one midget's opinion

[lootking]

Meestor, You stated you created a new char and everything isn't as hard as everyone claims... Have you forgotten how easy it is in newbie lands? Have you tried bringing that char to mainland? In Matis, just outside of ykanis there are wandering groups of ragus and gingos. They are fairly close to the newbie areas and if just ONE of those dogs attack you, you will die. The lowest level gingos are hitting for between 100-200 dmg. How much does the average newbie fresh from newbie lands have? Are you telling me that everyone should just huddle in town now? I don't see how a new player would have any enjoyable experience from this.

my levels in each skill are clearly stated at the top of the thread. im not on noobie isle, i hunt in avendale and surrounding areas, and i harvest in loria. i never stated i created a new character

[yy48n19]

Hi Melli,
I'm curious. Why are you so positive that the devs know what they are doing? This game *was* in beta before retail, and furthermore it was in beta for a very long time. I don't think the game magically became easier when it was released, so obviously the devs should have been able to see the issues with advancement beforehand. This patch makes me ask the same question I asked when I first got the game and it was unplayably glitchy: What the HELL was beta for?

I'm not concerned so much about the difficulty increase (though it IS absolutely preposterous; get in game and you'll see we aren't exaggerating). What concerns me is the way it seems to epitomize the lack of foresight that Ryzom's devs seem to be showing.

....

--Korendil

Hi Korendill,

I suppose I simply believe that the devs have a plan for this game. Certainly it is not fine-tuned every step of the way; that would be impossible. But, I don't see how they could not have a vision and an agenda for their own game. That shouldn't be so hard for people to grasp.

And I suppose I posted so many posts on the patch before I actually got to play the patch partly as a reaction to the massive, and in my opinion ridiculous, uproar that was generated. It's as if people truly believe that the devs don't have a clue as to how to make and run an MMORPG, or, worse, people truly think that they don't care about their own product. To me, that is just proposterous. No one, even a start-up company like Nevraxx, gets into the position where they are able to make a game and market it without having some idea of a)what the are doing and b)what they plan for the game to be like.

As I've said before, I picked up this game because it seemed to offer something different than other MMORPGs I've played. It seemed to fit into what my vision for a great MMO would be: an actual story-driven world, where you can create a unique personality; I got the sense and still do have the sense that story actually matters to the people who are running this game. You can see that clearly by the effort they put into making the patch notes "story notes." You can see it in GM Shadowthorn's storytelling event. You can see it in the backstory and history of Atys. And, you can see it in the 'raids' and events that have happened so far.

At any rate, I think that a lot of players are impatient, self-centered, and childish. Sure, they're paying for this game; we all are. However, no one is forcing them to do that. I don't see how people can even play that card; to me, it's just ridiculous. I mean, look, if we all insisted on having our own way because we are paying customers, and they listened to all of us, I see one of two things happening: 1) the game gets torn to bits because the devs are being pulled every which way to implement different kind of changes that different kinds of people want to see, or (more likely) 2) the game begins to be run by those players which share a majority opinion. I hope that that does not happen. I think it can ruin games. There is a misconception that the players know what is best for these games and the devs must listen to the players or the game will die.

I suppose that they do have to listen to the demands of the players to a certain extent, or people will start leaving in droves, as has been the threat on these forums over the past several days. Personally, I hope that they do not let themselves be brow-beaten by angry cries and threats of leaving, into compromising their own vision for this game, because it is that vision that made me pick up this game in the first place. It may sound cold to some, and not like good business sense, but I would much rather see the people who bought this game because they wanted a new EQ or SWG in a different setting go ahead and leave now, because I truly do think that they belong in a different kind of game. My hope is that the devs feel this way, as well; from the interview I read with one of the head designers, they seem to.

And, before people start criticizing me, I need to go ahead and say, yes, I did finally get into game post-patch. Yes, I racked up 21k death points via packs of vigourous goari and clopper. And, yes, I enjoyed it. I will concede that the xp is low. The combat itself, though, I think is about spot on. I hope that it doesn't get reset to exactly how it was before with this new mini-patch.