Back from my travels - we decided not to fly on this short break and went everywhere on trains. We saw a lot of the inside of trains. We were MIGHTILY disappointed on the French TGV when they RAN OUT OF RED WINE. I would not have thought such a thing possible. France, I am disappointed!

Home and back into the forest for a brief visit - I have missed the place, and the deer in it. Upon arrival there was nobody around who was awake, and no reason not to fly, so I got on with practicing my aerial abilities. Getting better now, I can consistently remain airborne whilst dancing and doing other things without falling down like a loaf.



Shortly I was joined by Eris who must have spotted me dicking around in mid-air like a fool. Good-natured greetings and a degree of running and frolicking ensued. It was nice to see a familiar picto after a while away.



We stopped and attempted to rouse this deer whose picto and name I don't know yet (sorry) - by my method of temporary nomenclature by picto shape they are "Smily Face" until I know better.



They were successfully roused briefly, long enough to receive (or load) the long mask and fancy antlers, then went back to napping.



After a bit more running and frolicking (doesn't it feel so nice to just run fast straight across the map with another deer just leaping every now and again?) we were in the vicinity of the ruins, and my favourite hill proved a perfect launch point for some more aerial experimentation.



Following Eris' lead I got to see parts of the world from an entirely new perspective. Dancing above the ruins. It was a lot of fun.

The title basically sums it all up.

Went in last night and after a stroll around couldn't see anydeer else conscious. So I thought I'd start learning some of the things that people have told me about the UI and its use (and abuse). I started by binding some favourite actions to the f-keys and seeing what happens when I mash them up.



Splendid! An excellent and satisfyingly daft start.

Then I followed the advice I'd had for climbing up steep rocks and not bouncing off them like a fool.





Jolly good! Now I shan't look like such a numpty if there's a party on the rocks again. But there was one thing I'd never managed to do that I'd seen everyone else doing, and that was levitating. Every time I'd tried it before I just ended up sitting on my arse on the ground. And eventually (using my new found rock climbing ability to give me a bit of a launch platform)



Yes! I am sitting on my arse IN MID-AIR!

I occupied myself for a good few minutes to familiarise myself with the procedure, and take a few screenshots in various places of my ox-ram-deer-thing hovering in the air in exactly the way that bricks don't.







My mother taught me that "tiny things please tiny minds", and accordingly I was having an inordinately good time simply sitting on my arse in mid-air in various places.

My mind wandered back to this game and I felt the need to return and even write something here, for the first time despite my long lingering.
Things changed quite a lot lately but seems not all has.
I'll have to get familiar here.

[center][=#b24040]*This section is currently being built. Some things may change.

She used to be a regular deer.
A doe with soft eyes the color of river mud and a coat brushed in golden-brown sunlight. She lived in a quiet enclosure in a small town zoo, watched by children with sticky fingers and sleepy parents who rarely gave her more than a passing glance.
To the keepers, she had been known as 'Missy.' A stained oak sign hung on an old wooden pole which ran far above her enclosure. Her world was small, but peaceful. Leaves drifting from the same trees, the rustle of paper bags, and the low hum of voices beyond her containment.

Then it began on a quiet, cloudy evening. The zookeeper had just done her rounds, whistling a tune as she locked the gate. The doe lifted her head, ears flicking, drawn to something beyond the trees. Something behind the fence. Not outside of it, but behind reality. Something unseen but watching. She blinked. And the world blinked back. The cameras failed that night, static hissing like a whisper through the surveillance feed. When morning came, she was still there. Standing in the same place. But something had… shifted.
The keepers didn’t notice right away. She looked the same, after all. At first. They didn’t see the way her legs bent just a little too far when she walked. Or how her eyes no longer reflected light.

diary entry from today's short visit.

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Popped in last night to have a mooch around, wondering if I'd have another chilled stroll amongst the sleepers. Quiet at first, I wandered by the water and found an acquatic deer sleeping in the water.



Walking back to the little hill, thinking I'd sit down for a while, found Widmung sitting there who stood up just after I arrived. So I wouldn't be on my own tonight!



And shortly we were joined by P and... deer whose picto I absolutely have seen before and whose name I ought to know but the connection has slipped my mind. Sorry. There should be a directory for slow idiots like me to use to look names up haha.



There were a bunch of other deer sleeping near the ruins, and one group that were standing up but not really doing anything, which didn't bother the four of us who got on with a healthy amount of running about like fools and dancing.



During the proceedings I got to try on many different sets of pyjamas. Much to my amusement and that of everyone else. And I don't look too bad in different threads, given that my horns remain ramly.





And more dancing during all the dressing up lol



Plenty of magic flying around



lol look at me I look so cross, made P laugh haha



then you guys started stacking again, a skill I have yet to get the hang of, I think I must be getting the timing wrong. I'm usually fiddling about trying to click the emote icons in the menus, maybe I should get used to using the ones bound to the f-keys.

Went in last night and nobody was around. Still noce to have a brief wander nonetheless.

Wandered into the old tree to find deer asleep in there. I sometimes make up mnemonic names for deer I don't know well yet or haven't met enough to put a proper name to, by looking at the shape of their picto. Here we have Left Mouse Click, Space Invader and Cotton Candy.

(I hope this doesn't offend anyone).



It is not often that I meet anyone with horns curlier than mine. These are quite impressive.



Then I came across something I didn't think possible, deer retaining their magical forms inside the zone of the fountain. Can you still cast magic in there, thereby re-transforming base deer within the zone? I must admit I haven't tried that (I don't tend to cast magic much anyway simply because I don't want to annoy deer who are already in their preferred form).

Or is it a glitch that users have learned to exploit? One of the things I find interesting about the game is the way users have discovered various exploits and glitches which allow them to add expressiveness to interactions without actually breaking the game.

I know there was an attempted upgrade to unreal that was never completed, but I have never tried it. To anyone who has tried it, how did it feel compared to the older version? Were any of the exploitable glitches that are routinely used replicated or simulated?

(apologies if I seem nerdy asking this stuff, I love the subjective experience of the game but I am also fascinated by its longevity and its design).



And I am always impressed that even for an ancient game it can still be quite beautiful at times.



After that I went back to the little hill and went to sleep, as everyone else was asleep too.