New Combo Base!

We think it's best to start off with this news! Just like a year ago?!

It's a simple yet beautiful design - a sparkly fresh Hoarfrost with crystals of snow and ice shining in the moonlight.

Hoarfrost is a Black Medium Countershaded Special base (tied to Blue skin) and requires the following factor bases in order to be bred.
Factor 1 - Interstellar, Hoarfrost
Factor 2 - Arctic, Aufeis, Frostbitten, Glacial, Ice, Snowflake

Remember that with these types of combo bases, you must breed a base within the Factor 1 list to a base within the Factor 2 list!

The Hoarfrost combo base requires Wet Season. Just like Cloudburst, it can only have a chance of passing down onto cubs if two factors are bred together during Wet Season! There's another catch... it also requires night time! This is a very difficult base to produce, but it is possible year-round. There might be a little boost this month...

Winter Breeding Challenge!

This challenge is repeated from last year, so if you already know it from 2019, you can skip to the new rewards! :D

All the albino love this month has inspired us to create a community challenge with extra personal goals to achieve!

We give you the Albino Cub Challenge!

Community Goal: breed 2000 total Albino cubs!
Personal Goal: breed 3 Albino cubs!

THE CHALLENGE BEGINS AT MIDNIGHT ON DECEMBER 12TH (12AM LIODEN TIME)!

Where can I access the information about this challenge?
The Gorilla Enclave will provide all information, as well as an extra small area on the sidebar panel on your layout! We also have a wiki page dedicated to this challenge.

What are the rewards?
Community Rewards: 1% chance for a Snowflake-based cub to be born to Albino x any parent for the rest of December when the 2000 Albino cub goal is hit! The Gorilla Enclave will also ask for more Albino-based cubs for their quests.
NEW: 1% chance for a Hoarfrost-based cub to be born to Interstellar x any parent for the rest of December when the 2000 Albino cub goal is hit!
Personal Rewards: A special title ("Special Snowflake"), the "Albino Cub Challenge" achievement, and a background based on your king's karma at the time of completing the 3 Albino cub goal!
NEW: A new applicator - Hoarfrost Markings! It's a personal reward that isn't tied to karma. The applicator will let you apply one of four random Hoarfrost Markings to your chosen lion.

What is the time limit?
The challenge and its in-game rewards end on December 31st 11:59pm Lioden time.
The sooner you guys complete the goal, the longer you can enjoy the in-game rewards, as the 1% chance for a combo-based cub to be born to Albino or Interstellar + any parent pairing expires on December 31st 11:59pm Lioden time! This means that the only way to breed the Snowflake and Hoarfrost base after the challenge ends is to breed its factor bases together during wet season, or additionally, night time.

Of course, the achievement and title you receive are permanent! The background items you receive will also last until their uses are gone, as with all other backgrounds and decors.

Will this repeat next year?
We weren't sure in 2019, but now that it's repeated this year, we think this might be an annual occurrence, yes! We will add or replace rewards, change combo bases, etc., but we think the Snowflake base will always be its core, and we may add something fresh as an extra every year.

What are the background rewards?
You will only receive one background for completing the personal goal, and the background you receive depends upon the karma your king has at the time that you claim your rewards!

Challenge: Winter [Cub Cave] Evil Karma Reward

Challenge: Winter [Pelt Cave] Neutral Karma Reward

Challenge: Winter [Fur Cave] Good Karma Reward

What are the karma thresholds for receiving backgrounds?
The karma thresholds are the same for these backgrounds as they are for your eyes changing in Explore.

Evil: -400 or lower karma
Neutral: between -399 and +399 karma
Good: +400 or higher karma

New Markings!

Almond is a new cutout-type colour of markings, like Silver or Steele. Here's the list!

Custom (Tier 1)
Almond Brindle
Almond Cover
Almond Dapple
Almond Dorsum
Almond Frosting
Almond Points
Almond Undercover
Almond Unders

Raffle (Tier 2)
Almond Crackle
Almond Inverted Zebra
Almond Lace
Almond Pelage
Almond Soft Unders

Random Marking Applicator/Total Shuffle Exclusive (Tier 6)
Almond Inverted Quagga
Almond Quagga

Saffron has gotten a smalll update of fresh markings as well! Here's the list!

Custom (Tier 1)
Saffron Brindle
Saffron Points

Raffle (Tier 2)
Dim Saffron
Saffron Crackle
Saffron Inverted Zebra
Saffron Margay
Saffron Pelage
Saffron Rims
Saffron Rogue
Saffron Soft Unders

Random Marking Applicator/Total Shuffle Exclusive (Tier 6)
Saffron Inverted Quagga

NOTE: All new raffle (Tier 2) markings are locked from RMAs/Total Shuffles until they are officially released via weekly raffle lionesses. When a raffle lioness with a new raffle marking is pulled, the marking will then be changed from Tier 5 to Tier 2, at which point it can then show up in RMAs/Total Shuffles.

New Decors!

Reptile Roundup: The Snuhlands level has received a batch of new decors! You can unlock Snuhlands by giving a combined total of 666 gifts and/or poops during December.

Giant Albino Land Snail 30 points	Swirling Snow 35 points	Reptile Skin Bodywear [Dark] 40 points	Veil of Snowfall 60 points
Reindeer Calf 80 points

Flood Pit: New Common decors can be found in the Flood Pit!

Broadleaf Cattail 350 SB	Eared Vernonia 350 SB	Red Rockdweller 350 SB	Black-Necked Grebe 350 SB
Common Brown Water Snake 350 SB	Swynnerton's Reed Frog 350 SB	Grey Foam-Nest Tree Frog 350 SB

New Craftable Decors!

Various new decor recipes!

Jewelry: Moonlight Bedlah 15x Moonlight

Kooigoed 40x Imphepho

Dust Devil 10x Windy

New dead beetle decor recipes!

Beetle Chitin Crown [Silver] 2x of each Beetle: Scarabaeus argentus [Crystal Silver], [Silver], [Glowing]	Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Silver] 2x of each Beetle: Scarabaeus argentus [Crystal Silver], [Silver], [Glowing]	Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Silver] 2x of each Beetle: Scarabaeus argentus [Crystal Silver], [Silver], [Glowing]	Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Gold] 2x of each Beetle: Scarabaeus aureus [Fire Gold], [Golden], [Glowing]
Beetle Chitin Crown [Gold] 2x of each Beetle: Scarabaeus aureus [Fire Gold], [Golden], [Glowing]	Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Gold] 2x of each Beetle: Scarabaeus aureus [Fire Gold], [Golden], [Glowing]	Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Opal] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Opalescent]	Beetle Chitin Crown [Opal] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Opalescent]
Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Opal] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Opalescent]	Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Piebald] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Piebald]	Beetle Chitin Crown [Piebald] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Piebald]	Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Piebald] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Piebald]
Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Red] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Red]	Beetle Chitin Crown [Red] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Red]	Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Red] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Red]	Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Green] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Green]
Beetle Chitin Crown [Green] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Green]	Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Green] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Green]	Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Brown] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Brown]	Beetle Chitin Crown [Brown] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Brown]
Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Brown] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Brown]	Beetle Chitin Nose Chain [Fire] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Fire]	Beetle Chitin Crown [Fire] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Fire]	Beetle Chitin Neck Chain [Fire] 6x Beetle: Proagoderus rangifer [Fire]

Raffle Lioness Adjustments

We're making some changes to raffle lionesses that are put in effect starting today. Moving forward, if you win a raffle lioness, your incoming private messages will be automatically blocked. The automated Game Notification that is sent out to winners has been modified to give directions about how to re-enable your private messages, as well as a reminder to report any members that may harass you or make you feel obligated to sell the lioness or her heats to them. If any members attempt to circumvent this PM block by abusing other game features to make offers, please know this is a reportable offence that will be treated as harassment.

We have also locked our "User Raffle Lioness Designs" thread and will not be allowing players to submit their own designs any further.

These changes have been made in light of the harassment that raffle lioness winners get. We've seen some comments made towards the winners of raffle lionesses that have made us uncomfortable, insinuating that because someone designed the lioness (whether partially or fully), it means they are somehow deserving of it, and that was never the point of allowing user-suggested designs.

We loved user-suggested designs—it was always a nice treat to see how creative players are—but we are done accepting them. On that note, we have rehauled the "Raffle Lioness Marking Request" thread into a "Raffle Lioness Attribute Request" thread, so you're still able to ask for markings in specific slots, certain mane colours to be re-released, etc., but please avoid essentially designing entire lionesses within this thread. It's okay to request multiple attributes (and different kinds of attributes), and designs may be created based around these requests, but we do ask that you do not request complete designs.

We hope that these changes make winning raffle lionesses less of a stressful event.

Trading Center Update

When creating a trade, you now must choose whether you want your trade to be private or public. You also have the option to set your trade as "Buyout Only", meaning players cannot make any offers on your trade as they only have the option to purchase it directly via buyout.

User Log Update

As part of the tweaks being made to search, a small update has been made to the user log page.

It is now easier to find entries using date and time. The tooltip displays the various formats that you can use; they are as follows:

YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
YYYY-MM-DD

Any of these formats can be preceded by the keywords "before" or "after". Doing so will return any entries before (or after) the specified date/time.

Bug Fixes

* [December] User logs for gifting and pooping now properly log player IDs
* [December] Opening bundles containing SB/GB will properly log in your currency log
* Missing dropdowns when sacrificing cubs to the Demiurge will display as intended
* Pregnant, nested lionesses that leave due to low hunger/mood will no longer retain their nesting pose when they are reclaimed
* User logs for adding items to branches now properly log the name and ID of the item that was added
* When reclaiming a runaway grandpaw, it will no longer tell you that you do not have enough submale slots to reclaim this lion
* The front page would sometimes show invalid/non-existent lions under the Random Pride Member section
* The button to switch accounts now works if you are on the "My Custom Decorations" page without having any custom decors uploaded
* Pagination for Chatter (forums) search would break when using ampersands (&) within the keywords section
* When using the Scrying Stone to reveal hidden markings with an invalid lion ID (e.g. a another player's main male or non-existent lion), it will now give an error message instead of just a blank page
* Retiring using an adult submale as your heir will now properly update your male slot count
* Moving forward, lions that are offered as raffle prizes will no longer be stuck as raffle prizes after running away due to low hunger/mood/lack of space
* Previously, when trying to create a custom lioness, any frozen lions would be counted as part of your territory limit - this has been fixed
* King retirement messages have had an erroneous "s" removed - you will no longer receive messages saying your king has, for example, "11s days" until forced retirement. They should now correctly state "11 days" (or "1 day" if there is only one day left!)

Art Bug Fixes

* Ancestral Mound decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Ancestral Tree decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Coelophysis decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Jewelry: Black Ornate Blindfold and Blood Ornate Blindfold decors were missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Megantereon decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Pelorovis decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Suchomimus decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Trance Smoke decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Whispering Echoes decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose
* Whispering Sparkles decor was missing for Adult Female Evil pose

Art Updates

The following explore encounter art received updates!
* Black Lion (Karma)
* Lion 1
* Lion 3
* Lion 4
* Lion 5
* Lion 6
* Lioness
* White Lion (Karma)
* Wildebeest Bull

General Site Performance

We have been observing some performance issues with the site as of late, especially coming into December. Much of this problem has been traced back to the various searches across the site. Earlier today steps were taken to alleviate the search-related stress on the server. This has so far seemed to have helped quite a bit. Hopefully it was a noticeable improvement for most of you!

Raffle Lioness

Congrats Wolfeh (#214349)! You have won last week's Orchid lady, woo!
A new Sphinx lady with Almond Soft Unders (NEW!), Saffron Rims (NEW!), and the fifth Shores of Burundi background is up for impressing in the Special Lioness area linked here!

Tags!
Shad has added 14 new tags this month in the Beetles, Breeding, December, and Doodles categories!

Poll Results - AWD markings seem to be a VERY popular option for the January storyline reward. Laharu feels betrayed, but our artists have noted this down.

NEW POLL - We're planning on retiring the Little Rascals birthday decor set. What should the new theme be? A new (different) set of mutated cubs, some wolf pups, or house cats?!

Next Update: Community Update - December 18th!
Next Development Update: January 8th!!

Special Announcement: We will be releasing an additional news post on December 30th regarding ✨SPARKLY✨ stuff!