A Noob Maturing (Questions)

[canineteeth]

First off, I still consider myself a noob but I'm not completely clueless on the basics (walking, having to eat, basic stuff).
And the questions:

Have the players established any sort of currency so far or are they still trading on a need for need basis?

Coming from EVE, I'm used to seeing coalitions (large groups of multiple alliances that band together). Has anything similar to this occurred? (I'm just now getting used to the maps and the different names the pop up in the forums often).

Are villages ussually hostile or welcoming to passing travelers?

Reading in the forums, it seems like mines are the main thing a village lives on. Why / Are there many mines still left in the wild?

How do most trades happen with all the large distances between towns?

Lastly, where can I get seeds? Seems like a chicken and egg problem, I can't get seeds without the plant and I can't get the plant without the seed.

Sowwy for my noobyness, but if I've lived so far I'm sure not quitting now.

[bitza]

a few big names in this game are sodom, AD, buyan, lost caverns, angkor, probably many others that i'm failing to mention.

most villages i think will not outright attack you for showing up at their gate, that is if you aren't dressed threateningly (ie. dragon helm and holding a weapon). however they might seem unfriendly or cold since due to the nature of the game, people seem to be naturally wary of strangers. however YMMV wildly on this.

now is a great time to look for mines, but you have to travel to the far outer grids to prospect, or once you figure out siege mechanics, claim mechanics and defense a bit more you might be able to overtake an abandoned mine, lots of those out there too.

most people warp to a major trade center like constantinople to arrange trades, and meet thru the forum or irc chat. or if you find locals with a mine you can just walk to their village or meet up somewhere.

to get seeds, raise your exploration to 10 or so and you'll start seeing wild windblown seeds which look like a white leaf sticking out of the ground. put it on a drying rack and once it matures you get a random seed. or you can wander around a bit and look for abandoned settlements, when i started a new character i found plenty of these

edit: oh i missed a question. theres no currency despite some folks talking about setting up something, it's all barter. good trade goods starting out are bricks, linen cloth, cavebulbs, chantrelles, and maybe fish