I'm aware that there were previous boards about previewers. I'm also aware that an administrator, at one point, confirmed that a previewer may be on the back burner.
However, in light of recent events, I feel the need to revive this particular suggestion. This has been edited a bit from the version that I posted on Tumblr earlier, which garnered a bit of interest there as well.
Possible offspring, previewed at any time, likely via a link in the nesting grounds.
The perimeters for this would be the same as if you were to breed two dragons off of cool-down: They must be of opposite genders, they must not be too closely related (per FR's "Five Generations Out" rule), and they must be in your lair.
The difference, however, would be that no option would ever appear, especially if those dragons are too young or still on cool-down, to actually go ahead and breed them together. After all, it's a previewer, not an open nest.
This would allow us to better plan out or breedings without the exploitation of being able to somehow manipulate the code. This would benefit breeders as much as buyers, giving people a more or less tangible representation of what the offspring could look like.
This means that the decision to scrap or continue with breeding lines would be determined in a more comfortable timeframe, instead of waiting five (six? :|) days to hatch things (if you don't want to or cannot, for whatever reason, afford to purchase a Boon of Fertility), another five for them to grow up, and another five to twenty-five to figure out whether you even want to breed those dragons again.
I harp about this one constantly, primarily because of the fact that, at one point, I was able to preview and plan out who was going to get which genes or who would turn into this or that breed without having to purchase or borrow said genes or breed changers to look at them one at a time. Admittedly, I did so using a user-made, off-site "generator," before I and many others knew that this was against the rules, but here we go.
This is how Flight Rising could rake in more money from those of us still willing to purchase Gems, whether because we're so impatient that we would rather purchase said items from the treasure market in the auction house for gems, or because we really want Iridescent, Shimmer, Circuit, or a Wildclaw.
Some of us are working our tails off in the real world and some of us are doing the same on Flight Rising. Let's combine the two.
This particular previewer would obviously allow us to actually see, ahead of time, what we wish to do with one of our dragons, possibly by inputting their ID (so that the previewer can also drum up their items and such [if they're old enough for items], per the Hoard "previewer"), all at one time.
It will allow us to see what our dragon could actually be. This is a hugely useful thing for some of us. It tells us whether we want to grind the Fairgrounds 'til lucky streak, grind the Coliseum for countless hours, play the Auction House, or to buy some Gems either to speed the process along or join those playing the auction house.
Do I want to change this Tundra into a Spiral with Tiger and Shimmer? Or maybe it would look better as an Speckled Snapper with Seraph! The choice would be there. We could set our goals and run toward them at full tilt if we so pleased, and we would be happy…and some of us would be handing over real money to meet these goals.
Otherwise, a compromise of sorts was suggested:
All of this could be achieved without breaking or exploiting a thing; it would give users no reason to use less-than-savory methods to preview their dragons and/or hatchlings.
The gene/breed previewer could even eliminate, to some degree, the need for a dragon search for those attempting to check out genes and breeds. In that, the site's income could be increased because people could become more willing to purchase gems with real money, since they would know what they would be spending that money on.
Anyone who wants the surprise and mystery of the things can simply avoid the previewers.
To be implemented only after server/code optimization is complete and the site is functional. To do otherwise would clearly be unwise.
However, in light of recent events, I feel the need to revive this particular suggestion. This has been edited a bit from the version that I posted on Tumblr earlier, which garnered a bit of interest there as well.
Offspring Previewer
Possible offspring, previewed at any time, likely via a link in the nesting grounds.
The perimeters for this would be the same as if you were to breed two dragons off of cool-down: They must be of opposite genders, they must not be too closely related (per FR's "Five Generations Out" rule), and they must be in your lair.
The difference, however, would be that no option would ever appear, especially if those dragons are too young or still on cool-down, to actually go ahead and breed them together. After all, it's a previewer, not an open nest.
This would allow us to better plan out or breedings without the exploitation of being able to somehow manipulate the code. This would benefit breeders as much as buyers, giving people a more or less tangible representation of what the offspring could look like.
This means that the decision to scrap or continue with breeding lines would be determined in a more comfortable timeframe, instead of waiting five (six? :|) days to hatch things (if you don't want to or cannot, for whatever reason, afford to purchase a Boon of Fertility), another five for them to grow up, and another five to twenty-five to figure out whether you even want to breed those dragons again.
Gene/Breed Change Previewer
I harp about this one constantly, primarily because of the fact that, at one point, I was able to preview and plan out who was going to get which genes or who would turn into this or that breed without having to purchase or borrow said genes or breed changers to look at them one at a time. Admittedly, I did so using a user-made, off-site "generator," before I and many others knew that this was against the rules, but here we go.
This is how Flight Rising could rake in more money from those of us still willing to purchase Gems, whether because we're so impatient that we would rather purchase said items from the treasure market in the auction house for gems, or because we really want Iridescent, Shimmer, Circuit, or a Wildclaw.
Some of us are working our tails off in the real world and some of us are doing the same on Flight Rising. Let's combine the two.
This particular previewer would obviously allow us to actually see, ahead of time, what we wish to do with one of our dragons, possibly by inputting their ID (so that the previewer can also drum up their items and such [if they're old enough for items], per the Hoard "previewer"), all at one time.
It will allow us to see what our dragon could actually be. This is a hugely useful thing for some of us. It tells us whether we want to grind the Fairgrounds 'til lucky streak, grind the Coliseum for countless hours, play the Auction House, or to buy some Gems either to speed the process along or join those playing the auction house.
Do I want to change this Tundra into a Spiral with Tiger and Shimmer? Or maybe it would look better as an Speckled Snapper with Seraph! The choice would be there. We could set our goals and run toward them at full tilt if we so pleased, and we would be happy…and some of us would be handing over real money to meet these goals.
Otherwise, a compromise of sorts was suggested:
Kita wrote on 2013-08-30 06:40:38:
I would support being able to click the genes (like you can do with apparel) and choose a dragon in your lair to see what that dragon will look like. You can find the item in the marketplace/auction house, click it and choose a dragon in your lair, and it'll show you what it looks like with that specific gene/breed scroll.
The Best Parts?/TL;DR
All of this could be achieved without breaking or exploiting a thing; it would give users no reason to use less-than-savory methods to preview their dragons and/or hatchlings.
The gene/breed previewer could even eliminate, to some degree, the need for a dragon search for those attempting to check out genes and breeds. In that, the site's income could be increased because people could become more willing to purchase gems with real money, since they would know what they would be spending that money on.
Anyone who wants the surprise and mystery of the things can simply avoid the previewers.
Other
To be implemented only after server/code optimization is complete and the site is functional. To do otherwise would clearly be unwise.
Ping me if you need me.
- wish i could remember who did this 
