NeoDex - User contributions [en]

Skeith

2020-02-27T06:17:49Z

Tag365:

{{PastFeatured}}
{{Infobox neopet
|NeopetImage=Shadow_skeith_cropped.png
|RainbowPoolID=45
|LowerCaseNeopetName=skeith
|SPECIALDAY=25 September
|inf=<s>Skeith</s>
}}

The '''Skeith''' is a [[Wikipedia:Gargoyle|gargoyle]]- or [[Wikipedia:Dragon|dragon]]-like [[Neopet]], and one of the original 14 when [[Neopets]] began on November 15, 1999. As one of the largest Neopets of [[Neopia]], they are quite strong but also lazy, preferring to get smaller creatures to do things for them. As is the case with several myths about dragons ([[Wikipedia:Fafnir|Fafnir]] or [[Wikipedia:The Dragon (Beowulf)|the dragon in Beowulf]]), Skeiths often hoard or guard treasure - for example, tax collector [[Gordos]], the [[National Neopian]] [[bank manager]], or [[Meridell]] treasurer [[Snargan]].

Skeiths are capable of eating anything, including [[furniture]], [[Petpet]]s, [[Petpetpet]]s, [[codestone]]s, [[dubloon]]s and [[Paint Brush]]es, an ability which only Skeiths and [[Grarrl]]s have. This makes it very easy to keep your Skeith well fed, as users can simply feed their Skeith items they wish to get rid of. Some Skeith have even [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=2&id=71 threatened] to eat other Neopets.

Although Skeiths are typically depicted as greedy, they don't require their owner to feed them any more regularly than any other Neopet. However, when a Skeith is hungry and its owner visits the [[Quick Ref]] page, it may snatch and consume an item from the user's [[inventory]]. When it does this, it becomes bloated. While they can eat anything, Skeiths come down with [[Disease|Neezles]] when fed anything with the word ''cheese'' in the name.

The Skeith is adorned with spikes and wings, and while these wings can support a Skeith's weight, Skeiths do not appear particularly aerodynamic. In the [[Neopets Trading Card Game]], they are typically associated with the element of Dark.

==Etymology==
Skeiths are [http://en.reddit.com/r/neopets/comments/1hhhii/bingo_borovan_is_confirmed_ask_him_anything/caujv3g/ named for] ''[[Neopets]]''' first artist Alex Skeith.

==Colours==
Skeiths are currently available in the following [[colour]]s:

{{columns|
*[[Baby]] - ''May 16, 2002''
*[[Blue]] - ''Default''
*[[Brown]] - ''July 20, 2001''
*[[Camouflage]] - ''September 25, 2013''
*[[Checkered]] - ''September 24, 2004''
*[[Chocolate]] - ''September 15, 2005''
*[[Christmas]] - ''September 25, 2013''
*[[Cloud]] - ''August 14, 2002''
*[[Darigan]] - ''April 11, 2003''
*[[Desert]] - ''September 25, 2014''
*[[Dimensional]] - ''September 25, 2012''
*[[Disco]] - ''September 24, 2004''
*[[Electric]] - ''September 27, 2011''
*[[Eventide]] - ''September 25, 2014''
*[[Faerie (colour)|Faeire]] - ''June 2, 2010''
*[[Fire]] - ''September 10, 2001''
*[[Ghost]] - ''September 25, 2003''
*[[Gold]] - ''November 14, 2003''
*[[Glowing]] - ''September 26, 2009''
*[[Green]] - ''Default''
*[[Grey]] - ''September 26, 2006''
*[[Invisible]] - ''September 25, 2003''
*[[Halloween]] - ''September 26, 2009''
*[[Jelly (colour)|Jelly]] - ''September 25, 2007''
*[[Ice]] - ''September 26, 2017''
*[[Island]] - ''March 4, 2004''
*[[Magma]] - ''December 15, 2009''
*[[Maractite]] - ''September 25, 2012''
*[[Maraquan]] - ''August 16, 2005''
*[[Mutant]] - ''October 7, 2005''
*[[Orange]] - ''September 25, 2002''
*[[Pink]] - ''September 26, 2006''
*[[Pirate]] - ''September 26, 2005''
*[[Plushie (colour)|Plushie]] - ''November 26, 2002''
*[[Polka Dot]] - ''September 23, 2016''
*[[Purple]] - ''September 25, 2001''
*[[Rainbow]] - ''September 25, 2002''
*[[Red]] - ''Default''
*[[Robot]] - ''September 25, 2002''
*[[Royal]] - ''September 25, 2008''
*[[Shadow]] - ''Unknown''
*[[Silver]] - ''September 25, 2003''
*[[Sketch]] - ''Unknown''
*[[Skunk]] - ''September 7, 2001''
*[[Snow]] - ''December 23, 2006''
*[[Speckled]] - ''September 25, 2007''
*[[Split]] - ''September 26, 2005''
*[[Spotted]] - ''April 20, 2004''
*[[Starry]] - ''September 24, 2001''
*[[Strawberry]] - ''September 25, 2010''
*[[Striped]] - ''Unknown''
*[[Tyrannian]] - ''Unknown''
*[[Transparent]] - ''September 25, 2010''
*[[Water]] - ''September 23, 20166'
*[[White]] - ''Unknown''
*[[Woodland]] - ''September 27, 2011''
*[[Wraith]] - ''September 26, 2015''
*[[Yellow]] - ''Default''
*[[Zombie]] - ''September 26, 2017''
}}

==Trivia==
*As of November 2010, over 3 million Skeiths have been created, ranking them 34th in popularity among Neopets. They are also featured in 284 different [[item]]s.
*Some Skeiths say the [[Scado]], a [[Tyrannian Petpet]] which resembles a [[Wikipedia:Coconut|coconut]], tastes like a coconut too.
*The [[Gnar]] is said to have an appetite to match the Skeith.
*The ''Dried Bamboo Chair'', a piece of furniture, is said to even support the weight of the Skeith.
*Magma Skeiths don't have wings.

==See also==
*'''Famous Skeiths:''' [[Archos]], [[Draconus Maximus]], [[Edmund]], [[Gordos]], [[Haskol]], [[Kayn Hireck]], [[King Skarl]], [[King Hagan]], [[Malkus Vile]], [[Mungo Lifler]], [[Portolio]], [[Quiggle Warlord]], [[Siliclast]], [[Slychi]], [[Snargan]], [[The Three]]
*'''Games:''' [[Biscuit Brigade: Hagan's Last Stand]], [[Caption Competition]], [[Castle Battles]], [[Cellblock]], [[Double or Nothing]], [[Grumpy Old King]], [[Hungry Skeith]], [[Invasion of Meridell]], [[NeoQuest]], [[NeoQuest II]], [[Plushie Tycoon]], [[Skarl's Scramble]], [[Stamp Collector]], [[Sorcerers' Skirmish]]
{{species}}

==External links==
*'''NeoDeck:''' [http://www.neopets.com/games/neodeck/colcardlookup.phtml?colcard_id=9 Lord Luparn], [http://neopets.com/games/neodeck/colcardlookup.phtml?colcard_id=190 Draconus Maximus], [http://neopets.com/games/neodeck/colcardlookup.phtml?colcard_id=228 Slychi the Skeith Invader]
*'''Neopets TCG:''' [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=2&id=61 Blue Skeith], [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=2&id=71 Darigan Skeith] [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=2&id=96 Skarl's Personal Guard], [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=2&id=107 Green Skeith], [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=3&id=51 Green Seven], [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=6&id=76 Hagan the Wise], [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=6&id=87 Skarls Orders], [http://www.neopets.com/tcg/displayCard.phtml?edid=9&id=53 Skeith Bandit]
*'''Caption Competition:''' [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=3 #3], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=14 #14], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=28 #28], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=128 #128], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=145 #145], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=147 #147], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=152 #152], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=186 #186], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=188 #188], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=192 #192], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=211 #211], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=219 #219], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=224 #224], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=254 #254], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=270 #270], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=279 #279], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=317 #317], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=322 #322], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=337 #337], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=367 #367], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=370 #370], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=445 #445], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=451 #451], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=468 #468], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=489 #489], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=515 #515], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=523 #523], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=549 #549], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=565 #565], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=568 #568], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=575 #575], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=577 #577], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=578 #578], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=596 #596], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=616 #616], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=620 #620], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=623 #623], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=641 #641], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=669 #669], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=696 #696], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=706 #706], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=712 #712], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=732 #732], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=742 #742], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=749 #749], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=757 #757], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=801 #801], [http://www.neopets.com/games/caption/caption_archive.phtml?place=819 #819]
*'''Help File:''' [http://www.neopets.com/help_search.phtml?help_id=30 Why are my items disappearing?], [http://www.neopets.com/help_search.phtml?help_id=319 Can you really feed toys and dubloons to pets?]
*'''Editorial:''' [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=11 11], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=19 19], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=27 27], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=37 37], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=40 40], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=45 45], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=49 49], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=65 65], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=74 74], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=77 77], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=89 89], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=98 98], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=103 103], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=104 104], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=110 110], [http://www.neopets.com/newnt/index.phtml?section=editorial&week=133 133], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=160 160], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=190 190], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=204 204], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=209 209], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=211 211], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=213 213], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=222 222], [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=232 232]

[[Category:Neopet Species]]

Neopets

2017-12-20T20:21:33Z

Tag365:

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Neopets''}}
[[Image:Neopets 2 layout.png|right|thumb|400px|Screenshot of the front page taken on 3 April 2012.]]
:''This article is about the website. For the inhabitants of [[Neopia]], see [[Neopet]]. For other uses, see [[Neopets (disambiguation)]].''

'''''Neopets''''' is a [[Wikipedia:Digital pet|digital pet]] gaming website founded on 15 November 1999. It is set in the world of [[Neopia]], a planet where creatures called [[Neopet]]s live. Players can create and adopt these [[Neopet]]s, build and furnish a [[Neohome|home]] for them, and earn [[Neopoints|currency]] by playing [[games]] in order to buy books, food, furniture, and so on. Neopets can be painted different [[colour]]s and [[Neopet Customisation|customised]] with different clothing.

The site is free to play, supported by [[wikipedia:Display advertising|banner advertising]] and [[Wikipedia:Sponsor (commercial)|sponsored]] games. However, users may sign up for [[Neopets Premium]], introduced in 2004, for [[wikipedia:USD|$]]7.99 per month, which hides the advertising and provides access to special features including access to beta versions of developing games. Between 2006 and 2009, a subscription-based [[Neopets Mobile|mobile phone application]] was operated that allowed subscribers to access an [[Lutari Island|exclusive area]] of Neopia and care for their Neopets from their mobile phone. Additionally, in 2007, [[The Neopets Team]] introduced [[Neocash]], which can be bought for real money and used in turn to buy special wearable items for Neopets. It functions as a separate economy: Neocash and Neocash items cannot be traded for Neopoints.

==Company history==
Development of ''Neopets'' began in 1997 by [[Adam Powell]] and [[Donna Williams]], [http://en.reddit.com/r/neopets/comments/1hhhii/bingo_borovan_is_confirmed_ask_him_anything/caujv3g inspired] by the game ''Teknosphere'', an online game where players "sent [a robot] into cyberspace". The [http://www.reddit.com/r/neopets/comments/26fwhh/i_am_donna_one_of_the_founders_of_neopets_ask_me/chqotc7 original idea] was to make a [[wikipedia:Java|Java]] applet rather than a website, where players would take control of their Neopet to explore the virtual world. While it was being programmed, Adam began building a tie-in website. The Java game was never finished, with the development of the website taking over.

The website finally launched on 15 November 1999. By [[wikipedia:Christmas|Christmas]], the website was receiving [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/neopets.html?pg=2 over 600,000 page views a day]. By January they were seeking further investment, and Doug Dohring, who was experienced in market research, saw the website's potential and bought the company. After this, the company's offices moved from [[wikipedia:Guildford|Guildford]] in the [[wikipedia:UK|UK]] to [[Wikipedia:California|California]], [[Wikipedia:USA|USA]].

''Neopets'' continued to expand both on and off the web: in November 2001, the company trialled merchandise at a few select stores in California, and the following year more merchandise became available in the USA through [[Wikipedia:Tween Brands|Limited Too]] shops. Merchandise was launched in the UK through [[Wikipedia:Claire's|Claire's Accessories]]. The [[Neopets Trading Card Game]] was launched in September 2003 and would continue until 2006.

In 2005, media company [[wikipedia:Viacom|Viacom]] bought ''Neopets'', [http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/06/21/viacoms_mtv_buys_neopets_for_160m/ reportedly] for $160 million. The same year, Adam and Donna left [[The Neopets Team]], the staff who are responsible for running the site and producing new content.

The website received a [[Neopets 2.0|redesign in April 2007]], complete with redrawn artwork for all Neopet and colour combinations and the ability to dress them up. In July 2008, Viacom branded ''Neopets'' a [[Wikipedia:Nickelodeon Virtual World|Nickelodeon Virtual World]], and launched the spin-off site [[Petpet Park]] that October. Petpet Park would close in October 2014.

The website celebrated its one trillionth page view since its founding in 2011.

In March 2014, it was announced that Viacom had sold Neopets to [[wikipedia:Jumpstart|Jumpstart]], an educational children's games brand. They [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=637 explained] they were interested in Neopets due to its "loyal user fanbase, and [its] older audience".

==Gameplay==
Players of the site must sign up for a free account. This allows them to own Neopets and participate in the world. Each account can own up to four Neopets, a shop, a [[gallery]], and a Neohome each. A player may also sign up for up to four additional "side" accounts to own more Neopets, but they may not use these additional accounts to earn Neopoints. Players are expected to care for their Neopets, including [[food|feeding]] them, [[toy|playing]] with them, and curing them of any [[disease]]s they may catch. Players can use the [[Quick Ref]] page to keep track of their Neopet's needs.

Basic care of Neopets can be learned from [[Neopets Jr.]], a simple version of the site catering to young players or those new to the website.

Neopets has its own functional economy. Players earn Neopoints primarily from playing [[games]]. These Neopoints can be used to purchase [[item]]s. The main way new items enter the economy is when they are bought from [[wikipedia:Non-Player Character|NPC]] [[shop]]s. Items can be sold between users in player-owned shops, and many users turn a profit from buying up cheap [[item]]s, that have a high resell price, when shops restock. Items can be bartered for other items in the [[Trading Post]] or auctioned off at the [[Auction House]]. Some rarer items - such as [[paint brush]]es and [[Treasure Map]] pieces - are only given out by [[random event]]s or as prizes from [[plot]]s.

Plots are story lines that occur in the Neopets world. They often involve the release of new themed worlds, and users can follow the story and participate by solving puzzles or fighting in the [[Battledome]] - a game where trained Neopets are equipped and fight [[wikipedia:Turn-based strategy|turn based battles]] against other competitors. They are the main means that events effecting the whole of Neopia transpire.

Players may set themselves other goals, including collecting certain items to display in a gallery, or filling their [[Stamp Album]] or [[Neodeck]]. They may train and arm their Neopet for the Battledome, seek to paint and customise their Neopet, or decorate their Neohome. The most well decorated Neohomes can be entered into the Neohome Spotlight, which awards trophies to the players with the best Neohomes. Other spotlights include the [[Art Gallery]], to which the player may submit their drawings, the [[Poetry Contest]], and the [[Gallery Spotlight]]. The website also operates weekly contests like the [[Lenny Conundrum]] and the [[Caption Contest]].

The site also operates the [[Neopian Times]], which publishes player authored stories, articles, comics and series of long stories. It features an editorial where The Neopets Team answer players' questions too.

===Community===
A large portion of the site is given over to community interactions. Users can view other users' profiles (called [[user look-up]]s) and their Neopets and trade with them. Players over the age of 13, or those under 13 who have returned a parental permission form - in accordance with the USA's [[Wikipedia:Children's Online Privacy Protection Act|Children's Online Privacy Protection Act]] - can send [[Neomail|messages]] to each other, talk on the site's [[Neoboards|chat boards]], and can form themed [[guild]]s with their friends.

Certain games, like the [[Battledome]] and [[Kacheekers]], can be played with other players over the internet.

===Rule breaking===
The Neopets Team have several systems in place for dealing with rule breaking. Minor infractions may often receive a warning at the discretion of the staff, whereas repeated or more serious infractions can be dealt with by suspension: this prevents a user from accessing their account or anything associated with it - e.g. its Neopets, its Neopoints, its shop - until the suspension has elapsed. Suspensions can be issued for different lengths of time, and subsequent suspensions tend to be longer.

For very serious or continued rule breaking, the player can be frozen. This permanently locks the user out of their account, and any other user who searches for that player will just receive a message that the account in question is frozen. If a player believes they have been wrongly frozen, they can submit a frozen account ticket in the Help section to have the case reviewed and submit extra information about what happened. All the details of the account remain saved, so if the review finds in favour of the player the account can be restored in its entirety.

For rule breaking specifically relating to the Neoboards or contacting other players, a user may be silenced for a period of time. While silenced, they can still play the site but cannot communicate with other players at all, nor modify their user or pet look-ups.

None of these actions are carried out by automatic systems: an employee of Neopets reviews each case before acting.

==Merchandise==

''Neopets'' produces a range of merchandise, including plushies, stickers, and stationary. The merchandise retails at many mainstream outlets such as [[Wikipedia:Wal-Mart|Wal-Mart]], [[Wikipedia:Target|Target]], and [[Wikipedia:Limited Too|Limited Too]] (which was the first outlet for Neopets merchandise). There are also online retailers involved, such as [http://99dogs.com 99dogs] and [[Wikipedia:Zazzle|Zazzle]].

In September 2003, the [[Neopets TCG|Neopets Trading Card Game]] was published by [[Wikipedia:Wizards of the Coast|Wizards of the Coast]]. The trading cards are a collectible card game based on characters and settings from the website. As well as being collected they can also be used in a two-player card game. In addition to the base set of cards, there have been nine expansions mostly set around the site's plots. The last expansion was released in 2006.

Several off-site video games have also been released, starting with ''[[Neopets: The Darkest Faerie]]'' in 2005 for the [[Wikipedia:PlayStation 2|PlayStation 2]] then ''[[Neopets: Petpet Adventures - The Wand of Wishing]]'' in 2006 for the [[Wikipedia:PlayStation Portable|PlayStation Portable]]. In 2008, ''[[Neopets Puzzle Adventure]]'' was released for the [[Wikipedia:Nintendo DS|Nintendo DS]], [[Wikipedia:Wii|Wii]], and [[Wikipedia:PC|PC]], and in 2009, the [[wikipedia:Leapfrog Didj|Leapfrog Didj]] exclusive title ''[[Quizara's Curse]]'' was launched. Five types of electronic handhelds have been released: four types of [[Mini Pals]], a keyring sized accessory where the player cares for a Neopet, and a [[wikipedia:Zizzle|Zizzle]] toy featuring ten games in one.

Between 2003 and 2008, [[Wikipedia:Beckett Media|Beckett Media]] published a bimonthly magazine called [[Neopets: The Official Magazine]]. Twenty six issues were published before the magazine was discontinued.

In 2005, it was reported that a [[Neopets (film)|''Neopets'' film]] was in pre-production, but nothing has materialised.

==See also==
*[[Monkey Quest]]
*[[Petpet Park]]
*[[Treasure Keepers]]

==External links==
*[http://www.neopets.com Neopets Official Website]
*[http://www.neopets.com/portal/index.phtml Premium Portal]
*'''Editorial:''' {{oed|51}}, {{oed|52}}, [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=221 221]
*'''Selected Petpages:''' [http://home.neopets.com/templates/homepage.phtml?pet_name=Leto Leto's Premium Neopets FAQ]
*[http://www.neopets.com/neopets_demo.phtml Introduction to the site]
*[http://info.neopets.com/presskit/index.html Official Neopets Press Kit]

[[Category:Neopets|*]]

Neopets 2.0

2017-12-20T20:20:11Z

Tag365: Fixed spelling errors.

'''Neopets 2.0''' was a major [[Neopets|site]] overhaul rolled out on 27 April 2007. It was primarily an update to allow greater customisation: for the first time, players were able to dress up their Neopets. The site layout was also updated, having stayed mostly unchanged (aside from the addition of banner adverts in 2004) for eight years. Structural changes to the coding of [[user lookup]]s were intend to add greater flexibility for user customising, and the site menu was altered to make navigation easier.

==Neopet customisation==
:{{main|Neopet Customisation}}

This update introduced what [[The Neopets Team]] described as "hands down, the most requested feature over the last 8 years" - the ability to customise how Neopets appear with different clothing and outfits. In order to do this, images for all species and [[colour]]s were reimplemented as [[Wikipedia:Adobe Flash|Flash]] files, as were images of clothing. The Flash files for different customisable items and the correct species and colour combination could then be imported into one image.

As a consequence of this, all the images of Neopets were redrawn. Poses were also altered to give all species the same zones ('Backpack', 'Jacket', 'Left-hand Item', etc) that clothes can be applied to. Poses for most colours were broadly the same, so an item of clothing needed only to be drawn once per species in order to fit most members of that species. Some colours - for example [[Mutant]] - cannot wear normal clothing.
[[Image:Unconverted vs converted grey kougra.png|thumb|300px|right|An unconverted (left) and converted (right) [[Grey]] [[Kougra]]. Both images were newly drawn for the update.]]
For some species-colour combinations, these redraws were considered very radical and owners of these Neopets were given the choice to not convert to the new poses (the art was still updated, but retaining the old design). Unconverted Neopets cannot wear clothes, but can have customised backgrounds and scenery. Most species-colour combinations were not given this option: TNT explained they did not wish to maintain two systems any more than necessary.

Not all existing clothing was made 'wearable' on release of this update. Items of clothing associated with certain colours - for example, the [[Royal]] colours - became incorporated into this system. When painted a different colour, the Neopet retains items of clothing from the previous colour in their closet. These items cannot be traded, however.

==Layout==
[[Image:Neopets-homepage.png|left|frame|Screenshot of the revised front page.]]
The original site layout was designed to fit an 800 x 600 [[Wikipedia:Display resolution|screen resolution]]. By 2007, however, 800 x 600 had been [http://www.onestat.com/html/aboutus_pressbox51_screen_resolutions_internet.html surpassed] as the most common resolution of internet users by 1024 x 768. Redesigning the layout for the higher resolution allowed more horizontal screen space to be used. As well as altering the site visually, the revamp permitted the coding to be updated to comply with newer standards.

[[The Neopets Team]] explained that their main goal was to make navigating the site less confusing. The vertical menu side bar of the old design was replaced with a horizontal menu, and hovering over each menu item opens a list of shortcuts. Ten menu items in the former design became seven in the new: the "[[Neomail]]" and the "Create-a-Pet" items were incorporated into a new "my account" item, the "stuff" (formerly "world") item was discontinued, and the help item was moved to a second set of links at the bottom of the page. Later, two menu items were added for the [[NC Mall]] and Neopet customisation. On 12 June 2012, "pet central" was moved to the drop down list for "explore".

A box displaying information about the player's active [[Neopet]] was added and is displayed alongside most pages of the site (excepting [[game]] pages, the NC Mall, the [[Pound]], and preferences pages). Another box listing the player's online [[Neofriends]] was also added.

The coding and layout update 'broke' customised [[user lookup]], Neopet lookup, and [[guild]] homepages - [[TNT]] explained that it was "not something [they]'re able to prevent when the whole site gets a rewrite like this". However, the new pages were meant to make it easier to build customised layouts: the information on user lookups is now divided across several [[wikipedia:Span and div|divs]], each with their own IDs which allows them to be restyled independently.

==Release==
Although the Neopet customisation mechanic was part of a beta test, its finalisation and the revamped layout was kept secret until release day - the only hint that change was to come was the previous day's news, which had been replaced by a giant [[Meepit]] image captioned, "YOU ARE NOT PREPARED".

There was initially a lot of backlash against the update, with concern about the redrawn Neopets and how the new layout broke existing customised [[wikipedia:HTML|HTML]]. The Neopets Team responded to some of the most commonly raised issues in a [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=289 special editorial].

==External links==
*'''Editorial:''' [http://www.neopets.com/ntimes/index.phtml?section=editorial&issue=289 #289]

[[Category:Neopets Terminology]]
[[Category:Customizable]]