Menoch

If you don't like people with opinions then you probably shouldn't be in the forums. That is why they are here after all. And I am not trying to force people to play this way or that. Looking back at my post I see no "Thought Police" tactics or "Mind Control" techniques. Just opinions.... well for the most part. There was one fact, and that was that there are already maps and they are already accessible to each and every single player in Wurm. You just have to use 2 fingers a little common sense and you have a map. And while I do appreciate your perceptive take on why Wurm's population is so small, I would like to point out that I heard of Wurm via word of mouth. I have not once seen a flashy advertisement for it. I don't see it in gaming magazines nor do I recognize it as ever being shoved in my face on some random internet page. I do my part in trying to tell everyone I can that I know is a gamer about Wurm. It is a game that MUST be experienced. However... An Independent developer has one hell of a fight clawing its way to the top of the crap-pile of games out there that have publicity and public relations backing, but nothing to offer in the end. I doubt very highly that not having a map is turning people away. If you were to say it is the lack of a cohesive tutorial, I would say I agree with you. But dare I say, as I may have hinted to it already, living in a gaming era where gamers don't feel they should have to work hard for what they accomplish is probably another factor. But I see this game as trying to be different. And in its own right it should be. I just fear it turns into just another graphical interface that caters to the whim of an already watered down mass of "Hard Core" survival games. If they put a map in the game, then they put a map in the game. I wont lose any sleep over it, or rage quit, or cry. Lol. If they don't then they don't. But just because "You don't want opinionated people" telling the devs how they feel, is nothing short of selfish. And frankly, I don't give a Green Giant Rat's ass-hair what you want if you wrap it up in context like that. And that there was me being impolite. Apart from that, if I did not state my opinions here, as many others do, I would be doing this game and myself an injustice. The developers listen to us all for a reason.

Not wanting a map in game is not prejudice, ignorance, nor should bad words be slung hitherto or in anyone's general direction if they voice their opinion about how they would like the game to stay or become. Once again, I am a noob to the second power. I'm at the end of my third week in Wurm and have died twice. I have no map. It is not that I have better luck than anyone else, nor am I smarter than any other player by far... trust me.. I can be pretty daft at times. I just realized right away that this game is not your average mmorpg. This game is not about running headfirst into a blueberry hedge with your mouth open hoping to fill your hunger bar. (being sarcastic). It is a game that invokes thought and planning. Just like real life (and I am aware that this is not real life... however it is a RL simulation in a whole slew of ways), if you head into the wilderness unprepared, unawares, and without a clue, you will have a challenge ahead of you merely staying alive. Handing a map to a noob still makes that map irrelevant. That person just has a map that they now can use to head out into the wilderness unprepared, unawares, and challenged to live through the next hour. It is not an argument of knowing where the hell you are. It is a matter of knowing how to survive where you are, and it is with much irony to be found a corpse on a hill with a backpack full of berries, a wooden shield, no armor, and a map in your back pocket. You have a compass. If you head north out of town, then chances are you will have to head south to reach town again, unless of course that town happens to be a band of gypsies, to which I will then say you are plum outta luck, map or no. I have seen the remark "if you don't like maps, then don't use it" in more than a few posts. Were I or anyone else to be prejudice, or ignorant, then that statement could simply be met with "if you want a map, then ALT+Tab and use it." The remarkable part about that therein is that that feature is already implemented. But check it out: "Meaning you can't look at the map and instantly find where you are, its the same as playing windowed with community map open. Actually the in-game map has less features." ...Then why wouldn't you WANT to use the community maps? I do not however wish to go uncaringly headfirst into that fray by saying that I do not, even a little bit, sympathize with the good people of Wurm who want to know where they are. But for the love of Pete there are already maps! Use them! Hours spent developing code to pull up an in-game map of a map that already exists outside of the game is something that would seem to me to be a huge waste of time and resources at this point when there are a myriad other areas of this game that need attention... more so than a map that is already accessible. The tutorial needs a facelift. This is a given. Knowledge of starting skills, the "why's" and "why not's" should be addressed with the fledgeling player. Give them a reason to feel the impact of their actions. Before they leave the tutorial, they should already have a vision of what they could now see their character becoming. How does the saying go? "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime... unless he lives in a desert..." (I kid) My first week in game involved me hiding near the guards in the starter town. I taught myself how to make cloth from the cotton I had foraged (Using a loom at an abandoned deed), and made my own armor (and I use the word "armor" here loosely 8D ). I was fortunate enough to find a dead croc and butchered it. I got hide, and with the ashes of my fire and a jar (which I made of the clay that I was directed in game to) of water, I made lye and then leather. I used that to make a cap and a boot... very poor QL but it was better than a cap and boot made of air. At the end of that week, after living out of a large cart that I created, complete with lock, I was kindly offered a change of life here in Wurm by 2 kind souls named Exene and Notstupidbobb. They didn't hand me a deed to a mansion or a handful of silver. They offered me some of their time, effort, and generosity and gave me a ride (In my own cart mind you) to where I could see the lay of the land and choose a spot to set up my deed. I still had a lot of work ahead of me... and still do... It was the kindness of these 2 people that really show what this community has to offer. If it weren't for them I would be at least a few weeks behind, but with care and patience, it is possible. It shouldn't be about being handed armor and weapons and gear (and a map) so you can just go out and know the lay of the land and be Uber. This game has more to offer than that. And there are a plethora of other games out there that will do that for you. My words here are laid out to not bash pro-map individuals, noobs or well-seasoned, but to encourage the use of other skills. As I had mentioned in a prior post, not only can your compass give you bearings, but the moon, the sun, and nature are landmarks in their own right. Learning how to use them in-game can become indispensable. Learning your surroundings not only gives you a more intimate view of the lands of Wurm, but can in many ways make a map obsolete. Yes, knowing the land while it is ever changing is a challenge, but after all, isn't that the nature of Wurm?

If you give a man the choice between a porcelain crapper and Scottissue, or a hole in the ground and a leaf, the choice is obvious. Soon the chaffing will dictate Scottissue really IS easier on the ol' tush. The porcelain crapper wins! But give a man a hole in the ground and a leaf only, and he is forced to create his own Porcelain crapper or "feel the heat". LOL. Bobb, I do understand where you are coming from, so please don't "tag" me This is only my opinion, and I always try to make it a point to state that. But if you put something in a game and then tell someone not to use it if they don't like it, I would feel it akin to locking a woman in a fudge shop in the throes of her diet. 9 times outta 10, fudge wins, diet loses!

-------------------------------------------------------------- Hi all. I am going to put in my 2 cents regarding maps, as that is basically really the only thing I didn't like about the list: I am going on week 2 of Wurm. I had heard about this game throughout the years, but never tried it until recently. I started the game with no in-game friends, no map, and no idea what I was getting myself into, and I now have a deed, a house (albeit small), and I am slowly but surely building myself up. Heck I didn't even know if this game was going to run on my Mac Mini. This game, in my opinion, is not about handing an individual the keys to success on a silver platter, but also not alienating one from succeeding. However, this is THE quintessential survival game. This should be the game that all other "survival" games look to for inspiration. And the one core element to any good survival game should strive to stoke one's instinctual "want" to survive. Hand a new player a map (of a town or the world) and you have immediately diminished the need to explore. You have effectively reduced the mystery and fear factor by at least half. What do I mean: There is a beautiful sky above the land. The sun rises and sets in the same direction every day, and the night sky is filled with constellations, moons, phases (to my knowledge), and... "roadsigns". The land is filled with nooks, crannies, mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, and... "roadsigns". If you need a map, draw a map and keep it by your side as you play the game. If you need to know which direction you are heading, look to the sky, you can find which direction you need to go to return. I did these things and I do them still, in game. Incorporate a HUD map or "gps" and the attention now goes from the landscape to the mapscape. It doesn't matter is there is a row of olive trees or a single birch amongst a grove of cedars. Just turn left at the "X", go north 5 grids and watch out for the Troll Mound, and you are level 120 million. Maps take away from a game like this... not add. I agree that more appeal would be nice to draw in the new gamer. But some things in life you must actually work at to achieve success, and this should hold true even in some video games. If the mentality of a potential gamer is "I just won't play if I don't have someone or something holding my hand and making it easier", then, and I don't mean this in a mean way, this game simply is not for you. I understand the monetary importance of an endeavor such as this. I really do. More players = more money. But for the love of Pete there are enough games out there with "magic maps" that have a "Fog of War". This shouldn't be that game. And in a world where every resource is a precious commodity, Maps, which were VERY valued items throughout history (Old World especially), shouldn't be lining the backpack of each and every newcomer. I was taken under the wing of some very nice players after I had built my very first large cart and was basically living out of it. The excellent thing about the Wurm community is there have always been those ready to help me throughout my short life in Wurm. But I digress... maybe I am just too old school. Heck, I still believe teachers shouldn't allow calculators in math class. But what do I know. I was always told Pluto was a planet when I was a kid! Work to Succeed... or you can always play WoW! ---------------------------------------- EDIT: And I have looked up a map 0 (zero) times for the record.