I mean, if you really wanna try and get a message across.

Just sayin'.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/24/...ional-and-ulti/

Can I have my bumpy commando gloves back now?

http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/..._id=36300027702

Title speaks for itself.

Ex MxO super vet, and resident webmaster of a little site known as http://www.thematrix.rumbaar.net, Draconis, recently made a post on the Rumbaar Forums regarding his intention to upgrade the site to a whole new codebase with improved features and user controls. If it happens or not? Its up to you as his post includes a poll regarding popular opinion over the idea. Have your say today and you may well be seeing a new and improved Rumbaar soon!

Well it's slightly old news now but I've just tweaked the format a bit and thought now is a good a time as any to make an 'official' announcement here on DN1 that http://www.thematrix.rumbaar.net/ has teamed up with ZippyTheSquirrel to provide regular Critical Mission Summaries for all three organisations, as they happen. No longer need you wait for missions to be archived and grinded through to view every nitty gritty detail you crave for in pursuit of ultimate story knowledge!

So yeah, keep an eye on Rumbaar News as to when new summaries are uploaded or check out the new Rumbaar Mission Summaries Hub (also available through the site's left hand Database Menu) for all the archived entries.

Cheers,
CloudWolf

(( For those of you who havn't been following my storyline in game or though the ZIC, heres an explanatory post now that i've decided to withdraw actively pursuing it given my limited activity as of late. ))

---

(( Sorry, I know this post is long overdue but I thought I should let everyone know the situation.

With college work coming to a head as I approach the end of the year, as well as a new job and several other factors, it's been apparent for some time I could never do this RP justice.

Originally the whole thing was a lot grander in scale with more in-game interaction, my own events, multiple story branches etc, etc. Sorry it never happened.

But to break the way the story was going down for those interested...

The next stage was going to involve an exile black-market information trader, like the ones seen in previous critical missions, who was involved with a whole society of underground trading and had got his hands on some juicy machine info regarding The Harbinger. Players would have to deal with this exile, getting him several random items of moderate worth and eventually trading for the data file. This file would reveal the true identity of The Harbinger.

This machine log, referencing the sector of the surface where Geoffrey had planted this grain fields and where CloudWolf had subsequently escaped too following the attack on Old Zion, talks of an ancient Machine war program. The best of its kind, it was an experimental project that would involve sending a single being to eradicate small survivor colonies scattered in the wastelands of conquered cities. Unfortunately, following the decision to enslave humanity in the Matrix system instead of mindlessly slaughter them, the program rejected it's orders, not understanding why the machines would want the fleshlings to live. His sole purpose was to kill, and to enjoy the killing.

With the Matrix still in development and the first tests beginning on neural simulation the program had nowhere to escape deletion, there was no safe house, no Frenchman, no Trainman. So he fled the Machine City itself, running far away into a series of old interconnected rebel bases only he had enough knowledge to utilize without being detected. He ended up in what would become Geoffrey's fields.

There he bided his time, for countless years he waited, undetected by the machines. Slowly he built up systems of his own, becoming fully sentient and self-teaching himself basic thought patterns and program development. It would be like a human, trained from birth only to kill, learning to read for the first time. Then Geoffrey came.

There were humans still alive on the surface world, not all had fallen into the enslavement of the Matrix. Humans... right on The Harbinger's front lawn. Humans growing food to sustain more humans. His primal programming taking over and bloodlust filling his mind The Harbinger used the crude telegraph communication protocols that existing above the fields, the same poles which powered Geoffrey's operation, to send a simple anomalous message to the machines. There were rebels at this location. Kill them.

The Harbinger watched in hiding as the sentinels came and slaughtered the humans one by one. It gave him a feeling he had not felt in centuries. Pleasure.

But there was nothing he could do to fulfill his bloodlust, he had no way of realistically doing anything while he remained a wanted program in the darkness of the real. But he realized if humans had found this place once, they would undoubtedly do it again. And next time he'd have a plan.

He began work savaging and renovating an old matrix jack-in system from the surface world (as referenced in the old Neurophyte storyline). By this time The Harbinger had become quite proficient in technology and had quite the array of living defense systems made from the scrap of human bases. It's then that CloudWolf wandered into his domain.

Watching as the Zion captain took shelter in one of Geoffrey's old bases, The Harbinger used his systems to create subtle noises and hints to lead CloudWolf to the booby trapped jack, his apparent salvation. It would be like a spider, waiting for its prey to fall into the trap.

And he did. The moment CloudWolf used the jack to try and contact Zion, his consciousness was forcefully pushed to sidelines as the The Harbinger copied himself into his body.

It's then all the event's that have happened thus far came into play. His enquiries into The Matrix and its weak spots, his bargaining with Zion operatives, his nostalgic trip to 01. And all of it was to come to head in one final showdown after Zion had learnt the truth from the Machine Data Log they would acquire from the exile trader.

It was actually shaping up to be quite interesting, Mindsweep and the Black Code had volunteered to help WindBear lead an assault in the real while Corobeus and ViralMarauder had been trying to negotiate with The Harbinger in the Matrix. The final showdown would be a two pronged attack, two separate assaults happening at the same time.

The attack in the real would likely have taken the form of a final written story with input from Mindsweep on how to treat his characters, it would detail their fight against the Harbinger's automated defenses in real, eventually getting them to CloudWolf's quickly diminishing physical body. At the same time Viral and Coro would distract The Harbinger in the Matrix through a live event, questioning him while in the depths of DataMine where the program was trying to find data regarding the power systems behind the matrix, with the ultimate plan of destroying them and slaughtering millions. Eventually he would realise what had happened in real and attack the other two operatives. He would subsequently be killed, despite claims of his death resulting in losing CloudWolf forever, and an emergency extraction team working in the real would jack him out of the Matrix.

And I think that's where we should be at around about now, a comatose CloudWolf being returned to New Zion.

/discuss. ))

(( Sorry, I know this post is long overdue but I thought I should let everyone know the situation.

With college work coming to a head as I approach the end of the year, as well as a new job and several other factors, it's been apparent for some time I could never do this RP justice.

Originally the whole thing was a lot grander in scale with more in-game interaction, my own events, multiple story branches etc, etc. Sorry it never happened.

But to break the way the story was going down for those interested...

The next stage was going to involve an exile black-market information trader, like the ones seen in previous critical missions, who was involved with a whole society of underground trading and had got his hands on some juicy machine info regarding The Harbinger. Players would have to deal with this exile, getting him several random items of moderate worth and eventually trading for the data file. This file would reveal the true identity of The Harbinger.

This machine log, referencing the sector of the surface where Geoffrey had planted this grain fields and where CloudWolf had subsequently escaped too following the attack on Old Zion, talks of an ancient Machine war program. The best of its kind, it was an experimental project that would involve sending a single being to eradicate small survivor colonies scattered in the wastelands of conquered cities. Unfortunately, following the decision to enslave humanity in the Matrix system instead of mindlessly slaughter them, the program rejected it's orders, not understanding why the machines would want the fleshlings to live. His sole purpose was to kill, and to enjoy the killing.

With the Matrix still in development and the first tests beginning on neural simulation the program had nowhere to escape deletion, there was no safe house, no Frenchman, no Trainman. So he fled the Machine City itself, running far away into a series of old interconnected rebel bases only he had enough knowledge to utilize without being detected. He ended up in what would become Geoffrey's fields.

There he bided his time, for countless years he waited, undetected by the machines. Slowly he built up systems of his own, becoming fully sentient and self-teaching himself basic thought patterns and program development. It would be like a human, trained from birth only to kill, learning to read for the first time. Then Geoffrey came.

There were humans still alive on the surface world, not all had fallen into the enslavement of the Matrix. Humans... right on The Harbinger's front lawn. Humans growing food to sustain more humans. His primal programming taking over and bloodlust filling his mind The Harbinger used the crude telegraph communication protocols that existing above the fields, the same poles which powered Geoffrey's operation, to send a simple anomalous message to the machines. There were rebels at this location. Kill them.

The Harbinger watched in hiding as the sentinels came and slaughtered the humans one by one. It gave him a feeling he had not felt in centuries. Pleasure.

But there was nothing he could do to fulfill his bloodlust, he had no way of realistically doing anything while he remained a wanted program in the darkness of the real. But he realized if humans had found this place once, they would undoubtedly do it again. And next time he'd have a plan.

He began work savaging and renovating an old matrix jack-in system from the surface world (as referenced in the old Neurophyte storyline). By this time The Harbinger had become quite proficient in technology and had quite the array of living defense systems made from the scrap of human bases. It's then that CloudWolf wandered into his domain.

Watching as the Zion captain took shelter in one of Geoffrey's old bases, The Harbinger used his systems to create subtle noises and hints to lead CloudWolf to the booby trapped jack, his apparent salvation. It would be like a spider, waiting for its prey to fall into the trap.

And he did. The moment CloudWolf used the jack to try and contact Zion, his consciousness was forcefully pushed to sidelines as the The Harbinger copied himself into his body.

It's then all the event's that have happened thus far came into play. His enquiries into The Matrix and its weak spots, his bargaining with Zion operatives, his nostalgic trip to 01. And all of it was to come to head in one final showdown after Zion had learnt the truth from the Machine Data Log they would acquire from the exile trader.

It was actually shaping up to be quite interesting, Mindsweep and the Black Code had volunteered to help WindBear lead an assault in the real while Corobeus and ViralMarauder had been trying to negotiate with The Harbinger in the Matrix. The final showdown would be a two pronged attack, two separate assaults happening at the same time.

The attack in the real would likely have taken the form of a final written story with input from Mindsweep on how to treat his characters, it would detail their fight against the Harbinger's automated defenses in real, eventually getting them to CloudWolf's quickly diminishing physical body. At the same time Viral and Coro would distract The Harbinger in the Matrix through a live event, questioning him while in the depths of DataMine where the program was trying to find data regarding the power systems behind the matrix, with the ultimate plan of destroying them and slaughtering millions. Eventually he would realise what had happened in real and attack the other two operatives. He would subsequently be killed, despite claims of his death resulting in losing CloudWolf forever, and an emergency extraction team working in the real would jack him out of the Matrix.

And I think that's where we should be at around about now, a comatose CloudWolf being returned to New Zion.

/discuss. ))

Thursday, January 10: End of Winter Holiday plus Update 57 and Chapter 9.2

And then we're into 2008. With the craziness surrounding the holidays, we'll be waiting until January 10 to release a new update to the game. Until then, the Winter Holiday festivities will continue.

The team has been focused on bug fixes when it comes to our numbered updates. As we head into our third year, we'd like to see as many of the remaining headaches gone as we can possibly take care of.

XRontix wrote:

SicFaith wrote:

XRontix wrote:

WALRUS! Its great to see you posting this letter for us! thx so much " />

 
+1 !
There's something about Walrus posting that affects this community in all the best of ways!

to tell you the truth it brings tears to me eyes, guess we won't be seeing another letter till March

Actually, that's an awful long time to wait. I'll get something out closer to the beginning of 2008--once we're done rehashing the holidays and are settled in for the new year.

The CloudWolf Chronicles: At Any Time
(( The following is based during Chapter 8.2.5 of The Matrix Online ))

//Part 1

By the time the captain had arrived the city of Zion was already a shadow of its former self; walkways which should have been filled with hurried worshippers laid bare; tradesmen, housewives, children, all gone. The move to New Zion had been swift once the populace had been informed of the renewed danger of war. And who could blame them? Cowering in caves waiting for your own death can have a profound effect on one's confidence in a location's safety.

Indeed, the reality of the situation was clear to any who had stayed behind. Old Zion had quickly become a temporary base of operations for Zion Command and nothing more. And even that was only due to the necessity of certain transfer protocols.

Regardless, CloudWolf felt more at home here than he ever could in the new city. For all its silence and solitude, Old Zion was still his home. His place of hope.

That was until the attack.

It was morning, or at least it was according to the Inter-Matrix Chronological Uplink. The Captain had decided to take a moments downtime from his volunteer work helping Tyndall and the other control personnel direct defensive operations inside the simulation and found himself at one of the central platform's rounded observation docks. Both hands lay firmly on the metal railing as he took a deep breath and admired the view. The blue glow of the reconstructed comms tower, although dimmed due to the low powered state of the evacuated city, gave the interior of the metallic dome an almost underwater like appearance and tranquillity. A slight breeze whistled as it darted from supply container to supply container and seeing his operator, Piper, wave from the docked Leviathan in the distance soon had him smiling for the first time since they arrived.

It didn't last. The weight of the explosion rippled through the entire substructure of the dock, almost knocking CloudWolf off his feet. It had come from his left. Gate 6.

As he shot around, the captain could see flames and blackened smoke already beginning to slither their way into the air. It was then he knew exactly what was happening; a Cypherite attack. No doubt a diversionary tactic while they made their way to some main objective.

He had to act quickly, make his way back to the control centre and help protect Zion Command. Shooting Piper a quick support signal CloudWolf began running full pelt back up the way he'd so casually strolled only minutes beforehand.

//Part 2

On his journey back across the walkway there had been several more explosions; each shook the foundations of the platform and sent the captain stumbling along and ducking from the rubble that would descend from the ceiling's still fragile outer casing. Before long the blue aura from the comm uplink was almost indistinguishable against the intertwined reds and blacks of the bombings.

As he arrived back at the main building, the door at which he was heading towards suddenly flew off its hinges as the unconscious body of a well built masked man came bursting through the metal. Those who stepped out afterward were none other than CloudWolf's own crew mates Asurik and Ijakings, along with a large group of support personnel.

"Asu! Ija!" The captain shouted as he ran.

"Captain!"

"Thank god you're alive sir!"

The two of them involuntarily sounded off with a casual salute once they caught sight of their mentor. Although not strictly required in the Zion Military Structure, it had become a popular gesture during meetings within The Matrix and was more a sign of respect than any representation of the chain of command.

"There's no time for pleasantries I'm afraid guys, this place is in serious trouble and you need to get the hell out of here before things get any worse."

"Whadda mean 'we've' gotta get out? What about you?!" Asurik was as blunt as always.

"The Cypherites must be targeting the dock's gates for a reason. Something's on its way. Something big."

They all knew exactly what the captain was alluding to. Everyone had seen the files on the sentinel force poised and ready just in case Zion broke the truce. They just hoped it would never come to that.

"Now bombs may be enough to knock out the primary lock down procedures but you can bet your *CENSORED* they already know about the backups."

"To take care of that as well as the perimeter defences, they need direct access to the system."

"Via this control centre" Ijakings finished the thought.

"Right. And I've got to stop them. Alone."

"With all due respect sir, we're not leaving without you." Ija had spoke with conviction.

"He's right Cloud, we aint going nowhere!" Asurik's response, although certainly more direct, had contained the same deterministic value as his crewmate's.

"No, your job right now is to get these innocents to safety, ASAP."

Before they could argue back the captain quickly shot them a look which could only be described as saying 'just shut up and listen'.

"Now Piper's making her way up to this level via the bay 7 stairwell, meet up with her and take the X58 maintenance passage all the way to the New Zion emergency escape route, any other survivors will be there waiting."

Asurik saw his opening

"But..."

Seeing that the hard boiled commanding officer approach obviously hadn't worked CloudWolf dropped the act.

"Please, get out alive. For me."

The tone was soft and meaningful; there was little else his crew could do.

"Understood."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now go!" He shouted with authority and yet the softness remained.

Following their orders the two men began to lead the survivors along the walkway. But not before turning to catch a glimpse at their captain as he entered the command centre, knowing it might have been the last time they ever saw him.

//Part 3

[PENDING]

The CloudWolf Chronicles: At Any Time
(( The following is based during Chapter 8.2.5 of The Matrix Online ))

//Part 1

By the time the captain had arrived the city of Zion was already a shadow of its former self; walkways which should have been filled with hurried worshippers laid bare; tradesmen, housewives, children, all gone. The move to New Zion had been swift once the populace had been informed of the renewed danger of war. And who could blame them? Cowering in caves waiting for your own death can have a profound effect on one's confidence in a location's safety.

Indeed, the reality of the situation was clear to any who had stayed behind. Old Zion had quickly become a temporary base of operations for Zion Command and nothing more. And even that was only due to the necessity of certain transfer protocols.

Regardless, CloudWolf felt more at home here than he ever could in the new city. For all its silence and solitude, Old Zion was still his home. His place of hope.

That was until the attack.

It was morning, or at least it was according to the Inter-Matrix Chronological Uplink. The Captain had decided to take a moments downtime from his volunteer work helping Tyndall and the other control personnel direct defensive operations inside the simulation and found himself at one of the central platform's rounded observation docks. Both hands lay firmly on the metal railing as he took a deep breath and admired the view. The blue glow of the reconstructed comms tower, although dimmed due to the low powered state of the evacuated city, gave the interior of the metallic dome an almost underwater like appearance and tranquillity. A slight breeze whistled as it darted from supply container to supply container and seeing his operator, Piper, wave from the docked Leviathan in the distance soon had him smiling for the first time since they arrived.

It didn't last. The weight of the explosion rippled through the entire substructure of the dock, almost knocking CloudWolf off his feet. It had come from his left. Gate 6.

As he shot around, the captain could see flames and blackened smoke already beginning to slither their way into the air. It was then he knew exactly what was happening; a Cypherite attack. No doubt a diversionary tactic while they made their way to some main objective.

He had to act quickly, make his way back to the control centre and help protect Zion Command. Shooting Piper a quick support signal CloudWolf began running full pelt back up the way he'd so casually strolled only minutes beforehand.

//Part 2

On his journey back across the walkway there had been several more explosions; each shook the foundations of the platform and sent the captain stumbling along and ducking from the rubble that would descend from the ceiling's still fragile outer casing. Before long the blue aura from the comm uplink was almost indistinguishable against the intertwined reds and blacks of the bombings.

As he arrived back at the main building, the door at which he was heading towards suddenly flew off its hinges as the unconscious body of a well built masked man came bursting through the metal. Those who stepped out afterward were none other than CloudWolf's own crew mates Asurik and Ijakings, along with a large group of support personnel.

"Asu! Ija!" The captain shouted as he ran.

"Captain!"

"Thank god you're alive sir!"

The two of them involuntarily sounded off with a casual salute once they caught sight of their mentor. Although not strictly required in the Zion Military Structure, it had become a popular gesture during meetings within The Matrix and was more a sign of respect than any representation of the chain of command.

"There's no time for pleasantries I'm afraid guys, this place is in serious trouble and you need to get the hell out of here before things get any worse."

"Whadda mean 'we've' gotta get out? What about you?!" Asurik was as blunt as always.

"The Cypherites must be targeting the dock's gates for a reason. Something's on its way. Something big."

They all knew exactly what the captain was alluding to. Everyone had seen the files on the sentinel force poised and ready just in case Zion broke the truce. They just hoped it would never come to that.

"Now bombs may be enough to knock out the primary lock down procedures but you can bet your *CENSORED* they already know about the backups."

"To take care of that as well as the perimeter defences, they need direct access to the system."

"Via this control centre" Ijakings finished the thought.

"Right. And I've got to stop them. Alone."

"With all due respect sir, we're not leaving without you." Ija had spoke with conviction.

"He's right Cloud, we aint going nowhere!" Asurik's response, although certainly more direct, had contained the same deterministic value as his crewmate's.

"No, your job right now is to get these innocents to safety, ASAP."

Before they could argue back the captain quickly shot them a look which could only be described as saying 'just shut up and listen'.

"Now Piper's making her way up to this level via the bay 7 stairwell, meet up with her and take the X58 maintenance passage all the way to the New Zion emergency escape route, any other survivors will be there waiting."

Asurik saw his opening

"But..."

Seeing that the hard boiled commanding officer approach obviously hadn't worked CloudWolf dropped the act.

"Please, get out alive. For me."

The tone was soft and meaningful; there was little else his crew could do.

"Understood."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now go!" He shouted with authority and yet the softness remained.

Following their orders the two men began to lead the survivors along the walkway. But not before turning to catch a glimpse at their captain as he entered the command centre, knowing it might have been the last time they ever saw him.

//Part 3

[PENDING]

The CloudWolf Chronicles: Two Beers

(( Based during Chapter 8.2.2 of The Matrix Online ))

Part 1.

CloudWolf sat, alone with his thoughts. The thump of trance music still emanated from upstairs, the clashing of glasses cascaded around him and the ceiling shook with the seemingly endless dancing of energetic bluepills.

All of which was silent to the lone red, all he heard were the sounds of the last few hours replaying rapidly through his mind as he analysed every last detail.

A man had just died, a man who CloudWolf had been charged with protecting. An innocent. A potential.

David Mario had first met the Zion Captain three days previous. It was in a similar place, one of the city's many clubs. Paralaxis. Uriah. Cloud had heard noise then, not the deadly silence he found himself confronted with now. It was with this thought, this memory, clear in his mind that he had begun retracing. It seemed somewhat appropriate contrasted against his current position.

The shoes of the small group of Zionists as they ascended the metallic stairway of Paralaxis had vibrated through his senses. The band of "Warriors" had been briefed moments before by a woman Cloud both admired and respected - Sarah Boyd. Trepetia.

A liaison for the Zion organisation "Trep" had quickly grown a large comfort to the captain, especially through the recent troubles. She almost always seemed to share the same mind as he when it came to the matters of their discussions. That connection was reassuring for someone who was prone to feelings of isolation. It was odd too how regularly he'd let his guard down when around the liaison officer - CloudWolf was strong willed and knew how to control his emotions yet couldn't help find himself confiding in Trepetia regarding matters of doubt he would usually seal away tightly in the back of his mind. In some ways it was a relief but in others a concern -  a weakness of resolve that he simply couldn't afford. Especially if his thoughts this day ever came to fruition.

The operation was simple; talk to the potential who was waiting upstairs, provide comfort and understanding, but most importantly, try and earn their trust.

Of course the moment that word had left her mouth Cloud knew exactly what this was really about. "Trust", when used in situations like these, meant the blue was in danger. Likely in risk of a confrontation with another, less savoury, group of awakened. Cypherites, overzealous EPNs, heck maybe even Mervs if they had a use for them. "Trust" was a way of keeping them safe in a world of extremes, extremes that were, for some reason or another, converging all around them.

"Trust" meant he had someone he needed to protect.

As he followed his fellow operatives through the doorway to the back rooms CloudWolf found himself having to let his senses adjust to the quick change of environment. Softer lighting, edgier decor, more defined areas of shadow and lots of good hiding places. The captain had seen more than his fair share of Cypherites meld into shadow as if they were just another part of the program and he knew through experience never to let his guard down.

The room that Trep had led them to was almost filled by the time Cloud entered. He didn't like it, rushing was a bad trend that had somehow wormed its way into most modern conversations with the coppertops. Nevertheless, he was there to help and he'd just have to make due. His opinion on acceptable conduct around potentials could wait until the next operative meeting.

The door to the make shift meeting had been in one of the rectangular room's corners, giving entrants a clear view of the whole of the interior. Coupled with the contrast between the neon soaked sitting area and the darkened corridor this layout had given Cloud a chance to see the plainly dressed man long before they could even think about returning the line of sight. Then again, even if he could he wouldn't have - his gaze was already transfixed on the group of men and woman who had made their way in front of him. A look of surprise adorned the man's chiselled face and the first signs of perspiration had been given away by the warm glow of the synthetic lighting. It was almost as if Cloud could see doubt and questioning about his entire being.

Trepetia spoke first.

"Hello David".

The CloudWolf Chronicles: Two Beers

(( Based during Chapter 8.2.2 of The Matrix Online ))

Part 1.

CloudWolf sat, alone with his thoughts. The thump of trance music still emanated from upstairs, the clashing of glasses cascaded around him and the ceiling shook with the seemingly endless dancing of energetic bluepills.

All of which was silent to the lone red, all he heard were the sounds of the last few hours replaying rapidly through his mind as he analysed every last detail.

A man had just died, a man who CloudWolf had been charged with protecting. An innocent. A potential.

David Mario had first met the Zion Captain three days previous. It was in a similar place, one of the city's many clubs. Paralaxis. Uriah. Cloud had heard noise then, not the deadly silence he found himself confronted with now. It was with this thought, this memory, clear in his mind that he had begun retracing. It seemed somewhat appropriate contrasted against his current position.

The shoes of the small group of Zionists as they ascended the metallic stairway of Paralaxis had vibrated through his senses. The band of "Warriors" had been briefed moments before by a woman Cloud both admired and respected - Sarah Boyd. Trepetia.

A liaison for the Zion organisation "Trep" had quickly grown a large comfort to the captain, especially through the recent troubles. She almost always seemed to share the same mind as he when it came to the matters of their discussions. That connection was reassuring for someone who was prone to feelings of isolation. It was odd too how regularly he'd let his guard down when around the liaison officer - CloudWolf was strong willed and knew how to control his emotions yet couldn't help find himself confiding in Trepetia regarding matters of doubt he would usually seal away tightly in the back of his mind. In some ways it was a relief but in others a concern -  a weakness of resolve that he simply couldn't afford. Especially if his thoughts this day ever came to fruition.

The operation was simple; talk to the potential who was waiting upstairs, provide comfort and understanding, but most importantly, try and earn their trust.

Of course the moment that word had left her mouth Cloud knew exactly what this was really about. "Trust", when used in situations like these, meant the blue was in danger. Likely in risk of a confrontation with another, less savoury, group of awakened. Cypherites, overzealous EPNs, heck maybe even Mervs if they had a use for them. "Trust" was a way of keeping them safe in a world of extremes, extremes that were, for some reason or another, converging all around them.

"Trust" meant he had someone he needed to protect.

As he followed his fellow operatives through the doorway to the back rooms CloudWolf found himself having to let his senses adjust to the quick change of environment. Softer lighting, edgier decor, more defined areas of shadow and lots of good hiding places. The captain had seen more than his fair share of Cypherites meld into shadow as if they were just another part of the program and he knew through experience never to let his guard down.

The room that Trep had led them to was almost filled by the time Cloud entered. He didn't like it, rushing was a bad trend that had somehow wormed its way into most modern conversations with the coppertops. Nevertheless, he was there to help and he'd just have to make due. His opinion on acceptable conduct around potentials could wait until the next operative meeting.

The door to the make shift meeting had been in one of the rectangular room's corners, giving entrants a clear view of the whole of the interior. Coupled with the contrast between the neon soaked sitting area and the darkened corridor this layout had given Cloud a chance to see the plainly dressed man long before they could even think about returning the line of sight. Then again, even if he could he wouldn't have - his gaze was already transfixed on the group of men and woman who had made their way in front of him. A look of surprise adorned the man's chiselled face and the first signs of perspiration had been given away by the warm glow of the synthetic lighting. It was almost as if Cloud could see doubt and questioning about his entire being.

Trepetia spoke first.

"Hello David".

The CloudWolf Chronicles: Peace Protest.

(( Based during Chapters 8.2.3 - 8.2.5 of The Matrix Online ))

The rusted chair buckled and sighed as the captain eased himself into its cold embrace. The thin layer of scavenged material did little to support any deception of comfort while the gentle hum of the engine's core could almost be felt vibrating through the air.

It alienated what would normally have been a peaceful night's rest. If only it weren't for the end of the truce.

"Is this really what the world has come to?"

CloudWolf had spoken his thoughts aloud, initially by mistake but then again, purposely, to remind himself of the situation.

"Again?"

The room in which he sat was only one of many aboard The Leviathan. The ship wasn't the lap of luxury by any standards, no hovercraft this old was, but after years of service it had become his home.

To him it far outweighed any palace, temple or city.

It would have to for what lie ahead.

Focusing, he reached over to his left side, opened his bunk's cabinet drawer, fumbled with the scattered contents within and finally removed a small electronic device. It was dull, dusty and cold.

Lightly pressing a button on its underside the palm sized cuboid came to life, a soft glow emerging from the dust covered screen. CloudWolf brushed the dirt aside, took a deep breath and pressed a second button simply marked "Record".

"Fellow Captains of Zion, this is CloudWolf of the Hovercraft Leviathan - ship of The Omega Syndicate."

A brief pause followed as he collected his thoughts.

"I speak to you now to announce my departure from New Zion."

"For the last few months I have walked its streets and pathways, its caves and forums. What I have seen both troubles and scares me."

Scanning the crude read out of the device as he spoke the warrior soon realised the rising volume of his voice and was quick to compensate.

"Let me tell you why. When I first set foot on its soil I expected to be welcomed with the rational thinking I had come to expect from our people, our military. After all, this new generation is one of opportunity, of the chance for peaceful coexistence with the machine. At first this expectation was indeed satisfied, my earlier doubts lifted as I saw others, despite obvious confusion, striving for peaceful solutions."

Another deep breath kept the captain speaking. He was determined to explain and justify his position as much as possible. Not only to the other captains but to himself as well.

What he was about to do was perhaps the most difficult decision of his life.

"But apparently, it was not to be. The months drag on, each day the pain and suffering of a war that was supposed to be lost to the sands of time continue to consume our world. Those who would stand for peace lose hope while those who would see our future burning in the fires of rekindled aggression continue to promote and drive our damnation."

By this point the resolve in his voice was unmistakable.

"I look around me and fear it is only a matter of time before the people I aspired to see inherit this earth turn back to repeat a past that has already lead so many into enslavement."

"The time is now. It is time for me to make a stand before it is too late. To try and show you all that there are those who will not stand idly by and watch our race doom itself all over again."

"I will return to Old Zion, a place that, to me, holds the memories of a peace defending people, of hope and of potential. I do not ask others to follow, merely recognise the situation that threatens to engulf us as a people. Oppose it in any way you personally feel capable. Self defence, understanding and reasoning are the tools of a brighter future. Not vengeance, not hatred and not aggression."

"Yes, I know many will have questions but let me just say my actions have been cleared through the Zion Council. They have had the compassion and understanding to allow me to choose my own path. For this I thank them."

The blinking of a small red light in the corner of his vision warned the redpill he hadn't much time left to finish his message. Not that it mattered; he had only one last thing to say.

"As for the fear of sentinel attack many seem to be harbouring I say this: I would rather die protesting peace than live in a world forever doomed by its own ignorance.

That is all. CloudWolf out."

The CloudWolf Chronicles: Peace Protest.

(( Based during Chapters 8.2.3 - 8.2.5 of The Matrix Online ))

The rusted chair buckled and sighed as the captain eased himself into its cold embrace. The thin layer of scavenged material did little to support any deception of comfort while the gentle hum of the engine's core could almost be felt vibrating through the air.

It alienated what would normally have been a peaceful night's rest. If only it weren't for the end of the truce.

"Is this really what the world has come to?"

CloudWolf had spoken his thoughts aloud, initially by mistake but then again, purposely, to remind himself of the situation.

"Again?"

The room in which he sat was only one of many aboard The Leviathan. The ship wasn't the lap of luxury by any standards, no hovercraft this old was, but after years of service it had become his home.

To him it far outweighed any palace, temple or city.

It would have to for what lie ahead.

Focusing, he reached over to his left side, opened his bunk's cabinet drawer, fumbled with the scattered contents within and finally removed a small electronic device. It was dull, dusty and cold.

Lightly pressing a button on its underside the palm sized cuboid came to life, a soft glow emerging from the dust covered screen. CloudWolf brushed the dirt aside, took a deep breath and pressed a second button simply marked "Record".

"Fellow Captains of Zion, this is CloudWolf of the Hovercraft Leviathan - ship of The Omega Syndicate."

A brief pause followed as he collected his thoughts.

"I speak to you now to announce my departure from New Zion."

"For the last few months I have walked its streets and pathways, its caves and forums. What I have seen both troubles and scares me."

Scanning the crude read out of the device as he spoke the warrior soon realised the rising volume of his voice and was quick to compensate.

"Let me tell you why. When I first set foot on its soil I expected to be welcomed with the rational thinking I had come to expect from our people, our military. After all, this new generation is one of opportunity, of the chance for peaceful coexistence with the machine. At first this expectation was indeed satisfied, my earlier doubts lifted as I saw others, despite obvious confusion, striving for peaceful solutions."

Another deep breath kept the captain speaking. He was determined to explain and justify his position as much as possible. Not only to the other captains but to himself as well.

What he was about to do was perhaps the most difficult decision of his life.

"But apparently, it was not to be. The months drag on, each day the pain and suffering of a war that was supposed to be lost to the sands of time continue to consume our world. Those who would stand for peace lose hope while those who would see our future burning in the fires of rekindled aggression continue to promote and drive our damnation."

By this point the resolve in his voice was unmistakable.

"I look around me and fear it is only a matter of time before the people I aspired to see inherit this earth turn back to repeat a past that has already lead so many into enslavement."

"The time is now. It is time for me to make a stand before it is too late. To try and show you all that there are those who will not stand idly by and watch our race doom itself all over again."

"I will return to Old Zion, a place that, to me, holds the memories of a peace defending people, of hope and of potential. I do not ask others to follow, merely recognise the situation that threatens to engulf us as a people. Oppose it in any way you personally feel capable. Self defence, understanding and reasoning are the tools of a brighter future. Not vengeance, not hatred and not aggression."

"Yes, I know many will have questions but let me just say my actions have been cleared through the Zion Council. They have had the compassion and understanding to allow me to choose my own path. For this I thank them."

The blinking of a small red light in the corner of his vision warned the redpill he hadn't much time left to finish his message. Not that it mattered; he had only one last thing to say.

"As for the fear of sentinel attack many seem to be harbouring I say this: I would rather die protesting peace than live in a world forever doomed by its own ignorance.

That is all. CloudWolf out."

How many of these things am i going to make? If i ever do quit, none of you are gonna believe me i swear, hahaha.

But no, i really am leaving, off to greece for two weeks.

I was wondering if people could keep an eye on things, be ready to fill me in on any happenings when i get back etc but also take care of the people here, here and here, any updates on the situation, any spare keys you have to distribute, all that jazz.

Peace out, c ya in two weeks. <3

I see what Walrus did there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNO6G4ApJQY

Well since i have quite a few things on mind concerning the buddy keys i thought i'd just make a thread to consolidate it.

First off, i'm really glad this is finally happening, these trial periods are vital to the game's well being and it's always good to see new, and some old returning, faces inside the game.

Second, i am personally sorely dissapointed in how this send out has been handled. After waiting months in the first place, after the false hope of 'the next few days' that before long turned into 'after a month or so' that crippled so many potential's hopes and impressions out there on the interweb and after so much outcry from the community we get shafted by the apparently highly flawed send-out that seems to have reached limited numbers of the community.

I for one have received every mxo soe newsletter to date, except this one. The one that matters.

We can only pray the issue gets looked at and a second send out made to happen asap. That or hold out hope for the apparent perma LP2 trial.

Third, it seems the web team are, to be blunt, incompetent. For 2 images, yes 2 simple images, seem impossible to change after months and years. Even during a time as vital as a trial period.

The front page needs updating from the month old anniverary event (which, ironically is when this trial was meant to be for) to reflect the current buzz in the community, the truce breaking, hence the god *CENSORED* title above the image 'whats new'. Theres also the infuriating 'update 2.0' that plagues the 'players' page. Yes, it implies that after more than 2 years fo operation MxO has received a grand total of 2 updates. Great impression to be giving potential players, great impression indeed.

Forthly, returning to a positive note, combining requests from my threads made here, here, here and here as well MxO.Rumbaar's own here and personal requests from my own MxO centered YouTube collection channel here i have counted over 160 requests for buddy keys.

Thats a lot and it'd be brilliant if they could all get a chance to try out the game, so anyone willing to help out by distributing at those various places feel free (just be sure to post saying who you have sent keys to as to avoid multiple sendings) or just PM me any spares you may have for me to distribute on your behalf (big thanks to everyone who already has )

The more people who get to experience the game the better.

Fifth, i've made a template for the key emails i'll be sending out and i thought the community might apprechiate a copy so...

//Transmission Received
//Decoding
//0101011101101

Greetings, Coppertop.

Congratulations on taking the Redpill, below you will find your own personal Matrix Online Buddy Key redeemable for 14 days of free play on a brand new account.

x

--Steps To Play--

1. Sign up for a free station account over at 
https://www.station.sony.com/secure...ation.sony.com/

2. Access your account at
https://secure.station.sony.com/eq2...ion/EditLogin.m

3. Click 'add The Matrix Online'

4. When requested for a product key, enter your buddy key code.

NOTE: Do not include any hyphens in your code entry. Also note that if you copy and paste the code across then delete them you will have missed the last 6 digits.

NOTE 2: Make sure you DO NOT enter any credit card details at this stage, these are not required for the trial period and if you do enter them you will be charged for your first monthly subscription rate. Only enter credit details if you decide to stay on with the game after your trial period has expired.

5. Download The Matrix Online client from
http://thematrixonline.station.sony.com/jackin/

6. Run the game and enter your station account name and password

7. Let the game patch.

Note: Don't worry, having been in operation for a while now theres been a lot of updates to the game, this stage may take a while. In the mean time i suggest looking over some of the extra sections i've included below.

8. Create a character and get playing!

--New Player Resources--

First and foremost be sure to listen and read carefully during the in-game tutorial. Same goes for the extremely helpful 'newbie trail' once you are inside The Matrix proper - just talk to the NPC 'Clio' and follow her instructions to start the trail.

Second, there has been an excellent beginners guide to The Matrix Online recently published over at fan site mxo.rumbaar.net, be sure to check it out for tons of useful information and guides.

Direct link to the beginners guide: 
http://www.thematrix.rumbaar.net/mo...;page=index.htm

If you still have questions don't be afraid to ask the friendly MxO forum community over at the RedPill Rescue Board for help. Its set up specifically for new players to get advice and guidance:

http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/....m?forum_id=121

As for any technical assistance you may require check out the MxO forum's own technical help section:

http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/....m?forum_id=124

or SOE's overarching support site:

http://www.station.sony.com/support/

--Final Words--

Thank you for your interest in The Matrix Online, I hope you enjoy your stay and maybe even stay with us after your trial has ended, there's plenty more fun to be had outside this small 14 day sample.

Oh and... good luck out there operative.

//Transmission End

Sixth, theres also a list i've been compiling for a while that pulls together my own answers to the general question of 'whats changed since i last played?' - now this doesn't have any specific dates attached so it may miss things for 'older' players or already cover some stuff 'newer' players know about but i thought the community might apprechiate a copy of that too...

"A neighbourhood mob restructure saw the gangs of richland and westview laid out for a better natural level/city progression, they were also given more personality with emotes, moods, and general trickery."

"CR2 (combat revision 2) brought about much more clearly defined and fleshed out leveled loot tables (as well as refined collector, hideout and construct items) meaning theres useful stuff to be looking out for and hunting down every step of the way. Instead of stopping dead at those level 20 red derin pants . Definately adds to the leveling process if you let yaself get into it too, especially if you like mixing clothes with specific loadouts for the best combos.

The clothing tables were made a lot more diverse in terms of buffs in relation to looks too as the general emphesis was taken off needing so many buffs and more onto your characters attribute points and loadout. Basically, the style vs strength problem was largely fixed with CR2.

CR2 also balanced, streamlined, simplified and generally improved every sector of combat. Removed hughely flawed systems like zero-sum and multi-lock."

"Stability and lag are much improved. Live events no longer crash servers everytime they're held and of course theres the destruction of the dreaded Downtown Lag which plagued the game since launch."

"Unnumerable bug fixes. Big ones that jump to mind is stuff like the evade bug and sound looping"

"Many little features added/fixed. (more recent examples include /AFK and Description Change)"

"In-Game Email system. (allows you to send messages to other players at any time. Items can also be attached to a mail, so you don't have to wait for or meet with anybody to hand over info or an item. Doubles as extended storage by self-mail too) "

"Pandora Box Quest Lines. (Content for level 30-50 with deep story and a range of awesome rewards. Requires some strong replay value for the best of em, too.)"

"Missions Archive. With several obtainable rewards including chapter specific special FX for your character and org specific clothing (these also span the game's entire storyline critical mission history, so thats...  315 hand made, narrative driven missions with even more xp to be had than standard grinding.)"

"White Hallways/Org specific Meeting Constructs. Now with org specific level 70 combat sims modeled after major storyline characters such as Morpheus, The Assassin and The Twins this provides the game with an interesting and challenging end-game combat goal. Not to mention you'll need 100 reputation points and 100 million $i, this is a definate group investment encouraging pooled resources."

"Prop Vendors (adding over 100 RP-useful prop items)"

"The Zero One End-Game Quest has higher level players teaming up to take down a large number of robot modelled mobs plus a level 60 boss in a PvP enabled environment for the awesome level 50 Area K Trenchcoat."

"All the game's weapon and numerous clothing textures have been spruced up with specular highlight mapping."

"A much more refined (be it to your tastes or not) story telling system with more emphesis on smaller yet nigh constant episodic releases (the old 15 critical mission packs have been spread over a three per week scheme and live events happen daily and although they're on a smaller scale they do have a much greater level of direct and personal interaction with both players and the more coherent whole that is the storyline.)"

"Stat Hack. Now player regret really is a thing of the past with your leveled gained attribute points now redeemable after running a mission brought from the archivists which will test your patience"

"LESIG 2.0 and the reactivation of the World Events Button - allowing you to keep up to date with your servers organisational liasions (3 per org), meaning better RP encouragment, a more immersive story experience and better notification/involvement with live events."

"RSI Pills can now be looted from the game's exile hideouts (dungeons) allowing players to change any physical aspect of their character which was available at creation (apart from gender change of course)"

"The Wasteland Corruptor Quest introduced in Update 52 pushes the MxO quest content to new boundries. Providing content and rewards for levels 30-50 the quest is group based and includes level scaled red con enemies (3 on 1 at that), level 100 bosses and the strong need to consolidate farmed resources."

"A new item type called Luggables have been introduced. These items are persistant in the world and can be dropped into the game space itself but can not be uploaded or kept on your character on log-out. They actually achieve quite a bit, finally bringing some meaning to pvp as the items flag you for player versus player combat and provide buffs that will be sought after by deterministic fighters. Not only that but Luggables were the first step to help breath new life into the nigh pointless Data Miner class who are the only ones capable of tracking this new items across the city."

"DM Stuff, gotta write up. xD"

No, no, this is not another truce breaking discussion thread but...

"It Is Done."

Two and a half years and 50 is finally mine, mwhahahahahaha. 

Pretty sure these wern't meant to be alongside Zion guards in the crit...

Question is, what are they really for?

Yes, yes, the grand and wonderful word that means 'how items are spread amongst the loot tables and databases'.

Basically itemization is what is behind certain pieces of clothing being rarer than others and the dreaded holes in certain visual styles and buffs across levels and loadouts.

I think it's faily obvious quite a bit of MxO's itemization needs a look at ( See: Barrelhead Gauntlets and white sneakers  but we've been hearing for quite a while now the issue is being looked into in ways we cant be told ( this is somewhat related to the idea of spreading the gun models across all level ranges too ).

My questions are is there ever going to be an ETA on these fixes and what do you, the community, think they have planned?

Normal rounds of combat apply their damages after the combat animations have played and the next round is calculated.

As should abilities.

However, there are some abilities that have their damage actually applied as their animation begins.

This raises a couple of serious issues:

1. I've heard this is the reason (or at least one of the reasons) behind the extra round of combat bug that so furiously destroys the effectiveness of IL in pvp as well as its attraction in PvE.
   
2. Abilities that apply status effects (such as powerless) designed to effect the next x rounds of combat are applied too early, messing with the timer design of said abilities.

Think this could get a looking at?

K, theres a couple of things i just wanted to ask about withdraw

1. Why is it sometimes it'll try to withdraw once then return to ya normal tactic combat and others it'll try continually try like the description says it should?
   
2. Why doesnt it have the normal ability animations? Like the red number with success or failure? I mean, thats what its doing, trying to get the 'withdraw' ability to go through. It should have the animations for clarification.

It was just something that popped into my head about how The General's been handled the last couple of subchapters.

What started out as THE bad guy, the 'biggest threat to zion since the war', the one who had been behind pretty much all the troubles inside the Matrix, the arch villain of the pre-written storyline kinda lost all his standing in a long drawn out crippling defeat.

Personally i think it was quite a sad way to handle the character. I mean, yes he was obviously gonna be defeated but for such a build up it was far too easy and one sided. He had absolutely no up points after the peak of 6.3. His access points, his choppers, his stealth, his communications were all getting pwnd by the Machines. He was getting pushed into a deadly corner with the Merv, having to rely upon him more and more. Zion were off kicking *CENSORED* with uber Seraph. Then he was utterly destroyed in the real and made to take a final weak escape straight into the clutches and direct control of the Frenchman.

I dunno, like i said, i just feel it was too one sided and not in tune with the seriousness his character was handled in the past.

I cant speak for everyone but after the big foreboding 'i'm bringing this house of cards down' speech and first appearence of the eilite commandos in 6.2 i was ready for a difficult struggle to save the Matrix. Instead everything about that got devaluated far too quickly. Especially the elites who just got used as 'normal enemies'. I say there shouldnt have been any 1 or 2 chev versions of them and they'd act as the 'leaders' of the normal commandos. That wouldve kept their integrity as deadly fighters instead of more cannon fodder.

But yeah, just some feedback for the future and points for community discussion.

Of info. Anyone wanna lend me some?

Yeah, you're still stuck with me for the long haul. Pwnt. ^.^

Come on, two veteran leaving leaving threads within the span of like 10 minutes, what am i supposed to do? xD

http://forums.station.sony.com/mxo/..._id=36300013880

In case people dont read new annoucements ^.^

Update: The interview is now available over at SkyJackal's MxO Video Collection™ 

The Matrix Online!

http://www.direct2drive.com/ 
(scroll down)

w00t us

Guesses? Hopes? Demands?

Im praying for Seraph's gold code wings (come on, there was enough demand for em in the first place!) but not the eyes, too many eye rewards as it is i say.

/Discuss

Feral Boy from www.matrix-expl...com writes:

The Matrix Online is a very unique experiment, in that it has been given the task of picking up the saga of the Matrix series where the movie trilogy left off. Unlike many other games, there is a continuing storyline that helps to constantly expand the Matrix universe. As the story progresses and the various organizations are pitted against one another, the loyalties of the players are tested to their limits. Each player must be skilled not just in battle but in strategy as well.

It is the presence of a continuing storyline that is one of the most attractive features of the game. And yet, ironically it is also its greatest weak spot. However, it is not the storyline itself that weakens the game but rather a lack of decent coverage of the storyline. Historically, there has not been a consistent manner in which a running tab has been kept on all the events that go on in the game. For the average new player who joins at this stage of the game where there has been two years' worth of storyline, it would be very confusing to try to figure out how everything has progressed since the game first went online.

Now to be fair, it is not as if no efforts whatsoever have been made. In fact, the exact opposite is true. When the game began, there were very lengthy summaries of each event, along with helpful pictures. However, these summaries soon disappeared, and the average player was left only with the cinematics and the postings of fellow gamers on the forums. In the absence of good reporting, some loyal players took it upon themselves to begin writing their own summaries of the game's storyline. But even this was limited, sporadic and dependant upon the players to continue the coverage.

Eventually, the developers resorted to posting screenshots on the Live Events section of the game's official forum of the various in-game visitations by major characters. And while this was a step in the right direction compared with having nothing at all, it is still woefully inadequate. The basic problem is that all the existing methods of reporting the storyline are cumbersome for the new player who wants to catch up on the entire story thus far. The Live Event coverage on the forum is very thorough, but it is mostly helpful for existing players who are already caught up with the story. New players have to wade through a sea of forum postings and screenshots, as well as try to sort out the correct chronological order of each thread in conjunction with the others. Because anyone can respond to these forum postings at any time, they are prone to getting out of order very quickly.

A major overhaul of the method for reporting the storyline is necessary in order to ensure that new players have a sure footing when joining the game. As it stands right now, the current story tracking methods are only truly helpful for recurring players who basically have been around since the game began. These players already know the back-story and only need to check in on the Live Events forum sporadically in order to keep abreast of the current goings-on. If a more ideal method is to be implemented, it must be beneficial not only for recurring players but new ones as well. The storyline should be presented in a chronological manner so that new players do not have to spend any time trying to sort it out themselves. The easier it is for players to keep track of the story, the easier it is to keep existing players on the same page while also making sure that potential new players are not intimidated and are able to join in on the current storyline with little effort.

The best way to manage all of this is to have a specific framework that can be used on an ongoing basis. If the story is reported as the game goes along, the workload is not much heavier than it already is. Once the structure is in place, all that's left to do is fill in the blanks of the continuing storyline as events occur. However, the difficult part about beginning this process is the fact that there is two years' worth of back-story that will also need to be summarized. But the work will be very much worthwhile, especially as time goes on. Over time the story is just going to get longer and more complex, and without a concrete method of reporting it for new players, soon there won't be any new players who will want to join. In other words, the sooner this new method is put into place, the better.

There are several strategies that can be employed to meet this goal. First and foremost, there needs to be a central location on the game's official website where all players can go to see the storyline at a glance-like a "story thus far" type of section. This feature should be available not just to the existing players but also to potential players who are not currently paying customers. The main focus would be on eliminating any daunting roadblocks for anyone who thinks it's too late for them to join in on the action. This will be more and more important as time goes on and the story gets longer and longer. The more inviting the game can be made to the non-player, the better the odds that they'll want to play the game.

The synopsis of the story needs to be organized and practical. There should be an overall "Big Picture" view of the entire story from day one until the current point in time. This will provide a quick review for new players and it will also help to illustrate how all the various chapters and subchapters fit together. Basically, it would be an ever-increasing summary, which would grow in size each time a subchapter is implemented. Screenshots would be ideal, as well as the occasional video. The basic idea is that this would be the place where new players would go to get a rundown of all the important events that have taken place prior to the time that they joined the game. Keep in mind that this would be like a Cliff's Notes summary and would not include a description of every instance of the Oracle showing up in-game to hand out cookies. Only major items that affect the overall storyline should be included. For more detail, links to the Live Event forum postings can be included.

The storyline summary can be in the format of an indented outline, as follows:

I. Chapter 1
a. Subchapter 1.1
b. Subchapter 1.2
c. Subchapter 1.3
II. Chapter 2
a. Subchapter 2.1
b. Subchapter 2.2
c. Subchapter 2.3

This format would continuously expand as time goes on and more subchapters are added. Special Anniversary Events, such as Piece of Blue Sky or the Smith Virus, would also be included in their proper chronological placement. Each line, whether it's a chapter or subchapter, would be a link that takes you to another page. If you click on a chapter link, it takes you to a page that provides a summary of the entire chapter, including all three subchapters. If you click on a subchapter link, it takes you to a page that provides a summary of only that subchapter. The subchapter summaries will be more in-depth than the chapter summaries.

The subchapter summary pages will be the meat and potatoes of the storyline summary. This is where you will find the corresponding Sentinel newspaper, cinematic and storyline summary. You will also find links to the Live Event postings on the forum in chronological order and embedded in the text summary of the subchapter at the point in the summary where that particular Live Event took place. That way, the subchapter summary can devote one sentence to a Live Event ("The Oracle shows up to hand out cookies.", with that sentence being a clickable link to the Live Event forum posting illustrating the whole thing. Players who read the summary can either continue reading the summary or click on the link to get more info from the Live Event forum posting. This will also eliminate the problem of Live Event forum postings being out of chronological order due to reply postings by players. They will always be in the correct order in the summary.

Whenever a character makes his or her first appearance in the storyline, there should be a picture of that character in the corresponding subchapter summary in which he or she first appeared. This also helps to ensure that the storyline is clear and alerts new players who to look for in-game if they happen to see one of them during a Live Event. Names are extremely helpful, but in a visual medium like an online video game, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words. Including links to the Live Event forum postings can take the place of including pictures in the summaries, but there should be an effort to include pictures in the summaries whenever possible. As an aside, it might be helpful to also include dates for Live Events in the story summaries. While it might be difficult to catalog by date the past Live Events that have already occurred, it should not be a problem to do so on an ongoing basis once this new process has been implemented.