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Q & A

  • Q: What are Urbaniacs?

    Super cool super heroes who live in Urbanville. You create 'em, you control 'em. Have fun!

  • Q: What is a PBBG?

    While the answer to that can be much more comprehensive, the acronym sums it up fairly well: Persistent Browser-Based Game. For a more in-depth overview of what a PBBG is and why we need YAA (Yet Another Acronym) to categorize games such as Urbaniacs, please check out www.pbbg.com.

  • Q: What is NOMAD?

    Nomad is the biggest band in Urbanville. Their distinct style is commonly known as "Punk Funk". Punk Funk is a wicked blend of Punk, Hip Hop, and Funk. Led by their fearless lead singer Terrible Erratic Bloke, and backed up by band members John, Maj, and Kutter, you can hear some of their wicked beats as you explore your way around Urbanville

  • Q: What are the minimum requirements to use the site?

    Urbaniacs is a PBBG (Persistent Browser-Based Game). It basically requires a computer, an internet connection, and a major browser such as Firefox, Safari or IE. In addition, you must be using a recent version of the Macromedia Flash plugin.

  • Q: How do I get started?

    It's simple! Click the Sign Up button. When you start out, your choices are limited to Head, Body and Legs, but as you continue exploring Urbanville, you will be able to purchase additional body parts and gear that you can equip on your Urbaniac!

  • Q: What do I do now that I have my Urbaniac created?

    The most important routine of any super hero is to train, so be sure that you hit up Training every day to take advantage of the free daily training!

    Of course, playing some of the games would be a good idea as well...

  • Q: What is an Alter Ego??

    It can be your name or any secret identity you want! You don't want the press hounding you day AND night.

  • Q: How do I upload my alter ego image?

    Find a jpg or other image on your computer then click upload. All images must be approved by Mayor DaMan.

  • Q: What are the restrictions for alter ego images?

    Mayor DaMan has to approve. It's a PG site. Have fun.

  • Q: Why does my alter ego image say pending?

    Because you just uploaded a new one and it has not been approved by Mayor DaMan... give it time. He's a busy Mayor.

  • Q: How can I retrieve my lost password?

    Send a ticket through BCE Support

  • Q: How can I change my email address?

    Send a ticket through BCE Support

  • Q: How can I change my account preferences?

    You can change your account settings by going into the Hideout section and clicking on the "Settings" link.

  • Q: Does it cost to play?

    Only your time! Hop to it!

  • Q: What direct link should I use to show my profile?

    You should use the following link to show others your profile: https://profiles.urbaniacs.com/YOUR_ALTER_EGO_GOES_HERE

    For instance, if your alter ego is "Urbaniac", you profile link would be:

    https://profiles.urbaniacs.com/Urbaniac

  • Q: How do I get more Urbaniac parts and/or gear?

    Earn Urbos then go shopping at Funk Daddy's Pimp-out Depot and Lunar's Body Shop.

  • Q: How do I change my Urbaniac parts and/or gear?

    Earn Urbos then go shopping at Funk Daddy's Depot and Lunar's Body Shop. Then go to the Equip Interface. The link under My Urb.

  • Q: How are my Urbaniac stats and super powers determined?

    Every Urbaniac is made up of 3 parts: Head, Body, and Legs. Each part has unique powers and attribute levels. You can find body part stats at Lunar's Body Shop or in your own inventory. Equipping Urbaniacs with GEAR will also increase your Urbaniac's overall attribute values. To see all Urbaniacs gear and parts, visit the Hall of Records in Town Hall.

  • Q: How can I increase the stats and super powers for my Urbaniac?

    Daily training at the Proving Grounds, game play, and site exploration will help increase the attribute levels of your character, plus it's really really fun.

  • Q: What determines the name of my Urbaniac?

    Each part (Head, Body, Legs) has its own name. Whatever parts you pick... are the names that stick.

  • Q: How can I get more Urbos?

    Play games to win Urbos and click around for hidden random events.

  • Q: What are Urbos good for?

    Urbos are the currency of Urbanville -- if you expect to buy any new gear or parts, you had better be carrying some Urbos.

  • Q: What are Urbos?

    Cash, dollars, ching, greenbacks, dough, quid, or moolah. Urbos are like money only better because they're the only form of currency in Urbanville.

  • Q: How many items can I carry in my inventory?

    Currently you can carry an unlimited number of inventory items, but Mayor DaMan may decide to impose a limit down the road.

  • Q: Can I trade items to another player?

    Not yet, but the Urbanville Swap Meet will soon be open for business. There you will be able to trade all of your Urbaniac warez with your fellow super heroes!

  • Q: Can I trade items to another player?

    Sure, just head to the Urbanville Swap Meet. There you can trade all of your Urbaniac warez with your fellow super heroes!

  • Q: How often do the shops restock?

    They get restocked at random intervals and only when they are out of inventory.

  • Q: What determines the price of the items?

    All items have a base price set, but the actual price in The Grove may fluctuate from day to day.

  • Q: How often are new issues released?

    New issues are normally released every week, so check back often.

  • Q: Can I submit articles/content for the Chronicles?

    Of course! Please send them in!. Do read our Terms & Conditions before submitting anything though.

  • Q: What are the minimum requirements to play the games?

    Flash games require that you have at least version 8 of the Macromedia Flash plugin.

  • Q: How many Urbos can I earn for playing games?

    Each game has its own reward limit set, which is displayed next to the game in the main Arena page.

  • Q: What are Props/Disses?

    Props are like extra credit points. You can reward someone some Props (proper respect) if you think they're cool, funny, or do something good on the site. Disses are the opposite. If someone does something you don't like and it ticks you off, you can DISrespect them by Dissing them. This site is yours. Throw the people you like some Props and Diss the people who don't deserve to share your space.

  • Q: What are Props and Disses used for?

    How much Props you have shows the rest of the people on the site how cool you are. Props and Disses are also a useful way of gauging other Urbaniacs when using Forums and Swap Meet.

  • Q: How many Props/Disses can I give?

    When you give Props, you will need to wait a certain period of time before giving Props again. That period of time depends on your Props rank. The more Props you have been given, the more often you can give them out. The same general rules apply for Disses as well... the higher your Props, the more often you can Diss someone.

  • Q: Why would I ever want to give someone Props? Why can't I just Diss everyone instead?

    Because no one will like you... plus, there is a not-so-secret thing called Karma Props, which means that there is a "chance" that you will get a boost in your overall Props points when you give out Props to someone else. The same does not apply for Disses, which are really supposed to be used when someone bugs you... or if you just feel like it sometimes.

  • Q: What if someone just keeps giving Props/Dissing the same player?

    You cannot give Props or Diss the same player twice in a row... you have to spread some love around. That, combined with the waiting periods between Props/Disses helps make sure people give out proper Props and Disses.

  • Q: Can I create accounts just to give myself Props or Disses?

    New accounts are on probation and cannot give Props or Diss another account, so that would be wasteful for them to try. C'mon, we've thought of everything. Much Props to us!

  • Q: How do the Props levels work?

    There are 10 levels, 1 is the starting point and 10 is the highest level. The number displayed next to your stars is the actual number of Props you have received (minus the number of Disses you have received). That number is what is used to calculate your actual Props rank on the scale of 1 to 10. But don't stop there, keep getting props and you might reach hidden levels and bonuses.

  • Q: How much do Props and Disses count?

    It all depends on your rank. If you are at level 1, then your Props and Disses will only give and take 1 point away. But that amount increases as your Props rank increases. For instance, if you had a Props rank of 6, anytime you give Props you may actually be giving that person 3 Props points instead of 1. The higher your Props rank, the more weight you carry.

  • Q: Can you give yourself Props?

    You can try, but you will only end up with an inflated ego and a tired mouse.

  • Q: What are challenges?

    Challenges are basically a competition to see who can get the highest score for a game, but with a built-in rating and betting system that allows you to possibly win some Urbos from your fellow challengers.

  • Q: What is the object of a challenge?

    The object of a challenge is to post the highest score you can within the specified challenge period. When the challenge period finishes, the scores of the other challengers are automatically calculated and the player(s) with the highest score wins.

  • Q: What are the differences between public and private challenges?

    Public challenges allow anyone to join as long as they are eligible, i.e. they have enough to cover any wager set, and they are not already in an active challenge for that game. Private challenges will not show up in the public challenge area, and may only be joined by those that you specifically invite to join.

  • Q: Why are some of the games missing from the challenges?

    Only certain games allow challenges. Those games that always have the same or similar scores are not allowed since the challenges would normally end in a draw.

  • Q: What is the expiration period?

    The expiration period is how long a challenge will remain on the board without someone accepting or joining the challenge. If no one accepts or joins the challenge within the specified expiration period, then the challenge will expire and any wager you put up will be returned to you. This is very useful if you know you are only going to be online for a short period of time.

  • Q: What is the challenge period?

    The challenge period is how long the challenge will last once it has been accepted or joined by a challenger. The clock only starts ticking once someone has joined the challenge. Be careful that you do not join a challenge that is almost finished, as you will be at a disadvantage since the other challengers would have had much more time to post a good score already.

  • Q: When does the challenge period start?

    The challenge period starts as soon as anyone joins the challenge. Regardless of how many challengers are allowed to join your challenge, the first one to join will start the clock.

  • Q: What is the difference between the friendly and wager competition types?

    Friendly competitions are just that - friendly. There is nothing more on the line than your pride (and your ratings, of course). Wager competitions on the other hand not only affect your rating, but allow you to win some Urbos from your fellow competitors if you are able to post the highest score for the game.

  • Q: Why can't I make a wager? It always shows my competition type as friendly.

    Sorry, but players under 13 are prohibited from placing wagers between other players.

  • Q: How do I post my score for the challenge?

    For flash games, you MUST click on the Send Score button at the end of the game. If you do not send the score before the challenge period expires, your score will NOT be recorded for the challenge. For non-flash games such as Hi-Lo, you must finish the game by either losing or clicking on the Quit button. Once you have finished the game, the score should be recorded for your challenge.

  • Q: Are challenge scores cumulative?

    No. Only your highest score is used when determining the winner of a challenge.

  • Q: Can I have more than one active challenge at once?

    Yes, but not for the same game. For instance, you can have an active challenge for Henchling Throttle and one for Hi-Lo, but you cannot have two active challenges for Hi-Lo at the same time. If you think your score is good enough to win your current challenge and you want to go ahead and join another challenge with someone else for the same game, then you can click on Finalize, which will lock your score for that challenge and allow you to move on to a new challenge.

  • Q: What does the Finalize action mean?

    When you click on Finalize, it will lock your score for that challenge. This allows you to move on to another challenge for that game. Once you click Finalize, you will NOT be able to post another score for that challenge, so only click on it if you are satisfied with your recorded score.

  • Q: How does the rating system work?

    You earn or lose rating points for each game that you have completed challenges for. In addition, you have an overall rating, which is an average of all of your game ratings. Higher numbers for ratings are better than lower numbers. Each time you win or lose your rating will get adjusted – how much adjustment depends on who you were playing. If you beat a player that has a significantly higher rating than you, your rating will jump higher than if you were to beat someone who has an equal or lower rating than yourself. Likewise, if you lose to a player that has a significantly lower rating, your rating will drop much more than it would if you were to lose to a player rated higher than yourself.

  • Q: What does abandoned mean?

    Abandoned is when someone starts or joins a challenge but never posts an actual score. There may be potential repercussions for those that continually abandon challenges.

  • Q: Can I see what scores have been posted for a challenge while it is still running?

    No. You can only see what your current high score is for the challenge. It would be a disadvantage for everyone if you could always see what score you had to beat.

  • Q: What is the bank for?

    The bank allows you to set aside some Urbos into a savings account and earn interest... easy money! Not to mention, you will be able to purchase CDs (Certificate of Deposit), and set up a Safety Deposit Box to store your valuables.

  • Q: How do you collect interest for your savings account?

    All you need to do is go to the bank and click on "Collect!" next to the section that shows how much interest you have earned for the previous day. If you do not see a link there, then you don't currently have any uncollected interest... try back the next day.

  • Q: How is the interest calculated for my savings account?

    The interest is compounded daily. This means that at the end of the day, the amount of interest you earned is calculated and you are then allowed to collect it. The interest rate at the bank is now a MPR, which means Monthly Percentage Rate (instead of the usual APR, or Annual Percentage Rate). To estimate your daily interest, you would use the following formula: (BALANCE * RATE) / 30 As an example, if you had a balance of 100,000 Urbos, and the current MPR (Interest Rate) is 10%, it would work out as follows: (100,000 * 10%) / 30 (100,000 * .1) / 30 10,000 / 30 = 333.3 = 334 Urbos per day (we round up for you) Since the interest you collect goes directly into your account, your interest compounds daily and really starts to add up! Please note that any transactions made throughout the day will affect how much interest you make for that day. If you deposit 1k Urbos an hour before midnight, you will only earn an hour of interest on that deposit for that day... so it's best to deposit money earlier in the day and leave it in your account for as long as possible.

  • Q: If I miss a day of collecting interest for my savings account, will I be able to collect that interest the next day?

    Unfortunately, no. Since the interest is compounded daily, you must collect it daily or it is lost forever. So it is very important that you collect your interest every day... it's free Urbos!

  • Q: How come the Estimated Interest/Day amount is different from what I actually earned for the previous day.

    Because... it's an estimate. The Estimated Interest/Day is based on your current balance, and how much interest that balance would earn you in a full 24 hour period... it is not an estimate for how much interest you are going to earn for the current day since that fluctuates depending on what transactions you make throughout the day.

  • Q: Will the savings account interest rate change?

    Yes, it is likely that it will need to fluctuate based on market conditions.

  • Q: What is the lottery?

    The lottery is a free contest run by the Urbanville Lottery Commission. It is a daily lottery that gives away a prize of urbos or an item to one lucky ticket holder.

  • Q: When is the winning lottery ticket selected?

    Each night at 12:01AM UST, the winning lottery ticket is selected for the previous day. The prize is automatically given to the winner and the next lottery begins.

  • Q: Is the lottery free to join?

    Yes, you may get one free lottery ticket each day.

  • Q: How often can I win the lottery?

    If you win the lottery, you must wait at least 7 days before getting another chance... but this waiting period may be changed in the future.

  • Q: How can I create and submit my own beats for the Beat Blaster?

    Using your favorite sound editor, create your beats with the following specificiations: Drum, Bass, and Elements Should be loops with 2 bars of 4/4 at 106 beats per minute Duration: 4528ms (199698 samples) Effects/Lyrics Do NOT need to be perfect loops Duration: up to 27168ms All sound files should be submitted in MP3, WAV or AIF formats. No other formats can be accepted at this time. All submissions must adhere to our Terms and Conditions, which means you agree to be bound by those terms. All submissions must be YOUR original work; any copyrighted materials will not be uploaded. When you have your beat ready, zip it up and send it to [email protected] and we will get it uploaded. Depending on our volume, it may take 72 hours or more to get your beat approved and exported into your library, so please be patient.

  • Q: How do I create and submit my own UrboPod skins?

    All skins must be created in Flash (at least 8) and submitted in FLA format, which is the Flash source file. No other formats can be accepted at this time.

    Download the Urbopod SDK (Software Development Kit) and open the README.txt file to get started.

    Your submissions should not be simple re-colors of the official Urbaniac skins (we plan on doing that ourselves), and they must be YOUR original work! All submissions must adhere to our Terms and Conditions, which means you agree to be bound by those terms.

    When you have your skin ready, send it to [email protected] and we will get it uploaded. Depending on our volume, it may take a few days to get your skin approved and exported into your library, so please be patient.

  • Q: How do I use the Battle interface?

    Attack (1): This button launches a physical attack, using whatever gadget you may have equipped.

    Item (2):Press this button to use any purchased items, usually food.

    Sidekick (3): This button will unleash the power (or lack thereof) or your sidekick, provided you have one.

    Whisper (4): If you press this button after entering a message in the shoutbox, the message will only be sent to the members of your team.

    Defend (5): Press this button, and your Urbaniac will assume a defensive posture, lessening any damage your opponent may deal to you.

    Powers (6): This button will let you use one of your superpowers. Depending on how many different body parts you have, you’ll have the option of one, two, or three different superpowers. I’ve heard that you can get a fourth by giving a superpower training pass to your sidekick, but I personally haven’t witnessed that yet.

    Flee (7): Used before a battle starts, this button will remove you from the battle with no consequences. If you use it after the battle has begun, you will flee, which will reflect on your battle stats.

    Shout (8): After typing a message in the shoutbox, you can press either this button or Enter on your keyboard to send the message to everyone in the battle.

    Shoutbox (9): This is simply where you type your messages to either shout or whisper.

    Sound Controls (10): Here you can adjust the volume of the music and sound effects in battle.

    Team 2 (11): In assaults, this is your opponents’ side...in battle, it’s just the side of whoever chooses team 2.

    Team 1 (12): In assaults, this is your side...in battles, this is the side of the battle’s moderator (whoever made the battle), along with whoever joins team 1.