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Entropia Universe is a massive online virtual universe with a Real Cash Economy (RCE), where Entropia Universe currency (PED) can be redeemed back into real world funds through a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar, where 10 PED = $1 USD. The PED currency allows participants to acquire virtual land and equipment, and also develop a virtual character (avatar) inside the Virtual Universe. The Real Cash Economy (RCE) in the Entropia Universe means that the virtual items inside the Universe have a real cash value, and a participant may, at any time, withdraw their accumulated PED back into real world currencies according to the fixed exchange rate. The Real Cash Economy is a unique and pioneering feature of the Entropia Universe.

The Entropia Universe is a direct continuation of Project Entropia, which had a 2005 turnover of 1.6 Billion PED ($160 Million USD).*

There are no strict levels within the Entropia Universe, and it is not officially categorized as an MMORPG; however, it shares elements of regular MMORPGs, in that skills and special items figure prominently.

With participants from all over the globe, the online community has grown to over 400 000 participants from over 220 countries. The uniqely tight knit community has also produced several real world marriages as well as creating a multitude of new cross border friendships.*

The Entropia Universe once held the Guinness World Record for the most expensive virtual item ever sold.

Development

Development of Entropia Universe (formerly Project Entropia) was started in Sweden in 1995 when Jan Welter Timkrans and a group of colleagues embarked on creating a technical platform for a three dimensional virtual world on the internet. In 1999 it was decided that the project was feasible and financial backing was sought for further development. During its testing phase in 2002 the offices of MindArk were raided by court officials following a complaint by Microsoft that MindArk was using unlicensed software *. MindArk believe that this may have been an attempt by Microsoft to derail the game's development because of its threat to their game Asheron's Call. The game was launched commercially at the start of 2003.

Entropia Universe is currently continually and regularly enhanced with new content through 'Version Updates' and this is supported by the Entropia Universe Support Department. The latest Version Update took place on 4th July, 2006: VU 8.5 Content List.

Environment

Set in a distant Sci-Fi future, participants assume the roles of colonists who must develop the untamed planet of Calypso. Populated with fierce and dangerous creatures, the perilous wilderness on Calypso is also rich in minerals and ore, both of which can potentially be a source of income for would-be colonists.

Entropia Universe presents a vast landscape to explore over two continents, Eudoria and Amethera, on the planet Calypso. There are also two space stations in orbit over the planet, however, in order to travel to them, players either need to own a hangar which contains a working spaceship, or alternatively, players can pay for someone else to transport them there.

The outposts, cities and auction posts on the planet Calypso serve as trading hubs where virtual items such as tools, weapons and minerals are bought and sold by colonists. The wide range of professions available to colonists makes the accumulation of skills and resources a lively business on Calypso.

Cost to Participate

The service can be downloaded and played for free, however, when someone new first starts playing they are not given any other items or clothing beyond a bright orange jumpsuit. As such, although one can participate for free, more involved gameplay is difficult without depositing funds. Players with little or no money are initially limited to the following actions:

  • Using the service as an elaborate 3-D virtual chat room.
  • Exploring the virtual universe.
  • Gathering "dung" and "fruits" which can then be sold to other players to raise funds.
  • Using an in-game process called "sweating" or "sweat gathering" where one spends time using in-game mind force concentration abilities on creatures to extract bottles of "Vibrant Sweat", which can also be then sold to other players for small PED values.
  • Performing numerous "jobs" for other players; for example, acting as a trader, selling other players' virtual possessions for a profit.

Participants with funds often attempt to kill and loot Calypso's tougher creatures which are usually more likely to yield a higher than average number of items or PEDs, or can also participate in the "Mining" and "Crafting / Manufacturing" professions, which can produce saleable items, to try and fund further gameplay. However, an element of risk and luck is involved in all these activities, and the eventual total payback is more often less than the funds required to initially partake.

There are, however, alternative ways of trying to generate funds that are less luck dependent. Many players attempt trading as a fun and seemingly attractive method for acquiring PEDs, but the necessary time required and the typically low margins mean that profittng is often difficult. One exception to this is trading so-called "uber" items, which are very rare and highly efficient versions of normal weapons and tools. Such items are usually highly sought after and can retail in game for tens of thousands of PEDs (the equivalent of thousands of US dollars).

The reality is that most participants need to make regular deposits in order to fund their play, and discussion of depositing habits (including requests and suggestions for means of self-control) is quite common on the various community forums. Attempting play without depositing is usually considered a point of pride, because of the difficulties involved and the fact that participants who deposit $100-$200 a month are not at all uncommon.

Character creation

The visual side of character creation is very highly detailed compared to many current online games. Before beginning the game, the player's character model can be manipulated in a variety of ways, similar to the avatars in the virtual world of Second Life. As well as the standard variable traits which can be changed, such as skin and eye color, other aspects can be altered to give the character more definition and distinction from other characters.

The traits which can currently be changed include:
Body: Fitness, height, head size, skin colour, chest size.
Face: Ear position, ear size, nose size, nose balance (how 'uplifted' it is), mouth size and tilt, cheeks, cheek bones, face skin (a selection of the 'texture' of the face), eye position, eye size, eye colour, chin size, forehead size.
Hair: Hair size, hair style, hair colour.

Perceived Controversies

Many players are attracted to PE by the prospect of making money from the game. MindArk itself has encouraged this belief by stating that the game "must offer unlimited income opportunities to the player" Following media publicity MindArk reported in November 2005 that the number of new accounts registered that month increased by 463 percent compared to the previous year, however, growth in deposits increased by only 94 per cent [http://www.mindark.com/docs/pr/Info1-2005.pdf. MindArk's business model is based on the fact that it usually costs an average player a mean figure of between 0.5 and 1.5 USD per hour to play. Often players are encouraged to regard this cost as an investment, whilst some players believe that many aspects of the game function more like a casino and they have limited rights under the game's EULA and little legal protection if MindArk were to go bankrupt.

MindArk retains the right to change the game rules, income from player activities and algorithms to meet their commercial objectives and 'investing' in the virtual universe can be regarded as extremely risky. Experienced participants are often more likely to view any payments into the game as an alternative to a traditional monthly fee for online games and expect little profit, if any, in return.

Entropia participants also encounter the same problems with virtual crime as other traditional MMORPGs. However, the fact that virtual items and money can be quickly converted into real money arguably makes the game more attractive to fraudsters and the consequences for individual players more serious.

The RCE (real cash economy) of EU, arguably tends to make participants view their time online more "seriously" than with traditional online games, and also more secretive about their knowledge of game mechanics and strategies adding an additional challenging and attractive dimension. Perhaps one of the biggest controversies of all in EU is the constant struggle by the virtual denizens to wrest an (real economic) advantage through a greater understanding of the way things work, and the inevitable class conflicts this can lead to, just as in real life.

In the News

On 14 December 2004, the game creators MindArk announced the conclusion of the first "treasure island sale". This is a virtual island put up for auction. The winning bidder, Zachurm "Deathifier" Emegen, paid 265,000 PED (US$26,500) for the island. At the time this was believed to be the highest price ever paid for a virtual item. According to the article, it is "a large island off a newly discovered continent surrounded by deep creature infested waters. The island boasts beautiful beaches ripe for developing beachfront property, an old volcano with rumors of fierce creatures within, the outback is overrun with mutants, and an area with a high concentration of robotic miners guarded by heavily armed assault robots indicates interesting mining opportunities." On 24 October 2005, an 'Asteroid Space Resort' was bought by "Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs" for a sum of 1,000,000 PED (100,000 US Dollars), greatly surpassing Treasure Island. According to a Digital hollywood Bio, Jon Jacobs is the U.S. Spokesperson for Project Entropia, where his functions include US strategic relations as well as, business development, marketing and content acquisition. He is also the writer and producer of a song played within the Project Entropia Universe called "Gamer Chick". The Asteroid was named Club NEVERDIE after Jacobs's own in game Avatar and has made headlines around the world for the high price of the purchase and his own ambitious plans to turn the resort into a venue for "Live Entertainment in Virtual Reality".

On 2 May 2006, MindArk announced the introduction of an ATM card enabling player to withdraw the real-world currency equivalent of their PED funds directly from any real-world Versatel machines. As reported on the BBC newsfeed * users could sell items online and then go purchase a dinner for themself down the street with this cash card technology. In the same article it was stated that $165 million had "passed through the game" in 2005 and that this figure was expected to double in 2006.

External links

Official links

Game Archive and Review sites

News sites

Player resources

Links to Entropia Universe related sites and info

Project Entropia | Project Entropia | Project Entropia | Entropia Universe | Entropia Universe | Project Entropia | Entropia Universe

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Entropia Universe".

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