New Year Edition Livestream

On January 23rd, 2025, Neopets had a livestream hosted by TNT Luna. TNT Dingo and TNT Stone joined the livestream to discuss some things behind the scenes. TNT Dom held a Q&A based on community submitted questions. You can view a recording of this livestream on YouTube.

Livestream Timecodes

For your convenience, here's the important parts in the recorded live stream and their respective time codes

• Introduction [4:38]
• Interview with TNT Dingo [5:30]
• Interview with TNT Stone [33:20]
• Q&A with TNT Dom [51:00]
  1. Can we get an update on the anti-botting initiatives you promised for December-January a few AMAs ago? [51:37]
  2. Cross-account closet linking with Neopass [56:13]
  3. Is there a timeline for converting/fixing wearable items that do not show up on pets? [57:10]
  4. Why are some pets excluded from NC Pet Style releases (such as Pirate Blumaroo)? [59:12]
  5. Extending auction comma change to other parts of the site (such as user shops, banks, and trading post) [1:01:53]
  6. Could TNT consider allowing domains from approved fansites to petpages? [1:02:50]
  7. Are there any plans to add new quests to the Daily Quest log so there is more variety? Any update to the Events tab? [1:02:48]
  8. Customisation Spotlight: In previous AMAs, Invisible Pets were announced to be allowed to participate, but this is not possible yet. When will this happen? [1:04:00]
  9. Revamp to Customisation Spotlight is highly needed, when will this happen? [1:04:46]
  10. We need more NP sinks! Could you please add a capsule similar to the retired Hidden Tower capsule for Smugglers Cove items? [1:07:00]
  11. Is it possible to allow Fountain Faerie dips to stack? [1:08:00]
  12. Please consider making the Space Faerie Battledome Challenger a premium perk as the Rare Item Code redemption is broken and many people cannot get her as a challenger to get the avatar as a result. [1:08:50]
  13. Expanding high score list for competitions (eg Gourmet Foods Club, Avatar) [1:11:05]
  14. Will TNT please bring back the Random Contest! [1:11:47]
  15. Ambassadors & AMA are great, but can we get official updates and transparency? [1:12:30]
  16. Since the Codestone drop rate was increased in the BD, the rate of Nerkmids has drastically dropped. Can the old rate return? [1:13:50]
  17. When can we expect more of the site to be converted? [1:15:05]
  18. Can we get better communication regarding merchandising? [1:15:55]

Livestream Survey

At the end of the livestream, TNT Luna announced that the team involved with the livestreams created a survey to collect feedback on improving or changing the livestream's format. You can access this survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DVMHXD5 They would appreciate all constructive (either positive or negative) feedback.

TNT Dingo (any pronouns)

• Portrayed themselves as a Pink Lupe VTuber, an avatar they made themselves
  
• Dingo is born and raised in Alabama and they live with a lot of animals: 4 dogs, 3 cats, 4 foster cats and a tarantula.
• Outside of work, Dingo likes to draw, and prefers to do it as a hobby rather than a profession.
• For Neopets, Dingo is a programmer, and works on the coding that interacts with the users on a daily basis (versus the underlying infrastructure) with some backend programming.
• Likes to describe their work as “the meatball and sauce of the spaghetti code”.
• Has been a member of TNT for 4 years, and has been actively playing Neopets since they were 9 years old.
• There’s controversy of how to pronounce the Neopet, Lupe, and Dingo states that they converted the pronunciation page and says that it is “loop” and not “loo-pay” as Luna shares.

How did you get your TNT alias? Where did TNT Dingo come from?

• Dingo never liked using their real name on the internet,
• not even on sites where it is expected such as Facebook.
• Whenever making accounts, they would make up a random name off the top of their head so only people who they gave the name would know how to find them.
• One of the names was Dingo J Cockpit, and since then, Dingo stuck because people thought it was actually their real name.
• They also like canines.

How did you first get into and discover Neopets? And what was one of the earliest things you worked on when you first started working for Neopets?

• First got into Neopets when in 4th grade where one of their sister’s friends showed them the website.
• Dingo had their mom help them make an account
• After a bit, Dingo discovered the Neopian Times and fell in love with the comics.
• They then began drawing art and making characters of their Neopets.
• Learned a lot of their programming skills through making lookups and pages on Neopets!
• Hired in March 2021, one of the earliest things they worked on was converting dailies to the new site template.
• Dingo remembers that one of the first things they converted was the Kitchen Quest page, but thought it looked boring so they asked for permission to spruce it up a bit.
• They ended up coming up with an NPC dialogue box that has been used around the site since.
   

Who do you work closely with on TNT and what does your day-of-life look like?

• They work closely with the other programmers and the QA team (TNT Binary_Supagoo and TNT Unknown), though they do talk with artists such as TNT Fae regarding the collaboration and development phase of Styling Studio.
• Their average day-of-life on the job typically is checking tasks, catching up on messages, plan out an order of operations that can include meetings, and then zone out and write code until it’s dark outside.

Being multitalented (artist and programmer) how did you get into programming in the first place?

• As a kid, they thought that everyone was learning how to code because they all had their own MySpace profiles and everything - not realizing that there were sites people were getting premade layouts from
• Originally dreamed of being an artist for Neopets, but eventually realized that they didn’t want to do it as a job.
• Decided to get into programming after helping a friend with MATLAB homework and working for several hours programming something for a program they didn’t know anything about.
• Petpage layout skills can get you jobs! First job was a student job and they were surprised that very few of the other hires knew about CSS.
• “Do your best because I didn’t think I would get hired for Neopets and here I am!”
• Dream collab with the art team: Would love to help with NC Styles. Have been working a lot on the backend to allow for different types of the same pet species/colour combination (such as with the new festive styles). There are so many options with the system!
• Been the sole developer on a lot of new features, and is proud of everything that works, and frequently pitches many ideas to others.
• Most proud of the small fixes and enhancements for things that have been bothering them (and, tangentially, hundreds of other users) for ages, such as the “Book All” checkbox in the NeoLodge.
• Difficult to resolve issues tend to be weird, random data inconsistencies that need to be fixed manually, or it’s an issue at the lowest level and would require major code rewrites to fully fix (eg: allow a pet to have multiple style variations.)
• Really wants to implement an NC Trading Post. They have a concept in mind (which still uses gift boxes- those are necessary).
• TNT Luna also joked about doing an Artist’s Day Off themed NC Pet Styles.
  
   

TNT Stone (they/them)

• Has worked with Neopets for a little over 3 years and is now a senior narrative designer
• Originally brought on to write the story for what is now Faerie Fragments
• Has transitioned to work on site things, such as the on-going The Void Within plot
• Currently working with TNT Aesop and TNT Jewels on the plot, the Neopies, some things for April, and other things they cannot talk about
• Neopies Lore:
  • There was not any specific inhouse lore about the Neopies that isn’t already out there.
  • TNT basically just wanted to showcase all the new and cool stuff
  • Ellsworth doesn’t have any set backstory, but it would be interesting to dive deeper into his character.
  • The Neopies is not a very narrative-heavy event, but categories have been added year over year to make it a month-long event.
  • There was not any issue coming up with categories this year, and there will be a new premium perk this year.
  • There will be lots of opportunities for prizes (most existing, but some new?)
  • Categories are decided by a super secret committee called The Nomination Team.
• Timeline for planning a narrative feature (such as an annual event): Ideate and pitch months in advance. This is a smaller team than the teams that created some of these events in the past, and while they are growing, it’s still a struggle to make sure everything is done on time.
• Prefers a narrative-first approach (which would make sense for a Senior Narrative Designer). Not just writing copy, but thinking about the design of an event/feature - which can include creating new mechanics for the game.
• When pitching an idea, they need to be conscious of how many other teams will need to touch it, and what the workload for those teams is/if they will have time to work on it to get it done in time for that event.
• The team is working on creating new puzzles and games for The Void Within, and they are also working on improving the release schedule for the plot. For most of the team, it’s their first time working on a plot, so they have to learn as they go.
• If they could get any item created onsite as their signature item, it would be a Rock wearable with all the painted versions of the Rock petpet exist (including their old Altador Cup profile picture, which was a Rock

Q&A with TNT Dom

There wasn't an introduction, they jumped straight into the questions.

1. Can we get an update on the anti-botting initiatives you promised for December-January a few AMAs ago?

• One of the top priorities since taking over.
• The Task Force is in full force now, and a lot of fixes will start to show soon.
• They have gathered a lot of feedback from ambassadors.
• They foresee this as being a long term solution, as it cannot be solved quickly. They have done work to upgrade the backend to fight the bots.
• Three parts to the initiative:
  1. Firewalls/Content Delivery Network Service Provider:
     • Need to balance between rules to prevent botters and normal users.
     • The anti-botting rules should not impact normal users.
     • They are currently at the phase where they can start to tighten the rules.
     • A lot of accounts have been frozen.
  2. Making it harder to mass-create accounts
     • Don’t want to explain details to prevent people from circumventing it
  3. Adjust gameplay logic to make it harder for botters
     • They have identified botting trends, and are now beginning the long task of updating the game design logic without negatively impacting real users.
     • Hoping the community will begin to see the results of the Task Force’s efforts soon.
        

2. Cross-account closet linking with Neopass

• Linking accounts is the best they can do for now.
• The Closet linking across accounts is a major undertaking that they will not be able to tackle anytime soon.
• There's a lot of constraints with their database design.
• It’s on their list of things to do, but not a high priority.

3. Is there a timeline for converting/fixing wearable items that do not show up on pets?

• Aware of the issue and fixing it slowly but surely.
• The team is small and can miss things, which is why there are some items that are in the mall that are broken.
• Please keep reporting these items to Customer Service so they can be added to the list for fixes.
• They are also trying to improve the process so they can get these fixes done faster.
• The art team has been expanding, which should help improve turnaround time for these fixes

4. Why are some pets excluded from NC Pet Style releases (such as Pirate Blumaroo)?

• A lot of work goes into recreating pet styles.
• The team is expanding, so more pets can be released in the future.
• The team is focused on releasing colors/species that are ready and high quality, with the goal of releasing more pets and poses in the future.
• The missing combinations may be released in the future.
• Upcoming Pet Style Teaser: Valentines Plushie Pet Styles
  

5. Extending auction comma change to other parts of the site (such as user shops, banks, and trading post)

• The team is interested in doing these small quality of life fixes in between large changes.

6. Could TNT consider allowing domains from approved fansites to petpages?

• The team is aware of this, and agrees that this would improve user quality of life, and it is on their to-do list somewhere in the middle (so they are hoping it will be able to get done this year).

7. Are there any plans to add new quests to the Daily Quest log so there is more variety? Any update to the Events tab?

• Internally, they have begun designing Quest Log 2.0, which will add new quest types, new logic, and tasks on the Events tab.
• They are fielding suggestions from users if you have any - feel free to submit ideas!

8. Customisation Spotlight: In previous AMAs, Invisible Pets were announced to be allowed to participate, but this is not possible yet. When will this happen?

• Invisible pets can participate in Customisation Spotlight: Target April 2025

9. Revamp to Customisation Spotlight is highly needed, when will this happen?

• This is the most popular contest on the site with 30k entries regularly.
• They are looking into how they can improve the transparency on how the Customisation Spotlight works.
• They want to make sure there is a good variety in the pets/colors/users winning.
• The team is looking to make a centralized FAQ for all spotlights/contests to be hosted onsite.

10. We need more NP sinks! Could you please add a capsule similar to the retired Hidden Tower capsule for Smugglers Cove items?

• The team is looking into NP sinks in general. It’s a large task they have just started, but they are hoping to introduce more this year.

11. Is it possible to allow Fountain Faerie dips to stack?

• It would be a lot of work to get it to work, and they do not currently plan on implementing this.

12. Please consider making the Space Faerie Battledome Challenger a premium perk as the Rare Item Code redemption is broken and many people cannot get her as a challenger to get the avatar as a result.

• To confirm, the Space Faerie is only granted if a user redeems a rare item code at Grundo’s Warehouse - does not count the giveaway prizes, WOTC TCG prizes, Burger King codes, Key Quest codes, etc.
• The team is working on adding new premium perks this year, and would like to hear suggestions on what users want.
• Monthly fortune cookies are coming at the end of this month, and Premium Goodie Bags will be returning in February with an updated prize pool.
• Additionally, Premium members will get bonus prizes during the Neopies.

13. Expanding high score list for competitions (eg Gourmet Foods Club, Avatar)

• It’s on the to-do list

14. Will TNT please bring back the Random Contest!

• Not something they can work on in the near future.
• It’s a lot of manual work for the team to upkeep.
• However, Dom wants it, so maybe it will come back for a one-time basis…
• TNT Luna suggested to bring it back as a social media contest.

15. Ambassadors & AMA are great, but can we get official updates and transparency?

• This is an initiative the team has been working on. The News tab will be coming back on the site so news will be posted in a centralized location (rather than posted across various social media sites).

16. Since the Codestone drop rate was increased in the BD, the rate of Nerkmids has drastically dropped. Can the old rate return?

• The team rebalanced the drop rates, but it sounds like something may be off. The team will continue to monitor and make changes as necessary.
• When increased STR/DEF caps roll out, the Nerkmid drop rates should also be fixed.

17. When can we expect more of the site to be converted?

• The team is working on these pages as they can, page by page, case by case.
• The Shop of Offers, New Features, and General Store were recently converted, with more to come in the future.

 
18. Can we get better communication regarding merchandising? I understand TNT is not in charge of distribution, but their name is on them, and TNT does choose who to work with.

• This is a tricky issue, and some of these issues were exacerbated by the holiday season.
• The team is involved in the design and quality control of the product, but there is very little they can do about the product once it has passed final approval and gone into manufacturing.
• They are working to communicate a lot more closely with licensees to be more informed of potential issues or delays.
• Neopets is still a relatively small brand compared to some other IPs the licensees work with, so it can be difficult to get the attention needed when things go wrong.
• Some delays, such as the Jumbo Plushie delay, is on TNT. This is based on miscalculation of the time needed to manufacture these products.
• Regarding merch not shipping internationally: This is up to the licensee. They prefer to work with licensees that can ship internationally, but this is not always an option. Even in some cases where it is an option, the licensee wants to see there is demand in the US/North America first before expanding to other countries.
  
   

 

Live Giveaway Code

As a reminder, you may only use this on your main account as its only one redemption per player. It will expire January 25th at 5PM NST. You can redeem this at the Grundo Warehouse using the code BAHBOROVAN