(Yes, it's probably my favorite from all the soundtracks. It only seemed appropriate since it's Wednesday and I'm listening to it right now.)

Over on Data Node One, Aether has posted a deeper explanation of the Live Events team.

More signifcantly even, Version 7.3063 has gone live! Lots of goodies in this one, as I posted earlier. I've seen screenshots of the new Beta Clothing, and must admit it's quite awesome looking (we'll try to get some of these up for you later on).

Stay tuned for more from the world of The Matrix Online.

Data Node One has a bunch of goodies up. We'll summarize for you here:

• Instructions for the MxO Radio Player, the in-game link to Windows Media coming in the next patch. To add RFZ to your favorites for instance, do a
  /radio fave http://www.radiofreezion.com/rfz.asx
  in the chat window. From then on, all you need to do to "Jack In and Crank It Up" is click the Options button, select Radio and choose RFZ to activate the MxO Radio interface. Likewise, you can add an M3U or PLS style playlist in the same way:
  /radio fave C:\Metal.pls.
• The next patch is previewed here. Along with the in-game media player, a lot of annoying bugs appear be fixed. Awesome.
• Walrus has posted his latest Other Side of the Looking Glass feature. There's some detail stuff in here about the next patch, including Combat Tactics clothing buff changes, Stun and Mez, a doubling of available inventory, special clothing for beta testers, that in-game media player and more. Everyone should read this. Really.
• Cinematic 1.1 is available for download outside the game. A sign of things to come? We hope so.

We've added a list of what mobs drop what Access Node keys to our Access Node Listing. We have listings for the Barrens and International districts, but we don't have the Downtown listings yet. Do you? Help your fellow players out by sending them to us, and we'll make sure you get full credit for your hard work.

On this one, very special thanks go out to Thor and Pyrrhus for compiling this information for us. We appreciate it guys!

Over at MxO Vault, they've posted a very useful Attribute Guide. They've done their homework, and their guide details specifically what attributes are best for what character roles, along with what specific character stats are helped along by attributes. You'll definitely want to have a look at this guide before bumping your Attributes any further!

The good news is that according to Toby Ragaini, it's likely that there will eventually be a limited number of times where you can change your attribute assignments. So, if your current set isn't optimum, be on the lookout for a patch that allows you to realign your Attributes with what you're doing.

Normally the mainstream press doesn't have anything much to say about MxO that we harder core fans didn't already know a month ago. This E! Online article is no exception, and yet it's highly entertaining. Go over and have a look!

We'd like to call your attention to two more, written by our friends at MxO Vault and Warcry! MxO Vault's provides a detailed walkthrough of the festivities, and Warcry's provides still more scoopage and a different angle. These are all worth a read, so do check them out for information on the state of the game now and where it's headed in the future.

The theatrical trailer is the culmination of the nine trailers (three parts for each of the factions) released before launch, and it's definitely worth a look. You can find it on Data Node One. If you hadn't seen the other trailers pre-launch, you can find them on that page as well.

In our Launch Party article, we originally attributed a quote to Jason Hall regarding live events, the direction of the story, and how the community/player factions might be engaged in making those events happen. Jason's comments there were speculative, off-the-record statements not intended for public consumption and do not represent an official position on the issue.

WBIE would like us to remind you that the only official information regarding Live Events should be taken from their Live Events press release.

We've removed that paragraph from our article and apologize for the error.

I've posted my article from The Matrix Online launch party event in San Francisco, CA. In it, we talk to all the major players including Jason Hall, Paul Chadwick, Toby Ragaini and William Westwater, touching on topics ranging from the successful launch of MxO to the outstanding issues with crafting. We also provide a (well marked for those who wish to avoid it) sneak peek into the future storylines of the game. Check it out!

As many of you know, after Revolutions, the Matrix was restarted with a tense truce in place between the humans and machines. The conflict has gone underground with each Organization publicly declaring their desire to uphold the peace. Open Organization warfare in the heart of MegaCity is out of the question, although already tensions flare in the chaotic Archives.

To reflect this in the game, the initial server-world settings outlaw open Organization versus Organization (OvO) fighting within the main Districts. However, as was demonstrated in the storyline leading to the catastrophic ending of the beta test, "peace" is mostly a fleeting dream. As the story evolves, so too will the competition between the Organizations.

Get ready! Community member AlCapone tells us that he has official word from MxO support that pre-order early access will commence at 12:00PM [Editor's note: we said 12:00AM. This was wrong, it's PM - Mendel] Pacific time (that's 3PM Eastern) on Saturday, 3/19. Sleep while you can!

I've made an initial pass through the 200+ screenshots I took of the End of the World tonight and posted some of the best in our Screenshot Gallery. Have a look at some good pictures of an excellent event!

Well folks, beta is over. And I have to admit, honestly, sincerely, that Monolith did it using the coolest, most immersive live event ever run in an MMO. I'm not kidding. They're not paying me to say that. If you weren't there, you'll have to wait for the article (coming soon - we have lots to say and lots of screens to post!).

In the mean time, check out this video of Unshra's final moments in the Matrix during the event. Stratics thanks The Immortallis faction for providing the link.

Some highlights from the currently on-going end of beta event:

• Players are being infected with a fire virus. This virus spreads from player to player... all it takes is touching another infected player to become infected yourself. Death is all but assured if you contract it. Your best bet to stay alive is to buy and load all the Patcher abilities you can find. Buy Guardian Patcher and use Fast Healing to aid your survival if you can.
• Agents are everywhere. Not only the usual agents (like Brown, Jones, etc) but agents with odd names like Agent_90. These agents are not the 255 level agents that have been chasing you around, but lower level (from 10 all the way to 50 I've seen).
• Agents are taking over players, supposedly controlling their movements and saying strange things in binary/hexadecimal code.
• Billboards all over Megacity, club posters, etc, have all changed to say things like "further presence in the Matrix is forbidden", "Disobedience is unacceptable", etc.
• Cinematic 3 is now available for preview [Editor's note: we errantly reported earlier tha 4 was available as well. This was not the case - Mendel]in the Loading Area.

Tonight will be the final night of beta testing for The Matrix Online. Make sure you log in to the game and play tonight, as the community team has promised a very special end of beta event (but they won't tell us what!). After tonight's festivities, beta will shut down. Play will resume on Saturday the 19th for those who have purchased a pre-order box and registered the key.

If you haven't preordered, it's not too late! Visit your local gaming retailer, pick up an MxO preorder box and register the key today for access on Saturday!

Greetings,

The Stratics Media Group is going to be moving its web servers from the current data center in San Diego to a new Level 3 facility in Las Vegas. This move will help to consolidate our servers into a local facility where maintenance and development can be managed much more efficiently. This server move will require some downtime as the servers are physically shipped to the new location. This move will affect all of our services with the exception of the forums; they should remain available throughout this process since that particular server is located in a different data center.

The servers will be brought down on Sunday morning (March 13th, 2005) and should be back up and running in the new facility on Monday (March 14th, 2005). We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, but this is a move that is long overdue and once we have the servers in the new location we will be doing a series of upgrades and improvements on all of our servers. This move will also help to ensure that we can considerably improve our services and network stability.

Regards,

Jhariden
Network Director

Stratics Media Group
http://www.stratics.com
We Are Massively Multiplayer

Today on Data Node One, detailed profiles of the three Controllers who issue missions (Tyndall for Zion, Agent Gray for the Machines and Flood for the Exiles) were released. Interestingly, the article shows full body length screen shots of each of these characters. This tells us that these characters more than likely have actual models in the game, so there's a good chance you'll meet them one day (never mind Gamespot's assertion that Tyndall was free born - she told us otherwise herself).

The Matrix Online has officially gone gold! The team announced the game's gold status in a write-up on Data Node One yesterday evening. Congratulations to Monolith and Warner Brothers on reaching this incredible milestone!

The beta test process has been a wonderful (if at times frustrating) ride which I've enjoyed immensely. Now it's time to get ready for the live game, with the real story and full-on content. Buckle your seat belt Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye-bye!

As always, stay tuned to Matrix Online Stratics for all the latest developments in the MxO world.

Account keys for the final preview of The Matrix Online are now available at FilePlanet. The Sneak Peek event will run from 12PM Pacific on March 12 to 9PM Pacific on March 15th. It is your final opportunity to experience The Matrix Online free of charge and before it goes live.

On or about March 19th, pre-order customers will be allowed to access the live game world using their beta clients. Pre-order customers will still need to purchase and register an actual copy to continue playing beyond a grace period (which has yet to be announced).

As The Matrix Online rapidly approaches launch, the finishing touches are going on....

Today on Data Node One, the release of Patch 7.3011 has been announced, along with a full fix and feature list.

On Thursday, March 17th, I'll be headed out to The Matrix Online launch event in Seattle, WA to meet with the developers, ask some questions, preview some new developments and celebrate the release of the game.

I'd like to hear from you guys: what would you like to know? Ask away, and I'll try to pass along your questions and return with their answers. Remember, there's no NDA anymore, so feel free to ask anything you like!

Post your questions in this thread in our forums, or e-mail them to me.

Cinematic 1.2 was unveiled in The Matrix Online this morning (click the thumbnail at right for a sample screenshot). This new cinematic shows Morpheus meeting with the Oracle and details what Morpheus' agenda is now that the Truce is in effect.

To check it out, load up MxO and from the loading area, click the movie icon at the top of the screen (second from left) and select Cinematic 1.2.

I've posted a new Coder Overview, written by our own Greypawn. It covers how to craft, provides terms and definitions, some tricks and tips, and it's written well in the voice of a very familiar Matrix universe character. Check it out!

The Matrix Online has promised to deliver an "ongoing story" in a way that has never been done before. Throughout the beta, we have primarily concentrated on testing the underlying functionality of the game without revealing much of the planned story content. Because of this, I'd like to take a moment to describe the various story delivery mechanisms and features that players will have access to.

Just a reminder, Stress Test Two begins today (3/1/2005) at noon! As part of this test, some of MxO's story content will be activated, giving both seasoned and newly minted beta testers an opportunity to take a sneak peak at the game with actual live content!

If you still do not have a beta key, FilePlanet will be giving away yet another 20,000 keys.

Stay tuned to Matrix Online Stratics for all the latest!