OracleRO: First Impressions Series

Started by Flip, Nov 05, 2009, 05:47 PM

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Flip

Reference thread for the idea can be found here: http://www.ratemyserver.net/forum/suggestionsrequests/review-team-first-impressions/msg88496/#new

Okay, so this review came a day early since well, as I'm typing this, OracleRO is being redone/wiped. They are wiping due to the removal of 3rd jobs, which was apparently a cause of imbalance for the server; among other things. (Tech note: They're doing this since they're changing their SVN format (I haphazard a guess))

But still, even with the new wipe, there will be a lot of things that would be similar between the old and new servers as I will list down. These first impressions are NOT meant to be taken as a full review, but as simply that, first impressions. This may or may not reflect the server's true essence, but it is rather what I got during my short stay.

Now, the review. The ones highlighted in red are "warning" factors while those in green are those that are particularly "good" factors for the server. Ordinary text means neutral or okay.

1. Economy-at-a-glance.

The server is very young; there really is no economy at this point. Moreover, people are hanging onto stuff of value and simply selling excess stuff that may not be that valuable (aka: poporing cards). If you're looking to potentially play the economy, this is the perfect time to do so.

2. Class Balance

No class balance review done due to wipe. Oddly enough, the wipe was due to the removal of 3rd jobs. They are definitely at least trying to pay attention to balance by removing 3rd jobs and playing around with certain card rates (IE: GtB)

3. GM Responsiveness

A. Asked  a question, got a straight answer immediately afterwards about a glitch. Not a straight answer (use an @command to get around it), but still, a quick solution to what a player really is only looking for.

B. No listed ingame rules. This might cause trouble someday when they really need to make a tough decision.

C. I can see a trend of leniency for the GM's. For example, people still speak German outright in a very public forum despite requests from the GM herself and some English speaking people to keep the thread English.

4. Forum Environment

A. There is a definite division between Germans and Non-Germans, as can be seen in the forums. This can be seen as a divide in the community if not now, down the road.

B. Lot of "chefs" in the kitchen: server being as young as it is, people try hard to see their opinions implemented.

5. Ingame Community

A. Autovender Ratio: 7:20

B. Warm and close knit, most likely due to the small community.

6. "X-Factor" (Uniqueness, Special Things, etc)

A. Took me 30 minutes to finally kill my first poring due to bugs in the warper, figuring out which prontera was the right prontera (one was a blank, the other was the actual main town), etc. This is extremely dangerous, especially for those who are jumping servers trying to find the best one for them. This simple problem might be hindering their growth for more than they think.

B. Classic/Low Rate style RO feel in an MR server. They intend to stay with this style after the wipe. This, I think, is going to be one of if not their key selling point of the server.

C. The default skin makes it feel new and fresh, different from the countless servers out there. Nice pick.

D. Main town actually looks nice. Vote porings cutely running around, sakura trees. Overall, good presentation.

E. Vote For Points present. Take it how you will.

F. No wings, no edited donation items. The items are the refined item series (refined AoA), usable item boxes and other random knick-knacks. Definitely nothing overpowered; more aesthetic than anything.

G. Ease of download: Full client download made it a simple DL for any new ragnarok enthusiast, as well as offering the option of downloading a lite version for those already with RO installed. There were some instances of failing to get patches but these are minor and were quickly resolved by simply restarting the patch client.

______________

Conclusion: Recommended to try... BUT I can definitely see the effort going into the server and it has the potential to be a successful server. There's a couple of glaring stuff here and there that the player, as well as the team, has to be really careful of. But all-in-all, if you like the classic RO feel without grinding as much as LR's (which I see is the point of the server), then this server is definitely worth your attention.

Character Name: SoraKy
Forum Name: Sora
PM's sent: 2 (to admin and 1 GM)
Total Playtime: 4 hours
Forum Time: 2 hours

Tom~

Good "first impression" review o:

I would like to see (as Pandora said on the main topic), how easy was to download and log onto the game. That is part of a first impression!

Well done, you pretty much explained each one of the points, and you wrote about the pros and cons you saw in 4 hours.

Good job!

And so you killed yourself,
but you killed everyone else around you too.

Flip

Whoops, forgot to include that. Let me edit.

Usagimimi

We're sorry you had issues with the Prontera thing xD I'm talking to the admin about fixing this ^^

You're welcome to post suggestions about what you want to see when we reopen in an hour or so :) All information about what OracleRO MR is going to be like when we reopen is posted in this thread.

Thanks for the review ^_^