What does realistic mean?

[Aniuk]

In my opinion, no roleplay is truly "realistic" unless the rp is in a map of it's own based on the real environment in which the creatures lived in. They characters must have the correct colours and corresponding sizes, and they must behave like the real animal. Most importantly, they must NOT talk!!! Communicate via noises or body language. Animals don't talk!

I don't mind it when people say "realistic colours", or when... say for example, prides... when they have mating seasons, only one male, chase young males etc etc.

Again, no rp is realistic. Where in the world do wild cats lose kittens to hyenas?!

One time I joined a lion pride. Realistic colors, realistic map, no talking, mating season (I quit this RP for a reason) , one male, ... etc. So some roleplays out there are very realistic.

[BlackLuna06]

I have trouble with the whole realism thing due to:

o Most of us talk. (Yes, yes I know of the hyper-realistic roleplays - so awesome.)
o We all have NAMES. (Apart from ones called 'Wolf' that I see occasionally)
o It is hard to find the right markings to make oneself realistic and not boring.
o The pack we are is NAMED.
o We usually have RANKS like 'hunter' and 'fighter'. The wolves in irl packs do these things yes, but are not SPECIFICALLY ordered to do so.

If we went by actual realism, every. single. pack. should be semi-realistic. (Hyper-realistic <3 I didn't mean you.)

The boundaries between each category are hard to distinguish, I'm afraid.

[Lady_Alizarin]

Again, no rp is realistic. Where in the world do wild cats lose kittens to hyenas?!

Where do feral cats loose kittens to hyenas you ask? In my basement. That's where.

Have you ever heard of the African wildcat? Or the African sand cat?





The African wildcats are the ancestors of the domestic cats we have today. Domesticated by the Egyptians, and bred down through the centuries. The sand cats might have been domesticated too at one point, but I'm not too sure. There are plenty of these "feral cats" living out in the savanahs of Africa, and I'm sure hyneas have taken their kittens away if given the chance.


Anywho, like others have said before me, it's very rare to find realistic roleplays or characters. I've only seen a roleplay with realistic-looking wolves ONCE out in Flourite Plains.... and they were a mapless group too. These wolves had realistic fur colors, realistic markings (german shepherd, or husky markings), realistic eye colors, and no manes. The only thing that wouldn't make them realistic is that the characters could talk. But other than that, I didn't see not one pitch black wolf, or neon colored wolf amoung them.
 
I consider a realistic animal character to have the following...
1.) Realistic fur colors; grey, brown, tan, fawn, reddish brown, white, black (but not 0,0,0 black),
2.) Realistic eye colors; gold, brown, and sometimes blue (especially for cats)
3.) Realistic markings for the particular animal. No stripes or spots for wolves.
I also don't really mind the manes on a wolf character. As long as they aren't a crazy neon color and they actually match the character's pelt color, I'm fine with it.

I would consider all my characters to be semi-realistic. They have realistic fur colors and markings for whatever species they are supposed to be, but they have manes and somewhat unrealistic eye colors.