It's been a while since I've been able to put together an article given all the work that has gone into launching The Matrix Online. Given the material coming in the upcoming patch, it seemed a good idea to give the subject a little love.

However, let's start with another topic that's hot on the community's topic list: Forums.

Forum Redesign

The forums got an overhaul for launch of The Matrix Online. While there are substantial improvements, we've gotten a lot of feedback on current functionality and general usefulness. So we're going to be implementing some changes.

We're looking at ways of reorganizing the current forums in order to make them easier to navigate. As soon as we have a final plan, we'll let everyone know.

The other change, by popular request, is that we've made the old forums available for read-only access. Now you'll be able to refer back to the discussions that took place during the development of The Matrix Online.

Cake, anyone?

Combat Tactics Enhanced Clothing

Let's get the Combat Tactics (CT) enhanced clothing topic out of the way first. As many of you know, we pulled most of the CT-enhanced clothing out of the game before launch. We evidently didn't get all of them and, for game balance reasons, have decided that some adjustments needed to be made to Ranged Tactics and Melee Tactics enhanced clothing, as well.

As we discovered during beta testing, pure CT enhancements (bonuses to all forms of Combat Tactics) are simply too powerful. They essentially made it so combat between characters of equal levels and loadouts was determined by who had the better clothing. (A character with CT-enhanced clothing always wins-the character with no CT-enhanced clothing didn't stand a chance.) Therefore, any remaining clothing with pure CT enhancements has been converted to other types of bonuses.

While we're leaving in items with Ranged Tactics (RT) and Melee Tactics (MT) enhancements, we've had to adjust what types of clothing carry the bonuses and, in some cases, the level of the bonus. RT enhancements will now only be available on shirts, while MT enhancements will now only be available on pants. Items that gave too high an enhancement to RT or MT will be reduced, but will also have other enhancements added.

Moving the RT and MT enhancements to specific clothing types was required to prevent stacking the same type of bonus. Stacking multiple RT or MT bonuses yielded the same result as the pure-CT enhancements-characters with the better clothes always won.

We apologize for making these changes after launch, but they are necessary given the upcoming addition of Organization versus Organization combat to The Matrix Online.

Stun and Mez Changes

How Stun and Mez effects work also got adjusted with this update. Both Stun (outside of Interlock) and Mez effects now give the target an immunity timer that begins after the original effect ends and lasts for the same amount of time. Many Stun and Mez effects also had their durations reduced. However, they both have additional effects, as well.

Stun Abilities (like Stun 1.0) also cause damage and aren't on a family timer. (You can't use both Stun 1.0 and Stun 2.0 on the same target, but you can use Stun 1.0 on one target then 2.0 on a different target without waiting.) The additional Mez effect is a reduced resitance to Viral attacks that lasts for the duration of the effect plus the duration of the immunity timer.

We apologize for making these and the Combat Tactics changes after launch, but they are necessary given the upcoming addition of Organization versus Organization combat to The Matrix Online.

In-Game Media Player

One of the biggest features you'll find in this patch is the addition of an in-game media player. After months of beta testing, we learned how much everyone enjoyed being able to listen to their own tunes or streaming broadcasts while playing the game.

MxORadio can play any file type supported by the Windows Media Player, including media streams, playlists, local files, and remote URLs. Instructions for using MxORadio can be found here.

Inventory Increase

You asked for it, you got it. With this patch, each page of your Inventory will increase from 8 to 16 slots--doubling your Inventory capacity. This was a constant issue mentioned by our beta testers and we are finally ready to implement the change. And what better way to thank the testers for this valuable input than by putting something in your Inventory?

Beta Clothing Project

The original development team is now transitioning over to the live development team or moving on to other projects. Before they left, however, they wanted to create a little "thank you" for the beta testers who helped us get the game out the door. Like everything in development of The Matrix Online, this was a total-team effort. It took input from the every portion of our team to put together the Beta Clothing Project and make it happen.

All people who registered an account from the beginning of beta testing through the final blowout will get the special beta shirt, pants, boots and shades added to their characters. In addition, testers who provided valuable input, promoted community growth, or were pointed out as being generally helpful people will get the beta jacket and matching gloves.

You won't be able to sell or trade these clothes until sometime in mid-April (to be determined--probably on or around the 19th). Why would we do that? Because until that time, every character you create will have these clothing items added to them. After we pass that date, new characters will no longer get the beta clothing--if you delete a character with the clothing, you won't get a new set. At the same time, we'll change the clothes so you can sell or trade them with other players.

While the clothes don't carry any enhancements, they do mark players as folks with extra knowledge about the game. If you're new to The Matrix Online and see someone sporting the beta logo, you ought to ask them for help getting acclimated to the game. Throughout the entire beta test, our community became known for helping out new players.

Unrest in the Matrix

As a final note, I've been told that tensions are rising between the Organizations on Enumerator and Linenoise. Things moving in the background are beginning to surface. Where will it lead? Jack in to The Matrix Online after version 7.3063 goes live and find out.

See you on the Other Side of the Looking Glass.

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Posted by Walrus