.:What's This? A Reboot?!:.

[elfstar89]

I have come to a decision over the past few days that what I'd really like to do is reboot DD. DD has, over the past few years, been kinda a bizarre hodgepodge of ideas pieced together haphazardly.

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The lineart, while beautiful, has always been a challenge to work with, and none of the makers of the templates for the three core lines, the Starborn, the Arcturai, and the Novae, have ever actually worked for the shop. The few familiars we have, and the stock edits, have been luckier, though they suffer from varying levels of getting left behind as the art staff have improved. Standardization of the templates would be greatly appreciated.

The worldbuilding is equally bizarre. When I inherited the shop, I had very little to work with, insufficient sense of where I wanted things to go, and I was willing, at the time, to let the shop develop in a somewhat random, organic form. As a result, while we have a shadowy religion, and a herd setup that is quite honestly so incredible and immersive that I absolutely adore it, we don't have a map for this quality of workmanship, and we don't have a finalized sense of what kind of planet the Stars currently inhabit. Magic, while recently standardized, could probably use some final clarity, as could some new ideas for Star breeds. Clearly, standardization is also needed here, so we have firmer foundations and rules for the shop's universe.

To top it all off, the shop's name, while pretty, has never really reflected the nature of the shop. Dreams rarely figure into anything, and the "Dancers" bit, while fitting for the beauty of the lines, doesn't actually refer to anything about the shop. So this would be a good time to talk about that concept, too.

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All of that said, this will take a bunch of work and organization on the part of staff to pull this off. However, that does not mean a long period of deadness. It just means we're going to be doing some different stuff for the next several months. And this is where everyone on staff and all the customers come into this conversation.

 

[elfstar89]

Two new breeds will be added to the shop while we retemplate: the Algol, and the Vega. The Vega will be our answer to the hippogryph legend; while I had not heard any plans for them when I inherited the shop in 2010, I did inherit a set of lines that were never templated for bird beaks. So now seems like a good time to pull them out of storage. The Algol will be more in the tradition of the Alcor: they are our resident undead. Mechanics for both breeds will be worked out behind the scenes. We would like to compile a list of Stars that will be rebranded as Algol, as well as any details to be considered about them when standardizing the breed. If preexisting Stars will be worked into the Vega, we will let people know what's going on.

As we retemplate, the most we will do with the lineart is thicken it a little, to make it slightly less difficult to ink edits for. The shading scheme will probably change rather more dramatically. In general, however, the stock edits and familiars will be brought up to an even standard across the board.

 

[elfstar89]

Geyser Eelborn and I will be fixing the map issue in the very near future, with the assistance of owners of leaders of all herds approved before December 27th, 2016 February 14th, 2017. After this date, until further notice, herding will be closed to new applications. This will be so we can do some important things for worldbuilding, including the map. This will also feed into an ongoing shop RP metaplot event that should be interesting for worldbuilding.

I would like owners of herd members to compile a PM of important geography, ecology, cultural landmarks, political borders, etc. I would like each herd to send me one PM of all of these details no later than December 29th, 2016 March 2nd, 2017, so Gey and I can sit down and do a map that is rich in details. Cuz we figure that, if we're going to build a map for this world, we're going to build it realistically. Like, probably starting with the plate tectonics and other geology, and working through everything from there. oO

If you are interested in the herd system, even if you can't start a new herd in the next few weeks, fear not. You can still participate in things. Stars that have intentions to eventually start herds of their own can join preexisting herds, and set up plots that will, after reopening, result in new herds.

 

[elfstar89]

For the herds, a new event will occur that can be used as a catalyst for major events within those herds. If you have any ongoing plots that will affect the future of the herd, whether through big events, or membership, this is the time to do it. Securing a line of succession for leadership, wars, alliances, romances, replacing leaders, old herds finding new purposes and futures, the birth of new herds...this is the time we'd like to encourage all owners of Stars involved in a herd to get involved in something big. Especially since art will mostly be shut down due to retemplating. Not entirely, but mostly.

This metaplot point, regardless of what the herds choose to do with it, will signal a new phase when we reopen. All the RPs that happen up to shop reopening will be treated in shop canon as an Age of Legends, a period to look back on with appreciation for all that has come before in DD, and how all of you who have participated in the world of this shop have exceeded my expectations for what this shop could do in terms of storytelling and worldbuilding. You guys seriously rock. And those Stars that have played an integral role in the shop's RPs should be points of pride, for all the hard work that went into them, and that those Stars have put out for a somewhat lazily written world. While we haphazardly try to make a world befitting their sheer awesomeness. heart

Customs will be put on hold due to retemplating. Breedings that are not occurring for plot reasons will also be put on hold. Should any colorist open up breeding slots, any breeding that does not occur for reasons of a clearly defined plot will not be considered, so colorists can focus on those breedings that need to happen for reasons of plot.

 

[elfstar89]

We will have one last event, though, I think, so keep looking forward to that!

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We will be hiring colorists during this time. I will mostly be looking for colorists who can edit, and commit time and energy to this shop, as well as be reasonably readily available for communication. If you cannot fulfill at least two of the above preferences, I would advise against applying to work with us at this time. I am generally open to accommodations under ordinary circumstances, but DD does mainly need communicative editing colorists who can be trusted to stick around.

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Also, we need to work on a name for the shop. No decision has been made as to who can offer suggestions. But we'll work on it.

 

[elfstar89]

If you own a herd leader in an approved herd listed below, please PM the following form to the shop mule. One per herd, please. If your herd is nomadic, please indicate that.

[color=green][size=18][b]Herd Geography Ho~![/b][/size][/color]
[b]Herd Name:[/b]
[b]Territory Size:[/b] Compared to...well...a city, country, state/province, region, geographical feature, etc
[b]Location:[/b] Are they in a desert? A forest? A mountain range? What's their home like?
[b]Climate:[/b] What's the weather like? Is it hot? Cold? Dry? Wet? Or somewhere on the spectrum?
[b]Flora and Fauna:[/b] What's the local plant and animal like? plays a lot into the kind of landscape and climate your herd inhabits
[b]Geological Features:[/b] Is your herd prone to earthquakes? Do they live near a volcano or series of hot springs, like in Yellowstone National Park in the US? How active are these features?
[b]Water Features:[/b] Are there any relevant bodies of water in your territory? What are they like? Lakes, rivers, streams, seas, oceans, islands, etc
[b]Cultural/Political Sites:[/b] Are there any shrines? Buildings? Where are they? What are they like? Does your herd have any central gathering spots?
[b]Political Borders:[/b] Does your herd share a political border with another herd? How much of a border, and where is it?
[b]Other Landmarks:[/b] If your herd is nomadic, what kinds of landmarks does it navigate by?