Just this once I'll double post to add my very own suggestion. I think people should be able to view detailed maps of Somnium where all special places are marked. This will make it easier for new players to get started with the game and quests.

ok here is a list of problems I have seen so far...

1. Ok first the careless mapping...I have noticed that on some maps you can go from one screen and be on top of a tree this means that not enough time was took for the detail of the mapping..

2. Eyre...Eyre is confusing and easy for new players to get turned around in...the shops are to hard to find and then some maps have mega slimes so it is unsafe for some players to walk from screen to screen...so please remap this lol

that is the only 2 I can think about off the top of my head if I think of anymore ill add them.

Whispering woods is very confusing, no offence to whoever mapped it- it is nice, but iv found alot of people just getting lost and asking for help finding their way to edgewood,

I agree with this also...whispering woods needs to also be revamped...along with the cave leading to the 2nd town...

good suggestion dark...I already asked them to fix that warp that they had where you went from the forest to another forest before you get to the 2nd town...which I think jerms did...so that is no longer an issue lol.

Oki I take in some of your comments and I am going to sound pretty rude now but come on. The whispering woods for one are not that confusing if you take time to explore you will find your way and understand the method behind the madness. You go in one bit of the forest and it expands to be a bigger forest. I agree some of the warps may need tweaking but the concept behind the woods is simple enough to follow.
Think of the old FF games for example. Walk on a forest tile and you enter a bigger forest to explore or walk on a city tile and it opens the city up for you. (I think an old FSO (factions) did this for a world map.

The mapping discrepancies, if we could shoiw the amount of time and patience that was put in to the mapping of Somnium you may forgive us for a few mapping errors. We tried our best to catch all them but alas we have missed some. I dont knwo how many times I myself went over things.

Eyre is designed to be that way. Its not hard at all, i dont know how players can comment on it.
The Mega;'s should not be any worry by the time you are able to get to Eyre you should have 40 hp which is more than enough to at least escape from them if you find yourself on a map with them.

We have worked Somnium in a way that tries to limit the size of the area and the wastage of maps which is a big concern on Terra. So many maps are rarely if ever trodden on at the moment.

We are also factoring in the eventual release of the Storyline so some things might not seem apparent.

Sorry if I seem rude, I get a bit touchy when it comes to Somnium lol, we will be taking in your comments and we will see what we can do but I am not going to remap the whole land just so that everything is handed on a plate to the players, you need to work on these things, explore, remember the paths, learn the ways to go and the shortcuts etc.
I see a lot of laziness when it comes to Somnium, for example the trainers at the start of the game. The cooking trainer clearly states in the chat box and your quest log to give him back the squid but still people either miss this or eat their fish, come on people read through the quests other wise you will miss things. Look around for the next NPC, area, monster, it wont take that long.
Enjoy the game, play the game dont just try and zoom through it. It is not a race to be top Terra has a brilliant comunity that can help you through the journey but its also a way of socialising with a game involved.

I am more than happy to help anyone with problems I just dont want this to be too easy for you and then boring you. There are a small number of admins that volunteer their time.
For the next project we will be increasing the numbers in our ranks but that is a little way off yet. So carry on with the suggestions and problems you face but please keep in mind that some things need to challenge you, some things may need a bit of thought to understand and ENJOY the game

My rant is done
xxx

i think u said there are like 5 different screens of whispering woods?

i've tried to go through it over 15 times and it's just too annoying... but hey - that's why we can go around which is faster and easier and there aren't any imps.
i worked out how to get to the 'base' map of the forest(with the witch hut and all) and i figure that's the important bit.

there is a detailed map of Somnium here and if you want to add some captions then go ahead, but i don't think it's right to ruin the exploration aspect of the island.

one of my concerns with somnium is the number of maps with nothing really on them... just expanses of wilderness... (e.g. the beaches) if you look at real world places like Easter Island, every resource is utilized and islands are packed full. oh, and the northern beach... there's like one guy up there to do with the eyre quest... so like u battle ur way past fields of orcs(why are there 4 on EVERY screen? wouldn't they avoid the close to town areas a bit... seeing as everyone keeps trying to MURDER them?) to find some guy with an empty bio(may have been fixed now) and a campfire... woot. so u keep on, hey maybe there's some great secret around the corn- oh, no... it's just a blocked off pathway to nubville.
another thing is that the island seems to lack direction, like i go and get my fishing skill up... OK wicked... (oh, minor thought here: why does that guy let me in the cooking room for free? like, when i'm a weak, poor noob scrounging for trout i have to pay... but as soon as i'm raking in the moolah it's free? Did he skip business school or something? Like, he works in a fish shop... i'm sure he's seen loads of people with 100 fishing skill.)

but back to the direction! is there some guiding quest i've missed that encourages you to seek out the other quests, or the other towns?

there are so many quests on somnium! (very good thing = happy YAY) but i don't know which NPCs have given me which quests...

become a chef quest(that blue lady in karmiel gives u this one) she's all like "level up to level 10 and u can be a chef" so im all "alrighty, i have level 100 this should be easy."
"level up to level 20"
"uhh... i have level 100?"
"oh, too slow... someone beat you to it"
"HUWHAT?? i was here, on THIS screen, the whole time you were talking to me!!! what is this??? NOBODY came to talk to you... "
and really, it isn't just people who've already mastered... anyone who is past level 20 when they meet that chick gets gypped.

mini-games:
look at zelda, with the arrow shooting or box choosing games, just random little buildings scattered around the place to help you gain a few extra rupees... or take a break from the main storyline for some repetitive entertainmentsss. i think mini-games would be a nice addition. (checkers table, slots, blackjack... maybe an avenue of interest int he future?)

repeatable item quests...
if anyone can get an item, and they can only get it once... item has no value. think of the nordic armor set, or the fire armor... tradeable, valuable items. and most people who have them have never bought a trumpet, or fought their way through the frozen caves of neo. so can some items be achievable through quests in a way which u can get them more than once?

anyway, i expect i've already invoked the wrath of dave, so i'll clam up now.

The problem with everything you said is that a lot of people are stupid and impatient. That's why video games have become a lot easier in the past 15 years and why developers try to hold players hands through games as much as possible. It'd be great if everybody bothered to read quest logs, and took the time to explore, but it's just not going to happen.

Also, in regards to reading through the quest log, there may be people that have a limited understanding of the english language that struggle with that for that reason. (though it is more likely they're just lazy)

*post directed at ceebs, can't be bothered going back and editing a quote in, damn people posting while I'm typing :c*

also, this game is aimed at young children(or so I've been told).

Aimed at the younger people but the youngest I have ever known is 10 but that may be that I missed someone.

There are going to be more quests in line for somnium including a bunch for perma noobs that have run out of things to do.
About a guideline. That will be included in the storyline. Plan in my mind is that we have a pre storyline build up a bit of history or a plot line on Somnium which leads you too the Artemis temple which will begin the main story. Though the main story is still being worked upon and cannot be built in until we have at least begun refactoring the rest of Terra. Yes I know that would give you all something else to do but it would at least double the workload for the admins and put back other projects.

About guidance through Somnium as I said there will be a path with a new way of quests working depending on levels etc. (Reach a certain level a set of quests open up) this will make things easier to manage.

I know that there are problems with Somnium. Some of which would have been picked up sooner if some of the testers actually tested. But I will not go into that.
I would like to be getting more done but im in the middle of planning a big house move in 3 weeks so time is torn between Terra, House move, kid and my courses. You may ask what the other admins are up to.
Some have a lot of school/college/course work along with life things to deal with so our team is stretched without the time to train or find someone who is capable.

We are currently in the planning stages of the mainland refactoring, later projects that are affected by it, quests for main (as it is) to give you something to do.
Now we are looking at Somnium again.

@Laura

The orcs are not that close but as you mentioned there are a lot of them, hence why they are 4 a map as there would be dirty crowding and disease/fighting etc. Problem is if we fill the maps up then they may start looking dirty. Once we have hired some more adminos then maybe a small task force can go over things.
For example. Antwerp was full of bordered maps with almost nothing in the middle. Well as I delt with Antwerp I wanted to add a bit of substance to the maps and to have a more natural look. What happens??? Endless complaints that people cannot see the hammer drops. Now come on you cant have it both ways.
As for walking around the whispering woods, that wont be possible after the pre storyline is in place but you will be better able to manage the imps by then.
Maybe I need to make a map to help you all out with it, though im reserved about it.

Any problems with quests/mapping or directional problems then tell us about them No offence to you Laura but I cant stand the way you add narrative to your comments like that, for me it causes unneeded clutter when organising suggestions and things needed.

If anyone has good solutions or can map out ideas on how to improve things that will make the process a lot quicker. If you just wanna shout ideas they are welcome too though it may take a little longer for them to be sorted.

I apologise if anyone feels attacked or if it sounds like im being harsh, I am just severly busy but I still want to keep communicating with the players.

Edit~

Looking again at your post Laura. A quest like the cooking quests is there for you to work through skills and add a bit of foundation to them, rather than just sitting there grinding. If we allowed for these quests to be completed any time then it seems a bit pointless to be there and might as well have NPC's that just auto hand out rewards.
In other players thoughts about reducing the sit there and grind we are trying to get you all to do things whilst training these skills.

Ok look...either way you look at this...whether it be for the young, old, or ancient people...Somnium is still not new player friendly...a player who is starting out doesn't need all this stuff thrown in his face...and just like arual said...to many pointless maps (gotta love Laura she is always right<3)...and eyre...I mean cmon man mega slimes in the town?...reminds me of something maydisle would do...and I understand that you guys are busy ceeby but however that does not change the fact that you can look at one map then another just to match the path up...easy as 2 clicks...I mean I love you guys to death got nothing against any of you (I also understand you guys was kinda rushed to finish which is lame in any way you look at it) but you guys need to take game play into consideration...after finishing a isle have 2-3 players (who are actually interested) to beta test it and tell you what they think is wrong with it I promise this will improve alot of mistakes...all in all no matter how bad you guys are rushed always make sure to watch out for the little things...btw I always h8ed that about FF and pokemon...the whole forest thing..=\ just saying...anyways thanks guys