Ryzom released too early IMO

[lazarus]

You know, this question always comes up on forums. No matter what the game, some people will say it was not ready for release, and do you know what? In nearly every case they're right.

No MMOG I've ever seen was ever really complete when it was released. Now some might say that this type of game evolves and so you can't expect all the content to be there, and from a storyline perspective that's true. However, Dam does raise issues that are very real and affect (as far as I'm aware) every single MMOG that has ever been released.

The blame for this problem does not rest with the developers/publishers alone. We as players must also take a good portion of the blame as we continue to accept releases that are not ready. Think of it this way - if you bought a single player game with the amount of bugs in it that the average MMOG has at release, you'd probably return it and demand your money back. When it comes to MMOGs though, for the most part we accept there will be bugs and hope they'll be fixed in upcoming patches, and this is where the problem lies.

In an ideal world, the only thing a patch in a MMOG should be for is to introduce new content, not fix bugs. Bugs should be fixed before the game is released, especially silly ones like placeholders instead of names etc. To me, that's just laziness and bad project management. No doubt some will counter this by saying that in code as complex as a MMOG you should expect bugs, but this is nonsense. During my career as an IT security consultant, I worked with some of the most complex code in existence, and quite frankly bugs were simply not accepted. I see no reason why we should take the release of buggy code as the 'norm' when there should be no need. I have seen highly complex systems be developed from scratch within 5 years that have absolutely no bugs in them, none whatsoever.

To be fair however, one must also consider that gamers have a tendency to do things with games that the makers never dreamed of, which is why I said 'in an ideal world' in the previous paragraph. I accept that as code develops (that being storyline code) there is a strong possibility that an unforeseen circumstance will require fixing. I wouldn't expect the kind of diligence to be paid to game code as I would to security products, but at the same time I would expect nothing more than professional pride to push companies to produce the best and most bug free product they can.

Having said that, the kind of bugs we see commonly in Ryzom (placeholders again a good example) are in my view the kind of things that horrify me as a gamer and as someone who works in the video game industry. The other thing that is frequently mishandled is perception. Dam mentions things that were to be included at release, and some have countered that these things were actually planned 'shortly after'. I thought things like mounts were planned at release, as apparently did a lot of others. Now it may well be that we were wrong, but if so many people have a misconception about something like this, it asks questions about the way perceptions were handled in the first place. If (for example) 90% of the playerbase believe something is going to happen a certain way and then it is done completely differently, then the resulting whinging is as much the fault of the company as the fault of the players, as things were obviously not made clear enough to begin with.

After saying all that, I do have to be fair to Nevrax. For the most part, they have sone very well, far better than many bigger names I could mention, and Ryzom is a game I enjoy playing and expect to continue to enjoy for a long time. Do I think the game was ready for release? From an ideal standpoint, I'd have to say no it wasn't. Far too many bugs still remain that should have been fixed long ago. From the current MMOG 'standard' however, I'd say Nevrax have done better than most, but the lack of storyline from day one is the thing that really lets me down. I understand why they did it, but I personally believe they should have carried out a concurrent closed beta under a non disclosure agreement during the last open beta to test content for release from the start.

[vguerin]

No mounts => patch2...
Reply: and then ? they were promised for the RELEASE

Someone that ran a good website, called "Atysopedia" should do more to have the facts straight... Mounts were not planned for release !

Dev chat : 040816 - SoR Focus Beta wrap-up chat

Q : While riding a mektoub, will I be able to wield my weapon ?
A : Afraid the mounts pose a large number of balance issues. As a result they will not be universally available at launch. ]

IMHO, everything you mentioned is petty and do little to effect game play. Mounts exist but still need balancing...



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[andymon]

Hmmm, I guess what annoys me the most is that all this stuff is in the manual...

[ayne31]

Technically the game was more than ready to go live!

FIVE STARS for server stability and technical support (not regarding *getting* the game just once you were able to actually play )

But since an addition of racial advantages/disadvantages on a substantial scale is rumored to be included in patch2 I give only ONE BIG PIECE of Yubo dung for the release date itself. Its as I stated before: designers/technichians and marketing/sales are a different breed.

Don't get me wrong - i love this game, just please dont make me hate it after patch2

[saifer]

*Yawn*

Same old same old, every time a mmorpg is released, the whines and jeers of "this was released way too early" are abound.

Utter rubbish. This game was more than ready to live and imo has been the most complete of all mmorpgs that have been released (well the ones I've played anyway and thats quite a few).

Get over it, momorpgs will always be released without full content as part of the content comes from what the players want themselves. Hence when released whats the point of making content which only a small percentage of the players will actually use.

MMORPGS have to be released incomplete in some sense, part of playing an mmorpg is that you have a real impact in what is going on in the game, be it existing or future issues.

/rant

[arandell]

One thing i dont get about people complaining that the 'retail only' stuff wasnt in release is this...

in the 2-3 days of server downtime between the end of beta, and the begining of the live servers. WHEN do you think they had enough time to test the stuff on the, then, current build of the code?

personally i would have complained more if the stuff that was 'promised for the release day' was released at the same time as everything else, but it made the game unplayable due to huge bugs etc in the code...
just my opinion

[dam23]

*Yawn*

Same old same old, every time a mmorpg is released, the whines and jeers of "this was released way too early" are abound.

Utter rubbish. This game was more than ready to live
/rant

Now, you'll want to watch your language before calling me a whiner , I did say that I liked the game BUT that I was disapointed too, now, you're calling my statements rubbish w/o even exposing yours, that was a v. constructive post from you, congrats :)

[ayne31]

For my part i decided to let the free trial pass and wait until after patch2 as I am 100% sure everyone who hasnt got some inside information will be forced to reroll his main character.

[saifer]

Excuse me? I did nothing of the sort. Quick to attack arent you?

I did not specify YOU, I merely made a comment that with EVERY release of an MMORPG such posts are made. Whether you like it or not, imo they fall into the category of "whines and jeers" and I'm pretty sure that those that have played other MMORPGS will know exactly what I mean. Good night and good bye.

[dam23]

Whether you like it or not, imo they fall into the category of "whines and jeers" and I'm pretty sure that those that have played other MMORPGS will know exactly what I mean. Good night and good bye.

I *have* played other MMOs :o )
5 to be exact ;)
and I've said numerous times that, even though not flawless, SoR was the best I had played so far