OFFICIAL NEWS

While I do not think it is intentional, a trend seems to be taking place that is rather alarming.

I do not think anyone wants this to happen, neither WG, CSR, nor any player.

That said:

While the issue of genocide has been averted, the issue of fratricide--competing for survival (against your fellow Homins in fact) has not.

Since there is no Very-Basic Starter Pack, or Refugee Starter Pack, to simply retain one's online identity, it would seem that F2Pers are now being forced to compete for survival in terms of Starter Packs.

The way this is playing out is not good, whether in terms of F2P retention, or general community wellbeing...

There needs to be a better solution for simply preserving our online identities.

This would not be a difficult fix, and would require little effort on the part of any csr or dev. Provide a mechanism (ticket, Temp Fix etc.) to allow us to verify that we want to retain this character.

Afterwards, I'm sure the starter pack games will have a much better tone to them.

Hi mate, thanks for the reply, I know what the items are, but, maybe I should have phrased my question better.

As regards premium packs, they are given to "reckless" characters that are "reset". Thats the way I read it, maybe I read it wrong, but I dont think so, whats the point of giving a reset character that kind of gear, by the time they can wear it there will be better crafted stuff.

They are mugging the high level players and giving them rubbish gear. Each level 250 and most lower levels would have at least .... 3 armours (mage, dig and melee, same for jewels/weapons to some degree).

None of the packs from what I can see, are level appropriate for level 250 players.

If the devs can design a premium pack with 3 different armours, why could they not make them all level appropriate and include appropriate weapons, why these three tiers why not just one simple level appropriate tier and just make different "event" prizes like sets of jewels or weapons.

Maybe have three package tiers Lv 100, 200 and 250 for example and give each character a lv appropriate package.

On a more positive note, I am glad to see you guys get to keep your characters, but it begs the questions :

1. Why did they not test the feasibility of this before sending such a scare-mongering email to everybody.
2. How come they were able to test it in 2 days when everybody complained. But didnt bother (or did they) prior to the email.
3. Were they just kite flying with that email, loaded with something drastic like all characters and gear wiped, to make just an all gear wipe more palatable to people just grateful to keep their names and characters.

I dunno, but it seems like a mugging to me.

I think there comes a time when you just have to evaluate whether the uniqueness of something like Ryzom and the past efforts of those behind it are worth giving up things that you would never have had anyway were it not for them. Whether it really matters whether there was foul play involved here.

It's somewhat similar to the Myst movie situation: yes Cyan Worlds is selling out to Hollywood, compromising their own franchise in order to improve their retirement funds, but...maybe they deserve whatever money they might make off that because they brought Myst into the world in the first place and built upon it faithfully for many years.

What would you sacrifice in order to support the creativity behind the likes of Ryzom and Myst? What emotional turmoil would you be willing to endure if doing so somehow translated directly into increased longevity for the thing in question, or a reward for those who poured even more time and effort and stress into it than you did?

Some will decide that punishing a betrayal of trust is more important than anything else. That's their prerogative, and it's a very, very understandable position. Personally I don't think it's worth it in this particular case.

Not much of what WG has claimed seems to be true, for example they state that the vets are overpowering the new comers by either being too powerful to compete with or making things too simple for them by helping them through. Yet they let us keep our overpowered toons and make us more powerful by giving us double XP to boost lower skills instead of cats to offer the new comers.

I foresee "A New Beginning" with the same ending being three servers of vets combined. I know of quite alot of oldies that would have returned to start fresh on an even playing field to grind toons up once again just to experience new freindships and experiences all over again.

Instead they will more than likely resub to keep their levels and unsub when they find out they still have nothing to do than to compete with more high level players for bosses and mats etc.

So good going WG you will probably be seeing alot of subbing right now but with a reset would have had the more loyal players subbing for another six years just to grind back up to where they were or even better than what they were.

Just mine and a few others oppinions that I have spoken to since this first announcement.

But good luck to you all and have fun !!!! :)

I don't like the 2x xp either, I think that should be reconsidered, as it could easily mess with game mechanics, feel of the game, etc. Maybe a poll among the old ones. Don't forget people are playing with the beta idea of aging characters, so I'm going to have to side with a better variety. Aging a character could also be a player option as well. To encourage that variety aspect, they could even make ppl wait at least a couple of days before allowing anyone to move to ML again--dunno how that last one would go over though XD Tougher mobs in some parts of silan (goo fields/jungle/etc) for a limited time might help also.

A few thoughts from a vet:

I think that some people who are complaining about vets keeping their levels are missing out on one big thing: We high-level vets will NOT have high level equipment to work with at the beginning! We will have refugee equipment, and maybe be able to afford to buy q50 or maybe q100 in the capitals.

The routes to the higher level dig areas will be blocked with kitin of increasing levels. (This was in the earlier announcement.) Those will be hard to kill with NPC amps and swords, even for those of us with 250 2H axe. The stanzas need to be matched with the weapons. Because of the economy reset it will not be as easy for us to make the dappers to even buy the high level NPC crap-gear. Until we can get to the q250 dig areas there will be no decent high-level equipment. (This may be a matter of days or weeks, but there *will* be a delay.)

There never was, in Ryzom, the ability to be truly *uber*. There were always mobs that could take you apart. The vets will have lost their good weapons and amps. That means even lower level mobs will be able to take us apart. Trekking will not be simple with kitin in the way in addition to the usual mobs.

Yes, we will help the new folk. That sort of help was what kept me going during low level grind in the Forest in my first main toon. Ryzom has a steep learning curve, one might even say a "learning cliff". Assistance helps a new person along. There is no particular virtue in being poor or under-trained. Sure, being power-trained through fame runs takes the effort out, but you don't have to accept that.

The premium packs for those who volunteer to restart are a set of goals. NPC armor is hard to get, even if you are q250. (I certainly don't have any, two years after my first melee master.) The toons won't be able to use it until they get the necessary levels. They will be working for it and towards it. The basic pack gives you a tiny bit of a bonus for being paid or being active. What's wrong with that? The difference between the basic pack and the standard refugee gear just isn't that much -- the big thing in the basic pack is the retention of name and appearance.

As for that, as far as non-paid players are concerned, name poaching is very unlikely and appearance can be duplicated.

If you compare the loss of levels gained for free to the loss of items, mementos and teleport pacts that the paid vets are getting, I'm afraid that I don't see that the F2P players are getting more screwed than the rest of us are. The loss of items and dappers is necessary to restart the economy. The loss of teleports is part and parcel of the same. (The fact that any cash/dapper-based economy is doomed by the continuous flood of materials is beside the point.) The merge is necessary for RL economic reasons. The internal economic reset is designed to help attract players who want to buy things rather than trade them. The revision of the terms of the reset is designed to keep paying vets on board who would otherwise leave. No one is happy, which means that something approaching equity has been achieved. ("In a true compromise, no one is completely happy.")

-- just some night thoughts.

-- Bittty

Very true. One time when I logged into Ryzom after a long absence I celebrated by running through the gingos outside Yrkanis and letting them kill me. It didn't take much! My melee-oriented character (250 2H sword skill) with mid-level magic skills was wearing mediocre light armor and held no weapon. So I had the maximum base HP going for me but inappropriate equipment--a situation comparable to having high level skills and crappy equipment. Once I had three or four Scowling Gingos on me I don't think I could have saved myself with combat even if I tried earnestly, due to their blinding ability. Would have needed to hit Invulnerability and run away.

1. alot ppl atm where already lvling with 2x xp by using cats, and it gives f2p players another extra incentive to sub to the game when they lvl 2 times as slow. For vets going reckless it's also nice since those last 50 lvls are really slow.
2. omg forcing ppl to stay on silan? i'm going reckless and gonna try to leave that dreathfull place in less then 2min, silan just isn't ryzom (silan is a quest based game and ryzom is an open world where you can go do whatever)

good point about silan--like I said didn't know how well that would go over XD--but not everyone plays it that way, plenty of ppl into overplaying it to like 50 or so, and then there are the subs who really overplay it...

had not considered that with cats, but I just think that 2x xp outright say from lvl 1 is not really good for the game, or the newbie, maybe have it available later, idk. after silan perhaps, or maybe even later?

Just give them your monies if you want to keep your levels. The things many of us have aquired over the years mean more than the levels to some of us, like me for example. Other homins care more about levels are more. Nobody is happy about this so I feel it's better to just move on, have fun playing the game you love. You can choose to go all emo. I don't mind that option because it makes me smile. Not because I don't feel your pain, cuz I know that feel bro, but because you are preachin to the choir. See ya on the other side Ray.

There is no reason for any experienced player who knows what they are doing at all to stay in silan longer than it takes to complete "Leave for the Mainland".
If there are hundreds of people waiting for the kirosta to spawn then all I can do is shake my head at the thought of all the time they are wasting.

PS. Rofl at all the trolls: "WG sux blah blah you are sheep blah blah you got played blah blah I'm going to be a marauder or sit here and troll the forum to prove my point"
None of you are buying what you are shovelling or you would have unsubbed and walked away already :P nice try tho (thats for the repeat posters, not the ones who have a legitimate opinion, post it and are done)

PPS. Please respond to the repeated questions regarding learned NPC craft plans (such as marauder HA plans), will they be retained by characters electing to keep their levels? It may be instrumental in some players decision to either go reckless or not.

Thank you.

+1

^
Excellent point, many have put in the effort for those plans and they should have the right to know if they will be lost, only fair.

NPC plans: Since they are learned skills and we keep skills and skill bricks, logic says they stay. Having said that: I am not a CSR nor do I play one on TV. :)

Do we know for sure the Premium pack armour will have a level requirement,as some old event armour had none ?