So I'm gonna guess:
"Lith planned it, dropped it, SOE forgot about it."
"Lith planned it, dropped it, SOE forgot about it."
The Other Side of the Looking Glass - February 14, 2006
137 posts · 2006-02-14 15:24:33 to 2006-02-17 02:06:00
Xeros wrote:"I might add that in short, there are four, five or more organizations, though some aren't interested in having redpills join them."
Can you give any hints about them?
"They're reactions to developements in the story. One group forms for vengeance. (Niobe) One seeks power. (General, maybe later on?) One is misrepresting itself and hiding its true motives (Cypherites). Another is a quasi-religion. Neo died for us, you know."
Pg. 16 of the MxO Fanzine questionaire, Paul Chadwick section. that's the first mention.
that's the one
Just thought of an idea...under the fixing it, if there is inevitably no fix...we could always have on each server 3 factions for each cause. It would at least give proper flags.
Respective faction names, and orgs:
Zion - E Pluribus Neo
(Niobite) Vendetta
Machines - Cypherites
But it's just not the same, PVP wise.
Xeros wrote:Just thought of an idea...under the fixing it, if there is inevitably no fix...we could always have on each server 3 factions for each cause. It would at least give proper flags.
Respective faction names, and orgs:
Zion - E Pluribus Neo
(Niobite) Vendetta
Machines - Cypherites
What a disapointment.
I just have to say one thing:
Whoa, Rarebit.
Your one post above was really that kind of Developer Insight I like to see.
I really begin to like to discover the ways of a game developer company and this post really revealed background info I like to hear.
Just like on a DVD with its bonus material. I really like that.
And I'm kinda happy now that the PVP will be kept three-sided (and not six-sided)...
>revolt_
Whoa, Rarebit.
Your one post above was really that kind of Developer Insight I like to see.
I really begin to like to discover the ways of a game developer company and this post really revealed background info I like to hear.
Just like on a DVD with its bonus material. I really like that.
And I'm kinda happy now that the PVP will be kept three-sided (and not six-sided)...
>revolt_
Easy answer..they held off as late as possible cause this is a corporate machine that wants to suck every penny they can from the customers..any way they can get the players to say I'll wait a little bit longer till such and such happens the more they milk from this game with a skeleton crew...and guess what walrus is totally in on it...he doesn't care about the community,he cares about getting paid..his job is to play the lovable guy who you all forgive...kudos walrus..you win moron of the year 2 years straight!Kudos!
Can you at least PLEASE let us flag differently... I dont mind if there arent new missions and new contacts... I just dont want to flag Zion anymore...
Pleaseeeeee give us a new org flag or something... PLEASE!
The decision to NOT bring in new orgs... Just killed the RP for me... The faction we are in, is basicly never going to go anywhere without the new org... Thanks for killing the dream Devs...
Message Edited by Kshana86 on 02-14-200610:06 PM
im pretty sure cr2.0 is the real mistake here. partly because it sucks.
"We also appreciate everyone keeping an open mind to the removal of Tactics numbers and damage absorption text"
this is an asinine decision, why would you not give the players the ability to fully understand what is going on during combat? oh because it doesnt really matter since its all based on obsenely random rolls.
i wont continue to play if this is implemented.
this however is just my opinion, some people seem to actually 'like' cr2.0. i think they are just happy for anything they can get.
you see, the majority of the looking glass article was about the combat revision, but the vast majority of the response posts have been about the snipette regarding content RP related issues. clearly the players main concern is with the storyline, and that is what we want to see developed.
you are wasting your time trying to remake the game system, you will only lose people because of it. we are tired of the pointless fighting, the little problems with the combat can be overlooked if we have story to follow and reasons to fight and things to keep us occupied.
live events is what set this game apart from other mmorpgs from the start, and we have been waiting desperately for more. the game has gotten so much better recently because of the character interaction and rising RP. play to the game's strengths, push the story and the live events, not the combat revision that comes once we are tired of fighting.
"We also appreciate everyone keeping an open mind to the removal of Tactics numbers and damage absorption text"
this is an asinine decision, why would you not give the players the ability to fully understand what is going on during combat? oh because it doesnt really matter since its all based on obsenely random rolls.
i wont continue to play if this is implemented.
this however is just my opinion, some people seem to actually 'like' cr2.0. i think they are just happy for anything they can get.
you see, the majority of the looking glass article was about the combat revision, but the vast majority of the response posts have been about the snipette regarding content RP related issues. clearly the players main concern is with the storyline, and that is what we want to see developed.
you are wasting your time trying to remake the game system, you will only lose people because of it. we are tired of the pointless fighting, the little problems with the combat can be overlooked if we have story to follow and reasons to fight and things to keep us occupied.
live events is what set this game apart from other mmorpgs from the start, and we have been waiting desperately for more. the game has gotten so much better recently because of the character interaction and rising RP. play to the game's strengths, push the story and the live events, not the combat revision that comes once we are tired of fighting.
/agree 2.0
Kshana86 wrote:Can you at least PLEASE let us flag differently... I dont mind if there arent new missions and new contacts... I just dont want to flag Zion anymore...Pleaseeeeee give us a new org flag or something... PLEASE!
Can't believe im payin' 15$ a month and we're getting this. Watch when CR2.0 comes out it's gonna still have to be tweaked, ( not enough people test on QA ), and this is just gonna cause a drag on the whole story. Now we have no splinter-orgs to look forward to so basically no progression in story for the people who follow different paths. Why couldn't you guys just tell us no when we asked about new organizations. All we got was "can't answer future content questions." a simple no could've prevented this. Share the love with SOE my !@#!#
NRK1
HvCFT Nexus
Pluribus Neo
NRK1
HvCFT Nexus
Pluribus Neo
Message Edited by NRK1 on 02-14-200610:16 PM
I agree with Kshana. At least let us flag as E Pluribus Neo/Cypherites/Niobe. This is just some friggin' bull**bleep**.
And yeah NRK1, share the love with SOE my friggin' ***!
And yeah NRK1, share the love with SOE my friggin' ***!
Message Edited by narrakan on 02-14-200610:21 PM
I think one of the things that is on most player's minds is:
What have we received since launch that has been worth a year's worth of subscriptions?
----
Pandora's Box is basically the only really chance for content.
Critical missions are cool and all, but not much happens in them, and we really aren't getting anwhere in the story. The cinematics have been sub-bogey (of course, that's not your fault) and this last cinematic was a spark, but if we don't see that all the time, please just give up on those cinematics.
Gear is fickle, and there is no economy or market to drive an item system. The game is far too small, and had too rough of a life so far. Reaching the max level means nothing aside from PvP. Really, that is one of two goals to promote leveling. We need something to keep us busy all the time, and we simply don't have it. As much as people want events and story...this requires the waiting game so we can have it. We need content...and truck loads of it. If you guys read the forums, like you state you do, you know we've been itching for stuff to do for the longest time. Is it possible to tell us what is coming after CR2.0? No little vague hints and subtle changes and possibilites for future meetings at the dev tables, we want know what is coming. This game isn't doing well enough to play the surprise game anymore.
Combat Revamp is cool and all, but I honestly hope the devs would not be so short sighted to think that would keep the community here / attract new players by calling it conent. What are we going to do with CR2.0 once it gets released? PvP? Well, that'll last a month maybe. The way I see the changes in the game as is: MxO has been out for a year, and it is just now getting those fundamental MMO foundations that should be plenty covered in beta.
The sort of events have been pretty limited, and unsatisfying on the whole. The event coming up may or may not be great, but experience shows us that we have been let down far too often, and the more time goes by, the more xmagx is right. It may be the craziest event ever...but the fact is...what after that? The game returns to its stale and unplayable nature.
---
I think it's agreed...this game has been stale for too long, and the whole "can't tell, future release" thing isn't cutting it anymore... Maybe a year ago. We need to know if we are going to GET something in the near future. But ya know what? We won't hear this, because that means SOE would be telling us, "It's ok if you all want to cancel for the next 4 months while we get something together."
Basically...hang on if you want to...but the ride isn't gettin any smoother. Been here since 03, and would love to see this game pull outta the rut...but...come on...anything?
What have we received since launch that has been worth a year's worth of subscriptions?
----
Pandora's Box is basically the only really chance for content.
Critical missions are cool and all, but not much happens in them, and we really aren't getting anwhere in the story. The cinematics have been sub-bogey (of course, that's not your fault) and this last cinematic was a spark, but if we don't see that all the time, please just give up on those cinematics.
Gear is fickle, and there is no economy or market to drive an item system. The game is far too small, and had too rough of a life so far. Reaching the max level means nothing aside from PvP. Really, that is one of two goals to promote leveling. We need something to keep us busy all the time, and we simply don't have it. As much as people want events and story...this requires the waiting game so we can have it. We need content...and truck loads of it. If you guys read the forums, like you state you do, you know we've been itching for stuff to do for the longest time. Is it possible to tell us what is coming after CR2.0? No little vague hints and subtle changes and possibilites for future meetings at the dev tables, we want know what is coming. This game isn't doing well enough to play the surprise game anymore.
Combat Revamp is cool and all, but I honestly hope the devs would not be so short sighted to think that would keep the community here / attract new players by calling it conent. What are we going to do with CR2.0 once it gets released? PvP? Well, that'll last a month maybe. The way I see the changes in the game as is: MxO has been out for a year, and it is just now getting those fundamental MMO foundations that should be plenty covered in beta.
The sort of events have been pretty limited, and unsatisfying on the whole. The event coming up may or may not be great, but experience shows us that we have been let down far too often, and the more time goes by, the more xmagx is right. It may be the craziest event ever...but the fact is...what after that? The game returns to its stale and unplayable nature.
---
I think it's agreed...this game has been stale for too long, and the whole "can't tell, future release" thing isn't cutting it anymore... Maybe a year ago. We need to know if we are going to GET something in the near future. But ya know what? We won't hear this, because that means SOE would be telling us, "It's ok if you all want to cancel for the next 4 months while we get something together."
Basically...hang on if you want to...but the ride isn't gettin any smoother. Been here since 03, and would love to see this game pull outta the rut...but...come on...anything?
Message Edited by {SoG}Esky on 02-15-200601:02 AM
One thought I had was perhaps an NPC for each of these organizations could be set up somewhere in the city. These contacts could patch you through to Shimada, Anome or Veil, and then perhaps they could be treated as bonus missions. Maybe 1 critical mission for each of the new organizations per mission pack?
This way the roleplayers and anyone could feel like they're actually working for these orgs too, and the workload wouldn't be overly much more than it already is. Creating 18 missions per pack rather than 15 isn't overly much more...
This would allow for the storyline to be presented from the point of view of these other organizations too.
Having the ability to flag as these organizations would be an added bonus too. I'd personally love to see 6 sides in pvp.
This way the roleplayers and anyone could feel like they're actually working for these orgs too, and the workload wouldn't be overly much more than it already is. Creating 18 missions per pack rather than 15 isn't overly much more...
This would allow for the storyline to be presented from the point of view of these other organizations too.
Having the ability to flag as these organizations would be an added bonus too. I'd personally love to see 6 sides in pvp.
im actaully not diapointed by this i ddint think the orgs would come out for a while anyway right now the devs r working on cr2.0 and then after that rarerabit said they r gonna be working on the 1 year event which i think is gonna be a big hit its gonna take a while for them to make the new orgs cause first u gota start writing in new missions for each org too which takes time as well
*Sigh*
I guess I shudda known it.
Still, thanks for clarifying.
I guess I shudda known it.
Still, thanks for clarifying.
Not surprised at all.
I knew all along that the new organizations would never be avaliable for us to play in. Just didn't have the heart to break it to people. In retrospect, maybe I should have so this wouldn't have come as such a crushing shock. Then again, I doubt you guys would have believed me.
Ah, well. Life goes on.
I knew all along that the new organizations would never be avaliable for us to play in. Just didn't have the heart to break it to people. In retrospect, maybe I should have so this wouldn't have come as such a crushing shock. Then again, I doubt you guys would have believed me.
Ah, well. Life goes on.
I've always said people should have the option of flagging "neutral". That alone would be a decent option for Cypherites and such. Maybe something can be worked out, though. It would be nice to see suggestions as to what to do. Positive thinking is always better than throwing blame about.
- Void
- Void
I like to think that I practice what I preach - that is, not complaining too loudly about problems and asking for pie-in-the-sky ideas because I know that you guys don't have a massive team and unlimited budget.
But I'm disappointed.
IMO, there was no need to make the "No org split" announcement on the original timeline for the game, whereby we would be running through it at a rapid pace, and we'd be on what, Chapter 10/11 by now.
However we're almost a year in, and only on Chapter 4. If we continue at this rate it'll take another TWO YEARS to get to the end of the first 'year' of story.
Everything is moving slowly and thus our perceptions of what is going on are being distorted.
Morpheus was killed something like six months ago and half the players have totally forgotten him, which wasn't intended.
Cypherites started showing up what, three months ago? Four?
In all that time, players have been working overtime trying to second guess the plot, as you'd expect. But there's SO long between installments that we - apparently - end up making up totally unworkable ideas, which seem plausible, given the timescales involved.
Not having a Cypherite org would have been fine, given the fact that we'd have covered their rise to power and fall from grace in three or so fast-paced months.
But having us wait around has left us assuming that the orgs would be joinable. The thing is, we've ALL known for a long time now that the 'chapter a month' thing was never gonna happen, and when that was realised, that is when the announcement should've been made. It's not like it wasn't obvious we thought it was going to happen, we've been postulating about a Zion split ever since Morpheus bit the bullet, or whatever happened.
The players are ahead of the game in some respects, and the criticals often give out information that we've known for a long time.
Originally the criticals were the highlight of my gaming month, but I just did the first Zion critical and couldn't care less.
*Go to safe, get disk, upload disk, go to place, kill Masked attackers, go to other place, find a Neo-ite who dies without telling me something I don't already know*
The Combat Revision will be good, and will hopefully attract more players into the game. But the storyline is what keeps us here, and yet I find myself both caring less and less about what happens, and even forgetting what has happened in the past.
The latest event with LESIG characters showing up as soldiers ... I just didn't know what that was even about for a while.
Seems the only people that do have a decent clue anymore are those that can afford to spend hours on end in the game doing, apparently, very little, because there's sod all to do at Level 50, and god knows I've tried to make it interesting.
We were once one of the largest factions in the game, and now I see maybe six maximum people jacked in, which makes me very sad.
I don't want to beat up on you guys because I appreciate that there are only so many hours in the day but ... things are not going well right now.
And I think that Organo raises an excellent point, in that whilst we appreciate the amount of player contact you guys (Rarebit, Walrus, NoRepro, etc) give us, sometimes (oftentimes) it seems like you're the ONLY ones there.
But I'm disappointed.
IMO, there was no need to make the "No org split" announcement on the original timeline for the game, whereby we would be running through it at a rapid pace, and we'd be on what, Chapter 10/11 by now.
However we're almost a year in, and only on Chapter 4. If we continue at this rate it'll take another TWO YEARS to get to the end of the first 'year' of story.
Everything is moving slowly and thus our perceptions of what is going on are being distorted.
Morpheus was killed something like six months ago and half the players have totally forgotten him, which wasn't intended.
Cypherites started showing up what, three months ago? Four?
In all that time, players have been working overtime trying to second guess the plot, as you'd expect. But there's SO long between installments that we - apparently - end up making up totally unworkable ideas, which seem plausible, given the timescales involved.
Not having a Cypherite org would have been fine, given the fact that we'd have covered their rise to power and fall from grace in three or so fast-paced months.
But having us wait around has left us assuming that the orgs would be joinable. The thing is, we've ALL known for a long time now that the 'chapter a month' thing was never gonna happen, and when that was realised, that is when the announcement should've been made. It's not like it wasn't obvious we thought it was going to happen, we've been postulating about a Zion split ever since Morpheus bit the bullet, or whatever happened.
The players are ahead of the game in some respects, and the criticals often give out information that we've known for a long time.
Originally the criticals were the highlight of my gaming month, but I just did the first Zion critical and couldn't care less.
*Go to safe, get disk, upload disk, go to place, kill Masked attackers, go to other place, find a Neo-ite who dies without telling me something I don't already know*
The Combat Revision will be good, and will hopefully attract more players into the game. But the storyline is what keeps us here, and yet I find myself both caring less and less about what happens, and even forgetting what has happened in the past.
The latest event with LESIG characters showing up as soldiers ... I just didn't know what that was even about for a while.
Seems the only people that do have a decent clue anymore are those that can afford to spend hours on end in the game doing, apparently, very little, because there's sod all to do at Level 50, and god knows I've tried to make it interesting.
We were once one of the largest factions in the game, and now I see maybe six maximum people jacked in, which makes me very sad.
I don't want to beat up on you guys because I appreciate that there are only so many hours in the day but ... things are not going well right now.
And I think that Organo raises an excellent point, in that whilst we appreciate the amount of player contact you guys (Rarebit, Walrus, NoRepro, etc) give us, sometimes (oftentimes) it seems like you're the ONLY ones there.
All good points. Thank you, Prophet.
Well I was also looking forward to a bit of chnage in the organisations, but like some ppl seeing the logistics of it seemed, well unrealistic, but with the current storyline, it held hope that it might happen...
Im sure the Devs are more than aware what new orgs would have brought to us... expansion, being the key word, and as mentioned even without having to add more crits etc, if there was an option to choose to divide zion factions into 2 then that would help greatly in that.... I hope if anything something they can consider, zion the biggest org by far, has the biggest issues, not all of us agree on what we represent...you have those who follow niobe completly, those who are going renegade, and then those who are somewhere in the middle.. allow us to divide in the respect would haev made it much more interesting and added content in itself that we could work with.
What we dont know if how the "core" of the system works in allowing this....if it all possible, see what can be done, the spilt could still be both zion, and even run the same crits, but outside those you make a choice....
Anyway getting back on track, CR 2 looks to be moving on nicely, and i know once that hits live, will keep many people busy learning it over agian, sure thats fustrating for some, but will make things more lively.
We all need a live event too 
Heh, thanks for not chewing me out
I was going to make a suggestion (more of a peace offering idea) but I'm sure it is:
a) Against company policy
b) Likely to placate the playerbase and yet upset the impatient ones
You have a production schedule which you try and run to, I was going to suggest, how about revealing a few choice tidbits of what to expect over 2006?
But I suppose that would do more harm than good
We have production schedules here (of course, slightly more short term) but we can only give customers solid facts once we have assurance from our suppliers that the dates will be met. I guess it's harder for game development because you can never foresee the problems that will come up in future.
I was going to make a suggestion (more of a peace offering idea) but I'm sure it is:
a) Against company policy
b) Likely to placate the playerbase and yet upset the impatient ones
You have a production schedule which you try and run to, I was going to suggest, how about revealing a few choice tidbits of what to expect over 2006?
But I suppose that would do more harm than good
We have production schedules here (of course, slightly more short term) but we can only give customers solid facts once we have assurance from our suppliers that the dates will be met. I guess it's harder for game development because you can never foresee the problems that will come up in future.
I am more of a moderate on this issue, agreeing with some of the opinions (such as the fact that they released the news about these "new Orgs" hazardously late, although I had no expectation of joining them anyways, but nonetheless), and disagreeing with others (that the Dev Team are a bunch of "idiots and money-grabbers"; I'd say no one has the right to judge like that).
But the point of my hook in this water is a very paradoxical observation I have seen. Namely my surprise that there are so many skeptics/etc even among many of the "most dedicated, longest-lasting" players; I recognize many of you from past days.
I would not really consider myself a long-time, faithful player as I see some others (I was in Beta since Nov. 2004, but left after it was over, joining Live only since Oct. 2005), but the notion that our most faithful playerbase looks to be losing this faith, falling apart as I perceive it, is disheartening. Sure, I am making a broad comment that doesn't necessarily apply to each person, but that is just what it seems like.
Very good words... well said. Comparing how I felt about 1 year ago when I first jacked in and now... there is nearly nothing left. I'm kida really sad :smileysad:
[CoZ]LostProphet wrote:
I like to think that I practice what I preach - that is, not complaining too loudly about problems and asking for pie-in-the-sky ideas because I know that you guys don't have a massive team and unlimited budget.
But I'm disappointed.
IMO, there was no need to make the "No org split" announcement on the original timeline for the game, whereby we would be running through it at a rapid pace, and we'd be on what, Chapter 10/11 by now.
However we're almost a year in, and only on Chapter 4. If we continue at this rate it'll take another TWO YEARS to get to the end of the first 'year' of story.
Everything is moving slowly and thus our perceptions of what is going on are being distorted.
Morpheus was killed something like six months ago and half the players have totally forgotten him, which wasn't intended.
Cypherites started showing up what, three months ago? Four?
In all that time, players have been working overtime trying to second guess the plot, as you'd expect. But there's SO long between installments that we - apparently - end up making up totally unworkable ideas, which seem plausible, given the timescales involved.
Not having a Cypherite org would have been fine, given the fact that we'd have covered their rise to power and fall from grace in three or so fast-paced months.
But having us wait around has left us assuming that the orgs would be joinable. The thing is, we've ALL known for a long time now that the 'chapter a month' thing was never gonna happen, and when that was realised, that is when the announcement should've been made. It's not like it wasn't obvious we thought it was going to happen, we've been postulating about a Zion split ever since Morpheus bit the bullet, or whatever happened.
The players are ahead of the game in some respects, and the criticals often give out information that we've known for a long time.
Originally the criticals were the highlight of my gaming month, but I just did the first Zion critical and couldn't care less.
*Go to safe, get disk, upload disk, go to place, kill Masked attackers, go to other place, find a Neo-ite who dies without telling me something I don't already know*
The Combat Revision will be good, and will hopefully attract more players into the game. But the storyline is what keeps us here, and yet I find myself both caring less and less about what happens, and even forgetting what has happened in the past.
The latest event with LESIG characters showing up as soldiers ... I just didn't know what that was even about for a while.
Seems the only people that do have a decent clue anymore are those that can afford to spend hours on end in the game doing, apparently, very little, because there's sod all to do at Level 50, and god knows I've tried to make it interesting.
We were once one of the largest factions in the game, and now I see maybe six maximum people jacked in, which makes me very sad.
I don't want to beat up on you guys because I appreciate that there are only so many hours in the day but ... things are not going well right now.
And I think that Organo raises an excellent point, in that whilst we appreciate the amount of player contact you guys (Rarebit, Walrus, NoRepro, etc) give us, sometimes (oftentimes) it seems like you're the ONLY ones there.
It's not the game itself that interested me, that made me buy MxO and see how the story unfolds. It was the movies, the story, philosophies.. but all I see now is focusing on a CR that is IMO absolutely unnessesary. You can't sell a new combat system as content.. it simply doesn't work and more and more people quiting just prove this. Nearly every time I convince myself to give the EP Server I try the population is LOW! Shouldn't this ring a bell? Working on CR2 in times like these is like playing in the water while the world around you burns like hell. Don't get me wrong, there might be some good aspects in the new system but this isn't what this game needs! It was already said above.. it took 1 YEAR to just tell us "No, it's not gonna happen"!? For Hell, no.
Rarebit, I estimate and appreciate that you give us the answers and a view to what's going on tho you know and maybe can understand how we act and react. Thank you.
"I know you're all excited about the impending storyline that seems to point at a new splinter Org. However, at this time, there are no plans to implement new player Organizations in The Matrix Online. Given the intricacies of Organization mechanics and the extra content these Orgs would require, we're not prepared to tackle that issue."
take from "The other side of the looking glass" 2/14/06
I read this and throught that this should be brought to attention asap...
Saying that there are no NEW organisation and specific organisations... what the hell are the Cypherites and EPN and Niobe's new org actually going to be here for...... A little extra content to get people talking by the looks of things..... Of this article is suggesting that Zion, Merovingian and Machines will be the only organisations continued for the next steps through the story.... I have to say this is a HUGE dissapointement..
"we're not prepared to tackle that issue." hmmm SoE arent able to tackle that issue, and carry on the story as it should be heading... I thought that's why we were here? Apparently we are just here to PVP or something...
What a joke
Xpedite
take from "The other side of the looking glass" 2/14/06
I read this and throught that this should be brought to attention asap...
Saying that there are no NEW organisation and specific organisations... what the hell are the Cypherites and EPN and Niobe's new org actually going to be here for...... A little extra content to get people talking by the looks of things..... Of this article is suggesting that Zion, Merovingian and Machines will be the only organisations continued for the next steps through the story.... I have to say this is a HUGE dissapointement..
"we're not prepared to tackle that issue." hmmm SoE arent able to tackle that issue, and carry on the story as it should be heading... I thought that's why we were here? Apparently we are just here to PVP or something...
What a joke
Xpedite
Message Edited by Xpedite 01 on 02-15-200601:57 AM
Most... dissapointing looking glass...ever.
This is the whole reason I am comming back is becuase I thought the story was progressing. The game is drab but we stay becuase we thought it would be a different MMO we thought it would be story based and we would have a real chance to effect it. However it is to long between each event (Considering we knew about the death of Morphous since Beta). I think if you dont listern to us on ths one it will be the end of this game and honestly the story is gone if there are no Org splits. Since the death of Morphous a lot of players have wanted to split from Zion but essentially in order to behold what little story there is and to get our levals up we must now join an orgainsation that we couldnt care less about.
Thank You SOE.
Well, look at my character and what he's been through. He had an accident with his emergency jack, went into a coma, awoke with amnesia, stole an escape pod from his hovercraft, jacked back into the Matrix with no knowledge of himself, is hunted, is rescued by a Machine faction, is killed with special bullets. He awakens 3 months later at the scene of his death with full rememberance of the events, finds he can no longer jack out, learns his corpse was found in the Real, and finds he is "technically" now a program... and one without a purpose at that. Then, to top it all off, the Merovingian has sent one of his top operatives... the very same one who killed him, to take him to Blackwood prison. With that in mind, he can no longer continue to work for the Machines, the Merovingian is an enemy, and Zion can't shelter a mind trapped in an RSI.
RetroX wrote:This is the whole reason I am comming back is becuase I thought the story was progressing. The game is drab but we stay becuase we thought it would be a different MMO we thought it would be story based and we would have a real chance to effect it. However it is to long between each event (Considering we knew about the death of Morphous since Beta). I think if you dont listern to us on ths one it will be the end of this game and honestly the story is gone if there are no Org splits. Since the death of Morphous a lot of players have wanted to split from Zion but essentially in order to behold what little story there is and to get our levals up we must now join an orgainsation that we couldnt care less about.
Thank You SOE.
But now, I have to find a way to write off ALL those events just to continue to be a Machine operative.
Given Rarebits explanation, I find it completely reasonable that they don't want to, or rather, can't, implement new organisations at the moment. However, I must admit it would have been a really fresh look on the game, and I am dissapointed, to say the least.
However, the initial dissapointment of it all has passed, I can totally understand why they didn't, and I still Roleplay whatever I want as any type of Zionist under the general umbrella of one tag. It simply takes a little imagination.
That being said, I do agree with what LP said about 90%. I can only look to the future and hope it's bright.
However, the initial dissapointment of it all has passed, I can totally understand why they didn't, and I still Roleplay whatever I want as any type of Zionist under the general umbrella of one tag. It simply takes a little imagination.
That being said, I do agree with what LP said about 90%. I can only look to the future and hope it's bright.
No amount of words collected together and formed into sentences, paragraphs or even a novel could describe the way this poorly handled announcement has left me feeling. So after a long time of thought, I'll sum it up into one word and then I'll go find a doctor to treat me for the stab wounds in my back. The word:
Cheap
Cheap
....Was going to write a big long speech about how This sucks and Cr 2 is pointless....but really i just dont care anymore. Any chance i could have the last year of my game playing life back?
A most disappointed
Zero
A most disappointed
Zero
To be honest I am literally stunned by this looking glass!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Question of Organization
There have been some questions about new Organizations on the forums recently. Since I'm an expert on Organization (stop laughing), I wanted to address them now.
I know you're all excited about the impending storyline that seems to point at a new splinter Org. However, at this time, there are no plans to implement new player Organizations in The Matrix Online. Given the intricacies of Organization mechanics and the extra content these Orgs would require, we're not prepared to tackle that issue.
Would new Organizations for players be a cool feature? Absolutely, we won't argue that point. But we aren't prepared to go down that road right now and I wanted to give a definitive answer to that topic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extremely dissapointing, at a time when people are complaining about lack of content and/or leaving a split of organisation/s would have generated a real buzz almost overnight with no let input, players would be busied organising themselves, designing websites...players would actually be occupied and a bit of pressure would be taken away from the devs and indeed resistance to CR2.0 (which despite the words at street level remains very high) might fade. I saw this as a potential savior to the game in less than ideal times instead its a missed oppertunity and possibly one with very serious consequences to the game population.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While I'm not an expert on all the places this happens, the most obvious case is working down the Operative tree. For example, the Soldier upgrade is a generally improved Operative upgrade. Further down the tree, the upgrades split out more, but work in generally the same way. And, in any case, you can only have one Title Ability upgrade active at a time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dissapointing there is no such thing as a learned skill any more - it really makes the very concept of an RSI different to what we had before imo
Message Edited by Tytanya_MxO on 02-15-200605:05 AM
Someone was listening to the Beasties while writing this one...I'm surprised you didn't sneak a "umm...drop" in there.
I have a different thought about this. I accept where we are; I have enjoyed the game with three organizations up to now, and don't see this changing any time soon.
As for CR 2.0, take as long as it takes to get it right. I mean, what's the rush?
Rarebit wrote:
There were other considerations as well. Not that I want to spoil much of Paul's story here...but some of those new orgs were not written to be permanent. This would have
As evident in the interview that Paul gave int he original fanzine. In talking about future events this was one of them, "Conspiracy upon betrayel upon religious fraud". Care to take a stab at what org that is? Hmmm....E Pluribus Neo. I am willing to bet that is one of the orgs that was not meant to last.
As was mentioned earlier in this thread...how difficult would it be just to implement different org flags, just to make it easier for others to recognize which "side" of their organization they belong to?
Is it difficult to change some PvP rules so that you could add E Pluribus Neo, Niobe, and Cypherite tags?
For example:
Zion: Friendly with Niobe and E Pluribus Neo (for now), Hostile with Machines, Merovingian, and Cypherites.
Niobe: Friendly with Zion, Hostile with Machines, Merovingian, Cypherites, and E Pluribus Neo.
E Pluribus Neo: Friendly with Zion, Hostile with Machines, Merovingian, Cypherites, and Niobe.
Cypherites: Hostile against all but Merovingian (unless their ties have already been broken).
Machines: Hostile.
Merovingian: Hostile against all but Cypherites (see above).
I know it'd cause some balance issues in PvP, but PvP is already unbalanced. At least this would add some dynamics to it.
Is it difficult to change some PvP rules so that you could add E Pluribus Neo, Niobe, and Cypherite tags?
For example:
Zion: Friendly with Niobe and E Pluribus Neo (for now), Hostile with Machines, Merovingian, and Cypherites.
Niobe: Friendly with Zion, Hostile with Machines, Merovingian, Cypherites, and E Pluribus Neo.
E Pluribus Neo: Friendly with Zion, Hostile with Machines, Merovingian, Cypherites, and Niobe.
Cypherites: Hostile against all but Merovingian (unless their ties have already been broken).
Machines: Hostile.
Merovingian: Hostile against all but Cypherites (see above).
I know it'd cause some balance issues in PvP, but PvP is already unbalanced. At least this would add some dynamics to it.
For a while I got negative Masked Men rep, but it was removed.
I don't mean to prod at responses such as this, to seem like a jerk or anything, but these kind of get to me.
sugaree wrote:I have a different thought about this. I accept where we are; I have enjoyed the game with three organizations up to now, and don't see this changing any time soon.
As for CR 2.0, take as long as it takes to get it right. I mean, what's the rush?
The rush is, this game came out of beta way too early, it is just barely finishing the problems that weren't finished then. And we've paid every cent for a year.
This game has had little additions to it since it's beginning, and we've paid every cent of it.
Granted, everyone understands that there is a small dev team on this game, and it doesn't have the resources it should, but we are still paying every cent of that $15/mo for the last year for what we haven't received.
We are lead to assume things that may not, or definitely will not be true. Each time we thought the QA server was going to be open, we were dissappointed. Not that the QA was something we all should have been waiting on anyway, but that was the state of the game, and many were holding on, just to see the Combat Revamp for a taste of something new. QA is simply an example of what the player state was: Ranting and clinging for something new to do. We waited for things, and were either left in the dark, or disappointed in the end. And yet, we paid every cent for it.
Everyone has to understand: The devs are working on this game, and as much as their work is appreciated, players are throwing money away, and not receiving much in return. And most players aren't willing to continue this, which is bad for this game, because the player base is so small already. We either need their plans for the whole next year (minus all the little crazy bugs and problems that come up every patch) just to see what's coming, because frankly...we could have been handed a 1/2 page word document for the last year.
Again, I don't want to sound like a jerk, but all of it's coming from a player that has since put around $250 into this game, and almost 2 1/2 years of time, and received slightly less than their worth. I apologize.
Message Edited by {SoG}Esky on 02-15-200609:22 AM
I was also hoping for a new allegiance tag of some kind - it'd be nice to see "Itineris - Cypherite" while I fight, and people would finally stop yelling at me for being Merv.
Of course, they'd probably yell at me more for being Masked
-Kellner
Of course, they'd probably yell at me more for being Masked
-Kellner
I'm not really much of a forum poster, and I believe this is my first post on this account. I want to start by saying that despite what this account and post count might lead one to believe, I've played MxO off and on since somewhere around the last month of Beta. During the SOE takeover, I quit the game for a couple of reasons; 1) At this point, there was increasingly less to do in the game and stagnation had occurred. 2) I've no great love for SOE and how they handle/manage their games. Recently, I began reading the MxO forums again and saw the talk of the potential new Orgs. This intrigued me, because it caused me to wonder if the storyline was finally moving again. Then I read about LESIG fully forming (at last!) and the possibility of at least small scale LEs once again being a reality. Let's face it, LEs are, and always have been the life of this game. Moreover, the dynamic story, the ability to change has always been both of paramount importance and a listed design goal for MxO.
I was genuinely excited by the Org splits occuring and offering both new chances for LEs and for the afore mentioned change. While personally I had not planned on switching Orgs, at least intially, the idea that others would be able to, that new philosophies and playstyles would develop, these things intrigued me. I am a heavy RPer when it comes to MxO, so any chance to interact with other players in a new way was not only welcomed, but basically, required by me if SOE was to again receive my $15 a month. So, with these prospects in line, a few days ago I reactivated my second account (sadly, my Beta enabled account never made the transition to SOE billing) and jacked back in to the Matrix to see how things might be.
That very day, the news that the 1 year aniversary event would be happening and would be major was posted on DN1. Yes! I must have picked the exact right time to come back, and surely this major event would feature the split of the Orgs that so many had been hoping and planning for. And then Tuesday's TOSotLG was posted... and I felt a familiar rise of anger. SOE had done it again. Tricked me with smoke and mirrors into spending more money on their products. Truthfully, I blame myself as I have played just about every SOE MMO, only to be utterly disappointed in their management.
SOE? Didn't Rarebit say that the decision to scrap the additional Orgs occurred back when 'Lith ran the show, even back in Beta? Why yes, yes he did. While I believe him, there is absolutely one single thing I'm blaming SOE for in this fiasco. Communication. Somehow, I get the impression that 'Lith wouldn't have let the speculation regarding Orgs to go on for as long as it had before finally giving Walrus the okay to tell the player base what was really going on. And yet SOE pulled a very common tactic of theirs. They purposefully allow a playerbase to want and expect a feature, and simply remain silent about it so that the speculation will continue. This drives subscriptions as players salivate over things that could be, should be. I could point to other games they have done this in (EQ2, SWG, heck, even EQlive) as well as detail how exactly they have done the very same thing, but this post is getting long enough as it is, and you other long time SOE players know exactly what I'm talking about.
So in short, I'm disappointed beyond belief. Walrus, Rarebit, other devs, I do not blame any of you at all for the lack of communication on this issue. You have both proven through various threads (particularly the Ask a Dev... thread) that you communicate with your playerbase far better than the devs of most other MMOs. I do, however, blame SOE for not allowing you to say more to the playerbase about this desperately wanted feature until now. I do encourage you to keep up the good work on the CR2.0, but I want to offer a reminder. No Combat Revision has caused substantially increased subscriptions in any SOE MMO yet. And yet all of them, save EQlive, have received or are receiving a combat revision. SWG has received two so far. So my advice is this. Finish CR2.0, but don't hit the playerbase with another one. LEs and change are what drives this game. They're what make this game different. Without them, you're left with just another EQ clone, just another endless grind. And no one grinds forever.
I was genuinely excited by the Org splits occuring and offering both new chances for LEs and for the afore mentioned change. While personally I had not planned on switching Orgs, at least intially, the idea that others would be able to, that new philosophies and playstyles would develop, these things intrigued me. I am a heavy RPer when it comes to MxO, so any chance to interact with other players in a new way was not only welcomed, but basically, required by me if SOE was to again receive my $15 a month. So, with these prospects in line, a few days ago I reactivated my second account (sadly, my Beta enabled account never made the transition to SOE billing) and jacked back in to the Matrix to see how things might be.
That very day, the news that the 1 year aniversary event would be happening and would be major was posted on DN1. Yes! I must have picked the exact right time to come back, and surely this major event would feature the split of the Orgs that so many had been hoping and planning for. And then Tuesday's TOSotLG was posted... and I felt a familiar rise of anger. SOE had done it again. Tricked me with smoke and mirrors into spending more money on their products. Truthfully, I blame myself as I have played just about every SOE MMO, only to be utterly disappointed in their management.
SOE? Didn't Rarebit say that the decision to scrap the additional Orgs occurred back when 'Lith ran the show, even back in Beta? Why yes, yes he did. While I believe him, there is absolutely one single thing I'm blaming SOE for in this fiasco. Communication. Somehow, I get the impression that 'Lith wouldn't have let the speculation regarding Orgs to go on for as long as it had before finally giving Walrus the okay to tell the player base what was really going on. And yet SOE pulled a very common tactic of theirs. They purposefully allow a playerbase to want and expect a feature, and simply remain silent about it so that the speculation will continue. This drives subscriptions as players salivate over things that could be, should be. I could point to other games they have done this in (EQ2, SWG, heck, even EQlive) as well as detail how exactly they have done the very same thing, but this post is getting long enough as it is, and you other long time SOE players know exactly what I'm talking about.
So in short, I'm disappointed beyond belief. Walrus, Rarebit, other devs, I do not blame any of you at all for the lack of communication on this issue. You have both proven through various threads (particularly the Ask a Dev... thread) that you communicate with your playerbase far better than the devs of most other MMOs. I do, however, blame SOE for not allowing you to say more to the playerbase about this desperately wanted feature until now. I do encourage you to keep up the good work on the CR2.0, but I want to offer a reminder. No Combat Revision has caused substantially increased subscriptions in any SOE MMO yet. And yet all of them, save EQlive, have received or are receiving a combat revision. SWG has received two so far. So my advice is this. Finish CR2.0, but don't hit the playerbase with another one. LEs and change are what drives this game. They're what make this game different. Without them, you're left with just another EQ clone, just another endless grind. And no one grinds forever.
Well said.
Bravo Trevvor, that was very impressive!
Indeed a well thougt out, well written post Trev.
Best first post ever.
TrevvorLocke wrote:
I'm not really much of a forum poster, and I believe this is my first post on this account. I want to start by saying that despite what this account and post count might lead one to believe, I've played MxO off and on since somewhere around the last month of Beta. During the SOE takeover, I quit the game for a couple of reasons; 1) At this point, there was increasingly less to do in the game and stagnation had occurred. 2) I've no great love for SOE and how they handle/manage their games. Recently, I began reading the MxO forums again and saw the talk of the potential new Orgs. This intrigued me, because it caused me to wonder if the storyline was finally moving again. Then I read about LESIG fully forming (at last!) and the possibility of at least small scale LEs once again being a reality. Let's face it, LEs are, and always have been the life of this game. Moreover, the dynamic story, the ability to change has always been both of paramount importance and a listed design goal for MxO.
I was genuinely excited by the Org splits occuring and offering both new chances for LEs and for the afore mentioned change. While personally I had not planned on switching Orgs, at least intially, the idea that others would be able to, that new philosophies and playstyles would develop, these things intrigued me. I am a heavy RPer when it comes to MxO, so any chance to interact with other players in a new way was not only welcomed, but basically, required by me if SOE was to again receive my $15 a month. So, with these prospects in line, a few days ago I reactivated my second account (sadly, my Beta enabled account never made the transition to SOE billing) and jacked back in to the Matrix to see how things might be.
That very day, the news that the 1 year aniversary event would be happening and would be major was posted on DN1. Yes! I must have picked the exact right time to come back, and surely this major event would feature the split of the Orgs that so many had been hoping and planning for. And then Tuesday's TOSotLG was posted... and I felt a familiar rise of anger. SOE had done it again. Tricked me with smoke and mirrors into spending more money on their products. Truthfully, I blame myself as I have played just about every SOE MMO, only to be utterly disappointed in their management.
SOE? Didn't Rarebit say that the decision to scrap the additional Orgs occurred back when 'Lith ran the show, even back in Beta? Why yes, yes he did. While I believe him, there is absolutely one single thing I'm blaming SOE for in this fiasco. Communication. Somehow, I get the impression that 'Lith wouldn't have let the speculation regarding Orgs to go on for as long as it had before finally giving Walrus the okay to tell the player base what was really going on. And yet SOE pulled a very common tactic of theirs. They purposefully allow a playerbase to want and expect a feature, and simply remain silent about it so that the speculation will continue. This drives subscriptions as players salivate over things that could be, should be. I could point to other games they have done this in (EQ2, SWG, heck, even EQlive) as well as detail how exactly they have done the very same thing, but this post is getting long enough as it is, and you other long time SOE players know exactly what I'm talking about.
So in short, I'm disappointed beyond belief. Walrus, Rarebit, other devs, I do not blame any of you at all for the lack of communication on this issue. You have both proven through various threads (particularly the Ask a Dev... thread) that you communicate with your playerbase far better than the devs of most other MMOs. I do, however, blame SOE for not allowing you to say more to the playerbase about this desperately wanted feature until now. I do encourage you to keep up the good work on the CR2.0, but I want to offer a reminder. No Combat Revision has caused substantially increased subscriptions in any SOE MMO yet. And yet all of them, save EQlive, have received or are receiving a combat revision. SWG has received two so far. So my advice is this. Finish CR2.0, but don't hit the playerbase with another one. LEs and change are what drives this game. They're what make this game different. Without them, you're left with just another EQ clone, just another endless grind. And no one grinds forever.
Very well said indeed. I agree with everything you've had to say, but I'm afraid it goes even deeper than this.
If the decision was made back in Beta to scrap the concept of new orgs, then why were people receiving and losing reputation points for these orgs as recent as last month?
Archived image unavailable: NiobeRep.html
The decisions to scrap these was made more recent than that, and I can't help but get the feeling that I've been lied to.
Maybe that's just me, though. But I seriously think we're being lied to, and that the decision was RECENTLY made not to create the orgs. Smells like another budget cut from SOE, if you ask me.
Either way, there's more to this than we're being told.
No comment on the org issue, although I'm glad to know the truth now.
Regarding the cinematics, whether they are Flash or AVI doesn't matter to me. My question is why are you converting the existing cinematics? They work fine with the current system don't they? You guys have enough to do.
Regarding the cinematics, whether they are Flash or AVI doesn't matter to me. My question is why are you converting the existing cinematics? They work fine with the current system don't they? You guys have enough to do.
Looking at it from an outset, if this was made so long ago, wouldnt we really have been more aware of this by now...
good post TrevvorLocke, and i tihnk the biggest thing the org spilt was going to give was the new ideals to use in PVP / RP, it was more content added without doing too much...
TrevvorLocke wrote:
"... Somehow, I get the impression that 'Lith wouldn't have let the speculation regarding Orgs to go on for as long as it had before finally giving Walrus the okay to tell the player base what was really going on. And yet SOE pulled a very common tactic of theirs. They purposefully allow a playerbase to want and expect a feature, and simply remain silent about it so that the speculation will continue. ..."
Conspiracy theories are fun, but the sad fact is that this was all a highly unfortunate oversight by your friendly neighborhood MXO dev team. We were not gagged by anyone higher up the ladder here at SOE.
Phrack: That rep gain noted in your window from "Niobe's Group" is a bug in something that I thought we'd taken care of way back pre-chapter 1.3. Any mission you take from Anome should only award Zion rep. I just tested this myself in Live, and they do add to your Zion rep as intended, but the UI is showing "Niobe's Group" when it should be showing "Zion." I've forwarded a description of this issue to QA.
"... Somehow, I get the impression that 'Lith wouldn't have let the speculation regarding Orgs to go on for as long as it had before finally giving Walrus the okay to tell the player base what was really going on. And yet SOE pulled a very common tactic of theirs. They purposefully allow a playerbase to want and expect a feature, and simply remain silent about it so that the speculation will continue. ..."
Conspiracy theories are fun, but the sad fact is that this was all a highly unfortunate oversight by your friendly neighborhood MXO dev team. We were not gagged by anyone higher up the ladder here at SOE.
Phrack: That rep gain noted in your window from "Niobe's Group" is a bug in something that I thought we'd taken care of way back pre-chapter 1.3. Any mission you take from Anome should only award Zion rep. I just tested this myself in Live, and they do add to your Zion rep as intended, but the UI is showing "Niobe's Group" when it should be showing "Zion." I've forwarded a description of this issue to QA.
Upon further thought, I have come to a slightly different conclusion about my own feelings, as well as the feelings of others in a similar position to myself. I will make no claim that my opinions reflect the community at large, as I am only one person and my observations and experiences are limited, as such. But here is the underlying issue at hand, at least for me. Content (the word that is so dreaded by anyone involved in MMO creation/management) and game focus.
As I stated in my previous post, an intended design goal initially for the Matrix Online was to create a dynamic world where not everything stayed the same from one month to the next. Initially, via the Live Events Team, Monolith did an exceptional job of displaying the ever changing, ever growing world of the Matrix. Then the takeover hit, and LEs trickled, sputtered, and seemingly all but ended entirely. At this point, SOE appeared to be taking the game in an entirely different direction. Things like Pandora's Box and the CR 2.0 became top priority. While these things are fine, good, and quite possibly needed (depending on whom you ask), they represent a fundamental design paradigm that is not in union with the nature of dynamic gameplay. That is, both of these major game additions are static in nature, unchanging, and will always be with us. Yes, they justify Content, but perhaps not the Content that the majority of MxO players are hoping for. Let us examine for a moment why SOE might have decided to go this route, versus assembling a new LET for example, as well as actually implementing new Orgs.
The problem seems to arise from the fact that the Dev team for MxO was greatly diminished (I'm guessing as a result of a dimished budget) upon the game's transition to SOE control. So what we have here is a case in which priorities must be set. Static content is simply cheaper on an MMO to create. By its very nature, it does not need to be constantly updated. By "constantly updated", I don't mean the usual patching and balance issues that will always need to be addressed, but that once the base system is in place, a periodic overhaul is generally not needed (Not that SOE's MMO track record would have you believe this. Coming soon: MxO NGE!) Conversely, dynamic content must be updated regularly. So it boils down to what affects profit margin more. Static content requires less resources to produce and maintain, at least in theory, than does dynamic content. And while I fully believe that the actual Devs of MxO love their product and want to see it prosper in more ways than just economically, SOE is a subsidiary of a major international organization, and as such, the bottom line is all that really matters to them.
John Smedley, president of SOE, was recently quoted as having admitted that Star Wars Galaxies was scrapped and rebuilt in the 14 months before its launch, and when asked why SWG customers would buy an unfinished product, he reportedly laughed and declared that SWG would sell purely based upon its name. Furthermore, he contended that SWG's subscription revenue would pay to finish the game...over the course of two years. Originally, the intended method for ensuring this continuing subscription rate was the dangling carrot of Jedi. It now seems that MxO players may be victim to such practices as well. Our dangling carrot, however, is storyline, LEs, Org splits. Instead what do we receive? Combat Revisions that no one asked for. Balancing was requested, yes. But not so many months dedicated purely to changing the fundamental nature of combat in a game where combat was never the emphasis in the first place.
But wait, this is the Matrix, isn't hyper-stylized combat part of its appeal? Absolutely, however, this is merely the sizzle of the series. The proverbial steak is, and has always been, it's underlying themes, story, and metaphor. Without these things, the Matrix is a void of cool-looking, but ultimately empty, Wire-Fu and explosions.
So by now you are probably all wondering what final point I'm going to make, and since I've posted entirely too much for the second time, I'll simply state it; The problem that many players are having with the announcement that we will have no new Orgs runs much deeper than the simple fact that we will have no new Orgs. The announcement is a signal, in perhaps a long line of signals, that there has been a paradigm shift in the direction of MxO production. And this is what is causing such disdain and feelings of futility. So to the Devs I make this plea. Fight the shift, and save your baby, so to speak. I realize there is only so much that you Devs can do, with and without managerial approval, so I thank you ahead of time for your efforts. Likewise, to the playerbase, I make a plea. Do not blame the Devs for these sorts of problems. What we are against here is the focus of an entire company, and a company that may very well view MxO as an afterthought. Rage against SOE if you will. Flood Smedley's public email box with petitions, letters, anything you might, but don't take your frustrations out on our Devs. They're doing all the can with what they're given. And if we want our game to be the game we want, then we too should do all we can with what we're given.
As I stated in my previous post, an intended design goal initially for the Matrix Online was to create a dynamic world where not everything stayed the same from one month to the next. Initially, via the Live Events Team, Monolith did an exceptional job of displaying the ever changing, ever growing world of the Matrix. Then the takeover hit, and LEs trickled, sputtered, and seemingly all but ended entirely. At this point, SOE appeared to be taking the game in an entirely different direction. Things like Pandora's Box and the CR 2.0 became top priority. While these things are fine, good, and quite possibly needed (depending on whom you ask), they represent a fundamental design paradigm that is not in union with the nature of dynamic gameplay. That is, both of these major game additions are static in nature, unchanging, and will always be with us. Yes, they justify Content, but perhaps not the Content that the majority of MxO players are hoping for. Let us examine for a moment why SOE might have decided to go this route, versus assembling a new LET for example, as well as actually implementing new Orgs.
The problem seems to arise from the fact that the Dev team for MxO was greatly diminished (I'm guessing as a result of a dimished budget) upon the game's transition to SOE control. So what we have here is a case in which priorities must be set. Static content is simply cheaper on an MMO to create. By its very nature, it does not need to be constantly updated. By "constantly updated", I don't mean the usual patching and balance issues that will always need to be addressed, but that once the base system is in place, a periodic overhaul is generally not needed (Not that SOE's MMO track record would have you believe this. Coming soon: MxO NGE!) Conversely, dynamic content must be updated regularly. So it boils down to what affects profit margin more. Static content requires less resources to produce and maintain, at least in theory, than does dynamic content. And while I fully believe that the actual Devs of MxO love their product and want to see it prosper in more ways than just economically, SOE is a subsidiary of a major international organization, and as such, the bottom line is all that really matters to them.
John Smedley, president of SOE, was recently quoted as having admitted that Star Wars Galaxies was scrapped and rebuilt in the 14 months before its launch, and when asked why SWG customers would buy an unfinished product, he reportedly laughed and declared that SWG would sell purely based upon its name. Furthermore, he contended that SWG's subscription revenue would pay to finish the game...over the course of two years. Originally, the intended method for ensuring this continuing subscription rate was the dangling carrot of Jedi. It now seems that MxO players may be victim to such practices as well. Our dangling carrot, however, is storyline, LEs, Org splits. Instead what do we receive? Combat Revisions that no one asked for. Balancing was requested, yes. But not so many months dedicated purely to changing the fundamental nature of combat in a game where combat was never the emphasis in the first place.
But wait, this is the Matrix, isn't hyper-stylized combat part of its appeal? Absolutely, however, this is merely the sizzle of the series. The proverbial steak is, and has always been, it's underlying themes, story, and metaphor. Without these things, the Matrix is a void of cool-looking, but ultimately empty, Wire-Fu and explosions.
So by now you are probably all wondering what final point I'm going to make, and since I've posted entirely too much for the second time, I'll simply state it; The problem that many players are having with the announcement that we will have no new Orgs runs much deeper than the simple fact that we will have no new Orgs. The announcement is a signal, in perhaps a long line of signals, that there has been a paradigm shift in the direction of MxO production. And this is what is causing such disdain and feelings of futility. So to the Devs I make this plea. Fight the shift, and save your baby, so to speak. I realize there is only so much that you Devs can do, with and without managerial approval, so I thank you ahead of time for your efforts. Likewise, to the playerbase, I make a plea. Do not blame the Devs for these sorts of problems. What we are against here is the focus of an entire company, and a company that may very well view MxO as an afterthought. Rage against SOE if you will. Flood Smedley's public email box with petitions, letters, anything you might, but don't take your frustrations out on our Devs. They're doing all the can with what they're given. And if we want our game to be the game we want, then we too should do all we can with what we're given.