Feral Heart

Roleplaying is something that the Feralheart community was built on, back when I was still a fresh face and on regularly, I would itch to join the greatest roleplays and I made incredible friends the same way. Since the new update, a lot of the older members have left and the game is in a sense stumbling in the dark a little, it's difficult to find groups that still host the beautiful and long-term intensity that packs like The Ebon Circle and Benevolent wolf pack used to have. I think people have lost touch a little which is sickening as there's nothing better than the challenge of evolving your roleplay style with a community whose members are so invested they mature in a visible way.

I was deeply saddened to see that Feralheart was going through another rough patch, even more so to see the moderators I had known since I was knee-high of a grasshopper go. But I won't dwell on the private affairs of staff but after reading through the forum posts that came about after recent events I couldn't help but find something that made me concerned.

Discussion of bringing back General Chat (which I'm not opposed to) or an Advertisement only channel (which I have my doubts about).

Advertisement channel:

1. The idea of this channel being on a timed system. This idea can be fatally flawed if it is coded in the way I'm imagining it to rid the game of movie spam, this essentially being that there is a 1 minute to 30 second gap that any one group can post in meaning that if there are 5 groups trying to advertise there is a battle royale about to occur in typing speeds to ensure an advertisement is pushed out in time for it to beat the competition. This is horribly flawed.

2. There is no way to get rid of spam, this is a fact. See above.
Think of it this way, the more people are online, the more Roleplays there will be, seperate groups with seperate stories that appeal to different crowds, I have been online when no less than 15 separate groups were fighting for screen time in the Movie channel which only makes us mute the chat and risk missing the only group that has any potential interest for you. Even if the timer rule is applied to be that each group is allowed to post an advertisement within a minute since they last posted, this would mean that the very dedicated or desperate-for-members groups will end up posting, and this could potentially mean 90% of the advertising groups which still leads to unavoidable spam because they're all competing.

However this being said I'd like to introduce the concept of a potentially life-saving, time-saving system.

Essentially it runs on groups having a pre-typed advertisement and a prompt box that can allow them to select whether or not they are recruiting or not. What this could be is that the group panel on the userface could have another sub-panel added that leads to a dialogue box similar to Group Bio. This would be the space where a short, to-the-point advertisement could be pre-typed and edited. The sub-panel onto which the Group information appears, this meaning the group name and the option to disban could have another button that gives the Group Administrator the option to toggle between recruitment mode or not. This means that once recruitment mode is switched on, the server and system combined will pump out the pre-typed advertisement from the other sub-panel at timed intervals (should this idea remain to lessen the blow of Spam). These advertisements would appear in their own new channel, meaning the Advertisement chat channel, which means people are still capable of muting it.

But let us take this concept of making roleplay recruitment one step further.

As we are all aware groups can either require a Sample from you or not. Those of you who have run a Roleplay group before know that with the luck that your advertisements kick off and you are seen as a popular choice, your whisper is SPAMMED with questions and RP samples that make it difficult to catch each potential member at times. I know I've overlooked a few whispers once or twice because the chat gets overwhelmed. And what if you go 'AFK' for a while and your second-in-command is left to do the rest?

Perhaps, another prompt button could allow group members to choose whether or not they would like to accept samples for their group or not. Members wanting to join will then access the group panel where when Requesting to join, if the RP does not ask for samples, it will only require administrator authorizing. However if the group does require a sample, a dialogue box appears wherein the member types up their sample (which has a word limit too) and it gets sent to the group admin which appears as a notification in the group panel (like a friend request) where admin can read the samples and accept from there in their own time.

Not only this but allow the Admins of groups more options to choose how their group is managed, to stop the over spamming of recruitment accounts being created and abandoned, give group admins the ability to give other users in the group 'Moderator' powers, which can include the ability to toggle recruiting, accept new members etc given the admin has selected the correct permissions for them.

Feralheart is a stunning game, it's won my heart and I will always try pop my head in when I can but the issue is, it's getting outsmarted by IT servers who are creating new interesting ways to modernize the game and unfortunately Feralheart is still in stages where we think a major update is getting a new map. Thing is, the best way to draw in a new crowd or even bring back the curiousity of the older one, is to give the game a bit of vroom that might just tip it over the edge of being 'safe' to having a little extra that makes people love it.

Thank you all for reading my useless ideas, and whilst I know they won't come to season, if even one person gets a little bit of a trigger thought like "Yeah, that's a cool concept" I'd be happy.

Hope everyone enjoys their night, I'm up for some banter on the subjects above as well as criticism.

Squee.

Hey there, Feral-heartians.

Today I have something very important to discuss with you! I know it's a topic
many people tend to avoid but I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking this anymore.

This, my friends, is about the "Go back to Bonfire" debacle.

How would a Veteran Feral-hearter describe Bonfire? In one word, chaotic.

And it's inhabitants? Let's just place them into classes (y'know because everyone loves doin' that!)
Noobs, Newbs, Mate-beggers, Parent-beggers, illiterates, trolls, TLK fanatics, drama-llamas (the list could go on!)

Now, people that frequent Bonfire Island know these descriptions aren't necessarily true
for every inhabitant of that map. Usernames like @skreel were often seen frequenting Bonfire Island
and they did not fit into any of those classes. Funnily enough, we could even make a joke about how
'rare' it is (apparently) to find anyone that majority of Fluorite's inhabitants call "Literate". It would go
something like this.

"What do you call a Literate on Bonfire?"
"Lost."

Why do you think that is? I remember the days when there was no such thing as Lonely Cave and the
first thing a new character or user would awaken to was the VIBRANT island of bonfire! And I swear by
you, had I not been tossed into the Bonfire Barrel, I would never have been the player I am today. I
know some of you are probably thinking "That's not a good thing." having probably met me in one of
my more argumentative states. In fact, I'm 90% sure this will result in a user taking everything out of
context, like things usually go when I try get a point across.

My REAL question is, WHAT IS SO WRONG WITH BONFIRE ISLAND?

Why is it that EVERY SINGLE TIME someone does something that's considered different to the majority of
Fluorite's frequenters, someone is bound to pipe up "Go back to Bonfire". Whenever someone is not nearly
as literate as people at Stone Bridge, or as 'Ancient' and 'Wise' they're told to go to Bonfire. Why is it that
Fluorite cannot tolerate the idea of a 'Pup center' or 'Mate Center' without immediately thinking 'Bonfire'?
Why can Lion King roleplayers not frequent the lovely Fluorite map without being told off at least once by
someone who feels they're not worthy enough for Fluorite so they belong on Bonfire.

We're a community game guys. Why do you make people /different/ to you feel like they don't belong in the
same map as you? Why the heck are maps classified to certain types anyway? Ascension - Hetelia(?) Ficho (Russians/
Polish/Pokemon) Bonfire - Noob Central. When did that become a thing?

Yes, Ficho hosts most of the Russian and Polish users of Feralheart, but that does not mean that it is solely a
Russian/Polish place, and so whenever someone of that 'class' steps out of their map, they're casually guided
or rudely told to go back. I don't understand it?

A lot of the arguments that I've seen happen on Stone Bridge and have sometimes been a part of, will
somehow always, at some stage, reach a point where someone is accused of being derogatory of something.
Whether it's race, gender, sexual orientation etc... Not very friendly topics for a game that, let's face it, has
some rather young people on. Not very friendly for a game that strives to be welcoming of everyone. Anyway,
during these arguments it will always come up about how someone CAN'T say/do this or it's derogatory towards
this/that. People get extremely passionate in these discussions and will continue to go on about how wrong it is.

Bare with me, I spend a lot of time on this game and I'm very good with remembering users and characters. So
it never ceases to amaze me, that I see the same users that preached anti-hate towards blah blah blah, telling a
user, different to themselves, to "Go back to Bonfire"? Why can that illiterate person not stay in Fluorite? What
harm are they doing? Do you think they're going to infect you with their inability to utilize more than one
sentence in an RP sample? Is it that serious?

I hope some of you are realizing where this is going! "Go back to Bonfire" is basically being derogatory to certain
types of users. Something that so many users on Feralheart preach against yet fail to uphold. Look, I understand
where some of you are coming from, "It'll be easier to find people of their own 'level' sort of thing" but still, that
shouldn't be something we resort to.

I'll admit, I used to do it quite often, until an argument I had about 2 years ago where someone actually told me
how contradictory I was being. It hit me. It's not right. Now, the only time I ever send someone to Bonfire is if they
ask me where they could find something like a "Horse Roleplay" or a "Mate Center" because yes, they are about 100%
more likely to find things of that nature there. Why? Because they're forced there.

I did an experiment using a very old account of mine the one day, I was pretending to be a 'Noob' and not even
the annoying sort, I was probably told, in total, about 13 times to go to Bonfire, and only about 4 of those were
in a gentle manner, where a user probably believed I was struggling and wanted me to make friends that wouldn't
be pretentious and use words like "Tassle" or "Flag" for Tail. 9 of those 13 times, I was told in the rudest of ways
to go away, go to Bonfire, because I tried to participate.

I'm invoked to make this post because today after a heated discussion gone wrong, where I was amazingly accused
of being derogatory towards myself, I was told to "Go to Bonfire". Guess I missed "Logical" in the list of people that
supposedly "belong" there. And here I thought, "How ironic" that someone just told me not to be derogatory towards
a certain ideal (of which I belong to) and then proceeded to class me in with the regular crowd that are often thrown
Bonfire's way.

I don't think people understand that it's actually a bad thing! We tell people to go to Bonfire because they're not literate
or they're behaving immaturely etc... but never stop to think, "What would that be like?" It's basically like being sent to
a Warzone because you like Apples and not Bananas.

Guys, Bonfire is actually an AMAZING place. I frequent there, and I meet so many amazing people there, from all kinds
of 'Feralheart classes', like "Newbs" and "illiterates". I have heard many stories about how people ended up there. And
majority don't point to random exploration, it points to things like them being forced out of roleplays in Fluorite, being
told they belonged there because they weren't 'Literate' etc... etc... I don't think many people realize that they are
sending people that are absolutely gorgeous and flawless characters in real life, to an Island that many of the Veteran
or more so-called 'High end' players deem as a loony-bin.

Just because someone Trolls, doesn't mean they're immature, sometimes people do something because they simply want
to have fun.

Just because I "typ lyk diz" or roleplay like "-Bob went to sleep- -Bob had a good dream-" doesn't mean I'm not good enough
to be considered literate.

Just because I want to find a mate for my character or a home for my pup doesn't mean I'm desperate and annoying. You
know, Pup Centers limit the chances of woe-is-me backstories that we've all seen and heard THOUSANDS OF TIMES. You're
not so original because your parents died.

Stop assuming everyone is!

I have met some of the best people, some of my closest in-game friends on Bonfire Island. And let me tell you, they didn't
want to discuss politics with me, they didn't befriend me over how literate I was. We bonded because we were comfortable.
We were able to talk about things like our least favourite cheese and not feel like we were being criticized for our lack of
'intelligent' conversation, which HAPPENS. I don't even think some of you realize you do it!

If Fluorite is the high-end upperclass neighbourhood of the game, where everyone drives a fancy Mercedes and goes to
the Country Club to play some golf, then Bonfire is that small, overlooked neighbourhood where everyone knows
everyone, there's a crazy uncle, a grumpy old man and a lady that always bakes pies for the children and tells them
stories. Bonfire is the neighbourhood where everyone can go to one house for a BBQ and have a good night without
feeling out of place.

Everyone there is so different and that's why they mesh so well together! To the untrained eye it's utter chaos, but to those
who look deeper, they'll find that it's super organized chaos. Yes, there will be fights. But there are fights over lesser things
that happen in Fluorite yet most people there think they're 'above' Bonfire.

Listen closely. BONFIRE IS THE MOST HUMBLE MAP IN THE GAME!

They are cast aside when they try make friends with people from Fluorite, but they never once sit around and tell anyone
different from them at Bonfire to "Go back to Fluorite", they try befriend them and make them feel welcome. Something
Fluoritians could learn.

So next time you're thinking "Go back to Bonfire" try have a discussion with that person, BE FRIENDLY, you might find
you'll have a pretty great friend at the end of it. And whenever you feel you're superior to anybody in-game, go and take
a walk to Bonfire, sit there for a moment, and I hope you feel bad for ever thinking you were better than those people.

Just remember, Bonfire is where this game started, we all came from there, by virtual blood we are all Bonfirians. Even
those who are new to Feralheart.

"Go to Bonfire" should no longer seem like an insult to people's intelligence, "Go to Bonfire" should seem like they're
giving you some of the greatest, life-changing advice, "Go to Bonfire" shouldn't be said with malice and hate anymore.
It should be said in a manner that's friendly and not contradictory.

We all started somewhere, not one of us can claim that we have never been through a stage where someone could
tell us to "Go back to Bonfire", so stop acting like your fleas don't bite just because theirs do.

Thank you.

Squee out.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLEASE NOTE (for some of you that want to fight and argue and find fault)

- Not every patron of Bonfire can be classified as stated above. I'm not saying they're all like that.
- I'm not saying all Fluoritians are pretentious.
- I'm not saying "noobs" can't survive in Fluorite
- I'm not saying Bonfirians are all stupid
- I'm not saying all Fluoritians are smart.
- I'm not saying all Fluoritians are mean.
- I'm not saying all Bonfirians are good.

You get the point.

I'm not going to have any arguments with anyone over this post. THIS IS MY OPINION ENTIRELY AND I AM ENTITLED
TO IT LIKE YOU ARE ENTITLED TO YOURS. Don't come here and tell me my opinion is wrong because you don't see it the
same way. If you haven't seen this happen, that's good for you, doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I WILL NOT FIGHT WITH ANYONE, DO NOT TRY AND FIGHT WITH ME.

KEEP THIS DISCUSSION PLEASANT, AND FRIENDLY, DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU TO "GO BACK TO BONFIRE"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P.P.S

If you do something considered "Bonfirian" and someone tells you to "Go back to Bonfire" how about you tell them to
go back to *insert whatever map name here*.

Bonfirians. You are beautiful.

Fluoritians. You are beautiful.

PEACE OUT.

So I've had this problem for must be about three weeks, I don't actually know what the cause of the issue was but I do remember when it started. The server was having a particularly bad day and I was crashing every 15 minutes or so (for once not attributed to my internet) Well after about the 5th time crashing, I tried to restart my game, determined it would stop, but something went horribly wrong and that evil little windows "Feralheart has stopped working." message popped up.

I left it for a day.

I came back.

It was still happening, so naturally, time to uninstall and reinstall.

I did this and have figured out that it's an issue with DirectX that required me to look at the logs in order to fix the issue. I've tried various tutorials on how to fix the issue but nothing has worked.

Does anybody know how I could possibly solve the issue? My laptop is unable to support the game well and I'm missing some of my friends.

Thanks, Squee.

First: I'm not sure if this is where this should be posted but I'll place it here anyway. Please lock if it doesn't belong here.

NOW for the main thing!

Since I am finishing school in less than three months, I'm expected, to get a job. Recently, my parents both came across a show that mentioned there is a high demand for game developers in my country. THEY. HAVE. NOT. STOPPED.

I have not applied for any universities and as a result am now stuck with nothing to do for a year, I would like to know if anyone has any links to HTML5, C++, Blender, Unity and JavaScript tutorials from which I could possibly develope the skills needed to at least /ATTEMPT/ game development so that my parents could GET OFF MY BACK.

I do not want your life advice, your sympathy for how my parents are treating me at the moment etc... Just the links would be appreciated. ALL OTHER COMMENTS ARE NOT WELCOME because I don't need strangers telling me how to live my life, I get it enough and at the moment am not in the right mental state to support it.

I'd appreciate the help, thank you!

Before I get people leaping down my throat about:
 A. The server maintenace (I'm well aware of them and know they have nothing to with this, I believe)
OR
 B. The inconsistancy of my internet stability (Because quite frankly, there is NOTHING wrong with my internet)

I'm here (which is a rare commodity) on the business of frequent crashing with absolutely nothing wrong with my game, internet connection etc...

It is consistant, I know the routine by now and shouldn't that, for one thing, tell you how often it happens. I feel I should include that no longer is it just a time after time occurance. It has become a daily affair for me to deal with, if I'm lucky, it will happen once, maybe twice. My worst day, consisted of SIX consequetive crashes with the following happening:

1. Game suddenly stops, shuts down window.

I log in again

2. Floating. My character will stay on some invisible plain of elevation consistant with the level I was previously on when moving to lower terrain.

I restart.

3. Step 2 repeats.

I restart.

4. I am in my previous zone for a total of 15-30 seconds, and yes I've timed it (What else could I do) before 'transporting' either to the corner by 'L' Island in Fluorite (Which is actually the ONLY place this ever happens) or possessing other people's characters. And I never get the nice ones to possess.

I restart.

5. Finally, I get to enjoy the game without further delay, until three minutes later when I crash again.

Now. Before you suggest:

A) Maybe you're in too populated a region (I'm not an idiot and don't go near Stone Bridge in peak hour, I stick to the Right hand side of N/Z in empty areas)
B) Maybe you shouldn't be in Fluorite ( T_T You're lucky I can't swear at you)

I find it absolutely shocking, first off, that I know the steps of these crashes to the tee to the extent where I don't even bother apologizing until the fifth time I log in. I find it even SADDER that I have TIMED the intervals in which I can be in-game before the next step occurs. Even worse, the sample space for that timing was taken out of 10 samples of crashes that occured to me.

I've reached the point, where I'm so close to rage-quitting the game until it gets itself together, I may seem dramatic but you'll understand why as this, has been happening for the LAST SIX MONTHS. I've slipped into the forums to see if anyone could possibly shed some light on the situation, or even tell me they have a similar problem because then I won't need to throw my CPU out the window in frustration that it won't spit up it's reasons for being bratty.

Thank you.

Squee