Jason Hall IRC Chat with Community
IRC Transcript by FILAMENT-
Monolinth's CEO took some time to stop by the irc channel. For those that missed it, here is a transcript of all the relevent questions about the upcoming game:
Jason_Hall
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Questions anyone?
Sorwon
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I have a question then, will interlock combat allow for 3+ combatants to fight each other at the same time?
Mal
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I second Sorwon's question.
Jason_Hall
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yes?or 3 on 1
Perma-Jacked
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Will there be a diverse amount of vehicles in MxO?
Jason_Hall
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fairly diverse
FILAMENT
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If you see a fight in progress, can you join? If so, what are the stipulations?
Jason_Hall
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yes... the stipulations are unknown to me at this time... remember, I'm always looking at in on other people's cpus.
Mal
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How will bullet-time work?!?!?!
Jason_Hall
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bullet time works... and it is cool
Qui
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If I use super matrix powers to jump into a random 20th story window and find a room, is it instanced, or can I leave an item there and come back later to find it still there?
Jason_Hall
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You can leave an item there. it is persistent, not instanced in the manner that you are thinking... the whole city is custom built
Perma-Jacked
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Will there be a "safe zone" for people that do not wish to engage in fighting?
Jason_Hall
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YES
FILAMENT
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ETA on the beta test?
Jason_Hall
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SOON.
TheArchitech
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How does Death work in The Matrix Online?
Jason_Hall
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I'll leave that up to Toby Ragaini to describe when he is ready...
Perma-Jacked|TCTS
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Are we allowed to kill any living being that we see in The Matrix Online? givin the right zones...
Jason_Hall
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No... my understanding is that PVP is by choice (unless you are in an PVP type of area) - Remember, I'm not the designer so Im not going to have the most detailed answers.
Mal
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Can you logout at anytime, or do you have to find a phone?
tobel
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to expand on that, do we have to use a hardline to logoff. Or perhaps if we don't use a hardline, a 30 second timeout penalty?
Jason_Hall
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Can't give that info out yet, but believe me it is coming...
Vapor
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Vehicles? Static, usable, destructable?
Mal
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Appending Vapor's question, destructable environment?
FILAMENT
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Addendum to Mal: car crashes?
Kaltren
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Addendum to Filament: Please?
Jason_Hall
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Can't reveal yet... but everyone, please bear in mind that Monolith is very focused on making a kick ass game here. We are different than most MMPOG creators in that we have a long history of making cutting edge 3D games before ever trying MMPOG... We pay attention to detail... believe that!
TheArchitech
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Jason, how long has The Matrix Online been under development?
Jason_Hall
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3 to 4 years depending how you measure the development
tobel
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When all of the important preguntas are out of the way, I'm still fresh here and don't know people, whats your job Jason?
Jason_Hall
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I'm CEO of Monolith
TheArchitech
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Why was the release of the website/forums so late in development?
Jason_Hall
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ASK UBI THAT QUESTION
Jason_Hall
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and WB
Vapor
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Are you close to the marketing aspects?
Jason_Hall
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Somewhat
Sorwon
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In the E3 video/interview it sounds as if our avatar clothing will be limited to begin with, and will expand upon reaching higher "levels". Is this true or did I hear incorrectly.
Jason_Hall
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You will definitely be able to grow as a character. We want players to be rewarded for their time spent playing. It makes the game worth it...
Mal
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My biggest concern is the uniqueness of characters. Will anyone look like anyone else?(coming from a game where no one looks the same)
Jason_Hall
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It is unlikely. A lot of tech has gone into character distictiveness...
Vapor
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I'm interested to know what we can expect in promos.
Jason_Hall
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Not sure about the promos.. I've seen some videos and they are cool though.
TheArchitech
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What's a typical scenario for earning EXP? I.e, leveling your character
Jason_Hall
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That is for toby to dispense...not me!
Kaltren
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Jason, don't mean to be obnoxious--But is MxO being made under a MMORPG mindset?
Jason_Hall
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Yes but remember we are trying to do something that captures more than just a "standard MMPOG" there are a lot of excting new elements
Scy
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What's the most interesting aspect about the game that you've seen so far?
Jason_Hall
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Too many aspects to name! The combat is mighty cool though... Also the fact that you are in a fully fleshed out indoor/outdoor city. Remember, behind every window you see in the Matrix lies an actual furnished room! The game is huge! And its not like you have to "load" to walk into a building.
Scy
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When you say fully fleshed out indoor/outdoor city does that mean that there will be enough NPCs to make the place feel like a city? A lot of scenes in The Matrix have sidewalks totally covered with characters non-essential to the plot. A lot of games do a poor job of implementing cities that actually feel like cities.
PhroG
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In connection to Scy's question about NPCs, what... if any.. level of interactivity will there be with them?
Jason_Hall
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For toby to answer when ready
Dionysus8
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What exactly can be given to you by an operator and how does that all work?
Jason_Hall
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That is for Toby to disclose when ready
tobel
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I have a question if its able to be answered. Do you expect long term playability with MxO? I've heard about the advancing storyline, will it be often enough to keep the game content fresh?
Jason_Hall
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Let me be clear on this... The Matrix Online is the true continuing story of the Matrix franchise. Larry and Andy oversee it personally and the story will continuously evolve. We have a whole team here that will be doing nothing but adding to the game on a monthly basis. We are not messing around with this. This game is going to be like no other.
Vapor
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How would you describe the physical size of the game environment? Is there a square milage estimate?
Jason_Hall
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In terms of square footage of gameplay space there is no currnet MMPOG equivalent. Remember, every building is fleshed out. That means the gameplay space really has 3 dimensions to it.
Dionysus8
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How many years has monolith been around, out of curiousity?
Jason_Hall
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Monolith started in 1994
Apoth
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If you had to put a percentage on the game being complete .. what would it be
Jason_Hall
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The game is never complete... it will continuously grow forever
TheArchitech
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About how many beta testers will be selected for phase 1?
Jason_Hall
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Don't know... I'm sure there will be a reasonable amount
Mal
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Will beta testers be chosen randomly, by experience, or varied depending on phase?
tobel
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If your aware, will beta be selective (ie. active community members) or at random with applications?
Jason_Hall
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Dont know
DoloVingian
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What can you tell us about Beta?
Jason_Hall
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Nothing really.. other than that it is coming
FILAMENT
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Will there be areas with more of an adult theme? Or will the game be strictly PG?
Jason_Hall
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For toby to disclose when ready... sorry
Sorwon
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Don't know if this has been asked yet, will there be collision detection between
TheArchitech
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Could you give us some details on what things there are to do in the Matrix BESIDES fighting? That seems to be like a hot topic - Hacking, for example.
Jason_Hall
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Can't do that now... that's all for toby and the team to talk about when ready
FILAMENT
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What is the ETA on Toby's disclosure?
Jason_Hall
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I have no idea when the team plans to disclose all the info.. it will likely be given slowly. Remember, we are trying to take in the community feedback to help make the game better, so some stuff may change!
tobel
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Who -is- toby
Jason_Hall
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Toby Ragaini is the lead designer
Mal
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Then who is toby?
Jason_Hall
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Toby is the game designer
Vapor
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Mr Hall, any familiarity with how servers are going to work?
Jason_Hall
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Yes, but it is confidential. I can say that the server technology we use is truly next-generation though. Much better than what you are currently used to, in my opinion.
PhroG
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Sorry if this has been asked before. How can we do all the transitions with no load times? Can we expect a big install on our side?
Jason_Hall
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I think so yes. When playing, the game is sort of in a constant state of dynamic, anticipatory loading... it is really cool and effective. This way you don't experience visible load times when playing or traveling around for the most part.
Vapor
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What are the best channels to make serious suggestions for the game?
Jason_Hall
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The forums... Monolith reads them for sure
Dark_Razer|Work
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I don't know if this has been asked before, as you can see, I'm at work =) But, any idea on if there is going to be a totaly free PVP server? I.e. anyone can attack anyone?
Jason_Hall
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I dunno.
FILAMENT
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Any word on system requirments?
Jason_Hall
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Not yet.
tobel
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Are there going to be any additional forum areas opened im curious? One for perhaps groups to get together, one for speculation, one for serious ideas
Jason_Hall
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Probably... it is up to WB and Ubisoft though
Sorwon
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This is probably a question for Auberon, but, for in game music (besides music created for the game), is there any way we could add our own music selection?
Jason_Hall
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Not sure. I know that we've been looking at all kinds of cool options for music in the game though
Faide
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Can we unplug and go into the real world?
Jason_Hall
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Yes, that would be logging out! :)
Prodigy
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How will the bullet time work?
Jason_Hall
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You have to see it to understand how it works... believe me when I say that it does! I'm sure toby will figure out some way to describe it when he is ready
FILAMENT
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Any new tantalizing hints? So far we've mostly covered old news.
Jason_Hall
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Tantalizing hint - You will love the direction the fiction is going! It is awesome.
Mal
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Is the game planned out already, or are you planning on relying on fans for suggestions on new features/content, hoping to please everyone?
Jason_Hall
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You can't please everyone, but you can listen to everyone's feedback - which is what we are doing. Of course the game has a production plan already, but our plan INCLUDES listening to the community.
Perma-Jacked
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Will there be roof access for vehicles, such as motorcycles?
Jason_Hall
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For toby to disclose when ready
Vapor
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Can we expect Toby to drop on this channel like this? Or other developers?
Jason_Hall
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I dunno... they are kinda busy. It's really up to them
Mal
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Are there any other items besides ability code, and if so, is it going to be a large part of the game or just simple things like guns?
Jason_Hall
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Cant disclose yet
codespace
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Have you worked on other games before?
Jason_Hall
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Yes... SHOGO, BLOOD, BLOOD 2, ALIEN VS PREDATOR 2, NOLF, NOLF2, TRON 2.0, etc. etc.
Vapor
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guns, cellphones, sunglasses, and a cool coat is all you need
Jason_Hall
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in some form or fashion
Tobel
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Thanks for the Q&A Jason, this looks kick ass so far. Can't wait to hear more. Night all
Jason_Hall
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You are welcome! We are glad that we have all your support! We are trying to make the best game we can, and with the help of the community I am sure we will do a good job!
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