Wurm Online: New land opened, Free to Play tutorial server/sandbox

[Demonix]

Ok cool, that sounds reasonable.  I want to get some more skills to 20 or so before I head over though, but it's good to know I won't lose my tools (especially the fucking pelt)

That limit on 20 for skills?  Yeah, that applies to your stats as well, they wont be going over 20 and you will miss out on those gains as long as you are capped.

My advice is to start preparing your move kit and go once you are done;  work on your skills on the prem server so you dont lose out on stat gain.

If you want to join a village, ask about freebears, but be warned...we are on the opposite side of the world from samling.  Lost all my stuff trying to get there, bvut they replaced it with better stuff :)

[Bzalthek]

Spoilered for size, but here are a few screens of my work area.  Lots of layers so it's hard to get a good look from first person perspective.

[NiX]

Makes me want to play,  but it was a bit overwhelming when I tried.

[Mrbloodworth]

Nice site.

Also, it would be awesome to see a Batcounty on the map :) you guys and gals should band together.

Just as a tidbit, our client should be seeing a huge performance upgrade with all the changes we have been making to that ends (client, server, models), we now have hardware occlusion!

[Demonix]

Hey bloodworth, noticed something a couple of nights ago, wonder if you could answer a question.

We've noticed that the bulk bin graphics change the more stuff you put in em (a cool touch!).  The other night though, I could have sworn that my rock shard pile was getting bigger the longer I was mining.  Did you guys make art changes so that as a pile gets bigger the graphic changes?

If not, thats too bad, it would be kinda cool. :)

[Mrbloodworth]

Bins yes ( and thanks :) ), piles not that I am aware of, however the single "shard" looks close to the "pile" version.

[LK]

I like watching numbers and resource piles grow.

[Mrbloodworth]

I like watching numbers and resource piles grow.

I can go out of my way and totally hook you up with a free trial on our very private and exclusive Golden Valley!

[LK]

S'alright, I played Wurm. I liked the concept but had difficulty with its implementation at the time. It's very much a virtual world as opposed to a game, and I enjoyed that, but at a certain point spending 5 hours terraforming or building a hut didn't seem fun (though it was rewarding!)

[Bzalthek]

Color coding wounds is a nice touch but holy fuck what did you do to mines. 

Oh yeah, willows look a lot better.

[Mrbloodworth]

Color coding wounds is a nice touch but holy fuck what did you do to mines.  

Oh yeah, willows look a lot better.

This is almost the end of the major tree overhaul. As far as mines go, I'm going to go with "made them more awesome" unless you want to tell me what you mean.

Also, feedback like this should really go on our Official forums, I think, I mean, unless nobody cares here.

[Mrbloodworth]

Pitchfork Media: A Portrait of Wurm Online

[craan]

I enjoyed that writeup right up to the part where the virtual sociopaths took their stuff.

[Mrbloodworth]

Free for All: A look at WURM Online

[AmericanMcGeesBambi]

Why the fuck isn't there an "everything goes 10x faster" server for all the people who, y'know, would consider playing Wurm if it went 10x faster?

[LK]

Then it becomes more game and less Survivor: Brittania simulator.

[AmericanMcGeesBambi]

I didn't say 'easier'.  I said 'quicker'.  In the context of Wurm, I think there's a difference.

Also, what's to be lost by having both?  Let people pick the server type that suits them best.

[LK]

I think how time is treated in a game versus a simulator is lost on you.

[AmericanMcGeesBambi]

Again, even if that would make Wurm more 'game' and less 'simulator', what's to be lost by having both?

Maybe -- just maybe -- in addition to being an interesting simulator, with a bit of rules tweaking Wurm would be a damn fun game.

Why not give that a go on an alt-rules server?

[LK]

Additional time and resources spent for servers and design decisions, splitting an already segmented population (I think. If not, replace segmented with minuscule) into different play spaces, serving as a detriment to the spirit of the game, as nasty a spirit as that may be.

[AmericanMcGeesBambi]

A server where everything goes at 10x speed wouldn't 'split the population', it'd probably at least quadruple their number of paying customers.

Also, not design decisions... design decision, singular.  10x speed.  Everything else works exactly the same.

Also, the spirit of the game is "an interesting open world where you can do pretty much anything".  The game punching you in the dick if you want to play in their sandbox is not necessarily part of the spirit.

[LK]

So you want faster dick-punching, not less.

Also, your description of the spirit would be great for a single player game and fall apart in an instant in an MMO setting.

[Goreschach]

I think how time is treated in a game versus a simulator is lost on you.

I think, considering the amount of time it would take to actually build a wooden cart, learn to swordfight, or heal even a moderate wound in real life, it is lost on you.

Realistically, the timescale differences between Wurm and a game like WoW, when compared to real life, are a drop in the hat.

[LK]

I think how time is treated in a game versus a simulator is lost on you.

I think, considering the amount of time it would take to actually build a wooden cart, learn to swordfight, or heal even a moderate wound in real life, it is lost on you.

Realistically, the timescale differences between Wurm and a game like WoW, when compared to real life, are a drop in the hat.

Things take longer in a simulator, tuning more towards realistic representation of time to complete an action.

In games, actions are sped up in the interest of fun or arcade feel.

Making things faster in Wurm makes it more like a game.

Keeping things as they are in Wurm makes it more of a simulator.

How MUCH it is a game and how MUCH it is a simulator was something I never stated. What neither implies is how easy the game is, which was the point of my retort.

[Goreschach]

Things take longer in a simulator, tuning more towards realistic representation of time to complete an action.

In games, actions are sped up in the interest of fun or arcade feel.

Making things faster in Wurm makes it more like a game.

Keeping things as they are in Wurm makes it more of a simulator.

How MUCH it is a game and how MUCH it is a simulator was something I never stated. What neither implies is how easy the game is, which was the point of my retort.

Yes, and and both Wyrm and WoW are so very far into the game side of the scale that you're basically a few burnt synapses away from playing Quake.

Simulationism can be a nice addition to gameplay. Simulationism for the sake of simulationism, the kind of realism argument you're blathering about, is a pursuit of pure neckbeardery doomed to obscurity.

[LK]

I don't give a shit about measuring the amount of simulation in Wurm and placing it on a scale of Game vs. Simulation. I don't even know why the fuck you're so pissy. I was pointing out how Captain Rage Suggest took my analogy about games' vs. simulators' management of time and translated that to something about difficulty rather than addressing his concerns about time, as was my intent. The analogy being relative, and my explanation about it to try and get you to understand my intent, seems completely lost on you. You didn't even give me anything to work with in response to try and understand your point of view. You just veered into bugfuck stupid land.

I don't know what baggage you're bringing into the thread but you should have checked it before boarding.

[Bzalthek]

The only thing I'd change about the speed is combat.  It's so uninspiring you'd think they'd want to skim past that.  Let me get to treating my medium wounds a little faster, thanks.

[AmericanMcGeesBambi]

So you want faster dick-punching, not less.

Exactly.  Or, put another way, the time required to play Wurm IS the dick-punch to me.  I don't mind the harsh, unforgiving nature of the game.  I don't mind the game bending me over and fucking me up the ass from time to time. I want a tough game. I'd just rather it didn't take 20 goddamn hours to craft the sharp wooden stick they're going to fuck me with.

Tons of people hear about Wurm and get really excited about the concept, until they hear how much time it's going to eat up to try anything.  They don't want the game to be easier, per se, they just want it to take less time.


Flight Simulator has a hardcore, dedicated sub-community that flies real-time flights across the country with air traffic control and everything.  They sit there for hours at a time. Thankfully, that's not the only option available for how to play Flight Simulator.

[Malakili]

I don't mind the game bending me over and fucking me up the ass from time to time. I want a tough game. I'd just rather it didn't take 20 goddamn hours to craft the sharp wooden stick they're going to fuck me with.

This is probably the best summary of Wurm I've seen.

[LK]

Ooooo, now I get to play how newbie fucked up.   

[Mrbloodworth]

Wow, ok.

I hate to say it (and realize I have very little involvement in past designs), but at higher skill levels (that simply increase success or creation and or combines) you can make a cart in about a minute (Action timer).

Of course acquiring the materials is a different story, but again, higher skill does in a lot of cases equate to faster completion time, almost literally in some cases (action timer is reduced).

Thing is, we do not block anyone from trying because of skill level in the required schools, you just fail a lot, and materials are lost. There are two principles at work here I think, one, is the range we use, at the lowest levels, you are a bumbling fool, at mid levels its about as competent as a journeyman crafter, at the highest levels its god like (smiting a sword blade in moments).

The second is the reinforcement of teamwork/team play and economy. As with crafting, we do not block you from USING anything as well because of skill level (there may be an exception here, religion and subsequently magic requires you maintain favor with a god, and do no actions contrary to that god, essentially an alignment system, this also goes for champions, the religious fighting class for all intents) My pint in bringing up this, is that you can start day one, and buy anything you need from others and use it, you just may suck if the skill is low.

Anyway.... I personally feel the main issue we have, is explaining things to players (Like sleep bonus). We know this, and are in the works with a completely revamped tutorial (in fact, a entirely new system is being made that reusable and configurable)

[Pennilenko]

Anyway.... I personally feel the main issue we have, is explaining things to players (Like sleep bonus). We know this, and are in the works with a completely revamped tutorial (in fact, a entirely new system is being made that reusable and configurable)

Soon as that tutorial is finished, I will pick it back up and trying again.

[LK]

I logged in for the first time. I was asked to go find a tree. Apparently there wasn't a tree for several square miles. I stopped right about there.

[Shatter]

I logged in for the first time. I was asked to go find a tree. Apparently there wasn't a tree for several square miles. I stopped right about there.

Could be worse, coulda been 100 trees you cant find

[LK]

I want a game LIKE this: open world, lots of crafting options, ability to build things and make a mark on the world. The implementation is gut-wrenching and time-consuming though, and they throw EVERYTHING at you immediately instead of easing you in. The game reminds me what Ultima Online would have looked like in Everquest's engine. Everything feels 10 years behind the curve.