Off With The Old, On With The New
 

by Zaffron

 

 

The release of the new client, launched recently, has taken all of There by storm. The highly anticipated “Welcome Walkway” does not fail to live up to the inhabitants’ expectations. Designed as a spawning and welcoming ground for new members, it is at all times thronged with both new and old members alike. Equipped with various levels and a numbers of yachts that maddeningly defy admission, it is still a sight to see someone with their super bunnies on, desperately jumping around the barrier that cordons a particular ship, and come sliding down in slow motion, only to once again beginning their jumping reverie with renewed enthusiasm. Even though a good number were reported to have taken a supposed dunking in the surrounding water after the said attempts, no casualties have been reported to date.

Even though most features were met with approval and a clamor for more, there is one that seemed particularly offensive to veteran Therians, the reappearance of the ability to buy and give things to new members. However, His Royal Vashiness (otherwise known as Vash_Community lol) made a brilliant suggestion, pointing out that premiums still do not have the ability to give out stuff directly from their inventory to new members. So the solution? Elementary my dear Watson… try giving them something from your inventory, and they get that message on their screen that gently breaks down how and why they can’t be given anything. It is highly dubious that a newbie will actually go to the lengths of determining that they can indeed receive, provided someone buys from auctions, and then directly delivers to their inventory. On a brighter note, however, it is doubtful that people will have to adopt such measures, a simple “No” does a more than adequate job.

 

 

And then there are the emotes. You couldn’t find more fervent, or devoted, practitioners of the art of emoting, one emote in particular these days, the long awaited Hug. At this stage, it would do well to commend There on a job well done. The girl-to-girl hugs look absolutely cute, with the guy-to-guy ones following close behind. From the actions down to the expressions on the avatars’ faces, it has been managed extremely well. On the other hand, the girl-guy hugs have started a frenzy. Whereas Therian couples can now find virtual gratification by hugging their SOs over and over again, it has also spurred on a number of requests which vary from the bizarre to the downright funny. Taking the example of a well-frequented area,  it was amusing to see a chat group where a boy, no more than 13 by the sound of his voice, was imploring two girls to let him hug them. His unsuccessful attempts to do so did not only seem funny, but the heartbroken way in which he was voicing his requests made the situation all the more funny, urging on laughing fits from the two girls. But this is quoting just one example. There was also an instance where there was a frenzied teen (guy of course) running around frenziedly, joining every chat group he could, while chanting the mantra of “hug hug” rapidly hugging everyone, and then running off again. This, dear readers, is what addiction is all about.

For the most part, we’re a bunch of happy-go-lucky people straining to maintain balance in our fragile virtual environment, and when the Powers that Be decide to stir things up a bit, we cheerfully embrace what is doled out, one hug at a time.