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Post by Herdy on Dec 25, 2016 16:33:54 GMT -5
They were doing so well with today's until the random spinning human Santa at the end ruined it for me. |
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 25, 2016 23:18:22 GMT -5
Day 25: (Merry Enemy-mas!) ANIMATION: The animation is cute. True King Altador & Fyora and Hanso & Brynn aren't enemies, though them exchanging gifts feel more adorable then the enemies exchanging gifts (probably because its possible canon). However I do have one problem with the animation: at the end, the letter had a human santa on it. *Sigh* Okay, yes, Snow Wars does have a human Santa as an opponent, but that's an OLD game with outdated art. You couldn't just have picked one of the Christmas colored Neopets that are dressed like Santa or one of these other Neopet Santa images? GIFTS: These items probably would had been nice if they were furniture. Actually, they could have at least made the fountain a wearable. And with the winners of the Dream Neopet Giveaway announced I do what I do every year with it: I go through the list and price, when possible, how much it normally would have been to morph and paint a Neopet that color. Note that I am in no way saying a user was wrong in asking for the Dream Neopet on the cheaper side of things, it's more I'm curious how much the price range difference is: Not Available Any Other Way: Ice Bori
Lab Ray Only: Robot Krawk, MSP Poogle (x2), Robot Draik (x2)
Lab Ray or Rainbow Fountain: Mallow Grundo, Chocolate Draik, Jelly Kau, Jelly Cybunny
Lab Ray or Feeding Lot of Garlic: Garlic Kiko
(x2) Stealthy Cybunny: Yellow Cybunny MP (450k) + Stealth PB (6.2 mil) = 6.65 mil
Stealthy Draik: Pirate Draik Morphing Potion (170k) + Stealth Paint Brush (6.2 mil) = 6.37 mil
8-Bit Wocky: Strawberry Wocky MP (17k) + 8-bit Power-Up Potion (6 mil) = 6.017 mil
Maraquan Gelert: Christmas Gelert MP (700k) + Maraquan PB (4.3 mil) = 5 mil
Transparent Draik: Pirate Draik MP (170k) + Transparent PB (4.5 mil) = 4.67 mil
Transparent Hissi: Red Hissi MP (130k) + Transparent PB (4.5 mil) = 4.63 mil
Maraquan Draik: Pirate Draik MP (170k) + Maraquan PB (4.3 mil) = 4.47 mil
Maraquan JubJub: Purple JubJub MP (7.5k) + Maraquan PB (4.3 mil) = 4.308 mil
Mutant Acara: Acara Transmogrification Potion = 4.3 mil
Plushie Kacheek: Disco Kacheek MP (600k) + Plushie PB (3.3 mil) = 3.9 mil
Plushie Cybunny: Yellow Cybunny MP (450k) + Plushie PB (3.3 mil) = 3.75 mil
Wraith Uni: Green Uni MP (10.5k) + Wraith PB (3 mil) = 3.011 mil
Eventide Gelert: Christmas Gelert MP (700k) + Eventide PB (2.3 mil) = 3 mil
White Kacheek: Disco Kacheek MP (600k) + White Paint Brush (2 mil) = 2.6 mil
Halloween Cybunny: Yellow Cybunny MP (450k) + Halloween PB (1.9 mil) = 2.35 mil
Faerie Ixi: Striped/Tyrannian Ixi MP (150k) + Faerie PB (1.9 mil) = 2.05 mil
Grey Ogrin: Red Ogrin MP (1.3k) + Grey PB (2 mil) = 2.002 mil
Royalboy Draik: Pirate Draik MP (170k) + Royal PB (1.75 mil) = 1.92 mil
Halloween Poogle: Red Poogle MP (10k) + Halloween PB (1.9 mil) = 1.91 mil
Halloween JubJub: Purple JubJub MP (7.5k) + Halloween PB (1.9 mil) = 1.908 mil
Royalboy Chomby: Pirate Chomby MP (150k) + Royal PB (1.75 mil) = 1.9 mil
Royalgirl Korbat: Spotted Korbat MP (70k) + Royal PB (1.75 mil) = 1.82 mil
Royalboy Scorchio: Striped Scorchio MP (34.5k) + Royal PB (1.75 mil) = 1.785 mil
Royalgirl Elephante: Golden Elephante MP (11k) + Royal PB (1.75 mil) = 1.761 mil
(x2) Darigan Draik: Pirate Draik MP (170k) + Darigan PB (1.4 mil) = 1.57 mil
Water Draik: Water Draik Morphing Potion = 1.5 mil
Baby Elephante: Golden Elephante MP (11k) + Baby PB (570k) = 581k
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Post by doctortomoe on Dec 26, 2016 4:25:31 GMT -5
Is it just me, or did they give the Lutari a rat tail?
And if they didn't, I think they forgot to add some lines and made it the same color as the tree he was in front of. |
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Post by PFA on Dec 26, 2016 11:48:43 GMT -5
It seems like they're doing a lot of Altador-themed animations this year. I can hardly complain though, I have fond memories of both the Altador plot and The Darkest Faerie video game, lol.
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 26, 2016 13:28:26 GMT -5
Day 26 (Stealing The Party) ANIMATION: A sweet little animation. I do wonder what Velm's exact job is on the council. To tell what thieves in Altador can and cannot do? To hunt down any thieves? Try to convince any thieves or would be thieves there's a better and honest way of life? I don't think it has anything to do with policing the streets as that more falls under Torakor's territory with him in charge or the army and guards.
I think today's nitpick is obvious: what's up with the Lutari's tail? Did whoever do the animation forget to add the rest of it or did they not know what a Lutari's tail look like?
GIFTS: Um, Altador doesn't use dubloons, or at least its not the official currency.
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Post by Strider on Dec 26, 2016 16:01:53 GMT -5
I'm going to be holding on to the pouch of dubloons for a while. It's already gone up from 18900 to 19000-something on the super shop wiz as people open theirs. It's gonna be a good investment. |
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Post by doctortomoe on Dec 29, 2016 18:05:54 GMT -5
It seems really mean to give that to Count Von Roo as a Christmas present. |
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Post by Carolyn on Dec 29, 2016 20:44:15 GMT -5
Awww, poor Von Roo. What did he ever do to you two?
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Post by Kyn on Dec 30, 2016 1:24:35 GMT -5
Day 29 - Count von Roo The Book of Ages implies that the two Blumaroo kids (Karan and Sara) were captured by von Roo after they strayed into his manor in search of a lost ball. That would explain the purpose of the key — it unlocks the exit. What I wonder is where the kids got the garlic from, assuming that they had been in von Roo's clutches this entire time. That said, von Roo was quite friendly in this animation and seemed happy to receive a present, so I did feel sorry for him.
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 30, 2016 4:03:59 GMT -5
Day 27 (Cake Spelling) ANIMATION: Cute though a little confusing. So what, did the Xweetok somehow swap out the ingredient list tricking Edna into making a cake? If not, what did the Xweetok do at the end with the two papers? Day 28 (Dances With Cannibals) ANIMATION: And the adventure of the Unlucky Holiday Ogrin continues! This year he somehow got caught by cannibals. It was a cute animation overall. Day 29 (Kill 'Em With Kindness) ANIMATION: Thanks to Kyn for making sense of this animation. I knew the Blumaroos were of Karen and Sarah from Von Roo's Neopedia article but I had a hard time figuring out what was happening. At first I thought they were going in to try and retrieve their ball so I was confused why Von Roo gave them a key and they left without it. Now it makes much more sense they were being held captive (for what must have been over, say 15 years at least?) and Von Roo allowed them to leave though they left the ball behind (which you think after 15 years they'd stop caring about). Don't know why Von Roo let them go, did he make them serve him for a certain amount of time and it was up? Was this a wild gambit on Karen's and Sarah's part, if he said no they were hoping the garlic would knock him out long enough for the to grab the key and escape (where did they get the garlic than?). Also did they age at all? I think JS raised a lot more questions then they were intending with this one.  GIFTS: But hey, Plushies of obscure characters are always welcomed! Also they could have at least made the key holdable. Day 30 (Faerie Catch) ANIMATION: Balthazar caught Illusen and Kari?! Huh, guess he must of caught them off guard during the holidays (which must have happened sometime between the 25th and now). Balthazar looked a bit too happy having been thwarted by Faeries, he probably would be fuming.
GIFTS: Ooh, the vest looks nice! Not sure why they specified the Fire and Light Faerie bottles, would have thought they'd make those random like with with the Dubloon they gave.
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Post by Huntress on Dec 31, 2016 9:41:11 GMT -5
Day 31: "You know, instead of lighting an arrow on fire and firing it at a very specific point on a pile of barrels to trigger the fireworks, you could've just had a dude standing by with a box of matches."
"What's your point?"
Dainty Aisha lady is awesome. Anyone know who she is? That's a pretty precise character design. With all the lengthy storytelling we got this year, that's a pretty high bar set for upcoming years. With any luck they'll be exploring more of the obscure bits of lore. That's the upside of the new management, everything is new to them so there isn't a bias towards the constantly used and reused popular characters only. ALSO ALSO, the Moehawk Winter Special Concert is on at the Tyrannian concert hall, so you can make use of that there ticket which you presumably kept. Man, it's been ages since I went to the concert hall. It's nearly the same Moehawk clip you usually get, and you also get a fan T-shirt, which I thiiink aren't incentive enough for people to try to hoard the special tickets unless you really really like the t-shirt.
But, y'know, not complaining, Moehawk is the closest I'm able to get to my kind of music in Neopia xD |
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Dec 31, 2016 11:03:39 GMT -5
Day 31: "You know, instead of lighting an arrow on fire and firing it at a very specific point on a pile of barrels to trigger the fireworks, you could've just had a dude standing by with a box of matches."
"What's your point?"
Dainty Aisha lady is awesome. Anyone know who she is? That's a pretty precise character design. With all the lengthy storytelling we got this year, that's a pretty high bar set for upcoming years. With any luck they'll be exploring more of the obscure bits of lore. That's the upside of the new management, everything is new to them so there isn't a bias towards the constantly used and reused popular characters only. ALSO ALSO, the Moehawk Winter Special Concert is on at the Tyrannian concert hall, so you can make use of that there ticket which you presumably kept. Man, it's been ages since I went to the concert hall. It's nearly the same Moehawk clip you usually get, and you also get a fan T-shirt, which I thiiink aren't incentive enough for people to try to hoard the special tickets unless you really really like the t-shirt.
But, y'know, not complaining, Moehawk is the closest I'm able to get to my kind of music in Neopia xD If I remember correctly, that Aisha was from the now defunct Neopets Magazine or the TCG. Herdy would probably know I am a little bit irked that JSN used the Chinese New Year (after all, Shenkuu is loosely based on real life Asia), which is based on the lunar calendar, rather than the traditional Gregorian calendar. It goes to show that there are some things that they need to be aware of. Then again, it is refreshing to see something different rather than the 'passing of the torch'. |
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Post by Duke Pikachu on Dec 31, 2016 15:48:37 GMT -5
Day 31 (Happy Cultural New Years!) ANIMATION: Well, it is a form of New Years (though the wrong one that's not even happening for another month from now). But you know what, Advent Calendar only happens during December and, though we have the Shenkuu Lunar Festival to celebrate it normally, it won't get an animation so I think we can overlook this. BTW, Huntress , the Aisha is called the Guardian of Shenkuu. As Ian Wolf-Park said, she had a short story about in the Neopets Magazine (though oddly not in the Shenkuu issue). She is a pretty interesting character and I was surprised to see her in the animation. Also liked they included Lunara's Kazeriu, another nod to the Neopets Magazine (though it has appeared elsewhere, its name is Umbra according to JN's Book of Ages). And like with them remembering Vyssa, like they remembered Terrana also exists. Though its odd they excluded the Emperor during the celebration. GIFTS: D'aww, the Christmas Fir is cute. Though its a bit out of place, shouldn't it have been one of the gifts for Christmas? Well, this is the Advent Calendar, maybe JS thought it should end with a Christmas item as well as a New Years. Though maybe a Christmas Kazeriu or Stealthy Fir would have been more matching. Rocking Moehawk Christmas:Of course my attention is more on the Moehawk Xmas Special Ticket. Being I highly doubt JS made a Moehawk Christmas concert animation, is this ticket just a gift item? Can it be used for a normal Moehawk concert (not that anyone would use it for that)? Well it's SDB fodder eitherway, or for a Gallery wherever it fits. Well... So they did make a Seasonal Moehawk concert. Though thinking about it probably wasn't too had, all they needed was add Christmas decorations, Santa hats on the Moehawks, and use a music synthesizer to make a short rock riff of a public domain Christmas and/or New Years song. Wait, they didn't do that last part? Oh, well, at least if you attend they give special prizes! A shirt, plushie, an mug. Oddly all of them mention they were given out by the Advent Calendar which I guess is SORTA true... well, half true. Though you got a Ticket from the AC, you can buy a one (but only one) from the Ticket Booth. The shirt is the best if only because you can do something with it, being wearable. Not sure what theme it would work with, maybe a concert fan/garage band theme? The Plushie is cute, all the bands should have plushies. The Mug is just SDB Fodder... so of course its the one I got. Oh well, keeping one of the Tickets as I see no reason to use it and the gifts I think would remain affordable as more people quickly go to claim them, I was able to find all three on the Shop Wizard at around 90k. But anyway, good job JS. I would have given you full kudos if you adjusted the song slightly to play a bit of something like "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" or "Auld Lang Syne", but making the 3 exclusive items was nice bonus. 
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Post by Herdy on Dec 31, 2016 17:35:57 GMT -5
About the Guardian of Shenkuu... her inclusion is so odd (seeing as I don't think she's been in any readily reusable advent flash before) that I wonder if they were going with some sort of mystery theme? Like, Terrana luring Lunara to the Temple was meant to be her "Sis! Something's going on at the temple! OH GOSH INTRIGUE!", and then Lunara shows up and see's the Guardian, who promptly grabs a bow and arrow and Lunara gasps as in, "Oh no! I've walked into a trap and someone's trying to assassinate me! GUARDIAN SAVE ME!". Only it's actually fireworks and everyone laughs like you do after you realise you're not going to die after all and "Oh my, canapes?"
JS have improved vastly this advent but I do feel the thought bubbles are having to convey far too much. And let's never have the spinning greetings ever again. |
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