Why hai thar, Opticker. It's amazing you've been playing FH and IT for five years, already! I must say, that's one of the longest times I've seen. Awesome that you still kept interest in the game and stuck around since the beginning. I myself have only been here a year, and I love it.
Where is Kovu? are they still working on FH?
I'm afraid Kovu left quite a while ago, and we went a long time without hearing from him. Recently, he posted on his Facebook that he is working on his Facebook game called "Feral Tails," but, he said he's going to wait a bit for Feralheart, but don't give up hope.
I personally think the game is doing absolutely fine. More and more players are registering everyday, keeping the game popular and fresh. This game probably won't be going anywhere soon. There's a total of 216,055 players (look here for statistics: click me), and 145.03 (average) registering daily.
Many people complain that the game is "dying," but I see it thriving. It depends how you think about it. -because of the lack of new content, the idiotic trolls, the Phreaks (not freaks) and the people who abuse the system.
If you are annoyed at the lack of new content, you can always look to the mods and creations board which supplies many player-made modifications, free to use. You could also make some yourself, if you haven't already. The modifications keep the game "fresh", in a way.
The game cannot be updated because of KovuLKD's absence. Without the games source code, updates cannot be made, and there's no other way. Murr, not everyone is an "idiotic troll." If anyone bugs you, the block button is always there for ya', but if anyone starts harassing you, you could always report the player(s) to one of the staff members, who work really hard to keep the game safe and running. Simple as that. c: I've met some very kind, lovely players in-game (which I still know now), none of which were "idiotic trolls."
All of the literate roleplays have not left either. I have seen some beautifully developed roleplays that are still active today. Most literate RPs in FH are mapped, but there are still some that roam Fluorite or any other map, including Bonfire. I'm sure you'll find one that meets your needs if you keep looking. You can also check the roleplay boards right here on this site. There's many to choose from, including multi-species RPs. I'm in quite a few roleplays that I truly love and participate in to this day.
And lets not forget Hunting Mechanics.
Like I said before, the game cannot be updated because the staff does not have the source code. If we did have the source code, I'm sure there would be quite a few updates. We also have to remember: Updating a game like Feralheart takes time, especially if it's adding a new model, or animation.