Hi, I've been in EU approximatlely one week. Less actually since the update released a few days ago kept me out for almost two days. Anyway....I've read a couple of guides (thanks) and followed several threads on the forum (thanks again). I still have a few questions. Any input would be appreciated. 1) I have been trying to follow the basic advice given about spending the first couple of weeks sweating. Unfortunately, most of the time I try to log in, I get a "Population of the Area is Maxed" type message and then I get dumped at Corinth up north. The local beasties kill me too easily to gather sweat effectively (since there's hardly anyone there and I'm out on my own). So, is there any way to switch the default location one gets transported to when the server is at pop. max in a specific area? Alternatively, would a few people like to join me in Corinth for team-sweating, or can someone point me to a location that's good for sweating (and not getting killed after two minutes)? ***1a) Technical note: Anyone having issues with Port Atlantis? Every time I try to TP there, the client crashes. This happening elsewhere or am I just the lucky one? Also, are mission brokers supposed to always be at a specific location? I ask because sometimes I see them and sometimes I don't.*** 2) Mining: How do you know where to look? Are some places better than others or is it all random? I'd like to invest a few PED and give it a try, but I'm loathe to waste bombs & probes in regions that won't produce. Any suggestions? 3) What is a good amount of sweat to gather before trying to sell it? 500? 1000? More/Less? I got just over 200 when the server started repeatedly sending me to the Corinth backwater. And while we're on the subject of tradin' sweat, where is the best place to go for selling it and/or the best trader(s) to sell it too? 4) Also, I've looked around, but I haven't seen any fruit, dung or stones. Is there a trick to this or am I just blind? I've tried walking slowly, scanning left to right, checking out trees/areas with and without mobs/etc. Nada. What gives? 5) If a player has TP sites, can he/she take other players with them or does everyone have to do the run/ride thing to physically go to a TP site in order to add it to their list. Having gotten more than a little frustrated with the sweating thing this week, I've spent alot of time just running around (and trying to avoid the nasty nasties). I'm up to 7 other TP sites outside of Port Atlantis and I'd be happy to share if that's possible (Corinth, Fort Ithaca, Atlas Haven, Limnadian, Orthos West Mound & Fort Fury). 6) Finally, I've got a bunch of junk from the Gateway. Two "Ore Extractors", a"Refiner" and the Rookie gun. All "Limited" and all broken. Each one "died" before I left the gateway. Couldn't even finish some of the missions because I no longer had working equipment. Do they have any trade value at all? Is there any reason to keep them or should I just dump them onto the TT? (About now, I'd say the game should allow for trading "scrap" if nothing else. A little recycling of worn out items would go a long way.) Anyway, recommendations??? Thanks in advance & happy hunting/mining/sweating/etc.! Shadowinde
Firstly, welcome to Entropia :) Now, let me try to provide some answers for you.... 1) The "pop max" issue is a result of a fairly large influx of new players, as well as a limited duration mission set which is drawing most existing players to the area as well. So it should be a temporary, albeit fairly annoying situation. To the best of my knowledge, there is no way to "set" which area you will be sent to as an alternative, unfortunately. The crashes you experience are also probably related to this, as well as the apparently "missing" mission brokers. They are there, but take so long to load you sometimes can't see them for a while. You may find it works better if you drop your ingame settings as low as possible, to try to minimise the load on your system. Alternatively, continue your exploration for other TP's as you have been doing, and you will most likely discover other areas with suitably low-level mobs for sweating. Check out the various wikis for mob locations, for guidance with your exploration. Also, check out the "Adopt a Newbie Foundation", and sign up with them. They are very effective at placing new players with experienced societies, which will also be of huge benefit in terms of learning the ropes and being assisted in achieving your goals. 2) Mining can be done anywhere, but there are definitely "better" and "worse" areas, so you may want to hold off on trying that until you have a few ingame contacts to guide you. Keep focussed on gathering a reasonable pot of PED to fund future activities for the time being. 3) Sweat is easiest sold in batches of 1K or more. Most of the trade in sweat happens around PA/Swamp Camp. Again, this is something ANF may be able to help you with, as some of the societies involved will buy sweat off their candidates to assist you in starting out. 4) Fruit, dung and stones spawn at random as you walk around, not specifically linked to any mobs or terrain features. Your best option is to walk with view zoomed out to third-person mode so you can see the area around your ava as you walk, then keeping an eye on the ground. They don't spawn that often, so it may take some time before you find any. Again, try to accumulate stacks of 1K or more, particulalry the fruit. Some of the stones have high markup, and can be traded with smaller stacks. Do some research on values (this relates to everything you find - there are many who will try to exploit your inexperience to snatch at a bargain.) 5) Everybody has to physically visit a TP site for the first time in order to use it, so unfortunately you can't share that facility with others. There are groups that organise TP runs/ tours to help new players reach more distant TPs. Entropia Tour Agency are a great bunch of folk who do this regularly. That is also another opportunity for meeting other players and building your network of friends and contacts, as well as being a fun way to explore the planet. 6) Broken limited items have no value beyond their remaining TT, or possibly a small "collectable" value, so it should be okay to shred them in the TT for whatever value remains, unless you want to keep them as mementos of your early days for display in an estate at some stage. No doubt other posters will have additional advice I have missed, but for now it seems as if you have the right stuff for a colonists life, just maintain that good attitude, and best of luck.
Hi Shadowinde, and welcome, 1) I never experienced the "Population" maxed message, so I wouldn't know. Logic would tell me that if you get dumped in Corinth, so should other newcomers, as bad as that may be. Corinth is a remote area, and currently experincing some of the Harbingers moving in. Slightly North of Corinth, there's a good spot with Daikibas, though. Perhaps you and some others can try your luck there? 1a) If there is a high amount of Avatars and NPCs, all of them, including their specific looks and clothes have to be loaded. This might take some time. In any case, Mission brokers should always be at their location. They do not rotate or get any time off. 2) Mining *is* random. You drop a bomb or a probe and hope you find something. However, certain areas will contain certain resources. If you find the ones that hold the higher-markup stuff, that's probably a place where you want to go back to. 3) I think 1k is the very minimum, unless you manage to find yourself a steady buyer. 4) It's not that common to find, really. I typically will have my avatar showing in third-person mode, just to be able to spot things easier. Amethera seems to yield larger amounts of Fruit and Dung, so maybe also stones. I have noticed larger drops on Calypso recently as well, though. But yeah, in general, collecting Fruit, Dung or Stones takes patience. The game is built up to entice you to deposit, and to ensure MindArk will not be giving out freebies. 5) It's every man/woman for him/herself. With that said, the new vehicles allow people to take others for a ride, which can mean shortcuts to teleporters. There's also wormholes, and I believe the guys on Atlas Haven Radio at times open wormholes between teleporters on their shows. 6) The newcomer tools are since recently available in specific Trade Terminals, so I'd say their broken counterparts are pretty worthless, and most likely will not see you any markup. Pretty much everything you buy i the Ttrade Terminal can be bought there by others as well, without markup. The exceptions are items that get tiered up, or BluePrints with their quality ratings improved. Hope this helps :) If you have further questions, or want some additional clarification, please do not hesitate to ask. There's no such thing as a stupid question, and we all tend to overlook exactly how long we have been playing this game for. Good luck, and may Lootius be with you :) Peter
welcome to EU and EP A lot of people get send to Corinth the second time they log in (seems the fist time is always to Port Atlantis). Like Peter said there is a nice spawn of Diakiba North of the TP, that you should have no trouble sweating. Maybe get a little group together and sweat then in a group, this will let the mob hit you a lot less and get sweat faster. I agree with the rest of the answers to.
Another good spot to sweat is Nea's place. Before the official Swamp Camp was created, Neas was one of the best places to sweat the Ambulimaxes, who carry lots of sweat around. It still seems busy there, so you might be able to find further friends and SWUNT (Sweat, then hunt) teams there.
Important point in Peter's post that bears reinforcing. This game is designed to frustrate your patience, and tax your time in order to prompt you to deposit. IF you opt to play for free, you are playing a radically different game as far as "time to objective" is concerned. You will need to be extremely patient with a slow development curve. It changes by factors of magnitude. That is the real equation here - how much is your time worth in exchange for the pleasure you derive. Hardcore gamers love the "free" challenge, so it has its rewards, and a good sense of accomplishment. Most players will ultimately strike a balance of trading cash for acceleration. That balance then becomes the primary equation, and needs to be managed with the due caution afforded any luxury entertainment, which it is. "The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself." - "The SunscreenSong"
As for the broken noob tools: unless you're really hard up for cash, hang on to one each in storage. That way, should you get an apartment later, you can put them on a wall display as a reminder of where you started. :)
Thanks for all of the great input. It is very much appreciated. I hope to "see" you in-game sometime!
