Build with Us
Building the Network. Neo
2026
The Platform Year
205 PDN MK II in field · 7 FDN MK I prototypes · Posse + Shootout Multi Player Modes
Neo 2026 is when Alleycat stopped feeling like one game with extras and started feeling like a network. FDN MK I devices were installed around the city; players hacked them with paired PDN symbols to collect words toward a hidden passphrase. Posse chained allies (Supporters) behind the front duelist (Challenger). Shootout wired up to thirteen PDNs in a ring for king-of-the-hill elimination. We closed the weekend with a full 13-person shootout. Five of seven FDNs survived the Mojave; direct sun was not kind to the other two.
Tech: FDN MK I hardware, ESP-NOW mesh, multiplayer state machine on the existing PDN HAL
By the Numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Quickdraw matches logged | 4,149 |
| Active players (≥1 match) | 274 |
| New roster IDs (2026 season) | 283 |
| PDNs in field | 205 |
| FDN MK I in field (reliable) | 5 |
| Largest Shootout | 13 players |
| Hunter win rate | 53% |
| Bounty win rate | 47% |
How to read the player counts: 274 people logged at least one Quickdraw match (use this in Event headlines). 283 new roster IDs were issued in 2026. Leaderboards rank on matches played, not intake headcount.
Browse Neo 2026 season data.
Hardware notes: ~68 additional PDN MK II units built for the year; the 205 in field still included some retrofitted PDN MK I units from earlier rollouts. Seven FDN MK I prototypes shipped; five performed reliably outdoors.
What We Learned
We are making an IRL MMO. Not a tagline, a design constraint. FDN passphrase hunts, Posse chains, and Shootout rings ran beside standard Quickdraw play. The platform held because we designed modes to coexist instead of treating each one as a booth demo.
FDN prototypes are fragile. Seven boxes and five working sounds fine until a five-word puzzle needs every node alive. Desert sun killed displays and enclosures we had only tested on the bench. New hardware categories need player-facing fallbacks so one dead node does not stall the whole hunt.
Audio jack print defects hurt connectivity. A bad design desicion caused issues in jack housings at scale. Shootout rings need every PDN linked; marginal serial-over-3.5 mm failures compound fast. QA on the audio path is on the pre-event checklist now.
Multiplayer needed a real state machine. Posse and Shootout are not reskinned duels. Chains pass timing bonuses; Shootout runs bracketed elimination around a ring. We extended the firmware state machine instead of nesting conditionals. Same HAL as prior PDN generations, new modes on top.
Wireless mesh, again. ESP-NOW carried duels in 2025; in 2026 it also had to support rings and FDN handshakes. Packet loss that was invisible in a two-player test became crowd-visible with thirteen devices in an arena. Keeping match history stable when a node drops is still open work.
"Alleycat Wrapped" Becomes "Season Data"
2026 was the second full automatic data season. Highlights worth keeping on the record:
- Reggie Bloodletter — 662 matches, 133 unique opponents, 258 ms average reaction time, third straight championship
- Hot Lock — 68-match win streak
- g1dg3t — 208 ms average across 261 matches
- Fastest recorded hunter reactions — 6 ms (sundance kid ×2; DDR on bounty at 6 ms)
- Three perfect dead heats to the millisecond
Goals for Next Year
Rollout notes for 2027: more devices, more ways to play, custom FDN MK II PCBs instead of prototype builds, and a stabler integrated platform for complex play. Intake films will split further to create short tutorials for Quickdraw, Multi-player modes, and FDN modes.