INTERVIEW WITH X (name has been changed to protect the innocent):
<X> you there tbone?
<X> hehe sorry im a private teacher and had a 3 hour biology cram session with a student
<X> since finals this week
<X> and yes no one seems to know anything, I didn't even know about the game until E3 so you know it has to have been running pretty silent if it didn't make it on my radar for 2 years
<X> but I spent a lot of time at E3 studying it to try to get up to speed
<Tbone> ahh
<Tbone> so that's why you didn't register until the first
<Tbone> it appears we keep missing each other
<X> you around now or gone again?
<X> I'm bet testing WoW right now so I just keep checking IRC when I log out hehe
<Tbone> hey
<X> woot
<Tbone> there we are...haha
<X> well i was around before June 1st but really wasnt much point posting since not really much going on in the forums
<Tbone> so you went to e3?
<X> aye my 4th year i think
<Tbone> and that's how you found out about MxO?
<Tbone> you're with the press, i'm assuming?
<X> yes, I only review MMOG's
<X> aye
<Tbone> nice
<Tbone> yeah, I found out about the game in November
<Tbone> and have been an active member since then
<X> but there is almost no info on the forum hehe
<Tbone> Ubisoft used to be backing the game, and there was a lot of communication and information then
<Tbone> but when they backed out and WB was left to carry the torch, we hit a bad dry spell
<Tbone> that we appear to still be in
<X> Ubi Soft is a horrible company lol
<Tbone> heh
<Tbone> From what I've seen and heard of the game, it seems very promising
<X> so even though there may be some disruption, that can only be a good thing
<Tbone> the only thing that concerns me if their interaction with the community
<X> I'll push the PR team to start communicating more with the fanbase/tester pool
<Tbone> You mentioned that you were still in contact with the dev. Did you get contact info from e3?
<X> I met most of the team at E3
<Tbone> Yes, I've tried pushing, but my petition was locked on the forums
<Tbone> the only guy i know is Travis Williams with WB
<X> lol well I'm communicating directly with humans so harder for them to lock me
<Tbone> and that's from this irc channel...heh
<Tbone> You mentioned you'd have to keep silent pretty soon. Have you already been informed of your beta position or are you assuming that you'll have one?
<X> hehe well i have phone numbers ands stuff
<Tbone> pretty good indication, eh?
<Tbone> you must of hit it off with these guys pretty well...lol
<X> I was told I would be in the first group of testers
<X> yes i asked the right questions and got the attention of the right people
<Tbone> Ah, that's good to know
<X> but ive been doing this about 6 years and i have a good reputation, and I am 38 years old and dont look like a geek
<Tbone> They wouldn't even tell us whether or not Beta had started and whether or not emails had been sent out.
<Tbone> Yes, that helps.
<Tbone> I'm 20 years old myself. Studying to be an actor
<X> ahh, so a political science major? lol
<Tbone> I'm currently running one of the largest pre-game factions (we find ourselves bored a lot...lol)
<Tbone> LOL
<X> sorry, california humor there
<Tbone> Yeah, I tried auditioning to be a voice actor for MxO
<Tbone> but since it runs through WB, I have to join SAG first
<Tbone> One question I've been dying to know but have never gotten answered is how many people will be allowed on each "hovercraft"
<Tbone> In trying to organize my faction, I don't know how many to put on each ship
<X> I never saw a "hovercraft", i dont even know if it is implemented the way you guys are assuming it is
<X> in fact the requirement to use a fixed hovercraft would be prohibitive in the early game
<Tbone> Well, from speaking with Trav, it seems that "clans" will be organized in hovercrafts and factions (not physical hovercrafts...think of it as a sub-group)
<Tbone> being in a "hovercraft" simply gives you extra clan benefits
<X> well ultimately clans will be able to join or even make new factions beyond the initial 3
<Tbone> So I'm guessing you don't know of any number limit. I bet one hasn't even been decided yet...heh
<X> but stuff like that might not be implemented yet since it is not essential to launching the game
<Tbone> You said "public" beta would be "some time in June". No specific date yet?
<X> anything not essential to launching the game will be a relatively low priority
<X> no i said public invites would be in June
<X> the game may never be "public" until launch
<Tbone> Right...I don't mean "public" as in "open"
<Tbone> But as including those who aren't with Monolith
<X> right
<X> as far as I can tell the WB people dont even have accounts yet
<Tbone> Yeah, that is what they really didn't make clear
<X> well i can only assume that ambiguity was intentional
<Tbone> There was mass hysteria on June 1st...lol
<X> because they didnt want to appear to be missing their milestone
<Tbone> What would be the benefit? Ahh...that's what I assumed
<Tbone> A way to delay it without actually delaying it ;-)
<X> they arent the first company to do that
<X> the Shadowbane launch was infamous for that
<Tbone> I think the community would have rather been notified of a delay or an "internal beta" than be left in the dark.
<X> when Wolfpack/Ubi Soft announced the start of "beta", I publicly announced that there were no beta invites sent and that their "beta" was really an internal alpha at best
<Tbone> Though I guess they are more concerned with the media outlets
<X> i was flamed for months
<Tbone> lol
<X> but in the end i was proven right and the actual beta didnt start for about 18 more months
<Tbone> Well, many people are skeptical for good reason. There's lots of folks out there who like to pull a good prank, even if it doesn't make much sense.
<Tbone> 18 months? wow
<X> and by that time it was a totally different engine
<X> yes
<Tbone> Let's hope MxO isn't planning the same
<Tbone> We were actually expecting Beta last December
<X> lol n00bs
<Tbone> for a short while, there was a chance to apply for Beta in November
<Tbone> and we were told that "Beta would be very soon"
<Tbone> I think a couple of things happened to delay it, though.
<X> yea thats like less than a year in Dog years
<Tbone> There was the whole Ubisoft thing...and I also think they decided to revamp the combat system.
<X> well first off I have to say this....
<X> if *Ubi SOft* told you "soon", whatever they say you have to add a year to it
<X> so if they say "beta next week" that means 53 more weeks to beta hehe
<Tbone> lol...i mockingly came up with an equation that was very similar: Announced date + 1 month to 3 years = Actual date
<Tbone> it's proven correct EVERY time thusfar
<Tbone> heh
<X> when i was told I would be starting June 1st, and that date came around, I was cool as ice, didnt break a sweat lol
<X> i casually waited till June 2nd and sent an email off to the PR people hehe
<Tbone> Haha
<X> knowing that I had plenty of time hehe
<Tbone> I'm not as connected as you are, but I do have my connections
<Tbone> I was expecting to be in there with ya June 1st
<Tbone> I wasn't as cool about it, though, because I didn't have CONFIRMATION
<X> well so when they said "real soon" I said "oh ok so 3 more weeks or so?" lol
<X> that would be really soon in this industry
<Tbone> yeah...i'm hoping to be in there by the end of July
<Tbone> and that's mainly b/c i'm optomistic
<Tbone> What really bothered me is that when beta signups were put on the website, there was no newsletter sent out about it
<Tbone> Their main advertisement about the newsletter was "Sign up and be the first to know about Beta signups!"
<Tbone> We haven't had a newsletter yet!
<X> hehe
<Tbone> Do you know how many will be in the true first wave of Beta?
<X> I dont think they know yet so no way i would
<X> some things i can predict better than the devs, that's not one of them
<Tbone> heh...yeah
<X> I've beta'd well over 100 MMOG's now
<X> and more than half were not Asian lol
<Tbone> LOL
<X> so really i was assured for sure in June
<X> which is possible
<X> once i am in I will know if they have a realistic shot at launching in November
<Tbone> but won't be able to tell anyone ;-)
<X> of course they may try to launch in November anyways
<X> exactly
<X> I can tell you once you are in-game
<Tbone> Are you planning on actually playing the game? Or just Beta testing? Or do you not know yet?
<X> very good question, I am asking myself that one also
<Tbone> haha...i guess there's plenty of time to decide
<Tbone> The one thing that worries me about the combat system is that I'll be too busy watching the cards to take a look at all the cool combat
<X> and i think the humans will break it
<Tbone> And the game will become more of a card game with something going on in the background than me feeling like I'm really kicking a guy
<Tbone> yeah, but "Merv" will make sure the peace doesn't last
<X> I think once you become familiar with the combat engine it wont take so much of your CPU cycles and you will be able to multitask
<X> I wouldnt be so sure
<Tbone> heh
<Tbone> I hope they hotkey the cards at least
<Tbone> Have you heard anything about the server structure?
<X> nope
<Tbone> How many servers they plan on having? At one point, it sounded like they were gonna try to have it be one virtual world
<Tbone> but that doesn't seem possible
<X> I dont think their world is very large so I would count on multiple servers
<X> and if SWG is any indication, a shitty game with a good franchise can sell a lot of product
<Tbone> lol
<X> so even if they screw up I think they can count on 100,000 players easy
<Tbone> you don't think the MxO world is very large?
<X> no not really
<Tbone> supposedly it will be the size of el salvador
<Tbone> i did the math once...
<X> is that like the size of downtown Los Angeles? lol
<Tbone> basically, if sydney, austrailia was 1 square inch, MxO would be the size of 1 square foot
<Tbone> which calculates to 8400 square miles, i think
<X> 144 times the size of Sydney?
<X> i dont believe it
<Tbone> 12 times in each direction, basically
<Tbone> it was in an interview
<Tbone> i'll find it for you...
<X> that doesnt mean it is accurate
<Tbone> it's supposed to be the largest virtual world ever created
<Tbone> did you not watch the revolutions dvd trailer of MxO?
<X> guess not hehe
<X> I dont see any point in making the world that big
<X> and making it that big would just make them copy the same areas over and over
<Tbone> they created a program which individualizes each building
<Tbone> making EVERY place you go completely unique
<X> that would be very impressive
<X> of course i would assume that would increase the amount of beta testing required
<X> because it is unlikely to be error-free
<Tbone> there must be a place that at least has a transcript of the trailer
<Tbone> i would assume so
<Tbone> what they said, though, is that initially a lot of that area would be locked up
<Tbone> room for expansion, i guess
<Tbone> so at the release, it won't be that big
<Tbone> but they plan on it eventually becoming that big
<Tbone> found it
<Tbone>
http://archive.gamespy.com/e32003/preview/pc/1002154/<Tbone> 5th paragraph
<X> the info i have about the game is from E3
<X> sorry been cramming for finals all day kinda burned out
<Tbone> did you go to that link?
<X> one of my students wanted to review his entire biology semester in 3 hours... bleh
<X> no not yet, Im somewhat resistant to gamespy and gamespot lol
<X> that article claims that Ubi SOft is the publisher
<Tbone> that's because the interview was before Ubisoft backed out
<Tbone> Ubisoft used to be the publisher
<X> this article is written on May 15th, at E3 and he claims to have gone to the Ubi SOft booth
<X> but I suspect he is lying
<X> because all of the MxO interviews were done at the WB booth
<Tbone> well, you can ask the guy yourself
<X> at no time were people directed to Ubi SOft
<Tbone> he interviewed Travis Williams
<Tbone> aka Travisimo
<Tbone> who is online at this moment
<Tbone> in the IRC channel
<Tbone> i'll ask him myself, actually
<X> ok
<X> oh wait nm
<Tbone> ?
<X> this is May 15th 2003 lol
<Tbone> yup
<Tbone> way back when
<X> so yea probably was the Ubi Booth
CONVERSATION WITH TRAVISIMO:
<Tbone> sup mon ami?
<Travisimo> Just writing emails.
<Tbone> was looking through an old article and saw your interview talking about the size of MxO
<Tbone> 12 times the size of Sydney!
<Tbone> did he misquote you or is that true?
<Travisimo> I said one section is 12x the size of sidney.
<Travisimo> Sydney.
<Tbone> one SECTION?
<Travisimo> The megacity is infinite.
<Tbone> IN game??
<Travisimo> We will build out as we expand.
<Tbone> you guys are crazy! lol
<Travisimo> Just busy.
<Tbone> i bet
<Tbone> My faction is thinking of getting unique t-shirts made
<Tbone> I think it has a mind of its own now
<Tbone> You should visit again sometime! Your account is still there
<Travisimo> :: Laughing :: Oh yeah.
<Travisimo> What kind of shirts?
<Tbone> We haven't decided yet...there's a website that will make our design and create an online shop for us to sell them with
<Tbone> we'll probably have a contest for a shirt design...something with the Matrix Online and the Furious Angels on it somewhere
<Tbone> the ultimate in nerd-ware, i assure you
<Tbone> hehe
<Travisimo> Should get a pic of an angel. They are big ass kickers.
<Travisimo> Whenever the almighty had beef he would send one.
<Tbone> exactly
<Tbone> we already have many images
<Tbone> angels with guns in the code
<Tbone> etc.
<Tbone> i like this one myself:
http://www.followtheangel.org/albums/User_suBmissions_039/FA_ari.jpg<Travisimo> That's pretty cool.
<Tbone> yeah, we got tons of fan art...just have to find some way to use it
<Travisimo> We need to open a fan art Board.
<Tbone> amen
<Tbone> what i'm really pressing is that newsletter
<Tbone> what happened to that, man?
<Tbone> Beta signups have been available for over a month, yet no announcement with the newsletter has been made
<Tbone> Was that intentional, or are there just higher priorities at the moment?
<Tbone> I tried to start a petition to push the activation of the newsletter, and it was locked because it wasn't considered an "active discussion". lol
<Travisimo> Well stop causing trouble.
<Tbone> lol
<Tbone> There was no "trouble"! It was simply an organized way of voicing the concern of the community!
<Travisimo> Or perhaps a personal one that enough people could get behind?
<Tbone> No, I have nothing personal to gain from the newsletter. I hunt well enough for info without it.
<Tbone> I had heard many people complain about it, though, so I figured it was an overdue topic
<Travisimo> People will pick brand new reasons to be unhappy. You might as well figure out which ones you are willing to deal with.
<Tbone> But don't you think a newsletter is worth fighting for? Don't you feel a newsletter is worth DYING for?
<Tbone> (sorry, had to do that)
<Travisimo> Everything in time.
<Travisimo> The machine will get started sooner than people expect.
<Tbone> It wouldn't be an issue except the website states "Sign up for the newsletter and be informed of Beta signups"
<Tbone> which is kind of null and void now...heh
<Tbone> I have no doubt that you guys are hard at working getting everything ready. I just wanted to make sure that something that may be considered unimportant was not overlooked.
<Travisimo> We will notify people who are accepted.
<Tbone> Oh, I didn't mean invitations. I meant a general newsletter saying "You can sign up to apply for closed Beta on the Matrix Online website."
<Travisimo> Because we have enough signups.
We don't need more.
<Tbone> so that people who visited in, say, February, and signed up for the newsletter so that they could keep up with MxO without having to check the website everyday would still know what's happening.
<Tbone> Ahh...LOL
<Tbone> Well, I'm not gonna argue with that. I definitely don't want MORE competition!
<Tbone> Alright, I've got to memorize some lines now. Take it easy. Come visit us sometime:
www.followtheangel.org .
<Tbone> Later
<Travisimo> peace
Cinco de Mayo
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