Dragon Cave: Announcement Thread

Quote from Kintara

ich hänge fest - Forest Detour, falling into a BRAMBLE BUSH, You try to go back the way you came but fall unceremoniously back down into the bushes. You'll need to free yourself first.
HOW???

Wow, I don't think I've ever gotten to that spot. I wonder what you did differently from me?

Did you use the axe on the tree that had been in your path?

Btw, did anyone ever figure out what to do with the HORSE that was on the CLIFF? I tried several things, but nothing ever happened. I wish I could retry the game; it would allow me to experiment some more.

I have not gotten past the horse and the cliff, how did you????

Quote from MiaSkywalker

I wish I could retry the game; it would allow me to experiment some more.

There's now an option "start over", so you can.

Quote from EmeraldsLyn

I have not gotten past the horse and the cliff, how did you????

Hints:

From there you'll have other choices. But I really wish I could figure out what the horse was all about. Does anyone know? I tried RIDE HORSE and it said I couldn't do it. I've tried other things, but either nothing happens, or it says I can't do that. It sort of seems like the whole game is very linear.

But thank you, Alia, for mentioning that we can now start over. I'm going to try other things now that I can do that.

Quote from MiaSkywalker

Hints:

Display Spoiler

First, you need to GO BACK twice to get back to the tree. Then take the AXE and USE it on the tree. Then you can FOLLOW THE PATH until you get somewhere else.

From there you'll have other choices. But I really wish I could figure out what the horse was all about. Does anyone know? I tried RIDE HORSE and it said I couldn't do it. I've tried other things, but either nothing happens, or it says I can't do that. It sort of seems like the whole game is very linear.

But thank you, Alia, for mentioning that we can now start over. I'm going to try other things now that I can do that.

thank you Mia, but I just don't have the time to play this week, but thank you

Quote from EmeraldsLyn

thank you Mia, but I just don't have the time to play this week, but thank you

Fortunately, you get the badge just for starting it, and you don't lose anything by not finishing.

Wow, I was trying to grab one last egg from the AP after I had a hatchling grow up, and I keep running across what appear to be eggs from someone who has no idea what a lineage is. One parent will have an absolutely beautiful lineage, and the other parent will then ruin it.

Here are a few examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

My examples all show the Valentine parent with the nice lineage, and the other parent CB (destroying the nice lineage), but there are a few I have found that are the opposite; a CB Valentine mated with a mate that is third or even fourth gen. Like, whoever had dropped all of those eggs (and the AP is flooded with them at the moment) was randomly selecting mates without even trying to see if the lineage was compatible. It irritates me a bit, because it's not really all THAT hard, and this flood is making it so I just spent an hour trying to find one that wasn't absolute crap. It's already 4am, and I really don't want to stay up even later trying to find a decent egg, so I'm annoyed with whoever did this. I'm betting they're all from the same user. It seems that everyone else who is trying to get eggs right now is re-abandoning these like I am, so the same ones keep cycling through.

I know Mia, some are so perfect and then others are just scrambled up, Unfortunate

What on Earth? They changed the new Valentine Sprite "due to unforeseen circumstances".

I don't understand what could possibly have been so unforeseen since they would have had to have everything about the sprites from egg to adulthood ready to go before even releasing it. I'm not at all happy with the change. It looked like a gorgeous little deer before and now it's just another heavy looking dragon. And it doesn't even have antlers anymore even though the description still talks about a pearl in the antlers. Very unhappy.

I was thinking that the new Valentine dragon hatchling looked a lot like Holiday Dragon 2013. I haven't seen the adult before the change, so I cannot say whether it also looked like this, but certainly the pearl on the antlers sounded very familiar.

It changed? Mine still look like a little deer, but mine aren't gendered yet. Are yours gendered? Is that when they change?

I wonder what "unforeseen circumstances" could have occurred. I agree; it does seem a bit odd.

So anyone know the whole story behind this? I heard something of sprite theft or so.
I think it totally stubid to release or kill those dragons in a fit of anger. Seriously, it's just pixels.

Kill? Someone killed their dragons in a fit of pique? Well, that's rather childish.

Actually, I love the purple Valentine's Day dragon. I have no idea what it used to look like, but I think it's lovely. Although, they will have to change either the sprite slightly, or the description, to make certain things match.

I really have no idea what people are talking about on the forums when they complain that it's not "polished". Maybe I don't have as good of an eye as some, but I just don't see it.

I often find it amazing (in a sad way) how people can make such a fuss about an unimportant thing like this. Sure I liked the first sprites better, too, the new hatchie is a bit scrubby, but what's done is done. I like the adults, it resembles the Solstice, though. Still, it's just pixels. Some people really need to get a real life.
I'm sure they'll improve the new sprites over the next days/weeks.

Quote from MiaSkywalker

Although, they will have to change either the sprite slightly, or the description, to make certain things match.

The description has been changed to match the sprite, so there is no mention of antlers.

The description has been changed and their name, too: they are called Soulstone dragons now.

Ah, I see. I'm not too surprised in either case. The little I could tell about it from the thread indicates that at least one of the artists did some plagiarizing. I'm not sure why or how, though. Rather sad. I don't know why someone would do that.

The original sprites were lovely, but the new ones are pretty as well, at least the S2 and adult are. The S1 does look a little strange, but that doesn't bother me, since I'm not going to freeze any. And I don't know if I would have ever noticed if a number of people on that thread hadn't kept talking about it.

I think the new spriter should be commended for coming up with it as quickly as s/he did. The adult is the important sprite, and that's the one that looks the best.

I noticed the similarity to the solstice. Actually, it might make it interesting to do lineages with, except that both are different holiday dragons, which would take a long time to set up.

It's suspected she traced some body parts from a stock pic for the sketch, so not sure if that counts as plagiarizing. For me that pose is so generic that I think any talented sketch artist could draw it like it looked copied, but then I`m no artist.
I guess if that artist wouldn't have a history of tracing before on another adoptables site nobody would have cared two hoots about it...

Oh, so I take it she had a history of doing that? That's too bad.

I agree, I thought those poses were generic enough to be no big deal. Maybe it's more the body shape than the pose that was the issue.

I sometimes think that it's too easy to assume something is plagiarized when in fact it really isn't. I had one professor who insisted that I had plagiarized a paper I had turned in, when I absolutely had not, because he didn't think a student could write a paper that well. This was in the days before the internet, and I had written that paper without consulting anyone or any books. (Other than the book we were writing the paper about. It was a Jane Austen novel, and one of my favorites, so I knew it very well.) He didn't flunk me, but he gave me a D, which seriously affected my grade in that class. I'm still angry about it to this day.

So, I tend to take a slightly different view towards accusations of plagiarism, just because I've been innocent and on the accused end before.

On the other hand, I once saw someone post a fanfic that was word for word from a romance novel I had read years ago, with just the names changed. Now, THAT is plagiarism, no question about it.

Artwork, though, seems to me to be a lot harder to tell. Then again, I am absolutely not artistic at all, so maybe I'm not a good judge.

I would think the actual reason was the sketch was available externally before the release. (At least that's what TJ wants people to believe). Talking about plagiarism, I personally don't think that were enough to accuse a plagiarism. I would understand having concern of using someone's art when that person is said to be having history of plagiarising and given the huge amount of available artists around DC, TJ can choose whomever he think is better behaved and suitable for the site.

However, more important to me, is whether the new arts should be considered plagiarising? I'm not sure if the "replacement" in their agreement means just alter original designs.

P.S. The image is chaning again...