Dinocanid

A lot of posts overnight o.o I'll try to get to them. Monitoring might be better in this case, since I remember having this problem once when my sister used to play pet/sim games; especially if there was only 1 computer in the house. I can see the divide there too. Getting people to work together on something turn-based and spaced out (I forget the exact number, but it's only so many turns every few hours) vs an MMO where it's all live is much more difficult to achieve. About the multiple accounts (by the same user) thing, there will be people who manage to make multiple accounts, but another way to discourage it is to make it hard for users to do it efficiently and still be successful at the game. Let's say someone makes 1 wolf for each rank and makes their own pack. It would be easier to spot and shut down since your IP is recorded each time you sign up, and 5+ wolves in the same pack with the same IP is a red flag. If a user makes 2 wolves and starts their own pack by having pups, it would be harder to track. They could be two people in the same house or one person. At the same time, the user is controlling 2 wolves who don't have enough leverage if they're attacked by a large group (be it another pack or angry gerbils). For pack that's made entirely of different users, it wouldn't be that much different from a guild; which is a feature present in other VPS/sim games. It's optional and not required to play the game, but it's there if you want to play with others. There might be some points I forgot to address, since I'm on mobile.

I actually don't mind either. From a developer POV, death (a.k.a flavor-text deleting) is a good way to keep the DB from clogging and slowing things down. I also feel like it gives users a reason to return more often.

- 17, turning 18 in June - Guy..ish - MD, USA. Hope to go to the UK one day though. - I'm finishing out high school (graduate in May! Woo!), then I plan to study. 2D/3D animation and game design. Might try to double-major, don't know if I want to go twice. - 1 beagle-minpin mix named Cooper and he is my son o3o There's also my dad's reeeally old dog named Reggie. - Also indirectly includes 4 nerdy goats, who-knows-how-many chickens, and a white dove. You know doves make laughing noises? They do. A lot. He also fights himself in the mirror.

I realize, but there will be measure to prevent this; like preventing the creation of more than one account with the same IP.

Anyone else here heard of ChoiceScript? It's basically used to make "choose your own adventure" type games, and it's beginner-friendly too. I've played around with it in the past, but never felt like making a full interactive story with it. It can have some cool uses on VPS sites though. Maybe it can be used for minigames, interactive lore, or just general documentation. I've never tried to integrate it with something like PHP, but I don't doubt it can be done. For ease of use, there also CSIDE (what I have) which allows you to test your game without having to load it in a browser.

You play as only one wolf at a time. When you die you lose any relationships and milestones you had, but your stats and SP-bought markings/colors carry over. If you happen to die and not have any points (or not enough points for other modes), then you have to start as a pup (easy mode) again, since that's the only mode with no SP cost. I'm still deciding on exactly what things earn you SP. At the moment, my current plan is that you earn 5 SP every 3 days (3 in-game months). Completing milestones can reward you a certain amount too; like maybe 50 SP for your first litter, but only your first.

Uh...can you give more steps?

One of my fears is never getting to the final stage, but another one would be css themes. I like to try them out, but at the same time, converting them is an absolute nightmare. The newest css theme on Foodbabs I don't even touch anymore because, whatever the reason may be, that theme in particular can take up to 30 mins to show a change, even if I hard refresh. I could accidentally break something and not know it until waaay later, then fixing it takes just as long. Another one is just development in general. Though it's bad for me to say, my thoughts before doing literally anything dev related is "I have no idea what I'm doing". My budget's so small that I can't pay to hire other people, and I usually wonder if I even know how to do what I want to add. I usually push through by rearranging upcoming features based on my current skill set from the previous ones, but it's always something I think about.

While working on the sign-up process on Wild Souls, I got to thinking about the flow of the game overall. Here's how the basically goes: Standard registration stuff Choose how you would like to start a game Pup (easy mode) (free SP cost) You start in a pack and are able to absorb all sorts of knowledge from the older wolves that teach and protect you. Great for beginners Adult in pack (normal? mode) (moderate SP cost) You start in a pack, but you immediately have to take on the tasks of being a subordinate rank. Not so good for beginners, since slipping up too much could lead to you getting expelled from the pack and becoming a loner. You can read the documentation, but the other wolves expect you to know your smarts already. Adult loner (hard mode) (high SP cost) You start with nobody else to help care for you, which means you need to find food and shelter all on your own. You need to know your stuff to survive like this. Blahblahblah play the game. Forge friendships, hunt, live, etc. Eventually die, either of old age or getting unlucky and dying early. Then...rinse and repeat. You accumulate "Spirit Points" (or SP) throughout your life and at the end you get to spend them on perks, markings, colors, etc. that you can use in the next one. Users who get special codes can have enough SP at sign-up to pick any difficulty from the start. The one thing with this system is that you're basically "soft resetting" each time you die. Kind of like a New Game+. You're only upgrading yourself. Your pack and any wolves you knew remain in the world, but they no longer know you since well, you're a new person essentially. This also means that if your wolf has pups and they start a new game, you are no longer related to them unless you spend SP to play as one of them. Wild Souls does have real-time elements, and users can spend a long time with one wolf if they're careful and healthy (still planning the timescale, 1 day = 1 month atm), but that would make it that much harder to let go and start new when you're basically resetting your progress to move up the ladder with stronger, more capable wolves. It can also be rage-inducing, since I can see people getting upset if they up and die from an injury, starvation, illness, battle, whathaveyou; but you can't please everyone I guess. Any feedback on this general setup? What are some things you think would work, or what needs to be improved?

I have another one o3o What about a simulation section? We have a pet sim section, but I mean a section where you are the animal/creature instead of taking care of it? Lioden for example wouldn't really fit into a "pet" section. This might not work at the moment though, since the niche is so small.

First off, I got Imagick running on my server again! Now I can continue working on Wild Souls without having to look at an ugly "can't read file" error. Second, I've started some minor renovations so things are more eye-catching, that includes starting to fill in the index page: Now onto the important part: suggestions! I've made two suggestion boxes so I can gather ideas from the community to implement in the game. At the moment, there are two open: Markings and Bases One of the main features of Wild Souls is character customization, since I want users to be able to create (or recreate) their own OCs to play as. The more markings and colors, the more unique the wolves of Frekiheimr will look down the line! General Ideas This box is just for things you would like to have added to the game. If you don't know if your suggestion is already planned, just check the Trello Board! View full news

I've been thinking this for a while, but maybe you could make it so you can only post news for games you submitted to the directory? So when you type into the "game" field, only games submitted by you should appear. This is mostly because I freak out about accidentally posting news to Wild Howlz instead of Wild Souls, since both names are similar so they both appear in the dropdown for me to click on. There could be exceptions for this, like maybe if you're part of a game's team you can get permission from the game owner (or whoever posted it to the directory) to post news for that game. Another suggestion too, how about team listings for the game directory? So if a member of your team is also a member on TGL, there can be another tab called "team" where you can list all of the users involved and what their role is.

I actually work alone for the most part; I just started getting volunteers when I made a post about it a little while ago. I've been working on Foodbabs for 2 years (3 once October finishes out), so how early you build a team depends one your needs and personal abilities. I would say to always check on those you plan on picking. Look for examples and references of their work. If they were previously hired (which not everyone is), talk to whoever hired them to get an idea of their work ethic.

I went ahead and made a transparent PNG version that people can use too, so it's easier to color:

These are the 4 special hybrids available through breeding during the month of October. Once October has passed, you won't be able to breed for them again without a special item. Don't fret though, next weekend we have another update coming your way! Users will be able to try their luck (at the expense of a few FoodDollars...) once a day to obtain a random egg, even breed-only and season-exclusive eggs! The rarer an adoptable is, the less likely you are to get the egg. View full news

Probably not final, but this is what I have so far for the world of Wild Souls, called Frekiheimr. Regions Nigrum Montis ("Black Mountain") The taiga biome. It looms over Lunam Mare and also houses the sacred Spiritus Petram. Contains the territory of the Blackridge pack. Ventum Collis ("Wind Hills") The moorland biome. Strong winds usually blow down from Nigrum Montis and over the rolling hills. Contains the territory of the Windfall pack. Agri Magnum ("Great Plains") The grassland biome. The land here is mostly flat, with tall grasses spreading for miles. Water from Lunam Mare flows down into the Ridge, making it an important place for shamans. Contains the territory of the Goldenrun pack. Mutantur Silvam ("Changing Forest") The deciduous forest biome. It is the only place in Frekiheimr that sees the most change in the seasons, and it has the largest range of weather. It also has the most lakes and rivers. Contains the territory of the Earthshire pack. Landmarks Lunam Mare ("Moon Lake") The largest lake in all of Frekiheimr. It is a sacred body of water, and it is believed that the spirits of the dead walk the surface to reside in Spiritus Lacum. Spiritus Lacum ("Spirit Den") It is a belief among the wolves of Frekiheimr that the deceased live here. It is located near the center of Lunam Mare, making it too far away to swim to. Pathways appear on rare winter nights, but those who don't leave before the waters return are trapped until they part again. Spiritus Petram ("Spirit Rock") A rock formation slightly resembling a howling wolf, which is the highest peak in Nigrum Montis. On rare winter nights, pathways appear in the lake to reach Spiritus Lacum when the auroras pass over Spiritus Pertam. The Gorge This is where a waterfall is formed from the waters of Lunam Mare. Shamans believe that stronger healing herbs can be found here, which grow from sacred waters. View full news

Is it possible to make a tutorial on version control with other free Git software? SmartGit is only free for non-commercial use, and you would have to buy a license to use it if your site ever makes any kind of profit (to avoid termination).

It was hinted at in a previous news post, but there are some very special hybrids coming this month! These hybrids will be obtained only by crossing outside of the same breeding class. For the month of October, they will be freely available through breeding. They will be rare, and you'll most likely end up with a little frankenstein failure. (but you'll see those when the update comes out...) Once this month is over, the normal breeding rules will return and you won't be able to obtain them without a special item only available from the gem shop. There is no exact release date yet, but my current ETA is this weekend. Hope you're all looking forward to it! In other news, the profile page has been redone! The only thing missing is a list of the user's pets and friends, and the ability to post messages on the wall, but it is otherwise functional and better than what I had before. View full news

Nothing solid here, just ideas! So I'm thinking about eventually spending time to make a simple battle system with javascript (or HTML5 idk) Exploring would trigger these encounters, and it will move to the battle screen with music and other sounds; kind of like this little mockup I made: I plan to have the enemies (and your character) animated, but I have yet to decide if I want to animate out all the attacks or if I want to keep it boring with idle animations. (One I made for the bear. Needs serious cleaning) A big bulk of my hesitation comes with animating the player wolf and having to animate every single marking and base and have the image reflect that. If I ever do this and get lazy, I might just do a first person battle thing instead of 3rd person side-view. View full news

I'm about to start working on the explore feature for Wild Souls, and I wanted it to be where the user can discover new areas. There would be an image map where the places you haven't been to are greyed out and marked with "???", and you can't fast-travel to them until you discover it. The things is, I'm not sure which would appeal to people more: You follow certain steps and you'll end up in another area, along the way you run into stuff. Straight-forward. Good for mapping out certain events in certain places. Rare or secret places become not-so-hidden with user created guides. Clicking the "explore" button won't send you in any given direction, it just makes makes stuff happen (think lioden's explore system). You're more likely to stumble upon common areas, and rare or well hidden areas will have a low chance of appearing, and will be harder to find.

Want to help? Now you can! Link: http://foodbabs.x10host.com/team Through this page you can submit an application for a variety of staff positions. Since I'm kind of broke, only volunteer positions are available at the moment. The positions available are: Artist Writer Programmer (Mysidia PHP) Programmer (CSS) Game Designer (Javascript) Game Designer (HTML5) Marketer (Spread the word!) View full news

It is now possible to withdraw pets from contests. You can re-enter a different pet (or the same pet) if you wish, but you still need to pay the entry fee. Fixed a bug that made the pet dropdown list on the contest page appear empty in some cases. Repaired cron jobs. Pets' needs low lower again, the seasons rotate, etc. View full news

I suppose it could be useful in some cases, but I don't personally see a point in it. The way my sites work, staff can operate moderation/back-end stuff and use the site like a regular user, so they don't need a second account (second accounts aren't allowed on my sites anyway, to avoid abuse)

It's out! You can now access the contests page from the "town" section of the menu. Best in Show is the only contest available right now, since we don't have enough users to have multiple types yet; and people would technically win by entering empty contests, which shouldn't be. Residence and the like will come later too since, once again, it would need more users than we have now to work properly. Make sure you enter your best pets! Best in show judges from all the stats combined. Training needs another day or two to be refined, but remember that you can currently breed for better stats! View full news

That's what I said I was imagining ^^; The difference here is that was a 3D rpg adventure game, and this is for a browser pet/sim game I'm assuming. Idk, it just seems weird to me. (I've never heard of bauldur's gate btw) Also @mariell , yeah, by space I mean slots.