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Not worth it.
bpharris9014
Member CommonPosts: 36
I've downloaded the client. On the few occasions it has made it all the way through its file check, it then quits for no explicable reason.
There is probably a way to fix this.
Before you share it with me, please note: I don't care what it is.
If more of us would refuse to dump monthly fees into half-baked, barely-beta-tested MMORPGs, guess what? The quality will improve.
I'll get back to Ryzom in a year or so.
In the mean time, I've downloaded DDO's trial. There is a sound .dat file that won't unzip correctly. From forums I've found, this has happened to hundreds of players since DDO's beta -- and I've yet to find a post from the devs explaining how to fix or work around it.
Sorry DDO, no money for you this year either.
I've also downloaded the WoW client. Guess what: works fine. Thanks WoW, I'll be activating my account tomorrow -- as should a lot of people -- to show the developers who give a damn whether or not their games are up and running that they will be more fortunate in the market than those who do not.
Comments
But if you think like this, have Fun in WoW.
CU
MaDSaM
Do you dare to adapt?
Sitting at the Ryzom patcher screen is more fun.
Heck... watching paint dry is more fun, in my opinion.
To each their own
Ryzom is 10 times the game WoW is... in every aspect.
So you'll look for a post from the developers of DDO but not from the developers of Ryzom. Okay.
Have fun in WoW.
*smiles and waves* Have a nice day now ya hear
Installed it, worked like a charm.
Let it patch itself, no problems.
Within a couple of minutes I was playing the game.
Does that qualify as half-baked?
And you will sadly miss the most incredible development in M2O history when The Ring, the free expansion to SoR, is released. Pioneers will have the power to create scenarios and featurettes that have the possiblility of becoming a permanent part of the world of Ryzom. There is not another M2O out there that can touch that!!
Player made raid scenarios via SoR, will put WoW developers to shame. Power to the players! << R2 >>
Deciding a game is not worth it based on your DL experience is shallow at best. Perhaps there is something unique about your system, such as a download manager, spyware checker, anti-virus real time evaluator, etc. Perhaps the file is corrupt, as you say. The real issue is how quickly the dev team recognizes this and remedies it.
SoR has a free unlimited trial on the new isle. Does WoW allow you to try out the starting zone for an unlimited amount of time before moving on. Come to think of it, the WoW starting areas (sort of racial) are small compared to the Ruins of Silan starting island. Restricting you to that starting area wouldn't really keep your attention for days. Yes, days. Not hours.
Now that the file is fixed, you have to give it a shot.
But, the bottom line in any MMO is the End Game. What will you be doing when your character approaches the level max. Will you be raiding, PvPing, territorial control, rerolling etc. If you like boss raiding, WoW is for you. I got bored after the umpteenth time waiting around in MC to kill a boss. It was tedious, to say the least and was more like a job. In Ryzom, I look forward to maxing other skill trees, fighting for my guild territory and with the Spires Update fighting for my factions control of territory.
So, so don't judge a game by the DL, but rather by end gameplay.
Dec 20,1999: AC1(DT).Since then:DAoC,SB,AC2,L2,EvE,WoW,SoR
====================
Currently playing: ArchLord - L58 Knight
LoTRo - L13 Dwarf Guardian
Are you entirely sure that it is SOR that is the problem and not your own system?
C
[EDITED FOR CLARITY]
Gonna go off on a little rant here as this isn't a technical review,
and the original tone of this thread was somewhat opinionated, so I
shall rebut...
WOW is not "wow," it's more like "bleh."
I'm going to tell you a little story about this so called WOW, and further, delve a little deeper into MMOs in general.
WOW is simply a game that has copied everything, yet learned nothing. Much like a "pop" CD, it caters to the masses with a flashy and popular facade to attract attention, but it fails to deliver over any lengthy amount of time. Everyone plays it, you get tired of, and in the end it is completely forgettable, and you'll look back and wonder what you even found desirable within it. Livin' La Vida Loca; Hook, line, and sinker, baby. This is not just a problem with WOW, as you will see further down.
I
always loved sitting at WOW login queues and waiting in PVP queues all
day not to have even one battle spring up. Does Blizzard's server
architecture not correctly scale to a few thousand people per server? Forcing the developers to put a crutch in place, limiting paid player access to the game? Yet,
they still pile people onto these problem-ridden servers, worsen the overall problem? When was the last time you went to watch a movie and were ushered out of the theater for 30 minutes in the middle of it, then let back in for the end of the movie?
Some of the
PVP zones on Max(queued) servers would see 1 or 2 game instances of the
larger PVP zones every 3-4 months at best. A game instance every 3-4 MONTHS?
That just screams "design flaw." Yet, these PVP zones were the ones designed for the 50-60 level groups, a large portion of the server populations are within these level ranges, some even have many level 60, or "maxed," characters. What is up with that?
The Customer Service requests that I have put in on WOW would take 2-3 days to get a
response at best, though most would go ignored. I've never had a WOW Customer Service request, even a simple one, resolved successfully. "Resolution" was
usually just some lame canned response that might as well not have even
had a human on the end of it. Sony's customer support on Everquest was
actually far better than WOW's support could ever dream of becoming, and many players shun SOE in the face of all that is bad in the MMO gaming world. Go look at Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and see how many players are mad at Sigil for just letting SOE handle the *distribution* aspect of Vanguard.
In
this game [SOR] the CS folks and head GMs will even talk with players
on the ingame channels, and response times to email and questions is
usually under 2 minutes, and unlike just about every other game on the market, they will actually furnish lost or missing items. The closest I'd seen any game come to either
one of those points might have been Jumpgate, or to a much lesser
extent, Neocron; but keep in mind the amount of logged in players on
both of those games would usually be less than 500, combined. SOR has
much more than 500 people on at peak on any server.
Still, even now in WOW (after nearly 2 years), many servers/zones still experience
item/bank/loot lag, even on low population servers, and the PVP was
certainly nothing extraordinary. It was not even in the same league,
or even same sport if you compare it to PVP in DAOC; a game which was/is widely revered in the PVP area. WOW PVP didn't even have much of a point
when it all boiled down in the end game. Getting the "gear" from the
high end PVP rewards was not even a remotely possible chance for any player that
didn't live alone in their parent's basement. You might have a chance if you
powergamed your way up to the top on a brand new server, but on an
existing server you'd have more luck (and free time) after grinding out
a few maxed characters in Lineage 2, RF Online, and MapleStory combined. Even if you did make it into the top ranks on a new server there is almost no way you could stay there for any respectable length of time. And this was "casual" gaming? Not even close, but the game aims to be a casual game, yet
the rewards only obtainable by a select few power gamers put casual players far off of the map, even off of the globe when it came down to the PVP playing field.
Speaking of "end game..." Once you have all the "elite" gear there is
not a lot left to do anyway, but maybe PVP. This is where the PVP
reward gear really hurts if you are on the receiving end.
world certainly isn't dynamic enough to make it interesting more than
once or twice through, and you bypass most everything with automated
griffon rides half the time anyway. A large part of an MMORPG game's "content" is the world itself, yet why are so many developers these day putting nearly zero effort into this key part of the game? Or making it appear to be as bland and boring as an unchanging single-player game; one which is exactly the same every time you play it? This is akin to having a nice Ferrari, looks really tempting on the oustide, but without any seats! After you spend a little time in it you don't really want to be in it anymore.
At least in SOR the environment is very dynamic with season changes,
winds, rain, snows, shooting stars and other little details to make it
interesting. Even the grass and trees bend more and more in the wind
as a storm starts to roll in, becomes more powerful, and dark clouds form overhead with
lightning strikes lighting up the sky. Even the little creatures
running around lay down to sleep, eat, scratch fleas, dust off their
trunks, can be seen breathing, and stand up to try to paw at you and
get your attention. A bunch of little details that are completely
ignored in WOW and even EQ2; a game I've failed to mention thus far.
Both of those games fall prey to a blatantly obvious "script
syndrome." Typical behavior of this would be as follows: enemy walks between
point A and B, then from B to A, repeat ad nauseum. Enemy sees
character (even behind them) with an exact radius of some X meters, chases player and runs
exactly another X meters and stops chasing. SOR is different as
enemies have directional detection as if they actually had eyes (you
get a little eyeball icon when something it looking at you.) If you
are fighting an enemy and another one comes up, if it doesn't "see" you
then sometimes it might not help its buddy. Just little things like
that take out some of the repetitious and predictable nature that a lot
of the "new" games have these days. NOTE: this behavior is bypassed
on the SOR newbie area for most purposes, maybe to ease difficulty.
Neural network programming is a big thing with artifical intelligence research these days; the tools and research work is there ready to be used. Higher-order scripting langages are available to speed up development, yet companies are rehashing the same old material, reinventing wheels that don't need reinventing, and making the same mistakes as past companies, and in essence ignoring technology that could make future games even more dynamic and interesting. Companies are churning out MMOs like its yesterday's old turkey, and the days of FPS after FPS game is turning into MMO after MMO. History is repeating... History is repeating...
I
activated my WOW account twice in the past 2 years after participating
in 2 beta stages. Problems that crept up in beta still crop up even
now. Many chalked it up to populations, so after I reactivated many
months down the road I chose a new low population server. The problems
still existed; 5 minutes to bring up auction/item inventories,
missing/empty mailbox items, server crashes, frequent server reboots
(after enough people whined for 3 hours on message boards), login
timeouts, and partial server lockouts. Population problems? I'm not too
sure about that. Not on a low population server, not at 11pm-1am in
the morning, Pacific time, on a weekday.
Now maybe *that* might seem
half-baked and barely beta tested, but it really isn't! They have 6.5
million paying testers now, yet cannot get 2-year recurring issues
fixed, even with the millions of dollars that are rolling in. Maybe
they don't really care so much, as their popularity apparently isn't
hurting it as bad as it possibly should be. A game that has risen to
such heights, and that "everyone should play" shouldn't be stricken
with so many problems. Maybe we have just deluded ourselves over the
years and accept far too many problems as "normal" with MMO style games
these days.
I cancelled my WOW account for the last time
about a month ago and won't go back to it now that I've come across
this game. I admit I initially avoided this game around 2004 in favor
of WOW as I had been beta testing WOW and felt certain beta issues
would be fixed. But with those issues aside, WOW game is still plagued
by a completely wretched community full of immature and annoying
people. I could be horribly cynical, but I wouldn't be lying if I said
I've not come across a nicer gaming community since I started playing
MMO style games in '96 with Meridian 59.
WOW's issues have potentially worsened with its increasing popularity I
am afraid, but that is not the last of its weak points. The gameplay
becomes increasingly mundane and banal even though it is very spastic
and frenetic, trying to be "instantly gratifying." Much like the style
of something such as "City of Heroes" or "Guild Wars." Does somewhat
fast-paced gaming and advancement make a great game? Not too sure
about that. On the one hand you have fast advancement leading to
boredom, and then you have long grinds leading to boredom, why does
something have to fit into either of those categories? What is in the
middle, something not boring?
alone? Surely, you jest!
Games like the aforementioned seem to go against the fabric of what
makes a game an MMO*RPG* in the first place, and rather just become a
typical MMO. Strict class-based and hard-cap level-limited play strips
a lot of the character customization and flexibility from games in this genre, and long drawn out "grindfest" gameplay makes you spend too much
time on required personal advancement; as does gameplay that is specifically
geared toward "uber" gear and items that never leave the game world
unless someone specifically destroys it. SOR goes back and adds some
flexibility and open-endedness to character development and gameplay
that you would be hard pressed to find outside of pen and paper games
(see the stanza-based action customization, item enchanting, and
classless skill-based character development, etc.) The skill levels aren't required in a sense like other games, which force you into a corner by yourself if you don't keep up to speed in levelling with your friends. The same spells and abilities
that you customize and build into your routine can be converted into an
item and applied to melee weapons and activated from them as well. It
also doesn't focus around rare items and force greed-infested gameplay. Folks, this basic stuff has been some of the ingredients in the bread-and-butter of the MMORPG genre since it was practically invented, and was partially some of the reason it was popular to begin with, so why throw out some of this in favor of "twitch" based gameplay? I know FPS games can be fun, but twitch does not a great game make!
With games like WOW, not many people really seem to want to help other
people gain something that they could potentially benefit from
equally. When folks lose out on their one chance due to competition, it doesn't really
tend to foster a friendly game environment, and everyone has to lose at
some point with this type of play. Once again I'm being really jaded
here, but did we really see this stuff with the older games like Ultima
Online and Meridian 59? Nope. Is this some way forward with gaming that I'm just not grasping, or am I just overly cynical?
SOR brings back a lot of the core RPG
aspects of MMORPG gaming that has been lost over the years in favor of
hectic, impatient, almost FPS-like gaming, and takes me back to the type
of fun I used to have with things such as Meridian 59 and Ultima Online
back in the mid to late 90s. If I was asked to say which games it most
resembles, I would have to say it is like a bit of Ultima Online,
Everquest and Shadowbane mixed with some Anarchy Online, but it just
reminds of elements of those past games really, it has things in it
that give it a special appeal and uniqueness.
You might wonder why I keep referring to UO and M59... Those two games were some of the original pioneers of this genre, and with good reason. Sure, there were a few bad aspects of the games, but you have to look at when they were created; nearly 10 years ago, yet they were apparently far, far ahead of their time. Almost 10 years ahead, if you look at the fact that many of these newer games are failing to see what made those games what they were, and tossing it all out like yesterday's dishwater.
Maybe SOR isn't
for everyone, that is true. If you are impatient and want something
instantly gratifying then maybe WOW is for you after all... It
certainly is full of impatient and frustrating players that follow
these somewhat stereotypical mindsets, but it will get VERY old, VERY
fast. You'd probably be better off playing single-player RPG-type
games in the end really if you want some sort of low-risk instant
gratification. At least playing those games yourself doesn't expose
you to lovely player banter such as "CHUCK NORRIS!!!" and
"LEEEEEEEEEEEEROY JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENKINS!!!!" or the unforgettable
classic: "***STFU L2P NUUB!@***" ; Well, neither does this game.
If you want instant gratification, then you'll find that the community here is instantly gratifying in itself.
It´s interesting to see this side in a good and well thought out manner.
And although I know Leeeeroy and found him funny to boot, what the heck does the reference to Chuck Norris mean?
(I now the "Actor" and his "martial Arts skills", but I´m curious as hell
MaDSaM
Do you dare to adapt?
If you played Horde side, the Barrens occupies your teen levels. Barrens chat is infamous for ePeen wagging, some of the most stupid convo's & arguments I've ever listened to and redicuous references to Chuck Norris. Most of the references poke fun at Norris and/or reference his godlike martial arts abilities. Totally OT banter. Would be better in some IRKiddy chat room, but instead the Barrens got lucky. And yes, this was on all servers.
Dec 20,1999: AC1(DT).Since then:DAoC,SB,AC2,L2,EvE,WoW,SoR
====================
Currently playing: ArchLord - L58 Knight
LoTRo - L13 Dwarf Guardian
I've edited my original post on the top of this page as well, and oh my is it rather lengthy. I think I'm done with that one.
The community here is incredible. The world is vibrant and alive. I am very happy to have found Atys recently!
What a great post just about MMORPGs in general. You touched on the general trend of making the games simplistic and twitch-based and less like RPGs, and I really do like that SoR retains more of the RPG elements and way less of the "twitch."
But just on the whole -- great post.
C
Thank for the compliment. It is kind of a very personal viewpoint but I don't think I am the only one sharing those views. Some of it might sound bitter, but it really isn't! It is just really sad to see the MMORPG gaming genre following the watered-down path of the FPS market, as it clearly is looking to be heading in that direction.
I recently introduced my best friend to this game; he shares much of the same game history as I, and I mentioned that the game [SOR] was not entirely easy to grasp in just 1 or 2 days of a couple hours of play. His response, "I have no complaints at all."
He was one that was equally tired of twitch game play found in the likes of "City of Heroes" and "Guild Wars," and also drudged through a bit of the "FFXI" grind/overly-forced grouping, and was actually fairly displeased with WOW as well.
WoW is fun to start with but its lack of depth and simplistic play really make for nothing more than a highly watered down MMO which becomes very dull very fast.
So thanks to Nevrax for rekindling the true spirit of the MMORPG!!!!!! I'm loving every minute!!
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
Hot Damn!!!
Someone give DCC a link to this thread. He´l puff up like a blowfish if he reads all the praise for his Vison
And yes, I agree, Thanks David!!!!
MaDSaM
Do you dare to adapt?
Interestingly enough when one of my friends who is a rather rabid COH fan (and has been for 2 years) was asking me about Ryzom over ICQ, I said something like, "Well, it's a lot more complex than COH... it's a very deep and involved system. But I like that." He had not shown any interest in Ryzom at all, but his answer was, "Hmm... I like complexity also." He said no more but I have known him for 25+ years. I know what that means... the wheels are turning. There is now a chance that he might try the game, just because I mentioned how complex it is. I think even he is starting to get tired of the COH simplicity.
Don't get me wrong. I think COH has a good combat engine and it is fun to play for a while. But after an hour I get bored. And if I ever don't feel like fighting? Well, no point to logging in whatsoever.
Ryzom however, is different. Last night I spent a while hunting Kipees and Kizoars in the jungle. Mostly this was to gather ingredients for some crafting, but I was also trying out some combat combinations with some new stanzas, trying to see what worked best (so far my bleeding is too weak to be useful and I ripped it out of a couple of skills to replace with more damage or more accuracy and my effectiveness definitely went up). Anyway I did this for like 90 minutes, while chatting in region chat and helping people (I love helping others and even as a newbie once I understand something I try to help as I can). I had fun... then I got killed and respawned back at camp to sell of some of what I had bought and so on. At this point I thought, "OK, I am tired of combat for now." Now, if this had been COH, that would have meant, "Time to log off."
But it's not. It's Ryzom... and there are other things you can do. So I went off to harvest, because I needed some more seeds to make jewels (my goal ultimately in the crafting arena is to be a jewel maker, primarily -- though I will probably get to level 50 in all the crafting branches regardless). I wanted to craft but I was low on seeds, so I went out and did some foraging and while I was doing that not only got some seeds, but showed 3 or 4 other people where to find resources for certain quests, and then once I had the seeds I returned to camp and crafted. I spent like another 60-90 minutes in game after getting sick of combat for the night, doing other things... so I was on a lot longer, and having fun the whole time, because there was something the heck else to do than just go beat stuff up.
This is what I like about Ryzom... what you do is up to you, and you never suffer in one skiill for putting effort into another. I don't "lose combat points" by raising harvesting points, etc. That is so nice.
Anyway, I agree with you... this game has great depth and I am really enjoying it.
C
Lawl!
What turned me off to this game 6 months ago was a chronic connection problem between my router/firewall/anti-virus and SOR. Tried opening up all ports and multiple configurations, to no avail, nothing would enable me to stay connected. They have fixed that problem, and now I am finely able to enjoy this game. My point is that no matter how good the game, first impressions are very important, if there are barriers to that goodness, it WILL frustrate people. This time around I had multiple issues with the downloader with a corrupt file problem, worked it out on each machine, but it was still annoying. Larger games tend not to have these barriers to entry, as it is not good business. I know, I know, what about the WOW login queues, well that isn't good for business either.
You may be glad that the OP was scared off, but you will lose good people in the future due to these types of issues.
my .02