There's faction conflict right ?

Can you pick the wrong race ? Are there server balance issues ?

Does the race choice determine faction ?

Faction conflict..is there any player looting ?

If fighting ...can you choose to engage in faction fighting..and not ffa ?

How's crafting ? (deep....simple....meaningful ?? ) How many professions  in crafting/gathering ?

How's the community ?

No housing...right ?

Well, considering no one has answered you yet, I thought I would chime in with a newbie's perspective.  Honestly, the newbie community seems really SMALL.  But everyone I've run into seems friendly.  I think this is the first MMO where I've grouped as a newbie to take on a boss and was actually semi useful (heal spells can resurrect). 

 So far I'm fairly impressed with the craft system.  It's unique - not the standard cookie-cutter one that's popping up in all the new MMO's this year.  I'm still trying to figure it out.

It sounds like you're looking for a replacement though. I wouldn't go into Ryzom with any preconceived notions that way.  Ryzom is uniquely different in many ways.  I really can't compare it to any of the MMO's I've played recently and that says alot.

I started the game. Yes it is different. Seems like a great place for crafters...though I don't know about the ability to sell items..and how limited that is. The game seems more cerebral....more of a thinking persons game...than other mmog.Thats a definate plus..as long as one is able to turn up the action on occassion too.

Yeah, cerebral is a good word!  I've noticed at least two or three waves of newbies leave the newbie island behind for the mainland. I'm still on the island figuring things out!  I do have to say that my overall experience with the world has been top notch.  The animals actually seem alive rather than just being plopped there waiting for someone to kill them.  The animals roam, graze, herd together, lay down, sleep and a few will even stop what they are doing to come check you out, and then leave disinterested.    So far I've been through all four seasons on the island.  The storms are spectacular.

I'm checking out this Rzyom Ring too.  Pretty cool.  It allows users to add content to the game.  I know recently they opened up the sourcecode for Rzyom, so I'm a bit confused.  I'm not really sure what direction the developers are going with the game.

Hmm current game direction is very clear I think. They allow players to do what THEY want with game. Not just enforce rules and payments as many others. And with this direction 2004 game will be able to compete even with new ones. At least I hope so.

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Originally posted by Shadanwolf
There's faction conflict right ?
Can you pick the wrong race ? Are there server balance issues ?
Does the race choice determine faction ?
Faction conflict..is there any player looting ?
If fighting ...can you choose to engage in faction fighting..and not ffa ?
How's crafting ? (deep....simple....meaningful ?? ) How many professions  in crafting/gathering ?
How's the community ?
No housing...right ?

---

#1 Correct. The Kami vs Karavan. The former being of a more "natural" standpoint to life and the latter being more "technological" towards life. Which is right in its beliefs is down to the players and how things pan out :)

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#2 Theres no right or wrong race, its down to personal taste and playstyle; what suits you best. i.e. if you love playing smaller characters you might want to try out the Tryker. Want some large, thin blue coloured people then head for the Zorai.

As for server balance issues, there are none. Each server is language specific and as its sandbox (completely open) theres no "needs more of <class name> etc. You can be and do whatever you like (within the game rules ofc)

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#3 Each race does have its initial "leanings" towards a certain faction (faction points apply here) however you can choose whichever of the 2 you desire; or just remain neutral to them both, entirely down to you.

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#4 No player looting whatsoever.

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#5 You decide wether to engage in combat yes. There are however certain parts of certain zones that if you tread into its area, you will be automatically tagged (arena type places, clearly marked)

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#6 Crafting is probably one of the best parts of the game (second only to spell/skill customisation) You can learn every single profession and every single blueprint/pattern/plan given enough time.

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#7 The Community, what there is left, (rememeber this game came out the same year as WoW and has had some serious troubles since then) is pretty darned great :)

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Tis the one single aspect that kept me there for as long as I was, sadly that wasn't enough for me in the end. Saying that though your highly unlikely to find anywhere else with such a "tight-nit" comnunity. Hell even veteran's create alts specifically for helping newer players, you wouldnt get that on many other MMO's.

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#8 There is player housing and guild housing, costs alot but the currency in Ryzom was made specifically eas to get (to fend off gold sellers and the like, getting money shouldn't be a chore in ones online life)

Hopefully thats some help to you Shadan. :)

So I tried this game out just to see what it was like. I know I have tried this game out before but they shut the servers down the next day and I didnt get time to play.

Anyway, I gave this game a full try this time. The begining area(Silan) is very well planned. The Missions explained alot and it wasn't hard to pick up on. I didnt get lost and there was a nice variety of animals to kill. Very few humanoid types to kill though. Given this game came out in 2004 the graphics are about right , maybe a little lower than expected, but I didnt puke on my monitor so all is good. Typical sky and clouds looked pretty good. One thing I found annoying are the ledges. I couldn't jump off of them because there isn't any jumping in this game. I had to walk around these areas and continue on. 

Controls aren't bad , had to get used to them though. Just like any other game. The Interface could use a bit of work. It was simple square and rectangular boxes with square and retangular buttons. I used my right click quite often and I noticed "free view" would stick and wherever I moved my mouse thats where the camera went. I had to click both buttons at the same time to get out of it. Not really a concern but for how I played, it would happen.

Crafting was the upside to this game. Lots of everything to do. There is just too much to tell here and I would rather not explain it. Crafting = Great.

Leveling is also different in this game . Leveling from 0 to Max wont happen in a day or seven and I'll even say 1 year. I think max is 250 in this game and getting that would not be an easy task. I suspect crafting is the same way. There is tons to do in this game. Grinding is defintely on the list for this game. All the skills are leveled by useing them. Which is something I like about this game. Gives a bit more freedom in the game.

Now for the part I didn't like. The mainland. I was a Tryker so I guess I went to the Tryker mainland, dont know since I only played a Tryker and selected the mainland that matched.

It was a friggin Waterworld. Like swimming? Yeah you would love this place. 50% water - 50% land , more swimming than walking. I hated that. That was a really bad design idea. What the hell were they thinking? The game is centered around, or seems to be, Prospecting materials and the Mainland is 50% water? HUH?  Nothing can be done in the water except swim, thats it. Diving down isn't even on that list. It's simply straight swimming for travel. Sure, the water looked nice but too much water is just a waste. Not to mention I didnt have the teleports available so travel was 1/2 speed most of the time due to the water slowing me down.

Another thing I noticed , because I did travel the Mainland enough to make this observation, there were only 10 different types of creatures in that area. The area was Huge and they could only fit 10 types in? What is bad is they had the same type a creature from LvL 5 - 52. What's really bad is there were LvL 15's about 100 meters away from the LvL 52's. What gives? It seemed like they just threw them in at random everywhere. No structure what-so-ever.

I don't know if it got better or not but I knew I wasn't sticking around long. The difference from the beginning area to the Mainland was too big. The qulaity of the game fell in a huge way after that. I found myself prospecting in areas and not fining a single thing. When I did find something it was for a mission that I didnt have. I tried to like this game but I couldn't ignore the things that bothred me enough to keep playing it. It could be a great game, it just needs some tweeking and some TLC.

I would say try it out just for the begining area. Don't go to the Tryker mainland though if water isn't your thing. The begining area is really quite good and it is fair to say its worth a try. The crafting and prospecting really shines and the game designers translate the idea they have for the game well. The others parts of the game are simply rediculous though.

BobRoss

Originally posted by BobRoss

Anyway, I gave this game a full try this time. The begining area(Silan) is very well planned. The Missions explained alot and it wasn't hard to pick up on. I didnt get lost and there was a nice variety of animals to kill. Very few humanoid types to kill though. Given this game came out in 2004 the graphics are about right , maybe a little lower than expected, but I didnt puke on my monitor so all is good. Typical sky and clouds looked pretty good. One thing I found annoying are the ledges. I couldn't jump off of them because there isn't any jumping in this game. I had to walk around these areas and continue on. 

 You can change most of the graphic settings by pressing U and modifying the settings there.  Who needs humanoid types of mobs when you can attend an OP battle and kill off fellow players :P

Now for the part I didn't like. The mainland. I was a Tryker so I guess I went to the Tryker mainland, dont know since I only played a Tryker and selected the mainland that matched.

It was a friggin Waterworld. Like swimming? Yeah you would love this place. 50% water - 50% land , more swimming than walking. I hated that. That was a really bad design idea. What the hell were they thinking? The game is centered around, or seems to be, Prospecting materials and the Mainland is 50% water? HUH?  Nothing can be done in the water except swim, thats it. Diving down isn't even on that list. It's simply straight swimming for travel. Sure, the water looked nice but too much water is just a waste. Not to mention I didnt have the teleports available so travel was 1/2 speed most of the time due to the water slowing me down.

 You are not limited by your race as to where you end up on the mainland.  If you want to go to Pyr, Zora or Yrkanis instead of Fairhaven that is entirely possible.  The only reason to go back to Fairhaven would be to gather crafting pattern for Tryker patterns, and that is only if you want to... you can craft fyros, matis or zorai gear if you are a tryker.

Plus, later you can go back to Fairhaven and collect the patterns that you want, when you are at a higher lvl (good idea at that time would be to gather all the neutral tp's (or your faction ones), which means that travelling to certain locations would only take 15 seconds or so (depending on your connection speed).

Another thing I noticed , because I did travel the Mainland enough to make this observation, there were only 10 different types of creatures in that area. The area was Huge and they could only fit 10 types in? What is bad is they had the same type a creature from LvL 5 - 52. What's really bad is there were LvL 15's about 100 meters away from the LvL 52's. What gives? It seemed like they just threw them in at random everywhere. No structure what-so-ever.

http://ballisticmystix.net/?p=mob   yup only 10 mobs :P

ok more like 61 but I manged to get killed by every single one of them at least once, including the non-agro ninja yubo :P

Please Note: you can very easily run into a higher lvl zone from starter zones around the cities, which would be the reason why you ended up finding the lvl 52 mob right next to the lvl 5 mob.  I had the misfortune to think that Atys would be like the other games that I played, where I was safe and protected till I 'finished' with a region.  I was very shocked to find that if I ran down a ramp in the desert I was greated with great fondness by lvl 150 - lvl 200 mobs.

I don't know if it got better or not but I knew I wasn't sticking around long. The difference from the beginning area to the Mainland was too big. The qulaity of the game fell in a huge way after that. I found myself prospecting in areas and not fining a single thing. When I did find something it was for a mission that I didnt have. I tried to like this game but I couldn't ignore the things that bothred me enough to keep playing it. It could be a great game, it just needs some tweeking and some TLC.

The beginning area (Silan) is a training area, which showcases how to use your skills, not much more than that, other than having some missions that have gear rewards.  If you love doing missions then Silan is your place.  If you don't want to do missions you don't need to on the mainland.  There are missions but those are for faction fame mostly (Some areas have tp's for people that have over 60+ fame in a faction).

The lake region is hard, but it is not impassible (so I have been told).  My main toon started there and was having fun till one of those blue dudes dragged me to the desert.

Take your time, don't rush, learn the habits of the mobs, they do move more than one meter from their spawn point and different ones have different agro ranges.  Have fun with the seasons and how it changes your foraging habits and the migration of the mobs (yes they will move in accordance with which season it is)

But most of all, have fun.

Moonie