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The Matrix Online goes Offline

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    Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2009
    Yeah, Morpheus...
    didn't die.

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
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    LilithiumLilithium __BANNED USERS regular
    edited May 2009
    Yeah, Morpheus...
    didn't die.

    ...I am sorry for you.

    Lilithium on
    What's that ringing? Ting-ting-a-linging in my head~? Oh, you're always there, making me whole. You're always waiting up for me. You're my first kiss, ever so pure, and ever so defiling, once lost, can never be the same. Fuck me. Violate me. Deny me.
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    Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2009
    How do you mean?

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
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    ArchonexArchonex No hard feelings, right? Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    How do you mean?

    Unless they changed it in the past few months, then
    That Morpheus was a fake.

    Archonex on
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    Just_Bri_ThanksJust_Bri_Thanks Seething with rage from a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2009
    Archonex wrote: »
    How do you mean?

    Unless they changed it in the past few months, then
    That Morpheus was a fake.
    The one that died, or the one that showed up after?

    All I am going on is the collection of the story arc scenes that were gathered up for a youtube vid.

    Just_Bri_Thanks on
    ...and when you are done with that; take a folding
    chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
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    DigitoDigito Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    If there was one thing I liked about MxO, the community was friendly as all hell.

    I never did get to play it after getting a computer that could run it worth a shit though... kind of sad about that. Seems pointless to hop back in for even a month now.

    Digito on
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    LilithiumLilithium __BANNED USERS regular
    edited May 2009
    Digito wrote: »
    If there was one thing I liked about MxO, the community was friendly as all hell.

    I never did get to play it after getting a computer that could run it worth a shit though... kind of sad about that. Seems pointless to hop back in for even a month now.

    A world dying? It's well worth the money. I'd be there right now if I had the money.

    Lilithium on
    What's that ringing? Ting-ting-a-linging in my head~? Oh, you're always there, making me whole. You're always waiting up for me. You're my first kiss, ever so pure, and ever so defiling, once lost, can never be the same. Fuck me. Violate me. Deny me.
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    Teslan26Teslan26 Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Fuck this. Resubbing for the final event :D

    Teslan26 on
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    korodullinkorodullin What. SCRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Archonex wrote: »
    There's something seriously wrong with this, given that SOE are the main reason why MxO never did well. The first thing they did when they got the rights to it was cut all the things that made the game fun. They managed it about as well as they did SWG.

    Considering MxO launched to a resounding thud and didn't really move onward or upward from there, I'd say Monolith/Sega screwed their own pooch just fine without SOE's help.

    The dirty little secret is that SOE never bought the rights to MxO in order to improve it; it was just padding to add value to the Station Pass. The game has been dead for a long time. It's just now getting put in a casket.

    korodullin on
    ZvOMJnu.png
    - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
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    CorvusCorvus . VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Scooter wrote: »
    Archonex wrote: »
    There's something seriously wrong with this, given that SOE are the main reason why MxO never did well. The first thing they did when they got the rights to it was cut all the things that made the game fun. They managed it about as well as they did SWG.

    I think it was inherently flawed in that one of the major goals for someone in the Matrix is to get out of the virtual world.

    The only way to win is not to play.

    So in a way, MxO is one of the most successful MMO's ever.

    Corvus on
    :so_raven:
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    JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I'm surprised so many people here didn't realize there was a Matrix MMO.

    It's odd. I never played MxO, but the only thing I ever heard about it other than a legendarily bad release was that it actually had some plausible mechanics buried deep inside of it and it is (was) one of the few MMO's that consistently conducted story advancing GM controlled live events, which is worth so much to the persona of a game.


    But they broke the golden rule of MMO's. Don't release early, don't release badly. They paid the price.

    I wonder what SOE will replace it with, since SWG is also about to get wiped off the map...

    Jasconius on
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    ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I knew it was going to fail (beyond the inherent weaknesses of the Matrix as an MMO setting) because the one thing it seemed to have going for it was the Live Team. And that kind of active staff involvement means a high, never-ending cost, the kind that normally stops after the end of major development. It was only a matter of time before the LT had to be cut to save the budget. SoE just did it sooner because it didn't care about the quality of the game.

    It's not even something that could be saved with WoW-like numbers, since the more players you have the bigger LT you'd need.

    Scooter on
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    JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I don't know. It's not really that expensive. For any MMO with 5 figure subscriptions it should be feasible.

    It's not like this is high dollar work. We're talking intern/call center/12 dollars an hour type work here. MMO community staffers are not exactly IT professionals.

    Jasconius on
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    KajustaKajusta Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I think he's more or less referring to the GMs that were on constantly doing events.

    Kajusta on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    XBL
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    delrolanddelroland Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Whoa!

    delroland on
    EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
    "Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
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    JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Kajusta wrote: »
    I think he's more or less referring to the GMs that were on constantly doing events.

    Yeah, GM's are not well paid. It's basically a call center job. I would imagine this is especially true for SOE.

    Jasconius on
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    TheStigTheStig Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I had always assumed this was canned likes 2 years ago.

    TheStig on
    bnet: TheStig#1787 Steam: TheStig
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    KajustaKajusta Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Jasconius wrote: »
    Kajusta wrote: »
    I think he's more or less referring to the GMs that were on constantly doing events.

    Yeah, GM's are not well paid. It's basically a call center job. I would imagine this is especially true for SOE.

    Yes, but they were literally constantly updating, plus it's not only the GMs. You've got your technical live team, then you've got all the developers needed to progress the narrative, and artists to commision some of the work that was done on the "episodes".

    It wasn't like the story was finished or anything.

    Kajusta on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    XBL
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    -SPI--SPI- Osaka, JapanRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    The only redeeming feature this game had was that the clothes had durability values and when they get to 0 they get unequipped. So you could shoot someone until their pants fell off.

    -SPI- on
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    ArchonexArchonex No hard feelings, right? Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Kajusta wrote: »
    Jasconius wrote: »
    Kajusta wrote: »
    I think he's more or less referring to the GMs that were on constantly doing events.

    Yeah, GM's are not well paid. It's basically a call center job. I would imagine this is especially true for SOE.

    Yes, but they were literally constantly updating, plus it's not only the GMs. You've got your technical live team, then you've got all the developers needed to progress the narrative, and artists to commision some of the work that was done on the "episodes".

    It wasn't like the story was finished or anything.

    Actually, if I recall, the script for the game was written by the Wachowski Brothers ahead of time. I remember someone on the old official forums saying that they had about two to four years worth of script/story set up already. So it wasn't until about half a year ago that they'd have to worry about writing new storylines.

    Archonex on
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    Amikron DevaliaAmikron Devalia I didn't ask for this title. Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    This was actually a really good game, hacking the matrix live in front of you (the hacker class would hack code out of thin air to buff/debuff/etc) superjumping from building to building, smiting bitch ass hater agents with kung fu. Much better than most MMO settings thats for sure.

    Also did I mention you hacked code out of thin air as a "mage/priest"? Because thats a pretty awesome fucking concept to me at least. I wish I could do that...

    Amikron Devalia on
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    KajustaKajusta Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Archonex wrote: »
    Kajusta wrote: »
    Jasconius wrote: »
    Kajusta wrote: »
    I think he's more or less referring to the GMs that were on constantly doing events.

    Yeah, GM's are not well paid. It's basically a call center job. I would imagine this is especially true for SOE.

    Yes, but they were literally constantly updating, plus it's not only the GMs. You've got your technical live team, then you've got all the developers needed to progress the narrative, and artists to commision some of the work that was done on the "episodes".

    It wasn't like the story was finished or anything.

    Actually, if I recall, the script for the game was written by the Wachowski Brothers ahead of time. I remember someone on the old official forums saying that they had about two to four years worth of script/story set up already. So it wasn't until about half a year ago that they'd have to worry about writing new storylines.

    It's funny that you bring that up because right up to that point the story started to take a turn for the worse.

    Kajusta on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    XBL
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    CreepyCreepy Tucson, AzRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    MxO was the shortest amount of time I ever played a MMO and that includes betas. Bought on Friday a few years ago before Memorial day (the year it came out) a played for an hour. Hated it. Buggy as hell (and not in a matrixy way..in a "oh look, mobs that dont agro when you get close to them but a block later a gang of the apparently static mobs you passed catch up to you out of nowhere and beat you down)

    Logged in on Saturday thinking "Wow, I must have been in a particularly shitty mood or something. I didn't even give this a chance". Played for 2 hours. Cancelled, which HAD to be done over the phone. Keep in mind I still had 28 days of my 1st "free" month available.

    You know THEY know they've got a steaming pile on their hands when they force you to call them to cancel.

    Let me qualify this by saying I loved The Matrix. Hell, I liked movie 2 and the third wasn't the worst thing I have seen but I'll agree it was a waste of time.

    It was literally the worst online MMO experience I have ever had. I played Auto Assault. I've beta tested more than my fair share of turds and MxO is in it's very own class of suck.

    Creepy on
    Live: Broichan

    PSN: Broichan
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    AxenAxen My avatar is Excalibur. Yes, the sword.Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    So I guess this means the Humans won?

    Axen on
    A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
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    Amikron DevaliaAmikron Devalia I didn't ask for this title. Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Someone won, but it wasn't hackers of thin air.

    Amikron Devalia on
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    ArchonexArchonex No hard feelings, right? Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Kajusta wrote: »
    Archonex wrote: »
    Kajusta wrote: »
    Jasconius wrote: »
    Kajusta wrote: »
    I think he's more or less referring to the GMs that were on constantly doing events.

    Yeah, GM's are not well paid. It's basically a call center job. I would imagine this is especially true for SOE.

    Yes, but they were literally constantly updating, plus it's not only the GMs. You've got your technical live team, then you've got all the developers needed to progress the narrative, and artists to commision some of the work that was done on the "episodes".

    It wasn't like the story was finished or anything.

    Actually, if I recall, the script for the game was written by the Wachowski Brothers ahead of time. I remember someone on the old official forums saying that they had about two to four years worth of script/story set up already. So it wasn't until about half a year ago that they'd have to worry about writing new storylines.

    It's funny that you bring that up because right up to that point the story started to take a turn for the worse.

    Yeah. Some of the new plotlines were just retarded. The "Konami Code" cheats, that gave NPC's super-powers was the most glaring one. Why the fuck would a near perfect simulation of the real world even have cheat-codes? It's not a fucking game.

    Really, the need to write new content probably played more of a factor in the game shutting down then anything else. The game would have been relatively cheap to host otherwise. Hell, the SOE version of the LET just sent a global message out once every half year, so it's not like it was particularly expensive to keep going. All they had to do was get the intern to type a pre-written message in.

    Archonex on
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    Ragnar DragonfyreRagnar Dragonfyre Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Scooter wrote: »
    I knew it was going to fail (beyond the inherent weaknesses of the Matrix as an MMO setting) because the one thing it seemed to have going for it was the Live Team. And that kind of active staff involvement means a high, never-ending cost, the kind that normally stops after the end of major development. It was only a matter of time before the LT had to be cut to save the budget. SoE just did it sooner because it didn't care about the quality of the game.

    It's not even something that could be saved with WoW-like numbers, since the more players you have the bigger LT you'd need.

    Honestly, in my opinion, the next great MMO will be one that has an amazing live GM team pushing events.

    Sure, it'll cost a lot of money, but I'd pay more for a game sub if I knew it would have live events ran by GMs daily throughout the lifetime of the game.

    Ragnar Dragonfyre on
    steam_sig.png
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    Paradox ControlParadox Control Master MC Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I kind of want to subscribe just to be there when it dies.
    I want to see what people are talking about that day, or how people in the game react in game on the final few hours or minuets of the game.

    It's really interesting. It would be like if Second Life announced it was shutting down its servers for good. Though, Obviously I think that would be a far more interesting event then TMO shutting down. Either way, for the hard core fan base that kept with it all these years, I can't imagine how they would react as the days got closer and closer.

    Paradox Control on
    \
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    korodullinkorodullin What. SCRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I kind of want to subscribe just to be there when it dies.
    I want to see what people are talking about that day, or how people in the game react in game on the final few hours or minuets of the game.

    It's really interesting. It would be like if Second Life announced it was shutting down its servers for good. Though, Obviously I think that would be a far more interesting event then TMO shutting down. Either way, for the hard core fan base that kept with it all these years, I can't imagine how they would react as the days got closer and closer.

    Considering so few people actually play the game that the MxO's official forum General Discussion board still had (at last glance earlier this morning) Latest Replies from May 19th on the front page and the "game's shutting down" thread only had 100 replies in twelve hours, I don't think there's going to be much discussion on the final day at all. It's probably not a huge stretch to assume that the game's playerbase can be measured in hundreds instead of thousands.

    korodullin on
    ZvOMJnu.png
    - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
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    Lucky CynicLucky Cynic Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    I think studios look really bad when they shut something down. Like it is the most embarrassing thing.

    Lucky Cynic on
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    ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    EA definitely has a rep now, at least in my mind. NCsoft needs to be careful it doesn't get one.

    Scooter on
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    Amikron DevaliaAmikron Devalia I didn't ask for this title. Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Isn't NCsoft world famous for "grind moar lol", the MMORPG?

    Amikron Devalia on
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    ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    "World" famous I guess, in the US the only games it has that anyone plays are CoX and Guild Wars.

    I'm assuming you were talking about Lineage I and II.

    Scooter on
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    Amikron DevaliaAmikron Devalia I didn't ask for this title. Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Yep.

    Amikron Devalia on
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    T-BirdT-Bird Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    A shame to see another game close but there I can't say I'm suprised to see it go.

    T-Bird on
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    JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Scooter wrote: »
    "World" famous I guess, in the US the only games it has that anyone plays are CoX and Guild Wars.

    I'm assuming you were talking about Lineage I and II.

    I know this will sting your ears, but CoX is pretty much an anglicized "grind moar lol".

    That doesn't make it bad, however.

    Jasconius on
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    ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I dunno what you're comparing it to to get that, though. Maybe to what it was 5 years ago, but even then it felt less grindy then WoW and much less grindy than E&B (the other MMOs I've had non-beta experience with).

    Scooter on
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    JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Scooter wrote: »
    I dunno what you're comparing it to to get that, though. Maybe to what it was 5 years ago, but even then it felt less grindy then WoW and much less grindy than E&B (the other MMOs I've had non-beta experience with).

    To say that you're trying to imply that somehow the questing and instancing in a game like WoW is somehow less valuable than what CoH offers in content. That's not essentially true, it's just a preference.

    Jasconius on
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    ScooterScooter Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    My definition of grind is having to do something just for the xp so that you can level up to the point where you can do real content again, or having to do the exact same thing over and over to progress (beyond just the level of "everything in an MMO is you doing the same thing over and over again"). E&B was very much grindy because once you got to level 75 (out of 150) the missions just stopped. You'd have to kill stuff or fly across the galaxy playing trucker to reach the handful of quests every few levels. WoW doesn't have the gaps so much but it does have the loot grinds at higher levels.

    I will say though that quests involving "gathering 30 wolf pelts" feel indistinguishable from grinding to me.

    Scooter on
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    JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Yes well, there's enough Kill 50 Circle of Thorns in CoX to go around. A lot of CoX instancing with the exception of TF's is just cookie cutter. They go farther to embellish and window dress it.

    I don't even consider EnB. That was a totally different era.



    To be fair, SWG is the real anglicized grind, but it's not like CoH or WoW are sacrosanct. I'm not trying to defend anything specifically, each of the games has its own sins.

    Jasconius on
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