Furcadia 791900 224421915 2008-07-08T19:48:53Z ClueBot 4928500 Reverting possible vandalism by [[Special:Contributions/12.218.136.98|12.218.136.98]] to version by Efitu. False positive? [[User:ClueBot/FalsePositives|Report it]]. Thanks, [[User:ClueBot]]. (435350) (Bot) {{Infobox VG| title = Furcadia |image = [[Image:FurcShot2008.jpg|256px|A typical Furcadia session.]] |developer = [[Dragon's Eye Productions|Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc.]] |publisher = [[Dragon's Eye Productions|Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc.]] |designer = [[Dr. Cat|Felorin/Dr. Cat]], Talzhemir, Emerald Flame, and [[Aleksi Asikainen|sanctimonious]] |engine = |version = α release 25: The "FOX" update |released = {{start date|1996|12|16}} |genre = [[Massively multiplayer online game]] |modes = [[Multiplayer video game|Multiplayer]] |ratings = |platforms = [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], Third party Mac support |media = |requirements = |input = [[Mouse (computing)|Mouse]], [[Keyboard (computing)|keyboard]] }} '''''Furcadia''''' is an [[Massively multiplayer online game#MMOSG|MMOSG]] (Massively Multiplayer Online Social Game), set in a [[fantasy]] world inhabited by [[anthropomorphic]] animals. The game is based on user-created content, socializing and free-form [[roleplaying]]. ''Furcadia'' is not entirely [[In Character]]; however, the background world ('The Dragonlands') and rule system ('Furre!') exist for those who wish to participate. ''Furcadia'' is the longest continuously running [[Massively multiplayer online game|MMO]].<ref name="10years">{{cite web | title=Furcadia Celebrates 10th Anniversary | url=http://www.mpogd.com/news/?ID=2279 | date=2007-12-15 | publisher=Multiplayer Online Games Directory }}</ref><ref name="2006townmeeting">{{cite web | title=2006 Town Meeting transcript | url=http://www.furcadia.com/tenth/townmeeting.html | publisher=Dragon's Eye Productions }}</ref> ==Gameplay== ===Characters=== The character [[Avatar (virtual reality)|avatar]] on ''Furcadia'' is generally called a "furre", which is usually pronounced "fur", but occasionally "furr''y''". The in-game avatar can be set to one of several species of [[anthropomorphic]] animal, including [[Felidae|Feline]], [[Canidae|Canine]], [[Lagomorpha|Lapine]], [[Equidae|Equine]], [[Mustelidae|Musteline]], [[Sciuridae|Sciurine]], [[Rodent]], [[Bovine]], and [[Ursine]]. A furre can be one of three genders: male, female, and unspecified. These genders modify the displayed default portrait respective of the character. The furre avatar is composed of two parts. The 'walkabout' is a basic walking animation with the ability to stand, sit, and lie down. The walkabout is customizable by species and colors, but not gender. The ''portrait'' or 'port' is a 95x95 portrait image.<ref name="portraits">''[http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/portraits/ Personal Portraits]'', Furcadia website. Dragon's Eye Productions. Retrieved [[November 26]], [[2007]].</ref> The portrait by default shows the head of the furre, and it is customizable by species, colors, and gender. Portraits now support a static (non-remappable) 24-bit image.<ref name="portraits" /> Players can customize their avatars by choosing colors from a palette and can edit a brief character description that is viewable by other players. Some players choose to use third-party websites and link to them in their description, like [http://www.furocity.com Furocity] or [[Freewebs]], owing to the description box's character limit; some descriptions go far over the limit. ''Furcadia'' offers several [[Furcadia#Business Model|items for purchase]] that allow further customization of the avatar, including the ability to replace one's portrait with custom art. As of May 2007, ''Furcadia'' has over 70,000 regular players<ref name="newsletter-May2007">"[http://www.furcadia.com/cards/update023/ May 2007 Newsletter]", ''Dragon's Eye Productions'', [[May 5]] [[2007]].</ref> and regularly sees between 4,000 and 4,500 players at peak times, depending on the day of the week. The record number of players on ''Furcadia'' at once is 4920 as of [[January 25]] [[2007]].<ref name="furcadiahomepage">[http://www.furcadia.com Furcadia.com home page].</ref> ====''Furcadia'' and the furry fandom==== Although ''Furcadia''{{'}}s [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] animal characters are related to those of the [[furry fandom]], and the game was inspired in part by [[FurryMUCK]], ''Furcadia'' has never been intended as an exclusively 'furry' game. A significant portion of ''Furcadia''{{'}}s playerbase do not identify as 'furries' or have any interest in the furry aspect of the game.<ref name="furry-felorin">[http://forums.furcadia.com/index.php?showtopic=30737&view=findpost&p=261356 Forum post by Furcadia creator Felorin (Dr. Cat) concerning the furry fandom]. Retrieved [[April 27]] [[2007]].</ref><ref>[http://www.furcadia.com/logs/townmeeting-2005-04.html Furcadia 2005 Town Hall meeting notes], quote by Talzhemir regarding FurryMUCK ([[April 16]] [[2005]], retrieved [[April 30]] [[2007]])</ref> ===Dreams=== The primary focus of ''Furcadia'' is user-created content. To this end, the ''Furcadia'' game download includes an art editor and a map creating program. Users are encouraged to create their own virtual worlds, called Dreams, using these tools. These worlds can be uploaded to the ''Furcadia'' server and used for a variety of purposes, examples being role playing, a place to hang out with friends, or a number of other purposes. Dreams remain open to the public area in which they are uploaded, so long as it is inhabited, and, if unoccupied, it is eventually unloaded automatically. Dreams can include the use of audio files in the [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]], [[Ogg]], [[MOD (file format)|MOD]], [[S3M]], [[WAV]] and [[MIDI]] (.mid) formats, to name a few. Most Dreams take advantage of a relatively user-friendly coding language known as DragonSpeak, or "DS". DragonSpeak allows users to develop interactivity into their dreams, ranging from a simple action like opening a door, to far more complex uses, such as a complete game of [[chess]] or [[laser-tag]]. Dream owners are allowed to make and use [[Internet bot|bot]]s to accomplish things that DragonSpeak cannot, but these are not officially supported by ''Furcadia''. Dreams run off several file types. ".MAP" files hold the main Dream layout, ".DS" files hold the DragonSpeak code, and ".FOX" (replacing the older ".FSH" format) and [[PCX]] files hold patch art for ''Furcadia''. Every aspect of the ''Furcadia'' interface can be customized with ''Furcadia'' [[Skin (computing)|skin]]s. Skins are made with a "marbled.pcx" file that is used for the background, two ".FOX" files (buttons.fox and the customizable dsbtns.fox), a settings file (skin.ini) and several fonts. Several popular types of dreams are build-a-homes (where you can buy a temporary house from staff for free and decorate it with items, but is usually deleted after you leave the dream), hangout dreams (Usually featuring a bar or café area) and roleplay dreams. ''Furcadia'' hosts a wide variety of roleplaying dreams, ranging from strict-continuity roleplay (In which the dream is its own independent world) to persona play (Roleplay that is light and is governed by few rules). Roleplaying dreams also come in a myriad of different forms, ranging from feral (Feral wolf and horse dreams are immensely popular, concentrated in the Northeast region of the popular 'main map', Allegria Island) to furre to human. Many dreams revolve around fantasy plots and themes, based on popular books, television programs and even ancient mythology; some dream ideas are created entirely out of the minds of their creators. ''Furcadia'' itself is basically made up of several dreams, the ones made by its users, and the main maps. ====Dream standards==== Although ''Furcadia'' itself is unrated, individual dreams may specify a standard which details what kind of behavior, language, and content may be allowed. Before March 2007, ''Furcadia'' used a rating system akin to the [[MPAA film rating system]]. Since March 2007, ''Furcadia'' uses its own dream standards system which allows users to define exactly what kind of behavior should be allowed on a per-dream basis. The dream standards are based on age groups, ranging from Everyone8+ to Adult Only, with specific behavior, language, and content restrictions. Some main maps - FurN and Hawthorn (previously Haven) - immediately block the user from entering the main map if they are not within the specified age group, if parental controls are enabled.<ref>''[http://www.furcadia.com/standards/ Dream Content Standards]'', Dragon's Eye Productions.</ref> ====Main maps==== [[Image:FurcShot2008B.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Naia Green, one of the main maps. Also visible is the "default" skin.]] ''Furcadia'' includes a number of "main maps"--that is, public, permanent areas created by game staff. Main maps are always available, and many are included with the initial ''Furcadia'' download. The ones directly accessible from the [[user interface]] include: * ''Naia Green'', intended to be ''Furcadia''{{'}}s community center. Many Beekin volunteers gather here to help answer user questions. * ''Challenges'', a game-oriented area that includes boards for chess, checkers, "pillow wars," and others. * ''Acropolis'', an area for out-of-character socializing and dream uploads. * ''Furrabian Nights'', a Mature 16+ environment. User-created content follows guidelines set in the new dream standards and is of a mature nature. * ''Hawthorn'' (replacing ''Haven''), a Mature 16+ environment dream meant for the harsher, more savage side of ''Furcadia''. It employs the same basic layout as Haven did, with darker patching and other content-related changes. * ''Allegria Island'', a popular location for dream uploads. * ''Meovanni Village'', an area intended for persona play (a form of simplified roleplay). * ''Imaginarium'', an area intended for deeper roleplay. Most roleplay-oriented dreams are uploaded here. * ''The Wylde'', a main map for Ferians which includes thirteen different [[biome]]s with habitats upon which players can upload their dreams. * ''Vinca Nexus'', the central hub connecting the rest of the main maps, as well as your destination if your character is ejected from another map or dream. ====Other official maps==== There are several other official maps that are not accessible directly from the user interface, but are maintained by Dragons Eye Productions and/or have permanent status. The following is an incomplete list of these other official maps: * ''Welcomers Map'', a tutorial area where new players learn about the game. * ''Beekins Aerie'', beekins map, beekin classes and meetings held here. * ''Theriopolis'', a roplaying map. Magic here is weak and barely exists. * ''Goldwyn'', a roleplaying map. Magic here is more prevalent. * ''Dusk 2 Dawn'', a dark, Mature 16+ map. * ''Town Meeting'', a temporary dream where an annual "Town Meeting" is held, accessible only to Silver Sponsors. * ''Silver Showcase'', a scenic map where Silver Sponsors can upload on special portals, but anyone can visit * ''Zephiroth'', a flying island-themed map that only winged players or those summoned by winged players can visit. * The five annual festival dreams, ''Jujinka's Spring Festival'', ''M'Rill's Festival of the Sun'', ''Jemmion's Rameen Festival'', ''Wolf Howl'', and ''Danival's Winter Festival''. ==Development== First opened to the public on [[December 16]], [[1996]], ''Furcadia'' is developed by [[Dragon's Eye Productions|Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc]] (DEP). Its engine was developed in 1994, originally for a preliminary graphical [[MUD]] project called [[DragonSpires]], which featured very simplistic real-time combat, and used a [[DOS]]-based [[client (computing)|client]] limited to the 16 [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]] colors. At its public release, ''Furcadia'' featured a graphical improvement: art with a 256 color [[Video Graphics Array|VGA]] palette. New support for 24-bit non-remappable portraits (the first art to extend beyond 256 colors), and [[Windows Vista]] support were implemented in the [[April 6]], [[2007]] "Kitterwing Edition." On [[December 16]] [[2006]], ''Furcadia'' became the first-ever MMORPG to celebrate ten years of continual service.<ref name="10years" /><ref name="2006townmeeting" /> ''Furcadia'' was originally designed and programmed by [[Dr. Cat]] (known as ''Felorin'' in-game) and Talzhemir. Two additional people have since been credited as part of the creative team for their work: game producer Katie Bazor (known as ''Emerald Flame''), who developed (and still coordinates) the Beekin volunteer staff project, and [[Aleksi Asikainen]] (known as ''sanctimonious''), who created the game's editors and is now involved in coding the client and the server as the game's lead programmer.<ref name="credits">{{cite web | title=Furcadia credits | url=http://www.furcadia.com/credits.html }}</ref> The developers continue to make several minor updates to the code per year. Major updates to the code (such as the addition of new character [[avatar]]s or improved [[Furcadia#Dreams|DragonSpeak]] commands) occur approximately once per year. As of 2007, the game remains in a public [[Development stage#Alpha|alpha development stage]]. ==Volunteer program== The game is supported by a unique structured volunteer program called the Beekins, who assist players and enforce ''Furcadia''{{'}}s rules of conduct. As of January 2008, there are approximately 700 volunteers in the beekin program.<ref name="beekinroster">{{cite web | url = http://www.furcadia.com/services/beekins/listbeekins.php4 | title = Beekin Volunteer Listing | publisher = Dragon's Eye Productions | accessdate = 2008-01-19 }}</ref> The Beekin program is divided into several groups based on function: * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/bugges/ Bugge Hunters], who discover and document [[Computer bug|bugs]] in ''Furcadia''{{'}}s web, DragonSpeak, client and server code. Bugges serve as ''Furcadia''{{'}}s Technical support. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/masons/ Dream Masons], who provide help with all aspects of dream creation, from map making, patches, and DragonSpeak scripting. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/guardians/ Guardians], who enforce ''Furcadia''{{'}}s rules of conduct. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/helpers/ Helpers], who provide help with various elements of ''Furcadia''{{'}}s features and software. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/pixels/ Pixels], who create new patches for official dreams, and provide help relating to creating custom graphics ("patches") in ''Furcadia''. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/scribes/ Scribes], who maintain ''Furcadia''{{'}}s website. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/welcomers/ Welcomers], who provide help, information, and tours to completely new players. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/mentors/ Mentors], who counsel other Beekins and do one-on-one training. * [http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/teachers/ Teachers], who give training classes to new Beekins, and give refreshers to badged beekins. ==Business model== Downloading and playing ''Furcadia'' is free of charge. DEP has publicly stated that ''Furcadia'' will remain free of mandatory playing charges. To fund staff and cover the costs of running ''Furcadia''{{'}}s servers, DEP sells several game-enhancing products, known in the game as ''Digos'', sold in an online store known as the [http://www.digomarket.com ''Digo Market''] (named after an in-game location). Possession of these game enhancements can last anywhere from one day to 'life' (an indefinite amount of time), depending on the product and package one purchases.<ref name="digomarket">{{cite web | url = http://www.digomarket.com | title = Furcadia Digo Market | publisher = Dragon's Eye Productions, Infire Business Ventures | accessdate = 2008-01-19 }}</ref> These ''Digos'' include premium avatars, in-game wings of several types, the ability to upload custom in-game character portraits, in-game roses, and small images, such as cupcakes or even engagement rings, that display in a character's profile (known as ''Desctags''). Additionally, players may purchase 'Silver Sponsorships', which provide a number of game-enhancing abilities and features.<ref name="digomarket" /> ''DragonScales'' are an in-game currency that may be used to purchase ''Digos''. ''DragonScales'' may be purchased in the ''Digo Market'', or received in-game as competition prizes or gifts.<ref name="dragonscales">{{cite web | url = http://www.furcadia.com/community/dragonscales.html | title = DragonScales | publisher = Dragon's Eye Productions | accessdate = 2008-01-19 }}</ref> ==Awards== *[http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2003.php?entry_id=22 Finalist] for the 5th [[IGDA]] awards, with [http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/january03/igf2003/Furcadia/index.shtml associated coverage] at [[GameSpy]] *[http://www.warcry.com/content/editors_choice/2006/studio_indie Honorable Mention] in [[WarCry Network]] Editor's Choice Awards 2006 (Indie Game of the Year) *[http://games.softpedia.com/get/Freeware-Games/Furcadia.shtml Softpedia Pick Award] from [[Softpedia]] *[http://www.allapp.com/Furcadia_download_49107/ AllApp.com 5 Star Award] *[http://www.downloadpipe.com/review_1064890.html Download Pipe 5 Stars Rating] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.furcadia.com ''Furcadia'' website] * [http://www.gamedev.net/columns/interviews/furcadia.asp Gamedev.com interview with Emerald Flame and Felorin] * [http://archive.roamheart.com Roamheart], a ''Furcadia'' patch database * [http://what.entwinedstudios.com What's That, Furcadia?], a ''Furcadia''-related [[blog]] * [[WikiFur:Furcadia|''Furcadia'']] on [[WikiFur]] * [http://altmarket.net ''Furcadia'' Alt Market], a ''Furcadia'' character name database ===Proxies=== * [http://furc.sanct.net/downloads/dogproxy.htm DogProxy], a ''Furcadia'' proxy by [[Aleksi Asikainen|sanctimonious]]. * [http://www.tribaltabby.net/main.php FoxyProxy], a ''Furcadia'' proxy by Zarneth. * [[Furnarchy]], a ''Furcadia'' proxy by Cluracan and others. * [http://www.kapow.ca.kz/ Kapow! Proxy], a ''Furcadia'' proxy by Shaun Dreclin. * [http://www.members.shaw.ca/computim/pawproxy.html PawProxy], a ''Furcadia'' proxy by Daiktana. * [http://unproxy.voidinput.com/?s=news&p=view UnProxy], a ''Furcadia'' proxy by Abyss and Crutomic. ===Other software=== * [http://unforbidable.com/dreamer/ Dreamer], a dream editor by Reunion. * [http://furbot.dreammakersguild.com/ Furbot], a ''Furcadia'' bot client maintained by Dreamless Dancer. * [http://www.members.shaw.ca/computim/FurcBack.htm FurcBack!], a ''Furcadia'' connection utility by Daiktana. * [http://syphor.ne1.net Mercenary Enclave Productions], ''Furcadia'' software created by Lothus Marque. * [http://www.ghosttiger.com/mfurc/ mFurc], a [[Mac OS X]] ''Furcadia'' client by Ghost Tiger. * [http://www.dream.at/?thm=02&sh=programs&mnu=mnuprogs Various ''Furcadia'' patch utilities] by Nikodemus. {{furry fandom}} [[Category:1996 video games]] [[Category:Anthropomorphism]] [[Category:Furry fandom]] [[Category:Massively multiplayer online games]] [[Category:Windows games]] [[pl:Furcadia]]