I am/was a new player. I registered last year but didn't play due to RL priorities. I came back a few days ago with the intention of playing but had problems with the game. Spent many hours trying to troubleshoot. I didn't bother to read the announcements until now. I wish I had done so earlier, I could have saved myself a lot of time.
I won't be playing Ryzom if they follow through with the character wipe (and I'm certain that they will; they won't change their minds).
I get it - times are tough, and the Dev's need to do what they can to keep Ryzom alive. The server merger is a good idea. The character wipe is not.
Companies survive on the good will of their loyal, repeat customers. By implementing this wipe, the Dev's will destroy that good will. Loyal, paying customers will leave. They won't come back. The anger here, on this forum, is perfectly justified. This isn't about the loss of a character: stats, skills, gear, whatever. It's about the RL disgraceful lack of respect for the customers. It's about a violation of trust. It's hurtful.
MMORPG's are a buyer's market. You want to keep your company alive? Take care of of your players. But a wipe does the opposite. It ostracizes your players and drives them away to your competitors. Now I won't presume to guess what the Dev's are thinking, but I'm guessing that they are hoping new players will come in due to the wipe, and the short-term lack of competition of veteran players. And I'm sure that some new players will come in because of this.
But here's the really important thing about this: Many new players will look at this wipe, look at this forum thread, and know that this company can and will wipe their characters whenever they feel the need to do so.
Some new players will come in, sure. But most MMO players are savvy enough not to spend their time and money on a game company that's going to stab them in the back a year or so down the road.
Some of these players have been here for YEARS supporting this game. Do you really think I, or any other player with a sense of self-respect is going to invest time/money into a game that could turn on me at any moment when there are plenty of other MMO's to choose from? Nope, mama didn't raise no fool.
The thing that really bugs me about this is I know that Ryzom was an amazing game. I respect the Dev's for porting it for LInux. And to be honest, I really hope I'm wrong, that others are wrong, and this wipe won't kill this game. But I have little hope of that.
I won't be playing Ryzom if they follow through with the character wipe (and I'm certain that they will; they won't change their minds).
I get it - times are tough, and the Dev's need to do what they can to keep Ryzom alive. The server merger is a good idea. The character wipe is not.
Companies survive on the good will of their loyal, repeat customers. By implementing this wipe, the Dev's will destroy that good will. Loyal, paying customers will leave. They won't come back. The anger here, on this forum, is perfectly justified. This isn't about the loss of a character: stats, skills, gear, whatever. It's about the RL disgraceful lack of respect for the customers. It's about a violation of trust. It's hurtful.
MMORPG's are a buyer's market. You want to keep your company alive? Take care of of your players. But a wipe does the opposite. It ostracizes your players and drives them away to your competitors. Now I won't presume to guess what the Dev's are thinking, but I'm guessing that they are hoping new players will come in due to the wipe, and the short-term lack of competition of veteran players. And I'm sure that some new players will come in because of this.
But here's the really important thing about this: Many new players will look at this wipe, look at this forum thread, and know that this company can and will wipe their characters whenever they feel the need to do so.
Some new players will come in, sure. But most MMO players are savvy enough not to spend their time and money on a game company that's going to stab them in the back a year or so down the road.
Some of these players have been here for YEARS supporting this game. Do you really think I, or any other player with a sense of self-respect is going to invest time/money into a game that could turn on me at any moment when there are plenty of other MMO's to choose from? Nope, mama didn't raise no fool.
The thing that really bugs me about this is I know that Ryzom was an amazing game. I respect the Dev's for porting it for LInux. And to be honest, I really hope I'm wrong, that others are wrong, and this wipe won't kill this game. But I have little hope of that.