Marco said ....^^

Status
bump for the thread I pull the most quotes from. ;)

Also bumping since some extension of this thread or one similar probably needs to be made for Neverdie in the not-too-distant future as Neverdie Studio just did a Q&A session and the questions have been turned in from what I hear, but the answers are not up yet...

:) :eyecrazy: :yup: :rolleyes:
 
damn, you like to bump this thread don't you MasterMesh?
 
I wonder what Marco will respond to all this ---> There is a new company that owns the planet now. :laugh::lolup::laugh::lolup:
 
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_mindark - an old article someone posted about in another thread. Putting it here since this is really the type of stuff this thread seems to have become about. Old quotes and visions from the past that are out there in the wild in interviews and articles... If only the old visions of the future would have come along to be our present today... guess there's always tomorrow.... The article looks like it was with several people, not just Marco, so not sure who the quote is from but here's one of them from the article:

"What we ultimately want to achieve with Project Entropia is to have a world of one million players or more on-line simultaneously and on the same server.

Interesting talk by Patric of "insurance"... Guess this is pre-pvp zones:
Obviously the idea of real world and in-game money being interchangeable does lead to some interesting new issues though, such as what happens if somebody kills you and steals valuable equipment from your corpse. Arguably this is a form of theft, as you are taking something which has an easily identifiable real world value. "This will only occur when the player is not insured", Patric assured us. "When a player is insured it won't be possible to loot their possessions."

This mechanism also helps to deal with the notorious player killing issue, as not everybody enjoys fighting other players. "If you should decide to go out and kill other players you will automatically lose your own insurance for X amount of hours and be classed as an outlaw, meaning other players can kill you without punishment", Patric explained. "So those who wish to play Project Entropia as a PK should be very sure of what they're doing before they begin. It won't be much fun for them if they lose their possessions regularly."

That 'outlaw' idea is something that some have posted about in the wishlist in recent years, so maybe it will be something that will come back in game eventually?

Ah: the complete failure of the stock exchange that used to be at Hadeshiem:
Trading in shares of non-existent companies might sound like an odd thing to do in a role-playing game, as Patric told us "one of the reasons why we have chosen to incorporate a stock exchange is to create a game that appeals to a wider range of people than just those who want to go on an adventure". And as you can convert any profits you make back into real world cash, the potential is obviously there for virtual day traders and stock brokers to move in. It's a funny old world...

Would be interesting to see something like that come back in game... maybe as a way to buy/sell shares of the actual IRL planet partner companies themselves and/or some of the fake companies like Genesis, etc., but only if there was some way to actually profit - maybe if 'factories' can be added that tie to quests somehow? of course, I doubt real life shares will ever be in game since that would make them need to follow stricter rules and actual laws that apply to real world stock exchange. The fake company thing might be ok, but only if they could figure out a way to make it work in the confines of the quest system so that it's not really 'gambling'
 
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Since this has gone beyond Marco...

https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...it-s-just-PR&p=2748936&viewfull=1#post2748936

Hi,

We believe it is necessary to explain how we work:

Members of the Support Department do not solve software bugs and errors. Our main task is to offer technical assistance and to pinpoint the cause of bugs and errors reported (whether the cause is user or software related). Once we have tested and verified the issue as software related, all vital information is forwarded to the relevant team in our organization. Unless we need more information from the user to locate the cause, we close the case since we can not offer an ETA for a solution. The issues are investigated by the responsible team and fixed according to their priority.

In this process, the support dept. can highlight a problem (if reported by many users) and thereby increase the priority to achieve a faster solution. Therefore it is important to report all bugs and errors. We keep statistics on all reported issues. If the issue is only reported by one user, it will not be highlighted as a universal problem and consequently given a lower priority.

Thank you for your patience and participation in the Entropia Universe.

Kind regards,

Gabriel| Planet Calypso Support
 
https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...-Bridge-Investor&p=65057&viewfull=1#post65057
Look - anyone may invest in MA. Just come up with an interesting deal. Stocks are being traded everyday. MA PE AB has dozens of various stock owners today already.

https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...fee-question&p=2676474&viewfull=1#post2676474
-- 50/50 quote...
Old quote from the now defunct affiliate program website:
How does it work ?
So, how does an affiliate program look like on a game concept that's basically free, with no download fee or monthly subscription fees ? How does the operator actually earn money ?

Each tool, weapon, clothes, basically everything a player can utilize has a specific basic value. This base decreases by a certain preset amount every time an object is used until it reaches almost zero value and has to be "repaired".

The correlating amount of the in-game currency PED and therefor 10:1 US-Dollars of what the item decays gets distributed 50:50 between Mindark PE AB as operator of the Entropia Universe and the planet partner where the participant has the account registered and pursuing its activities, in our case First Planet Company and Planet Calypso.

Another source of income are fees and commissions attached to the in-game auction and player's shops. Every sale on the auction and shops produces a sales commission that also gets shared 50:50 between Mindark and the Planet Partner.
===============
Since I'm definitely not writing a 'book' for Mindark anymore... here's some stuff that might be interesting for some of you historians out there...

https://docs.google.com/View?id=dcc839nt_41589sr9gr

https://docs.google.com/View?id=dcc839nt_38fbdqdjdv

May add more to the above documents later on.
 
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https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...404-will-mindark-fix-space-2.html#post2584474
Bjorn:
You should not put too much faith in forum rumors.

-------------
Me as a planet partner am in charge of this re-balancing project but since I have seen a couple of people ask some stuff about MA (or me) that I though I may as well answer to some degree.

Yes, I played back in that time and I know people used to "fap fish" "fap flies" etc, back in the days only to skill agility (granted the cost doing this with a mod fap weren't that high but still it was a 100% loss to gain some agility and doing this for weeks did add up). I started playing PE in september 2003, and have played it since with a couple of breaks here and there. My avatar is 99% naturally skilled (chipped in 10ped FA back in 2004 to max the fap-50), I have played on a very low budget for all this time. Yes I have completed several Iron missions, pretty much all missions up to 1000 and 1 bronze mission.
----------
EntropiaTimes_March_2011_PDF q&A with Marco:
Question
A part of the player base seems to fear that the acquisition
of FPC by SEE means that development of Planet Calypso
will become second or third priority as experienced staff will
be allocated to Planet Michael and the Universal Monsters
Planet. What can you say to these people to reassure them
that Calypso will not end up on the back burner?
Response
SEE and SDS are working very closely together to deliver
new, cutting edge content for Planet Calypso. The development
will continue to be run by its established and highly
experienced team.
I see 2011 as a great year for Calypso. There was a time
when we had to focus on some of the basic areas in the
game (mainly the starter experience and introduction). This
time around, that area is now mostly complete and we will
be putting the spotlight on the fundamental essence of
what Planet Calypso is, starting with a back-story and the
colonists’ perspective. The immediate goals are to tie up
loose ends story-wise, add more depth and current events,
and refine the real cash economy to allow for more levels of
play and participation.
Question
Will SDS initially focus on further developing new content
for Planet Calypso, or will there be a brief period during
which there will be more focus on tying up the many loose
ends? As a brief explanation, there are countless unfinished
storylines in the Planet Calypso storyline. The famous Atrox
Egg that appeared in 2006 (?) and sold last year for almost
70,000 USD being the most prominent example. Gamers
have been waiting for years to hear what the “exciting content”
of the egg is.
Response
That’s the beauty of this acquisition – we are doing both.
SDS is committed to improving, maintaining and creating
new content for Planet Calypso. You will begin to see new
content roll out in 2011. Stay tuned for more.

Question
When did SEE learn that FPC was for sale, and was it
immediately decided that this would be an interesting
opportunity for SEE?
Response
SEE knew that MindArk intended to sell Calypso early in
2010. After discussing the potential purchase internally and
then with MindArk, SEE made the decision to move forward
with the acquisition of Calypso around July of last year.
Question
What was the main reason for the acquisition (i.e., mainly
to gain access to experienced developers and designers
already familiar with the MindArk Entropia Universe
Platform, or other reasons)?
Response
One reason for the acquisition was for SEE to obtain
experienced developers and designers already familiar
with MindArk’s Entropia Universe Platform. SEE also saw,
with the proper marketing of Calypso, an opportunity to increase
the user base/community as well as the revenues of
the planet. With a game of this scale there is always a lot of
potential and we’re really looking to tap into that
potential and enhance the experience overall.
Question
When SEE first came into the picture as an upcoming Planet
Partner, the idea was to employ NEVERDIE Studios to do the
development of the SEE planets. That is no longer the case.
Is this due to the acquisition of First Planet Company?
Response
Yes.


Question
If we understood correctly, the 6 million USD involved in the
acquisition was the price MindArk put on their share of First
Planet Company, meaning that this money went to MindArk
and not the new company. Does this mean that additional
staff hired for SEE Digital Studios will be covered by additional
financial injections, or did we understand wrong?
Response
We are not at liberty to discuss the details of our agreement;
however, we are making sure that we’re staffed accordingly
so that Calypso can continue to thrive.
Question
Will all current staff be kept, or will the acquisition include
possible reorganization of the old FPC staff?
Response
All current staff have been kept to continue focusing on
Planet Calypso.
Question
FPC never undertook any serious marketing efforts. There
was a brief period in which banners were advertised on
third party sites, and some tradeshows were visited, but
generally speaking, other than the occasional press release,
nothing much was heard. Are there plans to change this,
with SEE calling the shots now?
Response
Yes, we’re currently developing marketing plans that
support our efforts to continue driving acquisition and
retention, as well as introduce Calypso to new audiences.
Question
At the time of the acquisition, FPC was still a daughter
company of MindArk, effectively meaning that the CEO
had very limited “real” power when it came to dealing with
MindArk, whereas now, SDS is a corporate entity without
any ties to MindArk, other than as a customer. Will the total
separation of Planet Calypso from MindArk make it easier
for Mr. Behrmann to get things done through MindArk now?
Response
Ties with MindArk certainly are not “severed.” Mr.
Behrmann and SDS are still working closely with MindArk
as the company behind the Entropia Universe. We will
continue to collaborate with them on Planet Calypso and
future titles launching in the Entropia Universe.
Question
With the corporate ties with MindArk now severed, will SDS
move into a different building, or will you retain the current
location, sharing the same address as MindArk?


Response
Again, ties with MindArk are not “severed” and we will
continue to collaborate with them on all of our current and
future titles in the Entropia Universe. That said, SDS is not
moving into a new office.
Question
All press releases about Planet Michael so far indicate
that the planet is due to launch within 2011. Is this still a
realistic estimate, and if so, could you perhaps give us a
more accurate estimate of when we can expect to do some
serious virtual moonwalking?
Response
Planet Michael is on track to launch in 2012.
Question
Many players seem to be dissatisfied with the way FPC used
to communicate with them. Will SEE try and mend the gap
between the company and the player base?
Response
With every big acquisition, change is inevitable. Right now
we’re looking into new ways to meet the needs of the
massive Planet Calypso community. We’re closely
watching and listening to comments from various
communities to make sure we reach out and communicate
with them in the best way possible moving forward. So yes,
the goal will definitely be more communication.
Question
By coming up with the concept of Planet Michael, SEE has
shown to be able to think outside of the box when it comes
to the potential of Entropia Universe. Will the same out-ofthe-
box thinking be applied to Planet Calypso so the players
will see some truly innovative new events and/or missions
and vehicles?
Response
One of the key benefits of our recent acquisition is the
addition of new minds and ideas to the pool. Planet
Calypso has a strong history that we will honor and build
upon with the collaboration of a team of experts from SDS
that know Planet Calypso in-and-out, and the addition of new
ideas with the team from SEE. We have big plans for Planet
Calypso; however, we are not prepared to talk about it at
this time. SEE and SDS are working together very closely to
deliver new, cutting edge content for 2011 and beyond.
Question
As we all know, FPC bought up the database of
EntropiaForum.com. Will the forum change with the new
acquisition and incorporate the other SEE Planets as well,
or will it remain as it is, and the other games get their own
forums?
Response
PlanetCalypsoForum.com will continue to serve the Calypso
community.

----------------------
Theryon Wars Q&A:
http://www.entropiaplanets.com/forums/threads/community-q-a-one-week.6595/

0k, for starters, I've read a little bit about Theryon: Wars but am still a bit unclear about the premise. Could you elaborate a bit more on what the planet is all about? (I figured this would be a nice place to start...sorta sets the "scene" for the upcoming questions.).
Beyond the planets you know (that means outside EU) there are other planets, colonies, empires, alliances... One major power has been conquering other planets as they've charted them for the last 270 years until they reached a certain pocket where six "minor powers" had settled. Generations of mistrust and recurring conficts had their fleets and armies on par with the otherwise huge forces of the big "empire"... once all six gathered under a single flag and fought back in a coordinated way. That was some 52 years ago; the "Union Spirit" is strong but there's still some tension under the surface. From the "imperial" perspective, these barbarian hordes of marauders, scavengers and wrongoers need to be civilized, for their own good, or swept from existence for the good of all others; there are even those who believe in a third way, dialogue, so there are also behind-the-scenes plots and conflicts on this side.




Having a stable battlefront, both sides keep exploring further depths of space for new planets and more resources. When two deep space explorers reached a specially juicy planet almost at the same time, they called in their mates and battle fleets gathered to fight for what you now know as "planet Theryon".




Then... The Blackout Incident took place.
An alien-looking faction stepped in and forced a truce to be signed by both parts. They set up an orbital base and a surface settlement to help maintaining "overall peace"...




Your characters were not there when all this happened and during the planet development the situation in Theryon will evolve (story-wise) to bring in non-military personnel from both sides to try and get the upper hand by non-military means (covertly, that also means low intensity conflicts, espionage, sabotage...). Also, recruiting locals is most of times easier and that would mean "current EU players". Players willing to remain neutral can access the non-warring settlements and open areas.




In the surrounding areas of space there's no truce, no smiley faces, no mercy... but both factions have enough muscle to maintain Green Zones (PvP-free) areas in orbit.




There's a valuable resource in this planet of which you have never heard of, and both opposing factions believe you'd better know no more about it. If you find it, you can trade it; if you want to know what it's for or how to use it yourself, you'd better go on quests, make good friends among the NPCs and push your avatar through the story. We haven't set a date to release this knowledge to you: it shall depend on you, players, finding out what these invading forces try you not to get to know.








Well, for a start, I hope it'll suffice.
==================

Are there plans to sell LAs before the game goes live, as happened with Arkadia and Deathifier? If so, how much are they going for, and who do we need to talk to to make the arrangements?
Personally, I won't sell you a promise. We need to advance to the next stage of development and agree with MindArk on several matters before I can give you the right, serious and final details.




That shall include a dedicated contact person for this!


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

: ↑
will you take the L (limited) approach to items (like arkadia -every normal item is L) or unL (like next island/greece where unL things can be found - not many but still nice)?
We do want unlimited objects, in small healthy doses; about health and in-game economy, ratios and criteria must be met.

We will also have to take into account issues which may not be evident now, such as armor and weapons trading or smuggling. If players from other planets find themselves demanding such items from our planet, it's logical we'd want them to come over and have a look by themselves. This could roughly mean proportionally more L batches than unL batches if the item-demanding playerbase is mostly off-planet and the adjustment is to be made.

I hope this makes sense for you.

--------------
RAZER said: ↑
OK something completely different:

With the current economic trouble in the world and Spain specific, do you have any trouble getting the money needed to build this planet, or is everything secured yet?
I think this "world economic trouble" is perceived quite differently depending on which countries we are; the US tells Europe to do something, Europe replies US rating agencies are doing wrong, then the US says, then Europe says... then China, Japan, Australia, Canada...

I passed this question to our CEO with a smirk; it's not the typical kind of question one would expect from the average player of any other game (hey, that's a compliment!).

Rafael told me I could quote him: "Ask Razer if he thinks MindArk would have us as Planet Partners if both technically and economically we wouldn't be up to the task of creating Theryon Wars". I've just translated from Spanish into English, there you go.

Fortunately for us, I think, RCE doesn't equal "Real World Economy", if you get me

Apart from this, we have other projects in the oven and ours is a global market
----------------
Ordaz said: ↑
This could roughly mean proportionally more L batches than unL batches if the item-demanding playerbase is mostly off-planet and the adjustment is to be made.
Will we be able to take limited and unlimited items off planet ? and indeed to bring in items from other planets be it L or unl?
============
GeorgeSkywalker said: ↑
Will we be able to take limited and unlimited items off planet ? and indeed to bring in items from other planets be it L or unl?
We're currently designing everything without import/export restrictions.
------------------------
Bizarrick said: ↑
Anyways, will we be seeing a few pieces of Spanish culture peeking here and there on the planet?
Nope, not really.
Bizarrick, let's cool down and stay on topic or we could end up like Mr. Eusebio here.
Let's not miss this chance
Ordaz, Nov 30, 2011 #14
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Ido said: ↑
Apart from different item textures and models, different land scenery and backstory what will make your planet unique or "different concept" from everything else already available in Entropia Universe ?
I think you just left out gameplay, community relations and additional games. Right?

About gameplay, mostly depending on the platform, a fresh idea we've been developing since before our first contact with MindArk is a blend of PvP and PvE. We're far from release date, so I'll provide additional details in small chunks later on; this way you can tell us what you think about these features and we can take notes for improving them upon your comments. This links to the second part, community relations... Although I'm not a community manager or a PR guy, here I am. All and any of you can reach me, PMs, open forums... I sweat, I can get my hands dirty with code, 3D and textures; I hope that you'll appreciate comments made by someone like me more than generic emails. And this is just for a start.

Also, in the interview you might have seen our Theryon IP is to be developed in different games and genres. The first related game is a small arcade one, full 3D and fun. There are other, more hardcore-oriented games up our sleeves, for which we might use the Cry Engine or not. A third person shooter and a space sim have already been defined and set on hold until we reach "full ahead" speed with our EU planet.

Was this... different enough?

Softhart said: ↑
Can we see some screenshots? Will there be an economy in place when the planet goes live? Plenty of Armor, weapons, blueprints, tools, etc? Will the blueprints contain only items looted on your planet? How long has this Planet been in the works?

Ah crap, just remembered the rules :(
No screenies for the moment, but you already have the first Eye Candy Series in this very forum, some other images on their way here and, later on, the second Eye Candy Series. Then you'll have some screenies.

Hey, I told you I'd answer, never said you'd like the answers themselves, right?
Ordaz, Nov 30, 2011 #18
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Ordaz said: ↑
No screenies for the moment, but you already have the first Eye Candy Series in this very forum, some other images on their way here and, later on, the second Eye Candy Series. Then you'll have some screenies.

Hey, I told you I'd answer, never said you'd like the answers themselves, right?
All I expect is an answer :) I can live with it not being what I hope for :)

And since there has been other poster with a question after mine, here is another one :)

Will there be an economy in place when the planet goes live? (Plenty of Armor, weapons, blueprints, tools, etc)
Softhart, Nov 30, 2011 #19
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misao said: ↑
hihi Ordaz

Will there be destructible environments on Theryon Wars, some which stay destroyed once broken? (Would be cool for events ^^)
Hi Misao! (^_^)
Great question here. See, we're not taking destructible environments for granted, we're not relying on them and I do agree nice things can be done using them. I usually say (several times a week in fact): "If it isn't bronken, don't fix it!". Now, with this question on the table, what happens with broken environments? Who fixes them, if anyone does? And also, where's the limit for destruction? Tricky questions and possible issues for MMOs show up, both technically and gameplay-wise. Hence, we're leaving "Red Faction-like" destruction as a road to explore in other Theryon games and after launch date in theryon: Wars (you know, our EU planet). Other kinds of destruction are being considered, most of them related to sovereignty.


Softhart said: ↑
All I expect is an answer :) I can live with it not being what I hope for :)

And since there has been other poster with a question after mine, here is another one :)

Will there be an economy in place when the planet goes live? (Plenty of Armor, weapons, blueprints, tools, etc)
We can't go live without a minimum amount of economy-related items: Mobs for hunting, deposits for mining, BPs for crafting, quests/missions for... for... oh, well

Having these in place doesn't automatically mean the economy will work by itself, you know. To help advancing one step at a time there's one single type of item with no "automatic use" out of the box which we'll need for the future. It's a resource you won't be able to use with BPs for quite a while and you'll have to find out what it is, among other things, by yourselves. For the rest of the items and resources, I hope we can stick to "no blueprints without materials and no materials without blueprints". I said I hope, I'm not sure we'll be able to but I'll try.

This approach is somehow like a mine field. It limits us, narrowing our growth options. If from the start you get items, BPs and ores to make a living, adding more ores and BPs with similar stats just won't do: they must be more attractive than the original ones for you to really want them. Design-wise, it's quite a challenge, taking also into account that with a limited amout of combinations we must provide a meaningful and whole system from day zero.
Else, you won't get the economy to start rolling.

Mmm... too long a question, hope it worked for you, Softhart
Ordaz, Nov 30, 2011 #21
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Ordaz said: ↑
Hi Misao! (^_^)
Great question here. See, we're not taking destructible environments for granted, we're not relying on them and I do agree nice things can be done using them. I usually say (several times a week in fact): "If it isn't bronken, don't fix it!". Now, with this question on the table, what happens with broken environments? Who fixes them, if anyone does? And also, where's the limit for destruction? Tricky questions and possible issues for MMOs show up, both technically and gameplay-wise. Hence, we're leaving "Red Faction-like" destruction as a road to explore in other Theryon games and after launch date in theryon: Wars (you know, our EU planet). Other kinds of destruction are being considered, most of them related to sovereignty.
Possibly a good idea for this: buildings with a function in other factions can be destroyed. When the faction whose buildings were destroyed needs the functions related to the building, they would have to rebuild them.
khaos, Nov 30, 2011 #22
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Ordaz said: ↑
I passed this question to our CEO with a smirk; it's not the typical kind of question one would expect from the average player of any other game (hey, that's a compliment!).

Rafael told me I could quote him: "Ask Razer if he thinks MindArk would have us as Planet Partners if both technically and economically we wouldn't be up to the task of creating Theryon Wars". I've just translated from Spanish into English, there you go.
Thanx for the answer and thank Rafael for me as well. The reason I asked is that banks will be a lot harder to get money from these days and an online game is something the big short of any bank will not understand. Of course I do not know if you guys even went to a bank or are financing the game with your own money or private investors (do not need an answer there, unless you wanna tell us).

Ans yes it is not a typical question you'd expect from us players and I had not thought of this before, it just poped in my head.
RAZER, Nov 30, 2011 #23
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khaos said: ↑
Possibly a good idea for this: buildings with a function in other factions can be destroyed. When the faction whose buildings were destroyed needs the functions related to the building, they would have to rebuild them.
That's a bit close to our approach... What we'll be needing (not now, just soon in another thread) is making sure the way we've thought of for you, players, to help rebuilding your faction's facilities makes sense and pays the worth for you to actually participate in the "war effort".
Ordaz, Nov 30, 2011 #24
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RAZER said: ↑
Thanx for the answer and thank Rafael for me as well. The reason I asked is that banks will be a lot harder to get money from these days and an online game is something the big short of any bank will not understand. Of course I do not know if you guys even went to a bank or are financing the game with your own money or private investors (do not need an answer there, unless you wanna tell us).

Ans yes it is not a typical question you'd expect from us players and I had not thought of this before, it just poped in my head.
I'll tell Rafael
Just in case, we're not the typical game studio or PP for that matters. This Christmas the company gets 2 years old and it took another couple of years of preparations before actually founding it. During this time we've made smaller games, Anmynor, military simulations, augmented reality programs and content, aerospace industrial design... We were also awarded for our developments in artificial intelligende R&D. And we also have a project on virtual worlds in cloud computing. Plenty of things, right? The trick is, keep "additional" projects short and manageable (bite less than you can actually chew) and choose projects from which you can learn and become a better professional/studio. We now have first-hand real-life info on the latest military tech and aerospaace research. Theryon will be sci-fi both in EU and beyond, but the day we decide to go "hard sci-fi" we'll have an advantage no-one else can be proud of having as for today.

Quite a long reply for no actual question!


Ordaz said: ↑
Hi Misao! (^_^)
Great question here. See, we're not taking destructible environments for granted, we're not relying on them and I do agree nice things can be done using them. I usually say (several times a week in fact): "If it isn't bronken, don't fix it!". Now, with this question on the table, what happens with broken environments? Who fixes them, if anyone does? And also, where's the limit for destruction? Tricky questions and possible issues for MMOs show up, both technically and gameplay-wise. Hence, we're leaving "Red Faction-like" destruction as a road to explore in other Theryon games and after launch date in theryon: Wars (you know, our EU planet). Other kinds of destruction are being considered, most of them related to sovereignty.
Thanks for the response :) I'm hoping to see some permanent story line destruction where the avatars destroy some enemy base or something along those lines =P


Ordaz said: ↑
Hi Misao! (^_^)
Great question here. See, we're not taking destructible environments for granted, we're not relying on them and I do agree nice things can be done using them. I usually say (several times a week in fact): "If it isn't bronken, don't fix it!". Now, with this question on the table, what happens with broken environments? Who fixes them, if anyone does? And also, where's the limit for destruction?
I Love destruction! My motto, if it isn't broken, break it! LOL at least in Virtual Life :) What happens with broken environments? Fix them so I can break them again :) Who fixes them? The Planet Partner :) And of course there is NO limit of destruction! :)

Now those are the answers I would want to hear :) But, ok dream is over, I snapped out of it............maybe

Ordaz said: ↑
We can't go live without a minimum amount of economy-related items: Mobs for hunting, deposits for mining, BPs for crafting, quests/missions for... for... oh, well

Having these in place doesn't automatically mean the economy will work by itself, you know. To help advancing one step at a time there's one single type of item with no "automatic use" out of the box which we'll need for the future. It's a resource you won't be able to use with BPs for quite a while and you'll have to find out what it is, among other things, by yourselves. For the rest of the items and resources, I hope we can stick to "no blueprints without materials and no materials without blueprints". I said I hope, I'm not sure we'll be able to but I'll try.

This approach is somehow like a mine field. It limits us, narrowing our growth options. If from the start you get items, BPs and ores to make a living, adding more ores and BPs with similar stats just won't do: they must be more attractive than the original ones for you to really want them. Design-wise, it's quite a challenge, taking also into account that with a limited amout of combinations we must provide a meaningful and whole system from day zero.
Else, you won't get the economy to start rolling.

Mmm... too long a question, hope it worked for you, Softhart
LOL I am not sure it did work for me.........I guess my concern is if I move to your Planet will I be able to play the game with the resources you have on your planet and not have to resort to going to another planet to get the resources I need? Will there be guns and armor that are effective on the mobs that will be there?

And you mentioned you can't go live with "a minimum amount of economy-related items" whats is the minimum? Is that something you set or MA sets?


RAZER said: ↑
but a good and clear reply, thank you very much for the info !
Any time, thank you for this arc of Q&A; it wouldn't have been easy for you to find this out on your own (low profiles and such...) so you now know us a lil bit better.
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #32
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misao said: ↑
Thanks for the response :) I'm hoping to see some permanent story line destruction where the avatars destroy some enemy base or something along those lines =P
Mmm... I'm not really sure I get this. What would you like to be permanent, the storyline or the destruction?

The storyline shall evolve, though we must maintain at least common elements and "historical facts" in the entry point narrative presented to new players. On the other hand, unrecoverable destruction of settlements, fleets, stations... that's EPIC and would require the participation of a sizeable amount of players on both sides.

Epics must be told and we want our players (that would be you) to be the protagonists, not some NPC with an idle animation...
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #33
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Tass said: ↑
Mh... destructible environments should a least be possible in specific instances...

My question: With T:W (yep, it's abbreviated like that form now on ) also being focussed on space battles for what classes/type/approximate # of different models of spacecrafts do you aim at on launch?
Tass, an idea came out about destuction and instances. Say there's a mission and inside the mission instance 75% of the players destroy a given facility. Then next day/week we set that facility to go boom.
It just felt too "fake" for us right that way...

Thanks for remembering the short T:W form! (It should save us all some tapping).
I'm sorry, I can't discuss the amount of vehicles we want to/will have on launch
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GeorgeSkywalker said: ↑
Will there be treasure mining or archaeology type of things?

Theryon has a nice bacstory to it. Would be fascinating to explore that side...
We have planned "field research" and "exploration missions" which come close to what you mention without having the same mechanics. We don't really want to import the treasure hunting mechanism to T:W "as is", but there are indeed hidden treasures in our planet. Treasure hunting is an enjoyable experience, I have nothing against it, all the contrary...

Our approach to archaeology is closer to beacon missions than to mining, but has a bit of both.

Mistery Tip: The tilting of the planet will influence availability of sites to explore and field research missions. No more details for now
(You can make up your own theories but I won't confirm nor deny any time soon)
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #35
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Ordaz said: ↑
Mmm... I'm not really sure I get this. What would you like to be permanent, the storyline or the destruction?

The storyline shall evolve, though we must maintain at least common elements and "historical facts" in the entry point narrative presented to new players. On the other hand, unrecoverable destruction of settlements, fleets, stations... that's EPIC and would require the participation of a sizeable amount of players on both sides.

Epics must be told and we want our players (that would be you) to be the protagonists, not some NPC with an idle animation...
I meant permanent destruction as a result of avatars playing out the storyline the T:W team develops.

"unrecoverable destruction of settlements, fleets, stations..."
Yes something like this :)
misao, Dec 1, 2011 #36
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Ordaz said: ↑
Mistery Tip: The tilting of the planet will influence availability of sites to explore and field research missions. No more details for now
(You can make up your own theories but I won't confirm nor deny any time soon)
Fascinating. Instead of theorising I can do better factual data :)

Question: The Earth's axial tilt varies between 22.1° and 24.5°, with a 41,000 year period. What will those values be for T:W?
GeorgeSkywalker, Dec 1, 2011 #37
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Ordaz said: ↑
I think you just left out gameplay, community relations and additional games. Right?

About gameplay, mostly depending on the platform, a fresh idea we've been developing since before our first contact with MindArk is a blend of PvP and PvE. We're far from release date, so I'll provide additional details in small chunks later on; this way you can tell us what you think about these features and we can take notes for improving them upon your comments. This links to the second part, community relations... Although I'm not a community manager or a PR guy, here I am. All and any of you can reach me, PMs, open forums... I sweat, I can get my hands dirty with code, 3D and textures; I hope that you'll appreciate comments made by someone like me more than generic emails. And this is just for a start.

Also, in the interview you might have seen our Theryon IP is to be developed in different games and genres. The first related game is a small arcade one, full 3D and fun. There are other, more hardcore-oriented games up our sleeves, for which we might use the Cry Engine or not. A third person shooter and a space sim have already been defined and set on hold until we reach "full ahead" speed with our EU planet.

Was this... different enough?

A blend of PvP and PvE ... does this mean the game will be influenced by actual PvP activity by the participants .. like 2 sides fighting over land etc ... requiring permanent engagement of the players to take over territory and defend it?

That indeed would be something different if the PvP would affect the game situation ... Else if you just add pvp zones and killing mobs i don't see how that is different

To become a planet partner MA requires you to bring in a fresh new concept or angle to Entropia Universe ... to attract a new audience etc...

Calypso is what everything will always be compared to ...
Rocktropia has its music
Next island its time travel
Arkadia treasure hunting

T:W will have ??

I'm asking what is your new angle of approach?

I love this interactive Q&A ;)
Cheers
Ido
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Does TW plan to have sweat as a core feature or some sort of free(or low cost) gameplay for those who don't want to spend much ped?
db123189, Dec 1, 2011 #39
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Ordaz said: ↑
Mistery Tip: The tilting of the planet will influence availability of sites to explore and field research missions. No more details for now
(You can make up your own theories but I won't confirm nor deny any time soon)
.

That is a challenge right there and I have been thinking about that.

Because of the tilt of the planet one side of it will be pointing to the sun and is therefor to hot to explore.

"It will influence the availability", so we can do some mission some of the time, but not all the time. I guessing it could be that missions will only be available during night time, when it is cool on the surface (might be to short for some missions) or just during winter. The problem with just in winter is that even then the planet would rotate around its own axis and half of the day each side of the planet would still be facing the sun and therefor be to hot.

The only think I could think of is that the planets axis is horizontal (or close to that) and rotates around its sun. This way each half of the planet will be facing the sun for half a year. Depending on the size of the orbit around the sun we could have a few (earth) months to do these missions before we have the same amount of (earth) months where we can not do them. This would however also mean that we will not have a quick day/night cycle, but one of a few (earth) months, so a long period of darkness and a long period of light, could be interesting.

What ever it may be, the idea of missions with a time limit is pretty cool !


Softhart said: ↑
I Love destruction! My motto, if it isn't broken, break it! LOL at least in Virtual Life :) What happens with broken environments? Fix them so I can break them again :) Who fixes them? The Planet Partner :) And of course there is NO limit of destruction! :)

Now those are the answers I would want to hear :) But, ok dream is over, I snapped out of it............maybe



LOL I am not sure it did work for me.........I guess my concern is if I move to your Planet will I be able to play the game with the resources you have on your planet and not have to resort to going to another planet to get the resources I need? Will there be guns and armor that are effective on the mobs that will be there?

And you mentioned you can't go live with "a minimum amount of economy-related items" whats is the minimum? Is that something you set or MA sets?
Forgot the rules again?

I choose to answer... Minimum amounts are set by both, MindArk and us. It's MindArk's platform, they know best what a good starting point is. Theryon is our IP, we know what we need to bring it to you and we can organize it in incremental deliverable updates...
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #41
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misao said: ↑
Q: What do you think about adding free activities(events daily or weekly) within your planet?

For example: Space fort defence where all ammo and turrets are accessed for free and have no monetary value. The reward could be comprised of a 0.01 Ped TT item value to be used as a prerequisite to enter special non-free events.

Another example: something as simple as a functional pool table.

Think this would be a great incentive for avatars to log in daily keep the community more active.
Let's distinguish between "free events" and "free activities". Organized by players or by GMs, events with free tickets or without a fee to enter often rely on players bringing their own equipment, with notable exceptions such as the races in New Switzerland. Note: there are others too; Promoters, please don't feel bad if I didn't use "your events" as an example.
We agree these help maintaining and developing an active community and as a Planet Partner I thank and appreciate the efforts of all nice and dedicated Promoters all over EU.

The pool table... I don't really see this example as a priority for us, and I'd include bowling, chess, darts and other similar add-ons. Would be nice-to-have, granted, but I shall keep them in the background until we have fully developed other, higher-priority things. If I had to guess, I'd say I wouldn't increase this "social minigames" importance before 2014... but it's just a guess!

Other free stuff... like missions. There must be different ways for new players to enjoy T:W and get the right taste of it before they decide depositing or even if they decide not to deposit but keep playing. We have our own ideas on this matter and free quests and cooperative endeavors are at the core of them. There are tutorials now where players receive guns and ammo: we should develop on this concept, not breaking the economy and improving the overall "gaming experience" for newcomers and veterans alike. And this includes veterans coming to our planet, both on vacation or planning to stay.

On the periodicity of activities (free as in beer or as in freedom) we are aiming for PvE at first; we need several hundred active players to start kicking some in a similar way in PvP. And yes, we've already planned limited free PvP drills including disposable equipment, but this precise type of "entertainment" is still on the design table
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #42
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Ordaz said: ↑
Other free stuff... like missions. There must be different ways for new players to enjoy T:W and get the right taste of it before they decide depositing or even if they decide not to deposit but keep playing. We have our own ideas on this matter and free quests and cooperative endeavors are at the core of them. There are tutorials now where players receive guns and ammo: we should develop on this concept, not breaking the economy and improving the overall "gaming experience" for newcomers and veterans alike. And this includes veterans coming to our planet, both on vacation or planning to stay.

On the periodicity of activities (free as in beer or as in freedom) we are aiming for PvE at first; we need several hundred active players to start kicking some in a similar way in PvP. And yes, we've already planned limited free PvP drills including disposable equipment, but this precise type of "entertainment" is still on the design table
If I understand those two paragraphs right, then it should be interesting :) Thanks for the lengthy response.
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Ordaz said: ↑
Forgot the rules again?

I choose to answer... Minimum amounts are set by both, MindArk and us. It's MindArk's platform, they know best what a good starting point is. Theryon is our IP, we know what we need to bring it to you and we can organize it in incremental deliverable updates...

LOL Busted, but I figured cause it was in a reply that it wouldn't count :)

And you chose to answer the easy one, but thats ok. I will ask the other ones on my turn again :)

Your answer also has be wondering what is the minimum that MA requires cause I believe there were planets that didn't have all that when they first opened.
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GeorgeSkywalker said: ↑
Fascinating. Instead of theorising I can do better factual data :)

Question: The Earth's axial tilt varies between 22.1° and 24.5°, with a 41,000 year period. What will those values be for T:W?
I really wish I could answer "this and this degrees over such years"; my first approach to the physical definition of our planet was pretty close to this but I was told to be beyond insane for such an attempt. Since then, no-one tried what you have here...

I've had to look up English terms to answer you. By "tilt" I was referring to a combination of axial precession (with a period of some 26,000 years in Earth's case) and nutation. I knew the desired result and its impact in gameplay, including something similar to Milankovitch cycles (hey, it's a persistent MMO), but Earth-like values didn't fit; if one size fits all, it's not Earth's size. So, I took (axial) precession, altered it and kept an Earth-like nutation. Wrong results. Earth-like precession wouldn't do from the start, and I guess you already know Mars obliquity ranges from 11º to 49º... so, taking Earth and Mars as reference cases/values, considering several theories on the causes of axial tilt/obliquity (the one by Miles Mathis is pretty attractive for sci-fi settings) and trying to figure out how would Mars behave without the heavy influence of the other planets... I came up with something similar to a spirograph simple and cyclic pattern. Math would do the trick but the gravity wells involved could be hard to believe "as is". Instead of going "toss in a neuromultiscoobypositronic device and that's it" (geez, sounds like Janeway!) I realized three things:
1.- Using values "snapped to a grid" made math deviations more beliveable, so to say.
2.- I was indeed reaching unknown depths of voluntary sanity deprivation.
3.- Sadly or not, the chances for anyone to ever wonder or try the math I was involved with for this "no need to explain how it works, it just works" feature were infinitesimal.

Now who's gonna call me a freak for being prepared to answer when the day came?! WHO?!
Thanks for the question, George.
Didn't give you the numbers, granted, but you're healthy, sane... and you were never supposed to get them. Please, don't get mad at me; take ε = A + B sin(C (T+D) ) with A = 23.496932° ± 0.001200°, B = − 0.860° ± 0.005°, C = 0.01532 ± 0.0009 radians/Julian century for a slight correction of the numbers you posted and you might start your own trip to those depths I mentioned...
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #45
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Ido said: ↑
A blend of PvP and PvE ... does this mean the game will be influenced by actual PvP activity by the participants .. like 2 sides fighting over land etc ... requiring permanent engagement of the players to take over territory and defend it?

That indeed would be something different if the PvP would affect the game situation ... Else if you just add pvp zones and killing mobs i don't see how that is different

To become a planet partner MA requires you to bring in a fresh new concept or angle to Entropia Universe ... to attract a new audience etc...

Calypso is what everything will always be compared to ...
Rocktropia has its music
Next island its time travel
Arkadia treasure hunting

T:W will have ??

I'm asking what is your new angle of approach?

I love this interactive Q&A ;)
Cheers
Ido
How the story unfolds, how quickly it does, which areas and resources are available to players and "what missing info is important" will be influenced by actual PvP and PvE activity by players on both sides.

This includes decission-making dynamics that gather the opinions of the highest-ranked players of each faction. Don't expect this feature for lauch date (you'll need rep!) and take into account it goes beyond in-game, coded features. I was reserving this for a different thread focused on it, but I'll give you some details for I believe it really sets us apart:

1.- Players do sign up for one faction or the other; those remaining neutral are not considered for this particular mechanics; from now on, "Players" goes for "Faction Players".
2.- Players' actions (PvP and PvE) impact Factions. Success and failure in quests, ore extraction, successful and quality crafting... Killing enemy players, conquering resource-generating facilities, destroying and defending own and enemy supply lines... These can increase and decrease your "Faction Reputation", both with your Faction and the enemy one.
3.- This player impact on Factions can be ranked, and several ways to evaluate it are available or could be developed.
4.- The most active players who most successfully defend the interests of their Factions will be at the top of the ranking, and the ranking can be updated and reviewed periodically (daily, weekly, monthly...).
5.- Players who are "the most valuable for their Factions" (highest-ranked, more than one per Faction) will be asked what they believe their Faction's next moves should be. Intelligence information will be provided in limited amounts to help making the best possible decissions.
6.- From the feedback taken from these players, High Commands will develop short-term strategies and will issue orders to support these strategies: Missions will be made available, deployments will be readied and so on.

This is it, in short. Can you help me saying it... shorter?

Note: Perhaps the comment above ("what missing info is important") doesn't make sense for some of you. If so, you can check the interview for more clues...
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #46
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db123189 said: ↑
Does TW plan to have sweat as a core feature or some sort of free(or low cost) gameplay for those who don't want to spend much ped?
You might have guessed from other answers: There shall be other activities in T:W requiring no depositing for a start and the involvement of players in the War Effort of their Factions won't be dictated by the weight of their PED Cards.
Ordaz, Dec 1, 2011 #47
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RAZER said: ↑
."It will influence the availability", so we can do some mission some of the time, but not all the time.
(...)
What ever it may be, the idea of missions with a time limit is pretty cool !
Really glad you liked it! So it was George and you making theories... anyone else out there?

Also, be aware of this combo: A mission you can make today but not tomorrow and for which you have a countdown timer to get it done before 3, 2, 1... OUCH! Now wait an unknown amount of days and see if it becomes available again... or become Highest Ranked and try to push your Faction's strategies the way that mission went
---
and many more...
 
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Mastermesh, did you know there is a game to the forums? It's called Entropia Universe or something I think you should give it a try someday :)
 
Mastermesh, did you know there is a game to the forums? It's called Entropia Universe or something I think you should give it a try someday :)
Unfortunately, some of us have this thing we call a job that eats up 40 hours a week, and it typically requires being a computer that we are unable to install Entropia Universe on.
===========

Probably eaten there like 500 times or something, but nowadays I prefer the Dubliner when im in Gothenburg.

Which is why I stay far away from cookies sent from players :)

More marco stuff (some of it's already referenced in other posts in this thread... just here for future reference/etc.):

2006 questions - https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...tember-06-Q-s)&p=430585&viewfull=1#post430585

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/31/feature/120/QA-With-Marco-Behrmann.html

http://www.spu.soundchild.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=14&sid=e574aef13e92544409d7afc216ce621e - 2006 Q&A.

Q&A Answers (Aug-Sep 06)

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

This is the replies from the Q&A from Aug-Sep 06. The replies are based on the information I currently have and every reply can be subject to changes later on, based on new information or events.

---

Mindark Communication:

* Can mindark please get themselves a powerful PR campaign that draws in people from everywhere so we have an even bigger playerbase? Seeing the streets of Hadesheim buzzing in neon and flooded during the day with a lone couple walking the streets at night together would be amazing.

We’re looking forward to a busy year in front of us as our marketing department kick into gear with a range of exciting projects. We’ll keep you updated through the news section of the website.

* Will their ever be a chance of a MA hosted EU convention / meet up?

That could be a fun idea for the future but unfortunately it’s nothing we can make any plans for right now.

* Whats going on with "The Entropian" magazine ?

The second issue of The Entropian has been indefinitely postponed. Both MindArk and MMM Publishing really want to continue with The Entropian, as it is a witty and classy publication that participants enjoyed. MMM Publishing could probably answer the question better as to when the second edition will be released. You can find their contact details in the first issue of The Entropian.

* What is MA going to do to stop the 70% of the players leaving in the first month of joining?

First of all, the churn rate of 70% isn't as bad as it sounds considering that Entropia Universe is free to download and many people do that without any idea of what to expect. Many then discover that Entropia isn't for them and leave quickly. That being said, we still want a higher conversion rate into active participants and we hope to improve that statistic during the coming season. On a side note, the Entropia Universe has quite a high number of long-term participants, many whom have been with us for years, compared to the ordinary MMORPG-mean of 5-6 months.

* Why did the Terranova Blog controversy got so out of hand? When simple dicussions could have suffice and ensured a potential ally for promoting the game.

I was not involved in the situation and cannot really comment. However, there is always a reason when any "controversy" occurs.

* Will your Press Releases be based less on sensationalism and hyperbole and more on actual facts? The hype is killing EU as people join with far different expectations to whats on offer.

Marketing is a science in itself and those decisions are best taken by the marketing department in conjunction with management and outside consultants. Overall MindArk is very pleased with the result of the marketing activities we plan, and we will continue to market the Entropia Universe as much and best as possible, for the benefit of MindArk as a company and for the community, as more people equals a greater experience and economy, with more opportunities.

* Will MA start treating its player base with a bit more respect in terms of our feedback and wishes? Communicating openly and effectly.

Yes, MindArk already have the greatest respect for the player base and pay attention to all feedback and suggestions. Unfortunately the staff here cannot instantly implement all the wishes and suggestions that come in from such a large player base. We are forced to sort and prioritize community wishes. We will never be able to accommodate every wish and have to reflect upon every idea in light of the greater good and how such suggestions will affect the virtual universe itself.

* Can the community have a definitive answer about trapping creatures (such as araneatrox) and what will MA do to stop this as clearly they allow it to happen and ATH HOFs to result.

MindArk are always working to curb abuse inside the Entropia Universe. Obviously abuse is not a desirable situation for MindArk or the community and in the interest of correctness and fairness we can only move forward with an increased commitment to detecting and dealing with abuse.
We’ll never be able to predict every exploit that people will come up with, but we can move swiftly to stop the situation when it arises.

* Can we have a roadmap?

We are not comfortable giving out to much info in advance as we have competitors who watch MindArk closely to see how we achieve and succeed with the unique business model we work by.

* Which events IRL are you guys going to attend to? any list?

As soon as the marketing department have decided on an event they’re attending we’ll always let the community know about it as soon as possible, through the news section of the website. We are thinking about some sort of world tour in 2007, being close to conventions and festivals.

* Is MindArk going to be more active ingame and will these monitors give usefull info to newbies/mid levels/ubers? do something upon an scamming report to them? if a bug is reported, such as warrior bug, go there and try it out so they actually see what is wrong?

Having more In-World support is a good suggestion and will be discussed further.

* Will MA hold a survey again in the near future with some options about the direction for future development, to see what people like most/first implemented ?

The support department are planning a survey for the near future and we would like to make it as comprehensive as possible so we should be able to include some questions like these.

* When we will get someone to make official statement for MA when something happen?

Me (Marco) and Frank make official statements to the community when they are needed.

* Are there any plans of having a permanent MA representative on the forums, or even better an official MA forum? I'm asking this because sometimes there's a lot of activity from MA's side and then you hear nothing for 2 months (Not only in vacation). For example the trapping issue... no response from MA for a long time. Basically the question is: do you think MA owes it to their playerbase to be represented at all times (again this isnt about Marco having been on vacation, it's about the periods of no-contact that happen more then I personally like) or do you think the representation of MA on private owned forums is more like a favour from MA's side? And, wouldn't it be better to have a MA forum in the latter case.

MindArk’s representative on the forums is me (Marco).

* Next HoC on irc?

Not decided, we would rather use the web for such communications. A constant Q&A-section which can also be used as a library for reference would be a good idea.

* Did you enjoy vacation?

Yes, I had a great time. ,-)

* Can MindArk show how fruitful the partnership with Bridge, Kostabi and other partners has been for the players?

MindArk are pleased with these partnerships as they open the door for diversity inside the Entropia Universe. A diverse customer base makes the Entropia Universe more interesting for everybody. Features like these are still in their infancy but we look forward to developing them further in the future.

* Is MindArk willing to admit that collectively taking a holiday is bad for the playerbase, and what can/will be done to prevent that from happening in the future?

Yes, of course, we learn from experience. Company holidays next year will not affect participants in the Entropia Universe.

* What is, in MindArk's mindset, the result of blocking Romania as a country? Will this happen to more countries? Will the measure be taken to other countries as well? What about the reaction of the playerbase, and in particularly the players from Romania who do actively contribute to PE as a whole?

This measure, while crude, should also have been seen as a positive service to the community at large, as it was grounded in providing a secure and reliable system to all participants.
We are in the process right now of lifting the ban on entire countries; we now instead require extra verification of identity for new accounts from "risk" countries.

* What will MindArk do to improve the negative feelings from the playerbase towards the company.

Without meaning to be trite, it is difficult to please everyone all the time. We know that we do have many satisfied customers and we will work steadily to improve the situation for less satisfied customers because that is in everybody’s interest. We can guarantee that we do read the forums and note everything. It is also important to understand that the happy participants in the Entropia Universe are busy enjoying themselves and that the majority of the negative feelings come from a smaller group of people who are vocal about their dissatisfaction. Entropia appears to bring passion into the mix, we even have people who no longer partake in the community or experience that still like to bash us – for whatever reasons.

* Rumor has it that a new RL economy based game will go into beta some time this year - If this happen, will MA then try to make PE more enjoyable for new people who can't deposit $20-50K to start playing ?

Obviously, we cannot comment on rumours. However, we already feel that the Entropia Universe should be entertaining on all levels from newcomers to high level participants. We will add to, and fill the gaps that exist in the progression chain within the virtual universe and we have allocated extra resources to accommodate this desire.

* This is not a MA flame, but from alot of new people I have heard that they have to leave PE since they simply can't afford skilling up to a lvl where they can actualy enjoy PE like "the rest" of us.

It is tempting to want the ‘quick fix’ because it’s great to have those big skills. At the same time the Entropia Universe does offer participants the opportunity to build skills at their own pace.



Skill Questions:

* Will we ever get better skill descriptions that actually explain what the skills do?
Skill description says actually nothing about its influence. Why can't it just explain like "Aim - skill that modifies hit ability, min dmg and pro standing"? I know that MA does not want to give out certain numbers which would say that hit ability consists of 20% aim, 16.5% RDA etc. but we do not even want to know these numbers exactly (however, it's not clear, why it should be hidden information anyways...)
We need an update to our skill descriptions and we have asked about it since the start of EU.
There are way to many theories, and I think it will just be fair and helpful so people understand the game and enjoy it even more

Yes we could definitely work on those descriptions but they will probably never be as detailed as some of the community wish. Everything doesn’t need to be clear and written down, it’s part of the entertainment to discover things yourself as a participant, or together with a society, or just by meeting someone running through a forest on Calypso. Again though, we will do some work on those skill descriptions.

* ETA on activating heavy weapons skill, particle beam skill, stamina attribute, and other skills that is not active?

No ETA yet. It will come though (and the heavy weapons icon will change from the confusing Laganus canon).

* Can we have an option to change our secondary professional standings?

Yes, it will come, but is not yet determined when.

* How does MA intend to combat the massive difference in skills between avatars who gained most of their skills 2+ years ago by auto-clicking, against the newer avatars who can no longer skill this way; coupled with the intense slowdown of skills resulting in it being literally impossible to attain such high skills now? Or are avatars younger than 2 years screwed?

The question assumes that we have reached some sort of finished state, which I believe is wrong. The newcomers of today will be veterans for the newcomers a year from now. Given the ever-changing nature of Entropia Universe they will probably ask the same question at that time.

* Will attributes ever be chippeable?

Never say never, but we have no plans to add attributes to the skill implant system at the moment.



Land Management and estates:

* Could you remove the percentage based fee on selling things in shops?’

We don’t have any plans to do that at the moment. However, as the shops have been a constant source of problem we intend to completely re-design and rework how they work within half a year, I reckon (no promise though). Once I get a firm VU priority on it I'll put a Q&A for the shops out for discussion with the community.

* What purpose would factories have, would they be able to mass-produce Ammo, ME, Nutrio Bars? Will the factory owners be able to pick out a certain percentage of manufactured wares that should be put into a private terminal, while the rests goes into some kind of storage?
Will the Factories be automated?

Introducing factories will be great. This is a typical example of a system that could be introduced at a basic level and developed over the course of time. We can’t offer any details right now as to how it might work, other than it will probably include opportunities to actually have employees.

* Will Hangar-owners be able to hire pilots and give them a certain percentage of the ticket cost in the near future?

No.

* Will Hangar-owners be able to sell real tickets in the near future?

Possibly.

* When are we going to be able to rebuild our houses?
What kinds of advantages will a house owner have in the future? Will he be able to build any kind of business or such if he decided to demolish his house?

Rebuilding houses is on our roadmap, but no ETA yet. Therefore no more info can be given.

* Will landowners soon be able to (if ever) change the minerals found on their land?

It is being actively investigated as we see great potential in it. The diversity displayed in regards to the various animal allocations shown today means there is a need for such influence.

* Will landowners soon be able (if ever) to make robots come to their land?

Maybe. We are toying with some interesting concepts for the future, but I cannot go further into it at this point.

* will landowners get unique mobs other then those avaible already, such as flying mobs. swimming mobs other then the ones we have now?

New DNA will always be supplied.

* What MA is going to do with all those unsold appartments ?
Are they going to stay at auction forever?

They can certainly remain there for the time being. As the number of participants rises in the Entropia Universe so will the demand for apartments.

* Why is CND subjected to "Other Zone" auction fees, but Crystal Palace is not?

I don't know, actually. =)

* When is the next LandGrab? and will there be new/more areas?

The next land grab will be a lot different to the ones we have had. Other rules, other goals and better security against abuse. Once we know when, we will inform the community.

* Will there be a big sale at the end of the year again? (like TI, CND), but for something different? like a continent with building rights?

It's a secret. ,-)

* Have MindArk plans to make it possible to split estates like Land areas in shares and sell them?

Yes, we have but it is quite far in the future.

* Is MA planing to make a real good shop system to intoduce concurence in game,like rented shop less taxed than auction.

Now that we have some good systems in place within the universe, we are looking forward to expanding them. Examples of such systems would be shops, events, the auction, taming, beauty etc.

* Can we know exactly how work the tax system on the LA ( how the % calculation is made)

More financial data is expected to come later on. No ETA.

* As of now one of the really interesting area of the game, i.e land management is not available to most of the player base. Is there a plan to develop this theme such as introduce very small plots of land for people to get a feel and perhaps add a farming profession (as of now there is really a few professions in the game), faminers can grow crops and also domestic anmals. Of course large landowners of today can make part of their lands farms as well

That’s an interesting idea and something we will examine.

* Can we expect more things to do with spaceships in the near future then flying up and down on autopilot?

Again that’s another system which would be great to develop and expand. Everybody would love that including us, but without bursting the bubble, it does become an issue of time, resources and priorities. As we’ve always said, the Entropia Universe is going to be around for decades and we will continue to develop and expand its content.

* Are you still planning to allow society houses on LG's they aquire? Originally we were going to be able to build our homes and they would stay regardless of ownership.

In some form yes. I am not sure it will be just like that though. Society houses are better used elsewhere than a LG area. But a "hall of fame" for LG-areas would be cool.

* When will the Land Area system be upgraded? (for example you get to choose the plants that grow in the Land Area and these plants affect the stats of the Monsters uniquely )

Way into the future.

* Will there be more specific bills to Land Area owners? (for example electircity bills)

This would fall under the ‘Development of Existing Systems’ category. There are lots of similar questions here so we’ll try to address this whole subject separately.



Society Questions:

* Can you have society 'wars' where a certain battlefield is given, and two societies can ready up players and teleport off to said battlefield and fight a war and perhaps put certain things on a line as well as keep leaderboards?

Development of Existing Systems is a definite.

* In up coming VU's is there a possiblilty of a Alliance chat option??
Eg . IF our Soc was friendly with another we could chat between each other with out using PM's ?? Who we're allied with would be controled by the Soc leader.

Development of Existing Systems is a definite.

* Is there any form of group ownership going to be added so Soc's can buy land without having to totaly trust the deed holder. Maybe as part of the stock exchange. We need more ways for the general players to be able to invest as that seems to be the direction MA is heading in paying for new updates.

Development of Existing Systems is a definite.

* Are there any plans to extend the functionality of the society? Can we expect more society/contact features? (Soc storage including seeing who has which item, mail system, etc)

Yes, but they are not in the immediate pipeline. Soc storage is the biggest issue though but it is not guaranteed it will come at all.



Event Questions:

* Can we see an improved event system?

Yes. It will be enhanced over the course of the Entropia Universes development.

* Could we possibly have multiple events going on at once or an event system? Perhaps have regular events then host smaller ones that people could take part in that are just small non-'storyline' based events

We’ll look into this.

* Could we possibly see more main events happen faster in order to create a feel of a 'storyline' in game?

Yes.

* Will MA adapt the Event System so that we can search for events anywhere, and not ONLY the events that were created in that specific location. It's impossible to visit every single Claim Marker and Event Organiser in order to find events to participate in.

The hindrance right now is the bandwidth and intra-server-communication. We like to limit the amount of global systems that communicate with every single server in the Universe. Once we feel such functionality doesn't hurt the performance of Entropia Universe as a whole, it will be added.

* Will NPC corps ever play any part in the storyline, economy of EU? I'm thinking in the lines of hiring and gaining reputation for doing errands, quest or missions for the NPC Corps like Omegaton, FireForge and Affirmative Action Arms. Would be it be possible for participants who choose to work for these NPC corporations to gain rewards and access to, new weapons, armour, tools, blueprints or even a simple cash reward?

Oh yes, both Frank and I have great plans for the mega corporations once the next phase of storyline begins.

* The Robots, we all know they are a threat; but there doesn't seem to be much incentive in fighting them at all. Would it be possible to implement a permament exchange program for robot parts, similar to what has been done before?

I have heard the same suggestions over at RDI about this… ,-)



Mob Questions:

* Will we ever see perhaps mob infighting or sensible teamwork between mobs/mob hatred between species?

Probably not. We don't see that as a priority and the resources needed to develop that are better spent elsewhere.

* Will their be a chance that new mobs will be introduced that newb / mediocre players can kill?

New species are discovered in almost every VU.

* TANTARDIONS! When will DNA be dropped for these? Or is it already? And do they still drop stuff?

I cannot comment on such In-World balancing matters. It has been the policy for years and it still stands, sorry.

* Will there be more possabilities to create new (non-existing) mobs from DNA?

Remember the Globster? More such DNA's will surely be found with more never before seen creatures.

* One of your postings mentioned upgraded AI for mobs, can you say more about what you mean by that, i.e will swarming behavior and aggro leveles change, wil mobs be smarter...

We definitely have plans to allow mobs to group themselves and act in a more natural way. Quite soon, as a matter of fact. ,-)

* With the new AI for mobs, will there be an increase in rewards?

I cannot comment on such In-World balancing matters. It has been the policy for years and it still stands, sorry.

* Where are the native mutants and the volcano that were supposed to be on Treasure Island?

Am I the only one hearing a rumbling in the ground over at TI? ,-)



Loot and Item Questions:

* Could we ever expect a 'ramping up' system so perhaps a bigger gun is always harder to use than a tiny gun? Not as good as some of the limited weapons offer, but better than a flat rate. Think shooting a .22 at 30 feet vs 30.06 in a warzone at 1km

We have no intentions of making any big changes to the way ranged weapons operate in the near future.

* Could we ever possibly have area of effect weapons(balanced to allow mass minimob fragging....perhaps extremely powerful, rare, not too accurate, and slow to encourage teamwork to defend the cannon)

Yes.

* Will you add body mods as are shown in part of the inventory menu and allow us to augment our bodies with electronics/mechanical parts?

Yes.

* Do you think that ammo will be removed from the terminal in the near, or distant, future? Perhaps when we have factories?

I don't think that basic ammo will be removed from the TT, however deluxe ammo that is only made by the participants is a definite path we would like to pursue.

* When can we expect more Adj/Imp/Mod armors, and possibly, the Modified Shadow?

I cannot comment on such In-World balancing matters. This has been the policy for years and it still stands, sorry.

* Are Mindark just focused on limited weapons now, or are you going to implent more regular (not Adj/Imp/Mod) weapons in the near future?

I cannot comment on In-World balancing matters. It has been the policy for years and it still stands, sorry.

* We got a Real Cash Economy ingame so why isn't decay rate on items given an exact number instead of "medicore" or "good"?
The item is decaying and my money/peds are paying for it so why isn't the information provided directly by MA/EU. Paying customers are not suppose to need to refer to third parties such as PE Wiki, (which may contain incorrect information) inorder to find out how much we are paying!

Part of the Entropia Universe experience is to gain personal knowledge of things, some data is presented as is, some is up to the participants to figure out, as knowledge is power. We believe this aspect of Entropia Universe is quite fun and entertaining, and stimulates curiosity and copperation with other participants in the quest for knowledge. However I don't see why the decay should be one of these really. It will be brought up at the next developer meeting.

* Are real life items still droping ? (Like posters - it was great idea imho).

I cannot comment on In-World balancing matters. It has been the policy for years and it still stands, sorry.

* Will MA ever merge several very similar items into a single item, thereby reducing the confusion and pointless duplication of very slightly different items... for example Handguns, there are many, many very similar guns in stats, why not just merge them and reduce the database overheads.

We want to have millions of items in Entropia Universe, so no, we do not intend to remove items.

* In Issue 1 of The Entropian, MA promised vehicles by the end of 2006. That timeframe is fast approaching it's end.. when are vehicles going to be implemented?

Yes we are still planning for vehicles. A more accurate date is probably mid-2007 I guess.

* Why is the Ravenger series of miniguns the ONLY gun type that is unable to be Amped? (Maybe Lagunus too, not sure) Is this going to change?

Not all items can have all amps. The same goes for certain plasma guns.

* Why does a Focus Charge allow concentration to continue for Sweating, Healing, etc... but NOT Teleportation? It's illogical !

I agree. I'll convey the feelings at the next developer meeting.

* Item drops.. previously it has been said that all items will always drop, from the mob they dropped from before, just the frequency changes. fair enough - but clothes stopped dropping, as did toys and certain high-level stuff. Is it still possible to loot all post-gold items? not just mod/imp/adj stuff, but other stuff which we dont see anymore?

Most items, that aren't "special" (like from campaigns or events), can be found, however, some are very rare.

* Why is there no stats shown on faps?

It will come. It is just a matter of priority.

* Is it possible (I know it is) to show min or even average dmg of weapons based on holder's skills? i believe same goes for other equipment aswell.

It already does?

* Are there plans for more personal terminals? For instance a personal auction terminal?

Yes, we are looking at ways of adding more personalized content to homes and land areas.

* Will we see new and better Fast Aid Packs in the near future? Possibly crafted (non-limited) once which can reach a higher max heal than the Ek-2900?
Or will we see other improvements, such as attachments for FAPs?

Yes, it is in the pipeline, no ETA though.

* How does mining amps work? The info says xx% efficiency but it says nothing about how it actually works or what it does. And that would be nice to know.

Part of the experience is to gain personal knowledge about how things work. Some data is presented as is, some is up to the participants to figure out. We believe this aspect quite fun and entertaining, stimulating curiosity and cooperation with other participants in order to gain knowledge

* When will we get an "opalo" blp gun?

Soon. The same goes for plasma guns.

* Will you change the gauss guns into a better category or new category? And also their damage should be improved.

We are very reluctant to change the stats of any items that are released into Entropia Universe. The auction is currently being reviewed to meet current demands and expectations.

* What about gauss technology weapons? Now we have just 2 Gauss Guns...one limited and one looted in beacon mission. Will be more in close future?

I cannot comment on In-World balancing matters. It has been the policy for years and it still applies, sorry.

* Will we ever get a more fair and logical system for weapons? One in wich the vast magority of weapons are not junk becouse they can never be maxed out.
L weapons do not fill the need by a longshot as currently implemented.

The system is continuously being expanded to give a better and better experience.

* Will we have the abiliy to loot complete armor sets

I cannot comment on In-World balancing. This has been the policy for years and still stands, sorry.

* Will Mindark reflect in the future the genderproportion in the droprate of armor-parts (e.g 30% female avatars means 30% of the looted armor-parts are female)?

I cannot comment on In-World balancing. This has been the policy for years and still stands, sorry.

* What are the future plans for (L) items? And kind of related, will the tt weapons be removed or changed to make (L) weapons more popular?

I cannot comment on such in-world balancing matters. It has been the policy since years back and it still stands, sorry.

* Will we see more futuristic items instead of ancient katanas and swords?

Yes.



Economy Questions:

* With the recent hyper inflated economy would the idea of a market crash be possible in the eyes of MA, and what would/could you do to make sure we dont see a crash

There won’t be any market crash and you know I can’t give details about this.

* When is MA going to start releasing more minerals into the ground so prices are not so outrageous?

I guess we will see new tools in the future that will bring new dimensions to mining.

* What is the average cost to play EU for an hour? average cost per month?

MindArk's business plan states that we aim for a cost of 1 USD per hour.

* What makes EU not a casino or not gambling? What odds are we playing against?
I don't want to know how the loot system works so don't tell me you cannot reveal sensitive game information.

In the Entropia Universe you develop your avatar by gaining skills, which have a value. Skills are gained through usage, and are not based on loot.

* Will the uber hofs be one day funded entirely from advert revenues or will they continue to be subsidised from the general loot pool (as I think is current practice?)?

I cannot comment on In-World balancing. This is a long standing policy, sorry.

* Will MA start working to enhance the game more for the players and not the investors?

We want to make Entropia Universe attractive for everyone. Investors also benefit the community, as more people come, the economy expands and more goodwill is generated.

* How does MA intend to counteract the massive price markups we have been subjected to over the last 6 months? or is this "just the way it is"?

With a system as open as the Entropia Universe you are going to experience the full range of human behaviour. Resellers and the like are able to exist because people allow them to exist and provide them with the means to exist.

* Will MA ever change their stance on avatar owned items? Currently MA own everything, it's not right as the universe is linked to a real cash economy.

Never say never, but we don't intend to change it any time soon. MA owns the virtual items, but the participants own the value of them. It is a necessary step as long as MA is the one actually making the items and storing them in our databases.

* Will the droprate be increased to accomodate for the boom in prices, or is MA happy to see mk5's going for 15000ped and imk2 for 400000ped?

I cannot comment on In-World balancing. It has been the policy for years and still stands, sorry.

* Is the Opalo and other TT items due to advertising? they are obviously far more economical (especially for newcomers) than any other weapons.. where is the funding coming from if these couldnt be available before?

I cannot comment on In-World balancing matters.

* I have thought of one more question that came up in the course of this thread. The advent of land areas allows us to chose whether we hunt on a taxed or untaxed area. There is some doubt as to whether this tax is taken from the general "pool" or directly from the loot awarded the person hunting or mining in the land area, and even if perhaps a bonus maybe be given to those that choose to hunt on taxed areas. If the tax is not taken directly from the person choosing to hunt in the taxed area, this is in fact penalizing those who take (what should be) the wiser course of avoiding the taxed areas and creates a "tragedy of the commons" situation that is ultimately detrimental to MA's continued existence or the health of EU. Is the tax taken directly from the loot return of the hunter/miner, with no special bonus modifiers for hunting in a land area?

The tax comes from the avatars activities on a land area.

* Will there be any effort to stop the market manipulators who use multiple avatars in the auction?

MindArk are always working to curb abuse inside the Entropia Universe. Often we don't publicly state how we operate as this gives the bad guys information how to cloak their devious doings.

* MA controls the loot for everything (obviously): as far as i can tell the mining economy (of ore drops) has stabilised, with slight fluctuations of the common ores/ens. does MA plan to change certain drops (ie make some rarer ones appear for a while) or is the system going to stay as it is?

I cannot comment on such In-World balancing matters. It has been the policy for years and still stands, sorry.

* With the "improving of the players experience of the Entropia Universe", will we see the loot being upped a bit? or decrease/remove the no loot messages?

I cannot comment on such In-World balancing matters.

* Is MA planning to increase a bit the "general" item drop ( loot , BP , ore to craft) in order to reduce the crazy inflation?

I cannot comment on such in-world balancing matters.

* Can we Know how exactly work the advert system for the loot ( does it increase all loot , only create special loot ...)

The information stated in the VU Content List explains this.



Professions:

* Could you open up a larger variety of 'mentor edition' items that are useful and make mentoring more worth it to do it and also more worth it to do it RIGHT?

Yes.

* Will there be an alternative way to manufacture food than the current one? ie, picking up fruits.

Maybe.

* Will Fishing be made a profession in the near future? What will these fishes be used for, if so?

Fishing is cool. ,-)

* Has MindArk got any new professions (chemist, drawing, musician on the drawing board? Some time ago MindArk said a possible profession for the future could be "truck driver" where you could transport items from one place to another, is this idea discarded or is it still something you are looking into?

We are definitely looking into the subject of new professions.

* How are Mindark going to update the melee profession in the future? Will there be amplifiers, and if so, when can we expect them?

No ETA, it is being discussed.

* In an old issue of The Gate, we could read about a certain "Create Colors"- tool. Is there a possibility that we will see such a tool in the near future, or any other kinds of improvements to the clothes-coloring system?
Perhaps a possibiliy to select the Brightness, etc. And possibly a possibility to just bleach/recolor one field instead of all of them. Anything comming up soon?

There will be quite a large update as to how coloring works later on. No details yet though.

* Will pets in EU ever be able to attack and have any use to their owners?

Yes.

* Pilots need more places to fly to. are we getting any interesting places to fly to soon?

Yes. Space will open up later on, as well as more planets.

* When will crafters be able to repair items?

It is an idea that has been tossed around quite a bit, and my guess is that they will later on, yes.

* To follow up on taming developments, any ETA as to when the improvements may take place, what direction (higher level features i.e hunting pets, fighting in arena, riding them, using for transport)? Will there be additional pet related equipment available (like armor, attachable weapons, saddles, etc.) Also will there ever be a non (L) brush, as those of us that tame a lot hate to see the item disappear. Will the skillgains in taming be able to grow normally, as they have been slowed down lately considerably

Taming is one of the areas that will get attention in the near future.

* Are you going to speed up the process of bringing components back into use?

With new blueprints, new ingredients come. Components are part of this.

* Customized content ? I mean ... design our own clothes, weapons, items in general. Even if it's planned for a distant future.

Yes, it is on the road map. We just need ways to maintain the security and integrity of Entropia Universe as well as make sure we don't breach copyright laws.

* When will there be new BP sectors such as colour mixing and jewelry?

Later on. Exactly which new areas that will come are not yet decided, but there will be more.

* Will there be an autocrafting feature so that crafters wont have to use illegal 3rd party software?

We are actively looking into ways to remove boring repetition and supply means to get a better experience.



Technical and UI etc Questions:

* Can you get a phone deposit system that works again?

We had a phone deposit system before but were not satisfied with the results it gave. We can certainly look at the issue again.

* Is there any plan, in near future, to allow universe modification by non MA developers, eg. as it is happening in Second Life?

Yes we have an exiting idea for the expansion of the Entropia Universe but you’re going to have to be patient because we have quite a task list to get through before we set our next mega idea in action.

* Are there any plans to integrate something like team speak into the game for teams and socs? (This can be implemented without need of extra servers for the communication)

It has been discussed but it is not a path we feel we need to venture into right now – the programs available are quite good at what they do.

* When will a new graphic and physics engine be implemented? Since this is very much needed as EU is getting way to old graphics.

It’s in the pipeline and should be implemented very soon.

* When will we have an ingame Mail system?

Probably during 2007.

* When will the chat system be upgraded? Right now the chat system aint very good.
A better system would be able to be customized with skillgains/damage in one box that is movable and then soc chat and others in another box(es).

The next generation of the chat/communication system will be fully customizable.

* Will you soon improve the auction? with search functions, sorting by price or and or type etc etc.

The auction is currently being reviewed as it is one of the older systems in Entropia Universe, and as such requires attention to bring it up-to-date and meet the demands of tomorrow.

* Can you get some kind of bug hunting system? like, people that go searching for bugs and report those to you, and they get a reward, and depending on the bug they get a reward presented ingame, say, every first monday of the month or something like that?

According to the EULA you must file a support case when you find a bug. At certain times MindArk has given rewards to bugs discovered, if deemed critical and the reporter is the first one reporting it.

* Participants asking for a long time for the implementation on a lending system. Can we expect this in the near future ?

No. We don't believe a general lending system will be beneficial to Entropia Universe, and the security around it is very complex. The indications we have are that if a lending system is introduced it will create monopolies and remove a large part of the fun factor from Entropia Universe.

* Will the servers improved soon to reduce lag and make Eu ready for asia release?

I cannot discuss the technical side of things regarding the servers and backbones. But rest assured that MindArk is well prepared for the ventures we engage in, as if we would make a "broken launch" onto a new market, it will only hurt ourselves.

* Isn't it possible to send people a reciept when they withdrawal to give them faith that the withdrawal transaction is really on it's way. Especially because it takes so long time? It can be frustrating when you are not sure if the withdrawal is going troughtor not - and to the person it is imporant, since it is his real life money?

More information and transparency about the withdrawals will be added to the Entropia Universe web site during the fall.

* Would mindark consider a feed providing auction prices including buyouts to better help the community see the economy movements?

Maybe.

* Can we have a clarification about the cash card taxe?

The correct fees are now displayed on the Entropia Universe website at: http://www.entropiauniverse.com/pe/en/rich/5716.html

* Can we have a "bug" list on the EU web site (and other usefull updated list like lock list , abuse list ...)

Maybe.

* Will the map system be improved soon ?

It is not in the pipeline right now.

* will there be imporevements to the radar system (ability to see further and identify spider from fugabarba)

Yes, the radar will receive updates soon – probably with more fog of war measures in PvP areas and cloaking and anti-cloaking items/Mindforce.

* Will EU ever be multi-threaded and non-blocking so that it doesn't freeze completely while accessing eg. storage, auction, etc. and so it can take advantage of all new processors (dual core)?

I cannot comment on such matters.

* When will we be able to tweak more aspects of Entropia Universe ? The graphic options (screen size ... 1024*768 is ugly on my 19" flatscreen ... fog distance, etc), the HUD (the other parts that haven't been changed yet), the chat (something IRC-like would be awesome).

It's coming quite soon.

* When will there be cycles of day and night?

Later.

* Is a "pack item" auction will finally come.Its specially whanted for sell Full armor set.

Maybe, but not likely.

* Will the help system for newcomers ever be updated? 10s upon 10s of newcomers leave everyday due to the fact that they have no clue what to do. Maybe make a tutorial when they start the game?

Yes. This system will be updated before Christmas.

* Could we possibly have an upgrade in the combat systems so teams are more useful? Perhaps multi-person weapon systems?

Possible future development.



Abuse and Cheaters/Third party tools:

* Will a clear and non-evasive answer ever be given about Auto-Clickers and 3rd party software?

It is clearly stated in the EULA and you all know that MindArk do not endorse the use of any Third Party software in connection with the Entropia Universe. All external software is prohibited on the basis of fairness of experience. Software that may offer a participant an unfair advantage over any other participant is in contradiction of the EULA. The discovery of such software may result in the locking or closing of a participants account.

* Is Mind Ark responding to the current increase in 'hunting bot' usage? Numerous people have been reported but there has not been any action that shows the playerbase that MA is taking notice.

Yes MindArk is responding but obviously we can’t tell you how – that would just give cheaters more information.

* Will MindArk take actions against anyone cheating, exploiting, scamming and what not, regardless of uber-status?

Definitely.



Misc Questions:

* Can we possibly see other ways where newcomers could perhaps do certain jobs and have a way to make money like sweat gathering is at the moment?

It would be more interesting to see participants providing jobs and needing services that could be fulfilled by newcomers. A system like the Entropia Universe has so many possibilities. Again it’s a matter of time, resources and priorities. It’s also worth remembering that MindArk is in fact a business with all the normal responsibilities and commitments of a business operation.

* Refferal System - I want create a website(s) to refer people to EU - Give me banners, links and incentives. Ie...Reffer Edition rewards when the person you refer reaches a certain Prof Standing.

We have some banners available on the website and we will expand that area with more content in the future. We have also publicised the Entropia Universe Ambassador program where we would like to help people with good ideas. Read more at the website.

* Will Mindark implement Avatar Food in the near future, and if so, how will that food work? Will it boost certain attributes/stats for a certain time, or will be used for survival?

Food in some way is planned. No details yet though.

* How many real active players do we really have ingame?

We don't publish that figure for business confidentiality reasons.

* Can we have "players online" counter on entropiauniverse web page ? If not - why ?

We have no plans for this at the moment, but there may be other interesting ideas like having a live feed from Calypso somewhere on the website.

* If the MMO underlying EU is not up to scratch how can you hope to create your virtual universe?

The Entropia Universe is always evolving; it is part of the vision. If some things work less than expected they will be enhanced.

* Why did MA change the style between Eudoria and amethera? I.e. maps and landscape.

To add diversity, and make it interesting to explore.

* There are tons of information available regarding distant planets in the universe, such as Gorgon or Janus 2. When will we recieve more updates to the space-system, ie, the ability to travel (freely) and land on asteroids and such to explore them for certain rare and uncommon minerals or creatures?
I know this is a huge update, but what kinds of updates could we expect in the short-term?

It's coming but will take a while.

* Will the Exchange Terminals ever work? (I think I heard they used to a while ago but were terminated because it was part of some legal stuff with the game? If that is true, will they ever come back?)

Yes, when corporations can be founded and traded. It will take a while yet though.

* Will there be improvements to the beacon system? like, more different tt beacons?

Development of Existing Systems.

* Will there be other "quests" then robot beacons? such as, alien beacons? underground dungeons?

Yes.

* Is MA planning to increase the "game" part again with new activities to game play like lumberjacking , or MA will increase the "investor" system with more LA , apartment..

Both. However, in the near future attention is on more "game" like additions.

* Will there be a Quest system for anyone? (like collecting a certain amount of items for the quest) If so what will the gains be?

We have been looking into it, but I cannot say more at this time.

* Are there any continenets on Planet Calypso that we haven't discovered yet? If so what are your ideas on this?

Who knows, if you haven't found them? ,-)

* Is the game going to become more realistic? (for example the Geography of the continents)

Of course this is something worth concentrating on.
__________________________
Regards

-Marco Behrmann
-Director of Community Relations
-MindArk PE AB

--
NOTE: I do NOT handle any kind of Entropia Universe Support matters on the boards or in private messages.

Marco|MindArk

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/setview/features/loadFeature/120/gameID/31/page/1
Project Entropia Q&A with Marco Behrmann
Recently, the Sony Exchange has put a spotlight on the sale of virtual items for real world cash. A pioneer in this respect has been Project Entropia, an MMORPG where everything is for sale if you have the cash. Our own Richard Duffek had a chance to catch up with Marco Behrmann, the Director of Community Relations and Concept Development Manager at MindArk - the makers of Project Entropia.
MMORPG.com: Can you tell us a little about yourself? Who are you, what do you do on the team, what, if anything, have you worked on in the past?
Marco Behrmann:
My name is Marco Behrmann, I am 31 years old, and have been in the computer game development business since 1998, at a studio called ComputerHouse, were I was the lead designer on a high-profile CRPG-project. Prior to that a friend and I founded Sweden’s today largest Pen-and-Paper Roleplaying Games company, called Neogames, with several number one hits on the market. In 2001 I took on a position as market director with a lifestyle magazine, and in the beginning I was recruited by MindArk, and when they presented the idea and vision I immediately knew that this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I haven’t regretted the decision once.
At MindArk I have two distinct roles; one is a director of community relations, meaning that I am the ambassador between MA and the community. The second role is as concept development manager, meaning that I am deeply involved in the design team and the ideas and works therein. It is a stressful but highly creative position and an extremely rewarding one. While other projects usually lasts for a few years with one big release, we have some ten releases per year, which feels really cool.

MMORPG.com: Project Entropia is one of those games that tend to slip under most people’s radar. Can you explain to some of our readers who may have never heard of the game what PE is all about in your own words?
Marco Behrmann:
Project Entropia is a virtual universe with a real cash economy. It is set on the distant colony of Calypso, the first habitable planet mankind has ever found. The players take the roles of colonizers that strive to build a new world together, under the threat from various enemies that wants to destroy the colony.
This means that Project Entropia is a large multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The normal way such games operate is by purchasing the client software in a store and then pay a subscription fee every 30 days, while the internal game economy is just that – a game economy.
Project Entropia is the opposite. The client software is free to download over the Internet and there are no subscription fee associated whatsoever. The “real cash economy” means that the internal Project Entropia economy is linked to the real world economy, by using a currency called the Project Entropia Dollar (PED), which have a fixed exchange rate to the US Dollar (10 PED equals 1 USD). You as a player use PED to acquire virtual land and equipment in Project Entropia to invest in your avatar’s growth and abilities. A unique aspect of Project Entropia is that a player may elect to transfer PED back into real life currency, thereby enabling them to earn real money while playing an online computer game.
As Calypso is a recently discovered planet, the colonizers – the players – need to establish their own economy and build their society. This requires a lot of cooperation and specialization – one man cannot make it all. This means that the players need to collaborate when it comes to advancing the level of development; it is better to have a specialized miner searching for minerals and an expert tools manufacturer making tools.
MMORPG.com: Recently Sony Online Entertainment announced the inception of their new “Station Exchange” program where players could buy and sell ingame items for real world cash. Seeing as PE has done this from the beginning how do you feel about a company such as SOE who has always been so adamantly against said actions reversing their stance and embracing it?
Marco Behrmann:
It was to be expected. When I was at E3 last year representatives from Sony approached me about the concept of Project Entropia. When they understood our unique idea they were baffled. Then they realized that this is the way of the future. I see the Station Exchange as a very small move towards the concept Project Entropia already have proved working, and based on the all the spies from the other big MMOG-developers who lurk in Project Entropia, I’d say this is only the beginning – in a few years time, the subscription business model will be a minority.
MMORPG.com: Project Entropia operates a little differently in that it isn’t merely just a broker system of one player selling to another but you actually selling to the player. What is your opinion/stance on the more standard secondary market? Players listing items for sale on ebay or buying/selling through broker companies such as IGE?
Marco Behrmann:
We have the position that the players of Project Entropia are free to use the system as they see fit, as long is the follow the rules of conduct. After all, they are the ones playing Project Entropia and who invest money and time into it, so why should we impose strange rules onto them? One thing to remember though is that any trade activities performed outside the confines of Project Entropia is not guaranteed or secure, and if you get scammed, MA cannot help you. A vast majority of our players realize this and use the tools we supply to them within the virtual universe instead of venturing outside.

MMORPG.com: Do you see this as something that all companies are eventually going to have to accept? No matter how much they may hate or disagree with the secondary market, it exists in every game and no one has ever been successful in stopping it so why not embrace it such as SOE is doing?
Marco Behrmann:
Yes, I do, more or less. Right now they are losing money on this, revenues that goes to other actors on the market. When they understand how much they are losing on that, they must re-think their strategy. Fortunately for us, we already have Project Entropia and we are turning a nice profit and have an extreme growth rate, so that is evidence enough that we are on the right track.
MMORPG.com: One of the biggest concerns a lot of players have with the system is that even though the company (be it SOE or Mindark or anyone else) still actually owns the items or currency in question; and therefore are entitled to change it or alter it or even remove it from the game as they see fit. What is the policy regarding this in Project Entropia?
Marco Behrmann:
At the moment we own all items in Project Entropia. The player owns the value they have accumulated. We are very reluctant to change the stats for any item in the virtual universe, as such measures would bring instability to the ingame market, which is just plain bad. We are a business and our main priority is to have pleased customers for the long haul. Anything else is just plain stupid.

MMORPG.com: With so many games being cancelled lately, this could have devastating repercussions. For example a game that embraced selling ingame items and currency for real world cash one day getting cancelled for one reason or another. Is this something the player is just going to have to accept as a risk? In other words let the buyer beware?
Marco Behrmann:
Yes, that is a definite risk. Therefore you should beware of the ventures you embark on. A small company with a lot of debt may not be the smartest option to throw money at, risk-wise. MindArk is the only company today that is making a profit and has history to prove our case.
MMORPG.com: There have been major news releases lately about some big money land purchases going on in the PE world. Can you give us a little background to how all of this is going on?
Marco Behrmann:
In December 2004 we sold a 6000 acres virtual island to a very nice young gentleman from Australia, by the name of David “Deathifier” Storey. He bought the island for $26 500. His is currently in the process of developing the land and is selling house lots to other participants. The last time I spoke to him he was satisfied by the progress of his investment. It is a better investment than playing with stocks on the real stock market. We have also been selling apartments to create a vibrant real estate market within the virtual universe. The value is around $135 000, and it have been a great success. The number may seem big, but considering that the total economy turnover in Project Entropia the first four months alone is some $59 000 000 (yes, 59 million USD), it is quite modest.
MMORPG.com: It seems like after the “Land Grab” event it would be harder for a new player to get a foothold into the game these days. What can you tell us about how someone new to the game can compete with people who have been there longer and were able to participate in the “Land Grab” and such events?
Marco Behrmann:
Actually, round two of the land grab is in progress right now, so everyone can join the event. I’d say it is much easier to get a foothold in Project Entropia today compared to one year ago, as the system is much more streamlined, there are a lot more activities to take part in, and there are system in place that allows for an easier experience overall.

MMORPG.com: As a member of the team what is your favorite aspect of Project Entropia?
Marco Behrmann:
The fundamental vision of creating a virtual universe. The constant upgrades to the system, varying from small to huge systems, are very fulfilling to see and take care of. The great backing from a very mature and excited community is a important aspect for me personally and for the continuing growth of Project Entropia. The growth rate right now is remarkable, with over 100% per year. The team we have here in Gothenburg is also very closely knitted and we encourage ideas from anyone – we have ideas printed down to last us for at least a decade.
MMORPG.com: What do you have planned on the horizon for Project Entropia?
Marco Behrmann:
Project Entropia is here to stay, and we strive to have the best quality, the largest and the most entertaining virtual universe available to everybody connected to the Internet. In maybe ten years time we want to be able to present a virtual world superior to the real one.
MMORPG.com: In your opinion with all the choices on the market today, and even more coming out soon, why should a person new to MMORPGs pick Project Entropia over all the others?
Marco Behrmann:
Project Entropia is great fun, have a great community, and a constant, free, upgrades, and because we respect the player. We feel that by supplying Project Entropia free of charge and void of subscription fees, we give the player the option to decide for him- or herself. Also, when you have spent countless hours in a game, committing mentally, monetary and emotionally, we want to be able to give something back for that commitment. That is why you could withdraw your virtual money into real cash within the system. That is why you are not bound by having to buy a client and then pay a subscription fee regardless of your level of participation. Don’t forget that the best customer a subscription-based developer may have is one that never plays…
MMORPG.com: It seems to me that the more “hardcore” players of Project Entropia view the game almost more like an investment or job than a game. Some have even said if you want to get ahead in the game you have to look at it that way. Would you agree with these opinions? How easy or hard is it for a casual player to do well in PE?
Marco Behrmann:
As in real life, you have to make decisions in your life. As Project Entropia works with the same logic, it applies equally. If you are smart and observant, you will gain knowledge and by utilizing your knowledge, you can become successful, very successful.

MMORPG.com: Any time real money is involved the threat of scammers and such increases. Why should a new player feel safe in Project Entropia? Can you give someone who may be considering trying out the game for the first time some hints on what to avoid?
Marco Behrmann:
First of all – make informed decisions. If a deal is too good to be true, it usually is. Spend some time, talk to people, get to know them, seek help from the guides available on the community fan pages, and ask for assistance in the many official forums we have around.Also, you should act like you do in real life. If a perfect stranger asks you for the keys to your car in real life you would never give it to him or her, would you? But if someone asks to borrow your rifle in a MMOG, you are often easier persuaded – don’t be.
MMORPG.com: Can you tell us a little about the current events going on in PE and what events we might see coming sown the pipeline soon?
Marco Behrmann:
We have several big plans, but they are currently secrets, as many of our competitors are watching us so closely. Some tidbits can I release though – we have a very powerful event system coming to allow for participants to create their own events – ranging from contests to arena fights. We are also trying out our new dungeon system, which is very exciting.
We would like to pass along our thanks to Marco for taking the time to answer our questions!
We would also like to hear what you have to think about this article and some of the highly controversial aspects it touches on. You can make your voice heard in this comment thread.


[wrap=right]https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/images/newspics/marcoportrait1.jpg[/wrap]Aziphirael, leader of Sterling & Moss, a Project-Entropia society, had a small Q&A with Marco Behrmann, Concept Developing Manager and Director of Community Relations for Project-Entropia.

Here's a small quote from one of the questions...

-Quote-------------------------
I estimate that the next round of
Land Grabs will be somewhat
different, based on community
feedback and evaluation of the
prior rounds.


Marco
--------------------------------

Read the whole interview at Sterling & Moss website here
 
Last edited:
few more quotes. Since Marco's long gone, the quotes are coming from other sources. Posting here since there's a little bit of history in this thread now. Not sure a 'source of quotes' thread like this has really existed that ever got to be this big til this one came along.

You don't have to worry, we won't do any changes to the stats of your old items.


I have been lobbying for a reduction of the limit to 10% of the total TT value. Let's hope that the powers that be end up agreeing with me :)

Cheers


I had an idea where looted limited items could be repaired one time only by using some special crafted repair kits, not exactly the same thing but I guess those kits could be used for this as well. Bear in mind that I'm just discussing here and I'm in no way promising that something like this will be implemented.

It's not an automatic thing, its a flag that has to be set on that specific item by the planet partner.

Thats something different, those quests will require rare items that are equivalent to actually looting the new item your "upgrading" to.

"I said Spanish? Im sorry, I meant Klingon."

Just to clear up some apparent confusion and misunderstandings related to the Personal Lootpool portion of Developer Notes #2-- Entropia Universe has never had any kind of so called personal lootpool mechanic.

It seems some participants have incorrectly interpreted the developer note article to mean that personal lootpools or some other sort of loot tracking / avatar compensation mechanic existed in the past and was later removed. This is not the case.

The fundamental loot architecture in Entropia Universe has been unchanged since public beta. Of course, minor tweaks and adjustments have been made over the years to improve balancing and to accomdate new game systems, but the basic underlying concept is the same as ever.



I can't really tell you much about our upcoming marketing campaign however you can expect that MindArk will market Planet Calypso as a MMORPG while the Entropia Universe is marketed in a business to business fashion.

When will it start? Impossible to say because it depends on how long it takes for us to fix some problems that we have identified that causes players to leave the game early.

Cheers


https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...-of-Oblivion&p=2663924&viewfull=1#post2663924 - Content of the Oblivion Thread

----------------------------------------------
possible false advertising on the website about 'real world ads'
https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...pso-Dev-Team&p=2990561&viewfull=1#post2990561
Real World Advertising
You will also see real world advertising on Planet Calypso provided by Massive Incorporated. An option is included in the Client Loader to enable or disable these ads. However, enabling the ads allows access to higher loots. When you disable ads in the Client Loader you disable both colonist created ads and real world ads.

All the ads can be viewed on the Ad Display Boards located in all the major outposts on Calypso.

above quote was listed at http://www.planetcalypso.com/guides/business-trade/advertising/ up til at least 8/30/2012. (the Massive advertising system was removed several years prior to this since Massive went out of business in 2010...)
==================
John K Bates:

https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...ew-(Podcast)&p=2997388&viewfull=1#post2997388

people that can earn ped in other ways is really important to us...

Mindark is not clueless...

I do not have anything concrete to say to you right now" ...(about real world items in loot)... but it's "something on my plate..."

We are not the Los Angeles of Advertising...

With this thing with Sometrics - we are not making money on that...

something kinda lame - like the Mcdonald's ads...
-- Way to encourage former ad partners to come back, lol.

lets come out of the closet with Entropia

I don't think anybody is a dummy out there...

I don't think we have anything major to apologize for...

I think there's a really bright future for us...
Sounds very similar to what Marco said about a bright future for SDS before it stopped paying for Calypso which caused the Calypso Land Deed deal to be created.

=========MSM in the same interview above... ====
Mindark beam me over
-- but it almost sounds like she says "Mindark bend me over" lol.




==============================

One thing I would like to share with you about the selling of avatars is that technically you can, but once you need assistance from us it will be really difficult to get it because you won’t be able to verify the ownership of the avatar since the name of the original owner will be registered.

Have a great weekend,
Cameron | Planet Calypso Support

...
Sorry to make things a bit confusing, I mean to say that technically you can sell your avatar but we don’t allow it and it’s prohibited.
Regards,
Cameron | Planet Calypso Support

--------
There are currently no plans in place to develop the hangars.

------------------
Discussion on the below is over at
http://www.entropiaplanets.com/threads/discussion-about-planet-partners-playing.10954/

Originally Posted by Kim|Calypso
Hello, these are some good questions and I will do my best to answer them.

1)

-Do you have to pay for your PED yourselves even though you can't withdraw it? Does it come out of your pay-cheque?No, we are given PEDs now and then, these PEDs come from estates and motherships etc that have been sold through the auction.


-Do you have a set 'allowance' per week/month/etc that is automatically deposited into the account based on what MA considers the average deposit?Yes its about 500 to 1000 PED per month.


-What happens when you run out of PED (if you do)? Do you grab a vse-mk1 and sweat to get the full 'eco' experience?I have never gathered sweat.


-Some mobs are more profitable than others (in terms of markup at least) and by working at Mindark, the staff surely know this. Do you hunt/mine/craft only things that would be 'smart', or do you 'play stupid' on purpose?Well all we know is when and which items are introduced but we never go after those items intentionally once they are released. In terms of markup and deciding what to hunt I often just use Entropedia, I like liver and pancreas oil

2)

Another part of 'The Entropian Experience' is grinding. It is not easy to reach the higher levels - and as the first and second quotes above show, at least Kim reached his levels the way the rest of us have had to.
What I'd like to know is if you routinely limit yourself (in terms of gear/skills/etc and maybe even knowledge) to get a peak into what the newer players might be experiencing (having to hunt sabakuma/punies for hours on end without armour or in something like pixie to just max the opalo).
-Do you also try and hunt above your level to experience what most mid-level players try to do?I can only speak for myself but I usually do all kinds of things such as grind my favourite mobs, iron challenges, pvp and mining. I don't do crafting though, never liked it. I play on my spare time because I enjoy it and I do what I feel like doing.

3)

Since as far as I know, your play avatars are on the production server, you must have to interact with other participants. Whether it be trading, teaming, hiring a service, etc - PED will probably change hands. Your actions will directly or indirectly influence the economy.
Are there any policies in place to make sure that MA staff do not place preference on certain avatars - allowing them to have an indirect edge or free ride (say paying 200 PED for a fapping service while the normal rate is 50 PED, etc).I don't think there are any specific rules but generally speaking we are to play as regular avatars. We are obviously prohibited from just giving cash to other avatars for them to cash out.. Thats embezzlement and its illegal.


-Also, say you loot an uber item (modfap, etc) and you don't plan on using it. Do you have to tt it? Do you have to toss it on auction? What if the item was looted in team - how would you go about splitting it?We play like regular avatars, its up to the employee in question to make that determination


What's your favourite mob? Would you rather have more stable loot or bigger hofs - with a lower return on every day activities? Do you intentionally try to do things the game doesn't intend (in order to find the bugs/exploits to squish them of course)?My favourite mob is probably the Gokibusagi, I really like the sounds it makes when I fill it with lead. I also like the Allophyl and the Pop Dragon.

And yes I do try to find bugs and exploits whenever I can.


Hope you were happy with the answers, cheers!
====================
Ok..Then we do it.


Year 2010..

https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/fo...ng-the-waiting
Look at #1

Originally Posted by Marco|FPC
Taming will come during 2010. It is one of those systems that probably isn't just converted, but rather evolved, when it is released.

Year 2011...

https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/forum/2570973-post5.html

Originally Posted by Kim|Calypso
A small update, the earliest possible release for the taming system would be sometime during the fourth quarter of this year but alot could change before then.

Year 2012...

Latest Buzz from MA.

http://www.entropiauniverse.com/bull...ms-roadmap.xml

Taming

This long awaited system is to be reintroduced in 2012, with many new features all have been waiting for; we expect the wait to be worth it!

Year 2013...

http://www.entropiauniverse.com/bull...dress-2013.xml

They did write.

Taming
Many of our more patient participants will be happy to hear that a completely redesigned taming system will be developed in 2013. The new taming system will include many of the features from the pre-CryEngine system, along with many new and exciting features that will expand the utility of tamed creatures. Additionally, one of the upcoming new Entropia Universe planets will make extensive use of the new taming system as a core aspect of the planet’s theme.
Have to see what happends.....

They say "taming system will be developed in 2013" So its not sure we will get it in year 2013.



Seeing what has happened briefly
.
2010 = MA lied to os.

2011 = MA act diplomatically.

2012 = MA lied to os.

2013 = We have to see.

Btw.. MA is doing its best to remove their links.
Lucky that i made a copy of the text and put it here.


-----
http://www.slideshare.net/amitmorya/avatar-based-marketing-in-indian-context

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Last edited:
Hmm, having issues finding the post about the necessity of economic drains in the economy to help sustain its' potential. Hoping MM can dig this up before me - Or anyone for that fact, heh search isn't being kind at this point.

PS. It was in one of the tiering system posts by Marco at the time.
 
Last edited:
Ok found the original quote made by Marco, but the original MindArk News thread has been deleted or moved.

"By adding the secondary item as an ingredient we also get a drain in the economy concerning unlimited items. Drains are essential to have in the Entropia economy system. With a drain in place we have more ability to adjust the balancing and increase drop rates of unlimited items; something we believe is good for the community as a whole"

Either way I wanted to use this quote in another thread ;)
 
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