It hardly seems like you are trying to understand if you disregard what other players say, calling it "hair splitting". It's not called hair splitting if he's pointing out obvious flaws in your argumentation. And while we are at the "misinterpreting", you didn't get the Ben Franklin quotation. Yes, a new-born has _potential_. And that potential is exactly what Bittty was talking about. It is up to *you* to find the challenges and satisfaction you seek. If it's truly too much to ask to organize a tournament on your own, instead of relying on the game developers to do it for you, then yes, you are expecting too much from this game. But it is also why other players love it so much: Because it depends on them where the game goes, where the story leads and what we experience.
Nobody is (or should be) trying to defend the game, because let's be honest: Who cares if some player doesn't like the game and moves on? Very few. Instead, it has been tried to *explain* to you why Ryzom works for them. Explain, not justify. If you don't want to pay, don't. If you don't want to play, don't. If you don't trust that the game will be around in a year, yes, that is justifiable, but again, the rest of us will just enjoy that year as much as they can instead of wasting their time worrying. It doesn't cost much (relative to the income in most countries), and if the money does mean a lot to you, maybe it should be invested in something more worthwhile, anyway.
You are mentioning the lack of PvP, of competition, but have you really been around long enough to experience OP wars, Kami/Karavan disputes or the upcoming Marauders? There is, in fact, despite fear of conflict, enough PvP around to justify crafting special PvP gear, that serves little purpose, and has too much value for, plain levelling.
Competition can be a lot more subtle than a simple scoreboard, telling you who has the highest level and the most hit points. You can compete in fighting, in crafting, in knowing lore, geography, in helping people, in running the most successful guild or being the most hated or loved person.
And to answer one of your questions: "Whats the point of doing all this work on a toon and building it up" – There is no point whatsoever, just as there is no point in playing any other game, other than having fun. You're not creating anything worthwhile, you're not changing the world for better or worse, you're not curing a disease or inventing a time machine. You're just spending your time having fun. And if Ryzom isn't fun to you, you will have to look for something else.
A game cannot be for everyone, and it won't be changed for someone. There are _a lot_ of things that could be improved in Ryzom, but turning it into WoW is not one of them.
And to address valid point(s) like the lack of support: Yes, there is lack of support, there are bugs and long patch cycles, but some people care about that, some don't. The latter are willing to pay. It's about your priorities. I pay so the team can cover the costs, and I pay so I can keep playing the game. I don't expect more, you might.
tl;dr: Most are having fun, you might not, not everyone wants to play the same game.
P.S.: I am sorry for the incoherence of the reply, I wrote it down the way it flew through my head. At 4:30 in the morning.
Nobody is (or should be) trying to defend the game, because let's be honest: Who cares if some player doesn't like the game and moves on? Very few. Instead, it has been tried to *explain* to you why Ryzom works for them. Explain, not justify. If you don't want to pay, don't. If you don't want to play, don't. If you don't trust that the game will be around in a year, yes, that is justifiable, but again, the rest of us will just enjoy that year as much as they can instead of wasting their time worrying. It doesn't cost much (relative to the income in most countries), and if the money does mean a lot to you, maybe it should be invested in something more worthwhile, anyway.
You are mentioning the lack of PvP, of competition, but have you really been around long enough to experience OP wars, Kami/Karavan disputes or the upcoming Marauders? There is, in fact, despite fear of conflict, enough PvP around to justify crafting special PvP gear, that serves little purpose, and has too much value for, plain levelling.
Competition can be a lot more subtle than a simple scoreboard, telling you who has the highest level and the most hit points. You can compete in fighting, in crafting, in knowing lore, geography, in helping people, in running the most successful guild or being the most hated or loved person.
And to answer one of your questions: "Whats the point of doing all this work on a toon and building it up" – There is no point whatsoever, just as there is no point in playing any other game, other than having fun. You're not creating anything worthwhile, you're not changing the world for better or worse, you're not curing a disease or inventing a time machine. You're just spending your time having fun. And if Ryzom isn't fun to you, you will have to look for something else.
A game cannot be for everyone, and it won't be changed for someone. There are _a lot_ of things that could be improved in Ryzom, but turning it into WoW is not one of them.
And to address valid point(s) like the lack of support: Yes, there is lack of support, there are bugs and long patch cycles, but some people care about that, some don't. The latter are willing to pay. It's about your priorities. I pay so the team can cover the costs, and I pay so I can keep playing the game. I don't expect more, you might.
tl;dr: Most are having fun, you might not, not everyone wants to play the same game.
P.S.: I am sorry for the incoherence of the reply, I wrote it down the way it flew through my head. At 4:30 in the morning.