Wurm is a grindy game. And there are several items which are locked behind skill and/or equipment checks. So if you're playing solo, it will definitely take some time to be actually proficient at everything.
The island is not so much an island as an outcropping of rock and soil. I just widened it a bit for my shelter, a campfire and a small farm. 
Liked this game so much that I decided to make a forum account to maybe pitch in some ideas.
Just bought it a few days ago on Steam (on sale), and I was actually debating on whether to get this or Wurm Unlimited. Glad I chose Rising World, because I can run it even on my low-end laptop, and it's looking to be more enjoyable than WU. Still waiting on the survival aspects of the game to come out though.
In the meantime, I'll be building my camp on my tiny island in the middle of what seems to be a lake... 
