Figured I'd speak up on this since I've been really thinking about this.
Yes the game is at a standstill in activity. Staff have been considering ways to improve this, such as opening registration. We have had several calls concerning the subject. LordSuragaha and Nynx both discussed this in » this « thread. The new update will also hopefully bring in an influx of people, new and old alike. We've been building the next patch around making it so the number of players that stick around increase. We've been trying our very best.
However, when the game still has roughly 200-300 people online daily for being almost 8 years old, it's a stretch to say that the game is dying. There's too much negativity and jumping to conclusions in this thread. If the game was truly on its deathbed, those numbers would be a lot smaller, there'd be little to no activity in the staff team and the forums would be quiet. 200 people is a lot of people. It may not feel like it is, but it really is. Think about that many people logging into this game to spend their time on it every day and then think of the statement "FeralHeart is dying". Population isn't the only factor here. It's also the way members communicate. There has been less public conversation and more private conversation leading to that desolate feeling in the maps. We have also addressed that issue in our staff calls.
I can get that the decrease in players has been a concern. We're glad you're voicing those concerns as they're important to discuss with one another and make sure they are heard and understood. But what I can't understand is instead of a thread addressing that issue alone, the thread is centered around the end of the game. It's a pessimistic approach to a temporary problem the game is facing. It sounds very final. For me, it's disheartening to see, because I care so much about FH. There aren't as many people online as when there was in the beginning but as we have stated before, we are looking into solving that problem and bringing the population count back up. Just hang in there and try to have a more positive outlook on this game. You guys obviously care deeply--staff care deeply. We are working to solve the problem. That doesn't sound like a dying game to me.
Hope this clears the air a bit :)
I just wanna add to what Morgra said. I've noticed that if people speak about something as if it's the end, more and more people will start to believe that it is and give up trying completely and let it fall, apposed to when people talk about trying hard to keep it alive and bring it back, the better outcome is more likely to happen, hypothetically.
Basically, when people talk negatively, it's going to cause a chain reaction, and others will be upset as well. When people are happy and cheery, then you are more likely to feel happy, being in a happier atmosphere. What we say and do affects a lot, depending on the situation. FeralHeart is not dying, more so going through a slow phase as I like to see it. We still have active members and friendly faces roaming around, granted not as many, but we're still there. We just, as mentioned before in Morgra's post, need to not be so private with conversations depending on the topic. If there's more open talk, then more people will join in, leading it to feel like a full house. A few times while sitting in The Grounds, I've seen a hand full of members just sitting around doing nothing. Some will say they were talking in group chat or whisper, sometimes a party. Once someone does start a topic in local, it usually brings everyone out to talk.
As Morgra said, they're working as hard as they can to make this update as suitable as possible for drawing in new members. We need to give it time and see what happens. We all care for FH and we don't want to see it die, heavens no. So, instead of putting all the blame and pressure on the staff to fix it, try going out yourself and tell people about the game. Yes registration has some flaws on it's availability, but the staff have been thinking on how they can make it better. Personally I feel like we should trust the staff with this update and what they may do to better FH, as well as going out ourselves and trying to gather people. There's more members then there is staff, and boy if we all just flood the internet and try to draw people in, I can see a possible good amount of players circling the registration like a hawk. It's like sharing something on FaceBook. A person will post something, someone will share it because they liked it. Well, two of their friends think it's cool and share it as well. So on and so forth happens, and before you know it, it's everywhere.
But that's just me pff.