I have tons of questions that I can’t find in the FAQ, so I guess I’ll just make a list. Please answer any one that you can. Thank you SO much!
I joined yesterday night and still haven’t gotten my email to validate my address. Is that normal?
If the waiting list is 200 something people long, then do I have to wait all the way to next year to finally join? By then, I think I may lose interest. =p
Where do you check the waiting list?
Why do we have to keep the site down to 150 stables? Is it server reasons?
If I get approved, then will they send me an email telling me so?
Do the players that are inactive for 6 months get automatically deleted? Or does some poor soul go through the list everyday and delete manually…?
If I did lose my validation email, can I have it be resent?
I know, that is a lot, and I may come up with more, but I’m so lost!
Welcome to the game! Umm, I can try to answer some of these for you, but I’m not sure on all of them myself-
You probably won’t have to wait until next year. There is no set limit on how many stables get deleted a week, sometimes it could be 7, sometimes it could be two. It all depends.
Once you get an email to validate that you are on the waiting list, you should be able to log in and see how many are still ahead of you on the waiting list.
We keep 150 stables because we like to keep a small community, and there aren’t enough horses in the game right now to justify having more than 150, and just generating horse after horse doesn’t make sense for the breeding aspect of the game.
Yes, you should get an email when you are approved.
I don’t think it is every 6 months, I’m pretty it is more often than that, and I do believe that Shanthi goes through and deletes stables by hand that are inactive.
Well, I hope I was able to give you some accuarate info, and I hope someone else can answer 1 and 7 for you…
It may seem like a long wait, but the game is totally worth it. Read the Newbie Guide and FAQ while you are waiting to get into the game, and you have all the knowledge you need to start when you finally get in!
I’ll do my best to answer, though some are sort of beyond me. Shanthi, the owner of the game, is getting some well-deserved time off in Mexico, and won’t be back until later this month.
Shanthi/Andrea the FF head-wenches/goddesses can answer this.
Yes, the wait list is long. We’ve got about 150 stables that are able to be active. Stables are deleted after 4 or 6 weeks of inactivity (I forget how long exactly), when a stable is deleted, the person at the top of the waitlist is able to take one of the “active” spots. Turn over can be quick, or it can be slow. It’s your choice if you want to wait. But be prepared to wait at least several months.
You check the waiting list by logging into the game, I believe, from finalfurlong.org.
It may be for server reasons, but it’s also to keep the game a manageable size and build a sense of community, so people don’t get lost in the crowd. Think about how huge horseland is, and the dynamics that go on there–there’s not a whole lot of community, from what I remember. The 150 limit is actually a recent increase, the limit used to be around 100. I don’t know if it will be raised again.
I believe an e-mail will be sent out. Again, Shanthi or Andrea would be better at explaining this than me.
Shanthi is a coding whiz (no relation to the cheese type). She’s coded the entire game, and has written a script that will delete stables automatically after a period of activity.
Again, a Shanthi/Andrea question.
I think patience is the key, both for the waiting list and actually playing. As I’ve mentioned before Shanthi and Andrea (credit where it’s due) have both coded this game from scratch–breeding, racing, retiring, injuries, everything. Of course, it means there might be a bug here or there that one needs to be patient while they try to fix it. But being patient does pay off big time, as the girls are always working to improve the game during their free time. Added things like training, shipping, etc. are in the process of being added to make the game more realistic. But, all good things come in time.
So if you feel up to it, stay on the waitlist, forget about it and several months from now be pleasantly surprised by an e-mail informing you that your number has been called. If you don’t have patience, the entire process may be a bit more frustrating than it’s worth.
In the meantime, you can always hang out on the forums, read the FAQs and Newbie Guide. Memorize them, if you like. If you do have questions, check these resources first. If you don’t, folks may be a tad grumpy, but point you in the direction of these rather than answer your question outright.
Oh, thank you so much guys! I feel better now that I know more. I’ve been reading the FAQ all the way through and I’ll get to the Newbie Guide after I’m done. If I read these over and over, maybe I’ll know enough to keep interested.
I guess I have to contact Shanthi about #1 and 7. If she’s on vacation, then should I contact Andrea? I need to do another test login, but I don’t think I see the number and date on the waiting list thing. Hrmm… alright. Well thank you all for your time! It’s very much appreciated. By the looks of the FAQ, this game looks well worth the wait! =D
If you wait a little bit, Andrea may take a peek at this thread. She may or may not be able to help, but she’d be better able to answer your question than the rest of us.
You could contact me, but it won’t do a lot of good. The email should have gone out instantly once you joined. If you PM me the username/stablename you requested I can tell you the email address it should have gone to. Other than that, I can’t help too much, Shanthi’s the one who coded/handled the admin side of stuff. I just steal fun coding projects
Okay. Finally, it says #229 out of 230. Even though it estimates Feburary 4[sup]th[/sup], 2007. I’ll live. I’m just so happy I’m finally on the list! Thanks to all who helped me! I understand now.
Yeah, someone else posted like yesterday about the long wait. Like I said to her, I don’t think that’s quite accurate. Thats if x number of stables gets deleted every x number of days, I believe, so if more than that x number of stables gets deleted on x day, your estimated wait will change. I havent seen anyone yet who had to wait over half a year
Wel… no one is likely being deleted right now because Shanthi is on vacation in mexico and she is usually the one I believe that does the stable deletions. So that will probably resume when she gets back.
Several people have given great answers, but I’ll try and clarify. (It’s been a very long day of traveling, though, so I may not be as coherent as normal.)
This seems to have been resolved. However, the automated script doesn’t get along well with AOL, so that might be the cause of peoples’ problems in getting their e-mail. If an e-mail never shows up, I can verify the e-mail address by hand if you send me an e-mail from that account.
As has been stated previously, and as is stated when you login, the date you will be accepted into the game is just an estimate. It is based on an assumption that one stable per day will be deleted from the game due to inactivity. Stables are deleted from the game after 5 weeks of inactivity if they’ve been active, and 2 weeks of inactivity if they are brand new stables.
The waiting list is not publicly posted.
As previous posters have said, the aim of Final Furlong is to keep the game personal and fun. The server could probably handle 1,500 members or even 15,000, but given that this is a “labor of love” for me, I want to keep it fun and a good community.
Once you are in the game, you will get an e-mail, as it says when you login.
I am glad this has been bought up - I too have been waiting for a while to join (prob about 3 months now) and i check my status about once a week. I got a little keen the other day as it said Estimated Date of Joining was about mid July - its now slipped back to 1st August. I dont know if I prefer just knowing I am in a queue or when i am likely to join.
But knowing the reasoning behind most of my unspoken queries has helped (a little).
Yeah, Ladycat. I sorta know what you mean, except I haven’t waited as long.
I finally got up one number, but then I was set back again. I don’t know why… that’s alright. I’m willing to wait.
I don’t know why… that’s alright. I’m willing to wait.