Bad news indeed, one of the very few original and creative games closing down. But, honestly, it's not all that surprising because Ryzom for various reasons never attracted large numbers of players but always was a game for a minority amongst the MMORPG crowd - but this minority loved Ryzom indeed!
In fact, that what made Ryzom good was equally the reason for it's missing financial success: It was as much a piece of art as it was a game.
I played Ryzom during closed beta until well after release (I still have their CDs from the early betas when the game was distributed to testers via CD, hehe) and have fond memories of these times. Incidentally it also was the last MMORPG I was subscribed to - everything else that came out after Ryzom just looked so shallow to me ...
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
I think theres a problem when a game is as niche as Auto-assault or Saga or Ryzom is. If you think about it the ideal situation is those that would enjoy the game you want to be playing the game. You want to maximize this as much as possible. The problem Ryzom I think may have had is appealling those people. People see mmos and they see the big guns, they need a reason why they would want to look for a small minnot like Ryzom. Maybe it didn't really sell that reason why it was worthwhile to choose Ryzom over any of the bigger games. Alternatively, it could just have been too niche.
I think theres a problem when a game is as niche as Auto-assault or Saga or Ryzom is. If you think about it the ideal situation is those that would enjoy the game you want to be playing the game. You want to maximize this as much as possible. The problem Ryzom I think may have had is appealling those people. People see mmos and they see the big guns, they need a reason why they would want to look for a small minnot like Ryzom. Maybe it didn't really sell that reason why it was worthwhile to choose Ryzom over any of the bigger games. Alternatively, it could just have been too niche.
I have to disagree with the whole "niche" argument. I think a lot of people stopped playing these games because they simply were not fun or were badly run. They had problems that were never addressed. Many people don't care about the game's setting so long as the gameplay itself is fun.
Having played Ryzom and Auto-assault both, the reason I stopped playing was not because the game involved cars or unusual creatures. The reason I stopped playing is because both games had other glaring problems. Auto-assault had a huge meaningless grind. The enemies were all the same. There was no real sense of community or reason to group. The "out-of-car" walking around was horribly done. The pvp was awful. The game world was shallow. The combat was not that fun. You couldn't really customize the way you fight. etc etc.
Ryzom was the same story. The idea of the world was sorta cool, and way you could customize the crafting and skill system was cool. The problem is....what do you do in Ryzom? You level up your skills to do....what? In Eve, the objective is pvp or conquering space or becoming wealthy or whatever. In Ryzom, there are no auction type systems for trading. Items are all sort of generic. There's nothing really to do with your money even if you had a lot of it. The harder monsters you fight are not that different from newbie ones. The storyline was never really developed much. There is no real pvp or conquest (the pvp in game was awful).
The game just felt like an asian grinder with no end game pvp. The crafting/skills/unique world were the only selling points, and even those had problems. The game didn't fail because it didn't have orcs in it.
Why not offer the source code to a college that has a computer / gaming major? This would allow students gain first hand knowledge about how to run and manage a MMORPG. Alternatively, allow the games source code to fall under the General Public License. Either way people who want to play Ryzom still can and who knows it may attract more gamers. I just don't like the idea of Ryzom just vanishing into thin air...it doesn't make any sense.
Yeah I think you're right Lobem;- that is no doubt an element as well. People do need a reason to keep playing once those people are found. When I say "niche", I'm not meaning necessarily orcs, just a limited appeal. Not really a kind of mainstream successful type game.
Suddenly I see "someone" spamming "Niche" over the forums the last couple of days. is it possible that you use normal words for people that dont by default have a dictionary around ?
Not to mention that it creates a whole new hype "Omg that game is só niche lol" and justl ike most hypes, 99% of the people only know the implication and not the actual meaning.
Quite sad to hear this. I think Ryzomes failure was not that the game wasnt good. It was. But that most people cant break out of the high fantasy mentality... " What , I cant be an Elf, Gnome or Dwarf?". The sad truth is that most gamers seem to lack imagination, something that Ryzome offered in abundance. Go WOW!
Unfortunately I don't think it is that simple. I much prefer Sci Fi settings to high fantasy and also Sandbox games without levels and with a player crafter economy but ultimately I found Ryzom to be a game I didn't enjoy, despite all these great elements that looked really good on paper they just hadn't been put together in a way that made the game enjoyable for me.
Still I think there is a good chance that the group that wanted to buy Ryzom and release it as open software will try again so not all hope is lost yet for the people that do enjoy Ryzom.
Suddenly I see "someone" spamming "Niche" over the forums the last couple of days. is it possible that you use normal words for people that dont by default have a dictionary around ? Not to mention that it creates a whole new hype "Omg that game is só niche lol" and justl ike most hypes, 99% of the people only know the implication and not the actual meaning.
You could always check an online dictionary. Not hard to find
But that aside whats wrong with it being known as a niche game? It mean it's not a mainstream game and instead appeals to a smaller group of players. Knowing I don't like WoW style games much I tend to look closer at games that are described as niche and if it does have a negative implication for some people I can't see it putting them off anymore then two companies having gone bankrupt trying to run the game already has.
Quite sad to hear this. I think Ryzomes failure was not that the game wasnt good. It was. But that most people cant break out of the high fantasy mentality... " What , I cant be an Elf, Gnome or Dwarf?". The sad truth is that most gamers seem to lack imagination, something that Ryzome offered in abundance. Go WOW!
Unfortunately I don't think it is that simple. I much prefer Sci Fi settings to high fantasy and also Sandbox games without levels and with a player crafter economy but ultimately I found Ryzom to be a game I didn't enjoy, despite all these great elements that looked really good on paper they just hadn't been put together in a way that made the game enjoyable for me.
Still I think there is a good chance that the group that wanted to buy Ryzom and release it as open software will try again so not all hope is lost yet for the people that do enjoy Ryzom.
It wasn't the "setting" that was the issue for Ryzom. The problem is it was, in fact, a sandbox game but it did not have all the tools it need to complete that experience.
It was also the victim of a really bad launch, a ton of bad press, a disasterous financal situation, an overall apathetic genre community(MMORPG players) and never getting everything in the game that was originally promised.
It wasn't the "setting" that was the issue for Ryzom. The problem is it was, in fact, a sandbox game but it did not have all the tools it need to complete that experience.
It was also the victim of a really bad launch, a ton of bad press, a disasterous financal situation, an overall apathetic genre community(MMORPG players) and never getting everything in the game that was originally promised.
I agree. That's exactly the way I see it. Ryzom is (was) a game with the potential to tick all the boxes in terms of what I see many players on these forums looking for in their ideal mmorpg. Unfortunately, lack of cash meant that many of the original ideas never got implemented, and they couldn't afford to do the marketing they needed to gain the players to give them the money to finish.
It would be a terrible shame for it to vanish. It actually wouldn't take a huge amount of work to make it a considerably better game. It would be a good purchase for a company with some vision and a little cash to splash.
That's a damn shame that it didn't pick up, the only real issue I had with the game was that there were just a few kinks that needed to be worked out, like being able to jump since they had removed that and you'd have to find a ramp or something if you were swimming or running normally, it's a real shame, It's sad whenever a skill based sandbox MMORPG goes because you just know that somewhere there will be a bunch of level based ph4t l3wt morons laughing at it like idiots.
Quoting people doesn't make you clever, in fact, it makes you all the more stupid for not bothering to read the quotes you post in the first place.
The beginning levels of this game were very very good. I was always suspicious of the end game and the be anything you wanted system. If it had drawn more people, I might have payed for it, but not with the limited numbers and no clear idea of how the end game would turn out (less than usual).
The OP is wrong on many fronts and seems to be quite uniformed about certain things. As of last night there had been an official post on the Ryzom forums stating the position the game is in and what is most likely to happen, the game being shut down in 3 weeks. In that post billing and pre-paid subscriptions were brought up, and they said that anyone that had one month or more pre-paid would be RECEIVING A REFUND and everyone with an active subscription as of last night will be able to play the game for free until it closes.
I don't even play Ryzom, I beta tested it and found it not to my tastes, but I just wanted to make sure that mis-information isn't spread about.
The OP is wrong on many fronts and seems to be quite uniformed about certain things. As of last night there had been an official post on the Ryzom forums stating the position the game is in and what is most likely to happen, the game being shut down in 3 weeks. In that post billing and pre-paid subscriptions were brought up, and they said that anyone that had one month or more pre-paid would be RECEIVING A REFUND and everyone with an active subscription as of last night will be able to play the game for free until it closes. I don't even play Ryzom, I beta tested it and found it not to my tastes, but I just wanted to make sure that mis-information isn't spread about.
Actualy if you read the "official" version on Ryzom forum - you will see that billing information is clarified. However, it does NOT mention anything about players being refunded for subscriptions.
You may not like mis-information, then I suggest you make sure you have read the offical statement and outline where it says players will be reimbursed for subs. Thankyou.
*Edited to add* and FYI - there is supposed to be a "free" period - however, the servers are not in any working contition for play - and if you take a look at the forum you will see many people complaining.
Comments
Bad news indeed, one of the very few original and creative games closing down. But, honestly, it's not all that surprising because Ryzom for various reasons never attracted large numbers of players but always was a game for a minority amongst the MMORPG crowd - but this minority loved Ryzom indeed!
In fact, that what made Ryzom good was equally the reason for it's missing financial success: It was as much a piece of art as it was a game.
I played Ryzom during closed beta until well after release (I still have their CDs from the early betas when the game was distributed to testers via CD, hehe) and have fond memories of these times. Incidentally it also was the last MMORPG I was subscribed to - everything else that came out after Ryzom just looked so shallow to me ...
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
I think theres a problem when a game is as niche as Auto-assault or Saga or Ryzom is. If you think about it the ideal situation is those that would enjoy the game you want to be playing the game. You want to maximize this as much as possible. The problem Ryzom I think may have had is appealling those people. People see mmos and they see the big guns, they need a reason why they would want to look for a small minnot like Ryzom. Maybe it didn't really sell that reason why it was worthwhile to choose Ryzom over any of the bigger games. Alternatively, it could just have been too niche.
I have to disagree with the whole "niche" argument. I think a lot of people stopped playing these games because they simply were not fun or were badly run. They had problems that were never addressed. Many people don't care about the game's setting so long as the gameplay itself is fun.
Having played Ryzom and Auto-assault both, the reason I stopped playing was not because the game involved cars or unusual creatures. The reason I stopped playing is because both games had other glaring problems. Auto-assault had a huge meaningless grind. The enemies were all the same. There was no real sense of community or reason to group. The "out-of-car" walking around was horribly done. The pvp was awful. The game world was shallow. The combat was not that fun. You couldn't really customize the way you fight. etc etc.
Ryzom was the same story. The idea of the world was sorta cool, and way you could customize the crafting and skill system was cool. The problem is....what do you do in Ryzom? You level up your skills to do....what? In Eve, the objective is pvp or conquering space or becoming wealthy or whatever. In Ryzom, there are no auction type systems for trading. Items are all sort of generic. There's nothing really to do with your money even if you had a lot of it. The harder monsters you fight are not that different from newbie ones. The storyline was never really developed much. There is no real pvp or conquest (the pvp in game was awful).
The game just felt like an asian grinder with no end game pvp. The crafting/skills/unique world were the only selling points, and even those had problems. The game didn't fail because it didn't have orcs in it.
Why not offer the source code to a college that has a computer / gaming major? This would allow students gain first hand knowledge about how to run and manage a MMORPG. Alternatively, allow the games source code to fall under the General Public License. Either way people who want to play Ryzom still can and who knows it may attract more gamers. I just don't like the idea of Ryzom just vanishing into thin air...it doesn't make any sense.
I'm sad to hear the game is finished, I never liked Ryzom much, although the people were all nice and helpfull (to me) I just never got into it.
As a gamer, to hear its the company is to be liquidated I find that very scary indeed
Yeah I think you're right Lobem;- that is no doubt an element as well. People do need a reason to keep playing once those people are found. When I say "niche", I'm not meaning necessarily orcs, just a limited appeal. Not really a kind of mainstream successful type game.
Suddenly I see "someone" spamming "Niche" over the forums the last couple of days. is it possible that you use normal words for people that dont by default have a dictionary around ?
Not to mention that it creates a whole new hype "Omg that game is só niche lol" and justl ike most hypes, 99% of the people only know the implication and not the actual meaning.
Unfortunately I don't think it is that simple. I much prefer Sci Fi settings to high fantasy and also Sandbox games without levels and with a player crafter economy but ultimately I found Ryzom to be a game I didn't enjoy, despite all these great elements that looked really good on paper they just hadn't been put together in a way that made the game enjoyable for me.
Still I think there is a good chance that the group that wanted to buy Ryzom and release it as open software will try again so not all hope is lost yet for the people that do enjoy Ryzom.
You could always check an online dictionary. Not hard to find
But that aside whats wrong with it being known as a niche game? It mean it's not a mainstream game and instead appeals to a smaller group of players. Knowing I don't like WoW style games much I tend to look closer at games that are described as niche and if it does have a negative implication for some people I can't see it putting them off anymore then two companies having gone bankrupt trying to run the game already has.
Unfortunately I don't think it is that simple. I much prefer Sci Fi settings to high fantasy and also Sandbox games without levels and with a player crafter economy but ultimately I found Ryzom to be a game I didn't enjoy, despite all these great elements that looked really good on paper they just hadn't been put together in a way that made the game enjoyable for me.
Still I think there is a good chance that the group that wanted to buy Ryzom and release it as open software will try again so not all hope is lost yet for the people that do enjoy Ryzom.
It wasn't the "setting" that was the issue for Ryzom. The problem is it was, in fact, a sandbox game but it did not have all the tools it need to complete that experience.
It was also the victim of a really bad launch, a ton of bad press, a disasterous financal situation, an overall apathetic genre community(MMORPG players) and never getting everything in the game that was originally promised.
I agree. That's exactly the way I see it. Ryzom is (was) a game with the potential to tick all the boxes in terms of what I see many players on these forums looking for in their ideal mmorpg. Unfortunately, lack of cash meant that many of the original ideas never got implemented, and they couldn't afford to do the marketing they needed to gain the players to give them the money to finish.
It would be a terrible shame for it to vanish. It actually wouldn't take a huge amount of work to make it a considerably better game. It would be a good purchase for a company with some vision and a little cash to splash.
That's a damn shame that it didn't pick up, the only real issue I had with the game was that there were just a few kinks that needed to be worked out, like being able to jump since they had removed that and you'd have to find a ramp or something if you were swimming or running normally, it's a real shame, It's sad whenever a skill based sandbox MMORPG goes because you just know that somewhere there will be a bunch of level based ph4t l3wt morons laughing at it like idiots.
Quoting people doesn't make you clever, in fact, it makes you all the more stupid for not bothering to read the quotes you post in the first place.
That is a sad way for a game to end. Especially for the loyal players. However, it makes you wonder.....what is a good way for a MMORPG to end?
Torrential
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
The beginning levels of this game were very very good. I was always suspicious of the end game and the be anything you wanted system. If it had drawn more people, I might have payed for it, but not with the limited numbers and no clear idea of how the end game would turn out (less than usual).
Too bad. Someone obviously tried and just missed.
The OP is wrong on many fronts and seems to be quite uniformed about certain things. As of last night there had been an official post on the Ryzom forums stating the position the game is in and what is most likely to happen, the game being shut down in 3 weeks. In that post billing and pre-paid subscriptions were brought up, and they said that anyone that had one month or more pre-paid would be RECEIVING A REFUND and everyone with an active subscription as of last night will be able to play the game for free until it closes.
I don't even play Ryzom, I beta tested it and found it not to my tastes, but I just wanted to make sure that mis-information isn't spread about.
Actualy if you read the "official" version on Ryzom forum - you will see that billing information is clarified. However, it does NOT mention anything about players being refunded for subscriptions.
You may not like mis-information, then I suggest you make sure you have read the offical statement and outline where it says players will be reimbursed for subs. Thankyou.
*Edited to add* and FYI - there is supposed to be a "free" period - however, the servers are not in any working contition for play - and if you take a look at the forum you will see many people complaining.
It's truly unfortunate that Ryzom is shutting down, but I'd rather the game shut down than sell out.
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