Entropia Chess Game

Chrome

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NOTE: I have placed this thread in General Discussion, as it will most likely touch upon a variety of topics on all planets, from economy, to equipment, to creatures, etc etc.



So... we have a number of pieces on the board...
All controlled (to some extent) by MindArk, the Entropia Platform Provider.


Calypso = SDS (FPC, formerly MA)
ROCKtropia = NEVERDIE Studios (Jon Jacobs)
Next Island = David Post (with influence from NDS)
Arkadia = Arkadia Studios (David Dobson)
Planet Michael = SDS
etc etc etc



Now, we have all of these "pieces" working together, yet the Planet Partners are in competition for new (and existing) players. As a business, they need to earn an income, and keep players happy with exciting, new material.

It seems to me that we will start to see more and more calculated moves by the PP's.

  • Arkadia launch date is set for 30 days from now. From what I have read, many folks are quite excited about the release date. Hopes are high for new content, and new management.

  • ROCKtropia releases 2.0, with new missions geared toward attracting new players...
    And generating more income.

  • Calypso updates the planet by bringing back Hangars, but no spaceships as MA has yet to re-implement the space travel system. New mob (Shinkiba) replaces the Daikiba in most areas of Calypso. They are significantly faster than the Daikiba, reaching the player faster, causing more armor decay and... more income.

  • NI releases Time Travel in an attempt to bring high end players to their new exclusive Land Area.


The purpose of this thread is simply to discuss what folks may interpret as calculated moves by Planet Partners in the "Entropia Chess Game".



Discuss, be respectful, and have fun. :cool:
 
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We've certainly seen some changes to the universe that we weren't expecting from how MA originally set it out to us.

First existing items originating from Calypso planet are appearing on RT and I'm assuming NI as well and now some of the challenge mobs as well.

Personally I think it's a MA throwing RT a chance to gain some new players but instead of new arrivals it's from Calypso. Certainly those looking for spawns of the iron challenge mobs have got some more choices but if the items and mobs were planned to be universe wide then why weren't they on RT and NI right from the start?

From the David Simmonds interview from ET Sep 2010

Question
At the moment, as amazing as Rocktropia looks, it still seems somewhat like an extension of Calypso with the same game systems, only different models/textures. Is it possible to create a totally different planet with different Artificial Intelligence, different skills, and/or abilities?

Response
“As more Version Updates are released for Rocktropia, you will see its individuality start to show. As the idea behind opening Entropia Universe to Planet Partners is to enhance the development of the service, MindArk encourages its Planet Partners to contribute with new ideas for new systems and concepts. ”

if anything has occured it's now getting closer. After what Pioneer said about the development of the new Calypso mob
No time has been wasted coding the shinkiba, because you don't need a coder to make a creature. You just need an artist (possibly two: a 3D artist and a 2D artist), an animator, a balancer, a writer, a QA manager, possibly a mission scripter if there's a new mission in the mix, and a sound artist involved. Those guys wouldn't be able to code anyway, because they're not coders.

it might be NDS is just not equipped to handle the development of two planets at once and has had to rely on existing stuff from Calypso to bulk the planets up a bit.

and finally from the close of the interview.

“To build a truly diverse universe that can cater for all ages, countries and personal preferences, we must allow our Partners to build and cater to their preferred sector of Internet users. All content is checked before implementation by MindArk, and we have strict rules and regulations our Planet Partners must follow with regard to certain sensitive areas and content.
Another announcement in the next few weeks will I’m sure make some Calypso residents question the direction of Entropia Universe, but our vision of a universe for all people from all walks of life must allow an enormous diversity of content. If you do not like the theme or game play of a particular planet, then just don’t go there!
Some people seem to want to stick to a sci-fi theme throughout the universe! How boring! Open your mind and see the possibilities of what this universe can offer.

I can only assume they've had a rethink and backtracked on their concept of the universe.
 
until MA don t balance the loot all this for me is not relevant.
 
We've certainly seen some changes to the universe that we weren't expecting from how MA originally set it out to us.

First existing items originating from Calypso planet are appearing on RT and I'm assuming NI as well and now some of the challenge mobs as well.


Yeah, the ES500 "event" on ROCKtropia was moderately... disturbing.

I understand that things change, but such a large amount of high-end drops in an extremely short time-frame is, in my eyes, unacceptable.

Also, I'm curious if NDS will ever provide any rationale for futuristic sci-fi drones appearing on a music planet. :rolleyes:



Back to the chess game... I see more "existing" content (i.e. Calypso mobs and items) being slowly introduced to ROCKtropia in order to balance that planets economy and make it more viable as a planet.

(In my opinion) Arkadia may cause an undeniable ripple-effect throughout the Planet partner Universe, and other PP's will scramble to be competitive. It seems it has already begun, with SDS releasing their own version of YouTube "teasers" for the new/revised content on the planet (shinkiba/hangars) proir to the update.
 
I have to agree with Spike, he's making all sense to me.

Furthermore I think they made a judgement error in the 'one universe' concept. It seems impossible to start new planets in an existing economy. Maybe it is possible but I highly doubt they can hold their financial breath that long. Too few new players are comming in, too much old players are active on new planets.

I've made a poll a while back about the possibillity of mutliple accounts for multiple planets. Please don't necro.
Most of you were against that. If anything I wanted to see how this would be percieved. And guess what, It was all about you. You and your skill, items, investments and what not. Not thinking for second it could help the universe to grow into a diverse and healthy place. There's truth in the saying 'In the end we only have ourselves to blame.'

I know I'm ranting...it's what I do best.
 
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I've made a poll a while back about the possibillity of mutliple accounts for multiple planets. Please don't necro.
Most of you were against that. If anything I wanted to see how this would be percieved. And guess what, It was all about you. You and your skill, items, investments and what not. Not thinking for second it could help the universe to grow into a diverse and healthy place. There's truth in the saying 'In the end we only have ourselves to blame.'

I know I'm ranting...it's what I do best.

Guess what? It should be all about you... and me... and all of us.

If I wanted to play several different "characters", I could play any number of other MMO's that allow (and encourage) multiple avatars within their game.



If you actually think about it, multiple avatars wouldn't help this universe at all. Reason being is, you can only play one at a time. If you are playing Avatar X on Planet X, Avatar Y on Planet Y may not be played for a week, and Planet Y management makes no money. If you feel Planet Z sucks ass and you never play Avatar Z, then why bother having an Avatar Z at all?

One avatar. One Universe. Infinite possibilities.


<And yes, I just made that up. MindArk, you may send me an offer to purchase the slogan idea for marketing purposes...>
 
Your comment is not relevant to this thread.

more than relevant i would say.
All the new planets will die very soon if MA don t fix the loot balance. And your chess pieces will go to trash.
The actual loot balance is one of the most important reasons why people leave the game and new players will not continue to play. We have a lot of bad reviews about EU in each forum MMORG related.

So there will be no chees game without fixing this.
 
Chrome, you just confirmed what I already know.

It's not about YOU playing all over the place! It's about those that haven't arrived yet. Was hoping you could atleast get that much out of my post. Seems I have failed.
 
more than relevant i would say.
All the new planets will die very soon if MA don t fix the loot balance. And your chess pieces will go to trash.
The actual loot balance is one of the most important reasons why people leave the game and new players will not continue to play. We have a lot of bad reviews about EU in each forum MMORG related.

So there will be no chees game without fixing this.

I have to agree to this, 20% potential TT returns makes this the most expensive game ever. Add auction fees, LA taxes, skill input and output taxes, deposit and withdraw taxes and a newbie activity called "sweating" (what a nauseating name) and they've repulsed most of the new arrivals.
 
I have noticed that most PP updates are acompanied by new events at Calypso. Maybe it's just a coincidence but I think it is part of what you are trying to say in the first post.

Yeah, the ES500 "event" on ROCKtropia was moderately... disturbing.

I understand that things change, but such a large amount of high-end drops in an extremely short time-frame is, in my eyes, unacceptable.

I am still not convinced this wasn't a mistake made by MA loot manager. I mean, if ND wanted to drop something special to attract players, why not a cool fap or weapon?.


Also, I'm curious if NDS will ever provide any rationale for futuristic sci-fi drones appearing on a music planet. :rolleyes:

There is no need for a rationale explanation here, just watch music videos. I have seen musical videos based on a great variety of subjects: horror, Sci fi, medieval fantasy, american western, anime, etc. In the world of musical videos anything goes.

Just imagine that when you are in RT you are part of a huge, neverending music video.
 
Chrome, you just confirmed what I already know.

It's not about YOU playing all over the place! It's about those that haven't arrived yet. Was hoping you could atleast get that much out of my post. Seems I have failed.

Those that haven't arrived yet...
Meaning NEW players?

This is from your other thread.

I honestly believe that no matter how much they invest in marketing no planet is ever going to reach the amount of players calypso currently has.


Maybe you could clearly explain how multiple avatars would help the planets in Entropia Universe, even though you feel that no planet will ever reach the amount of players currently on Calypso?

Seriously... try to explain it... I'll listen. :cool:
 
I have noticed that most PP updates are acompanied by new events at Calypso. Maybe it's just a coincidence but I think it is part of what you are trying to say in the first post.

I do not think the timing of the updates are a coincidence either, which is the chess game I was hoping to discuss in this thread. ;)
 
NOTE: I have placed this thread in General Discussion, as it will most likely touch upon a variety of topics on all planets, from economy, to equipment, to creatures, etc etc.

REPLY: While I do enjoy the topic of this thread and look forward to following it, in the end it essentially fits in the "other planets" section, as it basically discusses all the planets and how their actions will affect each other, including, but not limited to, Calypso.
 
Maybe you could clearly explain how multiple avatars would help the planets in Entropia Universe, even though you feel that no planet will ever reach the amount of players currently on Calypso?

Seriously... try to explain it... I'll listen. :cool:

I would be all to happy to try to explain it to you.

The way it is now, all accounts are bound to the same economy. This economy is largely based on planet Calypso. Mechanics to regulate the economy are(imo) not designed to stimulate growth on a new planet.

The economy is also(imo again) not newbie friendly and has a bad reputation in the MMO world. It would make all the sense in the world to place newly themed planets in a new seperate economy. If it's new players they want, it's new players they should go after. They might even try to put more focus on the gameplay and think about ways to make money later.

Let's face it, most of us can't be bothered with moonwalking while trying to save rainforest to the tunes of beat it. So why should they put up with an uber from Calypso?
 
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Can you see results for Calypso Iron Mission adding up while on another planet? I thought that only the missions for that planet show?:scratch2:
 
  • Calypso updates the planet by bringing back Hangars, but no spaceships as MA has yet to re-implement the space travel system. New mob (Shinkiba) replaces the Daikiba in most areas of Calypso. They are significantly faster than the Daikiba, reaching the player faster, causing more armor decay and... more income.


  • well, I definitely agree that we're seeing plans starting to unfold quite a bit... I don't think RT and NI were "strategic", so much as simply "designing a game"...

    necessary, good, but hardly Bobby Fischer...

    I think what we're seeing from FPC is a strategy of introducing more planet specific content, as many of the items and bp are becoming generics... I think that shinkiba are "strategic" not for the speed and decay, but simply for the items they drop.


    First existing items originating from Calypso planet are appearing on RT and I'm assuming NI as well and now some of the challenge mobs as well.

    Personally I think it's a MA throwing RT a chance to gain some new players but instead of new arrivals it's from Calypso. Certainly those looking for spawns of the iron challenge mobs have got some more choices but if the items and mobs were planned to be universe wide then why weren't they on RT and NI right from the start?

    it might be NDS is just not equipped to handle the development of two planets at once and has had to rely on existing stuff from Calypso to bulk the planets up a bit.

    I can only assume they've had a rethink and backtracked on their concept of the universe.

    It's either for space-filler or cohesiveness... agreed that it might be a change in tactics... but i'm not sure if it's even possible to do missions from one planet on another... I think it's important that planets look "full" from the beginning, and better "generic" mobs than possibly buggy new ones...



    until MA don t balance the loot all this for me is not relevant.

    I agree to a large extent... the end user experience is gonna live and die with the loot table... I hope that the new items introduced help the economy overall... I still think we're talking about a tiny niche that will play ANY RCE game. Content can only expand the total player base so much.

    best hope is that with marketing of all planet partners combined, RCE's become "trendy"
 
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The way it is now, all accounts are bound to the same economy. This economy is largely based on planet Calypso. Mechanics to regulate the economy are(imo) not designed to stimulate growth on a new planet.

The economy is also(imo again) not newbie friendly and has a bad reputation in the MMO world. It would make all the sense in the world to place newly themed planets in a new seperate economy. If it's new players they want, it's new players they should go after. They might even try to put more focus on the gameplay and think about ways to make money later.

Thanks for clarifying.

I do see where you are coming from. New planet, new "game", (hopefully) new players, new economy, game progresses nicely and thrives.

However, each Planet Partner willingly entered into a contractual agreement with MindArk to produce a planet within the structure of the Entropia Universe platform. This structure obviously includes all planets tied into a "Universal" economy. (pun intended) :ahh:


If these planet partners wanted to create a new game, they simply could have done that if they choose to. :wise:


Admittedly MA does need to be very careful attempting to balance the economy. However, multiple avatars and separate planets isn't the path MA choose to take with their planet partners, so separate avatars is really a moot point in the chess game discussion.
 
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However, each Planet Partner willingly entered into a contractual agreement with MindArk to produce a planet within the structure of the Entropia Universe platform. This structure obviously includes all planets tined into a "Universal" economy. (pun intended) :ahh:

And how's that working out for you PP? (phil intended)

Admittedly MA does need to be very careful attempting to balance the economy. However, multiple avatars and separate planets isn't the path MA choose to take with their planet partners, so separate avatars is really a moot point in the chess game discussion.

Maybe they should do alot more then just carefully attempting to balance the economy. That's all I'm saying.
 
i just think planet parteners (pp) and mindark should advertise the universe together with a story telling how it is in this MMO.
and not only like see here these people are rich and bought some space station or whet ever and live from the game.
to many noobs come in with dollar signs in their eyes and they think they get tinking rich in a year without depositing any dollars.

then they find out in a month they do not get rich , and they start whinning.

that is where they should work on.


and yes the pp that are on are indeed working together a bit.
SEE is as far as i know also involved in things NDS is working at.
and yes i nthey are a bit scared for arkadia........... arkadia is so enormously proffessional on the move that it would not be wise not to be scared.

this gives also a big pressure on arkadia though ,we entropians are not very easy to please.
and there is a big chance entropians now set the ladder far to high on arkadia that arkadia may become a disapointment.
(i don't hope so though)

but to go on , like chrome said new pp are to much depending on the current player base.
this is really wrong as it will only make the player base thinner.
up to now i have seen totally NO advertising from pp towards the public, by public i am meaning people that have never heard or played entropia universe ever.

not on site's no banners , not on you tube commercials, not on radio or TV , not in new's papers , and not on MMORG site's.
i have never ever seen a add. commercial no where.


this to sky : multiple avatars ...

multiple avaters are bullshit ,parden me for my word',
better for the economy .... why should it be better ? if i had more avatars i would just trade the stuff needed from my first avatar to the second ,this means i wont need to buy any extra stuff and so it will be no help to economy.
what is better possible aswell with more avatars is ....scamming people...
the one avatar only is done against that and to make a safer entropia , don't forget we are playing with real life money in here.
(and no you do not get rich easy) :p

making different economy's on each different planet id however possible.
and i wish that would happen.

this is even easy to do aswell.
but not yet on this moment , because to do this

1 interplanetary auction should disapear (could and should be done allready)
2 space crafts should be back.
3 planetary TP's should be gone (what MA also promissed at start)
4 people should not be able to cary big items while doing space travel, and have to drop it in the cargobay from the ship.

this way items can show up everywhere in the whole universe but the eco, will be more separated to planets them selves and a nice player base economy will start aswell.
number one is the most important one to make seperate economy's ,

it's just my thinking about it
i will probably have forgotten some things though :p
 
the dropping items in cargobay does of course mean that the ship needs more fuel and the ship pilot will charge this.


this would open up new things

interplanetary trading lines
item transport
ships have choice to go truh safe or pvp space
loss and win of items .

possibility to make a insurance for ship loads as the may get blown up with the ship but here the item can be blown up or salvaged when intact by the enemy ships

mountable salvaging items
cargo ships
people carriers
fighter ships

and so one
 
btw


when items are blown to bits these items can be going back into the loot
and be dropped by some one hunting.
this will ad into a better overall loot as every bit will help.



Oooooooooooooo i'm going to stop i'm getting idea after idea now Arrrrgh me now stop i need arrrgh :eyecrazy:
 
this to sky : multiple avatars ...

multiple avaters are bullshit ,parden me for my word',
better for the economy .... why should it be better ? if i

Bamf, lost me.

hint : economy-accounts

You can do it, so did Chrome
 
It's either for space-filler or cohesiveness... agreed that it might be a change in tactics... but i'm not sure if it's even possible to do missions from one planet on another... I think it's important that planets look "full" from the beginning, and better "generic" mobs than possibly buggy new ones...

from what I know of the other missions they all rely on mobs or locations and this is the first time where a mob has been on more than one planet.

Maybe we'll see missions that involve travel between planets in the future.
 
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Bamf, lost me.

hint : economy-accounts

You can do it, so did Chrome


forget it , this site is now like RT not really working well.
had a whole story and wuuusch suddenly all gone while typing , for the second time .


so my answer now ; i dont care , and no multiple avatars otherwise the whole concept of the game and platform would be gone : many different games / worlds , 1 avatar to visit them all so 1 avatar to skill up and not many over and over again.


ciau ciau
 
One avatar. One Universe. Infinite possibilities.

Awesome quote ... and one I think MA should use in their advertising and/or marketing ... if they ever get there. :laugh:

I am still not convinced this wasn't a mistake made by MA loot manager. I mean, if ND wanted to drop something special to attract players, why not a cool fap or weapon?.

If that's the case ... then why would DAMgr say that he was going to post a press release to explain everything? Which never happened btw. I don't think it was an accident at all. And besides ... ND did attract players, yes? :laugh:

Great thread Chrome ... I'll have to give this some thought and come back and respond when I have more time. It's interesting to read everyone's perspective. I love discussions like these.

You're one of my absolute favorite posters. :)

Later! :wise:


*nice meeting you in game*
 
forget it , this site is now like RT not really working well.
had a whole story and wuuusch suddenly all gone while typing , for the second time .

Been there before, that really sux. Sometimes help to copy/paste your reply in notepad before posting

so my answer now ; i dont care , and no multiple avatars otherwise the whole concept of the game and platform would be gone : many different games / worlds , 1 avatar to visit them all so 1 avatar to skill up and not many over and over again.

The point I was trying to make, is actually very simple. 1 account = 1 economy, 2 accounts= 2 economies. And here comes the catch; no interactions between the two. So no trading between your 2 accounts.

making different economy's on each different planet id however possible.
and i wish that would happen.

See, you had it all along ;)
 
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The point I was trying to make, is actually very simple. 1 account = 1 economy, 2 accounts= 2 economies. And here comes the catch; no interactions between the two. So no trading between your 2 accounts.

Yes yes yes, we already know the point you are trying to make...

MA already has their platform firmly established, and this thread is about how PLANET PARTNERS will compete against each other in the existing platform structure MA has provided.


The purpose of this thread is simply to discuss what folks may interpret as calculated moves by Planet Partners in the "Entropia Chess Game".


:wise:
 
MA already has their platform firmly established

Your words, not mine

But it's all good, I've said all I wanted to say. I'll be quite now.
 
....

1 interplanetary auction should disapear (could and should be done allready)
2 space crafts should be back.
3 planetary TP's should be gone (what MA also promissed at start)
4 people should not be able to cary big items while doing space travel, and have to drop it in the cargobay from the ship.
...

This reminds me of a response by someone from MA (David? Frank?) in an interview somewhere a couple of years ago, where he said something along the lines of "Pilots will have to learn to balance their cargoes". I'll try to find the transcript of the interview that was posted.
 
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