Hi folks! We’re in the final countdown of hours to the launch of Big Sea Games! I’d like to thank you all for your patience — it’s been hard, as a fan of the game community just like you, to wait for the past eight months. (I personally have been a beta tester since OMG LAST DECEMBER.) I’m glad I was able to bring you as much news as I have (thanks to my contacts at Big Fish for helping me clarify when details were still fuzzy, as well as for helping me be able to release a few ‘sneak peeks’ before anyone else). With that said.. on to the news!
This thread will remain until the official launch of Big Sea Games and I’ll update below with questions and answers and the latest happenings.
Most questions can be answered by reading the news articles on the What’s New page from the old Game Community.
Update: Tuesday 8/18 8am EST/5am PST
We’re in the home stretch. The old Game Community site will be up until 9am PST. Go ahead and take in its last moments if you’d like — play your favorite game and add a few new people (like me, Lure) to your friends list. See you on the other side!
Update: Tuesday 8/18 12pm EST/9am PST
And, poof, the site is gone. The waiting period for Big Sea Games truly begins now! Stay tuned right here: I’ll keep you posted if I hear any news about their progress, but we should expect to be without games for 5-6 hours.
I took a screenshot of the final moments for posterity’s sake. Peace out, yo.
Update: Tuesday 8/18 2:30pm EST/11:30am PST
Official word is that everything is going smoothly with the transition! Everything is on schedule and no issues have come up! Hooray!
Update: Tuesday 8/18 4:30pm EST/1:30pm PST
The transition continues at a steady pace. :) *taps foot*
Update: Tuesday 8/18 5:30pm EST/2:30pm PST
They’re putting the finishing touches on the site and it should be up and ready soon. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t run into any problems and we’ll be back in no time!
Update: Tuesday 8/18 6:15pm EST/3:15pm PST
And I quote: “We are very close to being done, only a few more minutes.” Hoooray!!
Update: Tuesday 8/18 7:00pm EST/4:00pm PST
Should be any minute now… “Someone here just said the magic words ‘We are good to go.’” Yay!
Q&A
* Will this web site remain bigfishgamer.com or are you changing your name to reflect the new Big Sea Games site?
I’m going to leave this site as bigfishgamer.com for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason is that there are a ton of people who know the site by name and I want to make sure they’ll still be able to find it. In addition, I’ll still be offering the daily new releases from Big Fish and from time to time writing about my latest downloadable addictions, so the name is still more or less appropriate.
* I don’t get it, what’s happening to Big Fish Games?
Only the Big Fish Games Online Community is moving to Big Sea Games. You will still get all of your favorite download and online games at Big Fish Games.
* Where can I get a sneak peek of the games and awards that will be available at launch?
There will be 19 games to play. All of them will feature updated graphics and awards, and some feature new gameplay! Check them out by clicking on the links to view either the awards you can earn or new screenshots of the games!
Deuces Wilder (awards, screenshots)
Fairway Solitaire (awards)
Farm 52 (awards, screenshots)
L.O.B.E. (awards)
Mahjong Towers Eternity (awards & screenshots)
Mush! (awards)
Oz Video Poker (awards & screenshots)
Plunder (awards, screenshots)
Riddle O’Day (awards, screenshots
Shape Shifter (awards, screenshots)
Suits Me Canfield (awards, screenshots)
Suits Me Free Cell (awards, screenshots)
Suits Me Pyramid (awards, screenshots)
Suits Me Solitaire (awards, screenshots)
Suits Me TriPeaks (awards, screenshots)
Suits Me Yukon (awards)
Team Bingo (awards)
Thunderbolt 21 (awards, screenshots)
Unwell Mel (awards)
* What’s the timeline for the launch of Big Sea Games?
Big Fish has recently posted their timeline — but the short answer here is that they’ll start the process at 9am PST. It’ll take 5-6 hours and during this time period both the old and new sites will be unaccessible. For most people in the US, we’ll be playing by Tuesday evening. (We discussed at length the difference in time zones all over the world and how to calculate your own time zone difference here, please don’t ask what time you’ll be able to play.)
* Is it true that you have to go to www.bigseagames.com to get to the new games?
No. There will be a link to bigseagames.com from atlantis.bigfishgames.com (and bigfishgames.com) for a while, but after bigseagames.com is available you may want to bookmark it on your first visit.
* Do we get to keep all of our tokens?
Yes, you’ll get to keep your tokens (and in some cases your game progress too). The details are here.
If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in a comment below.
Filed under: Coming Soon/Rumors
{ 63 comments }
will we be able to e mail another person on the site like we do in pogo
Dee: I haven’t seen a messaging system, but on our profiles there will be a guestbook-like feature where you can leave messages for your friends.
Great post Lure….thanks for all the links and for all of the work you do for this site and Badge Hungry.
the countdown is on!!
And don’t forget everyone, to add Big Sea Games to your facebook friends for updates during the day tomorrow. (I’m not a facebook person, my only friends are Rose Ravenhurst and Big Sea Games) lol
Lori: oh, thanks for the reminder about Facebook! Just in case anyone doesn’t want to deal with it, I’m going to be cross-posting information to this thread all day tomorrow if they have any news for us there. :)
Hopefully you haven’t addressed this and I missed it (which is totally possible these days!), I was wondering if you can see your progress on any given award…say if you need 25 of something, will it show you how close you are to getting the award? And is there anything like an Award Book?
Lori: It’s easier to show you than to explain, but yes — there’s an award book. You can see how many awards you have in any game at a glance. You can view your friends’ award books too. I just grabbed a quick screenshot of the beta page for you. :)
http://www.bigfishgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/awardsbook.png
As far as how much progress you’ve made on an individual award, it’s not readily visible without going into the game. In that case, each game window has a footer with an ‘awards’ tab that you can click on. From there you can see your progress at-a-glance and you can get more details by clicking on the award itself.
Thanks so much Lure! That’s exactly what I wanted to know…I’m glad we will be able to see our progress. The Awards Book looks great!
I am planning to spend hours and hours when the site goes up, playing all the new versions of games and also trying to earn awards, but I was thinking, will there be lots of extra rooms added do you think? Because there are only 19 games to spread across the huge mob of people who are going to be breaking down the door to play when the site first goes up and I am worried that there will be a little frustration and disappointment if people cannot get into the games to actually play them after all the waiting and suspense. I know, I know…I am a worrier, but when I started to do the math and think about the small amount of 19 games, and comparing it to how many people have marked their calanders to be there, well…you can see how I would wonder. So I do hope they are prepared with enough rooms for everyone. I am SOOO excited though!! That’s why, I suppose, I don’t want to be kept out from playing due to full rooms. :)
I’m very excited about the big change but I’ve been wondering how this new site will be making $$$. There will be zero adds (aside for a small ad for Big Fish Games on the home page) and their will not be any subscriptions available (for now). Doing away with cash prizes will save them a bit of $$$ but how will this site be generating income?
I know I should not worry about it and to just concern myself with having fun on the site but I can’t help thinking of such matters. lol
Will the game windows be made bigger then they are now, so it’s easier to see the whole game?
amnrose35: yes, the game windows will be made bigger. If you click on the second screenshot in this post you can see how big the windows will be:
http://www.bigfishgamer.com/2009/04/10/two-new-redesign-screenshots/
People who run their resolutions at lower resolutions are going to be confused as to why their games no longer fit on their screen, but for those of us who run at high resolutions, the game windows look FANTASTIC.
LURE – YOU ROCK!!! Thanks for all the help and for answering the same questions 100 times!! :-) Can’t wait to play Big Sea later today!!
Hi Lure…I was just wondering if all the room names will be the same as they are now? So I know where my friends!!
I just wanted to take the time and thank you Lure for all your hard work on this website and BadgeHungry.
You continue to prove your dedication over and over, and I want you to know just how much it is appreciated.
With that said, I hope you get a mini vacation and get some down time to enjoy the great games with us this afternoon!
Happy Gaming Everyone!!! See you all in the Big Sea!
Amanda and AMM: thank you both! :)
Merry Molly: I think the room names will stay the same, but don’t quote me on that. It’s probably just one of those things we’ll have to wait and see.
I dont know but here its pass 12:00 pm and i still see nothing??? where is the site and the new stuff???????
tina1976: re-read my post. There’s a timeline involved and it’s not automatic and it’s clearly not in your timezone. :)
Adding my Thanks and Kudos to Lure for this great site.
Many Thanks Lure!
Adding to the kudos to Lure! Thanks so much for the updates and for the great site!
First off, Lure, Thank you for your hard work and diligence. I always come here first to find out the latest info on BFG or now BSG.
Secondly, I wonder if it is just me since I have been a Beta Tester since Dec. but I’m not super excited about the new launch since I have been playing these updated versions for a while now. Is it just me?
Jbooklover: it’s not just you! I’m excited to earn awards “for real” but my motivation to do so is pretty low since I too have had access to these updated versions for a while. That being said, I still took the whole day off today to “prepare” this site, answer questions, and chat about the new stuff during the transition. I plan to be playing a few favorites when the Big Sea Games site comes up, but it’s not like I won’t be able to tear myself away.
(Then again, I feel like I eat, sleep, and breathe casual games all day every day, so it’s no surprise I don’t usually feel like playing them after I spend so much time posting and chatting about the latest news/rumors/etc.)
Thanks everyone for posting your thanks, compliments and kudos — I really appreciate it. :)
lure you are very much liked this site and at badge hungry soon this site will have as many people as pogo does
Let’s hope for a smooth transition. I was just playing vegetarian slots.. wonder if that game will ever be carried over? LOL
Anyway curious to see how much of my farm will be saved. Figure I’ll check that one out first as I’m also interested to see what players think of the update. There might be a little confusion there as well(the can of worms/robin thing comes to mind) so I’ll be eager to lend a helping hand to anyone as I tested in beta.
I know the beta site was flash not java and was wondering if the new site will be flash also. If so did big fish remind everyone that? I know my flash version isn’t the latest so maybe it doesn’t matter much.
Thanks again for a great site and for keeping us updated ;)
EdC: I wish the news site were still up, I’d show you the recent article that talked about how Farm51 farms will be transitioned over to Farm52. Everything will be transferred, with the exception of rivers for some technical reason. If you want to write-up a little primer on “Farm 52 for Farm 51 players” I’d be happy to post it. If I recall, it took me a solid month+ of game play to get to the worms/robin thing and a lot of people were asking questions about it, and how the wormhole worked. Maybe the new on-site help will explain? I hope so, but I don’t know since we never really saw help pages on beta.
As far as Flash vs. Java, yes they reminded folks on their news page and on Facebook that all of Big Sea Games will run on Flash. Most browsers come with Flash installed already and the installation/upgrade is usually pretty painless.
Hi…I don’t see Big Fish Slots on the list…..is it being deleted?
Oh, good, the new site will be flash-based… I’ve had lag issues with Java, so I’m so happy to see them switching to Flash.
What will happen to the games that are not be placed in Big sea? I am one of the few who still enjoy Ospello, even though it stopped playing the way it did in the beginning.
MikesMom5: Big Fish was pretty vague as to what would happen to the games not listed for initial release (and games listed for release shortly thereafter). I posted the lists here, but anything not on that list is probably gone for at least a few more months, if not gone forever.
I’m still trying to figure out what happened to Team Bingo and Badda Bingo (were they merged into one game?) and what the difference between the two will be on the new site (if there’s any difference at all, if they haven’t been merged). I think I’ll have a better hold once I get to the new BSG site and can poke around. :)
Lure- thanks for the farm 52 primer idea..unfortunately I did not get too far in the game for various reasons (lag being the main one!). I only know what others were posting in chat and I’m sorry if I led on that I knew way more.(at least I’m being honest). Perhaps someone else who got further in the game could help with your idea. I’m sure once the forums are up there will be quite a few posts on tips/tricks for the game or on this site eventually.
As far as beta goes I’m glad it’s finally over. Reporting bugs in the forum was a pain in the ass..not to mention there was a few wahzoos posting some pretty weird rants. I had to bite my tongue many a times ;)
P.S. I understand if you edit those last few comments LOL
EdC: if nobody submits one and the help pages leave a little to be desired, I might write it up myself. I just don’t plan on having a lot of time to play games over the next few months (real life, busy, blah) and I don’t know what state my Farm51 farm is going to be in when Farm52 hits — I believe I reset everything sometime last year and never went back. And as far as editing your comment goes, you’re fine. I never once posted a bug — every time I found one I spent hours wading thru too many threads on the forums only to finally find someone else had reported it already, definitely a low signal to noise ratio.
I keep alternating between foot taping, pacing, and just general fidgeting :)
Lets hope the fishies are hard at work.
This day has gone by SOOO slowly with all the waiting. I am very excited that it is almost time to open the doors and let us all go rushing in!! Yippee!!
It’s been over six hours.
I am now officially pouting :(
BFG – Please hurry!
Let’s hope somebody pulls through for you. You do so much between the 2 sites, not to mention you have a life also.
I have a feeling bigsea will be a huge hit considering pogo is fading fast for many of us. Looks like your site will be gaining some new fans I’m sure!
Speaking of having a life, I need one as I’ve been glued to this computer all day anxiously awaiting….
I just want to draw attention to my latest update!
not fair! they are 27 minutes late!
Well while they are pouring champagne all over each other they forget to flip the switch and let us in. LOL a few min has passed LOL
Jake: they’re not late in my book! These things aren’t an exact science, we should be glad they are close to the timeline they gave. It could have taken all night if something had gone wrong.
uh, in all seriousness though, it is awesome to imagine the new site, despite me being a beta tester and essentially know everything that is new.
hope the site comes up soon
think im having bigfish withdrawls lol
cant want for all the new features and to create my mini
feel like a kid at xmas waiting
Waiting anxiously for the new site. From what I’ve heard it will be fantistic. Thanks people for all you’re hard work on this.
sam: the avatars (mini’s) only have 125 combinations. How on earth will you pick!???! LOL! 5 shirts, 5 bottoms, 5 eyewear/no eyewear (P.S. My does not even though I do) (PP.SS. my name on the site is uconnnumber1)
Lure – I am amazed they are even close – I am amazed they could even think to do it in 5 hrs. Thanks for the updates – laughed out loud at the Peace Out bit they put on the site
I am TRYING to be patient but time seems slower in middle america!!! Is it time yet???????
big ty to lure!!! She is awesome!
Thank you Jake. :)
Also, thanks to Valerie for telling Facebook folks about this site! I’m glad this site can give them something to do in the final moments while they wait. :)
I know that the first game I want to play on the new site is LOBE.
What about all of you?
I’m a big fan of Farm 51 so I guess I would be Farm 52 for me.
I want to see Riddle. I’ll probably play Oz Poker or one of the solitaire games.
It’s Up!!! It’s Up!!!
oh my God it’s live…………………………see you in Big Sea Games
Many Thanks Lure
It’s SOOOOO Slow
I’m in! thanks for keeping us updated throughout the day!
I can log in, but I’m not in. And they messed up my username in the transfer. (I’m gonna be pissed if I lost all of my progress and tokens on my main username and have to use this one.) :( If I can determine I’m having a unique situation, I’ll post a comment about it at this thread:
http://www.bigfishgamer.com/2009/08/18/happy-birth-day-big-sea-games/
and now there is an overload and I can’t get —was sooo close tried to sign in and the page just keeps loading and loading! Bummer!
At least I know I’m not the only one who can’t get in
I just got the we’ll be right back message again.
Well I was in…till I left to post here and now can’t get back on LMAO!
They probably crashed everyone trying to get in at once…owell I’ve waited this long. See you all on the other side soon enough ;)
Sorry folks this site is a big disappointment not thrilled with it at all i tried team bingo can’t even get all of the cards to mark.
Where is Lost Temple of Doom, the only game I play on the community site?
Yes, I’m guessing their site did crash – I was on last night for awhile, but no go EARLY this morning. My poor little computer is just churning and churning away and no site to be found beyond what sort of appears to be a portion of a sign in page. I miss BF Slots, but my other games made the transformation.
im having a problem getting in the game site how can i correct this problem
will any of the other games be coming back…Slots? Diana the tile game? This new site is confusing me…and I want to see the other games come back…please oh please!
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