Summer Event 2024: Wild West
Summary
2024 brought us out to the wild wild west!
Characters (NPCs)
Out in the Wild West, Smoothians were able to meet many different faces as they started learning more about the mysteries happening in the small town.
Sallie ran the towns general store, helping users find all the items they needed, as well as giving out some pets!
Sallie is originally from May of 2024. |
Keeping the town safe from any nerdowells, Earp was the towns sheriff
Earp's design is originally from January 2024. |
Major ran the towns branch of the Pony Express, their mail system.
Major is actually an original pet made just for the event, courtesy of ~Trompy . |
Flux is the friendly blacksmith
Just like Major, Flux is also an original pet, though this time created by MissionFlight. |
The leader of the Reckless Riders, Dodge came into town to hunt down the no good horse who betrayed them
Dodge is a pet originally from Christmas 2008. |
The bartender who runs the Root Beer Saloon
Annies design is from April 2024. |
A ranch owner located on the outskirts of town
Honey Bee is a chicken from November 2017. |
A musician, part of the musicians co-op in the outskirts of town
Bobbie Jo is dog from August 2023. |
A farmer with a love for plants, also in the outskirts of town
Helia is a Fennec Fox from August 2023. |
A cute little rat that lives with the cacti
Peanut is a rat from Christmas 2016. |
An adventurer out on the Plains
Clementine is from May 2024. |
Character Dialogue
Sometimes referred to as "flavor text," the NPCs often had their dialogue switched out in order to tell the story. Each day new dialogue would be up, telling observant users about the changes happening in the Wild West.
Day One - July 27th
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Day Two - July 28th
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Day Three - July 29th
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Day Four - July 30th
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Day Five - July 31th
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Day Six - August 1st
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Day Seven - August 2nd
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Day Eight - August 3rd
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Day Nine - August 4th
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“The name's Dodge, by the way, as in ‘Gettin' outta.' Y'all seem to have a healthy skepticism of the law, and we need some backup out on the plains. Are you up for it?” You tie the bandana around your face, leaving only your eyes visible under your cowboy hat, and give Dodge a nod. You can't see if it's true, but you think they might have smiled. “When we first rolled into this town we didn't realize that the no good snake who had betrayed us was posted up as a sheriff of all things. We played outlaw for a day, waited to see what he would do when we took over the saloon, but the yellow-belly is the same as he's always been. We realized he thought we didn't recognize him! “Anyway, we've got a tip on his location and we're ready to bring him to justice. So, let's ride out!” You join the Riders on the train and head to the Outskirts. You're immediately impressed by the speed of the machine compared to wagons, horses, and especially your own two feet. It's been a trek to get to the farm, ranch, and especially the plains and cactus forest, but the train makes short work of it. When you step out again it's completely dark, and one of the Riders pulls out a lantern. As you follow them out into the cactus forest, Dodge whispers more of the story to you, explaining that they found tracks and even the horse that Earp used to get out of town after he realized the Riders knew who he was, but they had been having trouble locating the man himself. You bring up that another Chicken Smoothian found his gold watch out in the sands during the storm, and Dodge spits in disgust. “He was running scared,” they say. They continue to whisper as the group goes further out into the forest than you ever have on your own. You're slightly worried you might lose your way, but Dodge and the Riders seem confident as they move through the darkness. Dodge tells you the Riders were worried they wouldn't get a break in the case, but after Major had confronted the new “sheriff” about the mischief in town, they came to an agreement and the Postmaster revealed information about someone occupying an abandoned homestead along the mail routes. “If he thinks he can run away from his past, he's got another think coming,” Dodge says. For a few moments you walk in silence, moving stealthily enough that all you can hear is crickets. You jump when you hear the mournful howl of a coyote in the night, but after you take a deep breath you work up your courage to ask Dodge, “What did Earp do?” Dodge is quiet for a moment and you wonder if they're going to refuse to answer, but finally they say, “We'd been riding together for a while. All of us are estranged from our families, for one reason or another. Some of them are lookin' for us, accusin' us of crimes we didn't commit to get our names and faces on wanted posters in towns across the West. Not that we ain't never committed a crime by the letter of the law, but we don't hurt no one. It's hard livin' out here, and we take care of our own. “One day, my partner Ace High showed up on one of ‘em with a reward that made your eyes turn into dollar signs. Earp wanted a gold watch and a new hat, so he turned ol' Ace in. From then on, we were out for him. You don't betray one of your band, because all we have out here is our word.” You take the story in, but you don't have much time to process before Dodge motions for you to stop. “Just ahead, there,” they say, pointing to a decrepit building. At Dodge's instruction you and the Reckless Riders ring the building so there's no chance of escape. Dodge pulls their bandana down for the first time you've ever seen, revealing a gnarly scar on their cheek, and approaches the front of the building. “Come out, you beef-headed windbag. We've got you surrounded,” they call out. “If you cooperate, ain't no one needs to get hurt.” There's no immediate answer, and the wind whistles through the run-down walls. “Don't make me come in there,” Dodge threatens, and a chill runs up your spine at the hatred in their voice. As if it was planned, all of the Reckless Riders begin to step closer, and you follow. Suddenly, you see movement in one of the windows, and everyone freezes. “You're no better than me!” Earp accuses as he comes out of the building, his hat dusty and a wild look on his face. “I would beg to differ,” Dodge replies, before walking right up to him. He reaches for Earp's face and you hold your breath as Dodge rips the mustache off his upper lip. “Some disguise,” they scoff, and throw it into the sand. The fight seems to go out of Earp as the Reckless Riders begin to laugh uproariously, sounding like thunder across the plains. “Play nice, and we won't lose you in the cactus forest,” Dodge says, and starts marching Earp back toward town. |
Day Ten - August 5th
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What's that in your pocket? Where did you get that letter? I wasn't sure I wanted to send it, but this must be a sign. Why don't you go bring it over to Major and I'll follow behind
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Map Areas
The Wild West map had many interactive areas, which held new content each day. Users had to check the zones each day to make sure they didn't miss out on any gifts! In addition to free pets and items, the event also featured trade-in stations, which allowed users to exchange their tokens for other prizes.
The Town Center
The General Store
Home of Sallie, the general store provided the entire town with everything they would ever need. Supplies were provided by the train that would stop by.
Sheriff's Office
Earp spends his time here, keeping an eye on the town and sorting through the far to many wanted posters that they never really need...
Post Office
The local branch of the Pony Express, town members could send and receive mail here.
Root Beer Saloon
Home of Pistol Annie, a friendly dog who will provide you with drinks provided you play her game
Blacksmith
Where Flux could flex their skills to create all the tools that the town members may need
Train
A place to hide from the dust, while also investigating those Reckless Riders
The Outskirts
The Ranch
Home of Honey Bee, where animals are raised and kept safe in the outskirts of town.
Cactus Forest
A large field of cacti spreading out as far as you can see. Be careful where you step though, there might be some surprises blending in.
Musician Co-Op
Where musicians and music enjoyers from all over the West gather to play and listen to great music!
The Farm
Where most of the food for the town is grown, and home to its caretaker, Helia
Plains
A large area of land where all the residents and visitors celebrated with a grand party on the last day
Tokens and Banner Pets
This event had several different types of tokens. As the event progressed, there were some additional token items added, although they were simply made from other existing tokens at a few trade ins. Their status as tokens mostly served for plot, and these later token were only of use at a select few trade in stations.
Banner Tokens + Pets
This is the standard event token. Every 20 minutes, players could randomly find a banner at the bottom of nearly any page of the site. Usually they'd receive one of these items, which could then be traded on there event page to NPCs in return for pets and items.
Mail 1 |
Mail 2 |
Mail 3 | |||||||||
Ingot 1 |
Ingot 2 |
Ingot 3 | |||||||||
Love letter |
Saloon Tokens
Drink 1 |
Drink 2 |
Drink 3 |
Each trade in station would request different combinations and types of tokens.
On occasion instead of the standard items in the Root Beer Saloon, players would receive a pet instead. These pets from this event could only be gained through these random game gifts, not through a token trade in. Receiving a pet instead of a token still reset the cool down timer, and the player would have to wait another hour before playing the shooting game again.
Fun Text
As with many CS events, the Wild West featured some random, amusing text, involving the CS team and users.
Train Generator
When the huge dust storm kicked up in the town, the user could escape into the newly built train and generate some funny things that were happening around town
(Thank you so much to user Keir; for diligently documenting these and allowing me to use their hard work!)
All Phrases |
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A Reckless Rider challenges [user] and [staff member]to a game of riddles and they are both quickly bamboozled. |
Ack! There's a snake in [user]'s boot! |
As the sandstorm continues, [staff member] and [user] attempt to craft “sand art” on the saloon floor. [staff member] keeps accidentally stepping on the designs, much to everyone’s amusement |
Clementine set up some hay bales, but they're long gone. [user] saw one all the way back at the Ranch! |
Helia offers [user] a sunflower to brighten their sandy day. |
In an attempt to distract themselves from the storm, [user] and [staff member] attempt to bake cookies in the saloon’s old oven. The cookies end up as hard as desert rocks, but everyone pretends to enjoy them anyway |
Major has to switch out [user]'s mount not even halfway through the day. Delivering mail in the storm sure is tiring! |
Starting to feel stir crazy, [staff member] and [user] decide to play a game of rock, paper, scissors. [user] wins! |
Taking shelter with Flux, [user] and [staff member] are seeing who can stack the tallest cowboy hat tower. |
The General Store is running low on a lot of supplies. Thankfully, [user] knew to stock up before disaster! |
The Reckless Riders' train has been left unguarded. [user] and [staff member] are looking for brave volunteers to go investigate it. |
There's so much sand blocking out the sun that [user] isn't sure if they saw a shadow or an outlaw. |
When [staff member] starts humming [user] joins in and it's not long before Bobbie Jo is writing a new song! |
When [user] opens the door of the Root Beer Saloon they are immediately buffeted by sand. They decide to go back and have another drink with [staff member]. |
With the way this wind bucks [user] is sure they don't want to try riding a bronco. |
[staff member] asks [user] if they've seen their hat. [user] delicately tells [staff member] that their hat is on their head. |
[staff member] confides in [user] that they think Earp is a ten-cent man. |
[staff member] decides to entertain everyone by telling tall tales about mythical desert creatures. [user] listens intently, while [staff member] keeps questioning the logic of a sand dragon that breathes fire. |
[staff member] looks out the window and grimaces, looking at [user] before remarking "When I asked for a sandy vacation, this isn't what I meant." |
[staff member] looks out the window and grimaces, looking at [user] before remarking "When I asked for a sandy vacation, this isn't what I meant." |
[staff member] nudges [user]. "Hey, what do you a call a desert that's always in a hurry?... A Sandstorm!" [staff member] groans in annoyance. |
[staff member] nudges [user]. "Hey, what's your favorite font? Mine is Comic Sands!" [staff member] groans in annoyance. |
[staff member] tries to convince [user] to deliver their mail for them, they don't want to go out in this! |
[staff member] watches tumbleweeds tumble across the Plains. [user] dares them to try some somersaults if they like tumbleweeds so much. |
[staff member]'s hat gets blown away in the storm. [user] throws their lasso and manages to catch it! |
[user] accidentally makes eye contact with a javelina. It's a stare down they might not win... |
[user] and [staff member] are braiding increasingly more elaborate hair styles into the horses' manes and tails. |
[user] and [staff member] are braving the storm to deliver more letters. It doesn't matter if it's rain, shine, or the sand's blocking out the light! |
[user] and [staff member] are playing go fish. [user] asks them if they have any twos, but [staff member] says "go fish"... |
[user] and [staff member] are playing old maid. [staff member] doesn't want to lose and tries to hide the old maid card in their sleeve, but [user] catches them. |
[user] and [staff member] are playing thumb war to pass the time. [staff member] is shaking in their boots in anticipation. |
[user] and [staff member] are taking bets on who will knock over all five bottles in the saloon. [staff member] is getting accurate with all this practice stuck indoors! |
[user] and [staff member] crawl under the train to see if there is anything suspicious there, but [staff member] and [staff member] pull them out before they get a good look. Better to not have information but still be alive! |
[user] and [staff member] decide to build sandcastles out of the sand that blows in. [staff member] knocks them down. Hey! |
[user] and [staff member] decide to hold a sand sculpture contest. [staff member] creates an elaborate sand dragon, while [user] proudly displays their collapsed castle. [staff member] argues that [staff member] "missed the mark" on detail, declaring [user] the unanimous winner. |
[user] and [staff member] decide to practice their survival skills by pretending to be stranded in the desert. [staff member] takes on the role of a “desert guide” who is more interested in telling jokes than giving useful advice. |
[user] and [staff member] get into a multi-round shoot-off where no one knocks down a single bottle. |
[user] and [staff member] get lost in the Cactus Forest. There's too much sand to find their way back! |
[user] and [staff member] swap cowboy boots. |
[user] and [staff member] watch the desert gusts from the safety of the saloon. As [staff member] sips their root beer, they quip, "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere." |
[user] arrives at the saloon just in time for a game of crazy 8s! unluckily, it seems that [staff member] has eaten all of the "eights", so now none of them can play. |
[user] bets it all on a hand of poker at the Musician Co-Op, but Bobbie Jo lays down their cards to reveal five Aces. [user] reluctantly hands over their root beer. |
[user] decides to go outside despite the warnings and gets swept away! Adios! |
[user] decides to help Major dust out the post office. The dust is almost worse than the sandstorm wailing outside. |
[user] decides to hole up with the Reckless Riders in the Sheriff's Office. That place seems to have the strongest walls. |
[user] decides to take this opportunity to inspect the Reckless Riders' train, but they can't see anything through the sandy haze. |
[user] doesn't want to leave Flux's shop. How else will they win the award for most valuable apprentice? |
[user] enjoys a delicious meal at the saloon, and asks what the secret ingredient is. [staff member] whispers that the chef has a rat under their cowboy hat. [user] has no idea what they're talking about. |
[user] enters the saloon for shelter, but finds that [staff member] is telling a long winded story... [user] doesn't understand what the whole thing is about, but gets invested when they notice that [staff member] is taking notes. |
[user] enters the saloon for shelter, but finds that [staff member] is telling a long winded story... |
[user] takes the chance to escape and hide someplace else. |
[user] falls asleep on a pile of mail in the post office. |
[user] feels the saloon could use some living up, so they start playing the piano. there's a lot of broken keys though, so it doesn't sound very good. [staff member] still dances anyways. |
[user] feels the saloon could use some living up, so they start playing the piano. [staff member] starts singing along, and [staff member] drums on the table. the bands all here! |
[user] finds [staff member] sitting by the window, and asks them what they're up to. turns out that [staff member] is trying to find fun cloud shapes in the sandstorm. [user] decides to join them for a little while. |
[user] finds a book on train conducting and starts flipping the pages intently. [staff member] politely points out that it's upside down. |
[user] finds a gold watch out in the sand. Who could it belong to? |
[user] finds a snake in [staff member]’s boot. How'd that get in there? |
[user] finds a stray cat hiding out in the general store, and tries to pet it. [staff member] shakes their head at [user], and tells them not to pet their employees. [staff member] has a very important job of rat control! |
[user] found some eye protection meant for the forge and is gamely delivering mail despite the storm. |
[user] gets blown into a cactus and has to spend the next hour picking spines out with Flux's tongs. |
[user] heads to the saloon after a long day, and finds [staff member] sitting at the bar, trying to do a crossword puzzle. [user] tries to offer them help, but [staff member] seems embarrassed. |
[user] is enjoying a snack, and decides to ask [staff member] to pass them the salt. unfortunately, [staff member] has pranked the saloon and replaced the salt with sand. [user] enjoys a very sandy meal. |
[user] is fit to be tied that their envelopes keep blowing away. How are they supposed to win employee of the week at the Post Office? |
[user] is looking outside the window as the storm billows past. There goes some sand. More sand. A cactus. Hey! Wait a minute was that [staff member]?? |
[user] is nearly blinded by [staff member]'s rhinestone cowboy boots. [staff member] begs [staff member] to throw the shoes out. [user] argues that the boots look great. in the end, [user] gets a matching pair of boots. now there's two menaces in town! |
[user] is oiling their leather gear at the farm while they wait for the storm to die down. |
[user] is trying to dust the sand out of [staff member]'s hair. How thoughtful! |
[user] is trying to help out by sweeping sand out. [staff member] walks in, and drags sand around the entire place. [staff member] enters afterwards and disciplines [staff member], without even realizing that they were ALSO dragging in sand. |
[user] orders a double root beer, they're going to need it to get through this long day! |
[user] overhears [staff member] mumble-singing "Mr. Sandman, man me a sand." You don't think those are the correct lyrics... |
[user] peeks in the window of the Reckless Riders' train, but it appears to be blacked out with coal dust. |
[user] plays some sort of card game with [staff member] and [staff member] while they wait out the sandstorm. [staff member] proudly slaps down their cards with a cheer, [staff member] is nonplussed. |
[user] sees something out on the Plains. Is that a cache of supplies? [staff member] suggests that it could belong to the Reckless Riders who went out with the search party. |
[user] takes a look at the sand blowing outside. Looks like it’s going to go on for a long while still. |
[user] thinks that maybe, if they keep opening the door, the sand might have stopped. Nope! |
[user] tried to strike up a game of dominoes with [staff member] to pass the time, but [staff member] accidentally bumped into the table and scattered the pieces before it was over… |
[user] tries to open the door of the Reckless Riders' train, but it's stuck tight! Maybe Flux has some tools that can pry it open. |
[user] tries to saddle their horse out at the ranch, but [staff member] notices they've put their saddle on backward and tells them they should save riding for another day. |
[user] tries to take a sip of their drink, but keeps finding tiny grains of sand... |
[user] used Dive to get away from the sandstorm. It was super effective! |
[user] watches a letter blow in through the bottom of the saloon door. [user] takes it to give back to Major later. |
“Does that sand look like a dog to you?” [staff member] asks. [user] turns, watching Major come in through the door, covered in sand from head to tail. |
Stamps