The Entropian - The Official Magazine of Project Entropia

This is to annouce the pre-sale of The Entropian, the Official Magazine of Project Entropia. This magazine is an Real Life magazine (So best make sure your contact details for your account is up to date ;-) which will be published on a quarterly basis. We've already got quite a good lineup of articles and information for the magazine, which has been contributed by members of the community.

If you have any questions or feedback then please let us know. I'll be on hand to answer them as many as possible. I'm essentially running the role of editor and community representative in conjunction with Zapatero. The Publishers (www.mmmpublishing.com) will also join in the debate as the user Entropian.

And just in case you are wondering what this is all about, then heres the official annoucement

PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW!

Calypso is an ever-changing world; new items appear every month, herds of creatures migrate across the plains followed by eager hunters and the rich and famous parade new clothes and new lands. Now the events and people that shape your favourite online world will be chonicled forever and the means to succeed will be revealed to you in a new magazine that will close the gap between Project Entropia and the real world.

The Entropian is the official magazine of PE, and is produced very much in conjunction with MindArk. Written and designed by proffesionals from within the Calypsan community and beyond, The Entropian will offer 68-pages of full-color artwork, in-depth features, the latest news, player guides and competitions. Issue #1 will be published late 2005, with future issues following every three months thereafter.

At 150 PED (plus 50 PED p+p worldwide) for a single issue, The Entropian is available to pre-order now via the in-game auction system as a straight buy-out. Discounts are available for those wishing to take out a yearly subscription – 560 PED (plus 200 PED p+p worldwide).

Exciting stuff. ,-)

yay, a glossy of the forum

no thanks lol

Great news!

Can i buy some advertising space in in the next issue?

Pollus said:

Great news!

Can i buy some advertising space in in the next issue?

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Yes, I would like to know it its possible to advertise in The Entropian too???

With that pricetag it should be advertisment-free.

Prodiq said:

With that pricetag it should be advertisment-free.

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It should also contain PED-certificates inside.

Yep, the price is a bit high, but hey, it's the first Official Magazine of Project Entropia!
*thinking about that loot pool growing*

It's a nice idea but not sure one would want to pay that much for some info you are bound be get on the forum as well ... time will tell ...

I'll buy it, really nice for some offtime from the computer and it's still PE!

Just to say that there is a small number of advertising space available. Still finalising some of the details there, but there will be an opportunity for members of the community to try and get an Ad.

Some common questions have cropped up in the two threads, which I'll try and go into details. If people have other questions then feel free to post or PM me. I'll probably do some kind of comprehensive FAQ about The Entropian.

Prodiq said:

With that pricetag it should be advertisment-free.

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But on the other hand it would be nice to see some adds related to both the game and the real world, like Skams site for example:http://www.cafepress.com/skamdesign

I already stated in the other thread, but I think more rl things (esp official ones with the assistance and money of MA ) will only help our little game.
If you don't want to buy it, that's completely udnerstandable... not every1 will spend $20 on a zine. But, the mere choice to spend that money if you wish to is the main point... finally this great little project we've all been apart of for so long is really taking off, and to me that's damned exciting


*oh! one thing u get in it is a pic of me!

Svetlana said:

inally this great little project we've all been apart of for so long is really taking off, and to me that's damned exciting

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Exciting, yes. I'd like to know some sample content first though before I subscribe to something like that. As some have mentioned, do I want to pay $56 for information I can get from a forum?

Ona said:

Exciting, yes. I'd like to know some sample content first though before I subscribe to something like that. As some have mentioned, do I want to pay $56 for information I can get from a forum?

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Don't buy a subscription yet
I only know the article which I contributed, which is quite good imo... I never put my name on anything that I don't back 110%
The other articles that I've heard of sound great as well and mostly done by some really incredible gamers in our community.

I expect I'll buy a copy, just so I have one, but I dont know if I'll buy more than one. The price really is a little high. Compare it to the goldcard membership at 200ped shipped.

Oh, and I really hope noone is making a profit from this, some of you may recall the issue we had with Mindark and the PERC website... something about not being able to use MA images if there's a charge involved?

Sounds really interesting... But c'mon. 150 PED? Really? I will never buy it. Too much, way too much. I guess many will wait until someone buys, scans and publishes as e-book.

(Sorry Marco...)

This is a great idea since the old magazine is no more.

However, 150 ped is far too much to expect one person to pay for a magazine.

I suggest that those affiliated with the magazine consider the possibility of a cost reduction via a PDF delivery or other ideas that will increase cirulation.

I'd be intrested in advertising for sure, but I can't imagine that there will be many readers at the 150 ped price point.

Dirk said:

Oh, and I really hope noone is making a profit from this, some of you may recall the issue we had with Mindark and the PERC website... something about not being able to use MA images if there's a charge involved?

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But its official magazine, its in MA's hands, so I would think they could use the logo


I will buy it looking forward to it!

I'd point out that a copy of the racing post here costs £1.20 or £0.50 for newspaper, so in real world terms it not that much

http://www.bradygames.com/bookstore/index.asp

My husband did a quick browse and found this... so it's exactly on par with the others as far as price goes and looks just as good I'm told
When I was initially informed of the publication, it was said that it would be comparable to some other mmorpg's magazines.... eye-catching, community-related, and fun In any event, it gives us all an idea of the pricetag for such things. Not every1 will get one indeed... that isn't really the goal (at least I don't think it is ).

I've posted some Q&A on the other thread about The Entropian:
https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8346

Just to also clarify, the magazine is being published by a third party company (www.mmmpublishing.com). They also do EON, the Official EVE-Online Magazine as well, so they have the experience in this arena.

In some ways, from my own personal viewpoint, I believe this is probably the first company that has actually worked within the virtual setting of PE. Being able to sell RL stuff in a computer game is quite exciting I feel

Svetlana said:

http://www.bradygames.com/bookstore/index.asp

My husband did a quick browse and found this... so it's exactly on par with the others as far as price goes and looks just as good I'm told

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Thanks hubby!

Yes, I expect to pay 15 dollars for a 170+ page in-depth strategy guide.

I would expect to pay 5 dollars max for a 68 page magazine.

They are not comparable.

I would like to say something about this.

I play a lot of EvE-online as well. And I bought the EON-magazine. It was great. Gives a new perspective on the game. And lots of indepth things. Also I hope that this new Entropian will also reflect some our Real-Life Fan Fests and such. I also expect it to feature MindArks work on future plans. And that it eventually could even be the first step to maybe something like an annual FAN FEST.

(I´d love to see people dress up like their avatars

I know for sure Im gonna buy it. Even make a subscription of it. Too bad it dont come out each month or at least every second month. Would be cool to start collecting these.

Summing up:

- This is one great job and first step for a more stable community.
- It will reflect things thats maybe not all can keep up with reading every single forum or website. Its a good complement as such.
- Im sure we can make it as good as we want by releasing our positive and constructive side to it.
- I still remember the old magazine (which i know suddenly forgot the name of)... and I missed it ... right The Gate.
- I dont think 150 peds is too much. Its what a 68-page full high-color magazine costs, and remember that this is for the "fan".
- I hope those guys that do work hard for getting out information can be part of the work in some way. THat will come later.

Once again great job.

truantduck said:

Thanks hubby!

Yes, I expect to pay 15 dollars for a 170+ page in-depth strategy guide.

I would expect to pay 5 dollars max for a 68 page magazine.

They are not comparable.

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Truantduck my post is not directed at you - your quote just fits perfectly to illustrate my point.

1. Noone has any right to expect anything, since nothing is owed to be expected.

2. If in 170+ of indepth strategy guide it would have been possible to find 68 pages on Entropia, then charging $20 for those 68 pages bound in a separate book would be, hmm, not smart?

3. The cost of the magazing is not something that would change MA's lifestile it is simple the cost of having it done, and I am sure MA and "The Mag Guys" hope for it to become profitable but I am also sure they wont "quit their day job" if that happens.

yeah agree- for 15 usd there would be deep strategy guide, tactics, verified experience discussions etc. Not only newbie quide, few fast catch pplz intervievs etc. Ok - lets check first one and then make decision - but first checkout - from main cover seems 5 usd max thing

i can buy a copy of PCGAMER for 5.99 quid, or ~ $10. this months issue is... 178pages long.

it contains interesting articles, reviews, guides, hints, tips, culture, indepth insights...

so for 20$ i can buy 'The Entropian' - all of the information inside is already on the forum.

or i can buy 2 subsequent copies of PCGAMER, which is 3x as long (x2 for the double) - so 6 times the pages. for the same price. and i would get 2 DVDs of demos.

im sorry, no offence to svetlana, aziphreal, skam, and whoever else contributed to this guide - yes, i love your forum posts - but there is a little difference between forum posting and professional writing, and for amature text costing 20$ with images i can print screen myself, sorry, but its way, way, WAY over the top.

It reminds me of "The Gate" .That was a cool paper.

I like very much Artworks .They create an atmosphere of the game and make your imagine breath.Thats a good idea to publish them.

However :

Sarah said:

But c'mon. 150 PED? Really? I will never buy it. Too much, way too much. I guess many will wait until someone buys, scans and publishes as e-book.

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Yeah...200 peds is a tough price for a magazine whoever wrote it,i dont care.
It looks more like a collector thing .I m really sure that it will find its audience among PE people_deluxe.So Marco and "reporters" should be happy (it doesnot mean they arenot yet happy).

$15-$20 for a magazine?!?!??!?!?

Perhaps those of you in Europe can enlighten me, but in the US that is OBSCENE!!! And my time in western europe tells me the same. Do you Swedes just pay obscene amounts of money for print or is MA losing touch with reality on the price of this?

And to think I thought they'd be greedy and price it at 50peds....... Even planned on getting one at that exorbitant price.... but 150-200??!??!?!

I am amazed.

-Remmie

EDIT: Further ranting...

Those who can drop 200peds and not think twice are the people who need the information the least.

Remmie said:

Those who can drop 200peds and not think twice are the people who need the information the least.

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Or perhaps they are the people who actually see this as a game; a fun experience; an interesting addition to a life where one is nothing but a slave to the mortgage.

How often do you eat at McDonalds? (Not related to anything in PE really, but meant as an example). If you go there say, twice a week? If you'd cook at home you'd save the same 20 bucks you're complaining about now.