fratt37 wrote:Agreed Nykle.
Nevrax, and Ryzom is in a possibly fantastic position right now.
All things point to being crushed by the "bigger" games, but I tend to think the bigdogs are thinking they can imitate what's been done with flashier graphics, and a popular name, and players will flock. Well, I would think most of us aren't that easy. I have ZERO desire to play the other games, for said reasons. When the players who were planning on playing those other games see that they are being led by the nose to a stale meal, you would think, they will leave.
When the Ryzom gets flooded, I just hope they open new servers for them, and keep us in our own little genepool
Laharl
Why can't i edit my profile, and put this in a sig?!!!
Hmm... I don't know.. people tend to flock to what they know.. or, failing that, what's most popular. If so many people are looking forward to EQ2 and WoW, they *must* be good, right? Well.. not necessarily, as the more cynical and/or objective people will figure. But that tends to be the thinking in most cases.
I do think... no... I'm *convinced* that Nevrax has a gem here. More all the time. I mean, they're already discussing a large Kitin invasion in another thread, how well Nevrax handled it, how well the engine held up and how well players came together and coordinated their defenses to fend them off. The game's been out, what... a couple weeks? THAT is (at least in my humble opinion) quite amazing.
They just need to get the game onto more people's computers with a demo... again, perhaps after more of the Patch content is in place.. They need to let people *see* this game. Explaining it, showing screenshots and even movies just doesn't do it justice. People have to actually *play* it to be sold. I'm convinced of this now because of an incident last night ...
I've been trying to get a friend (avid fan of MMORPGs) interested in checking out SoR.. I would show him the images, try to explain the gameplay to him. He thought it sounded cool but it didn't compel him to try it (he's somewhat jaded; "looks cool" and "sounds cool" doesn't mean "is cool"). Well, we were hanging out last night and I showed him the game in action, the battle system, the crafting system, etc. I barely had to say another word. The game sold itself. He's buying a copy today, and is quite psyched to play it now.
And, I think there's a "B" component to that. I think those of us who've been playing the game for a little while now who can, and are interested, should try and make themself available to helping out and "showing the ropes" to as many new players as we can. Explain the mechanics, show them where things are, how things work, etc. etc. Do as much as you can to help them realize like they're facing a fun and challenging adventure... as they are .
The Welcomer quests are a good starting place. But, I'm thinking lately that it might be cool for the Welcomers to actively *greet* the new players when they start, not wait for the players to talk to them. I've spoken to a few people now who never even knew Welcomers were there because they just immediately ran off to do whatever.. and then felt confused and frustrated because they didn't know what to do. Of course, let there be an option to skip it so people already familiar with the game, or not interested, don't need to go through it. Something for Nevrax to consider, perhaps?
Overall, though... I think that's the key. People need to see and play this game for themself.
Is a demo going to introduce alot of idiots into the mix who will do nothing but complain and rag on it, no matter *what* Nevrax does, simply because they're not paying to do so? Of course. All *games* (not just MMOGs) get that crowd. But there are those will, I believe, realize that they're playing something fresh and new and *different* (a word my friend used several times, "This is so different!"). And, those are the types we want to attract anyway, right? :-p
I can't believe that my friend last night is the only one who would have such a positive reaction to SoR after seeing it in action.. So, I think a demo would really help out alot.
Anyway.. that's my thinking..