The game itself is a good game. I'm not familiar with Artemis, but best thing is usually to find a guild, and in your case, new player friendly. Posting in these forums should get a few answers. Ignore the housing debate, which really shouldn't affect new players much initially.
On a side note, if the old tutorial is still being used, I'd recommend the company change it. I found it to be somewhat childish many years back and after doing the tutorial initially, stopped playing because I thought the game might be aimed towards a younger audience.