Make Wurm Easier

[Renet 6]

If you take the idea of making the game faster to it's extreme that would be remove skills, have actions always succeed and make them instant. Essentially it would be like a playable version of http://forum.wurmonline.com/index.php?/topic/79352-deedplanner-3d-house-and-deed-planner/

 

I can't see how anyone could play a game like that for even a month. What's the incentive? You build a town and then what? The game would turn into a glorified chatroom.

 

If we are not talking about this extreme case then it's a matter of finding the balance between the current freedom rates and instant. The problem is you can't go and change the progress speed in any existing server since that would deflate any progress done before that. So you need either a new cluster for this server or join it with the epic cluster.

 

Making a new cluster for this server would allow even faster rates than epic and avoid the problems of having a pve server on epic. This playground should be accessible by a portal similar to epic.

 

Having a pve server on epic cluster is not an impossible thought imo. The crossing over to pvp servers could be limited to once a month or something to prevent active pvpers from using it as a safespot.

 

The main reason I dislike this whole suggestion is that I'm strongly against new servers and even more against new clusters. The playerbase simple isn't strong enough and isolating players won't help the community grow. The other reason is that in a game like this I find the journey to be the enjoyable part. If you max all skills and finish everything you want to build, what are you going to do then? Repair your fences? Everyone hates that. There is no endgame in wurm.

 

Wurm is not a casual game and it never will be. If you don't have time to play wurm don't play it. You can try minecraft, the sims or animals crossing as other venues for exercising your creativity.

 

Finally I wonder if epic really is such a bad alternative? Sure it's pvp but if what you're looking for is more player interaction, what better way is there to make this happen than banding together against a common enemy? The pvp combat itself is pretty dull but what's wrong with building fortresses and gearing the troops? I have not played much on epic but my impression is that if you live on a homeserver in a somewhat fortified deed you don't risk losing everything overnight. Even if you do that's just another distraction from the inevitable boredom that happens when there is nothing more to do. As a casual player you shouldn't be hoarding any hard to replace treasures either.

[Outlaw 697]

The perceived "difficulty" in wurm is largely due to the way new players approach the game.

 

Those that listen to the advice given in global and go read the wiki instead of asking every single little question in global chat, will quickly learn the game and realize it isn't difficult at all.

 

People just don't read the manual anymore, as we expect everything to be super-intuitive. (The reason people think, oh look I've got a sword and this spider is at the spawn, I can easily kill this...)

 

Stick at it, figure it out, that's half the fun of wurm.

[As_I_Decay 1,592]

There are multiple reasons why I -1 this suggestion, and most of them have been said by others previously.

In fact, if this suggestion were to ever be seriously taken into consideration for implementation, then the team also better get working on individual, private Wurm servers. This guy wants fast skillgain because he doesn't have the time in RL to invest into Wurm... well then, I want a private server to myself and whomever I wish to share it with, so that I can avoid playing with the jerks that this community already has and will indeed gain by having this new "easymode" server. 

[vill 248]

This doesn't help the discussion in any way, shape, or form.

 

So I would explain it with more details if you don't understand:

 

WoW is example of game which from Hardcore Classic raids became easy game for noobs.

Blizzard hungry for money made WoW noob friendly from patch to patch to get more and more money.

 

 

Nowadays developers and producers makes in 90% only easy games following Blizzard success.

This happens especially in MMO branch and they call it "good gameplay".

 

 

This game attracts special type of players which do like when you have to use your brain to get good results.

You can ask if they think this game is hard. It is time consuming for sure but this is attitude. Every completed product full of features should be time consuming.

Maybe UI is not always friendly and some piece of solutions could be implemented in different way, but still the game changes went into good direction: for example paper doll ;-)

 

 

 

So where is your point. Where you want it easier?  Free 99QL Plate Sets from the sky?

[Spolmit 627]

Wurm is a game that has to be played over a period of time. It may initially seem complicated but I think that it is simply because a new player has to learn so much. As your own knowledge base increases so you will realise that it may be complex but it is not overly difficult.

Good luck with the game.

[Ronnie 64]

-1 Wurms already rather easy, Only takes 40-50 hours of action time to get a skill to level 70.... If anything wurm needs more challenge or difficulty added

[Nekojin 197]

So where is your point. Where you want it easier?  Free 99QL Plate Sets from the sky?

 

You can make a point without resorting to ridiculous reductio ad absurdum strawmen like this. Any position can be made to look ridiculous if you take it to extremes. Nobody is asking for a free ride. Nobody.

 

One way in which the game can be made more player-friendly is the reduction of very repetitive/click-intensive jobs. Nobody likes digging 10k dirt when all they want to do is move it around. So intelligent use of the Flatten and Level commands can make terraforming significantly faster, while dramatically reducing the number of clicks necessary to do the task.

 

Similar commands for, say, Mining, Brick-Making, and Plank-Making could go a long way to making the game a lot more friendly, without really affecting the challenge of the game. Plus, it would hugely help people suffering from RSI issues.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Nekojin

[Radni 1,089]

Epic curve is an epic thing If you want it, join Epic.

[Ronnie 64]

Epic curve is an epic thing If you want it, join Epic.

I think this is the first and only thing I'd agree with leaving on epic xD

[Freelance 3]

-1 Definitly not. Wurm is easy already. Its not WOW, - click and forget.  If its too hard for You, shame.

[joedobo 1,188]

A non-aggro server would be huge hit for PvE. A lot of folks play this game only to resource collect, craft and hoard. I think many existent players don't like that idea because they know the majority of players will choose non-aggro and if they want community will be forced to move there too.

Edited July 28, 2013 by joedobo

[joedobo 1,188]

Similar commands for, say, Mining, Brick-Making, and Plank-Making could go a long way to making the game a lot more friendly, without really affecting the challenge of the game. Plus, it would hugely help people suffering from RSI issues.

 

- Put as many resources as you can carry in inventory, activate a tool, click on workbench and tell it to make X number of item. The time to do this would be equal to creating one item at full stamina plus stamina regen to 100% times however many you're going to make. Your crafted max would be limited by resources in inventory.

 

- A single key bind that sends a repeat last action using the current active tool on current mouse over item/object. Preemptively, the macro argument is invalid because bots can find images on screen and manipulate mouse/keyboard input regardless where the game randomly places things. Oh, and this has over 100 votes on Uservoice and is in the top 10 of most requested features.

Edited July 28, 2013 by joedobo

[Iulianx 90]

Wurm is too easy imo. For veteran players that is. As a new player you can't do %!. There where various changes made life easier for new players but way more easier to veteran players and some changes to make the game more challenging that hurt only the new players really.

The developers provide minimal facilities for new players to help them get started under the excuse that the community can do that but few take the time to sacrifice their time to maintain such facilities compromising the rest of the wurm experience for them, you know... that's why NPC exist. In general players couldn't care less about what new players do.

 

The change that made materials not waste when you fail, excellent for newbies because certain materials where harder to acquire. Horrible change balance-wise for veterans since they can gain leather/cotton/wemp in industrial amounts.

 

Creature speed depending on terrain update had one of the worse consequences ever, it did nothing but make new players unable to outrun powerful creatures even naked leading to mass frustration and ragequitting, this combined with the; "you open yourself to an attack" penalty while fleeing. Experienced players will rarely need to run from creatures so it only hurts the newbies, and a lot.

 

Solutions:

1. Create advantages for newbies that would make them useful to the community despite their low skill and experience.

2. Add automated features that allow experienced players to create facilities to help new players. Quest NPCs that offer players rewards in return for tasks set by the players, Advanced writ functions to allow Inn and Bartenders just to name a few.

3. Make high skilled players use more materials to create items of higher quality to add challenge and make the game harder for them not the new players.

4. Make Strong monsters regional again and reduce the speed of strong creatures so new players can outrun them.

5. Remove the You open yourself to an attack penalty for PvE.

 

Conclusion:

 Create new challenges for experienced players without making the life of new players even harder. And make the life of new players less challenging without removing any challenge for veterans.

 

Edit: There is an abysmal between the success of the actions of a new player can do (10 skill)  and what a veteran can do (90 skill) I think this enormous gap between the new and old must be reduced. Wurm is like playing World of Tanks but without matchmaking so you end up playing with a Tire 5 tank (Ex:The French B1) against a a German tire 8 Tiger II. Result: Not even 100 B1 tanks firing all at once will not be able to make a dent on that tank's armor. So what is the solution? Spend a month of game time sucking your thumb in front of a forge or in a mine or shield-basing a horse until you make this absurd prerequisite to actually play the game and enjoy it?

And I might be referring to PvP but I think this applies to PvE crafting server also when it comes to economy, making money etc...

Edited July 28, 2013 by Iulianx

[vill 248]

You can make a point without resorting to ridiculous reductio ad absurdum strawmen like this. Any position can be made to look ridiculous if you take it to extremes. Nobody is asking for a free ride. Nobody.

 

One way in which the game can be made more player-friendly is the reduction of very repetitive/click-intensive jobs. Nobody likes digging 10k dirt when all they want to do is move it around. So intelligent use of the Flatten and Level commands can make terraforming significantly faster, while dramatically reducing the number of clicks necessary to do the task.

 

Similar commands for, say, Mining, Brick-Making, and Plank-Making could go a long way to making the game a lot more friendly, without really affecting the challenge of the game. Plus, it would hugely help people suffering from RSI issues.

 

lol get friends, skill and WoA shovel 10k dirt is easy fast job.  Brick Making the same 2seconds per brick action.... get 4 friends make 500 each per day.... You can build what you want.

 

Many players missed the point that this is MMO not solo game..... With 10 friends you can really move the mountains....

Edited July 28, 2013 by vill

[Nekojin 197]

lol get friends, skill and WoA shovel 10k dirt is easy fast job.  Brick Making the same 2seconds per brick action.... get 4 friends make 500 each per day.... You can build what you want.

 

Many players missed the point that this is MMO not solo game..... With 10 friends you can really move the mountains....

So you think that Flatten and Level should be removed, then? Force people to move every lump of dirt by hand? That seems to be what you're pushing at - do everything in groups, get together groups. Which, of course, defies the reality that soloing is allowed and encouraged...

 

It also ignores the fact that if you need 10 friends to do something, it must not be that easy to begin with, is it?

 

MMO doesn't mean what you seem to think it does.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Nekojin

[Rathgar 959]

While I agree with the OP, I think that instead of "difficulty", the main problem that the OP seems to have with the game is the speed.

 

Now, the speed a wich stuff is crated and people skill up in wurm is not completely arbitrary, if I had the hability to make stone houses during the first week of playing, I would have left a couple of abandoned houses behind wich would have taken months to decay.

 

The endgame content would be reached too fast, and lets face it, once you can handle everything, a big part of the charm of the game, like the sense of danger or the struggle to survive are gone.

 

A few of the cration procesess could be modified, to require less clicking.   Most of the problems of excesive clicking could be fixed with a couple of simple commands like repeat last action, without going too far with the automatization.

[Vroomfondel 1,128]

I have to say -1 to the idea.  I have been playing this game for over 5 years now, I still have many skills I haven't mastered yet, and that is what keeps me here.  Any other game I've played I would be master of everything within a year or so, and would just be repeating myself in the same scenarios over and over.  While there is a lot of repetitive tasks to get skill here, the projects are all mine and always different.  Anything that would make that fast and easy would cause me to lose interest.  The game still needs some smoothing out, so you don't do so much clicking to accomplish 1 task, but otherwise it should remain as it is.

[Slickshot 1,195]

I am about to cry, from laughing so hard.  No not really, but I hope that gets the point across.  Wurm is NOT difficult.  Back in the day, for example, if you failed at creating a tool like the sickle, you'd lose the handle and the sickle blade.  Both pieces would be scrapped; the handle turned to wood scrap and the sickle blade turned to iron scrap.  This made things extremely frustrating to create on a *chance to create* system and is one of the reasons I stopped playing for a good chunk of time.

 

Thankfully we have a new Wurm today!  A Wurm where items don't usually crumble upon attempts to create, and instead are only damaged a little and are still able to be put together.  A Wurm where, believe it or not, the fighting system is much easier than it used to be.  A Wurm where the in-game wiki (press the H key when you aren't toggled in a line of chat) is not only a noob's best friend, but a best friend to seasoned players as well!

 

Long story short:  Wurm has certainly come a long way from where it used to be, and trust me it was for better..not worse.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Slickshot

[Shiraek 464]

I don't think wurm needs it peak difficulty tuned down. Probably up on the freedom clusters. I think the new player experience could do with a slightly reduced difficulty (could be achieved a few ways), and I think the game could be a lot easier to learn _how to play_ than it is.

 

A voiced tutorial would be a start, just explaining the basic mechanics within a story of sorts. Like you're helping a village or something.

 

Easy to get into, difficult to master - that's the game design philosophy I like. Wurm's difficulty curve is almost the opposite really (freedom anyway) - it's brutally hard at first and gets easier and easier as you go.

 

Perhaps if the area around newbie towns were made a lot less mobby somehow?

 

Cheers,

Shiraek

[Lightonfoot 58]

It doesn't need to have faster skill gain, but it does need more depth in its skills so we're not repetitively clicking the same things without thinking. Many skills are just... empty. There's nothing there. Sometimes the game is repetitive in other ways too. I think people asking for faster skill gain are mistaking empty things for things.

 

Doing the same thing over and over without any changes in plan or any thinking is empty.

 

I've contemplated the idea of what would happen if there was no skill gain and we could all make anything in the game immediately if we had the resources. The thing that concerns me is how quickly the map would be paved over. I like the fact that there're large areas of wilderness. I like that there's inertia in the world. If inertia is removed, it wouldn't feel like a world to me. It'd just be another place for people to trash and it'd change too fast like a chameleon.

 

Bottom line, I want more complexity. This solves the problem of the repetitiveness and it also avoids the problem of things being constructed too quickly. It would encourage us to really know our craft to do well.

 

One thing I'd like to see is more thought put into making things non-linear. For example, it shouldn't just be that a player builds wood houses and then builds stone houses and then builds castles. Instead players should build wood houses where it's appropriate and stone houses where they're appropriate and so on. Make us think about what we're doing. Don't make the game think for us. Don't make things too simple. Make things circumstantial. Many games make things linear and take the thinking out of it and thus it becomes very stale and uninteresting.

 

Perhaps things should be overlapped more. Everything should interact with everything else. In fact, this might be the key to how our own reality is so complex. It's actually just a mixture of simple forces overlapping.

 

As the game grows "deeper" the skill gain could be increased to compensate to keep it equal. This way it won't take longer and longer to do things. Instead the repetitiveness is replaced by complexity.

 

Lets make Wurm Online a world not just a game. That's a dream I will pay for.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Lightonfoot

[Taltos 175]

-1

[Klaa 4,872]

[Hula_Girl 266]

-1

[Suntzu 644]

+1

[samollly 18]

-1 One of the things I love the most about wurm is it isn't a game you can get all you want in a month of playing it