Alright - What i've seen here has been sickening. Completely sickening.
I visit the forum, and the first thing I see is "It sucks. I didn't even beta it, but I know it." If I wasn't motivated to correct all the mistakes that I keep seeing people make, I sure as hell am now.
I keep seeing people talking about 'Rock-paper-scissors' combat... What ARE you on about? Have you even played the game past the tutorial? Hell, have you played at all, or are you just a little disappointed at the lack of Kobolds? I really don't get it. The combat system isn't perfect I will admit, hell there are some really irritating bugs right now (Low roller, anyone?), but it offers a hell of a lot more control, style AND substance than the majority of mmorpgs i've played. Martial artist being hosed down by a gunman? Simply switch to grab tactics and take the gun away from him before switching to speed for a flurry of damage. Also, bar lag problems and the odd warping characters every now and then, the choreography is fantastic. I can't watch FFXI without laughing...
Graphically I can't comment. Due to low ram and a sub-par graphics card I have to run the game on low texture detail and richworld off. Once I get an upgrade i'll be able to offer a more valid opinion.
What brings MxO ahead of everything else right now, to me, is the community. It's the first MMORPG i've played where it's not all about leveling, or all about camping cities, finding a party and mob bashing for hours and hours on end (Though that's still fun. Heeheeeee ). Infact, I believe i've spent more time partying and listening to Radio Free Zion, than I have actually getting experience and trying to build up my character.
The game isn't perfect. There ARE problems with it (What do you expect? It's beta), and I am hoping they get sorted out. Irritating bugs, mob's being unbalanced... If you've tried to fight a Furies Paw, you'll know what i'm talking about. One hit and you're dead... nice. Yet the developers actually care... They're not just taking bug reports and fixing things that are wrong, then continuing to do things their way. They're listening to us, the beta testers, for what WE want the game to be like, what WE want to see added, how WE want things to be fixed. And for that, the development team have nothing but my complete love.
Infact, the game has nothing but my complete love. And before you ask, no, i'm not a Matrix fanboy, or a hardcore Matrix nerd with all the action figures. I'm simply a gamer, who wanted to beta test a decent mmorpg, and that's exactly what I got with MxO.
If you have any questions about the game, it's system, the missions, the storyline (Though there isn't much of one right now), then feel free to send me a message and i'll give you a VALID opinion... Something not many people on here have been able to give from what i've seen.
Combat system is -THE- best I've seen in -ANY- MMORPG out there.
The Interlock is an entirely new idea and is great in the combat. Not a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" thing which you all seem to think, so you (quite blindingly obviously) haven't played the game.
Being able to switch from different fighting styles like Aikido and Karate gives the fighting a great edge over this other pap in games like WoW and EQ2, which is just Hit.... Hit... Block...
You can choose from speed, power and grabbing moves (as well as blocking) and there are also other nice fighting abliities like uppercuts and cheap shot (a kick in the knackers).
A VALID opinion is something coming from a complete fan boi saying how he love a (himself saying) flawed product and its the best he has seen...
UNVALID is from other betatesters that are completly unbiased, since they have been betatesting all major games at the same time, and know how this one hold up to the competition...
Logic is flawless. Carry on.
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force"
Originally posted by Harafnir A VALID opinion is something coming from a complete fan boi saying how he love a (himself saying) flawed product and its the best he has seen... UNVALID is from other betatesters that are completly unbiased, since they have been betatesting all major games at the same time, and know how this one hold up to the competition... Logic is flawless. Carry on.
Assuming you're talking to me, I don't recall saying it's the best product i've seen. I've read through my entire post three times and I don't see that.
I've also played many other mmorpgs, as stated. I can compare it very well, thank you. It all boils down to one thing - How fun it is. I've had more fun on this than any other mmorpg i've played. Fact.
Originally posted by Interim Dude, that's Morpheus. Take off your blinders +7.
I put the Morpheus screen in and the Jason Hall quote because someone was saying you'd probably never meet the franchise characters. And he also had othre comments related to the storyline. I gave him a quote about the storyline from Jason Hall himself and a picture to address the franchise character thing. Simple response.
I put the Morpheus screen in and the Jason Hall quote because someone was saying you'd probably never meet the franchise characters. And he also had othre comments related to the storyline. I gave him a quote about the storyline from Jason Hall himself and a picture to address the franchise character thing. Simple response.
ok im glad you followed up your post cuz it didnt seem relative to my reply since u didnt even bother to comment on anything else i said and posted nothing but propoganda from the companies president and a screenshot...
when i joined the MxO beta only critical missions were availble (still no have the generic missions to this day) of course players would meet key characters but u didnt get any of the story from them except some mission objectives (cept when they messed up and and included wav files with names in the patch), if the mission line could be followed (factions got bugged about mission 4, of course they fixed SOME [ie zion missions] as time went by) even morpheus needs his pathing checked
technology isnt anywhere near what it is currently to even remotely attempt to do the matrix justice
Originally posted by protoroc Originally posted by sygmas I put the Morpheus screen in and the Jason Hall quote because someone was saying you'd probably never meet the franchise characters. And he also had othre comments related to the storyline. I gave him a quote about the storyline from Jason Hall himself and a picture to address the franchise character thing. Simple response.
ok im glad you followed up your post cuz it didnt seem relative to my reply since u didnt even bother to comment on anything else i said and posted nothing but propoganda from the companies president and a screenshot...
when i joined the MxO beta only critical missions were availble (still no have the generic missions to this day) of course players would meet key characters but u didnt get any of the story from them except some mission objectives (cept when they messed up and and included wav files with names in the patch), if the mission line could be followed (factions got bugged about mission 4, of course they fixed SOME [ie zion missions] as time went by) even morpheus needs his pathing checked
technology isnt anywhere near what it is currently to even remotely attempt to do the matrix justice
lol propaganda. Apparently theres no point in dev Q&A's its all propaganda right? Ok.
Well I have been Beta testing since August 2004 - Thats right before the Fileplanet Keys, Im a "real" Beta tester who got in from hanging around the boards for 2 years begging and being called a clam by a Walrus
I will cease playing MxO the day the Beta testers get the boot and the game goes live. It was fun to play for free but the game is nowhere near "captivating" enough to get my retail dollar.
My simple opinion is that they have tried to do a little too much with the game and not enough with the storyline. Consequently they have fallen down at both. The missions and the basis for them are kind of fun and interesting at first until you realise you could basically go on doing them ad-infinitum with very little change except the names and locations. Sure you get to choose a faction after a while then you get to do the same missions with different titles.
The combat system is a good example of "big ideas" poorly executed. I had to laugh so hard when I saw a dev explaining on the forums that... "if you watch this number till it builds to this point then your primary attack becomes a secondary attack and you can access special skills based on the ratio of the number you have acheived through your successful hits. If you dont choose to use this attack it can re-enter your pool and be diverted through another option into an offensive, defense."
I have deliberately made that explanation a little bit gibberish because I kid you not, thats how I felt reading his explanation of the combat system. Im like "man this is really impressive but its not in any way fun or engaging". Its like the devs were so blown away by their own cleverness in making the "interlocked" conbat system that they forgot normal humans have to be able to understand it in order to play the game.
---(note) To the flaming Fanbois that are about to call me a dumbass who should go play something more simple. Fine thats your opnion this is mine. I bet the Devs of Wish thought they were pretty clever till they pulled the plug too. The Matrix name will only get this game so far. If its not fun you will be lamenting your one eyedness by watching the movies over again because there wont be enough players to support you and the 4 other people who reckon it RoxOrz just how it is... so keep laughing monkey boy ---
This "emmersion" "enagagement" issue is where MxO fails on many many levels. It does not in my opinion draw you into the world of the matrix, rather you feel like an addition to the story that if you wernt there, it wouldnt make any difference. The Matrix has gone from a few operatives in a big world with lots of people "living out their lives". To a small world (in game) with almost no other people doing anything and operatives of all factions running about all over raising 11 kinds of hell in braod daylight while the odd civillian you do see pays no attention. Now I dont know about you but if 20 guys dressed like Morpheus started shooting it out in my town someone would notice. It just doesnt add up and it breaks any suspension of disbeleif. This is espeically dissapointing considering how much trouble the original storyline went to to make the unbeleivable , beleivable.
Lag, freezing, rubebrbanding etc etc the same old same old of all MMO's on release are all present in generous amounts. Sure they have improved, but not enough. Its just more insults to the gaming community that we are ok with stuff being released unfinished.
In summary.... this is the year 2005. The developers of MMO's today have a dozen good games to draw from to make their titles better than the last one. For some bizzarre reason they choose to learn from their own mistakes over and over again, rather than learning from the mistakes of others as well.
I have yet to see a game based on a movie franchise that is any good. With the possible exception of Star Wars Jedi Knight (1). MxO does not break any new ground here either. It uses the franchise of a great movie to hand us another average grind with a different skin.
As a rabid Matrix fan my only feeling is dissapointment.
+-+-+-+-+-+ "MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol" http://purepwnage.com -+-+-+-+-+-+ "Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
lol propaganda. Apparently theres no point in dev Q&A's its all propaganda right? Ok.
lol can u be more nieve or are u just being rabid fanboi, oh no a developer or company president would NEVER lie to us in order to get our money...
you seem to forget a companies bottom line....they are out to make money, gaming is big industry right now....almost bigger then motion pictures....it long since ceased being about the game itself, but how much money it can make
I wanted MxO to succeed i really did, but it falls deftly short from that for me, i got more enjoyment out of city of heroes
btw razorback, you forgot X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, the greatest space flight/combat sim ever made
There.. another unbiased, real betatester... Again, that fanboi will step in and say all these points are invalid, because he LOVES the flaws of MxO, and so should everyone else...
I say again. Its exactly like most other movie licence games... A bad copy, poorly executed and rushed out too soon to be a success... And a darn pity it is, it could have been so much more in the right hands.
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force"
But, what is supposed to happen when some guy interperates what someone else says as actual reality instead of just words? Sygmas rarely does anything to justify his own views about the game whenever he is confronted, I am still waiting for my share of that sky pie.
If I had one wish in relation to MxO it would be this :
That the game was sooooo good, I would be here nay saying anybody who dared challenge its brilliance.
Unfortunately I can only play with the deck of cards that the devs have dealt me, not the cards I wish had been dealt. Therefore I wrote what I wrote because thats the way I genuinely see it. Like anything though thats just my opinion. I imagine many many people will see it very differently. Or at least the devs better hope they do or this will be a very short lived game.
And I stand corrected, X Wing Vs Tie Fighter was also an excellent movie based release
+-+-+-+-+-+ "MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol" http://purepwnage.com -+-+-+-+-+-+ "Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
The whole argument here seems to be "My opinion is better than yours. If you like it, you're a fanboy. If you arent, you're ignorant." I'm not going to follow along with that argument because first, it's not my place to, and secondly, why bother? I'm not here to force anybody to change their opinions, and I've long learned that trying to defend my own ends up being pointless. However, I'll throw out my impression of the game, and those interested can read it.
I joined the Matrix Online beta with the first wave of Fileplanet testers. My original opinion was that I wasnt going to like the game, but I might as well join the beta test, because I like testing out new games. One of those hopes where my contributions will help change the game dramatically into something good. Sadly, that usually doesnt happen.
When I first jacked in, my impression was like a lot of first time impressions of MxO. I didnt like it. Interlock was confusing, coding was baffling, and the world looked dull and repetitive. Mind you, this was around September of 2004. Over time though I've seen changes to the Matrix Online that I really liked, and some things I didnt. One thing that I really loved about MxO though was the community was well knit, especially for one that was still in beta. With Radio Free Zion and the events going around, I was enjoying my time in MxO. I've long been looking for something other than grinding to do, and going to a party was a blast.
Now I'm not going to say that MxO is the best. Why? Because in my opinion, there is no best game. They are all predecessors to better games. If we had a 'best' game, then we'd still be playing it, wouldnt we?
The combat of MxO was very refreshing. No, it's not rock paper scissors. For the simple-minded it might be, but there is strategy behind it. Martial artist kicking your butt? Roll out and use hacker abilities on them. Hacker getting on your nerves? Go Kung Fu and hit them with abilities that cause powerless. Or just shoot at them with gunman abilities. In my observations (warning, opinion ahead) a lot of people who think combat is simple and uninspiring are those who either dont understand the system or are upset just because someone could beat them by being smarter. While there are bits of combat I do not like (aka being nearly unable to outroll someone a level higher than you who has the same Combat Tactics buffing clothes you do) it's good enough that it can be improved rather easily.
The world is repetitive, I agree. But understand not only that it's a game, but it's also still beta. Even then, it's not as repetitive as one thinks. Go to Ikebukuro in International, then go to Jurong. Notice the architectural differences. Then go to Sai Kung. If you think this is repetitive, take a drive down to your local metropolitan area and notice that our world itself tends to be repetitive as well. We just have more area to cover than games can. Even the MxO world has it's landmarks. Try finding the MetaCortex building in downtown, or Club Hel. How about the court where Neo had a showdown with all the Agent Smith clones? It's there in MxO. If you still dont like it, then honestly, find a game that does interest you. Not all games are built for everybody.
As for the storyline, everybody seems to be missing a big point. The main storyline has NOT started. We wont see it until Retail. Where people say the missions are cookie-cutter bits of repetitive lines, that's only because the missions are there to test the mission system. Even then, people have already found small storylines that will lead into Retail, involving Morpheus. No, I'm not going to say what, it's for everybody to find out.
One area I havent heard much mention in is the sound. The Matrix Online has a great soundscape, with music in the clubs, to ambient sounds. They really nailed the sounds of a rainstorm down pat. Even indoors it sounds great. Try running with your boots off. You dont hear bootclanks. You hear bare feet slapping on a hard surface. Great sound helps tie in the world to make it feel more real.
One more thing I'll mention, and it goes back to the community. Nowhere else have I seen so many events happen in such short a time. And these were not GM-sponsored events. The only events I can think of that were brought upon by the staff were the GM dueling event and the QA versus beta dueling tournament. Everything else was brought upon by the players. From PVP Duel Tournaments, to the Chrimbo Rave, to even player auctions and the Mr. and Mrs. Sexiest Redpill competition. It even went a step farther than that, with Sundog providing Radio Free Zion as a community helper with a great online radio station for Redpills to listen in to, to event coordination to get the word out there for everybody to know something was going down. I've played a lot of MMOs to date (and no, I dont claim that to make me an expert) and I've rarely seen a community gear up like this so early. I want to think that MxO isnt good now. However, it will be good in the future, due to the hard work by the Devs who dutifully answer each of our support tickets in person, and from the players who constantly surprise the staff with the things they come up with.
Originally posted by TigerRei The world is repetitive, I agree. But understand not only that it's a game, but it's also still beta. Even then, it's not as repetitive as one thinks. Go to Ikebukuro in International, then go to Jurong. Notice the architectural differences. Then go to Sai Kung. If you think this is repetitive, take a drive down to your local metropolitan area and notice that our world itself tends to be repetitive as well. We just have more area to cover than games can. Even the MxO world has it's landmarks. Try finding the MetaCortex building in downtown, or Club Hel. How about the court where Neo had a showdown with all the Agent Smith clones? It's there in MxO. If you still dont like it, then honestly, find a game that does interest you. Not all games are built for everybody.
IMO City of Heroes did a WAY better job in creating a city, as the areas have much more variety, from a bustling downtown to war ravaged neighborhoods. tbh try going inside buildings in metropolitan areas, i highly doubt the interors of these buildings are anything alike, but you can be guaranteed every interior in MxO is the same, you seen one office building youve seen them all...even the dungeons look all the same
Once again where are the cops? where are the blue pills that are calling law enforcement to stop you from killing everyone in a mission building. where is the danger? where is the excitement? these are all issues that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of matrix fans everywhere....as i said before Enter the Matrix was far more "matrixy" then MxO could ever hope to be
btw you cant bring up community, this game isnt live its in beta, no one really gives two shits about thier character cuz of the ever impending player wipe, expect to see MxO tight knit community a thing of the past when the game gos live and thier characters actually mean something as they are a more permanent fixture in the game world (not subject to random wipe). i dont know if youve ever played on the test server of whatever game your subscribing to, but the community of test is alot more friendly and helpful then the live servers, it has always been this way and it always will
glad to know that the wachoski bros are just sellouts who dont really give a damn about the excellent plot (the one they ripped off actually) of thier first movie in the series
Originally posted by Harafnir There.. another unbiased, real betatester... Again, that fanboi will step in and say all these points are invalid, because he LOVES the flaws of MxO, and so should everyone else... I say again. Its exactly like most other movie licence games... A bad copy, poorly executed and rushed out too soon to be a success... And a darn pity it is, it could have been so much more in the right hands.
Might as well repeate this a billion times over & over to scare the "fanboys". (Btw liking a game without noticing ANY flaws makes you a "fanboy").
Originally posted by knives22 This game is really, really bad iT's like one of those free mmos you play for an hour and you never play them again..ever.
Maybe theres just the problem.
If you play the game a hour, you dont get into it.
Imho, I play games a week and say after it are thay crappy.
TigerRei's hit the nail on the head -- frankly this game has a certain appeal or curve that will most likely keep the short-sighted bozos out of it. I say good riddance. We have a good community, and it's big, and it will be even bigger at launch, thats good enough for me. It's not how many players you have but its the quality of the community they build. WoW has 600k players, spread over tiny communities full of assholes who offer nothing to the game but nerf calls and whining.
I'll stick with MXO, both for gameplay, and for community.
P.S. I live in NY, and you don't see a different building every step you take -- do I have to take pictures of my neighborhood to prove that? I hope not. Theres a lot of beautiful architecture in the game, really do some exploration.
Originally posted by sygmas TigerRei's hit the nail on the head -- frankly this game has a certain appeal or curve that will most likely keep the short-sighted bozos out of it. I say good riddance. We have a good community, and it's big, and it will be even bigger at launch, thats good enough for me. It's not how many players you have but its the quality of the community they build. WoW has 600k players, spread over tiny communities full of assholes who offer nothing to the game but nerf calls and whining. I'll stick with MXO, both for gameplay, and for community. P.S. I live in NY, and you don't see a different building every step you take -- do I have to take pictures of my neighborhood to prove that? I hope not. Theres a lot of beautiful architecture in the game, really do some exploration.
Hey Syg, I'm with you on the support of MxO, and I think you know that. However, it is my belief that whenever you take an out-of-the-blue potshot at WoW (which you've done more than once), you're just doing to that game exactly what you hate people doing to MxO. In short, it's hypocrytical.
still havent responded on wheres the danger, sygmas, stop dodging that issue....come i know u can come up with something...
when i think about an MMO based on the matrix, i think of a world of absolute danger, not this BS logging on and chatting with your friends at some bar, or none of this showing off your new uber pair of sunglasses
Comments
Alright - What i've seen here has been sickening. Completely sickening.
I visit the forum, and the first thing I see is "It sucks. I didn't even beta it, but I know it." If I wasn't motivated to correct all the mistakes that I keep seeing people make, I sure as hell am now.
I keep seeing people talking about 'Rock-paper-scissors' combat... What ARE you on about? Have you even played the game past the tutorial? Hell, have you played at all, or are you just a little disappointed at the lack of Kobolds? I really don't get it. The combat system isn't perfect I will admit, hell there are some really irritating bugs right now (Low roller, anyone?), but it offers a hell of a lot more control, style AND substance than the majority of mmorpgs i've played. Martial artist being hosed down by a gunman? Simply switch to grab tactics and take the gun away from him before switching to speed for a flurry of damage. Also, bar lag problems and the odd warping characters every now and then, the choreography is fantastic. I can't watch FFXI without laughing...
Graphically I can't comment. Due to low ram and a sub-par graphics card I have to run the game on low texture detail and richworld off. Once I get an upgrade i'll be able to offer a more valid opinion.
What brings MxO ahead of everything else right now, to me, is the community. It's the first MMORPG i've played where it's not all about leveling, or all about camping cities, finding a party and mob bashing for hours and hours on end (Though that's still fun. Heeheeeee
). Infact, I believe i've spent more time partying and listening to Radio Free Zion, than I have actually getting experience and trying to build up my character.
The game isn't perfect. There ARE problems with it (What do you expect? It's beta), and I am hoping they get sorted out. Irritating bugs, mob's being unbalanced... If you've tried to fight a Furies Paw, you'll know what i'm talking about. One hit and you're dead... nice. Yet the developers actually care... They're not just taking bug reports and fixing things that are wrong, then continuing to do things their way. They're listening to us, the beta testers, for what WE want the game to be like, what WE want to see added, how WE want things to be fixed. And for that, the development team have nothing but my complete love.
Infact, the game has nothing but my complete love. And before you ask, no, i'm not a Matrix fanboy, or a hardcore Matrix nerd with all the action figures. I'm simply a gamer, who wanted to beta test a decent mmorpg, and that's exactly what I got with MxO.
If you have any questions about the game, it's system, the missions, the storyline (Though there isn't much of one right now), then feel free to send me a message and i'll give you a VALID opinion... Something not many people on here have been able to give from what i've seen.
Combat system is -THE- best I've seen in -ANY- MMORPG out there.
The Interlock is an entirely new idea and is great in the combat.
Not a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" thing which you all seem to think, so you (quite blindingly obviously) haven't played the game.
Being able to switch from different fighting styles like Aikido and Karate gives the fighting a great edge over this other pap in games like WoW and EQ2, which is just
Hit.... Hit... Block...
You can choose from speed, power and grabbing moves (as well as blocking) and there are also other nice fighting abliities like uppercuts and cheap shot (a kick in the knackers).
It is by far, the best MMORPG I have ever seen.
A VALID opinion is something coming from a complete fan boi saying how he love a (himself saying) flawed product and its the best he has seen...
UNVALID is from other betatesters that are completly unbiased, since they have been betatesting all major games at the same time, and know how this one hold up to the competition...
Logic is flawless. Carry on.
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force"
Assuming you're talking to me, I don't recall saying it's the best product i've seen. I've read through my entire post three times and I don't see that.
I've also played many other mmorpgs, as stated. I can compare it very well, thank you. It all boils down to one thing - How fun it is. I've had more fun on this than any other mmorpg i've played. Fact.
Also, the word is 'Invalid'.
Carry on.
Dude, that's Morpheus. Take off your blinders +7.
I put the Morpheus screen in and the Jason Hall quote because someone was saying you'd probably never meet the franchise characters. And he also had othre comments related to the storyline. I gave him a quote about the storyline from Jason Hall himself and a picture to address the franchise character thing. Simple response.
Yeah, I know. I thought I was replying to the other guy to tell him to stop being blind, the guy right after your post. Hah.
ok im glad you followed up your post cuz it didnt seem relative to my reply since u didnt even bother to comment on anything else i said and posted nothing but propoganda from the companies president and a screenshot...
when i joined the MxO beta only critical missions were availble (still no have the generic missions to this day) of course players would meet key characters but u didnt get any of the story from them except some mission objectives (cept when they messed up and and included wav files with names in the patch), if the mission line could be followed (factions got bugged about mission 4, of course they fixed SOME [ie zion missions] as time went by) even morpheus needs his pathing checked
technology isnt anywhere near what it is currently to even remotely attempt to do the matrix justice
He changed the screenshot. It was a huddle of man characters before.
He changed the screenshot. It was a huddle of man characters before.
Rofl. That sounds wrong :P
ok im glad you followed up your post cuz it didnt seem relative to my reply since u didnt even bother to comment on anything else i said and posted nothing but propoganda from the companies president and a screenshot...
when i joined the MxO beta only critical missions were availble (still no have the generic missions to this day) of course players would meet key characters but u didnt get any of the story from them except some mission objectives (cept when they messed up and and included wav files with names in the patch), if the mission line could be followed (factions got bugged about mission 4, of course they fixed SOME [ie zion missions] as time went by) even morpheus needs his pathing checked
technology isnt anywhere near what it is currently to even remotely attempt to do the matrix justice
lol propaganda. Apparently theres no point in dev Q&A's its all propaganda right? Ok.
Well I have been Beta testing since August 2004 - Thats right before the Fileplanet Keys, Im a "real" Beta tester who got in from hanging around the boards for 2 years begging and being called a clam by a Walrus
I will cease playing MxO the day the Beta testers get the boot and the game goes live. It was fun to play for free but the game is nowhere near "captivating" enough to get my retail dollar.
My simple opinion is that they have tried to do a little too much with the game and not enough with the storyline. Consequently they have fallen down at both. The missions and the basis for them are kind of fun and interesting at first until you realise you could basically go on doing them ad-infinitum with very little change except the names and locations. Sure you get to choose a faction after a while then you get to do the same missions with different titles.
The combat system is a good example of "big ideas" poorly executed. I had to laugh so hard when I saw a dev explaining on the forums that... "if you watch this number till it builds to this point then your primary attack becomes a secondary attack and you can access special skills based on the ratio of the number you have acheived through your successful hits. If you dont choose to use this attack it can re-enter your pool and be diverted through another option into an offensive, defense."
I have deliberately made that explanation a little bit gibberish because I kid you not, thats how I felt reading his explanation of the combat system. Im like "man this is really impressive but its not in any way fun or engaging". Its like the devs were so blown away by their own cleverness in making the "interlocked" conbat system that they forgot normal humans have to be able to understand it in order to play the game.
---(note) To the flaming Fanbois that are about to call me a dumbass who should go play something more simple. Fine thats your opnion this is mine. I bet the Devs of Wish thought they were pretty clever till they pulled the plug too. The Matrix name will only get this game so far. If its not fun you will be lamenting your one eyedness by watching the movies over again because there wont be enough players to support you and the 4 other people who reckon it RoxOrz just how it is... so keep laughing monkey boy
---
This "emmersion" "enagagement" issue is where MxO fails on many many levels. It does not in my opinion draw you into the world of the matrix, rather you feel like an addition to the story that if you wernt there, it wouldnt make any difference. The Matrix has gone from a few operatives in a big world with lots of people "living out their lives". To a small world (in game) with almost no other people doing anything and operatives of all factions running about all over raising 11 kinds of hell in braod daylight while the odd civillian you do see pays no attention. Now I dont know about you but if 20 guys dressed like Morpheus started shooting it out in my town someone would notice. It just doesnt add up and it breaks any suspension of disbeleif. This is espeically dissapointing considering how much trouble the original storyline went to to make the unbeleivable , beleivable.
Lag, freezing, rubebrbanding etc etc the same old same old of all MMO's on release are all present in generous amounts. Sure they have improved, but not enough. Its just more insults to the gaming community that we are ok with stuff being released unfinished.
In summary.... this is the year 2005. The developers of MMO's today have a dozen good games to draw from to make their titles better than the last one. For some bizzarre reason they choose to learn from their own mistakes over and over again, rather than learning from the mistakes of others as well.
I have yet to see a game based on a movie franchise that is any good. With the possible exception of Star Wars Jedi Knight (1). MxO does not break any new ground here either. It uses the franchise of a great movie to hand us another average grind with a different skin.
As a rabid Matrix fan my only feeling is dissapointment.
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
lol can u be more nieve or are u just being rabid fanboi, oh no a developer or company president would NEVER lie to us in order to get our money...
you seem to forget a companies bottom line....they are out to make money, gaming is big industry right now....almost bigger then motion pictures....it long since ceased being about the game itself, but how much money it can make
I wanted MxO to succeed i really did, but it falls deftly short from that for me, i got more enjoyment out of city of heroes
btw razorback, you forgot X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, the greatest space flight/combat sim ever made
There.. another unbiased, real betatester... Again, that fanboi will step in and say all these points are invalid, because he LOVES the flaws of MxO, and so should everyone else...
I say again. Its exactly like most other movie licence games... A bad copy, poorly executed and rushed out too soon to be a success... And a darn pity it is, it could have been so much more in the right hands.
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force"
LOL,
If you beta test and you like it you are a fanboy.
If you beta test and don't like it you are an unbiased tester.
Look this up sparky - Fallacy of Distraction - False Dilema
Don't pretend to understand logic and then use logical fallacies.
If I had one wish in relation to MxO it would be this :
That the game was sooooo good, I would be here nay saying anybody who dared challenge its brilliance.
Unfortunately I can only play with the deck of cards that the devs have dealt me, not the cards I wish had been dealt. Therefore I wrote what I wrote because thats the way I genuinely see it. Like anything though thats just my opinion. I imagine many many people will see it very differently. Or at least the devs better hope they do or this will be a very short lived game.
And I stand corrected, X Wing Vs Tie Fighter was also an excellent movie based release
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"MMOs, for people that like think chatting is like a skill or something, rotflol"
http://purepwnage.com
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"Far away across the field, the tolling of the iron bell, calls the faithful to their knees. To hear the softly spoken magic spell" Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
The whole argument here seems to be "My opinion is better than yours. If you like it, you're a fanboy. If you arent, you're ignorant." I'm not going to follow along with that argument because first, it's not my place to, and secondly, why bother? I'm not here to force anybody to change their opinions, and I've long learned that trying to defend my own ends up being pointless. However, I'll throw out my impression of the game, and those interested can read it.
I joined the Matrix Online beta with the first wave of Fileplanet testers. My original opinion was that I wasnt going to like the game, but I might as well join the beta test, because I like testing out new games. One of those hopes where my contributions will help change the game dramatically into something good. Sadly, that usually doesnt happen.
When I first jacked in, my impression was like a lot of first time impressions of MxO. I didnt like it. Interlock was confusing, coding was baffling, and the world looked dull and repetitive. Mind you, this was around September of 2004. Over time though I've seen changes to the Matrix Online that I really liked, and some things I didnt. One thing that I really loved about MxO though was the community was well knit, especially for one that was still in beta. With Radio Free Zion and the events going around, I was enjoying my time in MxO. I've long been looking for something other than grinding to do, and going to a party was a blast.
Now I'm not going to say that MxO is the best. Why? Because in my opinion, there is no best game. They are all predecessors to better games. If we had a 'best' game, then we'd still be playing it, wouldnt we?
The combat of MxO was very refreshing. No, it's not rock paper scissors. For the simple-minded it might be, but there is strategy behind it. Martial artist kicking your butt? Roll out and use hacker abilities on them. Hacker getting on your nerves? Go Kung Fu and hit them with abilities that cause powerless. Or just shoot at them with gunman abilities. In my observations (warning, opinion ahead) a lot of people who think combat is simple and uninspiring are those who either dont understand the system or are upset just because someone could beat them by being smarter. While there are bits of combat I do not like (aka being nearly unable to outroll someone a level higher than you who has the same Combat Tactics buffing clothes you do) it's good enough that it can be improved rather easily.
The world is repetitive, I agree. But understand not only that it's a game, but it's also still beta. Even then, it's not as repetitive as one thinks. Go to Ikebukuro in International, then go to Jurong. Notice the architectural differences. Then go to Sai Kung. If you think this is repetitive, take a drive down to your local metropolitan area and notice that our world itself tends to be repetitive as well. We just have more area to cover than games can. Even the MxO world has it's landmarks. Try finding the MetaCortex building in downtown, or Club Hel. How about the court where Neo had a showdown with all the Agent Smith clones? It's there in MxO. If you still dont like it, then honestly, find a game that does interest you. Not all games are built for everybody.
As for the storyline, everybody seems to be missing a big point. The main storyline has NOT started. We wont see it until Retail. Where people say the missions are cookie-cutter bits of repetitive lines, that's only because the missions are there to test the mission system. Even then, people have already found small storylines that will lead into Retail, involving Morpheus. No, I'm not going to say what, it's for everybody to find out.
One area I havent heard much mention in is the sound. The Matrix Online has a great soundscape, with music in the clubs, to ambient sounds. They really nailed the sounds of a rainstorm down pat. Even indoors it sounds great. Try running with your boots off. You dont hear bootclanks. You hear bare feet slapping on a hard surface. Great sound helps tie in the world to make it feel more real.
One more thing I'll mention, and it goes back to the community. Nowhere else have I seen so many events happen in such short a time. And these were not GM-sponsored events. The only events I can think of that were brought upon by the staff were the GM dueling event and the QA versus beta dueling tournament. Everything else was brought upon by the players. From PVP Duel Tournaments, to the Chrimbo Rave, to even player auctions and the Mr. and Mrs. Sexiest Redpill competition. It even went a step farther than that, with Sundog providing Radio Free Zion as a community helper with a great online radio station for Redpills to listen in to, to event coordination to get the word out there for everybody to know something was going down. I've played a lot of MMOs to date (and no, I dont claim that to make me an expert) and I've rarely seen a community gear up like this so early. I want to think that MxO isnt good now. However, it will be good in the future, due to the hard work by the Devs who dutifully answer each of our support tickets in person, and from the players who constantly surprise the staff with the things they come up with.
IMO City of Heroes did a WAY better job in creating a city, as the areas have much more variety, from a bustling downtown to war ravaged neighborhoods. tbh try going inside buildings in metropolitan areas, i highly doubt the interors of these buildings are anything alike, but you can be guaranteed every interior in MxO is the same, you seen one office building youve seen them all...even the dungeons look all the same
Once again where are the cops? where are the blue pills that are calling law enforcement to stop you from killing everyone in a mission building. where is the danger? where is the excitement? these are all issues that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of matrix fans everywhere....as i said before Enter the Matrix was far more "matrixy" then MxO could ever hope to be
btw you cant bring up community, this game isnt live its in beta, no one really gives two shits about thier character cuz of the ever impending player wipe, expect to see MxO tight knit community a thing of the past when the game gos live and thier characters actually mean something as they are a more permanent fixture in the game world (not subject to random wipe). i dont know if youve ever played on the test server of whatever game your subscribing to, but the community of test is alot more friendly and helpful then the live servers, it has always been this way and it always will
glad to know that the wachoski bros are just sellouts who dont really give a damn about the excellent plot (the one they ripped off actually) of thier first movie in the series
Might as well repeate this a billion times over & over to scare the "fanboys". (Btw liking a game without noticing ANY flaws makes you a "fanboy").
Maybe theres just the problem.
If you play the game a hour, you dont get into it.
Imho, I play games a week and say after it are thay crappy.
For example; EQII
TigerRei's hit the nail on the head -- frankly this game has a certain appeal or curve that will most likely keep the short-sighted bozos out of it. I say good riddance. We have a good community, and it's big, and it will be even bigger at launch, thats good enough for me. It's not how many players you have but its the quality of the community they build. WoW has 600k players, spread over tiny communities full of assholes who offer nothing to the game but nerf calls and whining.
I'll stick with MXO, both for gameplay, and for community.
P.S. I live in NY, and you don't see a different building every step you take -- do I have to take pictures of my neighborhood to prove that? I hope not. Theres a lot of beautiful architecture in the game, really do some exploration.
Hey Syg, I'm with you on the support of MxO, and I think you know that. However, it is my belief that whenever you take an out-of-the-blue potshot at WoW (which you've done more than once), you're just doing to that game exactly what you hate people doing to MxO. In short, it's hypocrytical.
Not being an ass, just pointing that out.
still havent responded on wheres the danger, sygmas, stop dodging that issue....come i know u can come up with something...
when i think about an MMO based on the matrix, i think of a world of absolute danger, not this BS logging on and chatting with your friends at some bar, or none of this showing off your new uber pair of sunglasses