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    <title>Expanding Land — Updates &amp; Changelog</title>
    <link>https://help.expanding.land/changelog.html</link>
    <description>Latest updates, new features, bug fixes, server improvements, and community content for Expanding Land — the free IO game with 1024 players per arena and zero bots. Built entirely in C. Compatible with Legend Mod, Delta, and Agar2.</description>
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    <copyright>2026 Expanding Land</copyright>
    <category>Games</category>
    <category>IO Games</category>
    <category>Browser Games</category>
    <ttl>1440</ttl>

    <!-- ═══ Content Pages ═══ -->

    <item>
      <title>IO Games Glossary — 40+ Terms Every Player Should Know</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/glossary.html</link>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p>Complete dictionary of IO game terms: splitting, tricksplit, popsplit, virus, W, mass, multiboxing, teaming, anti-team, and more. Learn the language of Agar.io, Slither.io, and Expanding Land.</p>
        <p>Includes more than 40 terms fully defined and sorted into categories.</p>
        <p><a href="https://help.expanding.land/glossary.html">Read the full Glossary</a></p>
      ]]></description>
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    <item>
      <title>Best IO Games in 2026 — Top 15 Free Browser Games Ranked</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/best-io-games.html</link>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p>The definitive ranked list of the best free IO games you can play in your browser in 2026. Featuring 15 games including Agar.io, Slither.io, Diep.io, Surviv.io, Krunker.io, and Expanding Land — with honest reviews, player counts, and a side-by-side comparison table.</p>
        <p>Includes a quick comparison of the top 5 cell/growth games by max players, bot status, map type, and cost.</p>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Guide</category>
      <category>IO Games</category>
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    <item>
      <title>How to Get Good at IO Games — Complete Strategy Guide</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/guide.html</link>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p>A comprehensive strategy guide for cell IO games. Covers everything from basic controls to advanced techniques:</p>
        <ul>
          <li>Controls &amp; basics — mouse movement, splitting, ejecting mass</li>
          <li>Early game survival — eating dots, avoiding bigger cells, staying near edges</li>
          <li>Splitting — the 2× rule, when to split vs. wait</li>
          <li>Virus mechanics — defensive hiding, offensive virus shooting (7 W presses)</li>
          <li>Mass management — decay rates, strategic ejecting</li>
          <li>Map positioning — corners vs. edges vs. center</li>
          <li>Advanced techniques — tricksplit, popsplit, bait-and-switch</li>
          <li>Expanding Land-specific tips — dynamic map, 1024 players, spectator learning</li>
        </ul>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Guide</category>
      <category>Strategy</category>
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    <item>
      <title>Why No Bots? — How Expanding Land Keeps Every Player Real</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/no-bots.html</link>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p>Why does Expanding Land ban all bots? This article explains the strict no-bots policy and why real-player-only gameplay creates better competition:</p>
        <ul>
          <li>The bot problem in modern IO games — fake players, hollow leaderboards</li>
          <li>Every cell in Expanding Land is controlled by a real human</li>
          <li>Real competition means every kill is a real outplay</li>
          <li>1024 player capacity means arenas fill naturally without needing bots</li>
          <li>Dynamic map shrinking keeps matches dense even with fewer players</li>
          <li>Multiboxing allowed (up to 4 accounts) as a skill-based alternative to bots</li>
        </ul>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Policy</category>
      <category>Fair Play</category>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Agar.io vs. Expanding Land — Side-by-Side Comparison</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/alternative.html</link>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p>A factual side-by-side comparison between Agar.io (launched 2015) and Expanding Land (launched 2026). Covers:</p>
        <ul>
          <li>Max players — 1024 (EL) vs 200 (Agar.io)</li>
          <li>Bots — none in EL, prevalent in Agar.io</li>
          <li>Map — dynamic ¼× to 4× scaling (EL) vs fixed size (Agar.io)</li>
          <li>Server language — Pure C (EL) vs C++ (Agar.io)</li>
          <li>Multiboxing — regulated 4 accounts (EL) vs unregulated (Agar.io)</li>
          <li>Mod support — Legend Mod, Delta, and Agar2 all compatible</li>
          <li>Price — 100% free with no pay-to-win</li>
        </ul>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Comparison</category>
      <category>IO Games</category>
    </item>

    <!-- ═══ Changelog Updates ═══ -->

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      <title>April 2026 — Viewport Culling, Session Isolation &amp; OOM Protection</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/changelog.html</link>
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      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p><strong>Performance &amp; Stability:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>MAX_VIEW_NODES limit set to 16384 — prevents out-of-memory crashes during extreme zoom-out while keeping 30× headroom for spectators viewing crowded arenas</li>
          <li>Viewport culling now sends only nodes visible in the player's current view — eliminates FPS drops when zoomed out on large maps with many cells</li>
        </ul>
        <p><strong>Session Management:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Conditional logout: client auto-signs out when joining a private server that isn't Expanding Land, preventing opcode 102 conflicts that caused disconnects</li>
          <li>Login buttons (Facebook, Google, Discord) are now disabled on server types that don't support them, preventing confusing error states</li>
        </ul>
        <p><strong>Bug Fixes:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Fixed cell color inconsistencies under high player density by including name and skin data in every update packet</li>
        </ul>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Performance</category>
      <category>Stability</category>
      <category>Bug Fix</category>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>March 2026 — Cell Merging Restored, Mobile Controls Fixed</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/changelog.html</link>
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      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
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        <p><strong>Server-Side Fixes:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Cell merging logic restored and stabilized — merging now works correctly under high-density scenarios where many cells overlap</li>
          <li>Player identity consistency improved: name and skin data included in every cell update packet, fixing cases where cells appeared with wrong colors</li>
        </ul>
        <p><strong>Client-Side Improvements:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Mobile touch controls: "Stop Where Finger Was" (Target Mode) fully restored — cell stops immediately on finger release when enabled</li>
          <li>Multibox auto-spectate fix ported from jim branch to the TypeScript branch</li>
          <li>Full Map spectate button now correctly triggers legendmod.sendAction(56) exclusively on Expanding Land servers</li>
        </ul>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Bug Fix</category>
      <category>Mobile</category>
      <category>Server</category>
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    <item>
      <title>March 2026 — Login Disconnect Fix for Legacy Servers</title>
      <link>https://help.expanding.land/changelog.html</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">el-update-2026-03-23</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p><strong>Login Security:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Fixed game disconnects that occurred on imsolo and agar2 servers when logging in via Google or Facebook authentication</li>
          <li>Login opcode 102 (_lw_sendLogin102) is now conditionally skipped for legacy server types that don't support it, while remaining active for Expanding Land</li>
          <li>Encrypted WebSocket (WSS/TLS) connections enforced across all server types for secure communication</li>
        </ul>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Security</category>
      <category>Bug Fix</category>
    </item>

    <item>
      <title>Core Features — Expanding Land Server Engine &amp; Gameplay</title>
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      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[
        <p><strong>Server Architecture:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Entire server written from scratch in pure C</li>
          <li>1024 concurrent real players per arena — zero bots, zero AI opponents</li>
          <li>Pre-allocated memory pools, split quadtree optimization for efficient spatial queries</li>
          <li>Server located in Nuremberg, Germany (Hetzner) for EU-optimized latency</li>
        </ul>
        <p><strong>Gameplay Features:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Resizable map system: ¼× to 4× dynamic scaling based on active player count</li>
          <li>200+ spectator slots with free-roam camera</li>
          <li>Anti-teaming system using discrete event-based penalty scoring — each action (virus, split, W, danger zone) tracked independently with its own lifespan</li>
          <li>Ghost cells on death — see exactly where you died for learning from mistakes</li>
          <li>Session stats: time alive, highest mass, food eaten, players eaten</li>
          <li>In-game chat system</li>
        </ul>
        <p><strong>Compatibility &amp; Access:</strong></p>
        <ul>
          <li>Full compatibility with Legend Mod, Delta, and Agar2 browser extensions</li>
          <li>Android APK available (standalone app via WebView wrapper, no Play Store needed)</li>
          <li>Discord OAuth login integration</li>
          <li>Strict no-bots policy — automated play detected and blocked</li>
          <li>Up to 4 multibox accounts per player (regulated, not unlimited)</li>
        </ul>
      ]]></description>
      <category>Features</category>
      <category>Architecture</category>
      <category>Launch</category>
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