Market Roads
stargrace 
The Rag and Bone Market (located on Xanadu at P22 for anyone who may want to stop by and place a merchant) is coming along nicely. There are market stalls up, an inn, pens for horses to be sold, a craft hall, a public mine, and other amenities. We’re also working on dredging the canal for larger ships, right now only knarr / sailboat depth boats can pass through. My next task was to join the market by road to a highway that runs North and South along the map. The highway is West of the market, a few hundred tiles away, through a desert and into the woods. It’s right beside a nice guard tower and travelers spot. I spent most of the weekend working on that road, flattening the path and then paving it. Then I went back and lined the cobblestone with gravel on either side, so that it’s three tiles wide and considered a ‘highway’. I can only place 1 sign every 24 hours if it’s off-deed, so I put one at the end of my new road that points towards the market and lets people know what direction it’s located at. I also added a fountain along the side of the highway so people can stop for drinks. I may eventually also plant a barrel in that spot and fill it will meals for travelers. I don’t actually know how many people use the highway, but I think it’s a great start.
In the meantime, my priests, Oshi and Maivis, have traveled to F25 of the Xanadu map. There they are participating in sermons that have been going on since July or so, in an attempt to raise their faith. Maivis (my Vynora priest) is sitting at 82.54 faith at the moment, and Oshi (my Nahjo priest) is at a quaint 61.61. I’m really trying to get Oshi to 70 so that he can cast genesis and strongwall, the two spells that I started a Nahjo priest for to begin with. There are enough others at the sermon that each time we preach the counter for prayers re-sets, so I’m getting quite a good gain. It should only take a week or two of preaching to reach 70, I’m hoping. A lot of that depends on who sticks around and how many are active listeners.
I’m hoping with the addition of the market, the area gets a bit more use. It’s on the East side of the server, so it’s close for those traveling from other servers. It’s not exactly coastal as it’s a mesh of waterways to get to our destination, but it’s accessible by the ocean which also helps a lot. There’s a ton of space in the area (which is the nature of Xanadu, the server size is gigantic) and it’s not too far away from Estron, one of the starter towns. Whether or not this attracts any new players we’ll just have to see.
I’ve seen a few new players coming to explore Wurm Online thanks to Wurm Unlimited. On that same note, I’ve seen a fair amount of older players selling their characters and leaving for Wurm Unlimited. I played Wurm Unlimited for a few days, but after my hard drive crashed (it had the server on it) I was once again reminded of why I prefer to play the MMO version of the game, and not the (much smaller) solo-esc version. There are just too many community aspects that I adore about the base model of the game. I’m hoping that Rolf doesn’t decide to terminate the MMO servers any time soon, and that the steam version of the game only enhances and adds to the support that the MMO version requires. I suppose only time will tell. I’ve seen my share of games shut down over the years and if that has taught me anything it’s that when you enjoy a game, you should play it. No matter what anyone else says about the game. I’ve enjoyed Wurm more than a lot of other games I’ve played, and I’ve come across a lot of naysayers over the years. None of this has ever bothered me, and I’ve always just continued doing my thing. Honestly it has been the best thing for me and as long as I enjoy playing, that’s what matters.
Anyone else have games out there that they enjoy playing, that perhaps the general populace does not enjoy? Did you continue to play it anyway?
As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!