Malena

We're making a 15-year anniversary video for Wurm and we need your help!

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Hello Wurmians!

 

You might have been wondering what's the hold up with the history video. I wanted to be frank with you all and tell you what's been going on with this project and with me personally. 

 

Summarized: A task that started off as something simple, spiraled into a massive undertaking that has caused me to burn out and leave the Wurm team. 

 

So how did this all happen anyhow? 

 

Server Overview videos (step 1 to burning myself out)
Last fall Keenan had taken the data we had on the new Northern freedom servers and had created cool time-lapse clips of how the servers changed over time. He then approached me about packaging them into more presentable videos. Ya know - with a video intro/outro and all that jazz. 

 

The task seemed simple enough, so I agreed, but wanted to take it one step further: Why leave it at merely FOUR videos. Why not SIXTEEN and have a video for each and every server! I started to think about all the nice things I could add, like server stats! And video footage of how the servers look! And showcase some deeds! And turn these into something truly special! And even if we didn't have equivalent time-lapse footage existing of the old servers, I figured that I could compensate by just doing some fancy-shmancy editing to give a similar feel by using the still images of the old map dumps. Better than nothing and then at least every server would feel included!

 

And these of course ended up being the videos you see in the Valrei International post:

Status: Completed (although there are a couple of small errors you guys noticed that I still need to fix once I find the energy, I'll then re-upload)

 

*********************

 

15-year history video (step 2 to burning myself out)

But in that same original time-lapse video conversation I had with Keenan, I had also said: "In addition to the time-lapse videos, let me also make a video to celebrate 15 years of Wurm Online! I mean come on! It's a huge milestone! We gotta celebrate this somehow!" And after I presented the team with my plan for what I had in mind, I was given permission to go ahead with this project as well. 

 

Let me just add that through this entire process, Keenan has been worried that I was putting too much of a burden on myself (I really should have listened) but at the time, I had this amazing vision in my head of how nice these videos could be and I was very very insistent that I want to do this - no matter what. 

 

When I first envisioned what I want to do for the history video, little did I know what a massive MASSIVE undertaking it was going to be. How many rabbit holes I'd be going down as I researched 15 years worth of history. I spent weeks and weeks reading everything I could get my hands on. Countless google searches, reading through this forum as well as any old blogs, articles and websites I could find through Wayback Machine. Gathering data, images and video. And the more data I accumulated, the more crushing and daunting this task started to feel as I tried to figure out how I'm ever going to possibly sort this into a nice video. So I decided to tackle the easy bits, like doing the visual design and graphics for the video. 

 

Remember that draft screenshot I shared in the original post? Well this is what it's going to look like for real. The text thingies are going to slide into view from behind the round profile picture part and I've already done that editing bit.

 

sample_final.jpg

 

I can also share a teaser of how the video starts. After the years count down, we go back in history to where it all started and the idea is to start the timeline section, going through each year and what happened. The player blurbs like above will be more towards the end of the video. 

 

 

Status: Under construction. A massive amount of work has already been put into this (so I can't stop now), but there's still a massive amount of work left which is very daunting. Since the 15 year mark already passed, we'll probably just end up calling this something along the lines of "A history of Wurm Online" or something like that. 

 

*********************

 

A special surprise (step 3 to burning myself out)
Then as if that wasn't enough, I also created a third task for myself: A very special treat for you all. Something that I haven't talked about yet, but that will accompany the video perfectly once it's done. This task also took some work and research which only added to the already huge mental load.

 

Status: Completed This was actually already done back last year, but is just waiting to be released together with the video.  

 

*********************

 

So why did I make this post?

 

First and foremost: I felt like I owe you guys an explanation about what is going on with this project since I know you've all been waiting for it anxiously and you've all been so generous with offering your images, stories and videos to use as material.  

 

Second: I need your guys help in making sure we get the history right. This "getting the history right" issue is one of the things that has blocked me the most mentally, so I'd love any help I could get with that. I will make a follow up reply about that after this one.

 

Third: Due to the burnout, I have been badly neglecting other things in my life because I've felt blocked by this video project which became much more massive than I anticipated. So I have decided to leave the Wurm team. After I get this video done, I need to take care of my mental health and get back to normal. I will probably be scaling back the scope of the video to be able to finish it, but after it's done, I will fully return to just being good old Malena: the player (versus a dev). I was only ever a volunteer in the team anyhow, so it's not like it's a huge change to how things are run.

 

Anyhow, sorry for the long post, but I felt that you guys deserve to know what's going on. Thanks for being so understanding and patient!

 

And now for the history timeline that I need help with:

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As I mentioned in the previous post, I want to try and get this video finished, but before I lock down the editing, I want to make sure that I haven't missed any huge historical Wurm events, only to finish the video and have you guys say: "Hey! Why wasn't A, B or C mentioned?" By passing it by your guys eyes first, we can make sure everything is there. I only started playing in 2013, so there is a lot of history that I'm not aware of.

 

As you look through this stuff, keep in mind that the video is meant to be the history of Wurm Online - the game. Not so much about the history of Wurm players, although there are a few mentions here and there. But I feel like a history video about Wurmians and the things they've accomplished would be a whole other video. 

 

Obviously I won't be including every single itty bitty detail into the video, but regardless, here is all the info I found. If you see anything that is blatantly missing, please share.

 

Year

Historial Event + Info

2002

ALPHA

  • Notch and Rolf start working on Wurm

2003

ALPHA

2004

ALPHA

  • Traders introduced

  • NoDrop items introduced

  • Huge sharks introduced

  • !suicide command introduced

  • Cows introduced

  • Alliances introduced

  • Planting trees introduced

  • New tabbed chat windows introduced

2005

BETA

  • Release notes 2005

  • Milestone: Beta

  • Wurm Online added to Wikipedia

  • Fatigue system implemented

  • Foraging introduced

  • Satchels and backpacks introduced

  • Gems through mining introduced

  • Server types “Home” and “Wild” introduced

  • Village upkeep introduced

  • Kingdoms introduced

  • Item decay introduced

  • Pelts introduced as part of animal loot and replace rags for polishing items

  • New subskill “stone cutting” added under Masonry

  • Bush and tree harvesting introduced

  • Maple syrup harvesting with a bucket introduced

  • Starter town bartenders introduced

  • Creature aging mechanism introduced

  • Animals started to require food

  • /stuck command introduced

  • Dye system introduced

  • Metal brush introduced to remove dyes

2006

GOLD 1

  • Release notes 2006

  • Catapult introduced

  • Pet taming introduced

  • Archery is introduced

  • Beds introduced

  • Stamina sandwiches and drinks introduced

  • Lanterns and torches introduced to help players travel in the darkness

  • Referral system introduced (later replaced by the loyalty program)

  • Milestone: Gold Launch: Release year 06/06/06

  • Fun fact: Rolf jokingly mentioned that the date was the “mark of the beast”  because that was when payments were introduced.

  • Notch’s post about Wurm going gold on Javagaming.org

  • Players won a petition to get the color of the grass to be less radioactive and toned down

   

2007

GOLD 2

  • Company founded as Mojang Specifications AB

  • Rolf sets up studio space at Luxor Center in Motala

  • Release notes 2007

  • Stone wall types introduced

  • Floorboards and street lamps introduced, including being able to lay them on marsh tiles

  • Mailboxes were introduced

  • Stealth mode introduced

  • Dueling and sparring introduced

  • Ability to set description to items introduced

  • Server Launch: Chaos

  • Game update: Animations added for things like emotes and fighting

  • Wurmageddon: In April, Servers literally melted and progress was lost

  • Fatigue is used for anti-macroing

  • Notch leaves the Wurm team, taking the Mojang name with him creating Mojang Studios.

  • Rolf changes company name from Mojang Specifications AB to Onetoofree AB

  • Article: Game Ogre review

   

2008


 
   

2009

   

2010

   

2011

   

2012

FULL RELEASE

   

2013

   

2014





 
   

2015

  • Server taken down: Elevation (to be reset in 2019)

  • Milestone: Wurm Unlimited Launch: Wurm Unlimited launched on Steam

  • Trailer: Wurm Unlimited - Trailer

  • Game update: Tapestries go live

  • Game update: Post

    • More jewelry

    • Book of wisdom

  • Game update: Post

    • New player animations: foraging/botanizing

  • Game update: Post

    • Valentines flower

    • Tall banners

  • Game update: Post

    • Bridges go live

    • New boat models go live

  • Game update: Permissions system goes live

  • Game update: Wall rotation implemented

  • Game update: War machines added to all servers (vs only being on pvp servers prior)

  • First player deity “Tosiek”

  • Game update: Post

    • New clothing

    • Marble statues

  • Game update: Post

    • New launcher UI

    • Warlander’s village plan view and export

    • Goblin leader + hat

  • Game update: Post

    • New drake and dragon types

  • Game update: Fog spiders added in memory of Head GM Oracle

  • Game update: New wall types added: Wooden balcony, timber jetty, stone oriel

  • Game update: Freedom treasure hunts

  • Game update: Dragon armours

  • Game update: Trade channel

  • Game update: Amphoras, kilns and smelters

  • Game update: Bulk container change with removal of volume loss

  • Game update: Course plotting for ships

  • Game update: Sitting

  • Game update: Halter ropes

  • Game update: Different cheese types

  • Game update: Glimmersteel and Adamantine armour models


 
   

2016

   

2017

   

2018

   

2019

   

2020

   

2021

2022

  • TBD

 

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As a Wurm historian, I am really interested in not only viewing the final product, but checking out its accuracy. 

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6 minutes ago, Blazecraze said:

As a Wurm historian, I am really interested in not only viewing the final product, but checking out its accuracy. 

 

Then you are the perfect person to see this list that I gathered. If you notice any flaws or essential things that are missing, please do share!

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You mentioned Massively.com's coverage and establishing their own village, but PC Gamer magazine did the same.

PC Gamer's original village, 'PC Gamer Village' was on Golden Valley, near Glitterdale (one of the three starter towns on Golden Valley), and was the site of the very first colossus built on GV.

PCGamer Village. Looking for new villagers!

 

Here are a couple blog entries from RetroactiveGamer that relate to the above, as a new player starting on Golden Valley tutorial server at the time (Episode 1).  The second entry is when the player moves to Freedom (now called Independance server in the Southern Freedom Isles cluster) which at the time was the only PvE server aside from the brief year+ that Golden Valley had left as an open server.  That settlement he moves to is the PC Gamer Freedom Village described in the paragraph below.

Jeremiah Johnson: My experience of Wurm Online (Episode. 1)

Freedom Road: My experience of Wurm Online (Episode 2.)

 

 Later, before the start of  2010, the PC Gamer crew and readers opened up their own settlement on Independance (around ESE corner of Lake Colossus, called 'PC Gamer Freedom Village') at coords 52x,14y on the Independance community map. It's now defunct and disbanded, with that site heavily terraformed pretty much away.  There aren't too many references showing it except for old 2010 Independance server maps that have mostly been removed from the web now (I'd downloaded mine in 2020 that I'm now using for reference).

Wurmpedia entry - Settlement:PCG Freedom Village

 

Also of note is that the start of 2012, the 'Full Release', marked when Golden Valley was no longer the only server that non-premium players could be on, and ended the time of Golden Valley as a full-scale tutorial server and new characters were spawned into a walled-off tutorial there instead that had portals to the Independance and Wild servers at the end.  The 'premium' portals at the old starter villages remained to encourage old residents of GV to migrate to the PvE (now open to non-premium characters) or PvP servers.

Brief History of Golden Valley and It's Shutdown(For a new Player)

 

Disclosure: PC Gamer's Wurm Online articles in 2009-2010 were what convinced me to create a character on Wurm Online and give it a try. I've been here ever since!  I've never been affiliated with PC Gamer magazine then or now, however, except as a reader.

Edited by Tristanc
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OMG Malena, I'm exhausted just reading through all of that, no bloody wonder you are feeling burnt out! It is a massive undertaking, and your love for and dedication to Wurm is pretty evident, but everyone deserves a break at times, I hope you get lots of input to help you finish rounding this project off so you can relax a bit and actually get back to enjoying the game again yourself. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your efforts here, I remember being so excited when you joined the team and your time in that role has been remarkable.

Big hugs is about all else I can say really, we love you and thank you!

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1 hour ago, Tilda said:

OMG Malena, I'm exhausted just reading through all of that, no bloody wonder you are feeling burnt out! It is a massive undertaking, and your love for and dedication to Wurm is pretty evident, but everyone deserves a break at times, I hope you get lots of input to help you finish rounding this project off so you can relax a bit and actually get back to enjoying the game again yourself. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your efforts here, I remember being so excited when you joined the team and your time in that role has been remarkable.

Big hugs is about all else I can say really, we love you and thank you!

 

Awww thank you for those lovely words Tilda. *hugs back* You've always been such a kind and empathetic member of this community and for that reason among many others, are equally loved for it.

 

I didn't really want to make a big deal out of my leaving (hence why I didn't make a separate good bye post), but I appreciate the kind words regardless. ❤️

 

As for the pressures of the video, I'm fully aware that this whole video-being-late business is probably a much larger problem for me than it ever was for you guys and that most people have probably already forgotten about the whole video. The pressure that accumulated the longer time passed, was probably completely needless and I should have never taken it as seriously as I did. But the "logic of the mind" and the "emotions of the heart" often have drastically different perspective of things. 

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19 hours ago, Tristanc said:

You mentioned Massively.com's coverage...

 

Thank you very much Tristanc! That's hugely helpful and interesting info!

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This is an outstanding timeline; an achievement in and of itself.

 

Well done for managing to pull all that together!

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Malena- what an incredible piece of research. It could definitely be described as a 'Magnum opus', however since you have already done other astonishing works such as your interactive illustrative aid for decorators this simply puts you out there in the elite group of those people whose contributions have helped create such a fantastic community in this unique game.

 

Thank you -enjoy your time playing Wurm, but most importantly catching up on those other important real-life things. 

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Congrats on the massive undertaking, but take good care of yourself! You are worth more than the project, no matter its scope. If you need to take a rest, take it with no guilt at all, project can come later.

Take care!

Edited by Ltnicolas
typo
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@Malenatake your time, there will be a 20th year anniversary too - more important to keep yourself comfortable with the project and more importantly not getting hate to think about wurm :)

Appreciate a lot all your works and the timeline is a big feat to me - I'm so bad at putting things back in proper time...

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I am still excited, and totally understand the Huge Project Will Take Way Longer Than Expected thing. I think you are amazing for doing this, and we will all be honored by it. Please don't let yourself stress about the time it's taking, or that it has to be bigger than big because it took longer. Whatever it is, it will be a work of art made with love, and can't be less than wonderful.

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Aw thank you very much for the wonderful words of support Etherdrifter, Spolmit, Ltnicolas, Jas and Nirav. ❤️ Opening up about what's been going on helped. When you've got a daunting task with a lot of people expecting results, the passage of time is like a pressure cooker. The more time passes, the more the pressure builds up because in your own mind you're imagining that everyone is getting impatient with you (although the reality is that everyone is actually focused on their own lives and not really thinking about you and your task) and you feel like the longer time you take, the more glorious the end result will have to be, which makes things even worse. So by telling you guys what's been going on, it's exactly like finally taking the lid off that pressure cooker and letting the steam out before it blows hehe. 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Malena said:

So by telling you guys what's been going on, it's exactly like finally taking the lid off that pressure cooker and letting the steam out before it blows hehe. 

 

Im soo happy to hear this :)

Take your time, your work will be ready when you want it too .) 

Dont forget to have fun too :)

 

 

 

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Is there anyone doing art who is ever satisfied with the end result?

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I thought you would have just collected a few videos from players and edited them all together.

But my production standards are a bit lower. 😂

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Oh wow, that's really a massive undertaking 😮 It looks amazing and I have to say I really love the screenshot with the profile pictures, the style fits Wurm sooo well.

I'm not a Wurm historian, so I won't be of much help, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you can work out the rest of this project. Please take care of yourself though, your health is much more important!

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You probably wouldn't want to do it this way, but you could work on a year or two at a time and release them as "episodes" or "chapters" and then later stitch them together. 

 

This would also lend itself to ongoing histories being recorded in a similar manner.

 

Remember the best way to swallow an elephant; one bite at a time.

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On 4/16/2022 at 6:21 PM, Malena said:

 

   
   

2015

  • Server taken down: Elevation (to be reset in 2019)

 

Impressive timeline. Just to note Elevation had a map reset in 2015, it wasn't really "taken down". It then had another map reset in 2019.

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Malena! You are a Legend!! It's quite understandable that you're feeling pressure and stressed out with an undertaking of this magnitude. Relax, regroup, and as Trickster notes - one bite at a time. Just putting together that timeline is more than most would be able to accomplish. The amount of research you've put in is above and beyond, and is in itself a remarkable achievement. We Wurmians are so grateful for your work over the years - as a streamer (my favorite), a dev, and all your work on the trailer and videos. Not to mention your playing style and charming personality in the game. Thank You!

Take whatever time you need for yourself, and if it turns into the 16 yr or 17 yr anniversary before it's released, so be it. It will be amazing when it's done, just as everything you touch in this game is. I do think that making chapters, as Trickster suggested, might be a cool way to go, and would possibly break the project into more manageable chunks. But you do what's best for you, and make sure to carve out time for yourself to recoup. Thank you so much for taking this on, I wouldn't want this in anybody else's hands, as nobody could do it better, no matter the timeline.

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Thank you for your ideas, support and kind words everyone. ❤️

 

On 4/21/2022 at 9:00 PM, Jaz said:

Is there anyone doing art who is ever satisfied with the end result?

 

Hehe, this is too true. 

 

On 4/21/2022 at 10:00 PM, griper said:

I thought you would have just collected a few videos from players and edited them all together.

But my production standards are a bit lower. 😂

 

Hehe, yeah the scope definitely got out of hand. *sheepish grin*

 

On 4/22/2022 at 12:55 AM, Cayce said:

Oh wow, that's really a massive undertaking 😮 It looks amazing and I have to say I really love the screenshot with the profile pictures, the style fits Wurm sooo well.

I'm not a Wurm historian, so I won't be of much help, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you can work out the rest of this project. Please take care of yourself though, your health is much more important!

 

Thank you Cayce ❤️

 

On 4/22/2022 at 3:29 AM, TheTrickster said:

You probably wouldn't want to do it this way, but you could work on a year or two at a time and release them as "episodes" or "chapters" and then later stitch them together. 

 

An interesting idea, but I worry that knowing myself - I'd end up being in an eternal loop of stress with each video. For someone who is able to be much more chill about it, that could work though!

 

On 4/25/2022 at 7:36 PM, BrokenSanity said:

 

Impressive timeline. Just to note Elevation had a map reset in 2015, it wasn't really "taken down". It then had another map reset in 2019.

 

Thank you BrokenSanity, good to know!

 

15 hours ago, DaletheGood said:

Malena! You are a Legend!! It's quite understandable that you're feeling pressure and stressed out with an undertaking of this magnitude. Relax, regroup, and as Trickster notes - one bite at a time. Just putting together that timeline is more than most would be able to accomplish. The amount of research you've put in is above and beyond, and is in itself a remarkable achievement. We Wurmians are so grateful for your work over the years - as a streamer (my favorite), a dev, and all your work on the trailer and videos. Not to mention your playing style and charming personality in the game. Thank You!

Take whatever time you need for yourself, and if it turns into the 16 yr or 17 yr anniversary before it's released, so be it. It will be amazing when it's done, just as everything you touch in this game is. I do think that making chapters, as Trickster suggested, might be a cool way to go, and would possibly break the project into more manageable chunks. But you do what's best for you, and make sure to carve out time for yourself to recoup. Thank you so much for taking this on, I wouldn't want this in anybody else's hands, as nobody could do it better, no matter the timeline.

 

Aww shucks. Thank you Dale.

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@Malena, you are the quintessential Wurm Ambassador to me!  I first discovered you on YouTube and your UO Wurm project a few years back, incredibly impressive!  What's even more impressive is that this is but one of the many, many, well conceived, produced and executed projects/VODs/streams you have either completed or started in relation to Wurm, not to mention other games and content.  Again, truly outstanding.  I have been very much enjoying your Kingdom updates and Roulette VODs, thank you so much for these.  While I am new to Wurm, about 3.5 weeks in, I have not discovered anyone else that has contributed to the game on the level you have but the FF bros are up there too.  That's not to say there aren't many other fabulous people in Wurm that have contributed immensely to the game over the years, I just have not personally discovered them yet but very much look forward to it.  :)

I'll leave it at that so as to convey the praise I think you deserve while not taking up too much of your precious time.  Please, please take care of yourself first and foremost!  I wish you all the best and look forward to the day I can experience the honour of meeting you in-game as well as more of this wonderful and unique community.  You are truly a beautiful person with a very kind and generous heart!  Be well!  :)

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On 4/28/2022 at 8:43 PM, BoaConstrictor said:

@Malena, you are the quintessential Wurm Ambassador to me!  I first discovered you on YouTube...

 

Aw thanks so much for the kind words Boa. I can't thank you enough for how kind and supportive you've been towards me and my projects for a long time now. It makes it all worth it to put time and effort into things when you get that feedback that it's being appreciated. 

 

And hey! Welcome to Wurm! I hope you're enjoying yourself so far! 

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THank you for doing this - how exciting!!! Take your time - it will be amazing :D
 

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