GAME FEATURES

• Ryzom is both a competitive and a collaborative game

• Ryzom's dynamic environment generates a constant flow of game opportunities for players. Examples include invasions to fight off, raw materials to harvest, lands to colonize, exploit, explore and so on.

• A superior graphics engine, Opengl, allowing superior immersion.

• An original universe not based on classic sword and sorcery.

• Acting through their communities, players can take control of various domains of the world, or of their civilizations. Their actions may lead to profit and fame, to crises and disgrace, or push forward the evolution of the civilization or the world.

• The concerted actions of the players, focused on the objectives set by the player communities, modify the state of the world and, by extension, the game opportunities and gameplay possibilities. Once again, their actions may lead to profit and fame, to crises and disgrace or push forward (or hinder) the evolution of the civilization or the world.

• The world is subject to seasonal cycles that change its gameplay identity zone by zone.

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The game is built on three levels of progression :

* individual progression
* group progression (guilds)
* civilization progression

• The progression of these three entities is independent. If one of them performs badly then the others are not blocked, but their progression is slowed.

The players can act on these three levels of progression via group actions and decisions, such as in :

• A 'political' system which allows players to exercise control over the evolution of their civilizations. The same system also manages the relationships between groups in a competitive and collaborative framework, creating a high level game dynamic.

•• A Guild System for furthering a player's skills, and for defining certain aspects of ingame life on Atys.

• The world of Ryzom is not a frozen theatre set but reacts to the actions of the players

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Advancement

     When first starting the Saga of Ryzom, a new character has access to only 4 different basic skills.

1. Fight
2. Magic
3. Crafting
4. Harvesting

     These are the only skills a new player may advance in until they reach a skill level of 20. Once they have become this skilled, a deeper layer of the skill tree opens up for selection and advancement. We•ll follow the Fight skill tree of a Matis Warrior specializing in mace combat for this example.

Fight
     o Melee Combat
               • 1-Handed Melee
                          1-Handed Blunt
                                   o 1-Handed Mace
                                             • Matis Mace
                                   o 1-Handed Staff
                         1-Handed Piercing
                         1-Handed Slashing
               • 2-Handed Melee
               • Close Combat
               o Ranged Combat
Magic
Defense
Crafting
Harvesting

     Of course, the other skills in the tree above have similar branching sub-skills and all 5 of the basic skills branch off in similar ways. Each of these skills allows a player to train in different Actions that will work for any skills below it on the tree. The more specific you get, the more powerful the Actions you can learn but they will only be able to be used in a smaller number of situations.

     It may take a long time to to completely learn an entire skill branch down to one of the most specific skill levels, but it•s not necessary to do so to become a capable character. In some cases it might be better to generalize. For example, if our mace warrior from before were to run into a creature that is very resilient to blunt attacks, he•d be in trouble. On the other hand, another player may have devoted his time to learning all the general 1-Handed combat skills, and not focused down. In this case he would be less effective with a 1-Handed Mace than the specialist, but he•ll be more effective with swords and spears.

     Our skill tree also makes it possible to give the benefit of flexibility to veteran characters, while still allowing newer players to be effective. Your character may change jobs. Because you never forget a skill once it has been learned, this change of line allows you to retain your old skills. The more skills you learn, the more options you have open to you. In a class/level-based game, eventually a character has to stop advancing, or they become too powerful for the world. Under the Ryzom skill system, a character who has advanced as far as they can in one skill can just pick up another, becoming more flexible, but not too much more powerful.

Modular Action System

     The Saga of Ryzom combines every action a player can do within the world into one unified game mechanic, called the Modular Action System. This system holds special combat maneuvers, spells, material prospecting and harvesting, and even crafting actions. Each skill offers you a series of abilities. There are abilities in magic, craftsmanship, trading, hunting, culture, survival knowledge, you just name it !..... These skills allow you to perform basic actions. In addition to these basic actions, the abilities offered by a skill enable you to perform special actions, such as secret hits for combat or words of power for creating spells.

     Each individual action is made up of a number of subcomponents, which are called Stanzas. These Stanzas each have different abilities and costs associated with them, and once a player learns them, they can combine them into their own custom actions. Each individual stanza also has a cost associated with it, which prevents seriously unbalanced actions from being created • more powerful abilities will need higher costs in order to balance them out.

     New Stanzas are learned by receiving training in different skills. A new player starts with only one basic offensive magic spell, Acid Bolt. After advancing, they can then learn Ice Bolt, which gives them additional Stanzas. The example Stanzas for each spell are:

Acid Bolt                           Ice Bolt
9 acid damage (+2)           12 ice damage (+4)
-10 meter range (-1)         -29 meter range (-3)
6 sap cost (-2)                   16 sap cost (-5)

     By using the Modular Action System, this same player can then create his own custom spell, naming it whatever he likes:

Free Acid Bolt
9 acid damage    (+2)
-29 meter range   (-3)

     Although it may not be very powerful, and has a serious range penalty, it does have the advantage of being completely free to cast. This makes it great in those situations when you•re already in close and don•t need that extra range • by far superior to the standard Acid Bolt spell while in close.

     Of course, this example uses only two different spell abilities. The more actions you get trained in, the more Stanzas you have access to and the more possibilities you have to create ones perfectly suited to your play style. Not all Stanzas and abilities can be earned from the trainer • some can only be gained by completing missions or quests. In case you•re worried about running out, regular game updates will include new Stanzas and abilities, adding even more possibilities into the mix.

CRAFTING

     If you choose to become a crafter, you will be able to make all the objects in the game, such as clothing, weaponry, armor, tools, jewelry... and even buildings. You will need raw materials to do this. Although NPC•s sell basic equipment for players, for the good stuff you•ll need to get involved with the player crafters. Even at very low skill levels, crafters can begin creating items with stat increases on them and the bonuses they can place on equipment only get better as the crafters get more skilled.

     Each item also has a quality level that determines its level of protection and the maximum value of the enchantments that can be placed on it. A beginning level item with a quality of 10 can only have the most basic of bonuses, while a very high level item can have an array of powerful bonuses.

     In order to craft an object, materials need to be found to fill each of the roles in the equipment. Depending on the item, a dozen or more pieces of raw material may be necessary to create a finished product. Creating a higher quality item also requires higher quality components.

Quartering

     One way to get raw materials is by hunting the creatures of Atys. Each creature can be quartered for materials appropriate to their type. For example, a carnivorous creature may provide sharp teeth that are appropriate for spearheads, while a herbivore may have a soft skin that makes excellent armor padding.

     Depending on the strength of the creature, the materials they can provide will vary in quality. The quality level will also depend on how the creature was slain • if a player uses a rocket launcher to blast a creature, you•ll find very little useful material left at the end, while if a player manages to hunt down a great beast using only their bare hands he will receive items of the highest quality possible.(not implemented)

Foraging

     The other, less violent, way to get materials is to harvest them from the land through the Harvesting skill tree. Two separate actions are necessary to do this. First, a player must search for material locations using their Prospecting ability, which will make nearby resource points visible. Then a player must harvest one of those resource points, to gather the material.

     Gaining skill in the prospecting line will allow a character to search farther, find resources with a longer duration, and find resources faster. Gaining skill in the foraging line will allow faster gathering, and higher material quality.

Crafting

     Once all the materials are gathered, creating an item is as simple as equipping an appropriate crafting tool, and using an Action that represents the crafting you•d like to do. For example, a player may have an Action that creates a quality 10 weapon with a +5 Stamina bonus on it. Once crafting begins, all that is necessary is to select the materials used, and make a crafting attempt to create the item.

     The further a player goes down the crafting skill tree, the more possible quality levels and bonuses that can be applied.

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Kitin

     The Kitin are very opposed to homin and will do everything they can to prevent the players from holding too much territory. Their end goal is to remove all homin from Atys. They start from one of their brood locations and may send out armies to invade any regional outposts that homin control.

     Kitin might also have non-outpost home locations in the wilderness where non-combatant Kitin live. If the players find these locations and begin to kill the Kitin there, reinforcements will be sent out to protect the area. Continual attacks and provocation can encourage further swarms and larger amounts of powerful Kitin appearing.

Dynamic Invasions

     Dynamic Invasions are based on Nevrax's Raid engine, allowing hundreds of players to battle invasions of creatures, themselves numbering in the hundreds. Invasions are put together by a live events team, and are often dynamically generated and overseen. Homins are cautioned to not get caught alone in the middle of one.

Tribes

     Each of the four Tribes has their own outposts, which they consider home. Players may persuade the tribes to allow them to use the outpost if they have enough fame, while those that do not may decide to attack the tribes and drive them out of the outpost. If the tribe is driven out violently, they will regroup elsewhere and begin attacking the outpost until they manage to reclaim it. The tribes are very unlikely to attack an outpost that they haven•t been driven out of.

Goo

     Like a cancer, the Goo corrupts first the land of Atys, then the creatures nearby. These creatures become stronger than usual, and extremely violent against any non-infected being. Unless players begin vanquishing the infected creatures and drive back the infestation, it can render large areas of the land worthless.

     Although the Goo doesn•t take over outposts, it can have a similar effect as infected creatures begin attacking everything nearby.

Guilds

     Once players have achieved a certain level of fame and skill, they can leave the Refugee islands (new player area), and venture to the mainland. Once there they can find a Guild Clerk. If you meet the fame and skill requirements, and have the appropriate dapper (money) for the start-up fee, you can start your own guild even if you•re the only member.

     During the guild creation process, you are presented with a variety of options for customizing your guild. You can choose a combination of graphics to form a guild crest, which will be displayed when people examine you, as well a guild name and description.

     In order to further state the presence of your guild within the Saga of Ryzom, you can seek out a guild hall in one of the many cities of Atys. Once one is found, you may be able to rent it out to give your guild a place to call home. These guild halls come complete with storage facilities and options to expand. Purchasing expansions improves your guild hall and allows you to purchase various amenities and hire NPCs, who will handle shops, training, research and other important functions. After some abilities are researched by the NPC Researcher, you•ll be able to use the guild Rolemaster to craft spells, attacks and other actions specific to your guild!

     You can use these special actions to assist in the completion of guild missions, which are larger, and much more epic than individual missions. They also have the added effect of changing the world around you based on your success or failure. Truly, your guild can change the face of Atys for all to see and experience.

OutPosts

     Outside of the major cities, many outposts exist that provide valuable services. There may be valuable materials located nearby, or they may be a line of defense against invasion • each has its own measure of value. These outposts can be controlled by players and guilds, but may also be attacked depending on their location and value.

Elections

Players partake in the decision-making of their people and their guild by participating in elections organized at regular intervals.

In-game trading

If you choose to be a merchant, you will be able to sell at trading posts across the world, organize merchant convoys and deliver resources to a given place as soon as market prices shoot up.

In-game Death

You can make a pact with the Kamis or the Karavan to secure your resurrection in case of violent death and to speed up recovery. However, for each pact you will have to have the req. fame, it is up to you to choose the faction whom to take resurrection pacts with.

Death Penalty is gotten whenever one dies, with each additional death the death penalty adds up, and by doing ones skills DP is subtracted.

PvP

There are PvP designated areas on Atys where Factions can fight each other. Wether you are aligned with Jena, Ma-Duk, or another faction, you will be assigned to that faction-side based on your fame. Then a faction chat channel will appear, which will stay active for a couple of mins after leaving the PvP area. Also an icon signifying your faction alignment will appear over your charaters head. PvP is consensual in most areas, the ability to tag your self as PvP, opens the door to world wide faction based PvP.

Mass Combat

     There are a number of 'mass' challenges in Ryzom, the most important of which are based on the insect-like Kitin. For example:

     The Kitin infest the underground regions of Atys and can install nests right under peaceful populated world zones. By taking on the marauding individual Kitin, the players can provoke an 'invasion' characterized by hordes of Kitin descending on the world region. Weak or disorganized players stand little chance against a Kitin horde, but a well organized large group can use 'artillery' weapons to thin out the attack waves and keep the situation under control while the core fighters and magicians fight their way through to the queen to put a definitive stop to the infestation!

The great destiny of a people

Each player people has a set of dreams which they would like to come true. Once the people's situation has been improved by the player guilds, the guilds may then set out on their greatest campaign.

Heroes of your peoples and your Guilds

Individual characters who successfully carry out exploits will have their name forever engraved in the hall of fame of their guilds and their peoples, the same rule goes for their guild as a whole. Those who become heroes of their people will receive, for a given period of time, the artifacts of power allowing them to guide their guild toward the accomplishment of the destiny of their people.

Atys