Greetings Citizens.  I have news of the new Loyalty Challenge item!  Just  look, it’s like something out of a grand wizard’s apothecary shoppe.  I gasped in admiration, and I confess, a little fear when I saw it for the first time.

This powerful looking claw, suspended within mysterious purple liquid, floats in a jewel encrusted vial.  The vial itself is made of yet another claw, its metallic talons holding fast to its precious contents.

This magical claw comes to us from the savage jungles of South America .  It is the claw of the mighty Condor.  The Condor is the largest flying land bird in the Western Hemisphere.  The ancient Inca peoples worshiped the condor.  It has been rumored that this claw may have formed part of some  ancient ritual, although we have been unable to get more information as to its origins.

What an amazing item to display in your space; make sure that you complete the four weekly challenges and win yours!

I’m just longing to find out what the August item might be.  In June we received the snake vial curled around its own venom, and now in July we can win The Claw.  When the Combobulator comes with the V2.0 release, I can only wonder (with a small shiver up my spine) just what these three will be transformed into.  Snake venom + condor claw + ?… may equal something quite frightening!

Tell me more about the Loyalty Challenge

To win The Claw, you’ll need to complete four weekly challenges before the end of July.

What’s the Weekly Challenge?

The weekly challenge is to complete one featured mission, Gambit task, or Peanut Labs task each day for three days in a row.

The first weekly challenge you complete, you’ll win 1000 tokens and move up to Emerald level.

The second weekly challenge you complete, you’ll win 1500 tokens and move up to Sapphire level.

The third weekly challenge you complete, you’ll win 2000 tokens and move up to Ruby level.

The fourth weekly challenge you complete, you’ll win 3000 tokens and move up to Diamond level.

As you complete each weekly challenge, you’ll see your gems ‘fill up’ in your gem holder on the right side of your screen.  The lines underneath show how many daily missions you have completed for the week.

Like to know more?

Once you’ve completed a weekly challenge, you won’t lose that challenge if you skip a week or if a new month starts.  When you complete the Diamond level you get the collectible for the current month.  To get all three Loyalty Challenge items, you need to complete four weekly challenges before the end of June, four by the end of July, and four by the end of August.

To read information about the Loyalty Challenge inworld, just click on your gem holders which are located at the top right of your screen.

~ Kent Kronkite

The 4th of July is almost here – the day in which America celebrates its signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.  This most American of holidays will be marked with flags, parades, fireworks, hot dogs and backyard barbecues across the length and breadth of the USA.

In honor of the many Americans that make up the growing SmallWorlds community, we’ve got a lot of great stuff planned to help you celebrate the 4th of July.   We’re hoping that you’ll choose to spend your Independence Day right here in SmallWorlds – and we’ve got lots to entice you with!

[a small piece of the original Independence Day document]

We hereby proclaim a Week of Feasting – Starting 29th June!

As you’d expect, we’ve got a huge celebration party planned, starting with a fantastic Independence Day Feast!  The doors will swing open just after midnight on the 29th June SWT.   Come hungry, because we’ve arranged a Hot Dog Eating mission for you!

The space is totally red, white and blue, not to mention as ‘star-spangled-bannered’ as you might wish for… come pay a visit!   As well as hot dogs (a necessity for any Independence Day feast!), we’ve got outdoor Barbeques, USA-themed music, everything you need to soak up a good strong dose of that great American patriotic spirit!

And Fireworks Galore!

Independence Day would be incomplete without lots of fireworks, and for our celebration party we’ve pulled out all the stops.   We’ve taken advice from some serious pyrotechnic experts  and arranged a stupendously impressive fireworks display for you!

One of our pyrotechnic advisers spoke in tones of awed reverence as he told me about the 2009 Macy’s fireworks show in New York City – apparently this will  feature more than 40,000 shells exploding at a rate of more than 1,500 per minute (8 times more than their 2008 show).  Wow!

For those unable to to attend this impressive-sounding show, the SmallWorlds display will start after midnight on Monday 29th SWT and go on non-stop for several days (it’s a little smaller but much longer than the New York City show!).  And the best thing about our fireworks display is that you can come along with ALL of your friends, no matter where in the world you all live!  How do you get to see the fireworks? Once you’ve competed in the Hot Dog Eating competition, you can unlock the entrance to the fireworks display.

Independence Day – Special Items

We’ve got some great new items to help you decorate your space, giving it some real 4th of July style. Make a visit to Garden Life and pick up a picnic table and barbeque.  You can also purchase your own Independence Day balloons from the Independence Day Room.

Star Spangled Banners all the way!

To end this report, I thought I’d include a couple of interesting 4th of July tid-bits…

• Here’s a link to a very creative 4th of July video, using footage of many past US presidents – i think you’ll enjoy it!
• In July 1776, the estimated number of people living in the newly independent nation was 2.5 million.  The population of the USA this July 4th will be 304 million!
• And, lastly a quote from the Declaration itself:   “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. -The Declaration of Independence 4 of July, 1776.

My very best wishes to you all for Independence Day 2009.  I look forward to seeing you at the feast and at the wonderful fireworks display!

~ Honesty Blaize

Greetings SmallWorlds citizens. I’m very excited to bring  you this ‘sneak preview’ report on the upcoming SmallWorlds release.  The date for the V2.0 release is getting ever closer, and it’s packed full of new features!

In fact, V2.0 has so many exciting new features that despite working day and night for weeks, the SmallWorlds team have unfortunately found it necessary to delay the release date.  But don’t panic, its just a small delay, moving the release date out just a few more short weeks out from the end-of-June date we had given you previously.

When you see all the great things coming up I’m sure that, like me, you’ll understand why the release date got pushed out a little.  So come citizens, let’s take a look!

Autumn, Winter or perhaps Lava-Theme your Outdoor Spaces!

Remember last winter when everything went white? Now you can choose to change the theme of your outdoor space, choosing between four different options – Autumn, Winter, Lava and Default/Normal.

This feature is available to all citizens, and you can change your theme as often as you  like!

Changing a theme will change the overall ground and  water appearance of a space; items like trees, plants and rocks will transform to fit in with the chosen theme.   You’ll be able to access Themes using the Space Settings panel and Theme Settings will replace the Lighting tab (existing lighting functions will be incorporated into the Theme tab).

Create a Group!

Ever wanted to form a members-only club here on SmallWorlds?  Good news! The upcoming release includes a ‘groups’ function, enabling you create your own groups, from fan clubs, to special-interest groups… perhaps even a vampire nest!

You’ll be able to assign a specific space to your groups, as well as manage security and memberships..   You can choose to make groups private (e.g. “My Friends”) or open to anyone (e.g. “Fans of Star Trek”).

You’ll also be able to search in-world for groups, linking you with like-minded people… helping you to  make even more friends here on SmallWorlds!

What about the Combobulator?

Citizens, alongside all this exciting information, I have news of an unfortunate delay.   Our developers have just made the discovery that the much anticipated  Combobulator requires a code change to work – and this change can only be done as a part of the V2.0 release.   You can probably guess what I’m going to say next – sadly the Combobulator cannot be released until V2.0.

The whole SmallWorlds team would like to offer their sincere apologies to all citizens who have been patiently waiting to combobulate their dragon eggs.  I can assure you that your patience will be well rewarded!

Risking all, I stole once again down to the SmallWorlds Laboratory to see if I could discover more.  I located the Combobulator, and spotted something in a locked room next to it.  I moved quietly towards a peephole in the door, sure that I would finally discover the dragon egg combobulation prize.  Then I heard some armed guards approaching.  I was so frightened I didn’t even look through the peephole!  I did manage to snap this one quick shot with my camera as I fled in terror.

The picture was not of good quality, but it sent shivers down my spine when I saw it.  I know you are waiting with great anticipation to combobulate your eggs – but I feel must warn you that when the time comes, you do so with caution.

Challenges and Wagering

Enjoy a little wager here and there?  Love throwing down that gaming gauntlet?  In Version 2.0, you’ll be able to play games for either tokens or gold and really get your adrenaline pumping!

You’ll be able to challenge your friends to better your scores in all Player vs Player games (those requiring 2 or more players to play simultaneously -  e.g. Chess, Chinese Checkers, Pool, etc.).  Or you could send your friends a token wager using in-world email or through your social network page for single player Arcade games.

You’ll be able to play the game of your choice, get the highest score possible, and then challenge other people to beat it. Your opponent will have 3 attempts to beat your score.  If you lose the wager; you can always go and practice some more, make another wager and win it back!

Not being a terribly competitive person myself, I’m not sure I’ll do much wagering (I really prefer a nice crossword) – but I am looking forward to Johnny Wilde’s reports on all the fun that citizens are bound to have with this great new feature!

Player Vs Player Games

The new Player Vs Player gaming is going to be a lot of fun, citizens!   Remember the new Game Arenas being created? Here’s another one you’ll be able to play in soon!   If you’d like to create a team, you might like to do so first using the new groups function.  Together, you can then enter a game arena, challenge another team, decide the bet and then may the best team win!

There’s no need to form a group to use the arenas –  you can visit a Game Arena on your own and look for a team needing an extra player.  As Johnny Wilde reported recently, your avatar attributes will come in extremely useful to you now – you’ll want to go for high health and speed attributes depending on what game you’re playing.  If you’d like more details on PVP gaming, read Johnny’s recent blog post for full details.

SmallWorlds Orientation Space

Want to know what else you can do in SmallWorlds? We’re launching a new Orientation Space for both new and existing players.  It will serve a  similar function to the current first-time-user screen, but as you can see, the space will be much easier to use as well as providing a friendlier introduction to SmallWorlds!   Here you’ll find introductory videos, missions, as well as other help to get new citizens up and running in SmallWorlds in no time at all.

Even if you’re a SmallWorlds regular, you’ll find it a useful place to visit to get your bearings again.

A Bigger, Better SmallWorlds Chronicle!

The SmallWorlds Chronicle is set to expand for V2.0.

Yes, your favorite online community newspaper is due to get much bigger and better!  It’s a really useful thing to check in with when you first log in, and very soon you’ll be wanting to read it from cover to cover.  Here is an image of one of the new sections. As you can see, Honesty and I, and our team of new colleagues, are going to be busy!

We’re adding some great new pages; here are a few new columns you can look forward to:

• ‘Interior Design Nirvana’  - Interior Design with Coco Jones
• A comprehensive ‘Help’ section where all your questions will be answered
• Style Virtualista  - with Clothing & Style adviser Remy Montoya
• Interviews with SmallWorlds citizens
• Contributions from SmallWorlds citizens (Yes, that means you!)  I’ll be bringing you more details about this very soon!

Bathrooms

Hugely requested, and long awaited… all those citizens who have been ‘holding on’ for some months now will be able to indulge in a long hot soak or steaming hot shower. Ahhhhh!

Smallworlds  - getting better all the time!

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that with each and every release, SmallWorlds just gets better and better!  And remember, this is simply a ‘sneak preview’ – that means there’s MORE to V2.0 than I’ve been able to share with you here!  I’m looking forward to bringing you the full story on the 2.0 release soon.

In the meantime, keep building those Citizen Levels!

~Kent Kronkite

Greetings SmallWorlds citizens, I have exciting news!  You can now see your Citizen Level on the SmallWorlds Chronicle.  Your exact number of Citizen Points are not currently shown, but they will be displayed in your ‘My Profile’ panel after the V2.0 Release.

What are Citizen Levels?

Citizen Levels are going to be the most important attribute your avatar can have.  They can be achieved by earning Citizen Points.

1 Citizen Level = 20 Citizen Points

Earn Citizen Points by Inviting Friends

• Invite a friend from your Social Network (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo), and receive 1 Citizen Point instantly!
• When that friend installs SmallWorlds and comes into the world for the first time, you get 20 Citizen Points.
• If you invite a friend using email or the ‘Make a Friend’ option on the Avatar Editor, then when that friend enters SmallWorlds and verifies their email, you get 1 Citizen Point. When that friend gets to level 20 in any of the XP Paths (Gamer, Explorer, Artist, Social), you get 20 Citizen Points.

You gain a Citizen Level for every 20 Citizen Points earned. Got 20 friends on a Social Network? Invite them all in one swoop, and jump up one Citizen Level. If all those friends come and check out SmallWorlds, your Citizen Level will be over 20 and you will officially be part of the SmallWorlds Elite!

Earn Double Points!

For a limited time only, Dan SmallWorlds is offering to give everyone DOUBLE Citizen Points! That’s right, from June 5th until Version 2.0 is released, Dan will match any Citizen Points you earn by inviting friends, point-for-point.

Earn Citizen Points for VIP Membership

All VIP members will now receive 60 Citizen Points (3 Levels) per month. That means if you purchase a 12 month VIP membership, you’ll receive 720 Citizen Points (36 Levels)!  These Citizen Point earnings will be applied retrospectively for all VIP members.  This applies to all VIPs whether purchased by Gold or otherwise.

What will Citizen Levels give me?

• Access to new exclusive ranges of items.
• New Title system, including being announced when you enter spaces
• A weekly salary of Gold when you complete the weekly Loyalty Challenge
• XP and Token Bonus when doing missions.
• Boost your avatar’s natural Health and Speed. Important for PvP Game Arenas (read more about these here).
• Take part in special Votes that determine future features and events in SmallWorlds.
• Gain advantages in upcoming Mini-Games, that will in turn give you special in-world privileges (this will be in a future release).
• Some of the above features will be available in the V2.0 Release, and there will be more benefits to having high Citizen Levels in the future.

I Want a Higher Citizen Level!

It’s easy! Just start inviting friends using one of these methods:

• Click the Share button while you’re inworld and follow the prompts to invite friends by email or through social networks.
• Sign into SmallWorlds on Facebook or MySpace, then click the Invite Friends to SmallWorlds link.  This link is at the bottom of the Facebook or Bebo window, and at the top of the MySpace window.
• Send someone a postcard of you in SmallWorlds!  Just click on the camera to take your shot, then follow the prompts to send it.
• Make an avatar for a friend! Click on the Make a Friend link in the Avatar Editor and have fun making an avatar for them.

Winter has well and truly arrived here in New Zealand. To warm things up a little, it seemed high time for a nice fireside chat with one of the co-founders of SmallWorlds – Darren Green.

I’ll be asking Darren to speak about the recent economy changes within SmallWorlds, clarifying some of the concerns which have arisen, as well as solutions to address the inequities which arose from the changes. He’ll also give us a taste of some pretty exciting stuff coming up over the next 3 to 6 months. So, cozy yourself up and let’s hear what he has to say…

Honesty: Darren, thanks for making time to talk!  I’m curious to know what drew you into this business. Why virtual worlds and online gaming?

Darren: I’ve spent a great deal of my working life in this arena… gaming and 3D companies, so I’ve put a lot of hours in at the coal face!  But really I just love gaming!  In  my leisure time I play a lot of on online games. I think I must have played nearly every MMORPG that’s ever been created. I play online FPS games – of course I love playing in SmallWorlds too!

Honesty: What ‘floats your boat’ in your spare time?

Darren: When I get a little more time away from creating SmallWorlds, I’d like to play some more tennis as well as dust my mountain bike off and head out into the forests – there’s some awesome tracks in NZ.

Honesty: There’s been some recent changes to the SmallWorlds economy. What were the reasons for the changes?

Darren: It’s not only Dan SmallWorlds who has ambitious plans for SmallWorlds. We’re wanting to add new elements, develop new types of gameplay, create new content… the reality is that in order to keep taking the game to the next level, we need to improve our ability to finance our new developments by encouraging more players to buy or earn Gold. Change is always difficult, and thanks to all the feedback from our great community, we now know that the changes have had a few negative impacts and we’ve been working hard to find solutions to them.

Honesty: Thanks for bringing that up Darren.  As you know there are citizens out there who feel that earning tokens and doing missions now hold less value than before, as does purchasing gold and VIP. Can you address these concerns?

Darren: Sometimes when you make changes it’s hard to see some of the fallout.  We will always listen to the community and we’ve heard your frustrations.   One of the big complaints has been that earning Social XP for Offers diminished the reasons for doing missions and buying gold. So we’ve decided to remove Social XP from offers - when you complete a Gambit or Peanut Labs offer you will receive Gold only. So, as of early next week, Social XP can again only be earned in-world, particularly by completing missions.

Honesty: Many citizens have been saving their tokens for a long time to purchase high-end wearables only to discover that these are now a gold-only purchase. A ‘token amnesty’ has been mentioned. Can you tell us about that?

Darren: Their frustration is understandable. We’ve come up with a solution that I think you’ll all like. For a four-day period, from Friday thru Monday SWT, we’ll be opening a temporary store, the Token Thrift Store. All wearables that have been previously available for tokens (and are now only available for gold) can be purchased again for tokens - for a limited time only! Monthly collectibles and unreleased items will not be sold! The store will be staffed by a moderator to assist you. Please visit this forum thread for important information about the store before you visit.

I also want to add that 50% of items in SmallWorlds can still be purchased with tokens, and normally there is at least one item for each “set” or range of items that can be bought with tokens - you just need to look out for them.

Honesty: You’ll be aware that Gambit and Peanut Labs offers are unavailable to many citizens outside of the US.  What about citizens from other countries?

Darren: I agree, it’s not as fair as we’d like it to be, and we’re limited by these third-party companies as to what offers they have on their systems. Currently, many are only available to US citizens. Finding a more inclusive solution is important to us, and we are looking.

Honesty: I’ve heard rumors about Citizen Point payouts for those who purchase VIP memberships…?

Darren: You’ve heard right, Honesty.  We’ve decided to add yet another great benefit to the VIP membership package. All VIP members will now receive 60 Citizen Points (3 Levels) per month. That means if you purchase a 12 month VIP membership, you’ll receive 720 CPs (36 Levels)! These CP earnings will be applied retrospectively for all VIP members.  This applies to all VIPs whether purchased by Gold or otherwise.

Honesty: Darren, I think all these changes are going to be appreciated, thanks to you and the team. To finish off, we’re all so curious to know more about what’s coming up in the next 3 – 6 months…

Darren: Well Honesty, there’s a lot to share! Obviously I’d like to keep a few things up our sleeves but here’s some of the exciting stuff we’ve got coming up…

• NPC’s – Non Playing Characters:  These are avatars that you will be able to purchase, then customize using the avatar builder. Then, using the NPC Artificial Intelligence (AI) Interface, you’ll be able to create this character to serve you! You may want a bartender, a bodyguard, a ghoul – the choices are endless. Citizens will be able to dramatically extend the in-world experiences they create, from The Sims(tm)-like doll houses, to mini MMOG-like adventures.
• Smarter Pets – Building on the NPC system, we’ll be extending the abilities of your pets and their ability to interact with items and other players. Now you really will be able to teach your old dog some new tricks!
• Clothing Range Extends & New Clothing Stores: We’ll be substantially extending the current range of clothing items. What’s more, we’ll be adding the ability to purchase clothing in-world at a range of new clothing Stores! You will be able to enter the store, try on an item, and if it looks cool, make your purchase!
• More New Games: We’re working with a number of Game Developers of single and multi user games to connect them into SmallWorlds high score and tournament systems – great for all you avid gamers out there.
• New Furniture and Interactive Objects:  We’ll be continuing to make new furniture releases and interactive items over this period, so you can keep the look of your space fresh, as well as evolving the online experiences you create.

Honesty: Thanks so much for your time Darren, that’s a lot of great  information I can share with all SmallWorlds citizens!  I’d like to summarize the main points:

• Token Amnesty:  A four-day opportunity to purchase those high-end wearable items you’ve been saving for as a token-only purchase.
• Earn your Social XP by doing missions and other in-world activities – no social XP for doing offers.
• Citizen Points as part of VIP package - 60 Citizen Points  / 3 Citizen Levels per month
• NPC’s, Smarter Pets, New Clothing + more… lots of exciting stuff to look forward to in the future!

Well there you have it Citizens, SmallWorlds really does listen!

I really enjoyed catching up with Darren, and hearing his responses to your concerns.  It’s so exciting to learn some of the  upcoming features we all have to look forward to!

I’m signing off now,  I’m off to Mysterios to make sure I’m clear about what items I want to buy with all the tokens I’ve been saving up, in readiness for my late night visit to the Token Thrift Store! Maybe I’ll see you there.

~Honesty Blaize

Want to upload your own music and have it play in your own space?  How about your own personal greeting welcoming visitors to your room?  SmallWorlds is pleased to be able to bring you these new SoundCloud players!

As an introductory special, you can find them at Dan’s Imports at a great price - 50% off normal retail!

What is SoundCloud?

SoundCloud is a site that allows you to upload your own music and have it play through one of these stereos.  (You can tell they’re SoundCloud players by their orange display panels).  You can also search for and play music that other people have uploaded, as long as those tracks as marked ‘public’.  You can add up to five public tracks to your playlist.

These SoundCloud players are perfect if you’ve got a great music collection you want to listen to, or if you want to broadcast your own tracks.

(Please respect SoundCloud’s community guidelines and only share tracks that you have the right to share).

SmallWorlds has Doubled the Gold Payout on all Peanut Labs and Gambit machines, making it even easier for you to earn Gold.

Use the links below to get started right now.

What Do I Have to Do?

We’ve been working with Peanut Labs to ensure their surveys are easy to complete.  For most of them, there’s no need to give away any personal information or buy anything.

How much can I earn?

If you play missions for 30 minutes you can earn up to 600 tokens.  Compare that to doing offers with Gambit and Peanut Labs.  In 30 minutes you can earn up to 1,000 Gold, which equals 10,000 tokens!

There are of course other offers you can choose to complete, the surveys are simply one option.

Making Gold is Easy and Quick!

If you haven’t tried earning Gold before, why not give it a go?  If you’re already earning Gold, it’s just become easier to make more!