The Epic Server is Live!

Do you remember that feeling as a kid when the doors of where you went to school opened up and released the hoards of you and your fellow classmates into the school yard for recess? Balls went flying, kids ran for their favorite areas of the yard, everything was exciting and full of energy. Well – Epic’s release was kinda like that

I logged in only about an hour after the servers went live and found the masses scrambling to destroy trees, kill mobs, and begin their lives on Epic. What I wasn’t expecting though were the hoards of Freedom players. They didn’t join Wild – but yet they figured since everyone was on a fresh start and the playing field was more even – now was their chance to join in on a little pvp fun and have TRUE PURPOSE to their crafting! But I’m sure I’ll end up doing more of a post about them sooner or later. They’re an interesting breed actually and really warrant their own article lol. Within moments there was one player complaining in Local chat that someone took their stuff and moments later another one crying about being ganked… on a pvp server… All I could say was “Welcome to Epic and the Real Wurm Online” Lmao! Like I said – an article will be forthcoming

But life is good right now on Epic. I’ve been playing for about 4 days now as often as possible and will make a post very soon as far as what I’m doing. Around the Wurm world though – The more serious players understand what has to get done and that EVERYONE is on a time schedule. The enemy does not sleep and does not wait. As a Black Lighter I know this to be true. The difference though is that Libilia demands death and does not care if it is my own. Being one of her servants – Death is expected.

But despite a few hiccups about missions and skill concerns – the world seems to be moving quickly and patch day went well. Villages are now slowly being deeded and players are coming together to build, survive, and thrive. War is coming and the drums are preparing to sound as everyone gains their fight skill and creates the gear and machines required to conduct warfare on a more epic scale. With the skill gain set to 200% of that of normal servers – players are much happier grinding skills away. It’s amazing to see how after a short few days the world has begun to transform. It’s the beauty that is Wurm Online and what truly sets it a part even from other sandbox type games. I think that despite a little ironing and balancing that needs to happen – Epic truly is beginning to live up to its name!

Now for a bit of propaganda – HoTS, MR, and JK. A war that has been waging for years. Through politics, raids, alliances, betrayals, and complete espionage – the war has dragged on. Many people believe that now is the time for HoTS to once again take their place as the rulers of Wurm. Despite my allegiance to this unique and magnificent kingdom – I believe these rumors to be true. We are the greatest and the best not because we are unified under one ruler. Not because we have so many warships being created and manned that all other Navies will be crushed under our heels. And not because we have the most efficient crafters and superior fighters in the game – but because of one reason: We are the Horde of the Summoned. Everyone and everything else is irrelevant.

That said – there’s life in the game that has been breathed in by new worlds, level playing fields, returning players, hundreds, if not thousands, of monsters and of course… dragons. Omg! The Dragons!!! Hahaha

Everyone I’ve spoken to in game is having a great time. We have an incredible community that continues to grow here and things are only getting better. And as the drums of war prepare for sounding – The Wild Wurm Community Site targets Code Club’s Dev Team and gives it a Crushing High Five for doing such a great job! Lol

I’ll be writing again very soon but leave you now with the signature sign off:
“Stay Frosty Epic and Wild. And Stay Warm and Cozy Freedom”

~Atrayu

And we’re BACK!!! (In an EPIC kinda way!)

Hey everyone! Sorry for the off again – on again posts here on the site. I had to get some RL stuff sorted. And lucky for me – JUST IN TIME for the Epic Server to be released!

It’s currently less than a day away and I’m super excited. There’s lots of details that I’ll be trying to bring you – but what I’d love to hear is your experiences on Epic. Just a short comment (or several!) saying what you did, what you thought, and maybe what some of your plans are with your friends. And screen shots! Don’t forget those! You can email all that stuff to Atrayeu@hotmail.com. (Please note the spelling difference!) Or just leave a comment here!

I’m super excited to see what you guys think and who knows – maybe something you write will catch the eye of a Dev or Rolf himself! AND!! He may love it so much you get FREE STUFF!!! (Edit: The Wild Wurm Legal Department would like to inform all readers that this site in no way infers you will receive anything from Rolf or any developers at Code Club. Atrayu sometimes gets ahead of himself and we would like to encourage him – but not blindly support him. Thank you.)

Bah – stupid legal department. You NEVER know! That’s all I’m saying!! (Gives Legal the evil HoTS eye.)

So hopefully we get some great notes and comments from you the readers. I’ll be moving to Epic on a permanent move with my own HoTS friends so I’ll be looking forward to sharing with you our experiences and I’m hoping to MAYBE (whispers so Legal doesn’t hear him) try and get a short Developer Interview lined up about Epic and the journey so far.

Glad you stayed with me here at The Wild Wurm – things are about to get even Wilder!!!

Keep it real HoTS!!!  ~ Atrayu

The journey continues

hey everyone or anyone (removes the cobwebs the Champ Lava Spider left behind… hoping it’s actually just cobwebs…) I just wanted to leave a small note here and let you all know that I am back in game, on Wild, and never faltering from the Black Light.

I’ll be writing again so stay tuned to the site for more details!

Atrayu

My humble apologies all!

Hey everyone! REALLY sorry about the MIA status. I’ve been having a number of RL issues that have kept me away from Wurm and this site. Please give me about 24 hours to get caught back up to speed.

I’ve received several offers to assist with writing as well as providing things such as Screenshots. I’ll be going through those and contacting everyone individually on how we can move forward. Again – Just looking for about 24 hours time in order to get my bearings again and continue the work we’ve started here

Atrayu

Making a deal that’ll keep the Empire out of here forever!

Hear ye! Hear ye!

We are happy to announce that the website is now looking for writers, screenshot artists, and video producers!

The Wild Wurm – in it’s continued endeavor to provide the best Wurm Online Community content possible is now in search of player-created content for the expanding site.

“We’re looking for writers with a passion to write about Wurm Online. Players with a collection of screenshots they’re looking to share. And video producers that are looking to distribute their videos to a larger and broader audience. All servers and kingdoms are encouraged to contribute!” said founder and owner of The Wild Wurm – Atrayu.

Note: The content of all of the above will belong to the creators of said content – but give permission to The Wild Wurm website to host and share it here on the site.

It must be mentioned that there is a (very) small level of competency and professionalism expected here. A handful of rules that are very close to those found on the official WO Forums need to be followed. But if you’re interested – this is a great opportunity to share your love of Wurm Online with many other Wurmians and those who may have yet to play the game as well!

If you’re interested – please contact Atrayu at: TheWildWurm (at) gmail.com or send him a PM on the main Wurm Online Forums!

Everyone learns to play nice in the Sandbox. Unless your JK. :P

“You wouldn’t recognize it now – but this entire village started as just 2 Stone houses, a fenced in farm, and a little mine door a little ways off” he said as he escorted me through what was obviously not what I was seeing now.

“On your left you have the building we now use primarily for smithing tools and improving weapons/armor. Next to that is my house. Your welcome to any thing in the unlocked chest I leave out front, but nothing else. On the right – there’s a building we use for storing a lot of our masonry equipment like shards, tools, and a couple forges. Fuel is always kept in the community building down the far side of the village where you’ll also find meals and a healthy supply of jugs to carry water. Next to it you’ll find Raven’s home. We don’t go there anymore.”

“Okay – let’s go ahead and show you the small stone home you’ll be staying in. A small anvil, forge, chest, and a bed have all been put together by everyone here as a welcome to the village kinda thing and you’re free to operate out of it however you want.”

At this point – It was difficult to find the right words to say thank you because I honestly was not expecting such a warm welcome. This is the Wild Server and the Horde of the Summoned. I was expecting more – “Here’s a plot of dirt and make of it what you will. If it gets destroyed or thieved from – don’t come crying to us about it.” Lol. I was literally speechless as I was being shown what they’ve done with their humble little village and how they have welcomed me to be a part of it. The only thing I could muster was a simple “Um. Wow. Thank you!”

What’s so incredible about the game is how well the community comes together. Doing things for one another – not just for personal gain and skill increase – but because they care about the survival of those within their own communities. I once heard a developer on a game (I believe it may have been Eve Online) state that they were trying to not just build a community of players but instead – a society of players that live and play in world they enjoy.

What really hit home to me was that in a true sandbox mmorpg – you have a bunch of communities in a game that really end up creating a society. (Yea – I think it was Eve…) And each community may have its own rules and play styles that they establish to enjoy the game the way they enjoy doing so. Some communities may be crafting oriented. Others perhaps mining or farming. Then there are those that are more interested in hunting those cute furry woodland creatures and/or attacking other player communities. But having such diverse communities is what builds the game, as a whole, into a greater society. It’s truly incredible how simply having a gaming space in a virtual world populated by only an environment and a bunch of players who are only given only a basic set of rules/guidelines will pour their time and effort into making something out of nothing. But what really ends up being poured into the game is a healthy dose of humanity. The urge to build, control, manipulate, and grow. All these things find their way into a game where it didn’t exist until a player wanted it in there.

In Wurm Online – I believe that the full nature of this type of game play can only be experience on a server like Wild. Where it is completely open PvP and even members of your own kingdom can kill you should they choose to. When I first started playing Wurm Online I immediately chose the Wild Server because of the idea that the only rules were those set by the developers and the ones the players created (allowing them to control their own destinies and that of what happens to these lands.)

Currently, from what I understand, there is a truce from hostilities between many villages of HoTS and that of MR. Leaving JK on the teeter totter all by their lonesome. (Don’t feel sorry for them please.) Now any day – the winds of change could drift in and blow apart that truce and open war could ignite across the entire land between all 3 kingdoms as it was (again from what I have been told) not long ago. A great example of how truly incredible sandbox games (and especially Wurm Online) are.

The open ended gameplay and the need for players to work as a team is really what a lot of games are missing but what Wurm Online seems to be doing right. Now teamwork doesn’t always mean doing the fun stuff because in reality (well… game reality) walls and towers and other defenses to your village often need to be tended too (particularly if you’re a Black Light player since those self-righteous White Light players want nothing but the destruction of all the lands to the south and west. See – Don’t feel sorry for them! And no – I’m not bitter. Lol.)

Farms need to be tended to. Ore and rock need to be mined. Food created. Miscellaneous resources collected. All for the bettering of the village. To build it and watch it grow into what could hardly be called a village any more but more of a town or city in some cases. Everyone does their part because little things like that need to get done. The communities grow as a result and the societies mature. And in this humble gamer’s opinion why Onetwofree is doing it right – and many others (looking at you Blizzard) fail.

Stay frosty Wild and stay warm and cozy Freedom.™

Atrayu

We’re off the Rails!

So first – many apologies for my absence. I’ve had a number of projects in real life I’ve needed to complete. But enough with the excuses. I’m not looking to rant on my own real life garbage.

Today’s topic is brought to you by the letter S – for Sandbox, Spiders and (the quality level of my combat skills) Sucks!

It’s no secret that one of the things I love most about Wurm Online is the open ended gameplay. I enjoy being able to go out and explore or stay within the cozy walls of my village (when you freaks from JK aren’t coming over and trying to sell me some of your fruit cake or coco-nutty cookies.)  I love that when I log in – the sky’s the limit. Well – my skill points are the limit – but you get what I’m saying

I’ve been playing MMO’s for about ten years now. To some that’s quite a while. Others will remind me of the days of battles long fought in the land of Brittania (Ultima Online for you noobs of Lord British trivia.) What I love about the genre is how far it’s come. But that’s also what I dislike about it too. In yesteryear (WTF? Who actually says words like that?) the MMO model was famous for its difficult, time consuming gameplay. MMO players had no life. Where were computer gamers on a Saturday night? In their mom and dad’s basements playing DnD on the PC or PnP. Some of this may have been true to a certain degree – but gosh darn it we liked it!

Apart from a very minute selection of games like Eve Online and maybe Fallen Earth – Today’s market has been saturated with games that are looking to pull players in that may have never even played an MMO before. And how do you tap into that market? Well – You need to make sure you re-define the genre. Create Rails! Make it more accessible to those who don’t have more than an hour to play or a day or a week. Don’t offer serious penalties for dying. Because Super Mario Bros didn’t make you go on a corpse run. You just had to re-start the level. Stupid green Koopa-Troopas…

It’s unfortunate – but a reality – that more gamers = more income for publishers, developers, and (the hidden – BUT OH SO POWERFUL) investors. But many of us will never really mind it as long as the core of the gameplay stays the same. Don’t ruin my game – and I don’t cancel my subscription and talk trash about your game/company. (Insert infamous SWG mistake here.) We want our game to bring in more cash because more cash (in the hands of a good company) equals more development. Blizzard (yes I said their unholy name) is a good example of this. They’ve taken their millions and have transformed the game and added more and more content as a result – much to the rejoicing of their millions of fans.

Enter Wurm Online.

It’s common knowledge (and quite evident) that the developers and the CEO of Onetwofree have a vision for this game. They stand out not just because of their ideas for a fully open sandbox game – but because they are trying their best to bring back what made the genre so special in the first place. Sure – it isn’t very casual friendly in many cases. Sure it has a few bugs and graphical issues to work out – but Rolf himself has even stated that the game isn’t finished yet. It’s launch date is only that of a date where they needed to start charging the community in order to keep development going and show investors (those sneaky little elves) that the game has potential to increase revenue and their ROI or return on investment. (Jesus – can I not have a post that brings in Corporate speak please!?!?) The game has some great improvements on the way in 2011 and it will be a great year to see an increase in server population as a result. Old and new gamers alike are wanting to return to what MMORPG games started as – an adventure where every person has an opportunity to explore and live in a world they help to create.

My hats off to you guys and I wish you luck on the year and especially your advertising campaign. As this site continues to build – hopefully it will continue helping old and new Wurmians alike.

Stay frosty Wild and stay warm and cozy Freedom.™

Atrayu