The Matrix Online Producer Letter

MxO-Insertion wrote:

Gerik wrote:

MxO-Insertion wrote:

We are no longer 'different' than other MMO's

Really? When did the other MMOs get the IL system like MxO?

PotBS is remarkably similar.

Im not convinced. You dont actualy get locked with the NPCs in pirates

No more cinematics?

I.. I.. fu... ..

*turns red*

......

*door slams*

......






*from other side of door* Can someone help me? I got my tail caught.

Many of us will be here phor the long haul, no matter what.

I will not let this bring me down or make me stoop to utter negativity at the party.  Yes, I'm upset over no more cinimatics just like the rest of you, but... give it a chance.  You never know what the new sentinal may bring.  We can hope, and see where it goes.

Above all else... please people... don't cause problems, and drama nonsense at the party later, and embarrass yourselves.  It's not worth being banned, if you still love this community like I do.  The people that made mxo possible and keep it going still deserve our respect and gratitude.

Some may think I'm too positive, but... that's ok.  I've phound that being positive only helps, and never hurts.

No more cinematics?

I.. I.. fu... ..

*turns red*

......

*door slams*

......






*from other side of door* Can someone help me? I got my tail caught.

So happy that it is party day.. but so sad now at the same time

NightTrace wrote:

That does not promise any content/good news/effort.

They will cut features/costs until the playerbase is gone and THEN they will shut us down.

Thanks SOE for the consistent *CENSORED* you've given us over the years of our games span.

There will still be content.. Datamine for instance.

Please name one game SOE has ever closed down?

V, we're not so worried about the game being closed down so much as we are that the company's letting us stagnate. Chadwick got the can, and now suddenly we're not worth an artist/animator or the money that was dropped on voice actors previously. Keep in mind Datamine was produced under such conditions where we still got cinematics, so it's fair for us to expect both moving pictures with spoken words as well as constructs on our fifteen bucks.

And this isn't the first time it's happened, either, considering that our fifteen bucks used to pay for a whole team of people who would sit around and play live events characters day in and day out for us in addition to a combat revision, three new ability trees which still haven't been released, fully CG panoramic cinematics, and other stuff.

And it's hard for us to believe this is the cause of inflation, man. When you're in the community position, it's not hard to see how things are slipping away. Maybe SoE won't shut down the servers, but no one's going to want to play when there are no active developers because Rarebit, Fu, and Dracomet have been taken to develop SoE's new Hello Kitty MMO acquisition. We're being treated like our fifteen bucks doesn't matter, and since it's all going into the company tip jar, it's not so hard for any of us to imagine that it's being recycled into EQ2 or Vanguard instead of MxO, because really, our staffing only goes down. And when you're considering the buck, that's where it goes. Not into "content" per say, but into paying people to make content.

So despite the fact that we're still getting the same game content and that creative control is now entirely within Rarebit's hands (a good thing, in my eyes) this is still a net loss on the fifteen bucks we pay.

Taking all bets!

Who's next? The engineers? The QA department?


Are we soon to be left solely with Rarebit? He's only one man. ONE.


No, wait, I have an idea! Let's hire an intern, hand him a little notebook based on the loose thoughts of the collective Dev Team, and make HIM the sole person left! That'll really lower the costs.




FA-LLUUUUUUUSSHHHHHH.

No more cinematics?

I.. I.. fu... ..

*turns red*

......

*door slams*

......






*from other side of door* Can someone help me? I got my tail caught.

Taking all bets!

Who's next? The engineers? The QA department?


Are we soon to be left solely with Rarebit? He's only one man. ONE.


No, wait, I have an idea! Let's hire an intern, hand him a little notebook based on the loose thoughts of the collective Dev Team, and make HIM the sole person left! That'll really lower the costs.




FA-LLUUUUUUUSSHHHHHH.

I certainly knew this wasn't going to be a popular letter, but I had to lay everything out on the table. Cinematics aren't ending because Paul is leaving, although he did do all the storyboards. We had the budget last year and did as much as we could with it. That saw us through all the storyline we had fully fleshed-out at the time.

Could we have players do the cinematics? We certainly have talent out there but, just like LESIG, it would have to be a totally volunteer effort. That means we *can't* demand things be done on a set schedule. The best we could do is put the deadline out there and *hope* the work got done on time--or at all. That's not a good way to carry on storyline.

It also requires dev time to oversee the process. That's time away from missions, events, and any additional content we could add to the game. So we turn to LESIG to help us with the Sentinel, which isn't as time-critical as cinematics would be. Is it an ideal situation? Absolutely not. But we do what we can.

And why announce it now right before the party? Well, you're right in that maybe we're making the event less a celebration than it would otherwise be. Would it have been better having the party then announcing later? That seemed deceptive to the team. Instead, we'll be online with you this afternoon, still celebrating three years since release with no end in sight.

And that is the case: We've no plans to shut MxO down.

None of these issues have been easy for the team to accept, so we understand where you all are coming from. For those of us still working on MxO, it's been four or more years of hard work, so it's sad for us to have to make these decisions. But we make the best choices we can and continue working to improve the game in other ways.

Virrago wrote:

NightTrace wrote:

That does not promise any content/good news/effort.

They will cut features/costs until the playerbase is gone and THEN they will shut us down.

Thanks SOE for the consistent *CENSORED* you've given us over the years of our games span.

There will still be content.. Datamine for instance.

Please name one game SOE has ever closed down?

V, we're not so worried about the game being closed down so much as we are that the company's letting us stagnate. Chadwick got the can, and now suddenly we're not worth an artist/animator or the money that was dropped on voice actors previously. Keep in mind Datamine was produced under such conditions where we still got cinematics, so it's fair for us to expect both moving pictures with spoken words as well as constructs on our fifteen bucks.

And this isn't the first time it's happened, either, considering that our fifteen bucks used to pay for a whole team of people who would sit around and play live events characters day in and day out for us in addition to a combat revision, three new ability trees which still haven't been released, fully CG panoramic cinematics, and other stuff.

And it's hard for us to believe this is the cause of inflation, man. When you're in the community position, it's not hard to see how things are slipping away. Maybe SoE won't shut down the servers, but no one's going to want to play when there are no active developers because Rarebit, Fu, and Dracomet have been taken to develop SoE's new Hello Kitty MMO acquisition. We're being treated like our fifteen bucks doesn't matter, and since it's all going into the company tip jar, it's not so hard for any of us to imagine that it's being recycled into EQ2 or Vanguard instead of MxO, because really, our staffing only goes down. And when you're considering the buck, that's where it goes. Not into "content" per say, but into paying people to make content.

So despite the fact that we're still getting the same game content and that creative control is now entirely within Rarebit's hands (a good thing, in my eyes) this is still a net loss on the fifteen bucks we pay.

Virrago wrote:

NightTrace wrote:

That does not promise any content/good news/effort.

They will cut features/costs until the playerbase is gone and THEN they will shut us down.

Thanks SOE for the consistent *CENSORED* you've given us over the years of our games span.

There will still be content.. Datamine for instance.

Please name one game SOE has ever closed down?

Virrago I never said there wouldn't be new content, I said that it was in fact not being promised. What we have to realize is that we have been promised that what we have is what we will have. They will cut features if they see fit to, and they have. That we enjoy those featues since the start of the game means nothing. I'm sorry if you took my meaning to be something else.

And no, no SOE game has ever closed, but theres plenty that might as well have. We're not EQ, so we don't count. Thats all I've gotten from any official SOE rep in so far as how they treat us. The best thing I can say is that you are at least 100% up front about everything.

Could we have players do the cinematics? We certainly have talent out there but, just like LESIG, it would have to be a totally volunteer effort. That means we *can't* demand things be done on a set schedule. The best we could do is put the deadline out there and *hope* the work got done on time--or at all. That's not a good way to carry on storyline.

It also requires dev time to oversee the process. That's time away from missions, events, and any additional content we could add to the game. So we turn to LESIG to help us with the Sentinel, which isn't as time-critical as cinematics would be. Is it an ideal situation? Absolutely not. But we do what we can.

I certainly knew this wasn't going to be a popular letter, but I had to lay everything out on the table. Cinematics aren't ending because Paul is leaving, although he did do all the storyboards. We had the budget last year and did as much as we could with it. That saw us through all the storyline we had fully fleshed-out at the time.

Well, that about affirms it. MxO has been hit with yet another budget cutback, leading to even less content. And this is why we have a problem with SoE. They don't treat their customers properly as far as financial matters and appropriation of fundings are concerned.

I think, however, that we should recognize that it's not the fault of any of the devs here, nor is it the fault of the CSR team, Virrago, or LESIG. This is an issue we'd have to take up with the money movers at SoE.

Walrus wrote:

Could we have players do the cinematics? We certainly have talent out there but, just like LESIG, it would have to be a totally volunteer effort. That means we *can't* demand things be done on a set schedule. The best we could do is put the deadline out there and *hope* the work got done on time--or at all. That's not a good way to carry on storyline.

It also requires dev time to oversee the process. That's time away from missions, events, and any additional content we could add to the game. So we turn to LESIG to help us with the Sentinel, which isn't as time-critical as cinematics would be. Is it an ideal situation? Absolutely not. But we do what we can.

*puts hand way up over the crowd*

Volunteer here ready to do cinematics.

What are we going to have in place of the cinematics? That really sucks if we have nothing...

Walrus wrote:

Could we have players do the cinematics? We certainly have talent out there but, just like LESIG, it would have to be a totally volunteer effort. That means we *can't* demand things be done on a set schedule. The best we could do is put the deadline out there and *hope* the work got done on time--or at all. That's not a good way to carry on storyline.

It also requires dev time to oversee the process. That's time away from missions, events, and any additional content we could add to the game. So we turn to LESIG to help us with the Sentinel, which isn't as time-critical as cinematics would be. Is it an ideal situation? Absolutely not. But we do what we can.

*puts hand way up over the crowd*

Volunteer here ready to do cinematics.

Free labor.

Take it.

Walrus wrote:

Could we have players do the cinematics? We certainly have talent out there but, just like LESIG, it would have to be a totally volunteer effort. That means we *can't* demand things be done on a set schedule. The best we could do is put the deadline out there and *hope* the work got done on time--or at all. That's not a good way to carry on storyline.

It also requires dev time to oversee the process. That's time away from missions, events, and any additional content we could add to the game. So we turn to LESIG to help us with the Sentinel, which isn't as time-critical as cinematics would be. Is it an ideal situation? Absolutely not. But we do what we can.

*puts hand way up over the crowd*

Volunteer here ready to do cinematics.

I think, however, that we should recognize that it's not the fault of any of the devs here, nor is it the fault of the CSR team, Virrago, or LESIG. This is an issue we'd have to take up with the money movers at SoE.

Neoteny wrote:

I think, however, that we should recognize that it's not the fault of any of the devs here, nor is it the fault of the CSR team, Virrago, or LESIG. This is an issue we'd have to take up with the money movers at SoE.

I agree, I know that there are a lot of upset people but the Dev's are in the same boat with this complaining to them won't do anything to help...

Perhaps we should get TheUnknownShadow to talk to SoE again... " />

odj wrote:

Walrus wrote:

Could we have players do the cinematics? We certainly have talent out there but, just like LESIG, it would have to be a totally volunteer effort. That means we *can't* demand things be done on a set schedule. The best we could do is put the deadline out there and *hope* the work got done on time--or at all. That's not a good way to carry on storyline.

It also requires dev time to oversee the process. That's time away from missions, events, and any additional content we could add to the game. So we turn to LESIG to help us with the Sentinel, which isn't as time-critical as cinematics would be. Is it an ideal situation? Absolutely not. But we do what we can.

*puts hand way up over the crowd*

Volunteer here ready to do cinematics.

Walrus, please consider people like Odj to do some sort of cinematic work -- even an MxO trailer for the main site.

Odj's work has shown to be phenemonal above most, as well as individuals like Sevker and Broin in the past.


Help this game -- because marketing isn't doing a darn thing. The last time I saw mention of MxO in a magazine was over a year ago -- I can't even claim having seen MxO being advertised elsewhere. With such a creative license, and, more importantly, with such a creative community... there is no reason why MxO should be in the position it has been within SOE.

• cloudwolf with SkyJackal's MxO Video Collection on YouTube
• Algorithm Black Crew
• Player Events in General
• Phluff's MxOSpace on MySpace
• Artists using Photoshop creating pictures that are amazing
• Films that add depth to the Matrix universe
• LESIG
• Brilliant Websites to help newcomers and vets alike to tell more stories. (Caffinex, Broadcast Depth (MxO Resource),
  
• Radio Programming (RMC Terminal, SI Radio, Catzi Radio)
• Newspapers (Mega City Times, Algorithm Black Newspaper, etc.)
• Riac's / Ballak's Community Caption Contests
• Player made Faction Lists, Org Lists, Character Bios, and Mission Summaries
• Anything else that I forgot to mention...

I think some people don't quite understand business. We don't have enough players to deserve a bigger budget. We can say whatever we want about a bigger budget bringing in more people, but would it? We have less than 5000 players more than likely. 5000x15x12=$900,000 a year. Now that may seem like a lot, but you have to realize they pay more than just server costs and 3 devs. Walrus probably still gets some of MxO's cut, Virrago gets some from it, Brewko probably gets some of it, Moonlite might get some, and other GM's or TSR's probably take a bit. Rarebit has said before he's heard a worker costs their company almost 3x what their salary is in general expenses. So...money starts draining pretty quickly.

Hmm. You know, I just realized the other *CENSORED* slap about this.

With Chadwick off the company payroll, shouldn't we have more money to throw around? Now, follow me here, if Chadwick's not responsible for the cinematics and we're not using any of the money that we should have in his stead, why don't we have adequate funds to pay for cinematics?

Either SoE is pawning us off, or someone's embezzeling funds.

NT, I gotta believe this kinda occurrence is something you live to lurk the forums for.

Hmm. You know, I just realized the other *CENSORED* slap about this.

With Chadwick off the company payroll, shouldn't we have more money to throw around? Now, follow me here, if Chadwick's not responsible for the cinematics and we're not using any of the money that we should have in his stead, why don't we have adequate funds to pay for cinematics?

Either SoE is pawning us off, or someone's embezzeling funds.

I certainly knew this wasn't going to be a popular letter, but I had to lay everything out on the table. Cinematics aren't ending because Paul is leaving, although he did do all the storyboards. We had the budget last year and did as much as we could with it. That saw us through all the storyline we had fully fleshed-out at the time.

MotorZ wrote:

I think some people don't quite understand business. We don't have enough players to deserve a bigger budget. We can say whatever we want about a bigger budget bringing in more people, but would it? We have less than 5000 players more than likely. 5000x15x12=$900,000 a year. Now that may seem like a lot, but you have to realize they pay more than just server costs and 3 devs. Walrus probably still gets some of MxO's cut, Virrago gets some from it, Brewko probably gets some of it, Moonlite might get some, and other GM's or TSR's probably take a bit. Rarebit has said before he's heard a worker costs their company almost 3x what their salary is in general expenses. So...money starts draining pretty quickly.

I thought that all the subs from all players from all SoE's games go into SoE's coffers, pay for all staff and hardware then the appropriate department decides how much goes where based on the popularity of the games, meaning that games like MxO may not get all of the money it actually brings in, less staff costs and server costs of course...

MotorZ wrote:

NT, I gotta believe this kinda occurrence is something you live to lurk the forums for.

Would you believe that this kinda occurrence is something I wish would never *CENSORED* happen?

Vinia wrote:

I agree, I know that there are a lot of upset people but the Dev's are in the same boat with this complaining to them won't do anything to help...

Perhaps we should get TheUnknownShadow to talk to SoE again... " />

Then everyone can cheer that some random person said something to them and nothing changed and then they left!

I think some people don't quite understand business. We don't have enough players to deserve a bigger budget. We can say whatever we want about a bigger budget bringing in more people, but would it? We have less than 5000 players more than likely. 5000x15x12=$900,000 a year. Now that may seem like a lot, but you have to realize they pay more than just server costs and 3 devs. Walrus probably still gets some of MxO's cut, Virrago gets some from it, Brewko probably gets some of it, Moonlite might get some, and other GM's or TSR's probably take a bit. Rarebit has said before he's heard a worker costs their company almost 3x what their salary is in general expenses. So...money starts draining pretty quickly.

What about Station Access?
It doesn't matter of the budget though, we are still paying the same and SOE need to do something to justify it.  An MMO needs a test server at least to get anywhere, we may get content without one but as good as Dracomet and Rarebit are at comeing up with unique stuff, it will always be re-hashed and re-skinned stuff.  And slowly taking away each part of the game isn't helping matters.

SOE may not be planning to close MxO, but when everyone gets tired of being the red headed step child they will be forced to make more and more cutbacks then what?

I'll finish with an old but true saying:  You have to spend money to make money

Chadwick's departure... I have mixed feelings. He did a great job of setting things up, but things got a bit... detached from players' expectations and enjoyment around when Anome showed up.  I'm glad Rarebit's taking over on this front now - he's way more in sync with us.

 No more cinematics? Depressing. I'd at least have hoped for one last one to mark the transition... one last plot twist.

New sentinels? Finally.  More than one update per year ftw.

NightTrace wrote:

Vinia wrote:

I agree, I know that there are a lot of upset people but the Dev's are in the same boat with this complaining to them won't do anything to help...

Perhaps we should get TheUnknownShadow to talk to SoE again... " />

Then everyone can cheer that some random person said something to them and nothing changed and then they left!

Perhaps it changed nothing, but it's the first time I and many others had heard from someone other than our Dev's and producer about the game, if anything at least it showed SoE that we're not gonna blame our staff but have their bosses in our sights. Perhaps we need to remind them. TUS's leaving (even though she's been posting here again trying to help... again) has nothing to do with it.

Vinia wrote:

Neoteny wrote:

I think, however, that we should recognize that it's not the fault of any of the devs here, nor is it the fault of the CSR team, Virrago, or LESIG. This is an issue we'd have to take up with the money movers at SoE.

I agree, I know that there are a lot of upset people but the Dev's are in the same boat with this complaining to them won't do anything to help...

Perhaps we should get TheUnknownShadow to talk to SoE again... ">

Then everyone can cheer that some random person said something to them and nothing changed and then they left!

.....


.......


Right.

Hey, I don't run the place  I even said then that I was simply relaying what had been told to me by those guys I spoke to, so don't go blaming me if what was written didn't live up to what you made of it

The thing is that I do have a lot of love for SOE, they have the games that I love to play. However, it's things like this that hurt that, not just for me and all of us here but if we get pissed at this stuff, we tell our friends, and they tell their friends and so on... it's the little things like this that result in SOE having the rep it does.

The good work that the company does is never heard of as no-one ever complains when things go right. It's only when the bad things happen when people hear about it (think about SWG and their biggest arse-up, that's all most people ever heard and yet that game has some truely great content)

I happen to be happy that the cinematics are gone.

I feel that the cost of the cinematics outweighed the benefits. For one thing, the cinematics weren't absolutely essential to the progression of the story. At times, they did show us interesting things that we wouldn't get to see otherwise (the sentinel attack on Stalingrad or New Zion, for example) however the latest ones regarding the Intruders didn't seem to contribute much. Additionally, there was always the RP plothole of how player characters would have access to the knowledge gained from the cinematics. I don't mind a system where all the story knowledge comes through media that makes sense from an RP perspective (missions, Live Events, newspaper, forum broadcasts). As NT mentioned, it would be nice if there was a little more graphic content coming from LESIG to fill the void, but we'll see what happens there.

The cinematics cost money to develop, draw, animate, produce, etc. Creating one every 6-8 weeks probably cost a substantial amount of money. With the recent changes, they no longer have to spend any money on cinematics and can still achieve the same effect at no additional cost, by instead having the Sentinel produced by Rarebit (same salary as before) and LESIG (an unpaid volunteer staff).

Personally I never mind seeing the content of MxO become more open-source. I still second everyone's sentiment about wanting to get involved though. It would be nice if the community as a whole could add to the official content.