I assume that the increase in viral accuracy with hackers is due to the new "miss miss" fix that was added in the last patch. If so, that patch also affected MKTs, who also can use nothing but specials. I've noticed a significant decrease in interlock combat. Even moves that are geared towards giving a greater chance to leave combat, such as Sideroll Escape, fail time and time again in interlock while wearing clothes that bump my thrown acc bonus up to 90% as well as using grab and speed tactics.

I'm not sure if sneak attacks have also been affected, but I have also noticed sneak attacks such as Punt seem to be missing nearly all the time. In a recent duel with Broin, I managed to break his evade, get in disguise, and attempt to punt him five times in a row only to miss all five times. Now Broin was prepared defensively, but even in sneak attacks in PvP I've found that it misses more than lands. This didn't use to be the case. Even if my targets are taking evasive measures, I've got about as much accuracy as is allowed in the game.

I appreciate you looking at the hacker balance and adjusting it due to the nerf or maybe even a balance issue that has been around for a while. From my experiences lately, MKTs may need the same analysis.

At long last...

More FA should have theirs in the next day or so! I would have had it sooner, but we were farming as a group, dividing up the code. Next!

Joined Date: August 15, 2005
Status: New Recruit?

Eh? Two or three days ago I was a Veteran Operative or something like that. My handle was blue. Now it's white and I am listed as a New Recruit. Why'd I get nerfed?

Let me preface this by saying that I realize this content was created before the game even went live, and that its existance now is merely a side project that Rarebit did as kind of a favor. While the people who originally created the Zion Outpost areas may not still be around, I still think it is worth discussing just to get some honest feedback.

I have not seen the Merv and Mach areas, but the Zion area is about as lackluster as you can imagine. Imagine the ickiness of the Slums if it were all condensed into one building. The ground is littered with trash EVERYWHERE. The heating system is a pile of burings barrels in the corner. It literally looks like Machs and Mervs broke into the place, tore the place apart, and treated it as one big urinal. Not only is it the worst-looking place imaginable to hang out in, but you can forget trying to impress potential recruits, etc. by interviewing them in your dump. It's messier than the Slums - I still can't get over that.

Even the "cool" rooms like the shooting range, gun room, meeting area, and kitchen are littered with crap, walls peeling, etc. You also can't sit down on any of the log benches in the meeting area (or anywhere else in the area for that matter).

So why? Why is Zion a dump? The argument is that Zion is used to a rough way of life. In the movies, all the places Zion takes people to are run down buildings. However, looking at this logistically, this area is a SECURE construct created (or at least controlled) by Zion. Now, since Zion designed this place, why on earth would they want it to look like a dump??? We aren't hiding from anyone. We aren't masking the place to make it blend in with the rest of Richland. No one else can get to it. Zion should have let their imaginations go wild and create a nice clean atmosphere to escape the grimy MegaCity. Just look at the style of clothing that redpills choose. Do you think people with that much style wouldn't spruce up their Outposts a bit? What about that neat white Zion control room located in the city of Zion.

I imagine Zion's Outpost would reflect what they can't have in the real world. I imagine a lot of white with a lot of shine. Maybe not the pompous, french style of the Merv, but more of a clean, cool feel. Something that better reflects the Redpill culture, not the corruption of the city. Who the hell decided that puke and cobwebs would be a good safehaven for Zion??

I haven't seen the other org areas, but I imagine the Machine areas would have a cold, hard feel to it. Something not designed to make humans more comfortable, but something to be more effecient. The Merv area would of course be extravagent and a little twisted. You seemed to do well with the feel of those areas, but Zion was way off the mark. A reflection of what little Zion has outside of the Matrix was a poor choice, I feel, or even pretending Zion didn't have the resources to even, oh I don't know, hire a freakin maid! I would post screenshots, but it's really not even worth the space on my HD. Harsh, but true. I can take cooler pics in other areas of the slums.

So if you have no world designers left on your staff, I suggest hiring someone temporarily just to redesign poor Zion, who should get PAID 100mil Info to hang out in a dump like that. It would also be nice to recode all the Outposts to be permanent locations rather than mission areas. Make them like Constructs and build an elevator system to get to the different floor plans. Privacy can be achieved by finding your own nice little room in the huge areas. Until then, I'm afraid most of Zion will be running around the White Hallways for privacy rather than bothering to enter the Outpost.

/endrant

All that being said, I do appreciate the extra time to make this content available to us. It is cool to see new stuff. I figured someone over there would wanna hear some honest feedback, and every Zion I talk to feels pretty ripped off after spending the 100mil. Anyone else care to share their opinion?

1st on Vector! W00t! More FA joining soon!

*Funny, I typed all this out with a note at the top that I felt some people were getting offended because they weren't keeping it in roleplay context, and Walrus had already locked the thread for just that. This is a continuation of "It's finally over..." but let's please keep it in roleplay!*

Now to address these FA "moles" - FA has never put a mole in any faction. We have had independent sources come to us with information in order to have our aid or warn us, but we've never planted another FA member in ANY faction, especially not Zionite.

As for dividing Zion, I believe that when other officers of Zion asked Outlaw about the matter, he said it wasn't any of their business. When we tried to get his side of the story, he shunned us. It was only when confronted publicly that ML attempted to explain their actions, and no proof has been given. Trying to keep Zion in the dark of your actions is what led to suspicion.

Can this be resolved? I feel that it can. There just needs to be a clear understanding of everyone's intentions. If ML cuts off their Cypherite ties completely (even if you think intel may suffer), I think that Zion can learn to trust them again. In turn, Zion can stop spying on their own and focus on what really matters (assuming that there are "moles in every Zion faction" or whatever). All of this is assuming that ML is still dedicated solely to the Zionite cause.

If you still can't grasp the distrust, imagine if you saw data captures of me discussing Niobe's demise with Cypherite operatives or even Veil. Imagine that you saw me laughing with the enemy about how Zion had no clue. You even saw me giving away Niobe's position. Wouldn't you be concerned? Oh, I think you'd have a hayday over the matter. If I were in your shoes and was doing this to gain intel, once my cover was blown I would have revealed myself to still be dedicated to Zion in one bloody battle. I would also share intel with my Zion brotherin to prove where my loyalties lie and that my risk was worth the gain. Instead what Zion saw after our confrontation is further proof of you claiming to be Cypherite (and the quote is "well-known Cypherite" while continuing to push Zion away for not trusting your "super duper secret" mission.

I'm sure there were things that could have been handled better on both ends, and it is time for some sort of resolution. Like I said, I don't personally have a problem with any ML, I just am not sure where they stand politically. If you can give me your word that the flirtation in other organizations is over, then we can put the whole matter behind us. I just don't want to see more data captures of the people I am supposed to trust in battle saying "Down with Zion!". I know that your concern is moles, so I can already assure you that FA has no mole in ML or any other Zion faction (or any faction for that matter =P).

Oh, and I am interested in seeing the historical documentation that is in development. Always nice to see people preserving a part of history!

Message Edited by [FA]Tbone on 03-28-200608:39 PM

Message Edited by [FA]Tbone on 08-15-2005 11:29 PM