General Discussion

The folks at Wurm Online have announced that they have added a new server for their unique sandbox MMO.

Welcome to the lands of Mol Rehan.

Wurm Online has launched a brand new world; an unspoilt, untouched land of vast mountains and lakes ready for new and experienced players of this unique game. A new land is just that. There are no plans, no roads, no maps, no towns, villages, no people and no story. This is a wild place of forests, lakes, seas, mountains and surprises!

The first of the explorers arrive at Alchemist’s Bay, just a small group gathered round the Town Token. This is a town indeed, but one without any structure or form; just guards, a guide and a few helpful people, and a whole wagon load of promise. Trees must be felled, shovels put to work, mines open, and perhaps a harbour built on the steep shores to welcome those that sail from other lands. For sail in they must, and out from the waves, from the mists and storms of the great oceans of Wurm, row boats, small sailing vessels, graceful ships, in they come to this land, their faces drawn with hope and dreams as they gaze at the mountains dominating the horizon.

What happens next is in the hands of the players. Will they stop to help build Alchemists Bay? Or will they simply buy a deed and head out into the unexplored country? On Wurm, nothing is set in stone; it is all down to the players.

Read more here.

Another game with that misnomer of free-to-play attached to it.

You can demo this game freely, but if you really want to play it, you must suscribe.  You are very limited in the free-to-play mode.

An excellent example of such is the new server.  It is premium content only, just that they forget to mention that fact in the article or anywhere else.

Publishers that exercise such subterfuge should not have the free advertising they get on MMORPG.

You can play Wurm Online for free in a limited form, same as lots of other games. I wouldn't expect to get the whole thing for free because they have a subscription model rather than an item shop model. The free trial is just marketing.

The article doesn't even mention that Wurm is free to play, just that there is a new server. Seems to me like it's a good time to start playing as you can help forge a new world.

Indeed the new server is Premium only (that was in the press release, but didn't make it here, for some reason)

However, the Free to Play option allows you to play as long as you like and do vast amounts of things on the Jenn Kellon home lands.

Your only limit is that you cannot build your skills beyond 20.

However, that still allows you to go anywhere, do anything within your ability, build a house, cook, farm, fight the wildlife (though you may get eaten) join a village and thoroughly enjoy yourself.

We have several villagers in my village who are young and cannot afford premium. They are treated as equals by the other players and are helped when they need to do something beyond their skill. And they are hard workers and add benefit to the village - we are pleased to have them!

And of course, since you by premium in lumps, some of them are going premium just for their summer break and will revert back to Free to Play afterwards.

Seems like a bit of a bargain to me.

The point being, only the demo version is free to play, hence it really is not free to play at all.

No, it is not the "demo" version.

You play the exact same game as everyone else.

You just cannot build your skills so high.

The premium servers use EXACTLY the same client and server as the Jenn Kellon server. The JK server is not a cut down or demo version. Most of the long term players there are Premium.

So yes, you can come along to Wurm Online and sign up for free, login to the JK server and play as much as you like for as long as you like.

If you wish to geet your skill past 20 you can buy some premium time to add to your account at just 5 euros a month (at todays date - just in case someone reads this in 10 years time!) If you dont want to buy premium time, that is fine also.

So, rather than just complain about it, come along and play! We like to see new and old players alike.

Demos restrict character development, exactly what this game does, hence it is a demo version that is free to play.  A normal free-to-play does not restrict character development at all, they just make it much harder at the higher levels to progress.

You can get a demo version of most MMO's, even the subscription one, which are free-to-play, but they also usually restrict your character to a certain level limit.

Hence this is NOT free-to-play it is free to demo, like many others. 

Which MMOs are truly free to play, for the whole thing? Do those also offer a pay option? If they do then what don't you get for paying nothing? If you aren't getting something for playing for free does that mean it's a demo as well?

Demo is a pretty general term. Even Runescape which (to quote one of their recent press releases) "... remains the 2nd largest free-to-play and subscription-based MMO in the western world, with more than six million active players and over one million paying subscribers" has limitations and is a demo by your rationale.

Wurm Online seems to give away a lot in the "demo".