choose ur hero

pondcast/_template/readme.md

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   })
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+<hr>
+
 # TODEPOND PONDCAST:
 
 <audio controls>
   <source src="1.m4a" type="audio/x-m4a">
 </audio>
 
-# TODEPOND PONDCAST: Replacement
-
-Can you hear me ok? It's time for another weekly episode of the...
-
-🐸 TODEPOND PONDCAST 🐸
-
-What's new this week?
-
-## Replacement
-
-![Screens](1.png)
-
-This week, I've been working on Arroost (for the next video). I've been putting more in place for one of the ending sequences of the video: An infinite zoom sequence.
-
-Zooming in forever is a bit hard. When your 'zoom level' gets too high, your computer struggles to deal with how large the numbers get. It gets inaccurate, and everything starts shaking around.
-
-[tldraw](https://tldraw.com) gets around this by limiting your camera. You can only zoom in to 800% zoom. It doesn't let you go any further. For most use-cases, this is fine.
-
-In [screenpond](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4OIcwt8vcE), I got around this by seamlessly swapping out the world with a similar-looking world. A world that's slightly more zoomed out, but looks the same from your current position.
-
-If you do this early enough, the two worlds are similar enough that you don't notice any inaccuracies. And the same approach works in arroost too!
-
-It's a bit like falling down an infinite set of portals in [Portal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BePtsISQQpk).
-
-## Pond of fame
-
-![Pond of fame](2.png)
-
-At the end of every video, I show all of my patrons and paying supporters in the credits. (That's you! Yes, I'm talking about you! You in particular!)
-
-I used to manually add each new patron to the 'pond of fame'. But the number of people joining is now too many for me to deal with on my own. It's a nice problem to have!
-
-I've been building an automated system that lets you choose your own name and colour. I need to get it finished in time for the next video.
-
-## Order
-
-![A timeline of a video](3.png)
-
-I've also been doing more preparation work for the following video. I've been drawing up different parts of the storyboard, and going through the pacing of the video with [Ivan Reese](https://ivanish.ca/), who's making some music for me
-
-In the storyboard, I've laid out the 'key moments' of the video in quite close detail. For the parts between them, I've just left blanks.
-
-"Insert 99 sands here" is in one place. I do have plans written out for them, but they don't need storyboarding (yet).
-
-**Thank you for your continued support and patience! I hope you feel pleased to be helping out these weird tech/art projects. I can't wait to show you more and... Wherever you are in the world... Whatever you're doing... I hope you have a great week.**
-
 _Days since tode fell asleep: 346_<br>
 _Days since bot went missing: 311_

pondcast/choose-your-hero/readme.md

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+> This update is for [paying supporters](https://patreon.com/TodePond) of my work.<br>
+> It's provided here, DRM-free :)<br>
+> Please only read or listen if you've paid!
+
+<input id="paid-checkbox" type="checkbox"><label for="paid-checkbox">Tick this box if you've paid!</label>
+
+<script>
+  const key = 'pondcast/paid'
+  const paid = localStorage.getItem(key)
+  const checkbox = document.getElementById('paid-checkbox')
+  if (paid) {
+    checkbox.checked = true
+  }
+  checkbox.addEventListener('change', () => {
+    if (checkbox.checked) {
+      localStorage.setItem(key, 'true')
+    } else {
+      localStorage.removeItem(key)
+    }
+  })
+</script>
+
+<hr>
+
+# CHOOSE: Your hero
+
+<audio controls>
+  <source src="1.m4a" type="audio/x-m4a">
+</audio>
+
+Welcome back to another weekly episode of the...
+
+No, this isn't a TODEPOND PONDCAST. This is an update where I ask you to CHOOSE something.
+
+These were way more common back in the day. Those of you who've been around for a while will remember them. Recently, I've been working slower, so there haven't been so many. But the new video is getting gradually closer... so here we are again!
+
+## Pond of fame
+
+![Pond of fame](1.png)
+
+At the end of every video, I thank all my paying supporters. That's YOU.
+
+I do this by showing the [POND of FAME](https://todepond.com/fame). Every supporter gets a spot in the Pond. You get to choose your colour, and your nametag. You get represented by a little creature: a frog, a bird, or a bot. Currently, this is linked to your tier on patreon, or wherever. In the future, you'll be able to pick whatever you want.
+
+This character is a called a HERO.
+
+## Pondy heroes
+
+![Supporter dashboard](2.png)
+
+In the past, I asked people to tell me their hero choices via a comment or message. When there were a smaller number of supporters, this was ok! I could manually update them all myself.
+
+But when my stuff started going viral this year, it was too much! I couldn't keep up with all the requests. This is one of MANY reasons why this video took so long. (I'll go through them all after the video comes out).
+
+After a while, I decided to stop keeping up with the requests, so that I could carry on with video work. My plan was to put in place a more automated system to let YOU update your hero yourself. And here it is!
+
+## Hero designer
+
+![Hero designer](3.png)
+
+I've just launched the BETA of the supporter dashboard. It's at [todepond.com/fame/dashboard](https://todepond.com/fame/dashboard).
+
+If you're visiting for the first time, click on the "I don't have a code" button. Then enter your email. Please use the same email that you used to sign up on patreon or wherever.
+
+If you were already on the pond, you'll receive a SECRET CODE in your inbox. Click on the magic link in the email to design your hero.
+
+If you're new to the pond, it'll notify ME. Then, I'll approve you, and you'll receive your SECRET CODE.
+
+> The dashboard is still in BETA. This means that some things might not work right. I've already done one round of testing in the ALPHA though, so hopefully everything goes ok! Thanks to those of you on the discord or mastodon who have helped me with that so far! If you find any more bugs or issues, please email me! My contact details are on [todepond.com](https://todepond.com)
+
+**I wish you all the best at this time of year, whether it's a happy time or tough time. I celebrate christmas here in London. I think I'm going to eat a lot of food tomorrow. Wherever YOU are in the world right now... I hope you have a great week.**
+
+_Days since tode fell asleep: 353_<br>
+_Days since bot went missing: 318_