Honest Reviews

[Nirvy]

Hi im looking for any honest reviews from people who are playing the game now, im NOT interested in any BETA reviews, i wanna know how the game is NOW.

Could anyone post a review based on such things as :-

1. Graphics - i can see by the screenshots it looks awesome but how does the whole thing move? Plenty of animation? Different skill effects?

2. Sound - whats the sound effects and music like? Do they fit the mood of the game?

3. Crafting - how does this work? Is it simple or overly complex like in horizons?

4. Fighting - How does this work? Is it slow and cumbersome? Fast and involving? Do i just sit there while my toon smashes away at a lifeless mob til either is dead (like all other mmorpg's)

5. Magic - How does this work? Is there a lot of sitting around waiting for mana/hp to regen? I also understand we can create our own skills/magic?

6. Community - Is there many currently in game or just a few ppl scattered about? Is the community friendly/helpful? No annoying little brats spoiling the fun for everyone else? Roleplaying etc.

7. Server performance - Any lag? Random disconnects? much server downtime? If the server is going down is there plenty of warning?

8. Forums - is there many people moaning about the game in there? I will be coming from lineage 2 and the forums are full of moaners ripping the game to shreds (honesty it isnt as bad as people in there would have you believe)

From what im reading (gathering small bits of info from various places) The game sounds great, i dont hear many ppl moaning about how poor this or that is etc.

Thanks for your time in reading this lengthy post and i look forward to reading your responses

Well i got the game on Tues, and wasn't a Beta tester. This is only my 3rd MMOG.

1. Once you see it moving, its a million times better than the screenshots show. I still stop to watch the herds run about, the trees blow about, the rain. This is by far the most Alive world i ahve played online.

2.There is no music, which is good as i play my own MP3's. Sounds are good, nothing amazing, you can tell by the sounds what animals are around, what spells are being fired etc. I have heard better, but they are definitely good.

3. Not sure i dont craft. Crafters seem to level much faster than fighters or mages however.

4. Fighting is what i love, if your fighting an even levelled Mob, you cant really just sit there and let your toon fight, you gotta manage all your special attacks so you dont drain your HP's or Stamina, im level 31 Melee fighter, and fighting something my level takes maybe 2 mins, and during that time im active, when i dodge i get a special attack if i click fast enough, that attack doesnt use my stamina so i try to click it when ever i dodge. You can edit all your fighting skills, you can add effects onto your attacks, such as stun, bleed, imp dmg, imp accuracy etc, you have to balance all this off with managing your stamina and HP's. Fighting is HARD, you can die fast in this game, luckily even at level 31, all i need are about 8 mob kills and i level. You can also use Aura's that increase regen, or make you less vulnerable to arrows or melee weapons. PLease the mobs are smart, you constantly have to watch them, sometimes they run away and lead you into the rest of their friends, sometimes they get help to come to them. So sitting around half AFK whilst fighting will get you killed.

5. Very little downtime from what i see. Yes all spells, melee/ranged attacks can be customised as mentioned before. You can add virtually anything to the attacks, so long as you can pay the cost

6. Still early on the Euro English server. Plenty of people about to group with, however today is the official release day in Europe so the pop should grow fast now.

7.I used to play Horizons, and cant beleive how little lag their is, i ahvent been disconnected or lagged out in my 3-4 days of play. I dont think the servers have been down for maintenance yet..well i wasnt online if they did.

8. I know you cant see the forums, but out of the 1000's of posts virtually none are moaning, the closest to it are a few people who are having trouble registering. Compared to the Horizons forums its heaven

[curelne]

Some quick responses
1- there's a lot of animations : wind, insects, bees, glowing worms, shooting stars, birds etc The landscape changes with the seasons. And magic effects are the most beautiful I've seen.
2- No music for the moment. The main theme is available on the official website. In game, there's just ambiant sounds and they're great (animals, insects, wind...). I'm not sure I'll play with the music when implemented.
3- I don't think crafting is complex, you just have to do a little thinking before choosing your stanzas and craft plans. Colors seem random, but I'm sure there's a pattern inside, I've juste have to find where and how it works.
4- Fighting can be boring yes, but like in all other mmorpg's. But in group you can build strategies and cunning plans and find more fun.
5- Magic : if you choose well your stanzas, increase your caracteristics and build your spells cleverly you won't need to sit for long
6- I speak only for the French community. I've always found people everywhere, even at 5am. We have now more than 30 guilds (declared), rp for the majority (a lot for Matis and Fyros people). As always there's some little brats but not as much as I feared. Lot of help everywhere. Better, you can always find a guide or a GM if you need one. The technical support works very well.
7- Personnaly, I've absolutely no problem : no lag, just one random disconnect in a week of game (and I think it's my web provider).
8- The majority is enjoying the game, and the moaners are always the same and moaning about the same problems, ie everything that is not fixed yet (some bugs and other problems) but will soon be, and everything that is announced and they can't enjoy now.

Yes the game is great, I have a lot of fun in Atys, and I'm eagerly waiting for the encyclopoedia and other rp events.

Paera - and her poor English

[sledge11]

1. Graphics - i can see by the screenshots it looks awesome but how does the whole thing move? Plenty of animation? Different skill effects?

What more can I add. The graphics are very nicely done. The trees sway in the wind. The quality is as it should be.

2. Sound - whats the sound effects and music like? Do they fit the mood of the game?
There are the battle sounds. True, the background type of music is missing. That's not much of an issue for me. Lots of critter and human sounds.

3. Crafting - how does this work? Is it simple or overly complex like in horizons?
Crafting is pretty straightforward. At least in the beginning. The patterns gave 62% success to start with and it is easy to level up.

4. Fighting - How does this work? Is it slow and cumbersome? Fast and involving? Do i just sit there while my toon smashes away at a lifeless mob til either is dead (like all other mmorpg's)
Fighting is a load of fun. You have to watch your health and stam. Other critters may join the fight. They can kill you. Even different critters fight each other to the death. I have stopped and watched the battles. It is amazing.

5. Magic - How does this work? Is there a lot of sitting around waiting for mana/hp to regen? I also understand we can create our own skills/magic?
You can create your own custom spells and can actually have spells that do not use any mana. Of course, you don't want to get hit much either.

6. Community - Is there many currently in game or just a few ppl scattered about? Is the community friendly/helpful? No annoying little brats spoiling the fun for everyone else? Roleplaying etc.
Not a lot of players in the game yet. This weekend should start to see increases due to a lot of players not getting the game until today. Also, there isn't a lot of talk yet, probally because most people are trying to figure out the game.

Everyone has been courtious and i have yet to see any kill stealing except by the guards, and they say they are just doing their job protecting the town.

7. Server performance - Any lag? Random disconnects? much server downtime? If the server is going down is there plenty of warning?
Lag free so far. No disconnects. The server is supposed to go down???? AS far as I know, it hasn't gone down yet nor have there been huge daily patches or tiny daily patches.

8. Forums - is there many people moaning about the game in there? I will be coming from lineage 2 and the forums are full of moaners ripping the game to shreds (honesty it isnt as bad as people in there would have you believe)

The forums are almost all positive. Sure, there are some players having some problems getting in the game or odd issues with playing. The GMs are right there assisting the players and working hard to get everyone operational.

In summary, I only saw the open boards during Beta. Wednesday was the first time I entered the game. I was very hesitant about buying the game at the start after the fiasco that was Horizons. The Saga of Ryzom is no Horizons. I have been very pleased with the quality of the game and the quality of Nevrex and the quality of the supporting Server Networks.

This weekend should be a load of fun when a large number of players can finally get into the game.