Matrix Online Creators Quizzed On MMO Wire-Fu

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Matrix Online Creators Quizzed On MMO Wire-Fu

Posted by simoniker on Sunday March 21, 2004 @10:03PM from the whoa dept.

Thanks to GameSpy for its interview with the lead designer of The Matrix Online, featuring new details regarding the PC MMO which recently parted ways with original co-developer UbiSoft, meaning the newly rejuvenated Warner Bros. Interactive "...is now the sole publisher of the title." According to the article, the developers Monolith are utilizing a combat system called Interlock, where "...players have the opportunity to optimize their fighting technique by managing their move-by-move combat tactics, and performing combos and other special maneuvers. This is definitely not 'click and watch.'" There's more information at the official Matrix Online FAQ.

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Fighting by Killjoy_NL · 2004-03-21 22:29 · Score: 3, Interesting

If they manage to get the fighting engine working well, they might set a precedent for 3D beat-em-ups.

From what I've read, the Bullet-Time option will kick in when you've landed the killing blow on your opponent, wasn't it much more cool if you could activate Bullet-Time during battle, like in Max Payne.
I guess it's really hard to do in an online game, who should be moving in bullet time, who should move in realtime, will spectators outside of the Bullet-Time area be viewing a really slow or really fast fight?

Difficult stuff.

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1. Re:Fighting by Mad_Fred · 2004-03-22 00:53 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The way I understood it bullet time won't just show up when you kill someone, that was just an example. I can imagine it kicking in when someone's executing various important/hard hitting moves, thus giving the opponent more time to react, I.E. make really cool counters or evasive moves. Since it's not a beat-em-up with a pad having a little more time to react probably won't hurt anyone. Just my ideas as spurred by the interview.
2. Re:Fighting by Bazzargh · 2004-03-22 01:21 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Its not /that/ hard to do. Here's how: you can have two kinds of bullet time, 'slow' time, where other characters get slowed down, and 'fast' time, where your character is speeded up.
  
  For 'slow' time, the effect is confined to a bubble, so you can have bullet time fights without affecting the whole world. As different characters are differently able to distort time, control speed and physics are changed by different amounts depending on your abilities; but all characters 'see' the bubble as if they were the fastest character (ie you see it the way the movie did).
  
  To avoid discontinuities, intra-world communication (eg speech, phone) with someone in a different timeframe is disrupted, but inter-world communication is unaffected (eg a 'find me an exit' conversation). Constant rain and other effects can be used to constrain line-of-sight so there are no visual discontinuities.
  
  'fast' time can be used for pre-planned actions, eg running along a route. Since you don't need real-time control, a fast character can then be moved at super-speed to their destination, and slow characters see an appropriate visual effect. Encountering a 'slow' bubble while moving along a 'fast' route drops you back into control.
  
  I'm sure this leads to plenty of temporal anomalies, but unless you give they characters wristwatches they won't be annoyingly obvious.
Combat? by oprahwinfree · 2004-03-21 22:33 · Score: 4, Interesting

From the FAQ:
When does the game take place? [UPDATED] The Matrix Online takes place after The Matrix Revolutions, the third Matrix movie. A truce has been declared. Humans and Machines are now at an uneasy peace. In the ongoing story of the game, you can play a significant part in the future of the Matrix.
Something I don't get is this:
If the machines and humans are at peace, then who will players fight against? Excluding pvp, I can't imagine that there will be very much combat. In a game like Everquest or Asheron's Call, minor enemies like trolls, orcs, and the like can be churned out over and over again to provide fighting fodder. In a Matrix world, where are the snakes and bats to fight?
1. Re:Combat? by bigbigbison · 2004-03-21 23:00 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I'm not sure about snakes or bats, but remember the Merovingian (sp?) and that line that vampires, ghosts and werewolves are rogue programs. So I would imagine that would be a major part of who you would fight.
  
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2. Re:Combat? by BlueCodeWarrior · 2004-03-22 00:07 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Don't forget that there are always dissenters...maybe you're fighting to stop those who want the war to start anew...
  
  or maybe you are one who wants the war to start back up.
Well...that might be a good thing (tm) by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-21 23:17 · Score: 2, Interesting

The way I would do it is set it in a cold war between the humans and the machines. Where the Architect's words at the end of Revolutions are open to inturpritation.

There would for all intents and purposes be two teams. The merovingians minions who would be easier to play for newbies. Being able to run over any surface, like a vampire, or be able to take collosall amounts of damage, like a werewolf sans silver, etc. They wouldn't have a bullet-time ability, but they might be naturally faster etc.

And the humans. Who would start out start out basically as pussies, but should they survive could be superbad ass. But when you die, or after a certain number of times, you gotta make another conscript.

The Agents would for the most part be badass bots. But with a ranking system. The best players could be invited to be agents for limited periods of time. Localize the Agents to have last names generic to the users local.

You could skill up just by escaping fights as you endevour to free souls as it were, or enslave them if you're one of the merovingians henchmen.

Done right, with a seemless transition from gun combat to close combat, and the right uncluttered presentation of your situational awareness, it would simply stomp everything else out there.
not real time fighting. by cgenman · 2004-03-22 01:22 · Score: 2, Interesting

"...players have the opportunity to optimize their fighting technique by managing their move-by-move combat tactics, and performing combos and other special maneuvers. This is definitely not 'click and watch.'"

Why is it whenever that phrase gets uttered by a designer, it almost always the opposite of the truth? The fighting system he describes sounds like a RPGesque system of clicking buttons to queue up attacks ALA Xenogears. It also sounds like fights will proceed without user input, allowing avatars whose hosts are lagging out to continue with only a moderate effectiveness penalty. It makes sense for a MMPORPG to do it that way, and it is a cut above other games in terms of click-and-watch, but it still isn't the real time fighting that people want.

Describing the fighting system the way they do, people are going to be expecting Planetside, and will be disappointed to receive SW:KOTOR. It sounds like it could be fun, but they need to manage expectations better.

Despite the hype, most people would consider queuing up attacks a form of "click-and-watch."

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Just one question to the developers: by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-22 01:53 · Score: 1, Interesting

Not to flamebait or anything, but let's be honest... everyone HATED the third Matrix movie. How harmful do you think this will be for the game's sales?