Marketplace Redesign Finished

Continuing along the same line as yesterday's update, the marketplace has also been redesigned to match the pet center and user panel. Alongside this cosmetic change, this area of the site is now open for unregistered users (in order to better display our available features). As always, we believe the new update will make it easier to find the area you're looking for.

New Error Pages

The error pages, once just a static page with two lines of text, have been updated. Whenever you happen across a broken link, you will be greeted with a quote from Air Roar, a pet who perpetually travels amongst the unexplored realms of Cenopets in search of lost pages. We hope you enjoy these additional touches and also hope that that you seldom have to see them during your journey.

Backpack Re-released

After months of waiting, the backpack is now viewable again, albeit in a read-only version. In addition to having an entirely new backend, the look and behavior has been significantly improved compared to the previous version. Another change is that the backpack is now accessible through the Marketplace (or "Shops") area of the site, rather than being located in the pet center.

We hope you enjoy being able to see your items again and would like to reassure you that future updates will bring forth a vast array of new item-related activities for you to enjoy.

User Panel Redesign

The user panel has been redesigned to match the pet center! This change, along with the marketplace redesign currently in progress, should provide a more consistent look and feel across Cenopets.

Friendly URL's

Since the user and pet profiles are now public, we thought it didn't made much sense to type in "http://www.cenopets.com/pc/petnet_seek?petname=Teruan" every time you wanted to link to a profile. In fact, very few people could easily remember such addresses without a needless amount of effort being expended. This is why all user and profiles are available in a short and clean URL format, such as the ones listed below:

http://www.cenopets.com/user/tezeti
http://www.cenopets.com/pet/Teruan

Compartmentalized Profile Redesigns

We've updated user profiles to clearly distinguish between the user header and description. In addition, we've removed an unnecessary indent, make some minor wording changes, and are now using the term "Yesterday" in the "Last Visited" column in place of displaying a rather unnecessary date. In addition, a flood of new features will soon be available in various sub-sections.

The virtual pet profiles have also received a major redesign, as well as a shift in philosophy. While the former method was to take all the information about the pet and put it into one large, organized table, we decided that a more focused approach was needed. All pages will start out in the 'Profile' view, which contains all of the basic pet information alongside their pet description. If you wish to view more information about the pet in question, you'll be able to click on one of the relevant links at the top of the page to visit a specific sub-section of the pet center that's oriented around that pet. Please remember that most subsections haven't yet been programmed and are therefore unavailable at this time.

Statistics Framework: In Progress

We're currently laying the framework for our improved pet statistics backend. This feature will be one of the most highly-significant systems on Cenopets because it stores such vital attributes as pet hunger, mood, strength, weight, height, and fitness. Once this is completed, item actions will be able to connect to their relevant statistics and a host of new new in-game possibilities can be explored in gameplay.

Layout Improvement

A rather annoying bug in our layout, which had been carried over multiple times for legacy purposes, has finally been fixed. While all pages should now consistently display content where it should logically be positioned, a number of pages are likely to still contain the old workaround code. If they do, a few inches of unneeded whitespace will probably be added as a result. We're sorry for any pages we've overlooked and hope to fix them as soon as they're called to our attention.

New Worlds/Places

A number of planets have received a visual update, drawn by tezeti. These new images are only meant to be temporary attempts to provide higher quality pictures until we purchase new worldmap art. Hopefully, you'll soon be looking at professionally-drawn images rather than the somewhat jagged spheres we currently use :) [though I do rather like the Dartro map...].

Exploration System Complete

Likewise, I am pleased to announce that the base of the new exploration system has been finished. This means that your virtual pet can explore nine digital worlds in the Novirce solar system. We would like to remind you, however, that not all of the areas in our universe are open yet. Rather, this new feature simply guarantees that you and your main pet will be able to traverse any publicly-accessible location.

Open Site: Part I

Cenopets has started to roll out the first of several steps designed to allow non-registered visitors to access more of the website and, by extension, learn more about the game. In an effort to balance privacy and security with open access to information, we've made the user panel and forum index completely open to visitors.

Forum Changes

The Cenopets Forums have been modified so that various icons better fit their corresponding sections and no longer slowly 'drift' when the browser is resized. In addition, the wording for category descriptions have been revised as needed and now convey a more accurate portrayal of that area's specific purpose. As an added benefit, these wording changes help prepare the board for upcoming updates which will place a far greater emphasis on your virtual pets.

Finally, there's now a forum message explaining how unregistered or logged-out users can register and delve deeper into the content of this area on Cenopets.

We've also added emoticons throughout the website! We hope you'll enjoy these images, originally designed by the Oxygen Project, and believe they will add a bit more personality to the forums.

Pet Poses

All dormant pets on Cenopets are now shown in a tired pose to indicate a state of relaxation and rest. Once we complete the bulk of the 'tired' postures, Cenopets plans to eventually add even more expressions to convey mood and status. On a similar note, I've been extensively redesigning some of the older pet colors in preparation for the launch of an upcoming feature.

New Pet Center

The Virtual Pet Center has received a major visual update. This redesign brings in a structure and design somewhat similar to the new action list in the exploration system, in that pictures and descriptions of the site areas are both being employed for the first time. In addition, all links are now organized according to general function.

New Form Appearance

All "standardized forms" on Cenopets have been updated again. Essentially, the grey background was replaced with a metallic blue-tinted silver and the teal form title was replaced with a sharper black one. I hope you enjoy the new changes and find that the forms are a better match for the website's overall theme.

Advertisements

Cenopets has added textual advertisements from Google AdSense to the bottom of each page. While it wasn't an easy decision, we feel that upcoming expenses will require a more steady stream of revenue. I apologize for any inconveniences the ads may cause and tried to make the banners as unobtrusive and respectful of your privacy as possible by using Google, placing them at the bottom of the screen, and choosing a color scheme which matches the overall look of Cenopets. If you see any objectionable ads, please send a mail to tezeti and I'll block them as soon as possible.

New Layout!

Cenopets has a new default layout! I designed the new layout to have a vivid, modern, and refreshing look, while still keeping true to the Cenopets theme and feel. In addition, the compact nature of the layout precludes the release of our exploration system and other new gameplay features. This update has been tested in all major browsers and should fix many flaws of the old style (such as the content clipping bug on monitor resolutions lower than 1024x768 and pervasive display flaws on Internet Explorer). It also offers easy access to the user panel, which was previously accessible only by going through the Pet Center.

If you dislike the new layout, you will soon be able switch back to the older version through our new "Graphics Settings" page (soon to be accessible via the User Panel). Since these are still highly experimental changes made possible through drastic infrastructure changes, we, as always, welcome all bug reports, questions, or feedback you may have.

Users Online Update

The Users Online page now displays user avatars alongside each username. In addition, the text has been clarified to better explain how this area of Cenopets works.

No More Registration Tribulation

Since I already have an account, I never really tested the registration page as much as I should have. To my embarrassment, I discovered that the error/success messages were still using the old layout, old dialogs, had no header banner, provided no footer link, and were rife with rather tersely worded content. Perhaps even worse is the fact that if new users decided to log in using the link provided at the "Success" page, they were ultimately redirected to a virtually blank page. Needless to say, all of this probably hasn't made the best first impression on new users! All noticeable errors were fixed immediately and, as such, I believe new members should find the improved system much more friendly and bug-free.

The registration page has also received a much-needed graphical update! Some of the changes include a drastically reduced size and loading time, a consistent vertically-oriented taskflow, the use of icons to clarify and distinguish each field, and an altogether cleaner look. In addition, the help sections below each item, which displayed properly only by sheer coding luck, have been replaced with a far more efficient tooltip solution which is compatible with most modern browsers. Expect other areas of the site to follow suit soon!

Finally, the "default/new user" avatar is displayed upon a successful signup, giving a more personalized touch to the registration process.

Freely name your virtual pet

Are you tired of virtual petsites forcing you to use names such as "Fluffy_1485ceno"? You'll likely agree that it's harder to identify with your virtual animal, care for them, and let your imagination take over when you can't even name them as you wish. This is why, after extensive recoding by tezeti, Cenopets now allows you to freely name your virtual pet! While you still have to pick a unique name, such as "Fluffy_1485ceno", this name is only used 'behind the scenes' for certain purposes (like the URL for PetNet lookups). The name you and other users will (almost always) see is a nickname, which can be changed at any point by editing your pet's information through the Pet Center. Of course, you can always choose to use your pet's real/permanent name instead, if you would prefer.

We hope you'll enjoy this exciting new feature and that it will add a new level of realism to the game! If you encounter areas where the nickname isn't used or is used improperly, please don't hesitate to tell us so the code can be updated.

New Items

It seems that groups of farmers throughout the various planets have learned how to harvest a few new crops; namely, five different varieties of beans! While you can't buy any of these beans yet, they are certain to satisfy your pet's appetite in the near future.

These images were created by tezeti by modifying the "fishing pole" item drawn by chichiao.

Artist Applications

Cenopets is currently looking for a world/area artist! If you're interested in applying for the position, please either send a message to tezeti or make a topic on the forums.

Active Again

Now that summer has arrived, Cenopets is now in active development again! We look forward to updating all areas of the website and adding many new activities, items, and places for you to explore.

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