2017

Walls, Glorious Walls!

stargrace May 20, 2017 No Comments

Things have been busy (as always) especially with Summer (we’ve skipped Spring this year) beginning. Still, those magical walls I was waiting for finally hit Wurm Unlimited last week, and I wasted no time in getting a new house created for pottery. It shows off the new pottery floors, along with the matching brick walls. I created a roof out of pottery shingles too just so the whole thing matched, and then added a kiln for good measure (plus I didn’t have one before now). There are a few issues with the patch (you can’t create fences on the left side of arches, and sandstone tiles are not working as they should be) but overall it has been a good update.

Zuca, my Magnaron priest also managed to (finally) reach 70 faith which means she can strongwall. I’ve been trying to inch her towards that goal for quite some time. I’m not sure why it took so long, I do have both a Fo priest and a Vynora priest at over 80 faith, but the Magnaron gains seemed to take forever. My tunnel between Quail Ridge and Quail Keep is currently two tiles wide, and I’m working on expanding that to three wide, then reinforcing the entire thing. I’ve been taking a bit of a break to deal with real life so only part of that is done so far. Having projects is always a good thing though.

I also re-did the entire front of my forge building in slate. I love the look and I’ve been contemplating re-doing the Temple building in marble. Sklotopolis is also accepting submissions on designs for the newest starter town, so DeedPlanner has been a good friend over the past few days while that gets worked on.

I was expecting to spend a lot of time at the Impalong last weekend but I got side swiped by some real life drama and then I caught a horrible cold, so I could do little other than logging in for a single morning. By the time I got to log in again the Impalong was over. One of the GMs kindly sent me an Impalong item so I didn’t miss out, but I felt horrible that I couldn’t be there for the duration, especially after all my excitement about it. I know attendance was low but the community of Sklotopolis makes such events awesome.

For the next little while working on the tunnel between my two deeds is my main focus. I’d like to get the entire thing mined three wide, and reinforced. Afterward I’d like to create some sort of plan for Quail Keep, and then Quail Cove. Quail Ridge is the only one of my deeds that I feel is “completed” and even there I have a building or two that still requires a roof (and a second floor). The majority of that deed is completed at least.

Anyone else playing with the new wall textures? What are some of your favourites? Let me know in comments, and as always, happy gaming no matter where you find yourself!

Building an Obelisk (or Two)

stargrace May 8, 2017 No Comments

I own three deeds. Quail Ridge (my main deed), Quail Cove (a coastal deed), and Quail Keep (pictured above). Quail Keep is almost completely below ground, with only the entrance indicating that the deed is there. Eventually I’d like a sprawling underground city, but that’s a long way off. In the meantime I’ve been working on making the small portion above ground to my liking. The goal is to touch as little of the terrain as possible, leaving it in its natural form.

First off I used a rune on my Vynora colossus – which turned it into a shade Tomservo said reminded him of the Statue of Liberty in the USA – I agree, and it’s a very neat colour. Next I completed a steel door (but first that required me to collapse the current door and mine it straight, otherwise the door would have looked horrible). Then I created a raised platform on either side of the door – the perfect spot for an obelisk (or two). With one obelisk down I just have one to go. Even with 98 masonry skill these things are difficult to build. Hammering away at them will get them completed eventually.

Another server event is coming up. One I’m REALLY excited about (and that I hold near and dear to my heart). It’s the Spring Impalong. You’ve probably seen me talk about Wurm Online Impalongs in the past. Gatherings of people who improve tools for others, cast enchants, and just generally hang out and have a great time with various games and events planned throughout. While WO Impalongs tend to last a week, this one runs Friday-Sunday of next week (also happens to be Mother’s Day for NA). I’m excited to bring my alts out there. I’m hoping Zuca (my Magnaron priest) reaches 80 faith. I plan on leaving everyone online as a ‘warm body’ for those performing sermons. I’m wondering how organization of those sermons will go. Even if I don’t get a chance to preach, I’m happy to help out.

Stargrace (Vynora), Arysh (Vynora), Minxes (Fo), Blesse (Fo), and Zuca (Magnaron) should all be able to make it and hang out. I’ll be bringing them a bit early since it’s quite a distance from my place, and I’d like to just hang out without any pressure of getting to the location.

Have I mentioned yet that I’m excited? Because I REALLY am! I don’t know what part I’m most excited about. There’s going to be recipe trading going on, meals being cooked, of course the whole reason we’re all gathered – improving tools! I can’t wait to meet even more people from this amazing server. If you’re a newer player looking to have some tools improved, or wanting to meet some of the friendliest people, then the Spring Impalong is one event you just won’t want to miss.

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

White Dragons, New Starter Towns, and WALLS!

stargrace May 4, 2017 No Comments

First of all my apologies for not writing for a bit. Real life of course reared its ugly head and made things difficult, but after a bit of sulking I’m back. Things have been pretty busy on Sklotopolis – which is great!

First of all, last weekend we took down the White Dragon that had spawned. In a move that surprised no one, I won nothing. I did get a scale and blood though, and Moumix, Maya, and Ogur all graciously donated me their scales too. I think I’m the only one out of our little bunch who has not won anything but I do have incredibly nice friends that make it all worth it in the end! lol. The event was a ton of fun, lots of people showed up. There was a tiny bit of drama as someone yelled charge before the team was ready with the dragon in position, but it got sorted.

There’s a new starter town being built right now, too. I’m a bit confused as to why, since it hasn’t even been a year since the 2nd “new” starter town has been built, and I think it just makes the first two starter towns fall into disuse and disrepair (the market of the first starter town is all but abandoned, and I expect the same will happen to the second one) but people like fresh exciting projects to work on, and this is certainly that. I donated a few thousand bricks and mortar along with concrete and hope everyone can make use of it. I dislike terraforming (I much prefer the work already done when I move to a deed) so I’m standing by the sidelines helping where I can (I gave away a 90ql hatchet and some other tools) and watching the work take place. Everyone is working really hard, which is neat to see. They’re taking a bit of a break to plan the next stage.

Speaking of, it means our next Wurm Unlimited update (due out tomorrow) is just in time – we’re finally getting new walls! I’m excited, even though I’m not sure where I’ll start. I expect I’ll swap out the bottom level of my blacksmithing building, and change the walls to the pottery house. I want to swap out some fences and roads, and I really wish they were adding the new reinforced walls along with the new mine “lights” that I’ve seen hints of. I hope they migrate to WU with time.

All in all, days are satisfying and full. If you happen to find yourself on the Sklotopolis server, be sure to say hello. You can find me there as Stargrace. Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Learning More about Runes

stargrace April 25, 2017 No Comments

A lot of things in Wurm are learned through trial and error. Sure you could go digging through the code to learn all the ins and outs of a particular system, but it’s much more fun and interesting to figure it all out in-game.

One of the things I know pretty much nothing about (hey, after 10 years those moments are further and further between) is runes. Runes are a newer addition. There’s a wurmpedia entry on them but they’re not very specific.

So yesterday I made a handful of runes with the rift materials I had obtained and those that were given to me. I learned a few things. First of all, the ones that grant capacity do not actually work on bulk storage bins or crates. I’m not sure if this is specific to my server or if it doesn’t work on any of these items in the real world, there’s no notes.

Second, the ‘glow’ you obtain from some runes doesn’t work on some items. Like kingdom specific wagons. Wish I had of known that one before I applied it.

Anyone can create and apply any rune – but if it’s a rune outside of your deity the chances of creation are typically lower, as are the chances of apply that rune (or so I have found with my personal experiments). So as a priest of Vynora I stuck to those ones. I did create one Magnaron rune but my chance at creation was pretty low and the application of the rune itself was not even worth it.

Not all the runes failed. I didn’t get the glow or expanded volume, but I did get two rarity bonus chances on some tools, and I reduced the damage and fuel cost of my supreme forge. Nothing game breaking or earth shattering there but it’s just a little convenience. I was trying to purchase a few extra rift items, but after an hour or two of advertising someone started to buy them for a full silver more than I was (I offered 2s per piece) and I just can’t compete with that.

So I swapped over to work on weapon smithing. I’m inching my way to 90, right now I just past the 84 mark. I figure I’ll create a bunch of weapons, get them to 90, and then enchant them with animal demise, nimbleness, life transfer, and mind stealer. Whatever else I can fit on them at that point (I think maybe circle of cunning stacks too? I’d have to consult my chart) and try to get those casts as high as I can. Maybe that’ll help bring in a bit more cash. My casts have been doing pretty good as of late, but my Fo priests have been sorely neglected. Since I stream Wurm from my PC to my MacBook I can’t play multiple accounts, I haven’t figured out a way to share the screen from my PC to my MacBook – I know it’s possible, but I haven’t looked into it at all. So for now I just stream (via steam) from one account at a time.

Anyway, enough rambling. I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far and that life is good. Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!