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Halloween week! Zurg! Red Bino! Record numbers! WAAAAAHHH!!!

It's been a crazy, crazy week that set records and has been a load of fun for Gaians everywhere. Here's what happened...

Invasion!
The Halloween event started slightly after noon (Pacific Time) on Tuesday, October 31st.

Two energy drink competitors opened up shop across from each other: Johnny Gambino, the sales of whose "Red Bino Energy Drink" afforded him the ability to rebuild him demolished mansion.

The other, Mother of the Zurg people - who have been visiting and scanning Gaia for the past several weeks. She was selling "Zurg Energy Drink", which when consumed, turned Gaians (like myself) into green skinned, giant-headed aliens!

Trick or Treating was happening in the shops AND in Towns, with the MASSIVE Jack tromping around town centers, and roaming randomly around the world map. In exchange for collecting candy, users got special Jack-gear.

In the event forum, Zurg were able to probe Gaians and cows, and Gaians were able to zap Zurg and tip cows. Doing enough of either would also win you some special event items.

Stuff went wrong, as with any event. More than any prior year, our developer team worked hard to open up any bottlenecks that might break the site during the event. While the event was going on (and all throughout the night) they were on hand to tackle problems, speed things up, and disable some features (like Towns) temporarily so that users could use the rest of the site.

I raise a glass to those devs who gave up hours of their personally time to make this one of the most successful Halloween events yet!

Yeah, I knew all that. Tell me something I don't know!
Okay. Here are a few things you didn't know or may not have noticed.

1. All abducted admins have been returned to the Gaia World with no memory of what transpired on the UFOs.

2. There has been no word on the much beloved UFO 09. Maybe we'll hear from him again?

3. I flew one of the UFOs. But which one, I'm not telling!

4. Apparently, the cows appearing in the forums are mooing in some kind of code

5. This has been the biggest Towns event ever. Bandwidth used up by the 2500+ users using Towns accounted for a large percentage of the bandwidth usage that led to event problems eek

6. Overall user participation is up roughly over 125% of last year's Halloween event! (That's not last year's + 25%, it's really 125% more than last year eek )

7. The User's Online record was broken by a whole 19% in the last 2 days alone (from roughly 57,000 to today's roughly 68,000!)

NEW FEATURE ALERT
OKAY! So my feature was being tested all week. It's pretty stable now, but we're still doing some minor testing. NO PROMISES, BUT: I hope to release it next week.

Now, I know I've built up a lot of hype, but now a word of warning and a hint. It's something users have waited a while for, so you'll be excited to hear that it was made.

However - because of the scope of the project, we are releasing Phase One of the project now, and then as time passes, releasing increasingly robust versions of it.

Long story short: It's going to be cool - but it will get cooler with time blaugh

We've already had a ton of in-house Quality Assurance done on the project. Because it affects so many aspects of the site, I had to alter and fix bugs in other parts of the site in order to pass the QA process. The feature itself has graced the hands of numerous programmers, at least one in-house writer, our UI designer (Brunosmad), and has undergone several code audits to ensure that it is done well.

I'm very happy with it, but we're going to continue to test and refine it until its release.

Gaia: Y&T
The way Gaia operates has changed a LOT in the last 6 months alone. Here's a brief glimpse into a lot of the improvements going on in this crazy entertainment-factory:

Yesterday: Before, whenever a feature on Gaia was made, each developer was kind of responsible for figuring out how it looked, worked, and what everything said.

Today: Now, Gaia has a User Interface team that deals with graphics, layout, and text. So developers can focus on writing great code without having to spend time creating a look and feel for the project. And with a single team focusing on keeping the site having a unified feel and appearance, all new features (and old revamped features) will follow the same theme and be much more polished.

Yesterday: Testing a new feature was limited to the devs and mods. The actual process was sketchy at best, and while the features were fun and mostly functional, we're still getting burnt by really old bugs to this day.

Today: Every feature undergoes a rigorous Quality Assurance process which ensures not only that new features are bug-free, but that they're intuitive, not confusing to new users, and actually enhance the site.

All code undergoes a peer-reviewed code audit, wherein the code is checked for best-practices, security, and stability. Bugs are much less likely to sneak in when the application is well designed. We also check to make sure that it won't slow down the site, and that the processes and data processing are speedy and smart.

Finally, each feature has to meet a set of guidelines which ensures that it gives users options (like turning off Daily Chance or Gold Notification) and that it can be quickly disabled if it runs into some major problems (like how we could just switch off Daily Chance when it broke the economy!), along with numerous other criteria to ensure that it is ready to be in the Gaia World.

Yesterday: The site would go down frequently, major instabilities were prominent (can anyone say "Sushi Error"?), and the site couldn't handle a large user load (e.g., event crashes).

Today: Today Gaia has a very smart team dedicated to site stability and scalability - ensuring not only that the site can handle a large user load, but that it can handle rapid growth (which we've been noticing!). If you've been on the site for more than a few months, you'll notice that site crashes and MAJOR site glitches are down significantly.

Yesterday: The Battle System would have been promised but lack of resources would mean it wasn't getting built.

Today: I saw a working demo of the Battle System.

Yesterday: Devs would run around like chickens with their heads cut off developing whatever they felt was cool or fun, even if it wasn't necessarily what users wanted most or if there were old broken features.

Today: Goals are set as a group and teams are set to tasks that we all decided will help improve the company. We're spending a couple of months almost exclusively fixing bugs and upgrading features on the site. Hopefully, by the end of that project cycle, the site will be significantly more bug free and enjoyable!

SUMMARY: Basically, Gaia's better in every way. We're growing faster, we're improving the user experience, and most importantly we're listening! We have a team here large enough now that we can fix bugs, finish new features, and then do things you guys have been asking for forever!

Close Encounters of the Fleep Kind
I drank me some Zurg and turned into an alien! Don't worry though, my avi's long, luxurious hair will return when the event is over rofl

(Though I will always keep a can of Zurg Energy Drink close to my heart...)

keyoina45
Community Member

Offline

Commented on: Sat Dec 02, 2006 @ 06:34pm


	so i see you wrote about halloween.mine was better

Commented on: Sun Dec 03, 2006 @ 12:53am


	You hae really got me curious about your project there, Fleep... 3nodding

Mistylight
Community Member

xX iShiro Xx
Community Member

Commented on: Sun Dec 03, 2006 @ 02:23am


	so long!

Commented on: Sun Dec 03, 2006 @ 04:38am


	sweet

supercool007
Community Member

Growth-chan
Community Member

Commented on: Sun Dec 03, 2006 @ 08:52am


	wooty woot

Commented on: Sun Dec 03, 2006 @ 06:31pm


	heheheheeheemuawhwhwhwhwhhahahahahhahaahhahehehehhehee

WOT_Shadowspawn
Community Member

kezzy girl
Community Member

Commented on: Mon Dec 04, 2006 @ 07:03am


	cool u can tipe a lot i can't even wirght a story that lond it is just amasing how do u do it eek

Commented on: Mon Dec 04, 2006 @ 12:37pm


	hey . wow . amazing. keep it up smile

shadowdemon7188
Community Member

Commented on: Mon Dec 04, 2006 @ 12:38pm


	where do u get these stories i mean there great .

Commented on: Mon Dec 04, 2006 @ 12:39pm


	wow im getting alot of money commenting lol

Commented on: Mon Dec 04, 2006 @ 12:41pm


	yo how old r u?

Commented on: Mon Dec 04, 2006 @ 12:42pm


	hey can any1 help me out im kinda new.

marmiea2
Community Member

Commented on: Tue Dec 05, 2006 @ 01:51am


	awesoem jouranl!!!!

Commented on: Tue Dec 05, 2006 @ 04:37am


	k weird.....much?

iluvsasuke-chan
Community Member

Rex De Corazon
Community Member

Commented on: Tue Dec 05, 2006 @ 01:24pm


	RUN TO THE HILLS RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! domokun

Commented on: Wed Dec 06, 2006 @ 01:00am


	Interesting entry.

DtKnight
Community Member

_-AquAa-_1
Community Member

Commented on: Wed Dec 06, 2006 @ 01:25am


	Very..Interesting...I can't wait for the next entry!! wink

Commented on: Wed Dec 06, 2006 @ 02:08pm


	that's alotta journal.... flips through own journal ALOT of journal

Black_Clouds_Rain
Community Member

Vengeance Flavored Crayon
Community Member

Commented on: Wed Dec 06, 2006 @ 05:25pm


	wow eek

Commented on: Wed Dec 06, 2006 @ 08:45pm


	ninja

Ludimilla
Community Member

itachi rulz
Community Member

Commented on: Wed Dec 06, 2006 @ 08:52pm


	hey fleep nice work on keeping on your journal and if anybody cares for the poor they would donate any money or stuff to me and write about me on your journal and at the end make sure you tell peeps to donate and if you play runescapr tell becasue im your home dog pieace out fleep cya soon biggrin

Commented on: Wed Dec 06, 2006 @ 09:25pm


	Oh gosh, that was was an interesting read... Very creative work mate.

DjDTM
Community Member

sunshyxx
Community Member

Commented on: Thu Dec 07, 2006 @ 04:19am


	eek Turned into a alien??

Commented on: Thu Dec 07, 2006 @ 12:42pm


	like boobs?

cochunter5586
Community Member

seawolfmoon
Community Member

Commented on: Thu Dec 07, 2006 @ 06:21pm


	Interesting.

Commented on: Thu Dec 07, 2006 @ 11:32pm


	Pretty sweet

Telathion
Community Member

Kiro51
Community Member

Commented on: Fri Dec 08, 2006 @ 04:22pm


	Very nice

Commented on: Fri Dec 08, 2006 @ 08:44pm


	:] Awesome

LOL Cracka
Community Member

1princess
Community Member

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 04:12am


	wow its alot i enjoyed reading!!

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 06:27am


	XP you all should know he can't give you the demo because he would already know your password

ornor
Community Member

Mayonaka ninja
Community Member

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 01:07pm


	boring

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 01:18pm


	too much....to read........ xp

-GlyMpSe-
Community Member

fantasy~whithin~you
Community Member

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 03:56pm


	nice merry cristms fleep 4laugh

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 04:53pm


	Woot! We are ready! 4laugh

XxStephi-ChanxX
Community Member

I Am A Sean
Community Member

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 09:24pm


	cool. cool

Commented on: Sat Dec 09, 2006 @ 11:33pm


	loser

littlerichgirlz
Community Member

Maeve Avari
Community Member

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 12:50am


	you suk. jk!

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 01:31am


	killer journal

hotchica2468
Community Member

CpT_F A I L
Community Member

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 01:59am


	i think i am really ready! wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance wahmbulance

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 07:16am


	holy cow, that's a long, informative entry!

pirategirl27
Community Member

tsubasa-freak
Community Member

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 03:12pm


	^_^

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 04:33pm


	O:

xAkimiya
Community Member

joebobthorto
Community Member

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 05:44pm


	You SUCK!

Commented on: Sun Dec 10, 2006 @ 06:06pm


	guikyuhkifyuiyuiygu nicwe

killerzo2
Community Member

DyingAngel1
Community Member

Commented on: Mon Dec 11, 2006 @ 01:19am


	Wow.............

Commented on: Mon Dec 11, 2006 @ 09:49pm


	is this suppose to be a ugly guy page or somethin' eek

[Sabrina]123
Community Member

Barbara Sexaroid
Community Member

Commented on: Mon Dec 11, 2006 @ 10:02pm


	penispenispenispenis.

Commented on: Tue Dec 12, 2006 @ 12:16am


	hahahahahahahnahahaha

Cedrik The Chimera
Community Member

i_sit_an_wait_4_the_truth
Community Member

Commented on: Tue Dec 12, 2006 @ 01:08am


	o0o

Commented on: Tue Dec 12, 2006 @ 02:38am


	Lol. Fleep.

Sielde
Community Member

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