Ryzom

I hope you like it, from what i've seen so far due to the distribution problems I guess is that there arn't many players as of yet in the game.

That said though the community is very strong, and expanding with new players every day. If you decide to be a Tryker i think its spelt, look out for someone called Cricket. He makes very good weapons and im sure he would help you out, he's on the starting island still i think.

My ingame names Kageoni if you want to meet up with me, im on the starting island too and would be glad to help you out and teach you the basics if you want.

To the original poster:

The population could certainly be bigger, but I think it'll grow with word of mouth. I really just can't believe that the game isn't overflowing even -without- a lot of advertising. I've been playing MMOs since Everquest launched (though I quickly switched to AC1 and stayed there for years), and my standards have grown higher with each one I played. After leaving AC1, I tried a wide variety of MMOs, always looking for the next "right" thing for me. This is it.

Anyway, I'd probably fall under the "avid MMO gamer" category, and I think that's the group that's found Ryzom thus far. In order to know it's available, you pretty much have to be looking online or in gaming magazines. Given the remarkable fun this game is to play, I'm sure word of mouth will spread. Even so, your average gamer learns about the game by seeing the box on the shelf while looking for something to do. Without boxes on shelves, we'll have problems.

It's my guess (and hope) that distributors only started small in order to make sure they weren't left with boxes sitting around gathering dust. I'll be honest- going in to Ryzom, I was worried about the company's size after having seen what happened to Horizon. I'm less worried now. This game is just too good to die on the vine. Right now, it's like the game is a precious secret. Eventually the secret's going to get out. When that happens, it's going to be a lot more difficult to get anything done on the starter islands. =)

Speaking of the starter islands, they actually end up leaving you with a somewhat false impression. Unlike a lot of games in which people tend to gather at central "hubs" of activity early in their careers, Ryzom starts each race off in its own seperate island. I've played a character of each race up to the mainland just to see how they were different and to get an idea of what the different playerbases were like. My findings were that the Matis had the largest community, the Fyros were fairly comparable in number, the Trykers were next and visably less numerous, and the Zorai seemed to be the least represented. Things do pick up a bit when you reach the mainland, but it can still seem quieter than it actually is.

Guild channels have a lot to do with the lack of chatter on the Region channels (people in guilds tend to focus their chat there), and different levels of progression tend to account for the rest. After reaching a certain point, you're almost obligated to move away from the main cities, only checking back in to visit your apartment or to use your pack mektoub for storage. At the moment, I'd say we've just finished a "second wave" of activity through the starter islands. The second wave was comprised of people new to the game who picked it up at launch and have since realized they left the starter islands too early. As a result, they've restarted and gone through the process again.

In any case, the races remain seperated for quite some time by very difficult-to-cross terrain. As such, the playerbase is effectively quartered. Some of the beta testers who knew what to do have already managed to cross over into the lands of multiple races, but most players will be sequestered in their own lands for quite awhile. This can lead to a feeling of deeper quiet than many are used to in MMOs. On the other hand, it can also cultivate a closer network among players. Unlike games that have hundreds of different names disappearing into the void of global chatter, you can actually pick out familiar names around you pretty quickly.

I guess that's enough babbling from me for now, though. I'm ready to get back into the game and do some crafting. Maybe I'll even try some of my own armor out in the field. Cheers!

Unregistered wrote:and how is that any different from any other mmorpg's advertising/

I'l let you in a little secret - People KNOW about the game - they just don't care.

Ryzom wil never be big for the simple fact its some crasy sci fi theme and not the highly popular traditional medieval fantasy.. plus the gameplay itself isn't exactly loads of fun to get into from the start.

It's different from other MMORPGs in that there aren't cardboard displays and boxes on shelves in Electronics Boutique, Babbage's, Sofware Etc., or many of the other retail outlets. The people who frequent the MMO forums are the tip of the iceberg in terms of playerbase.

I won't debate the fun of the gameplay, as we both seem to have come to radically different conclusions as far as that's concerned. Your opinion is every bit as valid as mine on the subject, and Nevrax doesn't need a massive marketplace share to agree with either of us; it just needs a large enough percentage to agree with me to keep the servers up and pay the salaries of the current live staff. Considering there are only four sever farms worldwide for the game (as opposed to the fifteen or so a game like SWG has in North America alone), I don't think that's at all improbable.

I really do enjoy the game, though. It's the first thing to come along since Asheron's Call 1 that actually allows me to play my character in whatever way I please, and I have to believe there are others out there who find that to be an attractive quality. It's certainly not an abundant quality in today's spectrum of MMOs. Games like World of Warcraft offer a great deal of stability and polishing to be sure. That game in particular plays a bit like a "greatest hits" edition of MMOs past and present. The thing it doesn't offer much of, character customization, is the thing that Ryzom offers in spades. The games are targeted at two very different types of players. I suppose we'll see in time if there are enough players like me to keep it afloat, but I suspect that there are.

This game is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was at the end of Beta. Most of the leaks in the dam have been plugged. MMOs are by their very nature dynamic entities, and this one is moving along at a very good clip so far. While it certainly isn't a game for everyone, Nevrax can't be said to be an idle group of developers. Their programmers have been on top of critical issues as soon as they pop up. There are still a number of bugs, but none of them are game-breaking at this stage. The only truly critical issue that still plagues the game is the endgame decay rate, and there aren't many people other than beta testers who've made it far enough for that to be a problem yet. It's definitely a problem for those who have, and a significant problem at that, but even -that- isn't game-breaking; it's just extremely inconvenient.

In any case, I said I wouldn't debate the fun of Ryzom's gameplay with you, and it seems I've done exactly that, if only in a roundabout way. You said that "Ryzom wil never be big for the simple fact its some crasy sci fi theme and not the highly popular traditional medieval fantasy," and I don't really disagree with you on either point. It -won't- ever reach the behemoth size of games developed by mega-corporations with lots of capital to throw around. It's aiming for a smaller target than that, a target that's a bit higher and to the left of center. We'll see if they hit enough of it to thrive. I know they've hit me, and I'm not the only one. This game has precisely what I've been looking for, and as I said, it's the only one to do it in about four years. It's not for you? Then there are many other games that bear striking resemblances to one another that are vying for your dollars. There really isn't any competition for what this game has, however, and that's what will keep it around.

Unregistered wrote:Sure there are.. Ryzom is on store shelves.. or at least it should be because they have a distributor that took care of sending the boxes to the tretail outlets.

It's on -some- store shelves, but not very many. There are quite a few posts on this board and the registered board in which people are asking where they or their friends can get the game, many more by people claiming to have driven an hour to the nearest store with a copy in stock. There are quite a few people who want North America to be eligible for the downloadable version, but that's likely not going to happen due to distribution deals (that clearly aren't working). The game was distributed, but in very small volume. Many software outlet employees apparently haven't even -heard- of the game.

Here's a reply from a thread on the registered boards:

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crames wrote:Well, I've seen gamesites preview the game, but it's a little hard to find reviews. IGN.com doesn't have a review up yet.

I kinda like the underground feel of the game, (I mean, there's something unappealing about a game as popular and "mainstream" as EQ or FFXI), but isn't one of the big reasons no one's heard about it--the distribution issues? It's not like this game is sitting in everybody's store. I had to go kinda far away to find it. It'd be nice if the guy at Gamestop or Bestbuy knew what the heck I was talking about.

Vendor: "Saga of what?"

Me: "Saga of Ryzom."

Vendor: "Of what?"

Me: "R-Y-Z-O-M. Ryzom"

Vendor: "For what system?"

Me: "It's for the PC. Came out last month."

Vendor: "Hey Bill, have you heard of a Saga of Ryzom?"

Bill: "No. It's probably an expansion pack."

Vendor "It is probably an expansion pack. What's the name of the original game?"

Me: "No, it's not."

Vendor: "Oh. Let me check. What's it called again?"

Sheesh. Don't even think of calling Target. Not the one near me. You'll be put through by the operator into the soundtrack to every bad 80s movie you ever saw, for 10 MINUTES. Then some lady will pick up the phone: "Who are you waiting for?" ...

Me: "Uh, I was just wondering if you have a PC game in stock--"

Lady: "Oh, electronics is between shifts. Someone may almost probably be here to kind of help you in a not-really sort of way in 10 minutes. Could you hold on sweety? Thanks."

Then there is the ever helpful, kind, and knowledgeable guys at EB Games who let you down.

Me: "Do you have Saga of Ryzom for the PC."

EBGamesGuy: "Yes! We do carry it."

MeInThought: Finally! I can play Ryzom.

EBGamesGuy: "Yes, I'm afraid we don't have any in stock right now. More on the way though, if you want to wait--"

You can even drive down to OfficeMax if you're crazy. You won't find Ryzom, but you WILL find a stack of pens for a good price. Do yourself a favor and stab yourself with them, because you're in for a long haul before you can play Ryzom ... especially if you have an ATI Radeon 9000.

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That's one out of about fifty I could've copied. I chose that one because it happened to be the funniest. The game is around, but you have to do a lot of work to get it. When you finally -do- find it, it's not around in big displays or facing outward on the shelf. It rarely seems to be present in volumes greater than three per store, usually stuck in between "Bass Fishing VI: 90 lb-test!" and "Buckshot XI: Stag Party!"

The people playing the game now are the people who were passionate enough to pre-order, call around searching store inventories for it, or eligible for the download. That's not your typical gamer. Apparently it's about the same in the UK, too. How many more people might be playing this game if it were smiling at them from behind the window of their nearest software store? How many if store employees actually knew about it? Quite a few, I'd wager.