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Why is this game so obscure?
Hi,
New player here having just discovered this game, and I cannot believe it's been around since '05.
Granted I've just started but from how dynamic the skills and crafting are even in the begining, had I have heard about it in '05 I would have dropped final fantasy XI in a heartbeat for it (not to dis FFXI or anything). From all I can tell it just gets wilder as more options open up.
I mean it's just got so much more in it than the other titles that were released around then, so why did it take me until now to hear a peep about it? In an offhanded remark in another games forums no less.
Seriously if they threw a little bit more advertising behind this it'd pay off in spades even today. The graphics may be a bit dated but if you consider the timeframe they're actualy a cut above. Lots of people are playing games with worse anyhow.
Granted I haven't run into the "devoid of life" in the starter zone or anything so maybe they are and I hope so because it'd be a shame for such a wonderful game to fade into obscurity.
This game so far is blowing me away though the freedom and the environment, and that doesn't happen often anymore (been playing online games since '94 (MUDs), BBS door games before that, and most major mmos since).
Anyways I'm doin my bit all my contacts are hearing about it now. Also they get some sub outta me after this trial runs out, even if I don't really have the time for it. This game deserves to be supported.
Comments
Ryzom appeals to the more oldschool mmo gamer.
Skill system,crafting and gathering focus, unforgiving team focused game world, optional missions, a lot of mob killing (hunts), deve run live Events, RP focused, non-instanced Lairs.
The game is a major time investment and for the newer mmo gamers to give that much time to a game that looks to be very content lite (because you need to look for it) the game is basically a uninstall after a day or two.
The devs could try to advertize but Ryzoms target player base has moved on mostly.
I think its lucky to have the 5k+ subs it has across three multi language servers.
I enjoy ryzom very much (on and off) its my little mmo gem, a reminder of the good old days of mmo gaming, the good old dayd that the new mmo devs feel they've evolved passed by creating a instant gradification, casual experience.
I hope you Enjoy ryzom as much as I have.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
1) No advertising. Ryzom launched against WoW and EQ2. At the time it ran some clever ads hinting at how Ryzom was different from its rivals. But I haven't seen an ad of any sort in years.
2) Most players then and now want a familiar environment with familiar avatars. That's one reason why big IP's draw so many paying customers. Ryzom is totally alien. I love that aspect of the game but most mmorpg players, especially today, do not.
3) The starter island has some bugged quests which the devs have never bothered to fix. None of them prevent you from learning and advancing but players are not used to seeing bugs so early in a game. It gives a bad first impression.
4) Ryzom is a deep, complex game and there is little hand-holding even in the tutorial missions. Most people seem to like being told what to do and how to do it. Ryzom does neither.
I never encountered a bug on the noob isle, unless you consider not being able to leave with an active quest that can't be cancelled a bug.
I presonally think Ryzom did poorly simply because of the name, as stupid as it sounds, people do judge it based on that.
Lack of adnvertising would be next.
Otherwise, it really is a gem of a game, and I think the reason people avoid it *to date* is the lacking population in-game, which is attributed to the last points I made.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
My main reason for leaving was I felt like I was playing a single player game. I could get past the other flaws if there was any real sort of community.
Its a fact if you create a game with no clear cut goal for the player most players will lost interest.
In Ryzom and other games that are similar the players set their own goals and work toward them overtime.
You don't have a level cap to work toward, quest hubs to move from over and over, no real clear cut crafting profression system thats idiot proof.
These games that drop u on your ass in the middle of a game world and say "Good luck" just don't appeal to the mass market and sadly the niche fans are few and far between.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
I need music in my games. I can't play a game without it. It's like watching a movie with no soundtrack.
That is my main reason. My second reason, I found the combat tedious and overly complicated to the point I just didn't care anymore and wasn't excited enough to fiddle with stanzas.
Cool concept, but the game lacks in 2 MAJOR areas, combat and music/immersion.
It has suffered from a lot of problems....
The first time I looked at Ryzom- back when they launched - I saw their big fat warning about deleting characters if you remained unsubbed for more than 3 months, and I said to myself "Screw that" and I moved on.
The second time I looked at Ryzom was several years later. The newbie zones were segregated by race (so fewer players in each) and it was lagged to hell. Again I passed.
The third time I looked at Ryzom was after they added the new newbie zone (Silan). The lag was gone, there were lots of players and suddenly I went "OMG this game is freaking awezome".
I had to unsub for RL reasons a few months later, and they went bankrupt again and locked out anyone from subscribing. That lasted, what, over a year?
The game definitely deserves to be more popular than it is but there are understandable reasons for its obscurity.
You don't have a soundtrack in real life. In real life, if you want music, you turn on your mp3 player, which can also be found conveniently ingame, an mp3 player.
The combat, well... it all depends what you like and how much you like to customize your actions. I personally always have actions set up to use after critical hits, dodge/parry, some that use more HP or Stamina, etc... Won't find me bashing the same button all the time
It launched together with wow and eq2 (ryzom actually launched a month earlier or something, not 100% finished at release but it had to release to make a chance against the 2 big once)
I played it for some time
wow won the subscription race
Now there is no money, means no advertising, means no new subscription, means no more money
chicken and egg problem which goes for many mmo's
At least with the benefit of retrospect, I'd say that was a mistake.
My guild tried EQ2 when it launched, but it was so buggy. And then WOW launched free of bugs. EQ2's bugginess just made WOW look even better by comparison. Ditching EQ2 was an easy decision.
If Ryzom did the same....
All those little reasons
http://mmovoices.ning.com/profiles/blogs/ryzom-the-game-for-me?xg_source=activity
CU
SaM
Do you dare to adapt?
Ryzom Core... get some friends... make your own not-so-massively ORPG that you enjoy...
...it is pretty tempting to take a look at this, all things considered. Surprised there was not more discussion of Ryzom Core with all the HeroEngine threads that appeared recently.
I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?
Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%
I knew it only because someone posted a link to the open source stuff repository. If they only could get a few banner advertisements here and there, people would have the chance of trying the game!