It would be nice to have a store full of goodies for gold for our pets. I like to dress pets up, childish as that may sound. lol I know we have a lot of genes that make pets look dressed in armor and I love it, but sometimes I keep/buy pets that don't show all of their genes and somehow, pretty as they are, they look naked. I would love a store where we could buy various items to equip to our pets. I have a few vulnix that would look great rocking a jeweled collar or bracelet or have an earring dangling from one ear. Some of my Qitari would look great with some kind of beautiful 'horse' blanket thrown over them, or with some 'glowing' or sparkly horseshoes on...I'm sure people could come up with a lot of stuff to fill the store with. There could be monthly items to buy, like avatar outfits, that were only around for that month. I don't know, it's a thought. :)

I've seen someone suggest this before, and i believe Krin said it was too artwork intensive/that's what genes are for. So I'll just imagine all my venes with top hats ;-)

That would be pretty darn cool.


Divinis you are hilarious with those top hats xD

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=16698&page=1#2 Author: Divinis Time Posted: 8/16/2014 at 8:04 AM I've seen someone suggest this before, and i believe Krin said it was too artwork intensive/that's what genes are for. So I'll just imagine all my venes with top hats ;-)

Then maybe Krin should ask people to volunteer and hire more artists. :D hee hee And I would love a top hat!


Seriously though, there are people around who would volunteer their skills for free, just to see their work come to life. So yeah, I'm not buying that reasoning. That's nothing against Krin at all. I just know something like this is doable and I also know for a fact that artists would line up to do the work to see their creations come alive on a popular game. On other games I play, all kinds of artists vie and compete for the privilege to get their work in game. I can't imagine it would be any different here, so this concept is doable with enough artists, imo. It seems artists like and want these types of opportunities.

I remember some artist on another game awhile back saying that they even used the fact that they were an artist for a game site on a job application. ..So, yeah, I doubt Krin would be short of artists if he asked for volunteers... Maybe they could get game perks in return for their time and work...like free outfits or store items. That's what some artists get on other games I've played. On still other games, they get nothing except their work showcased on the site and that seems to be fine by them, too.

Genes are great and I love the ones we have and get. The artists around here rock like a boss. But the genes/mutations aren't guaranteed. Store items would be and would make a great gold sink, too.

While that's a good idea, I'm not sure if even asking for volunteers is feasible.

http://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=4881

At one point a long time ago, the admins looked for new artists to hire. I assume that Krinadon and Faiona would prefer to officially commission art pieces for the site instead of volunteering. (Even item/gene/mutation design contests, which are first drawn by players, are seemingly redrawn by artists hired for Sylestia, and most likely paid for the piece)

Not only that, the admins are quite particular about the "style" of the items that are drawn for the site. There's something about the lining and coloring that's similar in all the items (I assume, I'm not sure what the exact details are), that the admins would like to keep consistent throughout their items from the past through the future. To ensure it, it may be better to commission each item specifically, from admin to artist. I also believe Faiona oversees the artists as they draw the designs to make sure it matches the style of the site..

Even custom monthlies (specifically this month's), which can be recolored by any player to their liking, must "match our Site style" while being recolored.

The admins take special care in making sure the art they DO get for the site are perfect for the situation. It'd be a very different case if volunteers could help, but even then, I don't think Krin and Fai would be thinking about going about this route.

There are amazing artists, yes. But that doesn't mean they're cut out to do site's art (if so, I'm sure Fai and Krin would reach out to them, or vice versa, but from there, it becomes a business transaction than free-work).
I think it's more of Sylestia's modus operandi to hire artists for what they want instead of volunteering for an influx of art.

Well, yeah, I'd expect any artist to stick with the admin's MO for sure...

Ah, well, it was just an idea...

The big thing about artists doing free work is that unless the site is an enormous one that has been around forever, it really doesn't benefit you to do that work on a volunteer basis. Artists who are actually doing the art as a serious thing and not as a passing fancy expect to be paid for their time, just as any other worker would expect from doing something. The idea that they should be happy that something they made is available to the public is great and all, but that doesn't put food on the table, and the 'starving artist' deal is actually not that far off from the truth.

+ all Flute's points.

I've read a lot of posts by artists on games I'm on and from what I've read they volunteer because they want to, they enjoy it and they like their work coming to life on popular games. Most of them have RL jobs as well. If artists wouldn't volunteer here for whatever reason, so be it. Flute has good points. If it's not doable, it's not doable and that's that. :/

I can't help but wonder though what would happen if the current artists couldn't do the job anymore. There's no guarantee they'll be around forever. Then what? And why couldn't Fae oversee volunteer artists as well, to make sure their art was in the right style? I don't know. I have no clue what goes into it all.

Also, I believe Krin mentioned that it would put a huge strain on the site with all the possible images and things needing to be loaded every single page... Can you imagine the lag? It'd be like festival day at midnight with 150+ players active... But every moment of every day. ><

I find it difficult to believe that a store with a few random items would be that much of a strain on the server. Again, I'm not sure how all this works, but we're getting new stuff all the time around here...every single month quite a few new avatar items show up, new genes and mutations come out, new species pop up, not to mention the vast amount of breeding that goes on... I can't see 2-3 new items coming out putting that much of a strain on the works. I was thinking store items would work like the avatar items, they're around for a month, people can buy them with gold, then they're gone. Some could be re-released down the line. Maybe a few 'special' items could come out during fests... Maybe it would be a strain for the server, dealing with all those dressed up pets, now that I really think about it... :S

Well, if it won't happen, it won't happen. It's a disappointment, but I'm not going to complain. There's a lot about the game that makes me happy without a store. This was just a thought because I like to see my pets decked out in a lot of bling and I miss being able to do that... :)