Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Sneak peek of new space mobs

Yesterday Bjorn from MindArk shared some screenshot of four new space creatures that will be added to the game soon. Space will become the most dangerous and exciting and eventually rewarding for some smart players place, not only in Entropia Universe, but in every MMO. Now when other companies are developing their planets in Entropia Universe, MindArk employees are free to expand and improve the space between the planets. Space is what a lot of MMO and sci-fi fans want. This is why EVE Online is so popular. And to attract those players Entropia Universe need big and interesting space. Adding mobs to space is going to make it more entertaining, but it is not like what we know about the real universe - no creatures live in space. But maybe there are places in the real universe where creatures fly in the space.



Soon there will be also competition for the players to name the mobs and to create a backstory and descriptions.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

PED Flow Center Issue and no more CLDs

If you don't know what Calypso Land Deed is, it is like share from Planet Calypso. You buy it for 1000 PEDs (thats 100$) and every week on Monday you get 5-6 PEDs revenue. In addition you get the right to vote in the future and also build a house if you have 9 CLDs or more.
After the last version update 12.5.0 from 21 of February 2012 there was new bug that didn't allow MindArk to place new Calypso Land Deeds for sale on the auction. At first players didn't know that and started asking question if all CLDs are sold. So Kim from MindArk posted short message to explain the situation: "Additional Calypso Land Deeds will be auctioned as soon as we solve a bug that's preventing us from doing just that".
Yesterday, Monday 27 of February 2012 was the day when everyone who has Calypso Land Deeds was expecting to receive their revenue from the deeds. I also expected my PEDs so I can go out and hunt some mobs, but that didn't happened. There was another bug stopping the payment of the revenue. There was fast message from MindArk about the situation: "There is an issue currently affecting the PED Flow Center and Calypso Land Deed revenues. We hope to have this issue resolved with the release scheduled for tomorrow, along with the issue preventing the listing of Calypso Land Deeds on global auction. We appreciate your patience during the update and apologize for any inconvenience."
Let's hope they will fix these bugs fast so people can continue their everyday activities and be able to buy more Calypso Land Deeds.
UPDATE:
-The issue preventing MindArk to list estate deeds on the global auction has been corrected, and Calypso Land Deeds will be available again.
-The issue causing data in the PED Flow Center to not display when the interface is first loaded has been corrected.
-Friend List is fixed now.
-And you can receive the revenue from your CLDS now. The revenue was good, but I don't know if the payment was for 7 days or 8.
You can see the full list of bug fixes in the Entropia Universe 12.5.1 Release Notes.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Guide to being a successful Mentor in Entropia Universe

I am Mentor in Entropia Universe and here is nice guide how to be good mentor in Entropia Universe:

How to get/find disciples.

The best place to find disciples is the New Arrivals area in Port Atlantis. Twin peaks is also a good location, or any lower level teleport location. Nea’s is OK, but it is the last place I would look. Then simply open a private chat with the avatar, say hi, and asked why they don’t have a mentor. Give a little back ground info on yourself, explain what they will receive for graduating and see if they are interested.

I look for people that have a set of pixie armor, or at least a weapon. It is very rare that I will mentor a non-depositor. I have several reasons for this decision.

I’m a paying player for this game. It’s my money that allows sweaters to exist. Sweaters can take up to a year to graduate. Sweaters only graduate at a rate of 10 to 1. There are exceptions to this, if a sweater is willing to sweat enough PED to become a trader as a profession, then I would mentor them. Also, if you are just starting off as a mentor, and you have a lot of free slots available, mentoring a sweater would be good practice for you. My mentor list is full. This is a personal decision for you as a mentor to make. I’m not telling you who to mentor here, I’m simply giving you tips that will make you a successful mentor.

Who you choose to mentor is 100% your decision alone to make. If you want to be a tour guide for everyone that enters the game, be my guest. I’m spending my leisure time mentoring people, and I will choose to mentor the people that have the highest chance of success. I think that you will be more likely to continue as a mentor if you are successful at it. Many people try to mentor, have a bad experience, and give up the profession.
As a mentor you will have to deal with alt accounts, liars and cheats in addition to the legitimate players. Here are the tactics that I use to protect myself from being scammed.

State up front, that you offer the best info in game, but you do not give out PED. Most players don’t want a handout, they get a sense of accomplishment from doing it on their own. Too many times I have read posts about hit and run disciples that take the starting equipment you give them, and log off.

Here are some good starting questions to ask a new disciple.
Where are you from in real life? (What time zone do you play in?)
How long have you been playing?
Have you looked at the forum?
Have you looked at the auction?
What equipment do you currently have?
What is your highest professional level?
Do you have any questions for me?

How a disciple answers your questions gives you the ability to judge if they are truly a new player, or just another scammer. This is incredibly important. You must use common sense here. Make sure their answers match their experience. If they claim they are brand new, but understand how the tier system works, or another advanced system, that should be a red flag for you. Be wary of players that do not have any questions for you. Another useful tactic here is to think of the questions that you had as a starting player, and see if they match up.
I also think that you should not add a new disciple to your society until you are, as sure as you can be, that they are a legitimate new player. Many societies that just add anyone who applies have scammers in them.

Things for a new player to do.

Visit all of the NPC’s in Port Atlantis. They are the Manual for the game currently, and should provide the disciple with a good starting base of knowledge. This will also save you answering a lot of questions.

Give out information about “the thing” quest on RockTropia. This is a cheap way to get a helicopter, Jeep and some new clothes. This is very beneficial as you really need transportation in this game. While buying transportation from the auction is also an option I think doing “the thing” quest is more fun. It exposes the new player to space travel and a new planet. It is just a cheap, fun thing to do.

Adventure quests – “a grave errand” (300 first aid) and “for discrete applicants only” (450 evade) are very important for a new player to do ASAP.

New Island Mission token quests, just buy visiting Triton Naval Station you earn 1 token and can begin the missions there and at Odysseus Landing.

Provide a list of low level mobs to hunt, and locations to find them at. The training beacon on Jennifer Island is also fun and cheap.

Important beginning info to relate to a disciple.
Good starting equipment.
Types of damage inflicted by mobs, argro range.
How amps and armor plates work.
Fruit, stones and sweating.
Team hunting rules, how to look at them, and which ones are acceptable.
PVP rules, toxic shots and PVP rules in space.
Tier systems and enhancers.
What loot to tt and what loot to keep.
NPCs for iron mission quests.
Information and resource sites, this forum and entropedia.info are 2 examples.
And most importantly do not trust anyone in this game. Trades are PVP, anyone that really wants to borrow something will give something of equal value as a deposit.

Mentor responsibilities.

Be online to answer questions as promptly as possible. If you don’t play much you really won’t be much help to a disciple.
Rescue from outposts if needed.
Make sure your disciples are not afraid to ask you questions. Tell them that it doesn’t bother you and that it’s your job to answer their questions.

Things to avoid doing.

Taking a disciple that does not speak your language. A French player may understand some English, but it’s really better for them to have a French speaking mentor. You could always try to direct them to a French player if you know one.
Taking a disciple that plays outside your time zone, you probably won’t be online to help them much.
Sending them to the forum first thing, new players want to play, not read the forum. Suggest that they do it in their free time once they have played the game a little.


Now all this being said, this is a lot of info!!!! Don’t try and shove all this down a new player’s throat at once. Answer their initial questions, give them something to do, and let them lead the questioning a little. Mentoring is different for everyone, but I hope some of these tips encourage people to mentor. Mentoring a new person takes some time at first, but once they get rolling your really there just to answer specific questions. You can do this while crating, trading or just hanging out looking for new disciples. Once you have several disciples a heli tp run is always a good thing.

People ask me a lot if mentoring is really worth it. You will not always get an expensive gift, but you will make friends. Most disciples are very grateful for your help and show it. I think this game is not very team oriented, many people just play by themselves, I enjoy playing with a good group.

Johnny Lucky Seven

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Most expensive items sold in Entropia Universe

1.F.O.M.A. - Fortuna asteriod (former Club Neverdie) - 3.350.000 Ped - John Foma Kalun bought it from Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs - October 2010
2.Crystal Palace - 3.300.000 Ped - Buzz Erik Lightyear
3.Club Neverdie - 1.000.000 Ped - Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs
4.Bank License #1 - 999.000 Ped - Yuri iNTellect Efremov (+ 1.000.000 Ped required in EU.)
5.Bank License #2 - 950.001 Ped - Jolana Kitty Brice (+ 1.000.000 Ped required in EU.)
6.Bank Licese #3 - 900.002 Ped - Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs (+ 1.000.000 Ped required in EU.)
7.Bank License #5 - 600.000 Ped - Baroness Anshe Chung (+ 1.000.000 Ped required in EU.)
8.Bank License #4 - 590.608 Ped - Janus JD D'Arcwire (+ 1.000.000 Ped required in EU.)
9.Emerald Lakes Mall - 746.007 Ped - Onkel RobRoy Bob
10.Port Atlantis Mall - 700.000 Ped - Eps bought it
11.Unique Green Atrox Egg - 696.969 Ped - Zachurm Deathifier Emegen bought it from Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs
12.Land Area #41 - 550.066 Ped - Bought by Qetesh Qetesh Qetesh
13.Modified Fast Aid Pack - 520.000 Ped - Bridge SilverFox Investor sold it to anonymous buyer
14.Port Atlantis Mall - ~410.000 Ped - Changed owner from Skippie to Ace Wiseshadow - 360.000 Ped + Adjusted Fap(~50.000 Ped)
15.Twin Peaks Mall - 400.000 Ped - Neomaven (estimated price)
16.OreAmp OA-105 (UL) - 380.000 Ped - James BlueFire Sunderland sold it to joe jeff xXSqUaLLXx
17.Land Area #39 - 353.215 Ped - 31-Mar-2007
18.Land Area #44 - 330,000 Ped - - Virtual FOND Manager
19.Land Area #27 - 330.000 Ped - Game Development Lecturer bought it from Trinity Trin Jam trough Auction (27.12.2007 21:20:18)
20.Improved Fast Aid Pack - 325.000 Ped - Foudil El salsero bought it in September 2008
21.Land Area #40 - 323.016 Ped - 31-Mar-2007
22.F.O.M.A. - Fortuna - Dome 2 - 320.000 Ped - Mary Mary Jane sold it to joe jeff xXSqUaLLXx - September 2011
23.Modified EW-40 Mercenary - tt+315.000 Ped
24.Medusa's Head - 300.009 Ped - Bought by Quetesh
25.Unique Dub & McCormick Terminator - 300.000 Ped - Bought by Neomaven
26.Land Area #28 - 300.000 Ped
27.Modified A-3 Justifier Mk.II - ~295.000 Ped - Prodiq sold it to SammySosa
28.Amethera Outback Land #21 - Formicacida LA - 285.000 Ped - May-2010 - Gandalf GandalfSzary Szary sold it to Fatacuida Lorfat Lorfat and Addz, Current owner is Fatacuida Lorfat Lorfat
29.Land Area #30 - 275.000 Ped - 12-Jul-2006
30.Treasure Island - 265.000 ped - Bought by Zachurm Deathifier Emegen
31.Land Area #36 - 250.001 Ped - 25-Jul-2006
32.Ancient Improved MK2 - 250.000 Ped - Neomaven bought it from Hyperion
33.Modified DAR FireForge 9300 - 250.000 Ped - March 2008 - Burnsey sold it to H&R Circle
34.Improved MKII - 245.000 Ped
35.Amethera Outback Land #01 - 240.000 Ped - Jan-2011 - Naomi NP Polder sold it to Juan BALBERITH Martinez & Pedro Rufwon Martinez
36.Carramone Armor Set (F) (Full Set) - 230.700 Ped - (25k shins, helmet+thighs 80k, feet 60k, arms 19.95k gloves 13.5k, harness 30k(looted in team), 2.25k tt of the set)
37.Emik X5 UL - 230.000 Ped - Sold by MH Grave Digger to anonymous
38.Hangar - 230.000 Ped - Seller - Tech Steele Raines, buyer - Michael Ketch Arcanum
39.Land Area #37 - 210.000 Ped - 25-Jul-2006
40.Land Area #38 - 201.000 Ped - 25-Jul-2006
41.Improved MK3 - 200.000 Ped
42.Supremacy Armor Set (M)(Full Set) - 195.000 Ped - DRDoom sold it to Ben Cobra Boner
43.Isis HL-18 UL - 190.000 Ped - (tt=22,122) - Ark Cybe Nor sold it to DRDoom for an Hanger + ML45(valued at ~190k ped at that time) in begining of December 2008.
44.Amethera Outback Land #59 - 180.000 Ped - 2011 - Beautiful SerraAngel Angel sold it to Inno
45.Amethera Outback Land #57 - 170.000 Ped - 26-Dec-2010 - Qetesh Qetesh Qetesh sold it to Beautiful SerraAngel Angel
46.Assassin R150 (UL) - 160.000 Ped
47.Land Area #29 - 150.002 Ped - 25-Jul-2006
48.Land Area #33 - 150.000 Ped - 12-Jul-2006
49.PSG45 Sniper - 150.000 Ped
50.DOA Foeripper - 150.000 Ped - Sale was concluded at the end of August 2008 and only contained peds
51.Amethera Outback Land #11 - 150.000 Ped - Jul-2011 - Daniel Danimal Diep sold it to unknown
52.Land Area #31 - 149.012 Ped - 25-Jul-2006
53.Isis CB26 (UL) - 146.800 Ped (tt+140.000 ped) - lex mr chips pringle sold it to anonymous
54.Land Area #43 - 140.001 Ped - Qetesh Qetesh Qetesh bought it
55.Land Area #26 - 135.711 Ped - 12-Jul-2006
56.Land Area #35 - 135.000 Ped - 12-Jul-2006
57.Rextellum DNA Sample (x2) - 135.000 Ped - 08-February-2012 - Merry Mayhem 2011 prize won by cK - sold to BIG industries
58.Shadow Armor Set (M)(Full Set) - 128.000 Ped
59.Letomie Fossil Eyelense - 127.271 Ped - Bought by Zachurm Deathifier Emegen
60.Land Area #32 - 125.002 Ped - 25-Jul-2006
61.Chronicle Armor Set (M) (Full Set) - tt+120.000 Ped - Bridge SilverFox Investor bought it from Mr Mathias Atlas
62.OreAmp OA-103 - 120.000 Ped - Discovered by Idalecio - Sold to Eugenio Anhite white
63.OreAmp OA-104 - 120.000 Ped - Discovered by Faustov Miriotes and sold in 2007
64.Eon Armor Set (M) (no foot guards) - 119.000 Ped - Kimmi Kimmi EFnet bought it in February 2008
65.Chomper DNA Samples - 112.000 Ped - Bought by Neo The Famous Trader Sharp on 11-July-2009 from LG2009 Alliance
66.Land Area #34 - 111.111 Ped - 12-Jul-2006
67.Omegaton M2870 Improved - ~105.000 Ped - Part of a trade between Darth Skippie Boobie and Kanob Bob Plenkresk
68.Unique Queen Atrox Egg - 100.000 ped
69.Proteron Ribs - 100.000 ped - Mirandax sold it to Skippie & Star
70.Shadow Armor Set (F)(Full Set) - 100.000 Ped
71.DOA Rockjacker - 100.000 Ped - Sold by cybe to an unknown buyer
72.Sentinel Armor Set (F)(No Feet - They were not implemented then)- 92.000 Ped - Sold by Laree to jenny chipie orca
73.Mothership Victory (UL) - 90.001 Ped - Bought by Miss Hof Bad from auction on 22.06.2011
74.Mothership Revenge (UL) - 90.001 Ped - Bought by Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs from auction on 22.06.2011
75.Mothership Yamato (UL) - ~90.000 Ped - Bought by Eugenio Anhithe Wilde from Max Extreme Hunter via ingame auction on 22.06.2011
76.Starkhov AS-117 Modified - 90.000 Ped -Sold by sierre
77.Hogglo Tooth - 90.000 Ped - SirAttack sold it to Zachurm Deathifier Emegen
78.Protector of Empire Armor Set (M) - 90.000 Ped - Daniel Danimal Diep sold it to unknown in Dec-2011
79.Mothership Fortune (UL) - 85.000 Ped - Bought by Zachurm Deathifier Emegen from auction on 22.06.2011
80.Matter Amp MA-105 (UL) - 85.000 Ped
81.Angel Armor Set (M)(Full Set) - 85.000 Ped - Part of another sale between Scott DoctorH Joel and Darth Skippie Boobie
82.5B Armor plate blueprint - 80.000 Ped (Sold by Optima for ped + DOA Foeripper)
83.Modified Isis LR32 - 80.000 Ped
84.Vain Armor Set (M)(Eon Gloves and no Foot Guards) - 75.500 Ped
85.Mothership Alabama (UL) - 75.057 Ped - Bought by Augis Auktuma Tumas on behalf of "Soldiers of Fortune" society, from auction on 29.06.2011
86.Mothership Enterprise (UL) - 72.453 Ped - Bought by Zek z3kdark3r Darker from auction on 27.06.2011
87.Montgomery Anabolic Adapted (L) blueprint - 70.002 Ped
88.Mothership Ticonderoga (UL) - ~69.000 Ped - Bought by Oracle Kev FountofWisdom on behalf of Black Angels consortium from auction on 24.06.2011
89.Genesis Niflheim - 69.000 Ped - Joker Poker Uber Smoker bought it from Ruska Kissa Cat
90.DOA Rockjacker Mentor Edition - 68.000 Ped - FoxyLady sold it
91.Mothership Kronan (UL) - ~67.500 Ped - Bought by Sbinortz Sbi Latz' tek from auction on 25.06.2011
92.Justifier MkV Mentor Edition - ~65.000 Ped
93.Mothership Krusenstern (UL) - 63.003 Ped - Bought by Modified Akoz Power from auction on 26.06.2011
94.Armax Cow Tail - 60.000 Ped
95.Adjusted Fast Aid Pack - ~60.000 Ped - Part of another sale between Scott DoctorH Joel and Darth Skippie Boobie
96.Tiger Armor Set (M) (Full Set) - tt+58.000 Ped -Gusteen Gurre Stenhammer sold it to Anonymous for BO
97.Isis HL8 - tt+52.300 Ped - Item was sold in auction trough a bid war
98.Mothership Thule (UL) - 50.003 Ped - Bought by Atami Tami Atemi from auction on 23.06.2011
99.Tiger Armor Set (F)(Full Set) - 50.000 Ped - Angelica Coffee Lastrome sold it to AtamiKiangola in 22 September 2008
100.Formicacida Scale - 50.000 Ped - Great Optima Dane sold it to Bridge SilverFox Investor in late 2007

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Planet Calypso content release 2012.1

NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES
The new AI functions for robots with both close and ranged attacks have been activated for
Drokas,
Harbingers,
Legionaires,
Troopers
and Warriors.
The graphics of the
Armax Bull,
Armax Cow,
Atrax,
Boorum Male
and Boorum Female



creatures have been improved.
Also new mob has been added - Combibo Brood Mother 

The Calypso space stations; Crystal Palace, F.O.M.A and Calypso Space Station have been moved closer together.

RESETTLEMENT UPDATE
Some redundant shop containers have been removed and others have been visually overhauled. This is an ongoing process and is only partially completed in this release.
The Armax herd south of Minopolis has been growing at an alarming rate.
A crowd of Boorums has been spotted bathing in the river south of Timbesha.
The missing trade center has been reconstructed at Genesis Amethera Headquarters.
The area surrounding Chateau Liberte has been improved; the new shopping booths added nearby will be auctioned soon.


Skiron


KNOWN ISSUES
It is not possible to purchase the more expensive items from the market traders.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Reflections about Entropia Universe in 2012


Many years ago I was kind'a into games. I have played AoE 1 & 2 for years, mainly solo, and often on my local network with friends. I game could last over 30 hours straight! I've also wrestled through many of the the need for speed versions, those were a major upgrade after the old games that some of you may remember, Grand Prix II & III, and the old Test Drive.
Counterstrike was about the same time era as AoE2. Hell I even still remember the cheat-codes. After the initial Total War series, something changed. The internet become more important for games, and I heard something about Entropia.

I read up about Entropia and man, was this something big! It took quite some time to download and install it, but of course that wasn't a problem for a specialist like me. Finally I could launch the game. Creating my avatar was already something huge. I had never done such a thing, and it looked like a big responsability, because I realized it would remain the way I created it. I think I devoted half a day on that. When I logged in the next day to discover a new world, it wasn't as easy as I had expected. It took me about 2 full days before knowing that, and how keys had to be mapped, takling to other people, etc. I followed the noob stream, and noticed what they were doing: obtaining bottles from a creature. It was not a good idea to take on a berycled, those were terrifying, you would die, and have to wait for like 20 minutes before having full health again, so that you could continue. I discovered faps a few days later, and learned to drown birds as a means of escaping. Ah well, having sweated a few days, sold them at reasonable prices, someone told me about the trade terminal. Man, those things had guns in them! Unfortunately they were over my pedcard, so I decided to deposit 20 euro. (I only discovered auction after about 3 months in-game lol, I thought the 'auctioneer' was an avatar that they were all talking to.)

That is how it started.
In those days when you had a starter rifle with amp, some ammo, you could hunt with it till out of ammo, tt your ammo, and hunt again. You could repeat this cycle over and over and over again. After a week or more, your peddies were downcycled so much, that a new deposit was required.
Then I found out about markup. I started selling things to people who wanted them, for more then they were worth! It felt a bit like cheating on people, but it seemed common practice. By doing this, a 100 € deposit lasted months, and one could even make reasonable profit. The only reason to deposit more, was, if you wanted a more powerful weapon, or better gear, or skills.
When an old friend took me to hunt my first feffoids, for the first time I saw GOLDEN coins in my loot. The feffs gave sometimes 3ped, sometimes up to 6 ped each. That was awesome! I could start saving money to buy better armor! Even after repairs there was some peds left.

From those days, my avatar grew bit by bit, mobs eating my ammo, and me eating a chip from time to time. (And MA eating my visa).
I've been at the top in tailoring, which required some investment, but then the system was changed (clothes minimal condition, and later textures) and all of my investments became pretty much worthless.
I've been at the top in the championsleague, but then the system was changed (vu10) and these were no longer possible.
I've participated at the top levels in events such as landgrab, (system got changed)
I was, according to my teams, a pretty good beacons' leader, but then the system got changed.
I became a top10 hunter, but then the system got changed. My skills became worthless, compared to what they were at.

Bottom line 1: investments rendered almost worthless time after time after time
Bottom line 2: future prospects of income diminished time after time after time

I loved the EU-concept, stranded on a distant planet, taking a week to discover one or two new teleports. Being 'uber' to get within 2 minutes at a newly created place (new switzerland) with my TP chip lvl5, just after the servers went up again...
But then the sytem got changed, vehicles were introduced.

Oh and about L-stuff? I hate it. I grew up in EU with using an EP21, upgrading to an EP22 later on. not maxed? still breaking-even and profit! My generation hunted with weapons, with having 1/10 stats! And guess what, imo it was more fun then it is today. Today we have a rediculous amount of weapons, armors, blueprints etc. Why? Solely for the purpose of introducing new stuff and keeping people busy. It is absolutely rediculous. Why do we need 7 different fap lines, with each 12 or more different faps? What is the use of that? I was perfectly happy with the fap5-10-15-18-28-50-90-110-adj-imp-mod.
It seems today's Entropia economy is getting as rediculous as our real-live economy: producing producing producing, selling selling selling, to make more money, to buy more stuff, to make more money, to buy more stuff, to make more money, to buy more stuff...
IRL you can see this in companies that sell absolute rubbish.
In EU you can see that in the L-market.

There is a difference between 1) managing a virtual world for the well-being of the virtual world, and 2) keep putting old wine in new bottles to keep people busy/entertained, and their peds stuck in storage.

Now it has come so far that, whatever you do, hunting, mining, crafting,...
Everything that is profitable, gets the cream taken off with a spoon. Unless you know something that MA doesn't know YET, or unless you are the best of the best of the best in what you do, profit is almost impossible. (except the happy few ath'ers, or the ones with the most expensive gear who can take the big event prizes) I also start to think that most people who claim to profit, with a few exceptions, are liars that lie to boost their ego's.

EU used to be, that with a certain amount of money, you could play for ages if you didn't throw the money away. Today it is as such, that it is extremely hard, even for people with better game knowledge and gear, to break-even.
In the old days, depositing was for upgrades, gear or skill, and very little for playing. Today, it seems impossible to play without depositing, while this was relatively easy several years ago.

After having played EU for several years, playing old-school games seems clueless, waste of time, and stupid, since you can use this time to develop your avatar instead. That is one of the things that has drawn me back time after time to EU.
Now I discovered the sole thing that can draw me away from EU: developing myself and my family. After all, when you turn of the computer, the skills and gear of that avatar are utterly useless. Real life skills stay!
I started caring less about how much 'virtual stamina' my 'avatar' has, and more about training again for my next black belt

Maybe I have been fooled, maybe I was foolish enough to think, as many of us have, that I could make a living here, but to me it seems those cards have already been distributed at the beginning of this world.

In the meantime, the holocaust goes on on this planet. What has EU changed for me? Quite a few things, but not many of them are positive. Actually there is one: I now understand better how many people react socially, and about their greed and ego's. Consider EU a virtual test-field for this

Anything else I want to add while I'm at it? Not much, except that I've been typing for about 30 minutes now, while I could have been in my bed catching up on so much needed sleep.
goodnight

Naomi NP Polder

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Perspective from a New Player in 2012

Okay, I've been playing Entropia for about a week, mostly on Calypso, occasionally going to Arkadia.

And in game, I see a lot of back and forth about what new players want to see and what new players don't want to see. And what would drive new players away.

So, as a new player, I'm going to tell you what I've liked and didn't like about Calypso and Entropia and my thoughts on all the things I've encountered.

1. Complaints on the Price of Sweat.
Like any economy, it's supply and demand. More people playing means more people sweating means more sweat available means you can't sell as high as you used to. This isn't a bad thing. It means MORE people playing. It also means more people playing and getting discouraged with the low price of sweat will be more likely to deposit in game, like I did. It's not gonna sound nice to say, but people who don't or won't deposit are not really helping the economy one way or another, so if they leave over frustration. That's okay. Of course, there's exception to the rule that some sweaters do make it high without depositing, but they are the few, not the many. The rest will either pony up and deposit, content to be poor, or just leave the game. Those that leave, aren't doing any damage as they take their complaints with them!

2. Getting rich in Entropia.
Well, if you look at Entropia like a casino where the odds are 99.2% in the favor of the house, yes. There is a small chance you will be the lucky one to strike it rich. From my perspective; the entire economy of Entropia is driven by people who deposit, and that's it. The loot generated is dependent on their deposits and distributed through the masses via skill and random number generation. People spend their life looking for patterns in random numbers, and there might be, but you'll never figure it out.  Just have fun!

3. Space, lootable PvP, and Pirates.
I know this one is a big controversy right there. From what I've come to understand, planets are pretty much independent business entities, separate economies, simply linked together via this thing called space where you have the option of traveling to the others. Well, here's a few things to consider about space. First, the distance and separation and difficulty of travel from one world to another helps isolate and allow these economies to grow independently of one another. It also prevents mass exodus, if one person likes another planet more, etc. Second, pirating in space and lootable PvP.... this risk is GOOD for the economy, not bad. Without this risk, motherships would lose their value and not to mention their business because then everyone could easily carry their goods around without having to make that extra, yet small, investment in a large ship. You want to travel worlds safely? Hire a mothership and get there in 30 seconds. I've been hit by pirates and looted, big deal, and ended up stranded on Erebus for a day or so, my fault for being unprepared. It was my choice to fly... did it ruin my experience? No, it taught me to be more prepared for the world in which I play. And really, the moment you make space safe and easy to travel, the value of spaceships will drop, motherships will lose value, and their owners will lose their investments-- and when you hurt the major depositers like that, then you DO hurt the game. If a mothership owner tells you they hate that pirates loot space, they are hiding their real feelings, because that's how motherships get profit, by being the *only* safe lane through space. And don't try to tell me otherwise, because while I'm new, I know my economics, strategies, and business. Motherships are businesses, and they only exist as businesses while they fill a need, you remove that need, they go out of business-- and take their deposits with them. Someone equated pirating to theft, and it really can't be done. A thief steals from you unwillingly; when you willingly enter a lootable combat zone with a bit warning stating you items can be taken from you; you agree to that risk are a willing participant in your own theft, if that's the case. Again, if you're worried, take a mothership and stop complaining.

4. People who quote "I pay for this service I deserve equal access to space in non-PvP".
No, no you do not 'pay for this service'. Entropia, all of Entropia, is FREE to play for everyone, equally. Whether or not you deposit is a choice you make, you are neither given nor denied any service based on depositing. You want safe travel, hire a mothership, that's what their business model is about. They can get you from Point A to Point B without worrying about being pirated or looted. As for the excuse of wanting to tour space, it's an excuse. Do you know what you see in space? Fly outside a planet to the safety zone of a space station, spin your ship around-- and that's what you will see in the entirety of space for a good hour if you fly from one side to the other. The scenery, it doesn't change, trust me on that. That said, you can fly around most of space and never run into a pirate. And if you just want to tour space, leave your lootables at home and go fly for the fun of it. If by some low chance a pirate does get you, big deal, you'll rez safely at a space station where you can repair you ship and continue your journey. You want to get a lawyer friend to try to argue this difference in court, good luck with that! The only way a judge will ever see it your way is if MindArk denied you YOUR personal investments; again, if you knowingly and willingly take them into a hostile part of the world and are looted by another player where you are warned clearly beforehand, that decision is on you, not MindArk, and not the pirates who looted you.

5. The New Arrival zone in Port Atlantis.
Almost every time I pass by that are there's a bunch of people with spam bots active trashing or slandering one person, society, or another. If I had run into that on my first day here, I would have thought, "What a bunch of childish morons play this game" logged out and never looked back. Luckily, my first day there, they weren't, but most days when I pass by, yes, there they are. The Port Atlantis New Arrivals point is THE most important point on Calypso, this is where new players will choose to stay, and whether or not they will choose to deposit. The kind of activity that goes on near the Port Atlantis teleport will seriously damage credibility for new players.

6. There's not enough information or "How To" to get people started.
Yes, the mining, hunting, and sweating guides are nice and dandy, but there's little information or direction on what to do outside of that. Maybe an option to download a user guide or manual as soon as the game starts up that tells people how to do what. Quality information can be hard to find, and honestly, most people are not going to log into forums to find it.

7. People who say "Most users are against -----------" (particularly here in the forum)
Well, no. Forum users are generally hardcore citizens of a game, and usually the loudest crew. Most people are content, happy, and don't care about the changes; so they have nothing to complain about. When people are against things, they complain, when people are happy, there's silence. As a new user, I'm incredibly happy with the platform and environment Entropia provides; sure, there's bugs that need to be fixed and there could be ~more~ content, but over all the concept itself is really quite grand. When someone says "Most" they mean "Me".

And yes, in space, I may try to kill your ship if I'm feeling in the mood for combat (space needs an event PvP zone, btw!)..... and will likely fail because I suck at PvP combat, but if I see new arrivals on planet fall, I will give them free rides to the necessary teleports, teach them the game play mechanics I have learned so far, and also warn them about the occasional risk of getting blown up in space, and not to rush off unprepared.

Over all.... despite the frustrations of sweating, never finding much loot worth anything in mining or hunting, getting my butt blown out of the sky by pirates, and getting stranded on space stations.... I find Entropia to be an engaging environment filled with friends, fun, excitement, and danger.... and that's why I chose to deposit and will continue to deposit regularly.

Kaitlyn Katie Gardner