Onyx

You sound like the old fashioned kind of breeder and we need more like you these days.

Well I was going to comment but Hare basically took the words out of my mouth. I basically second everything she says. Also, virtual pet games are not reality. It's pretty obvious that you can't breed a real animal once every 4 days and have it give birth in 24 hours and keep doing that for years on end with no ill effects. So no, I don't think that virtual pet sites have any kind of bad effect on animal breeding in the real world. I think that people pushing "adopt don't shop" agendas do a lot more to harm animals. This basically supports irresponsible people who just let their dogs mate with any other dogs with no regard for health or temperament, and demonizes people who are breeding responsibly. Terms like "forced breeding" smack of radical animal rights that don't relate to reality in most cases. It's anthropomorphism and doesn't reflect the actual reality of animal breeding. Have you ever tried to breed a female rabbit with a buck she doesn't want to breed with? Good luck with that. And cows don't run around moaning about how they've been violated after they receive artificial insemination.

Congrats Wolfie

I'm assuming you mean the mercury aethers, where an apparently static pet combined with another static pet produced an offspring with a mix of the features of both parents (this was done in an automated manner rather than requiring an artist to create an image by hand). We will be using this on Aethria, but not for aethers and not when the site first opens. We likely will use the mercury system for the serafel pets when that area of the site opens.

Those are silver customs

@Kesstryl Aethria will be a completely new site and no user information or pets will carry over from Aluriya to Aethria. However, we do plan to bring gold customs over to Khimeros as custom overlays at some point. I am not sure exactly what will happen with silver aethers.

I've been trying to decide when to open Aethria. The basic framework of the site - forums, chat, private messages, inventory and all that should be good to go, and we have some game features implemented but not all that I had hoped to have before opening. But, then I sometimes think it would be better to open so that we can get user feedback on things they like, things that we might want to change etc. But then I don't want people to get bored because there isn't as much to do as they might like, either. I mean, we opened Khimeros with nothing but the live chat finished and that worked out fine LOLOL. But these days I think that people have been burned so often they might be leery of sites that are not almost completely finished, I don't know. Khimeros users seemed to find it really fun to actually watch the site being built around them, but people seems to maybe have longer attention spans 8 years ago ^^;

Hopefully I can get some discussion going, though I don't know how many forum goers here that will be interested As some of you may remember, I bought Teripets a few years back, but didn't end up getting the site back up because of drama with previous staff/artists. I do want to include teripets on Aethria, though. I have been thinking that a good way to do it might be to put up an exact copy of the old site with all the old art that is just for browsing purposes - you can view it for nostalgia sake, but there wouldn't be any money-making aspects to it. Then, we could also include a new updated version of teripets with entirely new art so that there would not be any conflict with previous artists, that would be a playable version. If someone would like to claim that they own an art asset or anything of that nature, they'd be welcome to present proof and we'd take it on a case-by-case basis. Would there be any interest in this kind of thing?

Yes, I owned Aluriya as well. Aluriya is coming back in a "lite" form as part of Aethria. Aethria has several "realms" which are each like mini-sites with their own gameplay, maps, pets, and lore. I think petsites are not doing too badly, actually. It's just that there does't seem to be a central place to hear about them anymore. With VPL gone, and this place not seeming to have caught people's attention (yet?), it's kind of whatever you stumble over. I know I haven't been posting anything about Aethria here really because the few times I did post, I didn't get any response. There are some games like furvilla that seem to be doing well but you don't really hear about. Dappervolk just made out like bandits with their kickstarter, but again you aren't likely to hear about it unless you happen to know someone who knows something because there just isn't a central hub.

My game, Khimeros is still doing fine. We are a small niche site but have been around for 8 years. And I will be launching a new site soon called Aethria.

Aethria now has a discord server, come and join us! https://discord.gg/7swDf53 View full news

Maps for the three realms - Aluriya, Khimeros Caldera and Calligra - that will be available during the Alpha phase of Aethria are now complete! We hope you enjoy this sneak peek of the map for Calligra! View full news

Images fixed!

We've been hard at work preparing Aethria for opening, and it's time to give you guys an update! Programming tasks that have been recently completed: -World Maps page has been added and individual Maps for Khimeros Caldera and Aluriya have been added to the site -Most of the Aluriya area features like sending pets through the Vortex, gathering items from the Herb Garden, Orchard etc., are now functional -Admin tools for creating new aethers and uploading their assets to the demo is functional -Aether Menageries (where you keep your pets), Individual aether pages are functional -Creating Aethers through the custom demo is functional Programming tasks being actively worked on right now: -Back end and front end administration tools for adding items to the site and other essentials like creating openable item packs etc. are getting needed updates and configuration -Functionality for adding Khimeros Caldera pets is being added including all their associated admin tools and user functions like pet dens -"Growables" feature for Calligra is being reworked and new functionalities added -Pet deco system is being tested and configured Art Related tasks that have been completed: -First three aether bases that will be available from Aluriya when the site opens for Alpha have been chosen - the Kaze, Raptara, and Arabi! - "Wild Kaze" base has been enlarged and revamped in Aethria style and loaded into the custom demo -The first Inkling base that will be available from Calligra when the site opens for Alpha has been chosen - the Phantazia Griffon! -Both poses of the Phantasia Griffon have been completed and await completion of the "Growables" system! -The first Khim base that will be available from Khimeros Caldera when the site opens for Alpha has been chosen - the Lambkin! -The lambkin base has been revamped to Aethria style Art Related tasks being actively worked on right now: -World Map for Calligra is in the works -Arabi, Raptara, and remaining Kaze pose details are being finished up -Individual items for the Jungle and Savannah areas on Calligra are being completed - Iindividual "unique" colorations are being created for the lambkin base, to prepare for site opening! We don't have an ETA on when the site is open, but work is progressing rapidly! View full news

It's a really tough market as there are a lot of people out there looking to make money from comissions. A lot of times artists think that their art skills alone are what will sell them, but there are a lot of other factors. As a person who hires people to make art, I have the following advice: -It's not all just about the art. Having someone who is willing to learn to conform to a buyer's project style, who can take constructive criticism with aplomb, who realises that they are hiring themselves out to do a job and thus must conform to what the person hiring them needs, are all super important. Buyers don't want to deal with someone who thinks their style is the cat's ass and should be just fine for any site, whether it matches or not. They don't want to deal with people who fly off the handle if asked to change or tweak something, or who run off to their internet friends to complain about what a demanding bitch the boss is because they actually expect you to create within certain parameters. They also don't want to deal with a seller who is unwilling to work with the buyer to deliver what the buyer needs and not just what the seller wants to sell. If you're signing on to a long term project, expect that yes, at first, you may be asked to change things a few times - while this may be frustrating, once you and the buyer can nail down what is expected, you'll be able to speed up your creation process without having to constantly alter things. -Similarly, it doesn't matter if your art is the best ever seen, if you claim you'll be able to create 10 items by Friday but start rolling out the excuses when the buyer checks in to ask if they are done. If you were working at an office you'd be expected to consistently meet your work deadlines regardless of whether your dog had to go to the dentist, your car broke down, your internet cut out or what have you. As soon as you start missing deadlines and rolling the excuse dice to decide what reason you have today for why you can't get your work done, the buyer is going to start seeing you as an amateur and not someone they can rely on to get work done. They will start looking elsewhere. -Check around to see what other people are charging for similar work. If you haven't had a lot of sales and don't have a big following yourself, don't price your work in the top price bracket even if you think (and are correct) that your work is just as good as those who are getting top dollar. They are probably getting top dollar because they have built up a following and are now in demand, which can take a lot of time and effort to achieve. -Try to have as big a portfolio of different styles as you can. Even if a buyer is only looking for one specific style, it's very useful for them to see that you can do a wide variety of styles so that they can have confidence that you are flexible and will be able to tweak your style to meet their needs or match the style they already have established for their project. tl;dr reliability, flexibility and professional attitude are just as important as the quality of artwork you produce. If you are consistently reliable, flexible and professional as well as producing a quality product, word will eventually get around!

On khimeros we allow people to *order* their own base and then hibbary creates it for them. For example, they ask for a pegasus or a griffon or a potoo bird or a combination of an iguana and a hyena (yes those are all real examples from the site xD) the base is uploaded to the site as a "platinum custom" meaning that the owner of the base can then color it themselves and create new versions that way. They can also sell tokens to allow other users to create their own colored versions. These act like a skin over the existing pet, when you breed you can get either the underlaying custom-demo pet as the offspring, or the overlay, with the overlay being rarer. This is a popular feature and we've had quite a number of bases ordered, although they are pricey. One problem we've had with this is that while these are breedable bases, only the original owner of the bases usually feel that they should have the right to breed and sell the overlays >_> Even though it is against the rules to tell other players that they can't breed a pet once they've bought it from you, this still persists. We will also be offering the same thing in a custom demo base, meaning that they can order a base with the full set of markings that all of our pets in the custom demo have. This base will then be available for everyone to preview in the custom demo and to create and breed as regular site pets if they either buy a creation token from the base owner, or buy a gen 2+ pet that someone else has bred, and breed that. However we're still figuring out a few logistics like the cost and how the creation tokens will be sold, how much control the commissioner of the base has, etc. The difference here is that with our bases they must still use the same set of markings that all pets in the custom demo have. So I think basically very similar to your idea EXCEPT that we don't allow the user to physically create their own base, they have to commission the base that they want. For a site like khimeros this is important as we need to try to keep some kind of consistency at least to the bases themselves, if not to the way they are colored. I am not sure how a system where users are actually allowed to create the art would go. It would be a very interesting experiment. I think it would go a lot better on a new site where this was the policy right from the get-go than to try to add it to an existing site. I could see a lot of people getting their feelings hurt because their pets weren't popular enough and other users becoming the "elite" because everyone wanted their bases, so I think you'd need to cultivate a userbase who can deal with that right off the bat. You'd have to keep in mind that the site would have to host all of these images, the creation system and everything that goes with it, and that you might have a lower income for the site if the site itself is not the one selling special pets etc so yes I think you'd need to charge a fair fee for a user to create their own base. That is a pretty deluxe feature after all, and in my opinion, not something that anyone can just casually do any time they want even after they reach a certain point in the game. I know users don't like to hear that things need to cost money, but the reality is that a site owner needs money to keep a site open. Now if y our site relies 100% on user contributed art, then you could cut back on costs and adjust prices that way, and I think that would be a fun way to do it - have all items on site created by users and have these items able to be picked up in the usual way that you can get items on any given site. We had hoped to include something like this on khimeros, but it didn't end up happening for a number of reasons. We do allow users to order custom items but they are owned and sold by the individual user, they don't go out into general circulation as part of the site item rotation.

Couple of notes first: **All information posted as news is current as of now. This does not mean that we may not change things in the future should staff come up with new ideas that we feel would be an improvement on our current plans!** **If you have not followed our NEW facebook page yet, we encourage you to do so! Our original page has been lost so we will not be able to post updates there any longer, so if you would like facebook updates with exclusive sneak peeks, please follow and like THIS page. The map for Khimeros Caldera on Aethria is ready for its reveal! What's this? Why is Khimeros on Aethria, isn't Khimeros a site of its own?? Khimeros is indeed a site of its own, but in site lore, Aethria is a realm that floats in the clouds above Khimeros. Therefore, we thought it would be fun to include a little piece of Khimeros within Aethria! This map shows the Khimeros Caldera, the highest point of land on Khimeros and the only landmass high enough to pierce Aethria's cloud layer. The landmass is nestled in the caldera of a massive extinct volcano and features an inland fresh water sea with islands, as well as various ecosystems along the perimeter of the caldera wall. But Khimeros' pet and item art style are very different from Aethria's, how will this work? All NPCs, pets and items that make their way up through the clouds of aquos undergo a transformation into Aethria style! This means we can include some of the more popular assets from Khimeros as part of Aethria while re-creating them in Aethria's art style. Many of Khimeros' backdrops and environmental deco assets match well with Aethria's backdrop style so we will be able to offer those as well. We will have a few examples of pets and items to show you soon! What kind of pets will be available from Khimeros Caldera and how will you get them? Pets from Khimeros Caldera will be available by a system we refer to as "Unique Khims". The term "Khim" will refer to all pets available from Khimeros Caldera whether they originated as Khimeras or Khimbits on the Khimeros mainland. Each rotation will feature a different Khim pet base. Each pet will be uniquely hand-colored, so that no two are alike! We generally cater the number of these pets released each rotation to the level of site activity - on Khimeros this means that we release several hundred free pets to be gained via site activities each rotation, and as many "cash shop" versions as people are interested in purchasing. In addition, we'll release a series of collectable colors for those whose hearts are warmed by completing each collection ;) What kind of activities will be available in the Khimeros Caldera? Currently we have plans for item foraging/trash collecting, hourly dice rolling mini game, as well as collecting and trading pets and pet "deco" (Deco will be explained in the Features section of our main game post - keep watching for that!) plus some other activities still waiting to be assigned to their respective Lands Item and pet previews for Khimeros Caldera will be posted soon, so keep watching! View full news

That's reasonable to lock upon owner request as long as you feel they will update the page. I would like to request that Aethria be locked because I tend to get pretty OCD about how things are organized and I want to post updates in a way that makes sense. I do plan to update regularly, in fact I have an update to post as soon as my server company picks up my ticket and figures out whatever they did to imagick while installing litespeed

It would actually be nice if the games in that section were only editable by owners or their designated staff, from my perspective. If your game is going to be prominently featured at the top of the forums but anyone can mess up your game description or add random comments or content, it's not a great place to have your game featured from an owner's point of view. I would have thought that the forums would be for users to add their own threads, comments, screen caps etc. It might encourage owners to be more active here if their interests are being considered as well. I could see others being able to post games in the directory if there is no owner or designated staff present on this site to do so for their game.

Important Aethria news - if you have followed our facebook page, please follow our new page: https://www.facebook.com/Aethria-100974820568190/ I had to restore my computer and then change my facebook pw and apparently to facebook this means I'm an imposter, and they kicked me out of the account associated with the old page. Because they are only offering a single method of authenticating my identity which will not work, I cannot reclaim that account. So please follow and like this new page for all future updates! We will continue to post new content and updates on our main thread here in this forum but I didn't want to post this important info on that thread and have it missed

@Zrcalo Aluriya is being included as one "Land" within Aethria, and Aethria is still set within the same realm that Aluriya was set in. Aethria's art is being handled by the same team that handles Khimeros' art - Hibbary is still the lead artist who creates the pets and backdrops, and we have folks like Trippy and TehTwi helping out with some of the item art.

**News has been updated August 15** Aethria is a browser-based "Virtual World" or "Virtual Petsite" where members can create/collect "companions" (pets), engage in various site activities to gain currency and items, and create unique environments for their companions to inhabit using our "Deco" system. We also have all the basics that one would expect in a browser-based game of this kind - forums, private messaging, live chat, etc. The worldmap for the Land of Aluriya What is the world of Aethria like? Aethria is a world in the sky, where different lands are comprised of groups of islands floating in clouds of a misty substance called aquos. Unlike most game sites where different lands are essentially the same except for a difference in themed items that can be obtained, Aethria's lands each have a unique combination of lore, available activities, items and the method of obtaining Companions. However, items obtained in each land can be used across the entire site! "Hunting Swift" companion and Savannah backdrop from the Land of Calligra What kind of pets are available and how do you get them? Pets on Aethria are collectively called "Companions". Each land within the world of Aethria has a different type of companion that is obtainable in a different way. While we do try to keep the overall style of pets within a certain range of similarily, we will offer more variety than might normally be expected within a single site. For example, Calligra and Aluriya's companions might be considered a little more realistic while Seraphel's pets would be considered more "chibi" style. We hope this will mean there is something for everyone! Items available from the forest foraging area in the Land of Khimeros Fun fact: while khimeros is a separate site of its own, in Aethria lore, the "world" of Aethria is in fact a realm of floating islands in the clouds that float above the world of Khimeros. While the art style of Aethria is very different, it will feature a miniature Land of Khimeros - the only landmass that connects the ethereal world above to the solid ground below. The Land of Khimeros inhabits the caldera of an enormous extinct volcano that towers into the sky and thus thrusts up into Aetheria's realms! While Khimeros natives may find some familiar creatures, landscapes and items, all will be rendered in Aethria style to match the rest of the site. View full game

@Nova Oh please don't get too attached to anything in the Encyclopedia, I didn't realize that it was available for the public to see and that's actually images and info for my old site Aluriya and you may even be seeing some stuff from my existing site, khimeros. ^^; I will ask the programmer to take the Encyclo offline until we can fill it with current info and images. I have been planning to add the site to the directory, just haven't had time yet... would like to get some coherent info together first

We do plan to work on a tumblr in future but for now, you can follow us here

Thank you! Most of the art was created by Hibbary, Trippy, and TehTwi with me working as "art monkey". There are some things like the island map that are 6 or 7 years old, having come from Aluriya, and may have had other artists working on them as well