Now I'm back again.
Anyone else going thru this?
I put some thinkin into what keeps drawing me back to Ryzom. Here's the short list.
1. The skill system. I like it. I like it better than anything else going. I like the flexibility of it. I like the customization aspect.
2. The lack of "class system". I like that. I like the fact that I can do what ever strikes my fancy. I can work on what ever. I can work on everything or I can specialize. If I specialize and get bored, I can start working on something else without having to start a new char.
3. The mobs. Yep, I like how the mobs act like critters and not robots on a track. I like how the herd animals act like herd animals. I like how the preditors tend to gather at the fringes of herds and prey upon the grazers. I like how the non aggro critters will occasinally wander up to me and eyeball me, sniff me, rise up on their hind legs and really get a good look at me...and even occasinally hike a leg and piss on my boots.
I like how the dog critters dont just magically blind me, they kick dirt in my face.
4. The lack of canned music. Yep. I like the lack of music. Hearing the wind blowing, the roots groaning..the sounds of the critters..all adds to my sense of immersion. Music, no matter how well made will become repetitive and bothersome to me.
5. I like the terrain graphics and all the little extras that came with it. The glowbugs comming up in swarms out of the ground in Zorai lands..the wind stirred dust in Fyros..all of it. Nice touches. Makes it easier to feel like I'm really there.
I like the storyline.
What tended to drive me off in the past?
1. Curiosity. There's alwase the prospect of greener gaming grass just over the horizon...so gotta go check it out.
2. Community..kinda. I tended to get tired of the constant pissing and moaning.. and the "my way or the high way" type attitude of alot of folk... but heck... if I'm in a group of 3 or more, at least 2 of the people are gonna be getting on my nerves, so I'm learning to bite my tongue and just deal with it

I understand the hotted up attituded over pvp issues. I've been in lots and lots of games, some pvp centric and some not. It's been my experience that pvp centric games do tend to draw a disproportionate number of ...(what's an allowable discriptor for folk of less than diverse genetic heritage from parents related prior to marrage with propensity to disruptive behavior and a demonstrated inability to relate cause to effect?). But, this game was made with at least some pvp in mind, it's all over the storyline and the race/political structure of the game..so I will learn to deal with it as well

Anyhoo, just sayin hello again, again and wondering if there's any other travelers out there that've succomed to the need to return to the Ryzom Saga.
PS. My newbie toon is named Balto, he's a Fyros because they're the good guys.