Well, I have to say I dig Ryzom way more... it just seems more mature. Maybe I've outgrown the whole squirrely cartoon Warcraft universe, I don't know. It definitely seems like Ryzom is aimed more towards adults though.
Things I don't like about WoW that Ryzom does better:
Graphics... Ryzom is far prettier and more realistic.
Taken from Blizzard's own mouth,
"You can only group and talk to players in your own faction. You also can only view and befriend players in your faction when using the in-game social commands. The intent is to make you feel like a member of one enormous team, while at the same time setting up the other faction as an enemy or, at best, a rival. Thus, if you wish to play with your friends, you will want to all join the same faction. Other content, such as the zones you can visit and the quests you can accomplish, are also organized by faction. Some quests can only be completed by Horde players and others can only be completed by Alliance players. Some zones offer cities and interactive NPCs for one faction, but are completely hostile to the other."
I like that in Ryzom WE get to choose who we ally with or can talk to. Just like you have the choice to be Democratic or push Right in the real world.
I like the MAP better in Ryzom, it is much easier to use...
So I decided to look at the one place everyone should look before buying a game. The Support Forums. Well, similar to Ryzom you seldom see a mod or dev chipping in their $.02 to help fix the problem in the forums. Guess not many companies pay their employees to troll forums all day.
Anyhow I ran into MANY problems that Ryzom resolved a looong time ago. We don't have too many technical glitches anymore, most can be easily fixed by updating drivers and not cheaping out on your hardware by using integrated sound and graphics.
Just a list of the threads on the first page of their support forum...
BSOD when installing patch
Kouryou
What the hell is going on
Loistira
Local Defense channel broken
Zephon
Trade Channel
Vengeance
Uninstalling and Reinstalling
Rhodazaro
Common Problem, please assist.
Orgash
an unknow crash
Mazuswiella
Group Loot
Dorif
Inconsistancy with Random issues
Angory
Stop Fixing video cards & fix ur servers
Authernectar
Account problem
Blan
ingame chat problem
Objekt
Character still logged in?
Gargha
Broken Chat Filters?
Laya
Lag-like choppyness with low 70-100 ping
Bended
ATI radeon 9800 card issues
Gix
BSOD Any solutions?
Khojem
Blocky Jagged Shadows--Radeon 9800
Murrough
macro bug crashing the client
Vectron
Error when logging in need help
Khronak
How did I cause Error 132 on purpose
Elandira
WoW has a pretty slick LOOKING interface, but when I click on attack a creature, my guy won't run towards it and attack. You are too far away from this creature, or You are not facing this creature. Chances are, if I am clicking like a madman on a creature, I want it dead... as opposed to standing there looking at it with a mean stare until I run right up to it, make sure the angle is good, then click away on my attack hotkeys.
Both games have their share of BUGS, but name one game that doesn't have any bugs?
(sound of crickets in the background)
So you see, I am glad I am here. Sure we don't have spiffy cutscenes that look like an animated film, but we have heart and lots of spiffy creatures and places to go. We have freedom in this crazy world of ours, and I for one love it. Call me fanboy if you like, but there are worse games out there than this one, and Ryzom is only getting better. The children might feel more at home there, but I for one appreciate the variety and maturity I find here.