After the old volcano at Cyclops erupted Thursday a week ago, robots have seem to have taken a interest in the area. As the area is previously known to be hot spot for robot activities, initially this wasn’t a matter for concern. However, it appears that their presence is increasing at a rather alarming rate.

The eruption have also had some influence on aquatic species, and more fishes are spotted at different locations around Eudoria.

There have been reported cases over community forums where people are experiencing being disconnected every 6-10 minutes. This is something that is being looked into, but EUSO needs the aid of those who are experiencing the problem.

If you are experiencing the problem, please send a support case and include following information:

• What Router you are using
• What connection you have (ADSL, Fiber, etc.)
• What connection speed you have.

And remember, when you are experiencing problems with Entropia, send support cases!

Introducing FPC’s Lead Writer: A man with a Mission.

Who are you?

My name is Krister and I’m the writer at First Planet Company.

Can you describe a bit of what you do?

I write stuff. I write story lines, missions, system specs and other things, as well as implementing missions into the game. I have a few associates that help me with implementation, writing et cetera, so I’m not all alone. And that’s good, because there’s a lot to do.

These five missions of the preview, are those representative for future missions?

Yes and no. We wrote these missions quite early, before the system was fully realized. We figured that if we can do these missions, we have the basic features of a mission system.

As you have seen, we can do that. Of course, there’s room for improvement, but under the hood is a very powerful and flexible system. I think we can go far beyond the basic features.

So why did you make them? Why did you stop there?

We made these missions for three reasons. First, we wanted to learn the system. It’s smoking hot from MindArk’s development, and we have to learn what we can do and how we can do it.

Second, we wanted to give you a preview, so that we could get feedback, especially about what you want.

And third, we needed an introduction to Planet Calypso for new players. This should give the new players some direction as they start playing, something we seriously lacked before. This is by no means the final installment of the introduction and it can and will be improved a lot, but even as it is now, it is a lot better than the previous “you were killed by robots and reconstructed; now go and gather sweat”.

What can you do with the mission system?

I don’t know.

Seriously, I haven’t found the limits yet. There seems to be no end to what you can do with the system. We’re aware of some limits, but they’re mostly visual stuff and we’re working with MindArk to have those issues fixed.

When it comes to story flow, there are practically no limits. I sometimes joke about being able to make a dating sim using the mission system.

Will you?

No. But it’s definitely possible to have a contact’s mood change depending on your replies and your actions, and the story will definitely depend on what happens. Successfully completing a mission may open doors, failing will take the story on other roads.

So there’s no need for any deus ex machina endings, no need for someone to say “pity you failed, but don’t worry, we fixed it anyway”. We can have them if you want, though, but the system is inherently non-linear and branching.

Will missions cost anything to initiate?

It isn’t implemented at the moment. It’s not impossible that we will add that in the future, but it’s not on the horizon either.

What kind of rewards can be expected?

We are still looking at the reward model. It’s a challenge due to the real economy, since that prohibits us from giving stuff away. We are looking at some possible solutions, including using Sweat, Dung, Stones, Fruit, Fragments and the occasional Ability increase as rewards; a token system; and achievements. We haven’t decided which one we will use yet, and we may find something else.

Will you have to complete missions in order to progress in the game?

Actually, most of the players have progressed absolutely fine until now without a mission system. Many haven’t participated in events either, and that hasn’t stopped their progression. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

The mission system is one way of progression that opens up the possibility of linking your personal story to the story of the world. We will use the mission system as one tool of many to tell and evolve the story of Planet Calypso. However, it will not be the only way, and it will always be completely voluntary. If you don’t want to go on missions, you don’t have to.

Will some missions have level or item requirements?

We can limit missions so you have to have a certain level in a skill or a certain item. In fact, in the first iteration of the Swamp Camp hunt mission, you had to have a Sollomate Opalo to get that mission. It was a bad idea for that mission, so we scrapped it.

However, we will use requirements in one form or another. For instance, there may be a mission to enter a secret bunker, but in order to do that you will need a key card. Without the key card, you wouldn’t be able to enter the bunker at all, and there may be another mission to get the key card.

And we may have mission brokers that say “no, you don’t know how to shoot straight enough, come back to me when you’ve learned to handle a rifle”. And we may do it in reverse; “a super soldier like you doing a milk run? You have better things to do, so buzz off.” In that way we can limit certain missions to certain skill or profession levels, so that new comers won’t have to compete with the uber players.

What about team support and team missions?

Right now, there is no team support. We know what we would need to add to the system in order to have full team support. For instance, we need the team leader to see the team members’ missions and missions have to be scalable, just to mention a few things we are looking at.

But that’s for the future. We have some other things to do first.

Is it possible to allow players to create missions?

Not as it is now. The system is far too powerful and needs access to some of our other tools. Perhaps someday in the distant future there may be a simplified version, but that’s far off.

What can we expect in the near future?

For starters, a lot more missions. We are working on a lot of new missions, and FPC’s next content release will contain a lot more of them.

You will also see a lot of improvements to the user experience. Missions will look and work better. You will get much better indications in GUIs and HUD of mission objectives, contacts etc.

And what can we expect in the long-term future?

Two words: epic stories.

The mission system will be one of our primary tools for telling the story of the colony on Calypso. So although we will have “perpetual missions” that can be grinded, we will also have missions that drive the story forward. Those may disappear as the story moves on – on purpose, I might add. This is a virtual universe, after all. Just as in the real world, you may find that if you weren’t there, you missed it.

Do you have any influences?

There’s a saying attributed to Pablo Picasso: “amateurs borrow; artists steal”. It’s supposed to mean that when a good artist is influenced by something, he makes it his own. Whatever it was before, it is now firmly embedded in the artist’s work and different from what it was before. Sure, you may trace his influences, but the work of art has left its origin and become something new.

The amateur, however, is influenced in such a way that you can still see that this is an imitation of the original work. It’s not his. It’s someone else’s and there’s nothing new in it. In that sense, I strive for stealing. I will always be influenced, especially considering how much media I consume, but I always strive to make it my own, to make it new. It’s a tricky challenge.

If I am to name the one person that has had the biggest influence on me and my writing, it has to be Joseph Campbell, because he shows how stories are told and why we tell them that way.

As for thematic influences… oh, I could just go on namedropping forever, so I won’t.

Aw, come on!

Okay, here’s one: Tunnel in the Sky, by Robert Heinlein. And I’ll give you one for free: Santiago: A Myth from the Far Future, by Mike Resnick.

One final question: right now, what do you want?

Zero-calorie chocolate, a region-free bluray/DVD-player and two weeks off.

Event and Server issues:
FPC are aware that there were difficulties this weekend with server stability and player run events. We’re now looking into these issues and will get back to you as soon as possible.

LandAreas:
Last VU we removed the trade- and revivalterminals that were placed out for the duration of the SGA period from the LandAreas. There was no notification about that in the Content List, but now you know!

Mission Survery:
Would like to remind you all to take our Quest/Mission-survey here. We need your feedback!

Ever since the introduction of the mob “Proteron”, it’s been a very popular mob, both for solo hunters and for team hunters. There have been two healthy, thick spawns on Eudoria; one with higher maturity and one with lower. We wanted to get the amazing winning creature from the “Create-a-Critter” competition out for players to enjoy.

FPC has a policy concerning mobs we would like to share. Planet Calypso is a game of opportunity and business in its core. Investments and player dedication is a vital part of the colonist experience. The policy mention stipulates that FPC will not compete with private interests – on Imperial Government lands the mobs or spawns will always be lesser than they can be if managed by a dedicated private land owner.

Going back to the Proteron, we wanted to show it to the world in its pride and glory. But it is now ready to take the next step to fall in line with the above mentioned policy. Time has come to thin out the spawn and reduce the maturity on Government lands on Eudoria. Land Area owners will have their opportunity to serve the hungry masses juicy Proteon steak though, as DNA will be released in the future.

Creatures:
There’s been some mobs reported missed by the community. Last time I reported the floating mobs had been fixed and respawned, and it’s been pointed out that I did not mention the Oculus. The Oculus has also been fixed, and it will be in for the upcoming Version Update.
The Tantardions are also in again, together with a large spawn of Tantillions.
The Tezlepod’s will return to their original small size.
Fungoid will no longer be invisible.

Teleport Swoosh:
The old animation for Mindforce teleporting seems to be missed. The current animation is not here to stay though, as all new animations will be released with the revamp of the MindForce system that we’re working on.

Ad screens in malls:
For some reason the ad screens have gone bananas and have ended up backwards. It will be fixed!

Landgrab:
Landgrab will be reinvented in order to renovate the landgrab-experience. So I’m sorry to tell you there won’t be any landgrab in the near future.

Upcoming VUs .
We’re getting close to mid-February and for Calypso that means a couple of new VU’s. First up is FPC’s own content VU including the Mission system which I’ve written a little about earlier.

Missing mobs.
Sumimas and Gradivores will be in for the next release. The reason for their absence is a bug where hovering mobs didn’t want to work too well in the CryEngine2, but it’s a-okay now. We apologize for the time it’s taken for that to be fixed.

Snow.
Just FYI, Gothenburg is not used to handling snow. And it’s snowing a lot here these days. So the snow you’re experiencing? We’re just sharing our lovely weather with you.

At least it’s not cold. Really though, it’ll be gone in the next VU, which should be right around the corner.

Hangars.
Hangars were missing from the roadmap blog-entry, but fear not! That too is planned to be reintroduced before the end of the year, like all old systems.

Missing description on armor plating.
The fix is ready and will come with the next VU.

Missing foot guards.
I’ve gotten word that Trooper foot guards weren’t in game yet. However, after checking, it turns out that the blueprints does exist in-game. If you believe there are still armor parts missing (other than SGA armor parts, we’re aware of those) feel free to let me know!

EBN News: A panel of scientists from the Imperial Geological Office announced in a press release that they have been monitoring a seismic anomaly under Eudoria.

The anomaly consists of a regular series of seismic shockwaves from between 12 and 5 kilometers down in the ground. This is in itself not alarming, but an indication of constant release of tension in the tectonic plates. It is also an isolated phenomenon. The trend is that the anomaly is moving upwards and at a location that has not been seismically active for millennia, which is a cause for alarm.

The regularity is also a matter of concern. Although it is possible that such a phenomenon might originate from natural reasons, such as the orbits of Calypso’s moons, the regularity does not fit any known Calypsian cycle of significant magnitude (lunar orbits, Calypso’s rotation period, orbits of other major bodies in Calypso space etc).

Finally, there’s the strange nature of the anomaly. It is too harmonic, almost as if it were artificial. “To tell the truth”, the spokesman for the scientists said, “we don’t know what we’re looking at, but whatever it is, it’s strange, seismic and approaching. In about a week or two, we will know if and what will have happened.”

Thought I’d spend some time to clarify a little about how I’ll work, and my responsibilities as a Community Manager.

First of all I will hang a lot around the community forum and in-game to pick up the latest buzz and concerns. Right now I’m pretty new in the job, so all the information you require are not necessarily something I’ll know right off the bat; however I am in that position that I can direct the questions to the right people and then bring their answers to you via Entropia Gateway, where I’ll continually post.

When I’ve gotten settled, I’m planning on also doing frequent live chat Q&A’s.

I will take over the newsletters, which will come out on a steady basis from here on. I will also work on updating the website, and I’ll work on acquiring feedback from the community via surveys that will be available on our website.

I really want to keep in touch with the non-English speaking forums. So if you running a non-English forum and haven’t yet gotten a mail from me yet, please contact me so I know where to send information in the future. Its important for these large communities not to fall behind on information.

Emma and Simon are still the ones you’ll contact regarding FPC sponsored events.. However, I might be relieving them off some duties, so if you’re running a major event, we might talk. However, direct your inquiries to Emma first.

Of course, if you have anything on your mind, feel free to contact me!
Yours,
Hanne

As there’s been some questions about this, here’s a quick reminder:

MindArk: Develops the Entropia platform, that all planet partners will use. Responsible for Engineering and Technical issues, such as loot balancing and creature AI. Also lag, bugs, uptime,and game engine falls into their jurisdiction.

First Planet Company: Planet Partner and developer of Planet Calypso. Responsible for design and gameplay issues such as usability, design flaws, busted graphic models and textures. Also responsible for events and Calypso storyline.

For example, MindArk have developed a system they call Quests/Missions. When they’re done at their end, its our turn. At FPC, we’ll use the system they’ve created, but we’ll design and create storylines around it, and use the possibilities it gives to give the colonist a way into Calypso’s lore and economic landscape.