Tornadic wrote:
I think the heart of this thread is basically the discussion of weather or not new players are going to be coming in, or staying but as someone who just got an account recently and who's played other mmos in the past (WoW, CoH, AO, etc.) I'd just like to give my input.
I signed up because I like the cyberpunk theme and the style of the game (mxo is all about style 
). But I think no one plays MXO because NO ONE PLAYS MXO. there are veterans but I literally went 10 levels before I saw another human being! granted I'm on recursion so that may be a problem. A MMO is supposed to have at least some people, and I saw none. But once I met a few members of the community, I really started to enjoy myself. The people that still jack in are great, I just wish more people jacked in. MXO's other problem probably stems from the fact that the matrix is old news now. As a game MXO is great, but people don't really care about the matrix movies anymore. So the name isn't really selling anyone and may be turning some players off. MXO is a good game, I just think that people who don't play MXO don't know about it. And that's a shame.
My point I guess is: game = good, community of players = Fantastic and helpful, People's awareness of the game or the fact that it even exists = very, very poor F-- . SOE doesn't have the budget to put money into advertising a game they think no one wants to play, but we the community, should flood other forums (not mxo based sites mind you, WoW fansites and the like) you tube, anything we can to get people aware of this game. I love MXO and I'm still new. I don't want this game to die before I even hit 50.
And here's my two cents as a beta/launch player now turned noob. If there are any non mxo players reading these forums and wondering about if they should try out the game, I say do it!
I've seen the highs of this game... Beta end - skies filled with eyes, agents everywhere, imploding into a ball; Morpheus and Niobe popping up out of nowhere and being able to chat with them live - then the hardlines they were at becoming flooded with players trying to see what the buzz was all about, sundawg doing his walter cronkite/orson welles schtick on Radio Free Zion making continuous up to the minute mxo updates, etc...
And I've also seen the lows, a somewhat monotnous mission system (the non criticals/non archived ones), low player population, developers/live events dwindling down to nothing, etc...
But I came back. Because A) its the Matrix and B) No other mmo has the urban cyber punk feel that utilizes the interlock system that makes martial arts/gunplay feel so... good...
Granted, I was one who was on the fence if I should come back or not reading these forums and observing the negativity and realizing SOE has stayed mum on its future support etc... And I am more than pleased that I came back.
First good choice I made was move to Syntax. I realized my launch character was on Recursion and when I first signed in, it was pretty much a ghost town. I then noticed that Syntax generally always has a "medium" listed in the server list population wise opposed to the consistent "low"(s) on vector and recursion. So I said f it. I will sacrifice my beta items, mobius code, etc., level 33, for the ability to experience a better player population/community. And it has been echoed throughout these forums, but the mxo community really is top notch. And I'm a hardcore gamer that has played them all and works in the industry, so I've seen them all...
Anyway, first day back I log in, do the tutorial, and pop out at the initial hard line in Richland. And to my suprise I see someone named Nintene, a mid 40's character at the time, who welcomes me to the matrix. I was like wow, people do still play this game and one of them scopes newbie areas from time to time to welcome them...not bad....
We got to talkin', he broke down the current state of the game, encouraged me to experince it for myself, offered some tips and went on his way. Then a couple days later, he crafted me some clothes, offered more suggestions and advice and went on his way again. So thanks again Nin!
I then decided I wanted to fight for Zion and joined The Black Code. Sup Code! And this is when my mxo enjoyment really kicked in. They are an awesome, active, mature, chill faction that have helped with anything I need. This is something I was missing in launch and probably the final reason why I left. I was bored... I've now gone on a 3 day binge fest with my crew and some special guest stars...sup Bee, Z, Orli, V's, Sweep etc! 
Now for the noobs or the curious reading this and seeing comments like "there is no content, there's nothing to do" etc... Don't listen to any of it. There is a s tons to do! The ones who are complaining are the ones who have been 50 forever and have been jaded by the history the game has had (which they have every right to be).
But for you the noobs, the curious, this is your time a NEW time... play it and tell all your friends about it... Word of mouth has been known to be quite the powerful marketing tool....trust me, you'll dig it...get into a good faction, read the newbie guides and get to it copper tops!
I have gotten to level 20 tagging hardlines and nodes, doin' some hideout/dungeons and im still only on the first chapter of "story" quests...
If you're a fan of the Matrix or cyber punk, like machine guns, martial arts, hacking, coding, beating a*$, jumping over skyscrapers with ease, and enjoy experiencing the occasional trademark slo mo Matrix killer move noise/effect, then you need to play this game.
Buy it, love it, tell all your friends about it! The more money a game generates, the more attention it will get support wise! Make a difference! It's a different world! Obama's president !
