I don't really play Lorwolf anymore, but I will make this suggestion again because I do care about it. Though this issue is already widely known, the site really needs more communication from the devs.

The weekly shop rotations are the only thing masking the enormous lack of any actual information being shared about the games development. It's understandable that things might be slow, that the site isn't self-sufficient and that means things take longer, that life gets in the way and this game can't always be the #1 priority. But if we got any updates at all to let the community know that their time and support is also appreciated, that morale boost might just keep people around longer. An apology for forgetting about the anniversary could have been well-received if it came sooner, but by now it's almost impossible that this has gone unnoticed and there's still no word.

If this disregard is not intentional, if there's something serious going on, then it really is a good time to start finally considering more open communication. Some people will be happy to be patient, some, especially now, might not, but any effort is better than none. Small previews, polls, updates regarding future content, all of it might help people stay motivated to return, even if in the future. But if you lose your audience by making them feel unheard and uncared for before you release campaign part 2, then was the work you put into that content even worth it?

Right now, I would never recommend anyone to play Lorwolf because of these issues. And if that becomes the case for more and more people, the site might not even gain any new players due to a bad reputation. The eventual content alone really isn't enough when pet sites thrive on community- and the community here seems generally very warm and helpful, they deserve better. Not everyone should be punished with silence because of a few others being rude.

I'm someone who doesn't actively play (the gameplay loop of stamina isn't my style) but I do check in every week to see if any updates were made. Lorwolf really had a positive reception when it was first launching, and it really did seem like it was a labor of love from mostly Alaunis but JimJim as well. The reality of running a browser petsite may have not been apparent until they really got into things, so I wonder if it just wasn't what they (or, well, Alaunis, since I have never seen JimJim actually post any message on-site or elsewhere so I have no idea about him as a person) were expecting.

• Campaign updates should be a small trickle rather than large updates unless they need to be pushed together. From my experience playing the campaign so far, every story has been independent, so this shouldn't be an issue unless Chapter 2 ties them all together like a web.
• Bug Reports should be responded to as they're fixed. I was actually pretty surprised to see that JimJim never responded to anything, ever. Bug Report engagement is a good way to gauge a development team's activity and how they respond to reports and handle them.
• Alaunis should engage in the community, posting on Lorwolf Discussion threads and Suggestion threads. No promises need to be made, but insights on if something is planned or would or wouldn't work at least shows you're paying attention to the community.
• Dev Updates with feature previews shouldn't be back-to-back. I remember seeing previews for Guilds and the Archaeology update, but no feature launch in-between. I get that it's healthy to jump between projects to not get burn-out, however what Lorwolf needs right now is something tangible, not promises as feature previews.
• No timelines with dates. It's very easy to get frustrated if you announce a deadline and then don't make it. Don't say anything about launch dates unless you're certain it's going to be made, or it's all ready to go and you just need to push it.
• It's okay to ask for help or slow down. If you need to write Chapter 2 but are burnt out on writing, take a break and draw some apparel or browse some wolf share threads. It's okay to ask your moderators to maybe host a small event during the downtime so there's something going on. It's also okay to post an update saying things are being worked on, but they aren't finished yet. And most importantly, it's okay to take some time off from work to rest and recover. If you don't, your body will force you to at the most inopportune time.

I don't know, like I said I don't really play Lorwolf and just check in for updates. I would definitely play the campaign updates when they came out, maybe dabble in a few occupations for fun, so maybe my insight isn't valuable. I guess it's just sad to see that this game, which really did seem like a passion project, fizzled out with no real closure. I mean, you can take a look at Gryffs, which has maybe 50 regular users at best, but the two admins are well-respected due to how they manage their community. The lead programmer isn't active, but the artist is, and he continues to push monthly updates, and events are run periodically. Sure, the game hasn't had a major update (such as a new species or game mode) in years, with the last one I could find being October 2023 which was a feature revamp, but the admins built a reputation for themselves and the community holds onto it.

If this radio silence is intentional and will go on indefinitely, it may be time to ask yourself if you do want to work on this game long-term. It's okay if the answer is no.

A lot has been said, by me, by others, but yeah, it really just boils down to communication and small, frequent updates about what is going on, what's being worked on, why the priorities are the way they are, etc.

It's a business before anything else! You can't run it on vibes! That's why it's not solvent, not making enough money to support itself. Lack of players is not the problem, it's a consequence of the way the business is run. If people don't have faith, if they don't see -- or hear about! Hearing about what's being worked on counts for something!-- more than once a year, or only when people have to go find and drag it out of you, of course they aren't going to spend money, and of course they aren't going to stay.

I do sympathize with the Mean Messages, and agree people shouldn't send them. It is, though, entirely not a surprise when you are in charge of something. I've been sent messages that would curdle your toes when I've been in charge of communities and events. Good security and filters can buffer a lot of it, but there really isn't a way to avoid it completely. It's part of your job as boss.

However. You need a thick skin to run any business, it's a hard thing to do. You have to learn how to not take players' frustrations personally if you are gonna survive doing it without having a coronary from stress. Especially when they are founded concerns, you have to learn to put the bruised ego aside. That's not a moral judgement, it's just how it is.

(Edit to add clarity that isn't about excusing people being abusive; it's about learning how to protect yourself from the emotional damage caused by the people that inevitably aren't going to act right. In a perfect world, nobody should say anything outright cruel or harassing to anyone. We do not live in a perfect world, no matter how much I wish it was so. To reiterate, it's a hard, unfair, but necessary part of owning a business.)

And to note, of course, criticism is not abuse. There have been many, mostly completely fair & totally justified criticisms levied by players in a very neutral-to-even-positive fashion, especially in the Suggestions forum. If that causes a business owner so much distress that they find that they can't manage the place, it's better to personally re-evaluate why they are even in that business, what they wanted to get out of it since games are a constant open dialogue between user and dev, and to potentially get out of it for their own sake. :/

The longer this goes on, the worse it's going to be. The playerbase would welcome back the devs with open arms if only they pledged to communicate better & more often, with genuine updates and not the current auto-posted nothings... And if they actually stuck to it this time.

The game also needs a head mod hired again, one that has the drive and desire to lead the community and pass feedback back to the devs-- if they need a buffer to bear the brunt of the scary user feedback, be honest about it. I do not blame the former head mod for quitting, it's a thankless job-- especially here, it seems-- but it's an incredibly important one, especially for a game run by (apparently) very skittish folks.