Profile: krindorf
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For this first edition of Epic Win, Epic Fail I wanted to delve into the past and talk about something that really has stuck with me since I started playing MMOG's; Monolith Productions and The (now off the radar) Matrix Online.

During the summer of June 2004, Monolith, who at the time were partnered with Sega and Warner Bros opened beta testing to a limited number of players, allowing them to try what was then a much hyped and refreshingly innovative title in a very crowded market. In the winter of that year, Monolith opened up a larger pre-order beta test that had thousands of players battling it out with Agents, running missions for their beloved faction and bounding all over Megacity with such panache to make Superman consider an image change.

        I was lucky enough to participate in both beta testing periods, and I quickly realised that MxO had huge potential if it could capture a big enough share of the market, and keep those players playing; and therefore paying. I can honestly say, hand on heart that the 'End of Beta' live event ran by Monolith, combined with the most excellent Radio Free Zion and their 'in character' radio coverage of the exciting and memorable proceedings is the single greatest gaming experience I have ever had; and it's a memory that I treasure.

From release onwards, I had a ridiculous amount of fun in The Matrix Online. Going by the handle Rsync, myself and my real-world buddy Grimfandango took our time towards level 50, experiencing a mixture of PvE, PvP and superb live-event content (which was outstanding and deserved of the highest 'props') that made the game a pleasure to play. Role playing was something you could get stuck into, the PvE content was somewhat repetitive yet painless enough and the sheer majesty of the classless system combined with a superb crafting system made the game a joy to play. Combat was cool bit a bit slow, although SOE dealt with that at a later date.

Unfortunately, the PvP element of The Matrix Online was poor; and this is where I have my beef.

For those of you not familiar with the Matrix/Matrix Online universe, or for those of you who simply don't care, there were three core factons in the game each with their own agenda; Zion (good guys), The Machines (bad guys) and the followers of the Merovingian (selfish arrogant types). Perfect, three factions who each want to see the other two die. Pretty standard stuff.

        Now, the game world in the Matrix Online was split up into Neighbourhoods (City, Barrens and Slums) that each had a number of Districts within them. Each district contained a number of 'hardlines', telephones that operatives can use to travel around the Megacity or return to their 'construct' to load up new skills, craft or just pain hide. Perfect, a world broken up into *very* well defined sub-sections that could potentially be fought over by the factions for territorial control. A fairly standard concept.

Unfortunately, Monolith were regrettably short sighted during their development of the PvP aspect of the game, and didn't see the potential for PvP that would have real, meaningful context. Such a very important thing for a lot of players; and not just the hardcore PvP brigade.

        Regular PvP in MxO was generally a fun thing to engage in. It was often instigated by baiting, smack talking, role playing and through organised community battles; but other than for personal pride and the 'fun of the kill', you got very little back in return. Of course on the Vector server *everyone* was flagged for PvP after level 16, fun for them. Either way, you didn't feel like you were making a difference; and for me personally I wanted to feel like I was contributing to the war effort so to speak.

Now, you could argue that with a backstory clearly stating that a tense truce between the factions was in place that this kind of regional/global context wasn't called for; to be honest I don't give that argument any credibility at all.

This game was begging for context in PvP, really it was.

I don't want to to suddenly go off on a huge tangent with my own ideas as thats not the point of my post; but something simple and effective could of been developed couldn't it?

        Christ, the entire game world is a simulation controlled by the Machines. Why not have a monthly or indeed weekly 'reset' or 'reboot' of the simulation (clearing all territory ownership flags etc) which in turn would yield faction bonuses to the winning faction with the most controlled territories? Or simply have the bonuses apply to operatives missioning/PvP'ing in districts that their factions control, again with a regular reset essentially starting a clean slate! These ideas may not be the most appropriate or innovative but you can see my drift, eh?

I think The Matrix Online would of kept it's level 50 population (myself and guildies included) much higher for a great deal longer, and perhaps would of become a more successful title if Monolith had really burned the midnight oil and unleashed a PvP system to honour the effort of players and recreate that sense of struggle we sensed was taking place in the movies. SOE have introduced a small system to help make the generic 'hunt to kill' PvP a little more meaningful but it's now too late for MxO to get a massive systems overhaul.

You look at games such as Pirates of the Burning Sea with the context of the port battles and subsequent PvP warfare that ensues and realise that it can be done well; you just need to treat PvP with respect, consider how much you have to cater for your high level players and most of all use your lore/backstory to make PvP an exciting, engaging and most importantly rewarding experience. With such a wonderfully dedicated community and volunteer live events players, I just can't help but sit and wonder; what if?

As much as I owe them a debt of gratitude for the good times I had with The Matrix Online, I'm afraid their lack of foresight and focus on PvP really overshadows everything as the game had potential, man.

You could of done better, Monolith. EPIC FAIL.

Agree? Disagree? Have any ideas as to how they could of included a better PvP mechanic?

Let me know by commenting below!

Cheers,

Krin.