Lack of quests...

[spaaz69]

Lyrah, thank you but I did RTFM, I know the background, and I know how to click on NPCs. I am an MMORPG gamer, I have played all of them, I know how they work. I'm not expecting a console game where you can "win", all I'm expecting are quests to do that keep me entertained.

Raul and Kamagi have good points, we as gamers are past the point where we will buy a game then sit patiently while it's "finished" post-release, this is why AC2 and Horizons are doing so poorly right now. In the early days that might have worked, there wasn't much of a choice back then, but now with so many games out there, many of them good and full of content, there's no reason to stick around and play a half-done game. You may say MMORPG's are never "finished", and that's true to a point, but when a game doesn't even have quests yet then it's safe to say it's not ready. Now I wont go so far as Raul and ask for my money back, being such an avid gamer in this genre I am used to this type of thing and can tell Ryzom has great potential. I will however, sit back and wait a month or two to see how this game progresses, if I don't like how Nevrax handles things at that point, I will cancel my sub. Right now tho, I just can't play a game that has nothing to offer but a grind.

No MMO is "finished" they are forever progressing, but if we are to get on the technical about it and say that the quests, music, and what not aren't in ok.

CoH hit the market fully incomplete. They had broken missions, broken task force missions, half the areas weren't up and running; six months later and two patches and they are finally starting to get things going, but it has been an extremely successful game regardless.

SWG, that pretty much says it all. 1 year later, still broken and incomplete, but still successful.

AO came out completely broken and incomplete and it took a year to get it goin to where it is today and successful.

FFXI was only somewhat flawless because it had been out in Japan for a year before it hit the states.

Pretty much any other game came out a couple of years ago. Horizons and AC2 didnt fail because they lacked content, what they lacked were good game design, concept, and execution. They also suffered from horrible support. A game isn't judged by what is in it now, but by how it will be supported and executed in the long run.

[raynes]

CoH hit the market fully incomplete. They had broken missions, broken task force missions, half the areas weren't up and running; six months later and two patches and they are finally starting to get things going, but it has been an extremely successful game regardless.

Wow there is another person who knows the truth about the COH launch. So many people go on and on about how it had no bugs and there was nothing broken at launch.

[lupine04]

There has not been any mmporg that I have played yet that had 0, let me write that again 0 quests to do.
Yes games have kill x mob, but you know there is a storyline behind it.
To me releasing a game out with 0 quests to do is a bad start for any mmorpg.
People dont wait for things anymore, if you go to a mall to buy a dvd and that particular store does not have it, you dont "wait" ntil they get more, you move to the next store ntil you find it.
Im not trashing the game, but I already seen many people leave the game and is not even a month old. The guild I started had 30+ members they all left except for maybe 3-4.
With titles such as WoW, EQ2, Guildwars, Matrix Online ect do you think people are going to sit and wait because "things are coming?" No way.
So if people dont start as costumers demanding stuff, this game will become Horizons 2 soon enough.

I understand your point.. You are frustrated at the lack of quests. Others are or have been as well. The thing is, you speak in broad generalizations, such as "people don't wait..." and "... do you think people are going to sit and wait...?"

Well, the truth is... Yes, I do think people will sit and wait. In fact, we are. Many, I would say a great majority, of us playing the game in fact *are* waiting patiently (if these forums are any indication), and enjoying what the game has to offer us now, knowing that more is coming in the near future. I'll venture to guess it's because we enjoy everything else there is to do right now... at least that's the case with me. I'm spending so much time just learning how other parts of the game system works that I only occasionally think of doing quests, when I want to work on my fame or get some extra money. Quests are part of a greater whole to me, not the sole focus of my online time, in any game. But again, that's just me.

However... that does not mean that you or anyone else who finds this (or any) game doesn't satisfy what they're looking for, has to do the same. If you are unhappy with the game, then the wisest thing to do is move on... maybe check back later if you are still interested enough to give it another try. If you feel that spending $50 or whatever is reason enough to bring it up, fine.. You've spoken about your frustration and your point is made. But, should even that be such a strong reason? Are you not taking a chance with *any* game you buy that it won't be good, at least to you?

But it makes no sense to continue on playing in frustration if you aren't enjoying yourself. And it makes even less sense to come to a forum and tell people who *are* enjoying the game that it's no good. We're not going to agree with you, and I'm sure you knew that before you posted. I'm sure you realize it's also not going to get the quests here any faster.

Either stick it out, look to the other aspects of the game to learn and have fun.. Or, cut your losses and move on to something else. Come back later and see how it's going.. or never look back. It's entirely in your court.

[korin77]

There has not been any mmporg that I have played yet that had 0, let me write that again 0 quests to do.
Yes games have kill x mob, but you know there is a storyline behind it.
To me releasing a game out with 0 quests to do is a bad start for any mmorpg.
People dont wait for things anymore, if you go to a mall to buy a dvd and that particular store does not have it, you dont "wait" ntil they get more, you move to the next store ntil you find it.
Im not trashing the game, but I already seen many people leave the game and is not even a month old. The guild I started had 30+ members they all left except for maybe 3-4.
With titles such as WoW, EQ2, Guildwars, Matrix Online ect do you think people are going to sit and wait because "things are coming?" No way.
So if people dont start as costumers demanding stuff, this game will become Horizons 2 soon enough.

lets see... for the first 4 years of UO, there was not 1 quest in it.
Other MMORPGs with no quests : Jumpgate, EVE, City of heros (yes they were all missions, not quests), Darkspace, Furcadia, and yes SWG (alot of kill this and craft that and deliver this, but no real quests. Even the series of missions for princess leia was kill this and deliver y. Don't get me started on jedi.)

I see people leave alot of games. Even EQ within the first month. Thats what people do. That doesn't mean anything. The guild I had in UO had 100+ members in it. They all left. The guild I had in EQ had 80 members, they're all gone. Whats your point?

[rlaltman]

Ryzom needs quests added very soon, in order to make the game more immersive. Personally, I am a hardcore MMO player, and I am willing to give the game a little time to develop. However, my wife is the fabled "casual player" who takes one look at a game like Ryzom in its current state, and runs screaming from the room.

So I've told her, honey I'll play it for a month or two, then I'll let you know if it's worth joining. And if she won't play it by that point, I will probably cancel as well... We like to play as a team.

DAOC absorbed us in for a couple of years, with a very nice game for casual players (it's not casual-friendly anymore, but that's another topic . There were many quests and low-level dungeons in the game, at the initial release. For casual players, these are very important as a way of easing into the game.

For Ryzom, quests are doubly important because the gameworld does not use any "stock" dwarves and elves or whatever. Casual players will want to ease themselves into the game, and they will want "stories" to help understand this strange world.

Specific suggestions:
- Every race should have a series of beginner quests
- The wandering wilderness "tribes" should have quests
- Training specializations (ranged, melee, various crafts) should have quests. Craft quests should seek rare materials to create unique items.

I agree that Ryzom has an interesting world with beautiful graphics, and a unique specialization system. Obviously the game is not going to dominate the MMO world, immediately. I am hoping for another Euro-style sleeper hit, comparable to AO or Eve. Both of those games had rocky launches, but have managed to grow and survive.

[darq787]

No MMO is "finished" they are forever progressing, but if we are to get on the technical about it and say that the quests, music, and what not aren't in ok.

There is a line between "extra content" and "basic functions", if a game has all of it's basic functions in and working then it is "finished" (ready for the market is a better way of saying it) and they (devs) move on to adding extra content. This is what I'm talking about. Ryzom is lacking quests, music, consignment vendors and mounts, all of this should have been in before the game launched because they are basic game functions. I understand that it's not always possible to continue development all the way to the required stage and games must be put out early to fund their own completion. I see that Nevrax has all of the above functions included in the first 2 patches, so I will wait and see, however, I find it very hard to believe that all that will be in on time and working properly.

I did renew AC2, and not sound like a doomsayer, but Ryzoms current US server pop seems to be lower than AC2's pops. Good thing Ryzom has lively EU servers as well.

[trcroyle]

lets see... for the first 4 years of UO, there was not 1 quest in it.
Other MMORPGs with no quests : Jumpgate, EVE, City of heros (yes they were all missions, not quests), Darkspace, Furcadia, and yes SWG (alot of kill this and craft that and deliver this, but no real quests. Even the series of missions for princess leia was kill this and deliver y. Don't get me started on jedi.)

I see people leave alot of games. Even EQ within the first month. Thats what people do. That doesn't mean anything. The guild I had in UO had 100+ members in it. They all left. The guild I had in EQ had 80 members, they're all gone. Whats your point?

This argument comes up pretty often, comparing other games to SoR and I have to say the fact that other games suck, or have sucked, or are going to suck is totally irrelevant. SoR stands on it's own.

I think its a real shame that games launch before they're ready, but I also understand there is a point where the studio needs to stop spending money and start making some or there just won't be a game for us to play. It's a pretty fine line they walk when they do it though. Sure the devoted MMORPG player is willing to wait, but the casual players need fireworks before their free month ends or they will be gone. I suspect Nevrax knows exactly who is buying their game, and knows that they can take their time getting up to speed. The game mechanics alone are going to scare off the casual players.

[spaaz69]

I did renew AC2, and not sound like a doomsayer, but Ryzoms current US server pop seems to be lower than AC2's pops. Good thing Ryzom has lively EU servers as well.

This is actually a fallacy. AC2 had the benefit of AC to promote it, also AC2 had more publicity than this game. Ryzom has recieved very little marketing here in the states and isn't very well known along with the fact that this is a brand new game. When I picked the game up the clerk looked at me cross eyed and asked if the game was new. Where as AC2 has also been out for a couple of years and Ryzom has only been out for a couple of weeks.

Also take note that while AC2 may have a larger server population, it has taken a massive loss and combining of other servers for it to have that population.

[tleilaxu]

Specific suggestions:
- Every race should have a series of beginner quests
- The wandering wilderness "tribes" should have quests
- Training specializations (ranged, melee, various crafts) should have quests. Craft quests should seek rare materials to create unique items.

What I love about Ryzom is its open-endedness. There is a wide variety of ways in which you could customise your skillset. Upgrading to Acid Damage 6 just doesn't mean higher damage, whoop de doo, like it would in other MMO's. You could adjust the spell effects, give it special properties such as AoE bombs, ricochet, doublecast, linked affliction + elemental. And what's more the different types of credits used ensure that you don't have to just rely one one pool of "energy" i.e. your pool of sap. You can actually make spells that are point blank and free to cast. This customisability is absolutely awesome and I love it. The same goes for the melee classes, the harvester classes and the crafter classes. It is totally up to you what you want to do. Nevrax has provided the basic tools, it is up to you to mold them into your own unique skillset.

Which brings me to the quests. Yes the missions are repetitive tasks. But what MMO doesn't have fetch A and I will give you B type quests? Nevrax has said that the real quests, ones which will change the direction of the world are on the way with the next update, including the Encyclopedia which will give those who choose to fill it with knowledge that will be very useful. IMO the missions currently implemented are equivalent to the actions you can buy from the trainers. It is up to YOU what you want to do. Want to gain access to Kami-aligned spawn points in the Burning Desert & the Witherings if you're a Matis? Then work on your fame with the Kami. Want to learn new armor crafting from exotic lands? Travel through stealth and force through immense obstacles in order to reach distant shores and learn new knowledge from their crafting trainers. Join a guild and build your fame through the lands!

If anyone was present during the invasion of the Kitin this past weekend in Majestic Gardens, they would have realised that there is a deeper story here that is just waiting to unfold. It was an incredible event, lots of fun organising scouts, a defense force and strike teams. I'm sure everyone who was there for the invasion would agree, it was very well done by the Devs and we are looking forward to more! I for one am looking ahead to learning more about this world and its inhabitants. Most of all, I'm looking forward to the day that we drive back the inhuman monsters known as the Kitin. Hunt them down in their own nests and decimate them. We will take the fight to them!

Cieran
High Officer of the Minyatur

[darq787]

This is actually a fallacy. AC2 had the benefit of AC to promote it, also AC2 had more publicity than this game. Ryzom has recieved very little marketing here in the states and isn't very well known along with the fact that this is a brand new game. When I picked the game up the clerk looked at me cross eyed and asked if the game was new. Where as AC2 has also been out for a couple of years and Ryzom has only been out for a couple of weeks.

Also take note that while AC2 may have a larger server population, it has taken a massive loss and combining of other servers for it to have that population.

Wait, what? Fallacy? LOL. My AC2 pop reference was directed at deweyz who stated AC2 was like a "ghost town". I really don't understand where you were trying to go with this post.