A Guide to Better NeoHomes - Helping You and Your Pets Live in Style! by kelandra |  |
In my opinion, there is no feature on NeoPets more overlooked than the NeoHome.
I remember when the feature first came out, how excited everyone was at the
prospect. “Ooh! We can actually have a home that our NeoPets can live in! Cool!”
The furniture store was released and there was a rush of Neopians purchasing
all they could, in anticipation of the fun future NeoHome. Unfortunately, when
the NeoHome first came out, it was fraught with bugs and glitches. Furniture
didn’t load, browsers were crashing, and we soon gave up on the whole idea of
having a NeoHome. I’ve often looked up people’s profiles to see nothing but
a few unfurnished rooms, abandoned and forgotten as their NeoHome. And since
the NeoHome is inconspicuously situated under pet-central, where few Newbies
go, most people don’t even realize that they can own a NeoHome! And even fewer
people realize that we can look at the rooms in one another’s NeoHomes by clicking
on them in people’s user-lookups and clicking on individual rooms.
I, too, was one of the many Neopians with a tiny empty abandoned NeoHome, until
just a few weeks ago when I discovered that most of the bugs had been removed,
and that the NeoHome was really fun! I spent the next few weeks redesigning,
building and furnishing my NeoHome. Throughout that time period, I met barely
anyone else on NeoPets with a fully furnished NeoHome. I knew that this fun
past-time had to be shared with other Neopians. So I have decided to write this
comprehensive guide that tells you all you need to know to build you and your
pets a GREAT NeoHome!
Step 1. Pick Your Neighbourhood
When you decide where you and your pets will reside, think about them and where
they would be happiest. I chose Mystery Island over Faerieland or Neopia Central
because I knew they would enjoy themselves more there. Now they have jungles
to explore, sandy beaches to swim and play at, vines to swing on, and it’s all
right in their backyard! If your pet likes heat and building sand castles, consider
the Lost Desert, if your pet prefers skiing and getting into snowball fights,
Terror Mountain might be right for you. Just be sure it’s a place you’ll be
happy living in for a long time, remember, you can’t move your NeoHome once
it’s built!
Step 2. Plot Out Your NeoHome
One of the most enjoyable parts of having a NeoHome is that you get to
decide how many rooms you want, where they are, and what material they are to
be made of. Make sure that you make a bedroom for each of your pets, or at least
one room with enough beds for them to share. You should always include a kitchen,
living-room, a bathroom, and a room for yourself as well. I made my NeoHome
fairly large since I have 4 NeoPets. I gave them each their own room on the
top floor, a dining room, kitchen, living room, playroom, two bathrooms, two
hallways to connect all the rooms, and of course, my own bedroom. I notice many
people creating their NeoHomes right up to the edge of their property-line.
Keep in mind that if you do this, your pets will not have a nice yard to play
in together. I kept my NeoHome centered in my plot of land leaving a nice big
yard for my pets to enjoy. Remember, bigger doesn’t always mean better, you
should always be thinking of what’s best for your pets.
The material you use also effects the look of your NeoHome a great deal. I
suggest checking out other people’s NeoHomes first in order to see what the
different materials look like. I eventually settled on bamboo for my entire
NeoHome, since it went well with the mystery island motif, and it suits the
climate of the island. If you feel you should create your different rooms in
different materials do so! But remember, some materials can be very costly.
Step 3. Start Building!
Before you start on your NeoHome you should have PLENTY of NP saved up in the
bank. Playing games like Kiko Match, Destruct-O-Match, Diva Stars, and Grundo’s
Gym on a daily basis, will help you keep your NP at a steady level. It is best
to not try and build your NeoHome too quickly, one room a day is usually plenty.
If you pace yourself, you wind up making better decisions, and not spending
your NP all at once.
Step 4. What’s With These Extensions?
For the moment, the extensions don’t do much except make your NeoHome look more
snazzy when people do a user-lookup on you. Currently the extensions to chose
from are: Insurance, Wallpaper, Central Heating, Lighting, Carpet, and Security.
These eventually cost whopping amounts of NP, since you need to pay for each
room, and they increase in price as you go up in levels. But keep in mind if
you upgrade your wallpaper for example, it will not effect how your NeoHome
appears on-screen In my opinion, this is the biggest downside of the NeoHome.
Perhaps in the future, the NeoHome will become more advanced so we can see the
effect of these extensions. Until then however, I recommend you don’t bother
with the extensions. Save your NP for the best par t of all… FURNITURE!
Step 5. Furnishing Time!
Now that you’ve got your NeoHome all built, it’s time to start furnishing the
rooms! Once again, it’s best to pace yourself when you’re buying furniture,
otherwise you’ll find yourself with your 200,000 NP fortune completely blown
on tiger beds and Kauvara rugs! The best place to go to get furniture by far,
is the actual furniture store in Neopia Central. You can find furniture at most
Neopian stores for fairly cheap prices, but keep in mind that when you buy DIRECTLY
from the furniture store, you get to haggle which can considerably lower the
price. What I recommend, is stop by the furniture store, buy anything you see
in stock that you really like, if you come back later and don’t find anything
more you like, don’t go checking on the Shop Wizard. It is far better to wait
to buy it directly from the furniture shop. While you’re buying and choosing
furniture, try to think in your head what would look good in the completed room.
When decorating your NeoPet’s bedrooms, think of what kind of furniture they
would like. You don’t necessarily have to buy a matching set for your pet’s
bedroom, instead try mixing and matching sets. Let your pet’s personality show
through in their room. Also, when you’re furnishing your NeoHome, let your Neofriends
know! Lots of people have pieces of furniture that they don’t want, or couldn’t
sell that they’ll be willing to trade or even give to you.
If you’re having a tough time deciding what to put in a certain room, furniture
galleries are the best places to go. The gallery owned by a certain famous Neopian,
has every piece of furniture currently available on NeoPets. It is a great place
to go to start planning out your NeoHome décor.
It will cost you a lot of time and NP to make yourself a good NeoHome, but
it’s definitely worth it. Once you’re finished, you and your pets will have
a great place to spend time together, and boy will your neighbours be jealous!
Happy building! |
