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Firstly - I am not posting this in Suggestions at this time because, so far, I don't yet have any concrete suggestions or ideas to implement. If Someone In Charge wants to move this to Suggestions, that's fine by me... I'm just saying that, at this time, I am posting merely to have a discussion with other Wurmians about my observations on this topic. Secondly, what I'm about to share is basically a copypaste of my own response to a gamer blogging their own game play experience. I am not providing a direct link to that blog on purpose. If you are intrepid (and I know most seasoned Wurmians are exactly that) - you can easily figure out where this is coming from & head to the full blog content on your own. My focus here is not the blog that was originally the catalyst; my focus here is intended to be a discussion with other Wurmians about my observations on the new player experience. See how I repeated that line on purpose to drive that point home? Okay y'all... Let's do this. Recently Wurm had a visitor come to sample the Wurmian way of life. For various reasons, this did not go well. Offense was taken, sides were drawn, salty gamers from days gone by came out of the woods to grind their axes. Much tea was spilled. When the dust settled, nobody walked away looking rosy, and everybody felt disquieted. Not a good look for Wurmians. Not a good way to feel. Although there were the usual mistakes and assumptions and idiot moments - and even a game play bug that just happened to be goin' around - the core Wurm mechanics on display involve the new player experience. From tutorial all the way through the first 3-7 days in Wurm, the new player experience has seen a lot of recent focus and revision. Personally, I think the NPE has not yet found its balance. Here is the copypaste. In this, I am responding to a new player who did not click with Wurm (and that's okay), but whose conclusions about Wurm were not entirely off. I pull two specific quotes from the new player's response that I feel perhaps Wurm Devs, Someone In Charge, and Wurmians, in general, should take a pause to consider. This is 100% true. Anyone who claims otherwise is setting you up for a very unhappy Wurm experience. I truly believe that at least a certain amount of this lack of guidance/direction is on purpose. Wurm, the game, is ultimately such an open-ended sandbox in Wurm, the world, that if a player doesn't have a how & why of their own, the overall game experience genuinely won't appeal. In Wurm, the why of it all has to come from within the player - otherwise, we're all just playing Wurm, The Ultimate Chore List. However, as you have pointed out... when Wurm begins as it means to carry on, the barrier to entry is insurmountable for some - many of whom might have turned out to be incredibly positive additions to the community. And being so hands-off from the very start does little to assist new players in the fundamental practicalities - things like "forage for vegetables. Now put vegetables in your bowl. Now build a campfire & place the bowl in the campfire. Wait while it cooks... Presto! Now you know at least 1 way to feed yourself and not starve to death!" If the Wurm Devs take anything away from your experience, it is my hope that this is it. Right here. IMO, you nailed it. Don't get me wrong - I love Wurm; it is the game I've been looking for my whole life. But the new player experience is a high priority problem area that I feel Wurm has not yet found its correct balance. While Wurm is purposefully catering to self-directed players, this type of person comes in hardcore and casual, old and young, experienced gamers and new-to-sandbox gamers. Some of these types could function perfectly well, enthusiastically even, at higher levels but need more initial guidance before they are ready to fully take the reins of their own game play. And, as you have said, expecting a new player to already know that there are reins to take hold of in the first place, let alone how to do so - is an incredible missed opportunity. Yes, Wurm will reward the inquisitive willing to just poke around and try things until something works, regardless of how many times you might die in the process..... but Wurm shouldn't offer those rewards at the expense of potential players who simply have a different learning style. Personally, I played through the tutorial when it was at Haven's Landing. And when the Northern Islands launched, I made a new character expressly for the purpose of playing through the updated tutorial experience on Haven. While the current tutorial experience has definitely been a refreshing update & implemented what I thought were incredibly good improvements... there is a vast amount of content that other games typically place in the tutorial / NPE that Wurm provides the new player through implication alone. In Wurm, the existence of a campfire implies the ability to cook food. It might also imply that the player character needs to stay fed or starve. It might also imply that the player character needs to stay warm or freeze to death. It might also imply that the player character needs to occasionally rest to restore energy or action points or stamina or reset ability cooldowns. It might also imply that darkness is somehow dangerous, and the player character must keep a fire lit to ward off potential hazards. This is what goes through my head when the Wurm tutorial shows me a flint and some kindling and says, "let's make a campfire." BUT - I have a background predisposed to that way of thinking. I have been taught to consider possibility chains for every action & reaction. Many(?) modern people - yes, including gamers - have not been encouraged in that sort of mentality. Teaching styles and education requirements in my country have radically changed since I was in schooling. And Wurm is an international game - welcoming players from countries with vastly different learning models. To be clear: I do believe that eventually, to lead a long-term successful "life" in Wurm, the player will fundamentally need to develop this mind set. I meant what I said to the blogger - Wurm will absolutely reward the inquisitive player. This game & community work best for the player who derives those implications and subsequently tests them through game play experience. But that should not mean that Wurm only works for players that already arrive with that ability. IMO: it would behoove the Devs, and Wurmians, to consider a new player experience that welcomes and encourages players with the capacity for this mentality, and get them started down the road to developing that way of learning & interacting with Wurm, through their game play. TLDR: Wurm doesn't have to cater to all gamer types - but there is at least one type of player that Wurm could retain who is instead stymied by the New Player Experience, and quits.