2014 Dev Q&A question submissions

[Othob Rithol 700]

• Like others have said, what steps are being taken or will be taken in the next year to advertise wurm and increase the player base?

What type and when can we expect more character customization options like more skin tones, more hair options, more clothing, vanity items, name changes etc.

When will stairs and/or ramps be implemented?

[Hailene 362]

Is there a chance for making pelts and whetstones impable?

 

Putting enchants on them is difficult due to their disposable nature.  Even mending makes their value go down.  With the addition of skill potions (weaponsimthing, armorsmithing, ect.) it makes smithing fall, relatively, behind other skills like leatherworking and cloth tailoring.  Though admittedly other skills (like carpentry) also use pelts. 

[watkins141 994]

Are you ever going to really start advertising the game? Wurm really needs some advertising.

 

Will you ever really use the /poll system?

Edited December 6, 2014 by watkins141

[Nikab 110]

Do you have any plans about getting rid of java?

[Alec 728]

Can we expect better work ethics(reinforced mine drama, bashur drama, etc)?

 

Will the combat system ever been reworked?

 

The in-game communication system between players is dated, will it be updated?

 

Why Wurm always has to have some kind of deal with a shady businessman?(Bitcoin mining, PA, etc)

 

Comparing the number of developers(programmers and graphic artist) that Wurm has, with other games of same-size crew, that have a non-java engine, and are able to produce the same amount (or more) of content, with less bugs and glitches. Makes me ask: the current Wurm is really that hard to work with? Would Wurm be better off with other engine?

 

Realistically, what is the maximum player base that Wurm can support with its current engine server-side and client-side?

 

Any plans regarding further customization of the character, like more skin tones, or being able to change the hair and facial hair in-game?

 

Will be cosmetic items on the Wurm store?

 

Can we expect more GM/devs intervention in the middle of player-made event such raids?

 

Why Wurm has so little to none documentation of years old mechanics/items, and why the new content follow this undocumented pattern?

 

Will be more uses of undocumented features as an excuse for changing them, stating that their functionality and usage was the result of a bug? (A bug that cannot of course be disapprove since the documentation issue that Wurm has)

 

Why Wurm has such little consistency? Example 1: We have Greek pillars, German house walls, Norse trolls, Victorian beds, some texture are very plastic-looking whereas other are photo-realistic, Japanese shrines, textures in a cute fantasy style, textures in an ultra realistic style... (the list goes on). Example 2: Boats have one management system, writs another and minedoors a third one.

 

Any plans about releasing detailed description of all the game mechanics, items and features?

Edited December 6, 2014 by Alec

[Heboric 808]

I think this has been mentioned a few times, but I feel it's possibly the single most important topic going forward for a sandbox game.

 

We have already seen the difficulty of coding collision mechanics to introduce bridges.

 

So my question is......are there, or will there ever be, plans to introduce a genuine 3D system into Wurm....even if to do that means shifting the game onto a different engine and losing Java?

[Zekezor 3,188]

Is there any plans to give archery a proper GUI window (fex inside the fight options window) and/or add the option of contineous fire instead of having to go through rightclick menus on each shoot?

[Atlas 363]

Finding ways to reduce costs are even more important than finding ways to increase sales...every extra financial resource potentially further increases developmental resources to improve the game and add more paying players

If you incorporated a subsidiary holding company in Ireland or Holland (those are the two most popular but there are *many*) you could effectively reduce your tax liabiliy by ~75%--which is a de facto equivalent to almost doubling your net revenues. This is entirely legal and in fact *extremely* common with large Fortune 500 international corporations. Code Club's nature of developing an 'E-product'/software and not being a physical goods manufacturer makes it very suitable to this type of setup:

Have you ever researched this or discussed the possibily with an Accounting professional?

Have you ever considered supplementing your art development by offshoring a project to an Eastern European (Low Cost Country/LLC) house for turnkey assets?

[BrQQQ 2,854]

Are there concrete plans to hire more (art, server, client) developers?

You guys focussed on certain things throughout the year. Examples are new music, valrei ability system, client optimization, improving tutorial and player retention, bridges etc. Do you guys already have some new things in mind that you will be focussing on?

Also can we please keep questions neutral? There is no point in asking "When are you going to nerf this OP game mechanic?", it will probably just get ignored because it's a terrible and loaded question. Instead you can just formulate it likeo "Do you have plans on changing this particular game mechanic?"

[Atlas 363]

We have seen some really great and in depth Dev interviews, can each Code Club team member talk about their plans for 2015: what they want to work on or what feature they hope gets attention?

[Jonas 18]

Do you have any plans to give players the ability to change (remove, create, alter) clay tiles?  Currently they are impossible to work around.  

 

Will you ever change the way dredging works?  I.E. add the ability to automatically move dredged dirt to boat cargo and/or to player inventory.

[Lisabet 1,016]

When black sheep were mentioned in the news post, are they something we'll find in the 'wild' or will they enter the game randomly through breedings?

 

 

*edits*

Also, according to the news post introducing the wool hats, it was said they'd provide the same protection as cloth armor.  I have seen posts in the forums saying they provide no armor, which is true?

Edited December 7, 2014 by Lisabet

[Gavin 971]

The Freedom cluster keeps getting larger and larger in terms of servers; but the ability to interact with other servers stays the same. For example mailing from one server to the other costs 20 copper; it's difficult mailing from Chaos to other Freedom servers (especially if multiple kingdoms are involved) and boats are rather slow so it can take several days to sail from one end of the Freedom cluster to the other.

 

Will travel times between the servers ever be improved; either by speeding boats up or creating additional connections between servers - and will the mailing system ever be made easier to use between servers/kingdoms?

[MrGARY 12,421]

With the changes to economies (sell, coins from hunting, coins from foraging etc) and the general lack of being able to do anything with a trader once it's planted, will we ever be allowed to dismiss a trader into a form again like merchants?

[Martynas5 435]

Will there be more tailoring sub skills in the future ?

 

How much damage reduction is added if armor is rare?

 

Will we be able to set our own personal goals ? (in personal goals window)

Edited December 7, 2014 by Martynas5

[Ecrir 887]

Q1: Are there any plans to improve the crafting system, for example by adding more customizability, and by letting the used ingredients affect the final product a lot more?

 

Take for example a longsword. The handle doesn't affect the final product in any way, and there's only one type of handle. The type of wood doesn't affect the handle in any way either. You'd imagine the grip of the sword would actually have a reasonable effect on how effective the weapon is in combat, but currently it doesn't appear to be a factor.

The material which was used to create the blade with also has no effect (with the exception of a few materials like steel?), and every longsword blade is exactly the same. Swords actually changed over the years, from a slashing focus towards a thrusting focus (for example because slashing became less and less effective due to plate armor), and there were also many different swords. So other possible improvements I could think of in this area is to give the weaponsmith the ability to make their blades more thrusting or more slashing focused ( for example with a slider, left is max slashing, right is max piercing, middle is average of both?).

 

 

Q2: Are there any plans to make the mine layer 3d, and/or to allow construction inside of mines?

 

Q3: Are there any plans to improve the cooking system?

Some examples:

- Currently very simple recipes like the meal also give the best nutrition and take a reasonable time to decay, while much more complex and time intensive recipes like sandwiches decay in no time and are nowhere near as good nutrition wise.

- Many more steps could be added to the cooking system, right now a lot seems to have been simplified out, especially with the less complex recipes. For example again the meal, currently just throw all the ingredients into a pan and wait for it to be done, you don't even need to process any of the ingredients for this. A whole pumpkin? No problem, just throw it in..

 

Q4: What are the developer's thoughts on automation ideas, like wind and water mills, for processing logs and wheat?

 

Q5: Are there any plans for cosmetic items? For example in the form of a skins, buyable at a trader, which could then be applied to a player made item in order to change the way the item looks? Or in an entirely player made form?

Edited December 7, 2014 by Ecrir

[Klaa 4,872]

The same question that has been on the mind of many a player... is there life after bridges?

[Gumbo 1,563]

When will ALL players be able to use the GLSL shader and the VBO support, without having problems in game?

[Stormblade 617]

Q1. Will there be a way to 'convert' clay tiles to dirt, either by some spell, meditation ability, mayor on deed ability.

 

Q2. Some of the metals have limited use, Lead, Tin, will there be a look at other ways to use these metals in various objects?

 

Q3. Old Maps with low population, are there any plans to close or merge these maps into each other into one big one like Xanadu, or any plans to open another map up the size of Xanadu?

 

Q4. Any plans to allow the unhooking of chat tabs so that they can be moved individually around your screen, like moving your skill tab to a different position leaving the event tab and friends tab in the lower right ( usual place of those tabs )

 

Q5. Allowing Team Invite with a 'right click' name invite.

 

Q6. Making a Barbershop where players can go and pay a small sum to change their hairstyle and facial hair?

 

Q7. The future of traders and their Intended Use vs Current Use and the impact it will have on current owners of traders.

 

Q8. Will there ever be any new types of Uniques other than the current ones.  Mega-Shark, Sea Lion King, Crab King, Giant Turtle.

 

Q9. Where does Rolf and the Developers want to take Wurm, current model of playstyle, more mmo'ish type or a different direction?

 

Q10.  Do you guys, as players, still have fun playing Wurm or is it more of a job for you?

[MetalDragon 1,630]

Will you ever give a full break down on characteristics mechanics on how they actually benefit your character?

[GiuseppeP 194]

Is it planned to release a new mapdump for all current servers?

[Sin 220]

Are there any plans for making ships go faster, turning sails, ql affecting and such

Any plans for adding more animals ingame? Both agressive and neutral

[Webba 257]

Any plans for late game PvE content other than uniques?

[Jet 81]

Are there any plans to fix Sailing Times / Boat speeds?

 

For people with RL commitments, work / kids etc spending 2-3 nights of the little time they have at home sailing from point A-B in a light breeze isn't fun nor enjoyable, have any of the suggestions made to rectify this been considered?

Edited December 9, 2014 by Jet

[Argustin 249]

What is the planned "wow" thing to look from the year 2015?

 

Which is the most successful addition to devs mind in 2014?