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.

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.

Well it was dark at least, surprisingly so when I instanciated. I thought I even saw a bat, although I may have been imagining that. But it was certainly dark, and looked a bit nippy, and I wondered if I'd see any others awake at all on such a night.



No sooner had I started to wander the darkened forestthough than there was the sound of hooves and I was joined by Eris and Valaire.



Meeting-frolicking ensued, followed by a greetings-nuzzle. It's always so nice bumping into other deer in the forest, everyone's so pleased to see one another and joyous in greeting. If only humans were as welcoming and pleased to see one another. Mind you it's probably for the best that they aren't, imagine how chaotic it'd be in Basingstoke town centre if everyone was frolicking and nuzzling all the time. And glowing.



It is rather lovely though. Very shortly we were joined by Widmung and there was more leaping, nuzzling and glowing.



Followed by a not inconsiderable amount of circle-dancing. The previously chilly-seeming night was warmed by dancing, good company and all manner of good-natured frivolity.



Including the ever-popular interpenetrating with a tree, with which we all joined in with alacrity. It made me laugh to see a row of deer butts all sticking out of the tree with their little tails wiggling. I think that little tail wiggle is one of my favourite aspects of the deer animation.



Even amongst all this amiable silliness Valaire found a moment to look properly imposing with that long mask and those scary blood red antlers.



More dancing followed, and of course a bit more frolicking.

*wakes up* uuh. What the... where am I?



oh man these rocks are *cold* And hard. How did I...

oh yeah I remember now... bits at least... it was raining confetti... deer were dancing and I was bumbling about trying to climb up here and I almost fell down and then... I don't remember...

man... must have been something in that candle smoke... I gotta get myself home.

*stumbles slowly across the forest, wondering if it'd've been better to call a taxi*



unf. zzzzz.

At least that's how it seemed at times. Surreal evening in the forest haha

I hope you have all had a lovely peaceful holiday. Here a week of rain gave way to a lovely sunny day, with fluffy clouds, fluffy and very relaxed sheep and even a couple of Easter bunnies passing through. I spent part of the afternoon just dozing with my woolly companions.



In the evening I thought I'd poke my nose into the forest and upon instanciating I was greeted with a colourful particle shower. I do love my particles so this pleased me.



New flowers tall as trees were growing everywhere, adding to the surreal atmosphere, making me feel like an ox-ram-deer-thing transported into some 1960s psychedelic rock band's album cover. I paused to rub against a giant dandelion.



I wandered around for a bit and bumped into Petaldance and Valaire and things got incrementally weirder. I felt like there ought to be a soundtrack of early Pink Floyd and the scent of some recreational herbiage! Fortunately all I'd had was a cup of tea.



They blew giant bubbles that wobbled up into the sky. I was laughing at how daft and lovely it was and we frolicked around for a bit.



The rocks nearby were covered in candles, and there were a bunch of other deer sitting up there. I attempted to join them, failing again and again to negotiate the geometry, and I am sure the other deer must have been laughing at my attempts to climb up. I made it up there in the end haha.



And there I am now and shall remain until I head off to bed, happy to be in such pleasant company. <3

Oof, mad few days IRL. Last minute prep for a software release, but it's done now and I even don't think people hate it. Deer time. I instanciate and I'm rudely intersecting two other deer on the little hill. Sorry about that!

And hey it's night time in here.



I don't think I'm awake for more than 30 seconds before I am greeted by other deer. That's lovely.



I'm still in my peculiar pyjamas from last time I was here a few days ago. I kinda miss my proper horns. But hey it sure is nice to turn up after days of absence and immediately be in such lovely company.



Everybody sitting on the log. I must practice and perfect that move myself one of these days lol



then we went to ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE RED DEER WITH SCARY ANTLERS AND NO PICTO. This fella is certainly what we Brits would call "an absolute unit".



Dancing ensues to try to wake the big guy up. Do we wanna wake the big guy up? He's massive!



Here we are lined up by the big fella. An imposing presence and no mistake.



Big lad's asleep though despite our din so we reconvene at the ruins. And someone's given me my ram horns back, thank you! And my pelt. I'm feeling more myself. Ramly. Perhaps I ought to start baaing.



More dancing ensues because we're all daft as brushes, and there's a new skeletal arrival.



We decamp to the twin statues and there is an outbreak of glowing holy purity.

Weather and work continue to be unusual, intense bursts of trying to debug something with someone on a different continent interspersed with periods where it's just too nice to be inside so I go outside and take pictures of sheep in the sun <3

Got to be away at the weekend so I wanted to at least poke my nose in the forest first.

Instanciate, is anyone around tonight?



I take a little walk to the fountain. I'm home alone so I can blast out some tunes tonight so I stick on some 808 State.



I'm browsing in another window when amongst the electronic beats I think I hear mooing. I shift my focus to the forest and assume the Listening Stance.



And yes, there is definitely mooing. I can hear various moos back and forth. And so I moo myself, even though I am not a cow. (Yaks are unable to moo, hence their Latin name "bos grunniens", the grunting ox).

Nonetheless, I moo.



And before long, I am not alone.



We all gather and moo vigorously at a bunch of deer who are sleeping below a willow tree. There really is quite a lot of mooing.



In between all the mooing there is of course time for more frolicking, with which I join in enthusiastically. A day without frolicking is a poorer quality day than one with copious frolicking, I believe.



We return to the willow tree and re-moo.

Not been in for a while, blame work and weather. Work due to an upcoming deadline, weather for being altogether too nice. I live in a part of the world that is often grey and rainy, and I spent most of the last year sitting in front of a computer while the cold rain fell outside. So when we get a few days of sun, oh my, it feels like a blessing just to sit outside amongst the sheep in the warm sun...

Anyway, thought I'd come back to the forest this evening. Already I have grown to miss the place when I am not there. I instanciated and within a couple of minutes I was not alone, Eris and friends found me on the little hill and invited me to wake.



Greetings were given and after frolicking around on the hill (I swear if I leap off the top of the hill I can walk on the air for a fraction of a second) we found ourselves amongst the flowers.



Deer arranged themselves along the log in a way which made it look like they were sitting down. I must learn how to do that myself sometimes. (I am often impressed by the way in which people use the animations in combination with key inputs to modify the animations in amusing or expressive ways).



Mutual tree interpenetration is always amusing



My screenshots didn't come out that well today. Normally I like captures where everyone's glyph is clearly distinct, and everyone's looking clearly delineated and handsome.

What a lovely day, both IRL and in the forest. Spring is arriving, outside there was lovely sun and the sheep were happy, and for a while I have greater freedom to spend time in the forest so I went in early evening and sat on the hill while I did some tidying in the house. Before long I heard mooing and looked to see Eris and friends running near the little hill so I woke up to join in the fun.



Fun and frolics amongst the flowers ensued.



And silliness of course, with deer becoming one with the very forest itself, amidst that lovely glow of companionship.



I was already smiling but I had to go and cook my tea, so eventually I sat down in good company whilst I went off to do that. Inside a tree, because of course.



After tea and a bit of telly I could hear the sound of mooing and hoofbeats and I awoke in the forest to find a load of deer there! Aah and Saater amongst them, haven't seen them for a few days, so nice to see them again!



So many deer! And so much frolicking! I'm smiling again all over as I join in. I don't normally have music on while I'm in the forest as it's usually late at night, but today I put on Chill Out by the KLF. It's weird and ambient and blends well with the sounds of the forest, big tree noise, mooing, and all.



We run around a bit and end up near the ruins. So many deer! I love this! I should come on earlier more often, obviously.



We're all just dancing and being mad as cheese and it's lovely.