This site-wide bulletin will be issued regularly to all citizens through Y-mail and the Whyville Times as a way for us to let you know about upcoming changes, new games & activities, and everything we're doing to keep Whyville a fun and safe place. Questions or ideas about the State of Whyville? Post them on the Whyville Times BBS of this article!
CONTENTS:
1. RECENT LAUNCHES
2. RECENT EVENTS
3. CURRENT/UPCOMING EVENTS
4. INTERNAL PROJECTS
5. FUTURE PROJECTS
6. REMINDERS
1. RECENT LAUNCHES
During the holiday season we've added a bunch of new features to Whyville. Here are some of them:
Emoticons -- Express yourself with Whyville emoticons! We've listened to suggestions and are pleased to announce that the same smiles you've always typed are now animated, designed to spice up your conversations and add a little more fun to chatting in Whyville. In the future, you'll even be able to change the color and style of your emoticons depending on what you want others see. Pretty neat, huh?
Don't like emoticons? Now there's an on/off setting so you don't have to see them. Take a look on your User Info & Preferences page!
Skins -- Don't like the classic Whyville background? Well, now you can choose a background that suits your personality! There are currently nine skins to choose from, with even more coming in the future. Have an idea for a skin you'd like to see? Let us know!
Robodome -- We've added a cool new Bot Ball tutorial to help everyone better understand the game. Check it out!
Pets & Pearls -- Lots of fun updates for December, including Pet Speech, a new Pet Body, and cool Holiday Accessories. Don't have a pet yet? If you have Pearls, you can buy one anytime. Now you can even give the gift of Pearls with a Pearls Gift Certificate. Check them out on the Pearls page!
2. RECENT EVENTS
Holiday Party -- This year's Holiday Party was held on January 2nd at the Sportplatz from 3 to 7 PM. Fun was had by all, and DoodIes was the winner of the annual Holiday Beauty Pageant. Congrats!
Times Awards -- The 2008 Whyville Times Awards ceremony was held on Sunday, Jan. 4th 2009 at 4pm Whytime in the Greek Theater. It was a rousing success! Here's to 2009 and everything that will be in the Times; I have a feeling it is going to be the best year yet!
Congratulations to BabyPowdr, xo7joa70x, Holiday50, LowOnSoap, Nerdishh, Cobd, Gaso1, Cohenlm, nicenfun, Sport06, Eric5675, HAPHBAKED (ImForLove), Antier, and Morgan612 on your accolades!
3. CURRENT/UPCOMING EVENTS:
A new Science Chicago room is open to explore! Remember, new rooms open each month and new SC cards show up all over Whyville. Collect SC cards and redeem them in the right SC room to earn clams!
The next Scion Owner's Event is January 30th. Mark you calendars! Don't own a Scion yet? Check out Club Scion for more information!
The next Scion Car Rally is January 23rd.
4. INTERNAL PROJECTS
2008 has been a busy year. We're been working hard behind the scenes to fix broken pages, strange bugs, and add options to help you have a better Whyville experience. Recently, we've fixed bugs in the Vaccine Lab, added the ability to hide Emoticons, and fixed a ton of broken links.
We also have a number of new projects we're working on right now:
Map 2.0 -- The map is returning in full force in the next couple of weeks. In addition to a snazzy new look, the map will include links to every game & location in Whyville, and different filters like Friend Finder, Games, Shopping, and What's New, so you can move around Whyville in a breeze!
Advanced BBS -- We know everyone loves to post on the BBS, so we're expanding it to include more forums, like Movies, Sports, and a dozen other topics, that can all be reached from one central location. The new BBS will be housed at Dr. Leila's. Don't worry, you'll still be able to access the other Scientific BBS forums from there!
Skins -- A new batch of skins is coming soon! These include Flames, Camouflage, and more!
5. FUTURE PROJECTS
2009 is going to be a big year for Whyville. While many of our future internal projects are months away, we want you to know what we're up to!
The New Whyville -- This year, we'll unveil a new look to make Whyville easier to use and give citizens more options than ever. The new design will incorporate many technological updates (no more icky load screens!) and also include new features that have been suggested over the years, like a Buddy List, bigger chat screens, and more in-depth user preferences. The look will certainly be a big difference, but it won't get rid of any of the ways you currently use Whyville, and we're hoping it will only make Whyville more fun and accessible to everyone, no matter what size or kind of computer you're using.
City Records Profiles -- Tired of the plain, boring City Records pages? So are we! Soon you'll be able to modify your profile with themes and interests, and you'll also be able to show off your outfits, house, trophies, pets, and more. Most importantly, you'll be able to leave comments on the pages of people you're mutually friends with.
6. REMINDERS
* If you don't have Pearls, get some today! For the cost of a couple candy bars, you can enjoy special Whyville activities like Pets, Chat Candy, and more. You can also sign up for a Pearls allowance and get new Pearls each month, or give Pearls as a gift.
* Need extra clams? Just a reminder that the Welcome Lounge needs Whyville Guides (WG). If you qualify, stop by the Welcome Lounge in the WhyHouse? to join. You'll get a special WG hat, use special commands to conduct tours, AND earn up to 100 clams a day helping new citizens.
* Calendar Events Monday: Letter Squash 1 PM, Scion Solution Quiz Game 3 PM, Tuesday: Math Expressions 1 PM, Learn How to Build Skateboards 3 PM, Wednesday: Letter Squash 1 PM, Thursday: Math Expressions 1 PM, Meet the Makers 3:30 PM, Friday: Letter Squash 1 PM, Scion Solutions Quiz Game 3 PM, Saturday: Letter Squash 1 PM, Sunday: Letter Squash 6 PM
