@(you need an account to see links) And here's the other thread, lol. (I typed up a reply that kinda derailed away from the other thread's topic so here we are.)But that's the truth, I think. FR's staff seem geared more toward... preservation than innovation. Or put another way, they seem more invested in controlling the environment they've set up (preventing botting, becoming increasingly restrictive with content et al) than in implementing new core features, or even the features they promised during the kickstarter. Making images is still work, of course, it's a real job and a very important part of any petsite's longevity! But it can't be the end-all be-all or eventually user retention will fold and you will lose your relevancy.
It doesn't help matters that FR's notoriously bad at listening to any kind of feedback whatsoever; they have a very "that's nice, but I know best" mentality and it's one of the main sticking points I have with them as staff. Many times they've inadvertently engineered total userbase meltdowns simply by not addressing the players and explaining what's happening; their policy of hunkering down and waiting for things to pass only makes their reputation worse. Transparency goes a long way, and though I can't deny that they have improved a bit compared to when I first started playing, the bulk of their policies continue to vex me.
But that's... a topic for another thread!
They've improved? I've been in the game since the day after it opened, and honestly, I think they've gotten worse.Transparency goes a long way, and though I can't deny that they have improved a bit compared to when I first started playing, the bulk of their policies continue to vex me.
I can't guess how long you've been there, but there was a time in the first 2 years where the (you need an account to see links). And actually explain exactly what was going on, and we were all totally cool with it. The Akirbeak familiar? That started as a (you need an account to see links) about Akiri watching everyone's lair during a big downtime, and one of the artists whipped up a familiar in like 2 days.
Now, you say anything half-jokey or moderately scary about anything and it might get you banned from the place.
Now? They've basically abandoned the Ask the Staff thread in it's entirety (the last time it was(you need an account to see links)). Art errors have been piling up for years and are never addressed (ej. tundra lionfish, still no info on whether that was intentional or an error, and the current issue with met/allo on banes), the apparel has gotten lazier somehow (bad use of warp-tools and not taking actual physics of the materials into account when drawing them on, the steampunk redo has been the worst so far, what with it loosing the steamy grit and putting giant plastic gears everywhere) and at this point I think Adventure Mode (and Points) is never going to happen.
And let's ignore the mess that the new 'canon' that is the Bounty of the Elements. There's a literal Emperor eating everyone the Light domain, the Tidelord's gone, Nature briefly unleashed Extinction-level weapons on Plague, and doesn't actually have it under long-term control either. And... well, everything's still going around as normal. That's pretty in-story critical stuff to not address for 2 RL years, with no signs of ever actually addressing it.
Oh, and there was this whole war thing that's been goingon with the Beastclans for a few years now ((you need an account to see links))... sorta never went anywhere either, except that we got an NPC on the dom-boards now that does........something?
I'm not really sure where their focus is to be honest. It's like they wanted to make a gritty game, changed their minds for the children!, the changed it again, then decided a Cloverfield-level monster attack and cannabalism ("I easily knocked over the flimsy architecture, and sifted through the rubble with my snout until I found my quarry, warmth filling my mouth as I bit down with a sigh.") and graphic war injuries ("Almon watched in horror as an Imperial fell. The giant had been completely overtaken by the growth. Vines crawled out from its body, while a tree and several saplings rose from its back.") is totally fun, but only if they do it.
Meh... I don't even know what they're going for anymore. It's like they have a dozen ideas, but have decided to implement them all badly because they're afraid to commit to any given direction. So decided to just be passable and mediocre all the way through.