Ryzom

Some Perspective
A player editorial. No, I do not work for Nevrax.

After patch one, I am one of the apparently very few who are enjoying the game more than pre-patch. To me, things are now challenging. Combat is fast-paced and demands more quick reflexes, caution, and thinking. When I fight a prime yber, which gives me 1500 xp, I take a beating and I have to keep my wits together to come out on top. I like this.

Yes, a lot of people have left; patch one made a lot of people very unhappy that the game isn't as easy as it was before, and a lot of them quit. Some of the people who have quit are so angry that they have chosen to stick around on these boards and complain about things some more, leaving choice droppings like, "patch 20 is another piece of crap." I suppose that is their perogative, although it is irritating to me, personally.

In response to that "piece of crap" post I just mentioned, Tayster offered us this bit of insight:

Tayster wrote:Here's what I believe happened. Nevrax envisioned a game. They released it. The game then started heading somewhere completely different. This patch is meant to correct that.

I think he or she is dead on with this one. One of the things I have noticed post-patch is that you never hear of anyone even mentioning going to other civilizations anymore. Before patch one, that, along with getting into the prime roots, were the major things that the high-level players were doing. I think that that didn't fit into the vision that Nevrax has for the game; the meeting of the different civs and exploration of prime roots are supposed to come much, much later in their timeline. If you think of it in terms of the story, it pans out like this:


Homins were decimated by the kitins. Thousands died, and the few that were left were shepherded by the united efforts of Kami and Karavan to refugee lands. Each civilization spent three generations there. It was a long time--again, three generations--before things had settled down to the point where the Kami and Karavan felt it would be safe to return homins from isolation back to the surface of Atys. And this is where we, the players of SoR, find ourselves now--facing an overtly hostile new world, trying to survive and rebuild from the ground up.If you think about it like that, the fact that people were running around digging materials out of the prime roots and staging massive guild migrations between civilizations seems out of sync. I believe this is why the devs implemented patch one.

Many people will read the above reasons and respond that it is the devs fault, then, for making things too easy in the first place, and, since everyone was used to things being like that and having fun playing that way, it is the devs responsibility to roll things back to the way they were before. But, if things were too easy, you cannot entirely blame the devs for a lack of foresight. MMORPG players are an obsessive bunch. There were large amounts of players, many who seem to have left now, who played for massive amounts of time and were able to build their characters to levels of 150+. My thinking is that that's not what the devs had planned for this game, either, and so they made sweeping and drastic changes to stop that kind of rapid advancement. What I am getting at is: if you are going to say the devs are at fault for implementing patch one, you've also got to step back and see why they would think it necessary to make such major changes. They do have a plan for this game, and that plan was being jeopardized by a section of the population who advanced quicker than they had expected. To keep the plan on track, they had to put the player population in check.

Many people are saying that the devs have committed suicide with patch one. Look, the devs don't want to kill their own game. They may want to stick to their vision, though. I believe that there are players who were, are, and will be excited by that vision and will stick with Ryzom. Many may be leaving now, but I venture to say that more, who are more in-line with the devs' vision for Ryzom, will come. That's just what I think and hope; only time will tell.

Finally, if you are not satisfied with this game because it is not perfect and does not quench your thirst for instant gratification, or if you just simply don't find it fun anymore, it doesn't bother me if you leave and go find something more to your liking. I hope that is possible, and that you are able to find something fun.

Here here. Go tryker lady, it's your birthday have a party. I like patch 20, amybe I'm just imagining things, but combat does seem a little more doable solo. Or maybe it happened in patch 19 and i ddin't notice. Either way, I'm gald i was convinced to come back. Now, if only someone would answer my armor question.

Nice, civil post. However, IMO, you are making an invalid assumption. The real issue is FUN. If the game is fun, great; if not, then bad. For most of us, it has nothing to do with difficulty, level, etc.

I have played since release, and a common thread of the experienced MMORPGers on this forum has been:

1. Ryzom is fun;
2. Ryzom has great concept and potential; and
3. Please do not nerf Ryzom into oblivion.

If the devs do not want players to be able to solo, for example, that is their prerogative. However, if you want a reasonable customer base, a game has to be flexible and allow players options other than sitting around doing nothing until a group appears.

Nerfage without thought to game enjoyment is not a formula for success; rather, it is simply gratuitous nerfage.

gatineau wrote:Nice, civil post. However, IMO, you are making an invalid assumption. The real issue is FUN. If the game is fun, great; if not, then bad. For most of us, it has nothing to do with difficulty, level, etc.

Thanks for the reply, gat. I wouldn't agree that I'm making an invalid assumption, though. You say the real issue is FUN. If you re-read my post, you will see that the first thing I mention is that I am enjoying the game more post-patch than I was pre-patch. Also, at the end of the post, I suggest that if the game is not fun for someone anymore, they should move on. I would like to add that you could perhaps wait a week or two and come back and try it again.



At any rate, I totally agree that the real issue is FUN. My issue with all of the "fix it now or I'm leaving" posts and the general attitude of players who are not willing to adjust is that they seem to have forgotten about fun. When you are angry, you are not having fun. If I had to make a suggestion on how someone might enjoy the game post-patch, it would be:Realize that this is a game. Realize that it is an online game, and things are going to change. Loosen up. Roll with the changes. Keep an open mind. And, of course, try to have fun. A deep breath and a count to ten wouldn't hurt, either.

Oh, and EDIT:

The game is still soloable. It just takes some re-adjustment. Like I said in my original post, I am able to solo a prime yber for 1500 xp; it takes a lot out of me, but I enjoy it. You can't say that the game is not soloable. You can certainly say that it is not soloable exactly how it was before, but you can't say that it's not at all soloable.

Good, sensible reply (thanks). For myself, all I KNOW at this moment is:

1. Ryzom is less fun now than it was before Patch 2; and
2. It is too soon to know anything yet

Personally, I am quite upset about how we ended up respeccing after patch 2. IMO we applied our SP to crafting, for example, under false pretenses. A respec (not a rollback) would allow players to readjust to the dramatic changes in combat.

I am able to solo a prime yber for 1500 xp; it takes a lot out of me, but I enjoy it. You can't say that the game is not soloable.

Then it's very, very different at higher levels. I wish it weren't the case, but I have to say it

aelvana wrote:Then it's very, very different at higher levels. I wish it weren't the case, but I have to say it

Yea people who are low lvl think they can make assumption of how higher end game is just from how there play is. It just doesnt work.

If the higher end game is very different, and it certainly appears that way, then planning ahead is near pointless. Apparently, one must adapt as they level and be willing to write off the SP spent at lower levels. Particularly when the game can change completely in a single patch?

Were the game decision makers truly unaware of how the game would play out? Or did they plan, like so many games, to start things off easy until they had a certain number of players (a.k.a. paying customers)?

Am I being overly cynical? Hmm.

Great post yy!!!

I think you have hit the nail on the head with this one, your conclusions fit well with what was done in patch 1 and with what I understand the story to be. I have been thinking much the same thing for awhile, but not nearly as articulately as you have. As a quick for instance, the story of Ryzom calls for a considerable racial tension, but as you point out, trips to other lands used to be common, as was the establishment of cross-cultural guilds. From the first time I heard of such a guild I had this feeling in the back of my mind that the devs would try to stop that somehow, because it was so counter to the intended story.

If that is indeed the case, I am sure that some will not like it (why shouldn't I be able to create a guild of all 4 races if I want to?) but I love it! If this is the case it will be the first RPG I have participated in where the story (as Nevrax says) matters!

As far as combat, after playing for a few hours with the current system, I am coming to agree with you. I have come to understand that the world is a dangerous place, and I can't necessarily go anywhere I want to just by running blindly from point A to point B. I may have to think a little, I may have to go around, or fight my way through, and I may have to RISK being killed and suffering a DP! I LIKE the fact that my actions matter, that clear thinking is rewarded, and carelessness is punished. I like the fact that if I am fighting a mob near my own level it is very much a life and death issue.

Last night I teamed with a healer for the first time post-patch, and all I can say is, it was awesome! If I get a single add when soloing there is a good chance I will die, but last night I was able to handle 3 (and once even 4) mobs and we both survived. What a rush!

I honestly believe that the nay-sayers ought to give post-patch Ryzom another chance. Leveling in Ryzom (as a fighter) used to be a cake walk, now it is a challenge, now I have to THINK in order to progress, and sometimes even to survive.

Now, I would still like to see the combat slowed a little, I would appreciate the chance to make battles more tactical than they are, but if they don't change the combat system at all, that's okay too.

BTW, Miy is level 45 melee, wears heavy armor and wields a sword and dagger, for those who are wondering.

Miy's player

one thing.... homins was decimated by the KITINS, not by the YUBOS or the GINGOS. if a kipee (non aggro, kitin) is capable to wipe the floor with my face I won't complain I promise.