Salutations

[krulos]

Hello there. I'm in the process of patching, and since I have a history of great difficulty keeping my mouth shut, I figured I would pass on a few remarks as a means of introducing myself (since, at the moment I can do little more, having not even decided on a race to play).

I tried this game, for all of five minutes, once before, and for reasons which elude me now was immediately turned off to it. I do recall, at least, that one of them, in a manner of pet-peeves as it were, was the fact that characters didn't sheathe their weapons out of combat. Additionally there was the hovering spectre of Nevrax's legal and financial future, which I imagine still haunts to this day, albeit perhaps less so.


I was drawn back this evening, initially, by my own admission that I was grievously hasty and petty in judging the game so quickly in the past. That is, I am confident, only to my own detriment. Nevertheless, what draws me even moreso, having finished installation and spent some time reading posts on these forums here and there, is the astonishing nature of the community here. There is, barring perhaps recent discussions of PVP (to which I have a handful of questions to direct), no animosity or spite among the player base that I can witness. Of course it's possible such incidents have been eliminated from these boards, but altogether I find a level of comeraderie (sp?) here which is confounding. No nerf threads, no outright slander of other players, and even the few threads by people who were leaving seemed regretful, and were met with warm regards among other players. It appears to me, at the moment of the perspective of an outsider, that this thing has garnered a following unlike anything else I've seen in the genre, and that, more than anything, creates a level of charm that makes me all the more anxious for this confounded patch to finish.


Now, to the game itself: I came here from mmorpg.com's references to the game, forums, etc., and gathering from there, as well as from a handful of posts here, have to question, exactly, the current and future state of PVP in the game, as it is of personal concern. I love PVP--constructive, consensual PVP among balanced individuals/groups. I don't like gankfest 2006. Reading notes on the official site, it seemed to me that all PVP would be consensual, by means of a flag. Is this correct? or is there fine print concerning FvF of which I need to be aware?

Secondly, is the player base thriving--or at least if not thriving, stable enough that I should not expect an isolated experience on an empty server? I have recently been very discouraged with drops in server populations from otherwise excellent games--which, by the partying nature of the games, rendered them near unplayable. I would not want to be met again with any such peril if it could be avoided.


I resolve, of course, that the best way to answer my questions is to actually get out there and see for myself, which I intend to do presently. Nevertheless, any heads up that could be offered would be appreciated tremendously, as well, if nothing else, as a friendly hello, as I extend it as well to the standing community and others who may follow soon after me.


A pleasure, truly, meeting you all, and an honor to join Atys as I write.

Krulos Dimera
Samhain
Xhieron

[katriell]

Secondly, is the player base thriving--or at least if not thriving, stable enough that I should not expect an isolated experience on an empty server?

Arispotle has a decent population, not big but not too small. Since you've been reading up, you might already know that Zoraï has the least population. Matis seems to me to have the most population. But that doesn't have to affect your race choice too much - you can always move to a more populated land. In fact, if you want to go to the desert, jungle, or forest (as long as the lake lands aren't involved ) send me a /tell and I'd be happy to escort you.

Welcome and I hope you enjoy your time in Ryzom.

[vguerin]

You might find it sparse on the newbie islands because anything done there can be done in mainland, but all the capital cities have folks about. The game is going well, even thru a bit of confusion. The playerbase is very good, my enemies in game I respect very much... it's the folks in the middle who are having the most trouble currently. Everyone wants the game to be the way they like it, you can not fault anyone for wanting that...

Whether you serve Jena, Ma-Duk or yourself... just have fun and experience the game that is evolving around you.