Runs fairly well on my Nvidia GeForce 6600GT 128MB / 1GB RAM / 2.4GHz AMD Athlon. Lag only happens after the game's been running for several hours or more.

My settings:
- fullscreen 1280x1024
- max Graphic Detail
- max textures
- one-quarter view distance
- I can enable terrain clutter without performance impact, but I choose not to so I can spot small herb resources on the ground more easily.
- Cloth simulation disabled due to personal preference. I don't know exactly how much it affects performance when enabled because I've had it disabled for a long time, but according to my vague memory, its effect was minimal.
- spell effects enabled
- Shadows disabled due to personal preference. When enabled, their performance impact is small or nonexistent.
- decals enabled
- antialiasing forced via graphics card settings: 4x multisampling
- anisotropic filtering forced via graphics card settings: 4x

Just a random little idea: What if Blizzard produced a sandbox version of WoW to run alongside the existing version as an alternative? Same lore, same graphics, different mechanics. Quests and dungeons stripped out for the most part and replaced by live storyline events. Classes stripped out and replaced by a pure skill system, but a somehow balanced one (so you couldn't have Build of the Month syndrome or people performing all roles in every battle). Gear focus eliminated in favour of player skill, freedom, exploration, community, and community-oriented story advancement. Phat lewt removed in favour of a strong crafting economy.

They probably have the resources to be able to do it. Even if it were to flop utterly and spectacularly, they'd still have their regular cash cow.

1. The Saga of Ryzom
2. Star Wars Galaxies pre-CU/NGE
3. EVE Online
4. Myst Online: URU Live
5. Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted a.k.a. Horizons: Empire of Istaria

Myst Online: URU Live. No levels, no skills, no numerical advancement whatsoever.

It's probably too different for you, though, and it's comatose anyway.

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Originally posted by Raizeen
as illidian said in wc3 tft if the lich king dies the scourge will be undone so undead killing there own creator is quite stupid and not true lore but then again more then 50% dont care and nor does blizz aslong as you get some epics

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The Forsaken (the playable undead) are escapees from the Scourge. In fact, they hate Arthas and one of their goals is to eliminate the Scourge.

Before you attempt lore-based criticism, make sure you know what you're talking about. Same goes for the Draenei haters.

Reclamation?

Seconding colenorm: wait for Ryzom.

In regard to the screenshot someone posted as demonstration of their perception that Ryzom's models need improvement, keep in mind that Ryzom allows customisation not only of several aspects of a character's face, but also their height and the thicknesses of their torso, arms, and legs. You can make a very ugly, misproportioned character or you can make a beautiful one whose proportions are good considering they're not human. You can also mix and match all armour types, styles, and colours; the ensemble a random player chooses for their character to wear may not be aesthetically appealing to a random observer.

Also keep in mind that Ryzom's graphics are stylistic, thus not necessarily realistic.

That said, I admit that there are a few issues with some model combinations, i.e. the over-thinning effect Fyros light-armour sleeves have on male Zorai forearms.

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Originally posted by tvalentine

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Originally posted by katriell
How often do you question whether you're right?
right about what? religion, or just stuff in general?

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Originally posted by tvalentine

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Originally posted by katriell
Do you think these questions are silly?
i think the better question is, Do YOU think these questions are silly?

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What Grim just said is truth.

I'm probably sounding like a broken record by now, but Istaria/Horizons and its latest company Virtrium is a profound example of the kind of development paradigm Ryzom needs to survive and thrive.

- Virtrium's core (paid) team is very small, less than a half-dozen.
- Their team is supplemented by volunteers. This includes devs in several fields and community correspondents.
- They listen and communicate. This occurs via forums, support tickets, the community correspondents, and a monthly newsletter with additional email announcements when necessary.
- They fix bugs first and foremost, but each patch also includes small content updates.
- When revamping existing mechanics and content, they do so without sacrificing any of Istaria's spirit.
- They adjust changes/additions/fixes at all stages of development from planning to post-release according to player feedback, but judiciously.
- They make extensive use of a public testing shard.
- They're finishing old projects, but with tweaks to make them more appropriate if necessary.
- Although they can't place much focus on live events for now, on occasion they log in as GMs to spawn simple invasions, and they introduced two new holiday events that were firmly based in lore.
- More lore is being released through multiple mediums: forums, in-game, emailed RP explanations for some patches, etc.
- Overall, Virtrium is not trying to push Istaria toward millions or even hundreds of thousands of players. Instead they are nurturing it within its own niche, and they've stated this intent explicitly.
- The development team is composed of people who have great familiarity with the game. Some of them were there when it was created and for years afterward. They know exactly what it is and what its history is, and they've learned from that history.

Virtrium is showing no signs of financial distress, even as they support three shards and active development on a population numbering only in the hundreds.

If Nevrax learned as well as Virtrium did, I believe they are our best option and I hope Spiderweb is a front for them.

Naysayers to the preservation of Ryzom's niche status should keep in mind that at this point two major financial issues Ryzom had are gone: debt and an oversized development team.

...put much thought into your beliefs and preferences, and the (re)actions that spring from them? Do you examine and reassess them to ensure they're relatively logical?

How often do you question whether you're right?

When was the last time you underwent a significant intellectual, psychological, or emotional change?

How well do you know and understand yourself?

Do you think these questions are silly?

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Originally posted by Dlore
Yeah...it's sad how far pervs can go '_'

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I don't personally care about cybersex, I'd just like to see less people with such baselessly negative attitudes toward an activity that harms no one, yet allows people in long-distance relationships to have a semblance of sexual activity together and allows teenagers to experiment without risking STDs and pregnancy.

It is not currently playable, but the new company appears to've taken over. They have yet to make any announcements or say anything to anyone about anything.

Technically everywhere has cybersex, unless you're too lazy to type.

When I receive the text from the giver, and when it's not Engrished.

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Originally posted by Vatigu
this guy has little idea what he's talking about.

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(Very simple example, but I don't have any other stanza screenshots handy.)

I think the Outlands and the Draenei are the best part of WoW, but I'm a science-fiction and science-fantasy fan. Plus I have a soft spot for Draenor and the lore surrounding it since reading and enjoying the "Rise of the Horde" novel.

2Moons
3Feel
4Story
9Dragons

Blatant attempts to gain a little extra advertisement by being among the highest on any alphabetical list of MMOs? :P

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Originally posted by Tuyet
Ryzom is a skill based sandbox fanatsy RPGMMO.

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ZerA? Not that I'd call its graphics lifelike, but I won't believe in the concept of a Korean MMO with lifelike graphics until I see one.

Sword of the New World / Grenado Espada has pretty nice graphics.

Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted. Dreamlords: The Reawakening as well.

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Originally posted by Aguitha
Will they just re-open it in the state it was before ? What will be the point of this ? I mean i loved the game when i was on the newbie island, but once you leave, game sucks. Unless they make drastic changes to the experience after the newbie island, i dont see why they should re-opne this game....

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If you like the newbie island and don't like the rest of the game, Ryzom is simply not for you - games like World of Warcraft are, and Ryzom does not need to be converted from a sandbox gem into yet another banal clone.