I agree with the general topic of Scape's post. I read through the RoE haters and Scape is right, they were most likely suspended from RoE for being knuckleheads (maybe even by me). Some of them were even silly enough to keep the same user name in here that they used in RoE.
What I want to talk about are some of the other issues that players are having. The game is blessed with several computer geeks on staff and if you are having performance problems please use the support ticket system to ask for help.
Most problems are related to the way Windows handles the RoE process. RoE is extremely CPU intensive so if you do not have a decent amount of RAM ( I recommend 512 Mb), the CPU is going to get crushed and the game will slow down. Also important to note is that a cheap Vid card (integrated or less then 128 Mb) will rely on the CPU for crunching power so we recommend a 128 Mb vid card to speed up the game.
Many problems are also related to Firewalls. The connection is an interesting thing and you handshake with the server at a few key points, one of them after character creation (I saw a post on that) and that is definitely a Firewall issue. (we have seen several of these in the past)
What I would really like anyone who takes the time to read through this to do is just try the game. I am a veteran of AO, AC, AC2, EQ, EQ2, Horizons, E&B, Diablo 2 and a few others I can't think of right now. RoE is a small community, and most people recognize each other. New players that come in with their 1337 h4><0r attitudes, or "**** YOU I WILL DO WHAT I WANT" mindset will have a short visit to the game. Even though the game is recommended for adults, we really try to maintain a family atmosphere (on all servers except for Halberd the PvP server which is 18+) The ruleset is fairly strict and enforced pretty well. The controls and the choices for characters in the game are advanced, and I recommend reading the manual before playing. It takes a little time to learn the HOW for the game, but once you got it, it only gets more fun when you realize how much you can do and how different all of the characters are (or can be).
I personally have been playing RoE for about 3 years now and have made some great friends in the game. I have 22 characters of mostly different classes and I am happy to answer questions about almost anything having to do with the game. I am one of the newbies in the game compared to my friends, there are actually players who are still on from the Cancun Engine days so the knowledge base in game is vast. When you log in, do not be afraid to send a message to a higher level player to ask questions. What can I say, just try it, it is a former pay to play game that is now totally free - a pretty good deal in my opinion.
As for the player who asked what is the point of the game - easy - the point of RoE is exactly the same as any other MMORPG - log in, lose yourself in the game and forget about real life for awhile. The whole point is to enjoy yourself.
See you in Vormis.