Random things

~ Please read my last post if you haven't already, it's important to me ~

Hey Jammers! It's DoomyPanda, back again with a short post. I actually wrote this up before I wrote my last one, originally planning on just sticking the last one on the end of this one, but I thought it deserved its own post.

As I'm not too up to speed on new items and such, let's talk about some random things:

First of all, does anyone else have the same problem every time you log on? You get crammed into an almost-full room on an almost-full world and you have to desperately click the den button to be able to move around without lag. I wish AJ would automatically put you in a room/world that's maybe half-full instead. 

Though I can think of a reason why they wouldn't: people would log into an emptier room and feel like AJ is less popular because they aren't being crowded by random people, even if there ARE lots of people in different rooms/worlds.

I've been told the desktop app reduces lag, but every time I try to log into it I get this notice:

Grrr :\

Anyways... onto another random thing! 

I liked the color scheme of this rhino so I thought I'd post it :3

Rhinos are really underrated on AJ. I think they actually have one of the best designs out of all the AJ animals– their shape is so pleasantly simple and geometric :D

Maybe it has something to do with the golden ratio...

¯\ _(ツ)_/¯



Before I go, here's something I noticed in the Terms section of the Fer.al website:

So even though it's officially advertised that you have to be at least 13 to play Fer.al, it actually depends on what country you live in! There are a number of countries above that would require you to be at least 16 to play Fer.al. 

Something you may also notice is that Korea is excluded from this list. At the bottom, it says "rest of the world (excluding Korea)", so would that mean that you can't play Fer.al at all if you live there? Hmm...

This has been another short post from I, DoomyPanda! Tune in next time for another Animal Jam or animal related post~

~DoomyPanda

You Are Not Powerless (please read)

I've been meaning to write up a post about the Australia bushfires, but it just makes me so heartbroken and angry that it's hard to get the words out without crying. But these words are important for you to hear and think about.

The past five years have each been the hottest on record. It is only getting worse each year that people and governments refuse to address the climate crisis, and continue to actively destroy the natural environment. 

At this rate in Australia, bushfire season is only getting worse and worse each year. Fires around the world are only getting worse and worse. If not enough action is taken soon, there will come a point where the ecosystems cannot recover.

Much of the bushfires have only consumed so much land and killed so many plants and animals because of the unusually intense heat and dryness of this particular Australia summer. This is directly linked to rapidly increasing global temperatures.

Over one third of all koalas have been killed by the fires. This death toll is only going to grow each day.

Countless animals, not just koalas, are being killed by fires every day. Many of these animals are already endangered. Some may become entirely extinct due to the fires.

The current prime minister of Australia acknowledges that human-caused global warming is fueling the wildfires, but refuses to take action. Australia is a heavy user of fossil fuels, and so the prime minister prioritizes the temporary wealth provided by the industry as opposed to the future of life in his entire country. 

(Information about current bushfires here)

(Image source)

The next few years of global environmental action will determine the future of life on Earth for hundreds of years to come.

This is no exaggeration. If not dealt with soon, the path of steadily increasing global temperatures will become exponential and impossible to deal with. This is often referred to as the runaway greenhouse effect, or the climate tipping point.

In general, there are two kinds of change that are vital in healing the Earth:

"Top-down" change – Laws/policies/influence from governmental leaders.

"Bottom-up" change – Normal people influencing each other to make positive change, as well as influencing people in power to make positive change.

Both of these are extremely important. Just because you aren't a president or a governor doesn't mean you can't do anything.

(Image source)

In fact, change that comes from everyday people has even more power to change entire cultures. You, just by being brave and speaking up, help create a new normal; a new world where our Earth is truly respected and restored.

"Bottom-up" change also influences "top-down" change. 

I know most people who read this blog probably aren't old enough to vote yet, but something powerful you can do is to let your parents or guardians know that them voting for a candidate who truly cares about the future of our planet is important to you. 

(Image source) (Mural painted by Koryu Aoshima)

Because we are in a time when current environmental action is determining the future of our planet for years to come, your parents/guardians aren't just voting for the next handful of years. They are voting for your future. You should have a say in your future, even if you're not old enough to vote.

It's not my place to tell you or your parents who to vote for; it's all up to you and them. Just know that voting is a powerful way to use the power you have to shape your future. For upcoming elections in your country, I encourage you to research different candidates' plans for the climate crisis and discuss it with friends and/or family.

I know not all parents/guardians are easy to talk to, or are as understanding about these kinds of issues. There are hundreds of other ways you can use your voice for good. You are not powerless. 

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This post is my way of trying to use my voice for good. Even though this is an Animal Jam blog, and I mostly just talk about virtual world stuff, the climate crisis will continue to impact more and more of our world. 

It cannot go ignored, even if some people might see this post as irrelevant. We can't hide away in a fantasy land forever.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you were able to take something valuable from this post. 

~DoomyPanda

Glitchy Pet Things + more

Hey Jammers! Didn't expect me back to post again so soon, didn't ya? I didn't either, until I went on AJ and found a few things you might like to read about. Most of them involving glitches.

The first and most underwhelming glitch is...

Super condensed chat log!

Maybe it isn't too surprising, but I've never seen it before myself. Have you?

Next up is not really a glitch, more of a pleasant surprise:

Lots of people in the underwater lands today!

A lot of people assume the underwater lands are empty all the time... but thats maybe because they themselves never go there. 

It was nice to see a lot of other turtles, seals, and penguins swimming around C:

Moving on...

The glitch you will probably find the most interesting!

I present to you...

The headless pet shark!!!


It just doesn't have a head. Balaur explained that the head doesn't load because it has an unreleased item on it, which brings me to...

...the rest of Balaur's pets with unreleased items on them!

Balaur explained that all of these pets, up to the pet penguin, were coded as having species-specific exclusive items that can only be purchased at the Pet Stop at the Pets Only Party. However, you're probably aware that most of these pets are underwater only, and you can't bring an underwater pet to the Pets Only Party!

For some reason, AJHQ designed exclusive items for underwater pets for the Pets Only Party, even though they can't access it. So, through some fluke or glitch, Balaur now has a bunch of underwater pets with unreleased accessories on them!

An example is this cute penguin's scuba mask. It's unreleased!

This isn't the case with all of the unreleased pet items, but the scuba mask appears as a kid of wig on the penguin's profile image:

Hmm.

I hope you found this post decently interesting! I didn't know there were unreleased pet items until Balaur told me about them.

See you in Jamaa, and happy new year!!!

~DoomyPanda

Winter Contest Results + Feral Images

Hey Jammers! I had no idea I'd be so busy with family stuff this past week– if I had known that while writing the last post, I would have extended the deadline for the contest from the 23rd to sometime this week to give y'all more time /).(\ oh well! I still wanna be fair to the people who entered in the contest by the 23rd, so I'll just post the results today.

Before that, though, here are some pictures from beta Feral! They're not mine, though– I don't think I got into the closed beta, haven't gotten an email yet. Maybe I entered the wrong email? Hmm. 

Most likely, it's just because over 18,000 players signed up for Feral beta in the first 48 hours. I don't think I have a great chance of getting in out of all those people! :0

The screenshots below are from this YouTube video. I don't really pay attention to the AJ side of YouTube, cuz honestly it's mostly just clickbait, but occasionally there's some good info. I just thought I'd post these pics to give you a sense of the artistic vibe of this new game!

You'll notice that there's a big presence of humanoid non player characters in Feral. NPCs in general seem to have a bigger role here than in AJ, where NPCs are pretty much only in adventures.

As of now, there are two different kinds of mythological characters you can play as. Both are very slender and elegant, with one being canine and the other being feline. I wonder if we'll get some rounder characters at some point. Are there any mythological creatures that look like bears? :0

Even though you can only choose between two species as of now, you have such a big ability to customize! You can even change the size and shape of the head. 

This is a example of the kind of environment you'll find in Feral. There is a big variety, and all are filled with natural landforms, but there's a much bigger presence of more human-looking buildings and structures.

Another humanoid NPC! 

I just thought this part of this land looked pretty :')

OMG THEY SAID HECK!1!!! Now I know why this game is 13+ :OOO

Just... appreciate this pretty loading screen right here with me :D

Another difference between AJ and Feral: in Feral, shops are manned by NPCs.

Another example of more human-like lands! This place is called the Trader's Port, it seems. 

I am so far really liking the land designs. They're very different from Jamaa lands, but they have a unique charm.

Another NPC-manned shop... pretty!

And this thing!!! I don't remember what it is, but you can find out if you go towards the end of that video I linked. 

What do you all think of Feral so far? It could never replace AJ, in my opinion, they're both very different games. Also, 3D animation was never my favorite-- but I'm still excited to be able to play Feral as soon as I can!

Here's a fun fact: Clark Stacey says that Feral was mostly inspired by the AJ fan art he has seen! I can really see that. Here's a post on another site with a lot of other fun facts about Feral, some I found really interesting.

Ok, now what you've probably been waiting for– the results of the contest! Only 2 people entered, but that's okay. :)

This first entry is from Wildflower75! A cute snowman on some snowy hills with a vibrant dark blue sky. I really like the bright vibrant colors used, they make this sweet drawing all the more eye-catching. 

This second entry is from Fluffacep! This one uses mostly pale colors and soft fluffy lines. I like the pale blue outline around the arctic fox that helps it stand out from the background.

It was a really hard decision to make between these two– they're both so cute in their own ways! They both show different interpretations of winter, in a way.

In the end, the winner of the Jamaa Township Portal goes to....

*drumroll*

...

....


.....


.........

Fluffacep!!! 

I was really drawn (haha drawing pun) to this character because of their dark purple eyes. Very cool and mysterious!

I'm gonna get a membership soon, so once I do I'll Jam-a-Gram you the Jamaa Township Portal, seeing as you're a member.

I'm really grateful to you two for entering the contest. If I had 2 Jamaa Township Portals, I'd give one to each of you! Both your entries were so cool :)

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What other ideas for contests do you think I should have in the future? Should I have one like this every season, like a Spring art contest? I'd love to hear your ideas ^-^

See you in Jamaa, everyone! I'll try to post this Thursday, as I believe that is the update.

~DoomyPanda

FERAL CLOSED BETA SIGNUP!!! + Winter Art Contest

Hey Jammers! I bet you thought I wouldn't actually do that contest I mentioned last post, but here I am exactly two weeks later!!! Defying the odds xD

Finals week has honestly been more of a finals month-and-a-half for me because of all of the longterm projects I've had to do. 

Most of my projects/tests are over now, so I think it wouldn't hurt to jump right in and introduce a contest, right?

But first... I'm sure you're at least a bit more interested in some news from Fer.al that came out just this Wednesday!

If you previously signed up for the Fer.al newsletter, you've probably noticed that nothing has been emailed... until this past Wednesday, when a link to sign up to closed-beta test Fer.al was sent out!

The sign-up link leads to a Google Form that just asks a bunch of general survey questions– what devices you use, how long you've played AJ, AJ username...  nothing that personal. As explained once the survey is completed...

The information you give in the survey determines what testing group you'll be in. Hmm... does this mean Fer.al might have a mobile version...? Maybe not, but I wonder.

But what does "closed beta" even mean?

On Animal Jam, the word "beta" tends to make people really excited– it conjures up images of cool items of years past, the time when AJ was smaller so there was more of a feeling of community... 

However, the word "beta" doesn't necessarily have to mean that! It's used to describe the early stages of a new game, when the people who get to play it are playing it in order to spot bugs and glitches to be fixed before everyone can play it.

Closed beta in particular means that only a smaller, controlled group of people get to beta test a game.

I'm not sure if you'll receive the closed beta sign up link if you rush in and sign up for notifications now, but I guess there's no harm in seeing what happens! 
^-^

Alright, let's move onto the contest!

So, admittedly, I don't really have any high-demand items like black spiked collars to give out as prizes. However, I do have this one very hard to find item! The green variant of the Jamaa Township Portal. 

It took me months to even find someone who had it, let alone someone who'd be willing to trade it away, so I hope you can find value in how literally rare it is instead of how high demand it is.

I was originally just going to do a simple giveaway, where you comment your username and I randomly choose a winner, but where's the fun in that?

That's why I'm making this a winter art contest!

I hope you appreciate my example XD

This is a low-stress art contest where you just draw/paint something winter related and share it with me for a chance to win the Jamaa Township Portal pictured above! 

Your art can be as simple or as complicated as you'd like. My opinion is that super realistic/complicated art is just as valid as simple art like the example above. 

The most important thing to do is to have fun, so I invite everyone– not just people who consider themselves artists –to join in! I'll be showing off every art submission in a post once the contest comes to a close.

So, how exactly do you enter? I'll tell ya!

How to Enter the Winter Art Contest

EDIT: You can also just make an AJ Masterpiece and comment your username so I can go check it out! 

The steps below are just in case you don't want to have to use MP Tokens, or if you want to draw with some other method. :)

Step 1: Draw something winter related! You can use the AJ Art Studio, some other digital art program, or even just on paper (if you're fine with scanning it in or taking a photo of it, that is).

Step 2: Take a screenshot of your art (or save the image!) For example, if you use a Mac, press and hold the keys SHIFT, COMMAND, and 4. Then, click and drag the cursor over your art. It's also pretty easy on other kinds of computers. It's a little obvious, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows what to do ^^

Step 3: Go to imgbb.com, click START UPLOADING, upload the image of your art, and copy the URL it gives you. You can also use any other method of getting the URL, but I think the site I linked is simple and easy to use. You can copy by highlighting the URL with your cursor and pressing/holding the keys CTRL and C. Sometimes it's COMMAND and C. 

Step 4: Type your AJ username and paste your image URL into a comment on this post! You can paste the URL you copied by pressing/holding CTRL and V. I won't publish your submission comments until the contest is over.

Send in your art by MONDAY, DECEMBER 23rd!

I really hope you join this contest! I think it'll be fun :)

Alright, everyone... see you in Jamaa.

AND ENTER THE CONTEST!!!! >:O