Episode 1 - Furcadia Learns To Walk
(upon two legs and speak)~~~~~~
In its infancy, Furcadia was small, cold and barren. Early on, Felorin fixed the bug that caused it to be cold, before realizing that it was actually quite an achievement for an online computer game to be able to cause its players to feel cold. Unfortunately, he has since never been able to reproduce this effect.
The bigger obstacle to Furcadia's growth, however, was its size. For a while, size was not an issue with Furcadia, as there were more seats in Mycroft's main bar area than there were furres in all of Furcadia. An old screenshot of Mycroft's on a particularly lively night in Furcadia's early days is displayed below. Keep in mind that furre avatars were not yet fully developed, screenshot technology was very primitive, and the screenshot quality has degraded considerably over time.
Old Mycroft's - Ironically busier then than now
As the population grew, however, size became quite an issue. Since a majority of Furcadia's early players were very cynical, sarcastic and anti-social, new players wanted to get away from them as quickly as possible. But since there wasn't anywhere for them to go, it was difficult to keep new players on the game. Felorin and Talzhemir decided that they needed to make more maps, but, since they were both felines, neither of them felt like doing any work.
As if by fate, the answer came to Felorin in a dream. He would let the players make their own maps to upload to the game, so everyone would have a place of their own to go. Best of all, he wouldn't have to do anything except write the program, which was surprisingly easy. Felorin decided to call these player-made maps "dreams" in hopes of fulfilling a promise made to him by Talzhemir, when he asked her if he could kiss her and she replied, "In your dreams." Unfortunately for Felorin, Talzhemir has never visited one of his dreams.
With the problem of Furcadia's limited size behind him, Felorin's next mission was to make Meovanni Village, the place where new furres arrived for the first time, a more inviting place. Even with the availability of dreams, many of Furcadia's original players, such as Talzhemir, preferred to stay in Meovanni Village and immediately let new arrivals know how much better than them they were. While he agreed that they were, Felorin did not like the fact that new furres would, in many cases, become quickly discouraged and immediately leave, never to come back again.
The Pandora Compatibility Test; (1) Does your vocabulary extend further than a few 'unintelligent' curse words? (2) Are your spelling/grammar skills above that of a four year old? (3) Does what you have to say have any valid or valuable point? (4) Will it interest me in the slightest? (5) Will it affect my life in any major way? --- If you've answered yes to at least three of the above, then you may meet my social standards.
Felorin's solution to this problem was actually quite ingenious. A lone pine tree northwest of Mycroft's was dubbed the Wisdom Tree, and would become the place where new furres arrived. The new furres would, upon arrival, quickly learn that they were in the presence of true wisdom. By virtue of the fact that the furres who claimed to be better than them were surrounding the Wisdom Tree, new furres knew they must be very wise furres and they wanted to stick around to learn from them. The idea worked incredibly well, and Furcadia's population soared.
The Wisdom Tree is a unique area of Furcadia where a good portion of the furres who normally reside there in the present are the same furres who have gathered there since Furcadia's very first year online. Some cite an addicting scent from the tree itself which, after extended exposure, renders the furres powerless to walk away. Others believe there is some sort of dimensional time warp in the immediate area of the tree, in which certain furres are perpetually caught. Still others just think they are losers. Whatever the reason, the Wisdom Tree is undoubtedly one of the most timeless hangout spots in Furcadia's history. More information can be found at the Wisdom Tree's very own wiki.
As Furcadia celebrated it's first anniversary and headed into its second year, the number of furres online at peak times was fast approaching the triple digits. This sometimes even caused furres to be turned away because the server was reaching capacity. Furcadia's population was growing at an unprecedented rate for several reasons. Word of mouth was doing well for Furcadia, as well as cheap parents who gave their children subscriptions to Furcadia for Christmas instead of the Ultima Online subscriptions they actually wanted.
* Current players: Trevor Talisrim, Leo L'Pard, Kal Paek, Freakazoid!!!, Burning Sienna, Stupid Mouse, Phane, Rasper, Trombonist, Kaelzen, MyCrotch, Tuigan, M'lady Blue, dragonsong, Odipooz, Desmond Rolf, RichieR, Quemazon, Saphire Blaze, l<at Fang, netanyahoo, CottonCandy, Rage Rat, Marafae Arcadia, Salia, MyCrust, Ka'Oz, Kerplunk, Michael McGee, Bernadette, Jalin Tor'ith, Enoc, Strikes, Black Rogue, Balestar, Evader, Ikkin Charisma, Miss Sadie, Okita Ohmu, El-Salvador, Bly of Fentesk, Ifurita, Amazon, Mrs.Cosmos, Haplo Of Leah, Angmar, Blow, Qex, Weightswolf.
* 49 players on this map.
"Furcadia's Full!" - Early 1998
For the next couple years, Furcadia was plagued with a full server. Occasionally, Felorin would raise the limit a little bit, providing momentary relief. But the relief wouldn't last long, and it became apparent that a major upgrade was necessary. Unfortunately, Felorin was occupied with bigger problems - much bigger problems, involving the World's Largest Blossom he had mistakenly created.
Felorin waves his paws around in the air.
Felorin frowns at the blossom. "Why aren't you shrinking?"
Felorin kicks the blossom with one foot-paw.
Felorin: I guess I got it wrong.
Felorin reaches into his sleeve, and pulls out some sparkling dust. He tosses it on the blossom.
Felorin: I said SHRINK!
Felorin jumps up and down a couple of times.
Felorin mumbles, "I only wanted some daisies."
This issue kept Felorin busy for quite some time and, as a result, Furcadia's server problems got little attention. Furcadia would eventually make it through these growing pains, and the "Furcadia's full" message would become a distant memory in most furres' minds, spoken about only in myths and legends, such as this one.
With a steadily growing community, Furcadia began to see more of its members congregating together in large groups known as guilds. Technological advancements, like fancy dreams and bots, were also on the rise. Be sure to check back soon to see how all that went.