Ah just saw it. So what do you want to know? :)

Just out of interest, how long does it take to get to max level?

I played casually for a month or so (50 hours according to XFire) and got to around lvl 16/17. By that point I was getting pretty tired of the same missions which I had to grind not just for xp but to improve my faction score so I could get storyline missions. I did solo so maybe it would be faster to level in a team once things slowed down around level 10. So it's always going to be tough to do an objective review of an entire MMO - you've got to play the whole thing but not become attached to it.

In the case of MxO you'd have to be pretty into the game to even get past level 10 as I had to use my MMO boredom ignoring skill (with ability bonus from soft drinks) to last as long as I did :) It's a shame as it is really cool being in the Matrix, leaping from building to building and knowing kung-fu.

This is very sad news. After being captivated in beta, I played solidly for over 2 years once the game launched. The community, for the most part, were great. The crafting/harvesting system was novel and required a bit of brainpower. There was even freedom in skills with the option to pay for a spell with range and time credits as well as the traditional 'mana' and health. Character were of course skill based rather than class based.

The amount of official events are unprecedented and more than make up for a lack of quests. Unofficial player events were well put together and showed great creativity on the players' part. I've not seen or been motivated to roleplay as much since leaving and my annual subscription would have been renewed if I had the chance, just to help keep this game alive.

Ryzom did seem to keep changing direction which is probably why it shed so many loyal followers. Initially a PVE-centric game where you tried to uncover the mystery of the planet which ultimately lacked enough content. PVP was the next big thing with old friends fighting over outposts to gain xp-boosting crystals and materials to craft better equipment. Recently Ryzom changed again to satisfy another group of people with the launch of the Ring, and plans on the horizon were for the whole world to become a PVP battle for control of teleporters.

Any of these game styles is fine on their own, but for me it was too difficult to switch between them. Like most of the players I had a strong emotional attachment to the game (hence the high ratings scores). I'm not sure what Nevrax will do now, or what will happen once this free month expires but I'd like to know what the closest Ryzom replacement is out there...

Rashan (Arispotle), currently playing Auto Assault & Roma Victor

I agree with most of this article having not been impressed with support from EVE (small but large enough to know better) and Roma Victor (so small that employing any CS would probably double their staff :p). However, there is one exception - Ryzom. This is another small company with not a huge playerbase, yet through volunteer staff as well as outsourcing to Jolt you always feel looked after. They are obviously concentrating on the social side of MMOs (especially with a clued up live events team) as much as development of the next update.

Of course the other side to this is why do we need CS at all? Should more care be taken engineering the games in the first place?

While there are some flaws in this game, I have to disagree with a few points in the review.

Graphics - They ARE varied but it's more in terms of terrain and buildings than palette. I've mainly played the Biomek race but in their first large area you've got a snowy region that changes to a complete blizzard, an area on fire, lots of glowing green pools, parts of the road that have been changed and taken over by robots, shanty towns, dusty hills etc. You do see some elements used a bit too much but think how large the map is and how fast you move - it's always going to be difficult to finely scale them. I think the vehicle models are great, especially on high-rez when you zoom in.

Vehicles - The handling of each type of vehicle within a class is very different and there is the obvious playoff of choosing a light, fast car that won't be so good for ramming or a slow, heavy tank. The aesthetic mods "tricks and trims" are entirely supposed to not give bonuses. This is so everyone isn't driving around with the same spikes or paintjob.

Movement - Yes you run slower than a car moves in town but then the town is a bit smaller than the apocalyptic wasteland :P This is a total non-issue.

Dying - Auto Assualt pretty much the softest penalty there is. Just wait to be picked up, then repair (all at no cost). All of your skill timers are reset and you lose nothing. You can even drive from one pad to the next if you don't want to wait 2 secs for this one to restore the next 10% of your HP. Being returned to the last station is more useful IMO. When out travelling, just make sure to drive over a repair pad so it remembers and returns you there rather than some other random pad you happened to be closer to.

Conclusions - It's not that difficult to raise crafting if you know what you are doing. You can buy broken items from junk vendors, get broken items as mission rewards instead of fixed ones (your choice) or reverse engineer a fixed item. You ideally want a new item every 5 levels of crafting otherwise when you craft something too easy you're less likely to get a level-up.

I agree with the rest of the review. The small community can be a problem but everyone is pretty friendly. What wasn't mentioned is that once you hit level 60 (out of a cap of 80) then there's a mission gap so for the first time in the game you have to do what you do in the first minute of other games and grind mobs for xp. Or you can start a new character and wait for the content update coming soon which will have some lower level missions which you'll get the same XP for. Which is what I'm doing.

A note on the value score - they recently reduced the price, even for the collector's edition so it might even be worth buying it and playing it for a month or two then quitting if you run out of things to do. So I'd give it more value.

All in all it's a great fun up to level 40. 40-60 the novelty of driving around destroying everything starts to wear off but it's still a good laugh. 60+ the endgame starts with a central PVP zone but that seems ultimately pointless. 7/10 :P

Personally I like the graphics for some reason. I hate the cartoony look of WoW, maybe it's the textures which seem high resolution in RV. These graphics make the game feel 'real' to me and there are plans that your diet (yes you have to eat in this game) will change the appearance of your character. The trees and in future the ground textures are done by SpeedTree http://www.speedtree.com/html/speedtreert.htm so those look very convincing. Don't forget that this is supposed to be a simulation so there is only so much artistic licence allowed.

Anyway, it's the gameplay I'm looking forward to most of all. Open PVP with skill based combat, realistic (and complicated) crafting system - build pretty much anything, no-subscription - buy as much or as little gold as you like, hireable guards/workers/merchants. Then there's the very rich backstory and lore :P There's so much realism built in to this game which sets it apart from the other 100 or so on this site.