Big Back-End Changes
We have spent a lot of time changing around how markings are stored. From a member point of view, this should be reflected in the speed of searching for lions with specific markings in trades, or loading lion pages, or breeding lions.

The main reason we have done this is for server health and website optimisation. Previously we were storing markings as text format in specified fields which can be very heavy on the server when searching and using them.

They are now stored by ID which is why, if you encountered Gorilla Enclave bugs earlier today, you would have been asked to find lions with a "123" rather than "Marking Name" marking.

Storing markings this way also allows us to be a lot more flexible in the number of markings each lion has...

Marking Slots
Nice segue, right?

All lions up until today have had 10 marking slots. This will not change - the base number of marking slots a lion starts out with will always be 10. We have, however, introduced the ability to add more marking slots to your lions. Up to 20, in fact!

Each marking slot costs 1GB to add to each lion. You can use standard marking applicators as usual on the new slots, but the extra slots won't show up in the applicator dropdown until they have been added to your lion.

You can add slots on your lion's page in the "Appearance" section, and also see how many slots you currently have.

What if I breed lions which have different amounts of slots unlocked?
Say you breed your king, who has 15 slots open with markings in all slots (what would that look like?) to a lioness with just her 10 standard slots - can the cub inherit the markings in the extra slots the king has?

Yes, absolutely. However as stated above, all lions will start off with the base 10. The cub may inherit a marking in slot 12 - but it will be hidden until slot 11 and 12 have been unlocked on the cub.

Cubs cannot however inherit markings that are hidden on their parents.
Cub can only inherit markings in slots 11-20 if parents have them unlocked.

Will there be hidden markings on NCLs?
For Dreamboats, NCLs have a chance to come with a hidden marking in a slot between 11-14. The slots will not be revealed right away, so you would need to unlock the slots leading up to where it's hidden.

Will we know which slot the hidden marking is on?
Yes - if there is a hidden marking present, you will be alerted under the list of visible markings. You will be told exactly what slots the markings are on, just not which markings are hidden.

You can choose to never unlock it, it's up to you!

NOTE - HIDDEN MARKING WILL NOT SHOW UP ON THE LION'S LOOKS UNTIL YOU UNLOCK IT.

How to add slots?
You can add slots on Lion's page, in Oasis right away during customizing, and also in wardrobe when checking out new looks!

NOTE - Marking Applicators will only show slots 11-20 to apply a marking if they are unlocked.
Wardrobe does not take GB for adding slots! We fixed that visual bug.

We believe this will solve mane markings taking precious slot space!

MINI-FAQ

Q: What happens when I retire my king with extra slots?
A: If you keep your king's looks, you keep king's slots. If you keep cub's looks, you keep cub's slots.

Q: What markings NCL's have in hidden slots?
A: Usual ones, although during NCL events they might also have event markings!

Q: Are rosettes prone to appear in hidden markings on their own?
A: Yes!

Q: Will extra slots affect studding price?
A: Yes.

July event will end on July 31st on 11:59 pm Lioden time. Please remember that event currency is stored on your accounts and will be unlocked again next year. August event will launch on its own on August 1st at 00:00 am Lioden time.

Shad added new tags - July!

Raffle Lioness

Congrats Lord Yukimori III (#95758)! You have won the last raffle lady!
New lady with the Sunset Over Entabeni is up for impressing in Special Lioness area in Explore or in NEWS section under News Post List! ;D

Polls and dev notes
Male poses resolution - Roaring one won ANOTHER time as we had a male pose vote before featuring same one. It also took 1st place, so we do think this one is up your alley the most. However! We do realize it's a bit similar to existing pose - I will make soon one final round - Roaring pose with few alterations and you will vote on the alteration you like most.

LINK - New poll this week!
For those of you who took part in July Storyline, you might have noticed that three endings had a new base creation! We would love if you voted for your favourite one to appear as first in July 2018. Based on the votes, the 2nd place will be launched in 2019 and 3rd place in 2020.