Buy it, freeze it, break it, fix it...
By the time you read this, I'll be winging my way to Houston for a family visit. Well, as long as I don't screw up and post this thing early. Good thing I never do that... As you know, any time you take any time off, that means you have to:
- Cram as many things in the day before as possible, and
- Expect to have a ton of stuff to catch up on when you get back.
So, you can imagine what my day has been like. Although, it really hasn't been all that bad, considering what my current main tasks are.
Crash it, change it, now upgrade it.
Given the upcoming anniversary and the impending Data Node One upgrade, I've spent most of the day going through old and new content. Doing so gives me the chance to both find things that got lost in the SOE shuffle and to review items that need updating.
It's been quite the walk down memory lane for me. There is information from Morpheus' death, old screenshots that no longer match the game, and all kinds of historical material.
Occasionally, it's also hysterical material. For example, remember our article from April Fool's Day 2005? Let me refresh your memory:
Oh yeah. You know you want some of that.
Chart it, part it, zoom it, press it...
There's also a lot to keep track of when it comes to Combat Revision 2.0 and the Anniversary Event. Right now, we're working on the next patch for the External Playtest server. HCFrog has been hammering the NPCs into shape and there's a new balance pass waiting for testing. Among other things, Oar has been ironing the kinks out of the Tutorial.
Speaking of ironing things out, anyone using Proxies on the External Playtest server has probably run into a situation where the Sim stops attacking NPCs. I ran into that last night and NoRepro was hammering away at it today. It looks like they're getting stuck using Block Tactics; if that's the case, we should be able to fix it quickly.
As far as the Anniversary Event goes, Rarebit is overseeing the progress on it right now. There are a lot of moving parts, but we're hoping to give you something to remember come this March. Yet another reason I've been reviewing old content and media. Snap it, work it, quick erase it.
I got to see concepts of the new Data Node One this week and I think you'll be happy with the changes. It'll be quite different than the current site, but I like their direction. We're targeting mid-March for the overhaul, although I need to get a ton of media to the team for implementation.
Although that means a lot of work for the team, it also gives us the chance to both update things and to rummage through old work. It's a lot like having a historical construct of The Matrix Online; we've come a long way from March 2005, not to mention the beta days.
While we still have to work out some details, I'm hoping to give everyone a taste of where the game has been from development to now. Heck, I even have a couple screenshots of the combat demo.
Write it, gut it, paste it, save it...
So, what's up with the titles and the long ramble? Spend your day inundating your brain with media and see what you come up with, sometime! While it's not possible to give you a true understanding of what it's like to revel in the past for a day, I hope we'll be able to give you a taste of it in the coming months.
The first anniversary of The Matrix Online is a time of reflection and redirection for the team. Much has changed, as is to be expected with a living game such as this. And once we get the Combat Revision and Anniversary Events out the door, we'll all be breathing a sigh of relief and looking forward to the next challenge.
And the titles? I can't stop watching the iMatrix video by The Next Renaissance. (Hope this doesn't blow your server, Ouranos. ;) )
Load it, check it, quick rewrite it.
If I'm not as present on the forums as I have been in the past, I apologize. The whole team is in overdrive as we head towards March and your feedback on the combat changes is invaluable to our progress. In fact, it's so critical, we're considering ways to show our appreciation for the bug reports and forum posts.
Perhaps a little gift for everyone helping out on External Playtest. All we have to do is figure out what you might like. Maybe a special piece of clothing? Hmm...I'll see if the guys have any ideas.
See you on the other side next week.
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