2016-05-21 - Dragon Cave's 10th Birthday!

[Lythiaren]

Speaking of frills, we found this while going through a researcher's notes.

 

In totally unrelated news my wrist hurts a lot now.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Lythiaren

[PKfreeze]

Nice new dragons! The Tarantula Hawk Drake is my favorite.

[VixenDra]

 

> > >

 

This red of the main body is magnificent though... ^^; membrane not really but the rest, daww pity... vibrant colors are not a bad thing just because they're rare on Earth^^

 

but never ending thank you for not doing it a single-gender!

it's way too good for such a waste:P

but that magnificent red though*.*

 

 

 

BTW at least checking this year, I've never seen any of the released dragons in the completed section... and I mean checking long before the respective release

Are these chosen dragons taken down like 5 months before the release or what?

or now you need to be an artist already (with access to the hidden section) to have your sprite released? not much new blood lately (though true, those artists produce best shaded sprites) and the completed list is growing without releasing much^^; And some of the sprites there are really pretty, some are again by Infinis and now I'm getting worried those wo'n't be release brcause landed in the public completed section:P

(Sry, jus poking TJ about the tendency it starts taking )

[Lythiaren]

Dragons chosen for release are taken down a minimum of two months before launch. It's usually much longer than that because people can take a while to sign the artist agreement, sometimes a lot of other stuff could be queued up for smaller releases, etc.

 

EDIT: I was mistaken, checked actual document for correction.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Lythiaren

[MessengerDragon]

I really like the Morphodrake, and the Candalabra once I figured out that the far wing was not actually a second head! 

So I'm not the only one who thought that!

 

Thank you for the information, PieMaster!

 

 

Edit: and thank you Lythiaren for those research notes!

Edited May 24, 2016 by MessengerDragon

[Lythiaren]

Edit: and thank you Lythiaren for those research notes!

For those who have issues reading cursive in teeny weeny eyestrain-o-vision, a transcript will be available tomorrow, either after I get up or after I get home from work. >_>;

 

Unless someone feels like doing it while I'm gone, but I realize it's messy and difficult to read.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Lythiaren

[InugamiZERO]

For those who have issues reading cursive in teeny weeny eyestrain-o-vision, a transcript will be available tomorrow, either after I get up or after I get home from work. >_>;

 

Unless someone feels like doing it while I'm gone, but I realize it's messy and difficult to read.

thank you

I can write in cursive but I cant read it

[Pixxelation]

This red of the main body is magnificent though... ^^; membrane not really but the rest, daww pity... vibrant colors are not a bad thing just because they're rare on Earth^^

 

but never ending thank you for not doing it a single-gender!

it's way too good for such a waste:P

but that magnificent red though*.*

 

 

 

BTW at least checking this year, I've never seen any of the released dragons in the completed section... and I mean checking long before the respective release

Are these chosen dragons taken down like 5 months before the release or what?

or now you need to be an artist already (with access to the hidden section) to have your sprite released? not much new blood lately (though true, those artists produce best shaded sprites) and the completed list is growing without releasing much^^; And some of the sprites there are really pretty, some are again by Infinis and now I'm getting worried those wo'n't be release brcause landed in the public completed section:P

(Sry, jus poking TJ about the tendency it starts taking )

Antareans were a public concept ^^

[Herk]

Once considered pests the ??? Frilled Dragon fell victim to the cruel extinction programs in recent years.

Farmers had made a habit of killing them on sight, and several wizards were called upon to assist. What they concocted was a terrible plague which prevented natural reproduction. It spread rapidly to wild dragons until predation and poaching led scholars to believe they had gone entirely extinct. I have recetly found a small pack of survivors that appear to be immune to the plague. ??? have been take in an effort to cure and innoculate our domesticated specimens. ??? appear to be promising.

 

- L

 

My attempt at a transcript

 

I'm sure someone can fill out the ???

Edited May 24, 2016 by herk

[FluffyPillow]

For those who have issues reading cursive in teeny weeny eyestrain-o-vision, a transcript will be available tomorrow, either after I get up or after I get home from work. >_>;

 

Unless someone feels like doing it while I'm gone, but I realize it's messy and difficult to read.

If I'm reading it correctly (kind of difficult this early in the morning - need sleep ^^; ), I think it reads,

 

"Once considered pests, the prolific Frilled Dragon fell victim to cruel extermination programs in recent years. Farmers had made a habit of killing them on sight, and several wizards were called upon to assist. What they concocted was a terrible plague, which prevented natural reproduction. It spread rapidly to wild dragons, until predication and poaching led scholars to believe they had gone entirely extinct. We have recently found a small pack of survivors that appear to be immune to the plague. Samples have been taken in an effort to cure and inoculate our domesticated specimens. Preliminary tests appear to be promising."

 

If I got any of it wrong, I apologize ^^; *hides in a dark hole*

 

 

 

 

[Fly-by-Night]

"Once considered pests,

Aaah, "pests". I kept reading "pasta". (Then again, it's lunchtime here.)

[Cinspawn]

Aaaah, I'm loving all the adult dragons! Gotta get my hands on those drakes!

[SheridanCharon]

(now what on Earth Valkemare am I going to breed them to???)

Glaucus Drakes, I think would be a nice partner.

[Asketil]

The note answers all c:

Love the candelabras and morthodrakes. All the sprites are stunning.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Asketil

[Fiona]

Morphos! I live near a botanical gardens that have a tropical butterfly exhibit every spring. My daughter and I make a point of going every year and the Common Morpho is our favorite of the collection. I think Morphodrakes are a lovely representation of my favorite tropical butterfly.

 

I love all the new dragons we got for the Birthday, and I'm thrilled we got Frills and Arias back. With all the changes I think we've gotten a great Birthday celebration.

[SheridanCharon]

Mating displays involve elaborate aerial maneuvers with intricate flickering of their wing lights—a sight that’s equal parts majestic and hilarious, since their wings are on the small side (they require a slight boost from magic to be able to fly well).

 

In terms of personality, they’re actually quite clumsy, and are sometimes considered to be a bit lunkish. Though not the brightest, they're quite loving and affectionate (unless you do a stupid and anger them), and make great companions.

Ooooooh! Now I get why they look how they do. Pretty neat idea, that. Makes them all the better, imo

 

And thanks to the second paragraph, I can't help but imagine them waiting for when you're sat down and dumping their heads in your lap to demand scratches behind the ears horns or under the chin

 

 

Brilliant job, TJ and spriters!

[Quinney]

Well done and thank you to all spriters. I'm going to enjoy collecting all of these!

[KageSora]

Oh man, the Morphos are gorgeous! I've already got a lineage planned out for them.

[G2kr]

Happy Birthday DC! Thank you for all the beautiful dragons! So happy the frills and the old pinks are back. Wonderful birthday celebration!

[WestWindReborn]

Love the designs on these guys. It would be cool if the ice head on the male nexus was blasting frost. Also love how the male and female both look equally vicious.

[purplehaze]

Nice set of dragons with interesting descriptions. Nothing that screams "hoard me!" but that is a good thing. All of them will be good additions to my lair.

[Lantean_Pegasus]

Ohhh, I just discovered the adults !

 

@PieMaster:

Thank you very much for the Candelabra facts ! It is a lovely concept, and a great dragon !

I have to confess I like both versions. But I like them equally, so huzzah for having one of them as a regular breed !

I love the sprite and the description, so this is my absolute favourite of the birthday dragons by far !

(I'm always happy when dragons get a "character", especially when it is this interesting.)

 

One question, though: How should I imagine the Candelabras luring prey with their lights ? I mean, when you aren't living from insects or roaming the deep sea I'm at a loss as to what prey would be lured in by moving (or steady) lights ? Most animals I can think of tend to avoid light [in the sense of individual light sources in the dark, not daylight] or are spooked by it. And these guys don't sound like the type that preys on lost wanderers in the night...

 

@other dragons:

 

The Drakes are a nice addition, especially the Morphodrake. The Tarantula Hawk is a nice one, too, but it is a bit strange to have a dragon that is an exact copy of an existing animal, even sharing the name, only in drake form. The idea is a good one, and executed masterfully, it just... is a bit strange. I know, we have the Horse and the Glaucus, but they differ a little more from their animal counterparts.

Just out of curiosity: Why is the Morphodrake called Morphodrake ? As far as I can tell from the description it doesn't change its form or colour or anything ?

Edit: Nevermind. I just read Fiona BlueFire's post above. So it's after the butterfly. That's fine by me, because in this case the drake doesn't behave like the animal, and they are both named after Aphrodite's "nickname". The butterflie's colours are captured very well in the sprite !

 

The Nexus, I'm afraid, just make me go "Excuse me, what ??". I know this is fantasy, but the concept of two halves of the same body sprouting two radically different kinds of mana, producing a creature that's going more and more mad as it grows, having two heads that would live out the elemental differences (probably among themselves first), and that whole thing still being able to survive and reproduce sounds more like a B-movie monstrosity to me. And the whole "really big, really mighty, really carnivorous, prefers to prey on our main characters (pardon: dragons)" doesn't exactly alleviate that impression at all. This isn't, by chance, a Halloween concept that lost a narrow competition against the Desipis ? ("Mwahaha-raving-maaaaad" and "mwahaha-mindcontrolling-eeeeevil" would be a perfect pair, at least.)

The sprites are executed very well (especially the male - fantastic colouring !), but the concept - original as it may be - just doesn't work for me.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Lantean_Pegasus

[lastcrazyhorn]

Ohh. The Tarantula Hawk Drake is hot.

[Tango]

Nice bunch of dragons, I think my favourite are the two headeds. It's a shame the male isn't breathing a tiny ball of frost though, like the female is with fire.

 

Got to say I'm a bit disappointed we didn't get the store, or any news of what happened to the raffle and if we'll ever get one again.

[Asketil]

I can remove this but I was already thinking of sweet drake babies ❤ It is rather blurry, Iamsosorry

 

I have to say the morthodrakes and candelabras are my favs, will snag more when I get the chance ❤