Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Wurm -The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Lithix99
Member Posts: 6
Thinking about giving Wurm a try? Might want to do so with your eyes wide open. There are many good things to say about Wurm as it has come a long way in the past year. If you have played before, but its been a while, Id recommend coming back again to check out all the new stuff that's been added in during this last year. This past year has seen an explosion of new content as well as new devs to help things along.
First lets go over some of the more notable good items.
Were getting weekly updates now on the progress of work within Wurm. This was universally one of the most asked for items that we got in the last year. However the PR guy is on paternity leave atm so there have been no recent weekly updates.
New Developers have been acquired to get things moving. A direct focus on improving the gameplay for beginning characters.
New huge server Xanadu - New wall types (a tudor style wall) - Lots of fixes and general improvements - Lots of new art coming down the pipe and an overall surge of work being completed.
Finally getting rid of the pyramid scheme that were the traders. o/
Finally it looks like the game is going in the right direction, there is movement, and although its not fast, its not the glacial pace some of us are used to either. Overall the game looks promising and has a lot of potential.
THE BAD -
All games have their issues, and Wurm is no exception. It still suffers from laggy play. This is not limited to low end machines, it hits everyone. This is mostly to do with some of the code (Its ancient) and their hosting providers.
It also suffers from a split code base which induces limits on the PVE side of things when it comes to adding content. IE -we cant add that because it would unbalance or negatively affect PVP play. Which is odd as only a handful play PVP and by all accounts cannot sustain itself. But its there if anyone wants to play it.
PVP is in trouble. It cant really sustain itself, its server populations are stagnant at best, and its codebase interferes with the PVE side of the game. The list of reasons for this could go for pages, but if you read all the mountains of threads asking people why they don't play PVP, youll get every answer imaginable, so Ill just sum it up this way -Its not fun. Every single player has issues with it, even those that play it regularly. If you decide to play on a PVP server don't be surprised if most of the time you are by yourself or looking for someone to play with /against. There are the occasional fights here and there, but with the release of the new server Xanadu , there simply isn't much going on. Even prior to the new server, there wasn't much going on.
THE UGLY -
The biggest problem Wurm faces at this time is their staff. They are a volunteer staff made up of players that as you can guess are unskilled, uninformed, biased, corrupt, and motivated by their own agendas. Its really hard to say how it got into this shape other than given the nature of the beast, this would be the eventuality of such a system.
Some of them are clearly and openly racist, some of them are vindictive to extremes, some simply lack the intelligence to tie their shoes in the morning, others are simply trying to do what they can to help players and get caught up in the fray. Am I saying that all members of staff are that way...no...just most of them.
If you have to interact with them...and you will most certainly have to as they have designed it that way...then depending on the person you get that's supposed to help you...you may get an experience you would have rather avoided. They very well may be crude, crass, judgmental, jump to conclusions and berate you before you ever get to say a word. Best advice I can give you is to avoid all contact with them as best you can. While you might get a good one...its not likely.
Now before the shills see this and start fanboi flames - The base issue lies in, staff are players, and nearly all are from the PVP side, so they really don't care for the people on the PVE side. They prefer to fight and make everything a competition vs problem solve. This is encouraged and promoted by the head of the staff as the preferred way to handle issues so its hard to hold the rest of them accountable when the head of the GM's pushes and supports a system and culture based on bullying and beratement.
The culture is one of misinformation, bullying, and childish beratement. It directly affects the gameplay experience for nearly everyone negatively and there really is no defense against it. the only light at the end of this tunnel is this - The new developers are aware of all these issues and have acknowledged that they are issues.
So if your thinking about trying Wurm or coming back, its worth it, just stay away from staff best you can and try to enjoy the game as it has much to offer.
Comments
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Well that's not what I really said...but, I think I know what your asking.
Corrupt - lets just take the most recent event that's happened - The rare exploit -(some call it a bug, I will call it an exploit, because that's what it is) GM's were answering calls and got word of an exploit in the way one could make rares. Instead of immediately reporting it they used it to stock their deeds and pockets. Some went as far as telling their villagers how to make them so they could sell them. No idea how long this has been going on quite possibly for years, but it was only recently fixed. And the kicker to this is that no punishment was handed out. Those involved were not even told not to do it. It was allowed to continue. Now if it had been a regular player doing this without GM ok..they would have been removed from the game.
Its items like this that qualify them as corrupt, and this is far from the first time things like this have happened, but no one seems to care...so oh well.
Motivated by their own agendas - this means that there is no central set of goals, instructions or leadership. If a member of staff sees a way they can profit, or say better their character or push their own way of doing things, they can, without issue do just that. There really is nothing to keep staff in check. They don't get paid (well anyone below GM and a few the GM's like) so they have no impetus to follow any protocol other than their own. We are supposed to trust them to do the right thing. Trust is a game for fools and suckers and since no player has any other option other than to trust them, they make fools and suckers of everyone, on a regular basis.
They can, and do pretty much anything they want, without recourse. there is nothing to motivate them to do anything that they disagree with. There are some token reversals here and there, but mostly its just all lip service and the player base as a whole knows this.
I dont know the details on the corrupt part of the motivated part sounds like you are just making up every single word of it.
why do you think that? because that is inherit to vollenteer work or something?
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Well I suppose that's why they didn't do anything to them...so if someone called them on it they could send out fanbois and shills to say its completely made up. If they had went after them( which would have caused all kinds of rukus on the forums ) then it would have been a PR disaster..so your statement really clears up the why they didn't do anything. Let me guess your a staffer there looking to make it go away?
The same kind of stuff happens with Mortal Online which is mostly community ran. Systems like this usually end up in corruption, but as another poster said it makes a good story! I'm just glad the eyesore throwback ad from 1996 is gone from MMORPG :P.
I wouldn't read into it too much OP, it's just the nature of a community ran project. Love it or hate it, Wurm Online won't be for everyone. Either get in good with the GM's or suffer without them.
Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
Have played: You name it
If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.
I am always amazed at how people sharply point out corruption in small communities but gloss over institutional corruption and decption of larger ones.
It is an amazing art of social programming to get people to think that way.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Yea, I get that, larger companies are a lot better at hiding corruption too
Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
Have played: You name it
If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.
It's not programming it's human nature. In a small community an individuals voice is herd and the actions of a few have a greater impact on everyone. Little things get noticed and everyone talks about it. Big things are a major event that everyone knows about.
In large communities a single voice means nothing and most things have little to no effect on people. It takes way longer for the word to get around and by then it's usually long over with.
So people naturally feel they can make a difference in the smaller community while the larger one it's just a waste of time to stand against the juggernaut.
It would make a good story, if the game were something like EVE....its actually the exact opposite. So it has a much greater negative effect overall.
Hopefully there will be some changes made soon that will see the old guard ushered out and a new system put in place.
Cant really buy into the get in good with the GM's bit there...its just not my thing. And if came down to having or not having them..I think Id sooner not have them. Just remove them completely. But that aint going to happen..so. The idea is being put together and proposed to the devs to have a counter organization to the staff. They seem to want an "Internal Affairs" type setup that will police staff. Guess we will see how that goes, if it gets put in.
LMAO that add was ...ummmm...interesting......lol. Yes glad to see it gone.
I am somewhat interested in learning more about your second point.
Motivated by their own agendas
your description sounds like you just made up the entire thing
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Really?...bait much?...lol
I don't think he's trolling, he's just a fan of Wurm Online, which as I said isn't really a bad thing, everyone enjoys different games.
Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
Have played: You name it
If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.
the concern is this statement here. It leaves with a lot of claims but no evidence not even suggetive evidence or even specifics for that matter. .
clearly my concern is why would someone say all that
------------------------------
<p cfbody"="">Motivated by their own agendas - this means that there is no central set of goals, instructions or leadership. If a member of staff sees a way they can profit, or say better their character or push their own way of doing things, they can, without issue do just that. There really is nothing to keep staff in check. They don't get paid (well anyone below GM and a few the GM's like) so they have no impetus to follow any protocol other than their own. We are supposed to trust them to do the right thing. Trust is a game for fools and suckers and since no player has any other option other than to trust them, they make fools and suckers of everyone, on a regular basis.
They can, and do pretty much anything they want, without recourse. there is nothing to motivate them to do anything that they disagree with. There are some token reversals here and there, but mostly its just all lip service and the player base as a whole knows this.
-----------------
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Ok then..ill try it his way - In order for people to follow any set of moral or ethical guidelines they must have an impetus or be motivated in some way to do this. Very few (although some do) will do so of their own volition. If you have a community based staff then your getting people from all over the world, from different cultures, different age groups, and different backgrounds.
They need a common set of guidelines and a ruleset to go by in order to stay consistent.
They must adhere to these and be held responsible for their actions.
They must have a reason to act upon those rules and guidelines even if they do not want to.
They have to have a reason to act upon these even if they are contradictory to their own beliefs and experiences.
At this point in time - the staff of Wurm has no reason to do anything like that. They can and do anything they want without repercussion, using a myriad of false excuses and guises to justify their actions or inactions as the case may be. They lean on a rule set that has holes big enough to drive semi trucks through and regularly and intentionally misinterpret those rules to benefit themselves.
Referring to a previous example - Just like calling a clear exploit a bug and then saying, oh if the staff get into any trouble over it, it will be a PR disaster and the player base will go on a witch hunt. The list of rationales and excuses goes on and on and on. Its a never ending litany of spins, misinformation, and redirects.
There is no reason for staff to do anything outside of their own personal thoughts or beliefs. There is no mitigating entity to keep things in check. They don't get paid, they don't have guidance, the rule set offers only a way to spin lie and deceive others.
So why does any staff member ( that is supposedly just there trying to help others in the game) stay in such an environment ? -because they have their own agendas, they can do things that others cant, they have a voice that out shadows everyone elses and can push their own agendas. They will then use this "trusted position" to push whatever agenda they have, whether its changes to the game, a bit of looking the other way, or special privileges when it comes to "knowing about certain things". And this type of activity lead to the eventual corruption that seems to have now taken over.
that is a pile ton of assumptions. workers are not robots, some obey the rules, some do not, some get caught, some do not.
Its the how its always been in any organization. For all you know Rolf is doing ALL the things you say he is not but hired this 'volenteer' who went corrupt.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
As a Former so called staff member myself on Wurm online i can attest that most of that is absolutely untrue...Ok yes i didn't make it to GM status but was a Chat assistant for about a year or so and a Chat monitor for a few months, and we had access to every channel the staff had except the GM channel....
now as far as corruption goes, it's not global.
Yes there may be a few bad apples in the bunch thats makes the rest look bad, and while i was staff have seen at least 2 of those totally removed from Wurm and any premium time they had totally forfeit....Like someone said, can't catch them all but the staff is scrutinized daily or as much as humanly possible because like he said, they are volunteers and do have a real lives...
Being a volunteer, lets discuss the belittle and berating aspect you spoke of, because yes I was guilty of that a few times myself....why you ask? being a volunteer staff we get asked some of the most ignorant questions on planet....example: what does activate mean? what do you think it means ugh! if you don't have the brains to rub two sticks together why do you even own a computer?
Some people need to use their brain for something besides Carcinogen and HTC intakes.
Wurm online as a whole is written in JAVA, ok not the best platform but has been the most versatile for the number of programmers thats worked on it over the years(Including the creator of Minecraft)....Rolf has had his hands full just keeping good quality people because they tend to move on to other projects...
As far as content - absolutely amazing at the number of things thats available in Wurm online now compared to say even just 3 years ago.....if you are into crafting and I mean into crafting(because it is a grind and should be for quality stuff).....Never seen anybody take pictures of something they made in 3 seconds and show it off because they were proud of it!!
I made this in about 3 weeks and was so very proud of it!!
Ok enough of my Wurm online Fanboi ranting - No other game out today can even come close to matching the crafting and terraforming abilities that you will find in Wurm online - regardless of the community....