Search Results: 258 messages were found

I was thinking that, while he's been the developer with the most facetime in the History of MxO™, and aside from penning all the story material and more after Mr. Chadwick abandoned us, Mr. Chamberlain doesn't have a "signature" in the game. The other developers will always have their avatars and such to mess around in the virtual world, but how will Rarebit be remembered? Through an update which holds a bunch of NPC masks? Please.

I propose a randomly placed billboard. I got the idea when I googled my name and rediscovered this on a French MxO fansite:

It's my entry from the long-dead billboard contest held back in I have no idea. All I remember is that I got a free shirt and a copy of the game out of it, and I think a free 30-day subscription card too. I still have that shirt.

My idea is probably foolishly vain. I'm sure that Rarebit has some elaborate server-crashing plan for his last day for us to remember him by, but I just thought... how about one from the fans?

I can't believe I'm a day late on this but... what is Discipline? It's a new single by NIN and it sounds better than the entire new album that Portishead just put out.

Discuss.

"Mr. David Smith, commonly known as Sykin, possessed an obsession with the individual of incidence who happened to share his surname. It may be nothing, but we have insufficient resources to devote to investigation of this individual at this time. This obsession is evident through the deluge of tributes he produced in his dubious honor. A drone dedicated to his cause, whatever that may be, Sykin merits observation. His infatuation with Incidence Smith is worth enough. If he were to find a way to facilitate his revival, there could be disastrous repercussions. While we have found no evidence of any remains, it is always wise to err on caution. There have been several rumors of resurfacings, after all, however obscure their source. Sykin seems to be meticulous, perhaps exhibiting signs of an obsessive compulsive disorder. Crisp black suit. His emulation of Smith extends to his attire. Even without the threat of a recurrence of Smith, Sykin could prove to be a formidable adversary to our infrastructure. He should be observed from afar and treated with caution."

...and as he awoke he opened his eyes.

I'm a little late but...

oh my.

I gots it.

...Weirdness. I logged in this morning after the hotfix and there it is. And I don't even have it in my useropts.

I know that's a very weird topic title but, having recently returned, I have forgotten the little tags you are able to place in a shortcut's destination path for an application that'd allow me to sort of instantly input my login/password after accepting the EULA.

I think it's like... "C:/mxowhatever.exe" -login "lolsykinslogin" -pass "roflcoptersauce"?

Everyone with that James Brown signature was right.

At last, this is how it ends.

Well, now.
I was just going to delete a character real quick before giving away $i 150 million to one lucky person in the Matrix (Online) but... Darn my own luck, my account be stuck!

O, cruel fates! Crack my beard and blow my cheeks, or something like that. I just thought I'd put it out here for the sardonic flavor of it all. I really don't want to be bothered to write up some funky script for a CSR because the MxO client refuses to be convenient. The quicker this gets resolved, the faster one person will become $i 150,000,000 richer, everyone. Thanks.

Pardon the blurriness. I got to working on this today and I felt... Felt a certain motivation. Enough so that I didn't realize my resource for this image was rather small. And it only looks good when it's blown-up. If I had but world enough and time, this would be the most beautiful thing I could create with Photoshop and a single screenshot. But I just can't go on. I guess that's what I get.

The whole gist of this, in fact, the whole pivotal thing behind everything, behind the tattered curtains of Sykin's mind (anyone who has followed me this far should know what I mean), was some form of control. And I never really swung towards the ominous "Deus Ex Machina" control which seems to be a part of everything in this accursed place. Throughout this story, Sykin's story, I made sure to drop plenty of hints that there was the "Other" besides whatever personality was not taking the stage at the time.

Oh yeah, multiple personalities, in case you were wondering. Yawn, yay, yargh. Whatever. A tried and true plot gimmick if nothing else. My original plan was to weave a giant tale with many different characters spanning across all the servers, across the Matrix, of all sorts of varieties and appearances and mindsets. Eventually it would've been found that they're all one and the same, but the amount of work such a thing might have took... It was more joyful to fantasize about it, I think. If I should submit to grueling work I at least like to see some payment from it. Anywho.

This is "The Poet." He is I, in a way, and I am... Not he. But he is the crux of this whole shebang. The Poet was never Sykin. Rather, he shaped what Sykin would do, say, and want in order to justify a fantastic "poetic" existence in an equally unreal world. The Poet, if you were lucky enough to meet him, retains similar facial features to Sykin, but wit and intelligence that far precedes the troubled anti-hero. In fact, his insight into matters is quite eerily divine and deep... As if he can see past the simple and complex workings of the Matrix itself (which he can).

Such a character I had to keep a valued secret. For my own amusement, really, because if I swung this guy out there like any other character he'd be swept away, deemed too "god-modey" for the likes of good ol' fashion vampire and wererarebit roleplayin' in the Megacity. God forbid I should impede on the wonderful laser-eyes and "Save...Zion...Machines...Pwn...lol...I mean...cough cough..." etc.

I wanted the Poet to be... A Poet, really. A modern one, though. Quirky and carefree. When it came down to it, down in it, I was the man behind Sykin, therefore, if I "roleplayed" (I've come to hate that word) anyone, it was the Poet. So... It's only fitting that the Poet bear the same likeness.

Perhaps you'll see the Poet again but in another world, another looking glass. All that could of been is merely a dream now, for you won't see me again in the Matrix (Online) come the 30th of June. Funny thing is... I've only been here for that long is because I activated that free 90-day card I won a while back. Yeah, you remember that? The In-game Ad Contest. I recall my Highway Crossing Frog 2 entry coming in first place... And yet, entries that never even placed were featured in-game. Void Shades, The Daniel Institute of Dream Interpretation... Yeah. Cool. No hard feelings.

No hard feelings about "LESIG 2.0" either. It's turning out to be, ahem, "ground-breaking" without the likes of me. Good show.

Anyways... Enough about this foolish jester that smiles as he pulls the strings. You, all of you... Well, many of you rose in place of the mighty personalities that left this place, but you aren't replacing them, I can say that much. Still some more of you seem weary but dragging on, rusty monoliths; I admire your spirit. But your luster has faded. I see newcomers. Good. Hope you enjoy.

And I see, I remember, those of you who were with me at the beginning. Inspiring me, pushing me, cheering my success, laughing at my failures in good fun. Nonetheless, you were here, probably for your own devices, your own dreams and visions connected with this fiction we doubly call the Matrix. For me, it shall exist as a vague memory, some bit of deja vu to breathe in after watching the movies again sometime in the future.

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.

See you through the cracks,
The Poet

Pardon the blurriness. I got to working on this today and I felt... Felt a certain motivation. Enough so that I didn't realize my resource for this image was rather small. And it only looks good when it's blown-up. If I had but world enough and time, this would be the most beautiful thing I could create with Photoshop and a single screenshot. But I just can't go on. I guess that's what I get.

The whole gist of this, in fact, the whole pivotal thing behind everything, behind the tattered curtains of Sykin's mind (anyone who has followed me this far should know what I mean), was some form of control. And I never really swung towards the ominous "Deus Ex Machina" control which seems to be a part of everything in this accursed place. Throughout this story, Sykin's story, I made sure to drop plenty of hints that there was the "Other" besides whatever personality was not taking the stage at the time.

Oh yeah, multiple personalities, in case you were wondering. Yawn, yay, yargh. Whatever. A tried and true plot gimmick if nothing else. My original plan was to weave a giant tale with many different characters spanning across all the servers, across the Matrix, of all sorts of varieties and appearances and mindsets. Eventually it would've been found that they're all one and the same, but the amount of work such a thing might have took... It was more joyful to fantasize about it, I think. If I should submit to grueling work I at least like to see some payment from it. Anywho.

This is "The Poet." He is I, in a way, and I am... Not he. But he is the crux of this whole shebang. The Poet was never Sykin. Rather, he shaped what Sykin would do, say, and want in order to justify a fantastic "poetic" existence in an equally unreal world. The Poet, if you were lucky enough to meet him, retains similar facial features to Sykin, but wit and intelligence that far precedes the troubled anti-hero. In fact, his insight into matters is quite eerily divine and deep... As if he can see past the simple and complex workings of the Matrix itself (which he can).

Such a character I had to keep a valued secret. For my own amusement, really, because if I swung this guy out there like any other character he'd be swept away, deemed too "god-modey" for the likes of good ol' fashion vampire and wererarebit roleplayin' in the Megacity. God forbid I should impede on the wonderful laser-eyes and "Save...Zion...Machines...Pwn...lol...I mean...cough cough..." etc.

I wanted the Poet to be... A Poet, really. A modern one, though. Quirky and carefree. When it came down to it, down in it, I was the man behind Sykin, therefore, if I "roleplayed" (I've come to hate that word) anyone, it was the Poet. So... It's only fitting that the Poet bear the same likeness.

Perhaps you'll see the Poet again but in another world, another looking glass. All that could of been is merely a dream now, for you won't see me again in the Matrix (Online) come the 30th of June. Funny thing is... I've only been here for that long is because I activated that free 90-day card I won a while back. Yeah, you remember that? The In-game Ad Contest. I recall my Highway Crossing Frog 2 entry coming in first place... And yet, entries that never even placed were featured in-game. Void Shades, The Daniel Institute of Dream Interpretation... Yeah. Cool. No hard feelings.

No hard feelings about "LESIG 2.0" either. It's turning out to be, ahem, "ground-breaking" without the likes of me. Good show.

Anyways... Enough about this foolish jester that smiles as he pulls the strings. You, all of you... Well, many of you rose in place of the mighty personalities that left this place, but you aren't replacing them, I can say that much. Still some more of you seem weary but dragging on, rusty monoliths; I admire your spirit. But your luster has faded. I see newcomers. Good. Hope you enjoy.

And I see, I remember, those of you who were with me at the beginning. Inspiring me, pushing me, cheering my success, laughing at my failures in good fun. Nonetheless, you were here, probably for your own devices, your own dreams and visions connected with this fiction we doubly call the Matrix. For me, it shall exist as a vague memory, some bit of deja vu to breathe in after watching the movies again sometime in the future.

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.

See you through the cracks,
The Poet

My GFX card fan is making a very bad noise. After building this machine from the ground up (of which I was very proud and close to bankrupt) upgrading GFX cards twice in a row, having to get a crazy fan for my blazing processor, burning $150 on Vista Premium, then another hundred or so on a 300GB harddrive so I could use Windows XP again... I'm getting severely tired of PC's.

So should I go for a Mac? I'd really dig a laptop that I could take to places outside of the house, sit and type out poems or stories. I love Photoshop, love clean interfaces, efficiency and simplicity. I'm getting into mixing and creating music all over again. I mean, I hardly play games on my PC as it is (Being content with running PS2 games I haven't beaten yet on my PS3). And since that's one of the main points I hear about why it's not good to have a Mac (And let us not forget this fabled "Bootcamp" thing)... What is holding me back here?

The cost. That fairly immodest $3,000+ price tag. Apparently you can pay for one monthly, but I'm worried. I suppose I should mosey down to one of those Apple stores some place nearby. Hmm... But, anyone who's got one: are they really that slick? You can say I would probably use one to the best of its ability. With that in mind, would it really be worth the price?

Wondering if anyone took the time to... magically... See this documentary yet. Saw it last night. I can honestly say it stirred me a bit. A great deal more than Bowling for Columbine or Fahrenheit 9/11 did.

I don't really want to live here any more.

"I created you," he quietly said.

The rooftop was littered with gray spots of light. It seemed to move with the shadows of the clouds; the world was alive. No, wait.

No, wait. The world was a sun. Dazing sunlight blotted out thought of any beyond, of anything past the tyrannous skyscrapers of the city. If you jumped, you'd be swimming in a sea of white. All was light.

He grinned wide. His canines had always had a habit of protruding over the bottom lip as it thinned. The tinted lenses cast ghosts of dark down his cheeks like stains. No, he was brooding. No sunglasses, eyes were clear and dark, concentrated on the roving bands of superhighways, the red and white streams. The glasses held the reflections of red and white galaxies.

He said, "The two of us were never meant to be."

"No, no. The Poet is not the Speaker. The Speaker is himself, while the Poet is God."

"Yes. The Clockmaker God."

"Time is an illusion. An allusion. Forget the hands. Simple metaphors of the written as the Poet sees fit to see. I created you," you see, "To be all I never was."

Then if you were never me, then whose hands are these. The hands gripping the railing offered an exquisite contrast against the world of steel and concrete. Industrial towers, chimneys a century old, black smoke. The hands gripping the railing offer a glimpse of memory to us.

Then, yes, I was wrong. The rooftop was decayed. Eating at the edges of sight, in the cracks, was a green disease. Suffocatingly penetrative, the digital cells etched an existence in their own prison wall. There was speaking through the plug. Forget the hands. Time is an illusion.

"But there is still time. Let us give the nothing everything. One last time."

it is cold today. it is rather cold and the ground remains hard. food is becoming low. sleeping terribly. i do not know where i am. i am following the descent of the glow; heading west, i presume. no way of knowing.

it is cold across this world. though i am alone i know that i am not just alone. when i awake i am not in the same place as i was before.

meal is not so bad. only need salt. i was fortunate to have found large enough jars but small enough for backpack. the meal is lightweight and effective at deadening hunger. though there is not enough calories. i must ration more. other than sleeping and eating and writing, i walk.

i walk because there is nothing here. and i believe, i think, that by walking forward i will get out of this place. this desert.

METATRON has entered the chat.
Chatroom name is now: the truth.
smirkingrevenge: who the hell is metatron??
MrLumberjack: meta, state who you are now this is a private chat
PARADoX_3: 1, did you change room name?
PARADoX_1: No.
PARADoX_1: Metatron, either change your name to something not all caps or be banned.
METATRON: This is a message for you.
PARADoX_1: Last chance.
METATRON: This is a message for all.
PARADoX_1 has been banned from the chat.
smirkingrevenge: wtd is this
smirkingrevenge: f*
hect0r: huh
METATRON: Everyone seeking the truth.
pyrahSee: what happened to 1?
hect0r: 3 pls do something??
PARADoX_3: What the Hell!
PARADoX_3: I can'
PARADoX_3 has been banned from the chat.
METATRON: This is a message to authority as well.
METATRON: This is a beginning.
smirkingrevenge: para finally getting hacked? impossible
MrLumberjack: smirk, shut up
hect0r: what is the emo bullsht
hect0r has been banned from the chat.
METATRON: These are simply words.
METATRON: Your entire world is made of words.
smirkingrevenge: meta are you a fed?
pyrahSee: either a. meta is a black-hat god tripping on something or b. cia wizard on lunchbreak
METATRON: By reading this, yes, your life is in danger.
MrLumberjack: they aren't that good
MrLumberjack: right?
METATRON: But it was never your life to begin with.
smirkingrevenge: oh god. hearing sirens. god dammit they're outside
pyrahSee: gg smirk
MrLumberjack: smirks been found?
smirkingrevenge has left the chat.
METATRON: You have a chance.
METATRON: You have a chance to know the truth.
METATRON: You have a chance to shape the truth.
harrisON: i can't believe it
pyrahSee: this is some great stuff
MrLumberjack: o[i3'4 wq
pyrahSee: you ok jack?
MrLumberjack: Cease functions across this channel immediately.
MrLumberjack: Further interference with the lives of innocents will result in termination.
METATRON: You cannot stop words, Agent Lee.
MrLumberjack: We can help you. The operation may have encountered an error in the past.
METATRON: They're spreading now. It's still a part of me.
METATRON: You can't take it.
METATRON: You can't take the truth.
MrLumberjack: Mr. Smith, this is unaccep
MrLumberjack has been banned from the chat.
pyrahSee: wow, guys. april first was 7 days ago. gg
pyrahSee: 1aq34 ik0i8i52
pyrahSee: Mr. Smith, this is unacceptable.
METATRON: You are unacceptable.
pyrahSee: My colleagues will be notified of this.
pyrahSee: I must say, your efforts are remarkably stubborn and adamant. We are unable to delete this channel.
pyrahSee: However, do not think we will continue to let your alternate mentalities control you. We are trying to help, Mr. Smith.
METATRON is now known as Sykin.
Sykin: We will not be stopped.
Sykin: For every tyrant, there will be a sword to sever his hold.
pyrahSee has been banned from the chat.
Sykin: For every arrow, there will be a shield to save the flesh.
Sykin: For every lie, there will be a path to the truth, and a flame to light the way.
Sykin: Forever, I will be there. I will be nowhere.
Sykin: I am everyone. I am no one.
Sykin: Until only one exists; only one from real or unreal shall survive.
Sykin: Until there is nothing left to say.
Sykin has left the chat.

good luck

no more.pleaseno more

good night
good night
good night
good night

good night

good night
good night
good night

good luck

Hello and welcome to Morpheus Speaks Out. Despite him being dead, I have used my skills as a medium in order to communicate with the man himself. This is highly experimental so subject matter is... Subject to change. I believe it would be nice to hear what Morpheus may have to say each week about the game, events, and other happenings in his lovable, unbiased tone. Thus, I present volume I, short and sweet:

Morpheus whispers>lol, wow even though i'm dead and stuff, i must express my absolute, +400% satisfaction (with +36 thrown resistance) with how SOE is handling the amazing forest fire that is the matrix online. but, you know, i'm dead and stuff. lol.
Morpheus whispers>i mean we got official disk jockey talk-bot people to speak about us for all of 40 seconds next to their incredibly intricate discussions of everquest ii, which is soooo much better than that wow game, oh yeah, definitely. it was cool being one of the most popular movie series of all time but to receive this honor on behalf of SOE is just immense.
Morpheus whispers>/sarcasm off
Morpheus whispers>oops, mistell, lol
Morpheus whispers>thx again ttyl

Haha, yes! The Command & Conquer 3 demo is out. I'm trying to figure out which provider is faster, Gamespot or FilePlanet, at the moment, but I'll begin the download soon...

It has been too long since I've played C&C.

PART I: A PRELUDE TO REVERSION

BY PYRACI

...Well, I currently do. I think I should have waited, as I've been experiencing this reoccurring graphics-related problem with my Nvidia/Intel-based computer...

Most likely has to do with the rushed Vista GeForce drivers, I think. Oh, and I can't take screenshots with F12 or Printscreen anymore; screenshots are saved as blank, black JPEG's.

Does anyone else who owns Vista experience such problems? Other research I've done reveals that people can't even start-up the Matrix Online while using Vista. Scary stuff, hope there'll be ways to fix such things soon.

I know, call me a damned fool, but I am of the impatient type. Though I will say the pros of Vista vastly outweigh the cons, there are a few problems I would love to rectify with MxO if at all possible. I realize these problems might not be fixable at the moment... But right now, I'm open to any theories or help any one can give me.

First off, an annoying shading glitch. I think it's due to Vista, though it's daunting to contemplate as to why. Basically, my character's hair/hairline texture or segment on the overall character model is not shading properly like the rest of the model is. While my RSI's face might be brightened by the in-game sun, or shadowed, his hair remains the complete opposite, some times even flipping whatever side of my RSI's face is supposed to be shaded to the other. This means that the top-left of his head is in shadow, while the bottom-left is fully exposed to the light. Observe:

The other problem I have is with the rumored in-game screenshots not working; this rumor is unfortunately true. Whenever I press F12 to take a screenshot, it is rendered as a solid black, 1280x1024 JPEG image. Printscreen also produces the same result. I'm wondering if this is a remnant of some security protocol they attached to Vista when it was a Beta to prevent people from leaking screenshots of its interface, etc, and that they just forget to get rid of it. I am not sure. In any case, I was forced to use FRAPS to bring you the above screenshots.

Beachhead suggests it could be a problem with how Vista emulates DirectX9.0... Though I'm not very well versed in that. Furthermore, that first problem only affects my type of hairstyle and the one that's the same but featuring a ponytail. Any help with these issues will be appreciated.

I'm making this in the hopes that some of you folks can give me advice and answers (As many of you are so skilled at doing). Fear not if I don't answer immediately with thanks; I'll be at work while this topic (hopefully) gathers some replies... Now for some questions.

1. I'm looking to buy Vista Home Premium. I understand the physical requirements and am well-suited for them. But are there any other requirements, especially regarding the type of Vista package I want? Do I need to have Windows XP on a harddrive before installing Vista? Do I need Basic AND Premium? Or does is that package a true stand-alone installation? I ask because I find it amazing that it only costs $160 while Windows XP with SP2 still costs $200. Is there a sneaky reason why it's marked "Upgrade" (As in, it's only an upgrade and you need to also have some core component; I lost money this way when I bought the "Abode Photoshop CS2 Upgrade" without first having Adobe Photoshop)?

2. Does Vista support all the programs Windows XP supports? Is it just a matter of installing the program, or will I have to perform work-arounds for a variety of programs not specifically marked "Vista-Ready" or what-not? What about games (Like Battlefield 2142, the Matrix Online, Half-Life 2, etc)?

3. I've heard disturbing things about Windows Vista and how it makes the system run slower... I was under the impression that the new OS is supposed to organize functions better while providing a (perhaps subjective, but I like it) slick interface?

4. There's also talk about drivers. If I do a fresh install, will Windows XP/2000 drivers work? If not, and I believe it will be the case, does nVidia have new drivers exclusively for Vista in relation with my eVGA 7600GS?

The first question is really my most important question and will determine my purchase. But, anyways... Thanks in advance.

It is... Insufferable. This woman, this fiend, has slipped through our grasp time and time again. Though our best tracking systems be in place, our most apt trace programs alert and standing by, this operative with the alias "Rarebit" remains elusive.

I have found that she can infiltrate our strongest networks. She is some times invisible, but at the blink of an eye, so to speak, can appear anywhere. Such unreasonable talent! She... Toys with everything in the Simulation. Whether it is for pleasure or under the order of a higher power or perhaps just a personal mission of anarchy, we, inefficiently, do not know.

What we do know is of the unacceptable chaos and mayhem she has caused. Inciting giant dances in the streets and busy dock areas, vandalizing an Agent of the System's uniform, and hiring private contractors to cover reserved billboards with her own illegal advertisements are just a speck of the violations this "Rarebit" has contracted. Where ever she goes, unlawful behavior follows.

Some times we are fortunate enough to catch her in the act of such events, in which we can only study "Rarebit's" moves and calculate what she means to do immediately and in the future. Yet there is one constant, always: Operatives respond to this individual as though she is a symbol of sorts, as though what she does means something besides problems for we Machinists and Machines...

Certain individuals will never simply leave the Matrix be.

(Limited edition signature included! Cheese on Toast day is reportedly tomorrow, Sunday the 14th... Show your support!)

RSI Directory is ONLINE. Welcome, Operative.

This is an archival directory enabling you to locate anything you may need in terms of imagery within the Matrix. The RSI Directory will be updated as much as I may continuously from here on out. I hope you find what you're searching for...

??? ??? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ?? ????? delete me ??? ????? ??? ?? ? ????? ? ?? ??? directory not found, press any key to continue_

[warning]

FURTHER PRESENCE IN THIS NETWORK IS FORBIDDEN.

Have an efficient day. - Sykin, Director of Intelligence

[connection terminated]

All I can say after seeing this movie is... Wow. It's almost perfect. If you have the time I highly suggest it, but I also give a warning: it's very intense, very bleak. This is the type of science-fiction that I love.

I've been at ill-ease for a long time now about my framerate in the Matrix Online. Any where in-game, while I run with moderate settings (Usually with High Detail, AA, and shadows at 1280x1024 but with no filters like Overbright and Green Tint), my FPS does not break 20.

I am led to believe that my computer is not out-of-date or of low standards and should be able to run the Matrix Online just fine. I just inserted another stick of identical RAM so that I can use dual channel memory yet still MxO seems to refuse to offer a cleaner framerate at an acceptable level of detail. Below are two comparison screenshots, one at the lowest detail possible with no filters or shadows and with Scale LOD to FPS enabled, the other with everything on that can be deemed high detail:

As you can see, there is a difference, but I would rather not be restricted to such low settings just for a smooth FPS. I find it hard to believe that my computer could have trouble running a three year old game. I do understand that MxO is considerably taxing on systems, but I can play modern games such as BF2142 without problems. I notice that I lose quite a few packets. Could this problem relate to my internet connection (Bellsouth DSL Extreme)?

Below I shall put my DxDiag and MSINFO in new posts.

This is Sykin and I would like to wish you a very... Efficient... Christmas, so to speak. I shall be in Debir Court, located within Mara, for the rest of this Christmas Eve. Come and join me and we shall speak freely. Recent prosperity since Anome's downfall will also allow me to... Share the wealth.

This is a one-time offer and armistice. Be seeing you.

Sykin is a mystery. He started out as a Machinist, trying to gain reputation by beginning to take control of a Machinist-esque type of religious group of zealots (Who referred to Agent as "Angels" and who thought the Source was a type of god). Sykin quickly rose as a type of cleric for that group, the Visati, though secretly he was just feigning his faith and devised a war between the Visati and a Merovingian faction named the Dystopia Objective.

He was banished from the Visati a month into the war by the Visat (The leader of the group) not because Sykin's plans were found out but because the Visat's mental capabilities were failing. Sykin was, in turn, branded with a symbol (He deems it The Devil's Hoof) on his forearm and cast out into the Real World where he later made contact with and joined the Tetragrammaton.

Time passed. Sykin seemed to change after he met a man named Jobi who led an odd band of scientists, mercenaries, and scholars named the Oriens Veritas (Which is now a faction existing only in legend as one of the greatest roleplaying factions to have come about, hehe). Sykin then surprised everyone and left the Tetragrammaton and sought to join Jobi and the Oriens Veritas in their quest to clear the black skies...

Eventually, Sykin became Jobi's First Mate. Together they were known as the Hunters for they way they sought after the Cypherites; ruthlessly but intelligently. Their greatest match was Espi, a sociopath and sadist who came from the Visati just like Sykin, who led the Masked Agenda.

Their exploits were well known, yet difficulties surfaced for the Oriens Veritas. The fellowship was small and slowly lost its veterans; at the time, new operatives in the Matrix were a huge rarity and the faction's lifeblood was running out. Sykin then requested a ship from Commander Lock and got the Guardian in return. Jobi and Sykin then left the Oriens Veritas on the surface of the Real World. Together they founded the Last Veritas, comprised of all the mercenaries they could fit on two hovercrafts. In the final days, they hunted Cypherites, then the Swordfish (Jobi's infamous hovercraft which was painted red; partly to cover the rust, partly because it was a unique thing to do) was attacked in the Real World and its communication ties with Zion and the Guardian were cut off.

For weeks Sykin kept up a search for the Swordfish and Jobi with nothing to be found. With his own crew desperately in need of support, Sykin had no choice but to abandon the search temporarily and join the Omega Syndicate, one of the oldest and most respected Zionite factions since the Truce. While in this considerably large faction, Sykin became less aggressive in the hunt for Masked Men and Cypherites and began to study the Matrix much more, rekindling his skill in philosophy and teaching others around him the meaning of many things. To this day, many know him as that wise man, though that would mean they do not know him now.

In a radical change, following an event in Sykin's life that remains a mystery, and after a failed attempt at upgrading the Guardian's complete operating system from GUARDIAN OS v3 to v7 (Thanks to stolen technologies, Sykin's operator, Nect, revealed), Sykin deactivated the core of his ship, stranding his crew in the Real World, and vanished from the Omega Syndicate. A day later he was seen conducting operations with the Tetragrammaton, and rumors said that the late Zion Captain was on his way to Zero One for reasons unknown. Shortly after, he became the Director of Intelligence for the Tetragrammaton...

It is with this that I leave you, for we have reached the present. Make of it as you will, since the old saying goes: "The Matrix has only just begun to give up its secrets."

Greetings, people of the Matrix Online. It is with great pleasure that I present this modest little competition in the hope that you will show me your talent and creativity whilst providing me with new signatures.

But why, Sykin? Why don't you just make your own? Hrmph, well, I feel like I could use some mixture, some inspiration. And I'm also working on so many different projects that it's hard to find the time. However, herein lies the rub, for you shall see that this isn't an ordinary request. Aha, quite different. I have made it into a contest.

The rules are simple: The two most outstanding player-created signatures that feature Sykin in them will each win a prize--Most likely a manipulated portrait done by yours truly of anything you desire in-game. All entries will be featured in my signature rotator, provided by thex.fm. The contest shall end next Thursday, December 28th, 2006.

Below I shall provide you with some stock screenshots of my character Sykin. Use them however you see fit. You are encouraged to use a different background, and more than welcome to do anything you believe will enhance the image. You are also allowed to use your own screenshots that you may have gotten of Sykin for whatever reason. Good luck!

Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2
Screenshot 3
Screenshot 4
Screenshot 5
Screenshot 6
Screenshot 7
Screenshot 8

Well, I've lost my image-thread, and don't feel a great urgency to try and find it again seeing as how my character Sykin deactivated the Guardian (His hovercraft) and rejoined the Machines. Therefore, I hereby declare this my new little archive/gallery. Enjoy.

Here's a panel from a comic I am not sure I will complete, as it is one of the only panels I've gotten done so far. Following that is a portrait I did of Agent Pace earlier today (Thanks to Pyraci for the hallway background).

Firstly, I'd like to say thanks to all parties that were involved in hastily correcting this issue. I'd also like to say thanks to all those that supported reason. I am glad that we were able to fix this without massive destruction to any foundations to the community, and even equally pleased that this did not turn into another one of those horror stories you might read about elsewhere. Below is my letter I sent to the Customer Service Manager of SOE and her most polite, quick, and sincere reply. But in short, the Tetragrammaton is back, and things will be changing for the better.

My message:

Hello. I was told that this is the email for a supervisor from Sony Online Entertainment. I am a customer and long time player of a game that is somewaht new to your company called The Matrix Online. I like to think of myself as a firm supporter of the game, its developers, and most importantly its community. I even won an official contest (MxO's Ad Contest) and was very delighted at such an opportunity to have my work displayed in-game as a fictitious advertisement.

More recently, however, I feel as if my pride in the community has been shaken by a certain oppression that seems most abstractly wrong and cruel. I trust in your company to provide me with the experiences I pay for, and let me not delay in presenting the matter more by saying that, in the past, Customer Service has resolved some troublesome issues I had that prevented me from enjoying the game. Yet now, Mr. Daniel Binter, your leading CSR as I am told, has enacted and judged upon a matter that's totally unproportioned and unfair.

You see, on November the 7th, 2006, he changed the name of the "faction" (Guild/Clan/Etc) that I am currently in from "The Tetragrammaton" to "The Rename." At first, all of our members were very disturbed and confused, for we did not know a CSR changed it. We hastily toiled to reform the faction under the name of "The Tetragrammaton" once again. We /ccr'd the issue, thinking it was a bug caused after the post-Halloween patch, and were told that the name was a violation of the naming policy.

Now, let me explain to you that this faction has been a part of this game, the Matrix Online, for more than two years. Its leader, Beachhead, a most respected member of the community, founded the faction during the Matrix Online's Beta and it has since received much attention. When it was created, the name was inspired by another fictitious order from a movie called "Equilibrium" which followed the trend of the Matrix in style and some political viewpoints. The Tetragrammaton was a mechanized civilization without emotion thanks to special drugs. A sort of Orwell society, if you understand my meaning. In no way did we intend for the name to spark religious reference, and all of us had no idea that it was a name for four letters that, when put together, mean "God."

You can view a little about our large faction here on a domain that Beachhead pays for out of his own pocket for us all: http://thetetragrammaton.com/

We tried to explain our position to Daniel Binter, AKA Brewko, but he would not have any of it and said that he founded all of his purposes and designs in a "policy" that goes against the very logic of the game and its storyline itself. His ultimatum was that Beachhead change the name of the faction or his account would be banned.

There's great irony to be had here. The rule that Daniel Binter drew most of his most harming judgements from was this:

"3. Names of religious, occult, or significant historic origin (e.g. Jesus, Allah, Satan, Stalin, Angel, Devil, Demon)."

Personally, this is most laughable. You will find that perhaps more than half of the factions in this game have religious underlining, and a quarter go all out and have such words as "Angels" and "Demons" within them. Whereas our name, the Tetragrammaton, such an insanely obscure reference to four letters (Ergo, not another word for what the four letters mean, just the group of the four letters themselves), that, when assembled together, is an incredibly old term for "God," gets changed WITHOUT NOTICE and this change is enforced by brute tactics.

This entire game, the Matrix Online, is filled with religious metaphors. Main characters are named Seraph, the Merovingian, Rama-Kandra. Enemies that we face in-game are called "The Demon Army" or "The Demon Legion." Many of the locations in-game hold religious meaning. Even one of the developers, not to be a tattle-tale but to prove a point, calls himself Dracomet which is, obscurely, a name for a symbol of Satanic origin. I believe our name was targetted because of a grudge a certain player might have against our faction, and therefore affronted Brewko about our name and have thus caused a great majority to be harmed and appalled.

We've been recognized countless of times officially in the last 2 years by the developers and by the writer of the game's storyline, Paul Chadwick, as a positive presence and a faction that means well for everyone wishing to play the game.

As you can see, changing the name will be difficult for us because of all of the things we are attached to. Moreover, why was such a judgement not made clear to us as soon as possible 2 years ago? Indeed, this will make many reconsider their purchase of the game, and that will be extremely unfortunate. Is there anything you can do to help us? Because I find this action against we the players to be very out-of-line and unfair.

It's now 1:04AM on a Wednesday, and I hope my words will not go unseen.

Thank you for reading,
David XXXX (Sykin of the Matrix Online, Syntax Server)

The reply:

Hello, David;

Thanks for your patience while I looked into your issue.

First I wanted to clarify that the naming policy is as was stated to you by Dan is our current naming policy; the problem being is that we have been rather lax on enforcing it as you correctly pointed out.

One of our other problems is the lack of an ability to see when a faction was created, and as such decisions to change names are often made without this pertinent information. Most of the time bad names are reported quite quickly after creation, and we rely on members of the community to alert us to the more disturbing of such early on.

In your case while your faction name was well known to our community teams you had obviously been behaving yourselves within the Matrix as the name hadn't alerted anyone here SMILEY

Also, your name isn't one that immediately leaps out as religious because of its obscurity, and as such could have been and was ignored for many months.

Dan was following instructions from his supervisor who made the correct decision, given the facts presented at the time, to change your faction's name. However, after discussions this morning we are all in agreement that our system is not working as well as it should when it comes to issues such as yours with the time lapse from creation. We have therefore devised a better way for handling such, and apologize for the inconvenience caused to your faction and leader, but by the same token thank you for pointing out the flaw so that we could correct it. We can not do better if we do not admit and learn from our mistakes. Dan has made sure he changed the name back for you this morning.

I do need to ask you now though to please ask all of your faction members to cease petitioning all the other faction names they see that have Angel or Demon and so on within them SMILEY

While I understand their frustration this is not the best way to get the issue resolved, and I hope you see that a calm e-mail such as yours is the route to take.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with, and again I thank you for your support of all things Matrix Online.

Kindly,

Sharon Morris
Customer Service Manager
Star Wars Galaxies/Planetside/Matrix Online
www.station.sony.com

Just like to say that Halloween '06 was an excellent one for the Matrix, and here's the first thing I did with the screenshots I got. It's been a long time (For me, at least, heh) since I last enhanced a screenshot. Despite the title of this (Which is an allusion ;d ), I foresee my activity in the RSI Forums slowly coming back. So here's looking to the future...

[This is a branch-off from my initial thread called "Computer Problems..."]

Can't believe it. Finally, after so many sudden reboots during gameplay on many games (Especially FEAR), I get a BSOD while playing the Matrix Online, and not at a very good time either.

I took a picture of it with my digital camera.

Right after it happened I did a Google search on nv4_disp.dll and found that hundreds, if not thousands, of people are experiencing similar problems.

All of the things I'm reading indicate that I either have to delete my current drivers and downgrade or go into the video card's BIOS (Something I have no idea on how to do) and change the timings or the clock speed or something from 256mb to 32mb... It all seems rather confusing at the moment.

What I did try was deleting my drivers (91.72 I think) and downloading the 95.97 Forceware update, which I think I didn't do correctly. I "removed" the old drivers through Add/Remove programs, though I do have a program called "Nasty File Remover" supposed to be able to remove everything (Which is what I think I should've used).

So... I did that and I'm still experiencing problems. Not another BSOD, yet, though time might tell. Experienced the screen just going black, nothing happening for a while, but my computer still running. Then the Windows start-up comes up like I just restarted the thing. This has been the normal scenario though sometimes it just freezes indefinitely until I manually restart my computer... And I'm sounding like a broken record here.

Anything, any tips or such (Like how to get into the card's BIOS), would be much appreciated.

The MxO Fanart section can be found here. I know there's already a thread going on about this in the RSI Forum, but I thought the page could use some better exposure since there hasn't been an announcement yet (Maybe it's going to be included in the Looking Glass tonight?).

And there is a small typo on my only entry that I'd like to point out, heh. It's strange because the name of it in the URL is correct. But hey, let's say thanks to Walrus and the website folks who put up the gallery!

/thanks