TPK, 2020, and Beyond

B0sh 01/01/20 12:03am

This news post is loaded with information, and if you've only come to read certain parts, here's the order each topic is discussed:


1. New type
2. Major changes (Shops and WTCs)
3. Minor changes (QoL updates, bugfixes)
4. New Maps Progress
5. TPK's future



1. Cosmic Pokémon
I bet nobody saw this coming. In the early days TPK has had many type transitions, but the last 4 years or so have seen no movement in typing. The idea of adding a new type of Pokémon to TPK has been in the back of our minds for a long time, but we never really put in time to figure out how it could work out. That changes today, as we introduce our newest lineup of sprites, Cosmic Pokémon. Thanks to Cutie's efforts, we've got a new set of pixels to chase after.

Cosmic Pokémon receive the same boost that Cloud Pokémon do, +12 to all of their base stats. They will be introduced to the game in several ways, but this does not mean that they cannot be added to new locations in the future. The main one, as you would expect, is in the shops. We felt that it was becoming pretty bland for the shops to only consist of two different types (Forest and Cloud) with the exception of some normals and the pinnacle Shiny legends that were featured, so now there will be a bit more bulk and variety for your shopping pleasure. Cosmic Pokémon will also be found in WTCs and various limited sources like events. There's even a new Cosmic Pokémon obtained through Pokédex Challenge. :O



2. Major Changes
Shops. As we mentioned in the past couple of news posts, the shops are due for another new set of Pokémon to collect, so we've replaced all typed Pokémon that were available from the shops in 2019. We now have a new name for our traditional "most expensive" Pokemon: Pinnacle Pokemon. These are considered the most difficult to obtain Pokemon in the game. In addition, we have updated the way that the shops work, improving accuracy for the rotations as well as making it easier on our end to set and modify Pokémon. We have even introduced a new system that allows us to randomly generate prices from ranges that we set, so you should expect to see the prices change slightly every time a Pokémon reappears in the shop.

WTCs. Similar to the shops, we have removed most of the Pokémon that were available before. All "Everyone Keeps" and Kingdom Locke WTCs from 2019 are no longer available and will have new Pokémon to fit those rulesets. The "Top 3", "Top 5" and "Winner-take-all" WTCs still remain in rotation. 2019 provided us a good set of data to figure out what people did and didn't like about WTCs. We hope that our new formula will appeal to as many people as possible.




3. Minor Changes
Pokédex Challenge. Pokédex Challenge has been updated to include Cosmic Pokémon as well as the few Pokédex entries that were added to the game after TPK Blue's release (#803-807). To account for the new streak numbers, we have also updated the Pokédex Challenge achievements and the streak requirements to earn Rotom and ShinyRotom. Rotom is now earned by reaching a streak of 5,649 and ShinyRotom at 6,456. There is a new prize for finishing Pokédex Challenge in first place, as well as three different prizes for finishing in second place.

WTC Awards. Necrozma, ShinyStakataka and ShinyBlacephalon have been added to WTC Awards as they were not previously included. The two Shiny Ultra Beasts will be removed at the end of the year, as the rest of them were also only available for a year.

Secret Dungeon. We have updated the legends that you can find in chests from the Secret Dungeon. Happy hunting!

Spirit Day. The essence of Spirit Day has not been changed, however we have added some more hints to spice things up. The Spirit Pokémon can now spawn within 7 different maps, depending on what your hint tells you.

Master Title List. We added a view to see how to get all of the special master titles. At the very least it's a pretty page to put all of our special icons in one place.



4. New Maps
One of our favorite things to do with TPK is add new maps to the ever expanding map engine universe. There's been a new map in the works for a few months now that has been making great progress, but we couldn't quite get it out for the new year. No commitments, but expect to see this update sometime early 2020.



5. TPK's Future
Imagine: June 1st 2020. TPK's last day. TPK will turn 10 years old that day. TPK will have been part of my life for close to half of my life. How would that make you feel?

When I first started TPK I could never imagine that it would have lasted this long. I thought for sure that at some point I would be the only one left working on this weird project. I think we all know that TPK can't go on forever, but there's never a good time to call it quits. The community has kept me going, despite me years ago growing out of playing the actual Pokemon games, and then more recently out of the playing in Pokemon RPG universe.

I don't intend to close TPK down that day, but I think we have to be more realistic about what TPK's future is going to look like. I pledge to keep TPK funded and maintained as long as there are people who still come to this community for what it is. No longer do I wish to be as committed to this project as I was when I was twelve, or fifteen, or even twenty. I'm ready to say that now. Things will happen on TPK, but slowly. Very slowly. As I'm inspired and as various events come and go. I don't know if I'm ever going to create something as long lasting as TPK ever again, yet anything I do always has that TPK legacy behind me. There's dozens of people I can truly call friends who pushed me and helped to make TPK what is become. Its final form.

~B0sh

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