Yearly Archives: 2009

Saga of Ryzom: Don’t Overlook This Game

By Jeffrey Kerkdijk (Hyarume), Onrpg writer

The Saga of Ryzom is an MMORPG made by the French studio Nevrax. It was released in September 2004. Unfortunately the game was rather unnoticed and shut down twice. Now it’s back with a new owner. Currently the game is still fully free-to-play, but this will change back to pay-to-play sometime in the future. Ryzom has a Science-Fantasy theme and has gameplay that no other MMORPG can give you.

As long as is remembered the Homins (people from Atys) lived in warfare, with only occasional short periods of peace. This was said to be the destiny of the Homins, until…

Welcome To Atys

Like most MMOs, before you start the game you have to create a character. In the Saga of Ryzom you cannot play as a human but will be choosing from four humanoid races. The Fyros are tanned desert fighters. There are the Zorai who wear mysterious masks and the Matic, who worship Life. Then there are the Trykers who, well, just have their own business.

After choosing your race and customising your character you are ready to begin your journey. You start on the starter island of Silan where you will learn much about the game. You will uncover many mysteries on the island whilst you learn how the game works and how to play.

The controls are great and, since WASD controls are very common in MMOs nowadays, you’ll be pleased to know the WASD controls here work very well.

Unlike most MMOs however, you don’t really gain experience, nor do you have level. Instead you develop skills in four groups. These are Combat, Magic, Harvesting and Crafting. You improve your magic by casting spells and your combat by regularly fighting beasties. This is how the experience system works.

One remarkable feature of Ryzom is that it is a living world. There are many animals living in the world. Some carnivores, some herbivores. They will interact with each other and the world in a realistic way.

Quests in the Saga of Ryzom are the standard fare. There are lots of ‘kill’ quests, delivery quests and scouting quests, where you will be asked to find a specific type of animal, be it carnivore or herbivore. Their names will be shown in your quest menu, but not where to find them. One of the things I really liked about the game was the ability to really explore the land you’re in.

The Ring

One area where the developers have really innovated is with their expansion, The Ring. The Ring is a system by which the players can make their own worlds. They design the maps then place their own animals and quests.

Other players can then access your own little world and you can visit theirs. This adds a substantial amount of depth to the world and, whilst the maps are very time consuming to make, is a great addition to the game.

PvP

There is plenty in Ryzom for the PvP fan. Everything from simple Duels to Guild vs Guild matches, right up to full Outpost Wars.

The Outpost Wars particularly can give quite a challenge to players. These Outposts sit outside the main cities and can be fought for and controlled by the Guilds. You can also choose to fight the opposing faction at any time and rumour even has it that there are secret underground areas that are simply one huge free-for-all!

Graphics & Sound

I would rate the graphics as very good. There are changes in the weather and the living organisms look very natural and realistic. There are many living NPCs that walk through the towns adding real character. I’ve not seen a game with this unique style before. I really adore it. It is nothing short of a masterpiece.

The sound is also very well done. There is little music, but what is there is of a high standard. Most of all though the game creates an incredibly real ambiance with sound. You can hear yourself and the creatures around you. Even the world itself makes its own sounds. They all fit to the game perfectly and are very exciting.

Recommendation

The Saga of Ryzom is a wonderful RPG. It is a real pity that it hasn’t had as much advertisement as it deserves and is therefore underpopulated. It features a unique and interesting storyline and gameplay, all in an incredibly real living world. You have never seen an MMO with such realistic animal behavior. Add to all this the ability to create your own small part of Ryzom, and you have a real winner.

If you are tired of all the same old RPGs, or just looking for a new game to try, I would highly recommend The Saga Of Ryzom!

Pros

– Living world

– Crafting system

– Unique character development system

– Great PvP

Cons

– Underpopulated

SWTOR: first class announced

GameZig (http://gamezig.com) is reporting the following news:

Star Wars The Old Republic has finally announced it’s first playable character class in the game – and surprise, surprise. It’s not a Jedi, it’s a Bounty Hunter! Bounty Hunters in SWTOR are a rugged, ruthless bunch as you would come to expect a hunter to be. In SWTOR, they have to be as they are taking on the most dangerous missions and assinations in the galaxy by going after force users. A big beneficiary of the services of bounty hunters will be the Sith Empire, who are giving out an unprecedented amount of death marks and highering the services of the best hunters in the galaxy. Here, the best hunter’s will be known as “Jedi Killers”.

Bounty Hunters in SWTOR will need the best armor and weaponry in the galaxy – spending as much on an advanced blaster as others spend on star ships. Their armor is crafted by top artisans and constantly upgrading to the best equipment and gadgets available. The life of a bounty hunter is always on the edge, he’ll need every surprise available at his disposal to survive. With each new mark taken down the hunter will increase his notoriety – and his price.
(source: Gamezig.com)

Voyage Century: The Rise of Fleets

The new version of Voyage Century has a new special element called Fleet. This element is the basis of the Guilds and Merchant Alliances. Today the folks at Voyage Century are going to explain this new feature.
 
Find and join a fleet
One fleet can be founded by players who belong to a merchant alliance. Players need to hand 100 thousand silver coins to the Fleet Master in the center cities of 5 Alliances, but only up to 20 players can join the fleet. The players who apply for joining the fleet can’t belong to another fleet, but they can belong to an alliance. The players who belong to a guild can’t join a fleet founded by other guilds.
 
Quit and disband a fleet
The guild members can leave their guilds automatically after leaving their fleets. Two situations can cause the disbandment of a fleet: your fleet can’t afford the Fleet Funds 3 days in a row, and/or the fleet leader disbands the fleet. After that, all the members in the fleet will be forced to leave the guild automatically. All of the fleet and guild contributions will be wiped out.
 
Fleet Glory and funds
The initial fleet fund is 100 thousand silver coins; that amount will be reduced by 10 thousand everyday. A warning will pop up in the fleet channel if your fleet has less than 30 thousand silver coins or if there isn’t enough money for deduction. Each member of the fleet can hand fleet funds to the Fleet Master.
The fleet glory and funds can be obtained from fleet battles.
 
Fleet Quests
When the Fleet Master releases the daily fleet quests, members of the fleet can choose to accept the Fleet Leader’s offer. The quests require a profession level of 20. The fleet quests include Exploring New Continent, Free Slaves, Reykjavik Monster, Fight for Glory, and so on. Players will get tons of money and experience from the quests. 
 
The Fleet Battle event will be released soon.

RockFree: Open beta announced

Acclaim Games is pleased to announce the start of Open Beta testing for ROCKFREE free-to-play, music based game. Starting Tuesday March 31st, 2009 this Flash-based game will become the first of its kind to offer thirty-two genuine licensed songs at no cost.

You won’t find no-name songs in this game. Instead you’ll play to songs made famous by bands like White Zombie, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Heart, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop and more!
Rockfree is a browser-based, flash-powered game that closely copies the mechanics of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Users can upload any song they want, and play with up to seven friends in real-time.

Gamers can create their own online rocker persona, open a rock club and compete against seven other rivals in a rocker battle with four difficulty settings. As they play, rockers will gain fans and grow in fame, unlocking access to advanced songs, and awesome outfits. Chat inside your club, use emotes, make friends and climb the leaderboards.

March 31st, 2009 the battle to become a Rock Legend, and the coveted Rocker God begins!

Fiesta: ready for a new event?

Angels and Demons Event:
A war of epic proportions has begun. A countdown to battle has been initiated. Will you fight? Ask your friends what they might know.

During the days of the siege on Elderine, Teva created Guardian Magi to protect the inhabitants of Isya. Although confident in the strength of her Guardian Magi, she worried about the power of Legel corrupting the land and destroying all she sought to protect. To ensure the safety of her Guardian Magi and the rest of Isya, Teva used her powers to create sacred beings to watch over Isya and report to her news of its people. These Angels, as she called them, had the ultimate power to protect. Unseen, they moved though the land and served as her eyes.
Click this link to learn more!

There are new weapon skins in Fiesta:
Get ready for new weapons with dazzling effects that will make you stand out in a crowd. In addition to looks, the bonuses that come with the weapons are not something to glance over: Increase overall damage by 10%, critical rate by 5%, or Aim by 5%. Find out more in game.

Wind Slayer: Tournament and more!

PvP Team Slayer Tournament: It’s time to start perfecting those PvP strats because a team slayer tournament has arrived in WindSlayer. Create a group of 4 and sign up for a chance at some awesome rewards.
Click this link to learn more!

Movie Madness: It’s time to do whatever you need to do to get your creative juices flowing. Users are being asked to create original movies using WindSlayer content. Your movies will appear on Youtube in a special user created section!
Click this link to learn more!

Empire of Sports

Welcome to the first virtual world that has brought together sports and socialization!

Empire of sports a free MMORPG, dedicated to sports in which you can challenge real people. Face your neighbor as well as people from all over the world. Choose the career of your dreams! Become a champion!

You start with the creation of your cyber copy: your avatar. Customize its appearance and develop its performances in 7 different sports: tennis, basketball, football, ski, bobsleigh and track & field.

Islands of War Interview: A New, Promising MMO

Questions by Bryan King (Bryan), Onrpg writer
Answered by Jacques Rossouw, project leader and founder of Islands of War.

Today, we’ve landed an interview with Jacques Rossouw, project leader and founder of Neojac Entertainment’s flagship MMO, Islands of War. IoW is backed by a strong storyline, an active community, and interesting world to explore.

 

OnRPG: Hello! First, introduce yourself to our readers.

Jacques: My name is Jacques Rossouw. I am the Project Manager and founder of Islands Of War. I have been working on this project for over 2 years and see it grow to what it is now with the help of a awesome team who shares the same vision.

 

OnRPG: What inspired you and the development team to work so long and hard on your flagship title, Islands of War?

Jacques: When it started it was just a dream, as time went past and with the help of companies like Multiverse that dream was given a chance to become a reality. Our vision was to make a game done by players, and to show that if you have enough perseverance you can develop a game which others would want to play. I would not say that it was easy as most of us have day jobs and have offered all our spare time we have to this project to ensure it’s as good as we possibly can make it. After such a long time working on it we are finally starting to see the fruits of our labor and that means a lot.

 

OnRPG: Introduce us to the races and “affiliations”?

Jacques: We intend to introduce many new races as the beta moves along, at this point however players will be restricted to playing Human “Primal Soldiers” who find themselves cutoff from the front lines of the war they were sent to fight in.

 

OnRPG: What unique features will be implemented in IoW?

Jacques: We have several unique features and the first that players will notice is the optional objectives on many of our quests, each quest has something extra a player can do for better rewards. Additionally once a player levels up they have the ability to choose any skill from any class, in this way each character can become exactly what the player wants it to be. Beyond that we have two or three other things regarding player abilities, crafting and world domination that we aren’t quite ready to talk about.

 

OnRPG: Will there be any interactions between players that are rather unique to the MMO industry? Different orientations of PvP, RvR, trading, etc.?

Jacques: While large sections of our world will be ‘tamed’ the wild frontiers will have PvP allowing groups or guilds to claim sections either for their empire or for themselves. Combining PvP areas with PvE areas so that players will be able to play both sides on one server without the need to switch to a dedicated PvE or PvP server.

 

OnRPG: What was the most important mentality behind making the game? Emphasis on fun? Combat? etc.?

Jacques: Players control of his character and surroundings, this goes all the way through both gameplay and the development process as we really are a community driven project.

 

OnRPG: Did you and the development team have any inspiration behind making the game?

Jacques: I will admit I have been playing MMOs for many years and always found that at some stage there was nothing much more to explore or intrigue me so I decided to try and make a game that would never have players feeling like that. It’s a tall order and I hope we can fill it but that’s where it started. As we continued to develop the game and merged all our ideas together the game started to take form into something we are excited to play ourselves and with that we have been inspired more every day the further along it goes.

 

OnRPG: Where do you see Islands of War a year from now?

Jacques: We hope to be at the end of our beta phases and opening the game up to the public fully, moving into the next stage of Islands of War.

 

OnRPG: What will keep players coming back for more in IoW?

Jacques: Our first objective to keep players coming back is the community, making sure they feel at home right from the start and always welcome. Working closely with our community of players we will aim to develop the game to what the players want as that was our goal for this game from the start. By adding more features and content to the game on a regular basis we will insure that players are always interested in IOW and we keep them on their toes with new adventures and places to explore.

 

OnRPG: In terms of graphics, what are some of the most interesting graphical achievements IoW has?

Jacques: In the future we plan to provide a 2d flash browser based client along with the normal 3d client which will give players the option to play the game in full 3d or 2d, while still interacting with each other in the same world.

 

OnRPG: Any future expansions planned?

Jacques: After our first release we will be releasing many updates which will include new races. Our goal within the first year is to add several new playable races with their own storyline and adventures.

 

OnRPG: Thanks for answering, Jacques!