Blogsytail

It's been a while since I've written one of these! It's been a bit of a rough ride. Long story short, I got my new computer, and have been busy, visiting friends, arranging things, looking for a job etc... Which means making a game in my spare time is pretty hard when I don't have much spare time. And when you're able to play games after not being able to for 4 months. Let's just say I think I have it out of my system now. There's no way to know games like playing them, right?

But I won't end the blog like that. I'll admit, progress has been slow as I realize more and more the scope of my game, trying to think of everything that will need to be thought of for each aspect. It's like a tree, the the branches just keep spreading further and further until you look in shock just how many branches there are on this thing. It's quite staggering. But I shall persist! Blazing Fur shall be a reality!

I've been very busy this week moving house, so I've not had much chance to think or do anything about the game. However, I have had some awesome peeps join the group I made! It's still open so click here to check it out! Tyro's been making progress with initial code and I intend to spend this week drawing up a layout for design of the game!

It's that time of the week! A little early due to reasons. Things have theoretically come a long way. I've done a fair bit of research and thinking and have a fair few choices. But before I go into those, I'll talk about the game concept I have.

The concept title is 'Blazing Fur'. It's a 2D platformer/racer where cute animal critters race each other to prove they're the fastest. The winner of the race is the one who goes so fast they burst into flame! Partly inspired by the indie game 'Speedrunners' I thought this would be a fun concept and intriguing yet unique enough to stand out. The gameplay would revolve around momentum, building your own and trying to diminish others. Some early thoughts would be there would be characters that find different terrains faster to move in, some able to build momentum faster in the air or on the ground or maybe even underground in areas. I'd like there to be around 8 different characters, maybe give or take two depending on how difficult it would be to balance them. I'm still split whether the tracks are predetermined of if I should find a way to have them randomly generated, though they will loop on themselves regardless as the race doesn't finish until someone's in flames!

Now on the how to do this, I have various options from what I've researched. There's always the 'from scratch' method which, to me, is the last resort. I'm saying it first just to acknowledge it really. There are some various things I could use to make it. OpenFL is an open source multiplatform option, however it would require me to learn it. There's Box2D and JBox2D for a C++ and Java option that's quite well known. There's also the Gamemaker Studio program that Grey Knightmare linked to me before (thanks once again!). I'll really have to check them all out and see what's best as what I really need is a good manipulatable physics engine at the very least. The key to a good platformer is design and physics and really you should base your design on the physics you intend on using. I need to make sure that momentum can be built, maintained and sometimes lost fluidly so the game doesn't control really brokenly. I also need to make sure jumping physics as well as potentially gliding, sliding and other such things feel good to control. It'll be interesting to test them all out at the very least and see what works for me. I'm leaning towards JBox2D as it's in Java, a programming language I'm familiar with, but if the other options prove their benefits far outweigh the familiarity then it's time I buckle down and learn them.

While the core physics and programming of the game is important, I also like to keep a few thoughts on the design style and characters I intend to include to keep ideas flowing about what kind of game this will be. As I said in my last blog, I'd like it to be full of cute, happy things and brimming with dark humour, something I thought the concept itself would be a good platform for it. I can't help but think something like this is almost 'Happy Tree Friends'-esque (not for the faint of heart, that, I warn you now). That being said, I want the art style to be something... not unique, but not generic either. This is a strange thing to think about, thinking of super cute animal critters and wondering what's the cutest way of having them burst into flame.

That's all for this week. I like to think anything more I have to say will be in the comments below. Plus I'm not sure just how much or little I should say really...ah well.

If you want to get involved, join this group http://www.everypony.com/forums/group.php?groupid=201 and post what previous experience you have in design and coding and we'll talk where you might fit in!

I hope to make this a regular thing. So much so that I'm going to force myself to write it and hopefully that'll give me the impetus I need to do it. Celestia knows I need the motivation. So, let's begin!

I am going to make a game. It'll likely be something small and casual to start off with, one of those 'easy to learn, hard to master' type things. So what I really need is a concept that will work like that. There are many things I could take reference from, such as the recently released '10 Second Ninja' from GameDesignDan or titles such as 'The Binding of Isaac' and 'Super Meat Boy' from Edmund McMillan.The thing that really speaks to me is some kind of platformer, fighter or racer.

Platforming speaks to me because it's the kind of game I, like many others, have grew up with. I was playing Mario and Sonic games since their creation and I always preferred Sonic for its speed while still retaining excellent platforming prowess needed. Something I've always wanted, especially in recent sonic games, is an endless level. A level that either loops or is generated as you go, with only one goal; reach the fastest speed you can and maintain it for as long as you can. I've often wondered how one might achieve that and how one might build a game around that concept. I'll admit it is quite tempting for me to go for this one.

Fighting games are often hit and miss with me. I love Soul Calibur but dislike Tekken and Street Fighter. Marvel vs series seem fun to me, but I could never compete at a competitive level. I've recently wanted to get into Skullgirls but the recent laptop troubles has made this difficult. I absolutely love Super Smash Bros in all its iterations. And that's only one broad type of fighting game. There's also beat'em up fighters, such as Anarchy Reigns and Bayonetta (both of which I love). I will be getting Senran Kagura Burst for the 3DS and hopefully I'll enjoy that too. The difficulty in this choice is in both execution and the concept itself; how would I distinguish myself? How would my game be different, either in execution or style? It's quite difficult to think of how I'd do this.

Racer is a game type I don't often delve into mainly due to it rarely being done in a way I enjoy. Racing games I like are Need For Speed Underground 1, Lego Racers and Mario Kart. Need For Speed Underground 1 I enjoy because of the customization of your car and the fact that I didn't feel the AI was BS in winning if I made a mistake. Especially on Hard, you had to earn your win and it really did feel like you earned it, and if you didn't, it was your fault, not some rubberband AI who would always be on your tail. I like Lego Racers because you build your car, you race it, you earn more parts. Build, race, earn, build, race, earn etc... until you can build your car almost however you like with the pieces you've earned when you've beaten the game. It's pretty darn fun and creative. And then there's Mario Kart. Do I really need to explain the expertly designed courses, the whimsical karts and bikes, the myriad of characters to play as? It's just a fun game where you can just have fun and come last with little worries, where being at the back of the pack isn't necessarily a disadvantage. The question I ask myself is 'Can I do equally as good, if not better?' If I were to make a racer of some kind, it wouldn't be as large as Mario Kart. It'd likely start off as some small casual 4 player minute long race of some kind. Or maybe not even a race, but a 'survive as you drive while you and the other players fire various missiles and things at each other until there is only one left racing' kind of race. The prospect is enticing.

And after all of that is said and done, there's the style of the game. At least here, I know exactly what I want.

Heart stopping adorable cuteness everywhere. A proverbial rainbow of colour and sugar on the screen at all times... with humour as dark as GLaDOS' affection. For some reason, that just seems like the perfect kind of style I wish to achieve. I want things to look bright, happy, adorable, yet I want this cuteness to be a ruse, a mask of some kind for some dark secret. How I do this will be an experience I hope I learn a great deal and hope I succeed in doing so.

That's all for this week. I'll ponder over what I've written here, see what anyone has any thoughts on this and next week hopefully I can write about what I've decided on, and perhaps share some research on it.

Hello folks of Everypony blogs. I don't do this often so forgive any mistakes. I thought this a good a place as any.

First of all, for those who didn't know, my good laptop done conked out. It's GPU broke and it can't be replaced or repaired, so I have to buy one new while I use this craptop in the meantime. I've set up a paypal to pay money into to pay for it over time and I've had some awesome friends donate some money to help me out (which is very very appreciated) so I'm hopefully going to get this new laptop within the next two months. Here's hoping!

http://www.computeruniverse.net/en/products/90525571/msi-gp70-i740m287fd.asp

This is the laptop I'm planning on getting. It's better than the one I had before and I'm having my better half set everything up. If things go to plan... well I'm going to have so many plans, and I'll be blogging about them all.

So I've decided to leave and after dragging it out for a week of questions and nonsense, I've finally decided to give a summary of my time here. My time here has been quite long and as such so will this be.

DISCLAIMER: I'm writing this with an "I don't give an applebucking hoot what people think" kind of attitude. I'll be posting it to my tumblr if it gets deleted, though I'd prefer the mods edit it with a link to the tumblr post if that action is necessary.

I'm not doing this to make friends. I'm not doing this to actively get on anyones back (except in one exception). I'm writing this because my job and afterwards social image held me back in being able to what I had to say. No more.

First of all, speaking from a staff perspective, I'm going to say what the staff wish they could ram down the throats of some of the members:

CALM YO WHINEY TITS!

The amount of complaining that some of the members do here can just be obscene at times. If you've made one mistake in the past then some will just not let that go and no matter what you do after that they will pick everything wrong they can think about it. People make mistakes! People screw up! Being a moderator is going to force someone to do something someone doesn't like and you're not allowed to show any weakness or bias in anything ever or it's immediately branded as unfair in some way.

One thing the members sometimes forget is that we are all human. We are all unique. As much as you think we shouldn't have favourites, bias or think ill of people, it will happen. Anytime you catch wind of someone saying something like 'oh this guy said you suck' in the derp room or something you leap on it like vultures, but think about it. Have you caused any problems, especially specific to them? Are you known to act a certain way they don't like, or believe something they've expressed issue with?

And for the love of Celestia, WHAT'S WITH ALL THE DAMN DRAMA? It's a pony forum for crying out loud, a forum for fans of a show preaching pastel coloured friendship. Why do you have to go out of your way to cause problems? Why does everyone have to stop the presses because of some minor issue?

That being said, sometimes it's justified. Sometimes it's the staff's issue. In general they've been good about owning up to it, but sometimes you screw up royally and have no one to blame but yourself. Sometimes you can be tactless and offend people without realizing. Sometimes you just act a dick. Think about what you done, and accept you dun goofed, seriously. Everything isn't the users fault. Don't let yourself be goaded into things and cause problems.

I've worked with many people on this site, from its humble beginnings to where it is now. There are some that have stuck in my mind.

Grey Knightmare. The legend himself. They day we lost you was a very sad day for the site. I used to think you were being too serious when you kept pushing for the site to keep improving and being better, but if I could go back then I'd jump right on that wagon with you. What's happened to the site now could have been avoided if we kept pushing, but we got lazy and distracted. Whether it's too late is up to the staff.

Derpy... I've already said about Derpy in another post. I'll just say that I wish I didn't drive you away. This site needed you most back then and I was a selfish dick that drove you away. I'm sorry.

Merri and Poetic - Awesome pair of guys. I wish I could have done more for you guys, but it wasn't anything in my direct control. Looking forward to seeing you at MCM guys.

Berry, Zephyr, Mike - You guys were awesome admins and I'm so damn happy to have worked with you guys.

Of course, there are some that have actively caused issues on the site, not to name names but they either have or or will be removed eventually. Until then, I just giv one word of advice to the staff: Buck up and don't worry about the short term consequences if the long term effect is NEEDED.

As for me, that's all for now and forever. Now to fade into a distant memory.


(For Mods if get deleted) Find the post here and follow my tumblr if you want to keep asking questions.

Check me out at http://laspegasus.net/ where you can find me in future.

Since I am leaving the site, I thought I'd finally give you guys something that many of you may have wanted, so here it is.

AMA - Ask me anything. No holds barred, ask me about myself, what my journey on the site has been like, my time on the staff, my opinions on staff members, site members, what I like to do or play... whatever comes to mind. I reserve the right not to answer a question or not to answer it fully if it concerns my own private life, but I'll try to be as open and honest about anything you ask about pretty much anything else, site related or not.

I'll answer questions until Sunday 12th, you can post your questions here.

Sayonara everypony.

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Today I've started my Audiosurf series! I'll be making 2 videos a week on songs of my choosing, though I'm always open for requests. Got something you want me to surf? Post a link below and I'll check it out! It can be any kind of music so feel free to suggest anything good!

Looking forward to suggestions, so start bringing them in!

Hey there everypony. I was going through the games I'm going to play for Las Pegasus Productions and my eye caught Fallout 3. I thought it'd be a great place to start, something long and enjoyable with a lot of room for choice. I can learn about making videos, optimize and otherwise ensure any future video is better all throughout one series. And then an idea struck me.

I'm going to give you guys the chance to pick how I play the game and what choices I make during it. Of course there are some things I'm going to pick for myself, but I want you guys to give me a character to play.

How do you contribute? Well that's easy! Post your comments here about what the character should act like. Is he happy? Cynical? Snarky? Suave? That's up to you! To make sure this is something I can translate to the game, I'm going to put a sheet below for you to fill in. Feel free to add more or leave stuff out! The choices that interest me will be shown in the first video to be made after christmas!

Without further ado, here's the sheet:

Keep in mind, this will be a FEMALE character of high intelligence. How you use that is up to you!

Body type: (What their strength and agility is like)
Charm: (How good they are at talking to people)
Luck: (Are they lucky?)
Affinities: (What this character likes above all else, max 3)
Fears/Dislikes: (What this character hates above all else, max 3)
Addiction: (Something the character will collect religiously)
Karma: (Good, neutral, evil)
Backstory: (What was their life like in the vault?)
Fighting Stance: (Avoid violence, thrives on violence or a mix of both?)

Further Info: (anything else you might want to add)

Now go forth and comment on what I should play as!

[size=+2]The WiiU - MCM October 27th Thoughts[/size]​

The WiiU. Many are undecided in their thoughts on it, but I know exactly how I feel about it. I was lucky enough to get to play and experience some of the games at the MCM Expo in London on the 27th of October, and I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on the games that I played and watched while there. Without further ado, this is my first thoughts on the WiiU in black and white.

THE CONTROLLER

Before I get into the games, one of the big things about the console was the pad controller. I was pleasantly surprised to find how light it was in my hands. I had expected it to be heavier, but it definitely had a nice weight to it. The ergonomics on the controller aren't bad either, with it being easy to hold and control even with one hand, which for some games I played was quite important as I was busy using my other hand to keep my jaw off the ground.

Easily my favourite part of the controller is the touch screen and how it interacts with each game. I found it very responsive in its uses and particularly enjoyed the ways in which it was used for each of the games I viewed. I'll go into more detail for each of the games uses of it when I talk about the games, but overall it was as fluid as a glass of cold cream soda, and as satisfying too.

I've not mentioned anything wrong with the controller because I can't really think of any problems with it yet. The MCM people managed to use it for 3 days without needing to calibrate it as far as I'm aware, it seamlessly interacts with the games and it's not particularly cumbersome. I definitely think that as long as it's used properly this is a powerful tool for the WiiU console, and if it's not then it makes a rather good table for placing your real controllers on. But enough about what you're going to use, let's have fun talking about what you're going to use it on!

THE GAMES

New Super Mario Bros WiiU

We all knew this was coming first. If you didn't then clearly you don't know Nintendo. In the demo I played, there were three levels you could play. One as an autumn themed level which let you get the flying squirrel suit that allowed you to glide and have a single swoop upwards in place of your spin jump. It took a little getting used to, but when I got used to the angle and height, I was quite happy to run, jump and surge up to glide down a row of coins. Also, this made getting on top of the flagpole so easy that Poetic would take notes.

The scond level was one of those mushroom in the sky levels that mario seems to enjoy. It's almost as if mushrooms taking mario high meant something. The feature for this level was the baby yoshi. These ones you had to carry with you, rather than them carrying you (like the baby yoshi's in Super Mario World), but the one you got in this level would inflate and carry you up slightly before descending slowly as it drifted along where you guide it. The mechanic was quickly mastered and the only issue I had was making sure I didn't drop the thing like a youtube romhack player needing an extra jump.

The third levels mechanic was simple. There are these large stars in the level that rotate when you stand on one of the points, meaning you had to be quick and jumpy to not fall into the pits often below them as you traverse a level that would fit an opening sequence of Mario Galaxy 3.

All in all the standard mario game with something different to set it aside from the rest. But how does the wii pad change anything? Well, that depends on if you're playing it single player or not. In single player, the pad does little to change the gameplay, except that you can either play it on the big screen or on the pad-screen. It was pretty cool using the pad to see the gameplay rather than the big screen, reminding me of the days I spent playing mario on my various gameboys. I also found having to tap a button a lot easier to do than shake the wii remote to do the spin jump, but that's just me.

But in multiplayer, it adds a whole new element into a mix of chaos that Discord would adore. You see, the player with the pad can tap the screen to make blocks appear for the other players. This is excellent for helping your team, saving them from falls or giving them the extra boost to get to secret areas.... it also means you can hinder their jumps, block their path and otherwise do your best to make sure they truly earn their victory through the level... but that's the fun part, isn't it?

Rayman Legends

First of all, one thing; if you don't like Rayman Origins you probably won't like this. From what I saw, the gameplay is almost unchanged. But really, Origins was a damn good game, and Legends is set to build on this. Rather than saving the Electoons, you're saving Teensies from cages, and there are a lot more in the levels it seems as I recall saving about 9 and I missed a few. But the added challenge in this game is the WiiU game pad and the player it controls, the grinning flying frog Murphy.

If you haven't seen the gameplay or trailers, Murphy is controlled using the touchscreen on the game pad. Murphy makes Lum's pink which add to their value, reveals chains of lums and can interact with the environment by cutting ropes, pulling platforms and revealing hidden areas. I got to play as Murphy and one of the most entertaining parts of the game is the 'running section'. In this, the player is simply set to run as fast and smooth as they can. Murphy has to time taps carefully to make lums appear for the player to collect and hint to where they should be. The best part is that if performed close to perfectly, it seamlessly adds to the already amazing music that's playing during the section. But don't count on hearing it first time. Just like Origins, Legends is not easing up on the difficulty and requires a fair bit of practice. Brace your TV screens and insure that vase you've perched precariously next to you for some reason, because things are going to get frustrating. But you love it really.

Nintendo Land

Ah Nintendo Land. I was skeptical at first, this seemed like the average Nintendo attempt at making a party game which in the past has been as hit and miss as the 3D Sonic series. Having played a few of the games in the selection I'm happy to say I'm definitely looking forward to getting this. I played three of the games myself so I'll report on them in order that I enjoyed them from least to most.

The first is a game based on the Legend of Zelda and fairly fun. The players with the wii remoteweild swords and shields and have to walk a path, cutting down anything in the way by swinging the wii remote and defend themsleves with the shield using the B button. The player with the wii pad is an archer who attacks enemies from afar as well as hitting switches to solve small puzzles. All players have 5 lives to share. Not getting the chance to be a archer, it seemed to control fairly well for the ones I saw who did use it.

The second game, set in animal crossing, is quite fun. Players are tasked with stealing 50 pieces of candy from the trees around the area. The more they steal, the bigger their head gets the slower they move. The player with the wii pad controls the guards. The two guards have to catch the thieves three times by using the two thumbsticks and trigger buttons to pounce on the players. The players have to run from the guards making sure they're not too slow from having too much candy. Players are able to drop the candy they're holding to speed up and evade capture. It's not a bad game and can be quite exciting, though I was as good at guarding the candy as the toads are at protecting Peach.

The final game I played, and easily the most fun of the Nintendo Land games I've seen is the game based on Luigi's mansion. The premise is simple. Four players are armed with torches and have to wander a floor of a small mansion. The person with the wii pad is a ghost and have to catch the four players while avoiding having the players shine the torch on them. When a player is caught, they 'faint' and have to be revived by having someone shine their torch on them. Torches don't last forever either. They have to be recharged by picking up batteries that show up when someones torch is in the red battery. The player's controllers vibrate when the ghost is near, getting more intense the closer the ghost gets. Playing this game as either side is truly exciting and while I can see many a fight for who gets to play as the ghost, I'd take my chances with the torch. Being the ghost is pretty difficult against a good group of people, though it's definitely fun to see someone panic as you get near to them and grab them, and catching them in the game is fun too.

Other Nintendo Stuff

I didn't get to play all the games there, so here's a brief summary of everything else I saw.

One nintendo land game I didn't play involved twisting the wii pad to drive a small car along a gauntlet of physics puzzles, trying not to get your balloon destroyed. It looked fun and challenging, certainly worth a look.

Pikmin 3 looks set to build and improve on a number of things from Pikmin two, with a number of different kinds of Pikmin and new enemies. The controls look solid and the visuals excellent.

One thing I saw that looked quite interesting is Panoramic View. Simply put, you're shown a scenario on the screen, for example a london open top bus tour. The screen shows the straight ahead view of what one would see sitting in the seat. Using the wii pad however allowed you to look around in full 360 view. You can have Big Ben on the TV screen while you look at the boats on the river by pointing the wii pad towards the river. A very interesting demonstration.

ZombieU's line was too long for me to try going in, but it looked quite cool from the footage I saw from across the barrier.

It seems someone has hacked my skype. They went through all my conversations and rooms with malicious intent and it's likely they may use this against me. If you guys hear anything about me in the next few weeks, be sure to check if it's true with ME and not someone else, and if you guys have ANY knowledge who did this to me, tell me at once. I beg of you guys.

I may be quiet on skype for the next few days.

EDIT: Turns out it was greyOne. He admitted it to me saying he regret it.

Perhaps I'll forgive him someday.

That's right, you read that correctly. I'll keep this simple.... maybe.

I mentioned before in the community post that I was going to step down from being an admin. Part of the reason for this is the stress of the job, part of it was being unable to do it, and part of this was because I felt there were problems in the staff that not only could I not solve, but I had some part in creating. I felt I didn't deserve the position and thought it best I focus my efforts on improving the community.

Ha ha ha. Good joke.

I'll be blunt. There are parts of this community that shine like the sun rising over green hills, which give me hope beyond hope that not only are there good things out there, but they are achievable if you just believe and try your best.

Then you realize that that's as close as they come. On the sun rise hills, so far away that by the time they reach you, you're too deep and depressed by all the things that drain your hope and energy that you question if its the same thing you viewed on the hills or some sick joke waiting to reveal itself to be just like everything else.

I'm sure little to none of you expected this of me. I know that some of you see me as a role model. If that's the case, let me tell you this.

Stay happy. Stay focused. Do everything you can to see and bring out the best in people. But, most importantly, learn to realize that sometimes its just not going to happen. Drop it and move on before it brings you down with it.

So, come the 31st, my actions on this site will most likely boil down to sticking to the RP forums, because I like to RP, and RP I shall do.

I'm going to leave every EP related skype room and if anyone comes to me on skype about this, PMs or VMs me about it or contacts me in any way about this, I'm going to block you. Block you hard with a big red button. You have been warned. However, I'll give you a bit of leeway here. Only here on this blog you can comment and ask me questions freely about it. I'll make sure none of them are deleted, but I'll decide what to answer and how I answer them.

If you want to find me in future, head to http://laspegasus.net/ but leave your drama behind 'cos that's not welcome there.

I've made a farewell thread if you'd like to say some parting words to me.

For now and perhaps forever, Foxytail signing out.

Sayonara~

So guys, as you all know, I'm stepping down from being admin here, but I'm remaining on staff to be part of the community patrol (because you guys are that awesome). With this extra freedom, Flash and I have taken the opportunity to start on a project we've been wanting to do for a long time. Without further ado, here it is:

Las Pegasus Productions

http://laspegasus.net/

The site is still being worked on, so there may be short periods where it may be down. Don't worry about it, we got it covered!

I posted a news post today which tells you who we are and what we're doing, and we'll be talking about it on the Floxy show this week. The Floxy show will be on Friday 10PM UK time (5PM Eastern US time) so if you want to know more, or just want to have fun, come check out the show!

~Foxytail

​

To some, this will be the worst news I could give. To some, this may be a blessing (I certainly know one who thinks so). However, I've felt that now the time has come. As of October 31st, I'll be stepping down as Head Admin of Everypony.com. There are a number of reasons for this, so bear with me as I might drone on a bit.

When I first took a role on the staff, I did so because it was fun and let me give back to the community somewhat. As time went on, the site grew. Many came and left, and through it all, I tried my best to keep going. Sometimes it was hard, but I always had you guys in mind. Besides, it was fun, right? Well as time went on, it stopped being fun. It stopped being something I did for myself to give back and became something I was obligated to do. I became community manager because I wanted to hang out with you guys and help you when I could. When I became an admin, as time went on, I got less and less oppurtunity to do that. At times I'd get online, get what I needed to done and then went off to do something else feeling drained. I don't want this site to be that for me anymore. I want to have fun with you guys again, I don't want to see you all in terms of what I might have to moderate from you.

Secondly, I'm just not the right guy for this job. When I was first put in charge, I broke a close friends trust and almost lost him as a friend. I've made enemies of friends I wish I didn't, and I always find myself in a spot I don't want to be in, choosing who to slight in favour of another. Over these months, I see and hear things about whether I'm right for this role. Staff and members have left because of poor leadership. I've always felt I shouldn't be here, yet its the support of many that's kept me going this far. Now, I want what's best for the site, and for now that means I shouldn't be calling the shots.

Lastly, I just can't be putting as much effort into the site as I used to. Things are getting heavy with uni coming back and an increasing need for things like a job and such that I can't give my 100% to the site anymore. Maybe a time in the future I'll be able to, but for now, I simply can't manage it.

So what does that mean for me? I've decided I'm still going to remain on the staff, mostly as an advisory role as well as part of the community patrol. I'll represent Everypony at any event I go to and I'll still remain on the community patrol as that's what I want to do. I want to be here for you guys.

I'm not the only one stepping down. On the 31st, Flash is also stepping down from radio manager. Below is his reasons.

Why am I stepping down? Let me start by saying, I’ve had a great time on the staff but I feel that, during the last ~6 months, a lot has changed, some to the better, some to the worse. We’ve had a lot of good ideas but a good handful of bad ones too. Things got done, then revised, then brought back, rinse and repeat.
Some of you will remember the “staff evaluation” a few months back. After the results were clear, they were announced. Then suddenly things got changed back without anyone to know. It got done, no one got asked and we basically had to “deal with it.” Back in the days, our former admin Grey Knightmare, said “Guys, this is not a democracy, don’t like it? There’s the door.”
We respected that, because in some way.., we still all got to decide on important matters and were meant to give our input. That time, with our 3 admins, the rest of the staff weren’t asked at all. It was purely a decision they made even though some did not agree with it.
So lately, that “giving our input” has moved on to become more like “argue the living hay out of every little detail”. We’ve quite honestly lost the focus of what is and what is not the most important.
Now as the radio manager, I said to myself: “Chill, it’s a forum thing, it doesn’t affect you that much anyway.” Oh was I wrong. In the end, it caused a decision that has not been carried out yet. That decision was, to split the radio off of the main site, giving it its own set of rules and making it a bit more independent. I made that decision along with the admins and the radio staff. Now that I’m leaving my position, I’m not sure whether or not they will go through with it but I sincerely hope they do. The radio needs to be treated in a different way than the forums. It needs rules specifically made for it and the staff must be able to make decisions without interference from the forum side.
I feel I’m drifting off a little though, so back to topic. I’m leaving because I feel that, in the current situation, there is nothing I can do for the radio. I can bring up ideas, push the decisions we’ve already made, but I never see them actually happen. That combined with constant drama about “who’s trolled who, in what thread and why they should be infracted or banned for it” shows me that even the simplest decisions take too long to be made.
The site’s oldest members will remember what I did back in the early days of the radio.
“Oh you want to be a **** on the chat? Think about that in the next 24h while you’re banned.”
And that was it. There were no rules to tell me “You can ban this guy if he does that, for x hours.”
It was called common sense. And these days…we don’t use it enough.

With that said, Foxy and I will still be here for the bi-weekly Floxy show on the radio. We might act as some sort of advisors for certain parts of the site but other than that we will be busy raising our own projects.

~Flash

So if there's anything you'd like to bring up, anything you'd like me to do, anything you want to ask me as an admin and site leader, you have to the end of the month to do so.

Berry Punch, Zephyr and Mike406 will be the admins. Yetione will be the new leader for the Community Patrol. I trust these guys and know that they can do with the site what I couldn't.

And don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Every week on Saturday, I'll still be typing these, so I look forward to posting about what actually goes on around here, like I should have from the beginning.

In other news, Tyro the Fox has started a tumblr for the Everypony Game! For those wanting to follow its progress, click here or the link below to check it out and follow!

http://epgdev.tumblr.com/

That's all from me,

Foxytail, soon to be former Head Admin.

P.S I'm going to be leaving a few gifts here and there around the site for you guys, let's see who finds them first~

​

That's right everypony, we're moving to Saturday. I find my friday nights have been far too busy to be able to write an adequate community post recently, so I've decided it's for the best. Now for the news!

First of all, the shout outs!

The first goes to a few of the staff members. Yeti and Yami, both members of the community patrol. Recently they've found things rather tough for personal reasons, and yet they keep on working hard and doing all they can. I know I'm not alone in saying that you guys truly are awesome and we're lucky to have you here. Keep up the good work and most importantly know that you're loved by many here!

There was another shout out but they didn't send me the PM with the name, so.... here's a shout out to everypony! You're all awesome in your own way, every single one of you! EDIT: They got back to me! Darkshine would like me to give a shoutout to Marston, Valak, WaterFlame and Zephyr! You're doing an awesome job being awesome people!

Also, the serious discussion area has been opened! If you haven't seen it, it can be found under the General Discussion area in the Sugarcube Corner subforum!

Next week there's going to be some very big important news, so I sincerely hope that even if you don't follow these, or there's people on the site you know who doesn't look at these... please, make the special effort next week. It's important.

That's all from me for now! Remember, from now on, these are going to be coming on SATURDAYS!

~Foxytail