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Game Discussion / Re: What would make the game sky-rocket again?
« on: December 03, 2019, 11:58:44 pm »
Honestly I think it comes down to futurity updates.
The game has lost its appeal in the way of attracting a new generation of players that are used to flashy, next gen games & MMO's. What I describe FH as now is a 3D chat landscape with animals that I used to play as a kid. Don't bite me for saying it, but in my opinion the new maps jarred some of the older players from returning and what I feel once was FH is almost completely gone.
Nostalgia was something that kept drawing people back - I believe that there could've been a better way to attract new players while simultaneously pampering the old as well. Without those ties, whether they be in specific locations or overall maps, there's nothing that brings the bulk back in. Sure, the character models and overall the interface are the same, but for me at least, there's nothing to keep coming back to. There was a richness and a history to the older maps, with designated areas and nostalgia tied to them, so I've always felt a bit sketchy about the update that changed all of that.
Not to say the effort wasn't admirable and ultimately appreciated, though. The new maps are much more lively and detailed than the last, made lovingly by talented creators. But nonetheless.
Specifically regarding futurity though.
FeralHeart doesn't stand up to any new MMO's of its kind and I'll bet will be replaced majorly by the upcoming Furthest Reach, the only challenger (besides Cereal Soup, which was a bug disaster of its own) of a game like this. It's also driven by Impressive World designer Riven, who if I recall has been working on FR for some time and looks ethereal comparatively.
The game needs updates, not just in the ways of marking additions and color options and sliders - although they ARE high contributions from unpaid staffers and xSpirit, which the playerbase hasn't simply known since KovLKD left - it needs meat. Engine updates. Graphics overhauls. Animations. The introduction of questing. Hunting. NPC's. It needs to be more than a chat RP server which is dwindling down numbers by the month in order to compete.
I understand that this is nearly impossible for a game such as this that is run by a short amount of staff and recently has just admitted the ownership of the source code, and ADDITION to the fact that they aren't paid, but that's what it's going to take to keep it running for the next five years.
FeralHeart is insanely community based. I understand that. I also understand that a lot of the old timers - including ME, circa 2011 - refuse to acknowledge that Feralheart is DYING, and don't want change. It's easy to let nostalgia cloud. It's easy to say that FeralHeart doesn't need to compete.
But in a few years, once more options are available, because they will be, FeralHeart will be the ghost town of a MMORPG that peaked in 2013 but didn't blossom.
Futurity is the make or break of most games, now. Feralheart isn't excluded.
DISCLAIMER:
A special thank you to xSpirit and the staff team who are now putting in loads of work into rejuvenating the game. I understand this takes time, and am not frustrated with the lack of rushing updates - I'm just reporting on the past few years and what I as a player have observed since 2011.
The game has lost its appeal in the way of attracting a new generation of players that are used to flashy, next gen games & MMO's. What I describe FH as now is a 3D chat landscape with animals that I used to play as a kid. Don't bite me for saying it, but in my opinion the new maps jarred some of the older players from returning and what I feel once was FH is almost completely gone.
Nostalgia was something that kept drawing people back - I believe that there could've been a better way to attract new players while simultaneously pampering the old as well. Without those ties, whether they be in specific locations or overall maps, there's nothing that brings the bulk back in. Sure, the character models and overall the interface are the same, but for me at least, there's nothing to keep coming back to. There was a richness and a history to the older maps, with designated areas and nostalgia tied to them, so I've always felt a bit sketchy about the update that changed all of that.
Not to say the effort wasn't admirable and ultimately appreciated, though. The new maps are much more lively and detailed than the last, made lovingly by talented creators. But nonetheless.
Specifically regarding futurity though.
FeralHeart doesn't stand up to any new MMO's of its kind and I'll bet will be replaced majorly by the upcoming Furthest Reach, the only challenger (besides Cereal Soup, which was a bug disaster of its own) of a game like this. It's also driven by Impressive World designer Riven, who if I recall has been working on FR for some time and looks ethereal comparatively.
The game needs updates, not just in the ways of marking additions and color options and sliders - although they ARE high contributions from unpaid staffers and xSpirit, which the playerbase hasn't simply known since KovLKD left - it needs meat. Engine updates. Graphics overhauls. Animations. The introduction of questing. Hunting. NPC's. It needs to be more than a chat RP server which is dwindling down numbers by the month in order to compete.
I understand that this is nearly impossible for a game such as this that is run by a short amount of staff and recently has just admitted the ownership of the source code, and ADDITION to the fact that they aren't paid, but that's what it's going to take to keep it running for the next five years.
FeralHeart is insanely community based. I understand that. I also understand that a lot of the old timers - including ME, circa 2011 - refuse to acknowledge that Feralheart is DYING, and don't want change. It's easy to let nostalgia cloud. It's easy to say that FeralHeart doesn't need to compete.
But in a few years, once more options are available, because they will be, FeralHeart will be the ghost town of a MMORPG that peaked in 2013 but didn't blossom.
Futurity is the make or break of most games, now. Feralheart isn't excluded.
DISCLAIMER:
A special thank you to xSpirit and the staff team who are now putting in loads of work into rejuvenating the game. I understand this takes time, and am not frustrated with the lack of rushing updates - I'm just reporting on the past few years and what I as a player have observed since 2011.