Entropia Universe
Entropia Universe is a MMOG/Virtual World consisting of the Entropia platform[1] developed and operated by Swedish Company Mindark PE AB[2] and several 'game worlds' called Planets that are authored and run by so called "Planet Partners"[1].
Currently there are the two active planets Calypso and ROCKtropia, another one -Next Island- is planned for launch in Summer 2010 [3]. Planet Cyrene is expected to be released before the end of the 2010[4] and another 1-3 planets are in development.
In April 2009 Entropia Universe had 820,000 registered accounts[5] and Planet Calypso alone had an economic turnover of $422M USD in 2009[6].
Entropia Universe has hit the news several times due to sales of virtual objects for large sums such 100,000 USD for the Asteroid Space Resort known as Club NEVERDIE[7] or 330,000 USD for Crystal Palace Space Station[8]. Those figures are possible because Entropia Universe is based on a Real Cash Economy.
[9]
- 635,000 USD for Club NEVERDIE (Asteroid Space Resort), NEVERDIE selling it to various other Entropia Universe participants.[10]
- 330,000 USD for Crystal Palace Space Station by "Buzz Eric Lightyear" (Erik Novak) on December 28, 2009[8].
- 150,000 USD for the Monria (the moon) by "Modified Akoz Power" acting for a group of investor on 03 April 2013 (http://www.entropiaplanets.com/threads/moon-sold-for-150-000-in-entropia-universe.8997/)
- 99,900.10 USD for a bank / banking license by "Yuri iNTellect Efremov" representing the Russian Internet Payment Provider Moneta.ru on May 08, 2007[11][12]
- 95,000.20 USD for a bank / banking license by "Jolana Kitty Brice" on May 08, 2007[11][12]
- 94,338.40 USD Monria (the moon) purchased by Virtualsense Ltd on 26 November 2015
- 90,000 USD for a bank / banking license by "Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs" on May 08, 2007[11][12]
- 74,600.70 USD for Emerald Lakes Shopping Mall by "Onkel RobRoy Bob" on Dec 29, 2006[13]
- 70,067 USD for Port Atlantis Shopping Mall by "Epsilon Eps Vaz" on Dec 29, 2006[13]
- 69,696.9 USD for Item:Unique Green Atrox Queen Egg by "Zachurm Deathifier Emergen" (David Storey) who bought it from "Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs" on Febuary 01, 2010, making it the most expensive portable virtual object.(to do: exact date)[14]
- 60,0000 USD for a bank / banking license by "Baroness Anshe Chung" on May 08, 2007[11][12]
(Extrapolation of the list of most expensive items.)
Real Cash Economy (RCE)
Entropia Universe' rather unique and basic feature is the "Real Cash Economy". The in-game currency "Project Entropia Dollars" (PED) has a
fixed exchange rate of 10:1 with the US Dollar. Consequently every item, service or activity in the game has a value linked to the 'real world'.
(to do: EULA/ToU on virtual property)
Depositing
Money can be transfered into the game by the following methods:
- bank transfer
- credit card/debit card (Visa or MasterCard)
- Paynova
- Paysafecard
- PayByCash
- wikipedia:Ukash
- PED Certificate, issued by Mindark and often given away for promotion
Further info on the Depositing page.
Withdrawing
It is also possible to withdraw money from the game. When withdrawing money the in-game PED are transfered to a regular bank account.
(to do: withdrawing minimum, fees)
Spending PED
(to do: Items, Ammo, Decay, Usage of Materials, Fees)
Earning PED
(to do: Sweating, Fruits & Stones, Missions, Oil rig, ...)
(to do: Trading, Piloting, Estates, ...)
(to do: Playing for profit, HOF's, ATH's, ...)
Entropia Universe Platform
One World
"Unlike many other 3D virtual environments, Entropia Universe is not based on shards. This means that instead of duplicating content on servers, rather it is designed as one continuous world". "To achieve this hundreds of servers are connected to create open landscapes with seamless transitions and on-demand streaming."
CryEngine 2
- before/after images
- VU10
Gameplay
- General
- Avatar Management (creation, beauty, makeup, clothes,...)
- Sweating
- Hunting
- PVP
- Mining
- Crafting
- Missions
Entropia Universe features a mission system. So far there are 80+ Missions. Some of those missions can be completed without using any PEDs or Equipment.
- Socializing
- ...
Tech Stuff
Systems Requirements:
Very High Settings |
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High Settings |
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Medium Settings |
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These requirements should be considered the minimum system requirements for Entropia Universe:
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Low Settings |
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If your system falls below the Medium Settings requirement you may still be able to participate in Entropia Universe, but your visual experience will be hampered. If you use Medium Settings on a system below Medium Settings requirements, you may suffer from low frame rate. If you use Low Settings, there may be artifacts such as white texture-less avatars, no ground vegetation, short draw distance and no shadows.
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- ...
Entropia Universe Planets
Calypso
Planet Calypso is the first planet in the Entropia Universe. It is run by Mindark subsidiary First Planet Company, has been online since 2003, became profitable in 2004 and had an economic turnover of $422M USD in 2009. [6]
Continents Eudoria and Amethera, Asteroid Space Resort Club NEVERDIE, Crystal Palace Space Station
Rocktropia
ROCKtropia (launched 2010)
Next Island
Next Island (in development)
Cyrene
Cyrene (in development)
SEE Planet(s)
Dotman / 2nd Earth / CRD
CRD is not listed as a planet partner anymore.[1].
Unfortunately the head and promoter of the project at CRD died in June 2008[15].
Postmoderna
Planet Postmoderna (unofficial planet project)
Entropia Universe Milestones
- Release
- Amethera
- Treasure Island sale (2004)
- Club NEVERDIE sale (2005)
- Shopping Malls sale
- Banking Licences
- FPC spin-off
- CryEngine 2 migration August 2009)
- entropiaplanets.com ;) (September 2009)
- Crystal Palace sale (December 2009)
- Mission System (2010)
- ROCKtropia (2010)
- Vehicles (2010)
Entropia Universe Media
Videos
<youtube>7jaCPVpEES4</youtube> |
Screenshots
Entropia Universe articles
Press releases, news and magazine articles featuring Entropia Universe
2007
- March 12, 2007: Virtual worlds, real money on edition.cnn.com
References, Links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 www.entropiaplatform.com, official website about the Entropia Platform
- ↑ www.mindark.se, official website of Mindark
- ↑ Welcome to Next Island, interview with Next Island CEO David Post on ABC News
- ↑ Interview with Ed Robles, Creative Director for Planet Cyrene on blogtalkradio by Darri
- ↑ ftp://ftp.mindark.se/pr/MindArk_HP_Benzler_Tech.pdf , "Virtual World Developer MindArk to use Latest HP Server Technology for CryENGINE 2 Upgrade", original press release by Mindark as of April 1, 2009
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 MINDARK´S VIRTUAL WORLD PLATFORM SEES FIRST INDEPENDENT PARTNER LAUNCH, official press release by Mindark as of April 07, 2010.
- ↑ ftp://ftp.mindark.se/pr/October-26-2005.pdf , US FILM-MAKER PAYS US $100,000 FOR VIRTUAL REAL ESTATE IN THE LARGEST VIRTUAL PURCHASE EVER, original press release by Mindark as of October 26, 2005
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Crystal Palace - And the winner is..., article on entropiaplanets.com Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name "crystal-palace-entropiaplanets-article" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Only transactions via the in-game Auction System or handled by Entropia Universe operator MindArk are valid and listed
- ↑ And the Asteroid goes to article on entropiaplanets.com
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 [1], "VIRTUAL WORLD ENTROPIA UNIVERSE ISSUE FIRST EVER VIRTUAL BANKING LICENSES FOR $400,000", original press release by Mindark as of May 08, 2007
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 In order to get the virtual banks operational each owner must add $100,000 as operational capital. So one could add license cost and operational capital to reflect the total investment.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 [2], "US$179,668 PAID FOR VIRTUAL REAL ESTATE IN ENTROPIA UNIVERSE, MARKING THE LARGEST PURCHASES IN ENTROPIA OF 2006.", original press release by Mindark as of January 03, 2007
- ↑ Aahhh... the EGG and Deathifier, announcement by "Zachurm Deathifier Emergen" on entropiaplanets as of Febuary 06, 2010
- ↑ CRD's Robert Lai Passes Away, www.virtualworldsnews.com, June 28, 2008