Philosophy versus Execution...

[lupine04]

Haylo all...

I've been an on-again/off-again player of SoR.. I keep coming back because of the amazing world, flora, fauna.. design... it's one of the most unique and "complete" looking virtual worlds that I've experienced in a MMORPG (and I've played many).

What keeps me leaving after a time are two things:
More immediately, those damn gingos and ragus outside Yrkannis. They have, in the past, driven me nuts time and again, to put it mildly. I won't go into specifics, but they just annoy the hell out of me. The type of annoying I mean could be described like this...

You're at your computer. It's late evening and you're in a darkened room. The only light is coming from your monitor. You're all into whatever you're doing when suddenly, small flying insect of some kind lands on your monitor. You swat it away. It returns. You swat it away again.. It returns.. You decide on a different tactic, and try to ignore it. You can't.. it keeps buzzing around, distracting you from whatever's going on on-screen. You want to squash it, but you know you'll get bug juice all over the monitor... That's just gross. So you start playing this game, like Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid, only you don't have his reflexes.. or a set of chop-sticks. So now you're sitting there like an idiot, clapping your hands every time it moves away from the monitor in a vain attempt to kill it. To someone watching you, you probably look like some moron with no rhythm trying to clap along to some unheard song. So you're dealing with this bug, and it won't leave you alone.. and it's driving you crazy. You can't ignore it. It won't let you. It disappears for a bit.. just long enough for you to think maybe it... Nope.. it's back...

Facetious as that may sound, that's the kind of effect gingos and ragus have on me. They drive me absolutely nuts. I'd love to ignore and avoid them when I leave Yrkannis.. But I can't. They won't let me. Like a bug on my monitor.

The more long term thing is something I find to be a blessing and a curse in any MMORPG with open gameplay. It gives the players carte-blanche to create their own experience.. but usually does so in a way that's so vague that it leaves many players with the feeling that there's nothing to do. Now.. I love role-playing. I played table-top AD&D for many years.. most of my youth, every Sunday for about 6-8 hours at a stretch. My goal in Ryzom would be to build a character that could, if I chose, become a highly visible and well-known presence in the game world. But... how? In my exploring, I've found very little to give me anything to grasp on to that would allow me to work in that direction. They've provided the world and the opportunity... but the means don't seem to be there. And I'm not so sure that many others have found them either.. at least in the past.

Every time I've come back to give the game another look, it seems the most exciting thing people were doing was taking the trek from one racial city to another. That's great. A great way to explore the world.. but really.. how many times can you do that and find it fun and interesting? And what are you accomplishing, in the context of the story, by doing so? What role are you fulfilling for your character or your race in the context of the story? A great explorer? I guess what I'm getting at is that it never feels like anything in Ryzom has a point. It has all this lore, and a story arc and a vision that the folks at Nevrax have for it... It's all spelled out wonderfully on this website.. But I'm not seeing it represented in-game. I know there are elements of it in-game... but it all seems so obscure and hidden away.

And there are what seem to be contradictions between the lore and the gameplay. For example... The Matis follow Jena, right? Jena's followers, the Karavan, are in opposition to the Kami correct? Then why is it that there are at least 3 or 4 Kami right near Yrkannis - and no one seems to care? The guards don't do anything. There's nothing the players are asked to do to get rid of them.

Also, there's this great Kitin threat. They hate the homins and want to rid Atys of them. Yet, you can, in several places, stand right in the middle of a whole mess of them and be completely safe - unless there's a ragus or gingo nearby (grrr).

If there's this massive threat from the Kitin.. why is it that the most pressing task I've ever been asked to perform as a quest was to deliver some message to some person wandering around somewhere outside Yrkannis?

See... what I'm getting at is that nothing I've ever seen or experienced in Ryzom in my times playing has ever seem to have a point or a purpose.. in itself or in the scheme of the storyline. It feels like all these wierd random gameplay elements just sorta coexisting, but having no real purpose other than just being there.

That's how it was as of my last time playing.. I don't know what it's like now. Maybe it's the same. Maybe it's improved.. I guess that's what I'm wondering. I would love to come back to, and stay with, Ryzom.. but I've yet to experience anything in the game that compells me to.

Could anyone share some of the goings-on, or maybe enlighten me to something about the game that I perhaps missed.. or has changed since I last played (it's been several months since I last did)... I'm not trying to stir up trouble here.. I'm geniuinely interested in this game and curious about what it is that the dedicated players have latched on to..

Sorry for the long post, but there wasn't really any concise way I could get all that out...

Thanks

[kazuki]

Try thinking of it as boot camp (American term= militia training). We know precious little of our past and what we 'know' becomes more suspect as time goes on. We were originally taught the goo and the kitin were our mortal enemies, word now seems to be they are not the biggest problem at all... it's really other homins we are to be wary of. Nothing is as it was mere months ago. In a few months nothing will be as it is now. I have to think of the Atys we have now as a very insulated, very supervised and maintained place set up to assist us homins in preparing for whatever is to come during the 'real' saga.
We run the mindless endlessly repetitive missions to accustom ourselves to following orders, we battle these creatures of the land to learn how to succeed against different enemies. We harvest the riches of the land to create the only protective coverings and weapons we have. We need know how to do this quickly and efficiently when the conflict comes.

out of Azukia/ lupine04, it's all in our heads. We make of it any sense we can because we believe in a dream. Those that come keeping one hand on the door will never find a way to stay. I hope you can make a place for yourself among us.

[danadita]

Hiyas, Shanree. I don't expect telling you my experience will help you, but then again ...

First things first. Ryzom is where I like to be. I could be in a world the next book I read represents or in one that's on TV but they are limited in how long they last. The book is static - once read, it doesn't change. TV shows come and go. This game could go away too (*crosses self*) but hopefully it will last longer than Enterprise or Farscape did.

I like stepping into the world of Ryzom and discovering all manner of things about it. Perhaps my expectations are small and simple as I still find myself fascinated by the horizon, the sunsets and how the world looks from the top of a high perch - even after more than a year of game play. I'm not a power player. I've just recently gotten to lvl 140 in EM - my highest lvl is harvest and I just made it to 171 a few days ago.

I screamed out loud the other night when Fijoo surprised me. I broke out in a sweat running my 915hp care bear solo through Enchanted Isle last night. (she made it coming and going on a mount) I enjoy learning new things - missions, mat locations, rites etc - and looking around different lands. I found a secluded pool in Fleeting Garden while locating mission mats and found a place where tiny frogs leap in winter! Prime Roots is still a horrifingly beautiful place of danger and mystery.

So in a way, this isn't just a game. Ryzom is a place I live in from time to time. I dig without hurting at the end of the day; I craft without sticking a needle in my finger; I hunt without having to clean the carcass. I have fun with friends and I know people from places I will never see in person. The best part is I'm among people who don't think I'm weird for enjoying playing on the computer! (heh - I was born in a family of mundanes - when I was 10 I asked my mom if I was adopted I felt (and still do) so unable to relate to anyone in my family)

There you have it, my attempt to explain why I am still devoted to this game.

[akm72]

...those damn gingos and ragus outside Yrkannis. They have, in the past, driven me nuts time and again, to put it mildly. I won't go into specifics, but they just annoy the hell out of me. The type of annoying I mean could be described like this... ...They drive me absolutely nuts. I'd love to ignore and avoid them when I leave Yrkannis.. But I can't. They won't let me...

It is possible to get past them without too much bother, if you know the right route. It's not 100% guarenteed, but it does let me run their blockade about 75-80% of the time without having to fight.

My goal in Ryzom would be to build a character that could, if I chose, become a highly visible and well-known presence in the game world. But... how?

This is very similar to my goal The how is very simple; rez people and take part in as many events as you can. Make sure you talk to the players when you do these things, so they remember you! Create a distinctive personality for your character, and they're even more likly to remember you

A great way to explore the world.. but really.. how many times can you do that and find it fun and interesting?

No idea, I'll tell you when I find out

And there are what seem to be contradictions between the lore and the gameplay. For example... The Matis follow Jena, right? Jena's followers, the Karavan, are in opposition to the Kami correct? Then why is it that there are at least 3 or 4 Kami right near Yrkannis - and no one seems to care?

"In opposition to" is not the same as "in open conflict with". The Kami and Karavan have been engaging in a cold war for some time now, but tolerate each others presence. If you follow the story you will be aware that Jena is coming with an army to wipe out the Kami, so we may see the Kami being forced to move away from Yrkanis when open warfare breaks out (if it does ).

Also, there's this great Kitin threat. They hate the homins and want to rid Atys of them. Yet, you can, in several places, stand right in the middle of a whole mess of them and be completely safe - unless there's a ragus or gingo nearby (grrr).

Not all the Kitin are warriors, some are harvesters and scouts, and they don't all attack you directly.

If there's this massive threat from the Kitin.. why is it that the most pressing task I've ever been asked to perform as a quest was to deliver some message to some person wandering around somewhere outside Yrkannis?

Our main task is to re-establish our civilization, and regain lost knowledge. The Kitin are too powerful for us to confront directly at this time, and they don't seem ready to go on the all-out attack after they were driven back the last time. So ordinary, boring, tasks like delivering the mail and learning to craft are what we have to do. But make no mistake, the Kitin threat remains, and war is coming between the followers of Jena and Ma-Duk, so this blessed state of bordom is unlikly to last.

See... what I'm getting at is that nothing I've ever seen or experienced in Ryzom in my times playing has ever seem to have a point or a purpose.. in itself or in the scheme of the storyline....

...Could anyone share some of the goings-on, or maybe enlighten me to something about the game that I perhaps missed.. or has changed since I last played (it's been several months since I last did)... I'm not trying to stir up trouble here.. I'm geniuinely interested in this game and curious about what it is that the dedicated players have latched on to..

I hope I've answered your underlying question to some extent If you decide to stay, you may experience an interesting and slowly evolving story - or you may not. We won't know really until we see how the plot unfolds, which is the same risk you take with a new GM in AD&D. They might turn out to rubbish, with no idea how to tell a story, or they might just turn out to be brilliant
In the meantime, you have to preoccupy yourself with day to day tasks of lvl'ing, socialising, and establishing a reputation for yourself and your character.

[lupine04]

Hmm...

Good answers all.. thanks! And, certainly not what I was expecting to get.. I was actually expecting something more along the lines of "Umm... what was all that babbling about?" :-p I guess I managed to make some kind of sense in all that.

In any case, I guess I've been reading into the whole lore and storyline as a more "immediate" thing. As in.. the Kitins want us dead *now*. And the Karavan want the Kami dead and gone.. as soon as possible. Like was said... it's not a state of open conflict. That makes sense.

It also sorta helped me understand, perhaps, Nevrax's approach here a bit better. Basically, things are mundane and rather ho-hum right now by design and at some point in the future, they're going to drop a storyline bomb on everyone and things are going to start happening... A stage is being set right now. Is this a more accurate assessment?

So, if that's the case, people right now are more getting themselves prepared, choosing their sides and forming their alliances so when the proverbial doo-doo does hit the fan, ideally, the lines will have been drawn and things will proceed accordingly from there..

If that's the case, then I can understand why it seems everything's happening so slowly and it certainly gives more of a context to what's going on in-game. It sounds like very exciting things are coming down the road.. I hope everything goes smoothly to that end. I'm glad y'all were able to explain that more fully.. I didn't really pick up on that from the lore or info on the website - again, assuming my understanding of it now is correct.

That still doesn't mean I find the ragus or gingos any less annoying... >.<

In any case... Thanks again for the feedback... Thought provoking stuff, that.

[mmatto]

Events have been more frequent lately. There was even a small scale kitin invasion with boss kitins and all. Sadly, I missed those bosses too. You should give a try for some events.

Treks will be interesting for long time, I have been attending tens of trips. If you start arranging your own trips for younger homins, you will get famous. Don't take too many lvl 250 elementalists with you as they will blast all opposition and excitiment away too easily.

[micrix]

That still doesn't mean I find the ragus or gingos any less annoying... >.<

I exactly know what you mean . Even as Tryker i feel this way. As native Matisian i guess you have to catch a psychosis. But you dont have to live in Matis

What you said before: I again understand what you are talking about. The worlds design itself is still one of the best available. Chars, clothes and animations are near to perfekt in their own way.

Unfortunately Ryzom has in some places a weird balancing. I do not say bad or good, just weird somehow.
Another thing is when you get hooked to the story of a young homin refugee. You train and work hard until you hit the point where you can not evolve any further on this storyline. There are no houses to build, no fields to care for. Nothing that can be defended, destroyed or rebuilded. Maybe outpost can fill this gap partially.

[katriell]

Well, never take the road between Yrkanis and the Green Seed camp. Go south of it...

Also, there's this great Kitin threat. They hate the homins and want to rid Atys of them. Yet, you can, in several places, stand right in the middle of a whole mess of them and be completely safe - unless there's a ragus or gingo nearby (grrr).

The Kipee are vegetarian.

[akm72]

The Kipee are vegetarian.

The Zerx feed "especially on berries and nuts", yet that dosn't stop them trying to take a bite out of any passing Trykettes

[manya]

Well, I can help you with the Gingo & Co. problem at least. Just look for Arrya while in game and I'll take you south where you won't be having this problem.