We know you've been patiently waiting to hear some news about YoWorld's future. Well, the wait is over! We've put together a bit of a Q&A to give you all the information you need to know about what's coming down the pipeline for you and YoWorld!
So, without further adieu, here... we... go!!!
_________________________________________
Asset transfer
- What’s happening with the item conversion? Will my assets be moved over once the game is converted.
To address the first and most-asked question, our goal is to transfer over all assets. Your YoCash and YoCoin amounts will be transferred over as well.
What about broken or corrupted assets?
Our intent is to transfer everything, but issues can arise and some assets may be affected in one-off isolated situations and will be handled as a case by case situation to compensate players or fix the item.
Future of Yoworld and Unity
- What’s happening with the New Unity-based game?
In early communication, we stated that we will be proceeding to a Unity platform. We put extensive resources into making this iteration of the game, but upon hearing your feedback in the playtest and surveys regarding the art style, avatars, and changes we were planning for Unity, we made the decision to meet the community's needs and pursue an HTML5 conversion path. We have pivoted our resources over the last few months to put ourselves in a stronger position that will allow us to achieve this, and we are now confident that we are on a route that will allow players to enjoy the game in a format they enjoy.
PC vs. Mobile
- Will we be getting a version that is playable on Mobile and PC?
Currently with the end of Flash coming, our focus is on converting the game and ensuring it is running smoothly, and to fix existing issues in order to create a better gameplay experience for all YoFans (ex. layering, because yes, we have heard you and we are working on it!). However, in order to provide the best experience and focus our resources, we will have to revisit mobile at a later time. Stay tuned!
Unity to HTML5
- Why did you change from Unity to HTML5?
So what does all of that mean, exactly? As I’m sure you can all imagine, pivoting away from making a new product was not an easy decision. While looking at Unity, we found that we would have to make a lot of fundamental changes to the game due to it being a different game engine.
However, it was made clear that you all wished to have the Yo you know and love saved rather than having a new product created. Going to HTML5 is much closer to what we're already working with. So players' possessions should all perform much closer to how they do today (if not the same), versus what we were facing with unity, which could have resulted in changes to the way items look and possibly behave.
As such, we’ve teamed up with a company that specialises in converting Flash to HTML. This company has a proven track record with other Flash games, and it is our goal to provide a complete 1:1 conversion of YoWorld from Flash to HTML5.
If everything goes as planned, come 2021, YoWorld will function EXACTLY the same as it does right now, with no functionality sacrificed. This also means that your items, currency, etc. will not be touched.
YoMo
- Will there be any changes to YoMo?
Now, you may be asking yourself, “What about YoWorld Mobile?” Well, good news! YoMo will remain unchanged. This game was not built using Flash, so Flash deprecation will not have any sort of effect on it!
Play test
- What is the status of the playtest? Will it be continuing?
As it stands, all playtesting is currently complete. We want to thank everyone who participated for their time and feedback, as it is thanks to the playtesting that we have arrived at the decision to pursue the HTML5 route. If playtesting opportunities come up again in the future, we will make an announcement about this on the forum. So be sure to come back and check for your chance to participate.
Privacy
- Does a third-party company now have access to my account and information?
No. We have only sent our World environment. Absolutely no server or player database information was sent.
Conversion
- Will we get more updates?
As we complete and proceed through the conversion, we will provide updates about the status of YoWorld and any upcoming changes or new features.
When is the conversion going to be complete?
The conversion will be complete early December 2020.
Will the conversion affect current gameplay?
As all our resources are focused on the conversion in order to get it completed as soon as possible, players may see slight delays here and there with services, fixes or updates, and we ask that you bear with us as we go through this process for the betterment of YoWorld.
What if the conversion isn't finished in time?
We have confirmed the completion date with our conversion partner, accounting for buffers and issues in order to ensure our player experience is not severely disrupted.
The entire Viking team at YoWorld HQ is incredibly excited to finally reveal where we are headed, and we are even more excited that you are all coming along with us for the ride!
Please leave any feedback or questions below -- we will do our best to answer them or to include them in upcoming FAQs or official updates!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Previous Future of YoWorld Communications:
The Future of YoWorld (pt 1), November 2019
The Future of YoWorld (pt 2), March 2020