Flight Rising Discussion

This is a larger batch for this week as we are answering questions from both the previous thread and the new incarnation. [b]All questions are documented/filed[/b], some are unable to be answered at this time, some will be answered in a future [i]Words on the Wind[/i] or later date. [b]Question set from the previous thread: [/b] [quote]Is there any seasons in Sornieth? If yes, how do they each effect each flight regions? Like does the Ashfall Waste get colder during winter? Does snow melt in certain areas in Southern Icefield during summer? Does it snow at all in other regions besides the Southern Icefield during winter?[/quote] Sornieth indeed experiences its own winters, springs, summers, and autumns. The shift in temperature and weather patterns affects the elemental regions in different ways, some seeing more change than others. For instance, the width and strength of the [b]Twisting Crescendo[/b] is much more fearsome in the late summer, when temperatures are warmer and more humid. The snowstorms of the [b]Southern Icefield[/b] can send flurries as far north as the [b]Starfall Isles[/b]. Overall, however, seasonal patterns are harder to predict or understand due to the constant imbalance in elemental magic ripping through the world. [br][br] [quote]How many moons does Sornieth have? Is it relatively the same distance from its own sun as Earth is? Is Sornieth in an Earth-like solar system or is it the only planet around its star?[/quote] Only the [b]Arcanist[/b] and his most trusted astronomers know for sure how many celestial objects orbit [b]Sornieth[/b], but it does boast one to two modestly-sized moons that are a welcome sight on dark nights. [br][br] [quote]Are there any plans to change swipp swapp as more items are added over time? (I think there are almost 70 possible trades as it stands now.)[/quote] We are discussing how we might update [b]Swipp's Swap Stand[/b] to accommodate his ever-growing assortment of trades and goods, but haven't made any final plans yet. [br][br] [quote]Are the strange white spots over the eyes on the hoods/cowls ever going to get fixed? I noticed they weren't there on some of the Nocturne art.[/quote] We are working through art bugs as time permits. As for the cowls, the white eyes were a deliberate artistic choice made to give the eyes a bit of a glow when seen under the shadow of hoods. Some of the hoods for [b]Nocturnes[/b] are incorrect and will be receiving alteration to bring them in-line with those of other breeds. [br][br] [quote]What is the staff's stance on scammers? I feel quite trusting of the community and have had only good experiences so far but it seems like sooner or later one would run into a fraudulent user. Anyway, in short: What happens if I agree on a trade which cannot be CRed on one of the sales forums and the other party never sends their end of the deal?[/quote] Our [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/site/terms-use][b]Terms of Use[/b][/url] specifies that all trade deals that are conducted outside of [b]Crossroads[/b] and the [b]Auction House[/b] are made at the players' discretion. It does not mean that scamming behavior should not be reported to us. Should you encounter an individual that does not uphold their end of an agreement, please send us a full report via [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/site/contact-us][b]Contact Us[/b][/url]. [br][br] [quote]Quick question! Is Okapi an updated version of Points (and thus we won't be getting Points) or is Points still on the table for a later update? Thanks! c:[/quote] Though we did preview this gene early on in [i]Flight Rising[/i]'s life, there are no solidified plans for the release of [b]Points[/b]. It does remain its own gene and is not an updated version of [b]Okapi[/b]. [br][br] [quote]Will we be getting another lair expansion again? I already have all the possible lair spaces, but I'm already running out of spaces again and want to know if we will get anymore.[/quote] As we assess the performance and growth of [i]Flight Rising[/i], we will continue to evaluate if adding additional lair slots is a possibility. :) So although I do not have an affirmative answer for you, it would not surprise me if we saw continued expansions in this area. [br][br] [quote]I've seen this question asked by a few people in various places, but I haven't seen an administrative answer on it, so I would like to know if there is any chance of mimic sprites becoming a reality. [/quote] At this time there are no plans to create mimic versions of the [b]Elemental Sprites[/b] familiar collection. [br][br] ----- [br][br] [b]Questions from date range 01/23/2015 to 01/27/2015 [/b] [br][br] [quote]I've noticed that there's a lot of suggestions for changes to the piebald gene that we are currently voting on which version we prefer. Is there any chance of any of these suggestions being implemented for the gene or is the gene essentially set other than determining if it will be a tertiary gene or primary/secondary gene (and if so if its a faded version or the white version)[/quote] While we definitely appreciate the feedback regarding [b]Piebald[/b], the basic structure of the gene is locked in, and the choices in the community poll will be what we go with in the end. [br][br] [quote]How will the questions you pick to answer be chosen? Will staff be picking the questions they feel are most pressing, or have the most support behind them, or will they be picking at random? I'm worried that sometimes, questions and issues that we would like answers to or explanations about are time sensitive, or rather important to us, but not important at all to other people. Can the big tough questions be over run or drowned out by lore based questions, or things like "what's the admin's favorite snacks?!?" or will questions that do not impact the function of the site and ToU be prioritized under larger more meaty questions? And if there is a huge snafu on the site where there are many many questions being asked, will you cut it off at five, or some other smaller number, and tell those people to ask the next week or wait several months for a wotw post? And will all questions asked here be answered? Some times, the questions asked are better suited towards the help forum because they are questions that normal users know the answer to. Will they still be answered here, or will the Q&A be reserved for questions *only* the staff can answer? And how many questions does this post count as, because I'm realizing I'm using the question mark a lot but I'd consider it only one major question that is not asking for a single word answer, but moreso clarification on things I am unclear about.[/quote] Generally, we will provide answers that are comprised of information we're willing and able to divulge (for security, game balance, or business reasons), are appropriate or beneficial for the growth of the community, and that don't break any of our site rules. If a question is not given an answer, it is because it either does not meet those thresholds or is not something we can turnaround an answer on within the confines of this thread's scheduled structure. In other cases, we may want to grab a collection of like-minded or similar questions, flesh them out, combine them in a way that makes sense for consumption, and post them in [i]Words on the Wind[/i]. [br][br] [quote]Question- If memory serves right, Undel said the team would be redoing Iridescent on starter breeds. Will Iridescent 2.0 be automatically updated on dragons or will it be released as a separate gene? Similar to how Piebald is a better version of Crackle?[/quote] Much like all of our previous art updates, the improved lineart versions of Iridescent will automatically replace what exists on the site, without needing to acquire any additional items. Once they have been implemented, refreshing the dragon's image will provide an instant update, though other activities on the site can refresh your dragon's image for you. [b]Piebald[/b] and [b]Crackle[/b] are exclusively different genes. [br][br] [quote]Accent layering?[/quote] We understand that there is strong desire for the ability to apply and layer several skins and accents at once. While we don't have any current plans for this functionality, there's a great discussion going on in [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/sug][b]the Suggestions forum[/b][/url] right now that we encourage you to participate in if you like the idea. [br][br] [quote]Will there ever be a sort of mobile app for the site?[/quote] We don't currently have plans for a mobile application, as it does require a ton of new development. Our primary focus right now is on bringing [i]Flight Rising[/i]'s web version up to speed enough to offer open registration, support scalability, and function well on mobile browsers. We haven't ruled out the possibility of an app, it's just not in our immediate developmental plans. [br][br] [quote]I would like to know if Battle Weariness is still a feature of Dominance as I have only seen in mention on this update when it was announced. “If a Flight attains Dominance, Battle Weariness will kick in as the other Flights retaliate. While it will still be possible for that Flight to win in the next competition, it will be slightly harder than before. Exaltation credit will be reduced by 10% for the next tally, and will continue to stack for each consecutive win thereafter. We believe that this will help make Dominance exciting, versatile, and challenging.” jul' 10 13 Is there still a chance that clan journals will be added to the game? A place where users can post their clan stories. All non-beastclan enemies fought in the Coliseum are controlled by the Shade. Why is it that they use magical attacks if the Shade absorbs/distorts magic? The Shade is described as sucking away magical energy in the first ages lore. I would also like to know if the Speaker mentioned in the Second Age will ever come up again? This is the only creature individually mentioned besides the creation wyrms and the Shade. Will the artifracture game make it to the fairgrounds?[/quote] [b]Battle Weariness[/b] is still in effect for the first place winner slot of [b]Dominance[/b]. Clan Journals are a great idea. While we don't have plans for something like that, we do like the idea of allowing clans to chronicle their stories in some way. Right now, you can use the forums and your dragons' profiles to house it! Not all enemies in the [b]Coliseum[/b] are [b]Shade[/b]-touched, but a fair amount do harbor very insignificant/residual amounts of Shade influence, deep within them. It's as if all creatures in Sornieth have a small peppering of Shade since it dissipated at the shattering of the [b]Pillar of the World[/b], but not enough to send them over some evil precipice. ...We hope, anyway... The dragons are working to heal their territories and the Shade influence within it. The [b]Speaker of the Second Age[/b] is unfortunately long dead, but there are lots of stories and tales and myths that get passed around. [b]Artifracture[/b] will be coming to the [b]Fairgrounds[/b]. It is in development. [br][br] [quote]How many MVP players would the admins expect to have, long-term? Ten? Fifty? A thousand?[/quote] We don't currently have a decided-upon threshold or quota for [b]MVPs[/b]. Whoever we feel fits the guidelines is likely to be recognized for it, but we don't want to constrain ourselves to a set amount. [br][br] [quote]Dragon breeds. I am under the impression that there are many running around, even if we don't have them accessible to bring into our lairs. Are there few, like the gods got tired, or are there many, like we'll probably never see them all? Are the courier dragons actual breeds or hybrids (or an X with Y features; same thing to me, though)? They seem like guardian hybrids to me. Are there wyverns/drakes around? Just because we can't have armless/wingless dragons doesn't mean there aren't any--the gods certainly vary in limb count. Does Stormcatcher has actual legs under those scythes?[/quote] You basically hit the nail on the head in your first paragraph. Many dragon breeds have extremely low populations, are elusive (like the [b]Nocturne[/b]), or insignificant to the point of not really being recognized by some of the more prominent breeds. However, since the Epilogue in our lore, the dragon gods never really stopped at finding ways to gain an edge over their counterparts... to this day there may be grand dragon designs still in the ether that have been stewing for centuries... The courier dragons are a mystery of nature -- they sure are helpful, though! From a gameplay standpoint, wyverns don't and probably won't comprise any breeds or breed plans for [i]Flight Rising[/i], but I suppose there isn't anything dictating that they don't exist in general. For instance, Furians are very similar to wyverns in their physical structure. The [b]Stormcatcher[/b] has two arms, two legs, two "scythes" and two wings! [br][br] [quote]Why aren't add-ons or browser extensions "allowed" on FR? I say "allowed" in quotes, as end-users have a fundamental right to modify content delivered to their browsers. FR's team cannot legally shut down add-ons or extensions, and it seems like a bad idea to stifle extensions that make a user's experience more enjoyable. Note that I am not saying we should be able to use bots in the coli or anything like that - it's entirely reasonable to ban an account found to be using such a script. However, there are many examples of companies trying (and failing) to shut down add-ons they dislike because they modify a browsers content. It has been consistently ruled as entirely legal and okay. For example, the developers of an extension called OccupyTheBookstore, a chrome extension designed to find cheaper textbook prices, recently attacked by Follet, a textbook publisher, because it drew people away from their website. However, Follet has no ground to stand on, as every user has a right to modify content delivered to their browser however they desire. Adblock is another huge precedent for this. Adblock would DEFINITELY have been shut down by now by advertisers were users not fully within their rights to change content delivered to them.[/quote] [i]Flight Rising[/i] has a responsibility to protect its infrastructure and players from malicious programs and scripts, especially if they interact with the site in a way that could cause performance issues or create an unfair advantage. Because of this, our general stance is that they are not allowed; this ensures that we remain fair to all players in general, as there is a clear expectation. If you would like to ask about a certain add-on, you're very welcome to send us a message via [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/site/contact-us][b]Contact Us[/b][/url] where our engineering team can look into it. [br][br] [quote]Is there any timeline on minor fixes like weirdly colored genes or apparel glitches and will we know when these things are fixed?[/quote] We generally attack these bugs as time and priority permits. There isn't a set timeline, but we will always do our best to document/announce when bug fixes have been performed in our news posts. [br][br] [quote]Would you consider making a seperate thread for lore requests? I always enjoy learning more about the world of Sorneith, but those types of questions aren't really in the spirit of why the Q&A began in the first place. It didn't matter before, but now that there's going to be a weekly answer limit, I think it would be more fair for everyone if lore inqueries had their own official Q&A thread.[/quote] For now, we'll be handling all question types in this thread, and try to give adequate spread to all of those types when posting answers.