The December 2024 AMA took place at 5pm NST on Thursday, December 12, 2024.
The AMA was first announced on November 28, about fourteen days in advance.
This AMA was dubbed "Winter Edition" and featured Neopets CEO Dom Law as usual. It also included discussion with TNT Unknown and TNT Goldfish in Bowl. TNT Luna returned as host for the seventh consecutive month.
Questions could be submitted in advance on TNT Luna's Neoboard topic in Site Events. You could submit your own question, as well as copy as many questions submitted by others as you wished.
How to Watch
The AMA was simulcasted on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter/X, Twitch, and Instagram. It remains available for viewing on the first three of these platforms:
TNT announced in advance that there will be "an EXCLUSIVE universal item code redeemable at Grundo's warehouse." The code was revealed as STARLIGHT near the end of the livestream, redeemable at Grundo Warehouse until December 14th at 5pm NST.
TNT announced that they will be giving away "holiday presents" as "real-time prizes" during the livestream. You can find details of that as part of the recap below!
Recap
Questions for TNT Unknown
Luna started by bringing out TNT Unknown, a Neopets QA developer.
Tell us about yourself?
From Michigan, but has lived in seven other states.
Has a bachelor's degree in video game design.
QA for Neopets for the last three years.
What was your first task at Neopets?
Halloween Trick-or-Treating event in 2022.
Changed the way images are placed and how users interact with the bags.
"Users don't usually think about the QA department very much" unless something goes wrong.
If he's doing his job correctly, you won't even know he exists!
What was one of the most challenging issues you've encountered and how was it resolved?
Idle pet selections after pet slots were released. Some players weren't receiving the pop-ups to select idle pets. TNT Unknown could not recall the exact solution.
Birthday cupcakes. They were meant to be limited to once per pet per year, but some players were finding a way to feed more. Resolved by changing how records were synced.
What is the process for fixing something at Neopets?
Starts with a message in an internal channel for customer service team to report issues.
TNT Unknown's team will investigate the steps to reproduce the bug, and write up a report for the dev team to resolve the bug.
The dev team will plan for when they can fix it, then the QA team will confirm the fix.
How do you prioritize the work?
Consider how many users are affected. More users = more important.
Consider the impact of the bug. For example, potential lost data is more urgent.
More obscure issues that affect fewer players or have little impact will be placed on a backlog for future work.
If the reported issue can't be reproduced, or wasn't clear, they rely on the customer service team to get more information from the users.
Can you think of a time when the code was "particularly spaghetti-y"?
The team tries to develop the code in modules, which means they are self-contained and connect to other modules. (This is generally the opposite of spaghetti code.)
Biggest "spaghetti" issue was a glitch where it was possible to redeem map pieces without actually consuming them. Their first fix inadvertently removed all access to the Lab Ray!
Is there a feature you had a part in planning that didn't get implemented?
Wrote a pitch for a new minigame for the Altador Cup modeled after a fish-catching minigame from Jak and Daxter (see video below).
Is there anything you would say is your favourite feature you've worked on?
Has had at least "a pinky" (if not a hand) in almost everything that's launched in the last couple years.
Favourite was pet slots. He really enjoyed the excitement from the users about pet slots!
Second favourite is NeoPass. He enjoyed being able to connect the parts of the Neopets ecosystem.
Since your name is "Unknown," if you were an Unown Pokemon, which would you be?
Luna pulled this question from the live chat.
He is not familiar with their personalities, but thinks he would be Unown D.
Unown "D"
First Giveaway
Luna then invited live viewers to put their best pea-related pun into the chat. The winning pun was "PEAS PEAS ME BY THE RUKEETLES" from YouTube user Cytric Acid, who received the below prize.
Luna then invited live viewers to suggest a seasonal version of an existing item, the way the Seasonal Attack Pea is compared to the Attack Pea. The winning suggestion was "Seasonal Chive of Death" from a Twitch user whose name is a bunch of special characters we don't know how to type! They received the below prize.
Are there plans to release more of the converted 25th Anniversary species? Only five were released at launch.
"We're working on it already."
Strategically, TNT is trying to get more merch licensees to produce 25th Anniversary products, and may want some releases on site to tie in with those.
TNT has previously stated that they would release drop rates for various capsules in the Mall, but we haven't heard anything since and it's not on the road map. Is there an update on when we can expect gacha drop rates to be published?
Currently working on an overhaul of the NC Mall user interface, and the drop rates will be incorporated as a part of it.
Expecting to have this ready by "end of February [or] early March" 2025.
Because it's an important update, they want to do more QA than usual.
Will a capsule that re-releases retired capsules ever be released?
"That's interesting."
It is something they are thinking of a way to try to re-release old capsules in 2025.
Will unreleased/unactivated items in the past two decades ever be released?
Yes, including today's AMA code!
Dom then says he wants to make a statement on the recently released blind box plushies.
Dom notes there have been a lot of delays with fans "getting their hands" on them.
Licensees help develop the products, but once they are given to retailers like Hot Topic, TNT have no visibility or control to how or when they get onto shelves.
TNT have "been trying to track very closely" but "these delays are something we can't control."
If TNT gets updated news, they will release it to the community.
The Void Within plot is taking a break! All point gathering activities are on hold until "early 2025" according to TNT. Stay tuned to JN, we'll announce when a more firm return date is provided.
Long before the current Yifang Fruit Tea and tsun scoops promotions, Neopets-themed chilled treats were available at smoothie giant Jamba Juice. Check out our retrospective:
