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The Sleeping Giant? Possible EQ Killer?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 18
Date: July 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you've been looking for something outside the usual MMORPG with elves and fairies, this is going to be your game. I played in the beta and it started a little rough, but it's getting better every time I log in. This game has everything people have been begging for.

An actual storyline. They've got 8 years of story planned. 8 YEARS! Considering most MMO stories are "Oh, some orcs decided to invade," this is good stuff.

An original setting. No elves, no orcs, no castles, none of the usual high-fantasy stuff. If you're as sick of fantasy as I am, you'll breathe a sigh of relief. Best part: NO GIANT RATS! OR SEWERS!

Skills, Skills, Skills. It's a classless system. That means whatever you want to do, you do. If you want to sling fireballs and be a wicked swordfighter, go for it. Train in whatever you want. More importantly, you can actually build your own actions and spells.

Devs that care. How many times have we heard the whines, "This should've been in beta longer!"? This time they actually listened! If you read most of the whining, it's "They closed the beta! I can't play for free anymore!"

If you pass over Ryzom for more of the Usual MMO Fantasy, you're doing yourself a grave disservice. This one's going to be the sleeper hit of 2004.

Wow!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: July 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've been wanting this game for as long as I can remember, and when the open beta came out, I couldn't stop playing it! It was better than I imagined! The graphics are wonderful and the people playing it are actually nice and helpful, which is a nice change from the other online games I've played.

THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: July 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I played the open beta for this game it was awesome! Especially the characters not that many people look the same you can change the width and length of nose how big mouth is and face shape you can choose eye color and you can even put a design on face.Theres four different civilications you can pick from. THE WEPONS ARE COOL!!!ythe way the swords look. If you make a sword it can be different then the ones you can buy. you can even get guns but ammo if expensive! thats why you should learn to make your own.But the two best things are fight with other people and starting your own GUILD. You can get a team of people to be in a Guild do missions to get guild points ythe more guild points you get you'll.......I wont give it away.BUT if you dont get this game you dont know what your missing this is only a qurter of the cool stuff from this game has to offer. You can live with out this game. WARNING Kids under the age of twelve should not play this game unless responsible game, my be adictive.I sure was adicted to it. GET THIS GAME GET IT ITS A GOOD GAME

Some inside info...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: August 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've been in the focus beta for a little while, and I thought I should let everyone here know about how great the game is getting. Every new patch they have us testing is getting cooler and cooler. It's awesome. You can ask my husband, each time they patch, I can't help but saying "whoa!". I highly recommend this game, I can't stop playing it and I hope the rest of you get to see the game. I think I'll buy two and force my hubby to play, hehehe :) Hope this helped some. :)

The Saga of Ryzom

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: August 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been lucky to have been beta testing SoR now for over three months now. This is my first MMO, it is the most addicting and comprehensive game I have ever played. There are no limitations in this game you can be anything and everything skill trees branch in every direction to keep gameplay interesting and challenging. This is one game that when released has smash hit potential. The graphics and environment are more than outstanding they are unbeleivable. I highly reccomend The Saga of Ryzom.

Good work nevrax

A Look From Down under

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 11
Date: August 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Graffics are great,animal content such as( big dog eats little dog) fantastic, gives one a chance to unload lucky death on a critter thats your twice your size with a bit off gambling wether the little dog dies first or u kill the big guy first,im mainly talking about the gingos tenacity to hit every critter,meaning EITHER critter survives it goes looking 4 u .It also has guards that are very handy 4 survival,will be welcomed buy newbies,there are a few obvious helpfull things that could be added but can come with mthly patches,and the best thing i can hunt alone and or quest alone without the need off others(some of us are loners),and like all mmorf games this one has gone further than any mmorf game ive played or beta tested,my only worry i hope the maps are so hudge u can disapear without running into packs of players.
The lack off foal language was great during closed invite beta and would like so continue seeing that,the added content off botts walking the streets in packs was kewl but lacked the sound off the real hussel and bussel i would prob of heard in the year this game is set,the time 4 me playing this beta was short but i hope i can log in every weekend till i can seize steal,beg a copy off ryzom here in australia or prepay it and have it flown here,
Peter Davies aka Temegin
Nice job
Ps.. at least i can read the forums

Excellent MMORPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: September 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Regarding the comments on the bugginess where ATI video cards are concerned, it is not Nevrax's fault nor responsibility to create stable video card drivers. It is not that the game does not support the ATI features, it is that the drivers are substandard. If you're using an ATI, be sure you have the latest video BIOS and the latest drivers (preferably ones that are WHQL certified).

I currently run fine using an NVidia card with no display issues whatsoever. I have only crashed out of the beta test once in the last week. There are only minor bugs to be resolved prior to the game going live. The open beta just ended today (9/13).

Regarding the game itself, it is a skill-based advancement with a very deep and diverse skill tree. There are no "classes", which translates to having no limitations on your character. If you want a fighter/mage in heavy armor and duel wield, have at it. If you want a pure crafter, have at it. Game balance appears to be just fine from my perspective. Content (low through high level) is abundant and with over 100 sq. km. to explore, the world is quite large.

Go into the game with an open mind as it is very different than any other MMORPG I've been around, but it is in a good way.

Good playing game with lots of long term potential

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: September 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The one major thing I see this game having over all the other cookie cutter games out there is the advancement system. This is very different than many other games. You do not have to choice a class at the being of the game, which you are stuck with for the whole game with that character. Here you can be what ever you like.
Spent the first few hours of play as a fighter and decided you don't like it much? Ok go use some magic and see what that's like.
Tired of bashing creatures at the moment? Go do some crafting.
Want to just explore and maybe get something for it at the same time? Run around the world (watching out for the mobs) and do some harvesting.

Then there are the branches of the skills:
Made it way up there with your sword and now find it would have been better to use a mace? Go bash mobs with a mace. You need only to fight the mob that is at the level of your skill in mace, so no longer will you be stuck trying to whack a high level mob with a weapon that you only have skill in for a low level mob. You will gain exp in that skill and this will give you a whole new set of actions to use the skill points you gain in that skill on.
This goes for all the different skills, decide to work on a different branch of the skills and you need only to face a mob (or make an item, or search for a material) that is equal to the level of the new skill you are using. VERY COOL!
From this point of view it gives this game a longevity I have not seen in the games I have played (this is the 4th MMOG) yet.

I have not even touched on the Fame system, guild system or the mass mob invasions here.

As to balancing issues:
I don't see any problems in the balancing of this game. Being that the actions you use here are built on a -/+ stanza (sub-actions within a givein action) system, I don't see balancing being an issue. No set classes means you "balance" your character in what ever way you wish. Gone are the days of the devs nerfing a certain class because some whiney kid's cleric couldn't wipe out a high level warrior one on one. (At least we can hope this is the case.)

Does it have bugs? Yes. Is it better than 85% of the other games at this same time of those games evolution? Yes.
Let's face it people we buy software these days expecting it to have bugs. Whose fault is it? We still buy it... The name of this game is profit, if they can make a profit without making it perfect, DUH!!, they will. If we stoped buying it unless it was perfect (which is just about impossible to do in a dynamic type MMOG) then they would stop selling it with all the bugs.

Bottom line... Is it fun?
For me, yes it is fun. This is a subjective question that must be answered by each individual. Go look at the game on the web and decide if it looks like something you would like to play.

As to the ATI problems, well the drivers are pretty much hosed, this is not the first nor will it be the last program that has issues with ATI drivers. When you buy ATI you do it at your own risk, at this point in time. :( That said, I personally know of more than a few people who play the game fine with ATI cards.

All unfinished parts are finished, but were left out of beta

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: September 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The game is actually finished and fully playable, aside from a few unnamed objects and unimportant bugs, which will be corrected soon.

The detailed quests, storyline, NPC interaction, invasions, guild wars, and changing landscapes are all finished but were left OUT of the beta. Underwater travel and mounts, as well as permanent changes to each server based on its players actions, will be introduced soon. Please keep in mind that almost all reviews here came from beta testers who may have been unaware that the beta was just a skeleton of the game.

Having played the beta knowing this, and knowing what's already been tested but not publicly revealed, I'd say this game is an absolute winner. I'm going to purchase the day it goes retail.

Same disaster that is Asheron's Call 2 and Horizons

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 20
Date: September 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Like most new games, it does have incredible graphics. And the tech that went into designing the environment and habits of the creatures of the wild are well done. Game concepts and character progression are nothing new to the genre, but what they chose to copy from other games are mostly good and it works well together to make a good game. The only thing that is lacking is the combat which consists mainly of pressing a button, going for a walk and coming back to see if you won or are dead. I may be over-exagerating a little, but it's definitely a step back in the evolution of RPG combat.

So, what's so bad about this game? It's not finished! When I say not finished, I mean, many skills are still not functioning. This includes skills from fighting, magic, harvesting, and crafting. Many NPC vendors still are not selling the equipment that they say they have. There are zero (that's right!), ZERO(0) quests in the game. There are short tasks from NPC's that ask you to go kill a wild anamal on the edge of town or knit them a sweater, but no real adventurous quests.

They managed to reduce server crashes to only a couple in the last week of testing. However the data rollbacks saw some people with over an hour of wasted character advancement. After having this happen to me personally I can tell you there is nothing more frustrating than knowing that you spent an hour or more on something that was all for nothing. And knowing that the developers were still having problems with crashes right up till the game went gold (release state of game), there will likely still be server crashes when the game goes live.

As is the case with the corporate world today, money talks. The game is heavily sponsored by Nvidia. The developers designed the graphics of the game to run smoothly on the Nvidia chipset. That means for all you ATI video card owners out there, you may encounter problems. For a lot of players during the beta test, they were unable to play at all. For others, they had to play with key video features turned off. I don't have many details about this since I don't have an ATI, but I do know it was a major issue for many players.

After being apart of the AC2 and HZ beta tests, it feels like the same problems all over again. People will rush in, hate the game because of its unfinished, no-content feel, and rush to the message boards to bad mouth the game. Subscriptions will suffer and the game will become very empty. And since it takes millions of dollars to fund these games, without the subscriptions, the game will go bankrupt, or live on life-support for a long time. :-(

Another unfortunate thing about this game is the monthly fee will be over $20 CAD. Which I wouldn't mind paying for well made game, but it's just not right paying that much to continue testing a product for someone.

If you've already ordered the game, I recommend waiting a little while before starting your subscription. Check all the popular (un-moderated) gaming message boards for the current state of the game. From what I've seen, Amazon.ca currently has the best price on the game, so if you are going to buy the game eventually, you might as well order it from here and save some money. :-)

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