Also agree with Neva
R2 is something that will keep me interested in Ryzom again - I haven't played for 9 months or so, and I don't think the changes made since then will make we want to play full-time again (I've been keeping up with things as much as possible). However, I really fancied R2 last year, and I'd still like to have a play with it now.
For me, the whole idea of R2 could completely change the face of Ryzom, and with it the future of Nevrax. Here you have a product, which if exectued properly, allows players to create fully scripted and story-driven sections of the game. Essentially, players have the ability to recreate one of the strongest points of WoW - instanced dungeons. Love them or hate them, once you play WoW for an amount of time (and hit the mid-level instances), there is much fun to be had with the right group of people. Some WoW players (yes there are
some good ones
) would give an arm and a leg for the ability to build and modify instances, including setting up conversations and NPC interaction, simple events etc. Most people love to play with a "construction kit", especially when it's game related
I for one thought that R2 was intended to breathe new life into Ryzom, and attract players for the reasons I stated above. If I understand correctly, what I see at the moment is a product that will be made up of paid-for and played-for components. Whilst the paid-for business model can work well for things like this, is it really a good idea to use it from the start? I mean, you have so many players here who are both talented and highly experienced with your game - given time they could recreate your entire landscape if they wanted to, with everything pretty much in the right place
Or more likely, they will create some excellent scenarios which will then be tested by equally talented and experienced Ryzom players - but you have to give these players the full reign, or you will cripple what they create. In turn, you will cripple the material that is supposed to show the strengths of R2.
Also, a lot of these players have been playing a serious amount of time now - some of the people who've been playing since release were also beta testers - they are desperately in need of R2, of something new and fresh for Ryzom. Don't damage R2's chances by forcing those players to grind for their R2 rights. Give them what they want, and watch them jump into action and start creating things straight away - you know it's going to happen
Last but not least, if the economic situation requires you to think about the paid-for approach for components/options, at least give your faithful players (the current playerbase, all of them) a way of paying a small fee (I imagine the monthly sub fee or thereabouts would be acceptable) and unlocking everything immediately. I for one would happily pay £5-10 GBP for R2,
if I knew I was getting the whole deal right away.
The bottom line - you need R2 to rejuvinate your current player base, and you also need fresh players to play the new R2 content, once the current player base have finished testing and playing it. I really hope the need for 'business models' doesn't get in the way of that happening, because I really feel R2 is a needed boost for Ryzom, and with it you have something very unique within the MMO world - just as Ryzom itself is still fairly unique.
) be able to plant materials?
) is the notion of "Ryzom Ring Points".
