I may not have a lot of years invested in Ryzom, but I have 11 years invested in another game, and I can understand the frustration of existing players, who are losing so much of their time and work. I also understand the excitement of a few, for being able to start over and relive "the old days", with all players on semi-equal footing. I don't know how much equal footing comes into play in Ryzom - where I'm from, there is a HUGE class discrepancy between newer and older players. That game is over 15 years old, but I expect this is true of any long-standing game.
When I first heard about the merge, I was a bit upset. Afterall, we hadn't had much time to grow, but we did have our little accomplishments, and these might as well not exist. For a while, I didn't see any point in playing other than to hang out and chat. Then I remembered something. There is... no difference, in the long term, whether I advance my character or not, REGARDLESS of whether the servers merge tomorrow. This is because it's not real life. Nothing I do here will carry forward into my real future. It's a pastime. It's fun. So... if I can enjoy it once, why not enjoy it twice? In the end, it's all illusion anyway. Unreal accomplishments in an unreal universe, providing a real sense of accomplishment - which I could've gotten from real life deeds. I'm choosing to pass (waste?) my time in a virtual world. I mean, really - once you accept that truth, how much does the rest really matter? Accept it and move on. Or don't.
I searched for this game for 10 years. That's how long ago I first started searching for a replacement game. Over the years, I searched several times, browsing, researching, sampling other games - and I never even found the name Ryzom until a few weeks ago. There's really nothing else like this game. There are a few other games that have unique "claims to fame", but Ryzom, like them, is special in the MMORPG universe. And it just so happens that what makes Ryzom special, is one of the dealbreakers in my ongoing search for a new home.
So I'll still be here after the merge, and hopefully for a long time to come. I'm also trying to bring friends in, to enjoy what really is a special place.
Lei
When I first heard about the merge, I was a bit upset. Afterall, we hadn't had much time to grow, but we did have our little accomplishments, and these might as well not exist. For a while, I didn't see any point in playing other than to hang out and chat. Then I remembered something. There is... no difference, in the long term, whether I advance my character or not, REGARDLESS of whether the servers merge tomorrow. This is because it's not real life. Nothing I do here will carry forward into my real future. It's a pastime. It's fun. So... if I can enjoy it once, why not enjoy it twice? In the end, it's all illusion anyway. Unreal accomplishments in an unreal universe, providing a real sense of accomplishment - which I could've gotten from real life deeds. I'm choosing to pass (waste?) my time in a virtual world. I mean, really - once you accept that truth, how much does the rest really matter? Accept it and move on. Or don't.
I searched for this game for 10 years. That's how long ago I first started searching for a replacement game. Over the years, I searched several times, browsing, researching, sampling other games - and I never even found the name Ryzom until a few weeks ago. There's really nothing else like this game. There are a few other games that have unique "claims to fame", but Ryzom, like them, is special in the MMORPG universe. And it just so happens that what makes Ryzom special, is one of the dealbreakers in my ongoing search for a new home.
So I'll still be here after the merge, and hopefully for a long time to come. I'm also trying to bring friends in, to enjoy what really is a special place.
Lei