Oren pyr, readers! You're probably noticing a few things have gone missing. I'm sorry, but there's very little I can do about that thanks to - of all people - Winch Gate itself.
Regular readers of this blog (and there's over 500 of you now - thank you so much!) might notice there's a few rather important content items missing. Namely, recent walkthroughs I posted that seem to have had their mechanics "mysteriously" changed shortly after posting.
In the case of the New Horizons dapper/fame runs, that didn't take long at all! Within 24 hours of posting, it seemed the PvP contingent of Ryzom players were rather up in arms because they were no longer getting the rewards they were getting. Fortunately, Winch Gate compromised and set up a rather decent reward system in response.
That's not the case the second time around, sadly.
Feeling rather badly for the newer players that wanted to get around but could NEVER seem to catch a proper trekking group, I posted a how-to for newbies that wanted to get to all four capitals without having to risk life and limb to do so. Within 16 hours of that posting, the ambassadors responsible for transporting players to the other capitals _started refusing to do this_.
There was no warning in either case, and I doubt very strongly in regard to the latter instance that nothing will change since Winch Gate, for better or worse, seems far less responsive to its newer players than it does its continuously-shrinking "old guard" playerbase.
I'm not going to get into what I think of such an approach as a business model, because we'd be here all day and I'd run out of curse words in the first few paragraphs. Instead, what's going to happen is that there will be no more tips and tricks posted until/unless Winch Gate responds to the following email:
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Brian Paone <paonebp@gmail.com>
8:31 PM (29 minutes ago)
to support
To Whom It May Concern -
My name is Brian Paone, and I'm a player from the United States - have been for almost a year now, and a paying customer as well. Which is why I'm writing, actually - do you no longer want my money or my pro-bono efforts to publicize your game here?
I run a blog called Ryzom Compendium. I'm sure you're aware of it, because I have tracking enabled on the blog and can see just where my traffic's coming from. I noted with some dismay after posting on the New Horizons fame/dapper missions that, shortly after a visit from you guys, the rewards I described completely changed with little warning from the game's developers until quite a few players raised objections.
I didn't think much of it until last night, when I noticed that the same thing had happened again with the walkthrough I had just posted on self-trekking.
I mean, from my standpoint? It really looks like you guys don't want any new players at all. By consistently engaging in secretive changes without even so much as a note to the players, it makes ME look like an idiot and apparently makes Winch Gate feel the irresistible need to alter mechanisms that (at least in the case of the self-trekking aspect) have been in existence for quite some time and used by players new and old alike.
Which is why I write to ask: Would you prefer I just shutter the blog, stop playing Ryzom and just walk away?
Because that's what it feels like right now.
Thanks for your time, but more importantly, thank you in advance for a response this time. I believe one is warranted given the circumstances as well as taking into account just how hard I've worked here for YOU people for NO pay.
Please show a little respect by responding and letting me know why you're doing what you're doing and whether or not you'd like me to continue positively spreading the word about your game.
Regards,
Brian Paone
Knoxville TN
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And I'll tell you right now, readers - I don't expect any kind of response at all. Why? I don't know. Call it a hunch, but it seems like when it comes to Winch Gate, it's more about who you know than what you are... a paying customer who deserves to be kept in the loop.
As for the tale of Dainan T'Kalian? It'll still get told. Another game has long since volunteered their setting and assistance, and it's one that I've loved for over a decade - The Forest's Edge. You won't notice anything detrimental from the shift if it needs to happen, I promise.
Keep your sights sharp and powder dry, fellow adventurers - _maybe_ I'll see you again on Atys someday.
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