How many lines of activity (profs?) do we have now and preferences for the future?

[jetsina]

I've tried to put together a list of activities that people can busy themselves with in the current game, and would like to know people's preferences, maybe with time percentages/ other thoughts in the comments. Should skill requirements be expanded out further, do people think, and how should newer players be helped to compete: restricted noob categories such as long ago in sweating, for example?

The poll itself is more future-oriented from what I hope is a reasonable list. Have I missed any completely?
I realise trading and shops for example do not give in-game skills, but they surely could. Should some areas be ped-dominated in the future too, such as shop/LA ownership, or should skills play a larger role (that could be bought I guess, so still related to peds as well)?

 

[jetsina]

To begin, I'll suggest a possibly huge new field of food, drink and sleep.
Partly this is to add new areas of gathering and maybe preparation by newer players needing lower-level activities of a 'farming-type' nature.
But sleep also looks to provide maybe hotel services, or that sleeping in the wildernesses can be 'disturbed' in some way, for example. Sleep might also counter the hours-per-day issue of botting, or at least provide advantages for avatars being 'fresh'.
Is there enough on MA's plate with the lengthy list above, or do people also have some big desires for UE5 platform features such as I do?

I haven't even mentioned that I'd like to see fully-fledged meeting rooms, shared video capabilites etc etc for learning and other interaction still not that good or varied in many a conference call, but I guess that's a wish too far, at least initially, to have completely non-EU-content goals for the platform too.

 

[The Abomb]

Well if there was only 1 choice I would select Harvesting. It should be a cornerstone of building in this game. MA wants to put in apartments or plots they should commision the players for materials to build them. Every building in the game should be built with materials provided by the players.

There should be rare finds in Harvesting, new unique tools (high level). Blue prints that can be found, new Blue prints for crafting to make buildings etc. There is so much potential. Harvesting and many other professions should be major professions just like Hunting. There is so much more to this game then Hunting at least there could be which would make it a far better MMO.

I have a dream where we see players Hofing on trees finding cool materials needed to build Entropia.

PS - There is a lot of hate for sweating, I get it. So maybe move Sweating/fruits stones to it's own category instead of lumping into Harvesting. Since harvesting does require some skilling to use tools, ped spent and cycled. Where sweating/fruits is free to play and expanding on free to play is a completely other topic. (I do think free 2 play should be expanded on as it only helps the game grow.)

 

[Msturlese]

the more dung/stone u pick the wider range you can spot them on map (1 meter per level enhancement)
autopick of items with autoloot pet/ring
use of harvesting tool to pick ore nodes like we do for the shredding of trees
actual 200% cost for nutrio and extreme high metabolic of bunnies is too high as a "quality of life" feature
we need to get nutrio at 110...130%...

 

[jetsina]

Initial results are very nice, thank you.
We have 58 votes of 68 max from the 17 voters so far, so people have been using the multi-vote extensively.
The bars have swapped places a bit, which is to be expected from 17 opinions coming in one by one, but show a nice range of interests in the platform.
On my thinking, I expected about half would select 'variations within hunting' as an overarching theme, but still leaving them with three more selections.
The most detailed response has been on the broad idea of harvesting, with a PS added. I accept that I put together a free-to-play topic with a low cost/low loss one, but I felt they were close enough in theory to be one category. Currently harvesting does not fulfil the function of many people doing something slow to gather volumes for other players, but it could do if composite planks make a comeback and new building bps are added. It would then be very much closer to sweating and gathering fruit/stones than at the moment.

Hopefully more votes will come in, as well as extended ideas for your personal favourites .

 

[jetsina]

For my next little idea I'd like to suggest grenade golf. I imagine not many people aim a lot with grenade launchers currently, but there could be some kind of destroy the flag from >60m using explosives game as one of many little additions under UE5.
A flag could be immune to all damage except explosives, be like the barrels or other stuff that can be shot at, have a proximity limiter for shots at it etc. We know that areas can be set to autoloot and other small considerations, so implementation of a 'finish the course in under 25 shots' mission, or similar, might be a nice and quick idea for variety to celebrate the new possibilities, both of UE5 and the event sytems of the EU platform.

This idea could be one of many that require different skills, and possibly even tactics for success. A variation could be a destroy all the flowers in the inaccessible field, using variously ranged, timed and powerful projectiles - stuff like that where efficiency of each round may be the competitive element that affects loot returns.

One of the only things I'm unsure of is the visual ranges and resolutions people may end up playing with, that may affect such distance games, but hopefully everyone could have some fun over and above what we currently have

 

[Legends]

I tried to vote here a few times but it was too difficult with only 4 choices available...

Skills are the backbone of Entropia and so this is a very important topic, so kudos on recognizing this and doing a poll on the subject.

Here's some general feedback from me about Skills:

1. Do we need more Skill paths?

Hmmm, I can't bring myself to unequivocally declare that this is desperately needed. But in line with this question, there is the famous Armor Profession that was promised to us, I dunno now, like 8 years ago? I think that one is a no brainer and will add a lot of opportunity for players. But back to the original question, I would say that the Skill paths we already have are not being fully utilized and I would much prefer see MA develop the Skill paths that already exist much more so they each have a far more complete progression and each have end-game (or at least high-level) content to strive for or work towards.

So for me the answer to the main question is this: Take a look at each Skill path and give each one more meaning to even engage in (more interesting content, more rewards, etc...) and add end-game, higher-level content to each one. If there's no reason to pursue any giving path, then the skills of that path have no value.

2. Should there be skills for trading via Shops and/or Auctions?

No. I would much rather see a system where the experience is gained by the property (Shop) and stays with it, in the same way that Land Plots accumulate experience points and increase in level to eventually unlock more functions. So if that system were to exist, the property would remain usuable by anyone, but more value could be given to a property (Shop) with more experience points and more unlocks.

For the auction, there has been some suggestions to make it possible for people to obtain more than 30 slots, this takes various forms but none of these suggestions involved skills.

3. "Appearance profs: avatars, fashion, colouring, texturising"

I tied this to Land Plots in my suggestions back in 2021 in this way:

"2. Texturing workshop buildings where people can make/skill textures
The market for Skins and Texture extractors is not healthy; the markup on looted Skins and Texture extractors is quite consistently low, except for the items required for the lower level Textures (level 0 to ~5). I believe the reason for this is that it just takes too much time, money and effort to actually skill up Texturing. Many get interested with the idea of being able to apply textures but soon give up when they see that they aren't getting anywhere. For that reason, the majority of looted Skins aren't worth anything because only a handful of players in all of EU can actually use them.

"To remedy this situation a new system is needed where players can cheaply and consistently skill up texturing. What comes to mind is the repair system which was introduced for Motherships and the Fort Walls which players can get Engineering skills from. A similar system should be implemented in a Land Plot building where players can come to 'make' textures and gain cheap skills for doing so. With time, many will have the requisite skills to apply textures and this I believe will cause the markup value of Skins and Extractors to go up. This in turn would serve to increase returns for Hunters and Miners, and would make use of a system (textures) which sadly hasn't been very useful in the game to date.

"The building comes with a feature which allows the owner to set persistent 'buy' orders for Skins and texturing materials. The building owner can then 'load' these materials into the texture equipment in his building which players can operate to 'make' textures and gain skills from. The Building owner gets completed textures from this operation which he can then sell (preferably right there in his building). The players get 'free' skills (in exchange for their time). It's a self-feeding loop which has the added benefit of increasing demand (and therefore value) for some hunting loot, as well as mined resources which can also be used for making textures."

You can read all of my suggestions for Land Plots here.

That's it for now I think

Legends

 

[ChairmanEdgewise]

To begin, I'll suggest a possibly huge new field of food, drink and sleep.

But sleep also looks to provide maybe hotel services, or that sleeping in the wildernesses can be 'disturbed' in some way, for example. Sleep might also counter the hours-per-day issue of botting, or at least provide advantages for avatars being 'fresh'.

<sarcasm>
if that don't increase mindarks revenue and player retention and activity, i dont know what will
</sarcasm>




i don't know if punishing players for not stopping their current activity "to prevent botting" is the right way to go.

that's like trying to snipe something but you pull out the bazooka. Fuck 'em all, you know?


You can't be serious about this suggestion. Forced sleep in Entropia............

 

[jetsina]

On the sarcasm, for the players it is a game of very slow percentage or point gains, so why not for MA content too?
If a few hours of programming gets MA a slither more player retention because people enjoy the 'fire, wait for it.... boom' effect, then it's a gain.

On the sleep thing, it could be similar to the slower walk of too much weight, less protection from armour as it decays, etc..
Because it's not implemented currently, some would see it as punishment against very long sessions, but who other than botters or multiple people per avatar would play for over 16 ish hours per day? Answer: potentially some crafters. Ok, work around that please, MA.
Tiredness could also be two-tier, with papplon and nutrio giving short-term perkiness and dedicated sleep in a tent/building being an underlying thing.
I appreciate avatar management may also not be everybody's thing, regardless of abusing the hours of the day or not.
It's still a suggestion for a turnover generator and gatherer system that benefits newer players in the content mix, though. By all means feel free to prefer something else for the problems of the skills gap this game increasingly has.

 

[ChairmanEdgewise]

but who other than botters or multiple people per avatar would play for over 16 ish hours per day?

I frequently have sessions over 16h. When I have a day off, i wake up at 5 AM or so, start up my game, and even if im not 100% active all that time I do stay online until its bedtime. This should be a good thing. When I have work, I do not stay online that long for a day, obviously.

Just because I play the game a lot, it should not punish me. (more than it already does, lol)

If you look at it from the other side, people who do not play the game should not be rewarded. That gives us an incentive to log off and avoid play.


If you want to get rid of botters, one simplified solution could be......

The Auto-aim-fire feature, from just hitting a single key could be changed. Only allow the "auto aim" to do its magic, if you already select/aim at a target. Manual aiming first, and once you acquired the target and locked on, then it tracks and aims automatically.

So those who use a macro, can't simply just spam F because when their mob dies: the avatar doesnt auto aim for a new creature. You have to select the next target before the cycle can start again.... I see this as such an easy fix for most of the botters(macro users)

This would of course lower the revenue as well... because a lot of macro users would lower their cycle. Frankly, i don't see any reason why Mindark at this state would want to lower their amount of peds cycled.

I am eager to see what UE5 brings, if we will still have this Macro/1 button playstyle or if this will change how we look at Entropia forever.

 

[jetsina]

I'm trying to look at better overall, but thanks for the input. Maybe it would be a cumulative sleep thing - an average of 16 hours max before tiredness is a bigger issue on gameplay. A player could be online but afk in a tent for power naps, why not?
It's an idea of food, drink and 'sleep' for discussion, so thanks for discussing once again

Oh, anti-bot measures could also be similar to what you describe, yes. Often it's not just one solution, but many play a role.

edit: one of the general issues for further development and required levels of extended content is the skills gap and how MA can help players more in early stages and less later on. If food/sleep provided positives and negatives, such as hp ranging from +50 to -50, newer players could do a lot more while fresh, but not for as long as skilled players for whom +-hps are much less of an absolute issue. Carried weight limits could also have a freshness factor on them, not just straight strength. If exploration/harvesting become more important, then this may also play into things nicely. It's thus not only directly the content MA provides, but players' behaviours and approaches to what they do...

 

[jetsina]

Thanks for further votes.
So far on average, people have put slightly more than one vote each towards the main 3 profs I put at the top, with mining surprisingly strong in my opinion and crafting weaker. As the question was about expansion of areas, this could mean the variety for crafting is already fine for most people.

There are various branches of what to craft with reasonably separated skill gains and requirements, and I doubt many people are up at the higher bp levels for the most part. If UE5 introduction includes a much more modular style, as now expected, that may shake things up quite a bit anyway.

Of the more precise choices on offer, only 'mentoring and society activities' is lagging further behind at the moment. That may reflect the long reduction over time of content around these topics and players thus not being bothered much about them currently. There is much less of a bond between players nowadays it seems, and much more is solo. Also, group activities don't need soc affiliation anyway, just friendships or a willingness to be in groups. This could be the joint gathering of badges on Cyrene right up to those new bad ass areas.

Overall, diversity still seems to be important, so it looks like we do want new content to continue to be varied .

 

[jetsina]

Of the more specific answers, the top two by one vote are currently Repairing/Piloting transports and possibly missions, and Teamplay against non-player systems. The lowest two are the 1:1 services and Mentoring and soc activities.
I'm taking from this that more space content is desired and the need for teams of equal standing that can form irrespective of societies and more geared to individual preferences.
The first selection could in theory also be transports over vast lands, with groups crossing them against dangers, but space seems more easy to implement as relative voids as opposed to landscapes.
The second one is a wish for more content of the older or newer solving tasks together type I guess. I had an idea that when entering an instance mission players might need to select a speciality and only be able to equip from the speciality, such as healer, mindforce, ninja melee, driver/pilot capability etc., but maybe that would be too similar to 1:1 services that haven't got as many votes in the survey. I was trying to be creative, but np if that idea wouldn't be so popular.

 

[jetsina]

We have a new leader by a nose amongst the more specific answers: Repairing/Piloting transports and possibly missions.
I'd like to see ship modularity that affects cargo volumes, ship safety and speed, so that players can maybe organise different ways to handle cargos. We don't know what exactly was abandoned so close to implementation years ago, but weights still play a role today in auction delivery fees and even warp capability for ... is it the red horsey quad?
To keep motherships as top of the range, I'd maybe wish for more on-ship activities, including shop/trader capability and a holodeck or two, or even little things such as crafting access.

 

[jetsina]

I'm thinking of giving this a bit of a new life as the voting has now stopped.
We've had so many functional problems with the UI all over the place that I wondered about an overview of what is still not working after several weeks of patches and even a content vu on Caly. Maybe people could pick a category and just list problems that are still there, or that it is broadly working.
As I have not wanted to explore the world of effed up myself very much, I've pretty much only done harvesting, so I'll report on #4 of my list:

Harvesting had a problem of F not autoing, and autouse running people to new trees they might aim at before the current tree was done. F now seems to work properly and doesn't lose focus for me now, so I don't imagine people will be doing any attempts at full autorepeat anyway. Fruits and stones visual radius is back to what it was before, so maybe there was an issue with terrain scaling on the newly implemented ground stuff they were about to implement and now have.
Thus, I don't know of any remaining feature problems linked to harvesting or fruit/stone running. Perhaps I picked an easy one, but it comes from me not wanting to get completely pissed off during this 'correction' period.