Town Meeting Log, The Whisper Update Options

[Emerald Flame]

Emerald|Flame: We are about to start the Town Meeting! If you want to ask questions come to furc://festival2 You can just listen in here otherwise!
Emerald|Flame: Hello all! Welcome to the Whisper Update Town Meeting! We are letting everyone who fits into the Town Meeting dream this time to give everyone a chance to ask questions. #SA
Emerald|Flame: First thing we'd like to do is apologize for the bugs that snuck in to this update! We had it all working in test world, but nothing tests it better than getting 60,000 different players and 60,000 different computers in to give it a work-out.
Emerald|Flame: These bugs are too big to wait to fix them at the 32-bit update, so we will be putting out a bug-fix update in a day or so that should fix most the issues furres are having.
Emerald|Flame: At the same time we will be putting out (hopefully if it works) a separate client for windows ME and 98 users.
Emerald|Flame: This is the very last update we will support ME and 98 though, so players with those operating systems will want to upgrade before the next update.
Emerald|Flame: The reason we wanted to hold this town Meeting though, is to answer your questions and concerns about this update and clear up any confusion.
Emerald|Flame: Many of the bugs some are experienceing will fix with the new client. However, we want to make extra sure that we have tracked down every bug and squished it! This is what we get for adding Bugges to the client last update...for free even! #SD
Emerald|Flame: Maybe this is their rebellion method for not having wings yet! #SD
Emerald|Flame: Before we open for questions, I'd like to thank a few people who have been working very very hard on all the new features you see and the ones that are already being worked on for the next few updates.
Emerald|Flame: First, the Bugge Hunters who have really kicked tail this update. They had only a short amount of time to get this update tested and very many of them spent hours and days testing and still are testing even now! They also spent a lot of time helping players out with their issues!
Emerald|Flame: Many other Beekins and even Silver sponsors have put a lot of work into testing as well and have been a huge help to everyone!
Emerald|Flame: I'd like to say an extra thank you to the Masons for helping to test the new DS!
Emerald|Flame: The Pixels really deserve a huge amount of thanks. They not only have been helping with the testing, but they've been working very hard to make the next few updates with 32-bit and Attachments be especially nice updates!
Emerald|Flame: The Scribes have been very busy with getting the pages all ready to give you the best information possible as well!
Emerald|Flame: And, of course, there's our staff, who have been working outrageous hours and few days off for weeks to try and get this update outin time to give you all Rabben for Easter. We didn't quite make it but it wasn't because we weren't ready it was a paperwork issue for our security certificate! #SB
Emerald|Flame: I'd like to welcome our newest programmer in too. This was the first update that Ryhn played a major role in and we will see things move even faster in the future thanks to his being on the team!
Emerald|Flame: *grins* That's probably enough "thank yous" other than a really huge one to you, the players, for being patient and helpful when things didn't go so well. All the staff have had so very many whispers and comments in support and we thank you greatly and apologize once more for the glitches!
Emerald|Flame: As I said earlier, we will be and actually already have thanks to all the good reporting. fixing all we find and putting out a new client update with issues cleaned-up!
Emerald|Flame: Just briefly i will go over what the new features of this update are!
Emerald|Flame: http://furcadia.com/update/ is a helpful link!
Emerald|Flame: You will also want to click the Cookie Economy link on that page as well and the one about the Pounce features.
Emerald|Flame: I do warn that the information on Pounce will change slightly with the bug fix update. We changed a few behaviors to make them work a bit better.
Emerald|Flame: We will update that page when we update the client! #SA
Emerald|Flame: Do please read there all the lovely artists who have worked to put out the new avatars! I don't believe it says there either that Tiggerbaby and Gar did the new Icons that you can see in your Furcadia folder. Be sure to look at them on large icon setting!
Emerald|Flame: You can see from them that we are working into 32-bit slowly but surely! Over the last two years we've been adding more and more 32-bit features. This update brought the afk fade which is done in 32-bit with an RGB fade effect. #SA
Emerald|Flame: As I know everyone will be asking, yes, more 32-bit comes next update. We will be able to release the 32-bit editors then for all of you to use!
Emerald|Flame: That will mean you will be able to use any colors you want to make objects for your dreams!
Emerald|Flame: We will also be releasing 32-bit remapping. We already have it working in the test editors!
Emerald|Flame: Remapping colors will have 12-16 different shades instead of the 8, 5 or 1 that they have now. Even badges and eyes.
Emerald|Flame: We also will have three new remapping colors to add for attachments and wings and such.
Emerald|Flame: Besides that, there will just be more colors that you can turn in to! More red, browns, darker black, turquoise, etc! There will be more for everyone and even more extra special colors for SS! #SA
Emerald|Flame: I do warn that this 32-bit and attachments is a humongous project for such a small company and we are depending on volunteers heavily. It also will not all come out at once but be a series of updates, the first of which should be....no promises...in the next few months or so.
Emerald|Flame: Okies! I've talked enough, let's get to your questions!
Emerald|Flame: We will be taking questions from those on seats in the dream. You will want to F3 when the DS is turned on and have your questions typed in.
Emerald|Flame: We will only answer one question per player per turn. so if you have more get back in line please. #SA
Emerald|Flame: Before I take the first question, I'd like everyone to *please* post any bugs or issues you are having to the tech support forums. Check first to see if your issue is already reported, but post if you have it too or a variant. We really want to track down all of these bugs and get them fixed!
Gar: Kalka Wrendi: When is Furcadia ever going to turn 3D?
Emerald|Flame: What a first question. The answer is never. We have no intention fo being a 3D game. User created content is much easier in 2D and we like it that way. #SA
Emerald|Flame: Furcadia is all about what the players create and we want to keep that as the focus.
Gar: Treeki: Is the amount of patch space available (especially for items, walls and DS buttons) going to be expanded in the 24-bit update, or possibly as part of dream packages?
Emerald|Flame: *grins* Needing more already? We did recently up those all considerable! I will say that increasing those things will make your dreams lag more and make them take up more server resources. As such, yes they'd probably be added as Dream package features if at all.
Emerald|Flame: I'd rather see more tools that seamlessly hook multiple dreams together in a group so that each individual one doesn't need as much.
Emerald|Flame: Probably not going to be increased for the first 32-bit update, no.
Emerald|Flame: maybe later #SA
Gar: Wish Shadow: Are there any plans for something resembling the Dream List from Dogproxy to come to Pounce? Not just a map, but a program that lets you warp to a dream automatically?
Emerald|Flame: Good question! We will be putting out a 2.0 version of Pounce with more features like Groups, Dream Lists, Beekins windows, Channels, etc. There wasn't resources to get those in this update but we want them badly too! #SA
Gar: Zumillia Kam: Will there ever be an avian/bird furre? Other than the phoenix.
Emerald|Flame: There are several already! The love birds, the owlen..the kiwi ...those are more Ferian style but also the Gryffe. I'm sure there will be other ones but i doubt there will be a default one.
Gar: The Toaster: I know there was a question about updates to Pounce, but I had another question about it. Will Pounce be updated to have more personalization? Such as, ability to change sounds, consolidate the whisper windows of alternate accounts, and time-stamped notifications in-Furc of when friends come online? Also, dream listing seems to be desired as well...
Emerald|Flame: There will be more personalization. This is first version only! #SA I do believe you can already patch the sounds though. Ask that one on the forums and i'll try to get better information on it. I really want the ability to consolidate and take apart the windows and tabs too for better organization. Be sure to post our suggestions to the thread in the Suggestions forum. #SA
Emerald|Flame: Time stamped notification will be in with the following bug fixed update as will several other small fixes asked for on the forums.
Gar: Pez: Weren't the disconnections this update supposed to stop with the creation of Pounce? If that is so, people are still getting disconnected frequently, will this be fixed the next update or is that for later?
Emerald|Flame: That is a bug, yes and should be all fixed in this little bug fix update. #SA
Emerald|Flame: Be sure to report thigns like that to the ech support forums #SA
Emerald|Flame: Sorry my typing is going bad already #SB
Gar: Superman: Furcadia is obviously getting up there with their updates and wonderful little expansions, but I've heard some about the Adult Verification. When in the FSH's is that ever going to be?
Emerald|Flame: *grins* Love that expletive #SB That would be the Accounts update, which has given us no end of problems. We even contracted a bunch of the programming out to a Russian firm for that. Now that we have Ryhn that should go quicker too. We really apologize that update is taking so very long. It's as frustrating to us as well.
Gar: Sean Connery: After the 32 bit update is the account update going to be the next push?
Emerald|Flame: Like I said earlier, the 32-bit will actually be a series of updates. As soon as the editors are ready we want to get them out there for all of you to use. That will be the next update. New colors will come with that. I don't think the default art will be upgraded at that point though. The Master Pixels are helping tremendously with that but it's so very much work.
Emerald|Flame: Then we have the Attachments update which will add more 32-bit stuff and the ability to have wings on ferians and Nobles. It will also add in the ability to wear some clothing like hats and change out tails or change around some parts of current avatars.
Emerald|Flame: The Accounts update is still being worked on in the back ground through all of this and with them as well. When it is ready, we will put it out there though!
Emerald|Flame: We are averaging several udpates a year right now, though these next big three are really a huge deal programming wise, so we will see!
Gar: Rakyth: Is there a story behind Bugges[Or are you just poking fun at Bugge Hunters?]
Emerald|Flame: *grins* The Bugges have been a species in the official backstory since the beginning! They are the species that build wonderful things like flying ships and other technology stuff! When I made the Beekins I named the Bugge Hunters after them as an honor! They are the ones who make and help test all the cool stuff!
Emerald|Flame: You can read about the Furcadia backstory at http://www.furcadia.com/roleplay/ Talzhemir has written wonderful things there!
Gar: Sync: I'm wondering if the features of Pounce will be more separated from the whisper windows, as I turned off whisper windows, and many of my features will not work anymore(like afk auto-replies, offline whispering, etc. I did post this on the bug forums also with no replies).
Emerald|Flame: Yes, this bug fix update will add a way to turn off your whisper windows an afk features separately. You will even be able to turn off the ability to see the faded afk furres everywhere if you don't like that.
Gar: Button: How diffrent will the iPhone/iTouch client be from the current one, like with patches, dreams, editors. etc.?
Emerald|Flame: Hmm...good question!
Emerald|Flame: The new iphone client is very sharp looking with a lot of cool features! It is a minimized client though. You won't be able to use the creation editors for it. There's just not enough screenspace.
Emerald|Flame: You will be able to go anywhere though and download dreams and such. You won't be able to upload them due to limited space though. I'm sure it will come out with upgrades as well though.
Emerald|Flame: Iphone should release before the 32-bit update. It won't require another regular client update as we put what was needed into this client update for it. #SA So pretty darn soon, yes.
Gar: Abby Venturi: I'm not sure if this is what toaster asked, but are there any plans for putting time stamps on the main window, and not just in the whisper center? Kind of like what you could do with DogProxy? For like all posts?
Emerald|Flame: Yes! It's actually even working on the client I am currently using and you all should have in the next day or so. #SA
Gar: Maga: I'd like to know if there will ever be a lizard furre/anthro lizard avatar?
Emerald|Flame: Lizards are very frequently asked for! #SA Put your 2 cents worth for them on the Suggestions forums. We are looking there all the time #SA
Emerald|Flame: We will have a lovely Naga...snake-like avatar out in the 32-bit update though! We had to wait it because it has a 32-bit translucent water effect.
Emerald|Flame: Talz decides most of the avatars we will add. Add it to the avatar list. I will say that it is likely that instead of us adding more avatars, we may just give you avatar parts that when combined with other avatars make new things. Like new muzzles and tails and ears and such.
Emerald|Flame: Keeping body types the same will make it so that more clothing fits on more avatars! #SA
Gar: Spark: Will we get more advanced color choices for our avatars in the future? I'm excited about the 32-bit updates, but I was curious if we'd ever get something more along the lines of a color wheel or hexadecimal codes so we could pick out and pinpoint the exact colors we'd like, rather than default colors like red, blue, etc.
Emerald|Flame: There are not plans to give unlimited colors at this time for avatars for many reasons. You will get a lot more choices but they will be within the remapping ranges and preset to make patching and such easier. #SA
Emerald|Flame: You can have unlimited colors on your patched items for your dreams though!
Gar: Lutra Mustil: Are there any new features for Silver Sponsors? And if so, what are they? I just bought one and was wondering what sorts of features I am paying to get?
Emerald|Flame: Oh wow, SS get so many features! Did you come to test world? #SA Next update you will get a lot of new color choices that other furres don't have access too.
Emerald|Flame: Did you see the page for SS and check out the SS only forum where we answer questions and tell about new stuff all the time?
Emerald|Flame: You will want to check that forum that only SS can see and the page at http://www.furcadia.com/digomarket/silver.html
Gar: Elmo: Me and many other of my friends have been waiting for the avatar Noble Lapine. So yeah, we were hoping that in this new update it was going to be released, but instead, Noble Equine was released along with a bunny ferian. They are very good, I'm not complaining, but perhaps in the future will Noble Lapine be added?
Emerald|Flame: We have plans to add in all of the default avatars as Nobles. #SA We are starting with the original 5 avatars. Rodents and Mustelines are next! We have one employee working full time on just doing Noble avatars! they take about 6 weeks each to make. #SA
Emerald|Flame: The female mouse is already partly done is very cute. We are going a bit French Noble for the Rodents. The girl has a frilly skirt and the male a long, steampunk-like trench coat.
Emerald|Flame: If you are SS I will get some previews there for you when I can.
Gar: Chaser The Wolf: will bots ever be able to be coded in furcadia, other than using a different program, so you can use stuff like BS(Bot Speak) to control stuff, just like DS, it will be vary helpful, because there could be a "Give {...} bot powers" so no one uses bots exsept bots that are given the powers to use it, and that way no one uses bots to spam maps.
Emerald|Flame: We've long wanted DS and PS to expand in to bot-like features. Dragon Eggs, another programming feature to be added in the future is similar...however, not anytime soon.
Gar: Leathe: With the 32-bit update and the new shades and colors, will it affect the quality of the shading on our current ports what with all these new shades inbetween?
Emerald|Flame: It should not overly change the current colors, if at all. Your current portraits should look basically the same. #SA The new coloring method will differ and be much easier to use! You will just draw your pictures with full shading in greyscale (or any other monotone color) and then just mark which areas you want to be which remapping color and it will fill it will remap that area!
Emerald|Flame: We already have that feature in testing #SA
Gar: Substance: With Pounce, will it ever be made so that you can choose whether or not to have it encorperated into the Furcadia screen, like, a small button which you can bring out and its the proxy, or will it forever be a seperate window?
Emerald|Flame: Well first, this isn't a proxy. A proxy is a 3rd party program running on top of the Furcadia program. This is first party. And yes, this bug fix update has a little green paw in the corner that brings up your Pounce window. It also has a button for going afk and another one the C tab to edit your afk setting!
Emerald|Flame: For those who haven't found all the settings, be sure to check out the "edit my settings" button (config tool) on tab C. Also to set your afk settings open your FurEd.
Emerald|Flame: There's also some other new features in the config tool like the "you say" that so many asked for. #SA Those are in general settings.
Gar: White Lightning Blue Thunder: I heard through the wires that there might be a charge for for going into FurN. Whats that all about?
Emerald|Flame: A total and completely fabricated rumor. You did the right thing by asking to make sure your squished the rumor. You can always double check the rumor mill through the furcadia forums. #SA
Emerald|Flame: BTW, the new FurN is coming along very nicely. It will be an amazing new 32-bit map! You can get previews in the SS forum. #SA
Gar: Grehy: Will there be a: "Show Dragonspeak Button (#) to any furre present" added to the DS editor? I've been needing this command for quite awhile in my dreams.
Emerald|Flame: Be sure to poke that into the suggested DS forum again to catch Felorin's attention for it! He decides which new DS goes in each time.
Gar: Scry: Will the new updates be problematic for fully customized dreams? I know atm for every new digo, new buttons and avatars have to be made, and across 3 dreams that's a lot of work between updates. Like, with the 32 bit update mean having to re-editing all item patches?
Emerald|Flame: That's a good question and really two separate questions. We've always said that we do not guarantee that patches skins will continue to work. There will probably even be an update soon when the current interface is completely changed with some drop downs and such to make more easily used by players. No guarantees at all that we will support old skin types, in fact you should not expect it. Patch those at your own risk.
Emerald|Flame: As far as the patches in your dreams, avatars, walls, items and floors. You will be able to use them exactly as they are without making any changes unless you want to make changes.
Emerald|Flame: There will be new tools and you can use more shading and colors to make your dreams prettier if you like. You are in no way required to though #SA
Emerald|Flame: I should say one more thing on that last question. I've mentioned in the past of making the art larger and resizing all the default art. At this time, we don't plan to do that due to the amount of resources our tests have taken. We will let you all know if that changes again.
Gar: Kemono Black: Will Dragon Speak have a possibillity to connect to Mysql and read out Character information about Furre's ? Maybe via a extern Mysql Server that belongs to the dream owner?
Emerald|Flame: Interesting question! At some point PhoenixSpeak may improve enough to do to that sort of things. We will see how that goes. There's certainly some upcoming backend programming that could support that but it's a lot of front end work.
Gar: FireBob: In the future could you put in something like make your own furre choose body parts and for like ss they get more body parts to customize there furre with?
Emerald|Flame: Yes, the first version of that is planned for the attachments update #SA
Emerald|Flame: More will follow later. We are starting with tails, wings (maybe ears)...them masks, hats, capes and pawhelds. Later we will remove muzzles, arms, legs, etc to allow for other body parts and clothing.
Emerald|Flame: SS will be able to use the parts of all the current avatars that they own. So you can take off the Kirin wings and not wear them or replace them with dragon wings, etc.
Gar: Treeki: Right now, the main thing keeping me using a proxy for an online list is notifications in the main Furcadia window. Are there any plans to add notifications to Pounce when a furre goes online/offline (and even better, when they enter/leave the map you're on, like with Furnarchy)?
Emerald|Flame: I can see notifications in my window right now! #SA You all should in a day or so. #SA
Gar: Sunshine WaterRider: I love the attachments idea. I've noticed that avatars come in "sizes", like big Mythical, default, big Ferian (Leonen, Tygard), little Ferian/seasonal (eagle, penguin, rabben), and teeny (kiwi, minikitter). How are attachments going to work for pixies and kiwis and other such small critters?
Emerald|Flame: Very good question. We are actually breaking the avatars up into those sizes. We have tiny, small, med, large and XL avatars. Most attachments will have three versions made so that they work with *most* avatars. The tiny (kiwi and small kitter) and the XL (werewolf) may have to use one that doesn't fit so well. It's kind of cute though in our tests. #SA Some attachments may only work for certain sizes or even only for certain avatars!
Emerald|Flame: The wings are actually being released differently though. We've made "chibi" wings that will work on small and tiny avatars, but can also be worn in their small form on larger avatars. Most of that work is already done and awaiting programming #SA
Emerald|Flame: The chibi wings are so very cute!!
Gar: Ssinssrigg Errdegahr: Is there any work being done to correct the issues with PhoenixSpeak, particularly in relation to Group Dream Package owners? More specifically, issues relating to the saving of large amounts of PS data, and the loss of data incurred by such upon Furcadia server restarts / crashes, and dream re-uploads? While this has been posted on the forums, it hasn't received any official recognition, yet.. Are the staff even aware that this issue exists?
Emerald|Flame: I think the problem is that the issues haven't been able to be reproduced so that the programmers can look at them. What we need is a Bugge Hunter (those furres are amazing) to look at your dream that isn't working and see if they can isolate the problem. The fact that it only happens at a reset makes it especially difficult to isolate and reproduce. Post again on the Tech support forums and if you have some PS that does this in particular offer it to the Bugges for research.
Emerald|Flame: We really want the PS to be very reliable and that has a high priority for us. I'd like to see if we can get that fixed!
Gar: Okamigirl: Will there ever be a conference feature added to Pounce that will allow multiple furres to chat on the same window at the same time?
Emerald|Flame: What you want is channels #SA We do have those planned for the future as part of Group Packages #SA
Gar: Celes Chere # : You said all Bugs found so far would be fixed in this bug fix you are putting out....does this include the Randomly Disappearing Portal Bug and the Disappearing Upload Pads After A Restart Bug?? Because both are majorly annoying bugs that have been around way too long and only seem to affect non-SS Portals and Upload Pads.
Emerald|Flame: Everyone has their pet bug! Some of those bugs are from before this update and not cuased by it. Ryhn is looking at both of those bugs right now though. He's not yet found a solution and if he contacts you please be helpful in the testing. #SA
Emerald|Flame: Right now we are mainly concentrating on bugs caused by this update.
Gar: The Toaster: With the Accounts update's Adult Verification... I've heard rumors about it and was hoping to get the low down from you all, with info such as: cost, uses for it, whether it applies to all alts, etc.
Emerald|Flame: Hmm...I think the answer for that one I'll refer to the forums. My fingers are getting sore and I've answered that many many times on the forums.
Gar: Shadina: Will there be MP3s as the default music in the main maps instead of the Midi ones?
Emerald|Flame: Not sure, honestly. Adds a lot to the download size. They really could use an upgrade though. sanctimonious did do an mp3 one for Theriopolis one time.
Gar: Kaze: Is there ever going to be an option added to clone other furre's colors? This is pretty much the only feature I'm missing from my old proxy and it'd be fun #SE
Emerald|Flame: *grins* I wondered if someone would ask that! I'm honestly not sure if we will add it in Pounce 2.0. It can be used for harassment but can be a lot of fun too. We will think on it. #SA
Gar: mimiru1618: I had a small question concerning KitterSpeak. Is there ever going to be a line where you can jump the animation of an object at a specific spot in the dream instead of all the frames of that specific object throughout the dream? It'd be a big help if you use farming and such using kitterspeak, so that a crop in one spot changes, instead of every object in that dream changing all at once. That would also save object space for some dreams. (Sorry if the question is a bit confusing!)
Emerald|Flame: That's a much wanted feature. It causes some major issues for server usage though and we haven't decided yet if we want to bite that bullet or not. There is a work-around for now by making separate objects, but that bloats your download. That one we will have to wait and see on. Animated avatars will definately be able to animated separately though.
Gar: iTimez: Will Furcadia ever support multi-language or have a translator built into it at some point of time in the future?
Emerald|Flame: Primes, that sounds like a lot of work #SA It does support Unicode right now so that you can type in other languages. Auto-translators would be lovely but I wouldn't know when we'd have the resources for that. Tiny tiny company #SA
Gar: Punct: i wuz wondring if ther wuz going 2 b animated portz in the futer..
Emerald|Flame: Yes, maybe next update, maybe the one after! Ryhn has that mostly programmed along with a whole new standard level for the portraits. #SA
Gar: Mary Walker: I know that this is Furcadia where humans and animals are 'joined' together I guess I could say, but will there be at least basic human avatar/digo available? There are a lot of people who roleplay as humans. ;-P
Emerald|Flame: There's huge debates for that one the forums. #SA That question is still not decided on. Might very well depend on how well Furcadia handles the economic crisis and if we think Humans would being in more sales. Furcadia with humans ir preferable to no Furcadia at all.
Emerald|Flame: And my typing is really starting to go. Please try to keep questions to do with the current update and things not answered on the forums. #SA
Gar: Shigeko: Do you feel that Furcadia has become a bit too social? I'm not trying to rant or bash Furcadia in any way, however I remember that when I joined it was very highly creativity, roleplay and player-oriented. As a roleplayer, I have noticed both the amount and quality of roleplay around here taking a nosedive. I know the OOC players are important, but I feel the roleplaying community needs representation. What are you thoughts on this? Not that out-of-character things are bad, but do you think we should have more roleplaying-oriented events, to encourage people to roleplay, too? I know you don't want anymore questions like this but it needs to be addressed.
Emerald|Flame: You know, i've been in Furcadia for going on 12 years and every since i've been here I've heard about "the decline in good RP". I propose to you that it is not Furcadia changing, but yourselves and the natural shift in preferred typed of RP. All types of RP from very casual to very inolved are legitimate and thrive in Furcadia. So does Social activities. You are given the tools to promote your favorite type of RP in your dream. There's G&G Day, there's News announcements. Use what you have to promote what you'd like others to do. This must come form the community and not from the staff. There are just too many differenced in what people like and don't like. Read the forums on these subects.
Gar: Calto: Hello there Ladies and Gents ;-) I like to bring the iPhone/iPod Touch subject back! Now, for those who are lucky enough to go a different route... say the BlackBerry Storm (what I have) and the new Palm Pre (my friend has)... if it's already able to run Furcadia on an iPhone/iPod... how would you go about running it on those two brands (or other brands of that nature that allow 3rd party application sharing)?
Emerald|Flame: We have an ipod/iphone 3rd party programmer with all the knowledge, licenses and ability to make us the client. So that is what we get. You know someone professional who'd be willing to make those other clients pretty much for free, then be sure to have them email support@furcadia.com with their proposal! Sorry we can't support more, but this is what we have access to.
Gar: Albert015: When the time comes for us to be able to wear wings on the ferals, would we have to buy seperate wings exclusively for the ferals or will we be able to use whatever we currently have, such as a pair of classic wings? I've heard rumors that we'll be able to use what we have for the bigger ferals and we'll have to buy new items for the smaller ferals but I'd rather have a clear answer. Thank you.
Emerald|Flame: Good question! For med and large Ferals the current wings that you own will work just fine! We've paid artists to draw the extra frames. For the small and tiny Ferals you will need to purchase Chibi wings that have been made to work with the smaller avatars. Again, those chibi wings have to be separate so you can wear them on larger avatars too. #SA
Gar: Lutra Mustil: Are there plans for more ferians to be made? I would buy a otter ferian (Otten :-D) in a heartbeat! Also, it was requested that I ask if Gar likes fishsticks?
Emerald|Flame: Mayyybe! #SD Check the SS forum for hints like that!
Gar: Cattzs: The new system allows furres to stay connected to furcadia until they chose to exit. I was wondering how this would affect placement of dreams for non-package owners. A lot of non-package dream owners rely on random or 'smaller' dreams to disappear in order get a 'better' location for the dream portal. With the system not disconnecting furres who are 'too lazy' or such to exit the dream, how will more locations for dream portals become available? Or how will this be controlled, if at all?
Emerald|Flame: Furres could use a proxy before to do the same thing. I don't see that changing much. #SA
Emerald|Flame: Full explanations after 4 hours of questions probably are not happening. #SA I will give it in short and you can ask for more details on the SS forum or wait until I'm ready to officially announce it.
Gar: Celes Chere # : I hear you are going to implement a new or add-on-to map/dream rating system(not sure when though)....things like FurN going 18+ and such,can you fully explain this and how it will affect everything??
Emerald|Flame: In short, we are changing the Standards a bit and applying them to portraits as well. M16+ will be a Hawthorn standard and it will be not quite as strict...so furlings can get in for instance. A18+ will be reserved for Furn and not to be confused with AO (adults only unverified) or AV(Adults only Verified which will be added in the future) It just means that the types of things allowed on those maps and their corresponding portraits will change a bit.
Emerald|Flame: There will be full documentation of that when the time comes for it #SA
Gar: Blizz: Will you be adding beekin channel support to Pounce? I simple Yes, No, or Maybe will suffice. You have a lot more questions to answer. Making your jobs easier is easy enough for me.
Emerald|Flame: Later! 2.0 #SA
Gar: Ash the pokemon trainer: Will there every be an option to let other people upload music into your dream? With the option to turn it off, of course.
Emerald|Flame: Interesting question. Not planned for now. Put it on the suggestions forum #SA
Gar: Ceri: I've noticed that if you load the client into a text (or hex) editor, there are several modular music file formats listed in it (xm, mod, s3m). Are there any plans in the nearby future to add support for said formats?
Emerald|Flame: I may be wrong but i believe you can add those now. Just patch them in your dream. #SA
Gar: Layla Alana: Good Evening Everyone, Thanks for taking my question! :-) Will Furcadia ever have a place for kids to upload their dreams. Like AI, but with more of an E8+ Enviroment? Some kids have parents who look at their logs and sometimes its hard to find a dream where people are not cussing or in a Teen Enviroment( Even Rude or mean people.) ...
Emerald|Flame: Naia Green is an E8+ map that does allow uploads. I will say though that Furcadia is an open chat game and there's *nothing* we can do about what people say before they say it. Any place on the net that allows open chat is not really a good place for those who are very young or very sensitive or have parents that are. That is why we *do not allow* players under 13 to play our game without direct adult supervision. I'd love to make a totally separate game some day for kids. But that's not Furcadia.
Gar: Neex: Are you plannning to make new tools for the fsh/fox files? I know this isn't 100% nessisary because there are other programs like Photoshop, GIMP and such and with the 32 bit update you could just paste them into it with minimal distortion.
Emerald|Flame: Yes, there are new editors that do a lot of the 32-bit stuff. We actually already have those editors in testing. i will say though that they are not meant to replace good graphic editors. We aren't here to reinvent the wheel so you may want to do much of your artwork in other programs and import for better quality. They are exciting new tools though!
Gar: The Toaster: It's come to my attention that some people would like a spell check feature for Furc. Are there plans to incorporate this in future updates? I'd imagine it'd be helpful for Em on long nights like this =D <3
Emerald|Flame: So everyone knows once and for all. I have dysgraphia. Even at my best I will typo. #SB Speakign typonese is a long tradition in Furcadia and I think it does everyone good to have a staff member with this issue #SD As for spell check...eh...post that suggestion to the forums. A lot of resources so a long way in the future.
Emerald|Flame: For those that can't hear what's going on in the dream. We are getting a lot of repeat questions that I'm just answering in the dream. We are only taking another 6 new questions.
Gar: DMG: ok so furcadia is going to update to 32 bit which means there's going to be more colors, which is great because we can make our patches and portraits more detailed, but what about the portraits we've already uploaded, will we get the opportunity to "update" them with the new pallete?
Emerald|Flame: No, they are perfectly good portraits that you've used for years. There will be some portraits cleared for reupload bbecause we are adding in the new portrait standards and if we rate your standard higher than e8+ we will allow you to clear it once for a reupload to make it usable on all maps.
Emerald|Flame: However 80% of the current portraits should meet the e8+ standard. #SA
Gar: Dedication: As a skin artist, I am curious to know specifically how the skinner and pcx editor will improve/fix the animation bugges (winkwink) in future updates so I'll be prepared for what's coming up. Is it also possible to update older skins to the new format so we don't have to completely redo them? I would personally find it backbreaking to redo skins that I spent a lot of time making!
Emerald|Flame: I'm afraid as i said earlier we do not guarantee that skins will continue to work as they are. There are plans for a complete redo of the furcadia interface and at that time I'd guess that most older skins will just be obsolete. We are already way outgrowing the current skin. Sorry that is not better news but I've been telling furres this for years.
Gar: Blizz: I have more of a security based question. I understand that Live-edit is still a feature under development, however, do you plan to program it to let us use live edit with the dream still encrypted? It's a risk to unencrypt a dream just to work on it with a team. People can take things so easily if they know how. Could you imagine somebody stealing a team dream contest entry? What a Nightmare! O.O (Give-Icepack Emmie , Give-Carrot Gar)
Emerald|Flame: I honestly don't know. Live-Edit is Felorin's baby and he went off to play Friday Night Magic. #SD I suggest asking him questions on it when you see him in game...or try out the new offline whispers! #SD
Gar: Fraise: Will there ever be the option for a user, SS or no, to choose what color they want their colors to 'cascade' to while AFK?
Emerald|Flame: We talked that one through and the answer is no, I'm afraid. We decided on the fade effect so that there was an easy game-wide effect that everyone could easily recognize. We were going to use animated Zs but decided to use this instead. You will be able to turn it off so you don't have to see the fade though. #SA
Gar: Josie Strongfield: Will there be an update in the future about expanding the "default items" for dreams?
Emerald|Flame: The 32-bit update will add some lovely 32-bit default items. We will also be going through and 32-bitizing all the defaults to make them look nicer, but that may take a while. There's a lot of them! On top of that, the way that patches work in general will be changing so that you all have smaller download. Each item will load and be added separately. All that aside, yes, there will be more and the current ones will become nicer. #SA
Emerald|Flame: I'm taking one mroe question! However, I want to remind you all to use the Suggestion forum for suggestions and the Tech support forum to report any bugs. We can't fix bugs if we don't know about them! #SA
Gar: Fraise: Would there ever be a chance of having a first-person view of Furcadia, rather than the bird's-eye view, or is this simply out of the question?
Emerald|Flame: And the last question, an oldie but a goodie #SA
Emerald|Flame: No, we have no plans to make the game first person. We'd need to be 3D for that and we have no plans to go 3D. 2D is much perferable for user created content and we just like it better. Also first person breaks mutuality which is much needed in social games. What if you were talking about someone and they were standing right behind you and you had no idea? Furcadia will be staying with isometric 2.5D #SA
Emerald|Flame: I want to thank everyone for participating in the Town Meeting today! Special thanks to Gar for keeping things moving along for me.
Emerald|Flame: To repeat, there will be a bug fix update in the next couple of days that should fix the issues furres have been having! Again we apologize that there were so many bugs in this update and appreciate all the extra testing the players have done to make Furcadia better. If you are experiencing a bug since the update, please do post it to the tech support forum to be sure it gets fixed!
Emerald|Flame: *grins* I have to post the penny message that I just got about the Cookie Economy!
Emerald|Flame: Jesto has gifted you with DragonScales (1 CD), and left this message: What safeguards does Furcadia have in place to ensure that the Cookie Economy will not collapse? Are there any measures in place to ensure toxic flour and eggs will not become a burden on the system? And can we trust that the bakeries will never become too big to fail?
Emerald|Flame: On that note, may your cookies stay fresh and your larders well stocked! Happy Dreaming all!

[Kamose]

Emerald|Flame: Remapping colors will have 12-16 different shades instead of the 8, 5 or 1 that they have now. Even badges and eyes.

I'm really looking forward to this.

[Shinichi Kudo]

I also have a question connected to the last question: What colour does the sky in Furcadia have? x)

[Saidee]

I also have a question connected to the last question: What colour does the sky in Furcadia have? x)

Doesn't have a sky. It's just a bunch of lightbulbs!

[Fang]

Doesn't have a sky. It's just a bunch of lightbulbs!

That explains the darkness when the power goes out, and here i was thinking it was just me!

[Just a Furre]

So, whose job is it to change em?


Wait a sec, In this day and age, they've upgraded to RGB LEDs. So much less energy used.

[Emerald Flame]

Wait a sec, In this day and age, they've upgraded to RGB LEDs. So much less energy used. :sd:

Come now, this is Furcadia, we just upgraded from torches to oil lamps! ;p

[Just a Furre]

Come now, this is Furcadia, we just upgraded from torches to oil lamps! ;p

Such amazing CRI

[Kodyax]

Not to be a pain in the tail but it would be too much to ask that there be some sort of time table, even if it's only projected, on when certain Nobles will be available. I know in the town meeting, lapines were asked about, when ursines are available, I know I'm going to get one as soon as I can afford it.

[Trees]

I was counting on all of you to ask more questions about any goodies introduced in that long sea of words.

Looks like I'm gonna have to read now. Darn !

OPE! Saved by the bell! Phone!

[Emerald Flame]

Not to be a pain in the tail but it would be too much to ask that there be some sort of time table, even if it's only projected, on when certain Nobles will be available. I know in the town meeting, lapines were asked about, when ursines are available, I know I'm going to get one as soon as I can afford it.

We wish we could give time tables. Unfortunately the longer we do this the more we know we can't. We really do never know what will come from out of the woods and kick us in the tail or what dramatic change will make it so we can't even offer what we'd really wanted to offer. I can tell you that we are making the Nobles in the order that the default ones were made, roughly. Musties will finish out the original 5 and then probably Lapines will be next since they were the first of the "new" defaults. Ursines were third of the "new" ones. Hope that answers you a bit.

Unfortunately much of what we said in this town meeting got delayed considerably because our Programmer took work at another company and we had to start new with new programmers. They are doing well and we are moving forward again, but you can see how these things can make a huge difference. We are a tiny company and every person counts. The artist making the Nobles has taken a year and a half to get through the first 5 plus some other art she did for us. As long as she keeps working on these they should get done eventually.

[Sha]

So, anyone know about the progression of the iPhone app? I can't find any information on it.
I got excited because I recently bought myself an iPhone and remembered some talk about a Furc App for it.

[Mi]

http://i.furcadia.com/

ap will be around 5 bux apparently.
its not done. theyre working on it.

[Cave]

Are Furcadia's adult sections (FurN etc. plus associated dreams) going to hurt the chances of the iPhone app being accepted into the Store? I've heard they're pretty strict about content restrictions.

[Sha]

Ohh... it isn't going to be free. Poop! I'm so cheap, haha.


I'll probably wind up getting it anyways!

edit; no screen shots? I am interested to see how this looks! <3

[Rydia Aslin]

There are screenshots and some other small tidbits of information available in the Silver Sponsor section of the forum. :3 Alas, they can't really be posted here, hehe!

One bit of information that has been said before, though, is that you wind up getting the five-dollar fee 'reimbursed' with dragonscales - everyone who buys the iPhone client will get 5GD credited to them.

[Mi]

i dont think that an iphone ap is a good thing to focus furcadia's energy on
but they think it is, so w/e

were like 5 yrs overdo a beautiful new furn and 32 bit

i dunno bout you but i dont know many people who have their iphone and use it for applications. if someone has an iphone they have a computer generally.

[Cironir]

The iPhone application is already done, so the energy has already been spent. Also, there are many furres who have asked about a mobile version of the Furcadia client, both here, in whispers and mails to the support addresses. There seems to be quite a bit of demand, and why not offer an additional way to play Furcadia? It's a win-win situation.

[Mi]

i suppose i can agree if the energy is already spent its win-win, yea. there can be nothing but positive, unless the client has exploits, but im sure its been throughly tested..

meanwhile im still drooling over 32bit furn x3

[Cave]

How is the Furc application doing with iPhone's approval procedures? Not a loaded question, I'm genuinely curious. I've heard they make you jump through a lot of hoops, and even insist on non-disclosure agreements when it comes to giving the reasons for rejecting applications.