shrug The name doesn't bother me at all. I see the similarities, sure. But everything inspired by Asian culture will look similar. If something is inspired by something, of course it'll have similar colors/styles. I guess my point is that they're both inspired by the same thing so yeah, they have lots of similarities. I don't see the problem, myself.

I didn't see anyone complain when Veta was all German-themed or when the Sacred Lands got a Arabian feel to it. Those are real places too. Oh God, maybe they shouldn't exist either. -_-

Ever since, I always thought Shinwa's name was inspired by some East Asian origin, although I never talked about it. "Shin" or "Xin" being heart (心), and "Wa" being "Wow!" (哇) or "Doll" (哇哇).

Shinwa, the heart within. What a love doll! :)

Edit: Whoops, I might have mistaken a word for something else, although it's has a similar meaning.

I think it's even more literal than that. Shinwa - 神話 - means myth or legend (lit. "god-story") in Japanese.

And hey, if Subeta ever does actually want it's own conlang(s), as someone with a linguistics degree

ps i could make really awesome translation puzzles. none of this basic replacement cipher nonsense. j/k i love you guys

I wouldn't be surprised The old art is heavily inspired by Japanese anime (and kind of blatantly so before they reworked it only recently to be more original), and that could influence the character origins.

i don't think so. shenkuu is a looot different from shengui, at least for me

For me it's not that neopets did it first that's the problem; it's that neopets did it better

:/ Yeah i'm just not seeing it. You're probably over thinking it.

Oh god this is becoming a Debate Forum post

let's all sit down, breathe some fresh air, and attempt to figure why the hell this is so important.

Not really? It's just an Asian-themed land, the way I see it. Neopets also has an Asian themed land. That's where the similarities end to me, to be honest. Neopets was not the first site to be inspired by Asian art, culture, and themes and will not be the last.

Okay, but is there going to be something to do with Shengui Guo because nearly one month after release, I'm afraid one shop with three-items-a-day-pulled-from-the-RNG is not cutting it

this is what this thread reminds me of.

Sorry, we're heading into holiday season so you won't see any Shengui Guo updates until at least January 2016. :)

I HATE YOU GUYS

Seriously, I know that the art staff is thin right now, but seriously, I'm sick of drip-feeding culture. We had a plot and our reward of a new land is...one shop? That's seriously underwhelming to me

AND YOUR REWARD IS BOK CHOY

At this point the only thing that bothers me about Shengui Guo is that there is still nothing to do on the map. We have the food shop and that's it so what about the rest? I know staff is busy thanks to the upcoming huge holiday season but it's not Subeta's first year and the fact that there are many events coming around now isn't new news. So, in my opinion, it maybe would have been smarter to hold Shengui Guo back until next year and some time after Vesnali a.k.a. a time of the year that isn't so stuffed with events in order to be able to concentrate more on it and to give it the attention it deserves as a new land.

Remember that people were basically falling over themselves for an event before it began; it's unfortunate that Subeta has snookered itself into this position where, September - April, the calendar is dedicated almost solely to events. Not that I don't enjoy it. Holidays are Subeta, and Subeta is holidays. But we have to play the balancing act every year where these events are to be the focus and take up the majority of the staff's time - if they aren't, you can expect the usual influx of complaints that this event SUCKS - and the small pockets are dedicated to fleshing out our many shops, working through monthly themes and adding cash shop content.

As such, I'm happy to be patient while we wait for more content to be released. A new colour tied to the land has been hinted at, and should be with us by the end of the year. I'm sure we'll see more events and activities tied to the land '''soon'''.

I honestly expect a lot from October for Shengui Guo. It's the land of spirits and Morostide is right around the corner. I will say it again, patience! I want so much more, but I'm willing to wait just a couple more weeks before the 'so suck much empty' routine.

Honestly, I think that it's a bit early to make comparisons outside of the initial aesthetic...which is already an aesthetic used by a ton of things anyway.

When they add more content, THEN I think we can debate whether it's like Shenkuu or not.

(though this discussion is kind of amusing given that this site was created in response to Neopets anyway)