OOC: FSF Status Update

[Wyndlily Sharphowl]

I'd like to hear more from the community, so I'm going to try to post periodic status updates about important things at FSF. PLEASE reply to this thread or PM me with any comments you have about the status updates. I want to hear from you!

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Shows & Events

Everyone complains about the lack of shows, so tell me specifically what you want to see. I just cancelled a One-Star event for lack of entries. What FSEA level would be better? Would you rather see a show that was just jumping? Just dressage?

I want to remind everyone that anyone can hold a show here for the most part. As long as you have a staff member (i.e. someone with share) as backup, you can host a show. I am willing to back up just about any event as long as I am home. Winnie is often available. Cade and Saera are getting share now and I am sure they'd be willing to help.

I also want to remind everyone that we must all take turns judging! PLEASE step up and volunteer to judge an event. It is not hard. I will make sure no one bites you. (Anyone who harasses a judge is subject to being banished from the dream, FYI. I take that -very- seriously.) I am going to employ a 3-judge panel system for larger shows whenever possible, because it will allow all three judges to still compete, which is pretty cool.

As far as other events go... the auctions seem to be a huge hit! I'm going to continue to do them at least every-other-week for the duration of the summer, and probably switch to monthly for the rest of the year. Thank you to all who have participated so far. You've all been good sports and there have been no major issues, and we've had 4 of them so far. I see lots of happy buyers and happy horses.

The Life Foxen raffle has been a total success so far... we made back the price of the foxen and made a significant profit. This will pay for a few more months of Dream Package. Tickets are still on sale through July 31st, so please tell your friends and encourage people to buy tickets. Tickets are a mere 5CD each. Often times, when you purchase something from Digo Market, you get a little bit back in DragonScales, so check your alts and see if you've got anything!

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In-Character Happenings

We recently hired Saera as a trainer for the farm. She is doing a great job and has already roleplayed with a few of you, which is super. We are now no longer hiring trainers.

We are, however, hiring just about every other position. We desperately need grooms/exercise riders; Winnie is our only one. It is a great excuse to roleplay with all of those sexy horses that already have owners. As a groom, you can roleplay with pretty much anyone, and it will still count for your monthly roleplays.

Of course, now would be a good time for me to remind you all that I pay staff here in DragonScales -- tis true! It's a great way to earn a little bit of money so you can save up for a portspace or something.

Boarding has totally taken off, but I need to remind everyone to post your monthly RP logs so you don't lose your stall! I am trying to whisper reminders to people, but I shouldn't have to. It's very easy to do, and if you're active on the forums like you should be, you'll remember to do it.

I'd love to see more of the stallions here post stud ads, because I'd love to have some foals running around next spring! Feel free to use Royal's stud ad as a guide. (Remember, no hotlinking photos! Upload them to your own photobucket account or website!)

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The Dream

Many of you know that as of next week I am unemployed in real life. Obviously, this sucks, but the positive side is that I will have more time to spend playing Furcadia and working on the dream. The dream is largely finished, but I am always looking for ways to improve it.

Have you noticed anything that bothers you? A certain patch that could be improved upon? I'd like to hear it. I promise not to snap at you or take it personally. For example, this morning I decided that I think the feed bag patches suck. They look too stiff and rigid. So that's on my list of things I plan to patch over.

What else would you like to see? As a quick sampling of other things on my to-do list, I am also thinking of patching over that stone wall by the pond on the cross-country course. I think I'm going to make some more animated bug patches to liven up the dream -- maybe some cute butterflies, or lightning bugs that only come out when it's dark.

I still have a few portraits that I need to make: female paint horse, female anthro feline, and female feral cat are on the list. Then I might start doing some of the digos, although that's not very high on the priority list.

Avatars are always a *big deal*, and I'm hoping to really make progress on those. An appaloosa avatar is first on my list. If you really want to see me make an avatar, start playing the character first! I'm making an appy because Win has been roleplaying Just A Sub here for months (who has some appy spots). People have asked for a mini patch... who has a miniature horse that they are roleplaying here consistently? You get the drift.

Also, we have a lot of unused map space that I'd love to do something with. What else would you like to see? I was thinking a small breeding barn -- 2 or 3 extra-large stalls for mares with foals, a seperate area for actual breedings, etc. We currently have only one stallion at stud, but like I said, I'd like to see that change. What do you think? What else could be added to the map that people would use?

[Jypsi]

For, Shows & Events I'm pretty open on what you are going to hold show wise. I would like to see more dressage, jumping and x-country (eventing obviously), plus some english pleasure would be great. And, I recall loving the way you do equitation.

I am considering heavily applying for a job here on Jypsi, I'd love to become active on her and feel this is one way I can right now. So, expect an application from me very soon! :3

Can't say I can give any suggestions for additions for the dream. But if I think of any I will gladly post them!

[Saera]

Showing-- Personally I'd like to see more Show Jumping activities, because I know it's a very popular event and lots of horses are jumpers in the equine community. I'd truly love to host a show or take part in the judging, as well! The FSEA One-Star event that was canceled seemed like a great idea, but it's really too bad not many entered... I know I would have if I hadn't had plans. I suggest we start with a lower level like the One-Star again, and build up later on so that people can get accustomed to the rules and regulations. :) I'll be whispering around about it if there's another one scheduled, that's for sure.

IC-- Just a heads up, I'll be posting a stud add for my King Of Clubs in a short while. :> He's a registered American Paint, for those of you who aren't familiar with the name.

Dream-- I know I'd love to see a new section of the dream, preferably a foaling area which, in my opinion, will be a big hit. I don't know if this is fixed already, but the cross ties DS would be really cool if they were working, not to mention useful for RP. The equine avatar looks great to me, and the portraits match perfectly. <3 Maybe a draft avatar will bring in more equine RPers, because I know I have at least one heavy breed character. :D

The other thing you could add in the extra map space is some sort of hospital area, or vet emergency room for the farm. This could be extremely useful in my RP, I'm sure, because I've got a green mare in need of medical attention. We have a vet in our storyline, but it would be that much more helpful if she had a private stall. Some horses come in the back barn, which is dangerous if any more have equine influenza ( Regretful's has cleared now ). This area could include a rehab section, perhaps, with various therapeutic items. Just a suggestion! C:

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope it helps! <3

[Wyndlily Sharphowl]

Thanks so much for the replies so far! I also got a couple of responses through PMs. Just a few things to note...

--I tested the crosstie DS and it's working just fine, but the directionals in the write-up on it on the forums were incorrect, so I fixed those. You should be in the center of the aisle and facing either SW or SE depending on which 'hallway' you're in.
--Remember that now, staff members only have to roleplay once per month. In order to get -pay- for the month, you need to RP 3 times, but roleplaying once a month is totally fine.

I think I may change the pre-existing second barn into a more medically-oriented barn. A couple of people brought up that they would like to see a hospital area. When I added medical facilities to TREC, they never got used, but since you all swear that you'll use them, I can go to the effort of adding them in again. It won't be anything too fancy, but a couple of isolation stalls, medical supplies, a scale, etc. If we got someone who frequently roleplayed a vet character I would be willing to add an apartment to that barn and perhaps add more amenities.

I am going to schedule another FSEA event for August and we will see how that goes. I think I may play with the ranking/level system a little bit more; right now there are a LOT of levels and I don't think it's going to be possible to have enough shows at each level. I have an idea; I just need to hash it out and update the FSEA site. The next few equestrian team meetings will focus on preparation for eventing -- getting used to the dressage system that we use, and learning the cross-country and jumping courses.

Thank you all for your input so far. Please continue to make suggestions!

[motley]

Dream -- As mentioned before, a special area for mares that are foaling / with young foals would be great. I'm not keen on the idea of a place where actual breedings would take place. I don't RP breedings, and I haven't come across many people who do, so it might not be used often. The foaling area sounds good though, as does the medical room. Perhaps a place to wean foals? (Not sure on that one, as there aren't many foals currently at FSF.)

One place you could add would be a trail-riding area. A lot of equestrian centers have extra acres for trail riding, so you could make a scenic forest to ride through, with lakes and lotsa trees 'n stuff. I think there's like one trail currently in the dream. It'd be a good place to RP for people who want to just ride casually.

Maybe also a 'practice dressage' ring, where the colored dots would already be in place (I'm assuming that's your system, from the FSEA website), and if the person says a command (like !toggle) then the dots could change order. Not sure if the command would be possible to script, but it'd be a place for people to practice getting used to the dressage system before any actual shows.

For DS, I think you should include a shortcut to the pastures and these new places that are being suggested, if they are created.

Avatars & Portraits -- I would make an Appaloosa character if the avatar came into the dream, Appys are so pretty. The portraits are great. The only suggestion I have is that for the Paint portraits, could you make it so that a section of the mane can be a different color? A lot of multicolored horses have bicolored manes, including Mot. So even if a horse didn't have a bicolored mane, they'd always have the option to make their entire mane the same color.

Shows & Events -- Shows that stick to one discipline would be a great idea; I'd definitely participate in them, especially show jumping. (I registered for the FSF Classic, but oh well. :( ) I second Saera's suggestion of starting at a One-Star level for eventing again and building up as time goes on. I don't know if I could host or judge an event since my IC character Spixa has almost no equestrian experience, though... xD

Misc -- I /would/ put Mot up for stud, but he hasn't been in any shows yet, and I'm hoping he'll have a nice long career before being bred so there's more of an incentive for people to breed their mares to him. But, if there's any openings for RPing a foal, I'd love to RP a little horsie. <3 And I honestly see no patches in your dream that need patching over.

[Wyndlily Sharphowl]

Motley: There IS an extensive trail system! See, you've just gotta explore the dream more. If you say !cxc (because it is near the cross-country course), head about 8 steps SE, and then head NE from there and you'll encounter the trails. I've been meaning to add a quick-command so it is easier to find -- good idea! It loops around quite a bit. Of course, you can always trail ride on the cross-country course and just not jump. I know a few people have done that, too.

For the paints, I did not want to do a multi-colored mane strictly because you can use the paint for more interesting leg markings on a solid horse if you so desire. This makes it useful for horses with very high leg markings (that typically have the paint genes, it's just not expressed as much). If I fiddled with the mane, then it wouldn't look right on the mostly-solid-colored horses who use the avatar for different leg markings. (I encourage people to try that out... adds some diversity at auctions!)

The practice dressage ring is a good idea. There is a small warm-up ring by the show jumping arena that could be converted to this purpose. I'll probably put it on a switch, so if people want to ride in there without staring at super-bright dots, they can just turn it off.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[danielee]

I think the dream is awesome already, it seems to have everything needed. However, a place for mares and their foals would be good, just to give them some privacy. As for the weaning stage, maybe like a pasture strictly for the foals that are going through that purpose.

As for shows, I'm willing to help any show that is scheduled, as long as I'm home and I'm not busy.

I don't have any studs that I play, so I can't really contribute to the stud ads, though I do have many mares, as long as someone would buy them!

The practice dressage ring is a wonderful idea, with the dots and whatnot. It'll give those new to the dressage competition on Furc an idea of what to do.

If I think of anything more, I'll post it.

[Wyndlily Sharphowl]

Quick update:
--I added dots to the little warm-up ring in the back stableyard (by the show jumping ring), along with a little sign that explains them.
--I added a quick command (!trail) that brings you directly to the start of the trails.

Both of these will be visible at the next reload! Keep the ideas comin', folks!

[cade]

for shows- I can judge. and maybe not do a one star. there arent alot of real eventers IRL in the dream, and a one star is a pretty big deal. maybe start with something smaller that just goes to prelim.

for the dream - the foaling barn and medical thingy are good ideas. Patches look great as is