What new players seem to think about "the old servers"

[Zao 169]

[Oopsiewoopsie 7]

Old servers are like new servers but worse. players should be funneled to new servers like there is no tomorrow

[Etherdrifter 1765]

We appear to have two distinct factions here:

 

 

Team Optimism : "Everything is great on the old servers, keep the status quo please!"

 

and

 

Team Pessimism : "The old servers are dying, please do something to save them!"

 

 

Neither side can see the logic in the other side's arguments; so it's not really much of a debate.

 

 

I'll sum up my thoughts here before moving on and letting the festering mess settle: The old cluster does not have a social critical mass, so it will struggle to hold social players (look up Richard Bartle; he has quite a few papers online and they're all relatively light reading).  The root of this is because the old cluster has VERY FEW roles for newer players to fill, no "identity" towards which to work.  Players trying to map their own successful wurm experiences onto why this isn't a problem is not a good argument; you are a minority subset as the game has acknowledged a poor retention rate.

 

I think that about sums up my position; and I really hope it's wrong.

[Zexos 88]

14 hours ago, Sovos said:

This is the argument I always see ignored when it comes to these discussions.

 

New players are utterly outclassed and useless compared to any established player that has years of playtime under their belt, and to be completely honest, being nothing but a burden isn't fun. They can't carry as much, they can't queue as many actions, they can't work as long before running out of stamina, they can't craft quality materials. The pitch of "oh there's nowhere to settle that's why people don't go to the southern islands" is naïve at best. If people knew enough about the southern servers to assume they was nowhere to settle, they would also know that starting fresh on a server that's been up for a few years is not going to offer the same experience as starting fresh on servers with a newer group of people.

I've played loads of mmo games over the years and each game I played, the players were way ahead of me in power, skills, money, items and experience. 

 

If I had that attitude of "There are so many players better then me, how will I ever carve out a slot for myself. This is so disappointing and depressing.... . I'm leaving the game and going elsewhere where everyone is new and like me " 

 

If I had that attitude and was comparing myself to others then I would not get anything done. I would get depressed and frustrated. I would not even try and would be moving from game to game. 

 

It is good to have some new players around you or even like a small stream of them coming in because it is good to play with people that are around your level but it is also good to have other high level players around to help, give info and to talk to.. Etc. 

 

The main issue is comparing your newbie self to other players. 

Having a fixed goal that is attached to an expectation about what you want to do in the game, how much time it "should" take.. Etc

 

You are not in reality.  You are in a victim drama of degrading yourself and wanting the game to be different to fit "your" version of reality. 

 

You can carve out a name for yourself and do things but it will be different then the idea that you have about it.

 

Wurm is not a rushing game to get to the top or having fixed roles in place to feel useful.

 

The only time when you can actually play wurm with that mindset is when the new steam servers started.  Cause everything and everyone is new and so you can play the "Rush to the top" game. You can buy up lots of prime land and form a collective of people with fixed roles to help with progressing forward. Building and collecting, helping each other with a collective "We are all in this together spirit" 

 

But you know that this only lasts a certain amount of time.  In time the new servers will become like the old servers. Players will have high skills and the newbies joining will be comparing themselves to others and then leaving the game cause they are not good enough anymore. 

 

Do you not see how it is a attitude problem and how you play the game that is the issue. 

 

Cause otherwise they would have to either reset the servers every year or so or introduce skill decay and increase decay on old buildings off deed to help level the playing field and return the lands back to their more wild state faster. 

 

Oh and also those players who went to the new servers from the old servers with the idea of making a name for themselves.

Well they have all of their past wurm experience with them and if they go in with friends from the old servers, they could take over big sections of the new server all for themselves and have the upper hand over the new users. 

Even when everyone came in together, new. 

 

If you want a good wurm experience or game experience over all. 

 

Don't create expections about the game or how you are going to play it. Expectations lead to disappointment. 

 

The same for comparing yourself to others because there will always be someone better then you. 

You can learn from them.

Edited October 18 by Zexos

[Tor 110]

Usually the new players are told same thing about what they should want, what they should do and what they should expect by all the same people for years and no wonders no one sticking around. So yeah, hang in there sunshine

[Amata 311]

22 hours ago, Etherdrifter said:

You forgot (e)

 

"Players who choose 3 are quite uncommon compared to those who choose (1) and (2) as it often means taking on roles you don't enjoy playing.  The parallel here is players "skipping" on a MOBA till they get to play a role they like, they will often move on and go elsewhere till they get to play a role they enjoy."

 

 

As far as I am aware, you and I don't have any numbers or metrics that would indicate if your supposition is accurate.

 

As such, my point stands... It is possible to choose to play Wurm in a #3 way. It exists as an approach for Wurm game play.

 

To be honest,. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "it often means taking on roles you don't enjoy playing"... I would not describe this approach as comparable to MOBA skipping. I would say this approach is more equivalent to a MMO player who refuses to min-max. 

 

Anecdotally, this is the play style that I commonly use in a game. I play to my strengths and interests while prioritizing self-sufficency over max deeps, mad skills, or pwning the in game economy. 

 

It is also the play style I have seen the most in my Wurm neighbors on a PvE island. Perhaps we see Wurm game play differently if you are coming from a PvP perspective? 

[Tor 110]

8 hours ago, Oopsiewoopsie said:

Old servers are like new servers but worse. players should be funneled to new servers like there is no tomorrow

 

Nice how you now single handed promoted this game and  poured 1000 new players into the new servers when they open in 5 years. Good job.

 

 

[Amata 311]

16 hours ago, Sovos said:

New players are utterly outclassed and useless compared to any established player that has years of playtime under their belt, and to be completely honest, being nothing but a burden isn't fun. They can't carry as much, they can't queue as many actions, they can't work as long before running out of stamina, they can't craft quality materials.

 

Wow, this is just jammed packed full of assumptions about play style and priorities!

 

Being new versus being old, having skills versus still skilling up; being able to carry, to queue, to craft, to work long hours without rest.... These comparisons only matter if old player and new player are in competition with each other in some way.

 

I'll own the fact that I (have not yet) played Wurm PvP. So I cannot speak to that experience. 

 

But I have absolutely zero sense of competition in Wurm PvE. 

 

Competition for what? Competition why? 

 

It's not like resources are scarce or finite. It's not like there's an award for biggest castle, tallest tower, most number of bridges used in one deed. 

 

I am the only Wurmian who can build my deed the way I want to build my deed. I'm the Wurmian who is milking my cows and breeding my horses. 

 

The only difference between a new player, me, and an OG player is time. And, as far as I am aware, there is no time limit in Wurm. 

[Amata 311]

5 hours ago, Etherdrifter said:

The root of this is because the old cluster has VERY FEW roles for newer players to fill, no "identity" towards which to work. 

 

3 cheers for Team Stuck In The Middle With You!!

 

It's not that I don't understand your argument. I get your logic and your train of thought just fine.

 

I just don't agree with the conclusion you draw. 

 

I dont think older servers are necessarily dying- but yeah, there are problems that need attention. Yes Wurm has an issue with player retention- I'm not entirely sure what solution you are suggesting to address that.

 

Personally, I feel like a multifaceted approach will help sure up the areas of weakness in Wurm; things like those listed in the recently posted roadmap will be a good start. 

[Kingsponge 53]

I too am someone who works in a role I want to work in regardless of wether I can "compete" with it. I find usefulness in myself and would much rather have self-reliance than be running about trying to find someone else to think me useful.

 

Whilst I do wish to open up a market and sell horses I first and foremost breed stock for myself nor do I truly care if the market only manages to be 'semi-successful' as my role of horse breeder is not to compete with others.

 

I also am a carpenter/Mason because I enjoy building even if at times it's tedious. 

 

My roles are what I enjoy to do in not only Wurm but any game with these abilities, so frankly I could care less if I join a fresh baby server or an old overgrown server because it's not like the game itself bars me from working as these "roles".

I'm sure there's more people who are like this, and even if it's a minority that doesn't mean that's only 5 people. Being 45 out of 100 is still technically a minority but yet not few people.

[Etherdrifter 1765]

1 hour ago, Amata said:

As far as I am aware, you and I don't have any numbers or metrics that would indicate if your supposition is accurate.

 

[https://forum.wurmonline.com/index.php?/topic/178934-population-data-so-far/]

 

Go take a look some time

[Sovos 216]

7 hours ago, Zexos said:

I've played loads of mmo games over the years and each game I played, the players were way ahead of me in power, skills, money, items and experience. 

 

If I had that attitude of "There are so many players better then me, how will I ever carve out a slot for myself. This is so disappointing and depressing.... . I'm leaving the game and going elsewhere where everyone is new and like me " 

A fair point, but you're forgetting one key difference here. Most other games don't take the sheer time investment Wurm does. You can get to max level and be ready to experience current/endgame content in most mainstream MMOs in a week or two, which is partially the reason they're so successful. You can join and contribute without necessarily being at full power, and you have fun doing it. That means it's very easy to pitch to friends, as you benefit from having higher level players show you the ropes and they can assist with speeding things along much more than if you were on your own.

 

Now take Wurm. While you can grind faster with tools provided by high level players, the key difference is that on an older server nothing you make on that grind to the higher levels is particularly useful. Your tools, materials, enchants - all of them have little to no value when decades old eldritch skiller beings are wandering around a few decimal points from 100 in everything. Being on a newer server where lower quality items actually have a use breaks up a lot of the monotony, since people skilling up can actually be making useful items for their village or friends instead of making their 40th rope tool to imp while they tab out to play something else.

 

Couple that with the time gap, which is something unlike most MMOs out there. This isn't the normal "Oh this person is a high level but someday I will be there" sort of comparison that you're making, you cannot catch up to these people. Their skills are the result of years poured into the game, and I can honestly say that most players will take one look at "You could be this if you dedicate a few years to the game!", laugh, and download something else. If you want new player retention, you need to focus on keeping them with similarly leveled players. You might have a few people travel to SFI, but the majority aren't interested.

 

 

 

[RainRain 376]

10 hours ago, Etherdrifter said:

We appear to have two distinct factions here:

 

 

Team Optimism : "Everything is great on the old servers, keep the status quo please!"

 

and

 

Team Pessimism : "The old servers are dying, please do something to save them!"

 

What about "The old servers and the new servers are both steadily declining but i don't really think the old servers are worth bothering with" faction

let's be real, this game has no retention because it has no goal and it's slow. when you have no goal, the only goals you can make are personal goals (trust me nobody is playing this game just to complete  journal entries)

naturally those goals become to either create personal landscaping based projects (probably what keeps people in the game the longest) or to get a certain number up particularly high; i'm sure a billion of you are going to rise up screaming at me "bUT i LoVe EXpLORINg" but you're in the minority; there's no two ways about that- new players don't come into this game to stare at randomly generated lands and animals walking amuck.

the problem, naturally, with goals that aren't aesthetic is that on old servers, the value of having that number is greatly diminished by the fact many people around you have had that number for a significantly longer time than you, and you add next to nothing by getting yourself there; unless you're playing wurm on iron-man mode (which given how much we stress to new players that playing alone is not ideal, i'm sure nobody is going to chime in here and say "aha i never trade and i only play alone :)" right?) the value of getting a skill high just isn't there on old servers, and the effort required for it is massive

so then what do you have left? well you have people who like creating pretty deeds but often time what happens for those gamers is they get bored with the game once they finished/are nearly finished with their place, they realize that this game isn't much more than a number-go-up simulator and lacks any real goals. some people stick around because gaming the market can be fun, but ultimately the only people that stay around for long term fall into two categories

1. people who really love watching number go up to the point you have to question if they're even sane
2. people who, frankly, are satisfied and enjoy the game with a bare minimum of things they care about

and actually, i lied, there's a 3rd group
3. people who stick around only to be around the community despite the fact this game sucks

these are the 3 groups you'll see after a few months of playing wurm; the 2nd group will be the one to stick around for years basically despite anything that might happen, because they don't actually want 'much' from the game; the time cost that factors in for most people who spend their time playing this game is fulfilled from very little. and not to be offensive but i'd love to see the relative age of people that fall into category 2 vs the relative age of new players coming into the game

Edited October 18 by RainRain

[SirMuttley 62]

27 minutes ago, Sovos said:

If you want new player retention, you need to focus on keeping them with similarly leveled players. You might have a few people travel to SFI, but the majority aren't interested.

 

 

 

I think this depends on gameplay style and *why* someone is playing Wurm. If they are playing a survival game where they can terraform, build themselves a deed, have online friends, and adventure about at will then either cluster will work (the southern is probably better suited to this due to the availability of both mountain and waterfront land), however if they are playing a "team" game where they want to work to build up a village or participate in the market immediately then the northern cluster is certainly a better choice. For me, I have toons on both clusters and I prefer my main on Indy because I really don't care about competing with my neighbors.

[TheTrickster 593]

8 hours ago, Etherdrifter said:

 

[https://forum.wurmonline.com/index.php?/topic/178934-population-data-so-far/]

 

Go take a look some time

So 3 apples versus 2 oranges then.  You are in this thread attributing reasons and dynamics to explain the decline, and then invoking the decline to support your reasons.  You can choose whether to call this circular reasoning or begging the question, but it is one or the other.

 

 

[Amata 311]

9 hours ago, Etherdrifter said:

 

11 hours ago, Amata said:

As far as I am aware, you and I don't have any numbers or metrics that would indicate if your supposition is accurate.

[https://forum.wurmonline.com/index.php?/topic/178934-population-data-so-far/]

 

Go take a look some time

 

Working backward through this thread, you will recall that the context of this statement is as follows: 

You: there are only 2 player choices - 1. join new servers and feel useful & be productive  or 2. join old servers feel useless & quit game
Me: or 3. join whatever servers you want & have a different play style entirely
You: Players who are #3 are a minority, and they end up quitting the game eventually anyway
Me: That's a supposition, I don't think we have metrics to determine that. 
You: *post link to raw server population data*

All caught up? Good. 
*cough* *cough* *taps microphone* Is this thing on? 

Raw population data for servers is not the same as metrics indicating a player's play style. How do you know that players who would self-describe as "#3" type players is a minority demographic in Wurm? 

Are you also running exit polls for players who are quitting Wurm? Are you tracking how many quit and the reason they describe that motivated quitting? 

If you want to tackle player retention seriously than you can't just be looking at the raw numbers of players online per server - those numbers will never be able to tell you why or why not. 

[Ulviirala 378]

It's pretty cool to see this much participation, and many good points have been made for either point of view! Thank you so much for that.

 

Let me say this first, I never asked or wanted to tell a new (or old) player where they "should" play, but give them information to make a more informed decision where they think they'd rather "want to" play. But most importantly, not choose one thing over the other because of misinformation or false assumptions.

 

The game has no goal, I guess that's correct more or less. So the goal is simply to play the game in a way, so that you enjoy playing it. If player retention only relied on adding new content, ... there's only so much "new" you can add and you keep bloating your game. So yes, you have to find things you enjoy doing, and this is probably the best solution for Wurm as a perpetually running persistent world. But that's also beyond the scope of this topic.

 

One thing that often comes up is, that a new players is utterly useless on the old cluster. It's pointed out that under that assumption, eventually a "new player" will also be "utterly useless" on the new cluster. I think neither is true, because you wouldn't be the only new player, there are players at every stage of character development. You assume you're only useful if you're at the top, or rush towards it.

 

It's not like every ancient elder being with 99.9 in everything is omnipotently looming over you to compete with you in everything, and stopping you from making a name for yourself with what you do. Sure, there are people who are on top of a market, but it was their goal and they "worked hard" to get there and are still putting effort in being active with what they do. Nothing stops you from working towards a goal you feel like achieving.

 

And if you want to compete on the market, don't unrealistically expect to compete with the high-end quality market as a new character. Of course I won't buy a 30 QL weapon off of you, I'm not the customer you have to cater to at your character's st(age), it's other newer players. Of course Gumbo can offer 97+ QL weapons... albeit for a price, and could with only two improving actions bump a 1 QL item to 35 QL, but he's not in the market of making 30 QL weapons. Then if course, if your mindset is "I need to have 97+ QL items because they exist and nothing less", nobody can help you with that, I guess.

 

And what do people mean when they say, they want to make a name for themselves? You can't really make a name for yourself just because your makers mark is on some item. I don't think anybody would give two green apples if I  dropped a pile of 99 QL mallets with my name on it so they know I spent too much time with carpentry related activities, then waltz into a bar and everybody gasps and goes like "WOAH! It's Ulviirala, that legendary carpenter!". I bet 99% of people who know me in-game haven't got a single clue about my skills but they're at least somewhat fond of me (I hope ).

 

Elwood didn't get "famous" for having 100 skill in carpentry, he's known for collecting wood scrap like a mad man, but also has carpentry skills trained up. "Making a name" to me is more of a social thing, and the player base is small enough that you can certainly achieve that with what you enjoy doing (see: the game has no goals but your own), and not necessarily because you spent 10 hours a day grinding to get 99 Milking skill.

 

Well okay I'll be honest... I'd be impressed if you were grinding Milking for 10 hours a day, and constantly talk about you, I bet even my own cows would gossip about it in Local.

 

5 hours ago, Sovos said:

You can get to max level and be ready to experience current/endgame content in most mainstream MMOs in a week or two

Even as a new player you can participate in all content that is publicly available. Fight a dragon? Sure you can join, you might not land a hit in combat but no content is barred or gated away, just because your Fighting skill is 1.00, your mere presence can be a meaningful participation. Rifts? Same thing, you might have to be a bit more careful and on your toes but you can come and see if it's something for you. Whatever other player-run event, you probably qualify to participate, or perhaps stage your own?

 

Amata has made some extremely good and objective points I think, actually everyone who seriously contributed to the thread has made very good points, either objectively or subjectively. But I think we have to agree that either cluster can be a viable choice depending on what you're looking for. Some points are simply invalid as the new cluster ages, but I think we can still hammer out a few bulletin points to get a new player to where they feel best suited for to enjoy their game, and not flat-out say that you have to play Northern because it's the new cool thing.

[Amata 311]

Just as an aside - I have been in the CA / game guide forum asking for an updated "server guide" since... basically since I started playing. Which is something, I think, that the original post had in mind - yes?

 

36 minutes ago, Ulviirala said:

Let me say this first, I never asked or wanted to tell a new (or old) player where they "should" play, but give them information to make a more informed decision where they think they'd rather "want to" play. But most importantly, not choose one thing over the other because of misinformation or false assumptions.

 

I don't know the current demographic, topography, or "vibe" of the North. But here's what I've gotten about the South (so far) ... 

Independence - oldest island, most extensive established infrastructure, known for excessively steep / sloping terrain, some wild spaces for new deeds, but many more opportunities for abandoned deed reclamation / rehab projects than can be found anywhere else. Has a resident jester who dominates kingdom chat during evening hours; his comedic tastes might not be to your liking. 

Xan - largest island, high population (for Southern isles) but due to size also lowest population density, more mobs than players, infamous lag problems, although long-term Xan residents swear they never have bad lag & don't know what other people are talking about

Celebration & Pristine - I hear about these islands from time to time. Mostly about wild parties and raucous impalongs. I've heard that one of them (maybe Pristine?) has amazing built-up coastal cities, like massive in scale, but that might just be a rumor. 

Exodus - I know at least one person who sailed away to live on Exodus, and reports indicate that this person is still alive and is happy with the decision to live on this island. I've heard that there are a lot of wild animals that roam Exodus just waiting for people to come and hunt / domesticate them. Who knows if this madness is true? Well, that one person that my neighbor says they know who sailed away to live on Exodus.... 

Release & Deliverance -  .... I don't believe these islands actually exist. 

I would absolutely love  to hear other Wurmians' give their own take on their island, and the other islands, in similar vein. What have you heard? Who do you know that has a tale? Where's the big city, the amazing market, the rowdy tavern, and the best imaplong? Who's got the vacation beaches and who's got the cliffs of insanity? I really, really wanna know!!!

 

 

Edited October 19 by Amata

[RainRain 376]

46 minutes ago, Amata said:

You: Players who are #3 are a minority, and they end up quitting the game eventually anyway
Me: That's a supposition, I don't think we have metrics to determine that. 
You: *post link to raw server population data*

seems like a long winded way of saying nothing; even if there's no exact metrics for it that doesn't mean it's not a proper argument, and it's not like you have any metrics on how many people are actually like that (mostly about how its a minority)

just saying there's another "group" of people that doesn't fall into A/B doesn't add anything to the discussion other than, i suppose, creating a label you want for yourself

pretty sure none of the groups apply to you because you joined before the steam release anyhow

[TheTrickster 593]

29 minutes ago, Amata said:

I would absolutely love  to hear other Wurmians' give their own take on their island

 

Release:  I can't even really say a whole lot about the Western half, particularly the SW Quadrant because when I explore I really explore and haven't got that far yet.  Release has a blend of established and active infrastructure, wild abandons and even some untouched wilderness (although some is just long-time abandoned).  Hunting is always worthwhile, and in many places a guard tower is at least almost close enough for a novice to get help.  There are huge settlements like the Harvestmoon Lagoon alliance and small 6x4 tile island holdings, and sometimes a whole island castle pops up while you're not looking.  The nearest dragon slaying has always either just happened or is just about to happen.  

 

Ozlandia: A semi-mythical southern island with a huge variety of terrain.  Away from the coasts it is mostly empty except for animals that want to kill you.  The seasons seem upside down; winter is usually a Tuesday and most of the annual rainfall occurs on either the national holiday or some other long weekend.  Ozlandia is often missed entirely.  If you make land and find boiling mud, you have indeed missed Ozlandia and fetched up on Kiwitania, its small but proud neighbour.

 

Edit:  (Well you wanted my own take on my island.  You didn't specify in-game )

Edited October 19 by TheTrickster

[Oblivionnreaver 3331]

the large majority of players in pve don't participate in the market and just play with their small group of friends being extremely paranoid when a white name enters local so it probably doesn't matter if they go to the new servers the old servers or magically end up in a wu server by accident they'd probably have the exact same game experience since they're just playing the game with friends, if you're pvping defiantly go defiance tho

 

there's already 90+ channeling weaponsmith accs etc on new servers you'd be just as hopelessly outclassed joining a village on either server

Edited October 19 by Oblivionnreaver

[Ekcin 856]

10 hours ago, RainRain said:

..
let's be real, this game has no retention because it has no goal and it's slow. when you have no goal, the only goals you can make are personal goals (trust me nobody is playing this game just to complete  journal entries)

There is a golden rule in consumer protection advisories:

Once phrases like "let's be real" or "trust me" are used, all alarm bells should ring that someone is playing foul.

 

10 hours ago, RainRain said:

 i'm sure a billion of you are going to rise up screaming at me "bUT i LoVe EXpLORINg" but you're in the minority; there's no two ways about that- new players don't come into this game to stare at randomly generated lands and animals walking amuck.

 

Next set of phrases from the snake oil seller's dictionary: "I am sure". Similar all suggestive phrasings like "you're in the minority" or "billions of you" (what now?).

You aren't by chance selling used cars or insurance contracts?

 

10 hours ago, RainRain said:

 some people stick around because gaming the market can be fun, but ultimately the only people that stay around for long term fall into two categories
1. people who really love watching number go up to the point you have to question if they're even sane
2. people who, frankly, are satisfied and enjoy the game with a bare minimum of things they care about
and actually, i lied, there's a 3rd group
3. people who stick around only to be around the community despite the fact this game sucks
 and not to be offensive but i'd love to see the relative age of people that fall into category 2 vs the relative age of new players coming into the game

As to the last: How old are you?

Else: ad 1. me, at times, ad 2. me, at times, and 3. me, except that the game does not suck for me.

 

Well, as to retention, two aspects:

First, the game is and will always be a niche game. Many may try it and find that it is not for them (for vulgarity lovers "it sucks" ), and most of those will leave, rightly so, as a game should be fun, and Wurm is not fun for everyone.

Second, yes, wie should evaluate why some people leave who might have stayed and enjoyed the game. That is what the original post, and most of the constructive contributions where for.

[Kingsponge 53]

Holy hell.

 

If you don't like the South don't play on it.

Don't like the North? Don't play on it.

Don't like the game? Don't play it.

Not that hard.

 

All people are asking is that new players are well informed about BOTH clusters and thus able to make the choice for themselves about what cluster is better for them based off their own play style. Not how other players do things.

 

You're not playing the game for them. It's not going to kill you if they do happen to want to go South. 
 

There is not valid statistics that say 'group 3' are a minority. May I reiterate that to be a minority all you really have to be is less than 50%. Therefore a minority could still be a lot of people. 
 

It's not often I personally see Southerns say "funnel everyone to the South and let the North die" or that nobody should go to the North because it sucks. Like why are you so bloody bothered? You're not being forced to play on the South against your will are you?

 

At this point all this 'debate' just sounds like one side just trying to have better info for newbies and the other side just wants to play whack-a-mole with any opinion or idea not negative or against the South.

[Etherdrifter 1765]

19 hours ago, Amata said:

Raw population data for servers is not the same as metrics indicating a player's play style. How do you know that players who would self-describe as "#3" type players is a minority demographic in Wurm?

 

Let us assume your hypothesis is correct and "group 3" are not a minority group; then logically there would be a similar amount of players on both clusters after the initial steam rush settled down.

 

The logic here is that the old cluster would have had a similar draw compared to the new one; unless some other unforseen factor caused that imbalance (no evidence suggests this, and your hypothesis almost precludes it).

 

However, the populations are DISTINCTLY different (as my data shows), with the old cluster coming in far lower.  This suggests that either your theory is false or there is some other huge factor impacting player choice of cluster that no-one has managed to identify in existing literature in the field.  It is reasonable to assume your theory is false; though I will admit that I cannot offer conclusive evidence to this end, merely indicate that it is much more likely.

 

Of course, as a logician with a towering intellect you'll quickly have noticed that "group 3" is just a very special case of "group 1" where the player's character identity is always satisfied no matter where it is located.  Given that it is a SUBSET of group 1, one easily infers that it is a minority.

 

 

Either way; the evidence suggests that group 3 is not so common.

[TheTrickster 593]

Wait up, you are saying that those who start on ANY server are a subset of those who start only on the NEW server?  I tried to Venn this but tore the paper.   I think you may be getting your mixages messed.