I grew up on the Foundation series too, and all the rest of Asimov's science fiction. Ground-breaking as they were, Asimov's works were particularly anthropocentric, though, which is almost painfully apparent in his robots.
I'd suggest you look to Brian Aldiss for something more like Atys, and especially "Hothouse" for an intense feeling of a world so dynamic, brutal and alive that natural selection occurs from one page to the next. Aldiss's "Helliconia" trilogy is more than enough to keep anybody busy during the 4-day patch

, but my top recommendation would be the astonishingly coherent anthology of some of his short stories - "Galaxies Like Grains of Sand".
I only ever felt recognition for select elements of Ryzom's graphics - the translucent neon tree-like vanes in the desert came straight from Space 1999 when they cleared out the studios, I swear. All heavy armour except jungle remind me a little of Moebius' comics - highly recommended and often bizarre - also the Fyros and Matis "architecture", and the mektoubs with their 'goggles'.