[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/1482729][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/communityupdate.png[/img][/url] Hello and welcome to the June 2015 Community Update! [/center] [LIST][*][b]Introducing: The Flight Rising FAQ[/b] [*][b]Contest[/b] [LIST][*]Item Caption Contest [*]Comic Contest Reminder[/LIST] [*][b]Upcoming Features[/b] [list][*]Coliseum Opponents [*]Crossroads Preview[/list] [*][b]Community[/b] [list][*]Most popular forums for April-May [*]Festival Recap[/list][/LIST] [center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/1482729]Click here to read more about today's update.[/url][/center][more] [br][br][center][size=5][b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/help/1467441]The Flight Rising FAQ[/url][/b][/size][/center] Prior to the June 2015 registration window, we audited the most frequently asked questions sent to us and created the [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/help/1467441]Flight Rising FAQ.[/url] You can find the FAQ in [b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/help/1467441]the Help Center[/url][/b], in [b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1467442]the Guides Forum[/url][/b], and it will be included in [b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/1467457]every registration day post[/url][/b] going forward. Speaking of registration, between May and June, [b]we’ve seen almost 30,000 new Clans[/b] join us in Sornieth! Welcome! [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][size=5][b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1481990]Contest: Items Caption Contest[/url][/b][/size][/center] [b]Writers[/b], if you've ever wanted your blurb to grace an item tooltip, your time has come! Dust off that keyboard and look upon these poor orphaned items with compassion and creativity. What is their story? The premise of this contest it to take these icons and create a unique caption for their tooltip. The caption must be under 160 characters. If desired, players may rename the item in question along with their caption. Captions can provide facts, short anecdotes, or jokes. [indent][b]Premise: [/b] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1481990]Write a tooltip for any of the items provided in this contest.[/url] [b]Deadline: [/b] Wed July 22, 23:59 server time [b]Length: [/b] Less than 160 characters (caption). Less than 32 characters in name if renamed. [b]Prizes: [/b]Winners will be credited in the tooltip of the item and will receive a copy of the item they wrote for + 1000 gems [/indent] [center][item=bioluminescent tail][item=glowing tail][item=daffodil][item=lume daffodil][item=starfall blossom][item=engaging still life][item=unfinished painting][item=spoiled landscape][item=citrus lionfish][item=venomspite invader][item=pickaxe][item=rusty pickaxe][item=shale sliver][item=granite chunk][item=game fowl][item=forestpath rooster][/center] [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/header_comiccontest.png[/img][/center] A reminder for players new and old! We are running a [b]comic contest![/b] We've had such an awesome experience with all of you since launch that we thought it would be great to call on some of those memories. This contest will be judged by the [i]Flight Rising[/i] staff, and entries will be submitted privately through e-mail to maintain the surprise! [size=4][b]How to Submit:[/b][/size] [list][*]The theme of the comic should be "[i]Remember that one time... ?[/i]" [*]Comic Submissions should be e-mailed to comic2015 @ flightrising.com [*]Comics should be kept under-wraps until the day the contest is finished and judged. [LIST][*]Please do not post your comics to our website until the contest is finished and winners posted.[/list] [*]Deadline for entries is [b]Thursday July 9th 2015[/b] [*]One submission per player only. [*]No group submissions please.[/list] [size=4][b]Technical Specifications[/b][/size] [list][*]Comics must be in jpg, gif, or png file formats. [*]Comic pages must not exceed 520 pixels in width [*]If your comic is tall or multiple pages, we ask that each image not be more than 850 pixels in height and no more than 5 pages in length.[/list] [size=4][b]Prizes - 10 Winners will receive:[/b][/size] [LIST][*]3000 gems [*]Archived Page on the Encyclopedia with the 2015 Comic Contest Winners [LIST][*]Credit to your FR account as well as as your offsite gallery, portfolio, or contact information. (optional). [*]Offsite portfolios must be SFW. [/LIST][/LIST] Everyone who participates will have our thanks for having the privilege of enjoying your creation! We look forward to seeing what you create! It's been a great two years, and we look forward to spending many more with you! [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Coliseum Opponents[/size][/b][/center] New opponents have been appearing throughout the coliseum! The team is hard at work on new venues, but we wanted to go back and revisit many of our older venues with new opponents and venue plan. When coliseum was originally conceived, holiday currency was not a factor; currency drops in the coliseum were something that we added in to allow players a way to actively obtain the currency rather than having to wait for the next day's gathering turns. Adding the currency into the coliseum was a change that everyone loved, but was unplanned and resulted in some oddities where some holidays are easy to obtain currency for, while others are quite difficult. As a result, many of our venues could use some additional monsters and adjustments to allow new players and old a better coliseum experience, particularly during the holidays when elemental alignment becomes so crucial. In general, our plans for the coliseum and the opponents in it are as follows: [LIST][*][b]Grow our amount of opponents[/b] across the board. [list]New players have a variety of interesting foes and desirable familiars to collect. Older players to will also have new incentive to revisit venues they may have forgotten about![/list] [*][b]Add more neutral opponents[/b] to allow every venue to have 2-3 of them. [LIST][*]Neutral enemies will drop holiday currency for every elemental holiday. Having more neutral enemies allows for players to have a greater freedom of choice in the venue they select to hunt for holiday drops. While there may be a venue out there that has a better showing of a specific element, having more neutrals helps to ensure that no venue is a complete wash during the holidays![/list] [*]Give many of our [b]venues a stronger elemental leaning[/b]. [list][*]This may involve some shuffling of existing monster elemental alignments. We do not want to double up on venues' elemental leaning without first ensuring that [b]every element[/b] has a favored venue first. Example: [i]Waterway[/i] will not lean heavily water because [i]Kelp Beds[/i] currently does so. When every element has a favored venue, we will begin looking into doubling up! [*]Not all venues will have a leaning. [/LIST] [*]Continue to [b]add challenge monsters as rare encounters[/b] in each of the venues. [LIST][*]Challenge encounters will be less frequent in lower level venues than higher level venues.[/LIST] [/LIST] These changes have been a goal of ours internally that we've been working towards with each opponent addition. This has been a work in progress for some time, and will not happen overnight, but each new change will bring us closer to our goal of greater variety and a better holiday experience. [br][br] -------------- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Preview: Crossroads[/size][/b][/center] As we mentioned in our April 2015 edition of [i][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/1421332]Words on the Wind[/url][/i], we are revamping the Crossroads trading system as part of our site code overhaul. The revamp is progressing nicely, but there is still work left to do and testing to ensure that it works smoothly! While we don't have a hard date for when "Crossroads 2.0" will be available, we thought we'd share with you some previews of how the system will function. One of the main differences between the the current Crossroads and its rebuild is that you will not be selecting what you want from your trade partner. This worked in the first version because players were only exchanging dragons, and the act of viewing lairs is available to the public. In the new version of Crossroads, you will also be able to exchange items, and the "I am going to pick what I want from you" functionality with regards to player hoards felt a bit like a breach of privacy. In order to accomplish an all-in-one system, we are going with the following flow: [LIST=1] [*][b]Player A[/b] opens a trade with Player B, specifying what they would like to trade away from their current assets, and typing a trade request message specifying what they would like to receive in return. The request is then sent. [*][b]Player B[/b] will be able to view this message and the exact trade contributions of the request. They will be able to designate what they will be giving back to Player A from their own assets. The request will then be sent back to Player A for final review. [*][b]Player A[/b] will review Player B's contributions to the trade and may then finalize it if they are happy, causing the items/dragons/currency to then change ownership. [b]NOTE: It will not be possible to edit your trade contributions after having submitted ("locking in") your side of the deal, so we are making sure each player has the ability to cancel the trade at any point in its lifespan and that both players can effectively communicate with one another via a Trade Details chat window. Additionally, items and dragons will not change hands until Player A finalizes the deal, so if you find you need a dragon or item that has been attached to a trade request, you still have use of the item until that point. The trade will auto-cancel if any components of the deal are missing at the point of finalization.[/b] [/LIST] Here are some current mockups of the Crossroads interface. Please keep in mind that these are not final. The preview below displays what Player A will see after they have entered the username of their desired trade partner: [center][url=http://flightrising.com/dropbox/crossroads2_001.jpg][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/button_crossroads2_001.png[/img][/url][/center] The preview below displays what Player B will see upon opening the trade request from Player A. In between the two players' trade offers is the Trade Details chat, where messages between the parties can be exchanged throughout the duration of the deal. The trade cannot progress until Player B has added their contributions: [center][url=http://flightrising.com/dropbox/crossroads2_002.jpg][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/button_crossroads2_002.png[/img][/url][/center] This final preview displays what we would like our Trade Details chat to look like when opened: [center][url=http://flightrising.com/dropbox/crossroads2_003.jpg][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/button_crossroads2_003.png[/img][/url][/center] We are working very hard to make sure there is clear messaging throughout the trade process so that both parties understand and feel comfortable with each decision they are making. The various stages of the trade, as well as trade detail chat messages will be broadcast using our alerts system, so that both players are aware of how the request is progressing. We're excited to get this system into testing and then launched! [br][br] --------------- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Community[/size][/b][/center] Since [i]Flight Rising[/i] opened, we've seen thousands of topics posted to our forums. We'd like to recap some of the most popular threads and forums from the last couple of months: [br][br] [b][size=4]April 2015[/size][/b] The top discussion forum was [b]Flight Rising Discussion.[/b] In [b]Flight Rising Discussion[/b] the top three threads for April were: [LIST][*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1403806][b][Dom Watch]Earth, Day, Thunder[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1391716][b]April Fool’s Gifts: They’re Sweaters![/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1416897][b]Wavecrest Saturnalia {Main Event Hub}[/b][/url][/LIST] [br][br] [b][size=4]May 2015[/size][/b] In May, [b]Flight Rising Discussion[/b] was again the top discussion forum. For May, the the top three threads were: [LIST][*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1423760][b][Dom Watch] Shadow of the Night[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1424237][b]Dragon Puberty[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1423851][b]I am but a simple farmer[/b][/url][/LIST] [br] [br] [b][size=4]April & May 2015 Sales Forum:[/size][/b] [b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz]Dragons For Sale[/url] was the most popular sales forum. [/b] The top thread for this forum was the [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/baz/1016744][b]Gen 1 Sales Center[/b].[/url] [br][br] ----- [br][br] [center][b][size=5]Flight Festival Recap[/size][/b][/center] For those new to [i]Flight Rising[/i], over the last two years the community started the tradition of celebrating a Flight’s holiday by putting on an organized event. These events are characterized by a “hub” posted in the [b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd]Flight Rising Discussion[/url][/b] forum. Here players share and celebrate their Flight with their fellow players and provides a digest of links and mini-events happening around the site. Our March [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ann/1376354][b]Community Update[/b][/url] covered the [b]Crystalline Gala[/b] and [b]Trickmurk Circus[/b]. In this section, we will cover the last three Festival hubs and some of their specialty events. Given the depth and breadth of the events, it’s not always possible to recap every mini-event held. Please take the time to check out each hub to see all each Flight had to offer for their 2014-2015 holiday! [br][br] [i]Note: All events listed have completed, the links are for your reading pleasure only. [/i] [br][br][br] [center][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/wind_contest.png[/img][/center] The Mistral Jamboree kicked off on March 22nd and [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1379798/1]the Imperials Haliun and Areto hosted the event, carefully guiding visitors through the winds of the Zephyr Steppes.[/url] For the Jamboree, the Wind Flight hosted several contests and activities: [LIST] [*][b][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=cc&id=1383609]A Fanzine, celebrating their lore[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=rp&id=1383408][b]Journey to Jamboree, a Choose-Your-Own Adventure style event[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=cc&id=1382254][b]Kite-Designing[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=drs&id=1379651][b]Mistral Masquerade, because who doesn’t like dressing up their dragons?[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=forga&id=1383043][b]Mistral Meals, a cooking contest[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=cc&id=1379687][b]Music Contest[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=cc&id=1383771][b]Rythmed Painting, art inspired by Wind-themed music[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=rp&id=1378636][b]Role-play Contest[/b][/url] [*][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=mb&board=cc&id=1379253][b]Stories & Poems Contest[/b][/url] [/LIST] The cooking contests are a staff favorite and always fun to read through. The combination of creativity, [i]Flight Rising[/i] themes, and delicious food is simply amazing. From Mistral Meals, we really enjoyed: [LIST] [*][b]Aequorin[/b]: @Quib’s [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/1383043/8#9971204]Lemon Puffs![/url] "Lemon pastries? Oh my yes please." [*][b]Undel[/b]: @Snek's [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/1383043/6#9935989] "Nothin' Fancy"! [/url] Green noodles~ [*][b]Xhaztol[/b]: @serbii's [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/1383043/5#9929288]Tundra Carrot Cake![/url] "I didn't like carrot cake until my mid 20's, and now I can't seem to get enough of it, and this recipe sounds delicious. A warning to everyone: you might start liking food with vegetables in it. On a regular basis. Great job!" [/LIST] [br][br] [center][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/water_contest.png[/img][/center] On April 26th, the [b][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1416897]Water Flight opened their realm to the all the Clans of Sornieth[/url][/b] in celebration of the @Tidelord and the achievements of his flight. Instead of individual dragons hosting the event the waters themselves provided clarity and guidance to visiting Clans via the Boardwalk. [br][br] For the Saturnalia, the Water Flight hosted the following mini-events: [br][br] [LIST] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1410838][b]The Water Flight Raffle[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1420995][b]Shady Joe’s Jetsam, a raffle but maybe don’t trust Shady Joe…[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/1416601][b]Hatchling Predictor, maybe the Water Flight really can see into the future?[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1407640][b]Flotsam Fortunes, fortune telling by the dragons who maintain the Tidelord’s prophecies[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/rp/1417015][b]Boardwalk Bragging, a guessing game for those who’d like to try their luck![/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/1416900][b]Haiku Contest, with a new topic to inspire dragons daily[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1416949][b]Momma Kyuth’s Bakery, a different type of raffle[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/1416856][b]Help Wanted, Water Flight’s choose-your-own adventure game[/b][/url] [/LIST] [br][br] We had a blast reading through the Haiku Contest. Out of the (brilliant) set of winners, two stood out to us: [quote][center][b]Two Minutes to Rollover on the Last Day of Wavecrest by @rhamnus[/b][/center] [br] [center]grinding at light speed oh god - still need that last chest why'd i wait this long[/center] [/quote] [quote][center][b]Epithets by @acheronta[/b][/center] [br] [center]Reticent in speech, He sees what is unwritten, Prophet of the deep.[/center][/quote] [br][br] [center][img]http://flightrising.com/dropbox/nature_contest.png[/img][/center] The @Gladekeeper [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/1435359]granted all non-Nature Clans of Sornieth entrance to the Labyrinth on May 25th for the Greenskeeper Gathering.[/url] Visitors to the Glade were greeted by [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=7167178]Sunshine, a Wildclaw in direct service of the Nature Deity. [/url] Nature Flight hosted a Festival absolutely jam-packed with events for dragons of all interests: [LIST] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1437285][b]The Mystery Event, a murder mystery with dragon lives on the line[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1429003][b]The Masquerade Ball, where Clans showed off their best dressed members[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/1443767][b]Plant Identification Game, a guessing game with daily prizes, raffle prizes, and even a mini-game[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/forga/1444813#post_11139426][b]Animal Guessing Game, the fauna version of the Plant Guessing Game[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/rp/1444349][b]Expedition Through the Veridian Labyrinth, a guided tour of the Labyrinth, choose-your-own-adventure style[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1433335][b]Dragon Raffle[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/1436436][b]Coloring Contest[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/1436315/1#post_1436315][b]Writing Contest[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/1434315][b]Art Contest[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1439529][b]Greenskeeper Gamble[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/raf/1435494][b]Garden for Glademother[/b][/url] [*][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/adopt/1432501][b]Wildclaw Adopts[/b][/url] [/LIST] [b]Shadow Over Greenclan[/b], Nature's 2nd Annual Murder Mystery, was fascinating event. This thorough and complex event, run by @acorncap, was nothing short of impressive. We want to share with you the prelude to the event: [br] [quote]In the heart of the Viridian Labyrinth, there is a small clan known as Clan Greenclan. They are known for their impressive gardens, but not their naming abilities. It is a small clan, ruled by the Matron Highgarden, and protected by TinStar. It is quiet enough, and peaceful enough, though the Matron has been getting on in her years. There is talk of who will succeed her, and what will become of the clan when she dies. But now is not the time for apprehension. Now is a time of preparation, for now is the time of the Gladekeeper’s Gathering, and all the Labyrinth has been preparing for celebration. The flowers bloom, the leaves rustle, and amidst the hustle and bustle of the forest, some dragons are perhaps not as attentive to their drinks as they should be…[/quote] [br][br] [b]A final note on the Festival Recap[/b]: As a team, we are humbled by the creativity and passion that drives the Flight and site wide events. We never expected this to be a tradition, let alone one on this scale. We look forward to these each month and are excited to see what the future holds as the community grows! [br][br] -------------------- [br][br] Thank you for reading and we’ll see you again in our quarterly [i]Words on the Wind[/i]!