Feral Heart

Game & Forum Discussion => Game Discussion => Topic started by: Oddonelynx on February 25, 2023, 04:47:41 am

Title: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Oddonelynx on February 25, 2023, 04:47:41 am
What I saw when I first joined was not Feralheart at it's peak. Those days had already been gone for years. I still had loads of fun! Using Wayback Machine and seeing how many players were there when the game first became public and before the big overhaul almost 7 years ago made me feel as if I had missed out. The new maps were what I was familiar with, but the older ones seemed great too. 600+ players online every day and hour? Sounds awesome! It had me wishing I had joined in 2015 at most like I nearly did. Either way, I never got to experience Feralheart at it's highest point...
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: ponygirl557 on February 25, 2023, 09:47:10 pm
Hi Oddonelynx! I'm an old user (I think I joined around 2014/15) but I haven't been on here in ages. I just re-downloaded the game today to check it out and see what's changed. I know it sucks when you miss the "height" of something you enjoy (I tend to be late to trends so I definitely know the feeling), but we're happy to have you here nonetheless! I hope you're able to make some good memories with this game, even if it has much less traffic than it used to  ;D
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Azurain on February 26, 2023, 12:24:05 am
Yeah I joined in '14 when there were 700-800 at a time, before the hacking in '15. It was....amazing. I miss it.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Morqque on February 26, 2023, 08:36:30 pm
I joined summer of 2012, it definitely was amazing minus the crashing if too many people were in a map LOL.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Kouvinxx on February 28, 2023, 08:01:37 pm
I joined in 2011 and it was amazing but I have high hopes that FeralHeart can get to that point again. We just have to wait and see <3
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Ellen11v on March 01, 2023, 09:37:07 am
Yep, you missed out lol
I was able to meet Raz ingame. It was THAT time when everything was awesome.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: dylantheboat on March 01, 2023, 11:19:04 am
I've been around this community for only about a year, I would've really loved to see these maps absolutely full. Hopefully things will return in some capacity to how they were.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: BloodWinsAll on March 01, 2023, 04:51:47 pm
 I think what I miss is the activity from the community, but as someone who has been around since 2011~ we had a pretty good engagement period in 2020-2021! So we are fully capable of returning to it, I believe we'll see those numbers again someday as long as people still care about the game <3
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Azurain on March 02, 2023, 04:06:16 pm
I'm really hoping this community can be revived. I miss it so much.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Legendum on March 02, 2023, 09:04:32 pm
I miss the times where when I was ingame and in the Grouds there was already a lot of people there. I joined in 2019 and even if FH was at it's highest around 2014, I really miss seing people online. But I'm looking forward to see the community revive
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Ame88 on March 03, 2023, 09:04:22 am
I joined back in early 2015, and I am very grateful for being able to experience FeralHeart in it's more glorious times. Through the years activity has dwindled, yes... however, we are very hopeful that the things we have planned will not only bring some life back into this little place, but, with that hope we are certain it will open so many more possibilities for FeralHeart~
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: V3SS3L on March 05, 2023, 01:06:21 am
I joined in 2015 and used to play every night. It was so awesome, I'm trying to start playing again. I do hope this revives because it's so nostalgic and I need more games like this that have an audience of people around my age.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: toonanimals317 on March 07, 2023, 02:04:58 am
I joined in 2011, fell off in 2016, and came back in 2020, but never forgot about it and always have had friends from this game. I do hope to see the game revive and thrive once more, and thanks to the nostalgia of it I think that people that played long ago will hopefully find their way back to the game like I did.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: DylanCheetah on March 08, 2023, 11:28:17 pm
I joined in October 2018.

Yep, you missed out lol
I was able to meet Raz ingame. It was THAT time when everything was awesome.

I met Raz ingame in 2020 actually. It was awesome. And one of the other players on the map was just starting at him like "I-I-Is that who I think it is." while I was talking to him and getting screenshots of his awesome presets. XDD

I miss the times where when I was ingame and in the Grouds there was already a lot of people there. I joined in 2019 and even if FH was at it's highest around 2014, I really miss seing people online. But I'm looking forward to see the community revive

It will be fine as long as everyone doesn't give up on it. This isn't the first time it has went through difficult times.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: TheEarthSpirit on March 09, 2023, 01:13:04 am
I honestly was around I think my old account said 2012. It was awesome back then. I remember you could see just about anything and it was just fun. I remember all my old roleplay. It was fun back in the hay day. I believe FH will come back to what it used to be someday just will take some time and love. FH will live, I have faith in it.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Biscitspet on March 09, 2023, 02:08:11 am
I think the trick here- is to A. Remove the page to keep the game running, and B, get word out somehow. Through tiktok or YT. Something like that. Find a way to spark folks into joining a free-to-access game.
My two cents anyway.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: DylanCheetah on March 09, 2023, 03:03:16 pm
I think the trick here- is to A. Remove the page to keep the game running, and B, get word out somehow. Through tiktok or YT. Something like that. Find a way to spark folks into joining a free-to-access game.
My two cents anyway.

Removing the login page would certainly make things more user friendly, however there are currently 2 issues that prevent that from happening. The first issue is hackers exploiting bugs in the game. That should be something that can be resolved. However, the second issue is lack of funding. If you look closely at the current website design, you will notice that most of the ads are on not just the homepage, but the login page as well. Which makes sense because most of the traffic would be on those 2 pages. And since the login page must remain open while playing, it seems logical that that particular page is probably the main source of income for the game rn. The forum gets little use these days and only has a few ads on it. And it was Kov's wish that the game remain 100% free, including no player donations. So it has to survive on ad money and staff donations. Without sufficient funds, there's no money to cover the costs of running it. Which is actually the bigger problem with the current state of the game. Lack of players means less funding from ads. And ad blockers are problematic too.

There are 2 solutions for funding issues. Increase revenue or cut expenses. But neither are simple.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Ame88 on March 10, 2023, 02:50:29 am
I think the trick here- is to A. Remove the page to keep the game running, and B, get word out somehow. Through tiktok or YT. Something like that. Find a way to spark folks into joining a free-to-access game.
My two cents anyway.

Removing the login page would certainly make things more user friendly, however there are currently 2 issues that prevent that from happening. The first issue is hackers exploiting bugs in the game. That should be something that can be resolved. However, the second issue is lack of funding. If you look closely at the current website design, you will notice that most of the ads are on not just the homepage, but the login page as well. Which makes sense because most of the traffic would be on those 2 pages. And since the login page must remain open while playing, it seems logical that that particular page is probably the main source of income for the game rn. The forum gets little use these days and only has a few ads on it. And it was Kov's wish that the game remain 100% free, including no player donations. So it has to survive on ad money and staff donations. Without sufficient funds, there's no money to cover the costs of running it. Which is actually the bigger problem with the current state of the game. Lack of players means less funding from ads. And ad blockers are problematic too.

There are 2 solutions for funding issues. Increase revenue or cut expenses. But neither are simple.


I couldn't have said it better myself.

Over time as we slowly get things back on track, I'm really hoping we will be able to find the best solutions to these issues. As things are looking now, there are a couple avenues we can take for a couple things, but we will have to see how things pan out before we are 100% sure on where we need to take things going forward.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Azurain on March 12, 2023, 03:29:18 am
Honestly at this point, I don't even think we'd need to worry about hackers anymore. It's been 8(?) years and I'm pretty sure they'll be long gone. I'm sure there would be other easier ways to deal with hackers?
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Ame88 on March 12, 2023, 11:26:30 am
Honestly at this point, I don't even think we'd need to worry about hackers anymore. It's been 8(?) years and I'm pretty sure they'll be long gone. I'm sure there would be other easier ways to deal with hackers?

As much as I would agree to this, we have to keep in mind that there are most certainly people out there who'd try to get into any game's system, big or small, inactive or not, with malicious intent. If we were to allow ANY hackers a chance to get into our system, they'd have access to a lot of player information; passwords, emails, etc. We simply cannot allow our player's information to be so easily accessed and abused.

Any steps we take needs to consider the safety of the community, no matter what changes or improvements we make. The safety of our players should always come first.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: DylanCheetah on March 12, 2023, 04:17:12 pm
Honestly at this point, I don't even think we'd need to worry about hackers anymore. It's been 8(?) years and I'm pretty sure they'll be long gone. I'm sure there would be other easier ways to deal with hackers?

Hackers don't just hack something and leave. Their goals are to steal as much personal data as possible and cause as much chaos as they can. No game or website can let down their guard these days. Places that do let down their guard end up having more and more security breaches. And for a game that is already experiencing a dry season as far as player activity, another hack would be even more destructive. When it comes to player safety and security, there cannot be compromise. Not everything the community wants is safe and secure enough. And if something gets hacked, who would be held responsible for not securing things properly? That's right. Raz and the FH staff would be liable for it if proper security had not been in place.

Technically, the login page is FeralHeart's form of 2FA (2-factor authentication). And a lot of games and websites are using similar methods these days. Perhaps the 2FA method used by FH could be changed to a different method, but it probably isn't going to be removed entirely.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Sibreeze on March 25, 2023, 07:39:45 am
Recently came back from a longggg hiatus lol, played this so much in 2011, I was 12, I'm now 24  xD
Boy does the time fly, came back for nostalgia reasons... I think I stopped playing around 2014...?
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Solarsis on March 28, 2023, 10:48:36 pm
I joined early 2014 and I've loved looking back at screenshots recently; this game was truly filled with life. I miss it a lot and I hope it makes a comeback :( though, I desperately miss the old maps lmao
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: cosmohause on April 06, 2023, 01:00:28 pm
I joined around late 2012, if not early 2013. The game was active.

Suppose there are many factors to FHs sudden decrease, from the hacking in 2016. The use of the login page, to the update with the new maps, and just general people growing up and losing interest as real life got in the way. And of course some things just happen, drama occurs that sours tongues of players that cause them to leave.
I play the FH game occasionally and I do very much miss the activity it once had. I miss roleplaying as a wolf in a pack and working my way through the ranks </3 maybe one day with a future update that really gets talking things will heal.
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: foxboi on April 09, 2023, 08:36:50 am
i need more frens in this game :c
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: V3SS3L on April 10, 2023, 08:02:36 pm
Honestly at this point, I don't even think we'd need to worry about hackers anymore. It's been 8(?) years and I'm pretty sure they'll be long gone. I'm sure there would be other easier ways to deal with hackers?

Hackers don't just hack something and leave. Their goals are to steal as much personal data as possible and cause as much chaos as they can. No game or website can let down their guard these days. Places that do let down their guard end up having more and more security breaches. And for a game that is already experiencing a dry season as far as player activity, another hack would be even more destructive. When it comes to player safety and security, there cannot be compromise. Not everything the community wants is safe and secure enough. And if something gets hacked, who would be held responsible for not securing things properly? That's right. Raz and the FH staff would be liable for it if proper security had not been in place.

Technically, the login page is FeralHeart's form of 2FA (2-factor authentication). And a lot of games and websites are using similar methods these days. Perhaps the 2FA method used by FH could be changed to a different method, but it probably isn't going to be removed entirely.


yeah, with the way the internet is at the current moment, i'd worry that this game would get more popular again (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) and since a lot of people view it as a "furry" game (i've heard multiple people refer to it as this whether or not it was the original intention) and it would draw attention of people who would wish to harass those who play. i think having some form of 2FA would at least protect a bit from trolls, spamming, raiding, etc
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Oddonelynx on April 12, 2023, 08:50:31 pm
Honestly at this point, I don't even think we'd need to worry about hackers anymore. It's been 8(?) years and I'm pretty sure they'll be long gone. I'm sure there would be other easier ways to deal with hackers?

Hackers don't just hack something and leave. Their goals are to steal as much personal data as possible and cause as much chaos as they can. No game or website can let down their guard these days. Places that do let down their guard end up having more and more security breaches. And for a game that is already experiencing a dry season as far as player activity, another hack would be even more destructive. When it comes to player safety and security, there cannot be compromise. Not everything the community wants is safe and secure enough. And if something gets hacked, who would be held responsible for not securing things properly? That's right. Raz and the FH staff would be liable for it if proper security had not been in place.

Technically, the login page is FeralHeart's form of 2FA (2-factor authentication). And a lot of games and websites are using similar methods these days. Perhaps the 2FA method used by FH could be changed to a different method, but it probably isn't going to be removed entirely.


yeah, with the way the internet is at the current moment, i'd worry that this game would get more popular again (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) and since a lot of people view it as a "furry" game (i've heard multiple people refer to it as this whether or not it was the original intention) and it would draw attention of people who would wish to harass those who play. i think having some form of 2FA would at least protect a bit from trolls, spamming, raiding, etc
Can't do anything animal these days without  it being "furry".  ::)
Title: Re: I Wish I Had Joined Earlier
Post by: Viggo on April 17, 2023, 07:55:45 am
i joined this game waaayy back in 2011 and i remember it being super active. i was a part of a lot of rp groups back then and it's honestly cool to see that this game is still up even if it isn't as active anymore. i'd love to see it grow again, though. something about those days were just so special.