Towards the end of RO’s original Korean server (kRO) closed beta testing, it was announced that the game would be released as a subscription game, like many other MMORPGs in 2002. Some beta testers were upset and performed numerous hacks on the RO servers. [15] The hacks had a major impact on the game, and Gravity Co. was on the brink of bankruptcy. Samsung Electronics offered to buy the company to save it. Samsung appointed a subsidiary management team to oversee the development of RO to oversee new investments. In the midst of all this, Kim Hak-kyu resigned as CEO of Gravity Co. His team followed suit soon after, sparking countless speculations that Samsung Electronics had exited them for unknown reasons. [16][17] As a result, many of RO’s original concepts were never fully integrated into the game. The game continues to be plagued with issues due to the game’s difficult to deploy.
These issues continue to this day, even after implementing update updates. There are two main reasons for this: After Kim Hak-kyu’s sudden retirement, Ragnarok Online was left in an unfinished and unplayable state. Gravity Co hired inexperienced employees to put the game together in time for the release date. The second factor is that the AEGIS software they currently use is an artificial creation of the original. It is impossible to modify the source code without breaking the emulator, and therefore errors or exploits in the source material cannot be directly corrected. It is also worth noting that the emulator uses a different algorithm that is incompatible with the real AEGIS. The real emulator uses a variation of the LZ compression algorithm.
Bellato
Introduction
The Berat are originally from a world with high gravity and are rather small in stature, somewhat stocky. They have enhanced strength and stamina, pointed ears and facial features that are almost entirely childlike. A highly inventive race, their technology combines scientific devices and physical weapons with a form of universal magical “light”. It is this ingenuity of the race, more than any other characteristic, that has allowed them to compete successfully with races that may be superior to them in other fields.
The current state of the Berat Federation was preceded by an earlier organization known as the Berat Empire. The Berat Empire was an aggressive regime that seized control after the Korra Civil War, but was later repelled by the Akretians. They quickly lost power under sustained attacks from a relentless cybernetic enemy. However, given the Berat’s energetic nature and limitless greed for profit, many members of rival species have long feared that the Federation’s increasingly expansionist policies could still set the galaxy ablaze.
Bellato Society
The people of Berat decided early in their history that the most efficient way to achieve innovation and economic gains is to instill a sense of happiness and contentment, i.e. happy people are productive people. Berat culture is based on the cultural belief that broad freedoms encourage creative and efficient thinking, and therefore provide its citizens with a lot of personal freedom. As a result, its citizens enjoy a high level of freedom of expression and individualism. That being said, most, if not all, of the prominent citizens are members of the House of Representatives. Most of them are of the same bloodline (family ties are highly valued in Berat) and/or association of people with the same interests (wealth and power are valued even more seriously).
Berat culture has long maintained the principle that success begets success, and while its society encourages individual achievement, over the years a select group of families have controlled most of the available wealth and power. These influential groups lend money to lower-ranking citizens to conduct business (or other affairs) or provide them with goods and services. This practice has led to a strong system of intermediary business between the Houses, giving rise to a vast network of cartels. Each cartel is centered around a powerful and socially prominent clan that strictly enforces the interests of the House among its members.
The Union
The Berat Union is the name of the military and colonial sector of the Federation.
The Union makes heavy use of mechanization in its fighting forces. Originally created for scientific research and heavy construction, the military potential of these devices was quickly recognized and exploited when the Berat faced increasing hostility from Korra and Akkretia. Intense research led to rapid improvements, while various types of armoured equipment were mass-produced, eventually leading to mechanization being firmly embedded in the Berat military doctrine. It wasn’t long before heavy tank units were deployed in large numbers in active combat zones.
In the early battles with the new armored ‘Mechs, the Federation won some impressive victories. This led to a significant increase in defense spending, which increased the number of mobile armored units that the army could purchase. At the same time, mechanized companies were given more and more freedom to set tactical targets. However, as the Novus War progressed, their combat efficiency rapidly declined due to a series of devastating defeats by Akreti’s “launcher” units (mainly due to the fact that the Berat’s designs did not take into account the Novus environmental conditions). To strengthen the mechanized forces, all manufacturing rights were handed over to private contractors, who quickly redesigned the armored ‘Mechs to suit the Novus landscape, splitting the chassis into two basic types: “field” units, chassis with faster reactions, and “siege” units, heavy support designs.
Despite these innovations, the enormous operating costs continued to reduce the efficiency of tank units. However, not wanting to completely abandon the concept of mechanized warfare, the Federal “Peace Committee” eventually decided to compromise and reduce the production of siege units. Their manufacture was very complex and when produced in large quantities it became an economic burden. A huge amount of consumable resources was required to maintain the propulsion and weapon systems. On the other hand, “field” units were considered more suitable for mass production and were more widely available.
Not knowing how to dispose of surplus ‘Mechs, the Committee finally decided to provide a set of regulations and economic incentives that would allow individuals to dispose of their combat machines and sell them at relatively low retail prices. But at the same time, a law was passed that allowed the use of tank units only to the official military, citing the risk that their enormous firepower would fall into the wrong hands.
It is interesting to note that as the Berat Union recognises the usefulness of magic in combat doctrine, some of its citizens took advantage of the government’s contract with the Korra Holy Alliance during the Akretian expansion to interbreed with Korrite mages, thus providing magic to the Federation and increasing arcane firepower (while retaining the power of “light” magic, which was abolished by the Korrite after the “War of Color”).
Cora
Background
It is said that in the beginning the god Decem created two things: the world, which would transform oblivion into beauty, and the Korites, to enforce his will. Armed with this legend, the Korites considered themselves the “chosen people” and organized their society entirely around their faith in this god. Every action in “this life” is aimed at helping the individual achieve a higher status or state of being, providing a closer connection with God.
Whatever the truth, it is clear that the Korites, an elf-like race in ancient Terran mythology, are endowed with and almost possess mystical powers and abilities far beyond those of other races. The Darkling Force is a type of magical power that is considered the most precious gift Decem bestowed upon his children.
Culture
According to Korite doctrine, Decem forbids its citizens from harming the planet they inhabit. They are to ensure the well-being of nature by continually tending to it, since harming the planet is the same as damaging Decem itself. With this in mind, the Korites may only use the resources necessary for their own development in their never-ending quest to realize Decem’s will. This is especially exemplified by their collaboration with nature, seeking to enhance its beauty while carefully avoiding the overuse of resources. The Korites reject industrialism, refining raw materials with the Darkling Force and mentally combining elements to create devices and weapons in an environmentally friendly process. Instead, all their “technology” is itself enhanced by the Darkling Force.
The Korite’s belief that their bodies are temples to Decem leads to an almost narcissistic love of physical beauty, and they see cultivating it as an act of communion with the gods. With this in mind, Korite clothing and armour are sturdily constructed, loosely made, and made entirely from natural materials (in accordance with their belief in cooperation with nature).
All food and consumables consumed by Korites must be blessed by Decem before consumption. According to their beliefs, all food they eat must be completely natural and wholesome, grown specifically for consumption, and using only natural means to produce the nutrients that said food needs to survive.
The Holy Alliance
The Holy Alliance of Korra is the highest governing body of the Korrite civilization, a theocracy that values mysticism and magical ability. Although their history has been largely marked by religious wars that have repeatedly fragmented their civilization into numerous smaller nation-states, their society as a whole remains strongly unified by its central tenet. This unity, more than any other element of their culture, has given them the strength to wage their holy war against the Novas.
Accretia
Background
The Akretians are direct descendants of human EMC researchers who created the Berat and Khorite races through ancient genetic experimentation. Drawing on this legacy, they have built on their ancestors’ intelligence and dedication to science, taking their Imperium to new heights in their quest to expand across the galaxy.
Though their appearance bears an almost perfect resemblance to the “mech” robots of ancient Terran culture, today’s Akretians are a race of cyborgs; their organic brains grafted into entirely mechanical bodies. This inherent duality causes them to act not simply out of programming, but out of a shared cultural imperative: the never-ending pursuit of perfection.
Culture
Given their somewhat stern appearance and callous behavior when dealing with purely biological life forms, it is a common mistake to consider Akretians as mere drones or cogs in a gigantic, soulless machine. While it is true that individualism is despised and in some cases banned in Akretian culture, self-identity persists not only because of its partly biological nature, but also because of a conscious cultural decision to acknowledge the achievements of important individuals for the development of the empire as a whole. . Thus, Akretian society cannot be entirely compared to a beehive or a hive mind. Instead, individuals are raised and indoctrinated according to a strict program that only considers the development of society, while recognizing that social excellence must depend on the contributions of individuals.
Akretian culture values science and rational thinking, along with a tireless search for knowledge and logical problem solving at all levels. Whether they are soldiers learning tactics from past battles or first-rate geneticists researching new cloning methods, Akretians are reflective of their species: dedicated achievers and eager contributors to the advancement of civilization.
Technology
The Accreti and their armies are fully mechanized and have almost no biological needs. Apart from downtime for advanced repairs due to catastrophic systems failures, Accreti individuals are almost completely physically autonomous. Their robotic bodies are completely self-sustaining, replenishing energy, repairing themselves and continuously maintaining necessary biological functions.
It should be noted that the human brain must periodically rest within the cybernetic body of an Accreti. The brain cannot stay constantly alert without feeling fatigued. Accreti therefore periodically “switch off” and enter a resting phase where the brain can devote itself solely to feeding and subconscious maintenance activities. However, despite this need for biological recovery, Accreti are much stronger, more active and more resilient than purely organic life forms. Additionally, their self-repairing metallic bodies give Akretians regenerative abilities far greater than the physiology of either Berat or Korlites.
Society
Acretian children are all male, genetically modified and cloned from an automated DNA donor bank. For the first five years of life, they are mentally developed through a combination of neurochemical technology and education until they are deemed capable enough to become full citizens of the empire. At this point, they undergo a series of radical surgical procedures to remove their “weak and disposable” physical bodies and transplant their brains into mechanized bodies.
The abilities and potential of each Acretian are thoroughly analyzed in an early stage of DNA sequencing. Education and training follow these estimates. Each Acretian is assigned an initial social role upon conversion, the role in which they are most productive and will bring the greatest progress in the future. Their universal education and indoctrination program ensures that every citizen will gladly and wholeheartedly embrace their role, considering it to be the role of society and thus their own path to perfection.
Acretian civilization is strictly hierarchical. The higher up the ladder one goes, the more complex and far-reaching the tasks assigned to an individual become. But despite this strict hierarchy, there are no social classes, at least not in the sense that other races can understand. From the imperialist point of view, social divisions arise only from resentment and a desire for disorderly change; this does not exist, at least in theory, in an accretion society.
The Empire
The Akretian Empire is a totalitarian regime that values materialism and Imperial goals over personal ones, a school of thought freely and almost universally accepted by its members. One of these aims, the view that purely biological races are inferior and dangerous, has led to an arrogant attitude towards the genocide of such species.
The average Akretian is proud to be a member of the most powerful and fearsome race in the galaxy, and is equally proud of the powerful and destructive weaponry that the Empire has created. Their quest for perfection has led them to expand to the farthest reaches of the universe. Not only did this inevitably bring them to the planet Novus, but their prejudiced attitude towards organic life also made conflict with the other civilizations living there inevitable.
Game mechanics
Like many MMORPGs, players choose a race and fight monsters to gain experience points. RFO is home to a variety of monsters in different areas.
At the start of the game, the character is guided by a game guide that contains the basic commands of the game. From there, the character undergoes a series of quests to familiarize him with the character’s home base. As the character levels up, his quests may take him to aggressive maps where he is exposed to the game’s player-killing features. Low-level quests in the Sette Desert make players aware of the constant presence and danger of hostile races.
Political System
Each race is led by an Archon, a person who has been voted into power by his subjects. Below the Archon are four Council members. These Council members are determined based on the number of votes they received during their campaign to become Archon.
As of Episode 2, Giga 1.5 (Crimson Dawn), four additional Council members were introduced. These four are appointed by the Archon.
Additionally, each position is given special abilities that aid their race. These abilities range from improved defense, improved attack power, or an aura that improves the stats of race members around the council member.
If there are not enough Archon candidates to fill the council positions, by default the best performing character of the race will be placed in the vacant council position. Race rankings can be viewed from each race’s administrator NPC.
Economy
The game’s economy can be divided into two parts: production and consumption. The mine is a new area where resources are produced as part of and to support economic activity. By mining minerals and processing the products obtained from them, different types of items are created. These form the basis of conflict within the mine.
Chip War
The battle for resources is an all-out war between the three races called the Chip War. The Chip War takes place three times a day, with the winning race winning the right to control the mine’s guardian, the fearsome Holystone Keeper.
The war is waged by the leaders of each race, whose goal is to destroy at least one of the opposing race’s control chips. Once the chip is destroyed, the player who dealt the final blow to the chip must reach the base in the center of the mining caverns and earn an additional 60 minutes of mining time in the race under the watchful eye of the Holystone Keeper.
Starting from Episode 2, Giga 1 (Crimson Dawn), the Holystone Keeper is vulnerable for 30 minutes after the control chip is destroyed. The winning race must defend the Guardian or risk losing their Guardianship to players who choose to mine resources until the next Chip War. Additionally, only characters who manage to obtain a Holy Mental Scanner during the battle will be recognized by the Guardian as valid members of the ruling race. However, connection issues have been known to cause problems with this new feature.
PVP
Unlike most MMORPGs, RF Online is all about PvP (also known as PK or player killing). Only the tribe’s headquarters and settled cities are considered safe areas from enemy tribes. The competition for resources between the three tribes brings player killing into play. By default, members of opposing tribes can join battles at any time on aggressive maps. Players of the same tribe cannot join battles unless they have an item called Chaos Potion or are in a special intra-tribal competition called Guild Circle Zone Scramble (also known as Guild Wars).
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