Anyone with good english can do this?

[khyle]

Ryzom is a game that ate several milions of euros in 4-5 years and not from production but by running. You seriously think a private intiative can keep the game alive, let alone develop further...

Yes. Have a look at gnu, linux, mozilla, openoffice.org, ...

Personally I think Xavier is honest and a lot of other people in that intiative surely are. Their good intentions have all my trust. But from being honest and running million euros projects there's a huge gap.

Oh, and I'd prefer someone honest over some shrewd company vultures anytime.
/em doesn't look at anyone in particular

[katriell]

The Free Software Foundation seems to have an interest in Ryzom, and they are a larger entity than the Free Ryzom Campaign...I suspect the former would back the latter.

Better that Ryzom go down amid good intentions, good people, and good ideals than be relegated to a slow, ugly undeath at the hands of a careless corporation.

[komissar]

Amen Katriell.

[khyle]

Better that Ryzom go down amid good intentions, good people, and good ideals than be relegated to a slow, ugly undeath at the hands of a careless corporation.

Amen to that, I say.

[gcaldani]

Personally I think Xavier is honest and a lot of other people in that intiative surely are. Their good intentions have all my trust. But from being honest and running million euros projects there's a huge gap.

They would love and cherish Ryzom, for sure, but won't have the means to keep it alive or develop new content. That's not a web based game you put 20-30k euros or USD and then start making proffit. It's a harder business than most games for kids. It's a niche game that needs a patient investor expecting to get proffit in some 3-5 years from now (assuming optimistically the initial investment may be extinguished until then). Patient investor willing to wait a la long is only solid companies, not even young good companies, inertial big bucks behind them, dunno how to say this more clear.

Just my opinion based on good sense, no proffessional business knowledge, but a lot of MMO experience and reading on a regular basis papers about their evolution.

I never said that the Free Ryzom Campaign is not honest, probably you expressed better than me what I think about a 'real' way to do business.

How you do business with Free Software? Selling expertise and services around the project (and not only, ofc). How you can do that with a game?

It's okay if someone put Ryzom alive into a server just for hobby or love, but this kind of project can't be maintained just by donations.

Always IMHO.

[macpete]

I mostly agree with Gilga, FreeRyzom has got my attention and I wish them good luck but ... I'd prefer a solid, specialized, indie softco ... Funcom or CCP, for example (remember that independent doesn't mean small ... even Blizzy was a big indie company before the Vivendi Era).

[khyle]

How you do business with Free Software? Selling expertise and services around the project (and not only, ofc). How you can do that with a game?

Selling subscriptions that pay for server upkeep, as any game provider does
Free software doesn't necessarily mean give-away and pay any and all expenses yourself.

[gcaldani]

Selling subscriptions that pay for server upkeep, as any game provider does
Free software doesn't necessarily mean give-away and pay any and all expenses yourself.

WHo will sell subscriptions? Who will make a contract with a hosting service? Who will pay the taxes for this business? You need a company for that.

Yes, it can be based on a free software and sell just 'the service', but it is always a Company.

And, anyway, they cannot prevent others to check out the source codes to do the same in respect of the GNU Licence, otherwise it stops being free software.

Free Software Foundation could, at least, control that the 'full' source project will be published under GNU LIcense, without anything lost on the way.............

[macpete]

Well, Gilga, it IS possible to run a successful company that rely upon the free software (or the open-source) philosophy (Canonical comes to mind). A similar company would need strong leadership, iron discipline, a schedule-based approach and possibly some good sponsors among the industry leaders.

I think the ICT world needs the free-software approach ... but this is not a solution that works well with every possible kind of project ... MMOs are a terrible thing even for the big companies, aren't they?

I follow the open-source and indie scene and there are a lot of nice projects out there that aren't driven by big corporate companies (Vendetta Online, Minions of Mirth, Dofus, Wesnoth, Beyond the Red Line .... and a tons of other gems) but MMO projects that follow the open-source/GNU philosopy often go aground (the ambitious Planeshift comes to mind). Some people think it's a matter of money and resources, I think it's a matter of leadership.

[viper579]

WHo will sell subscriptions? Who will make a contract with a hosting service? Who will pay the taxes for this business? You need a company for that.

Yes, it can be based on a free software and sell just 'the service', but it is always a Company.

And, anyway, they cannot prevent others to check out the source codes to do the same in respect of the GNU Licence, otherwise it stops being free software.

Free Software Foundation could, at least, control that the 'full' source project will be published under GNU LIcense, without anything lost on the way.............

any company could host servers etc, the competition will come down to who has the best service. as for development, someone mentions ryzoms becoming "someones toy" . right now its GFs toy, remember the recent patches? with ryzom gpl'ed it becomes EVERYONES toy. i know of atleast 4 people on these forums myself included who are programmer and who would work on ryzom if we had the source.


other thing about the GPL , once its out there, its out there. so 10 years from now you can still have a running game.