Neopian Elders: What were some of the features the old Neopets had, and were they better/worse than now?

[Duskitty]

Neopian Elders (those around before customization) what were some of the features back then, and were they better/worse? I myself have only been around for 4 years, and I'm curious as to what the site was like back in old Neopia.

[Wildbreeze]

I was only a kid back then, but what I do remember liking and missing is all the poses the UC neopets had. When they were sad, fighting, etc.

Like this. This is adorable.

[Crimson]

Everything loaded faster. :P Since I was on some ancient computer, that's what mattered to me. xD

 

The current stuff is just way too laggy compared to what it was.

[gingerew]

I was actually a fan of the old sidebar (you know, where it was at the side and not the top :p). Also, the old poses of the pets as Wildbreeze mentioned.

[missjustina]

I think the site has mostly changed for the better(I remember being annoyed that there was a clothes shop, but your pet couldn't wear anything).

I do miss Faerieland being in the sky, I was really shocked when I came back to find it on the ground. I think I preferred it in the sky.

[Wildbreeze]

I think the site has mostly changed for the better(I remember being annoyed that there was a clothes shop, but your pet couldn't wear anything).

Agreed. As a kid, I was super confused that you couldn't do anything with collars and various different items. There's not a point in clothes if you can't use them.

[Frostfire Rockwind]

I always thought the unwearable clothing was weird, too. (In fact, since there still seems to be a lot of it, I have a section in my gallery called the "Ironic Closet", where I dump whatever unwearable clothing items I happen to stumble upon.)

 

While customization is fun, though, adding it in made things very......uniform, not just in positions (as mentioned above) but in body shape and design across a species. The Tyrannian Korbat used to have a pterodactyl head instead of a bat head (for all the sense that made). The Darigan Buzz was practically a wasp. My favorite example, though, has to be the Halloween Lupe. UC, he's a big scary werewolf, all upright and musclebound and whatnot. Now, with customization...he's a slightly shaggy wolf with pants. That's pretty much it.

 

Also, I don't know if this is technically a "feature", but......boy, I sure miss the days before the Neopets economy inflated like crazy. I may not have been rich then, but I sure wasn't poor. The good old days.

[Rebecca~]

Some things were definitely better- I do miss some of the poses from before customisation. But other things have improved drastically. It's SO much easier to make NP now, and a lot of things have decreased in price so they're actually affordable. Before, I would never have been able to afford even a single Draik or Krawk, but now I could easily have an account full of them.

 

I know that takes some of the fun away for some people, but it's nice having goals that are actually achievable, rather than being a pipe dream!

[Emily]

I think, for the most part, the change I've seen since 2002 has been for the better. So many more features than there used to be, with one of my favourites being customization.

 

I do miss the more unique events. Yes, we have events all the time, but most of them are annual (Festival of Neggs, AC, Daily Dare, Games Master Challenge, Advent Calendar, Trick-or-treat, etc) and half of them just consist of clicking a few links every day to participate. I miss when there were less annual events that were more-or-less the same, and instead, a really in-depth event like a plot that would last for a couple months. Even the recent war event was kind of lackluster. 2 weeks of an event that was more or less clicking and no real challenge, and now waiting almost double the length of the event for results. It feels like there used to be more thought/effort put into events in the past.

 

Even in the last few years, it seems the effort put into wearables has been lacking more than it used to when the ability to dress your pets was released. I'll go to dress my pet, and the clothes don't fit their head/body shape AT ALL. It's especially bad with wigs on unis (I have a ton on unis, so I always test clothes on them before I buy them). Shoes only going on 2 feet of 4-footed pets, wigs not hiding manes properly, tails sticking out whe they shouldn't be, etc. You'd think if they're stressing NC/customization so much, there would at least be the effort to make sure the clothing is programmed properly >.<

 

Like Crimson said, I also kind of miss when the site wasn't so heavily flash-based. I have a decent system, and things like KQ and Habi sometimes bog me down like crazy. And the shockwave games not working in a whole nother issue :P There are so many alternatives to glitchy Adobe graphics, it's rather unfortunate that they're still used so much.

 

In short, the site has grown a lot in terms of content, which I love, it just feels like it's becoming more focused on the business and less about providing a quality product.

[paperdoll66]

I've been playing on different accounts since 2000. I agree with pretty much everything Emily said. In most ways, Neopets is better now than in the beginning. Most of the time, playing revolved mostly around earning np playing games. Keeping your pets fed might even require a little planning, while today it is pretty much impossible to be broke. My oldest pets must think the newest ones are so spoiled. They get new toys all the time for free, while my oldest pets would be lucky if they get them a few times a year. I had been playing for years before I got my Neopets financials set up to the point that I could have actual goals. My favorite change was the introduction of avatars. It was a clear goal to work towards, which was great since I never really got into Neohomes or collecting.

 

In comparison to earlier wars, the Obelisk War lacked an explanation of the scoring system and was really short. I don't remember there ever being as much discussion as to how the scoring system in general would work as there was for this one. We would have to wait for a prize shop, but you would have some idea of how well you did. Also, it didn't seem like as much of an issue when everyone knew what to do and there wasn't nearly as much rush. The Discovery of Tyrannia plot was unpopular when it happened, so I guess it makes sense that the Obelisk War might not be up to expectations.

 

As far as the actual plots of the plots, they have become a lot more complex over time. This probably has a lot to do with the change in art style, but a lot of the enemies in older wars didn't even have names. It is somewhat of a trade-off, though. It felt like minor characters around Neopets, like shop keepers, were a lot more popular and talked about.

[Sannah]

It's impossible to look back objectively without a bit of nostalgia mixed in. I've been on the site ever since it launched (or a month or two after), though I haven't always been a dedicated player. In the olden days (way, way before customisation) I felt like it was far more about the pets. Feeding them actually took an effort, earning a handful of neopoints by playing Badeek Seek or restocking (the shops then still restocked at set times every hour so it was easy to anticipate). There were no other worlds, just a few shops and all the Games still fit into a small cupboard. It was more of an adult site, too. People's goals were basically just saving up enough money to buy fancy toys for their pets, and of course (once they got introduced) Paint Brushes! I remember working towards a Rainbow Paint Brush for my Shoyru - it was about 100K and that seemed like such a lot. Nowadays you can save up 100K in a matter of days.

 

There even was a time that you could kind of get to know everyone because there were so few users and you kept running into the same people at the Auctions, boards, shops... :-)

 

Unfortunately I lost my old account a long time ago - it got frozen.

 

What's better now is that the site has become a lot more diverse. There are so many things to do. Battledome, hundreds of games, quests, customising... so many options! The Negg festival reminded me that there are many places that I never visit at all. The amount of neopoints you have is starting to become less important; now you need the right trophies and avatars to have a prestigious account. I think that's an improvement.

 

Like Emily I do miss regular plots and interesting events rather than having the same festivals return every year. I feel like TNT puts so much effort into Advent Calendar flash animations and things, whereas many people don't really care (as long as I get my prizes, yea!) and we'd much rather see some exciting site content.

[Ali Cat]

I really miss the old poses before customization. I don't like dressing up my pets; if I wanted to play dress-up, I'd do it on a different site with human avatars. I want pets that look pretty without unnatural clothing, and I'm sad that that option was taken away. The unwearable clothing was a bit of an oddity, that is true, but I don't think the solution was to make pets able to wear it. Some of the artwork of the old pets was truly awesome, and seeing these bland poses and human-like appearances saddens me.

 

(And on a completely different note, the old sidebar was awesome. I've gotten used to the new one now and can appreciate that it's keeping up with the changing design on the internet to a sleeker look, but the old sidebar had a bit more personality.)

 

Overall, I would agree with Emily when she says that the changes have been for the best. I just think customization was a mistake.

[Duskitty]

I really miss the old poses before customization. I don't like dressing up my pets; if I wanted to play dress-up, I'd do it on a different site with human avatars. I want pets that look pretty without unnatural clothing, and I'm sad that that option was taken away. The unwearable clothing was a bit of an oddity, that is true, but I don't think the solution was to make pets able to wear it. Some of the artwork of the old pets was truly awesome, and seeing these bland poses and human-like appearances saddens me.

 

(And on a completely different note, the old sidebar was awesome. I've gotten used to the new one now and can appreciate that it's keeping up with the changing design on the internet to a sleeker look, but the old sidebar had a bit more personality.)

 

Overall, I would agree with Emily when she says that the changes have been for the best. I just think customization was a mistake.

As customization has been around for slightly longer than me, I don't even know what the site looked like way back then. But I do agree, now that I think about it, pets DO look odd with clothing- and some look odd without it, IMHO.

Though, I like the look of some of the UC pets and their poses look gorgeous. I agree, there should be a button to make your pet an UC. It would make getting an UC a lot easier for the people who really deserve one.

~

[idriya]

Well, since Neopets is owned by Viacom now, TNT has to generate enough income to turn a profit, whereas in the old days, they could just make enough to get by, and ads are likely not enough to do that (turn a profit, that is; they're probably enough to get by, though), especially since a lot of users nowadays probably have adblockers. Nobody used adblockers in the old days.

Seriously, how else are they supposed to make money? And don't say bring merchandise back. It costs a lot of money to make merchandise, and it's likely not that many people were buying merchandise. Besides pay-to-play (which would have angered even more people), there is no other way they can make money. And honestly, NC is pretty tame compared to other sites, where cash items give real advantages.

Though, I like the look of some of the UC pets and their poses look gorgeous. I agree, there should be a button to make your pet an UC. It would make getting an UC a lot easier for the people who really deserve one.

I don't think this would work, because a ton of people would likely just get four UCs and never customize. And if that happens, TNT wouldn't be making any money, and like I said, they have to generate a sizable profit. It sucks, but that's just the way business is.

 

It's basically as everyone has said. The old Neo was better in some ways, worse in others. Namely, there's a lot more to do now than back then. Also, the site (believe it or not) was a lot glitchier, and a lot of the glitches were actually harmful, and the site went down for several hours pretty much every day. It's not like that anymore. Now, there are a ton of games to play, and there's usually some event or whatever going on.

 

However, the quality of events back then, for the most part, was far better than nowadays. While plots and events weren't as frequent in the old days, most of them were unique in their own way. Nowadays, it's the same events every year, and they're getting a bit stale.

Really, this all comes down to whether you would rather have several smaller events that are good, not great, and even bad every now and then or a few major events that are less frequent but are guaranteed to be amazing most of the time. If given the choice, most people would probably take the latter over the former. And TNT/Viacom/whatever just doesn't realize this.

[caughtinadreamx]

It's been stated above, but I really miss some of the older pets. I've been on the site since 2001 and the Blue Cybunny look back then was just so adorable. I get everything has to improve with time, but I'll miss those. I'll also miss Faerieland being in the SKY. I thought it was much nicer that way and made it more unique, but that's just me. :)

[Doozy]

I miss the way the xweetoks were turning around to face you, like the sassy little things they are :(

 

I wasn't around for very long before they changed it, but I remember enough to say that I preferred the old poses. However, I don't mind them now. They're still cute, even if they don't have as much personality.

 

Except quiggles.

 

Quiggles scare me.

[Duskitty]

I miss the way the xweetoks were turning around to face you, like the sassy little things they are :(

 

I wasn't around for very long before they changed it, but I remember enough to say that I preferred the old poses. However, I don't mind them now. They're still cute, even if they don't have as much personality.

 

Except quiggles.

 

Quiggles scare me.

Hahahahaha. I don't like the Quiggles either, they're just... odd. The old poses weren't that weird, but the new poses and the way they look customized... -shudders- It doesn't look natural to me. :shiftyeyes_anim:

 

I liked the old Xweetoks a bit better, too. The old pose, the one that looked like this

reminded me very much of my cat. :3

Here's the old pet poser, for all the nostalgia of old poses! :D

 

edit: HECK YEAH! 400TH POST! YEEEEE! :offtopic:

[allthestickysugar]

I miss all the old layouts for the worlds. I always get really excited for the maps to be updated and then I end up not liking them. Looking at all the old ones makes me nostalgic ;__;

[Koralis]

There was a feature in the Trading Post a long time ago that I loved and I wish they'd bring back.

 

When you made an offer on someone else's lot there was a simple sentence saying whether that user had seen the offer and are now waiting on an accept/rejection or if the user has not yet seen the offer.

 

I don't know if anyone else remembers this feature, but I liked knowing whether people were ignoring my offer or just haven't seen it yet.

[Duskitty]

There was a feature in the Trading Post a long time ago that I loved and I wish they'd bring back.

 

When you made an offer on someone else's lot there was a simple sentence saying whether that user had seen the offer and are now waiting on an accept/rejection or if the user has not yet seen the offer.

 

I don't know if anyone else remembers this feature, but I liked knowing whether people were ignoring my offer or just haven't seen it yet.

There was?!?!?!? They should bring that back. I hate not knowing if the person is being rude, or if they just haven't seen it yet, ugh.

[Koralis]

There was?!?!?!? They should bring that back. I hate not knowing if the person is being rude, or if they just haven't seen it yet, ugh.

 

There definitely was, I have no idea why TNT would remove it. It would be really useful for those that have their profile set on "Stealth" though so you don't know how long ago they last logged in.

[Ali Cat]

There definitely was, I have no idea why TNT would remove it. It would be really useful for those that have their profile set on "Stealth" though so you don't know how long ago they last logged in.

 

I don't remember this feature off the top of my head, but I could see a potential problem being harassment. If someone can see that their offer has been seen but not responded to, people might get upset and neomail the person, demanding why they didn't respond to the offer. Possible answers could range from letting a horrible offer rot to wanting to think a bit more before committing. Without this feature, the creator of the trade is protected since the possibility of just not having seen the offer indefinitely stands.

[Koralis]

Sure, or people may need the time to price out the offered items to see if the NP value correlates to an equal or over-offer. I don't see how that would really help prevent harassment though as the same thing can be accomplished by looking at their userlookup. If the person has logged in "under a day ago" and you've made the offer more than a day ago, then how could they not have seen it? If someone is going to harass someone about ignoring a trade, they would do so either way. One can just report the offerer for harassment then; after being warned they'll eventually get the hint not to send those neomails or risk being silenced/suspended/frozen for it. I could only see TNT removing this to eliminate more work for themselves in dealing with those harassment reports.

[siniri]

I miss Destruct-O-Match 2. And a few of the other retired games, though I can't remember which ones. And I miss not having a ton of events. I'm a completionist, so i feel compelled to do well in everything, and it gets draining. And skipping an event means losing out on once-in-a-lifetime avvies/site themes/prizes, etc.

 

Now that there are so many dailies and so many events, I feel like most of my time on Neopets is spent doing the "minimum," and I hardly have time to just relax and play games (which is what I did my first several years -- I missed all the events before the Altador plot because I never read the news, was scared of the Neoboards, and didn't like forums). Besides, many of the games had the fun zapped out of them from too many GMCs and DDs, and their ratios are permanently low (and the game cap is way too low considering how much easier it is to make NP other ways now). I know I could just do what I like, but again with the completionist thing. Plus my goals have grown with the site and my account age. And that requires NP. *sigh*

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

I may be misremembering, but I don't recall near as many people getting in trouble for minor offenses like setting off the filters. Or simply because they unknowingly did something that made another user mad who then reported them and got frozen without any warning. It's gotten bad enough that, on most Neo related boards, one of the most common warnings older members give to the newer members is to steer clear of the Neoboards no matter what, due to how many people have gotten warned or frozen there.

 

I've slowly started to warm up to the customization aspect, but I stick to NP clothing because having to pay to get a certain item just doesn't sit well with me. I understand that they have to make money, but it just seems that a good number of the pets just lost something when customization became the norm. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to finally have a Darigan Aisha, but I would have vastly preferred this to what we have now. And I'm still annoyed that my Aisha and Eyrie can't hold a staff or sword, just because someone's too lazy to code something other than it sticking out of the ground for quadruped pets. My Pirate Eyrie needs a sword, dang it!

 

As far as events go, I can't really say the current crop of events do anything for me. Sure, I'll participate for the NP and the prizes, but they just seem to be boring compared to other events that we've had. Given the option of an annual event like the Altador Cup or a periodic event like the Lost Desert Plot, I'll jump on the LDP any day of the week. Can you imagine how some of the newbies would react to having plot steps like exploring the Temple of 1000 Tombs, getting booted out for an hour or so after having sand or scarabs fall onto them, or figuring out how their Useless Crystals work and spending heaven only knows how long in places like the Anubis Toxicology Reports?