GRHail
World Explorers
An ad-free, tracking-free online world for families, where children play games, send mail, keep memories, and learn across four illustrated worlds, in English, Spanish, and German.
Storm track
Time runs across. Height is maximum sustained wind, read from each status's METAR. The red ring marks the current position, and the cone ahead of it assumes conditions persist. A dashed stretch spans two weeks or more without a report, and the time axis breaks across it, marked // with how long it lasted.
Meteogram /the last two days and the week ahead/
Advisories /38, newest first/
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Advisory 38 GR Hail
The sticker and Celebration Corner bugs found on The Great Penguin Mystery were checked here too. Four of them applied and were fixed, along with the same stuck-finger lock in the games' touch controls: a lost finger no longer freezes the stickers or a game's controls, and the sticker tray no longer jumps or loses taps when changes from the other home arrive. Shipped and in use, with bugs being fixed. The fixes go out on 6 November once their last check passes, followed the same day by an automatic daily picture for the Celebration Corner.
METAR XWEX 060503Z 26015G28KT 4000 TSGR BKN030CB 04/03 Q1007 NOSIG RMK 46 GAMES 12579 TESTS= -
Advisory 37 DSIPTG Dissipating
The round's last follow-ups went live as build 527: a computer to play the board games against, a layout for games on a phone held sideways, a home calendar that changes smoothly in place, and a new share card and site icon.
METAR XWEX 060225Z VRB03KT 9999 FEW100 04/03 Q1016 NOSIG RMK BUILD 527= -
Advisory 36 DSIPTG Dissipating
The second four story games went live, so each world now has two of its own, and the round's follow-ups began, with friends' powers by character and a new level in the Forest's burrow game. Shipped and in use, with this round winding down while the site carries on. The last two follow-ups, a computer to play the board games against and layouts for a phone held sideways, go out on 6 November, then each game is tried on a real iPhone and iPad, and the owner's tools get a look around 10 November.
METAR XWEX 060105Z VRB03KT 9999 FEW100 04/03 Q1016 NOSIG RMK BUILD 523 46 GAMES= -
Advisory 35 TSTM Thunderstorm
A day-long burst on the games. All 34 were reworked to be played by touch again, on the rules and at the pace of The Great Penguin Mystery's originals instead of by arrow buttons, and four more of its games were ported. The first four story games went live, one of its own in each world. A getting-started checklist for grown-ups and the fixes from a review of the whole site went out too, along with fixes for taps and a white flash on iPhone, the same tap fix as in The Great Penguin Mystery's version 8.54.
SPECI XWEX 052203Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 34 DZ Drizzle
The next round of work was planned, and a fix went into the owner's tools.
METAR XWEX 032248Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG= -
Advisory 33 DZ Drizzle
A small fix to the owner's tools, which now name the real reason when something needs a look. Stable and in use.
METAR XWEX 310030Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG RMK BUILD 502= -
Advisory 32 DZ Drizzle
All of the owner's tools now share one style, and panels that did not line up side by side run full width. A live beta with real families, stable and in use. A fluent read of the Spanish and German comes next, along with a few decisions for the owner.
METAR XWEX 310010Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG RMK BUILD 501 11843 TESTS= -
Advisory 31 DZ Drizzle
The owner's tools for running the site were redesigned, with a side menu, trend tiles, and charts, and four wrong numbers in them were fixed.
METAR XWEX 300050Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG= -
Advisory 30 TSTM Thunderstorm
The Great Penguin Mystery's later features were all brought over, from its calendars and holidays to its games, detective round, makers, pet, and printing, and all four worlds now have them equally. Shipped and in use in the live beta. A fluent read of the new Spanish and German comes next, with no date set.
SPECI XWEX 291933Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG 4 WORLDS 10758 TESTS= -
Advisory 29 HIPRES High pressure
Feature complete and shipped, with bugs fixed as they appear. On iPhone, iPad, and Mac Safari, photos had been dropped from anything a child made and kept or sent, from the photo booth and cards to certificates, badges, journal pages, postcards, and frames. All of them now keep the photo, and a new automatic check over 44 pictures across the four worlds stops it coming back. The photo backups now run every night from the main server's 04:00 job. Checks on real devices and the translation reviews come next.
METAR XWEX 140200Z 00000KT CAVOK 04/03 Q1030 NOSIG RMK 4 WORLDS 9331 TESTS= -
Advisory 28 TSTM Thunderstorm
A family year book is on its way: a grown-up can turn the year's photos, letters, and badges into a printable book or PDF of 16 to 18 pages, on A4 or US Letter. Its deploy is running now, and a check of Tidemark on real devices and its first translation review come next.
SPECI XWEX 112220Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG 4 WORLDS 9325 TESTS= -
Advisory 27 DZ Drizzle
New art for the home page went live, with the fixes from a walkthrough of the whole site in the browser.
METAR XWEX 111000Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG= -
Advisory 26 PTCLDY Partly cloudy
Four worlds are open and in use. Fluent speakers review the new world's Spanish and German next, and turn-taking nudges follow, with no date set.
METAR XWEX 110801Z 24008KT 9999 SCT040 04/03 Q1015 NOSIG RMK 93 PAGES 34 GAMES= -
Advisory 25 CLR Clear
The fourth world went live with build 443: Tidemark Explorers, a clockwork harbour with all 120 of its story chapters. A sign-in fault on the world picker was cleared the same day.
METAR XWEX 101000Z 00000KT CAVOK 04/03 Q1024 NOSIG RMK 120 CHAPTERS 4 WORLDS= -
Advisory 24 DZ Drizzle
The celebrations work was finished. The wording is now gender-neutral throughout, and the Spanish follows Spain's usage.
METAR XWEX 091000Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG= -
Advisory 23 TSTM Thunderstorm
A Celebration Corner opened, a festival calendar with a door for every day, alongside Holiday Crafts, 144 holiday stickers, and a holiday theme across the whole site.
SPECI XWEX 081000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG 144 STICKERS= -
Advisory 22 TSTM Thunderstorm
The fourth world, still in private preview, went from 20 to 40 of its 120 chapters, with all of its mysteries written and its world pages filled in three languages, and a World Map fix reached all the live worlds. Chapters 41 to 50 and the makers' word lists come next, then the rest in blocks of ten.
SPECI XWEX 032118Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG 40 OF 120 CHAPTERS 8300 TESTS= -
Advisory 21 HURCN 1 Hurricane, category 1
Tidemark took shape behind a hidden preview, with its art, chapters 1 to 20, a Handbook, 114 badges, and 103 quests in three languages. The Photo Booth arrived from The Great Penguin Mystery with 134 new stickers, 29 dress-up sets, and a four-photo strip, and restoring from a backup is confirmed to work. Chapters 21 to 120 follow in rounds over the coming weeks, then a fluent review of the Spanish and German before Tidemark opens to families.
SPECI XWEX 030938Z 09070G90KT 2000 +TSRA BKN008CB 04/03 Q0985 TEMPO 0800 +TSRA RMK 20 OF 120 CHAPTERS 8300 TESTS= -
Advisory 20 TRPCL STM Tropical storm
Growth in scope. A fourth world, Tidemark Explorers, began with its world bible and designs for its ten characters.
METAR XWEX 021000Z 09035G55KT 3000 +TSRA BKN012CB 04/03 Q0998 TEMPO 1000 +TSRA= -
Advisory 19 TSTM Thunderstorm
Grown-ups can now sign in with a passkey, by face or fingerprint, instead of an email link, and a deleted family's devices are cleaned up automatically. Every page prints cleanly, the Handbook prints as a small booklet, and a Stormy Fans stamp joined the site. Passkey tests on real phones and computers and a rehearsal of restoring from a backup come next, then notifications and paid plans.
SPECI XWEX 020455Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG 7900 TESTS= -
Advisory 18 TSTM Thunderstorm
Cross-world rewards went live, so a family keeps its rewards as it moves between worlds, and the first live tests ran with a test family.
SPECI XWEX 011000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 17 DZ Drizzle
Phase six is closed out, and the plan for cross-world rewards, which keeps a family's rewards as it moves between worlds, is written and waiting on decisions.
METAR XWEX 010446Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG RMK BUILD 415= -
Advisory 16 TSTM Thunderstorm
A sweep of polish. All 34 games now share one game flow, the app has a new mark, and every page is redrawn, with each emoji replaced by a drawn picture.
SPECI XWEX 301000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 15 TSTM Thunderstorm
Landfall. Waves six to eight went live with the makers, the family pet, and school subjects, then the public launch: signup open to any family behind a grown-up PIN, with a published privacy notice and terms and a new homepage.
SPECI XWEX 291000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG PUBLIC LAUNCH= -
Advisory 14 TRPCL STM Tropical storm
Four more rounds of page work are built and tested, waiting to go live. The plan grew a learning section for school subjects, with the virtual pets up next.
METAR XWEX 290222Z 09035G55KT 3000 +TSRA BKN012CB 04/03 Q0998 TEMPO 1000 +TSRA RMK 8 OF 10 ROUNDS= -
Advisory 13 TSTM Thunderstorm
Wave five went live, bringing the world and story pages.
SPECI XWEX 281000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 12 TSTM Thunderstorm
Mail, keepsakes, camera, and family-hub pages went live.
SPECI XWEX 261000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 11 TSTM Thunderstorm
The game release made landfall, with every game playing full-screen.
SPECI XWEX 251000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 10 DZ Drizzle
The last games were ported, and the privacy, consent, and child-safety work was finished. A quiet stretch followed until late September.
METAR XWEX 131000Z 23005KT 8000 -DZ BKN020 04/03 Q1014 NOSIG RMK 34 GAMES= -
Advisory 9 TRPCL STM Tropical storm
Growth in scope. The third world, Skybound, opened, its 120-chapter story written over the rounds that followed, and the games got a pass to make them feel better to play.
METAR XWEX 051000Z 09035G55KT 3000 +TSRA BKN012CB 04/03 Q0998 TEMPO 1000 +TSRA RMK 3 WORLDS= -
Advisory 8 TSTM Thunderstorm
Chess, checkers, and the first arcade titles were ported, and every page became trilingual.
SPECI XWEX 301000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 7 TURB Turbulence
Porting the games began in earnest, and every release now deploys automatically after its tests and checks.
METAR XWEX 261000Z 25022G38KT 9999 SCT045 04/03 Q1006 NOSIG= -
Advisory 6 TSTM Thunderstorm
Chapter-by-chapter story reading, the World Map, a family calendar, and Surprise Doors arrived, and the site became installable as an app.
SPECI XWEX 251000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 5 TSTM Thunderstorm
The Post Office opened for letters between homes, with keepsakes and parental controls.
SPECI XWEX 211000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 4 TSTM Thunderstorm
The second world, Forest, went live with a story of 120 chapters in three languages.
SPECI XWEX 201000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG 120 CHAPTERS= -
Advisory 3 TSTM Thunderstorm
Strict web security rules went in, along with the first things to make, an ID card and a flag, the Learn Lab, and the first arcade games.
SPECI XWEX 181000Z 27018G32KT 5000 +TSRA BKN025CB 04/03 Q1009 RMK FREQ LTGICCG= -
Advisory 2 PTCLDY Partly cloudy
Grown-up settings arrived, with nightly backups and a tested restore, and every page now shares one menu and one look.
METAR XWEX 161000Z 24008KT 9999 SCT040 04/03 Q1015 NOSIG= -
Advisory 1 PTCLDY Partly cloudy
A new system forms. Work begins on a storybook world for young explorers.
METAR XWEX 121000Z 24008KT 9999 SCT040 04/03 Q1015 NOSIG=
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