We have come a long way from the small beginnings with Alpha and Beta Editions and simple gameplay. Although I would have preferred a faster pace, I am satisfied with what @splinterlands has been able to build so far. We are almost ready to market ourselves to a large audience and be able to retain the players and grow the ecosystem. The biggest and most amazing change IMHO so far is the Tip Widget.

Those who Battle in Wild Leagues or even the new players who have spent a few weeks with @splinterlands should find the tips useless. On the other hand, these tips can completely change the way new players approach the game. They can begin with the game right away after getting their account and manage to get a hang of the game. These are dynamic tips and does not overwhelm the players. I had to do a some important reading before I started playing the game. This wonderful tip widget eliminate the need for that extra pre-game work without dumbing down gameplay.

We Have A Good Tutorial

I assume the marketing campaigns are set to kick off in January of 2025. The title and the thumbnail are geared for the next year. It is not that hard to change a title and thumbnail on YouTube. The team is likely not even interested in December.

I don't know who Alt Moon Fox is. He has made a good tutorial that can help newcomers get started. I would like to see several videos of this nature covering each part of the game (eventually including Land 1.75) and have some easy access links to these videos in different parts of the UI.

Ability to Turn Off Tips is Good

There are long time players who are fully aware of the intricacies of the games. Having a single toggle in the setting page to turn off all the hand holding done for the new players would be a nice to have feature for veteran players. @peakd has already done something similar with their wallet page. Advanced options were turned on for experienced users by default. The rest got access to a more simplified UI/UX.

Ambassador Program is Live

The old referral program is no more. The revamp was discussed by the members of DAO many months ago and a Proposal was passed based on the votes of SPS holders. Anyone with any amount of SPS staked can participate and they will have influence based on how much of an investment they have in the DAO. There is no room for sibyl attacks, vocal minorities or tragedy of the commons.

There are already 8 users who have managed to bring in more users to @splinterlands. It seems pupil_802375 has not even a bought a Spellbook for the game. We are going through some positive conditions for user onboarding. This is more than mere fancy visual upgrades or tips for new users. We have results to show off.

Conversion Rates Have Improved

@peakmonsters is a third party tools that has been amazing on many different levels while taking off a lot of UI development work out of the hands of Steem Monsters Corp. The conversion rate of new signups to purchase Spellbooks (worth $10) used to be around 2%.

Last 6 Months

Last Month

Last Week

The number of daily signups is relatively low for the last week. I do not see this as a big problem. Ultimately what matters is that there are players that invest in the game and that investment begins with a $10 Spellbook purchase. Conversion rates have been as following:

• Last 6 Months => 2.15%
• Last Month => 3.31% (54% Increase)
• Last Week => 4.39% (Another 32% Increase)

Higher conversion rates means that each dollar spent on marketing will get a higher ROI. Compared to the stats over last 6 months (which include the last week), we are looking at 104% increase of conversions. New Player Experience changes are making more than 2X better conversions!

Updates Shared on Discord

🌟 Ambassador Program Revamp
The affiliate program has been transformed into the Ambassador Program, loosely along the lines of this passed proposal!
🔹 Referrals Reset: All previous referrals have been cleared.
🔹 Earnings: Earn 5% of your referrals' end-of-season Glint, capped at 100% of your own Glint for the season.
🔹 Spellbook Bonus: Both you and your referral will earn 500 Credits when they purchase a Spellbook.
🔹 Gold Tier Ambassador: Refer 10 users who spend $100 each to become Gold Tier.
🔹 Earn 5% on referral pack purchases from the shop and 1% on secondary market purchases after reaching Gold Tier.
🔹 TOS Update: Referring yourself with alternate accounts is now prohibited.
🔹 Check out the support FAQ for the Ambassador Revamp.

🛒 New Voucher Shop Card: Ulfga The Blighted
🔹 A new legendary unit, Ulfga The Blighted, is now available in the Voucher Shop, replacing the Mana Warden.

🏆 Hall Of Legends: Preloading Finale
🔹 In preparation for the holidays, we're preloading the 5th Hall of Legends:
🔹 Legendary Card: Fizbo the Fabulous
🔹 Rare Card: Warborn Shaman

🛠️ Tech Modernization
🔹 Improved URL: The game is now accessible via splinterlands.com without the next prefix, though existing links with next will still work.
🔹 New Tutorial Video: Check out the updated tutorial created by the community! Thanks for all who participated and a quick shout out to @JediElf for the amazing video he made.

📝 General Updates
🔹 Contextual Tooltips: Contextual tips added to help new players (can be disabled in settings) with links to support articles.
🔹 Notification Improvements: Duplicate notifications reduced; duration adjustments made.
🔹 UI Tweaks: Reset filters button added to Events page.
🔹 The descriptions of many abilities have been adjusted for clarity and consistency.
🔹 Market & collection drop-down attack filters consolidated into a single Power filter.
🔹 Increased the visibility of the remaining Rebellion packs, get them while they are available!

Bug Fixes:
🔹 Fixed private tournament password issues.
🔹 Resolved issues with Energy & Glint updates post-battle.
🔹 Addressed various UI, notification, and gameplay bugs for smoother play.

HODL Until Q3 2025

SPS price is 135% up since its bottom 4 months ago. $BTC All Time High will most likely happen in Q3 of next year. Altcoin tend to peak few months after BTC reach its peak. All of these speculations are based on past data. They are not crystal ball predictions. I personally do not plan to sell any of my Cards. I will be selling my SPS and HIVE in Q3. Do not worry about the short term trends. Small profit taking is a good idea. Selling months before the peak and missing out on life changing wealth is not a good idea.

The statistics clearly show a trajectory of growth. The bull market is going to bring opportunity to hire more developers and artists to deliver on promises at a faster rate. Do Your Own Research believe in it when you find the results.

Best of Luck!