The Chaos of Unconverted Neopets

[@frootydragon]

There's no way they would have made this choice without in depth lengthy discussion internally. They knew it was going to upset the playerbase overall, but it most likely had to happen. I'm totally fine with this choice and plan to continue playing myself. About the line art changes, if you look at the original art of UCs, they had the black bold line, so the soft color isn't really close to the original UC.

[@miaomiaou_]

I kind of love that the OG UCs will also be converted and put an end to this trading drama and hierarchy. It makes neopets, neopets again! And for those that still want to trade up for names, more power to them 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@tefnutofhoney2832]

Exactly! The heirarchy and elitism is annoying! Also, Personally, I cant stand people who exclusively see their virtual pets as a thing of value, a token to trade as they see fit. It feels skeezy to me.

[@forsooks2057]

@@tefnutofhoney2832 As someone who just quietly kept my UCs to myself because I enjoyed them, I got to say-- The people who have openly gloated and celebrated us having our pets converted I think are just as wildly off base as the people upset that their UCs are "losing value". Like, maybe both groups are wrong.

[@forsooks2057]

Pets will always have some sort of intrinsic value attached to them so long as pet trading as a thing. This has been true ever since limited edition pets were introduced-- These pets were inherently "cooler" because they were more rare. The same thing happens whenever a new brush or really nice looking color comes out. I remember when mutant acaras were released-- You were immediately "cool" if you had one. The "I have a cool pet" flaunting is sort of unavoidable in a game where the whole premise is... Get this, collecting cool pets and customizing them. To be clear, people were the most mad at UCs because a) they wanted them, and b) they were difficult to get a hold of. You cannot convince me that people being glad that OGs are being converted is nothing more that sour grapes on behalf of the people celebrating. I did not see a SINGLE UC owner complain that UCs were suddenly becoming available to everyone, just the fact that theirs were being forcibly converted. Like-- I had a few "high value" UCs who were my permanent pets for years and years while I quietly played the game, and to see people coming out and calling me elitist and talking about me like I've committed a Great Sin of owning a UC and now I'm getting my due recourse is honestly really lame.

[@theamandafiles]

off to a great start with the disclaimer i fucking love you thank you for making this

[@ronnbumble]

Personally, if you still have that UC trading segment somewhere, I would love to watch it! Especially if it changes forever, having the history/old perspective is valuble! Thanks for the great video 🤍🤍🤍

[@justice5188]

I'm so glad to finally be able to have complete control over my customization via NCUCs instead of having to deal with insufferable UC traders and a tier list that's just straight up unreliable (sorry maureen)

[@DrawciaGleam02]

Yeah I've heard about UC traders being elitist....

[@OverlordVal]

Awesome video, ty for posting it despite the uh. Big changes. Ill be sooo honest though i love the bold black outline 😭 it makes it easier to see and makes the visual language more consise with the rest of the site

[@hunterkveps]

Honestly I can see both sides, and I believe overall they fumbled the roll out of this and I do sympathize with people who have sunk a lot of time into UC trading, but this is definitely overall a good thing. I saw someone compare UCs being available to everyone and people getting mad about that as how boomers feel about cancelling student debt, and I can't unsee that. Yes, sure, you paid a lot of money for your student loan and paid it off, and that's shitty, but that's the fault of the educational system, not people who get their debt excused. In the same vein, yes UC spent a lot of time and NP trading, and yes that time is in vein, but it's overall better for the collective good who now has access to the pets they love but maybe couldn't afford to spend the time and energy to get. And if they didn't autoconvert receive, old UCs were just going to continue being part of that elitist club, and yes, by definition UCs were always an elitist club due to the low supply. I've also seen some pretty nasty things from UC traders - people saying that with a price tag, how will people in "third world countries" be able to afford them. a) What an incredibly out of touch thing for someone to say, coming from someone who has access to a computer and tonnes of spare hours to be on neopets b) it's giving tokenization to support their cause. Idk, like I said, not very great or clear rollout, but the community response has been incredibly over the top.

[@SirRias]

I understand the feeling that this is undoing a lot of trade work, and I think it's cruel that they made the announcement right as they shut down the pound. And I think that having them come in waves is a strange move. But I do appreciate that they've brought the old styles back, and I personally like the updated art so far. Some of them may be less whimsical (like the ixi), but I think it's more readable. Especially since it's on the smaller side. And I'm also glad to be able to finally have a faerie xweetok that looks like its flying!

[@VultureSkins]

17:10 to be fair, it wasn’t actually right after or without warning. It was only like a two-day warning though, which sucks for people who didn’t have the time to organize a trade or even find out. Two days is a small window to work with, and considering the price still hasn’t been confirmed, it’s a little worrying. A lot of users care a lot about UCs and it’s important in Neopets history. Some people have been playing for years, even decades, and a lot of those long-term players who were around for the original conversion or the fallout have probably become really attached over the years. Like let them mourn a little you know? Get their estate together, trade, all that.

[@forsooks2057]

This is exactly it. From what I saw on the pound chat, most people were just really upset their pets were being converted. For me, I painted some of my UCs myself and chose to keep them unconverted after the first conversion. I'm sorry that some people felt like it was unfair that other people had UC pets, but that's-- With all due respect, that's not really my problem. I never gloated on the boards, never made fun of people for not having UCs, and I gave away more pets than I traded. The way some Neopians have been openly laughing at our sadness is really uncool.

[@boocrimson7720]

On one hand the way you explained this I'm genuinely worried about the negative impact on the neopets economy, even as a newer player trying to build my way up. However, I am also genuinely excited to get back the faerie Xweetok because the converted one isn't half as fun as the tiny tooth fairy wings carrying a fox twice the size and it looks so much better and sillier and cuter I don't dislike the Xweetok converted pose as much as a lot of people but I kinda do with the faerie one it was the only conversion that genuinely upset me from back in the day. Also any unconverted wocky has got to be better than the converted one ... I just am not a huge fan of the wierd eyebrows and it's going to make my decision of whether to covert Matches_451 (after farenheight 451 and to revive a pet from an old trashed account matches50) an interesting one since I was just going to have him painted fire and heavily customize him with MME's I got in the re-roll by luck but if we get "unconverted" versions or even new pet art versions of the pets and fire is particularly cool I may honestly unconvert him instead and just leave him fire with no accessories despite having most of what I need and see if I can trade his wig and eyes

[@MiharuTheFox]

It's crazy to me that this whole conversion thing started in 2007. I must have left the site earlier than I thought because I didn't learn about this until years later and I was so confused.

[@EileenChow2007]

I love your side comments, love seeing the resurgence of neopets. Didn't realize the thicker lines bothered people. Wondering how many will unconvert

[@Bones1220]

Definitely exciting news.

[@purrfaite]

I’m so happy about this choice ♡

[@Moemoeourandiaries]

I’d be really interested to see the cut parts of this video! I think it would be useful for a historical Neopets perspective Maybe you could upload it as a Patreon reward so not all of your hard work goes to waste ? Sorry for the absolute shit storm you’ve had to deal with, but thank you for releasing this video! As someone who has never UC traded, and is horribly out of the loop, I found it really helpful to understand how Neopets has been operating up to this point and what changes are being made 💕

[@clarkispotamia]

this was so wild to watch go down live the chat was nuts. i have 3 ucs so i have several horses in this race lol but i agree that touching original ucs is a bad move. i worry about the quality of the art as well based off of the ixi. i was planning on making a ncuc faerie ixi but fr who approved that... anywho i think overall im still excited but if they fuck up my werelupe's art its on sight

[@riry0ku]

The worst part about this to me is that pets wont need to be painted the appropriate colour to be NCUC'd. For one, it skips one of the most integral game play steps of the site - painting your pet. Secondly, if you still needed to get the appropriate colour for your dream NCUC, this is what would help keep the PC board lively. People could still save for PBs, trade for dream pet colours, trade FFQs, Premium Perks and lucky lab zaps. I think it would be a healthy change for the PC board and shuffles would still be really fun. TNTs defence regarding the no-PB part of NCUCs was that it was to stop PBs from being inflated. There are other ways to stop that from happening. We just got the weekly quests. Why not change the weekly prize pool to include Faerie, Darigan and Grey paint brushes? Or add other fun ways of introducing more of them into the economy, thus increasing the gameplay on the site instead of cutting out an integral step of the dream pet process. I think the no-PB aspect of the NCUCs is the biggest flaw in the plan which is going to have long term negative effects on the game. I pray they change their mind on this before it launches.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

Eh, I'm the opposite. I hate having to save up millions of NP for paintbrushes.....

[@caitlynstarrparrish]

Yuss!! I needed something to watch while I eat this delicious sandwich! Salem coming in to save my ass again

[@VultureSkins]

I hope your sandwich is so good!!

[@lyycanthropy]

I was really excited for the introduction of NC UCs, particularly some of the unreleased ones like the Grey Draik- I never got into pet trading because I prefer to make/name my pets myself, so having a way to get UC art through the NC Mall was pretty exciting for me! I think that the idea of the NC UCs is great overall, but certain aspects of it have been handled poorly. I think that forcefully converting all of the original UCs into the NC UCs sort of sucks. I think it would have been better to provide all original UC pets with the option to stay as is (original UC art rather than the updated art) or to convert and become an NC UC. I think I've heard that all pets made prior to the conversion will be receiving a special trophy to reflect their age and status, but it'll include non-UC pets as well. It's going to completely change the pet trading economy, though... I think that everything will change to being based on names and BD stats, probably? Since that's all that will still be of value with all UCs being NC-ified? I'm happy about the NC UCs but unhappy about the way it was implemented and I do feel bad for all of the active traders and what they're going through right now. ;;

[@DrawciaGleam02]

I tried pet trading but some people are just SO picky for what names they like! And then there's reversals.....dear Neopian gods.

[@keranwing]

I feel so hard for you working on/making this video right before the AMA news dropped. But just wanted to say, I appreciate the way you explained what tiers are and why/how pets are placed where they are, even though it's no longer relevant. Also shoutout to Maureen, who had a lovely retirement party/board the other day. XD

[@Krankhafter]

I sympathize with those who have worked hard to trade for UCs, but I'm hopeful that this will ultimately be a good thing for the community. 😥I really do hope they listen to the community and it doesn't end up being a gacha or something, the fact they won't confirm or deny that (or the price) and that they're being so evasive over certain details is really shady. I really wish they would just be fully transparent with one of their decisions, just for once, especially when it's concerning an issue that's sensitive in the community like UCs.

[@VultureSkins]

How would it be a gacha?

[@rockinmoshin]

Tbh it's been a really sad roll-out. I don't know if I personally could have done better, but the fact that everyone's UC pets get auto-converted and you get a skin that isn't really described well so far. At least I haven't heard anything about it being paywalled behind a Battlepass or random chance box

[@DreamingwithNeopets]

I'm mostly upset that you won't have to paint your pet the appropriate color to make it look like a uc darigan, grey or faerie. I pretty strongly feel that being able to make basic color pets look painted using neocash makes Neopets pay to win. :/

[@particleflow]

I personally think that was the best decision for TNT to make. If we had to paint pets prior to styling them then people would just start inflating the prices of pbs like crazy. Last week when players thought that was how NCUCs was gonna work people were already trying to sell grey pbs for 25mil+ np which is ridiculous and inaccessible for most players.

[@DreamingwithNeopets]

It's easy for neopets to control inflation by putting these brushes as rewards in weekly quests, or increasing drop rates from dailies. I dont think its best for neopets for paintbrush colors to be pay to win :/ I've been really surprised at how many people will defend that @@particleflow

[@Phaesy0]

@@particleflow But what if by inflating the prices of the brushes, wouldn't that give a boost to the game? Like a difficulty that would generate more interest from players to dedicate more time/interest in Neopets?

[@miaomiaou_]

Same! I think it kinda defeats the purposes of the paintbrushes if you can just buy them. There are other ways to prevent inflation like putting the PBs in Fyora’s Tower

[@riry0ku]

​@@particleflowI think that it's what would keep pet trading alive too though. There are still other ways to get rare colours - FFQs, Premium Perk and lucky lab zaps. It would even out the converted pet trading scene. Plus it would be up to the TNT team to introduce more paint brushes into the economy in a fun ways for players to earn. It would breed more fun gameplay on multiple levels across the site instead of what it looks like the new system will be: step 1- make neopet, step 2- buy colour, done.

[@honeyhailey8107]

Yess something to watch at work ty!

[@lizabee484]

Dang, this seems like a wild decision. And will definitely change the site and community. Seems like you put a lot of work into this video that then had to be scrapped, that really sucks!

[@mostlikelymaybe]

It's so funny to me that UCs are still drama. Havent played in a decade. I was into collecting avatars. Is that still a thing?

[@DinosaurusRexy]

The chaos. 😂

[@fayesham6400]

thanks for the video. i have no UCs atm and plan on getting NCUCs but i dont think autoconversion was the right call. would love to hear ur thoughts on the item genning controversy ^^

[@lorenzovalla1014]

the screams i scrumpt during the livestream were too much- i felt so bad for the team members who had to announce a decision that they knew would be receiving a bit of backlash. i’m sure it wasn’t easy, especially considering how hard they’ve worked for this i hate you felt like you had to cut out the part about UC trading :/ i think it may have added some extra context to why UC owners may be upset about why their pets will now be indistinguishable from NCUC pets, but i get why you cut it! as someone whose pets were converted during the conversion (i was a confused child lmao i wasn’t too pressed if we’re being honest) and has never owned a UC, i see why UC owners may be so disappointed, and understand why others are excited to be able to own UCs without the struggle of trading. i’ve just been typing this throughout the video so my apologies for the ramble c’: i definitely agree that this wasn’t the right decision, and certainly the wrong way to go about it. a lot of us were blindsided by the announcement of another conversion, especially with such little notice. i also hated how they didn’t give any elaboration about price or how exactly it works? unsure how i feel about pets not needing to be painted the same pet as the NCUC skin, either

[@lorenzovalla1014]

i totally understand and feel your disappointment, and i know i’m certainly glad i didn’t shift my focus to UC trading when i came back recently. i hate it’s turned out like this, though. loved the video as always!! like i said, i’m sorry you had to cut a good bit of it :/

[@CJMoody]

Hot take: Unconverted Neopets are overrated. I for one like that clothing items actually serve a purpose on the website aside from being asked for by fire Faeries who constantly burn their clothes when practicing magic. Sure the poses of customizable pets may not be as dynamic or expressive as their unconverted counterparts. But that's easily made up for by the amount of individuality you can give your pet by dressing them in a unique outfit out of the many clothes and accessories available for the average pet to wear these days.

[@JohnRNewAccountNumber3]

Renenber preUCs?

[@joshminoza2142]

Love your videos but the random clips in between confuses me because it has nothing to do with the topic you’re currently talking about. Keep up the good work though!

[@iFlutterbye]

OMG. Sorry you had to deal with so much CRAP, Salem!

[@your_favorite_alex]

you remind me of izzyzzz ^_^

[@gorgonwritten]

i believe Izzzyzzz uses they/them pronouns. do they also go by she?

[@MaybeSalem]

their twitter says they/she!! c:

[@agent00meme22]

the chaos of ebegging for things that people worked years to get .. kindness to lazy people is harming people who invested mega amounts of time into this game. sad stuff.

[@miaomiaou_]

Oh please so now everyone without a UC is lazy? Please, some of us have real things to accomplish outside of neopets and aren’t going devote years to obtaining virtual pets based on some arbitrary hierarchy 💀

[@tefnutofhoney2832]

Mmmmm, elitism. Sorry to burst your gold-plated bubble, scrooge mcduck, but you cant maintain a healthy userbase off of just the chronically online who are willing to grind 7 years to get something. Or are you more angry because you were treating a UC like an NFT, a pure investment of value, which they decided to print more of.

[@agent00meme22]

​@@tefnutofhoney2832 Elitism indeed. Why are you phrasing it as if thats a bad thing ? The only reason neopets is still alive is because of exactly that. The personal goals people set for themselves. You think if everything that was once hard to obtain now becomes easy to obtain for the lazy its going to... benefit the website? The playerbase? The longevity of the website? Would you like to have some of the most valuable items for cheap too? You seem to think its okay for people's hard work to be nullified for mere scraps of cash? What if the goals that you worked years and years to obtain suddenly became available in the NC mall for 3,99 ? Would you be happy about that? no you wouldnt. that makes you a hypocrite. FYI I dont own any UCs i just sympathize with all the users who got shafted by TNT. Try it. Sympathy, empathy.

[@agent00meme22]

And here's the kicker: UCs will lose any and all value they once had. Nobody is going to care about obtaining something that can be immediately and easily reproduced by others.. Congratulations on shooting yourself in the foot, you just lost another thing to strife for on this website, bravo. Seriously, who gave you the right to vote? People not willing to put thought behind what they demand should be immediately dismissed. Goodbye.@@tefnutofhoney2832

[@missstripedsocks]

I know right? Like sorry I wasn't grinding to get that UC for years like you. I was just working in healthcare and getting my masters degree, lazy me