The Kindness Of Strangers : Landmark

Dave Georgeson posted a very informative "State of the Alpha" update on the official forums today. Of course, you'll only be able to follow that link to its conclusion if you're registered for alpha, in which case you'll almost certainly already have read it. Don't know why I mentioned it now... Fortunately for any other interested parties he also gave an interview to Massively which covered most of the best bits.

A new server is due either tonight or tomorrow with more to come, which should first alleviate and then resolve by far the most serious problem, namely the extreme lack of Land on which to make your Mark. That should make  Rowan happy. Also Mrs Bhagpuss and thereby me.

I did manage to stake a Claim, albeit out in some god-forsaken, waterless boondock but even that was not to last.

Man, when they build the Mall I'm made!

Under the pitiless desert sun I built something that vaguely resembled the first level of a mock-medieval multistory car park. I built it out of dirt. When I logged back in later both my eyesore and my claim had vanished, the former healed by the land, the latter, presumably, lost to a bug. My attempt to reclaim the same spot was firmly rebuffed and I couldn't find anywhere else so that was that.

In my brief time as a landowner I'd not been able to place the Saw Table I was carrying around with me, although whether due to another bug or my own inability to figure out what I was supposed to do with it, I couldn't say. I needed that table to make some planks to make a bronze pick so I could stop getting the annoying message that pops up when you try to dig up something too sophisticated for your current primitive tool.

That pile of logs burst into flame when I touched it. I was ridiculously impressed.

A quandary, then; how to make planks on a table you are only able to carry around on your back? Well that's where the multiplayer aspect of this whole enterprise kicks in. I found a thread on the forums listing the names and locations of players who had constructed crafting stations on their claims and flagged them for public use. This is why we like alphas and betas!

 It can't be a trap. PvP isn't in yet.

Picking the first off the list, a quick trip via spire along the ley lines (Norrath has ley lines. Who knew? The Combine Empire, apparently...) a short run due north to the foothills of a mountain range and there it was, Canibaal's Claim, all aglow with the welcoming light of the forge. Or possibly the fire under his cook-pot.

You always remember your first

From his saw table I was able to make the planks I needed for my Bronze Pick but that was skipping a crucial step. To make a Bronze Pick first take your Copper Pick. I have no idea why just like I have no idea why it takes one thousand plain wood logs to make a Copper Pick. It just does, alright?

That kept me occupied for a while. Luckily for me, Canibaal built his craft center on the edge a delightful little forest. It's in a  clearing now. Oh, hush! I'm doing him a favor. It's easier for freeloaders visitors to find his place now. Anyway, they'll grow back. Eventually.

What matters is I got my Bronze Pick so now I can mine iron and aquamarines and make an Iron Pick. You'd be surprised just how much I'm looking forward to it.