BoBCats,

It has almost been six years since we started on this adventure. We've encountered our fair share of highs and lows together. Truly, I am grateful for everything we have done together as a community. I hold these memories close to my heart and want to carry on making more pleasant times for everyone. Watching us grow over time has been a pleasure and I want to continue on that pathway. That said, I would like to announce Beast of Beyond's official revamp.

As many of you know, Beasts of Beyond was created back in 2018 with haste. While we have grown and adapted to make up for that rush, there were a few issues we encountered in our time that could not be remedied. After discussing these things deeply with staff and poking you guys over time on your opinions on how things are going, we feel that we have solidified a way to create a firm foundation for a new world. Along with that, a few changes to our platform, Discord, and how we run things overall. I will explain each aspect in depth below.

As always, we do value community input and want to encourage discussion. Please comment your thoughts on each topic if you have anything you'd like to contribute or ask.

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I'd like to start with the most pressing issue... Beasts of Beyond has ran on Simple Machines Forums (SMF) 2.0 for almost six years now. Our users have gotten used to the platform and found it is comfortable. Even so, SMF has upgraded to 2.1 and is in the process of creating 3.0. The last update to 2.0 was in 2021, leaving us behind by two years, and potentially more if we do not upgrade. While I would love to stick with SMF, I have been running into issues with upgrading to 2.1.

Three of our key modifications are out of date and cannot run on 2.1 without changes. Those being post templates, BBCode template coding, and subaccounts. I have managed to get BBCode template coding working, but the ability to save post templates and switch between accounts is something I will have to commission. After consulting some coders, the estimate for work is around $850 and it would take several months to finish. This does not include the other fees I have to take to keep the site hosted.

We can try to fundraise to stick to a familiar platform and upgrade our modifications accordingly. It may take some time, but I do believe we could do it. That said, there are other options.

Another option would be switching platforms. There are multiple options, but I have greatly considered MyBB and Xenforo as possible additions. MyBB is free, while Xenforo is paid forum software and is significantly pricier than what we are dealing with now (especially if not self-hosted). To make things simpler and easier to read, I will include a table pointing out the difference between each platform below.

Our final option is to stick with 2.0 and pray that things will get updated eventually... Truthfully, I do not see this happening though. The modifications mentioned have been abandoned and not updated within years. It is highly unlikely that something will come to replace it, especially so quickly. I worry that sticking with 2.0 will cause us to lose out on modern technology and, in the end, be more trouble than it's worth. While I love SMF, I cannot help but prioritize what is best for us.

To see our options, please check out the table below.
[spoiler=Platform Options][/spoiler]

Please discuss our options and vote for your preference within this topic.

Awhile back, the community voted on whether we should raise the age limit to Beasts of Beyond. Raising the limit from 13+ to 16+ was highly favored. When we officially decide on the site's platform, we will be switching over to sixteen years or older. 

Since we are raising the age limit, we would also like to introduce a list of topics that require a trigger warning, along with banned topics. Previously, we ran under 13+ regulations, but since our new age limit is in a weird in-between spot, we'd like to flesh out specifics to make things easier for everyone. If you'd like to suggest topics to require a trigger warning or be banned completely, please contribute to this thread.

With everything below also, we will be updating our 'Guides' tab. This will happen after the platform change. We would like to hear what guides need to be updated and need to be added here.

Beasts of Beyond would like to introduce a new world for animal roleplay. Before you worry, old characters and concepts are more than welcome to be included. A few changes include:

Group / Map Creation:
While there is a general idea in mind, the new groups will shape the map. Similarly to how groups were established previously, users will have a chance to introduce their own groups and ideas to be developed into official groups. While there are no set rules for creating a group, all other site rules do apply and users must acknowledge that any groups made official become property of Beasts of Beyond, subjecting them to alterations over time (especially with leadership changes).

We will also be welcoming former groups, including official groups, to be included in this. Current leaders of these groups have priority, but if they do not wish to proceed or have fallen inactive, then their revamp is up to the community.

If you want to submit a group for consideration, please post your ideas in the board and then submit them for the future vote within [url=https://beastsofbeyond.com/index.php?topic=29924.new#new]this thread. There is also a thread for general brainstorming and idea dumping here.

I look forward to seeing your ideas!

Base Lore:
Our current lore is based on a post-apocalyptical situation that spans into fantasy. We have decided to switch our focus to fantasy completely.

To accommodate for many religions and backgrounds, we have decided to avoid the idea of introducing a God or multiple of them. Instead, the idea of a local deity has been proposed. Simply, this nature-based deity is the driving force behind shepherding humans away from the land. This allows human items/accessories to still get onto the land, along with animals from human-based backgrounds (such as former pets).

The nature deity has no name yet, but their design idea is currently a large owl that surveys the land and watches for any potential threats. They can be seen in quick glimpses, but do not make any sound due to their silent flight. Very rarely, they may speak, but not through their own vessel. Instead, they take control of other animals and speak through them.

This deity has a few assistants to help them. Each assistant will have a very subtle marking or mutation to dictate they are a servant to the deity. To start, there will be a representative for the land (badger), sea (otter), and sky (undecided). As Beasts of Beyond expands to use more NPCs, then there may be more added.

Within the base lore, we would also like to include the transfer of old/current characters and groups. There are multiple options to do this, such as the deity moving them to the new setting, or an unknown force teleporting them elsewhere. We are open to more suggestions from the player-base as this concerns your own characters and groups.

We would like to discuss this more in depth, including fleshing out character designs. Please contribute your thoughts here.

Questing / Classes / NPCs
With the addition of the new lore and the NPCs that come from it, Beasts of Beyond would like to reintroduce questing, along with 'classes.' These are completely optional roleplay options, as they do not influence main plots whatsoever. Instead, they are a way to gain extra currency or powers for your characters. More information will come out about this later on.

Powers / Bodies / Mutations and Currency:
Powers, bodies, and mutations have been needing to be redone for awhile now. The same goes for the currency system, as these go hand in hand. Until we know which platform we are choosing, nothing is set in stone in the long run with this. Nonetheless, changes need to happen with both systems.

At the moment, currency is hyper inflated. This may be due to post templates providing extra gems. In some cases, this hyperinflation may even provide an unfair advantage, such as one character having all the powers. We want to rework the site currency and correct the scale of pricing so that the shop is fair to everyone (gems that have been acquired through donations will not be removed), along with potentially setting a limit on how many powers are allowed per character. Not only this, but changing, adding, and editing powers so they cannot be overpowering. This is something we want to discuss as a community before proceeding, so please put your general thoughts here.

The Discord server(s) need a lil tune up! Mainly, channels and how the server looks in general. We also need to purge some older/inactive members to keep things fresh, but this will be very very very limited.

Ideas for this will be discussed more on Discord to centralize the discussion a bit more around those who use that platform, as not everyone does. Please check our Discord for a channel discussing this topic.

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Overall, I hope everyone is open to these changes and is willing to discuss them with the community to make sure everyone is satisfied. I cannot thank everyone enough for sticking with us over the years. Hopefully, these changes are welcomed and will improve our community and our experiences.

If you have any additional comments, questions, or concerns, you are more than welcome to contact a staff member, post in the Helpful Hub, or within #questions-and-suggestions on Discord.

Thank you for reading,
Orion

BoBCats,

Another year has passed and the choice awards have finished! Here are the results... Drumroll please! This year had a few ties, and since they did involve staff members, they were unable to be split. Instead, the award will be shared between the winning members!

First up, IC (in character) votes!


And now for our OOC votes!


Congratulations everyone!

Best regards,
Orion

(P.S. Thank you for voting for me and my characters! I am absolutely honored and surprised that a lot of my babies got love this year. It means a lot to me. I appreciate all of you. <333)

BoBCats,

Truly, I can't believe it. We have made it to FIFTH ANNIVERARY! Time really does fly! That is a big commitment. After all, five years is half a decade and... wow... That's just astonishing. I am thankful for everything that has happened during our website's run, whether for better for worse. Overall, it has made us get to where we are today. I could not be any happier with the progression of BoB.

To all of you, thank you for being here. You are all amazing, wonderful human beings (or BoBCats, whoops). Every single one of you contributed in some way to this website for the better, whether new or old. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I love you all and I can't wait to see what the next years bring us! Maybe we'll make it to a decade... Who knows!? (That'd be so cool.)

On another note, I would like to give a shoutout to [member=3043]teef[/member] for making our anniversary banner! This will apart of our website for quite awhile as a celebration of our companionship. Isn't it gorgeous? Plus check out a celebratory new theme!

Along with that, our yearly choice awards have been moved. Rather than doing them in January, staff have decided to do them around anniversary time. Since we did not do one for 2022, this year's choice awards will feature 2022-2023. So keep that in mind when voting! Go vote now! There's surely some fantastic characters and users to honor this year.

Not only this, but I would like to announce a little surprise... double gem week! For one week only (or extra if you're good ), users will be able to acquire double the amount of normal gems for posting AND donating!
— For each topic, rather than the normal 500 gems, you will receive 1000.
— Each new post is 200 and each word is 4 gems each.
— Every donation to BoB server fund of $1 will be 10,000 gems, rather than 5,000!

Now, get to posting! You've got some awards to win and gems to acquire, don't you? Let's celebrate. <333

Much love,
Orion

Hey BoBCats,

It's that time! The fateful and promised charity run of 2022. Rather than doing two consecutive months like promised, I have decided to spread out our resources for the charities throughout the year. Our next event will be in DECEMBER. The charity is yet to be announced, but keep an eye out for that, as we will have a lot of Christmas themed gifts for all! Thank you for your patience. Now let us continue...

This year Beasts of Beyond has decided to support the Wildlife Conservation Society. The Wildlife Conservation Society focuses on conserving fifty percent of the world's diverse wildlife through fourteen areas across Earth. With their wide range of staff, they assess wildlife populations and manage them to benefit ecosystem health. They are apart of zoos like Bronx, Prospective Park, Queens, Central Park, and the NY Aquarium, along with extending their outreach to other establishments with a helping hand. Needless to say, they are an important and diverse program. If you do not wish to join our yearly fundraider, there are many other avenues you can take to support them. You can view those resources here, along with more information on their goals.

This year is different. PayPal has shut down their money pool option, but instead introduced fundraising pools for charities specifically. These only last thirty days, hence another monthly charity is being moved to December, rather than making two consecutive fundraisers on Paypal. On October 31st, all of these funds will be donated to the charity accordingly! When finalized, an update thread will be posted on the results of our donations, similarly to the past three years.

The survival of our dearest wildlife, from the smallest to the largest, is dependent on us. Their numbers are dwindling due to human expansion and it is our job to reverse the effects of human technology. To support and protect them, I urge you to donate. If you support this cause today, you will receive a few things:
- You'll get a special 'Wildlife Conservator' to flaunt your donation! 
- A specialized rank that gives you a very spiffy color within the site's 'Users Online' section.
- DOUBLE the amount of gems for donating! Usually it's 5,000 gems per dollar, but this time it's 10,000 gems! $$$ x 10000 is quite a lot of gems!

Claim your rewards HERE!

I would like to give a special thank you to TamperedJukebox who did this month's art. Their piece has been deliberately worked on quickly before the month's start, so please give them your finest thank you. It's a genuinely wonderful piece and I couldn't have asked for a better representation for what BoB charity run stands for.

Along with this, a short thank you to everyone else. My staff, friends, and members alike. You have supported Beasts of Beyond through thick and thin. Running these charity runs have kept me pushing and BoB on throughout the years, as I adore having a larger impact. So my kudos to you. I could not be able to do any of this without you.

Yours truly,
Orion

BoBCats,

Crazy to think time moves so fast! So fast that I'm a little bit late to this reminder for our four year anniversary! Nevertheless, a heart felt thank you for joining us during these four long years. Truth be told, it's been a crazy experience running a website for almost half a decade. Beasts of Beyond couldn't have done that without everyone's support, love, and general activity on site. For every member, staffer, and guest present: thank you for your support. Love you guys. <3

Yours truly,
Orion

BoBcats,

You may notice a few things changing on site here in the next few minutes! That means it's time for our NEW beastly, haunting theme! The name currently is 'Dark and Dastardly' but we're open to suggestions. Created in blue-tinted grey with highlights of a light red (or pink lol), this new theme is bound to astound you. Some new custom coding changes, images, and more have come to Beasts of Beyond for all to see.

There is also a new header coming in for news. IC/Roleplay and OOC news will continued to be seperated. There will also be two images, one being monthly character and the other for decor. As of right now, BoB will not be doing user of the month. In addition to those aspects, four icons are placed to the right of the monthly character for ease of access. The icons are: Discord, Guides, Donate, and Adopts (subject to change).

As always, you are more than welcome to suggest changes and give feedback towards these things! If you have any concerns or see a glitch, please message Orion or another staff member.

Regards,
BoB Staff

BoBCats,

You might notice something new at the bottom of the page... It's a theme changer! You can now change your site theme with ease, rather than going to your profile's look and layout page. This dropdown menu will make life so much easier.




Hope you enjoy,
Orion!

With a lot of thought put into this, I would like to announce Beasts of Beyond will be making some changes to the site to update it's concepts and better it's community. Recently, as many of you have noticed, we have dropped in activity. Needless to say... Life comes rushing in at you quick. There has been a lot going on for me and while I would like to prioritize BoB, life does come first. Everything happening has led to intense burn-out, leading into a break that made me realize I need time to revitalize the roleplay I love.

That said, some big changes are coming (or have already been implemented)! Now what does this update include?

New Theme Variation
We're getting a new theme! Some of you may have seen previews within our Discord. Not only are there new features, but there's a ton of new things to look at and customize. No features will be removed. The theme being worked on is currently a darker theme, something requested and preferred by many users. While this new theme is coming, I would like to take a moment to remind you that all former themes will remain an option.

Rewritten Rules
Rules have now been rewritten and clarified clearer. Some rules were often unnecessary and overexplained, so they've been removed or revised based on the circumstance. If there is anything missing or information does not make sense, feel free to chime in and voice your opinion.

New Guides / Guide Tab Update
- A guide to powers is being rewritten and being added into the guide tab currently. This version will be clearer on limitations and neatly organized by four branches: aesthetic, elemental, mental, and physical.
- 'The Essential Guide to Plagiarism' is a new guide being added that outlines what to do in regards to plagiarism and how to avoid it.
- Gems are an important part to Beast of Beyond's economy. This said, the addition of a new guide outlining gems is being added.
- Trigger warnings. A pressing subject. The new guide 'Trigger Warnings and When to Use Them' outlines Beast of Beyond's rules regarding trigger warnings.

Boards Changes
A few changes to the boards have been implemented. The first and earliest change, which hasn't been announced, was the removal of The Palm Glades and their merger into The Typhoon. Not only this, but in the near future, you may be seeing the addition of human roleplay boards after they are fleshed out. This type of roleplay has been desired and has been discussed for awhile now. It's now finally time. You can see more information regarding that further down into this post. Other changes to our boards include the addition of the departure board, description changes, and more.

New Awards
New awards are coming soon! These awards will be tied in with the NPC system, questing, the trade market, monthly challenges, human RP, our next charity run, and more. Keep an eye out for further additions.

Discord Update
The site's Discords will be getting an update. So far the main Discord has been rearranged and some channels have been archived. As for the group Discords, they will be receiving the same treatment with time.

One thing that needs feedback is character channels. Should Beasts of Beyond servers keep or remove character channels? See this thread to vote and explain your reasoning.

Animal RP Timeskip
Due to the major changes in the past year, the animal roleplay game will be timeskipped after a vote on our public Discord. This timeskip will be two years into the future. Two years allows characters to progress past things within the past without completely erasing the site's lore. Groups will have new high positions and information as needed.

With this said, high positions and leaders ARE NEEDED. You can apply here!

NPCs
Beasts of Beyond will be adding a few NPCs for all players to utilize. These NPCs will have set personalities/looks, but they are welcome to engaging in any and all situations you desire. More info is to come. These NPCs are actually leading into two revamped systems... Quests and trade market!

Updated Quest System + New Trade Market
The updated quest system that will be linked with NPCs and the trade market is currently being further fleshed out. This system is designed to allow all users to get rewards in-game, rather than relying on post and word count. More information coming soon!

Monthly Challenge Boards
We tested this feature in July and after some discussion, users would like this event to continue. Along with this, groups who contribute the most posts/threads will receive a special booster/reward the next month. Keep an eye out for the next one!

Human Roleplay
After some discussion and voting, there has been a favorable amount of users would like to see an extension human roleplay game. This game will remain very similar to Beast of Beyond's current power and mutation rules, but the setting will be vastly different.

Within this human roleplay, the modern world was riddled with technology and pollution following it's rise. Due to this, the world below was descending into madness. The Gods above purged the Earth. With those humans that remained, they were given a choice: ascend into the atmosphere to start new or stay below and clean the world. Those dedicated to cleaning the land and undoing their harm were granted powers/mutations that would benefit them. They connected with nature, overall taking on their attributes. On the flip side, those who chose to plead ignorance and ignore their tasks were burdened with things such as: vampirism, lycanthropy, etc. This led to lineages that continue today. Those above in the sky were granted glory as they desired, but no gifts physically. Tension remains in the space between them, but can that be changed?

More information coming soon.

October/November Charity
As of right now, this is postponed. When the site reopens for good, then the charity run will proceed. If you have any suggestions for charities or causes, feel free to message Orion anytime.

Overall, the timeline for all of this to be completed is the end of January. I have had this post in the drafts for awhile and have been contemplating what to do since then + working on the site for it's betterment. This feels like a good starting point nevertheless. After all, it's a one man show currently, but any help offered would be appreciated too. Everyone's opinions have been so helpful too. It is so appreciated. Thank you to everyone for sticking around and keeping your heads up. Your constant support is what keeps this entire thing going!

In the meantime, everyone is welcome to continue chatting on Discord and can begin to RP in these new and updated environments as they're being worked on!

Another update will be made when all these updates are completed + progressive updates on Discord.

BoBCats,

After the member survey and opinions provided, Beasts of Beyond is in a place where opinions and feedback is needed. Due to this, a channel known as #bob-development-questions has been set up in our Discord. These threads within the channel have multiple questions, although you are not obligated to answer all of them, that can be answered/discussed as a community. We would like responses from as many users as we can, so PLEASE RESPOND. These changes take community input and time.

For further explanation and viewing, once again, please view or ask questions in #bob-development-questions within our Discord.

Thank you,
Orion

BoBCats,

First all, thank you for being so communicative lately. We appreciate all insight and observations you decided to share with us with the member survey, along with the recent thread in the Helpful Hub. Regarding that though, a decision has been made. The discussion regarding mergers pointed heavily towards merging two specific groups together: The Palm Glades and The Typhoon. Due to this, as staff, we have decided to go through with this decision.

The final day to pack up and move to The Typhoon board + Discord will be JUNE 10TH. This is a week from now. From that point on, threads/posts/etc will be moved into The Typhoon.

Along with this, the merger of the two groups need to decide on a leader. If you are interested in leading, you can apply here. We look forward to seeing all candidates!

If you have any questions or comments regarding this change, feel free to DM a staff member, ask within #forum-questions on the Discord, or post a thread in the Helpful Hub.

Have a good holiday weekend,
Orion + BoB Staff

BoBCats,

With a few things going on, it's about time we open up some try-outs and applications for high positions in ALL groups! New and old members are welcome to apply. We hope to see you put out some wonderful and meaningful applications for all positions noted.

You can APPLY HERE.

See ya later alligator!
Orion

BoBcats,

Just as a short heads up, it appears our host is doing some upgrades later this week. The dates/times are: Thursday, June 17, 2021 from 12 AM to 2 AM Eastern Time + Friday, June 18, 2021 from 12 AM to 2 AM Eastern Time.

Outages are expected during Thursday morning, but none are predicted for Friday. If there are any issues or signs of an outage, please let us know. We will be prompt to try and resolve the issue accordingly.

As always, thank you for being patient and staying with us.

Regards,
Beasts of Beyond Staff