WARNING ----> ... long-ass post ... I know you're not surprised. INTRODUCTION Before you go any further, let me clarify something ... this is not a fan'gurl' accounting with a blind eye toward the challenges that we as a community face together. I have the ability to step back and objectively give an opinion based not only on my own personal experiences, but also as a result of remaining open-minded and embracing the diversity of experiences of my fellow Entropians. I'm an advocate of effective communication, and a staunch believer that it's not only what you say, but howyou say it that either fosters healthy discussion toward a (hopefully) common goal, or not. For over 4 years, I have loved this environment and the richness of possibilities, but it does not render me immune to the frustrations that many of us have either experienced individually, or collectively. I think I proved that in my first "EU State of Mind" thread on October 2, 2008. This offering will be no different. At this moment in time, there are many within our community once again disenchanted with what MA/FPC has presented us in the way of VU 10.0, and the transition to CE2. The result has been an explosion of reactions at this forum, and as some would say, completely expected. That said, it's important to keep in mind that every person's experience is real, and should not be minimized or discounted. The outpouring of frustrations has validity, and adds to the fabric of our collective experiences over time. While experience is certainly subjective, I feel that there is much that we encounter as a community that feeds into a shared energy. A like-mindedness if you will, of what we think and feel is either right, or wrong, or indifferent with our universe at the hands of those who present it to us. This is what I wish to address in my following statement. MY CURRENT EU STATE OF MIND (presented with all due respect) Make no mistake, I love this universe and the community that inhabits it, because there's a diverse brilliance that despite being at odds now and then promotes a common goal. We want it to work. We would like nothing more than to be able to log into our universe and not fret about the myriad of challenges that we have encountered over the years, and perhaps especially now with the CryEngine conversion as a result of being so hyped up about it for so long. We are wise enough to know that major transitions are not without their glitches, and have so much as said that we even expect them. However (and I say this with all due respect), VU 10.0 and the CE2 conversion perhaps should not have been released in its current state. While I have minimal disruptions, they are nowhere near the magnitude of what some of my fellow Entropians are experiencing, and consistently. So I can totally respect and appreciate the outpouring of frustrations that so many have shared at this forum. While I applaud the increase in communication from MA/FPC from what it's been in the past, there is still room for improvement. Overall, we tend to not be a patient community at times, but perhaps we can attribute that to our experiences with other environments where interaction between developer and community is quite expansive, as well as frequent. I have experienced this myself and found it quite refreshing. However, that said, I ask a critical question ... could the fact that we are a real cash economy have any influence in this respect, and if so, how so? Personally, I don't feel it should, and believe that open communication to the degree that it doesn't give away trade secrets (whatever those are) can only promote more of a collective community support. We have extended ourselves to the point of begging for more interaction, and was part of my inspiration for going after bonus content when developing my news broadcasts. I was quite delighted to get a most favorable response, and have appreciated the offerings from behind the scenes that I've been able to share with the community. My deepest respect to those who have made contributions, because it gave us a bit of a glimpse into more of what MA/FPC is up to (to a degree), and wet our appetites for more. However, even this has fallen by the wayside, except for our traveling Entropian Evangelist John Bates, who consistently gives me chapter and verse most of the time with regard to what's happening with our universe. He is enthusiastic, incredibly infectious, and doesn't hold back. I love his energy, and the fact that he does his best to keep us excited about Entropia. I feel fortunate that he is still hanging in there with me, and sharing what he is at liberty to share on a weekly basis. Deathifier also continues to contribute when there is something of interest outside of the content that he posts at his website, so thank you "D" for that as well. And just as a reminder, I will be doing an interview with both of these gentlemen sometime in September, and I will give the community a heads up as to when they will air on MSR. Rest assured that I will be asking some key questions, but will also respect the element of flexibility in what may, or may not be disclosed. WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE I entered this universe on April 2, 2005 (my brother's birthday, and the one who introduced me to PE at the time). My primary profession was hunting, and I loved engaging in every aspect of it, totally getting immersed into skilling. I did well, but when this wasn't working for me any more, I gave mining a shot. Over a period of time, I did well with this too, but then it progressively got worse, and I changed it up once more. I got more involved with crafting, and I was on a roll, up to and including my 81k+ ATH on the OA-101 that I took to 100%, but then, this too became a losing proposition. In the course of these experiences, I found continued changes in VU's that dramatically altered my approach to this universe, and this current VU is no exception. I don't claim to fully understand the dynamics of our environment, but can speak to how I am impacted with changes that have negatively effected the level at which I use to embrace EU. It has been different for me since VU 9.0, and it's not all about the BarbieStar9 look either, but rather how much of my game play has been fragmented by the introduction of certain aspects that have diminished my originally intended goals. I won't get into the details here (I know, thank Lootius), but will share that I continue to approach EU purely from a social perspective, and continue with one specific mission that I have embraced since almost the beginning of my existence in this universe, and that is ... to do my best to bring entertainment and fun to my fellow Entropians. At one time, I was able to mix this with my true goals of skilling, and getting somewhere, which is something I can still do, but with all of the changes that have been implemented over a period of time, the cost factor far outweighs what I'm willing to invest. Instead, I invest my time and effort (which is free) toward providing a different kind of offering to this community that hopefully has some value. MY PERSONAL NOTE TO MA/FPC I am not short of applauding your efforts in what you give to us as a product, but feel that this community deserves more of that effort toward providing a more stable environment; especially with such a crucial VU and transition that basically gave us a new world. It's exciting to contemplate expansion, and envision advancement into the next dimension, but with that comes a level of responsibility to ensure that at least most of the i's are dotted, and the t's are crossed. As I mentioned earlier, I don't claim to understand all of the dynamics that comprise an undertaking of this sort, but I have to believe (as others do apparently), that after two years of ongoing development, and then testing of this new environment, that there shouldn't have been the magnitude of challenges that a good portion of this community is experiencing. I'm sure that those who tested the CE2 environment were equipped with the best systems possible, and while fair warning was given with regard to requirements in order to run the new CE2 universe, perhaps it might have been prudent to also test utilizing step-down systems in order to truly detect what many in this community are experiencing. I say this, because it's apparent that many do have the requirements to run this VU, and run it efficiently, but the Nvidia card issue, along with other things, could perhaps have been detected and headed off at the pass prior to releasing VU10. All that said, I know that you are working on solutions, and everyone is hoping that this effort is fast and furious in order to bring a stability to this new environment that many are yet to be able to enter, even with stated requirements. The fear is, that if these solutions don't come quick enough, far too many will become frustrated to the point of throwing their hands up in the air and saying screw it. And here's a very key question ... will the solutions and fixes come fast enough to retain any new citizens currently trying to navigate this faulty environment, as well as potential new Entropians as a result of the upcoming three Expos in Australia that Deathifier is putting effort into, and ... will it be fast enough to not diminish the inspired mentors and those who consistently help newcomers to support retention? ENDING COMMENT Currently, I'm not having issues that are that disruptive, and I am enjoying this fabulous new environment. I'm not happy with how they seemed to have downsized many cities and made them look rather drab, while bringing us a new brilliance with others. I'm sad about Palms Corner, and a few other places, but that said ... I'm trying to keep a perspective here that perhaps this is all in keeping with some expanded storyline that will feed into the fact that we just got hit with a War Titan, and that we experienced some major destruction. Also, that we are in a rebuilding phase at the moment, and there is much more brilliance to come as we progress. While I feel that MA/FPC could have done better prior to releasing this VU, I also want to remain objective and appreciate the magnitude of this undertaking, and perhaps the learning curve they themselves are experiencing at the moment. My hope is that they will continue to move forward in an effort to bring us the best environment possible, and with far fewer issues as quickly as can be accomplished. In the meantime, my purple ass will fully embrace our new planet, and my mission will continue to be one of bringing fun and entertainment to this fabulous community. MSR is about to unleash some interesting activities where our fellow Entropians will benefit from the generosity of our wonderful (and unsolicited) benefactors. We want to give a little more time though for the rest of our citizens to be able to enter the environment and participate. Here's to better days and nights ahead (now that we have day/night cycles).
