What does Entropia mean to YOU?

Hi guys. I'll give you a short and a long version of this thread:

Short version.

I have always loved Entropia and consider myself a Colonist of Calypso. I wonder though, what do you consider yourself as being in Entropia?

Answer the poll and please share details of why you chose the option you did, preferably with a summary of your personal Entropian story.

Thanks :)


Long version.

Recently I've been talking a lot (shocking eh?). Many of these conversations have been with newbies and involve me explaining what Entropia is, some of its history and some of my own personal experiences. I always like to add my own personal tint to the history I tell people, since it was me experiencing it of course! This "tint" involves me being quite smiley and nostalgic about my Entropian life so far, and I can tell that the people I talk to get the message that Entropia really means a lot to me. In fact, some people have said how much they can blatantly see that it does.

This, among other references such as discussions involving different perspectives (Oil Rig, killstealing and this thread by Lykke: http://www.entropiaplanets.com/forums/planet-calypso-general/2137-eu-becoming-better-game-play.html etc..), got me thinking; everyone sees Entropia differently. Everyone has their own story and depending on how these are, the resulting attitude they have towards Entropia can be so different to another person's that when speaking to them, you might not even recognise the same Entropia.

I will give you a summary of my personal story and explain why Entropia means to me what it does.


My story - On longevity and why I love Entropia.

• Luke Dalas Cambridge, my avatar, was born in November 2002 (PreGold - before Entropia had 100, 000 accounts - less than 1/8th of the amount today).
• At this time I was 13 years old in real life (meaning I couldn't deposit much at all, and didn't understand how economies or MMOs worked).
• The reason I was interested in Entropia was because I had previously been playing Runescape and was fascinated by the idea of a Virtual Universe.
• Upon joining, I was simply amazed and fell in love with it instantly. I saw all the future possibilities and, being so young, had all kind of fantasies about it (one of which was to have an Apartment in Hades :D)
• I quickly made friends although I didn't start with anyone. I always treated these friends like real people, not even anonymous strangers. This meant that I built strong relationships and people were willing to help me out a lot, a kindness I will forever be trying to live up to.
• My attitude was that I was going to be here for a very long time, so I'd better make myself at home.
• Even in the early days I managed to deposit $10 or so a few times, to get started. Thanks dad for letting me use the Credit Card :)
• When Sweating came, I absolutely fell in love with it and have sweated, mainly in a social setting, since the very first day. This further improved my feeling of belonging in Entropia due to meeting so many people while sweating (including many now-real-life friends and my girlfriend some years later).
• Through all the updates, I've maintained a very positive attitude towards Mindark since I am forever grateful for the Universe they created and the opportunities it has created for me personally.
• My focus on the social side of Entropia has definitely given me an advantage over people who are only here for money, I think. Returns fluctuate and cannot be entirely controlled, but personal relationships are much easier to manage and, in my experience, always yield more important results.
• A slower pace of life on Calypso, and long-term thinking definitely help a person last longer as they're not stressing about short-term worries which may paint a very negative picture and can see the bigger picture.
• Digging into the "Universe" aspect (history and mythology/lore etc..) really helped give me firm grounding in Entropia. I really felt, especially at the beginning, that I had come into a living, breathing Universe with its own culture and history, although both were very young at the time. Little did I know that I would later be carving my own story on the face of it. A more modern example of this was the other day when I was talking to one newbie, who I got to look at the map and see where the Hades Crater is. The fact that a newbie can look on the map and literally see a part of the Calypso storyline right there really gives them a feeling of belonging to something.
• Taking it seriously is probably what it all boils down to. A hunter who is perhaps on a budget and takes Entropia seriously will begin to look up their options to make their money last as long as possible. Eco hunting setups go pretty deep into the system and include many more factors than a lot of beginners will imagine, and they'll therefore learn a lot about Entropia just by doing some research. This is just one example of someone who would benefit from taking Entropia seriously, instead of creating their avatar in two seconds flat and giving it a stupid name just so they can log in 5 minutes faster (and regret their decisions for years to come). It just depends how deep you're willing to go.
• 92 months (7 years and 8 months) later, here I am, still logging in every day for hours and still enjoying it more than ever, having never taken a break or lost interest in Entropia!

Well there's a summary of my existence in Entropia, interspersed with some longevity tips which you must understand are simply things that have worked for me. I'm not saying they'll work for you and I'm not forcing them on anyone. I hope they help someone though!

Now, my question to you is this. Do you consider yourself:

• A Player - someone who is playing a game.
• A Participant - someone who participates in a Virtual Universe.
• A Colonist - someone who views Calypso as "home" in some way.

• Or do you consider yourself something else? Let me know :)

Thanks for sticking it out this long, I look forward to hearing your stories!


Cheers!

Dalas

 

Good, that is what I asked for :)