The Matrix: Retirement

Tyndall wants you to join the fight!

Or rather she did. As of Today, The Matrix Online is now closed and players from around the world can no longer log on and jack in to fight for the Machines, the Merovingian, New Zion, The Cypherites or E Pluribus Neo. It's been a great, four year journey, but due to internal difficulties and lack of revenue (I presume) the game has had to close.

It never was the dream it should have been, for whatever reason uptake was not as high as initially planned for, this meant cutbacks and reductions in the amount of mission and epic events that were planned.

But the reduced team persevered, restructuring the way the program went so that we got regular mission updates and a rolling programme of "Live Events" featuring key characters from the Matrix and involving anything from large scale battles to diplomacy. The dedication of the team was evident, when after funding ran out for cinematics, the lead developer drew and animated new ones himself for two chapters.

There were moments of great excitement - a rogue Sentinel army led by a program known as the General kidnapped Sati, and her absence of weather control turned the sky red permanently. The machines eventually defeated him by attacking his base 'Stalingrad' with a huge army of Sentinels and Sati was recovered.

Seraph was infected with a code and began attacking redpills, it was eventually revealed that these people had been 'overwritten' by machine programs, used to spy on Zion and other organizations.

The Machines discovered the hidden human city of New Zion and declared war on humanity once again. They attacked Zion, but the new city is much better defended and far harder to penetrate.

A group of humans, calling themselves the Oligrachs, arrived on the scene, possessing the power to override and control the Machines and seeming to have some kind of agreement with them as equal powers. Unfortunately we never got to find out what happened next and so the story came to an abrupt close.

A key developer had to leave, and this stalled all stoyline progression - the main element of the game, interest declined, no new progress was made and eventually the decision was made to call it a day.

There was some fun to be had on the way out - they turned on the normally seasonal Halloween and Christmas events allowing us to participate in zombie hunts, sinowball fights and obtain cool costumes. They bumped every player to level 99 (the normal max is 50) allowing easy access to a number of missions and quests. And set off a number of event related items such as code bombs, which was cool for me as I'd never seen them before. I stuck around to the end, partying on top of one of the monuments in the city and then, with a final server crash, it was over.

Thanks for the memories MxO!!

The Matrix Online: Double Cross

I'm sad to report that there's a distinct decline in the Matrix Online storyline with the departure of one of the key developers, Rarebit, who was the driving force behind the game's story and development. It was he who revamped the mission system and personally undertook the creation of new cinematics. It looked like a new era for the game, but apparently it was not to be and for personal reasons he has left the game and our last update boasted new items and quests but no continuation of the story.

It's too soon to say what will happen to the future of the Matrix, but for now I'll carry on passing on the history of the game to you and hope that more content is on the way.













Double Cross was an interesting event as most of it took place on the forums and it wasn't a global event like many of the previous ones, this was largely due to having to scale down the ambition and scope of the game, but it was still action packed and full of intrigue.

A Tangled Web

There was still a lot of chaos left over from the Kill Code event, a few remaining Red Eyed Agents were prowling looking for something only they knew of. Morpheus was gone, but someone looking a lot like him was continuing the code bombings and the mysterious masked men, now identifying themselves as "Cypherites" were coming into the open and recruiting operatives from each side. If this wasn't enough, the Assassin was still about, indiscriminately attacking redpills. Times were hard, and about to get harder, especially for the crew of a certain Novalis 2.

Along Came a Spider

It came as a shock to all: Vashuo, engineer of the Novalis II, was dead. Not killed in action, murdered by someone from within. This surprise murder shocked all organisations into action, all eager to solve this mystery and explore its implications. Transcripts were found as well as code fragments, apparently from a phone signal meant to kill the entire crew, and would have, but for the intervention of the Operator. These fragments were tracked down in the Matrix to reveal a horde of information.












This code was deciphered and details came out: Toorima, a crew member of the Novalis 2 is responsible for the murder, confirmations come in to Zion and the other organizations. A new rumour spreads: the mysterious "Veil", a high ranking Cypherite, is involved in the deed. Shortly afterwards Zion confirms their findings: Toorima is none other than Veil and is now in Zion custody.



















Zion have no time to mourn Vashuo or celebrate their victory as Enmascarado, another high ranking Cypherite involved in previous atrocities, comes out into the open taunting everyone, especially the Assassin. Niobe investigates and the Assassin shows up, launching a huge brawl in the city. Niobe takes the offensive against the Assassin, but the killer is a powerful enemy. He gets the upper hand and as he does he puts a bullet into his taunter: Enmascarado, downing the Cypherite once and for all. However, the aggressor didn't plan on going down quietly and rigged his body with the deadly Flame Virus which perpetually burns and spreads like an infection - the fighters had to disperse to stop the spread of the code, leaving the Assassin to escape once again.














This was not an easy day for Zion, but they could at least rest knowing they had done their jobs and the two Cypherite killers were down, one dead and another in a cell. They had earned a reprieve - but there was still a job to finish.

(I refer you again to MXOStory, where I got a lot of the details and images from)

The Matrix Online: Things to do part 3

Merry Holidays to all

Seeing as it's currently running in-game then I figured it was time to let you know about the MxO Winter Holiday event that's been running for four years now and is a lot of fun for all players. One of three big annual events in the game this one is almost certainly the most popular with special missions, new "winter clothing", and of course tons of snow! So allow me to run you through some of the fun and frolics to be had in Mega City this winter.

Snowfall and Snowballs

A treat devised during the first winter holiday and a continuing feature due to it's popularity is snowball combat available during the winter period. The mass of snow that rains down is pretty, but it doesn't stick so players have to go and hunt to have their fun. Dotted around the city are snowmen from which players can acquire four different types of snowball to add to their arsenal. These can then be traded to a "Holiday Helper" for a 'festive hat.' Once one of these hats is worn then battle can commence with anyone else wearing a hat until the hats become destabilised and unwearable, making 'last hat standing' a fun game - the hats come in red and green so teams can be organized. The helpers also trade shiny 'party hats' that shoot confetti.














Presents and Prizes

The following year new content was added in the form of winter missions. A charitable organization contracts players to give out presents to people in need of cheering up over the winter. On the way they are attacked by giant monsters made of snow who throw deadly snowballs, but when defeated drop 'perfect snowflakes' that are valuable and can be traded for special clothing. This has slowly built to a collection of 'formal' clothing, such as gloves and hats and other winter items such as large coats and snow boots. The missions have stayed the same since, but new items and variations have been added such as 'ruby snowflakes' which can be traded for red and white versions of some items.

I'll leave you with some images of this year's clothing items, which come in a myriad of colour beyond the examples shown - which are yours to acquire this holiday, only in The Matrix Online.

The Matrix Online: Kill code

It's been a long time since I've done this but I'm going to give you a bit more info on the storyline of the continuous online game The Matrix Online. This is of course an attempt to plug the game as well as a geekish delight in sharing the details with you all. I will just say that at the moment we are living in fairly exciting time in the game with a bit of a redesign in the mission system and storyline progression.

Funding and workload and other issues had lead to a decline in the storyline, but the devlopment team and "Rarebit" in particular used this to revitalise the game. 'Rare' personally drew and animated new cinematics, which were one of the things that had to be cut. These have no sound and aren't necessarily as smooth as the earlier ones, but they've used that to make them longer and more widespread in terms of impact. I have to say I'm pleased to be playing a game where a developer would go to that extend to make the game more interesting and exciting for players.

Anyway, on with the story eh?

System Reboot











The major thing going on at the time, so major I didn't even know the other event was going on, was that Sony Online Entertainment was taking over the game. The game had low sales and high costs and so it could no longer support itself, which meant it was handed over to SOE who run games like World of Warcraft and Star Wars Galaxies. This meant quite a reduction in events and live content and it meant that things never quite returned to the glory of the original days, something that is still resented to this day. Nonetheless SOE have kept the game afloat and the Matrix story alive for three years so far and the game runs pretty solidly still and I'm still intrigued by what the story turns up.

Neurophyte returns

Back to the story...again! At least on the servers where she had been kept alive Neurophyte made a return to the stage in a drastically changed way. She first appearad at parties in the city, taking orders to rest and relax seriously.

Meanwhile things were sturring in the Merovingian camp as the Frenchman tried to find out more about the red eyed agents and the masked men. He also confirmed what was now widely assumed to be true, that he was indeed responsible for sending the Assassin after Morpheus. This coupled with reports of Zion trying to find a way to kill him, made things ready for a showdown. The Assassin himself even showed up in the Matrix, but evaded attempts to stop and kill him.

Neurophyte showed up again, this time looking weak and shaken, and sometimes speaking words that didn't appear to be her own. She was being followed by the Red Eyed Agents, but she had known they were coming and fought back. She still had a remnant of the "kill code" that had infected her - a powerful remnant. Code lightning struck the impostors, killing them in large numbers. Neurophyte had returned in force!




















But then one of their "Super Agents" showed up and fought her. These agents had also been able to summon similar lightning in their initial engagement with the redpills and he seemed fairly immune to Neurophyte's power and quickly seized the upper hand until help came from a very unexpected source.

The Assassin appeared on the scene, easily destroying the agent and evading the attacks of Neurophyte and other redpills. After staying for a short while the Assassin typically slunk back into the dark recesses of the Matrix, leaving Neurophyte weakened and tired. While a powerful force to be reckoned with the events had taken their toll on her and things were not going to go well for her crew as we will see soon. As far as I'm aware this was the last time we saw Neurophyte, and pretty much the last time we saw the Red Eyed Agents, out in force like this anyway, but the power behind them was not far from revealing itself...

Hope you've enjoyed this, the story around the takeover period is pretty sketchy in terms of chapter divisions and ordering so I hope I don't miss too much out or get things in the wrong order, but yeah - this was the kill code event - it happened, lots of other stuff happens too in the never ending story of The Matrix.

Matrix Online: Things to do part 2

Curiouser and Curiouser: More things to find and do in Uriah

Well blogging seems to have died down a bit so I'll try and liven things up with another promotion of Matrix Online, the online multiplayer that lets you live out the future of the Matrix storyline. While at some point I'll get on and tell you about that story, for now I'm going to try and tantalize you with some of the things you can do and enjoy in game, and all just in the first neighbourhood!

Mercury's Sixth

OK so if you've gotten started in the Matrix you may have met Mercury who I posted about last session. Merury is one of several "contacts" whi give you mission and are located in most of the city's neighbourhoods. Each gives a set of five missions, but just to make it interesting for new players the developers added a sixth. In this mission you learn more about Mercury, his work and his relationship with Pepper, an exile from Downtown who you won't otherwise meet until you're much further in the game. And you won't go unrewarded for your mission.

Codebase

Codebase is a recruiter for the Machine organization, who you may want to try joining. He is found adjacent to the first hardline you discover. He is also friends with Mercury, and if you get a note from Mercury for completing his last mission he'll reward you with an exclusive "Industrial" jacket. He is also interested in taking down the Chopper gang in Uriah, and will reward you with both info (money) and experience code for retrieving one of their keys, this can be a great boost to a start up operative. For the more sentimental types he also offers a souvenir version of the chopper keys, to remember your early days by.

Mars Industrial Storage

Mars Industrial Storage is a warehouse, but it is also the first of many "hideouts" in the game, they are marked on your map with an orange arrow symbol. Gangs lurk below ground in these hideouts, often unusual in nature. Operatives often test their strength against these gangs by trying to get through the subterranean chambers, from which there is only one way out - getting past the gang's leader. But defeating the leader usually results in a reward, so many will try it. The gang in Uriah are called the Unclean, old disease spreading programs from an older Matrix. While they are fairly weak, defeating them and their leader Zero is still a challenge. These gangs also carry pills that can alter the look of an individual in the Matrix, from hair to skin tone to body size. These are valued by operatives, but also by Kimree, who stands outside the hideout, and will take a full set of the pills they carry and trade it for an "Industrial" fedora, which will complete your collection nicely.







The Headless

The Unclean are not the only ones to hide below the warehouse, on the fourth sublevel another exile group exist, known as the headless. Generally hidden, but when an operative approaches their leader Barebones, then a headless attacker of similar strength to them will emerge and attack. Defeating Barebones will stop these attacks, but also the reward for fighting them. These strange program drop a unique type of code fragment, collecting a complete set of these and returning them to Kimree, will reward you with the Headless Glasses, a popular Matrix item.









So for those of you with a taste for combat and cool clothes that oughta keep you happy. Well whenever I get round to it next I'll tell you about some of the other adventures you can be having in the Matrix.

The Matrix Online: Choice and Consequence

Referred to some as Chapter 1.4, Choice and Consequence was more of a min-event than an in-game chapter, but is notable for introducing us to a new Zion crew, some of whom would come to play a key role in the Matrix. It is also notable for letting players choose the fate of one of the crew at the end of the chapter, which was interesting, but a little awkward from a storyline perspective, but anyway - we'll come to that later.















Zion formally introduced it's operatives to the crew of the Novalis 2. Novalis had been a hovercraft operational before the truce, but that went down during Smith (as Bane's) sabotage. The crew were killed, but the hull and systems were salvageable and so an up and coming crew were given the craft as their own. This was the first of the recommisioned fleet, as the Military started to move it's assigned redpills out of Hoverbarges and into independant ships. Read more about the crew in this detailed report.

Meanwhile, all organizations were still reacting to the loss of Morpheus, though each in their own way and with their own perspective. Also the mysterious masked men were upping their presence in the Matrix, openly attacking redpills and others. Two leaders emerged, one named Enmascarado, another Gemaskeerd wearind distinctive coloured bandanas as opposed to the gray most of their group wore. Reports also came in of attacks taking place in the real, which were linked to the group, making them very dangerous indeed.











Things weren't going too well for Zion's premier crew either, one of their number - Neurophyte went missing and this was linked to a very dangerous and very desirable "killcode" making her a target for all organizations. A killcode is naturally very dangerous and a type of killcode is rumoured to be how the Assasin knocked off Morpheus.

[From here events vary depending on what server people played on, but I'm going with the most popular choice and the one that makes the most sense with following stoyline]

Neurophyte was eventually tracked down and rescued by Zion, but things weren't as smooth as might be hoped. The killcode was actually implanted in her mind and killing her slowly. Neurophyte insisted that the code be saved to keep it safe and as a potential weapon for Zion forces, but as this would cost her life Zion operatives rallied to support her and the decision was made to save Neurophyte and lose the killcode...which may have been for the best after all.

While this was going on operatives tracked down the bases of the Masked Men and defeated them, but it was certainly not the last time they would play their part in the Matrix. The same could be said of Neuophyte and her crew, who were now on a well deserved leave. Neurophyte had more to do and there were some on the crew yet to fully reveal their role in the ongoing story.

Right, that's it for this for now, I'll get you caught up with Neurophyte's next adventure after giving you a bit more info on what you can do on arrival in the game, that and some other stuff

See ya!

The Matrix Online: Things to do, part 1

Tumbling down the rabbit hole: getting started in MxO

OK so if you're in the slightest bit tempted to get involved in the Matrix Online story then you'll also want to know what to expect while playing the game. So as well as the storyline I'm going to try and introduce to you the neighbourhoods, personalities and quests you can undertake while playing the game and exploring the Matrix. In this installment I'm going to try and take you through the first area you'll encounter and get you aquainted with the basics of the game.

Uriah Industrial Park

The first place you'll wind up in after completing your basic training is Uriah. Uriah is one of many neighbourhoods in the city and a part of Richland (aka the Slums) one of four key districts you can explore. Your travel options will be limited so you'll spend your initial moments in this area. Uriah is a warehouse district that's not very pretty to look at, but has some interesting features so it's worth roaming around. For this post I'll concentrate on what you can find in the neighbourhood though it doesn't have every feature in the game.

The Choppers

Hopefully you'll bump into some friendly redpills when you enter the Matrix and often they are willing to show you around so it's always worth asking. But that's not all you'll find there, a local gang names the Choppers, a crew of car thieves who are also exiled programs, not human like you or I. There are many such gangs on many streets in the city, they are a danger, but there can be rewards for taking them down. Some of them carry Chopper keys, a gang emblem (which all the gangs have) and there are people who are willing to reward you for attacking the gangs.

I've written about this gang and others HERE

My First Quest

A new feature has been added to the game for new players only so you may want to check it out when you start. Quests are common in many MMOs, MxO had been lacking them since it is mission focused but more and more are being added and these will be what I cover in these posts amongst other things. The quest centres on a group of "collectors" there are people willing to trade with you - they are represented on your map (press M) with a pink icon with two arrows representing the trade. You should have in your inventory (press I) an ID Card, you can trade this with the first collector "Clio" who will give you a note to pass to the next collector. It carries on and as you go you will be required to obtain keys from the Choppers nearby and you will be rewarded for your efforts with items useful to you as you start. Here you can get the "Industrial Pants" and "Industrial Boots" part of a set of clothing you can obtain only in the Uriah district.

FastBack

Somewhere amongst these collectors will be FastBack who has a grievance against the gang. He rewards the Industrial Boots so you're better off getting them from the quest but if you lose them or anything you can get them from him. In each district there is a collector willing to reward you for giving them gang tokens.

Vendors

At the end of the collector trail you should find some Vendors marked on your map with a blue V icon. These will sell you items relating to the basic starting abilities, enougn to get you started on whatever path you chose whether it be hacker, coder of combat. Vendors are dotted throughout the city selling everything from clothes to weapons to abilities - there's lots to check out. They will also buy unwanted items from you.











Hardlines

Near the Vendors you should find a Hardline in the shape of a phone booth, it will be glowing and as you get near it you should have the option to "synchronise" - do this and you will gain experience and add it to your list of Hardlines. Hardlines can be used to enter and exit the matrix you can upload goods to your hovercraft in the real and you can also change your abilities there and trade goods on a virtual marketplace. The most common use for hardlines is travel though as you can instantly transport yourself between synchronised hardlines. Try it, send yourself back to the place you started from and come back in a blink!














Mercury

There are lots of missions you can do in game, as you start you can do missions for Zion that will get you aquainted with the game and your abilities. Later you are given missions that can either get you further up the ranks in Zion or tempt you into the employ of the Machines or the Merovingian - but they aren't the only ones willing to hire you. Mercury is an exile who lives in the basement of a building near the Vendors and Hardline you've just found. He is part of a group called the Elements, who are prominent in the Richland district. He is an inventor and garage owner who has various uses for you, which add to the flavour of life in the Matrix. He has five starting missions that tell you a bit about him and the elements group and give you good experience starting out so they're well worth doing. The developers also added a sixth mission recently, but I'll get onto that in a nother post I think.

If you want map coordinates and other info to help you find Mercury and others I'd reccomend THIS SITE which I've been using as a reference for this post.

For more information of Mercury, Sugaree has written reviews of his missions and virtually all the other "contact" missions on her BLOG

Parallaxis

There's nothing better than a club to unwind or party down after a mission and Uriah district has just that for you. Parralaxis is viewable on your map with a blue musical note icon and is well worth checking out, especially as you can often find other redpills there. The club is a warehouse converted into a massive club with a huge dancefloor, banging music and some private rooms upstairs you can chill in. It's not the most suave of places but it's a nice place to hang out in when you're starting off. There are several clubs of varying nature and tastes dotted throughout the city - check them out, a lot of them have "contacts" lurking within.

That'll do, once you've checked all that out you'll want to head out on foot, maybe find a few hardlines or use the subway to get around. But I wouldn't be a stranger 'cause Uriah's got a lot more to offer and I'll tell you all about it soon.

The Matrix Online: Chapter 1, part 3

mIt is my intention to also give you some idea of the things to do whilst playing the Matrix Online so I think I shall slot them in between chapter reviews, starting with the basics of gameplay and what there is to do when you first enter the game. But for now let's finish the first chapter of the game storyline, which was quite a shock to the system let me tell ya.









With the Nightfall over, events turned to Morpheus who continued his crusade to free the One or his remains from the Machine city. Morpheus put a secret message in a newspaper and several redpills got it, meeting with him while he continued to speak of his campaign. Following this a surge of "code bombings" began in the Matrix. This sows great confusion, especially among Zion, some help him, some try to stop him other stand and watch uncertain of where their loyalties should lie.

Almost unnoticed in the chaos, though certainly adding to it, helicopters are spotted flying around the city, dropping leaflets stating "Don't Trust the Frenchman" - but no one has time to figure out why they are there. Also a group of Masked Men start coming out of the woodwork, also with their motives unclear, but joining in the attacks on Morpheus - showing up in large numbers after Ookami tried to attack him and on other occasions when he showed up in public. Both these entities remained a mystery - but they weren't going to go away.

Then the unthinkable happened...



And everything changed.









This mysterious assasin had really done it, despite all the new measures put in Morpheus's body has not been found and he was really dead. To be true, some people think he may still be alive - this has never been confirmed, but either way it didn't matter: the hunt was on!

Early on, operatives uncovered evidence linking this Assassin to the Merovingian. The Merovingian didn't acknowledge any part in the assassination - but there wasn't time for following that up because The Assassin wasn't hiding - he was fighting!

It started when Agent Skinner, a senior Agent often in charge of human operations, was confronted and killed (also permanantly) by the Assassin. Monsters caled "corrupted" - seemingly monsters made of flies in a roughly human shape - began attacking humans en masse. While difficult to kill a swarm of flies the humans fought back uncovering a definite connection to the Assassin and confirmation that he had killed Morpheus...and more than that - he wanted to bring down the entire Matrix!!

Soon decay began to appear in the Matrix as flies began to attack everything, even to the extent of revealing the code behind monuments and other structures. Flies even attacked Morpheus's body at an improptu funeral held for him - this enraged the humans, that rage and anger would be something they'd need to get through what happened next. One person did show up to help however, newly designed liaison program Agent Pace.











But the battle became even more intense when "Complete Corruptors" - massive fly creatures that towered over anything human - began their assault. Very hard to injure and able to cause massive damage to anything that came near. The battle was long and hard, with all organizations working together, spurred on by ookami - now working for the Merv - they eventually brought all the monsters down. But even though they hadn't succeeded in destruction they had given the Assassin the chance to escape justice...for a while.

The Matrix Online: Chapter 1, part 2

A short reprieve was earned after the impostors were defeated but peace is a hard thing to maintain. This time it was not a unified assault but a combination of factors and individuals that created the event known as "Nightfall." Most of these events occured simultaneously so I will discuss each factor seperately.

Firstly the Red Eyed Agents as they became known (LED Agents to some) were still present, though conducting more subtle operations such as sabotaging Hardlines and sowing dissent, more terrorists than an invading army. Though hidden they were still a large presence and operatives from all organization regularly got calls to deal with them. Gradually a bit more information became known, documents were found referring to "disguises" and a superior identified as "The General." But they remained both a hazard and a mystery.

[The next section refers to information found in cinematics. I've embeded the cinematic for this chapter here, but you can download and watch it in higher quality at MXOStory and also HERE on the Matrix Online forums where you can find much more information.]



Having led the efforts to claim Neo's RSI, Morpheus pushed his campaign further. Consulting the Oracle he began to demand that the Machines return Neo's body, if he even were dead. The Machines declined so Morpheus took drastic action. He set off "code bombs" around the city which when set off pealed back the Matrix to reveal the code beneath also attaching a code glitch to any redpill nearby. These were designed to forcefully awaken humans, thus straining the system and forcing the Machines to comply. The Machines hunted Morpheus, but he had long been adept at evading them. Zion reluctantly had to oppose Morpheus to maintain the truce and pleaded with their operatives to stop the bombings.

But an even bigger problem emerged as Lupine (Werewolves) and Blood Drinker programs emerged in large masses attacking redpills and demanding justice, though the humans didn't know what they meant. It turned out that two prominent members of their "races" had gone missing and the redpills were being blamed for this. The death toll rose as the redpills tried to discover what was going on. To add to the chaos another leader, Invalesco was making his own plans, involving the humans. Offering them immortality in exchange for loyalty to him they would try to seize the Matrix itself!!


















Things changed again when Lupine leader Ookami (above) and Blood Drinker leader Malphas emerged from hiding. They had not, it seemed, been captured but were hiding from the Merovingian. With their troops already on the warpath they called for a rebellion against the Merovingian, who thought himself master of all programs, and they asked the humans for aid. Rising up against their former master they had some success, but someone got in the way.

Invalesco kick-started his plan for supremacy. He invited humans to come to him and be changed into vampire kind, losing their bodies in the real, but living forever in the Matrix. But his plan was stopped by his brother, Feronus, who lead an attack on the rogue leader. Suffering multiple wounds including several near fatal wooden stake attacks he fled and became the target of a great hunt. A trail was followed to outside the Matrix where he was finally staked and killed in a hidden fortress.

This victory was short lived as the Merovingian used the distraction to seize control of the rebellious forces and revealing some of his true power over code to execute many of the key leaders in the rebellion. After a time in the Merovingian's dungeon Ookami and Malphas were dragged back into forced service for the Frenchman - Nightfall was over.

Ookami and Malphas currently serve as heads of their program groups within the Merovingian's forces, roles they seem to have accepted...for the time being at least.

The Matrix Online: Chapter 1, part 1

It ended with Neo and so, when things changed, though he was long absent it also began with Neo. Each organization had a vested interest in the saviour of manking as did some new players on the scene.

[I'll just quickly point you to MXO Story a great website where I sourced a lot of this from and can give you a much fuller account of events in the Matrix]

The terms of the truce were strict, there were restrictions on where you could go and what you could do. Fighting between organizations was outlawed. However tensions could not be held back forever and suddenly fighting broke out on a large scale. This was soon followed by another presence, Agents attacking members of all organization, further provoking mistrust and anger.

The Machines vehemently denied these attacks and redpills soon spotted that something was wrong. Firstly the Agents were unpredicable and haphazard, something the system Agents never were, secondly they could be beaten - something nigh on impossible for a human to do. Closer inspection revealed a crack in their disguise, behind their dark sunglasses their eyes glowed bright red - who were these intruders?












Operatives didn't have time to find out, but had enough evidence to work together against them. It turned out these imposters had something they wanted, fragments of Neo's RSI code. They frantically fought back against them to obtain this code, returning it to their organization leaders. Morpheus soon began to show himself in the Matrix, revealing a partly reassembled RSI of Neo and encouraging redpills to collect more Code and also to pressure the Machines for the One's body or location.












But the Intruders had their own plan for the Code. The Oracle informed operatives of Shapers an elite coder organization that could possibly reassamble Neo's RSI. The organizations, who had been hoarding the codes, also competed for control of these programs, trying to escort them to their own bases. In the competition, one was lost to the impostors...one was enough.

Soon after "N30 AG3NTS" appeared, leaking code and bearing a pale resemblance to Neo himself and providing a devastating counterattack for the Agents. More was to follow, as a few Agents capable of manipulating the Matrix to call down lightning appeared, further threatening the humans. A desperate battle was fought, but with the assistance of organization leaders and genuine Agents the day was won - though that would certainly not be the last time the impostors made their presence known, indeed some are rarely sighted today, about three years on. But their bid for control was finished and the Oracle smiled as she saw humans and programs of different organizations working and celebrating together.

Quite some time later the Machines released Neo's RSI for "The edification of redpills" in a remote location - a "fight club" located in the Gracy Heights neighbourhood. Redpills like to visit once in a while and it has had a profound effect on bluepills who come across it - including redpill skecptic Andres Bonifaceao.

More to come soon.

The Matrix Online: State of Affairs

I think it's high time I did a bit of plugging for an online game I've been playing for most of it's three year run now. This game gives the continuing story of the Matrix following on from when the truce between man and Machine was made at the end of Matrix Revolutions. It's not the biggest of online games nor the most popular, but it is a great game and if you're a fan of the movie trilogy and fancy getting a bit more involved in the world you see on screen then this game might be worth a shot.

I've decided to plug it as best I can by detailing the things you can enjoy in-game, but first I think I should let you catch up on the storyline of the game. This is no simple task as there is a lot of story to catch up on, and there's no way that I can hope to get it all, but I'll give a brief overview along with my thoughts and links to more detailed review pages which will help you get caught up if you want to join the story - of course this info will contain SPOILERS and I'll post up warnings for a bit, but heck if you're three years behind it's not exactly doing you any harm is it?!!

OK I don't have time to cover one of the chapters now, so what I'll do is briefly set the scene following on from the movies and leading up to the game, most of it will be fairly obvious, but it will give you some idea of what to expect if by some leap of chance I've persuaded you to get on board.

By defeating Smith Neo won peace for humanity at the cost of his own life, though many doubted and some still doubt whether he died at all. Given relief from Machine attacks Zion were able rebuild and a significant amount of new redpills were freed from the simulation, unhindered under the loose terms of the truce. Transport Hovercraft were reserviced to house these new additions and newer "Hoverbarge" transports were commisioned to house large numbers of redpills before they found a crew.

A vast new array of combat programs were created allowing redpills and exiles to experience new abilities. However the amount of new humans made them short in supply, so a training system was created so that humans could specialize in one or two ability types, and change them at will. Various hand to hand and weapons combat techniques were available and refined but new and more varying abilities became available. Hackers could launch dangerous viral programs to damage or disable enemy targets or restorations programs to heal friendly members. Coders could craft items from weaponry to clothing out of the code of the Matrix or launch attacks and even intelligent defense programs known as "simulacra."

Perhaps the most significant development for humans was the Emergency Jackout Protocol.It was developed by Danielle Wright, a former Zion operative who had seperated from the city because of differing ideals and set up a company in the Matrix called Wright Research, which employed many bluepills and worked on special projects. The EJP allowed redpill to instantaneously jackout upon "death" in the Matrix, saving their lives though they remain weak for some time. Most redpills will probably owe their lives to this development, which is very hard to get around for those who want to permanantly neutralize a human target.

The influx of new humans made new possibilities for others too. The Machines and the Merovingian began recruiting the awakened into their folds and soon this developed into three political factions for humanity, each watching the others closely, wondering when chaos might strike between them...they wouldn't have to wait long.

I think that should do it for now, I'll try and get back soon with some more info, hope you enjoy!

Smith returns!...er again!!

Yes Agent Smith is back and he's scorchin'! While defeated by Neo and the Machines, such a powerful code can never be completely erradicated and while smith hasn't managed to fully reurrect himself, his virus code has become active causing weaker programs dubbed "Smithlings" (above) who bear his image and a little of his power...and who are also on fire! to hunt redpills across the Matrix. More powerful elements of his virus code are also at work however, bearing his ability to turn other into himself and bearing more potent amounts of his code to appear also and if they aren't stopped there could be trouble.

Smith also made an appearance in last year's event (see my slightly in character review HERE) and this year is set to be much of the same, you can't keep a good old villain down!! But the Oracle is on hand to stop him and has cooked up some treats to help operatives defend themselves and also take the fight to Smith himself. So if you missed last years event or want to get a taste of Smith in action then maybe you might just fancy getting the Matrix Online where you can experience all this and more on your PC.

As with last year there are rewards for those who take up the fight against Smith, as well as some tasty treats from the Oracle's kitchen players can expect the return of the twelve t-shirts available as rewards from last year bearing various slogans or one bearing the face of Smith. In addition to this there will be some new rewards, including new t-shirts, some of which seem to be gender specific...












While some may be dissapointed at getting a similar event as last year's, one cannot blame the development team who've been very busy creating a brilliant storyline and even added a whole new area to the game (and not an expansion you have to pay for) in recent weeks. And heck, you can't get enough of Smith right?!! So come on down to the digital city, where the grass is code and the girls are pretty and check out a great adventure coming your war. The virus returns later today in fact and will be around for a few weeks following so get in quick!

If you want to know more about the Matrix Online the THIS POST has links to relevant sites where you can find more and even download the game.

I think I need to do more to promote one of my favourite games so look out for more Matrix Based stuff in the near future.