With the economy and the story in constant flux, a life on Atys is an ever-evolving one.
Daily life will change for players as well as the game hinges on interdependency. Atys is a planet in constant change not only does the game cycle through the seasons, but creatures will migrate, resources will shift, and outposts will change hands. The game also sets itself apart through the design of its world. By combining attack properties such as damage type or area of effect with costs and limits, players can effectively customize their skills to suit their play style. In addition to the skill trees, players are able to design their own skills and spells through the use of stanzas. There is no limit to how many skills a player can master, although mastering them all would surely be a challenge. These initial specializations divide further as a player gains skill levels, for example fighting will divide into melee and ranged fighting melee fighting will divide into one-handed, two-handed, and close-combat specializations, and those specializations will split further into their respective weapons. Players may choose to specialize in fighting, magic, crafting, or foraging but to experience the game to its fullest, most will explore all four. Player progression is not determined by a predefined class or profession, but rather by the choices the player makes in developing their skill trees. The game features an open-ended character development system. This is both daunting and liberating, as players are expected to forget the comforts of the stories they are familiar with and embrace completely new concepts. The most apparent to anyone looking at the game will be the setting rather than a traditional fantasy or science fiction, Ryzom introduces races, creatures, and environments that are completely alien. Ryzom is unique in the MMORPG market for a number of reasons. The game continues to survive, nurtured by the passion of its players and development team. Since that time the game has seen small developments and improvements, as well as some new external features. In August 2008, new owners of the game returned the servers to life. After Nevrax entered into receivership, the game changed hands until finally being shut down in October 2007.
For a variety of reasons (notably a confusing initial design, a patch that many players disliked, poor release of the Ryzom Ring, and the successive releases of EverQuest 2 and World of Warcraft) the game did not acquire a strong following. Developed by french studio Nevrax, the game launched in mid-September 2004 as "The Saga of Ryzom", the game boasted a sandbox environment influenced by its players. Ryzom is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).