Why does everything have to be a big secret?

[Silo]

I was reading Skam’s thread about professional standings and how they work. We’ve all read these types of threads: “how does blah work?”.

My question is, why is it all such a big secret? I understand why MA wouldn’t want to provide the specifics about the loot system, so I am specifically not talking about that.

Why doesn’t MA tell the community things like:

-how skills interact to perform actions (i.e. how are they all combined to come out with a result? / do any skills play a bigger part than others?)
-professional standings (i.e. what determines your prof. standing?)
-skill level / rank increases (i.e. what skill levels trigger rank increases? / what skill levels unlock new skills? / how can I get consecutive skill increases between 2 attempts but then no increases for 50 attempts?)
-chance of success (i.e. what are the percentages? / what is the full interaction between skills, QR, etc.?)
-the list goes on…

I know that some of this info (or theories rather) is available through user websites. And, a big “thank you” goes out to all of the players who have taken the time and spent the ped to discover more about these things.

But again, why won’t MA just come out and tell us some of this stuff? It wouldn’t give any of us an unfair advantage. In fact, it would do more to level the playing field.

I suppose an easy answer to this question is that PE is not a game but rather a virtual universe. As a virtual universe, we, the players, have to discover everything on our own and anything published as a result has to be produced by the participants.

There is just one thing wrong with that ideology: we will never be able to verify the authenticity of such theories. Some theories that I have seen are great; I believe them. But, there is still a small chance that they are not completely accurate. And, an even larger chance that they will be changed with a vu that is just around the corner.

So, what is this communities take on this subject?

 

[Essi]

So, what is this communities take on this subject?

Personally I like this more than many other games where you sometimes even have simulator programs to calculate nearly exact outcomes of your actions. Result is that everyone plays the game like economists (using simulators and calculator a lot).

PE has lots of unknown factors and it partly does make community to work together. If you could get all info from MA's website you wouldnt need other players around. IMHO that would mean a lot less interaction and co-operation between players.

Also current situation makes PE just little bit more difficult. And when there is higher difficulty there is always chance to benefit from it. There are always people who wont bother to find out from community sites or test themselves. If you do bother, you have advantage.

 

[Kalashi]

Personally I like this more than many other games where you sometimes even have simulator programs to calculate nearly exact outcomes of your actions. Result is that everyone plays the game like economists (using simulators and calculator a lot).

PE has lots of unknown factors and it partly does make community to work together. If you could get all info from MA's website you wouldnt need other players around. IMHO that would mean a lot less interaction and co-operation between players.

Also current situation makes PE just little bit more difficult. And when there is higher difficulty there is always chance to benefit from it. There are always people who wont bother to find out from community sites or test themselves. If you do bother, you have advantage.

EXACTLY

MA stated time and time again...its not THEIR world....its OURS!

Its ALL about the 'Skills' and the 'Players' US!

we make it, we break it, we shape it!

 

[Devil Doll]

It makes the game much more interesting. If you take away the mystery of skills and how things work PE really doesn't have much depth when compared to other games.

DD

 

[iwasinnamuknow]

yup i love sitting here thinking about all different fomulae, hidden systems etc....it has been said i have an "analytical mind", so i love to have tonnes of info/mysteries/theories etc to fill it with

 

[honorman]

some times i feel to much secrets from MA

 

[Essi]

Sometimes I have thought how I would make it myself...

I would make it totally dynamical (wait a sec.. this close what MA says).

Totally dynamic would mean for example: dynamic skills - how much your skills matter depends on other players skills. Thus player with highest skills always has same "bonus" in actions. Actual skill level then doenst matter at all but only how it relates to other players skills. Every day when others skill - you get worse. Every time when noob joins this game - you get better.

This same might very work with crafting successes etc.

It would mean that there are no forumulas to publish that players could really understand.

 

[Silo]

i must agree that i actually do like the vagueness of the game, i guess. it is what keeps the addiction strong...not knowing what the hell is going to happen next.

plus, it does lend to greater (more frequent AND meaningful) interaction with other players.

even if there was a MA manual, half of the players wouldn't read it and we'd still be in the same boat! lol.

Essi, very interesting last post! Rep to you!

 

[Aziphirael]

Well historically Marco did say that MA prefered us to find out how everything work Although putting more stats on tools is still in the works.

Personally I like the challenge of working it all out

My great acheivement towards understanding PE would be contributing to the pre-gold SMC mining map which plotted all the best ore fields and how they respawn over time.

 

[Silo]

a little clarification....my original post was referring to mechanics mainly. not things like where certain mobs or ore are located.

by mechanics i am referring to how skills interact with each other to produce an outcome, what the different ranks of skills are, and things like that.

i don't think that it gives anyone an advantage by knowing what rank is after "beginner" before everyone else. so, why couldn't (and shouldn't) MA provide that type of information (i.e. non success/failure influencing information)?

 

[Svetlana]

a little clarification....my original post was referring to mechanics mainly. not things like where certain mobs or ore are located.

by mechanics i am referring to how skills interact with each other to produce an outcome, what the different ranks of skills are, and things like that.

i don't think that it gives anyone an advantage by knowing what rank is after "beginner" before everyone else. so, why couldn't (and shouldn't) MA provide that type of information (i.e. non success/failure influencing information)?

Ya- very basic things should be published by MA. But as every1 kind of agrees it is a fun challenge to try to figure it all out ourselves.... even things like professional standing skills... it's like trying to piece together a puzzle

 

[maniac]

I think I'm one of not many players who doesn't play like an economist. I just... play... Trying to survive on luck and persistance. Mostly luck.

But honestly I think people just don't know how exactly things work. That's why nobody is giving a precise definition. Hell, if I knew the Loot system, I'd be rich by now, with people, paying me for getting that information.

I'd be publishing books. "HOFing in PE. How do we do it."

 

[Gruye]

they want us to figure that stuff out on our own... and i have on some things

 

[Muppis]

Yeah, relax. Take this game day by day. You can´t hurry in this game.

 

[Faustian]

Think maybe these links will help you...

https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182&page=2&pp=10
https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183&page=2&pp=10

Atleast I think this is what your reffering too.

 

[maniac]

Oh, oh, I just wanted to ask: How to win in Project Entropia? Did anyone beat the game before?! Why is it such a big secret if somebody did?

 

[Nozzy]

It's said that Legion "cracked" the loot system once

 

[Silo]

a few misconceptions that i would like to respond to about my intent with this thread:

Maniac, i am not asking how to "win" the game. that is one of the things that attracts me to an MMORPG...no ending. i have never enjoyed any game that required me to go through a level and then on to the next cut screen and level.

Faustian, your posts on CoS and Skill Rankings are exactly the kind of things i am talking about. i have seen those before, of course (and they are great), but my point is that that information didn't help me advance in levels or craft better, so why didn't MA publish it? why keep it a "secret" and essentially force a player to do it for them?

Muppis, i am not trying to hurry the game, i don't think (am i?).


i suppose that what i can take away from the previous posts is that some people enjoy disovering for themselves the interworkings of the game in general or mechanics specifically. and others, like me, think it would be nice to have a little more basic information provided from MA about the virtual universe they have created.

i am sure there is also another group, that would like all the success/failure factors spoon fed to them as well.

i am definitely not in that last group. i wouldn't be scouring forums and guides for information if i was.

oh yeah, there is another group too: those that don't try to learn anything and end up failing miserably in the game. sure, they contribute to the loot pool, but they also quit in a very short timeframe.

it isn't like MA hasn't endorsed guides. they posted the EP created guide within the CL. so, they liked it, thought it was worthy of sharing with every player in the game, but didn't want to go through the trouble of doing it themselves (my opinion).

huh. this is turning into more of me complaining, which was not my original intent either. sorry for that!

i really just wanted to know what other people thought about MA not divulging simple types of information.

 

[Kalashi]

a few misconceptions that i would like to respond to about my intent with this thread:

Maniac, i am not asking how to "win" the game. that is one of the things that attracts me to an MMORPG...no ending. i have never enjoyed any game that required me to go through a level and then on to the next cut screen and level.

Faustian, your posts on CoS and Skill Rankings are exactly the kind of things i am talking about. i have seen those before, of course (and they are great), but my point is that that information didn't help me advance in levels or craft better, so why didn't MA publish it? why keep it a "secret" and essentially force a player to do it for them?

Muppis, i am not trying to hurry the game, i don't think (am i?).


i suppose that what i can take away from the previous posts is that some people enjoy disovering for themselves the interworkings of the game in general or mechanics specifically. and others, like me, think it would be nice to have a little more basic information provided from MA about the virtual universe they have created.

i am sure there is also another group, that would like all the success/failure factors spoon fed to them as well.

i am definitely not in that last group. i wouldn't be scouring forums and guides for information if i was.

oh yeah, there is another group too: those that don't try to learn anything and end up failing miserably in the game. sure, they contribute to the loot pool, but they also quit in a very short timeframe.

it isn't like MA hasn't endorsed guides. they posted the EP created guide within the CL. so, they liked it, thought it was worthy of sharing with every player in the game, but didn't want to go through the trouble of doing it themselves (my opinion).

huh. this is turning into more of me complaining, which was not my original intent either. sorry for that!

i really just wanted to know what other people thought about MA not divulging simple types of information.

OK....

I dont agree with MA 'not' sharing more info on ie faps, reload of weap's or whatever..etc etc

For whatever reason or intent, it does hurt the game IMO.

 

[Kjetil]

OK....

I dont agree with MA 'not' sharing more info on ie faps, reload of weap's or whatever..etc etc

For whatever reason or intent, it does hurt the game IMO.

Why does it hurt the game?
Reload is easy to measure. It is different for each FAP, and it does not take many days before a new FAP is on the market before you get information from the community about reload and decay.
Same with weapons.

The only items I would like to have a little more information, would be on the mining tools. Rest of the tools, weapons and stuff, the participants can manage to find out themself.

/Kjetil

 

[Kalashi]

Why does it hurt the game?
Reload is easy to measure. It is different for each FAP, and it does not take many days before a new FAP is on the market before you get information from the community about reload and decay.
Same with weapons.

The only items I would like to have a little more information, would be on the mining tools. Rest of the tools, weapons and stuff, the participants can manage to find out themself.

/Kjetil

Yes exactly...

You and so many others just act as Drone Paying for MAs holidays LMAO

items change all the time and yet again everyone nods and follows likes puppys

prime example - change in decay on Heal chips - MA know eeveryone will start skilling or skilL more to use Revive chip so they up the Anti

Great great work MA...i love the way they think

It should be published and i agree on the mining..

only prob with mining tools is, we ALL know its skill based and diffeerent mining tools dont realy do SHIT!

SO not much point there

 

[Essi]

items change all the time and yet again everyone nods and follows likes puppys

How many confirmed changes there have been?

Most of the changes I have heard have been said in whining threads - almost never in proper informing threads... I mean no credible thread with multiple persons confirming the change.

 

[Kalashi]

How many confirmed changes there have been?

Most of the changes I have heard have been said in whining threads - almost never in proper informing threads... I mean no credible thread with multiple persons confirming the change.

now that you mention it...

the only one i can 'confirm' is the heal chips

But i have heard many others, mostly from whine threads

so noted Essi!

 

[Silo]

we all take the weapon charts, armor charts, fap charts as correct, right?

"all" may be too general, but my point is the majority of people don't see the chart posted at a reputable site and think, "i am going to verify every one of these."

what if MA did change something. would we ever know?

not until someone noticed a miniscule change in decay or rate of fire or damage/sec, etc. then someone would have to redo it all because the entire list would be subject to speculation.

the question: how many changes have there been? - is a very good question. how often are things verified that we as a general community believe are true?

in the real world, once a theory is proven true it stays true. but, this is a virtual world where anything can change with a VU.

MA does list the content changes for VUs though, so this may be a moot point.

 

[Devil Doll]

Hmm, good questions. Since gold I have not heard of any 'stat' type changes. THat doesn't mean it hasn't happened though. And I wouldn't know because I don't have the patience to test my weopons.

Other thoughts I have had are along the lines of ...

We think certain stats or numbers are important, such as Dam/PEC, but who is to say it is as easy as that? Who is to say MA doesn't take into account your own avatars decay/skills/gear etc when you are hunting?

Just some random thoughts. I appologize if I am wildly off topic.

DD

 

[Essi]

we all take the weapon charts, armor charts, fap charts as correct, right?

"all" may be too general, but my point is the majority of people don't see the chart posted at a reputable site and think, "i am going to verify every one of these."

what if MA did change something. would we ever know?

If MA would post charts we would take them even more as truth and we probably would never know if they changed something.

not until someone noticed a miniscule change in decay or rate of fire or damage/sec, etc. then someone would have to redo it all because the entire list would be subject to speculation.

Again would someone really spend time studying if rate of fire really is 0.95 or 0.97 as MA would say?

I think currently players follow much more closely items and see if they are changed. Kind of this situation just makes sure that it would be harder to change stats of those attributes which are not so easily noticed (like 0.01 changes in decay or small changes in fire rate).

I can well compare to AO where much more information is presented - I havent checked myself if any of that information really is true.

 

[Silo]

essi: true, very true.

but, don't you have to think that MA has some integrity and honesty? i do. if i didn't, i'd have to call myself a moron for depositing.

it would be dishonest for them to post one thing and then change it without telling anyone.

but, if they don't tell you to begin with, they can change away and they are not being dishonest.

 

[Essi]

but, if they don't tell you to begin with, they can change away and they are not being dishonest.

Except that MA has said they dont change items without notice. Thats just the reason why I dont believe rumors straight away.

For me their word in this subject is just as good as some chart on their website would be.

 

[5assedonkey]

.. i wanna know the biggest secret. WHy i dont get a über