I would like to know more about the culture of our civilisations. Will we get all the information on that topic through the encyclopedia? [Submitted by boubavic (FR)]

No, some information will also be made available to you through other in-game means; keep an eye on the on-going events, that's how we'll bring new information and content on the story and culture of Atys.

Does the creatures have a stamina pool? If the answer is yes, what happens when it is depleted? If not, why can we make them loose some? [Submitted by simzani (FR)]

Mobs and NPCs aren't handled the same way as player characters: they don't have stamina, sap or focus pools, only hit points - otherwise it would be too easily exploitable, as a mob without stamina or sap is a lot less challenging.

The mobs fights are handled the following way: a timer sets the length of a round. At the end of each round, the mob chooses among a list of actions and special attacks, which he can perform on one of the attackers. This is repeated indefinitely.

And to answer your last question: the actions which makes your target loose some stamina are designed for PvP fights - it's useless on PvE.

What does Ryzom mean ? [Submitted by simzani (FR)]

You won't like my answer, since I'll dodge the question here. :-) I will only quote a definition of a close word, from Wikipedia:

Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a horizontal, usually underground stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. They are also referred to as creeping rootstalks, or rootstocks. A stolon is similar to a rhizome, but exists above ground, sprouting from an existing stem.

Many plants have rhizomes that serve to spread the plant by vegetative reproduction. Examples are asparagus and Lily of the valley. The spreading stems of ferns are also called rhizomes.

A tuber is a thickened part of a rhizome that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ. They are typically high in starch. An example is the common potato.

Rhizome metaphors

Carl Jung used the term "rhizome", also calling it a "myzel", to emphasize the invisible and underground nature of life:

Life has always seemed to me like a plant that lives on its rhizome. Its true life is invisible, hidden in the rhizome. The part that appears above the ground lasts only a single summer. Then it withers away - an ephemeral apparition. When we think of the unending growth and decay of life and civilizations, we cannot escape the impression of absolute nullity. Yet I have never lost the sense of something that lives and endures beneath the eternal flux. What we see is blossom, which passes. The rhizome remains. (Prologue from "Memories, Dreams, Reflections")

Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari used the term "rhizome" to describe theory and research that allows for multiple, non-hierarchical entry and exit points in data representation and interpretation.

Jeff Vail has used it to describe a non-hierarchical structure for society.

We can complete rites involving rites without having any crafting skill if you get some help from a crafter. Is this the way it is intended to work? [Submitted by mandis (FR)]

Definitely! We designed the rites to allow you to work together, as it is difficult to be good everywhere: there is a lot of specialization branchs. And this is not only true for crafting: you can also seek help for the other types of rites such as the foraging and combat rites.

The Matis are renowned flora geneticists. Is their science relying on grafts and cuttings or on more modern concepts (knowledge of the ADN, laboratory experimentation...)? Or is it magical? [Submitted by mozart (FR)]

I didn't knew the answer, so I had a look at a some old books we saved from the Kitin wars, :) and I discovered the following explanation:

In your first answer you describe some balancing issues for PvP. Do I understand it right, that these changes will only apply to PvP while the PvE ballance remains unchanged, or will, for example, the reduction of healing power, also apply to PvE combat? [Submitted by tridman (EN)]

The changes will apply to PvP and PvE, as it also solves PvE balancing issues between offensive casters, healers and fighters. A letter is currently being written by the design team to detail all the changes we want to make along with more explanation on the reasons behind these changes. It will be added to the 'Under Consideration' section of the Website as soon as it is ready, for you to comment on.

You are talking of rewards for the outposts. Can you give an example, what in your (nevrax) opinion is a good reward? [Submitted by tridman (EN)]

Outpost rewards will be linked to the background and story of Ryzom. As usual in such case, I won't enter too specific details to not spoil it all. However, I can say that these rewards will revolve around raw materials and consumables... You'll discover the rest in-game. :)

When will new patches go live on the ATS first again? What are your future plans for the ATS. [Submitted by morzyr (EN)]

We still believe that tests on the ATS are an important part of the release process, and we try to patch changes here before applying them to the live version. However, the patch process is already very long, and we can have to bypass this step when there are time constraints - that was for example the case with the Faction PvP patch, since we needed to have it quickly in-game to allow the event team to be sure it would be in-game when the event would need it.

The next patch will be tested on the ATS before we patch it on the live servers, though.

I'm just curious, because one of my pet hates is not being able to zoom out further, and since there is a change we can make that allows it, why does this cause a problem doing it? I havent made the alteration (which i wont describe for obvious reasons), but i find it very frustrating knowing i could, but if i did i would loose all support from the CSR or jolt. Anyone know why this is such a problem? [Submitted by glynnj (EN)]

There are several issues associated to the modification of this parameter, and more generally to any direct alteration of the configuration file:

• It would cause issues with technical support; since the options in the configuration file can cause your client to behave differently, allowing the modification would make the work of the CS team - which is already a complex job - even harder.
• It would give an unfair advantage to those with a technical background or used to the modification of text configuration files; even if it looks simple, there are less experienced people who would be disturbed by the lack of a proper graphical interface.
• Some modifications would give an advantage regarding the gameplay; for example, if you're able to zoom out further than the others, you can get a better vision of the scene than the others. Even if this is a minor advantage, it would still not be fair.

When are we going to have the high level mobs for high level team hunting implemented? Some of us were expecting it in the last Patch. [Submitted by omsop (EN)]

As Jessica described it in her last letter, we have a lengthy process for validating changes we introduce in-game. Even with something urgent, such as the high level mobs, we do not want to rush a change, as in something as complex as MMO software, even a small change can have devastating effects. We do it from time to time, when we don't have any other choice, but we don't want to risk to jeopardize the stability and balance of the game when we can avoid it.

But there are news for you here: even if we couldn't include the high level mobs change for the last patch, as the feature wasn't ready and the testing phase too advanced, it is now in test and will be included in the next patch if it passes the tests.

I've heard that nothing attacks mounts directly, that they can only be killed by indirect effects (like gingo dust). Supposedly, rapid packers are the same. I've also heard that mounts are only attacked if you are alive and near it. Which of these, if either, is true? [Submitted by katriell (EN)]

None, even if there is some truth in you guesses. The way it is handled is the following:

• If you're on a mount, it's the character who gets the aggro and damages. The only exception to this rule is through the use of AoE spells, which also affect the mount.
• If you're not on your mount, but near it, the mobs will still prefer to aggro you. However, this is more dangerous for your mount, since you have to stay close for this to work.
• In all other cases, your mount will get the aggro if it is slower than the mob. As a result, rapid mounts are only attacked by a limited set of mobs, such as the gingos, which would be able to run quickly enough to catch a mektoub if they had to.

Any news on the rites? Why does the team focus that much on PvP and other developments, things the community doesn't strongly want, as opposed to missions and rites, which many players are still waiting for. In a previous announcement Nevrax mentioned that the rites are pretty much done and just waiting to be implemented. Why are we still waiting on them? Please give us more rites and more missions with more depth / background. [Submitted by jonasq (DE)]

The development on rites is currently partially stalled. As you already know if you have followed my articles over the past months, we have tens of rites piled in tests, debug or finalization queues. However, during the internal reorganization, we have chosen to focus on key elements, such as the storyline with the development of episode 2, and the outposts/PvP. We believe these two content features will be closer to your needs, as they encourage roleplaying, move the story forward, and provide a lasting game besides leveling.

This last point - having a lasting game - is especially important, since the lack thereof is one of the main reasons why there is such a huge demand of content. With rites, given the current state of our tools, we have a release cycle which is longer than the time you take to complete new rites. It results in a never-ending race, where we could only catch up by refactoring our tools.

We'll improve our tools on the long term, and get more rites into the game, but this is not a viable solution for the middle term. Now, Ryzom needs a story. Ryzom needs a lasting gameplay. That's what we are working on, right now.

--
Xavier.