Fixed Registration Times + Maybe the Return of General

[Azurain]

Fixed Registration Times?
An idea I randomly came up with while thinking of a game called Flight Rising.

Flight Rising usually has closed registration that opens a few days out of the month and they'll usually make a post or something that way people can know when to catch it open.

Why don't we do that?

Open it maybe the first three days of the month (or just whenever anything suits us) and when the time is rolling around, send an announcment (maybe here on the forums, on the DA page and on the Tumblr) so that everyone may know about it and they won't miss their chance.

Have it totally open during those days (don't know how long it would have to be open. I'd say three at the most) that way everyone gets a chance and people won't have to wait so long to catch it (cause let's face it, many many people complain about the extremely slim chance they get to make an account and it's so random some people have to wait weeks, even months!)

The only downfall I could possibly see in this is the amount of people that would flock and join at those times. However since activity has really dropped since the days in 2011 and 2012, I don't think we'd really have that issue anymore. And if anything, maybe with the upcoming patch, maybe a server cap increase could happen (although I don't know how likely that is because money and all)

The possible return of General?
Now that brings me to the next discussion, something that has literally been brought up countless times. General.

Now I wasn't around when General was, or even when it was taken out. But I do know that many many people say that the death of General was basically what brought FeralHeart to its knees (ok maybe not that dramatic but whatever) And from what I've heard, that IS when activity started dropping. I feel if it was brought back, along with fixed registration times, that it would bring the spark back to the game,
 especially with the upcoming patch.

Yeah we can't really add much more to the game because of the missing source code, but maybe bringing General back will help heal things over?

Yes it would be harder to look after but...would it really be any different than watching local? If anything it would bring the staff more help as they could literally catch ANYTHING said in General without having to move around maps as much to catch anyone hiding out in the far reaches of the map.

I feel at least bringing it back for just a little while just to see how things play out would be a good thing.

I highly doubt anything like this will happen but I just thought at least to suggest it and see what you all think. ^^

[Morqque]

I really miss General chat though it was taken out due to spam and trolling. But with more staff that wouldnt be much of an issue.
I also wish the classic maps where back, man.

[sanrio]

Both of these do sound like very fantastic and intriguing ideas, although I wasn't around when General was so I can't really say anything bad about it as I've never experienced it.
From what I've seen other people say about it, it's more good than bad, but that could be wrong. As Malkabre said, bringing the old maps will most likely boost FH into a more popular state. Even I wish the old maps were back as I enjoy running around the downloadable ones a lot, although maybe I just like change.

I'd love to see a staffers opinion on these suggestions.

[VortexAlive]

I think having a fixed registration that only opened for a few days would be a great idea. As you said, it would help people who miss the opportunity to join because no one knows when it will open again other than "at random".

I also think that the return of General chat would be a good thing since, even many years after its' removal, the community still brings it up and thinks about it and how useful it was.

[turtlies]

I agree completely. Especially on the topic of bringing General back. I know there was a lot of... hostility the day General was removed, and it's definitely something that upset a lot of older players. I think a return of General would definitely bring in a lot of older players---as long as people are willing to report or remind other players of the rules, I don't think it could become that bad, at least not worse than local (obviously if General came back, the first day would have some excited chaos, but it'd probably chill out pretty quickly). Sadly, it seems this topic gets brought up every once in a while and gets shot down pretty quickly, but we can at least discuss it and hope it'll be considered.

I like the idea that's been mentioned about bringing back the old maps, too. Maybe even included as a default portal in Cape to the old maps or something? Heck, the staff could totally host a sort of "Blast to the Plast" event every once in a while and have some events held in the old maps that could just be downloadable (similar to the cinema for Movie Nights or maps for holiday events)---it'd still keep the memory of the old maps alive without having to have them as an official download.

[OnionKnight]

I absolutely agree with both of your ideas.
Personally I never understood the decision to remove general, its not that different than local other than it spans the entire map.
Trolls? Then kick them.
Spam? Warn them.
Advertisement? Those never bothered me personally but again, a DM asking to use movies would work.
If the chat bothered someone there is also the option to turn it off (like you can turn off every other chat in the game.)
I do hope one day it returns, that'll be an exciting day for me.
I should also probably note that I'm not really "bothered" by it existing or not existing either way, my personal FH experience hasn't changed much and I also slightly think the game is understaffed if moderation is an issue ;; I know the staff are trying though, real hard.

And as for registration time, yes! It doesn't even have to be a weekly registration open. Perhaps once every month just like FR does so the servers don't overload. Once every two months even, just to give people a time to aim for so they don't miss out on their opportunity.

As for the old FH maps and a desire for a "blast to the past" you may like this thread --- https://feral-heart.com/smf/index.php?topic=58682.0

[Hooli]

I definitely agree with both of these ideas, they're not bad in the slightest.
The idea of having scheduled openings for registration is actually really great and I feel like that would be a really good feature to add to the game, as it's not going to constantly be open so that fear of the game getting too overpopulated again wouldn't be as possible.

General coming back also isn't that bad of an idea; I am skeptical of it, but I'm always up to giving things a second chance. With the community having grown over the years, it may be a bit different now that everyone knows that punishments for not listening in General can go as far as getting the chat removed in general. I think with that mindset people will know to behave more rather than act like they own the place whenever they were in it before it was removed. Though I agree with Malkabre when they say that with a few more staff members, the chat would be able to be monitored pretty easily.

I really hope the Staff give some thought into these ideas because I really think they might help the community in more ways than one.

[SophyTheLioness]

Yes, totally. All of the reasoning behind my opinions has been already stated above- But to add my little of a pound on here-
I think bringing General back would be far easier now that the amount of users has declined and there aren't as many trollers or wild people out there, and it would bring great joy to those of us who remember when General chat was still around, and also to those who couldnt but still wish to know what it felt to share something with everyone on the map.
Although, i suggest that, if it ended up happening (General Returning), rules applying to spam were stricter so that trouble cant stir up, including how often can roleplays advertise and whatnot.

[FlyingGrass]

I agree, there should be an "Open registration day", make it a pattern. Exactly every 7 days could have open registration to minimize chances of people thinking the registration is shut down completely forever(Time zones are probably what's keeping users from finding the registration open, people wanting to register have to either wait days/weeks or stay up way past their bedtime/stay home from school). But, it may have lag every week, but just include a warning in a topic(Or put the warning on the homepage) that the game will lag on those days the registration is open.

OR, have the registration open all the time, and have a set day when the server updates to complete the registration of all users that have registered before that time. It will still lag a bit on those times, but put an automated warning in chat if possible. If warnings in the chat aren't possible, then put a message on the site's homepage saying something along the lines of "There is a time the game will encounter lag which is perfectly normal"As for General Chat, and I know this needs the source code, but there should be a limit to the amount of posts that can be made every 5-10 seconds in General Chat(Wait 5-10 seconds before posting again in General Chat). Local should have a shorter limit as people can just block or lead others away from Local spammers(Or tell people how to turn off Local chat, teaching is another good use of time). The instructions of how to turn off chats could be put on the main homepage for everyone to see(So people will not have to visit the forum to learn how to turn off ingame chats).

[Kastilla]

Fixed Registration Times?

I've thought of this many times myself, but figured it to be an inappropriate question to ask since it was in the midst the whole change. Using Flight Rising is a good example, since their servers get crowded because it's a high-demand game and everyone wants to be a part of it. However, seeing how Feral Heart is a relatively small community and most of the active populace joined on a whim in recent years or when it was still young, the staff would have to make a schedule and stick with it. Meaning, posting a nice little time-table on their tumblr, or on the front page. Just for people who do want to join and will stay, can just hop on the site and register. I am saying it like this because, well of course there will be users who get bored of Feral Heart as soon as they register because they 1.) have waited SO long that it's not exciting anymore or 2.) they never really had any interest other than to be a troll and waste time (yes, there are those people here, don't deny it). It will be hard sorting through the responsible members upon joining, but I am sure it will literally sort itself out over time. So, yes I agree that there should be certain windows to allow members who wish to join, to join and finally be able to play Feral Heart. There just needs to be a reasonable schedule, as you said, that would make sense for people who live in every part of the world.

The possible return of General?

Maybe if Feral Heart proves to be grown-up again. Little Feral Heart got punished because it was being naughty back in the day. Then again, I see no point in general. Users learned to make do without, and as Arreze mentioned, some users never experienced it. It would be confusing to them, for sure, and they may misuse it. Sure, it's nice for roleplay advertisement, but isn't that what videos were for? Plus, the amount of misbehaving that goes on in Local alone, that would move to General for everyone to see. I honestly don't think Feral Heart is ready for General to be put back, nor do I really think it will ever be again.