2021-05-21 - Dragon Cave's 15th Birthday!

[Silverwatermist]

1 hour ago, Odeen said:

 

Yup! They're heat pits - not just useful for vipers and the like. Birdz did a piece of gemshard fanart years ago (I think it's somewhere on DA) that shows the pits pretty clearly, but I also did these little doodlemaboobers recently (intended for use as forum avatars, so have at them - although I don't yet have any of the new colors lol oops) that also shows them off.

These are so incredibly cool! I love their eyes and scales! I'm also very happy to know more about what their intended personality and demeanor is, and that you feel like their new art matches it better. I was unsure which version I liked best, since each one looks great to me but the heads each give off a different vibe, but knowing that the newer art reflects what was always intended makes me appreciate the new head shape a lot!

[purplehaze]

The AP is mostly full of Royal Blues and Crimsons. So far I have missed 3 pink Sapphires and countless Gemshards. With well over 100 people all jumping on the eggs as soon as they show up it is a very rough scene! Even if the egg pops up right under my cursor it is gone before I can grab it.

[Pourlemoment]

Just now, purplehaze said:

The AP is mostly full of Royal Blues and Crimsons. So far I have missed 3 pink Sapphires and countless Gemshards. With well over 100 people all jumping on the eggs as soon as they show up it is a very rough scene! Even if the egg pops up right under my cursor it is gone before I can grab it.

 

Same here! LOL  But I did manage to grab 2 CB Electric.  

[Spyridon]

I wonder if we might have to have multiple APs now? Like one for every continent.

[acm1923]

1 hour ago, Odeen said:

 

Yup! They're heat pits - not just useful for vipers and the like. Birdz did a piece of gemshard fanart years ago (I think it's somewhere on DA) that shows the pits pretty clearly, but I also did these little doodlemaboobers recently (intended for use as forum avatars, so have at them - although I don't yet have any of the new colors lol oops) that also shows them off.

I LOVE these!!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️ 

SO excited to start yet another list of breeding projects with the new colors!!! 

[BringsTheSnow]

Loving the birthday release so far! Glad I can hold off on breeding the pygmies and 'influencing the Canto's and still get the alts later. I like to snag new releases in batches of 4 (so I get 2 CB breeding pairs) which means any CB release of more than 2 breeds forces me to pick. That 8 egg max kills me!!!

 

Snagged 4 of the new peach eggs from the jungle on the 21st and they are now named hatchies. Bred 3 of the purples on the 21st as well from my CB Royal Blues and Crimsons. Just waiting for them to gender so I can name my princes and princesses... Depending on how the adult sprites look, these might be a new favorite. The eggs are just gorgeous!

 

As for changes to the Copper and Gemshard sprites, I really don't see much difference in the overall appearance in either (which is a good thing). I understand why others are upset but it personally hasn't effected me negatively. I like the tweaks that were made, particularly to the gemshards. @Odeen that python picture made me laugh and see those shards in a whole new light. I like them a lot better now that I know the backstory and inspiration!

[Shokomon]

Because people be asking for lists:

If it helps any, I made a Masterlist of almost all the info about the dragons we know as well as some other notes, funny quotes, Glitch notes, and theories here:

On 5/22/2021 at 3:03 AM, Shokomon said:

{Snip}

Go here for the Master post of all the known mechanics and other stuff about the dragons.

As well as my spreadsheet (The DC Birthday 2021 Variant/Alt/Hybrid Tracking & Mechanism List)! Please help figure out the other mechanics!

I also made a spreadsheet that I would really appreciate assistance with, so we can figure out how to get the other "Florets," and the Gemshards. Though, with the Gemshards it looks like we have as substantial theory! I just need proof of Monday and Tuesday Gemshards. for documentation.

 

Now for responses:

 

1 hour ago, Odeen said:

 

FTR the gemshard has always canonically had a head shaped similarly to a ball python head (below), which was not reflected in the original sprites at all because I did not know how to sprite that shape. Gemshards have always been cuddly, gregarious, happy, and friendly goobers that were done a disservice by having sharp features.


 

 

1 hour ago, Odeen said:

 

Yup! They're heat pits - not just useful for vipers and the like. Birdz did a piece of gemshard fanart years ago (I think it's somewhere on DA) that shows the pits pretty clearly, but I also did these little doodlemaboobers recently (intended for use as forum avatars, so have at them - although I don't yet have any of the new colors lol oops) that also shows them off.

Gotta tell you Odeen. I was sitting on the fence. Really like the older, sleeker look. But, then, you explained and I saw these faces and everything is better now.

 

1 hour ago, Pixxelation said:

 

same vibes, and i mean this as the highest compliment:

 

Agreed!

 

3 hours ago, Fyrebird said:

I used to save old sprites before the Encyclopedia came out, and never deleted them. I'm only going to do one color.

 

Older on the left, newer on the right.

 

Manes (beards?) and mustache tassels are bushier.

Tail forks are thicker.

Antlers are less pointy.

Eyes are larger?

I still think I like the edits to the female more than the male though.

 

4 hours ago, Dinala1641882 said:

Added it right after I posted

I stalked hatcheries and kept some of the ER hatchies open in tabs to check later just so I could get the images.

Ohhhh ok.

[Syiren]

I just wanted to say it took a lot to convince me to change my avatar. But @Odeen managed to do it with her amazing art of these guys. I hope you don't mind me using it as my avatar?

[Kaini]

1 hour ago, Odeen said:

 

Yup! They're heat pits - not just useful for vipers and the like. Birdz did a piece of gemshard fanart years ago (I think it's somewhere on DA) that shows the pits pretty clearly, but I also did these little doodlemaboobers recently (intended for use as forum avatars, so have at them - although I don't yet have any of the new colors lol oops) that also shows them off.

 

I LOVE them I LOVE them I LOVE them! Snakey babies! I'm delighted by the new colors and will definitely be hoarding now.

[Odeen]

16 minutes ago, Syiren said:

I hope you don't mind me using it as my avatar?

 

 

I'd be honored =3

[Syiren]

Woot! Thank you!

[Data_Girl_3]

Happy Birthday, DC!

 

Wow, it's going to take me a while to snag all of these new variations.

[Syiren]

5 minutes ago, Data_Girl_3 said:

Happy Birthday, DC!

 

Wow, it's going to take me a while to snag all of these new variations.

Check your PM's

 

[gotw3]

I've decided to add more Pink Sapphire karma into the world by breeding all of my CB Sapphires with CB Blusangs to create excellently lineaged Pink Sapphires. Aiming to create a wall of Pink Sapphires in the AP. (ง'̀-'́)ง

 

Edit: Five Sapphire eggs from seven attempts (with two Blusangs)!! So it looks like the dragon gods are on my side :')

Edited May 24, 2021 by gotw3
all my Purples are on cooldown, but it's worth it

[hoshiryu]

Happy birthday, DC! xD

 

I just had a gemshard hatch into a new blue color. :3 Can't wait to see it grow up!

Very happy for all the dragons, especially the gemshards. ❤️

 

Thank you!

[fergalicious214]

11 minutes ago, gotw3 said:

I've decided to add more Pink Sapphire karma into the world by breeding all of my CB Sapphires with CB Blusangs to create excellently lineaged Pink Sapphires. Aiming to create a wall of Pink Sapphires in the AP. (ง'̀-'́)ง

 

Edit: Five Sapphire eggs from seven attempts (with two Blusangs)!! So it looks like the dragon gods are on my side :')

Thanks for all the hard work!!

[Cthulhu]

I was trying to grab some eggs from the AP, and it came across an egg that was a beautiful purple. It turns out it was a purple Floret from a purple Floret and a Rosebud valentine.  So I tried breeding one and it worked.
 

https://dragcave.net/lineage/9UErI 

 

Edit : Drat that's a regular Floret, not the variants 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Cthulhu

[gotw3]

5 minutes ago, fergalicious214 said:

Thanks for all the hard work!!

No problem! It feels like... more of a coping mechanism than anything?

 

I was getting frustrated with all my many misses in the AP when I realized that I hadn't even bred any of my Sapphires, or thought of doing so... it was a bit shocking. Doing something feels better than doing nothing, especially when I have the means (and didn't even realize). Hopefully this will make some catchers very happy in a few days.

[Spiteful_Crow]

Shoot, first the Coppers and now the Gemshards?  I really liked the originals better.

 

9 hours ago, BlitzDrake said:

Two, if someone does post it via trading, I'm going to caution most are going to ask for CB rares (golds, silvers, stats) or low gen SAlts.

 

Already happening, although people do that with pretty much every new release.

 

13 hours ago, Pixxelation said:

I’m sorry to hear some people are frustrated by the new mechanics, but I hope that once the dust settles a bit, you’re still able to enjoy the new sprites. Personally, I’m of the opinion that if we were going to revisit existing concepts, having specific mechanics for obtaining alts is by far preferable to random alts. With mechanics, there’s an element of control once we know how things work, whereas randomness makes it difficult to do any planning, and can mean that once you finally get an egg from a difficult pair, it still may not be what you want or need. The Gemshard mechanic, for example, seems to largely remove the previous chaos, turning toward a system that you can plan for and use with intention. To me at least, that makes the breed more appealing to collect. I know some of these mechanics may frustrate you more than others, and I hear you. I understand not everyone feels the way I do about this expansion and that’s okay, too. However, I hope those who are frustrated can at least see the upsides, and still find some sprites they like and want to collect in this release.

 

Having a specific way to get alts is great, but the way these new ones have been implemented is not.

 

Before, "true" alts, like Blacks, Vines, and to a lesser degree, Undines, were random. Can be frustrating, but also challenging, and that's why the first two can still fetch a high price on the market.

 

Then there are other randoms, like Nebulas, Gemshards (previously), and Luminas, which mostly seem to pose a headache for lineage builders. Xenowyrms were probably the best of these, because they mostly breed true, but occasionally throw out a random color for people who like that.

 

Then you have time-based ones. Sunset/Sunrise are the worst, because there's a window of time where they can't hatch at all. There are Lunars, which are based on the cycles of the moons, which some people hate, but I never have an issue with, as a prolific Lunar breeder. (Except one time when a color change happened before midnight, dunno if it was a glitch or something to do with lunar cycles, but it sucked.) It's easy to check a chart or even a button in someone's sig before breeding. Seasonals are a pain because you have to wait the longest. Fire Gems are easily the best, because you don't have to wait more than a couple hours to get the color you want. It can be frustrating if you really want a certain one now, but it's way better than the others.

 

Gemshards are now, apparently, based on the days of the week, which doesn't seem so bad at first, but many people like to breed on dates that are special to them, so now somebody who wants to breed a blue one to continue a lineage on their birthday might end up stuck with a different color. They may have to wait literal years to get the right color on that day, and that's assuming they get an egg. That's the downside to this.

 

Then you have the newer alt mechanics that are driving many of us crazy. It started with Siyats, and having to wait until the eggs are super ER to get purple ones. And many of us were like "Hey, maybe don't?" Then Xols happened, and Incubating will change their color. It was annoying too, but not a huge deal, AND THEN THE CANTOS HAPPENED.

 

Suddenly BSAs that are supposed to serve a certain function are being repurposed for getting alts. It's incredibly frustrating. But with my last couple hatchies, I thought "Well, at least the spriters had the good sense and decency not to make Influence or Ward a color-changing mechanic..." NOPE! That very day I found out Ward had been added, just barely in time to correct my mistake. I'm still extremely unhappy about this and I always will be. For Earthquake, that's bad too, but at least it's a risk you willingly take, rather than being forced into choosing between potentially saving a sick egg, or to risk ruining a lineage.

 

Then there's Sapphires. Now we have to abandon an egg to get a certain color? We can never again willfully abandon blues to the AP? This is a game about raising dragons, we shouldn't have increasing methods needed that risk killing or ditching them. Pitfires needing to be killed kind of skirts the line, because they're Halloween dragons that like to fight and you won't permanently kill an adult (RIP hatchies), but that also kind of seems to go against the spirit of the game to me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think in the early days you could even have your scroll burned for killing too many dragons. We still only have five kill slots, despite the slew of new Zombie sprites, because it's still a game about raising dragons rather than killing them.

 

Whew, okay, that was a lot, but I hope spriters will take this into consideration. Ultimately, I think time-based variants are the best option, maybe minus specific days, and repurposing BSAs or requiring something to be killed or abandoned is the worst. Why not new BSAs, like Stun, Enrage, Precog, or Decorate, which had all the fun of changing colors/styles with non of the risk? (Well, dead dragons are required for Enrage, but you don't have to kill the dragon itself.)

 

Thanks for reading.

[Syiren]

Just discovered I had two more Sapphires hiding on me. They're not 2G, but I bred them to nice pairings, and they both turned pink, so there's two more that I hope helps. 

[Tini]

3 hours ago, Odeen said:

 

Yup! They're heat pits - not just useful for vipers and the like. Birdz did a piece of gemshard fanart years ago (I think it's somewhere on DA) that shows the pits pretty clearly, but I also did these little doodlemaboobers recently (intended for use as forum avatars, so have at them - although I don't yet have any of the new colors lol oops) that also shows them off.

Odeen. These are the best noodles. I hope you do edits for the rest

[whitestar]

9 hours ago, Kelkelen said:

In case it helps any latecomers just popping on here to figure out what to do with all these new mechanics!
 

Gemshard (Random)	Breed on Sunday
Gemshard (Green)	Breed on Monday?
Gemshard (Red)	Breed on Tuesday?
Gemshard (Blue)	Breed on Wednesday
Gemshard (Purple)	Breed on Thursday
Gemshard (Aqua)	Breed on Friday
Gemshard (Orange)	Breed on Saturday

 

Floret(ish) (Peach egg)	Catch: Jungle
Floret (Magenta egg)	?
Floret(ish) (Periwinkle egg)	?
Floret(ish) (Brown egg)	?

 

Sapphire (Yellow variant)	> 4000 user views
Sapphire (Pink variant)	Abandoned (NOT auto-abandoned)

 

Royal Purple (New hybrid)

Breed Royal Blue x Royal Crimson

 

Nilia (Green)

Use Fertility BSA on BOTH parents; Only one parent needs to be a Nilia; Abandon turns it back to blue; Remains green when traded

 

Cantomaris (White)	Last BSA used was Ward
Cantomaris (Green)	Last BSA used was Earthquake

 

Electric (Blue)

Use Stun BSA on a hatchling

 

Copper (Shiny variant)

Breed Copper with a dragon whose primary element is Lightning (Astrapi, Bolt, Electric, Storm-Rider, Thunder)

 

 

Nice list. This helps a lot.

[HeatherMarie]

I sent 4 Sapphires to the AP to turn pink, holding off on breeding the messies just yet. 

 

But OH!! I just saw an adult green Cantor for the first time omg omg!! I'll admit I wasn't thrilled about the look of the green hatchlings, the specific hue just kind of made it look sickly-green imo, but the adult is wonderful! 

[Tini]

10 minutes ago, Spiteful_Crow said:

 

Gemshards are now, apparently, based on the days of the week, which doesn't seem so bad at first, but many people like to breed on dates that are special to them, so now somebody who wants to breed a blue one to continue a lineage on their birthday might end up stuck with a different color. They may have to wait literal years to get the right color on that day, and that's assuming they get an egg. That's the downside to this.

I mean. They could be stuck doing that before too. It could take upwards of 10 breedings to get the right color, and that's just from three options! Now they'll get it within x years. Its just added a schedule to that instead of relying on luck.

 

 

[Spiteful_Crow]

6 minutes ago, Tini said:

I mean. They could be stuck doing that before too. It could take upwards of 10 breedings to get the right color, and that's just from three options! Now they'll get it within x years. Its just added a schedule to that instead of relying on luck.

 

Come on, that's not even remotely the same thing...