Behind The Scenes

Dear Twinizens,

I heard that some of you are nervous about the future of Twinity because of a number of different rumors. So I thought it might be helpful to explain a bit what has been going on in the last year.

Indeed our main investors did leave Metaversum (the company behind Twinity) end of 2010. I was CTO at that time and aquired the majority of shares in a so called management buyout from our ex-investors and became CEO of Metaversum.

My main goal in the last year was to put Twinity on stable financial grounds to make it possible to run it without loosing money. To achieve this I reduced our costs to a minimum and also did some steps to increase our revenues (e.g. the new VIP pass and adult pass).

I am happy to tell you that these measures allowed me to run Metaversum without losses in 2011. Also Twinity is now break-even. This means that the revenues we make allow us to cover all running costs.

To show city exteriors in Twinity we had to pay high license fees to our map data provider in the past. As my main goal was to make Twinity pay for its running costs, I decided to stop paying these license fees from the beginning of 2012. As a result we are not able to show the city exteriors any more at this time. It was a difficult decision, but now Twinity is free of costly ongoing licenses.

We can bring back the cities in the future if we re-license the map data or if we move our city-generation-technology to free data sources like open street map.

I hope this information helps to understand a bit better what was going on behind the scenes recently. If you have more questions, you can always talk to me or Carolyn in world or contact us via mail and feedback.

Best wishes

Christian

CEO Metaversum

Twinity’s Shop of the Week – Suit Up!

Gentlemen, are you ready to suit up?  Ladies, do you want to have the best dressed man in Twinity?   Shop Manager is highlighting the perfect shop for both goals this week at her Shop of the Week Spotlight event!

Shop Manager's weekly event highlighting the different Twinity Shops

Join her at the Carnaby Gentlemen’s club and relax in the private club atmosphere, or browse the great selection of classic suit designs for men.  Be sure to find the special 5gl sale item of the week while you’re there – it’s a limited time price so hurry!

Limited Time Globals Sale! 30% extra

As another great Twinity year comes to a close, we want to show our appreciation to the community by making a very special limited time offer on Globals purchases.

Get 30% more globals from your purchase for a limited time!

For the rest of the year, when you purchase Twinity globals you will receive 30% more than the normal amount.  This sale will only run through New Year’s, so be sure to take advantage of it quickly!

Twinity New Update, just in time!

Dear Twinizens,

It took the team a bit of time to have the new Twinity Update ready, but we really wanted to deliver it as a very special Christmas present to all you and it is finally here! Apart from releasing the Activity System, we are also fixing some bugs you had reported to us.

New Toolbar Buttons

To start, we changed the buttons of the Toolbar Menu and added a new Tasks button where you can find many different activities to complete, earn points,  level up and unlock features. We adapted the existing Welcome Tour to improve the new user experience and we will be rolling out different activities in upcoming updates for the Twinizens who already mastered the basics.

New Tasks and Levels

When you start Twinity after the update, each of you will have a different level in game. It depends on many factors, that you can find out more about clicking on the star in the upper left corner, next to the Twinity logo. Each level activates a certain feature in Twinity: this way new users have not so many options at start so they can focus on learning the main parts.

Level up and discover more activities

So you get the idea, once you reach the 2nd level, you get the Starter Apartment. After you get into the 3rd level, the Moods buttons are added to the Animations window and you can then change the way you walk. With level 4 the ability to fly gets unlocked and reaching level 5 allows you to upload objects from your computer. Once you are on level 6, you can open a shop in Twinity, in level 7 is time to create your Photofit of your avatar’s face. For now, you can go up to level 10 and it will be your mission to discover what is waiting for you on Level 8, 9 and 10

Santa Visited Twinity Early!

‘Tis the season and Santa did a warmup run for his big night by taking a trip around the world in Twinity, leaving behind lots of free gifts for all the nice Twinizens!  Starting with Christmas Island, he left 3 different gifts for males and females and if that wasn’t enough, he also left a snazzy seasonal furniture item!

Look for these items in each city to get your special limited edition Christmas gift items!

Keep your eyes open for these items – there is one of each tucked away near the landing point in Berlin Center, London, Miami, Palmadora Island, Singapore and New York City and each one has another free gift for you!  The snowmen have male items and the trees have female items.  How many can you find on your own without help?

Get out there and start your gift searches, all items are limited editions and they won’t be around very long!

Twinity Shop of the Week Spotlight

Have you been following Shop Manager’s weekly series of events, the Twinity Shop of the Week Spotlight?  In case you have missed it, every week Shop Manager selects a different Twinity Shop to highlight and offers at least one item per shop for only 5 globals for the entire week!

Whether you’re looking for fantastic bargains, or just want to meet Shop Manager, this event is one you don’t want to miss!  Just check the event calendar every Sunday to find out which shop the spotlight is shining on!

Twinity Maintenance 1 Dec, 2:00 pm – 8:00 pm CET

As we have been telling you inworld, we have some scheduled maintenance coming that will take Twinity offline for a few hours on 1 Dec.  We expect the downtime to run from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm CET, however if it is possible to be back online sooner we certainly will!

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time, and hope that if anyone does not get the word ahead of time that you’ll help us be sure they know and don’t panic.  If you’re looking for something to pass the time, why not hang out with us on the Twinity Google Plus page?

Twinity goes tropical! New environments available now

We are very happy to announce that we created 2 new tropical countryside environments for our VIP members!  If you act fast you can preview them with maximum size upgrades by searching the place list for For Sale: Beach with Vegetation and For Sale: Tropical Island with Vegetation.

Beach with Vegetation

A rising sun over the sea, a never ending sandy palm beach, a warm breeze blows through your avatars hair… Let your dreams come true with this beautiful beach environment full with vegetation.

Tropical Island with Vegetation

Captain, land ahoy! Do you need a ‘small’ and ‘secret’ place to bury a treasure?  Or perhaps a secluded place perfect for a romantic getaway? Then this beautiful island location full with vegetation is the best choice for you.

 

Circle us on Google Plus!

That’s right, you can now find  Twinity on Google Plus!  Now you have an additional new source for great Twinity info and images.

 

We’re looking forward to giving all your great posts and pictures a +1, so hurry and circle us so we can add you into our circles!

Twinity Access Pass

Do you have your access pass yet?  If not, it’s easier than ever to get – now you can find it on the overview of your Twinity.com homepage!

 

Easier than ever to get

 

People have been busy creating some amazing restricted access places and items, and having lots of events at the new places.  Be sure you’re able to enjoy them by getting the access pass now.  Remember, it’s a one-time purchase, so once you have it you don’t have to worry about any renewals!