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Ryzom: Worth a Second Look
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Ryzom has been around since before the days of World of Warcraft and is, according to MMORPG.com's Ian Stolz, a game that might be worth a second look. This is particularly true for those pining for something that isn't "just another WoW clone". Check out why Ian thinks you should care about Ryzom and then let us know of your experiences in the comments.
Sweet! So I signed up for the open beta from my home internet connection, which in Australia is pretty pathetic, and started downloading the client. Whoa! Nifty! I remember reading though the Terms of Service (TOS) and seeing a section there that said, in essence, they were not responsible for anyone that loses their job, friends, family, from addiction to their game. Or something along those lines, right!
Read more of Ian Stolz's Ryzom: Why You Should Care.
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Comments
Just tried Ryzom last week. I have to respectfully disagree about the graphics. They are horribly outdated. But, that said, the crafting is intriguing and the stanza system is unlike anything else in MMOs. You can basically make your own actions, whether they be combat moves, spells, or recipes. In fact Ryzom is probably deeper and more hard-core than I am looking for. Grouping will become necessary at some point. And I am a soloer at heart.
Ryzom is an interesting little game that those looking for sandbox elements should check out. If you are cool with the old-school look, it is a unique game, if ultimately not for me.
I played Ryzom's beta and launch, continuing for a few months thereafter. It was a wonderful game - refreshing and immersive. It's community was outstanding and it's lore phenomenal. I definitely want to pick it back up again if life ever slows down and stops being so busy all the time.
I find it unfortunate that no modern MMO bothered to replicate the season and wild life systems that Ryzom has, mainly those related to migrating herds of animals, carnivores and herbivores reacting to each other, resources changing depending on the season, etc.
Its worth a second look. Just becuse of the immersive
I also played this game during Beta, I was in the closed and open beta, and I very much looked forward to the unique features it had. However, I got swept up in other things at the time. Looking back I also enjoyed the community at the time, I cant speak to how it is now, maybe I'll give it another look while I'm waiting for SW:TOR. Thanks for bringing this one back up
Lets give Ryzom a serious try. I did make a trial account over a year ago, but never really picked it up. And with most MMO's these days being 100% thredmills and downright dumb copies of eachother I'm in for something new.
So it's either Ryzom now, or stick to Elder Scrolls till ArcheAge is released
I thought the idea of this system was awesome, much less actually implementing it. I think other developers shy away from it because of the effort involved and because, by and large, in a quest driven game, if one of the quests is to kill an animal of some sort, and the animal left the zone for better food, you can no longer complete the quest. Something like that...it's too dynamic for some systems. You have to have a sandbox game that doesn't depend on quests for it to work; at least not the usual kill 10 X quests.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Yip, SoR was my 1st MMO and the one by which I judge all others to this day.
Great game, sad that it had such bad luck with timing and ownership.
3 zone treks ftw!
But I think that has more to do with how some players view quests.
Instead of "questing" for their desired target they want to run to "x" kill "x" and then run back to rinse and repeat.
I don't see why a player coudln't be tasked to find the one eyed cyclopses of borneo at soem point in their journeys and then slay a beast and return at some point.
It could take an hour it could take a week. But these quest based games are more about keeping players busy, often with mundane tasks, and making it so that they are constantly running back and forth. And many players want this. if they had to take more than a day to find their quarry they would throw a fit.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Been playing Ryzom for a few days now and have to say that despite the bit awkward controls and graphics I'm enjoying myself quite a lot eventhough I'm only a toddler in the world. Some amazingly friendly people around and the AI of the mobs really is quite fun. Also I find it curiously refreshing after so many mass appeal MMORPGs that you will actually die (fast) if you don't watch your step (ok you'll do that in e.g. EVE, too). Good stuff and I think I'll be playing this quite a lot waiting for AA, TSW and such. The slight retro feel is an added bonus to me, at least.
Thank you so much for doing this article, I think that the TRUE sandboxers (not those who want a glorified fps with FFA loot) would like this game alot if they can get past its uncommon world design. This game is the game you are looking for if you are a sandbox player.
Any mmo worth its salt should be like a good prostitute when it comes to its game world- One hell of a faker, and a damn good shaker!
I tried Ryzom a couple of times and I loved the hunt. Learning how creatures behave within their environment in order to best determine how to attack them was an awesome aspect of the game. Figuring out what grows where and in what season was also pretty awesome. Unfortunately, I found that there just was nothing much to do, and outside of the starter zone the world was quite devoid of players at the times I was playing. Yes, there were almost always people in chat, but I never actually saw them out and about in this massive world. The bottom line for me was that trying to find things and hunt things was simply not enough game to keep me interested. It's a shame, too, because there is a lot to admire here - but unfortunately it's kind of like how you admire an awesome screen saver. Stare at it for a while and then move on.
I was pleasantly surprised when I went from Apprentice to full 5 star Elite in under 2 months. I was pleasantly surprised again when I went from Elite to just barely Hardcore in 2 weeks. Apprentice, here I come!
Oh Ryzom....
I'm a sucker for these plea bargain threads and articles. "Try me, I'm not so bad" or "Hey, this game is worth a second look" is how it starts and I actually end up enjoying the game in spite of itself.
First it was FFXI, I enjoyed that. Then it was Mortal Online, didn't enjoy that at all, but that game has some promise. Last week I almost fell for a "Vanguard is really GREAT!" thread. Now its Ryzom.
The problem I have with older games like Vanguard and Ryzom is not the outdated graphics, I like nostalgic games. Its that there is really not as many people playing as say a newer game. The population is low and a new player will miss out on a lot of group content. I am not a soloer, I will solo, but I work much better with groups. The entire reason for me playing an MMORPG over a SPRPG is the human contact, I enjoy the laughs.
When Ian Stolz said, "allow your vendors to sell the stuff you sell to them on to the player-base", you need the player base to be able to buy those items. Considering I'm a new player, I'm not going to be crafting stuff that older player-base might need or even want over a growing player base that has new players coming in behind me looking for my junk.
Not that junk.
Population and community is where the rubber meets the road in online games, without it you are better off playing Elder Scrolls which is what I've been doing lately. Not laughing as much either.
You got me, Ian, I already did the 14 day trial way back when Beau Turkey (Hindman now) was campaigning for Ryzom, but I'll give it another go round for 2 weeks.
I am such a sucker. >.<
Ah ryzom.. I've started it from 0 a few times over the years. Such a great atmospheric game.
It feels like you are in a living wild world, not a static treadmill. The island tutorial zone was awesome, hearing the nasties screaming in the distance every now and then, while trying to dodge the hunting carnivores.
Hunting carnivores, you ask? That's right, the npc beasties hunt each other, fight each other. The carnivores roam around either alone or in small groups, got to watch out!
The graphics, although somewhat dated by today's standards, still felt alive and in some instances better than what we get in modern mmos, just on account of the environmental details, such as bugs floating above some flowers, and such
The one thing that often put people off is the fact that unlike most other mmos, there is no "quest system", on the mainland. The tutorial had them, do this, kill that, here's a reward of gear, etc, etc. the mainland has missions, but they get you things like faction, and there's no "go here to this X and do this", it's: "find this, and no can't help you, if I knew where it was, I'd go get it myself!"
Customizable actions.. such a nice idea. You get parts of actions, such as things like : extra range (for more mana cost), aoe (for more cost), less mana cost (for less range), faster cast time (for some price) then you just assemble the bits to make a custom high cost, fast cast, lower damage spell, or whatever floats your boat. Many different parts you unlock as you level.
You can solo a lot of it, and might have to, the reason I kept not playing was lack of player base, or more specifically, most of those who are there are all super high level, and have that "been there done that" attitude, whereas I would have loved to come in on the ground floor and shared the discovery of a new world feel.
It's the kind of mmo every player should at least try a trial of, just to see how it can be done right.
game has really great concepts, but terrible execution.
i'd love to see a modern spiritual successor to this game, hopefully a dev company with good funding
Ryzom is a gem. I have nothing bad to say honestly. I played it for a year and enjoyed it. Great crafting/gathering, immersive world, stylized art, small yet helpful community, wonderful skill/stanza system.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
I've recently been playing too, just dipping in and out, taking my time. The great thing about the trial is it isn't time limited and allows you to get all your skills up to lvl 125, that's a very generous trial, by that time you really should know if the game is for you.
I wish the hotkey mapping was more complete
Ryzom does deserve a second look, but that is it. Too many games coming out to get into a game that is well over its peak. Loved it when I played it.
The combat is utter shite - EQ style.
I thought most of the systems of Ryzom were interesting, especially the stanza system, but the game was unable to keep my interest. I'm not sure if it was the graphics or slow pace of gameplay, but it just didn't click with me. Worth a look for someone who hasn't played it before, though
+1 for Ryzom taking my MMO virginity back in late '04.
Comitatus Praetorian for life!
It's been a while since I've played - maybe time to give it another go?
Also, nice write-up!
One of my earlier MMO's. Don't quite remember why I stopped playing but downloading it now to check it out again. I do remember liking the crafting and spell/ability combining system.
Ryzom was an unfinished masterpiece
Immersion, Exploration, Originality etc.. & the ultimate ressource gathering system ever created in a mmorpg
Now that modern theme parks sprouts teleporters all over the place, Trekking in Ryzom was gripping, dangerous & exciting.
DAOC II, Ryzom II, SWG pre NGE II, UO II, EVE II -----> Thats the sequels big developpers should be working on now
Instead it's raining WoW clones ad nauseam. WTF
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Playing : Uncharted Waters Online
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