Entropia News: ComPet-Bulletin--1

Let us see how it all pans out.

Addressing some of the answers above as outlined below keeping in mind the mass-market's opinion relating to the such. Not that it has to be spelt out, if so look at the discussion feedback in relation to the majority of EU based news on the 5 major global gaming sites (Western/English focused).

Here is a sample to work with ...
Interview with David Simmonds (2012) - Promises & Announcements reviewed

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Q: The original description of ComPet sounded a lot like gambling. Is this the case?

A: ComPet will be a skill-based game with some random elements included for balancing and entertainment value, very much similar to Entropia Universe.

V: In effect the answer is YES, it will resemble a casino which is the commonly held opinion of Entropia Universe by the mass-gaming-consumer-market.

Hint: You may wish to look at the next-gen of this pay-2-win concept called "Cash-shops" which provide much better entertainment value for the consumer at much lower prices without killing the consumers wallet and the revenue generated being more in a few years than Entropia has generated in a decade. Examples: GuildWars-2, Neverwinter Online ZEN-Store as part of the perfectworld group ZEN-Market, Trion Worlds recently with RIFT and soon to be release ArcheAge which will be a good one to draw direct comparisons to Entropia over time.

Added: Ok so that was not fair throwing you in the deep end of the swimming pool like that to learn to swim. So here are some floaties to keep your head above water long enough to hear hint #2 on how to swim.

Hint #2 - How to swim (Taking the cashshop to the next RCE level concept) - Using the cashshop concept to provide the consumer with the tools they need to participate (and be entertained) like in this example of items in terminals in Orino - Dino Horde (2:35+), you can then take the cash-shop concept to the next level in providing proper opportunities where you can EARN real money and not WIN real money as is the norm in Entropia via providing the tools to design your own content like in Landmark or Planet Explorers to show a concept (It does not have to be voxel based) and sold on a player studio style marketplace or ...

Instance design tools like Neverwinter Online Foundry or like in Divinity - Original Sin's case an advanced editor to empower the player to create content where access to these instances will come at a price to the player of which MindArk takes a small fee out of as well to run the instance (infrastructure/etc), another example is in terms of Star Citizen where you can design & MODify space-ships, and then sell these spaceship designs or modifications via the game-marketplace ....

The above of course is for those with "creative talent".

To address those who do not have this design creative talent, but have talents in other areas such as being employed as a mercenary, as pirates, as a part of the management team of a player corporation that works towards WINNING event prizes on a leaderboard against other player corporations, etc etc, you can provide a system of bulletins in "Offering their services up to employers ingame", charging X amount to undertake JOBS, yes I speak of employment where you can EARN money for JOBS like in the real world - Be these escort missions, espionage (All levels, including society/corporation info recon, aka. The Mole), Pirate raids, LandArea (Land Grab) defense or attacks as well as those presented above, Or as in the case of a Owned LandArea, a fee of entry for X amount of time that MA also takes a small portion of as well (Infrastructure costs etc) and so on ... I will leave you with the basics and let your thoughtstorm sessions (Development scrum sessions) take over for the rest to keep this reply short, though here is the basics to the concept.

Please click on each link provided to understand. If not, I am sure many other prospective rce+cashshop combined games development companies will. You heard it here first and this is posted in the public arena of course;. also good luck on throwing a Patent on this hybrid cashshop real cash economy concept or variation there of, it would be another waste of time, effort & money.

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Statement from MA: That being said, rest assured that MindArk will continue to develop the core Entropia Universe platform and content as it has done for over 10 years....

V: Not the best answer, if historically we put all the developments together and that which has been promised and not delivered over the last 10 years (2005+) and the rate of slow reintroduction of systems & content developed prior to Cry2engine update to present day which parts are still being waited on for reintroduction, then if this is the case, MindArk just threw expectations on an improvement to "how things will now be done from here on in" out the window for those who have been around over that period.

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Q: It was announced that in the free-to-play portion of ComPet, one can win points. What are the points used for?

A: There will be multiple currencies in ComPet. ComPet points can be obtained through lots of dedication to the game, and used to upgrade your pets or home as an alternative to using PED that can be bought for real money.

You may pickup part of the asian-hardcore-grinding/farming game consumer market (which is massive) on this point. My guess is it will be long and tedious like sweating in Entropia Universe in the description provided. ie. 1000 bottles of sweat = 2 hours of sweating = 2 PED = 20 US Cents style sweatshop tedeous but free Sure the social aspects are there, but to what end. Never the less some value their time at 10 cents per hour in the RCE context and others are just there to be social.

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Last point and being a suggestion if things do not work out with this strategic approach.

Q: Why is MindArk creating a separate game on a different platform?

A. We have learned from our marketing efforts that many potential Entropia Universe participants are lost before even logging in to Entropia Universe due to inadequate computer requirements, internet bandwidth, or other factors. ComPet will give potential participants who are interested in the concept of Entropia Universe’s RCE-MMO but are unable to play the full PC version a chance to experience at least some part of the uniqueness of Entropia Universe.

I strongly disagree with that which is in green, when Elder Scrolls Online Fantasy MMORPG which is much more graphically intensive and interactive can maintain well over the 1 Million active monthly subscriber mark at present and based on estimations ArcheAge Sandbox-MMO is likely to attract even more than this over the same period and generating in excess of $15 Million USD per month in the ArcheAge cashshop/marketplace (1USD=150 Script) - So whatever helps you guys at MindArk sleep better at night in negating accepting these commonly known facts ....

Redefining what Entropia has now centrically focused upon over the years as a RCE-MMO, ie. Diverted away from the original concept "as a whole" to focus mostly on that which now makes it (sort of but conceptually not really) unique dynamic-RCE is fine. However if things do not work out with this new approach, may I suggest another potential way forward.

Viper POV: CryTek is in trouble, they are restructuring the organisation and to that effect is dumping the support of the engine and looking into moving into other market verticals as a result. CE2 is quite old and a slow performer in reality (No matter how you want to pick at it) with the skill base at MindArk and to what level the engine has been customised to accomodate for providing a development sandbox toolset for planet-partner content providers. Never the less the performance is extremely poor even on topline spec PC systems as I have stated here with a comparision drawn to the Unigine.

Maybe look into the potential of what alternate multi-platform engines are capable of providing such as:
Unigine - http://unigine.com/products/benchmarks/

Platforms - Why just limit Entropia Universe to Windows only ?
http://unigine.com/products/unigine/licensing/
UNIGINE Engine is available for licensing in form of binary or source code for the following platforms:

• Windows
• Linux
• Mac OS X
• iOS
• Android

Sample of the four benchamrks & demos available.

Free evaluation kit.
http://unigine.com/evalkit/

More details on the unfolding discussion here

Also left as a hint in this thread - Bobby the Tongue - On what makes a quality game, consumer POV.


Thanks for listening MindArk and good luck with the stategic approach taken with this project.
Mr. Moreau offered the following view on his new role as CEO of MindArk:
"As CEO of MindArk, I will focus on improving our communication with participants and
taking advantage of their valuable feedback to make Entropia Universe a more
entertaining and engaging universe. A place where Entropians are eager to play,
socialize, invest and entertain themselves. Toward that goal, MindArk will also prioritize
improving the stability of the Entropia Universe client and platform, and delivering a
quality product.”

And to sneak this one in, any chance of making this compet's feet bigger ? (See avatar pic) *grins*
I can think of some unique abilities that can be attributed with this pet.

All-in-all, grats for a somewhat honest reply in "keeping it REAL" to some extent. This is a step in the right direction, next step is to address those points raised above that will hinder the organisation's positive progress forward in the context of "Continuing to KEEP IT REAL" .... You have two options;
1. Be vague enough to be correct (Or start answering using conundrums)
2. Properly address those issues that exist causing an issue for most consumers if stating the REAL-ity of how hings are.

The next move is up to you MA/Klas & MA/BoDs. Hopefully as a united team together MA can find a synergistic way to make progress in a positive manner while continuing to KEEP IT REAL and address issues raised thus far or fall back into the darkness of the void where no-one hears or cares about your progress, achievements, success or death. The tools empowering you as CEO to effect change have been passed to you Klas in the points raised thus far by the strongest resource supporting MindArk & PPs, the Entropian Community, will you use them Klas, will those supporting you Klas allow for their use. We will be watching and see in time.

Added: See above in red - There are also more ideas in the EU2 suggestions thread

 

Yes Narfi, I agree.

The faith part we can come to later. Anyone can have a gamble and term it faith, to what level we attribute this faith, blind or otherwise is another topic of discussion. 4-5k usd after all is neither here nor there, I have personally spent more than that gaming in the last few months, though admittedly giving away founders packs and other games left, right and centre to people in competitions and to those whom I enjoy spending my gaming experience with, this weekend has been no exception.

I have to agree at the potential that does not immediately scream out developer laziness and that potentially some tie/association will be made with ComPets and player's (potential "pet companions"?) with in the Entropia Universe. (Open Spoiler and click away for an "example")

I am looking forward to seeing what is ultimately produced and to what level effort is put into developer creativeness and innovation in making this something worthwhile for all involved in Entropia Universe and its new extension ComPets ....

Even with throwing in as a freebie the concept of how to fund MindArk/PPs next big development project .... without needing to sell a concept in advance of having produced anything for investors to go off except a lot of hot air and babble (BAD deeds) ..... Once one promised development project is successfully completed up to a quality standard and CLDs that the consumers/investors hold are used to purchase things associated with stables including the stables themselves having been sold for roughly 40k PED (mean average per stable) after all is only roughly 30 CLDs each.

The things that go unnoticed, providing new opportunities all round MA/PP/Clients and more specifically for the clients (as the consumers & investors) being a win-win in putting in some checks and measures that hold MA/PPs accountable to the level of quality work and innovation produced on one promised project before moving to the next in having sold the development produced to the investors via CLDs in turn giving MindArk/PPs a quantifiable way to measure their success in what they are producing for their clients.

Of course putting these CLDs back into circulation at the new increased (or decreased in event of failure) market value to fund the next project being considered as part of the citizenship-program (example ... that a political & justice systems can be later derived from) that CLD holders will cast their votes upon and contribute to along with everyone else with ideas they would like to see developed in the next proposed project they are looking to invest into .... in the MindArk/PPs regular weekly broadcast to the community with live recorded community Q&A feedback in making that strong connection with the clients and standing out from the crowd of all the other MMO/Virtual-World games available to gamers today.


Side note: For those who didn't get the citizenship-program reference, this should clear it up.

And for those who only see two walls-of-text and still do not know what the tr/uck is going on;
Here is something to focus your attention on instead for entertainment value. Thanks for visiting!

Now that I think I have catered for most. That is my crystal clear input "for now" ...
The zombies and puppets in life may one day the stars align for you too in seeing beyond the veil
In the EU context it is never far away if you know what to look for.

 

My only interest in taming for the future (whatever form that takes), is whether or not the long wait was actually worth it, and also whether those who invested so much of their time, effort and finances into a skill (profession) in the past before the system was removed will see it as compensation for the loss.

I noticed that those who have pet deeds from the past will not be able to do any further taming, but their pets will hold a particular status. What exactly does that mean, and what will past pet deed owners be able to do with their pets who have been in a cryogenic state for so long?

I really hate when messages from the developers are not very clear. It always makes me suspect when a seemingly positive (and ambiguous) comment is made about development that gives the feel of something more veiled that they don't want to share because it might cause more of a rift than they're willing to deal with at this time.

My point of view comes from many years of experiencing tidbits released by the developers about what's coming in the future with a serving of enthusiasm and excitement, only for the community to be let down in one form or another. Therefore, having trust in anything at this point in a delivered message from the developers is at best, fractionally this side of nil and none.

It is my contention that much more could be shared with the community without giving away what MA might consider secrets or selling the shop out, so that players have more substance to work with when it comes to making decisions about investing in EU, and especially so far in advance of an actual project being ready or even near completion and released.

We've learned the hard way that investments are not protected when MindArk makes arbitrary decisions about development (hangars/space travel, taming, beauty industry (including masks), shops, homes (Minopolis), and other investments to name a few examples), and a business or other things can be in ruins as a result of these decisions.

Trust and faith that a quality product will be delivered, and that development decisions will be in the best interest of the players is there when we become a part of this universe, but the degradation of those two highly-regarded commodities have consistently lost value, so I hope with Klas at the helm that things will turn around, and that he will be given the freedom to deliver what this community deserves after all.

BTW Viper ... always appreciate the time you take to give insight and possibilities for MindArk's review. Your content is nothing less than thought-provoking, and I hope some see the value in that.

 

Like that fishing boat that passes close by where the general public are swimming between the flags on the main beach of the holiday resort and decide to dump all the blood/etc from processing the catch they have made without thought and/or due-care that a little further out to sea, just out of their sight (concious awareness), is where a school of sharks regularly congregate and pass by each day;

Now people know how to attract sharks, right ?
Something to be careful of when fishing in waters where they reside, something to keep aware of.

Never the less, MA loves to fish. They are just not very good fishers, though they are great at creating fissures that ultimately in most cases lead to MA falling into themselves (aka digging your own grave, creating your own bed of nails to lay on, etc), again without being aware of what they have created which is obvious from "what has come to pass" never the less "this too shall pass" and then a new day dawns to continue living conciously and in the moment, aware of what has come to pass and .... I will leave it there.

We are still working on the part following a new day has dawned, let us not get too far ahead of placing the correct foot first, first, on this new dawn.

PS. .... Thanks MS9. Trying to tackle the main underlaying issues that result in the lesser ones leading to outcomes that are well, I will leave my personal opinion out of it for the most part; Excitement over ~ 5% of the total $2mil worth of deeds sold thus far, I would not call that a success story or an achievement, Oops ... Never the less an insignificant point for now, one not to shine light on as to how silly MA looks. It is good MA did not leave this point out and MA should not leave it out in keeping it real and in context. On that point, keeping positive is never a bad thing, even in the event of a sinking feeling when putting things into perspective to which it relates, the world around them in the market verticals they compete in being MMO - Gaming/VW/VL/VB/RCE/P2W/VE/etc.

 

Something that keeps itching at me is the entire - MA believes that people do not have the computer power as a norm to run their environment Entropia Universe.

Granted Entropia Universe is a poor performer, poor coding, a patch-quilt of User-Interfaces over time (open them all up at once) from a set of developers whom have been churned a number of times over, it does not take proper advantage of 64-bit functionality being more of a "port" of code than anything else using only a few of the 64-Bit functions such as addressing above 4GB of memory to mention one ....

However the entire people do not have computers to run EU in the mass-gaming-marketspace is utter rubbish.

Moving along, the ComPet approach:

It makes sense to provide something that is geared towards ... Hmmm ... wait ... adults? in the "RCE context" of using real money? As an individual application? That will be promoting to them to join Entropia Universe also? I understand the step-in-the-door approach to breaking into the asian marketspace, but seriously, we all know them to be the biggest gamblers with the largest wallets in the world for such activities (Especially in China & India) ....

Is this the right approach to achieve this?
(I am sure someone will throw some statistical figure at me to justify adults play candy-crush or what-not)

When I first saw the announcement I thought of this (click english first > mobile games > fantasy lore) in the video below which is geared towards the Asian market for the most part due to various social, cultural (including regilous/belief systems) and environmental values & impacts in their daily lives in that region of the world ....

It is from XPEC (Click English) that SEE Virtual Worlds got involved with when things went sour with MindArk.

Using (D)HTML5(X) Technology, then why ....

Then the whole (D)HTML5(X) web-based technology, why not develop something inline with what is already out there and operating quite successfully? To be different maybe? Is it because something like what is out there may impact Entropia in that it actually provides the original concept to some degree though not in 3D form?

Why this compet approach now when they could have in the past gone down such paths as:

• Market Glory - http://www.marketglory.com/ ........ (Active players: 87823)
• ANNO1777 - http://www.anno1777.com/ .... (1343 active players today)

Amongst the several other spin-offs of the same concept which is indeed RCE, these are just two examples. Granted they have their shortcomings also ... though all this (ComPet included) still sits uncomfortably with me to some degree;

Don't get me wrong, I see how this ComPet can be integrated extremely well with Entropia when focusing on a very small aspect/part of what can be introduced into a virtual universe along with the associated virtual life scenario as outlined in prior posts as an example of achieving this;

Original Entropia Concept ...
A Virtual Life in a Virtual Universe with real world financial opportunities:

However if they have truely moved away from the old concept of providing one of the first 3D virtual universes with all the MASSIVE (putting it lightly) potential it had and using the RCE aspect as a suspension of disbelieve mechanism and as something to definitely give value in the context of a "Virtual Life" in a "Virtual Universe" filled with opportunities to "earn in financially gaining for time/services rendered" much like the real world ....

MindArk's present day Dynamic-RCE MMO Entropia Universe ...
Post # 28 - Understanding the recent changes in MindArk's Dynamic-RCE MMO Entropia Universe.

Why then turn the concept into a money spin-doctor operation in offering a "dynamic-MMO-RCE" (see-below) and focus on hinging Mindark/PP/Clients & Entropia Universe's FUTURE SUCCESS primarily on this point .... which is another way of saying a casino with a game front end where you can not via the game-mechanics provided "earn money" to any great extent, instead you gamble to "win it" for the most part;

The way of making money (Not so much earning it) is to sell a virtual item with markup to another for the most part. (I have not forgotten services like fapping at 60+ ped an hour/Spaceship flights at 30+ ped a ticket etc though this portion makes up an extremely small percentage of the total transaction amount made annually)

The above is the economy aspect at play in the valuation of a vitural item's worth, be it a tool to use (weapons through to vehicles) or a virtual-estate/land etc. Not to mention the HUGE potential Entropia's dynamic-RCE with varying TT returns opens itself up to for potential money laundering and washing.

Viper's comments & POV:

Something to ponder over more never the less. Sorry if this post is out of context. It is some random thoughts that keep bouncing around like an itch wanting to be scratched and further investigated.

As passionate as I am about the original Entropia concept of a virtual life within a virtual universe offering real world financial oportunities and do wish to continue aiding to the level I can the collaborative effort to bring about awareness in the hope that change comes and that the run down theatre we have at present is rebuilt and/or improved upon to provide a GRAND theatre that will make attendees (Entropia Participants) jaw drop once again at the possibilities that are REAL and available in Entropia in the context of the original concept outlined above ...

I do not have enough time and energy to invest into such things to the level I desire with the other responsibilities I have in life that require my focused attention first, especially with the health condition proving to be a challenge.

Never the less, it is annoying to have such itches. I needed to clear my mind on these points.

I also saw the updated progress on Project ION today as well, which is a by-product of MindArk's own modus operandi over the years. On that note, so was Afterworld created by Entropia players for the same reasons.

A message of HOPE to Klas/MA:

I 'HOPE' Klas you are reading and considering some of these things and take on board some of the suggestions made by Entropia Community as a whole. So much time and energy has been invested in effort towards improving Entropia over the years by so many. I know how frustrated (To put it lightly) some people are or are due to become if this modus operandi continues.

Take note of what has be posted in your CEO promotion announcement thread Klas and spend some dedicated time out of each day 1-hour minimum by yourself behind a locked office door not taking any phone calls or interruptions from all others (Jan W.T included) and go over and read the feedback from the communities.

Granted PCF may be a bit of a cesspit to read through, though you must go through the 90% garbage posts to get to the 10% quality posts that you need to see and comprehend - This will take time. Many have contributed to EF/PCF forum over time, Nazi owned and operated (There is a lot more that is "not appropriate" to include) or otherwise, it still has a lot to offer as does Arkadia forums and here on EntropiaPlanets forum.

Also get a feel for what people in the gaming community external to those who are already a part of the Entropia community (ie. Your potential future customer/userbase), in what they are saying about Entropia Universe and address these concerns in time as well. (Most of which have been raised here on EP already)

Thankyou in advance if you undertake this suggestion & request,
DCB/Viper/Sparkz
Dynamically Caring as Viper strikes back while still offering Sparkz of HOPE!

 

Buttered Compet​

 

Nom!

 

ROFLMAO at the last point!!! That is certainly a winner! = D = D

On the other stuff, I think I know the answers.

Mindark don't need to consume the same resources twice to develop Crumpets, they just need to raise enough cash to outsource Crumpet development. Once said capital has been raised, they hire another company that specialises in HTML 5 game development to write the game for them. In the mean time the usual 10 people at MindArk continue to make Entropia Universe as usual.

As for the game being only on paper... I wouldn't be surprised if it is even less specced out than that. The deeds were sold though so that there was cash available to pay someone (else) to make the game in the first place. I suspect, had the deed sale been a failure then they wouldn't have even started to make the game.

Essentially Crumpets is probably just a cunning way for MA to investigate another revenue/advertising avenue where 100% of the risk lies with the player base who funded it rather than MindArk. .It's a bit like a Kickstarter without a concept video... or in fact any concrete information about the project at all.

Wistrel

 

Good point Tas. I think that comes down to the question of "does one investment opportunity compete for the same peds that would otherwise certainly be put into the game as play money or another in game investment?".

I would argue "no it doesn't" but I appreciate that is very much a Wisty perspective. I wouldn't have put the cash into game I did for CLD's had there been no CLD's. As for AUD's I was more skeptical so only used "spare peds" that were not doing anything else. With Crumpets... I'm even more skeptical so have not bought any at all.

I do know that during CLD sales though people commented that the economy suffered as everyone was blowing all their peds on CLD's and not the game play so you do have a point. In the case of Crumpet deeds I'd argue that because they are smaller in cost they might not be putting such a strain on the economy.

From MA's perspective of course, while the Crumpet Deeds indeed might mean people are "playing the game/spending less" MA are winning cause 100peds is money ALL to them and in one go! whereas 100peds spent on a gun is only a decay trickle to them over a longer time.

In conclusion yes I think you are right that there may be some drain on economy that has a small negative income effect on MA but it is probably not enough that they can't ride it out. And certainly it won't cause them to sack anyone meaning they still have the same resources (man power) to continue making Entropia

Wistrel

 

It's exactly like kickstarter, that other game that was funded on kickstarter and give part of the profit to people who baked it.

 

lol nice phrasing and very understandable. I was similar, didn't buy deeds until they "started ticking" so to speak. I didn't believe MA's projected returns and I was right not to. The real returns were ok though.

In fact, I don't believe much at all of what MA say nowadays. I file everything firmly under "I'll believe it when I see it" and then forget it till it happens, or not, which is often the case (CLD Land management system). Case in point mob control, late as always and as of yesterday only one pill had been looted on Toulan of all places. MA referred to it as a fun system. I think it is a special type of fun that can only be enjoyed by one person.

About Crumpets. I guess actually it isn't exactly like a poorly written kickstarter. The difference is here that the deeds are like shares so "backers" get a cut of the returns (if there ever are any) whereas a normal Kickstarter would normally only get you "a copy of the game" or other associated benefits like tea with the dev staff or the ability to design a creature in it or something. If the game being backed was a mass success you wouldn't see any more than your predefined finite return

Wistrel

 

cose I can't write so beautifull I wrote the same with fewer words

'small' difference with crappy kickstarter

 

Ah so you did! = ) sorry I missed that the first time. Well then, I guess I agree with you =D and thanks for the compliment - always nice to have someone say that

 

http://lololololooly.mybrute.com

 

Nope I am not! ;)