jambon
Stalker
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2006
- Posts
- 1,806
- Location
- Ottawa
- Society
- Shaolin
- Avatar Name
- James Jambon Zidane
The end of the year is fast approaching and it's times like this when I like to reconsider the state of Entropia and assess my involvement in it. I used to do this while curling up the the old State Of The Universe Addresses but sadly, they don't like to do those anymore which is a real shame.
So instead, I figured I'd write out my own in which I go over how I see the state of EU and, in this case, why I'm extremely optimistic for the future of EU.
For starters, EU has been growing since the end of 2019 - this is beyond evident when you look around. The flow of peds is very healthy and there is proof of this everywhere:
Beyond that, we've had some very nice improvements and such to the game in the past year:
So with that said, what's to come for the future of Entropia?
What do I see as things coming in the next 2-3 years:
So considering all these factors, I believe in an overall VERY bright future for Entropia with great new developments and a heavy influx of new and returning players. Personally, I'm seeing new opportunities coming down the pike and because of that, I've chosen to start investing quite a bit more into my avatar now than I have in the previous few years. From where I'm sitting the future's looking pretty good. Not trying convince anyone to invest more here - I could be entirely wrong and it'll all go to hell. I'm just saying Entropia is far from dead and should not be underestimated - it's a survivor. People have been calling for EU's imminent end since 2010 or before and yet, here we are....
Looking forward to the future of Entropia and wishing you all a happy, safe and profitable New Year!
So instead, I figured I'd write out my own in which I go over how I see the state of EU and, in this case, why I'm extremely optimistic for the future of EU.
For starters, EU has been growing since the end of 2019 - this is beyond evident when you look around. The flow of peds is very healthy and there is proof of this everywhere:
- Markups are solid. Yes there is some manipulations on certain things but markups as a whole look fairly healthy on many common items and resources. There seems to be no shortage of buyers of many items even at inflated prices it seems.
- CLD payouts are at their highest level in years.
- The amount of unique avatars globalling is the highest level it's been at at similar times of year in at least the last 4+ years. Even with an extra bump during FEN. (6,851 today vs 6,006 at the same time in 2019).
- MA is actually hiring a decent number of staff specifically to work on the Unreal project. Adding more people rather than diverting existing staff is a huge sign that things are going well.
Beyond that, we've had some very nice improvements and such to the game in the past year:
- Loot logging in the chat. This takes return tracking to a whole new level and really has the potential to be game changing for some players as tools to utilize it are developed.
- Treasure Island is back! Yes, scandal with the deeds - people are miffed. Whatever. Treasure Island is open and full of mobs for the first time in like what, 10 years? Very interested to see the evolution of that. Will it just be mobs? Will there be events? Will a new mission chain be added with materials only lootable by the unique mobs on TI? Who knows but the potential is certainly there and I'm excited for it even though I not a deed holder. Deed holders must be absolutely titillate with the possibilities and might in part be reason why they sold like wildfire (let's not get into mad theories on deed distributions here though please).
- Codex is universe wide. Finally, I believe all planets now have the codex enabled. This opens the door for continued avatar progression regardless of the planet you're on. And I feel this is a huge improvement that gives cohesion to the leveling system.
- 10 Year Space Event. Any year we get a special event is a good year in EU. This year we got a surprise little event of the Space Ten Year where new items can be looted and for the first time ever we get a second shot to loot remaining items from the TEN event pool. What's more, it's universe wide and open to everyone. It's not just restricted to the super rich ubers via some restricted category sematic stuff. Which is great. (Even if the odds are super small and I'll probably never loot anything personally lol). My only complaint with this is that it was during mayhem so it limits the amount of grinding done on other planets. But I'm always happy to see events like this.
- New Mayhem format! It's been I don't know how many years since we've had this significant a change to the mayhem format. The category restrictions are gone finally and I'm thrilled. For the first time in a long time I actual have some hope of being able to one day loot a rare token and maybe claim one of those highly coveted UL items from the trader. Previously, I knew I never had a chance to complete the category I was forced into so never bothered to take mayhem serious at all. This has changed. I also enjoy the guaranteed rewards at different stages of point collection that has really been a nice way to incentivize grinding. The new system isn't perfect but I feel it's a step in the right direction.
So with that said, what's to come for the future of Entropia?
What do I see as things coming in the next 2-3 years:
- Moving to Unreal Engine - This is a huge deal for a number of reasons. Unreal has been the hands down leader in game engines for I don't know how many years. It's graphic optimization, built-in systems and ease (and speed) of development using it are unmatched. Why does this matter? For starters, it will enable a massive graphic improvement to the game while still being able to keep the requirements relatively low due to it's baked in optimizations. A better looking game makes it more appealing to new players and more immersive for existing players. It can even make the game seem fresh to the oldest of players. Perhaps the biggest benefit for players in using this engine will be in it's potential to really speed up the rate of content releases and system development in the game. I believe that most of the partially implemented systems we have now could be implemented and greatly expanded upon using this new engine more quickly and efficiently than ever before.
Any finally, this could lead to a lot of exposure for EU. Epic Games (the makers of Unreal Engine) are known for promoting large projects developed using their engine. We could even see EU listed on the Epic Game store upon completion - which would be mind blowing to have that kind of front facing exposure.
- Possible Third Golden Age Event - The last time we moved to a new engine there was the "Second Golden Age" event. I believe this could happen again. And judging by some of the changes to recent events (mayhem/spaceTEN) it's looking like we might get back to our roots and get away from the "pay to win" event model that was so dominant in recent years.
So what's so special about a 3rd Golden Age and why do we need it? Well, unlike a TEN/FEN event that's centered around extremely high markup/high-end gear, SGA items weren't just geared just towards crazy expensive high-performance stuff. It ranged from beginner level stuff to elite level that the entire universe had the potential to loot during regular hunting. The gear itself had modest improvements that, while they were nice, they didn't result in crazy markups. Even today, you can find SGA items that are actually reasonably priced. Making decent gear that's better than it's typical counterpart in both performance and markup yet affordable and feasible for low level (low budget) players to use.
With the release of Loot 2.0, the massive revisions to armor decay calculation, the explosion of L armors and entire buff system for items that's been created since the SGA event, it makes sense to have a new Golden Age filled with tweaked gear of all levels that take advantage of some of these new systems. For example, UL armor sets that have built-in skill gain (or other) buffs. Or, guns of all types that have modestly improved efficiency ratings or modified level requirements. We have far too many guns that do less than 30 DPS that require lvl 100 to max. I'll tell you right now, no lvl 100 player is gonna use a shriek back alley as their primary go-to. Having at least a few affordable ULs gun that low level players are maxed on would be much welcomed.
- Twenty Year Event (TWEN) - The big one is coming Jan 2023 (I'll say again Jan 2023... the 15th year event almost didn't happen till your 16th LOL). For their 20-year I can't imagine them passing up the opportunity for an event. TEN and FEN were both massive successes which were generally both fairly well received and resulted in solid participation. I believe we'll see another great event in the series that builds on some of the feedback they received for FEN. And I feel that this will come at a good time when I believe the market will be craving more/new high level gear which I touch on the reason for in my next point.
- The Metaverse Expansion - While this isn't something specific to Entropia I feel Entropia will benefit greatly from this shift in the industry. I'll spare going into the specifics of what the "metaverse" is and it's relation to the crypto currency space. But suffice to say, there is a massive rise in a movement of "play to earn" games being the evolution from "free to play" games. And this movement is fueled by crypto currency (NFTs) as the primary means of facilitating ownership of digital assets and transfer of value between players. But more over I think people just like and are warming up to the idea of making money playing games (technicals aside).
As this space grows and more and more gamers start looking for "play to earn" style games it's impossible for Entropia not to be brought up in the conversation. Even if Entropia is not at all connected with blockchain or general crypto currencies. At best, one could describe PED as a centralized stable coin backed by USD. And that teamed with the stability, history and safety (of not being a rug pull) that EU offers, make it a contender in this space. And perhaps the biggest benefit in comparison to other crypto based games in the metaverse is the ease of using USD. No need for complicated "Wallets" or "Private Keys" or having a masters degree in blockchain tech... just sign up with your email, and add PEDS with your credit card. Or not - you can earn without even connecting any banking info.
While the metaverse and "play to earn" is a new exciting space and we might have an initial outflow of some higher level players that see more opportunity for investment in new metaverse "play to earn" games. I feel like we'll gain a lot more casual players that find comfort in the simplicity of EU. Both in it's gameplay and financial configuration. And until blockchain evolves to such a point where people are using it daily without even knowing they are using it Entropia is at no risk of being edged out in favor of any blockchain based game. TL;DR metaverse growth is very good for Entropia.
- Planet Partner Content Boom - The final big thing I see coming is explosive growth of planet partners. In part also fueled by the Metaverse play. Everyone is trying to get a piece of that action. Devs are RUSHING to get involved in that space with anything they can fire out fast. And it's evident in the low quality blockchain "games" you see flooding on the market. 95% of them are pure garbage I wouldn't waste 5 minutes playing while sitting on the can taking a dump, let alone invest $50,000+ into.
Anyways, I see this as being a 2 fold change. A) I could see new planet partners coming on board over the next couple years with the Unreal launch (if MA allows it, I believe the demand will be there). It's much faster to just hitch on to the EU bandwagon (a proven game for 20 years) as a metaverse play rather than developing from scratch. B) Existing planet partners, if they have any business sense and desire to capitalize on a metaverse play, should be RUNNING with the opportunity they already have a head-start on. They are in a unique position to already have a foothold in this space and can maximize their revenue by having enjoyable content to draw players in. The market is desperate to throw money around in the metaverse space - any project that looks half decent is well funded. Being an active planet partner is a great way to gain a piece of that action by being able to offer both content and investment opportunities for those that seek it.
So considering all these factors, I believe in an overall VERY bright future for Entropia with great new developments and a heavy influx of new and returning players. Personally, I'm seeing new opportunities coming down the pike and because of that, I've chosen to start investing quite a bit more into my avatar now than I have in the previous few years. From where I'm sitting the future's looking pretty good. Not trying convince anyone to invest more here - I could be entirely wrong and it'll all go to hell. I'm just saying Entropia is far from dead and should not be underestimated - it's a survivor. People have been calling for EU's imminent end since 2010 or before and yet, here we are....
Looking forward to the future of Entropia and wishing you all a happy, safe and profitable New Year!
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