v10: Perry's Lab, Hedgehogs Can Fly and Draughts

Hello Hedgehogs!

Version 10 of Hedgehog Creek is out today, and it is our biggest update in a long time. There is a brand new minigame, a village that lives its own life, thunderstorms, draughts tables, a redesigned friends list and a huge amount of polish underneath.

If you are new here, Hedgehog Creek is a free online virtual world that runs in your browser. Dress up your hedgehog, decorate your home, make friends and play minigames. Create a hedgehog and you can be in the world in a few seconds. Already have one? Log in and come and see what changed.

Professor Perry's Lab is open

Mayor Spike has granted planning permission for a new building in the Village, and it is finished. Professor Perry's Lab now stands at the top of the path, with a green door, a dome and a telescope on the roof.

Step inside and say hello to Professor Perry. He is always inventing something, and the newest invention is waiting behind the Hedgehogs Can Fly door inside the lab.

New minigame: Hedgehogs Can Fly

Professor Perry needs a test pilot, and that pilot is you. In Hedgehogs Can Fly you strap on one of Perry's flying machines and see how high you can get.

• Fly as high as you can and dodge the obstacles on the way up.
• Complete Perry's goals to unlock better gear.
• Push your best height ever higher and climb the boards on the Top Hogs scores page.

Hedgehogs Can Fly launches at version 1.0.0, its first full release. Free Fly-Ons are for Tier 1, 2 and 3 Patreon supporters.

Coffee Collection has been updated too (now 5.5.1) with sharper images and fixes to game loading. Both minigames now load through a new game manager with a fresh loading screen, and they work properly on phones, tablets and iPads with better touch controls and full-screen support.

Draughts tables

Sit down at a table in the Village with another hedgehog and play a proper game of draughts. Anyone walking past can stop and watch.

• The winner earns 10 coins and the loser earns 5.
• Every turn has a 30 second timer, so nobody is left waiting.
• Friends earn a bonus when they play each other, and it grows with your Friendship Level (more on that below).

A village that lives its own life

The residents of Hedgehog Creek have come alive. The world now has a day of the week, and Mayor Spike, Mr Prickles, Hazel, Chai and Flint follow their own daily routines. Everyone in the world sees them in the same place at the same time.

• Pass Flint stretching his legs in the Village on a Tuesday morning, or catch the Mayor having an evening coffee in the Cafe.
• Villagers sometimes slip away into parts of the creek you cannot follow them into. If someone is out, they leave a note at their usual spot telling you when they will be back.
• Shops show as closed while their keeper is away.
• Brand new hedgehogs are now welcomed to the creek by Mayor Spike himself, with a short three-step tour of the basics.

Thunderstorms and seasons

A rare storm now rolls in every few hours, with heavier rain, a darker sky and thunderclaps that light up the world. Everyone hears the same thunderclap at the same moment, so you can all jump together. The rest of the time the weather is much calmer, and snow is a little more common in winter.

The world also changes with the seasons. Paths, grass and even the spinning hedgehog on the loading screen dress for autumn and winter, and the website changes for events like Halloween and Christmas.

Speaking of Halloween, the autumn colours are already in the Village and the giant pumpkin by the Cafe is grinning at everyone who walks past. Keep an eye on the events page for what is coming next.

Friends, hearts and waves

The friends list has been completely redesigned.

• Friends who are online show at the top under "Out and about", with where they are in the world. Everyone else is "Snoozing", with when they were last seen.
• Friends appear in their outfits even when offline.
• Friend cards show a big picture, how old their hedgehog is, their minigame bests and a supporter badge. You can tap your own face to pick your card's banner colour.
• Wave at each friend once a day. If they are offline, your wave waits for them.
• Friendship Levels: every friend has 5 hearts that fill as you spend time together. Wave daily, play draughts together or spend 10 minutes in the same room to earn friend points. It takes a month of daily effort to fill all five hearts, and more hearts means more bonus coins when you play draughts. Hearts fade slowly if you stop keeping in touch.
• A new News tab shows when friends beat a best score, get something new or redecorate their home.

A redesigned inventory

Your wardrobe is now a dressing room. Your hedgehog stands in the middle, drawn sharper than ever, with a slot on each side for hats, face, back, held items, tops, bottoms, shoes and costumes. Tap a slot to jump straight to those clothes.

• Clothes are sorted into colourful tabs down the side, like a notebook, instead of one long list.
• Save your favourite outfits and put them back on in one tap. Everyone can save 2, and supporters can save more.
• There are new colour choices for your hedgehog: the classic colours, a set of pastels and an any-colour picker. Anyone can try colours on, and Tier 2 and Tier 3 supporters keep them.
• Turn your hedgehog round to see your outfit from every side, and search your items to find a piece of clothing in seconds.
• It has been redesigned for phones and tablets too, with bigger item tiles.

Smoother, sharper and much faster

• Hedgehogs now walk in smooth, natural lines, and their arms, necks, heads and hair are layered so they animate better.
• Artwork is sharper everywhere, from clothing icons to characters.
• Getting into the world is nearly 3 times faster in our tests (about 1.2 seconds down to 0.4 seconds), and logging in went from about 3 seconds to under half a second.
• Busy rooms like the Village run far more smoothly, especially on phones, tablets and older computers.

Under the hood

Hedgehog Creek now runs on its own player accounts system. Your hedgehog, coins, items, scores and friends have all come with you. Just log in as normal; the first time you enter your password it is moved over automatically. You can also now sign in with Google.

There is also a redesigned Top Hogs scores page with podiums, monthly prizes and This Month, This Year and All Time boards, a new Supporter Perks page, a fresh look for the home page, and a new look for this very blog, with a redesigned post page like the one you are reading.

For every single change, read the full v10.0.0 changelog.

Thank you

Hedgehog Creek has been growing for over five years, and v10 would not exist without everyone who has played, reported bugs, joined the community and supported the game on Patreon. Thank you, truly.

Jump in, say hello to Perry and see how high you can fly. If you find a bug or have an idea, tell me on Discord.

Stay Spiky,

- ScreenCactus