MagiStream

My suggestions:

I would use creatures that have
(1) stunning sprite art and pixel shading (sorry to say but imho not all have, especially some of the older ones like pegasus and phoenix, winged cats would benefit so much from a refinement): e.g., minicorn, kitsune, any Vison, Cheminna, Pennant-winged Pegasus, Uhyz, elseal, moseal, Spotted Nivalis Bear, or
(2) are in addition to (1) really fantastic creatures like Chimera, Foxfire Skulk, Khadakhad Daant, Mawdracon, Silvian/Savannah Alphyn, Tenabre Fox, male Molten Arkai, any Potooto, Holly Jackalope, Candle Wyrm, Wolphyn, Wootootoo, Pine Vosmari, Borean Luteus Owl, Glass Phoenix, crystalwings (but those where the head and eyes are easily discernible, which is not the case for many of the recent ones).

If you cannot show the whole sprite use creatures where the head is not overlapping too much with the body.
Or an egg + hatchlings + adult combination to show the whole sequence?

Desade wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 7:24:07 am Oh noooo. Those are the worst. I used to get them chronically. Highly recommend Azo for pain relief!

feralkiwi wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 11:15:58 am get thee to a doctor (or an urgent care if you can't see your primary immediately)! they'll give you antibiotics and stuff (they usually give you antibiotics just to be safe, even before testing your urine), it's not worth suffering those at home (plus you dont want them to worsen anyway). antibiotics are a miracle for utis (seconding getting azo too tho, will help with the pain a lot). hope you feel better soon!

I've got an appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning with my primary care doctor. Husband picked up Azo and I've taken a dose. I plan on drinking plenty of fluids and using a heating pad to ease some of the discomfort.

pegasi1978 wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 12:41:44 am Owwwww! I've never had one before, but I'm beginning to think I have a uti.

Cranberry juice does wonders.. if the plain cranberry is too strong tasting, try one of the cran mixes; cranapple, cranpineapple, etc. Either dilute it with water or mix it with the regular to reduce the sugar content. But plain water and lots of it is probably the best thing you can drink. And avoid sugary stuff totally until the infection is gone.

pegasi1978 wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 2:39:59 pm

Desade wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 7:24:07 am Oh noooo. Those are the worst. I used to get them chronically. Highly recommend Azo for pain relief!

feralkiwi wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 11:15:58 am get thee to a doctor (or an urgent care if you can't see your primary immediately)! they'll give you antibiotics and stuff (they usually give you antibiotics just to be safe, even before testing your urine), it's not worth suffering those at home (plus you dont want them to worsen anyway). antibiotics are a miracle for utis (seconding getting azo too tho, will help with the pain a lot). hope you feel better soon!

I've got an appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning with my primary care doctor. Husband picked up Azo and I've taken a dose. I plan on drinking plenty of fluids and using a heating pad to ease some of the discomfort.

I've only had one uti before, but the thing that helped me the most with it was to just constantly be drinking (and peeing as a result). Bacteria can't build up properly if you're constantly flushing them out! Echoing the going to a doctor part as well - my physician said that some mild cases might go away on their own, but like. Why take that risk and suffer longer while you're at it? Sounds like you have all that under control already, so here's hoping it goes away quickly for you!

Raneth wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 10:21:46 am Here's a fun brainstorm idea: Which MS creatures would you think would look best featured in ads for the site? I'm gonna make some facebook/instagram ads to hopefully recruit new players. I don't have great design skills but I think making little banner ads will be fun regardless.

I think you should go for the most elegant and detailed ones to draw attention. Bold colors. Also those that seem they are pretty unique to MS. IMO, the below accounts for what I think are some of the most well-done, unique, interesting, and beautiful sprites MS has to offer. By no means an exhaustive list of my favorites, but some of the best.

Elder Crystalwing--IMO, Magistream's mascot
Temple Cat
Pteira Crystalwing
Pygmy Phoenix--Get that cute on
Ammit (any)
Mist Stalker
Neket Caro
Wikken Cat
Quetzcoatl (any version)
Bengolo
Serendin (any)
Hydra (any)
Sylphs (any, especially the brightly colored)
Drakleings
Most of the crystalwings, okay, I love crystalwings!
Triak
Kelffy
Arkai (any, especially the brightly colored)
Duckits
Wallatrice
Naga
Hippogrphs (any)
Heartfire Gryphons
Ilex Gecko (cause dorky cute)
Dorrian Basilisks
Hell/Soulflame Cerberus
Foxfire Skulk
Prism Foxes
Deiaurnox
Enoxes
Aericorns
Constellation Hind
Hallowjack (especially blue)
Forgotten Unicorn
Pennant-winged Pegasus
Elisium Kirin
Galactic Ray
Tzunun Mouse
Rabbitsunes
Vernox Dragon
Koredanuki


Really, I put a few in there, but I would stay away from using a ton of DPs except those that are super bold and colorful. Mostly because around 1/3 of the creatures available on MS are for real money and people might be super disappointed, I think, in getting excited by the banner only to come to the realization what drew them is for real money/hard to obtain.

And I think, given the way it seems most people gravitate, you can't go wrong with foxes, unicorns, and our crystalwings.

Raneth wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 10:21:46 am Here's a fun brainstorm idea: Which MS creatures would you think would look best featured in ads for the site? I'm gonna make some facebook/instagram ads to hopefully recruit new players. I don't have great design skills but I think making little banner ads will be fun regardless.

Crystalwings, since they seem to be essentially the site mascot as they are what is released to celebrate every Magiversary.

Raneth wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 10:21:46 am Here's a fun brainstorm idea: Which MS creatures would you think would look best featured in ads for the site? I'm gonna make some facebook/instagram ads to hopefully recruit new players. I don't have great design skills but I think making little banner ads will be fun regardless.

Oooh I’d say something extra gorgeous. Like the Ouranian Koi or one of the very intricate donis.

Raneth wrote: ↑March 27th, 2024, 10:21:46 am Here's a fun brainstorm idea: Which MS creatures would you think would look best featured in ads for the site? I'm gonna make some facebook/instagram ads to hopefully recruit new players. I don't have great design skills but I think making little banner ads will be fun regardless.

I completely disagree with the idea that showcasing any donis or event critters is a good idea. Anyone who sees that ad and comes looking will immediately see the words "donation" and "retired" and feel tricked. I nearly quit the site on day one because I looked through the bestiary and kept seeing those discouraging words non-stop. 'All the cool critters are pay-gated and unavailable' I thought to myself! What you're trying to make is not an ad showing what MS users think is the best critter period, this is an ad to make people want to join the site and STAY on the site.

I think sticking to relatively common/obtainable critters would work best for an ad, the fastest way to drive someone from the site would be to show them something cool only for them to find out it's super hard to obtain for a newbie. They do not know how the site works, they don't know the trade economy, they don't know how to earn gold yet, and they don't know about re-releases. Give the newbies realistic, easy, goals that could theoretically be accomplished on their first week with minimal effort.

Focus on things based on popular animals or mythical creatures that have wide appeal and detailed sprites, and things can be lifted from the stream at any time.

My choices would be:

Pearl Wyrm - shiny, detailed, and dragons always bring in crowds
Winged cat - cute and has wide appeal, sprite's showing its age a BIT but it still looks decent
Mist Stalker - People love big cats
Xand Bear - people love pandas
Kordaetis Elephant - elephants are popular and they're flashy
Minicorns - very cute and it's an iconic mythical creature with a slight twist
Yatagarasu Raven - they're wizard-y and corvids are quite popular.
Tenebrae fox - An edgy-looking one just to grab attention from the goth-y types
Guardian Eagle - hyper-detailed, huge, and majestic
Either Psittarx Dragon - a dragon crossed with a common parrot, instant crowd pleaser
Any Prism Fox - detailed, elemental, and based on a popular animal
Maa Kelung - need I repeat myself? People LOVE dragons.
Anacita Bunny - another common, popular animal, a good sprite, and people love mushrooms and "fairycore".
Medonho Pesadelo - another cool critter with a good sprite, horses are popular
Elseal - just a decent sprite that can show of MS' more quirky side
Ouranian Koi - As Desade said, they're beautiful.

blockEdragon wrote: ↑March 29th, 2024, 3:49:53 am
I completely disagree with the idea that showcasing any donis or event critters is a good idea. Anyone who sees that ad and comes looking will immediately see the words "donation" and "retired" and feel tricked. I nearly quit the site on day one because I looked through the bestiary and kept seeing those discouraging words non-stop. 'All the cool critters are pay-gated and unavailable' I thought to myself! What you're trying to make is not an ad showing what MS users think is the best critter period, this is an ad to make people want to join the site and STAY on the site.

Spoiler

I think sticking to relatively common/obtainable critters would work best for an ad, the fastest way to drive someone from the site would be to show them something cool only for them to find out it's super hard to obtain for a newbie. They do not know how the site works, they don't know the trade economy, they don't know how to earn gold yet, and they don't know about re-releases. Give the newbies realistic, easy, goals that could theoretically be abolished on their first week with minimal effort.

Focus on things based on popular animals or mythical creatures that have wide appeal and detailed sprites, and things can be lifted from the stream at any time.

My choices would be:

Pearl Wyrm - shiny, detailed, and dragons always bring in crowds
Winged cat - cute and has wide appeal, sprite's showing its age a BIT but it still looks decent
Mist Stalker - People love big cats
Xand Bear - people love pandas
Kordaetis Elephant - elephants are popular and they're flashy
Minicorns - very cute and it's an iconic mythical creature with a slight twist
Yatagarasu Raven - they're wizard-y and corvids are quite popular.
Tenebrae fox - An edgy-looking one just to grab attention from the goth-y types
Guardian Eagle - hyper-detailed, huge, and majestic
Any Psittarx Dragon - a dragon crossed with a common parrot, instant crowd pleaser
Any Prism Fox - detailed, elemental, and based on a popular animal
Maa Kelung - need I repeat myself? People LOVE dragons.
Anacita Bunny - another common, popular animal, a good sprite, and people love mushrooms and "fairycore".
Medonho Pesadelo - another cool critter with a good sprite, horses are popular
Elseal - just a decent sprite that can show of MS' more quirky side
Ouranian Koi - As Desade said, they're beautiful.

On the other hand, I first came to the site because of the frost and earth unicorns and stayed. I found a way to eventually buy them with gold.