Blogging regularly is harder than I thought it would be. It seems that whenever I get a break long enough to play a game, I have to write a blog instead! But which game would I play? Well, the answer will be on the blog after this. For today, I'll move on to...
Community
It's a huge part of the success of MMOs in general, and MMORPGs in particular, but can be a troublesome beast. Games that attract a lot of younger players can end up with a pretty annoying feel, while very popular games often have more than their fair share of griefers, cheats and gold sellers (people that try and sell in-game gold for RL money, which is normally banned by game publishers, but very hard to police).
Luckily, I don't really come across any of the standard community pitfalls with Istaria. The game has been around a long time now, and a lot of the players have been around since the start, despite the wealth of problems there have been along the way. Some people have noted that this makes it seem a bit cliquey to some new players, even impenetrable for others, but it sure beats constantly being spammed with messages either asking you for money or offering it to you from some dodgy website, as happens in some games.
The positive side of the old player base is they've seen it all, know how close the game has come to folding completely, so are always happy to see new faces. After all, the more new players that stay, the longer Istaria's stay of execution will continue! You should find that most players are happy to give advice, while others will help out with making equipment and other items.
One problem is that new players won't find an awful lot of people to group up with for combat, as there are precious few new players on at once. However, grouping certainly isn't necessary and there are plenty of hunting groups around when you get up a few levels. One of the great things about the levelling system is that you can group with people a lot higher or lower level than yourself, although this can have a big hit on experience gained. But it's not all about levelling up - fun is more important.
Wurm works a little differently. Dishonesty is almost encouraged, with the ability to steal and later kill other players being part and parcel of your existence (or death). However, this doesn't mean community is harmed - far from it. It's just different.
As I said about its crafting, Wurm looks to emulate reality in a lot of ways - its tough, things erode, nothing comes on a plate: this is hard middle ages living, fantasy game style. It can be a similar story with the community too. You'll find a lot less people ready give you something for nothing, but then again people will certainly talk and help you - for a price - but it's normally a fair one. For example, if you want a fishing line (quite tough to get your hands on when you start out, but very useful to get food) you can ask in the chat channels for it, but chances are someone will expect you to do some mining for them, or dig them some holes, before you get your precious line.
Wurm's area of local chat is restricted too, which adds a real feeling of foreboding when you exit your comfort zone. If you're in a well populated area, there will be a good list of people in your chat window and likely some banter. However, as you head further away, the number of players in the area dwindles and you can find yourself alone, of with just a few names you don't recognise. Those who play Eve will know this feeling all too well - it's a far cry from the friendly, laid back atmosphere in Istaria.
Overall, both games have very different communities but they're both great in their own way, so I'll again have to call this a score draw. Next up I'll look at the worlds themselves, and give one final score. So it's 3-2 to Istaria so far - can Wurm draw level? I'll let you know at the weekend.
Istaria - www.istaria.com
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