When oh when will new content arrive

[edandel]

I am probable repeating what has been said ever since I started playing ryzom (nov last year). When will new content be added. this game has so much to offer but it simply cannot fully pull it all together. realistically the only new things added to the game have been mounts and some rites and thats it. Patches simply comprise of fixing programming errors which do not need to be there in the first place, instability issues and so on. If we look at the core of the game its about grinding, minimal story line which impacts the game in any way or something that pulls it all together and gives meaning to the game.

I am sharing this not to complain but as a way to hopefully keep the game alive. We had a guild of 29 players that were on every single day for many months. With the lack of new content or changes to take the grind out of the game they burnt out and moved on. We are now down to a few members (6). Many have moved onto games like guildwars that since its launch has had not 1 server crash, patches are done without outages, no bugs, changes are made within days not months. The likelyhood of their return- very slim. Our numbers are dropping very fast and i am sure many other guilds have experienced similar patterns. Please introduce new content soon as we may not have the players available to make it viable to keep it running.

I would love to hear from others to see if this is occurring to other guilds. i am still here but not how long the game will be without DRASTIC CHANGES.

[helbreat]

heh i posted the same things over and over months ago mentioning guilds falling apart due to lack of content and such but its still happening now

anyone remember how big UKM were? where are they all now?

[grimjim]

I have a lot of patience for such things.

Partly because I work creatively and partly because I've worked in a software production company, you get to see what goes wrong and the differences between what sales promise and what the coders can deliver

I think a large part of this problem has been the level of expectation from players, you expect Ryzom and Nevrax to be able to deliver the same way massive companies with enormous budgets do.

Ryzom has certainly had its problems and some of them are screw ups on their side, but this has been their first real project.

I get the feeling things were rushed to try and get out before WoW etc, which meant messy and flawed code and then the game was still hit by them. We also saw the initially disastrous patch one and, even though it was corrected, we'd already lost a lot of people.

We've also had errors of communication, I think a lot of this is to do with poor translation, the patch notes often barely make sense or we don't get told what's going on.

Comparing Nevrax and SOE or Blizzard is like comparing a small UK Film Maker with a massive Hollywood Studio. Hollywood may churn out blockbuster special effects hits by the barrel load but if you want charm and art and a film with a message a bit more involving than 'Die alien scum!' then you have to look elsewhere.

Content? Hardcoded there hasn't been a massive amount, but the last patch, though flawed, brought some. Differing mount sizes, additional rites. If you're looking for content in the patch notes, you're looking in the wrong place though.

The content has been Tangled Web and Tear of the Kitin, both of which have potential long lasting consequences for the game and should give you plenty of food for thought and roleplay.

There's your content.

[raynes]

Lets put this another way...

Nevrax, Jessica stop jerking our chains. WTF are you going to put some content in the game? We have sat through spring cleaning. We have waiting while you did your E3 thing. We have been told for MONTHS that the same few rites have been in testing on the test server. We have been told for over a month that you are prioritizing what you want to do and when.

The players have been patient with you, now it's time for you to stop jerking around and give us some answers. You said in another thread that the new thing is a Kami and we will see it in game. The cuteness of "I'm not telling anymore" has long worn off. When will we see this stuff?

[grimjim]

You can't expect to be told a definitive 'when' on that stuff IMO. For a start you never know what might go wrong and, if you're whinging now, that's going to be all the worse if a due date is missed.

Besides, it'd be a 'nice' surprise if it came in out of the blue.

[micrix]

Lets put this another way...

Nevrax, Jessica stop jerking our chains. WTF are you going to put some content in the game?

What content would satisfy you in a longer term ?

[raynes]

I don't expect them to say One June 16th we will give you 5 new rites. I understand with development it's impossible to give exact dates. But it has been 5 months of nothing. They must have some clue when approx. we are going to get some new stuff. Something like:

In June our plans are to give you 6 new rites along with the long awaited outposts.

In July will bring in Kami and Karavan month! We plan to start the month off with a huge live event that will focus on the Kami and Karavan conflict. Expect to see new in game npc's like the Kami in the dev screenshot. We also plan on giving you 6 more rites as well as giving the first exclusive content for those who have finished an entire album.

In August we plan on introducing the leaders of each race in a live event, that will have you meeting some very important and interesting NPCS. Also we will be putting content in the game that explores the mysterious dragon.

In September we plan on having a live event where the heavens will open up and the seas will part. Content for that month will involve some ruins and some new storyline concepts that will change Atys forever.


Right now we have nothing.

[boinged]

Does everyone think that Nevrax are just sitting there not doing anything right now?

Do people think they're going to add content that isn't 100% bug free?

Do you all think that Nevrax will just add all the existing rites in one go and not to their own planned schedule?

Don't you realise that if they add a load of content, and there are problems that this will halt work on outposts as they're sorted out?

There are already bugs with the current patch that will now need fixing and push back outposts.

Nevrax only have limited resources: when spring cleaning, the content adding framework, outposts, newly introduced bugs are finished/fixed they will finally have time to add more content.

TBH the best content I've ever seen are events (official or player run). The missions are an ok diversion and I like the background info the encylopedia provides but I get enough fun from the rest of the game to that these aren't a major issue.

[raynes]

What content would satisfy you in a longer term ?

How about some missions that actually explore parts of the storyline and pull us more into the mysteries of it?

How about some NPC's that are keep players in the storyline asking players to do things?

How about some finished areas like the Secret Kami Oasis be finished?

How about some missions or areas that players can unlock doing something in game?

How about some changes in gameplay based upon fame?

How about some missions based upon puzzles?

How about a week long event where the Kami plead for players to help clean up the goo. While attempting this, tribes like the Goo Heads and the Master of the Goo make regular attacks to stop us. If we succeed, we get a new area and uncover something hidden in the goo, something that relates to the story. If we fail more of the land becomes unaccessible?

[grimjim]

"How about some missions that actually explore parts of the storyline and pull us more into the mysteries of it?"

Those are the events, there are very few missions that could successfully convey the same amount of story progress in any meaningful way.

"How about some NPC's that are keep players in the storyline asking players to do things?"

Those would be the guide-run characters in the events. See above.

"How about some finished areas like the Secret Kami Oasis be finished?"

We don't know what that's actually for yet :/

"How about some missions or areas that players can unlock doing something in game?"

Fame unlocks rites, you get game by doing missions. We've been told some of the extra TP locations will be unlocked by rites or similar.

"How about some changes in gameplay based upon fame?"

That one I'll give you, I just wish the price boost/reduction would come back, might even make some of the crafting missions etc viable.

"How about some missions based upon puzzles?"

If they do that I hope they actually make sense, unlike most puzzles in CRPGs which exist only for themselves.

"How about a week long event where the Kami plead for players to help clean up the goo. While attempting this, tribes like the Goo Heads and the Master of the Goo make regular attacks to stop us. If we succeed, we get a new area and uncover something hidden in the goo, something that relates to the story. If we fail more of the land becomes unaccessible?"

That'd be nice.

Still, at least the first half of what you mention is already in game.