PixelRO Early Impressions

[namu]

Server Name: PixelRO
Rates: 13x/13x/7x (3x for boss')

This will be my first post after reading these forums for some time, so please be kind ;p Having played a large number of servers over the years, I thought it would be only fitting to post this review for one of my favourites thus far.

PixelRO targets itself as a low rate that follows along the official lines, but does contain some very well done custom content such as maps, events and commands/NPCs to make things a little easier and fresh. The server is brand new, and launched only a couple of weeks ago. Here is what I have found so far:

Features/Content
There are a number of interesting pieces of content. The most notable would be the maps, with a custom home town, PvP map and various other small maps. They are all very well done and fit in nicely with RO's pre-existing maps. The main town is perfect for its current community, and is a very nice place to just hang out and chat with other players or ask questions of a GM.

Small features such as a command setter NPC to remember your @command settings is handy, as is the custom colouring of the main chat, to help differentiate it from other dialogue. It's the many small things like this which help to make the experience of the low-rates a little more enjoyable.

The GM Team: 10/10
All of the GMs are very friendly. They are easy to recognise when sitting in the main town of Soul, as they all have the GM sprite. I have even experienced one of the developers coming to have a chat with me while hunting, just to see how my experience on the server was going. They are, however, also able to be tough when needed, and keep the trouble makers at bay.

Response to a query is very fast, and the GMs will look into an issue until they have a solid answer to a question. There are currently four GMs, two which handle support/events, and the others who are the developers/admins.

Events: 8/10
Events, when run, are rather fun. One that I did get to participate in was Marine Sphere Dodgeball, which was basically the spawning of a whole lot of marine spheres that blew up, and players had to run around dodging the explosions. They don't have events every day, but mostly because everyone is still very busy doing their own things such as leveling and hunting. 

There are events such as the loading competition that run on the forums, with some pretty neat prizes. They also have things such as seasonal content, which for example decorated the main town in the theme of Christmas.

After speaking to the developers, they also ensure me that some very cool unique content such as PVP tournaments are ready to be run, but they are waiting for both more players, and better equipped players so that they are more fun.

Stability/Availability: 10/10
From what I and some fellow friends have experienced, there is no lag. As I live in Australia, it was rather refreshing for me and my friends who also live around Asia and America to find a server located in the USA that I still had very good response to. The server has reboots every now and then, which are announced some hours beforehand, and are done to implement new features, which are often based on suggestions from players.

Player Community: 8/10
The number of players I have partied with and talked to are extremely easy to get along with, and are always helpful and nice. There are a few people that rub people the wrong way, but that is to be expected anywhere. I have joined a guild, and the talks are always lively and fun to participate in. Main chat is also good for some fun.

Guild Competition:
As of this post, WoE has yet to launch. There are three main guilds which are currently growing and each are rather different. It will be better to judge how the server is performing in this aspect at a later date, once WoE has launched.

Economy: 6/10
Being a new server, there is very little in terms of what can be bought and sold. There are some vendors that will sell basic things such as fwings/pots at a discount rate, and sometimes simple equips. I would say that this is mostly due to the fact that everyone is still hunting for their own gear right now, and that it will improve in time.

Web/Forum: 9/10
Url: http://www.pixelro.net/
I personally find the website rather appealing, and it is nice to see some dynamic content which changes every now and then. The client download is available as both an installer and as a zip, which is great in allowing for choice for the player if they are confident in unzipping the files to their own RO folder. The forums are nice and simple, with a pleasant theme and a good atmosphere for chatting about Ragnarok, PixelRO or a any other topic.


Overall:
The server has a large number of aspects going for it. The custom content such as the unique home town and PVP are of a high quality, and blend perfectly with the official atmosphere that they are going for. Players are helpful and willing to have a chat and party. The GM team is the most professional I have seen. Their presence in game and on the forums is very welcome. Judging from the suggestions forum section, they are also very willing to listen to suggestions, with the developers constantly adding and updating the server with new and exciting things.

The server has a few drawbacks, such as the limited player base and a very small economy, but these will be no doubt solved as the server ages and grows. The number of events will hopefully also increase once players have less to do in terms of leveling and hunting.

This being my first review (and post o.o), I have found my experience so far to be overall a very pleasant one. ^^

[Kush]

I was thinking of writing a detailed review of my first impressions of PixelRO, but it seems like you have covered everything that needed to be covered (probably better than I could have)  . Guess I'll just add onto your review with my experience so far.

I am still fairly new to RO. I started a little over a year ago on HRs until I found that low-rates suited me more. I stuck on that particular low-rate for about a year, but decided it would be best if I started on a new server. To be honest, I have no idea what attracted me to PixelRO. I came from a server with a lot of custom content that I had grown accustomed to. There are no stat/skill resets, no dungeon warper, and no free/cheap healer on PixelRO. Usually if I see that a server is missing even one of those three things I won't even try it. I am glad I tried PixelRO though. I feel like I am playing RO "the way it is supposed to be played." I have to be very careful when planning out my build now, since I won't have a second chance. I really missed having a dungeon warper for the first few days on PixelRO, but I got used to it. It may sound kind-of nerdy (well really nerdy ), but its like a mini-adventure now every time I go to a dungeon.

I couldn't ask for better rates. 13x/13x/7x is low enough so that you feel like you have accomplished something when hitting 99, but high enough so that you don't contemplate suicide when trying to get there  .

There are some downsides though. The most obvious ones is the low server population and lack of an economy. Those are easily forgivable though, since the server isn't even a month old yet. Another downside is that while the GMs are extremely friendly, they are hard to catch online at times. I would imagine that is because there is a lot of things they are working on so they lack the time to get on. Lastly, while I have gotten used to no stat/skill reset NPC, I still wish there was a method to reset. Perhaps a quest to gain a reset voucher, or maybe it could be gained through GM hosted events? The GMs have stated that if any major update occurs, they will allow a reset, so I can't really complain much.

If you are looking to start on a new server where you have a chance to be successful, I highly recommend you give PixelRO a try. It adds enough custom content to an old game to make it feel new and exciting while retaining the things that made RO such a great game in the first place.