Flight Rising Discussion

ARGH thank you OP for putting into words some of my own thoughts! I agree with a lot of your points, especially about how the flight-associated elements of dragon breeds are not as closely linked as a lot of people think they are. i'm especially glad you specifically compared the dusthides and the everlux. i was equally gobsmacked that people thought the dusthides looked boring/unfinished or just plain ugly on release, when they were such a fresh take on an earth flight breed without [i]yet again[/i] relying on the common notion that earth = stocky, large, spiney/rocky or otherwise heavily inspired from earth-aligned mythological creatures IRL. the comment staff made today regarding their design philosophy around Light (and other flights by extension) has made that very clear to me now. because really, you could argue sandsurges superficially look more like they belong to light-- stormcatcher has no sails on his back, nor even [i]horns[/i]! many others have commented how some modern breeds don't really look like their native flight to them, so it shows that, aside from broad generalizations, it's a bit of a pointless categorization. then there's the whole conflating fanon aesthetics with canon aesthetics... that's a whole mess i'm not even going to get into, lol but yeah, just sitting here watching this unfold has been admittedly a bit vindicating, because the everlux backlash is basically just the dusthide & fathom backlash rehashed but with stronger feelings due to the specific design choices used for the everlux. i like both of these breeds so it's been kind of... eh,, seeing it's the same underlying points. i hope people can see that? for most it feels like it's been knee-jerk reactions, but idk, i am able to see and appreciate the subtler design choices that indicate the dusthide's and everlux's home flights, without having to scream it (it also lets the genes do their work— there’s like a bajillion layers to breed design people are overlooking in this discussion too: eg. we got throne/crown and eclipse. there’s your angel aesthetic!). the spindly legs and horn helping the everlux to spin/manage their silk and make parchment for scholars in their region is a great touch to the breed alongside their symposiums, and dusthides with their practical, bare heads and digging claws useful for excavation, connecting together with family, and whatnot! they’ve got character, just gotta look for it! all i can say is, it's totally ok for others to be disappointed in new breed releases for whatever their reasons may be, i'm not going to pry. it's clear to me a lot of folks have different creative visions for the breeds they wanted for certain flights, but that also makes me interested to see more in possible fan content or headcanons for breed design/lore/aesthetics from the community in the interim. people can run free there and that should be encouraged! i do hope that the staff's response to this whole thing will set a better expectation of future ancient breed releases without causing a lot of nasty vitriol in the process... "sort of a sit back and relax" approach? at least for me, it keeps me curious on the devs will cook up next without setting up huge expectations [emoji=special eyes size=1]

i know this isn't so much the point of the thread, but i have to disagree with the opinion that sandsurges don't look like lightning dragons - as a Lightning Biome Enjoyer, i LOVE sandsurges and their design makes complete sense to me. flights are more than their immediate element, it's also their ecosystem: they look like dragons that travel through sand. they honestly make more sense as lightning dragons than ridgebacks, to me. (the fact that they're wingless, which to my memory are the only fr dragons to be such, is pretty interesting on its own, too.) i think fathoms also pass perfectly fine as a water dragon though and wasn't aware that some players thought differently, so i guess it's just a difference in personal taste.

as a returning player who's been here since 2015, i'm also kinda confused at many people's assertion that dragon designs are same-y for having like.. 2-4 legs and wings. there's just only so many ways you can design a vertebrate animal who all follow the same basic body plan, right? none of them look particularly generic to me, but even if they did, it's understandable because they're dragons, they're going to have a number of similarities. i don't intend to scapegoat you specifically OP and i'm not trying to be incendiary! i just don't really identify with a lot of the wider dragon design discourse that the everlux release is inspiring, i suppose, which confuses me because i have been here for a pretty long time

I LOVE THE EVERLUX, I LOVE BUGS! MORE BUG DRAGONS!

[quote name="tasbot" date="2024-11-14 01:23:58" ] as a returning player who's been here since 2015, [b]i'm also kinda confused at many people's assertion that dragon designs are same-y for having like.. 2-4 legs and wings.[/b] there's just only so many ways you can design a vertebrate animal who all follow the same basic body plan, right? [/quote] @tasbot the “2-4 legs + 2 wings point are boring” sentiment comes from the player misconception that ancient dragons are meant to “break the mold” to “makeup” for how they can’t wear clothes! It is a misconception because staff never promised that we’d get a dragon that ended up doing this. They just said that the linebreaker genes would essentially allow that to be possible. So everluxes were a big surprise, because they genuinely look like a dragon you definitely cant out apparel on!!! They’re busy, they’ve got huge horns on their heads, and many, MANY legs. They feel like an answer for something some vocal members of the player base have been asking for for a very long time. Because their so busy though, and their gene selection is fantastic, they don’t really need apparel to feel complete !!

Yeah I don't get why some people are so up in arms. You can not like something, but ... Just move on? Like, I personally was not a fan of the dusthides, they did not appeal to me or excite me.. So.. I didn't collect them. There are some of the modern breeds I'm not too keen on that just aren't my vibe, so I don't collect those.

if I find out a snack I like has a new flavor, and it's coconut, ok, I won't buy that flavor because I don't like coconut. I'm not gonna throw a fit because they made a flavor I don't like, I'll just keep buying the flavors I do like.

I honestly like the Everlux, ESPECIALLY the babies. They are just so chonky and goofy and weird. Also funny that my fav ancient is Sandsurge, which is totally different. They look so spiky and hostile.

... What about Fathoms don't scream Water to you? They look very porpoiseful.

[quote name="Legettios" date="2024-11-13 17:06:38" ] [center] im honestly shocked that the (outspoken) majority seem to hate the everlux.[/center] [/quote] I think "outspoken" is the key here. I'm willing to bet it's a good old case of the vocal minority. I just came back from an almost year-long hiatus recently and maybe it's just an impression or me coming back at the wrong moment but I feel like there is so much more vitriol about everything now? Yes, the breed releases (people were complaining before we even knew what it looked like, including a lot of complaints that ended up being the opposite of the truth - that it was going to be another cutesy dragon for example). But also a couple of days ago people were making a huge fuss about one letter of a gene name being changed. I don't know, I wasn't gone that long but I don't think it used to be this way? There were a few hot topics that got people riled up, sure, but now it seems anything is a reason to get riled up. It's like people feel the need to like every single thing that gets released, and it weirdly gets worse the more breeds come out per year (which is very odd to me because it feels like it should be the other way around? The more frequently content gets released, the [i]less[/i] you'd need to worry about enjoying it all, right?) Anyway, fully agreed with your whole post, specially about the conflation of elegant with slender and I'm very glad staff seems adamant on countering that point when it's brought up. It's honestly not common enough to see people standing up for fatphobic sentiment, doubly so when it's subtle and/or unintentional. Just... in general I'm glad staff seems to have enough backbone to stand by their creative vision even when people are complaining. I've seen developers who try to cave to the desires of every vocal group of people and it never ends well.