The drop in activity is normal and expected with a place like this. For what it has been so long without a source code especially... though a lot might change now.
Forgive me if this comes off as negative as it’s not my intention. This is just simple observation from a long time FH user. With that being said:
Truth is Feral Heart is an old game that only keeps getting older because it hasn’t done all that well to keep up with the changing times. All games/communities/things age. There are high times and low times. Feral Heart’s high times were well lived during its earlier years as the online world of gaming and socializing was different back then. Feral Heart offered things in a particular style that not a lot of other games collectively had at the time (for free mind you). Feral Heart was unique in terms of its theme, accessibility, customization, community, etc.
Come to now, the internet is over saturated with free games, games similar in genre to FH if not better, and just better more interesting games in general. FH falls on the wayside often. What it offers now is meager in comparison to the array of choices out there. If there’s a game similar in theme to FH with even slightly better graphics, mechanics, features etc, you’re guaranteed to see members moving on to those seemingly better horizons. Not to mention most of the FH community has aged, grown out of, lost interest in, or just moved on from FH.
With the registration “functioning” the way it is it’s also hard to achieve a constant regular fast growing influx of users. If you want to keep a community at a healthy pace you need to gain & maintain as much or more users than you’re losing.
There’s also the issue with the game in itself. The way the world is built and how inefficient most of the design is. Some of the maps aren’t as welcoming or easily accessible or understandable to new users... some of the maps are also not very interesting to say the least. Most of the maps feel the same and utilize the same meshes/textures etc offering little to no variety or distinction. It’s stale. Keep in mind that most of the community just sits in The Grounds now as well.
Imagine being a new user and after you’ve discovered all there is to see what’s next? The most social hub is The Grounds and often times users are afk and tabbed out if not only socializing in their own groups. Outside of roleplaying or chatting the game offers little to nothing for casual gamers. The game also lacks some certain chat features and things it used to have that kept things flowing a bit more easily. This is why some new users don’t stick around long enough especially when there are other games (many free as well) that make up for FH’s lackings.
Then there’s the part of the FH community that is toxic. Some users would rather spread hate under the false guise of caring or expressing concerns for the betterment of the community. It gets to a point where these individuals have become no better than the same thing they claim to be against. This hostility reverberates through the community and is sensed even by new comers. It’s off putting and simply defeats the purpose of everyone’s efforts (staff & community alike) to revise FH.
Nonetheless...
A lot of this has been a build up over the years. I’m not going to start being petty and blaming specific people for it because it’s not even that and that gets us no where. FH has a mishmash of problems that have turned it into what it is now. And while it’s all pretty sad, pathetic, and unfortunate it’s not the worst thing to come of FH.
It’s all just set backs... and set backs are what you make of them. Either you wallow and accept defeat, or you pick up, dust yourself off, learn, refine, and prepare for your next move. I’d like to think that we are in that latter half of the process. Yeah it’s slow again, but doesn’t mean things will not pick up again. And even if we never reach peak levels like we once had, it would be nice to at least get to a place where whoever is here and chooses to stay here is actually happy to stay here. The game isn’t dead until there’s no one left and or it’s shut down. So while we have a good staff and community left it’s all our job to ensure that we as a collective work to play our part in preserving what’s left.
This year we got a good new start at something with xSpirit, the source code, new staff, etc.
Maybe there’s some new hope for FH yet, so don’t let the current circumstances or rumors get you down. <3