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• • First impressions?

  • Originally posted by Machieltje
    
    

    Anyone who lacks the skills to figure this out in a reasonable amount of time might have a hard time in any MMO.

    Ahh, asinine smugness: Yes, you're right, it's a wonder I'm able to operate this here computing box, much less access my webs. 

    Guys: It's the First Impressions thread. Those were my first impressions. I appreciate the explanations, from Olepi's elsethread and Gil's here (Gil, I may PM you later about my minor quibble which seems to have gotten a bit more airtime here  than warranted.)

     

  • Posted: 8/22/08 10:48 AM
    The Saga of Ryzom
• • First impressions?

  • Originally posted by demonkaze 

    The con system is pretty simple when you get the hang of it, if you hover over where it tells you what lvl it is it will tell you 21-30 for example which if your combat is anywhere between the 20 to 30 range you will get a lopt of XP for it, the nearer you get that skill to 30 the less XP you get.

    ...which still seems needlessly complicated to me. If it's 21-30, or, 25, or whatever, just put that in the display and be done with it. I think the less newbies need to do to get the hang of the game the better they'll manage.

  • Posted: 8/22/08 1:43 AM
    The Saga of Ryzom
• • First impressions?

  •  

    I'm not exactly new. I tried the game somewhere around the end of 2006. I remember thinking it was nifty, but Other Stuff dragged me from the game. So... mostly new. (“It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY new. There's a big difference between mostly new and all new...”) Here's my initial, offhand reactions, which I will change on a whim just to be contrary:

     

    PROS:

    The game system and setting work well together. In other words, the freeform skill system and stanza creation really compliment the sandbox style world. If the game had more rigid leveling/quest content the flexible character advancement might've felt out of place (or at least subject to balance problems); if the game had fixed class/level definitions the wide-open might feel curiously shallow, since there would be no real depth to character advancement.

     

    In particular: Stanzas. These are great. Even more fixed class/level games could probably implement these in their magic/superpower system.

     

    I love the look. It's stylized without being cartoony, emphasizing the otherworldy feel. (I'm reminded of “Fantastic Planet”, but maybe that's because it's my only other exposure to French animated Sci-Fi.)

     

    Material type and material quality affecting the final crafted product? Fantastic. I loved this aspect of Star Wars Galaxies, and I'm glad to see it here.

     

    Personally, I love the religious aspect of the setting and the somewhat murky nature of either side.

     

    Tryker women are cute. I know, I know. Leave me be.

     

    “MEH”s:

     

    The starting island needs a rethink. On the one hand, it is a great introduction to the concepts and mechanics of the game. Again: stanzas. I could've been really confused by them, but the game explained them clearly. Harvesting, crafting, magic, combat – the game covered them well. However, the lore was not given as much emphasis. I suspect I glossed over it, but I'm still unclear how my character appeared on the island, or really much of the background for the game. I think those parts should get as much “air time” as the game mechanics.

     

    I also agree that the quest-centric method of teaching the game sets up a false expectation that may confuse and alienate players once they get to the mainland.

     

    In a broader sense, I'm wondering if there's enough sand in the box. I've just started the game so I may Not be There Yet, but I'm hoping there'll be more to do than just fight, craft, and harvest. (I'm tepid about PvP.) Player housing, badges, points of interest (places that are not only visually interesting but has special “stuff” going on), and whatnot. On the other hand: Ryzom Frackin' RING. I get to be a GM. Mwah hah hah hah!

     

    CONS:

     

    First, the Con system. Maybe I'm missing the elegance here, but it seems needlessly complex. Quoting olepi from another thread: “Say you click on a mob, and he cons blue. That means he is below you in level in most MMO's; in Ryzom, that blue (and the attendant number of stars) indicates an absolute level. So a 4-star blue is probably around a lvl 40.” If that's the case then why not just show, oh, 'level 40'...? Either that or do the relative con system everyone else does: Squishy, Slighty Squishy, Gamey, Tough, Will Eat Your Soul, and so on.

     

    If you're going to tout cooperative play, have a damn Looking For Group tool. I strongly suggest taking City of Heroes tool, futzing with it to match Ryzom's setting (no classes, no instances), and releasing the result into the wild.

     

    There's got to be a better way to steer people to quest goals. I loathe those floating question-marks and exclamation points in other games, but wandering around a town reading every single NPC name, trying to find your target, gets real old real fast. I suggest a mini-map/quest journal interface where the person/thing you want to see shows up on your radar. Or, for immersion fans, allow me to ask the town announcer/greeter/thingy “Hey, where's Vinnie 'The Bodoc' Lambcakes?” and have her tell me which way to go (which, in the UI, translates to showing up on your radar).

     

    INITIAL VERDICT: Pretty damn cool.

  • Posted: 8/21/08 7:04 PM
    The Saga of Ryzom
• • Another new potential player.

  • Originally posted by MaDSaM
    

    Pets could well be fun, yes. Unless they don´t devolve in a Pokemon Style :" My Varynx can beat your Jugula any day in combat." *shudder* Maybe if the limit the amount of tameable animals to those that make sense somehow.

    I think that's pretty typical in pet-enabled MMOs -- some creatures are tamable and some aren't. I also really like the idea of requiring characters to equip specific critter-handling gear in order to manage their creature: chair and bullwhip, maybe?

    It is easy for pet-handlers to dominate the landscape in a skill-based game if they're not balanced well, though. The whole pet schtick -- taming and training and whatnot -- is really popular, and having your own portable Tank/DPS machine is typically better than not having one. I'd suggest the developers add combat pets in, but do so carefully.

  • Posted: 8/14/08 11:38 AM
    The Saga of Ryzom
• • Star Trek Online: New Star Trek Online FAQ

  • Will you need to have to have an internet connection to play Star Trek Online?
    Yes.

    Heh!

    Anyhow, sounds good so far. Looks like they've got the idea of teaming covered.

  • Posted: 8/12/08 2:22 PM
    General Discussion