In a very surprise announcement yesterday, Rolf told players that a new freedom server would be joining the cluster, called ‘Celebration’. This land mass is located (for the time being at least) South of Exodus, and is rumored to be a PvE server (the email didn’t really clarify whether it would be PvP or PvE but for now we’ll just figure it’s a PvE server).
Along with this new land, achievements are coming to game. You’ll be able to access them from the main tab, and despite the fact that a lot of players (from multiple games) abhor achievement systems, I’ve always looked at them as neat little accomplishments for players to work on when they don’t really know what else to do. In a sandbox game this can be a very good thing, giving players a sense of direction and “something to do” when they’re not sure what they want to be working on.
Of course, a new server brings up all sorts of comments. Can we handle yet another server, the population is already so thin, etc. To these opinions I’ve had basically one line of thought. It is the players choices to move, and the players who spread themselves thin (if one is of the opinion that it is spread too thin, I don’t necessarily agree for Freedom servers). I hear every day about how new players want fresh open land that isn’t covered in ruins, they want uniques (which typically get killed), and a handful of other “not close to my neighbour but I want a full server” complaints. In a sandbox MMO there are so many opinions from so many different players that it’s all but impossible to keep everyone happy.
Personally, I sailed an alt out to the south of Exodus yesterday with an unused deed form. We’ll see what happens from there.
Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!