Announcements & News

[center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=ann&id=1183046][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/wotw7.png[/img][/url][/center] Hello and welcome to the August 2014 edition of [i]Words on the Wind![/i] [br][br] [b]Table of Contents[/b] [LIST] [*]Site Optimizations [*]The Marketplace [*]Swipp's Swap Stand Stacking [*]Augment Stones [*]Contest: Swipp Skins [*]Contest: Item Captions [*]Community Spotlight [LIST] [*]All Flight Dominance [*]Parasite Dragon [*]Baby Deities [*]Dragon Share[/list][/list] [br] [center][b][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=ann&id=1183046]Click here to read more![/url][/b][/center][more] [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Site Optimizations[/size][/b][/center] We wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude for your patience and dedication to reporting bugs and problems found during our last optimization work. We gathered a great deal of information as we worked and are excited to get Flight Rising able to handle more traffic as soon as we can. Our next phase of optimization work will be occurring on [b]Tuesday, September 2nd, beginning in the morning.[/b] We will also be making an announcement about this on Monday but wanted to give you as much notice as possible. [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]The Marketplace[/size][/b][/center] [br] The treasure marketplace's limited stock rates have been a concern and difficulty for many of our players, especially as our community grows. We have been increasing and evaluating the stock quantities. Here are a few of the changes we've made. Note that the triple restock quantity of items went into effect [b]Saturday, August 30th[/b] and is affecting the new scale armor sets. It will be applied to all future releases going forward! We hope that these changes can help get new items into your dragons' claws all the sooner! [list] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=market][b]Marketplace apparel[/b][/url] has had number of unique item stacks increased per restock. [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=market][b]Marketplace apparel[/b][/url] has had stock quantities increased per item. [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=market][b]Marketplace apparel, Familiars, and Specialty Items[/b][/url] will stock at triple quantity their first week of release, after which time they will begin stocking at normal rates.[/list] [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Swipp's Swap Stand Stacking[/size][/b][/center] [br] Swipp has had a long outstanding issue where he would not stack stackable items that he trades to you. We are pleased to announce that this issue has been corrected. Any trades for made for stackable items such as ore will now produce nice neat piles instead of creating a new one every time. With this change, we are bringing back the much-missed broken penny jar trade! [center][item=Broken Bottle] [item=broken penny jar][/center] [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Augment Stones[/size][/b][/center] [br] [b]Augment Stones[/b] - the coliseum battle items that award stat points to your dragon - had been non-functional for a very long time. We know that this has been a concern for our frequent battlers, and have been working on correcting this issue. A [b]work-in-progress fix[/b] is in place that should allow dragons who are wearing augment stones to receive the benefits of these items. This fix works the majority of the time, but appears to be a bit hit-and-miss under high-volume coliseum situations, such as during festivals or times when the coliseum exceeds 900 participants. We are working on correcting this issue as well, but it is part of a larger scaling problem that our coliseum has with handling large amounts of traffic. A plan is in the works to address this, but it will not be a quick fix - however, when it is in place it will mean that the coliseum as a whole will handle traffic in a much smarter way. We will be able to handle festival loads much more efficiently, as well as any new players we may gain over time! We made adjustments to some monsters' stats in the Coliseum at the same time augment stones were made functional. Due to the bug that was causing augmentation stones to be non-functional, we had opted, for a long while, to leave some of the stat points (monsters have stat points just like your dragons) unallocated to compensate for that disparity. Even with the monster changes, dragons were significantly more powerful than before the stones functioned. Those pesky kelp beds opponents were on average, able to be killed with one less hit after the stones were fixed, even with their returned stat points. As battlestones are not functional 100% of the time, we [b]reverted the monster stat changes[/b] during the first day of the festival when the battlestone traffic issue became apparent. These changes will remain reverted until such a time as augment stones work every time. [center][item=Zephyr might fragment] [item=shale hybrid fragment] [item=berserker][/center] [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Contest: Swipp Skin & Accent![/size][/b][/center] [br] If you'd like to participate in the contest for a Swipp-exclusive skin or accent, read through the submission thread over here in [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?board=skin&id=1166458&p=mb]Skins & Accents![/url] If you're interested, here's a brief overview of the contest and its rules - see the submission thread for the full rules: [LIST] [*]Pick any [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=wiki&article=24]two ingredients[/url] not already used in a trade and [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=skins]paint a skin or accent[/url] based on the combination. (do not pick retired, cycled, holiday, or gem items please.) [/LIST] [LIST] [*]Entries must be your own creation (Submit your own art. No copyrighted characters). [/LIST] [indent][b]Theme: [/b] Swipp Trades [b]Deadline: [/b] Friday Sept 5, 23:59 server time [b]Format: [/b]350x350 png (png24) [b]Prizes: [/b]Winners will be credited in the tooltip of the skin, and will receive a copy of their winning skin, 1,250 gems, and a 5-skin or accent multi-copy-pack (depending on if you submitted a skin or accent) so they can craft more beautiful custom skin creations.[/indent] [b]How to Enter:[/b] Stop on by [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=skins]our custom skins page and download a PSD[/url]. Use these templates (and helpful tutorials) to assist you in creating your Swipp trade. To enter,[b] post a reply containing your entry[/b] in this thread. You [b]may enter up to 2 times[/b]. Please edit your original post and house your entries within the same reply to keep things tidy. Please [b]no post reservations[/b] (posting a claim slot without an entry. Reserve posts without an entry inside will be deleted.) [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][size=5][b][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=frd&id=1183044]Contest: Items Caption Contest[/url][/b][/size][/center] [b]Writers[/b], if you've ever wanted your blurb to grace an item tooltip, your time has come! Dust off that keyboard and look upon these poor orphaned items with compassion and creativity. What is their story? The premise of this contest it to take these icons and create a unique caption for their tooltip. The caption must be under 160 characters. If desired, players may rename the item in question along with their caption. Captions can provide facts, short anecdotes, or jokes. [indent][b]Premise: [/b] Write a tooltip for any of the items provided in this contest. [b]Deadline: [/b] Friday Sept 12, 23:59 server time [b]Length: [/b] Less than 160 characters (caption). Less than 32 characters in name if renamed. [b]Prizes: [/b]Winners will be credited in the tooltip of the item and will receive a copy of the item they wrote for + 1000 gems [/indent] [center][item=wildwood owlet] [item=sakura owlet] [item=harvestman] [item=daddy longlegs] [item=beeswax] [item=carpenter wax] [item=fool's gold] [item=infused crystal] [item=discarded ribbon] [item=good eater award] [item=wilting rose] [item=withered rose][/center] [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Community Spotlights[/size][/b][/center] [br] [br][center] [b][url= http://flightrising.com/main.php?board=frd&id=1146567&p=mb][img]http://flightrising.com/images/layout/fltdom/standings.png[/img][/url] [url= http://flightrising.com/main.php?board=frd&id=1146567&p=mb]All-Flight Dominance Discussion[/b][/url][br][/center] [br] Are you interested in a Battle Royale between Flights for Dominance? If you want to participate, help plan, or just want to sit back and watch events unfold, @Barbie has kicked off the conversation! [br] [center][b][item=Vampiric Featherflea] [url= http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=frd&id=975754&page=1]Parasite Dragons[/url][/b][br][/center] What's a Parasite Dragon, you ask? According to @TheSomnambulist it is: [br] [indent][i][Parasite] This dragon looks like any other dragon of it's kind, but it is not really a dragon at all. It is a parasitic being that infects dragon eggs and consumes the dragon within before taking it's form and hatching in it's place. It will then seek to breed and it's offspring will also be parasites.[/i][/indent] [br] Do you have a parasite dragon in your Lair? [br][br] [br] [center][b][item=Furry Icewarden Puppet] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=frd&id=1176276&page=1]Baby Deities[/url][/b][br][/center][br] Ever wonder what the deities looked like as wee Hatchlings? @graciegra shared their interpretation which inspired others to do the same. Check it out! [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Dragon Share Highlights[/size][/b][/center] Every Monday in [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=drs]Dragon Share[/url] we have a new weekly theme. Players are encouraged to dress and share their dragons that they think fit this theme. It's amazing to see what our community can come up with![center] [b]@LupisDarkmoon's[/b] Mercy for the [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?board=drs&id=1171870&p=mb]Clan Leader's Theme![/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=1001148][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/10012/1001148_350.png[/img][/url] [b]@Serendipity82's[/b] Sweetstuff! for [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?board=drs&id=1152816&p=mb]the Candy Theme [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=749193] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/7492/749193_350.png[/img] [/url] [b]@Serinde's[/b] Akarui for the [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?board=drs&id=1146263&p=mb]Birds Theme! [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=2834118] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/28342/2834118_350.png[/img] [/url] @Shadowspirit's Shadow Sisters for the [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?board=drs&id=1177721&p=mb]Coli Team Theme![/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=484568] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/4846/484568_350.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=1425732] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/14258/1425732_350.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=1291016] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/12911/1291016_350.png[/img] [/url] [/center] [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Some Final Notes:[/size][/b][/center] Due to the holiday in the States, the current dragon share theme weeks will continue through Tuesday the 2nd. [i]Words on the Wind, Vol 8[/i] will be released in early October 2014 due to scheduling conflicts. That wraps up [i]Words on the Wind, Vol 7![/i] We've had a blast reading through the forums, checking out your artwork, just enjoying your creativity and enthusiasm. Thank you so much for being a part of the [i]Flight Rising[/i] community!