the lack of direction is literally driving me nuts

[jagroq]

My issue is the futility of solo travels. I die ten times to get 20ms. And the thought of standing in one spot, trusting that mobs won't path into me, while I WAIT for other mobs to MAYBE path out of my way is frustrating beyond words.

This is one of the ONLY games I know of where travel is lethal, no matter your level, with two minute or longer loading times, mobs that jump 200 to 400m, and...NO invisablity spell or skill.

I would have to disagree I spend a lot of time soloing and have never had a hard time of it. Infact I find travel here much easier than in other games I have played especialy FF XI. Also these games are about achevement and chalange, walking from point A to a point B you've never been to before only means something if it was a sruggle to get there. Its your choice if wait untill you can lay down a path of distruction or if you want to try to sneak in.

Other than that I do agree that the game could use more content in the form of story lines. Though the 'pedia is a very good start if only it had more low lvl rites...

[aldrikoy]

My issue is the futility of solo travels. I die ten times to get 20ms. And the thought of standing in one spot, trusting that mobs won't path into me, while I WAIT for other mobs to MAYBE path out of my way is frustrating beyond words.

Travel in this game has taken on the same tones...for me...as EVERQUEST camping. I want to walk up and SEE it, not fiddle with stuff so I can zoom to see 400ms or MUCH more from where I am standing.

This is one of the ONLY games I know of where travel is lethal, no matter your level, with two minute or longer loading times, mobs that jump 200 to 400m, and...NO invisablity spell or skill.

I tend to agree, although I do not wish for solo travel to be easy it could certainly stand to be brought into the range of possibility for those of less than uber levels. I personally would like to see two things to enhance this:
1) Tweak the sleep spell so that it usually hits, and doesn't create automatic aggro on you when it wears off, so long as you are not charging the sleeping mob with intent to maim and kill. (Maybe it hears your stomping and clacking of armor and weapons...didn't say clanking as we gots no metal. Might want to add that the building charge of an aggressive magic blast also creates an aggro.) I don't want to use the sleep spell to make a mob a helpless target, but rather to slip by or escape it.
2) Like many have said before, either a magical or skill based way to enhance sneaking. Perhaps something as simple in game mechanics as decreasing the mobs aggro range. Again, some way to prevent this from being abused would be needed, altho' an encyclopedia based sneak attack skill would be quite cool.
Something along these lines, with chances for failure and/or mishap but generally effective, would go a long way to improving travel and exploration while keeping it most challenging.

[lyrah68]

You are more of an achiever, I am not. I do NOT need the "challange" of step step DIE *load for two minutes* Run back step step step die. And yes, to get a spawn spot, I average roughly 250 deaths solo due to inaccuracies in spawn locations and what is displayed.

I would have to disagree I spend a lot of time soloing and have never had a hard time of it. Infact I find travel here much easier than in other games I have played especialy FF XI. Also these games are about achevement and chalange, walking from point A to a point B you've never been to before only means something if it was a sruggle to get there. Its your choice if wait untill you can lay down a path of distruction or if you want to try to sneak in.

Other than that I do agree that the game could use more content in the form of story lines. Though the 'pedia is a very good start if only it had more low lvl rites...

[lyrah68]

My main issue with travel is it turns the game into a Frogger type arcade game. I HATE arcade, twitchfest type games. I hate killing, and HATE the "achiever" type games were everything is SO difficult as to become one torturous, arduous grind after another.

I do not expect to get anything close to what I want in exploration. I broke down and "explored" tryker using the negative minimum camera trick, which to me is NOT exploring at ALL. But out of desperation, I wanted to see an area...and with over one THOUSAND agro mobs between me and where I wanted to see...what else could I do?

This ONE issue has stolen all the joy and fun from Ryzom. I have to either pack travel, which cheepens it, or get a better defragger and newer system, or get ubber...which I don't want or need to do. So most likely, my days in Ryzom are drawing to an end (don't all run to hold the door open for me).

Real life is getting too busy to allow for five day travel ATTEMPTS (five days and STILL didn't get ONE ticket or ONE spawn spot, I was disgusted to say the VERY least).

[rrwfreak]

I see SoR beginning to take shape....very slowly. SoR is still only five months old or so after its release back in late September of '04 if you don't count open and focus betas and such. The game is much better than it was then..much....much...much better.

Direction and content will come. Just how long it will take for all the pieces to be added is the question. If one becomes that frustrated with a game, they should always take a break from it or look at other games. That is what I did when SoR was in open beta. I got so frustrated that I took a break, gave it a few months, and I also decided to wait till January to buy the game so that some of the initial bugs could be worked out. I have been pleased thus far.

I will say you can solo in SoR, but it takes longer to explore and play the game solo. It is much better to at least grab one or two people that share the same interests in exploration. If you start out in Fyros, it is much harder than the other lands in trying to get to the different cities and teleporters. Getting to Oflovak's Oasis Kami TP from Pyr even for a low level character is quite possible, and I would say maybe even Frahar Towers Kami TP or the city of Dyron is possible though more difficult. Getting to Thesos is very tricky and going through Outlaw Canyon or Flaming Forest is suicide as well as trying to get to the other lands by yourself even at higher levels. I found getting around Matis, Zorai and Tryker lands much easier as the cities were either closer together are much easier to get to.

One of the main things I do like is the freedom you get with SoR that you don't in other games, and it is not your typical fantasy mmorpg with cookie cutter orges, elves, dwarves, goblins, skeletons, dungeons and such. In addition, SoR has the best community I have had the pleasure of being a part of as well. SoR is not perfect and there are things that can be done to make the game better, but no game is going to be perfect.

[vinnyq]

faedyne probably doesn't mean literally. If it was literally, there would be a steering wheel.

[lyrah68]

I have improved the graphics lag quite a bit, I had it on auto and switched it to open GL (which is the OPPOSITE of what is suggested for my video card, but since what they suggested and were loading was lagging to heck and back...I figured what the heck, it can't get any worse can it?)

I have been trying to get my ATS Tryker OUT of Trykerlands, I am not into pain for the sake of saying I can take it I don't have to be the BIGGEST pain taker (I have another word, but for PG13 content...that will have to do). I have been trying, no exageration, for a MONTH to get her out. I would log on, try six or seven times, give up and log off. Repeat that for a month. I was trying, solo, the tryker to Matis run. I got as far as the FIRST outpost...twice...but on ATS the path is covered, with overlapping argo ranges, not enough room to squeeze through, from the first turn to the water just before the zoneline.

I made the change to my live client as well and tried the run on my Fyros, who is lower level, but has ALL the spawns and tickets for Fyros and Tryker, and most of the rest. I tried the run from the Matis zoneline to the exit of Lagoons of Loria. I got her to the same outpost, and using the neg minimum camera trick I scouted out the agro up ahead. I found the same thing on live as on ATS. There was not ONE inch to scoot through, and 20 seconds of invuln, plus 20 seconds of melee protection and speed up four is NOT enough to make it to the zoneline. I tried four times, I got into EYE sight of it the last time.

My point is...when you go with a group, even two others, you go where the GROUP goes, you don't wonder around. And the aim is to get the HECK OUTTA HERE. Not stop and look and take screenies. I don't need the adreniline rush, I live in Dallas. If I need that rush, I will just drive down Central expressway in rush hour. I don't want a TOUR, I want to wander around without a goal. Ya know...to Explore for the sake of looking, not for the sake of putting a feather in my cap.

What gets me is the mobs outnumber the players more than ten thousand to one. Think about it. If ten to twenty TIMES the number of players that normally play suddenly dropped into game...there would STILL be enough mobs for ALL of the groups that would form up to hunt, without pull stealing or kill stealing.

Why did they make travel so HARD? what are they hiding??!!! That their world is too small and there IS no content? I think that is what they are doing. And with NO content, the only thing left TO do is explore.

[usinuk]

And with NO content, the only thing left TO do is explore.

Or to grind.

Although I will admit the most excited I've ever been playing this is when I solo sneaked through Trench of Trials and Undersprings to gain access to Zorai and Fyros. That was fun. More fun than my current quest to get every single line up to 100, but that's my version of content.