Developers announced a player-operated version of Toontown Online last week. Players responded with concerns and suggestions. Some of the most common questions keep repeating.

Launching a new client for an old game is keeping the TTR team busy. According to joey19982, the work isn’t hard, only time consuming. Players watch intently as new information finds its way to the public. The general public has an ear to the door about gameplay, legal issues and alpha keys. Updates to deprecated information will be emboldened.

Following up on recent posts I’ve made, alex_newtron is no longer part of the developer team. The Toontown Rewritten team does not have an official subreddit. However, I will continue posting to the /r/toontownps subreddit and I imagine it wouldn’t hurt to keep up with it. If an official subreddit is launched, I will update all posts with a link.

Alpha testing

The first build of the game will reportedly be launched within the week. Players will be able to register for accounts using alpha codes. The development team plans to distribute 100 alpha codes. The type of user they are looking for won’t get bored troubleshooting basic game mechanics. An ideal user is active in the fan community and has reliable internet connection. Methods of applying for codes have not been announced.

The gameplay the first alpha testers will access will be comprised of mostly walking and talking. As time goes on, new facets will be added. Players who want to play the full, complete game will be better off waiting for the game to go live than applying for the alpha testing.

Private developed games for commercial means typically go through private alpha testing before beta testing. The stages this game will go through:

alpha testing, which will have limited content

private beta, where all features will be tested

open beta, where the public can play the game

official launch, where the game is complete

Game play

Users who played for extended periods of time are curious about the fate of their now departed toons. The technology to pull a toon’s information from the old game exists. The developers will not be utilizing this function. Through this feature, anyone could claim a toon belonged to them. The TTR game aims to rewrite Toontown history. All players will start at square one when the game goes public.

Players seem attached to their toons’ names. The question about naming mechanisms and reserving names pops up in every question and answer session. When the game gets going, the developers may use a bot to approve custom, simple names. The moderating and support teams will be available to approve new toon names.

Reserving names would be too burdensome at this point in time. Additionally, players may lose interest before the game launches. Names cannot be reserved, but custom names will be up for review when the game launches.

Storyline

Plot is an integral part to any game. Remove goals and all the players have are grinding to get to the next level. The TTR team has plans for plot “to add on to Disney’s [storyline].” The elements are hinted to be both apparent and hidden throughout the gameplay.

When Disney pulled the game, no story explanation was given. If the game launches and has to close for developer reasons, there will be a storyline to gracefully give players closure. The TTR team doesn’t want to leave players hanging, joey19982 stated, “The way Disney closed the game just didn’t feel right.”

Should players of the original game believe the cogs won? What story line would you offer? Post links to your plot suggestions in the comments section. I’ll review my top favorites and give my own pitch sometime soon.

Content

The goal for launch is that all of the game mechanisms will work. After launch, new content may be added. Content may include changes to animations, locations, and gameplay interaction. The short term focus isn’t on changing the content. The team has not released specifics on planned changes.

Players seem keen on rearranging the gagtrack. The development team at this time has no interest in changing or adding elements to the gagtrack. The verdict so far is that it seems balanced.

The team is receptive to content suggestions. Develop a good pitch for what you think should be added or changed and post it somewhere online. Good ideas may be considered.

Client

Because Toontown is a new build with a new launcher, everyone will have to download the game. Even if you still have the old Toontown game installed on your computer, you will have to download the new game. The changes being made to the game necessitate the new installation.

The server is coded in C++ and Python. Players are told to not worry about hackers, like in the Disney ran version of the game. The developers are aware of flaws hackers exploited.

Legality

The elephant in the room is copyright. TTR hopes to avoid legal skirmishes by making the game free for users to play. The developers are not making money on this project. A popular claim from the community is that TTR is a parody of the original game and thus, legally protected.

The server space is provided by toonbook. Toonbook is a social networking platform. The server size allocated is small and will not be burdensome on toonbook. Toonbook and TTR are separate entities.