This is a thread for looking back on what you accomplished, on or off BotB, in 2025, and setting goals for 2026!

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In last year's thread, I set three goals for 2025.

First was more of an anti-goal: after attempting to complete the 2024 Advent Calendar and burning out, I resolved to not attempt any completionism in 2025 and be more careful about picking majors that really interested me. I succeeded at this: while I didn't enter as many battles this year, I'm seriously proud of every major entry I made, including a picture I'm now using as my desktop background, a game I'm continuing to playtest, and a track which, based on a comment from jangler, led to a fun little math problem.

My second goal was to host more OHBs, and this didn't go as well: I only hosted three. It's been tricky to proactively set aside time to host.

My third goal was to do a collab, and I did two, as well as a third outside of BotB! Very pleased with how those turned out.

My main goal for 2026 is to submit two more Decadent Decade entries, and ideally three more. (That could be a tall order.) I'd also still like to host more OHBs: I think one per month is a good target to aim for. And more generally, I'd like to get more serious about transcribing my favorite pieces of music and studying what makes them work.

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What are some 2025 accomplishments you're proud of, or goals from 2024 you followed up on? What are your goals for 2026?

how convenient that this thread exists. i spent the last like 2 hours writing up a bunch of text about how 2025 went for me, so i'll just paste it here..

2025 was a year of big changes for me, not unlike the one before it. however, i'm much more happy with where i am now compared to the start of 2025
i feel like january was a turning point where my studies started slowly becoming less and less of a thing i wanted to pursue and more of a thing that held me back solely because i couldn't bring myself to just leave it. but it was also a month of great things for me in music. this was the month when i made some of my best pieces yet, ones which i'm still proud of to this day. it was also the month where i really started to become active on botb, a decision that i absolutely do not regret. i'm honestly inclined to call 2025 the year of botb for myself
february didn't really have much going on, i believe i was focusing on the initially interesting 2nd semester subjects in uni
march was the month where the story of vivid/stasis ended. genuinely an insane experience to have seen it all slowly unfold with each major update. also some music as well
april! was a bit rough but towards the end things started to get a bit better. started to get back into music more from what i remember
may! botb minecraft server was so fun. and i started playing around with (music) chips and stuff! however uni was also being stressful at certain points with exams
june had a lot of various things going on, mainly my first ever opl3 cover, and also some self-discovery
july was a month where i kinda did whatever. making both all sorts of music and sounds and writing all sorts of code. and that's about it! also creature identity discovered
august was uh. not much going on and tbh after the start of it i was kinda at a low point, however..
september came with some nicer things. finished my greatest bytebeat project and there was again a brief moment where my studies were a bit interesting because of new stuff, but i already knew that wasn't going to last
october! i turned 20 years old. wow. also plans to cancel my studies started here though i was slow to actually do things. and i also moved into the place where i live now! (with my family still to be clear lol)
november.. trying to get my life together, somewhat. also made the dream elixir cover this month which as of now stands as my best fm work. and had some confusions about myself which tbh are just a regular thing by now lol
december. advent calendar!! had heaps of fun participating and trying out all sorts of new things that i hadn't dared to try before. also got a job at a small store so my neet arc was very shortlived. got some nice presents for christmas and had a pretty nice new year's eve

and now i finally finished writing this after like 2 hours of lying in bed and scrolling through past messages in dms and whatnot. hopefully this year will have more great things in store.. life seems to be getting better after all

I forgot about my own thread from last year.
let's see what my goals were...

- get to lvl32 (check)
- get the remaining badges (not check) - I moved this goal to 2026 actually
- do collabs again (check?) - I did a few, especially at the beginning of the year. but did a lot less than I wanted in the second half of the year

so on paper, I only really accomplished one of my three botb goals. but I still feel good about how 2025 went because it *feels* like all my goals are reached. when I stopped focusing on botb it was during a time when mioh and me did a lot of travels together, worked on other projects etc, so my non-botb goals have almost all been met.

for 2026, my botb goals are:
- getting the remaining badges (or at least reach 100 as a start)
- do moar collabs !
- finish like ~20 more dd2-covers
- finish a big track I've been working on for a long time now

let's see how many of them I can actually reach c:

2025 was a rough year for me. i overextended a bit on a lot of things and while it was fun, burnout hit me hard.

but i’m a new guy this year. i’m an adult in literally eight days. i’m shipping off to university this coming fall. life is changing, and i’m honestly looking forward to a bit of a break in the monotony. my parents aren’t super supportive of my musical and artistic abilities and i’m ready to move on out and maybe have a bit more time to enjoy that for myself and make my own choices.

but i guess you didn’t come to hear about that. as for my goals on this site? probably won’t be participating as much as i was before. i’ll try and swing a few majors, but i most likely will be doing other things.

i would like to get a few badges if i can manage. i’m pretty close on a lot of them and i want to get to seven so i can host whatever i like. either way, got a ways to go, but a smaller gap than last year.

anyway. thanks for everyone’s support this past year. you guys rock. looking forward to another one.

wowie!!! i reached all my 2025 goals:
- hugged some more botbrs
- finished and released my first album!
- made more than halfway progress to level 30

here are some goals for my 2026:
- reach level 30
- enter at least 5 more formats into decadent decade ii
- get 3 new badges!!! ( from 22 to 25!)

my accomplishments here are nothing and my goals are that I start doing something

I feel like I had a pretty great year overall, and it all will carry over into 2026, so I guess I have no particular resolution but to keep pursuing what I already am:

- I wanted to start reading more again, including nonfiction (never been much of a nonfiction reader outside of school). I ended up at about 16.5 books in 2025, and that's despite me kinda dropping off in the spring and summer. quite happy with this, and looking forward to keeping it going! I really enjoyed pretty much everything I read

too.

- started running again partway through the year; this is going very well and I also anticipate it continuing well in 2026! goal is to do Even More. I'd like to try a "most days" schedule instead of every other day, if my little legs can handle it.

- becoming more acclimated with my new city and getting out and doing more things, meeting more people! I am very happy with my progress... and I love it here! got good plans for even more of this in 2026. rebuilding IRL community has felt really rewarding.

- relatedly, recently purchased a vintage alto sax to get back into playing! we have a community wind ensemble I'm gonna join up with, and I aspire to play a bunch for my own work and others' too. I'm having so much fun with this. I don't think I've really played "for myself" since like, middle school. (a cool stretch goal will be to find a good guitar teacher here... year of The Instrument...)

- working on my tiny little yard and building a garden! year 1 was full of big experiments, many of which did not succeed, but I absolutely loved it, and I'm so excited for spring because I'll have a more focused attack this year lol. most excited to see what happens with my new asian pear tree this year.

2025 was the best year of my life so far.

- I went to Japan with my best friends for 3 weeks, which was a life goal of mine and we want to go again sometime. I spent a night at club mogra in Tokyo, which was my absolute highlight of the trip. Also went to the arcades a lot and I wish we had some actual ones here in Germany.

- Got more into photography. Started out with an analog camera for Japan and got an actual modern camera after the trip.

- Went to chipwrecked alone and met up with some BotBrs there 😎. Planning was a bit stressful, but it was absolutely worth it.

- Went hiking with some good online friends over a weekend.

- spent a few days with kleeder and mioh.

- Went to a small halloween party with people I've known online for more than a decade but never met. That was very cool.

- I somehow still have a decent amount of savings, which is good for my plans for next year.


2026 I want to:
- write an actual structured piece of music with more than an A-part, lol.
- go to chipwrecked once again.
- go to a convention. The last time I went to a convention was more than 10 years ago, lol.
- Make some new friends and meet up some more with old ones.

- go to university again to learn how to make video game. This is a big undertaking for me and it will set me back a bit financially, but it's also a dream of mine. I still need to work on my portfolio for that but the required aptitude test will be easy.

I don't exactly remember what my plans for 2025 were, so that's probably a sign it went off the rails a little bit, but one thing I know for certain is that I really wanted to attend Chipwrecked, which ended up being one of the best decisions I made in recent years! It was an absolute blast!

Other than that I ended up moving out to my own apartment, spent some time with family and friends, attended a bunch of concerts and even though I wasn't as active on BotB as I would've hoped, I still ended up making a bunch of entries I'm really proud of!

My plans for 2026 are pretty ambitious and the list of things I want to do this year is too long to write here, but it mainly boils down to this:
- Make at least 1 album
- Make at least 1 video game
- Make at least 1 comic
- Finish and release a bunch of old songs
- Draw more
- Learn to play guitar
- Draw more
- Read more books (at least 1)
- Be more active on BotB
- Completionist at least 1 major
- Go to Chipwrecked again!
- Attend more concerts
- Travel more
- Spend more time with friends and make new ones
- Get a boyfriend (at least 1)
- Draw more

I'm almost definitely setting myself up for disappointment, but 26 is my favorite number, so I really can't let 2026 go to waste!

I don't remember what goals I set for myself last year, but I did Completionist Advent though.

I would like to get 7/7 in a format or two (2/7 for the Three I am interested in), maybe even place high in a major. Maybe even draw stuff.

Level wise? I am guessing at least around level 20 by Advent later this year if I can pull it off.

2025 flew by, and I feel like I wasted it. In reality, though, I got through a whole year of college, got two jobs, and moved into a temporary living space, but this was by far my least productive year for music (only eight songs all year, compared to 2024, where I made close to thirty). I don't remember what goals I set, but I have my studio and drumkit set up so that's exciting!

2026 goals? Just stay alive, for one. I'm not looking forward to it at all, I'm having more frequent panic and anxiety attacks and depression might be creeping in again, but I'll keep pushing through so hopefully there's light at the end of the tunnel.

If I had to make a list for this year, it would be:
- Learn guitar and/or bass (to a recordable level)
- Improve keyboard and drum skills
- Not be such a perfectionist with my music, so I can finish more songs
- Sign with STAFFcirc
- Finish album and find a place to sell it online
- Draw more. I don't want to say, "get better at drawing," because that's too much pressure. I just want to draw more
- Learn how to cook
- Grow at least a modicum of self-confidence and self-love

Sorry for making this such a downer, but I hope you guys have great plans, too! Hope all you work through your issues and accomplish your life goals this year!

Most of the music goals I have are outside BotB, but I did make a "resolution" for a minimum number of OHBs and major entries, so hopefully I stick to that.

The main goal this year is finishing the next big Bubblegum Octopus full length and a reasonably sized tour to support it. Work makes touring like I used to very difficult.
Maybe I can get a new job!

Hio \o

Botb related: get on discord and meet you all on a semi regular basis.

Non botb related:
Break a relationship and move.


Health
Daily yoga and breathing exercises. I'm pretty sure I can do 150/365 days. Ideally, calisthenics. I doubt I can do do 36/365 days because of work (40 hours). Instead, I plan on buying weights and train at home.

Work
Improve my italian which I have been studying in an academy for a full year and some. Probably at level A2. I feel confident to travel to Rome and find my way in italian...Listening is hard, conjugations, vocabulary, and dialects...hard, hard, hard.
Start learning japanese. The plan is an hour a day with kanji and hiragana. Long term project.
Another long term project is programming. C, red, python. In the freezer.

These two with the intention of full working proficiency to be an independent online teacher. Oh, and pleasure. And long term health. Currently teaching english.

Finances
Fuck, stabilize personal economy...Still work by hour contracts which are laughable at.

Staying alive is the main goal.

i am going to take a photo with my nintendo dsi portable gaming console once per day every day of the year

Didn't quite meet my goals from last year's thread. But I did obtain photomash badge, got a lot more comfortable with LSDJ in the past few months, and did several collabs that I am very proud of. Also got to meet a few BotBrs which was awesome.

Things I did of outside of BotB are: went on a couple fun road trips, got a cybersecurity internship, moved in with my partner and got a lot better at cooking/baking (I'm not amazing or anything but I was pretty bad at it before), made one irl friend who plays board games with me (mainly Go).

My 2026 goals:
- Play a live chiptune show
- Release my album (postponed once again)
- nsf gold

==2025 summary==

- made some entries i liked
- barely active on this site (::sob::)
- relevant because it's where he exists but uh sona (is that the word?) guy is real
-everything notable seemed to happen in '24. (also i SWEAR everything in the 2020s feels like it happened a year later than it actually did. my memory is terrible ::sob::)
- nothing of relevance happened irl. literally. that year sorta just happened. or maybe my memory fails me (again).

==2026's hopes and dreams

==
- learn how2draw. not sure if it should be 1600x1600 or like, 300x300 resolution though.(blame asepriterico)
- ear trenscribe. was initially uncertain what songs i should start practising that A) i know and like, B) somewhat simple, and C) have a source file to see my fumbles,but it seems i have a solution (hint, [Thok])
- maybe finally use this piano keyboard i have (assuming i actually do still have it). there's really only space for 1 hand playing though. not sure.
- not die to exams
- marry opll (sound design)
- be more active on this site, and as extension to that...
: : - do well in either a format or major(s)
: : - get good at XHBs for once
: : - actually vote on majors

2025 achievements

-Got extremely comfortable with Furnace
-Started learning Dn-Famitracker
-Made some songs I very much like (I dont think I entered any of them here, but I did put them on Youtube)
-Started transcribing mostly by ear if not all by ear (for my covers and such, I'm working on one now for the Ym2612 and SN7)

2026 goals

-Stop making one song and then being in complete artists block for 3-6 months
-More covers using Fm Chips
-Learn other chips that arent the YM2612 or any YM26 variants
-Be more active on BOTB
-Make an album with my IRL band (going to the studio next month!!!)
-Graduate (I'm so ready)
-Overall make more music

Even though I didn't participate that much this year I'm still very proud of the stuff I have done outside of BOTB and I really hope that I can bring some of that pride and overall just myself to BOTB again

my life is boring so these probably wont be interesting

2025 stuff:

- finished a song im proud of, and got it into the furnace demo folder
- improved my fm skills
- turned 18
- learnt how to draw a bit better
- got mummied joined back

2026 hopes:

- finish a daw song
- make a super cool decadent decade botb entry
- get a smw badge
- properly open commissions (drawing, NOT music)
- improve more in the arts
- do literally anything with my real life

i have to try to get a job that takes less energy out of me before the last precious years before I'm an old man with back pain get wasted laying in bed

2025 is not a year i am particularly proud of. i think a major reason behind it is that i did not challenge myself enough, i think i'm getting back a bit more back on track since a few months ago. even though i've been putting stuff up online for years i started to become more hesitant. creatively speaking, i want to tie up some loose ends since i'm sitting on a lot of material that hasn't seen closure, for instance not been put onto an album or even been recorded. sometimes i wonder if the unfinished things i had planned to do weigh on me in some way.

i have other personal goals set for this year because things aren't so great right now but i think my theme for this year is to challenge myself more overall. just because you do a few hard things doesn't mean you get to be resigned.

2025: new job, moved out of my mom's place for the time being at least, hurt my knee which kinda fucked shit up, got more into meditation and figure drawing, put out 2 albums when i was in the mood

2026: fix my knee, find new ways to exercise because my knee is busted, try to date people and develop friendships more in line with my values and goals, find a new place that is less expensive or move back in with my mom, maybe throw together another album, if i can get my boss to give me the time off i could go to 10 day vipassana meditation retreat, plan trip somewhere once my knee is less fucked

didn't make much choonage in 2025 sadly but I did get kind of slick at maxy and opened up some new directions to hopefully get into further. Soon with moving into a new place I can hopefully get things set up for ultra-slick workflows that will remove all residual friction resisting making my tunes ultra massive

@tennisers having a fucked up knee sucks. Absolutely dreadful

oh and start playing ragtime again, I can not die knowing I never got good at ragtime

2025 was not a good year across almost every metric, never became one. brief summary

. but it was really good for "finding mysefl" and other such quarter life crisis-ass bullshit.

my intention in 2025 was to finally hunker down and try making music but that never ended up materializing, had to focus on the QLC-assBS but that's too bad! because i feel like most of the good moments of 2025 for me were BotB related, getting to know people, diving into obscure community lore, working on the submission i slept too long to submit (;_;), watching the stream for the april major. i think NON-FUCKING-STOP about "chipped my pants", too.

anyway it's hard for me to get into new things until i can understand them structurally/analogically, that's a process i can't really force, i simply won't integrate anything about it until i find some kind of foothold to crystallize from and that finally happened with music in late december, right now i'm having hardware hiccups i gotta wait to get paid for to resolve but my mangoes this year basically:
- stop NEGLECTING botb
- stop NEGLECTING my interests and hunker
- i also still need to move out, that will be happening this summer

started this year with a cold but now i'm feeling better & motiv8ed for the first time in like 7 months