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Before I try, a few questions.
Before I dl the Ryzom free trial and check the game out I had a few questions to ask first. I did browse through these forums a bit but many questions were not there or the answers seemed vague, mostly due to the vague questions.
First, a bit about me. Unlike a great many people I don't play any game for 8+ hours a day every day. Because of this doing a free trial often is silly because I don't maximize the play time or truly get a feel for the game. I find myself simply "dipping a toe in the water" and finding that the game had not enough to grab my attention. Many people say that a few games out there get better later on but forgive me for being an idealist, I don't want to grind through a month or more of boredom to finally enjoy a game I am paying for today. I am currently a WoW player and BC Beta Tester and though I love the mechanics and storylines within WoW the game's replay ability has waned for me. Normally I play an MMO with one character only even if the game supports many. It's just the way I am as an RP type but with WoW I have 15+. Obviously I like the game but WoW, like nearly every other game out there, is locked into the story line it was created from. Though the player base does have some impact on the "over all" storyline, such as opening up new area's, etc, there is no true progession on a day to day, month to month or year to year level. I personally would like to participate in a game that can in fact deliver that on some level.
I know, I'm crazy like that. On to the questions.
1) The appeal I have with Ryzom after reading the site is the developed AI of suppsedly migrating herds of animals, a lack of rinse and repeat questing and a storyline that evolves with the player base. Though the site informs would be players that the GM's run player events I would guess that since the game is also being sold off, this might have dwindled to a trickle. Is this true or are players still finding that GM involvement still exists? How do YOU feel you have impacted the game world and/or how have players impacted it?
2) How customized is the UI? Will I be stuck with limited key mapping and having to learn from the ground up a completely new system, or will I be able to modify a lot of my key maps to get simple things like movement and character control matched with games i already play?
3) I like the premise behing the Ryzom Ring as it reminds me a bit of Neverwinter Nights and the ability to create your own modules. Are players finding that this was a successfull attempt by the developers or does it make for a lot of useless content?
4) Bots. How many, how bad are they and how mcu are they ruining the game?
5) Rinse and repeat. Crafting aside, are you finding that quests/tasks are dull and full of mindless repetiveness or are you finding variation in tasks you complete? For example, Blizzard did a great job in making quests as varied as possible in WoW but games like CoH/CoV seem like each quest/task is just the same old same old in a slightly different instance.
6) Other tidbits. What do you love about the game? What aspect keeps you coming back for more and is lacking elshwere? I know this is very general in nature but I find that a players experience in a game, be it with friends or soloing, can be something that I would want to duplicate. I have fun stories involving playing many games over the years with friends and those memories make me think of those games with fondness regardless of flaws so what is it about Ryzom that YOU love?
Thanks in advance to any who assist me in answering any of this. Your input is greatly appreciated. 
Comments
I am not currently playing Ryzom so I cannot answer many of your questions that require current knowledge of the game and company, but I can tell you what I love about the game.
Unlike the other games you mentioned, WoW and CoH/V, Ryzom is a sandbox game, and it is skill based rather than level based. Games like Ryzom are best played with others, though there is much opportunity for solo play as well. Since it is a sandbox, what you do is not so much determined by the game systems, quests, raids, etc. but rather by the other people you play with.
And since Ryzom is skill based, you do not choose a class or role when you create your character. In WoW you might be a rogue, you made the choice at character creation and your role from that point forward is limited to what a rogue is. In Ryzom you might start off as a dual dagger wielding melee fighter that is pretty rogue-like, but you can branch out into other melee weapons at any time. Or ranged weapons, or magic. You can start as a prospector and pick up weapon skills. You can pick up crafting, a little, a lot, or switch that to your primary focus.
If your goal is to be a melee/ranged magic user who is adept at healing, defensive, and offensive magic, is a master prospector and master crafter, you can be that. It will take some time to train all the skills needed, but in Ryzom you can train exactly those skills that suit you. You are not limited by some game designer's idea of what a class is. You are the designer of the unique class that you choose for yourself.
Another area of Ryzom that I find fascinating is the skill system. Every skill is customizable. Take a melee skill as an example. Skills are not monolithic blocks taht you either possess or not. Once you have a basic skill you can customize it. Want to increase the speed of a skill? You can do that, but it will cost you, you will need to drain an energy pool a little faster. Want it to do more damage? you can do that too, but again, there is a cost. You can balance a melee skill for speed, energy pool cost, and damage, make it suit your style of play.
Ryzom is not a game that you can jump into and play with little or no thought. In WoW or CoH/V there are a few classes you can start with and only limited customization once you choose a class. In Ryzom the choices are, for all intents and purposes, limitless. There are literally billions of character variations possible, so spending a little time to plan where you want to go is always a good thing.
Give Ryzom a try, and I seriously recommend, unless you absolutely HATE the free trial, buy the game and give it at least a month or two, Ryzom is a very deep game, and deserving of a serious look to see if you are interested.
Good luck!
So in a sense Ryzom is very like the original UO where you could train up in every skill that interests you but unlike UO there is no limit to how high you get each skill? I think UO had a max total skill points so a player coul dmax out only two skills and raising others past a specific level caused the maxed skills to drop. Is that a correct assumption?
1)The animal AI is alot better then other games I've played. There is some migrating and wondering around on set routes from animals, herbivores when they notice you will run over to check you out and carinvores attack and kill the herbivores. There is still a fair bit of them standing around in certain areas though.
I don't go to the GM events so no idea how much influence you have on then and other events but they are on quiet alot, when I was playing on the trial/starter island there was even three gm run events on that. Also GM respond time for complaints or problems is the best I have ever seen with the longest of the three times I've asked for help taking 3 mins for a responce.
I don't feel like i've impacted the game at all but I'm not much of an achiver and have never tried to impact the game.
2)It is a mix. You can keymap out how you like and there are three base key layouts to choose from at character generation with the option of also matching a previous characters keybinds. You can always move the windows around to where you would prefer them on the screen but you can't generate your own windows or interface that I know off.
3)I don't use the ring alot as I'm busy with other stuff most times I'm loged in and I don't have the time to make stuff or much of an inclination but I'd bet the fun from it is what you put in. If your looking for some fun rolepaly and stories then it is great and a nice tool althought it could probalby use some expansions to it.
4)In the few months I've been playing (casualy) I've never seen one but I have heard there is some minor botting but take a screenshot and report them, they do get baned for it and there are alot of players that will report them. All in all I'd say its rare and doesn't hurt the game much at all.
5)Apart from on the starting island missions aren't used much(on the starting island they are a tutorial to the game). All they are really good for on the mainland is getting the fame to join a faction. On the mainland you can start finding things repeatitive depending on how you approach the game, it is one where you set your own goals and the best way of making that more fun for you would probably be good friends who make anything fun or roleplaying if your inclinded towards it.
6) Fun parts of the game. There are my friends that make it so much fun, there is the open skill system which I love, the very in depth crafting system which I'm exploring, the ability to solo or team (although that's my casual style of play, if you want to get skills faster teams are much better) and that parts of the world are very beautifll. Lastly there is the community, there are still bad parts of the community that are rude, arrogant and think they are better then you but they are the minortiy. There are much more people that are friendly, helpfully and mature and they more then make up for the few bad appels.
I don't know if that helps you any
www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/101532
This thread may help you a bit
SoR isn´t like other games.
Th UI is customizable and keyremapping is possible and varried, but not in such a massive way as with WoWs.
Some thing that´s a blessing, some think thats a failiure.
You just can´t make everyone happy. *shrug*
I Love Ryzom Ring and will continue to use it, even though its still in its Baby shoes and will contiunue to grow.
I can´t understand why peolpe allways tend to think everything thats new MUST be automatically serve alle of their wishes.
Well, decide for yourself, even if you only dip your toe in, but let me assure you at least a foot will suffice
MaDSaM
Do you dare to adapt?