What a week! Things have been rocking and rolling on our side of the looking glass. As most of you have seen, we announced the addition of in-game advertising to The Matrix Online. On the development front, the QA team has been pounding away at Update 38 and it looks like it’s ready for next Tuesday. (Click here for information on Update 38.)

I’ve been busy following up on a lot of ongoing projects here, so I’m going to focus on some of the questions I’ve seen on the forums regarding the combat revision and test server.

Combat Revision 2.0 Questions

How will free-fire melee animations work?

As some have brought up, the free-fire melee animations will be similar to what you see in other MMOs. You’ll make your move, hit or miss, but there won’t be a scripted reaction from your target. Meanwhile, Interlock will continue using the scripted act/react animations you’re used to seeing.

This allows more than one player to participate in combat without the delays created by multi-on-one Interlock.

What do you mean by “speeding up” Interlock?

The biggest change you’ll see that will speed up Interlock is elimination of pauses between rounds. Animations are being reworked to make transitions between attacks fluid. This not only makes the combat seem faster, but also reduces the time for an Interlock round to take place to match the time for a free-fire round to take place. Interlock will be just as fast as free fire.

Why should a level-1 character be able to hit a level-50 character?

Yes, I’ve seen the argument that a newly awakened redpill shouldn’t be able to touch an experienced one. While that makes sense in some ways, it’s also not really fun to know you have no chance to help out against a high-level target. A group of lower-level characters should have a chance to take out a much higher-level opponent. It won’t be easy, but why penalize players for taking the risk?

Why not just fix multi-on-one Interlock?

As Archon has mentioned, we looked in to what it would take to fix multi-on-one. (It seemed an obvious answer to me, as well.) As it turns out, there are two major issues with “fixing” multi-on-one Interlock.

The first is the massive amount of animation tasks it would generate. To make multi-on-one just look right (we’re not even talking work right, yet), we’d have to create an immense number of new animations. Simply put: There’s too much for us to do in a reasonable amount of time.

The second is that building and balancing the mechanics of multi-on-one Interlock is amazingly complex. Figuring out a ruleset that makes it work in an understandable manner would take a considerable amount of time, as well. In the end, free-fire melee was the better option.

Test Server Questions

How do we access the test server?

Accessing the new test server will be almost exactly like accessing the old QA Test World. You’ll need a separate installation of the game, an active account, and the correct settings for your useropts.cfg file.

For the separate installation, all you have to do is copy your current game installation folder. Simple as that.

We’ll be generating a script that will do all this for you. The same restriction will apply, however: The script will only work if you used the default installation path (C drive). For those of you who can’t use the script, we’ll be publishing step-by-step directions on how to get set up to access the test server.

How will copying characters work?

We’re adding an in-game command that will allow you to log on to a normal world, jack in with a character, then copy that character over to the test world. It will take up to 24 hours for that character to appear on the test world, however.

Each player will have three character slots to copy characters in to or create new characters with. Once you have characters in all three slots, the next time you copy a character, the character that has been on the test server longest will be overwritten. However, if you use the copy command on a character that has already been copied to the test server, the test-server version of that character will be overwritten.

Coming Soon

The majority of our time here in the next few weeks (other than stuffing ourselves silly over the holiday) will be preparing the test server for deployment. The team is already inputting data into the Experimental Branch in preparation for external testing of Combat Revision 2.0. We’re looking forward to your feedback.

I’ll personally be crushing to get LESIG off the ground before I depart for exotic Ohio for Thanksgiving. I know we’ll certainly be thankful to get you in and talking about events in The Matrix Online.

Head on over to Broadcast Depth to discuss this article.

Featured Changes

• The Matrix Online Story Continues in Episode 3.2!
  The 3.2 Storyline missions and cinematic are now available in game.



• Slums/Barrens Content Reflow
  
  • Slums (Richland) and Barrens (Westview) neighborhood gangs have been rescaled. General progression in the Slums is now lower levels in the north to higher levels in the south. General progression in the Barrens is now lower levels in the south to higher levels in the north.
  • Slums and Barrens Exile Hideouts have been rescaled to match the new levels of NPCs in their neighborhoods. Hideout-boss loot has also been rescaled appropriately.
  • Collectors have been added near the main Uriah Industrial hardline. These Collectors lead new players through a series of game objectives to help them learn the ins and outs of being a redpill.
  • New players will now begin with only the main Uriah Industrial hardline instead of the standard group.
  
  
• In-Game Email Now Available
  Players are now able to email messages to players on any world in the game. Tradable items an $Information can be sent to other players on the same world. At this time, players will not be able to send messages to players in other SOE games.
  Known Issue: Emailing items from your Code Archive does not currently work. If you do so, the item will not be removed from the Code Archive, will not be delivered to the recipient, nor will you be charged the $Info cost for sending it. We will be hotfixing this issue as soon as possible.



• In-Game Advertizing Introduced
  Massive in-game advertizing has been added to The Matrix Online. Players will now see real-world advertisements on billboards around the Mega City.

Changes and Improvements

• Made improvements to low-resolution versions of several Inventory icons.
• A new SOE splash screen has been added to the intro movie.
• With the threat from the Assassin ended, Kill-Codes have degraded and are no longer usable.
• Locks, computers, and other devices that can be disabled using Abilities now include timers of varying lengths. Using Abilities to disable these devices will result in XP for players.
• Interior building guards have been removed from the Slums.
• Ambush mob that spawns in the "For Tat" mission is now a more appropriate level for the player taking the mission.
• Escort NPC in "For a Few Discs More" is now higher-level so it doesn't get pwned all the time.
• Escort NPC in "Window Dressing" is now higher-level so it doesn't get pasted by attackers immediately.
• Escort NPC in "Sending a Message" is now higher-level instead of being a complete noob.
• Escort NPC in "A Second Try" is now higher-level so it doesn't get completely ganked.
• Escort NPC in "A Safe Place" is now higher-level instead of being a useless collection of bits.
• Escort NPC in "Model Citizen" is now higher-level so you don't have to completely babysit it throughout the mission.
• Escort NPC in "Just a Few Questions" is now higher-level because it felt left out after all the rest got leveled.
• Mission teams with an average team level above 24 will now have appropriate level opponent NPC spawning for the mission Play Dead from the neighborhood Contact Mr. Bishop.

Bug Fixes

• Players who die while using Escape and Evasion will now become visible.
• Bug preventing players from using some low-level Abilities while under the Death Effect has been fixed.
• Elevator doors now actually open to show that you can walk through them.
• Bluepill NPCs have finally figured out that it's "Rodgers Way" instead of "Ridge Way".
• Activity Facilitator consumables can no longer be exploited to gain permanent immunities.
• Code bit autostacking now works properly. (Again.)
• Antibiotics and Negative Condition Sweeps no longer remove the temporary Interlock immunity granted by Withdraw.
• Mission contact Digger is giving out missions again.
• Bug preventing some players from creating mission teams due to name filtering has been fixed.
• Your jump no longer exceeds the limits of the Matrix.

It’s been a busy week of testing here on The Matrix Online. Update 37.5 is in the hopper and being banged on by the QA team. The major changes in this one—like email and the Slums reflow—take a great deal of testing time to make sure they’re hammered out. At the moment, we’re looking to release this update the next week.

So, there’s not much new on those fronts, but plenty of other stuff to talk about this week.

Combat 2.0 Testing

There were a few questions regarding the testing server after last week’s article and I have some answers to them.

Regarding the character “transfer”; that probably wasn’t the best word to use. We will be copying your character information over to the test server—not moving your whole character. You’ll have all the stats and equipment on the test server that your game character has at the time the copy is done. After that, your character paths will be completely different between the test server and the live game. Nothing you do on the test server will affect your live character and vice versa.

The current plan is to run the test world on normal settings. Frankly, having a test server set to Hostile wouldn’t be particularly conducive to testing, if you know what I mean. ;) Since it will be a normal world, you can still use /pvp to flip your flag at any time—you just won’t be constantly flagged once you hit level 16.

What we’ll be doing with the test server after Combat 2.0 launches has yet to be determined. Much of that decision will depend on the amount of assistance it provides us and what our production schedule is like in 2006. We’ll be working on determining the fate of the test server over the next few months.

Live Events News

It’s been a busy week for live events…at least in the background, here in Seattle. First, the question you’re all asking: Where’s LESIG?

Well, we’re nearing the finish line on preparations, so I’m committing to getting the first folks invited in within the next two weeks. I know it’s been delayed for a long time and I apologize for that. But now I have the first task ready and am going to need some hands to accomplish it. I’ll be trying to draw on the folks who went through the original application process first, then adding additional folks as needed.

We’ve entered into the Cryptos storyline, which means it will be a while before the next major in-game event. However, as some of you have noticed, there are strange things afoot in The Matrix Online. Why is Niobe concerned about Cryptos? Why does it seem like Agent Gray has gone insane? Over the next few months, you will either learn the answers or end up with more questions.

Sig Contest Ends Today

I’ll be locking down the moderator sig threads before I leave today. Thanks to everyone who participated. Next week we’ll find out who the winners are!

Speaking of contests…

Show Off MxO!

Do you make in-game movies? Think you’ve got a talent for it? Well, here’s your chance to prove it to all of SOE.

Early in December, each team will be showing off a movie about their game to the company. Given the kind of talent we have in our community, we’d like to feature at least one player-made movie for The Matrix Online. After all, in the end, the game is about you.

We’re going to be displaying a total of 10 to 15 minutes of footage, which can be either one or multiple movies. You all know what makes these films work: hot music, action, and maybe even a storyline. The only limit is what your imagination can come up with.

Because they will be presented on a big screen, we request that you only submit high-resolution movies. We also prefer that the UI be removed, but if you have an idea that makes good use of it, we’ll consider it.

If you’re up to the challenge, head over to the Residual Self Image forum and post a link to your MxO movie. You could have your movie shown to the entire staff of SOE!

Community Notes

Don’t forget that XRN is hosting their big Xbox 360 event on Vector tonight, Friday, November 11.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=playerevents&message.id=1451

Detrius_MXO began the oddly interesting discussion of why the Machines didn’t just put cows in pods instead of humans.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=universe&message.id=1608

Matrix haiku? weaselgrrl asks, “Why not?”

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=nextren&message.id=204

Head on over to Broadcast Depth to discuss this article.

Well, we’ve already had one edition this week, but I’d like to get this back on track for Fridays. So this one may be short and sweet, but I think you’ll like the content.

Combat Revision 2.0

I’m working with the team to put together some additional information on what exactly Combat Revision 2.0 is all about. There are going to be significant changes to how the game plays, so we want to get more detail out to you as soon as possible.

Much of the design has been implemented in our early development branch and the work continues steadily. This is one of the top priorities as we have a special deadline to meet: Implementation of an external testing server.

We’ve known since the outset that community participation was going to be a key to making Combat Revision 2.0 come together. I know you’ve all been talking about this for a while, but we’ve had some hurdles to overcome before we were ready to announce this.

We are currently aiming for an early December launch of an external playtest server so you all can log on and try out the changes. We’ll be setting up a special forum for discussion and feedback about the revision so we can polish things up for the live release in January.

The test server will require a separate installation of the game, as did the old QA Test server. We’re working on a way to transfer characters over to the new test server, so you won’t have to start over from scratch (although we certainly would like to see some low-level testing).

We’ll be posting more details about the test server as we get closer to being ready to release it to the public. The team is happy to know that you all are excited about the changes and look forward to your feedback on Combat Revision 2.0.

I’ll be interested to find out what SDKane’s favorite topic becomes now. ;)

Community Notes

Mods need signatures! There’s a week to go and I know we have some talented sig makers out there. Head over to the RSI forum and show us your stuff!

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board?board.id=rsi

Clan Darkstar is hosting a series of events on Recursion beginning Saturday, November 5, teaching players the ins-and-outs of The Matrix Online. Check out their thread for details on what they’ll be talking about each night.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=playerevents&message.id=1390

I suppose someone just had to make a Thriller video over Halloween weekend. Check out what Causality was up to on the Vector forums.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=Events_Vector&message.id=471

What would roleplaying in the Matrix be without inter-Organization struggle? Cpt_Leelia posted an interesting proposal for RPvP conduct on the Syntax forums.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=generalsyntax&message.id=3711

Tune in next week when Walrus goes for two Friday’s in a row!

Head on over to Broadcast Depth to discuss this article.

Introduction:

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been four months since the team made the move to SOE.  It feels like just yesterday.  Time “flies” when you are having fun and getting things done!  In just a few short months we have accomplished a lot:

Live Event:

The development team pulled together and performed a fantastic live event, “Death of the Destroyer”.  Just about everyone on the team participated in the planning, training, and performing.  Even I got an opportunity to be an Assassin!  It was a team effort all-the-way, I hope you had fun, I know we did.

Content Update:

Throughout our transition the story of the Matrix has not skipped a beat.  We have delivered three compelling sub-chapters of story missions and cinematics to go with the final event where Morpheus’ killer met his match.

New content was delivered in the form of an entirely new feature, Pandora’s Box.  Players have been progressing through the series of linked missions and mini-events though few if any have been able to defeat the final encounter without a lot of help for fellow players!

There have also been ongoing tuning and re-balancing.  We have adjusted the experience rewards for the introduction missions and for synchronizing hardlines, making progress in the lower levels a bit easier and giving the explorers out there another reason to venture forth. 

Coming soon we will update the content found in the Slums district.  You will see all new NPC animations, pathing and interaction.  Should make things a lot more interesting for the new players and explorers alike.  Afterwards we will be taking what we have learned and adding new and exciting content for all level ranges.

Work progresses on the combat revision.  Archon can speak to the details but I can tell you that the changes are going to be fantastic.  We are taking out what’s broken and enhancing what works, all great stuff.

Last but not least, long awaited and by popular demand, we will soon have support for in-game email.  Including emailing items and $Info from player to player and from various game systems and events to players.  This will open up a whole new avenue of content.

Summary:

It’s been a whirlwind of activity and we have a lot to show for it.  We are continuing to produce new content and keep the story of the Matrix moving forward.  There are some exciting new changes on the horizon so stay tuned and jack-in!

- AOK

 

Andrew Kaplan

Producer, The Matrix Online

Sony Online Entertainment

Better Late Than Never?

I apologize for the delay getting last week’s edition out. As you all know, there was a great deal going on (Update 37, Halloween Masquerade, new Sentinel, etc.) and we were all pretty buried around here. Of course, it’s not like that actually stops…

SOE Email Cometh

As I mentioned on the forums, the email system will be coming soon to a hardline near you. Update 37.5 is scheduled to release in the next few weeks and will include the new in-game email system. We’ll be posting details on how it will work, so hold onto your masks.

Did I just say that? Sigh. Need to have my internal monologue volume control checked. ;)

Halloween Masquerade 2005

The team is immensely happy with the response to our first-ever Halloween event in The Matrix Online. A lot of thought and hard work went into it and it’s always nice to see something like this work out well.

As far as the masks are concerned: They stopped working as scheduled on the morning of November 1. There are no plans currently to turn them back on anytime soon, although your response has given the team a good deal to consider. We definitely want to keep items like these special so we can give the community something to look forward to. However, when the community gets so excited about something we’ve done in game…well, let’s just say we’ll keep that in mind as far as future planning is concerned.

“Stealth Doctor”—Not An Exploit

Yep, that’s right. Using a Stealth Ability while being able to Restore another player has been deemed viable gameplay. I know this is going to be somewhat upsetting to a few people, but there’s a design reason for not “fixing” this: Upcoming changes to Stealth mechanics.

Along with Combat Revision 2.0 will be an overhaul of the Stealth system. The design calls for giving players Abilities to detect hidden players using a contested “roll”. Your Detection Abilities will go up against your target’s Stealth Abilities repeatedly over time—the longer someone stays within range of your Detection Ability, the better chance you have of popping their Stealth.

Also in the design are changes to what does or does not automatically pop your Stealth Abilities. Some things still will end a Stealth effect (like attacking an NPC) while others won’t, but will take longer to do (like breaking a locked door’s code).

As with everything in design, the specifics are subject to change depending on feasibility and testing. Our hope is to make the Stealth/Detection conflict an interesting and fun part of regular gameplay.

Both the Stealth mechanic changes and Combat Revision 2.0 are tentatively slated for January 2006.

On The Forums

Many of you have commented on the number of stickied threads on the General forums. My hesitation to bring them down is based on two things: That the disaster threads are still part of many of our daily lives and that it they are a display for the compassion of The Matrix Online community.

So, what do you think of an “archive” forum? A place where popular or otherwise important threads can be locked away in read-only status? I agree that it would be nice to clean up the forums a bit, but would like to keep a record of some of the best of The Matrix Online. Let me know what you think.

Let’s see what else has been going on this past week.

Have a question about the Matrix? Why not Ask (Agent) Jeeves? Fair warning: I think there’s something wrong with his programming; he tends to be a bit snarky with his answers.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=general&message.id=19264

The forums moderator competition continues through November 11 and we have a new mod who needs a sig. Please welcome aboard Sync_Routine (MOD_G)!

Head on over to the RSI forum to participate. While you’re there, check out the Halloween Masquerade videos. (Somehow I knew someone would do Thriller. Hmm…zombies…)

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board?board.id=rsi

Freiheit has started the Vector Awards. If you play on Vector and have an opinion (heh) then vote for your favorites.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=vectorgeneral&message.id=18886

Gothique has posted a roleplaying primer on the Recursion boards (now stickied at the top).

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=generalrecursion&message.id=11660

Continuing on the “retro” theme, shauntaylor88 started a thread on the Syntax forums asking for old screenshots. Check it out and see some historical shots of The Matrix Online!

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/message?board.id=generalsyntax&message.id=3482

Well, that’s it for last week’s (ahem) edition of The Other Side of the Looking Glass. Tune in later this week, when we find out if Walrus can get his next edition out on time!

Head on over to Broadcast Depth to discuss this article!