An Introduction

[painimies]

Hello world,


Nice easter, everyone?


It's both exciting and unnerving to finally hit "send" on this post; It would have been next to impossible to do so prior, because of stupi… of all kinds of silly rules and policies.
Now, with a much leaner organization and clear roles, Sulake can actually start to open up a bit, and hopefully have a better conversation with you all as a result. So:

My name is Timo, and I will be the one to blame in the future for "ruining old Habbo".
I am a 35-year old finn, interested in science and art. I enjoy cooking, black music and absurd humor. I play football and don't care for long walks on the beach. Not yet, anyway. I like my new job. (Hey, all it took was 12 years of partially had work to get it. ;) )
Some might know my nick "Painimies" from the early years of Habbo; I actually did some serious ass-kicking in the original snow war (lumisota) even before joining Sulake.


I hope to use this space (or some other space somewhere) to do updates on both our current development, and HITCH* - my future concept for Habbo.
Now, about HITCH… While I would prefer everyone just loving the bobba out of it, I'm sure some of the ideas will be kind of a shock to many. Hopefully a shock that will transform into an enjoyable agreement, once I'm done explaining.
Just a heads-up. ;)

I will also briefly explain why Illumina, whilst having loads of great ideas, still isn't the optimal way forward. (Reason #1: I need to take responsibility of _all_ my design decisions, so better to start with a clean slate. )

It will, however, take some time before I get around to all that. In the meantime, try asking something here. (We're still figuring out the best way to make a meaningful dev blog or some such.) I'll try to answer as many interesting questions as possible, but keep in mind that with our current staffing I tend to be extremely busy. Did I mention I was busy? If not, here it is: I'm busy. Also, busy.


Please enjoy the rest of your week!


Yours,
Painimies




*HITCH = Holistic Interface Technology Concept for Habbo
(I really just wanted to pay tribute to Christopher Hitchens - my personal hero.)

ps. Huge, big, immense, sizeable and large thanks to all our fan sites, and a special personal nod to Habborator, Habbox, Puhekupla and HabboTimes (So sad to see it go.)
It's not just Habbos who use your services, I do too.

pps. That historical collection of UI-crap on the right side of Habbo… I KNOW... I know.



---------- Post added 02-04-2013 at 05:39 PM ----------

Actually, I did have favor to ask. If someone knows how to get in touch with Rakker, (Hi, Rakker!) could you ask him(?) to check his habbox inbox and maybe contact me.

[Yawn]

can u highlight the important bits in this cos im not reading all of that

thx!

[Michael]

This is really interesting, one step closer to the Habbo community. I like it.

[Kyle]

So are you Timo Soininen the previous CEO who allowed Paul LaFontaine to demolish habbo or some other Timo? :P

Looking forward to your updates :)

[Hidden]

So where is habbo going in the next year... hopefully revival of articles.

[Spiffy]

Are you prioritizing what's been suggested on the UserVoice Forums based on demand or the amount of time it takes to do (whatever it is)? I'm all for moving forward but there are quite a few good ideas on there, yet no staff-comment-interaction regarding any of their status (Like Puffin's job did) - not even any sign of life and/or deleting Ideas that were flagged? And most importantly - my #1 hot button topic; Old Public Rooms. They need to make a comeback. Never giving up the fight, sorry! :P

[GoldenMerc]

How exciting and interesting.

[xxMATTGxx]

painimies; I am not sure if someone has done it already but I've asked Rakker over twitter if he could check his Habbox Inbox for you. Welcome to the forums and I hope you post more! :D

[Inseriousity.]

I'm glad Habbo are opening up, I can already see the benefits with the fansite frenzy etc.
good thing you said what HITCH stands for because it sounds like some matchmaking thing haha, don't let Channel 4 know ;)

[iBlueBox]

Really good way to contact members! Great start so far!

One question I kind of have is will habbo ever return our beloved forum groups? Where many of us had our own little communities based around things we love such as music, tv and art?

[Pigperson]

It's really nice to see a Sulake member of staff posting in the forum, it just shows us that our interests are kept in mind (A)

Will

[Calum0812]

Wonderful to have you here.

Obviously you should now tune into our radio too.

:)

[Scotland]

Hello, nice to meet you. :) Hope to see more of you in the future!

[Samantha]

Hello world,


Nice easter, everyone?


It's both exciting and unnerving to finally hit "send" on this post; It would have been next to impossible to do so prior, because of stupi… of all kinds of silly rules and policies.
Now, with a much leaner organization and clear roles, Sulake can actually start to open up a bit, and hopefully have a better conversation with you all as a result. So:

My name is Timo, and I will be the one to blame in the future for "ruining old Habbo".
I am a 35-year old finn, interested in science and art. I enjoy cooking, black music and absurd humor. I play football and don't care for long walks on the beach. Not yet, anyway. I like my new job. (Hey, all it took was 12 years of partially had work to get it. ;) )
Some might know my nick "Painimies" from the early years of Habbo; I actually did some serious ass-kicking in the original snow war (lumisota) even before joining Sulake.


I hope to use this space (or some other space somewhere) to do updates on both our current development, and HITCH* - my future concept for Habbo.
Now, about HITCH… While I would prefer everyone just loving the bobba out of it, I'm sure some of the ideas will be kind of a shock to many. Hopefully a shock that will transform into an enjoyable agreement, once I'm done explaining.
Just a heads-up. ;)

I will also briefly explain why Illumina, whilst having loads of great ideas, still isn't the optimal way forward. (Reason #1: I need to take responsibility of _all_ my design decisions, so better to start with a clean slate. )

It will, however, take some time before I get around to all that. In the meantime, try asking something here. (We're still figuring out the best way to make a meaningful dev blog or some such.) I'll try to answer as many interesting questions as possible, but keep in mind that with our current staffing I tend to be extremely busy. Did I mention I was busy? If not, here it is: I'm busy. Also, busy.


Please enjoy the rest of your week!


Yours,
Painimies




*HITCH = Holistic Interface Technology Concept for Habbo
(I really just wanted to pay tribute to Christopher Hitchens - my personal hero.)

ps. Huge, big, immense, sizeable and large thanks to all our fan sites, and a special personal nod to Habborator, Habbox, Puhekupla and HabboTimes (So sad to see it go.)
It's not just Habbos who use your services, I do too.

pps. That historical collection of UI-crap on the right side of Habbo… I KNOW... I know.



---------- Post added 02-04-2013 at 05:39 PM ----------

Actually, I did have favor to ask. If someone knows how to get in touch with Rakker, (Hi, Rakker!) could you ask him(?) to check his habbox inbox and maybe contact me.

Rakker; READ THIS ;).

We have a Sulake staff on Habbox Forum again yay, it will be nice to see what things are coming up :) x.

[xxMATTGxx]

Rakker; READ THIS ;).

We have a Sulake staff on Habbox Forum again yay, it will be nice to see what things are coming up :) x.

Rakker has already replied to the my tweet :P

[Samantha]

Rakker has already replied to the my tweet :P

Oh well, at least he get's to read this thread too :D.

Again, it's nice of you to make the thread :P.

[Peachiequeen]

Really nice opening message, nice to meet you! Hope you do well for the community, and hope to hear more from you on habbox!

[Red]

In shock. Thanks for taking the time to post here! Sad that illuminia isn't going ahead. My only request is to please get rid of the cluttered sidebar we have atm.

[Kieran]

Welcome to the forum. Nice to finally see staff taking a more open role :)

[painimies]

Hey, big thanks for the warm welcome, and for getting Rakker's attention. Much appreciated.
Some good questions already. I TRY and get the time to answer them tomorrow, now is bed time.

[Rakker]

Hello :)

[sex]

Hey, big thanks for the warm welcome, and for getting Rakker's attention. Much appreciated.
Some good questions already. I TRY and get the time to answer them tomorrow, now is bed time.

night night lol

[Daltron]

how do we know this is legit lol

[painimies]

I suspect my registration date & email might have helped. But now for reals: Night.

e. Scrap that. Just realized I used my gmail address. :)

Now I guess you just have to take my word.

[Rakker]

Sleep well Painimies, you got the email! Rakker - habbo.nl

[armber]

Welcome!

I don't often post here, but seeing as this seems to be a special occasion I thought I'd log in to say hi!

It's awesome that the rules are finally being changed and are now allowing staff to interact with the users again. Going from a Habbo eXpert, to a Wolf Guide, to a regular Habbo, I witnessed first hand the fall of the community aspect of Habbo and I'm super ecstatic to see that it's making its return. The loss of community that occurred over the last couple of years was what drove me into a semi-retirement, but if things are making a turn for the better I'd certainly consider making a return to see what happens!

I'd love nothing more than to see the feel of Habbo return to what it was like in the early 2000s when I originally joined.

It'd be awesome to talk to you sometime. I don't know how open you are allowed to be, but if you'd ever like to chat about whatever Habbo related things, drop me a PM :)

I wish you the best!

Kyle

[xxMATTGxx]

how do we know this is legit lol


I suspect my registration date & email might have helped. But now for reals: Night.

e. Scrap that. Just realized I used my gmail address. :)

Now I guess you just have to take my word.

The IP address he used to register the account in the first place is linked to Sulake :P

[Daltron]

I suspect my registration date & email might have helped. But now for reals: Night.

e. Scrap that. Just realized I used my gmail address. :)

Now I guess you just have to take my word.


The IP address he used to register the account in the first place is linked to Sulake :P

Well then, can't blame me for asking! :P

Welcome to the forum Painimies :)

[Mr-Trainor]

Welcome to the forum :). Very interesting post, and I look forward to hearing more from you :D!

[Red]

pps. That historical collection of UI-crap on the right side of Habbo… I KNOW... I know.
o woops I didn't see this haha. Glad you guys are hopefully are on it ;p


ps. Huge, big, immense, sizeable and large thanks to all our fan sites, and a special personal nod to Habborator, Habbox, Puhekupla and HabboTimes (So sad to see it go.)
It's not just Habbos who use your services, I do too.
aww you are too cute

[iSherlock]

I have to ask, knowing already what your new Holistic UI approach would mean to habbohotel.

When is this planned to arrive to every hotel (the new UI concept), or will it be introduced step by step just like Ilumina wanted to be introduced?

[Michael]

I have to ask, knowing already what your new Holistic UI approach would mean to habbohotel.

When is this planned to arrive to every hotel (the new UI concept), or will it be introduced step by step just like Ilumina wanted to be introduced?

I do hope it all comes altogether so it won't be like illumina is, different UI's all over the place.

[MONEYMAGIC]

Nice to meet you! It's great that you are posting :D

[andoo89]

welcome the forums but you should kept the habbo staff member a secret. because am guessing your message box on her - will get filled up very very quickly.....

[Abdicators]

Any plans for some hidden painimies balls?

[Lewis]

This is great and I'm glad you're trying to be involved with the community! I'm glad to see you say about that horrible UI stuff on the right!

How far have you got with HITCH @painimies (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=68630);

[Laurensh1]

Welcome! Cheers from the guys from Habborator ;)

[lemons]

i wonder why he wanted to speak to rakker!!!!!!!!!!

[Scotland]

i wonder why he wanted to speak to rakker!!!!!!!!!!
to build a room? LOL

[lemons]

to build a room? LOL

duhh but maybe it will become a long term thing for him

[davecool656]

hello welcome to the forum

[Bradley.]

welcome!!!!!!!!!

[Aaron]

This must be a good step in the right direction, look forward to seeing more posts from you regarding Habbo/Sulake updates.

Welcome to the forum. :)

[painimies]

I got good news and bad news.


Good news: I'm working extremely hard to get you a product you deserve.
Bad news: I have to do this talking on my own time, which is limited for the aforementioned reason.

Good news: I got Rakker back on the team, helping us in room design!!
Bad news: For now, the work is mostly focused on new users, so all you're left with is me.

Hi again,

As I have some time to spare, I'm going to answer some of the easy questions.
Please note: All my views are my own, and as such do not necessarily represent any official (or non-official) Sulake position.

With that, let's start:


can u highlight the important bits in this cos im not reading all of that


My name is Timo, I will be mainly responsible for designing the future Habbo, please ask questions, I'm busy.


So are you Timo Soininen...

No. :D



So where is habbo going in the next year... hopefully revival of articles.


Heyyyyy, I JUST told I'd only answer easy questions! I must still say, that if revival of articles is all you need, you will most likely be very happy.



Are you prioritizing what's been suggested on the UserVoice Forums based on demand or the amount of time it takes to do (whatever it is)?


*sigh*... I guess I'll just go through these one by one. :)

This is a tough one to answer, especially since I've never really had anything to do with UserVoice. (We were a big company, and I was mostly doing furnis anyway.)
But I guess like anything in this world, it has been a balancing act between the two. Also you have to understand that 90% of the ideas presented in UserVoice have been "invented" by us at least ten times before. So I guess it has historically been more about the "big vision", and UserVoice has been considered as a tool in the side, for when there's time. Unfortunately, _I think_ said vision has most of the times been a wrong one. Also, not enough time was spent finding the original 10%.

That said, I think this here is actually a better channel in coming up with good ideas.
Here's a challenge: Gather somewhere, and come up with your 5 most urgent or best suggestions/ideas, and let's discuss them. (Only 5 for now - I don't want this to turn into a "here's my awesome idea..." -fest.
(I have some pretty awesome ideas myself, can't wait to get an argument going on about them!) ;)

Lastly, even though we are now really, really trimmed, focused and effective, we are still a very small team, and unfortunately have a LOT of prioritizing to do, thus even some amazingly super-awesomest ideas just have to wait.
For example, now I'm mainly focusing on the new user flow*, since we want to / need to make more people stay after their first visit. The problem is, with our current legacy system it's really just trying to make things as not-annoying as possible, as fast as possible.

WARNING: The following will be my first and last corporate puff ever: You can help us turn Habbo from "As good as it can be" to "Sweet mother, this is GOOD" faster, by getting a credit every now and then, being annoyingly nice to newbies, making the community great from the inside... With that it's our job to make Habbo so good, that going to a retro feels dirty.

Well, that turned out longer than expected. Excuse the rant. :)

I will now rest my fingers, and continue at the next opportunity. Have a good one!

Reg,
Painimies

e:typo.

[Hidden]

Thanks for the reply. If you are bringing articles and REAL competitions back this will be amazing for the habbo community. It wont just be a memory and excitement for old users but it will be fresh and interesting for the new users who have never experienced it.

Also if you want ideas on how to improve habbo, it would be listening to the old users on what they liked best and getting some more interesting insight of what the history of habbo was about (I know you played it, but from others point of view).

[Demi]

Can we have the old catalogue back? I am very disappointed in the LACK of stuff to buy from the catalogue... :)
Also, lets have some more staff > user interaction, events, fun etc...

[buttons]

I enjoy cooking, black music and absurd humor..
'black music' omffff
35 y.old eh bit too young for me but you'll do HEY

[Lewis]

painimies;

Will you be designing a new habbo home page too? (www.habbo.com/me)

[Yawn]

hi i didnt realise u were staff oops. i like new habbo clothes and furni yay so fun.

p.s. i like black music too. do u like will.i.am? x

[iBlueBox]

My five ideas:

- Customisability with room layouts. Such as deciding where you want stairs, and walls and where you don't want them. Blackholes are good. But It would be great to be able customise rooms more such as walls.

- Re-Introduction of innovated tags. Habbos about socialising with people with similar interests. Tags where great for finding people who liked the same tv shows, movies and books. They could be innovated by having categories such as books , tv shows , music for people to fill in and these tags could be on habbos, groups, rooms and events. It's great for new habbos to find friends quickly

- Staff Judged competitions. Such as the old style of sending a screenshot and staff choosing a winner.

- A new homepage. The homepage has had the same design for ages now. It would be great for that to get a re-design.

- Improved groups for users to create communities around what people are interested in, such as new badge designs, being able to send messages to all those in a group, and the introduction of forums again,

[AgnesIO]

Ok my question would be can Habbo go back to having major updates every so often? I remember when it took 6 months to a year for an update - but it was always mega and really exciting - this is something that habbo has lost.

Also I will buy credits again when Habbo take scammers seriously - why should anyone buy credits if Habbo don't care if they effectively get stolen? Users can openly admit after scamming people, as the staff do NOTHING.

[Hidden]

I would also like to ask about this 'we can't reply to your ban as it has been over 6 months' I mean this is completely a joke?

1) Especially when it was a mistaken ban and has been corrected by the person who reported that it was a flaw and a misunderstanding.
2) 0rca (previous community service manager or w.e) said to respond in 6 months and the ban would be lifted (she was the person who placed the ban) she said to have 6 months break then come back and appeal to get the account back. This was in 2010...

[Luke367]

Its about time habbo staff come to the community! Hope to see you again soon with some other news.

[Star-Fighter]

It's not just about getting the articles back, it's the quality of them too. In English they might be decent, but when translated into other languages they tend to be quite tacky and robotic, word to word translations.

What I'd like to see is the return of the old, local hotel views (with a bit of a graphical update maybe), they were really iconic and had a sense of community for each Habbo-country. And definitely an update on the home page.

[Zelda]

To be honest it's completely better to not bring articles back, the lack of it really benefited fansite news for most fansites in terms of the number of people coming to read it.

What I would like to see is instead of trying to go back to what we had to before is to try and progress further really, no going back to old stuff at all. The sort of stuff that should be worked upon is expansions of current furni ranges and things like that, as well as decluttering the panels etc.

Of course the biggest thing I would like to see would be sorting out the customer service. The whole idea of the no dealing with it 6 months after really annoys me as well, considering I was also at first told to give it a year myself and then when I go back they say they can't deal with it? probably the biggest priority sorting this out, and also actually getting customer service staff who read what you say instead of acting like automatons that don't have a clue what's going on.

[karter]

To be honest it's completely better to not bring articles back, the lack of it really benefited fansite news for most fansites in terms of the number of people coming to read it.

Most habbo users still do not trust fansites, and I don't think we should force people into visiting non-habbo sites. Moreover, fansite news have huge loopholes and incomplete and wrong information. And the fact that the new users are not aware of fansite news either.

I wouldn't personally go to a fansite to view the news and I am pretty sure most of the habbos will choose to do the same

---------- Post added 05-04-2013 at 03:12 PM ----------

--

OT: If this is a client-based discussion then I am sorry but I don't like how homepages were brought back and nothing was done with them, there was a reason we wanted them to come back right? Stickers and guestbooks have been removed and if I am not mistaken no new stickers have come out since 2010. Moreover, why haven't forums returned yet? On one hand, fansite forums are encouraged which are way more unsafe than the group discussion forums. Forums are back on Habbo.es and 2 more other hotels too I believe, then why is Habbo.com an exception?

[AgnesIO]

To be honest it's completely better to not bring articles back, the lack of it really benefited fansite news for most fansites in terms of the number of people coming to read it.

What I would like to see is instead of trying to go back to what we had to before is to try and progress further really, no going back to old stuff at all. The sort of stuff that should be worked upon is expansions of current furni ranges and things like that, as well as decluttering the panels etc.


I'd rather read Habbo's articles on stuff than Habbox's - wouldn't be surprised if that is a general consensus either.

[Zelda]

I'd rather read Habbo's articles on stuff than Habbox's - wouldn't be surprised if that is a general consensus either.

No it wouldn't suprise me either but it's just really not beneficial to us that's all :( I can understand it completely though

[Mr-Trainor]

Habbo articles are more factual, whilst Habbox's articles are more opinionated. I don't see what the problem is, did Habbox News readers increase when Habbo got rid of articles? Janice;

[Zelda]

Habbo articles are more factual, whilst Habbox's articles are more opinionated. I don't see what the problem is, did Habbox News readers increase when Habbo got rid of articles? @Janice (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=88462);

yea lmao quite a lot of people told me they started reading it cause of removal of articles

[Okeanos]

Good news: I got Rakker back on the team, helping us in room design!!

What is the point of having official room builders on habbo.com (which by the way have much less resources than the dutch room builders) if you're just going to use Rakker? ugh

P.S. there is only one thing you can do which would make habbo better for me, and that is better competitions with better prizes (i.e. not lame badges)

[Lewis]

yea lmao quite a lot of people told me they started reading it cause of removal of articles

I used to always read habbox news until this new version came out. I don't know why, I just hate the new mainsite, it's glitchy and super slow. That's the only reason I don't read habbox news now

[Zelda]

I used to always read habbox news until this new version came out. I don't know why, I just hate the new mainsite, it's glitchy and super slow. That's the only reason I don't read habbox news now

that should hopefully be fixed with v7

also why we are planning on bringing our articles to forum too hopefully

[Kyle]

I would also like to ask about this 'we can't reply to your ban as it has been over 6 months' I mean this is completely a joke?

1) Especially when it was a mistaken ban and has been corrected by the person who reported that it was a flaw and a misunderstanding.
2) 0rca (previous community service manager or w.e) said to respond in 6 months and the ban would be lifted (she was the person who placed the ban) she said to have 6 months break then come back and appeal to get the account back. This was in 2010...
Pretty sure he's a designer so won't be able to help you there...

It would be nice to have a slightly larger team (larger than the current team of 1? 2? anyway) of player support staff though. It's all well and good to focus on making everything look pretty but it goes to waste when the customers aren't getting the support they need. :( This isn't just for bans either, everyday issues are getting unhelpful responses even after 2-3 weeks waiting for a response. sobs

[Hidden]

What is the point of having official room builders on habbo.com (which by the way have much less resources than the dutch room builders) if you're just going to use Rakker? ugh

P.S. there is only one thing you can do which would make habbo better for me, and that is better competitions with better prizes (i.e. not lame badges)

I agree, and also weren't .nl supposed to keep their 'building accounts' a secret? I am sure somebody has broke that rule :)

[Infinitif]

Interesting..

[Demi]

Actually nice to see a staff member active.

[Rakker]

I agree, and also weren't .nl supposed to keep their 'building accounts' a secret? I am sure somebody has broke that rule :)

That is not true. The rules for Dutch construction team, were different than habbo.com. the construction team of the Netherlands was not officially for hotel public rooms. We made ​​rooms for advertising agencies. That's because habbo.nl was part of Telegraph Media Group. The Dutch construction team was only meant for advertising rooms. Habbo Netherlands has been a cooperation between Sulake and TMG. Habbo.com is totally different. So the way you compare the teams is not right. Wait and we'll see what the plans are. it will amaze you.

Rakker (habbo.nl)

[Hidden]

That is not true. The rules for Dutch construction team, were different than habbo.com. the construction team of the Netherlands was not officially for hotel public rooms. We made ​​rooms for advertising agencies. That's because habbo.nl was part of Telegraph Media Group. The Dutch construction team was only meant for advertising rooms. Habbo Netherlands has been a cooperation between Sulake and TMG. Habbo.com is totally different. So the way you compare the teams is not right. Wait and we'll see what the plans are. it will amaze you.

Rakker (habbo.nl)

Thanks for the reply, I will be happy to wait and see what happens. Will be interesting to see where Habbo goes with the new management.

[painimies]

Hi again,

Wish I could do this far more often, lot of good questions piling up…
So without further anything, let's get to them. First, an important one:


What is the point of having official room builders on habbo.com (which by the way have much less resources than the dutch room builders) if you're just going to use Rakker? ugh
The first answer is kind of embarrassing: I didn't know there were official room builders on habbo.com. BUT NOW I DO (!!!) So, sorry about that.

Second, I have been following Rakker more closely, since they used to do our (ad) campaign rooms. He was one of the first to sort of "get" what I was trying to do with many of my stuff, like USVA, which then started selling a lot better. So I'm also thankful. :)

On the plus side, now that I know you're there, you won't be forgotten. Just be careful what you wish for. ;)


One question I kind of have is will habbo ever return our beloved forum groups? Where many of us had our own little communities based around things we love such as music, tv and art?
I bet we will. One way or another. The thing is, there's no point in just "bringing forums back", they need to be brought back vastly improved, and much more integrated. And in a way that benefits fan sites as well.

There was some discussion around this subject. I'll just say this:
Even if we're slowly opening up, there will still be a ripe market for speculation. Of course we're also going to be more open toward fan sites, so if they're good, they may still be able to pry some exclusive info out of us.

I think this quote is pretty observant:
Habbo articles are more factual, whilst Habbox's articles are more opinionated…
…at least that's a good starting place, I think.


When is this planned to arrive to every hotel (the new UI concept), or will it be introduced step by step just like Ilumina wanted to be introduced?
I'm not really sure yet. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of heavy planning still to do around the subject.

There will be some changes to the UI in the coming weeks, and they might or might not have some vague elements of HITCH, but they're mainly just band-aid & lipstick. Also, most of the changes concern only the new user flow. (The very first things a new user sees and does, from the registration to the, let's say third visit.)

By the way, how do you like the new registration page? I must admit there was not too much time in designing it, but I personally feel it's still an improvement to the old one.


Any plans for some hidden painimies balls?
Now that sounds dirty. :D
No balls planned, sorry. In fact, I would very much like to change the whole hotel view into a much more usable, readable tool, rather than a noisy promo page that takes a lot of resources to construct. (I told you some of this stuff would upset. ;) )


How far have you got with HITCH
That's maybe too broad a question to answer now, but: I think I have a really, really good big idea for Habbo's future, and I have a solid concept for an UI overhaul. It looks like the concept has gotten ok'd everywhere, and the groundwork for it has already begun. But we're a small team, and I have no competence to speak for the programmers, so I'll just say that it's too early to tell exactly.
I will be telling much more about the whole thingamajig in the coming months, weeks even.


Also if you want ideas on how to improve habbo, it would be listening to the old users on what they liked best and getting some more interesting insight of what the history of habbo was about (I know you played it, but from others point of view).
I absolutely agree, I have lots of listening to do. In the end, though, my focus is still to create something new and better, rather than succumb to nostalgia.


Can we have the old catalogue back? I am very disappointed in the LACK of stuff to buy from the catalogue...

Also, lets have some more staff > user interaction, events, fun etc...
No, you can have the NEW catalogue back! Joking aside, let's see what can be done with the current one first.

More staff interaction, events, fun etc... That much I promise.


Will you be designing a new habbo home page too?
I should hope so. I also desperately want to bring Habbo Homes back, in a big way. So there's that.


Ok my question would be can Habbo go back to having major updates every so often? I remember when it took 6 months to a year for an update - but it was always mega and really exciting - this is something that habbo has lost.


Definitely not exactly like it was; 6 months is way too big a wait in today's world. But I too would like to see a really big update every now and then, amidst a steady stream of smaller ones.


Also I will buy credits again when Habbo take scammers seriously - why should anyone buy credits if Habbo don't care if they effectively get stolen? Users can openly admit after scamming people, as the staff do NOTHING.
As you probably understand, I'm not the right guy to talk about these things, but I do take slight offense in the suggestion that we wouldn't take scammers seriously. We do. We can do considerably more, and we will, but we do not take scammers lightly. Never have. In addition to making scamming more difficult and solving the scamming issues more easy, we also need to do a better job in teaching our users not to get scammed in the first place; It will be a huge advantage when older.


Of course the biggest thing I would like to see would be sorting out the customer service. The whole idea of the no dealing with it 6 months after really annoys me as well, considering I was also at first told to give it a year myself and then when I go back they say they can't deal with it?
This is really out of my reach at the moment, but trust me; Im totally with you on this. I personally don't think prisons solve things, anyway. I'll keep you posted.
I do have a lot of symphony for our customer service, though; they don't make the rules, there are clearly not enough of them, and if I would bet vast majority of all the complaints are bogus.


I don't like how homepages were brought back and nothing was done with them
Me neither.


Moreover, why haven't forums returned yet?
I haven't figured them out yet.

Oh man, look at that time... I really must try that 'sleep' -thing now.
Well, it's been extra nice typing to you. Until next time: Keep on keeping on.

Timo

[sex]

do you think habbo would ever unban users who have been banned for long periods of time like it has before in previous years?!

[Hidden]

do you think habbo would ever unban users who have been banned for long periods of time like it has before in previous years?!

I ask this too. Also to add will they ever unban users who were banned BEFORE the MERGE?

[Star-Fighter]

Any sneak peeks of what's to come?=)

[HOSKO02]

This is the forum to glean the best feedback, Habbox has a narrative that parallels Habbo that other fansites can only wish for, but you already know that.

Great post, your approach bodes well already, I would ask, do you have any screenshots of your days of Lumisota? - These would be invaluable to a number of sites.

Great to see Rakker getting some official recognition, the work he's done in design and YouTube tutorials needs accreditation.

[Jorc]

I think the habbo exchange needs an update. 1 coin should be 1 coin. and etc.

[October]

May we have a layout that is consistent site-wide?

Like, when we visit Habbo, we're met with this nice, savvy log-in screen. Then we log in/register and we're met with something that is a completely different layout. Can we get something that matches?

I hope that makes sense... Just, like, unify the entire site with a single design.

[Emz]

I think the habbo exchange needs an update. 1 coin should be 1 coin. and etc.

Don't complain! Atleast you can buy credits from the exchange. On habbo.no the exchange-section in the catalogue is removed! :-/


Painimies, if you read this. Please bring back our exchange. All the furni values are messed up now, and people are going to retros.

Other than that I would say more interaction between habbos and staff is the answer. Nice to finally see that our hotels have staffs again. Makes it a little more personal, even though our staffs are swedish(im on the norwegian hotel) and all the texts are google-translated. lol.

[why]

Not sure if he is still checking in, but I think he'd appreciate this old screenshot...

http://archiv.tunny.to/habbo_unknown/0004-painimies.bmp