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New Server on the Horizon?(a player driven discussion)

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While we love to see new land I agree that starting more and more servers is not the best solution... unless...

They seem to have had good effect on the temporary servers that got wiped after a certain time, like Challenge for example.

Launching a short term server once a year and let it last for half a year, then build up expectations in the half year between each servers existance would maybe keep people coming back.

 

Could collect ideas for plots/setups from the player base, to somewhat reduce the work.

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I think there is potential for new servers, just not new servers of the current type.

 

An "endgame" PvE server with environmental hazards (frozen north?), tough mobs (winter themed reskins of existing mobs with a massive cr buff), no deeding and high decay (10x), but rare (or higher QL!) resources would be a good addition.  Bonus points if it reshapes itself back to its original shape over time, destroying roads.  Essentially a server aimed at group play.

 

A "cursed" PvE server where crops randomly blight, mycelium spreads outside any god's domain, undead (reanimated creatures) spawn anywhere where there is no light (even ondeed), and all light sources must be managed manually.  No guard towers or templars, aggroed mobs bashing walls to get to a target a little before giving up and generally just a hostile place to live.  Mobs sense and move towards areas of player activity using a heat map.  The reward; jackal materials/plants thrive here and can be traded with the main cluster.

 

A long (but thinnish) server for travel between north and south clusters with more water hazards might be worthwhile, possibly even PvP enabled to encourage piracy.  No deeding, and no dirt or accessible rock; just sandy islands and lots of hostile ocean mobs.

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All water hunting server. Can't deed if there's no land! 

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50 minutes ago, Archaed said:

All water hunting server. Can't deed if there's no land! 

damn you such a comedian man

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3 hours ago, Votip said:

damn you such a comedian man

hows that? theres more animals in the water then land anyway, atleast horses :P

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5 hours ago, Archaed said:

All water hunting server. Can't deed if there's no land! 

 

Oh new server idea, build your own island server! *WTS Dirt* :)

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@Sinduskhas a very valid point. That sense of new and unspoiled adventure is a very appealing thing. So much so that it even manages to draw off longtime players to start over with no skills and all their possessions gone just to experience it again.

 

In my opinion, that is perfectly fine and well. It generates money and it brings a level of freshness to the game that can get very stale in a lot of aspects over time.

 

All that being said, I wholeheartedly agree with @Revnikthat we have to then deal with the natural waste products of this process, which are several old, stale, heavily colonized (ruined) servers with active player counts in the single digits.

 

The way I see this process being closed looped and self sustaining is to accept travel of veterans to new lands as a normal expected part of the process and regulate it in a way that is beneficial to everyone. I do not mean totally wide open as in letting veterans travel to harmony on day 1 that it opened, but there is no reason a timeline can't be established saying for example:

 

  • New Server 1 implemented Jan 1st
  • Free travel to NS1 opens July 1st
  • Oldest Server 1 closes December 31st

 

The general idea is just to introduce a constantly rotating cycle of adding a new, fresh server to the start of the queue and then some specific and highly advertised time later you remove the oldest server from existence.

The timeline may need to be adjusted for PvP servers as there are fewer of them and they seem to go through cycles of change in playerbase and leadership more often than PvE servers by far, but as far as PvE goes, with the current number of servers we have now (including NFI) we would have a total lifetime for each server that is over a decade before the server is wiped. I think that is more than fair to give people who are averse to moving a chance to enjoy a long settled life on a server before it is discontinued, and it gives those with more sense of adventure a new server to explore/conquer every year (if using my example timeline).

 

As for the impact of veterans on a new and fledgeling economy, I feel as though this impact will start to average out and become more mild after a few rotations of servers being created/destroyed, but I cannot be certain.

 

If someone takes a hiatus and loses things, they didn't care enough about them to check on them in a 12 month to 10 year period and it moves all of that crap out of the way for new and excited players to use that space in their stead. We've had many conversations in the past about the fact that old abandoned crap stays to clutter up the servers and get in every active player's way for FAR too long. Example: I had a friend quit the game about a year ago. Still to this day I see his caravel parked out in the middle of the ocean in the exact spot that he logged out in. Judging from the damage currently on it, it will occupy that spot for at least another 2 years, serving as both an eyesore and another reminder that this land was well and truly spoiled long before you ever got here (for new players).

 

 

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk...

 

 

Edited by BDCKoolaid

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48 minutes ago, BDCKoolaid said:

The way I see this process being closed looped and self sustaining is to accept travel of veterans to new lands as a normal expected part of the process and regulate it in a way that is beneficial to everyone. I do not mean totally wide open as in letting veterans travel to harmony on day 1 that it opened, but there is no reason a timeline can't be established saying for example:

 

  • New Server 1 implemented Jan 1st
  • Free travel to NS1 opens July 1st
  • Oldest Server 1 closes December 31st

 

The general idea is just to introduce a constantly rotating cycle of adding a new, fresh server to the start of the queue and then some specific and highly advertised time later you remove the oldest server from existence.

 

That doesn't work well for Wurm at all because Wurm is a very slow game, it can take a player years to fully build up a deed in the way they like it, with a lot of time, effort and silver invested into it. The moment such effort actively starts being wiped from any existing Freedom server is the moment this game instantly loses most of it's remaining players.

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If at all. a Jackal revival would be the way to go.

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36 minutes ago, Ecrir said:

 

That doesn't work well for Wurm at all because Wurm is a very slow game, it can take a player years to fully build up a deed in the way they like it, with a lot of time, effort and silver invested into it. The moment such effort actively starts being wiped from any existing Freedom server is the moment this game instantly loses most of it's remaining players.

 

This is why I took the time to mention that a server would have an active lifespan of over a decade.

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51 minutes ago, BDCKoolaid said:

 

This is why I took the time to mention that a server would have an active lifespan of over a decade.

 

Which really doesn't change anything. The closer the server comes to the end of it's lifespan the more deserted it would become as nobody would bother investing time/effort into it, while at the same time people looking to put a ton of effort into their deed just won't bother. And just to put things into perspective, I moved to Xanadu 6 years ago and started working on my current deed. At the current rate I won't be anywhere near finished with it within the next 4 years. A decade is nothing when you've only got a few weeks an hour, even more so when you take the occasional break of several months in order to prevent burnout and such.

 

So even with a lifespan of over a decade, it's the long term players that would be affected by it the most, the players who tend to really stick around.

  

1 hour ago, Ekcin said:

If at all. a Jackal revival would be the way to go.

 

I think that would also be the way to go. Perhaps one or more dedicated servers with scenario's like Jackal. Reset one every 6 months, and in case there is more than one such server, make sure there's always 6 months between the resets so the servers don't get in each others way.

 

Edited by Ecrir
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11 hours ago, Ekcin said:

If at all. a Jackal revival would be the way to go.

The more time goes on, the more I agree with this. The home servers will just absolutely tank playerbase if you start closing them. Bringing back Jackal and making it a rotation does exactly what is being presented from the get go.

Sadly, it seems current team sees no point in bringing back Jackal.

 

The players gave negative feedback because there was so many aspects of it that didn't work, but absolutely could be ironed out. It's a waste to think of all the things created for Jackal which are now just being wasted because, well, who knows?

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15 hours ago, Madnath said:

The players gave negative feedback because there was so many aspects of it that didn't work, but absolutely could be ironed out. It's a waste to think of all the things created for Jackal which are now just being wasted because, well, who knows?

 

They can be fixed tho. That's the thing. 

 

Jackal wasn't a bad idea in itself, it just needs tweaking to be fun. And more "speedy". 

 

Personally I'd love the idea of having 5-6 yearly servers each with different themes such as

 

1. Turbo speed pvp server. Small 4x4 server where items are non drop (can't lose ###### if you die) and you compete for certain keypoints on the map in order to win something similar to Pvp points. This can encourage mass slaughter without the worry of remaking items, etc. 

 

2. Pure survival server, non pvp. Similar to jackal, small server where in the middle of the map there is a huge volcano where there are not 1, not 2, but 10 dragons waiting to eat ya. The goal is to fight your way to the top, conquering spawner points along the way that spawn draconic guardians. Rewards in the form of scales/ rare bones/ hide when the server is closed. 

 

3. Jackal 2.0 with better tweaks. 

 

 

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On 5/20/2021 at 9:27 AM, BDCKoolaid said:

@Sinduskhas a very valid point. That sense of new and unspoiled adventure is a very appealing thing. So much so that it even manages to draw off longtime players to start over with no skills and all their possessions gone just to experience it again.


I absolutely agree with this and also firmly believe that mothballing old servers is a misguided approach.  These places mean a great deal to the wurmians that choose to live there.  Players still log into Golden Valley after all these years after all.

It's been suggested before, and as much as I'd like to see a mechanic that slowly reverts undeeded, non-highway land to its original state (caverns slowly collapse, why not the surface world?) - I suspect that's a very difficult ask from a development point of view.

I'm on board with iterating on the Jackal experience.  What might Jackal 2.0 look like?  We know that Wurm is an archipelago world with many more islands than there are servers.  What might an Age of Exploration look like?

1) Global effort to discover and unlock a new, temporary server:  In the same way that we stockpile impalongs, all players can contribute raw materials to the endeavor:  stone, bricks, planks, shafts, nails, logs, the works.  Tens of thousands of items.   Have leaderboards like we do with mission constructions.  Everyone that contributes at least X amount earns one share of the proceeds.  This puts newer players on an even footing with older players that can potentially dump enormous stockpiles into the endeavor.  Players can drop off contributions at a starter town on their server or send them via wagoner.

2) New, exploration server opens for a limited period of time:  The contributions make the exploration server available for 3-6 months and are used to create the starter town.  Stock the server with strange and dangerous creatures.  Anyone that contributed in step 1 can head on up to the new server via lodestone - perhaps they keep their skills but can't take any items.  Perhaps skills are halved, but items can be brought.  Maybe it's different for ever new exploration server.  Have global expedition goals - like valrei missions on steroids:  Slay 5000 Spidertrolls, sacrifice 20000 "valrei" items, etc.  Have an expedition-specific journal with goals for individuals on the expedition to accomplish:  build 3 buildings, slay 200 spiders, recover 100 "valrei" items.  If these goals are achieved, everyone with a share in step 1 receives a reward package.  Players that contribute in step 2 receive a second reward package.   Give season-specific skins available to those that achieve these various journal targets.

 

3) Have uniques only spawn on expedition servers:  This might be overextending the idea and be the most provocative suggestion, but what if Uniques were only spawned on expedition servers?  By making the expedition possible, those that contribute in step 1 receive one share of of unique bits (blood, scale, hide).  Those that hit journal targets in step 2 receive a second share of unique bits.  Those that are part of a slaying receive a third share.

This would let folks participate as much or as little as they like without worrying about missing out.  Maybe I'm a new player and it's all I can do to provide 500 planks in phase 1, but still see some benefit.  Maybe I'm a veteran player looking for a challenge and want to tackle all the expedition journal chapters.  Maybe I want to split time between my deed and the expedition server and contribute modestly towards global expedition goals.

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On 5/10/2021 at 1:37 AM, Ayes said:

I would like to see a new SF Isles server with NO hostile mobs of any type on it. Everything else on it can function exactly the same as the other SF Isles servers, i.e. skills etc. Open to any current character that wants to sail to it or spawn there as a new character. This has never been done before so it is not the same as any current server in existence. In that respect it offers a new *type* of server.

 

=Ayes=

That's what I would really like too! I'd love a peaceful Wurm Online server! (I just don't enjoy either killing or being killed)

 

After playing Wurm Online on and off, today I bought Wurm Unlimited and, with much difficulty as I'm not a computer wiz, I created a LAN server with 0% aggro creatures on it. It's a start. But I miss the ease of Wurm Online where I don't have to struggle with servers and mods, lol.

 

Otherwise, if there were others interested in a 0% aggro world, maybe it would be possible to set up a peaceful Wurm Unlimited public server? Unless one exists already?

Edited by Sylver
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Jackal that is all


No seriously what everyone is going on about of "oh maybe we should" is what jackal was meant to be  it wasnt meant to be a 1 off half assed attempt full off issues it was talked about as if it was going to be a reoccurring thing with more content every time and slight changes to the theme with it being active for 3-6 months then not then again allowing them to have a themed temporary server where players work together and skill gets transferred back and rewards are given

That original idea would solve this entire topic in 1 go so bring back jackal

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I'm all for bringing back Jackal, I think the major thing people disliked was the skill transfer, and that's something that can be worked out. 

 

Hell, convert skill to sleep powder and I'd be happy :D

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1 minute ago, Archaed said:

I'm all for bringing back Jackal, I think the major thing people disliked was the skill transfer, and that's something that can be worked out. 

 

Hell, convert skill to sleep powder and I'd be happy :D

 

Maybe also make it able to gain tomes there from doing missions and once used they would transfer with the toon back to old cluster?

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4 hours ago, Archaed said:

I'm all for bringing back Jackal, I think the major thing people disliked was the skill transfer, and that's something that can be worked out. 

 

Hell, convert skill to sleep powder and I'd be happy :D

 

It's unfortunate that one of the most interesting things made for the game in recent years had a bullet in the head because of a handful of issues that can absolutely be worked out

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1 hour ago, Madnath said:

 

It's unfortunate that one of the most interesting things made for the game in recent years had a bullet in the head because of a handful of issues that can absolutely be worked out

Could really just say, "one of the few things made for the game in recent years" lol

Bring back Jackal

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18 hours ago, Madnath said:

It's unfortunate that one of the most interesting things made for the game in recent years had a bullet in the head because of a handful of issues that can absolutely be worked out

Applies to a lot of things in wurm. 

 

But yeah, give us another Jackal, properly donethis time. Would break this monotony of just grinding. 

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I dont think there will be, better off going back where you came from and clean up the mess you made. But, you can goto other servers, by making or playing your previous toons. Linking Northern to Soutern Servers isnt a bad idea.

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wurm should never have another server added ever again, there is more than enough room for 800 damn players, in fact there is too much room, we could all fit on a indy sized map alone and have a populated world actually

Edited by Jeston
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3 hours ago, Jeston said:

wurm should never have another server added ever again, there is more than enough room for 800 damn players, in fact there is too much room, we could all fit on a indy sized map alone and have a populated world actually

Instead of a new server,  still the non-Xan pve cluster together into one server so people can sail about without crossings.  Maybe fix the lagginess of Xan and put them all together.  

 

Yeah, it's harder than just spinning off a new server, but a much more elegant way to revitalize.

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