Review of Ryzom after two weeks of play: The Good and the Bad...feel free to discuss

[xixan]

(FEEL FREE TO DISCUSS, AGREE OR DISAGREE - THANKS)

The Good:

-Great graphics, the eye candy is on par with the best in MMORPG and rivals some FPS games. The look and feel creates great ambiance.

-Skill system is open and highly customizable. The open skill system with the stanza system is one of the best aspects of this game. There are no arbitrary skill sets and attributes and skills can be tweaked using skill points. Reminds me of AC1 and UO in terms of the treatment of skill/attribute system.

-Crafting system is very well fleshed out....there is a lot to make and do if you like crafting.

-Stability/Tech: The game has been very stable and I have encountered much less bugs than in other MMORPG's (don't even get me started on AC2 or Horizons).

-Non-Traditional World that is not based upon the same, boring sword and sorcery template that is ripped off from D&D and Tolkien. Interesting and original concept for game world.

-User interface is pretty good and customizable. You can place the windows as you wish, and resize the windows to your liking.

The Bad:

-Content: The game, at least the newbie game (i.e. up to around 30 levels of melee or magic combat) is very very stale. You just run around the outside environment and kill low level mobs. There is not exploring, no dungeons or buildings.

-Sound: Dead boring. I've heard more interesting sounds at the library!!!

-Crafting interface is too cumbersome...you can only make 1 piece at a time...why not have a field that allows you to set the number you want to create? Am i wrong...is there a way to do this already?

-Selling interface is too cumbersome...takes to long. There should be a drag and drop window or something that allows you to drag all the items you want to sell and then confirm you want to sell those items. As things stand now, you have to sell each item individually and then reconfirm you want to sell each time.

-Quests: The quests are cookie cutter and only consist of killing 'X' amount of a particular animal or gathering X amount of raw materials. There are no epic quests, there are no variations in quests for any of the different races and no quests which have any storyline to them. Ugh...one of the worst aspects of Ryzom

-Combat: Too much down time between mobs.

-equipment/loot: No usuable dropped loot....if you are only interesting in combat and not crafting, than you are nothing more than a worker drone collecting raw materials for crafters. Other than XP, hunting is not rewarding, especially since there are no quests, boss mobs and exploring for new content that makes adventuring more interesting. I have yet to see special loot/equipment, everything is standard issue from crafters. I believe that there is an enchantment system but I have yet to see people selling enchantments.

-Mobs: very little variety on Newbie island....other than Kittin, the mobs are wild beasts types. I would like to see NPC mobs that drop usuable loot.

-No player vaults/storage and no NPC consignment vendors.

-No preceivable difference between the races.

-Ranged Weapon combat is broken in my opinion. Ammo is ridiculously expensive. Furthermore, ranged combat seems to be no wear near as effective as magic or melee combat on mainland area... Sometimes, ranged combat seems to have been an ad hoc after thought that has not been fully implemented yet.

-very bad manual with the retail box that contains only bare minimum of info.

-In game description needs to be more detailed and give better descriptions of what stanzas, skills, attributes, materials, and items do.

-No sense yet of what the over arching story line is in this game....maybe it has yet to be introduced or encountered.

Overview: The game is fun...don't get me wrong. There is something about this game that, even with its issues, makes it interesting. It may be the "new" factor or it may be that its not the same cookie cutter Tolkien rip off. Also, the world and potential story line has a lot going for it. However, I think that this game could be short lived if some of the major issues, which I discussed above, are not addressed. I some ways, the crafting and loot system reminds me that of Horizons...which was an utter failure and mindnumbingly boring...especially for those that liked adventuring. Frankly, I am not sure when if ever the issues I raised will be addressed. I have heard that quests will be added and that an NPC consignment vendor will be added...not sure when exactly.

For now, this game holds my interest and I believe with improvement, it could be a sleeper hit that provides a much different on-line world than the usual swords and sorcery types of MMORPG's that are coming out (i.e. WoW and EQ2).

***

Something else to add to the GOOD. Mob A.I., what I am specifically referring to is the fact that aggro mobs will attack herbivores. I was elated to see these mobs acting more lifelike in the wild...i.e. interaction between mobs without Player interaction. I once sat and watched a wolf like carnivore attacking and getting the crap beat out of it by a herbivore...that is until the carnivore's pack joined the fight.

[aelvana]

-Combat: Too much down time between mobs.

That's what healers/sap/stam feeders are for :P

In this game, players can also take responsibility for their downtime and max out on regen to all stats (I highly recommend this for casters :)

Either way, if you don't want downtime you don't have to have it 8)

[stellus]

Quests: The quests are cookie cutter and only consist of killing 'X' amount of a particular animal or gathering X amount of raw materials. There are no epic quests, there are no variations in quests for any of the different races and no quests which have any storyline to them. Ugh...one of the worst aspects of Ryzom

These aren't the quests. These are "tasks".

The quest system is still being worked on and should be patched in soon.

[xixan]

These aren't the quests. These are "tasks".

The quest system is still being worked on and should be patched in soon.

Call them what you will...they are still "quests" or NPC originated goals. As for more involved quests...when is soon?

As for healers...this works great for group hunting, but I had hoped that Ryzom would be a solo friendly game. As for regeneration upgrades, I have level 3 upgrades and they do help quite a bit.

[raynes]

Just wanted to comment on two of the items in your "bad" list, content (exploration) and mobs.
When you get to the mainland exploration becomes much much better. Out of the MMO's I have played Ryzom is the first to give a real exploration feel. When you set out from the main city the further you get the more dangerious it gets. The bigger and meaner the creatures get. You have to learn how to sneak around, learn what monsters do what, how far they can see, if they will attack or not. Not only monsters, but also other NPC groups. If you really want the apex of exploration, try finding your way through the Prime Roots to another races land.

[stygeon]

Lvl 3 upgrades and your knocking the game already?

While the rubberband issue has placed my own game playing on a break for a bit I think you might spend a bit more time in it before you write up a list of what you want.


Never played it but from what I hear EQ is what your looking for.

[xixan]

Lvl 3 upgrades and your knocking the game already?

While the rubberband issue has placed my own game playing on a break for a bit I think you might spend a bit more time in it before you write up a list of what you want.


Never played it but from what I hear EQ is what your looking for.

Read what I wrote...my review is a summary of 2 weeks of playing on a casual basis. Accordingly OF COURSE its going to be a review of the lower levels of the game. Also, I acknowledge that getting upgrades to regeneration rates are important...I agreed with you. Regardless, for the levels I have played, the down time is considerable such that solo combat seems a bit plodding (up to 30 levels in ranged, 34 in melee, 30 in craft and 25 in harvesting between my various characters). Maybe the trick is to get magic for my melee character...at least up to the self heal. So yes...I have thought more than a bit before I wrote up my list.

[kayeffem]

the worst thing i can say about the game is the lag. once that's fixed, the content patches and updates should fix the other minor issues.

downtime after fights i dont suffer that much. I pull in lower lvl mobs so i can chain for a substantial period of time. Once i get low on hp i'll pop a self heal and keep going. I dont do any of the mage stuff so i dunno what dt is for that.

quests get more "exciting" the higher up you get. missions will vary some but pretty much missions are restricted to courier, kill, explore, or collect. Not much variation in any game for quests/missions. There are kill missions, you just have to find the right npc to do em for.

The one thing i like about ryzom is that it's a lot of "try it and see". I need to think, plan, and stratagize how i play. I cant just read a manual and say hey that's how it all works. i need to try different things out and see how it goes. the game is "harder" than other games i've played. Experience is needed before you can progress farther into the game.

[svayvti]

Your review looks like you haven't left newbie island yet.

Off of the island you'll find plenty of stuff to counter what you have in your "bad" section.

You should also read the patch news for content patches 1 & 2.

[xixan]

Your review looks like you haven't left newbie island yet.

Off of the island you'll find plenty of stuff to counter what you have in your "bad" section.

You should also read the patch news for content patches 1 & 2.

I've been through the notes for patch 1 and 2. No offense to the fans and developers, but after playing other MMORPG's, for me, I will believe it when its delivered. Don't get me wrong...I really hope they do deliver and deliver soon, in a huge way as this game has great potential.