Ryzom

Hi Everyone,

In order to better communicate to the community we are going to try a new question and answer round, where you ask the game-related questions to the devs, and I get the answers for you. At the end of the week I will compile a list and get some answers from the devs. Keep in mind that not ALL questions can be answered, there may be some information about game-play that cannot be divulged but we will try to answer your questions as completely as possible. Also some questions may take more time than others to answer so patience will be the key in this exercise.

I will also add suggestions from the wishlist per week. I am limited in the number of submissions but I was planning on being an equal amount of suggestions to questions. What do you think? What would you rather hear?

What would you like to know more about? Is there something we can perhaps add to the ryzom.com website? Any existing content that should be explained in greater detail?

Here is the first round of questions & answers. I wanted to personnaly apologize for the fact what you had to wait a little to get the answers
: I prefered to concentrate on
last week's article first, to give a good overview of the past and current situation before entering into details.

Many thanks to everyone who participated to the feedback threads. Please also keep in mind that it is the first row, the following Q&A articles will include some of the other questions taken from those threads.


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Will the reputation have other impacts that the modifier of prices and the aggressiveness of some of the tribes ?

That's already the case : some of the rite missions have a fame prerequisite. Please also note that the price modifiers and tribes aggressiveness still have to be polished : even if the prices are modified by fame, the changes aren't correctly displayed on the merchants' interfaces (this is being fixed on the ATS), and tribes only attack you if they have very GOOD reasons to do so (ie. you need a -100 fame with them).

We are also investigating ways to improve the fame system, to make it more clear and to increase its overall influence.

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The warriors are currently disadvantaged during fights. Will you do something to correct it ?

We are aware of the issue with warriors : this is something we want to address, even if I have no dates to give you.

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Can we get a rule of thumb what kind of fame the rite missions require, since the NPC won't tell us what the reason is they dont give a certain rite and I am tired of guessing if its my lvls, my fame or simply a bug.

This is being fixed : on the ATS, there is a new feature being tested, which allows you to see a given mission requirement by just right-clicking on it.

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What are active links and when will something happen with them ?

Links provide a different way to cast spells, using a continuous Sap consumption : the link. But it is quite hard to use it in its current state. There are on-going discussions in-house to render it more user-friendly.

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What will be the next publications on the Gamelore section of the Website ?

Currently, a serie of novels is being written in collaboration with Alexis Aubenque, a famous French science-fiction author (if you read French, he published "La Chute des Mondes" and Etat de Guerre).

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How does deposit tracking work, and in particular - how does it work in combination with other stanzas ?

I asked Gwened about this, since he is the developper in charge of the harvesting system :

"The Deposit Tracking displays the distance to the nearest deposit area containing one or more raw materials (that match the specialization stanzas if you searched for a specific raw material). A deposit area contains a set of row materials. When you begin a "classical" prospection, a random position is calculated, which is dependent of the Distance and Cone Angle stanzas used. It means you may not find the specific raw material you're searching for right from the start, because you have to find the particular places where it is spread.

The Multiple Spot stanza allows to successively calculate different random positions; for each position, you get the raw material corresponding to the random position.

It means also that if you are near a deposit zone, you might make a source appear once, but not get anything the second time you try it." ______________

In beta there was talk of children, will that be a reality ? Will we be able to make our own children ?

Not in the near future, since we only introduce big features only once at a given time. But that's definitely something we still want to add in the game.

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Are there any plans to update the online manual or in game tutorial? They are in poor shape.

Yes, there is some work being done here, to better reflect what changed since the release and better stick to the current game mecanics.

Along this work, there is also a new website being prepared, to allow easier access to the information, articles and news we put online.

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Will we ever be able to jump ?

Yes. But not now.

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Why don't all the teleports work ? If that's designed can we get a list of inoperative teleports ?

That's on purpose. The portals to which you currently do not have access are linked to rites which aren't currently on the live version of the game.

Here is the list of the inoperative teleports :

• Matis :
  • kami_altar_knollofdissent
  • karavan_altar_knollofdissent
  • kami_altar_hiddensource
  • karavan_altar_hiddensource
  • kami_altar_hereticshovel
  • karavan_altar_hereticshovel
• Zorai :
  • kami_altar_groveofumbra
  • karavan_altar_groveofumbra
  • kami_altar_thevoid
  • karavan_altar_thevoid
  • kami_altar_knotofdementia
  • karavan_altar_knotofdementia
• Fyros :
  • kami_altar_thescorchedcorridor
  • karavan_altar_thescorchedcorridor
• Tryker :
  • kami_altar_lagoonsofloria
  • karavan_altar_lagoonsofloria
  • kami_altar_bountybeaches
  • karavan_altar_bountybeaches
• Nexus :
  • kami_altar_nexus
  • karavan_altar_nexus

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Will the bug be fixed with the space targeting ? Currently players have to use target <playername> during big events.

Yes, that's something we are aware of : this issue is being addressed in the current ATS version in test.

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How do macro's work? Some details would be nice !

That's a subject for a complete article, so I won't be able to describe the macros system in details here. But I will give you at least a glimpse of how it works.

The whole point of the macro system is to allow you to automate sets of actions. You can choose different kind of actions (like sitting, taking screenshots, opening specific windows, talking, etc.), and associate them to a button or a keyboard shortcut.

Wanna give it a try ? Use <shift>-K to open the macros window, then "New Macro" and "Add Command". Select the action you want to perform, then "OK" and "Add Command" again - until you added all the actions you wanted to execute. Then assign a name to your macro, eventually a shortcut and a color/symbol for the icon, and click "OK". Tadaa! You've got your first macro. Just drag and drop the icon, or use the shortcut you eventually assigned, and the macro will execute.

Hint : If you're used to the way other games handle macro, you can have the same thing by entering your text-based command into "Chat" -> "Talk to anybody" -> "Say" when you are editing a command.

--
Xavier.

How does fame affect Vendors exactly, how does it affect selling. Because I always receive LESS then what is offered by vendors when I sell them things. It doesn't matter who I sell it to, I always get less. So is it fame-related or not? And when will the TPs in ALL regions work? I know some are suppose to be Story Driven, but that no excuse, there should be Karavan/Kami TPs in all areas...

Will we have different type of mounts in the future? Like Packers...maybe some with more speed? Will we ever be able to fight on mounts? But most importantly, why can't we SELF HEAL, Melee Pop, Invul on a mount? ANy chance we could get a permanent ability to dis/mount faster.

What would you like to know more about? Is there something we can perhaps add to the ryzom.com website? Any existing content that should be explained in greater detail?

1) In the MMhell interview it gave a description of what the complete encyclopedia is suppose to be. Currently this is not the case. What is the time frame in which we can expect to be able to complete some full albums, and get special missions as a result of it?

2) What are the plans concerning fame? Is it always going to be a secondary system? Or can we expect game play to be more based on it?

3) Currently there are only penalties associated with getting bad fame and nothing for getting good fame. There is no real benefit to getting good fame with groups, and really no benefit for getting top fame with groups (+90 personal). What are your plans to change this, do you plan on changing it.

4) In the expected plan of progression it's listed that a new planet will be introduced in 6 months of going live. It's clear that is not going to happen, so when can we expect that?

5) When are the Kami and the Karavan going to become central to the story and not just secondary after thoughts?

6) Currently the game is lacking content, besides the encyclopedia missions what can we expect mission or quest wise in the future?

7) Why do you refuse to put a full update on the test server so we can really test?

8) In every other MMO I have ever played there were always NPC's that you could talk to about the game, get missions from, and have an overall feeling like they had a unique personality. Currently this is not the case with Ryzom. All NPC's respond the same when players speak to them. In addition there are a lot of NPC's that have special jobs but do nothing. When can we expect the NPC side of Ryzom to come alive?

can you make the Living Weapons just as good looking as Waving or Burning... i mean, it's got a horrible animation/look to it... blah blah...

Oh yeah, when will i be able to UPDATE my ATS request? only been like 3 months now, so obviously its not good enough, which brings me to another point, all SUBSCRIBERs should have access to ATS, not this pansy request crap... find me another game that does not automatically allow you access to their test servers?

I think, 50/50 is ok, but would like it if you could maybe prioritize some things that seem important Cerest. I wouldn't mind a 43/57 split if it meant more important things were taken care of.

1) Why would someone want to raise their racial forage above 150, when at that point they get PR spec and can just go for the good resources? Can we expect some occasional Supreme resources to appear in certain lands?

2) Will NPCs ever give out Items or experience, or just fame when completing missions and the occasional stanza when completing a rite?

3) How are the development teams seperated? i.e. is there a core programming team, a content team, and a patch team?

4) Will Range fighting become useful at some point?

5) Sort of related to Q.4 - In the future will solo adventurers somehow have a way of levelling, or will they pretty much be forced to team in order to get XP?

6) Can someone update the online manual with some more specific info on how to play the game, so that newbs aren't so lost and require assistance all the time from other players and GMs? Not that I mind helping folks, but it gets tedious after a few hours of answering questions that should be in the manual or answerable by a GM - even though they are barred from doing so in many cases.

7) Can we expect larger triggerable events in the future? Somewhat like the Bodoking one, but with consequences to the storyline of the servers?

8) Will you accept help from other players in making them player guides, and perhaps allow them to have a little more info on events so they can be "guided" a little better? Or have better directions than, our scouts found something in the south... like point out maybe a tree or building that is nearby, so folks who may have been in that area can generally find it. Maybe they would have to make a new char, and that char would have to RP 90% of the time, only being ooc for the purpose of helping to explain how to edit stanzas and the like.

9) Will the bars be stocked with liquor, or am I going to have to keep typing /drunk when I walk out of there? Will the bartender start talking like a bartender anytime soon?

10) Is there any intention of introducing animal taming, so we can tame our own mounts/packers? I for one would like to ride a raspal.

12) When can we expect to have the ability to upgrade our guildhalls? Why can't we bring our meks inside the GH or have a way to easily transfer the mek's inventory to the GH inventory?

13) If we hunt a creature to extinction in an area, can/will that area remain free of those particular creatures for a few days at least?

14) Will material specs actually be able to be used with tracking???

15) Why is the weather in the PR not accurate when you look at the map? I have been down there when it said it was fair, and had rain dripping on my head. Is the weather related to the weather topside? If so, which land topside determines the weather in the roots? i.e. in Underspring is it Fyros or Zorai that determines the weather down there?

16) Will GMs be able to RP Kami or Caravan races at some point, or will they always be NPCs?

17) If we have already had four contests... why have the winners of only TWO contests been announced?

18) Will the armlet of Atys ever be useful for anything but eyecandy?

I hate to steal some peoples thunder here, many of these suggestions/questions have been asked by others, I have merely added some of my own and put these together to reduce the HUGE number of question posts you are about to receive.

I would also like to THANK YOU Cerest, for your time and energy. Providing feedback to the community will do much to alleviate their fears and complaints.

cerest wrote:Keep in mind that not ALL questions can be answered, there may be some information about game-play that cannot be divulged but we will try to answer your questions as completely as possible. Also some questions may take more time than others to answer so patience will be the key in this exercise.

I am limited in the number of submissions but I was planning on being an equal amount of suggestions to questions.

what the heck... I'll give it a shot and see if this works different than all of these

-The "first round of changes" for ranged fighting back in december was pretty much a slap in the face. ATS folks in english and german forums saying that brining the +hitrate bricks back, because the base speed for ranged was not sped up like melee was when the bricks were removed in FBT, hurt ranged were ignored. There was an obsurd +16 shots per craft when hundreds were needed. Given that ranged is the only skill that has not received any attention all through beta and all through retail, and is currently in a state with a bit more ammo per craft and a few KM lower range compared to early beta... is there a reason why there seems to be no interest in fixing it? Will it be fixed, if so when and what plans are currently in existance to fix it.

-In the real world... grenades fired from weapons like the mp5 that everyone remembers from halflife, are the same as those fired from simple grenade launchers... they weigh about half a pound each. Why is it that a single shot of ammunition from an autolauncher has comperable weight to that of an 80mm mortar and launcher ammunition has weight comperable to a 120mm mortar round? These are obvious typo's and really should be corrected.

-Thanks to the hitrate bricks and the terrible accuracy of ranged weapons, it is pretty much required that max accuracy be used when in a group with a ranged weapon. Tack on the +hitrate bricks and you will suck down stam/hp faster than even the most sap hungry mages in most cases. Ranged weapons do less damage than melee or ranged, have extremely high component costs, have virtually no long term staying power due to the high bulk of ammo, and have lower ranged than magic. The single "benefit" of ranged is that you can shoot while running, and this is not generally all that useful... especially in a group... is having the highest hp/stam burn in the game really justified for all these negatives?

-AOE fighting was nerfed into oblivion in beta, at best it's just a stupid choice and at worst it's suicide. Is there a reason why Nevrax feels launchers and autolaunchers should be hindered by these useless and suicidal forms of combat?

-At level 150 the 2 handed ranged tree splits into rifles, autolaunchers, and launchers. It is currently impossible to level the launcher or autolauncher splits due to ammo capacity and the extreme mat use for what is, to put it bluntly, pathetic damage. At 2 mats per shot with autolaunchers, and 4 mats per shot with launchers, with a max ammo capacity of 15 launcher or 30 autolauncher shots not clips level 151 autolauncher/launcher is a dead end and virtually impossible to reach. Is it intended that these forks be impossible to level in addition to their already useless and harmful addition to a group?

-Are there plans to fix ammo capacity, and ammo per clip? If so what is planned? Currently you can only have 128 items on a vendor, yet a half decent rifle with +hitrate bricks can burn through an entire inventory of ~60 clips in about 35-40 minutes of fighting in a group. Not only is there no market for ammunition, but due to the extremely high amount of clips needed over time, even the idea of selling ammunition or going through the skill by buying it is an impossibility.

-Why is it that +range and +damage stats on ranged weapons and ammunition are always zero? At one point early in retail, you could see values for these stats if you identified the item, but after it was reported as a bug this was fixed so they no longer show at all ever. Is it that these stats would apply to magic cast while having a ranged weapon equipped? Is Nevrax that scared of what a mage would do with a ranged weapon and it's associated malus instead of an amp?

- Finally... how is it that depite many posts on the subject of ranged weapons, that showed the problems and gave all sorts of numbers, that someone decided the best way to fix the skill was to halfway revert it to a state it had during beta? If it's going to be a crap useless skill, can it at least be a crap useless skill with the old 15-30KM range?

-Actually.... I'll make it easy on you and answer it myself:
there are questions about ranged.
.......

What do you think? What would you rather hear?

What would you like to know more about? Is there something we can perhaps add to the ryzom.com website? Any existing content that should be explained in greater detail?

I understand that you are trying to remain positive, but the playerbase has heard nothing back from nevrax and has almost nothing beyond flamewar interjections of civility from "official" type folks. A lot of us have been burned in the past by other MMO's promising communication and then delivering zip and answering nothing.

It's not that I dislike you Cerest, it's just that after seeing so many GM's and CSR folks here say they were going to put things about the problems with ranged "in their report", I simply have no faith that Nevrax would do anything different.

How many more years is it going to take to get everything that was promised on the box when i payed money for it in game

i got a simple one

is there a linux client in the works and if so how long before it will go into testing?