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Sound off on my review
Hi all. As you may know, I recently completed a review of TSoR which was published tonight. If you have not seen it, you may click here to read it in its entirety.
While it's not a hatchet job and it's certainly not as negative as the recent Gamespot review, it is rather critical, particularly in the area of content. It garnered a 7.0 by our rating scale, but truth be known, it probably deserves a lower grade than that, at least in its current state.
The reason I am starting this topic is that I know there has been some negative reaction to certain criticisms of Ryzom by those who enjoy the game. I can assure you that I played the game heavily for almost a month and that my comments are an honest attempt to relay my opinion of the game. I bring no agenda to the table here.
If you have comments on the review, good or bad, please post them here. If you think I was unfair or mistaken, please let me know and I will endeavor to explain my opinion. All I ask is that you be specific. You won't get banned or post deleted for disagreeing with me. 
MMORPG.com is all about the community, and that is why this community member wants to hear what other community members have to say.
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You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
MMORPG.com Staff
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Old timer.
Comments
Well, as someone who would no doubt be considered a 'fanboi' by the less mentally well endowed patrons of these forums, I have to say it's a pretty fair review.
One or two minor points...
The 'disappearing trainer' bug has (as far as I know) been fixed and patched some time ago. I never saw this bug myself, but I heard others had it and I'm sure it was very irritating.
There are named mobs in all areas, not just the Prime Roots. They drop 'body parts' same as other mobs, but of a much higher quality than their non named contemporaries (and they hit very *very* hard compared to said contemporaries. Hisserto and Skoff are particularly nasty).
Guild quests are not broken, they're not actually implemented yet (patch 2 apparently). And yes, this is a bone of contention for many, myself included. Having said that, my guild is using this time to build up our guild fame and resources to be in a good position when they are put in.
I was going to mention the quest system, but as the more involved quests are due for a future patch, on reflection I think you did the right thing it stating things as they are now.
On the whole, apart from the points I mentioned above, I think the review is fair and I like that you even add something of a disclaimer about the fact that some of the issues are common to many if not all MMOGs at release (not that it makes it acceptable - one day we as players will simply stop paying for poor releases in any genre). It is certainly a lot better indication to people considering the game than the stream of 'this is teh suXX0rZ' kind of thing that the trolls feel the need to spew at any game that isn't to their taste :-)
All I would ask (as I would of any MMOG review) is that you revisit the game periodically to see its progress. Some games start well and get worse, some start poorly and get worse, and sometimes one starts poorly and gets a whole lot better. I personally believe Ryzom will fall into the last category.
Call me Legion, for we are many...
Call me Legion, for we are many...
Luckystrike,
I appreciate your comments. Let me respond.
First, this review was completed around October 20. I experienced the "disappearing trainers" bug two days prior to that. It very well may have been fixed in the interim. I hope it has. Regardless, it was a problem all through the month or so I played TSOR, which merits mentioning.
The named mobs may well exist. It is the unfortunate nature of having to write a review in such a short time that the reviewer has to forego some things, such as dedication to one character, because of time considerations. I played several characters, at least one from each race, which did not afford me the opportunity to get one to a high enough level to find the named mobs. I'm glad to know thatt there are some named mobs out there. Still, they are not going to be seen by lower level characters for some time. Newbs are forced to kill Yubos, Izam, Gingos, etc for a good while. It would be nice to see Nevrax throw some named lower levels out there so that young players could have a shot at them.
I know there is a distinction between broken and unimplemented, but in the case of a new release it is a very fine line. If a promised feature is unavailable, it's a detriment to the game. Why it is unavailable is mere detail. Nevrax has announced 2 major patches in the upcoming months. I hope they fix and/or implement the guild quests. Your guild's idea about using the time to build fame is a great idea, IMO.
It is most definitely our plan to revisit Ryzom in 6 months to a year and update the review. The nature of MMORPGs is that they evolve and today's critique may be useless in 6 months.
Thanks for your response!
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You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
MMORPG.com Staff
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Old timer.
I didnt agree with the overall opinion of the game you stated, because I like it on an intuitive level possibly more than you did. So I would have been not so critical. We are all different :-)
This doesnt change the problems the game has with content as you stated. However I think a statement that the game lacked content could possibly have been done with a little better comparison to what game has EVER had content at launch. I have played more than 8 MMORPG of various sorts at launch or shortly after, and in my opinion SoR has made a very good launch effort.
Did you group during your play time, or join a guild? I found my game experience changed quite a lot after I got into a regular group of people via my guild. Mobs that were unapproachable became good experience, whole new areas of the game opened up and were fascinating. A run I did with 20 others to get from one homeland to another was extremely exciting, even tho we all died.
And as pointed out, there are several named mobs I have already encountered, Destroyer Bodoc, Skoff, Orca, and a few others I cant recall. Plus I have seen on some of the more advanced guilds websites pictures of named mobs in the Prime Roots (although I am lead to believe a lot of these are yet to be implemented properly).
SoR has potential, and for that I am willing to give it some time, others may not. But I dont think you can make a valid decision until you have tried the game yourself. I suspect SOR will be a love it or leave it game for many. Love it for me :-)
Heheh, I am at the opposite end Flynnkd. It was a leave it game for me. I played the open Beta and was so impressed with Ryzom that I spent my lunch break on release day tracking down 2 copies then took a couple days off from work to make some progress. Even joined a great guild with some really helpful people. One day I went to log in and just had this bleh feeling come over me about doing the same thing over again as I did the day before and the day before that. Cancelled and haven't looked back.
Maybe I am so used to games with useable loot in them that I can't get over an invisible hump and try and make these crafter centric games work for me, not sure.. This is the second game that uses the crafter only way to do business that I have tried and it just doesn't work for me. On the other hand I have never seen better environmental effects in any other online game I have played and the one month I did play I really can't remember any game breaking bugs. Bottom line for me is I like quests, quests, and more quests. The more intircate the better, especially if it offers an alternative means to garner some decent armor or weapons.
As someone who played Ryzom for a very long time... From Closed Beta 2.3 all the way to Release I agree with your points.
That ryzom has potential... and that it greatly lacks content... We aint talking about "My game x didn't have content at release either so nwah" type of thing... We are talking about almot ZERO content. No designed missions with a little story/twist or path with multiple quests linked. No Lvl requirement Quests at all.
This is why i left ryzom at release i got titred of waiting for the Holy Grail if you will... the thing which in all honesty ryzom needed the most... yet the developers where ignoring it completelty and fixing the engine. Without Game Content the game is not mmorpg because it holds minimal of any rpgs elements such as story/quests. As it currently stands it is all about grind. I know all games are about grind but most try and hide the grind within a package of Quests and story telling which allows you to get immersed into the game.
IN all honesty this is one of the fairest and realistic reviews so far of Ryzom... its been tested by someone for longer than 8 hrs gameplay and thats what mmorpg reviews need... at least a good month of playtime. Nobody complains when a good review of an mmorpg comes out but people miss the fact that it also misses key points/problems with the game too. And then you complain when you get a bad review from gamespot... when again the author doesn't take too long in game.
Basically this review is a good way to judge the game as it currently stands... just read patch notes 1 and you have an impression of what you will get. Pretty simple.
Also if Patch 1 doesn't release content i can see quite a few people leaving over it, because you can't make people pay for a game without much else to do other than grind and have fancy animations.
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, EverQuest 2 World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Btw prior to my leaving of this game i also posted what was wrong and wat was right etc.
That was a good 2 months ago i think.
Link is here if ya want a read:
http://www.worldofryzom.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1315
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, EverQuest 2 World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Great review but you know patch 1 is coming on the 3 (in 2 days)? why not have wait to write a review of the game with content ? maybe its a deadline from mmorpg.com.
Anyway, fair review for the first month, we will see if patch 1 fixes some of the issus in 2 days. I think it could be a great idea to write another review or just a "add-on" to the review, so people know what has been change and if the game is more complete.
@Neas ;
"We are talking about almot ZERO content"
First you can play so there must be some content, the lack is similar to most PvP games the first month, im not saying it makes it alright but patch 1 is coming. (If you've played L2, it was similar at release and content got add with chronicle 1, 1 month after release....
"Btw prior to my leaving of this game i also posted what was wrong and wat was right etc.
That was a good 2 months ago i think."
Hum 2 month ago the game was in closed beta.... and you think you can judge the game ?
you can play a FPS single player just by having wave upon wave of monsters come at you and fire your single pistol. No lvls, no extra weapons no hud just a cursor and targets....
That can be called a game. it has the engine and the gameplay there BUT there is NO CONTENT.
Content isnt the engine or the gameplay its the actual GAME itself... the story, the filler the core of the game. Suer you can play it but all you do is grind and you could do one or two of the missions but they are so mundane... so computer generated that you would hardly enjoy them.
Ryzom has no story atm... sure it has hand written stuff on websites but in game wise it doesn't. The missions dont even have descriptive story/background added to them they are just computer generated nonsense i.e collect X Kill Y and i Pay you Z. All of them running along a similar theme. To collect a really hard material and in the end get paid 8 dapper...
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, EverQuest 2 World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Ok i will repeat myself :
First you can play so there must be some content, the lack is similar to most PvP games the first month, im not saying it makes it alright but patch 1 is coming. (If you've played L2, it was similar at release and content got add with chronicle 1, 1 month after release....)
Im not saying there were no major lack of content, im saying its supposed to be fixed (at least a part of it) in 2 days. Im also saying most new PvP mmorpgs are similar at release (the reviewer already pointed that out), you can lvl, do small tasks and grind.
Anyway it looks like you havent played since a long time, so what do you know about the game in octobre ? (apart from what you read on various forums).
i think review is greet
and its normal that unhappy fanbois will try to eat u
btw some ppl play Knight Online and enjoy it
ones again this game has 0 content and will not have it in near future
All in all a very good review, and it is pretty much spot on what I felt as well while playing it. It is nice to see a good, unbiased review from MMORPG.com. The attitude of some of the staff now is very much working for one game only and to hell with anyone feeling differently, something really strange in a site that is supposed to be about all MMO games, not just promoting one. Unless of course he is payed to act like that.
Your comment that you will not delete anyone thinking differently than you.. Good to know one of the staff do not react like that.
great work.
Only game I wait for right now: Imperator.
Go Mythic!
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force"
Ok so im a Fanboi ? proud to be a Fanboi of Ryzom, at least its a game you'll be able to play for more then 2 month (WoW)...
No content in near future ? yeah right and you are ? and are you playing SoR ? blablahblah im talking about shit i dont know about...
The fact :
Patch 1 is coming in 2 days, The encyclopedia is in patch 1, it contains all the main quest related lore.`
Music also comes with patch 1
NPC vendors are in patch 1
So the main quest and story line should start with patch 1.
By the way i said it before and im saying it again, I agree with the review....
Could people stop posting here if they dont play and dont know about the game ?
[quote]Originally posted by boutch
Could people stop posting here if they dont play and dont know about the game ?
[/b][/quote]
But if we did that... only you would post? If you dont like the heat get out of the kitchen i say... not blow up all the chefs.
Also ill believe it when i see it. Also i read patch notes 1 and i didn't see the encylopedia mentioned anywhere. You sure its coming patch 1 and not patch 2 or patch 3-4?
Additionally your taking a snap at WoW, which isnt on discussion so ill tread lightly, I played SoR and WoW, SoR i beta tested for so long out of habit... because i was pretty much at release one of about 20 or so people who had made it from closed beta 2.3 -> release. I left it a few times before i left it for good, it had zero content then and it does now. The only reason i played quite so long then was just having friends in game and having a good chat etc... additionally being the highest lvl 2 handed gun fighter on arispotle kept me going.
Now to the small bit of WoW... If WoW will only keep me 2 months and WoW is about 2 times the size of Ryzoms world... and WoW has about 1000x more quests than Ryzom has... all having involving story.... and WoW has its own features and abilities...auctions,pvp (daoc style), battlegrounds, reputation. How long will Ryzom keep people?.... answer: less than a month in its current state. Just by your logic for WoW.
But... Lets not compare WoW with Ryzom until we have seen WoW at release status too.
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, EverQuest 2 World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
my account is still open..but i dont play it
and im not interested in patch 1
btw music und NPC vendors is real big content rofl
only rysom was released without it
encyclopedia isnt a big deal too but its only thing about more content
patch 1 will include big nerv too for all harvesters and melee fighters
dubble damage from mobs lol
First I know that vendors and music are not content, but people were complaining about a lack of both.....
Second the patch 1 does include the encyclopedia and is now avalaible in the advenced test server (ATS). If the encyclopedia is not a big deal, what is ? the encyclopedia also announce the start of main quest and main story....
Third, yeah i heard patch 1 is bad for harvesting, they will probably change that due to players response to it.
Fourth, the damage being raised is not bad at all. The HP is going to be lowered and the damage augmented. At lvl 35 fight, i was able to kill a growling clopper without loosing more the 100 HP (no heal of any kind) so you should still be able to lvl on the same mobs, its just gonna be faster but more dangerous.
Im seriously wondering... what is content for you ?
And i was forgetting to say that the kittins invasion are announced to start with patch 1.
as i said ill believe it when i see it, i been conned by hype on paper before :P.
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, EverQuest 2 World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
I will believe it when i see it too, but it would be a huge mistake to announce all that without giving it.
About the review, its great to see a reviewer takin proper time and actually caring about doing a fair review.... i was one of the first to complain about gamespot poor review.
Its just sad that the review was published a couple of day before patch 1 but ive read it was completed the 20 so its not the reviewer fault. And ive got to admit we dont know what patch 1 is going to be and it would have taken a couples of weeks in patch 1 to add the patch in the review.
content for me is ..outposts events
or something like ivasionn those funny creatures in pyr
something else as only grinding and killing mobs with blind attack on
self the grinding is boring for higher lvls
someone cast fear ...another cast blind ..than the whole group kill teh mob ..mostly using only one attack
cold for magic and overdamage for warriors
its boring after one month
patch one will not change it
no content
boring combat
non existent pvp ( i mean group pvp with some tactics..not stupid duels)
Im really sick of earing "put game name" is a grind. First a RPG is a game where you get stronger by making experience and where you make experience by killing mobs. So every RPG is a grind if you want to get to the highest lvl. Ive played lots of mmorpg and nearly all RPG released between 1995 and 2004 and other released before 1995. If you dont want a grind, play action rpg or action mmorpg like Guildwars. When im playing a RPG, i always try to lvl my char to the max, so im always grinding but im also always getting all the highest skills and items in the game.
About Ryzom and content : content is coming, the game major features are about group PvP and outpost so you'll have them in near future.
That it youve admitted what all us outside the release know.
Content is coming... except you are paying at this moment for an unfinished product.. beta testing if you will still. Paying to beta test.
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, EverQuest 2 World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
For now you've only paid for the box, the first month was free and they added a week because of all the issus. Ive already argued over the fact the game is incomplete. Here my OPINION about why i dont mind paying for Ryzom even if its incomplete.
1- Ive paid for incomplete mmorpg before
2- They were made by big cie like SOE, Turbine, etc...
3- NeL engine (Ryzom's engine made by nevrax) is open source, they wont make money ou of it
4- Nevrax is a new cie and are trying to do things differently
5- Many mmorpg anounced for 2004-2005 were cancelled because of WoW/EQ2 and a lack of funding
6- Ryzom needed money to complete their project
7- I do believe Ryzom will turn out great
so here are 2 kind of mmorpg?
action one and grinding one?
but combat in sor realy is the worst of any mmorpgs i played b4
sorry pulling a mob using fear spell sounds realy stupid..but is the way how it works
90% stanzas dont work as it intendet
about near future is the jock
they implemented vendors and ingame music only.. in over 1 month time
and outposts wars and other promised content need much more time and effort
i dont think the poster wanted this... so lets just stop this now shall we?
Or make a new thread.. But i wont argue on that issue.
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
Beta Tested: Lineage 2, Ryzom, City of Heroes, RYL, EverQuest 2 World Of Warcraft European
Truly Loved: World of Warcraft
if u have money to spend
spend it for rainforest or something usefull
and not for support some useless game makers
nothing new in this game
the same grind and downtime and many promised things to earn more money for nothing
I thought your review was very fair and well written, koltrane. After playing Saga of Ryzom myself, through closed and open beta, and since release of the final, I have had a good time with it.
I have encountered the disappearing NPC bug, among many others, but none that were "show-stoppers", critical enough to prevent me from playing. I have only a certain amount of patience for games that are released prematurely, as imcomplete, buggy products. My limit has not yet been reached with SoR, but it is getting there . . .
The points made about the lack of early game content, the lack of named mobs, the somewhat unsatisfying loot after quartering, I agree with them all.
I happen to like the fact that Ryzom is more of a "realistic" mmorpg. I use that term loosely as there is not much about Ryzom that is realistic, but what i mean is that things are reasonable. I don't like finding coins and a dagger on an animal I just killed. I like how Ryzom presents the gamworld and I think it will only improve.
As far as the bugs, I hope they will be fixed, I know many have been addressed already, but the point you made about these games coming out, charging people to play them, etc. and how they should be subject to criticism is right on the money. I agree with another poster that a re-visit to Ryzom in the future would be a good thing, but for a first review, yours was the most accurate I've read so far.