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The Matrix Media Movies

The Matrix Going Massively Multiplayer 312

Posted by CmdrTaco from the its-about-time dept.
Chembro writes "Looks as though Ubi Soft is making a Matrix MMORPG. Everything is still pretty sketchy now that Revolutions has "ended" the series, but so far it seems pretty interesting. I wonder when the game will be placed (i.e. before Revolutions or after) but this could be the way the Wachowski brothers keep the universe going and how it will end. Pretty cool if you ask me."
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The Matrix Going Massively Multiplayer More

The Matrix Going Massively Multiplayer

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  • 1st Post (Score:3, Informative)

    by Bruha ( 412869 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:05AM (#7428779) Homepage Journal
    You can find more info about the game at http://tmo.warcry.com

    • Hi, I'm Troy McClure...you may remember me from such MMORPG's as "Pokemon Online" and "Michael Jackson's World of Weasles"

    • Um, hello, submitters? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @01:31PM (#7429531)
      Do you even read the links you submit?

      The TMO website states quite clearly when the RPG takes place (right after Revolutions) and that it will be based on plotlines guided by the Wachowskis.

      There are two sides in the game--those who want people to remain in the Matrix (sort of a Cipher mindset), and those who feel everyone should be free because the Matrix is not real (like a Morpheus mindset).

      There will be bullet-time and even possibly agents. It'll be everything Enter The Matrix wasn't. Nightclubs, actual traffic, and so forth will all exist in the game. It will be one big urban city, because according to the Wachowskis, the Matrix is one massive urban landscape.

      All of that info, I got just from reading the official website the submitter linked to. Clearly, the submitter didn't even bother, instead asking when it takes place and saying how cool it seems if you ask him. Uh, yeah.
      • Oh Good - If the Matrix is all an urban landscape, I can sit here looking out the window at the rolling mountains covered with glorious fall colors and the geese flying past, and think about how wonderful it is to be in reality. Now how much do they want a month again, for me to plug into a grimy city with extra drive by shootings?
      • Do you even read the links you submit?

        It's okay, because CmdrTaco evidently doesn't read his own website [slashdot.org].

  • after (Score:5, Informative)

    by Satai ( 111172 ) * on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:05AM (#7428783)
    it says explicitly in the FAQ on the website linked that it will take place after revolutions. this was regarded as a spoiler in several communities...
    • Yeah.

      It was actually announced that it would take place after Revolutions way back at this year's E3 (mid-May), so even before Reloaded it was known among anyone who heard the announcements that the Matrix would still be around after the trilogy ended.

  • Old News (Score:3, Redundant)

    by gorehog ( 534288 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:09AM (#7428809)
    In fact, this was a major spoiler when the news first came out because it revealed that the VR in the matrix was not dettroyed.
    • Spoiler space
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      Okay, you know how the kid announces to all of zion that the war is over? I think a better ending would have been for him to go there but have everyone dead...except for 23 people; 16 women and 7 men. That way it would be clear that humanity will be enslaved forever, because this Neo made a different choice than his predecessors and they still ended up with the same result. It also would bring more power to the statement by the Merovingian that choice is an illusion between peop

      • Re:A Better Ending would have been (spoilers) (Score:5, Insightful)

        by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @07:35PM (#7430944) Homepage Journal
        "It also would bring more power to the statement by the Merovingian that choice is an illusion between people with power and people without it. It would have been extremely dark and definitive but still would have left people scratching their heads."

        That would have ruined the movie. The real hero of this movie wasnt Neo, it was the Oracle. She created both Neo and Agent Smith in order to put the Matrix in jeopardy and give both the Machines and the Humans a common problem to solve. Since the humans had the key ingredient (Neo) to fix it, they had a bargaining piece to demand peace with the machines. It was an interesting solution because it meant the Matrix could stay online, and those outside of it could live a peaceful existence, they wouldn't feel the need to try to destroy it.

        I personally found this fascinating. I thought it was interesting that it was a machine/program who wanted piece and risked her own existence for it. It meant the machines weren't totally evil. By ending the movie by causing things to be like they planned, it'd destroy what made this ending exciting. And for what, proving the point that shit happens? It's easy to write movies that end on a bad note. It's hard to write movies where problems are solved in engaging ways.

      • I agree with NanoGator, but I have to add that "Merv" was a power-monging machine who's underlying purpose - it seems - was to dispell hope. People with power also make sure they keep their power and will do or say anything to sustain that goal. I, for one, took everything he said with a grain of salt. I mean, most people don't trust rich, powerful people in the real world (our time) - why should they be trusted in the Matrix - especially when it is a world created to sustain the self-aware machines. They p

  • Dying in the matrix (Score:5, Funny)

    by thryllkill ( 52874 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:12AM (#7428829) Homepage Journal
    as long as my avatar doesn't take as long as trinity to die in the game I'll be happy. Imagine having to wait 20 minutes to respawn...
    • Imagine having to wait 20 minutes to respawn...

      What is this "respawn" thing you speak of? Multiplayer online games would be a lot better without players respawning in the same round they die in. Take Counter-Strike. *Excellent* model. You get shot, you're dead until the end of the round. With other games, you get shot, you die, you wait 20 seconds, you respawn, you run back you kill someone in a suicidal move, you die and they die, you wait 20 seconds, you respawn, you run back, etc. Lame. It cheap

  • This is a joke, right? (Score:5, Funny)

    by LeoDV ( 653216 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:13AM (#7428830) Journal
    Many, many moons ago this was announced, and it explained that it would take place after Revolutions, which ruled out many possible endings of the series...

    First the review of nVidia cards that came out weeks ago and now this? What next, an article about leaked rumours that there might be a sequel to Kill Bill : Volume One?

  • Bullet Time? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by sheemwaza ( 570202 )
    I wonder if they will try to implement "Bullet Time"... It was a major part of the movie and the games, but in a multiplayer world it could be confusing/disorienting/annoying. No multiplayer in either of the Max Payne games because of this difficulty.

    • Re:Bullet Time? (Score:4, Funny)

      by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:24AM (#7428879) Homepage Journal
      well.. it will just be so laggy that everyone will move slow-motion.

    • Re:Bullet Time? (Score:5, Informative)

      by DCowern ( 182668 ) * on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:28AM (#7428899) Homepage

      I wonder if they will try to implement "Bullet Time"...

      From the FAQ at thematrixonline.com: Yes, BULLET TIME(tm), slow motion interactive gameplay, is an essential part of the Matrix Online experience.

      You know they make FAQs for a reason... but don't feel too bad, the original poster didn't bother to read it either [slashdot.org].

      • Re:Bullet Time? (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Guppy06 ( 410832 )
        "From the FAQ at thematrixonline.com: Yes, BULLET TIME(tm), slow motion interactive gameplay, is an essential part of the Matrix Online experience."

        That will be a neat trick. If one person uses bullet time, does everybody else in the same zone also experience slowdown? If not, how would they manage to keep the specific character from falling out of synch with the server?

    • Re:Bullet Time? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by noname3 ( 580108 )
      You're right, I doubt bullet time would be feasable. It wasn't in The Opera either. There were stunts and you could bounce off walls, backflip and dodge the occasional bullet, but all at normal speeds.

      Remind you of any scenes in the matrix? Slow motion wasn't used in every fight. If the game has stunts and a well designed martial arts system I'll be happy.

      Bullet time doesn't need to be slow motion. Speedups for a single character would be much easier to pull off, and that's how someone would see bullet ti

      • Sphere of effect (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Overly Critical Guy ( 663429 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @01:37PM (#7429554)
        What's the big deal? I imagine bullet-time will just have sort of a radius of effect. If you're not in the same room, you won't slow down, and if you're watching it from a distance, you will see people moving in slow-motion but the rest of the game is moving normally.

        If you try to fire into that radius of effect, your bullets will just slow down, so you can't pick off the bullet-time people. Everything slows down in that bubble. Makes sense to me. Can't wait for the game.

  • I can see it now (Score:5, Funny)

    by The-Bus ( 138060 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:14AM (#7428836)
    * Call to Tech Support.

    Caller: Yeah, um, are you guys going to fix the lag issues? I'm having some major problems. The screen refreshes at 10fps, my player barely moves, characters pop in and out of the frame.
    Support: What kind of processor are you running?
    Caller: Well above the specs you need, and I'm sitting on a DS3 connection.
    Support: I see...
    Caller: ...
    Support: (consulting PR manual) It's not server lag... it's... bullet time!
    • The image replicators work for the Matrix, so anyone playing the game will only see the raw code streaming down their screen.

  • So.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by wastaz ( 634441 ) <w4st4z@netscapPERIODe.net minus punct> on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:17AM (#7428847) Homepage
    ...will there be a linux version of this? or are only the win32 hackers allowed to enter the matrix?

  • RTFA (Score:4, Informative)

    by DCowern ( 182668 ) * on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:24AM (#7428874) Homepage

    I wonder when the game will be placed (i.e. before Revolutions or after)

    From the FAQ: The Matrix Online timeline takes place after The Matrix Revolutions, the third Matrix movie, currently scheduled to release in November 2003.

    You know it's getting really bad when the story submitters don't even bother to RTFA... *sigh*.

  • Wondering when the game will take place? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Infernon ( 460398 ) * <infernonNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:24AM (#7428880)
    The site specifically says after the 3rd in the trilogy. It also says that the Wachowskis are doing the story line.
    I don't agree the the third movie 'ended' the series either. without getting into it, there's much that was left unsaid other than that which was implied.
  • this could be the way the Wachowski brothers keep the universe going and how it will end.

    In a massive disk crash on the main game server.
    (don't the machines that own Matrix suffer from natural hardware failures anyway?)

  • Due 2004... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SkArcher ( 676201 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:26AM (#7428888) Journal
    Bet you wont see this until 1stQ 2005 at the earliest.

    no MMPORPG ever gets finished on time.
  • Wait....a Matrix MMORPG...aren't we already in that?

    Or are we still in the real world...and this is how it really all begins?

    • Re:MMORPG? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by SharpFang ( 651121 )
      Well, the way Saddam and Bin Laden "vanished" despite amassed eforts of intelligence agencies, armies, politicians, police and many more, makes you wonder.
      And just think, what if THEY are on the GOOD SIDE? (note all the news in Matrix proclaim Morpheus to be the most evil, most dangerous terrorist of the world, just watch computer screen in front of Neo sleeping at the keyboard right before "Wake up Neo!")
      • Amassed efforts my ass. I don't think they have even really bothered to catch bin Laden or Hussein. They can't afford it -- otherwise, there would be no Enemy. There'd only be this mystical Terrorism -- but how the hell are you going to fight a word? No, they need to have someone who has a face, and Saddam and Osama are just the right persons to be the symbols of the enemy. I don't think there'd even be an enemy if there wasn't someone like Osama to point at.

        Whether Saddam and Osama are on the good side o

      • "And just think, what if THEY are on the GOOD SIDE?"

        Quite difficult to imagine there. These aren't people trying to free anybody.
    • the n;y real difference is that it's millions of windows using kids feeding it, not with their 'bio-energy' but with their money.

  • Whee. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mrseigen ( 518390 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:32AM (#7428920) Homepage Journal
    So what happens when people crack the game server and start modifying it?

    • Neo (Score:3, Funny)

      by zCyl ( 14362 )
      So what happens when people crack the game server and start modifying it?

      Neo: Are you saying I can get a subscription to this MMORPG?
      Morpheus: When you're ready, you won't have to...

    • Re:Whee. (Score:3, Funny)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 )
      "So what happens when people crack the game server and start modifying it?"

      For some people, the game will crash, and they'll find themselves in the real world. Out of anger, they'll rise and try to bring the servers down, thus freeing everybody.

  • A word from the subsim community (Score:3, Interesting)

    by lone_marauder ( 642787 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:32AM (#7428922)
    The last big online multiplayer experience they planned was Silent Hunter II and Destroyer Command. The game (really one game, written as two to soak you for two purchases) was, quite simply, the most disastrous bugfest I've ever seen out of any game software company in existence.

    I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but if Ubi has anything to do with it, look carefully before buying.

  • Irony (Score:3, Funny)

    by Epistax ( 544591 ) <epistax @ g m a il.com> on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:33AM (#7428926) Journal
    If irony where made of blueberries, we'd all be eating pie.

  • what would be cool.. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:38AM (#7428944) Homepage Journal
    would be that if you could code your own minions and objects(the way merv had done, and how the trainman had done his place). and being free to hack the system as well(to perform insane stunts, without getting you banned).

    of course if you chose to go that way there would be some kickassing done by the agents(you would have to be pretty powerful before starting to attract too much attention).

    oh well.. too bad it'll probably just end up like everything else and you'll be kicking some rats in the sewers.
  • Since games make more money than movies, movies have just become teasers for the videogames that follow it.

  • Not Matrix online...but THE MATRIX (Score:5, Funny)

    by Cat9117600 ( 627358 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:42AM (#7428963) Homepage
    You won't play a rebel fighting the matrix, ro anything like that. The game will be the matrix! You'll go to work, come home, and manage your life. Just think The Sims, only first person! ^_^
  • But we're already in it!

  • Leaked user manual... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mackman ( 19286 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:49AM (#7428997)
    I saw a leaked version of the user manual PDF. Apparently you're supposed to put in the CD, lay naked in a bathtub of strawberry Jello, and have a friend shove a metal spike in the back of your neck. I'm sure real Matrix fans won't have a problem with this, but personally I prefer orange Jello.

  • Business plan. (Score:4, Funny)

    by SharpFang ( 651121 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:52AM (#7429006) Homepage Journal
    1) Release the Matrix series.
    2) Announce a MMORPG, with monthly changes.
    3) Take subscriptions.
    4) Charge monthly. "You are already playing it!"
    5) Sue everyone alive who didn't subscribe for copyright violation.

    Caveat: They may demand process in the Real World.

  • Begging for a hack (Score:5, Funny)

    by joelparker ( 586428 ) <joel@school.net> on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:55AM (#7429018) Homepage
    PR NEWSWIRE- Warner Brothers announced
    that its new online multiplayer Matrix game
    has been infected by a malicious computer virus.

    The virus changes all player characters
    to look and sound like the evil Agent Smith.

    Warner executives say they are baffled:
    "we certainly didn't see this coming,
    and we're not sure yet how to fix it."

    • You should be so lucky.

      More likely, the game will be all about going out and fighting Agent Smiths.

      As you level up of course, you can fight Bigger Agent Smith, then Really Big Agent Smith. Oh yea, and some Agent Smiths have guns, and some Agent Smiths have pipes, and some Agent Smiths have can cast Magic^H^H^H^Hatrix Missile and stuff...
      • More likely, the game will be all about going out and fighting Agent Smiths.
        This is covered in the FAQs and interviews. You will not be fighting agents. Those who meet agents, usualyl die - the rule will be true for the game.

    • More news (Score:3, Funny)

      by QEDog ( 610238 )
      "It even took over my avatar!" Said one of the DMs, who calls herself as The Oracle. One game tester, that played in all the 6 beta versions says he is going to get back into the game to use his high level character Da' 0|\|3 to solve the situation.

  • What will be the goal of that game? (Score:3, Funny)

    by SirLestat ( 452396 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @11:57AM (#7429035)
    Go out of the matrix in the real world? Is that some kind of plan to drive mmorpg addicts away from their computer?
  • Just load up your newsreader and goto alt.philosophy. It's just like that last two Matrix movies!

  • This was at E3 in May (Score:3, Informative)

    by tabacco ( 145317 ) * on Sunday November 09, 2003 @12:08PM (#7429095)
    It's not as if this is something new... Ubi was demoing it at E3 this year.
  • Imagine a MMORPG where they /encouraged/ you to hack the system. That would be awesome. Or like others have mentioned, you could create agents (like the Merv did the trainman) or get engulfed by agent Smith.
  • "This is the way the [Matrix] world ends
    Not with a bang but a whimper."
  • It is already listing the number of weapon and enemy you might encounter showing comba focus even before speaking of what the rest might be. So I would say, this is everquest but in the Matrix. Nothing is said in the FAQ for a game which should be far advanced (release 2004!) about roleplay, quest, impact of online player, etc... etc...
  • From here [gamershell.com], dated May 2003:

    "The Wachowski Brothers' vision for The Matrix is one that extends far beyond the theatrical trilogy, and the world they have created is so rich that we've chosen to tell inter-connected Matrix-related stories in multiple mediums," said Joel Silver, producer of the Matrix films. "Our goal in collaborating with Ubi Soft is to create a multiplayer online game that reflects the trilogy's highly stylized storytelling and innovative action, taking fans beyond the boundaries of the m

  • Will it suck as hard as Enter the Matrix?

    Seriously, this is an important question to be asked. Enter the Matrix had some of the most pre-release excitement for a game in recent memory, but once it was actually released it became probably the most universally loathed game of the year. I have not played this game, but the reports from everyone who has have been remarkably consistent.

    What they say is that the game was little more than an excuse. That the cinematic portions and plot were rather cool, but that
    • I have that game and its a lot of fun. The nicest thing about the game, in my opinion, is that the game uses authentic kung fu moves. They actually had the actors of Niobe and Ghost (the main characters in the game) with sensors so they could program in the martial arts moves accurately. Additionally, you can focus to do some nifty Matrix effects like walking along walls and dodging bullets. And the game has the same feel as the movies. In fact, the plot to Enter the Matrix runs parallel to Matrix: Reloaded
  • In any multi-player game you'll find cheaters. They have different excuses for it - lacking time to put in to the game like other "losers", boredom with the existing rules, etc. But whatever the excuse may be, its the same sociopathic behavior. The rules shouldn't apply to this individual so they take great pains to run exploits, proxies, and other cheating tools to remove the restrictions of the game's rules.

    This should sound familiar to fans of the Matrix movies. After all, the heroes esentially "che
  • You have entered The Lobby.
    neo13594: d00d, this looks jus lkie the movie
    butlikr: hey theres a guy coming
    A security commando shoots YOU for 13 points of damage!
    YOU shoot a security commando for 60 points of damage.
    YOU begin to evade.
    butlikr shoots a security commando for 85 points of damage.
    A security commando has been slain by butlikr!
    butlikr: what a puss
    neo13594: d00d, my kill. ass.
    butlikr: stfu, there no ones kills, its a team game.
    An agent has appeared!
    Agent Smith shoots YOU for 245 points of damage.
    ne

  • I can see it now... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Snaller ( 147050 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @02:09PM (#7429677) Journal
    Thouands of people will be playing like thouands of people, who wake up, brush their teat, eat breakfast, travel to work, put in 8 hours behind a desk, travel home again. Flatten out on the sofa watching big brother. Occasionally do some shopping and go to the toilet(not at the same time). Try to make points with the boss, earn some bucks. And once a year they'll reboot everything and you start all over.

    Cool game.
  • It comes with a special controller that goes from the PC or gaming console straight to "any part of your skin"

  • The Familiarity Problem (Score:5, Insightful)

    by harlows_monkeys ( 106428 ) on Sunday November 09, 2003 @04:58PM (#7430259) Homepage
    I think the Matrix will have a problem as an MMORPG. Let's consider existing MMORPGs and where their backgrounds come from.

    Everquest, AC, and AO all use original backgroups set in familiar genres (Fantasy for EQ and AC, SF for AO). Players have some general expectations based on the genre, but no specific characters/story requirements. (Although any fantasy game that has a Ranger class seems to run into some problems for every way that their Rangers differ from Aragorn).

    DAoC used Arthurian, Celtic, and Norse mythology for its background, loosely. This was a brilliant move on Mythics part--it gave them background that people would know something of, but because there are few specific characters and stories that most people are overly familiar with in those settings, it doesn't overly focus people's expectation.

    Now consider SWG. Although it is doing well, it has had a problem with disappointment for not living up to what many people want from a Star Wars game. The Star Wars universe is too strongly focused on a few characters and stories, and people playing a Star Wars game often want to be those characters. Far more people want to play Han Solo than play the guy Han Solo buys his guns or beer or hairstyling from.

    The Matrix, I think, might suffer from this. (As will the upcoming LotR MMORPG, BTW). The focus of the movies is too strongly on a small set of characters, and people will want to play those characters, or at least play with them, doing the the things that were done in the movie.

    Also, both The Matrix and the good SW movies were basically about world (galaxy, universe) changing events. If the games don't have that, many people will find them disappointing, compared to their expectation, which will basically be playing the movies.

    In light of the above, here are some movies/TV shows I thing would make good MMORPG conversaion.

    First, I'm surprised there has not been a Star Trek MMORPG. Sure, in some ways ST suffers from the same problems that SW and LotR have...but because there were several series, focusing on different crews (original, next gen, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise), I think the focus has been diluted enough that it would work. Set it in TNG time, and I think people could accept being on ships other than Enterprise, or space stations other than DS9.

    Second movie that comes to mind is either Antz or A Bug's Life. Those would work because there was only one movie for each, and though they focused on basically one character/story each, I don't think one movie is enough to form the strong association between the character and the world.

  • Matrix discussion groups have been pondering the implications of this game since soon after Enter the Matrix came out in May. This is six-months-old news. I'm almost tired of discussing it... Almost.
  • .. how many sleepless nights to I have to play before I can meet Monica Bellucci [freeones.com]?

    One interesting thing I did read about this is that the agents would be the equivalent of Dragons in the AD&D world. If you see one, do like they told Neo and RUN!

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