Well, we can all be "optimistic" can't we. Interlock shorter? What they are saying is, "Well, we know Hackers are uber, and you have no real defense unless you sacrifice all the time you spent to level to Grand Master Martial Artist, and only load yourself to Master level, and load all your hacker defense, only so you can hang around long enough to bounce off enough attacks to Hyperjump away, because your playing the Matrix, where in all the films the focus was Martial Arts, and Gunplay skills, but we feel the need to have UBER Wizzards because "EVERY OTHER MMO HAS WIZZARD SPELL CASTERS".
What this means is that with free Melee combat, and both fighters hiting simutaniously, your gonna have short fights with two people wacking one another at the same time like robots, ala Galaxies, and WoW, and every other MMO till someone falls down. Eventually, interlock is going to be vamped out, and it's going to be Star Wars Galaxies. Forget Interlock, let's call it "Rock'em Sock'em robots, because this is the direction combat is headed.
Interlock shorter? Interlock is the only thing that personally still reminds me I am in the "MATRIX" Interlock Shorter? I guess we can totally forget "Bullet Time" Cut scenes, considering you have to have a long fight to even see one, so you can go, "Look, it is the Matrix, there's bullet time!"
I have been playing this game since early in Beta. I was the first level 50 on Linenoise. I've stuck it out because I feel a sense of attachment to this game. The problem with the matrix is the lack of focus, and outside interference. There is always someone who thinks it should be "more" like the other MMO's in play style.
When was the Matrix at it's best? The first Three Months of release, When you would actually recieve a message from Niobe asking to personally meet with you and your crew, and she gave you orders to spy on a certain other faction and gather intel to report to her. That was the Heart of the Matrix MMO. That it was "MORE" than just a game, but you were actually doing something.
With this new purchase, and design shift, I'm afraid we are going to have another MMO just like all the others. Another month, and I will have been a part of this community for over a year. That's a long time of dedication. What went wrong for Matrix? Trying to include every level 2-10 player in Live events. Having public meetings where thousands of players show up just to Spam chat over whatever live event is happening, while being subjected to every childish thing possible by casual low lever players along for the ride.
The "Personal" was taken out of the Matrix. The feeling of accomplishment in successfully advancing in level, and becoming a known player on your server. Feeling accomplishment when Morpheus leaves you a personal email, and you jack in and he meets with you and your crew to tell you important information. What drove the Matrix the first three months was not game content, but the content that was created by the players themselves in in their interaction with the live events team, and the other community players who were serrious about playing the game.
I am optimistic. I want the matrix to succeed, and be a great MMO. I only say, stop trying to be every other MMO. Stop having Magicians who dominate a game where they have no place. I bet there is a very large contingency for dumping the Hacker Trees all together, and yes, I am a Balista Hacker myself, considering the only productive means of combat in the game at this point is all focused around being a Magic wielder in a game based on movies where there was none. Hmm. Even Neo wasn't a Balista Elite Uber Hacker. The Savior himself was a Martial Artist. Go figure?
Stop live events interacting with a large ridiculous crowd at Mara Central where most of the non serrious gamers hang out. Get back to personally getting to know the players who are here, and actively involved in the Matrix. This is the Matrix. Stop trying to emulate other MMO's, and emulate the Matrix Films.
My two cents....
KenedaJade. Level 50+
Recurrsion
Welcome Archon,
this sounds VERY good. I can't wait for the Marketplace changes and the combat! This should attract alot of people.
Thanks,
4rk
Kenedajade wrote: (lots and lots)
>revolt_ wrote: Kenedajade, Prisoner. You got my full support.Where can I buy your game? I have the urge to leave my old one...>revolt_
Message Edited by Ubershank on 08-29-2005 09:18 PM
Man you are my hero, you know that? Hackers are NOT MEANT TO BE IN THIS GAME. We dont want freakin pills that fix us up from the standard hacker stun blast( OH WAIT! We have that anyway hmmm.. what are they called? Antibios.. maybe...? ), we shouldnt have hackers at all. The movies were a good way to go. I Havent been in this game for as long as some of the Beta people, but ive already hit 50, and ive got to say, theres nothing to do. You can sit around and build other trees, but why bother, they're just gonna trash em anyway. Live events are badly needed, it was one of the things i was looking forward to when i bought this game, and how many have i seen since i got here? I think one, maybe, and it wasnt a major event anyway. What happened to the assassin? He used to come into mara and trash someone then run off when i was like level 15, but now we dont even get that. At least we saw somethin...
As for the actually update, it sounds dumb. The interlock IS the best part about this game. To only have one on one fights is ludicrus. Plus how could you impliment the "more than one 40 can take a 50" thing if its only one on one? The Matrix movies were all about martial arts and guns, There werent any knife throwers, there werent any hackers, there werent even any patchers. I can tolerate those things, and i respect other people who use em, though not the trees themselves. Nobody in the matrix was "RSI revitalized" its ok that you dotn ACTUALLY DIE but noone was gettin healed by their special buddy. And no one had lightnig shoot from the shy on their opponent. It was Kung Fu, and guns guys comon.
Im intrigued about pandoras box--but i dont really know about it...
In the end, the update was refreshing to see, but the content didnt make me pleased. Interlock should stay, make the fights longer and cooler, and fix the animation bugs, dont make them shorter with NEW animations with MORE problems. and lastly, the pill sounds ok, but it doesnt really help in the long run. If it has a long reuse timer, you could still be killed by a second hacker, if you have to make em, its just another thing to farm. What a waste.
Long Comments II: Guns
Although the MMOGs we play are not always simulations, part of what makes something “science fiction” and not “fantasy” is a credible (if sometimes tenuously credible) attachment to known reality.
For instance, the Matrix is based on the premise that the Machines found a ‘unique form of fusion’ using humans to power themselves. Obviously this is not known tech, and based on what we now know it’s a blatant violation of the laws of physics (you never get >100% output from something), but it’s plausible enough that you can suspend disbelief and enjoy the rest of the film. After all we nod and smile at ‘warp speed’ or ‘hyperspace’ in other SF.
But, within the Matrix, it’s supposed to be 1999. Guns work as they do now. They cause quite a lot of damage to humans; barring body armor a large-caliber pistol or a shotgun is going to take someone out; and a rifle-caliber round usually punches through all but the very latest military body armor.
This is reflected in the films. The police in the opening sequence of The Matrix, the SWAT team Apoc and Switch fight in the hotel basement after the trap, even Agent Brown is dead from one bullet as long as he can’t “dodge this.” In M:Revolutions Trin is slain by one round; the one that hits.
The only exception in the films is Neo almost-dodging Agent Brown’s shots on the rooftop in The Matrix. There he sustains two lacerations (“not fast enough”) but they don’t appear to cause him any serious damage.
On the other hand guns do not carry infinite ammunition. They carry 6, or 15, or 30 rounds, and then you either reload, or throw the gun away. In the films it’s usually the latter; Neo didn’t carry two guns and six clips into the Lobby, but six guns and no extra clips. That’s the ‘canon’ of the Matrix films. Agent Smith says to Neo, “you’re empty.” Neo does not reply, “Tank, load me up another clip!”
Now I know in RPGs since early D&D characters have had hit points of some sort or another, and an arrow ‘hits’ for 4 points or a sword ‘hits’ for 7 points, and this represents a blow that might have slain a less-skilled persona (like an orc), but we’re talking guns. Fists and feet are great for this chip-away-at-hitpoints method. Guns usually kill, or they miss.
Guns should do potentially tremendous damage (MMOG-terminology: burst DPS) but should be very limited by their ammunition. If you want a ‘wizard’ analogy EQ-style this is it; lots of boom but when the boom is gone that’s it.
So, when revamping the Operative tree I’d take the gun abilities in place and exponentially increase their damage. On the other hand I’d a) make ‘regular’ free-fire automatically degrade a gun by one status level (using ammunition);b) make special attacks remove the gun entirely from inventory (using all the ammunition)c) Allow characters (NPC and PC) to carry only one to three gun items at once (depending on type and for game balance)d) Allow PCs to loot additional guns occasionally from NPCs (e.g. Neo picks up the M-16 from a fallen soldier in the Lobby)e) Make common guns, and special earned guns, quickly ‘loadable’ for a nominal $i charge as with coded items in the Loading Area (“guns … lots of guns…”). Game balance might determine whether a gun item could be instantiated in the Loading Area a limited or unlimited number of times.
So, if you’re a Gunman, and you’re out of guns, you need a hardline or a fallen foe to restore your burst DPS.
On the flip side, there are quite a lot of guns in the Matrix films but the Awakened and combat-trained Machines and Exiles are very very hard to actually hit. Trin runs walls to dodge bullets; Agents just stand in place and move around them; Merv’s vampires aren’t vulnerable to them at all.
Right now there’s one ‘Hyper-Dodge’ ability which is marginally useful. The exciting gun scenes in the films are great because the redpills and Exiles are jumping off walls, doing impossible dodges, even standing on the ceiling.
I’d advocate expanding this, so that each discrete branch (MA, gunmen, spies, coder/hackers) has several abilities dedicated to not being shot. - The first, of least defensive power, might be a permanent buff as with Empty Mind; the only real cost is the space to load it- The second, more powerful, might be a (relatively expensive) IS-per-tick cost as with the present Hyper-Dodge; this should come with an animation (preferably the ‘agent-dodging’ animation).- The third should be a short-term buff, just a few seconds as with Improve Damage, which dramatically increases the ability to not be hit, but requires significant IS, the loading space to use it, and correct tactics to use it at the right time; it should have a refresh timer so as to prevent players from being invulnerable to gunfire. These definitely need animations. Spies should roll out, or use a flash device to evade. MA characters can jump off walls. Hackers/Coders could displace themselves, or create doubles of themselves (and the animation could show the double being hit).- There might be postulated a fourth such ability which simply stops bullets as The One did, but at the present this isn’t a player ability in my opinion.
Lastly, the range of guns really ought to be increased somewhat (particularly rifles/sniper rifles), BUT when someone is disarmed, the gun’s gone for good. Draw a backup or resort to hand-to-hand.
The upshot of this suggestion is:- Gunmen are not merely Operatives in free-fire mode, since everyone’s in free-fire mode now;- Guns are deadly, if they hit- Guns run out of uses quickly, and are replenished sparingly or at hardlines- Tactical PvE and PvP choices need to be made about when to use guns, and when to use evasive abilities. Choose wrong and get a lead enema.
Oop, forgot to write about the other distance weapon, knives. I’d think the same evasive abilities apply to knives as to guns; knife-throwers ought not to be limited by ammunition (throwing knives are small); knives shouldn’t do as much damage as guns, but they have the advantage of surprise (it’s more likely that you’ll catch the target not using all his dodge abilities, since you’re stealthed); and knives ought to carry the special effects (stunned/rooted/bleeding) as they presently do in the ability tree.
Next up in my craziness: Hackers and Coders. Hopefully this piece will tie my whole thought process together as a system that's based primarily in the Matrix canon but also workable within MMOG methods.
Warwraith wrote: The prob with the reloading is two fold, space and time. Space, I don't have enough of it in my inv as it is, I can't fill it up even more with numerous guns. Time, I'm not going to stop half way through a mission to run to a HL and download another 30 rounds that will prob last me 2 attacks. Maybe if we could code clips and have them in our inv, they could be stacks of 20 like everything else.
That's my point exactly! Guns are, in the real world, much more effective than fists, and also in the Matrix films; but in neither real life nor the films do people carry around 18 guns and 36 magazines. They use their guns until they have no ammo, then resort to other means, including getting more guns from their enemies.
If gunfire is increased in effectiveness to a realistic power, you shouldn't expect to be able to shoot indefinitely.
You have a point, though. Maybe many players would be upset to only use their favored attacks part of the time, so from a 'player desire' standpoint maybe more people feel as you do, and well hey, I do want the subscriber base to increase.
I just have in mind a system where gunfire is powerful but limited in use, after which gunmen, who are still Operatives, resort effectively to unarmed combat until they can find another firearm.
Message Edited by Cognoscente on 08-31-2005 09:47 PM
