Wurm Online

Wurm Online's familiar greenish-brown website has been replaced by a stark reminder of the oft-unsavory nature of the internet. The game itself is in perfect working order, but the forums, blog, wiki, and main website were all compromised by an SQL injection attack discovered yesterday by Wurm's three-man dev team.

All of the affected pages have since been removed, and the Wurm team is currently deciding on a PHP-free solution for its web presence going forward. The news blurb on the temporary front page says that the decision will likely come next week. In the meantime, fans can keep up with developer happenings via Tumblr and the MMORPG.com forums.

Wurm is an open-world sandbox MMO that was developed in Java. It originally launched in 2006.

[Thanks to Bob for the tip!]

The thing about MMOs is that most of them are terrible. There, I said it.

Here at Massively, we're exposed to more MMOs than we could ever possibly play to the point of complete enjoyment. We play some for First Impressions articles, we play some for livestreaming, and we play some to see what all the hype is about, but these are often very different games than the ones we sit down to enjoy at the end of the day.

That's why I wanted to start this series of articles called Why I Play. Just like The Soapbox articles, Why I Play will be a weekly column penned by various members of the Massively staff. We'll talk about which games we enjoy the most and what it is about these MMOs that keep us hooked so passionately. These aren't reviews; they're not guides or lists of features; and they're not based on any kind of launch-day deadline. We're not selling you anything, and we don't expect you to agree with us. These articles will simply be a personal ode to our favorite MMOs.

So follow along as I kick things off with what has been my favorite MMO for probably the last 18 months: Wurm Online.

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As I've well established both here on Massively and elsewhere, I'm somewhat of a nut for video game music. Whereas others might collect vintage hair metal tracks or the latest Justin Bieber opus, I'm always digging through obscure (and not-so-obscure) official soundtracks to games like Wipeout and Kirby. Video game scores can be right up there with the best that the film industry puts out, and the fact that they tie into personal experiences that we've played through can lend them sentimental weight.

So for the next two Perfect Tens, I scoured all the MMO theme songs that I could get ahold of in an attempt to formulate a list of the very best. It was originally slated to be just one list, but after an hour or so of listening to tracks and having friends and fellow staffers weigh in on the subject, I knew it was impossible to keep it there.

Two important things to note for this list. First, I wanted to keep to just the title/login screen tracks so that I wouldn't be working on this for the next 2.5 years. Second, unlike most past Perfect Tens where there's no significance to the order of the list, in this case we're going to have a genuine countdown to the best MMO theme song of all time. And I expect to take no flak about it, do you hear me? Good. Let's begin.

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If you are perusing this column, chances are you are a fan of virtual worlds and the sandbox genre. Join the club! (Dues will be due on the third Tuesday.) The aspect that compels many aficionados to delve into a game is the ability to make an impact on the world in some small respect instead of making them into Hive Member 1593072 running a static, predetermined gauntlet. How that impact is accomplished, however, varies; there are multiple features that can facilitate it, and which ones are considered most important depends on the player.

With the loss of one of the best sandbox games just last month, some players may be feeling a void. Others still are looking/hoping for the "ultimate" sandbox that contains nearly every virtual world feature. Certainly, there are some upcoming games that make some drool-worthy promises, but what about playing something now? There are actually games out on the market that have at least one aspect of the genre, if not more.

To start off the new year, Some Assembly Required looks at some of the top features of virtual worlds and lists games that incorporate these features. While this list isn't exhaustive (considering the sheer number of games when you include all of the smaller free-to-play titles, I'd run out of column space!), it is a comprehensive enough overview to point you toward some games worth playing that perhaps you hadn't considered before.

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It may be a new name, but it's the same old team. The makers of Wurm Online have changed their studio name from Onetoofree to the more alliterative Code Club.

According to the website, the name Onetoofree was always intended to be a temporary one and was too annoying to relay to people vocally (as you'd always have to spell it out). The old title also gave no strong impression as to what the studio was like or did.

Code Club fits the team's visions and is aiming to be identified as an "exotic-style" company. After all, according to its site the company serves "hot coffee and cold drinks in our spacious jungle lounge." Because the name change hurts the company's Google rankings, the studio asked that everyone in the world -- or at least dedicated fans -- start Googling "Code Club" instead.

Onetwofree's latest news blurb features some good news for fans of the the firm's long-running Wurm Online sandbox MMO. The game's new epic cluster is officially set to debut on October 28th, and lead developer Rolf Jansson is among those psyched about the launch date. "The epic code is something I've been working on for several years, and it feels really good to finally release it," he says.

Epic's aim is to "provide the players with a full circle of purpose and something really big to strive for," according to the Wurm website. The cluster features warring gods duking it out on the moon of Valrei, and players who complete missions (and multi-mission arcs called scenarios) will set dramatic events in motion.

What kinds of dramatic events? The release mentions terraforming events tied to volcanoes as well as the chance for players to become demigods and possibly even full deities complete with their own religion and a stake in the celestial battle royal.

In a game like Wurm Online, fresh lands are important. After all, the game places so much emphasis on setting up your own homestead in the untamed wilderness that you find yourself a bit out in the cold if the land is already developed. This was part of what led to the opening of the game's first new server, Deliverance, but the response of the playerbase has been so overwhelming that the development team is doing the time warp again.

According to the development team, a new land named Exodus is being added just south of Deliverance. It's intended to give players a new chance to get involved with building in fertile lands untouched by human expansion, and it's set to go live on Thursday at 1 p.m. EDT. For those of you recalling the issues with the earlier server opening, the team hopes that the new region will open without problem. So get ready to go... well, south, young man, because the lands there are ripe for the taking.

[Source: Wurm Online press release]

Let's face it, folks, 2011 has been a fairly bad year for sandbox MMORPGs. Whether we're talking about the premature (and, ahem, forced) demise of Star Wars Galaxies, EVE Online's public relations disasters and its capitulation to the cash-shop-in-a-sub-based game fad, or Earthrise's rough launch, there hasn't been a lot to celebrate for fans of non-linear MMO gameplay in quite a while.

I've even had several friends ask me point blank: Is the sandbox dead? The short answer is not just no, but hell no. Join me after the cut for a few bright spots as we look to the future, take stock of the present, and try to forget about the past.

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Wurm Online, the classic sandbox MMO partially crafted from the mind of Minecraft's Notch, has announced today that it will open up another Freedom PvE server on September 6th. This server will be the first time new virgin land has been available in the game for years, setting the stage for an exciting land rush.

The server will be named Deliverance (oh, now you get the header image), and will only be accessible through the tutorial portal or the southern edge of the existing Freedom Independence server. So if you're interested in scoping out the newest and best land for your Wurm Online village, get your settlement token ready at 12 p.m EDT on the 6th and good luck!

Wurm Online is center stage again for today's One Shots, and today's entry illustrates the huge scale available for player-created content. This one is a submission from two Massively readers, Acesfury and Shoden, co-mayors of the city of New Eminence:

Sorry I couldn't make it a single screenshot, but it's simply too big a place to fit in one image. New Eminence was constructed at the opening of the Freedom server over two years ago. Myself and two others decided the top of the island would be a great place for our new city.

However, going from the bottom to top and vice versa wasn't an easy task. This simple fact required the construction of the Eminence Ramp simply to give us better access. Since we had already planted the city up top we built the ramp from the top down and really had no idea how large it was going to become. The hill side was all forest, you couldn't see how high we actually were. It took over 400hrs by two players over a six-week period to complete the ramp and open up access.

The Upper City has gone through many reincarnations and reconstructions finally coming the the final version (shown in screen #2). With the excess dirt being generated at the city by all the changes we carted it down and built the port at the base of the ramp to better store and secure our ships. The port is over 30,000 units of dirt to push the land out into the water and create the wharves shown.

The alternate views of New Eminence can be seen after the jump. We've got one day left in Some Assembly Required week, so if you've haven't gotten around to sending an image of your favorite creation, the time is now!

Next week's theme is pop culture in MMOs. Developers sneak references in all over games, whether it be via NPCs, quests, or items, and we want to see your favorites. Grab a screenshot, tell us a bit about what it is, and send it to oneshots@massively.com. We'll be featuring the best of these next week.

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One of the great things about large-scale player-created content is that it continually evolves. Our very own Beau shared an image for today's One Shots that illustrates that perfectly:

When I look at this older screenshot of Massively's Wurm Online village, it makes me smile. It wasn't so long ago that the hard working citizens of Hindmania (the official name of the village) planned out a boat dock and started building boats.

Now when you approach the village you'll see several huge boats and a lot of lanterns. It's very pretty at night, and makes me feel good any time I return to it after a long voyage. That land in the background is the mainland, and when we want to visit it, the trip might take hours.

Now it's your turn to show off your items. This week's theme is Some Assembly Required -- a little nod to the newest addition to our column lineup. Some Assembly Required covers player-created content, so we want to see the best of what you've created.

We're preparing for next week's theme too: Pop culture in MMOs. Developers sneak references in all over games, whether it be via NPCs, quests, or items, and we want to see your favorites. Grab a screenshot, tell us a bit about what it is, and send it to oneshots@massively.com. We'll be featuring the best of these next week.

Recently, fans of the upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic had the pleasure of plopping down 150 clams to pre-order a special collectors edition of their favorite game they have never played. I've seen this before, and have even pre-ordered a few in my day (I'm looking at you, giant Warhammer Online box.) Pre-orders are the oldest form of virtual goods...they were cash-shops before cash-shops appeared in every game. The funnest part is seeing hardcore cash-shop haters gladly paying huge sums of money for a robot pet or a cool looking cape. Somehow, they see it as a different thing altogether than buying a shiny mount or pink dress from in-game.

Still, I understand the impulse. I get it every time I am in the check-out lane and the new flavors of gum have been released. Even worse is when one of my favorite games releases new items in their cash shop. New mounts, housing goods, heck even new weapons or stat-increasing potions...they make me drool.

So, I decided to take a 150 dollar budget and see what I could get for it. Click past the cut and let's look at the list!

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I like lists. Lists help keep my candy-coated brain functioning. I see so many games, devices, and developers that I need to write things down periodically or become lost. Not so long ago I made a list of 25 games for your shiny new laptop, but I wanted to update it with other devices as well. I'd like to clarify the devices I have, though, especially since it was brought to my attention that a lot of players use laptops as their primary gaming machines. When I refer to a laptop, it is far from a gaming machine and could not run games like EverQuest II or Age of Conan.

So here are some stats: I have an HTC Inspire, an iPhone 3GS, an iPad, a Phenom Triple-core PC desktop with an Nvidia 9800 card, six gigs of ram and onboard sound. My laptop is an HP G62 with an AMD Athlon II P340 dual core processor, three gigs of ram and an AMD graphics chip built in. I also have a more powerful gaming PC, but that is often referred to as "the wife's machine" around here, and it is so packed with her items that I rarely touch it. So most of these games can be run on their native devices, and if they are meant for PC, probably on netbooks as well. When I'm playing on netbooks, resolution is often the major issue. Some games just will not fit on the tiny screens without some slight modding.

Anyway, click past the cut to see the list. The first 11 are my favorites, the ones that I play often, if not every day. The rest are in no particular order, so keep that in mind as well. Remember that this year is going to be an incredible one for mobile, thanks to the new games I found at E3. So this list will change!

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