Smash Smash 8th Anniversary Celebration

Hello everyone!
Today is January 22nd, 2021, 8 whole years after the initial public release of SMASH. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we have prepared a celebration which will last a few weeks. During this throwback celebration game mechanics will return to how they previously functioned among other things. Unlike the 6th Year Anniversary this celebration will be divided into 2 separate parts. Read onward to see what we have in store for everyone!

Part 1
Cosmetic Game Changes
The bulk of Part 1 will be Cosmetic changes to fit how old SMASH used to look. We have not changed any game mechanics or systems besides the removal of Christmas 2020 festivities. Things like bowfly and other old features like that will not become available either. Here are the following changes we have made:

• The old 1.7 Lobby has returned in all of its glory. We had some trouble finding a functional version of this build, however using player input, old screenshots, and knocking our heads together, we've added all the secret signs, sayings, and redstone systems back. In addition, there are a few new secrets to find.
• We've reverted to the old KO messages, which contain ELO values of players. Unlike the 6th Year Anniversary, this change is here to stay! Note: There is a space between the ELO and players' name, this is intended
• Players' ears can rest no longer, as the DING sound that plays when an item spawns has returned, as loud as ever...

New Cosmetics
You may have heard some KO sounds that were only accessible to certain players and staff, these will now be accessible to everyone for purchase via the XP Store as of now! The sounds are as follows: Wololo, Approving Grunt, Elder Guardian Death, Shulker Death, Shulker Taunt - Deep, Sizzle, Wither Scream, Boss Spawn, and Bat Death. In addition, a new trail has been added, "Tornado", which is available for use across the network.

Limited Time Cosmetic
Lastly for Part 1, we will be holding events throughout today, at peak times for the Americas, Europe, and Japan. Simply finishing a match in the event will allow you to obtain the glyph, and it should be available for usage a little while after. Events will be broadcast on the twitter and in-game, however we have 3 times planned as of now.

• US: 11 AM EST / 5 PM CET / 1 AM JST (23rd)
• EU: 1 PM EST / 7 PM CET / 3 AM JST (23rd)
• JP: 8 AM EST / 12 PM CET / 10 PM JST

Part 2
Map Changes
We know that many players have been waiting for new maps, especially those from the Map Building Contest way back in September. However, due to lots of back-end changes happening over the course of the past few months, we have been unable to add these maps. Miner Problems and now Slaughter both run on an updated Arena system, which we are currently working on updating. So, instead of delaying the Anniversary, we will have the 2nd part of the Anniversary be dedicated to map changes among other things. We will be adding the following maps within the month of February at the bare minimum:

• Abandoned Bridge
• Corrupted
• Dark Castle
• The Ship
• White Chapel
• The Cube
• Olympian Heights
• Freezeflame Cavern
• Endgame
• Collide
• Aftermath*
• Big Kahuna*

* = Media Map
In addition, players can look forward to some map balance changes. Depending on what we feel is fair, spawn points for items and players may be altered across all maps.

Social System Update
This is more of a back-end change, however parties will now operate on the new social system which was introduced a while back. You'll be able to send messages with /drm (message) and see who's playing what from the Smash lobby from Part 2 onward.

Closing
We'd really like to thank the community for sticking with us for 8 years, its been a wild journey together. Even if you've just come on for a few matches to kill time, or if you've been with us since the start, thank you. It means the world to us when we see people talking about, playing, and enjoying the game. It's what I personally love here the most, just chatting with all of you guys, and a lot of the time your feedback is amazing to listen to. With the new Arena system on the way, we'd love to accept more maps for testing at a faster pace, so you guys have more content to chew on.
As always, thanks for flying Shotbow, and here's to 9! -The SMASH Team

January 22nd, my favorite day of the year!