MXO impressions

[Bayle]

i am asking for your impressions of this game, i feel in order to give a accurate review a person should be actively playing at this point in the beta, but i also agree all should be heard.

i have played two days thus far, my toons name is MFDoom, he was meant to be a experiment, but looks as though he will be a keeper.

my first day i have to admit i was far from impressed, alot of that was due to my lack of understanding of game mechanics etc..

i didnt realize you could merely call your contacts for missions, so i quit doing them, and was looking for strays (gangs) to kill off. i must say if thats all there was to the game in farming gang members, it wouldnt last a year in the market of mmorpgs.

after realizing my mistake, i really started to become immersed, the music is passable, missions added a depth to the matrix world i didnt think they would be able to pull off. they actually made me feel like i am working for the cause. jacking into the matrix is pretty neat also. you get to see all the code strings that Neo saw in the movie, training in the dojo also brought pleasant memories of the movie.helping other members of the Zion faction was the coolest thing in the game i have seen so far, as several of the opposing factions seem to me at this point to exist, and are jacking into your missions, a la Agent Smith style.

bullet time combat is really exciting, and some of the moves performed are down right brutal, elbow smashes to the face, followed by a snap kick to the groin, and a arm wringing flip of your opponent is nastiness made look like a artform.

community, does it exist? yes and no. much the same as many of the bigger games, its there, just noone uses it. but its really here, i mean really really here. the marketplace auctions are cross server, i mean were in the matrix right? why wouldnt that be possible? its kind of a neat idea on auctioning your goods, and does alot to stablize the economies of all servers as one, which is why most people are stunted when they join low pop servers in any other game, the economy hasnt grown to a tsable point, to meet supply and demands.


i dont feel as though the game is a bowl of cherries though, so dont mark me for a fan boy, i try to objective in all things as far as my gaming goes. that being said, there will never be a perfect game imho.

some of the things i disliked about MXO was the clunky interface for combat. i know they say you can switch from melee to ranged combat and back seemlessly, but either i am missing the switch mechanism, or its as fatally flawed as i percieved it to be. its not a game killer, atleast not at the levels i am playing at so far, but its really aggravating. i also had a mission with bugged doors, and tried their hit "V" to abtain targetting of the door trick, but no good. kind of a waste of my time, as i had spent 30 minutes gettign the mission to that point, only to have to abnadon it. and lets not forget about my hacker escort to the bank, she couldnt make it up to the proper floor. she kept falling through the floor when i hit the button for our floor.

some of the "spell" effects are very lacking, with just bit of broken strings of data making wire frames around said targets, but those are mainly bffs and nukes, abilities look true to movie.( ie super jumping, super run...)

also of note is a lack of color, seriously lack of it, making it look medieval in nature, kind areminds me of EQ2 in that aspect. its passable though, the detail really saves it, the same as EQ2.

in summary, for a game in its beta phase, its ok, i have seen worse bugs in much more mainstream games. provided they fix it, no harm is done, and it might be a decent game. alot of things are true to the world in the movies, but alot of things are added to make you feel as though youre the next One. the operator talking to you as you play is classic.

[BlueMonday]

I started playing it today - just to have a quick peek really.
The initial gameplay is quite confusing, I found the tutorial a little lacklustre and I still don't really understand the fighting.

Choosing the character traits was difficult to as I had no idea what does what, or leads to what "classes".

I like the landscape - very cyberpunk bladerunneresque.

I've done a couple of missions - pretty much just like City of Heroes missions except for the fighting.

Seems okay so far, I'll play it more and I guess pick up more things along the way.

I'm not sure at this point if it has long term playability for me at this stage though.

[Fox]

I've been playing for 3 days (about 12 hours) and if you don't find a good 'tutor' you'll be confused for weeks.

There are many many many many many many many many bugs with a whole range of things and it's not ready for retail. Rumour has it that they'll patch once a week for the first 3 months to get all the bugs out. 8O Same as most MMO's I guess.

The biggest thing is many missions are impossible to complete due to bugs. You can deliver an important code piece but the game doesn't recognise that! Cancel mission and try again.

Teaming is something that is very haphazard. If you had a crew, you'd need some voice comms. In the Oz timezone, it would be hard to :-
- find enough players in Oz on your server (there are four servers)
- find players that play the TOG way that are in Oz
- in your same faction/organisation
- at the same level as you



For this reason, I'll be doing mostly solo play. Teaming's not even fun (without voice) anyway so I don't bother.

On the pluses - it really is immersive and true to the movies. The jacking in. The kung-fu is amazing. I like the combat system. REALLY like the combat system. The abilty to swap skills at almost any time. The crafting of skills is something I'm getting into. The economy is (or will) be quite good.

The community is there if you persist. If you belong to one of the three factions, or a crew, you'll find help faster.

Bayle, if you go to ACTIONS you'll see a SELF DEFENCE action. You can drag that to your hot bar. You can then toggle that on and off in combat to suit the situation. That will get past your frustrations.

I'm working for the Merivingians (sp?) as I believe that will present the greater range of mission variance. I got a pretty bad rep with the Zion's already.

I truely feel like I belong to the matrix and I could be 'the one'. The missions I do (which I think are bland at lower levels, but isn't every MMO the same) give the impression that I'm making a real difference to the 'world'.

It's suprised me heaps but the fashion is a lot of fun too. Swapping out clothes and looking as cool as you can is a popular past time.


We need to hook up at the same time as we would all be about the same level and timezone.

I have Ventrilo and Teamspeak. Someone suggest something and I'll be there. I'll impart whatever fledgling knowledge I have.

BTW - games should be intuitive but there is a user manual if it gets too much for you.

I'm also on xfire togfox

[Valdis]

I played MxO beta for a few days. In the end, my final perception was: This doesn't add anything that Anarchy Online didn't have.

Now, that's the game itself. The interface looks very matrixy, the tutorial's nice too, very immersive. The community seems to have a core of people that are really into everything matrix. Radio Free Zion's a pretty nice site. So those are its plusses, it looks and feels matrixy and the community is very dedicated.

Now the downsides. The streets were empty. At least when I played, I saw no NPCs or cars (there were, of course, lots of players). It really feels dead. Also, while the game ran fairly well on my laptop (1.6 centrino, nVidea go card, 512 RAM), it crashed every few minutes on my desktop (2.6 Athlon, nVidea Ti 4600, 1 GB RAM). The missions had nice write-ups, but they were mostly in the same building, and fairly standard, but the stories were a nice touch - about the depth of City of Heroes, but a different genre. Combat, to be honest, was totally unimpressive. Its not much beyond Anarchy Onlines, start fighting, use a few special moves. Done. For a City of Heroes player, its lifeless and dull, and really it didn't even look impressive to me.

Furthermore, there appears to be little to do beyond roleplaying, quests, and socializing. That was a big disappointment. I read up, the devs are planning to have a story line, but I've heard that from other games. Anarchy Online and City of Heroes had storylines too, but I never really felt a part of them, and I predict MxO is headed down that same path. Furthermore, I didn't see the need for teams or groups really. Why on earth make a MMORPG when you're going to focus on solo and small team gameplay? I never have understood this.

In conclusion, Matrix Online is a game out of its time. It would have been a fair competitor for Anarchy Online in its day. It doesn't look, sound, or play any better than the years old AO. Its buggier, not as good looking, and not as polished as the most recent games (WoW, EQ2, CoH, L2). However, if you're into the Matrix, its a respectable, if already outdated, MMORPG.

[Fox]

That's a fair assessment Valdis but just a small note about the roads empty, if you turn up the level of detail (video options) then you will see cars and pedestrians, just like the trailers.

I would agree with the rest of your post but I'm getting more out of it than you ever will I'm guessing.

I'm going to post something about the role play in a minute ...

[Bayle]

i tend to agree with Fox here, i have my detail and and effects all up to max, and its a very realistic looking world to say the least. i think maybe the color schems are turning most folk off, but if you have ever been deep into inner city life, this is pretty much how it looks at times, like the sun will never shine. which brings a moment of the movie to life, when they rode above the clouds and seen the sun for the first time...

anyhow, perhaps turn up details as your cpu allows, it really does flesh out the gaming world.

[BlueMonday]

Hmm I tried really hard to get into this game, but in the end, I just don't find it engaging enough.

The UI is very "old fashioned" and feels clunky. It certainly feels far less polished then other current MMO's out there at present.

Anyway, good luck to all those who head off into the Matrix, may your journey be a safe one!!

[Bayle]

i really have to agree with the ui being a bit sluggish, and stubborn at times.

[Fox]

Bugged too - - but it is in beta after all.

[Ralakan]

I've been playing a little over a week now, and can agree with a lot of what was said above. here's my impressions though (post "big patch", which fixed/added a lot of stuff)

Missions:
Always fun w/friends, and decent enough solo. It's very AO/CoH, using a contacts system to put you into instanced missions inside buildings. the layouts are somewhat repetitive, but they fit the matrix feel as far as locals go (from banks, to slums, to normal middle class condos) Enemy placement is random and sometimes a little odd. Sometimes there will be guards scattered across the map with nothing between you and your objective, and sometime ALL the enemies will spawn on your objective making for one tough fight. Random "treasure" objects such as desks and boxes are searchable, adding to your loot and the fun of a mission. Some profession specific items are added into missions as you move along, such as alarm systems that can be disabled by some people (otherwise they summon more guards) computers that can be hacked, and doors that are locked and can be picked... assuming someone in your party has said abilities.

After a few missions you may choose specific faction missions (machines, zion, exiles) and gain favor with one of the 3. after a bit more, you start to get story-arc missions and may even interact with special chars from the movies (I've met niobe and agent gray so far) some story items are lootable too randomly, I’ve found emails pertaining to commander lock and morpheus.

Enemies:
So far I’ve only run into fairly generic sets of enemies, though i guess it makes sense. faction-based ones (zion soldier, zion patcher, zion hacker, etc) and street thugs that belong to various gangs. all humanoid, with somewhat varied styling based on who they are. You can loot silver bullets, stakes, and holy water in the game, so it's assumed you may encounter some of the more powerful exiles later in the game.

Landscape:
Everything, so far, takes place in the "megacity". travel is accomplished by using "hardlines" to teleport between them. new hardlines are acquired by just finding one and uploading to it to add it to your map. a subway system is also present to get into places where you have no listed hardlines. there are also archives, which i have not seen. they are described as "older versions of the matrix" that have been stored as constructs, and people can buy keys to them. I assume these are the dungeons, or possibly PvP zones.

Combat/Abilities:
Melee combat is done using an "interlock" system. You get point blank, and "lock" your opponent in close combat. it then goes to a turn-based system where your stats, specials, etc are combined with a random roll. if you beat the enemy's roll, you win the "round" and execute the desired attack. if you fail, the enemy counters and executes their attack. This has an interesting effect, in that with good stats, specials, and luck, you can win melee combats without taking any damage at all. the downside is if you have horrible luck, the enemy might win every "round" and defeat you the same way.

Ranged Combat is done 2 ways, using a free-fire system where you target someone, and auto-attack, adding specials as you go. If the enemy tries to engage you in close combat, you can still get interlocked, but will continue to fight with your weapon, but using the turn-based style of interlock. It works a little differently though. as it becomes attack/defense instead of attack/attack. i.e.- if i jump in with my guns into CC, the enemy will make a defence roll that round. if they succeed, they'll jump, dodge, spin, etc to evade my bullets. If I win, I'll jump, spin, etc and hit them, doing damage. then when he attacks in melee, I’ll either block/dodge etc or be hit and take damage. armed chars can be disarmed temporarily as a benefit to those specializing in martial arts.

Hacking (spells) - hackers can transmit viruses for the same effect of a "wizzard nuke" or other appropriate damage type. they also have debuffs and some minor healing ability.

Healing is similar to any other MMO, a "patcher" loads the appropriate programs and has the ability to buff and heal other chars.

Pet's are used by the Coder class, who programs simulacrums to fight for them, in Patcher (heal/buff), Proxy (melee/guns) and Logic Deamon (Hacker) varieties.

Classes/Skills/Crafting :
There are no classes in MxO, at least not like in other MMO's. What you can do is only limited by your level and cash flow. How well you do it is limited by the stats you choose to raise each "level." When you start the game, you choose your basic look and profile, which will give you a small boost in a certain stat, and small deficit in another as a trade off. Every level you get, you get one more point to put into whatever stat you want, so theoretically you can even them all out if you wanted. Specializing, as in any MMO, is more "effective" however.

Skills and abilities are simply programs that you purchase or craft, upload at a hard line, and have your operator download to your head. What programs can be loaded are limited by whatever their prerequisites are. For example, a high level hacking program will probably have multiple prerequisites for other lower level hacking programs to be loaded, as well as a level requirement. Your head only has so much space as well, so you may only load a certain amount of "memory" slots at a time. This increases with level.

The main ability trees are:
Coder: splits into Code Shaper which is a pet class (there are 2 more branches for that) and Programmer which is the crafting class (there are 5 branches for that i think)

Hacker: splits into Virologist nuke classes and subclasses (9?) and Patcher healing/buffing classes and subclasses (4?)

Operative: splits into Spy classes and subclasses (2?) and Soldier classes and subclasses (6) these are the main fighter classes, and involve martial arts, guns, etc

Crafting is done by taking looted 'bits' from mobs and other things and compiling them into items. You can also decompile existing items to get either a blueprint so you can replicate it, or some of the code bits that it was made from. I haven’t messed with this too much so i can't say for sure

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because all the abilities are programs, they can be loaded, unloaded, at will while you are at a hardline. This will allow any char to instantly change trees and abilities as long as you have the money to finance buying all the skills. Changing similar trees (i.e.- Virologist to Patcher) is pretty easy, while changing entire trees (hacker to operative) will prove very expensive.



Graphics:
The graphics are good, but not "amazing" they fit the matrix feel and run relatively smoothly. I've had no crashes (so far...) animations and emotes are up to par w/any other MMO.

Sound:
Once again, about average. Not amazing, but (usually) not annoying either

Overall
I think this one has some promise to it. The engine seems able to display a convincing environment, and fairly fluid animation. If the dev's support the storyline and the community continues to grow, I think this could be really fun.


EDIT: now spellchecked for freshness