Ryzom Open Beta

[cevik]

Not sure if anyone remembers this MMOG but I thought it looked interesting when someone mentioned it awhile back so I signed up for the Beta.  I just got an email saying that open beta is starting.  Fileplanet subscribers can join right now, non-subscribers can download the client and join on April 20th.  It's a European mmog so there are several Euro magazines that are also including a bundled DVD (yes DVD) where you can get into the beta.  Here is the text of the message:

Hello Homin,

As a valued applicant to The Saga of Ryzom beta testing program we'd
like to be one of the first to know that the game is now entering Open
Beta.

And there's two easy ways for you to join:

If you're a subscriber to Gamespy's Fileplanet you can download the Open
Beta client from their download service, (http://www.fileplanet.com)
from April 13th. . And after 20th April, it will be available to all.

Alternatively, the client will be bundled with the following specialist
PC gaming magazines in the key European territories:

PC Gamer - UK - on sale 15th April 2004

Joystick - France - on sale 26th April 2004

PC Games - Germany - on sale 28th April 2004

PC Action - Germany - on sale 28th April 2004

Don't forget that the game is still being tested and we appreciate your
assistance and patience.

Handy Hints on entering the game:
- create a character (3 playable races out of 4 available)
- enter the game (1 territory is open to begin with, the others will
  follow soon)
- get help in-game through:
    * the quick help (press the "?" icon) then access tutorial, how to
      or interfaces help
    * the chat window by typing: "/who GM" then "/tell <name of the GM>"
- report the bugs by clicking the "bug report" icon in the lower
  right-hand corner of the screen.
- access the player site and forums on atys.ryzom.com (same login and
  password as the one you will create)
    * choose your local community forum on http://atys.ryzom.com/forums/
    * check the daily news on http://atys.ryzom.com/?page=news
    * check the latest patch release notes on
      http://atys.ryzom.com/?page=update_latest

So what are you waiting for? Join the Open Beta, fire up that launcher,
get in the game and start exploring the mysterious world of Atys the
"Living" planet in The Saga of Ryzom!

--
Nevrax Team.

[schild]

There must be other stuff on the DVD. The game is barely 750 megs. Unless it got much bigger since Beta 2.

[cevik]

I got the DVD info from here btw.  Is it worth downloading and trying the open beta?  I'm more interested in playing CoH so unless someone tells me that the Ryzom beta was just awesome I'll probably skip the open beta..

[ajax34i]

A few testers' early impressions.

[Soukyan]

I got the DVD info from here btw.  Is it worth downloading and trying the open beta?  I'm more interested in playing CoH so unless someone tells me that the Ryzom beta was just awesome I'll probably skip the open beta..

Ryzom still has quite a bit of work that needs done on it. The gameplay doesn't compare to CoH. I'd say you may want to wait.

[Slayerik]

The last Euro MMO I played was Neocron. I had a ton of fun with it, but was very buggy early on. I think if it would have had 3-4 times the subscribers it would have totally kicked ass. The scale of warfare was just a lil too small for me.

I'm thinking I'll pass on this unless I hear some real good stuff.

[El Gallo]

the build-your-own spell/ability feature is pretty cool.  The game overall seems a bit bland and quite unfinished, but its beta.

[ajax34i]

I like the spell system and the lore myself (the sci-fi-and-fantasy combo they have is intriguing).  And although the models and art may be incomplete, they do have a style, which is good in my book.

Looks like they want the game to be driven by the lore, btw.  Lore is the content.  First, they have an in-game mechanism that tracks "what you know", and second, they're building a series of games (a la The Elder Scrolls), apparently, with new worlds that fit into the lore and the overall story being added yearly, I got the impression.  Expansions will enhance the current world, but new chapters in the story are supposed to happen on new worlds.

At least that's the plan.

But yeah they have GM's and devs warning people that although they went open beta for whatever internal reason, not all the content is in, and they know they have to work on it quite a bit.

And judging by early reports, what's missing is the lore.  I.E. the spoilers, they don't want to reveal the actual storyline yet.  NPC's are there but they don't talk.

Hard to judge whether it's incomplete or censored.

[El Gallo]

Is there a good site anywhere that has some nuts and bolts on how attributes, skills etc work in this game (the manual is very vague)?  I have just kind of been winging it.

[ajax34i]

World of Ryzom is the English language fan site, and I've linked you to their guides page.  I usually read the forums there and browse if they add any new guide or FAQ info.  Your best bet is to ask in the "general discussion" forum; that's where most of the info is anyway.

The official site also has that PDF Manual but I'm not sure how helpful that is either.

[SurfD]

ARRGGGGGGGGGG, why, why the hell did they have to go with Fucking File Planet?!?!!?

Fucking 4 hour wait before my download even starts!?!??!?!

Been dying for a MMOG fix recently, but fuck man, couldnt they have thrown up a .torrent for this fucker or something?

[Soukyan]

ARRGGGGGGGGGG, why, why the hell did they have to go with Fucking File Planet?!?!!?

Fucking 4 hour wait before my download even starts!?!??!?!

Been dying for a MMOG fix recently, but fuck man, couldnt they have thrown up a .torrent for this fucker or something?

Subscribe? True, it's "evil", but when I see that people have paid UO for the privilege of maintaining a pixelated house for 5+ years, I find Fileplanet to be a bargain for my money. ;)

[Morfiend]

ARG. This game is horrible. Not ready for open beta.

From what I ahve seen, the faggy elves in this game put even L2 to shame. Holy crap. Also, I was moving around, and I clicked the run button, and my guy moved even slower, that when I realized, Run means, shuffle along slowly, and Walk ment move so fucking slow even the snails would win a race.

Ugh, this game is NOT for me. After playing CoH, it just feels slow, ugly, unpolished, and confusing.

[ajax34i]

They keep saying it's not quite at the point in its development where CoH is.  Interface = Linux, lol.  Dunno what they'll do with it, but it certainly won't be released in a week like CoH.  

In any case, I'm getting somewhat indifferent to it too.  It's a lot easier to just play a game that's released than to play fanboi and suggest improvements for 6 months to one that isn't.

[Soukyan]

They keep saying it's not quite at the point in its development where CoH is.  Interface = Linux, lol.  Dunno what they'll do with it, but it certainly won't be released in a week like CoH.  

In any case, I'm getting somewhat indifferent to it too.  It's a lot easier to just play a game that's released than to play fanboi and suggest improvements for 6 months to one that isn't.

I think every MMOG from here on out is doomed to this same fate. If the beta testing a couple months before release does not include engaging gameplay and highly polished systems, the players are going to pan it quite fast. CoH has raised the bar for MMOGs. If they pull a smooth release, they'll be pure gold.

Back to Ryzom, they are aspiring more toward the "classic" MMOG style of gameplay. In that regard, they are doing well.

[Alluvian]

Beta of CoH was polished pretty much from the start.  They locked their feature set very early and spent 3 months just balancing, 1 month just load testing.  I want this model in more betas.

WoW sounds pretty polished in beta.

I don't want to see any more "Wish" betas that should be ashamed to call themselves alphas.  If it aint got some polish and isn't nearly done except bug squishing it aint a fucking beta and I dislike the dev team from day 1 for starting beta too early.  Fuck, this isn't even beta but an OPEN beta.  Christ, the game should be DONE by then with nothing left but load testing.  I don't believe in the "Wish" method of loadtesting a shell of a game first then add game.  The game will behave VERY different under load when fleshed out than when it is a barren husk.  So it is freaking pointless and will only get people to associate your game with feces.  And then tell all their friends it sucks.

How does that help anyone?

Don't fucking to OPEN BETA if you are not polished and ready to go.  Dumbasses.  Didn't AC2 teach these people anything?

[RipSnort]

Maybe unfair because of it's early state of beta but the short time I was in the game my face had the look of someone who just bit into a lemon. Maybe they haven't implemented all the lighting and texturing yet but right now the graphics are bland. The gui is hokey and menus while open are obnoxiously in the way of gameplay. Movement and interaction is clunky. I've had similar feeings towards other mmo's only to get hooked by the gameplay and eventually get use to the interface. This title would have to contain superb gameplay in order to consider spending time adopting to its graphics and interactive style.
In past betas I've heard it suggested and beleived things would vastly improve before release. So far none have ever changed that drastically from beta to release IMO.

In fairness the avatars are unique looking and the world is an unusual one. Neither science fiction (AO, Neocron) or medievel, more like a blend of the two.
The characters are class based rather than skill. That would probably be the major reason I'll look elsewhere. There's games on the horizon that will have skill based characters. Something from my days in UO that I've always longed for again.

[ajax34i]

Yeah, but honestly, right now there are no indications of future "superb gameplay."  They could have a superb story line; that, I can believe.  Or even superb graphics (if they redo the interface and re-animate some of the models).

But gameplay?  It sounds like the same old grind to me, to raise skills.  EQ, training swimming, or sense direction, lol.  Bad memories.  That's why I'm saying their only hope is to make the story line the main component of gameplay; basically an explorer game.  Or at least explorer-driven, with explorers finding stuff / furthering the story, and the masses following to conquer / fight / do what needs to be done.

Unfortunately, now they have to focus on fixing the interface, and I'm afraid that by the time they're done doing that, they'll forget all about the fun / gameplay they still have to add, and release without it.  

They broke away from their early publisher, and are self-publishing now, Themis-supported.  That, to me, equals no cash, which equals rushed release with missing features.  Which, oddly, explains why they opened the beta despite the state the game is in.

I don't know.

EDIT:  It's a skill-based game.  What classes?

[El Gallo]

I don't mind the UI, at least on 1600x1200 it is fairly unobtrusive, though the chat windows could use some work.  It is a lot better than, say, the SGW UI.  You can move your windows around, make more chat windows, control opacity, etc.

The combat seems boring, though maybe it gets more interesting when you unlock higher skills, my avatar is only in the mid teens in fighting, magic and defense and even lower in the craft skills.  The encounters are kind of bland, I just encounter random globs of animals (though they move well and interact with other animals better thanany game I have seen), kill them and take their hides.

These two factors combine to make it feel "grindey" to me, and I am not a strongly anti-grind person.  A  treadmill that distracts me with encounters requiring a little thought, a few different options, and a really good setting is all I ask for.  Ryzom does not deliver.  The fact that they've hitched their wagon to Themis suggests that it ain't going to, either.

[Alluvian]

I don't mind the UI, at least on 1600x1200 it is fairly unobtrusive, though the chat windows could use some work. It is a lot better than, say, the SGW UI. You can move your windows around, make more chat windows, control opacity, etc.

I don't think 1600x1200 is a valid requirement for a game to not suck.  I can do that but then my usually nice synchmaster monitor starts flickering just enough to give me a headache.  And if the game is graphically advanced at all my video card then starts to smoke, pop, and fizzle.

[Alkiera]

I don't mind the UI, at least on 1600x1200 it is fairly unobtrusive,

I, uh, have this issue where my monitor doesn't do anything higher than 1024x768.  I use a minimalist skin in EQ because otherwise the UI covers more than half the screen.  Heck, in CoH, the game allows you to run at 800x600, but the UI elements actually overlap in an annoying way.  UI fluff(ex. excess scrollwork and titlebars on tiny windows in EQ) is a pet peeve of mine, if it's not useful, let me turn it off or it WILL annoy me.

I haven't downloaded the Ryzom beta, because, well, FilePlanet.  And CoH is just too dang much fun.  I only commented because of the 'well, the UI's fine if you play at an obscene resolution' phrase.

--
Alkiera

[ajax34i]

Actually after further configuration, the UI is fine at 1024x768, which I play at.  The actual box graphics kinda suck, but it's fully customizable, with 4 desktops.  So you can press F1 and have just your combat screens up, F2 for inventory/spells/skills, F3 with crafting, and F4 for miscellaneous, maximized tutorial windows, whatever.

The keys are also fully programmable, and I've set up a WASD control scheme with mouselook and RTG for targetting.

It just doesn't save until you exit, which sucks; game crashed on me 3 times and I had to redo it 3 times.

Other neat bugs include ping-time-affected walking speed (so you're walking slowly and then suddenly you zoom forward at 60mph, then slowly again based on lag), bad animations, and the fact that the character musculature customizations range from normal-looking down to something you'd only see in WWII concentration camps.

[Jon Carver]

The biggest signs to me that far too much is left to complete in this game are that:   1.  Only three of the four races are available for play.  2.  All races are currently identical except for the model.   3. All skills are identical no matter what you look like.  4. There are no skill limitations.  Everyone can learn everything making Jack a dull avatar.

With no differentiation between anything, this makes for a very dull world and adding lore isn't going to fix that.

The Ryzom open beta is only slightly less primitive than the Wish load test beta was.  What do these two games have in common?  Themis.