January 2012

Taking Care of the Animals #WurmOnline

stargrace January 24, 2012 4 Comments

The deed is coming along quite nicely. I’ve harvested a small amount of wemp from my fields, and I’m working on cotton. As always, these things take time, but that’s one thing I have plenty of. I’m still trying to get my body strength to 21 so that I can remove fences myself and it’s a bit of a pain because a lot of the activities I do on a regular basis don’t exactly take that much body strength (like picking sprouts, and farming, and grooming my animals). Today I plan on working my mining, and that should help a lot. I also have a little sleep bonus I can use.

One feature Wurm has that I really enjoy is the ‘care’ option. Every player starts out being able to ‘care’ about one animal. This prevents the animal from dying of old age. If you’re particularly taken with an animal of yours and would be completely heartbroken to see it pass on, this is a great feature for you. I’m currently caring for my male horse, because his age is ‘old’ and it’s the only male horse I have. I’m also caring for my female adult horse who is expecting some time in the next three days. I didn’t want her to get old and die. The number of animals one can care for is based on the animal husbandry skill, which is why as part of my ‘wurm chores’ every day I make sure to get some grooming in.

Speaking of grooming, yesterday on my trip home from a sprout run I found a rooster wandering the sand dunes not far from home. Roosters can be lead with a rope without having to tame them, so once I distracted the large spider who was wandering near by, I lead him to one of my empty animal pens. Roosters also have to be fed by hand, and while I’ve managed to keep it alive for two days so far, I don’t expect that to last. I actually have the option to groom my rooster, where as I do not have this option on the wolf I’ve got tamed. Arkenor was over collecting clay with his cart and I was amazed to see he had tamed a bear to hitch to it and drag it for him. Bears are a bit out of my comfort range, I’d be afraid it was trying to constantly break free and eat me (and it would probably succeed) so for now I’ll stick with the smaller animals.

As always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself!

It May Not Be For You – And That’s OK! #WurmOnline

stargrace January 23, 2012 8 Comments

I apologize for once again posting a ‘night time’ picture but for some reason that’s the only time of day I seem to remember to take a screen shot! Pictured above, my newly created Food Hall, complete with oven, food storage bin, and barrels for meats and fish. I still need to create a barrel for water in there, too. Thanks to Arkenor’s generosity I was also able to paint the front walls a beautiful shade of green with some spare dye he had. I spent most of yesterday working on the waterfront. I’ve created a little ‘outlook’ for nature’s sake, it’s pretty. Low stone walls look out over the sea, with some maple trees and a stone bench and some bushes. I plan on creating two docks on either side of that outlook, eventually. Going to take a lot of dirt so I haven’t gotten around to it quite yet.

I really feel like I have to clarify something here for people who have been following along with my posts. I know I tend to write with unbound enthusiasm for whatever my game-of-choice happens to be, and with Wurm this is no exception, especially because the game caters to every single aspect of game play that I enjoy. The thing is I should also mention that wurm is a REALLY tough game, it’s not for the faint of heart. It requires a lot of time in-game to get things done (a GOOD thing in my opinion) and it’s got a very steep learning curve, we’re talking EVE and Darkfall here. Although I find it easier than EVE because it’s not as technical (something I personally struggle with). It’s a sandbox game, which means they quite literally teach you the basics in the tutorial – and then drop you off in the middle of Green Dog with a bag of newbie gear and say “have at it!” For those gamers who are often enthralled with sandbox games then Wurm is probably a fantastic MMO for you to sink your teeth into. If you struggle with those types of games you may be better off simply reading about it – and I don’t say that to be insulting but I say that because over the course of time I have played I have seen MANY people in Freedom Chat expressing their frustrations.

A few of my own personal tips for anyone starting out (and I DO encourage anyone who is interested to give the game a go before deciding how you feel about it):

• Learn to love the wiki. This thing is always open when I play Wurm. Every day I’m learning new things about the game. Everything you need to know about playing is in this wiki. Do not try to play the brave hero and not use the wiki. Everyone uses it, even those who have been playing for years.
• Learn to love your neighbours. TALK to players, so far every single person I have come across has been incredibly friendly. Get to know the players on the lands. Be polite. Ask for a cup of sugar (or olive oil, or juice). Be friendly.
• USE the public channels, especially Freedom chat and /CA (the help channel). Lurk in them if you’re not willing to ask questions, you’ll still learn a lot, and slowly, daily, you’ll get to know the people on your server.
• Don’t just dive in, research. If you want a deed, plan where you want it don’t just buy the first place open you come across. Decide what is important to you, water? trees? a mine? Hang around Green Dog a while and work on your skills while you decide what aspects of the game appeal to you.
• Don’t wander around at night! If you log into game and it’s pitch dark out just work on skills some place close to safety and wait until it’s light out! Creatures are harder to see in the dark (go figure) and you may just end up dying a whole lot for no reason.
• USE MAPS. There are maps for every Kingdom on the wiki. USE THEM. LOVE THEM. Learn the layout of the lands by walking along and figuring out what deed you are currently in.

There are probably a lot of other tips I could offer people, but those are my main ones. If you happen to be on the Deliverance server, please feel free to PM me, you can find me there as Arysh (my 2nd account is Stargrace). I live at Darkpaw Harbor, which is directly West of Green Dog. If you’re coming to visit and you’re relatively new, I suggest taking the Northern rout along the mountain and then heading West to the coast, it’s much safer than trying to get to my place via the Southern rout (as I found out).

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Fo And Me? We’re Like This. #WurmOnline

stargrace January 22, 2012 3 Comments

Yesterday was probably one of the best days I’ve had in game, and every day is awesome, so that should tell you something. To begin with I made the treck North to Tristan to become a follower of Fo. There is always a priest on duty in the area, you have to only request to be converted and it’s a pretty painless ceremony.

I am Fo. I am the Silence and the Trees.

The sprout is my symbol.

Silent and lonely I lingered in darkness. Look around you. I created this of love and loneliness.

You are all like, but different. You are all dirt. You are all gems. You just come in different shapes and colors.

Do my bidding. Let all things grow into the splendor they may possess. Strive after beauty and harmony with nature. Let your soul become a lustrous gem.

With the same passion by which I once created all this, strike down at those who aim to destroy these creations.

Love me. Let me love you.

That’s Fo’s inscription. The deity of gardening and farming, love for trees and nature. That’s what I spend the majority of my time in game doing, so I figured it was a good fit. While I could have gone down the list of available spells for each deity and chosen one based on what I thought was ‘best’ I decided to go with my gut feeling, I love nature,why not follow the deity of nature. Makes sense, right?

On my way to Tristan I found an old male horse wandering without an owner on the lands of wurm. There were also a  handful of mature deer, it looked like a fence had finally rotted away, freeing the animals within. Happens, when people abandon the game. I never go anywhere without two things of rope, so I led the horse to Tristan and then back home once I became a follower of Fo. You can breed animals in wurm, and although I was not expecting it to work apparently the old male and my aged female were fond of each other – and in 7 wurm weeks (approx. 5-6 days) I should (if all goes well) have a foal. Animals can miscarry, a sad but true fact. Because I’m expecting a little horse or two to be added to my collection, I decided they really deserved a better pen. I worked with the area that I had already cleared and set up a wonderful iron gate, along with a wooden fence. When my strength is high enough I plan on dismantling the old wooden fence and using that area as field.

An important aspect of becoming a follower of Fo was to create an alter so that I could pray. It’s a simple stone construction for now, but it does the trick. I also headed to Green Dog after all of that construction work, and purchased a meditation rug from a trader. I could have created one myself, but I’m very low on cotton, and I like to support the local trade so why not. I also picked up a lantern, the mine is a scary place without light, and I dread having to enter it. All in all? An amazing day in-game, and I can’t wait to see what excitement today holds.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Mapping Out Darkpaw Bay #WurmOnline

stargrace January 21, 2012 No Comments

Yesterday I dug out the graph paper and started sketching out my deed, while behind me my husband made snickering noises and whispered ‘nerd’ over my shoulder. I just grinned at him, I was having far too much fun. I quickly grew frustrated with the project, I’m no map maker, and a kind soul on twitter pointed me towards this 2D map making program, specifically for wurmonline. Pictured above, my deed so far, Darkpaw Harbor. The entire lot is situated up a slope, so it’s not quite as easy to simply build something as one would think. The 5 square house in the NE corner is my home, the southern home belongs to Petter. You can see where I’ve extended the dock to the West, and there’s my small field & animal pen to the far East. The program allows you to place objects such as ovens, forges, and food storage bins, along with household items like beds. You can place your fences, walls, and doors, and create every manor of terrain there is. The grey area represents my perimeter, which is a row 5 squares thick on each side of my deed. To the East, lives Katay. To the South is Yetian, West is the ocean, and my Northern boarder used to be a large beach area but I have very slowly been converting it to forest. Yesterday I covered an area that was 11 squares by 23 squares with dirt, and then I randomly planted 20+ sprouts in order to get the forest going. I can’t cover all of the sand because further past that area I have neighbours, but I did cover a fair amount. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy controlling how the land is shaped in wurm? Well, I love it.

Arkenor spoke some pretty wise words yesterday while we were in game. He told me that he disliked grinding skills, and he named off a few of his skills that are quite high – simply from playing the game. I agreed with him, the skills will come as you do things in game. I would rather work on what I think needs to be done than grind skills simply for the sake of grinding them. I’ve been working on clearing a small hill that is in my SE corner, I can’t currently flatten the land any more without working my digging skill. Instead of grinding that skill for the sake of grinding it, I went and collected clay (which works the skill) for future projects. I really do need to make a little list of objectives some time, my floor still needs finishing, I need to hunt for meat, and perhaps attempt to fish. I’d like to finish working the back portion of the deed, and the dock area, and eventually I’d like to make myself a boat and sale between servers. In specific I’d like to sail to independence so I can pick up my alt who has been stranded there since creation (before I knew what server everyone was playing on).

All in all, it’s been a pretty productive time in game! I’m looking forward to planning more of my deed and seeing more of the lands of wurm. It may be time for another tripe to the Steppe so I can try to find myself a male horse.

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Another Trip to The Steppe #WURMOnline

stargrace January 19, 2012 No Comments

Darkpaw Harbor is coming along. I took a two hour walk yesterday to the area on Deliverance that has steppe, a tile that is known for spawning animals. I came back with 20 mixed grass (the item required for planting it) and set 5 aside for Arkenor. The rest I planted, and I now have a pretty nice area of Steppe growing. I’ll have to dig the dirt around the tiles (it’s currently grass) so that it has a little room to spread. I have insane hopes of getting steppe planted on the beach area to the North of Darkpaw, but it would require a lot of work. First I’d need to cover all those sand tiles over with dirt, and then plant. Because those tiles are simply a ‘part of the land of wurm’ it means someone else could easily come along and ruin the hard work I’ve done in converting the tiles. Still, it’s a dream I have.

I didn’t find any horses when I went to Steppe, someone else was there rounding them up while riding on his own, so I didn’t really have a chance. However, on my travels home I did come across an abandoned adult horse, standing in the middle of no where with no one on local. I lead it home, and now it grazes happily in my animal pen. Arkenor also found a calf wandering by my place, so that has joined the collection of animals I have. I’m just hoping to get enough wemp to be able to craft a grooming brush, I have a small piece of wemp but it’s not enough to do anything with. I’ve planted some, and I’m just waiting for it to actually finish growing.

I’ve spent a lot of time away from my deed exploring the lands around – and now it’s time to settle down and get some actual work done. I’d like to finish the dock, I’d like to create a few other flat areas for planting on the lands, I’d like to plant more trees, and eventually turn wooden buildings and fences to stone. That will all take a LOT of work, but it’s time that I have. I just need to decide which one of those things I want to work on first.

On a random note, my rose bushes that I planted are finally growing! Plants each take different amounts of time to grow, trees seem to be the fastest. My roses have just started showing little sprouts and I’m so excited. There are a few planted by my field, and another planted by my house. I love the way they look and can’t wait until they reach full maturity.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!