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Why aren't there more games like this?
Ceridith
Member UncommonPosts: 2,980
After reading some mentions about this game on this site, I decided to try it out. I'm a former UO and SWG player, and have always felt a bit of a void in the sandbox MMO department since those MMOs went down the tubes. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised by this game when I tried it out a couple days ago.
The learning curve is steeper than your average MMO these days, but that was welcome. My only concerns with the game are the rather clunky interface -- especially concerning inventory -- and the the quality of some of the graphics. Don't get me wrong, the landscape and sky/weather graphics are amazingly done, but the avatars could certainly use some work. The combat feels rather mechanical as well, but I get the impression that combat is not the focus of this game.
But, those aren't necessarily deal breakers for this game, at least for me. The mere thought that the entire world is terraformable by players is an idea I absolutely love. Building fences, structures, towns, actually chopping trees down or digging out mines gives the game the feeling of a living and breathing virtual world... and I've not even left the trial server yet. I'm still getting the hang of the game, and struggling with it a little -- mostly in the gathering food aspect, but I've begun considering going premium, especially since it costs quite a bit less than your average MMO subscription.
I still wonder why there are not more games like this. I think this type of idea would do quite well if they just took what has been done with wurm, and polished it up.
Comments
What sets Wurm in a different category from other sandboxes/mostly-sandbox games is that all the "tools" are given to the individual rather group leaders.
Which means that there's: A Tale in the Desert, Haven and Hearth(micro indy and 2D), Roma Victor(if it's still alive), and maybe secondlife(if you're willing to forgive that there are no "win"/"reward" conditions, and are skilled in a RL ITish trade or two).
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
Risk, mostly. There aren't a lot of big time developers that would take the risk of sinking money into a project that could fail as hilariously as something that has never been tested on any scale.
I know only two developers that would be able to do this as a side project, and an experimental one even. CCP might be interested considering the similarities between their games and the unfilled niche. But if they were really interested in the concept, they would've started doing something ages ago.
The other developer died. So, tough luck.
Cause it's not like it's making billions out of it. So imagine with just 1 more game like Wurm...
Oh sorry wait. I told you the truth.
"Traditionally, massively multiplier online games have been about three basic gameplay pillars combat, exploration and character progression. In Alganon, in addition to these we've added the fourth pillar to the equation: Copy & Paste."
I do believe this is the biggest untapped market in gaming atm, the potential for a a big game is there. The problem is that all these sandbox games these days like Mortal Online, Darkfall and even EvE make their games 90% about PvP and only about 5% of MMO players even care about PvP and even less think its the most important thing.
Wurm Online's biggest problem is that its simply to hard for new players, if they made that game easier it would quickly double its sub base. And I won' buy any of the bullshit about "it has to be hard that's the point" blablabla the fact is that for most Wurm players that have played for a long time there is no challenge left at all, its only hard near impossible for noobs and challenge for the vets.
Personally I hope that Blizzard is working on a Wurm style game for their new unannounced MMO, since what Blizzard does is take a genera with unrealized potential and makes the perfect game.
Xsyon is more or less the same type of game that wurm http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/514
Xsyon is a joke in comparison to wurm. The Xsyon developers are constantly pushing back there prelude release because the game isn't anywhere near ready. Based on the playability of the game when I first got access to it I think that the developers were financing Xsyon on preorders while saying it'll be ready in a month, half a year later it's still a mess. I don't have any faith that when they finally do launch it that it will be anywhere near as good as wurm either. For a game that was supposedly to be released within a month of the date I got access (over 6 months now and still isn't ready) Xsyon is the crappiest game experience I've ever had.
I can name a game just like Wurm Online. MineCraft. Although not better by graphics standards and the crafting not indepth, it's the same game. And it's still in Alpha. And Notch is part of both.
o really? its coming along pretty good since then but at least there not pushing it out the door until its ready
It's actually alot harder to compare Minecraft and Wurm than that, and I would have to disagree that they are basically the same game. Also, Notch isn't a part of Wurm anymore, although he was co-founder and client developer for a while.
Wurm Online Staff
(Game Moderator)