The New User's Starter Guide to Feralheart

[Edolicious]

WIP. Welcome new and old fluffs
Whether a veteran user, or a bit of a newer one, we all have those times where we can get a little bit stuck, either with a glitchy game, crashes, or not knowing how to do something. This starter guide is compiled of tips, tutorials, and tricks from various locations, all into one. Hopefully afterward, you’ll have a larger concept about Feralheart that will get you unstuck from said situations, and more able to share your thoughts and knowledge with the rest of the community.

External Links on Things You Should Know
Before we get started, if you’re new, there’s a few things you should familiarize yourself with, which will not only keep you safe throughout the game, but will also help you contribute to do the same for others.

Feralheart Staff
Game Rules
Forum Rules
How to Report In-Game Users
Other Official Information

Overview

Game Stuffz

Creating an Account

FH Manual/Map Tour
(Includes:)
-   Tour of all Maps
-   Game Controls
-   In-game Menus
-   Character Creation
-   Preset Making
-   Map Making
-   Object Making

What Species can I Choose From?

What are all the Chats and What do They do?

What is 'Roleplaying'?

How do I Download Items/Markings/Animations?


Forum Stuffz

Navigating the Forum

How Can I Get Involved/Where Else can I Find Feralheart?

[Edolicious]

Creating an Account

You may have been interested in Feralheart for a long while, but how do you sign up? Where’s the registration button?
Information Thread Regarding Registration

The registration is not constantly open. When it does open however, it will be open for a span of around two hours, in which timespan you will have to both sign up and activate your account

Keep checking every hour or so, but keep in mind that it may open during a very late time, such as 1 or even 2 AM.


Check to see if registration is open by clicking on the "Register" button outlined above. If it's not, you will be taken to a blank registration page. If it is open, you'll be able to make your account! Make sure your username is appropriate, and that it is less than 16 characters, or you will not be able to enter the game.
Make sure you click the activation email before registration closes.
Download and enjoy the game!

I Received the Email, but Registration Closed Before I Could Activate it!

Try sending an email to [email protected]. Keep in mind it may take up to 48 hours to receive a reply.

How do I Login?

For security measures, a new login system has been put into the game.
Go to http://feral-heart.com/login and type in your username and password. This will connect your IP address to the server. Without minimizing the login tab, open the game over it and give it about 30-60 seconds before attempting to login on the game as well. You must keep this tab open the entire time you play.

[Edolicious]

Where am I, and how do I move?


Feralheart Manual

The tutorial above will get you started on creating and moving your character, along with the basic controls and actions.
Aside from the default maps you receive when downloading the game, the above manual also shows how to create and upload custom maps you can create yourself!

Default Maps? How many are there?
There’s a variety of default maps, each with their own special environments.

Bawfle's Quick Map Guide!

Check out this tour by the amazing Bawfle to find your way around!

[Edolicious]

What Different Species Can I Choose From?

The two default models for the game are the canine model and the feline model. Therefore, domestic cats, big cats, domestic dogs, and canines in general would be the easiest characters to make. However, many users use the variety of items, colors, and markings to their advantage to create other creatures. This can include any animal, such as horses, dragons, deer, bears, and anything else you can imagine.

Make your own creature if you so decide! Many community members have created their own species of animal, each with its own unique qualities. Why not try creating your own?

[Edolicious]

What are all These Chat Options I see In-game?



There are different chat types to use, each with different functions. Selecting a certain one will do different things.

Local: Using local chat means that anything you type into the chatbox will be seen by anyone who is close enough to see your nametag. It’s nice for both chatting and roleplaying. This chat will be displayed as white.

General:General chat’s function was to be seen by all the users in a certain map, but was removed by the staff for various reasons. Although it is still usable in private maps, there’s no reason to try using this one in any public map.

Group:If you add someone to your group (see FH Manual), you can communicate via group chat. This means only people in your group will see it, regardless if they are on the other side of the map, or in a completely different one. It also shows when someone in your group comes online or offline. This chat will be displayed as green.

NOTE: If you are not in a group, you still may see a green chat saying someone has come online. This is just a silly glitch, and there’s no need to worry about it.

Party:This chat functions like group chat. Anyone who you may invite to your party will see what you type in the party chat. Keep in mind that once you disconnect, you will no longer be in the party chat. This chat will be displayed as yellow.

Whisper: Whisper chat means that only the user you’re typing to can see it. This is handy if one is trying to join a group, among various other reasons. This chat will be displayed as blue.
Movies/Actions: The orange text you will see in the chatbox tells you what map you are in and when a user arrives in or leaves said map. The yellow text saying “______ has made a movie clip” means someone in that map has made a movie, for whatever reason. Click on this message to see their clip.

I heard there is a red chat. Why can’t I use/see it?
The red chat is for staff members only. It isn’t used often, and only staff members may post in it.

Blocking Chats



Blocking a chat means you cannot see anything posted in that chat until you unblock it. Simply unchecking the chat’s box on the list above will block it.

[Edolicious]

What is ‘Roleplaying?

Roleplaying is acting out as your character, typing their words and actions, giving them life.
Many users throughout the world of Feralheart form packs, prides, and groups to roleplay in.
Two words you may hear regarding roleplay are OOC and IC. OOC stands for Out of Character, meaning you are just talking, not roleplaying. IC means in character, meaning you ARE roleplaying.

The three types of Roleplay (other times referred to as RP) are considered:
-   Literate
-   Semi-literate
-   Illiterate

Although these terms may not sound the nicest, they are most commonly used and known through the RPing realm.

Literate: Literate simply means typing in correct grammar in three or more sentences, like something out of a book.

Ex: Edol pushed his way to the front of the crowd, eager to see what everyone was cheering about. Nothing interesting had happened around here for months, and anything new would be a welcoming change. The savory scent of fresh elk wafted through the air, sparking excitement into anyone who smelled it.

Semi-Literate: Semi-literate means the same as literate, but not typing as much.

Ex: Tooth’s head turn to the side, and he rolled his eyes.

Illiterate: Illiterate, while it doesn’t sound too nice, simply means incorrect spelling, non-capitalization, and shorter posts.

Ex: edol swam fast across the river

[Edolicious]

How do I Download Items/Markings/Animations?

We’ll tackle items and markings first, since they’re downloaded practically the same way.

How to Download Items and Markings on Feralheart

Checking out this tutorial will show you how to do both.

The most recent markings pack is the Legendary Markings Pack

The most recent items pack is the Legendary Items Pack

Now, onto animations.

After downloading the animations you want (There have been quite a few, such as Tailgate's animations, Goldchocobo's animations, etc), go and open the folder they are in. You should see a file named either cbody.skeleton or fbody.skeleton, or both. Copy that file/both those files and go into your main Feralheart Folder > Media > Models. If you want to save your old animations, make sure to do that first and put them someplace safe. They would also be named fbody.skeleton or cbody.skeleton.
Paste the downloaded animations into the Models folder. You should get a message asking if you want to Replace the existing file with the Pasted one. Click yes.
Re-enter Feralheart, and test out your new animations!

[Edolicious]

Forum Stuffz

From here on out, we’ll be discussing forum relating things and miscellaneous topics.

Navigating the Forum

This section will tell you what each section of the forum is for, so you know where to look for things and where to post the topic you’d like to start.

News and Updates
This is the board where staff members will post importing news updates and such. It’s always wise to check here if something new has been posted.

Help and Rules
The Help and Rules board is for exactly that – help and rules. The rules section link was posted above. The help section is where to go if you’re having issues with the game and/or forum. The Help section has different branches for each.

Game and Forum Discussion
This board is where you may start discussions about certain things throughout the game/forum.
One example may be: “Do you like the feline model or the canine model more?” in the game discussion section.

Community
This board has areas for Introduction, Member Journals and Bios, Member of the Season, and the Official Feralheart Radio.
The introduction board is where you can post an intro of yourself, telling us that you’re new and some things you like, etc. The introduction board also has an area to tell us if you’re leaving the community, so we can say our goodbyes.
Member Journals and Bios is a lovely way to let us know if something exciting happened in your life, or who you are in general.
Member of the Season is a way of saying thank you to helpful members of the community. The community nominates and votes for users they believe deserve the title. As it states in the title, this happens each season.
The official Feralheart radio is a nice way to relax and listen to some tunes. One of the Feralheart staff members will host it, so be sure to check and see if it’s online frequently.

Competitions and Events
This section tells you when the next Official Roleplay day and Preset contests will be taking place!
Feralheart Official Roleplay Day (FHORD) is a day set aside entirely for roleplaying. Some users go as far as to only roleplay the entire day, and never say anything otherwise!
The official preset contest is when users around the community can make themed presets to enter, and then the staff will judge them. There’s always a prize for placing!

Roleplay
The Roleplay board holds the General Roleplay and Characters boards, where you can tell us about your character, or advertise/search for your very own roleplay group to join.

Feralheart Creations
Here you can find the Feralheart Media, Addons and Mods, and Tutorials made by friendly fluffs around the community. Everything here is Feralheart related.
The Feralheart media section is for screenshots, videos, art, and stories.
The Feralheart Addons and Mods section is for Presets, Markings, Other creations, and where a single user can show upload everything they’ve made into one thread.
The Member-Made tutorials section (you are here) is where kind users share tips, tutorials, and how-tos on certain things throughout the game and forum. Very helpful to check here if you’re stuck on how to do something.

Off-topic
The off-topic board is where you can discuss non-Feralheart related things, post community activities such as Roleplay parties or art streams, post non-Feralheart related art, or host a non-Feralheart related roleplay.
Topics and posts in the Discussion board do not add to your post count.

[Edolicious]

Where Else can I find Feralheart, and how do I get more involved?

Feralheart has an official tumblr!
Feralheart Official Tumblr

And an official DeviantArt!
Feralheart Art

How Can I Get more Involved in the Community?

Helping out other floofs and participating in events is a wonderful way to become more involved. Attending official Feralheart parties and movie nights is a lovely way to meet others and socialize. Not to mention, checking out the official tumblr and dA is a great way see and compliment art by other users, and get some questions answered!
So now that you know the basics for navigating Feralheart, stay safe, and have an amazing time playing the game.

As for others reading this, suggestions would be greatly appreciated on what to update this with.

[Reaper]

This is really helpful, since a lot of new players join everyday.