Designing a Planet, Part 1 – Interview with Kim H.R. Welter

[DxBlueIce]

Thanks for the interview.

I only read "canceled".

 

[ACEwoK]

Thanks for the insight Magyar. Will be interesting to see what the next part tells us. The format was well laid out and easy to read. Well done indeed. +rep

 

[Viperstrike]

Fishing - Breathing new life into Calypso & the universe!

Thanks bud,

One of the better interviews I have seen to date

If you get the chance, can you ask him about the fishing system he designed in the past.

Any new ETA on bringing that into game as he said he would a year or so from a year ago.

Thanks,
Viper

This is a great suggestion. I did in fact write design specifications for a fishing system about a year ago while I was still writing platform systems, maybe some of the ideas from the two plans can be combined.

Keep in mind that an implementation of this is a long, long, time away. Most likely over a year.

Link 1 > https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...new-activity-for-Entropians&highlight=fishing

Link 2 > https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...Fishing-The-complete-system&highlight=fishing


You have the technology now :

***Each Neurobiotic Booster A5 10mg consumable item increases skill gains in all professions by 50% after being consumed, and lasts for 10 hours of logged-in time. The timer is paused while the avatar who has consumed the booster item is logged out of Entropia Universe. Unconsumed booster items are non-tradable.***

How to use this technology:

• Fishes caught have a stat of x hours - Let us say 1 to 3 hours depending on fish caught.
• Different Fishes can be caught giving different stats - Skill experience increase, strength increase, intelligence, HP, etc
• Cooked version of fishes require an Apartment + Cooking equipment - Stove & Freezer - Fish to be frozen before cooked.
• Cooked variety have stats of x hours - Let us say 4 to 6 hours depending on cooking skill level recipe
• Different recipes - Grilled fish, baked fish, boiled fish, dried fish (Higher EXP, Higher STR, INT, STA, HP etc

Cheers again - Some food for though - Fish Food = Brain Food
Viper

 

[-Archangel-]

Apologies, that's my fault. I've moved the full-size images to a different section in the Gallery now that everyone should be able to access.

I don't doubt that I may be able to access it somehow.

But I am leting you know that I also when clicking the image in the thread will get as result a page stating that I don't have permissions to access it at the moment.

 

[Shard-Angel]

I am bringing to the forefront a few merged topics that need to be adressed here. I hope this helps in paving the future of EU which we live and breathe.

Please ask about Space:
Space needs CUSTOMIZABLE ships. No two shipswill be alike. Attackers will have to very careful whom they choose to attack due to the uncertainty factor. (CLICK ON EACH IMAGE FOR DETAILED INFO):


And custom loadouts:

[ARMAMENTS]




[EQUIPMENT]




Shooting a non-air breathing BIO-ORGANISM space mob is not considered "space content". It is a copy-paste of any land mob... which it does not need brains. I don't know WHY our community is happy with such stupid content "updates" which has nothing creative to offer.

----------------------

They can merge with eve online and make a button when you enter space where you can select to go to any planet or to download/play eve

Perhaps partnering with the RIGHT people will make it work! CCP can outcode MA when it comes to space!

Or for that matter partnering with RSI (Thanks to JBK for the link! Sorry John, it has to be shared! People need to be made aware of what is the REAL space simulation/game!)

Space needs to be SPACED out - with actual solar systems (ala Elite, Frontier, Space Rogue) and planetary distances that are DAYS apart - not just 1 hour. That way, space stays dangerous, is lootable pvp, and generates steady income for MS services.

JBK was also suggesting HAULING services (which I agree with wholeheartedly) - where stackables are packaged, sealed (unopenable) and insured (MA commission here) and couriered via professional couriers across the galaxies. (Similar to EVE).


-----------
Also:


Space is 3D. Can we please get an Toggleable ON/OFF (Artifical Horizon) command/action option for a grid overlay on the 0,0,0 so we can guage:

* which side is up
* how fast we're travelling
* distance to objects
* depth/height
* deep space boundaries/borders.
* etc.

-----------------

Additionally:

Greets.

Having several shops, I have to keep stocks aplenty - so I always have my storage on Calypso overflowing.

To counter that, I have about a dozen Resettlement containers, and dozens of Julklapps in storage now. But problem arises is that I can never ever find what I am looking for, since they all look alike and are named alike.

To make matters worse, everytime we add remove items, or compact the storage, the boxes all move about.

I do know about (C) boxes, but they are basically useless due to item/weight restrictions - and thus not worth it.

Mindark, can we please have a simple ability to rename/comment/tooltip our storage containers - so we can mouseover them and know what's inside them?

Many thanks.

Shard-Angel.

 

[Viperstrike]

Hey Shard, Awesome:

You forgot to mention some of the features though in the X-Series.

Video just for fun!

X-Series here Kim if you need to buy a copy

Link > http://store.steampowered.com/sub/6330/

 

[Shard-Angel]

Hey Shard, Awesome:

You forgot to mention some of the features though in the X-Series.

Yes. I forgot the X series!!

And here's an upcoming space MMO... made by ONE coder -where space is seamlessly integrated with planetary atmosphere - ships can fly in and out without issues: INFINITY

This is one of the early alpha videos showing seamless space integration.

And btw, all of the Infinity universe is procedurally generated... which means.... billions of planets and solar systems... each with their own environments and wildlife... a literal infinite universe to explore and live in!

Perhaps MA should approach this person to intagrate Infinity as a PP for our space?!!!!!!

 

[Shard-Angel]

And since we're limited to 1 vid per post: Here is the Infinity Tech Demo 2010:
[video=youtube;fO7XhaTGDYg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fO7XhaTGDYg#![/video]

 

[Shard-Angel]

Another point to address is consumer Safety and Security - which also addresses scams and bad-name of EU environments - in a thread HERE:

We've been asking for a colorer interface since PROJECT ENTROPIA days - so no actual HAND OVER of goods happen.

Something like the Non-tradable (Will Not Be Traded) slot in this Warcraft trade window, which is used for ENCHANTING other players' items:

It is a simple request..... but nearly a decade onwards... MA still hasn't done it.

And regarding forming a "forum signature alliance" of designers:

Regardless of people signing some sort of "union" rules - it is a flimsy alliance at best - and a patchwork fix of something MA should provide in a real cash economy = peace of mind and security.

It is MA's responsibility to provide its users with reasonably secure system to safeguard against theft. It is a SIMPLE UI fix.

It's not that they haven't heard of such scams since beta days.... but they wont even address it.

Everything is wrapped up in a cute "Buyer beware" slogan and dished out without consequences.

Please bear in mind.. all these points brought forward make EU a better universe (if fixed) for everyone - and need to be addressed.

 

[Magyar_Republic]

Another point to address is consumer Safety and Security - which also addresses scams and bad-name of EU environments - in a thread HERE:



And regarding forming a "forum signature alliance" of designers:



Please bear in mind.. all these points brought forward make EU a better universe (if fixed) for everyone - and need to be addressed.

Viper and Shard,

Nice stuff. To summarize:

• I hope to have a sit down session with one or more members of the MindArk team in the near future. A round table format may be interesting. If I get this opportunity I'll chat with them a little bit about game mechanics changes. For now if I may, I'll add these suggestions to my page at www.entropianetwork.com/magyar with credit to you two.
• Customizable ships may happen. Theryon Wars is still on the horizon and their focus is 100% space.
• Fishing is a pet project of mine. One I would like to see, in addition to other small changes. More discussion to come on this.
• I dont think Kim is the right person to ask alot of these questions. However maybe he can help put us in touch with the right person. Time will tell.

 

[thoreau]

There are more questions which are coming up in another part of this interview. Kim was only able to get to the first few.

A general rule of thumb is to start broad, engage people by giving general topics everyone can relate to. Then dig deeper into the specifics, giving over time something special for everyone. At any rate, there are more to come. Since this was split, maybe it would be a good idea to send some intro questions for part 2 that focus a bit more on the person.

They may not be answered though. Swedes are notoriously quiet.

Fair enough. But by writing about Entropia systems first you've already got the natives thinking about the game instead if the man behind the game. The comments are already talking about fishing which has been discussed at length. Eve Online has been brought up. If future parts of the series follow those points this becomes another been there read that q&a with a Dev.

 

[Shard-Angel]

Thanks Magyar, here are some other critical issues, specially ITEM LOCK mechanism, as mention HERE.

 

[Wistrel]

I couldn't see the linked FS images either! No permissions!

But looks like a great interview! The kind I've wanted to see for... oh I dunno... about 8 years now

Thanks Konve

 

[Serica]

I don't doubt that I may be able to access it somehow.

But I am leting you know that I also when clicking the image in the thread will get as result a page stating that I don't have permissions to access it at the moment.

Sorry the other category didn't say it wasn't open-access. I moved the full-size pics to the miscellaneous section of the Gallery now instead, so let me know if there's still any issues opening them.

 

[MIND]

If so, I'd like to see it as a rare spawn requiring multiple ships to defeat could be cool


EDIT: In the storyline it did defeat a larger fleet of ships, after all

space verison of hussk?

 

[XeroX2]

Thanks for the cool interview.

 

[Valekyrie]

Thanks Magyar for the interview and those up-coming. Missed getting this type of information directly from an MA rep. Helps to remember the humans behind the game.

 

[Jimmy B]

Nice interview, thanks.

And here's an upcoming space MMO... made by ONE coder -where space is seamlessly integrated with planetary atmosphere - ships can fly in and out without issues

I agree with some of your points about improving space, but:

(i) Kim works on Planet Calypso not on the Entropia platform, so it's off-topic here really.
(ii) Entropia isn't a dedicated space-sim, so you can't expect everything in EU space that you'd get in Eve or Infinity.
(iii) I found the "ONE coder" thing very hard to believe, so I looked it up and it doesn't appear to be the case:

How many developers are working on the game?

I-Novae Studios is currently lead by two people: Keith Newton ( CEO ) and Flavien Brebion ( CTO/President ). We also have a core team of developers working part-time, until we can secure funding. We also rely on a community contributions model where anybody with 3D modeling, texturing or musical skills can help out. We have received more than a hundred contributions so far

 

[Shard-Angel]

Nice interview, thanks.



I agree with some of your points about improving space, but:

(i) Kim works on Planet Calypso not on the Entropia platform, so it's off-topic here really.
(ii) Entropia isn't a dedicated space-sim, so you can't expect everything in EU space that you'd get in Eve or Infinity.
(iii) I found the "ONE coder" thing very hard to believe, so I looked it up and it doesn't appear to be the case:

(i) Perhaps - the idea is to push ideas towards Kim - who can then take them to other devs - so they can atleast discuss them.

(ii) No. But space is lacking. And that is what the next PP target should be, IMHO.

Don't forget, we were told that space would be GRAND and that players wont even set foot on planets for months - all in 2012! It never happened. Throwing 5x silly critters in space is NOT considered any content, by any standards.

Giving examples of "good" space changes is a start from my end. Perhaps others can bring different/more/better constructive ideas to the table as well?

(iii) He did start out as a single coder. It seems, along the way, he has expanded his team over the years - as it is to be expected for a project of this scale and one that has taken several years. (I have only kept a vague sleepy eye on the "Infinity project" over the years.)

edit: Here's the info:

Since when has the game been in development?

Development of the planetary prototype started in 2004 by Flavien Brebion, but at this time, the engine or the game were not started yet. Those started in end 2004 and 2005. It was a one-man project at this time.

The website officially opened for the first time in september 2005. Developers and contributors joined in the development process during 2006.

A company, I-Novae Studios LLC, was formerly established in 2010 and joined by Keith Newton ( CEO ).

 

[TACUTTING]

When I transport goods from planet A to planet B im not really interested in the scenery.

i only need a fast ,safe and reliable service

Yes. sadly space is lacking but i feel its hard to make it better when players travel with 10s of Ks peds tt worth of ores in RL moneys . we just want to come home safely

 

[Viperstrike]

Viper and Shard,

Nice stuff. To summarize:

• I hope to have a sit down session with one or more members of the MindArk team in the near future. A round table format may be interesting. If I get this opportunity I'll chat with them a little bit about game mechanics changes. For now if I may, I'll add these suggestions to my page at www.entropianetwork.com/magyar with credit to you two.
• Customizable ships may happen. Theryon Wars is still on the horizon and their focus is 100% space.
• Fishing is a pet project of mine. One I would like to see, in addition to other small changes. More discussion to come on this.
• I dont think Kim is the right person to ask alot of these questions. However maybe he can help put us in touch with the right person. Time will tell.

Cheer bud

Viper!

 

[Viperstrike]

Ofc another to add to the list - Star Citizen

Hi,

Another one that was left out

<removed>

 

[forgo]

awesome and good work. Good to see some communication from the devs in some form.

Without any regard to your work, or you at all, I do have some concerns about the post:

The issue I see , is how shady that may look to a new player, that the Devs communicate through a few select people by and large. Rather than a community forum like this. It could even be more shady in appearance, when the people they do talk to most of the time are those with sizable assets.

By your admission there has been dialogue for a year? Pretty unprofessional on MA's part IMO to show such bias.
Communication has been the Achilles heel for MA, it is probably the issue of most negative impact for the company. Acts like these don't help that general impression.

It is kind of a shot in the arm for those who have support cases that are not being even replied to, or the general population chance of getting this same information of 0%.

Quite a few of the "upcoming" features we have now were preceded with rumors, with accuracy that can only lead to a few deductions. MA has information leaks. And in a game that is RCE, I hope it doesn't bite em one day.

Not that it hasn't always been this way....but that is the issue I see. Anything that prevents the economy from growing, is a concern for me.

Effective Customer service is worth the money, and in all reality, I have only once heard of the outsourcing of it to Mexico. I worked a couple large call centers, Mexico was never a serious consideration when they were outsourced. That is, If you wanted to have some kind of customer service standard.

Still awesome work on your part.

 

[Magyar_Republic]

awesome and good work. Good to see some communication from the devs in some form.

Without any regard to your work, or you at all, I do have some concerns about the post:

The issue I see , is how shady that may look to a new player, that the Devs communicate through a few select people by and large. Rather than a community forum like this. It could even be more shady in appearance, when the people they do talk to most of the time are those with sizable assets.

By your admission there has been dialogue for a year? Pretty unprofessional on MA's part IMO to show such bias.

Respectfully, by my admission shows an adversarial viewpoint. We worked on an in-game project (my castle) for quite a while before seeing it come to fruition. Surely you don't mean to say that we aren't allowed to talk about game philosophy, other games, politics, and life in general during the course of a long interaction!

In short: there is nothing to admit. We had a project we were working on, and like any group of people who are engaged in the same task, we chatted. Nothing more.

Kim was very careful not to speak to me about Entropia Universe related concerns other than my castle, and still is. I have to submit questions to him like anyone else if I want an EU related answer. These are then reviewed by marketing, or other appropriate personnel, before being answered by him.

I believe you misunderstand the nature of our conversations.

Quite a few of the "upcoming" features we have now were preceded with rumors, with accuracy that can only lead to a few deductions. MA has information leaks. And in a game that is RCE, I hope it doesn't bite em one day.

I know nothing of any upcoming changes that hasn't been posted on this forum or Entropia Forum. At the end of my castle project what would actually happen was in large part a mystery to me, too. Stats were never divulged of new monsters or their absolute spawn patterns, and I received only a single screenshot showing the new boathouse. While I had an idea of how things might come about, it was only an idea. On patch day I was filled with apprehension, just like anyone else would have been. I have however seen representatives drop nuggets of information to the public in Twin Peaks, and on any respective forums.

Given the nature of the leaks that I have seen (those above) I would say that they are intentionally breeding speculation and buzz. I may be wrong.

Thanks for the compliments though, and taking the time to read. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings regarding the nature of my interaction with development staff.