Question: Should Calypso be rebuilt the same in Unreal Engine 5?

[Legends]

The more I read the UE5 dev blog here, the more I feel like MA is telling us that Entropia will be completely reinvented in Unreal Engine 5. It scares me a little but I'm also excited for it.

To be clear, MA didn't say whether or not the world (Calypso) will be completely new or very similar to the existing one, I'm just reading between the lines and assuming it will probably be somewhat different. No one knows for sure and I'm certain that MindArk will not comment on this either, but it's interesting to think about.

I'm curious what you all think or expect from the transition to Unreal Engine 5; How much of Calypso should they keep while rebuilding it in Unreal? Or should they just forget everything and start fresh?

Do you want a completely new world map where even the TP names are different? Or do you want MA to stay true to the original as much as possible and not change a single thing?

Options in the poll are:

1. No! I want a completely new world map to explore!

2. Maybe keep a few important TPs by name but the map should be unrecognizable!

3. Can only recognize Eudoria and Amathera, the rest is all different!

4. Can see Eudoria, Amathera, PA and Twins, the rest is pretty much all brand new!

5. Only keep a dozen or so of main locations true to the original; make all the rest fresh and new!

6. Most of the main locations on the map should remain true to current form, but some changes welcomed

7. All of TPs need to be exactly where they are now, of course the vegetation and topography can be improved

8. MindArk needs to rebuild Calypso exactly the same as it exists today and not change a single thing

--
Please pick the statement that is the closest to what you expect or want to find when you first log into the Unreal version of Entropia.



PS: I think that when MA rebuilt Calypso in CE2, they kept it mostly true with some new areas, I think #6 is probably the statement that would fit best what MA ended up doing back then.

 

[AxeMurderer]

I don't believe MA will throw away 20 years of work. Every rock may not be at the same place, but most of the places will be the same.
They can continue improving the existing world slowly.

 

[iulrorck]

i m dreaming for more wild space like the project entropia map, where you can locate each screen with the landscape and vegetation. now everything is just nearlt flat. exept the south west area. and natural environementtal sound is missing. we was hearing more life before.

 

[Joat]

I want them to create a world more true to the sci fi theme.
If they use a similar ground plane as current, then fine.

 

[Legends]

By the way, I designed this poll so that people can change their votes if they realize later that they need to change it for some reason

 

[Legends]

I want them to create a world more true to the sci fi theme.
If they use a similar ground plane as current, then fine.

What do you mean more true to sci-fi? I'm asking because technically, Avatar is a sci-fi movie, but doesn't really feel like one most of the time..

 

[Alainax]

I think it's important to factor in how the new engine works and builds areas rather than just looking at it from the one side. There's loads of info about it on unreals site.

 

[Legends]

I don't believe MA will throw away 20 years of work. Every rock may not be at the same place, but most of the places will be the same.
They can continue improving the existing world slowly.

Well, I'm not an expert but my understanding is that they will have to rebuild Calypso in the new game engine pretty much from scratch, they can't just drag and drop planet Calypso into it, the landscape and buildings, etc will all have to be built again.

They had to do this when they switched to CryEngine, and will have to do it again.

I'm sure they will keep a lot of the same 3D models so some things might be recognizable, but the landscape is all redone pretty much from scratch.

So while they are rebuilding it, should they try to keep it true to the current world, or just start fresh? That's the question

 

[Katie Chalmers]

I don't mind if it changes slightly, but I want to be able to reasonably find everything without having to run around aimlessly like a noob again.

 

[Thark]

Probably very unpopular but I like new stuff. So I voted that.

I dont mind if Twin Peaks actually got two twin peaks or if Port Atlantis remains or if Zychion goes or stays or Mino gets a new hairdo. I know most people prolly dont like change, but I do. If the game is playable, the under-the-hood stuff like loot/auction/professions work and I get to discover a new game world, Id like it. But nostalgia has its place too, so seeing old and loved places in a new dress, Ill prolly be happy too.... I guess I shoulda voted: "Surprise me!" haha

cheers

 

[Joat]

What do you mean more true to sci-fi? I'm asking because technically, Avatar is a sci-fi movie, but doesn't really feel like one most of the time..

Just the feel and look, a bit too many places and objects feels more like a game about earth in current time.

Just imagine what could be done to Rocktropia with right dev team and management.
In a way they could keep current theme but with a futuristic look similar to e.g CP2077.

 

[B-K]

I hope it will be more like an alien world again with lots of interesting locations to be discovered.

I don't believe MA will throw away 20 years of work. Every rock may not be at the same place, but most of the places will be the same.
They can continue improving the existing world slowly.

I really pray they do exactly that, i know very little about develepment but i'd say that is the surest way not to introduce alot of bugs because the imported models clash with the unreal engine.

 

[Legends]

Just the feel and look, a bit too many places and objects feels more like a game about earth in current time.

Just imagine what could be done to Rocktropia with right dev team and management.
In a way they could keep current theme but with a futuristic look similar to e.g CP2077.

Yes, a lot of areas on RT definitely have that post-apocalyptic feel like in CyberPunk 2077, but it's not as detailed and fleshed-out and that probably just comes down to development resources.

As far as sci-fi themes go, I agree but I think it's a little tricky; the whole game is sci-fi in theme, and yet every planet has to have it's own spin on it and should have it's own unique feel to it. I think they have done pretty good considering.

Cyrene has it's own feel and look, to me it feels a bit Japanese anime inspired. Arkadia feels a bit like I just stepped into Starship Troopers, RT has it's own take on it which feels a bit like a Walking Dead, post-apocalyptic steampunk world.

I hope they find ways to emphasize the differences even more in Unreal, I think they will, it should be interesting.

 

[Art Jennifer]

If they had unlimited resources things would be different, but they are working with what they have.

Personally, I'd rather they look at changing their business model first... There are a lot of small changes they could make to increase revenue and profit margin, but they do not do it.

Yes, I have told them how to do this.

 

[SoberPhil]

I think they're going to rework most things, if not everything, with modern tools this should be way easier and faster than it was years ago. Based on their announcements it almost sounds as if they're working on a brand new game which could be both good and bad depending on what we end up with.

 

[Mika]

voted 6, 5 would be ok too, keep most big known locations for obvious reasons, what ever happens to the rest of the map who cares.

Biggest wish is that the map will feel alien again. Back in the ancient days of old times derelict to scarse screenshots and glimpses of 140p video now only. The world we had was and felt alien, with little to no resemblance of anything "earth" like with the exception of nymphtown that used to have "Pine trees" (?)

I would prefer if the fauna was more akin to what it looks like in Avatar rather than a rainforest here on earth, weird flowers weird colors. Base it off of what type of sun we have in entropia, how big is the sun what typeof star is it, those things reflect in how the fauna would evolve depending on what types of radiation the star emits and so on and so forth.

Just make it more alien please

 

[Killahbee]

Whatever MA thinks is best.

I do think it should have some connection to the current map, but it's their 2nd chance to reset and do it right so i'll leave it up to MA

 

[mastermesh]

We all had to deal with the flip flop of every darn thing at vu 10. Time for a new generation to relearn every blasted thing and have to recapture every tp and the spirit of just how dynamic Entropia really is!

Make every mall shop estate now be a shack in the woods far away from everything else with weeds so tall you cannot enter the main hallway (similar to the flip flop that turned every building around at vu 10, that put some booths up on ceiling, sand traps in halls no one could access em, and put mobs next to cities without turrets, etc. so no one could reach em, and made booths unable to be used for about a six month period of time). I'm sure there'll be no support tickets as a result.

Make vehicles no longer work outside of a road. Flying vehicles should not be allowed except in special military fly zones. Every city should be destroyed to look like Zychion does with crumbled buildings, etc. and Hadesheim rebuilt as the new capital, along with all new estates in that city that will be on auction at insanely high start bids on global auction. ... oh, and no more auctioneers at every town, you have to go to the one npc auctioneer in Hadesheim to do any bidding... no more faps either... have to visit the hospital in Hadesheim any time your avatar gets injured. If you die everything you carried becomes lootable. When you revive you are at the only revive terminal on the planet that is a 10 mile walk from the nearest tp. ...

or better yet, no tps at all exist, and have to be built from scratch with crafted items, and they will be L items that only have so many uses. Only tps that can exist must be crafted by those that own an estate, and you have to be put on guest list to use them.

The old Falco maps can be used as references by devs as they develop things.

 

[jetsina]

I voted #6 but #5 is close too. Hello Ludvig .
I've seen PA in three versions in my time here. There was the @boxes PA, very flat and fairly basic, but it was discovered you could get up to the roof of one of the buildings, and some good partying was had there with people laying down a dance floor and other stuff on the ground.
Then there was the steep hillside PA, with the mall pretty much at the top and on the way towards noob mobs. It was the shortest-lived of the PAs.
Finally we have the PA of massive buildings and seafront, with the mall off to one side.

I think the gameplay in UE5 should determine a lot about how the new PA should look. Whether vehicles are allowed, access to all buildings or just partially, the ability to have guild spaces or shops that are more than just a mall, etc..

I absolutely loved some of the alien plants and feeling of the landscapes with great ambient music. It was great to go mining and think that some day I'd be able to kill oculus mobs maybe, instead of having to avoid them...

I have some nostalgia for exact landscapes such as Twin Peaks, both the first version I got to know as well as the second. I would like some recognisability to be almost 100% in places if possible, but I know from experience that I can grow to like new settings as well. This is why something like #5 and #6 fit my opinion best.

Great poll, by the way. This is what I think MA should be asking, certainly more this than about how argos should look. Thank you for the work and being what I can point to instead of the criticism. Good number of ranged choices on the poll and why you are asking...

 

[Evey]

I think the best way to go is to recreate some of the current locations and add a few more continents, just like Amethera (not Amathera btw) - was at some point discovered, when servers were somewhat ready for more map, just like that the new Calypso should contain the two continents plus a few more. There are mobs redesigned in UE engine and also some new ones, to add to the new hunting grounds, a lot of new ground to explore.
I don't think MA should be asking players this kind of stuff, people loose their shit and become toxic instead of playing the game they think they should be involved into the decision making process of how the game is built because reasons...

 

[jetsina]

Should MA be quietly happy that somebody else is asking then, so they can get good feedback without the negativity involved? Was it a smart move to just ask about argos, so that someone else went ahead and asked something more 'important'?
I see your opinion on content is pretty similar to my take on things, which I find encouraging too

 

[Evey]

Was it a smart move to just ask about argos

It really was a smart move but then most of the answers got that "not inclusive enough" vibe which won't make MA ask soon for feedback, but it's good feedback is provided, it's good that that idea sparkled even more feedback and I'm sure, as history shows, sometimes good ideas from the community might end up in production

But people should definitely get less carried away with what EU should be like and try to play more the actual game.

 

[Geo]

I am looking forward to exploring a new landscape.

 

[RickEngland]

It's always been an art project, with a game bolted to it, to pay for it.

I have no idea of the coding retrictions importing existing buildings etc to the new engine. Might slow it down using back dated tech.

It will be interesting though what MA do. There's huge swathes of sever land rarely used these days. Maybe they will overhaul the entire map, shrink it down alot. Give it more of a community feel.

I still have found memories of the first twin peaks with the mountain mixed argo area, that had 100's of players a day there. The new twin was never the same. Old yellow walled PA was cool too.

I don't mind what MA do with the new engine. Build it, people will come.

Rick.

 

[Gopher]

I would like a new map, knowing where most of the stuff is already when UE5 entropia releases wont feel that good

 

[RandyGetz]

It's always been an art project, with a game bolted to it, to pay for it.

I have no idea of the coding retrictions importing existing buildings etc to the new engine. Might slow it down using back dated tech.

It will be interesting though what MA do. There's huge swathes of sever land rarely used these days. Maybe they will overhaul the entire map, shrink it down alot. Give it more of a community feel.

I still have found memories of the first twin peaks with the mountain mixed argo area, that had 100's of players a day there. The new twin was never the same. Old yellow walled PA was cool too.

I don't mind what MA do with the new engine. Build it, people will come.

Rick.

Never forget the "Castel" ^^

 

[Legends]

I think the best way to go is to recreate some of the current locations and add a few more continents, just like Amethera (not Amathera btw) ...

Duely noted

I don't think MA should be asking players this kind of stuff, people loose their shit and become toxic instead of playing the game they think they should be involved into the decision making process of how the game is built because reasons...

I don't see anyone becoming toxic in this thread.

Marketing surveys are very important, it is how you find out what your following or your customers expect or want from you. Without them, a person or business will inevitably end up doing the wrong thing someday and lose business. This has happened to WoW and to EVE (and the CCP realized their mistake during the summer of rage and quickly reversed course and listened to their players)

I am not trying to shape how Entropia will look in UE5, I want the playerbase to. In other words, it really does not matter what I think, but it does matter what we, as a group, think (and want).

This is not the most important question, I know, but I think it's a good place to start. And I plan on doing more of these polls in the weeks and months ahead, unless MA asks me not to.

 

[Lusox]

I would like to see the maps stay static or just refined with the main towns still in the same locations. I'm looking forward to exploring a new world so go wild with moving the resources and mob spawns or even where any outposts are to better fit with the terrian.
The vegatation can be completely changed and from what I've saw done on a large scale on Unreal 5 it looks like the world can be very detailed without the collision handling issues we currently have in cryengine.

I still want to have that familarity to the world that has been imprinted after all the years playing, but I support change and anything that will continue to grow the playerbase.

 

[True Juan]

Id like a mix of new and old.

OLD SOUNDTRACK

OLD DESIGN OF VEGETATION AND SKY (But with power of UE5)

CITIES

Hadesheim was a block of pixels, but still was interesting. There should be at least 1 or 2 "cities" on Calypso. Make them have some sense. Street for specific shops (Hairstylist, Colorer, Armor etc SOLD on Aution without a BO, with a clause that would be written on the deed that if monthly fee for this shop is not paid for more than a year (6 months, whatever) it is automatically put on auction for SB, and money put into that persons account - I think we need shops that are alive, not dead pixels - we have many of those already). Add several other interesting buildings, museum (maybe old pics of game), Entropia Exchange, where there could be real-time screens and shares visible (not everyone knows how to access shares). A catwalk, restaurant, some talking/walking, dancing, whatever NPCs... There are many options to make it ALIVE. Would also add quick small TPs like on Carnival Island on NI.

Hover vehicle from minute 4:38 would be nice

Make the game more SCI-FI again
Rings? Why not implants? Or WHATEVER ELSE

Beason missions? Lets do it the old way, how it was. These boring beacons are just waste of time TBH. Back then there was thrill of missing a box etc. Challange. Well all the misses could go into the pot. (Make it AGAIN a beacon of skill, where u need runners for each LEVEL, fappers, DPS etc) - Beacons were GREAT FUN with some THRILL back in the day Lets recreate that fun.

Remove all options upon character creation, let Hairstylist do some work, let hunters have some MU from hairspray etc. I remember when ppl were skilling to unlock the coolest new look, now? What is it? (Create a storyline around it, WHY the character cant choose any options - ppl who want to play this game will not quit over character creating - especially if it is explained) - (Have almost no skills in this profession, but I want to see ppl actually running busineses and also hunters to have some MU because of it).

I mean, yes some good stuff has been added, but so much great stuff was destroyed in the proces - and many times it just does not make much sense.

Lets get a little back to the ROOTS Where this game came from.

There is still so much potetial in this game...
We need to make it also fun, where people WANT to spend their money, not just trying to make peds

Hopefully UE5 will be start of something GREAT.

 

[endermigne]

They probably have something in mind so we won't get a 1:1 rebuild of the current state. However, I don't want them to reinvent the entire wheel again. As for the various changes I found it too harsh when they nuked Hadesheim, moved Fort Pandora around and the Port Atlantis situation. Finding a few new places (again) is OK, but it shouldn't be the majority.

I just hope that they reconsider changing Port Atlantis that much. It was a decent place, crowded with many players and never quiet. Even Twin Peaks was more crowded before. They should make Port Atlantis more what is was and move the eye-candy area away a bit, e.g. with an elevator. A mission could guide newcomers through that part, but the experienced ones have their own plans when landing at Port Atlantis. Manoeuvring around there became a bit tedious. I also never understood why the newcomers had to land at Camp Icarus.

The new noob-missions were fine as they sent new ones around and let the mobs get stronger on the way. As I hope that the terrain will become more futuristic and artsy again (see posted screenshots above), that may also leave an impression.

Also I remember the talks years ago about nocturnal animals, weather having an impact, ... that never were done. Now would be a good time.

They should also polish the terrains (and textures!), have trees and stones be what they are, avoid flying mobs under ground, fix mobs' AI (not getting blocked), make the audio and animations synced more to the activity (like hunting with short blades; one animation = two attacks). So also keep an eye on the gameplay as such. My point is that it shouldn't all be just about the graphics and geography.

And ... a beer delivery would be nice. Really.