Some really nice fan-art! This is going on our wall, after we’ve framed it of course.
The picture really doesn’t do it justice. Thanks J.A, this is really cool!
No Comments »Introducing Calypso Gateway, the new content release from First Planet Company, features a new starting point for colonist newcomers. For many years the Calypso arrivers have started their new life on the busy streets of Port Atlantis, left with nothing but their bare hands and an orange jumpsuit. They have had a world of possibility to explore but at the same time the experience have proven daunting or overpowering. We expect this addition to Calypso to change that.
The Calypso Gateway is a secluded area consisting of an arrival terminal located on an island. It is the first point-of-contact with the game, after the avatar creation process. Calypso Gateway features several introduction missions (“quests”) in which equipment is given to start the Colonist experience. Newcomers will be able to engage in hunting, mining and crafting, using the equipment given. The tutorial-like mission structure allow the newcomers to learn about Calypso, the Real Cash Economy model and the way the basic features work – all within a calm environment. The Gateway is a place where newcomers get at chance to interact and learn, without many of the distractions found elsewhere on Calypso, as the area is off-limits for all other colonists. Once you take the one-way teleporter to go to mainland Calypso you can never go back.
For the veteran colonists who already have arrived and who wants to see this new area, FPC will host an open house event of Calypso Gateway for one week, allowing two-way teleportation to and from mainland Calypso. During this time newcomers will still arrive at Port Atlantis. After the week, the Gateway will be updated, the newcomer starting point till be moved from Port Atlantis to Calypso Gateway and the teleporter will be made one-way-only. Any avatars present at the Gateway will be moved to mainland Calypso during this update. The reason for this is to allow newcomers to take their time and try out things without the stress of traders, chat message spam, a lot of strange terminology, etc.
During the open house period, in order to get the full newcomer experience, we recommend that you put all your avatar gear in storage on mainland Calypso (there are no storage or TT:s on Gateway) and travel to the area and engage in the missions. Your feedback is also welcome and allows us to iron out potential bugs or tweak missions before the newcomers try them out.
Welcome to your new home, Colonist!
Monday the 21st was a very hectic day, to say the least. Entropia Universe update 11.2 was released, featuring vehicles. With it came a gift package of 200 cars that FPC was to distribute among the participants. The conditions were to get the cars out on the release day, during EU/USA time zones. Every time Emma or Simon showed up chaos erupted. I think I know how the iPhone stores felt on release day. At times, the number of simultaneous users online was over 50% of average figures – something we didn’t expect, and it added to the chaos. The cars were delivered in small batches in both settlements and in the wilderness to keep the stock as long as possible, before the reps moved to the next location. The stock was depleted just before 3AM Tuesday Swedish time.
In retrospect, the usage of the word “plentiful” was a mistake and shouldn’t have been used. The reason it was used was due FPC being excited that we this time actually had gifts, with TT values, that we could give out. And in that sense 200 cars was plentiful, compared to how often we have had given out freebies like this in the past. We were eager and excited and missed how the wording could be perceived, thus creating mismatched expectations. The lesson learned is that the next time the actual number of items available will be shown beforehand.
In closing, I would like to send my regards to MindArk who has created a really fun and thrilling system, which adds a new layer to the Entropia Universe, and in doing so, to Planet Calypso. It will be very interesting to see how the vehicles are going to be used in various events and in future landgrabs.
FPC’s next release is going to be in the end of June.
First of all, you know we’ve wanted to change the whole newcomer situation for the better. So we’re going to take our first steps in doing exactly that. We are launching a whole new colonist arrival area with missions designed to let the newcomer learn about life on Calypso and what it involves.
Because the newcomer area is going to be the first taste of Calypso, a couple of the creatures have gotten a nice overhaul, 4 of them in total. The Caudatergus, Tripudion and Berycled. We’ve also done one more which we prefer to keep secret for now (Hint: It is not a newcomer mob.)
It is not just the shape and skin of the mobs that have gotten a sturdy redesign, but also the sounds and animations have been changed. Of course, the creatures still look and feel like their old selves, just updated and cooler versions. Like this guy:
The problems where users are using a graphic glitch to get underground is going to be fixed for next FPC release.
FPC does not condone using these glitches as a means to “cleanse the oil rig of people”, this is called exploiting and is against the EULA.
If you come across any other ways to get underground then please send a support-case about the means and whereabouts so we can fix it. Thanks!
After the unusual snowfall during the long Calypso winter, Warriors seem to have gathered up some rust, according to Anna Bjorkdottir. Her attempts of communicating with the Warriors have so far been futile, and she believes the only reason is the destruction of their internal communication devices due to malfunction.
While much can be said about Anna’s theories, her studies in Warrior Communication Technology from Warrior scrap have indeed shown that the Warriors did have malfunctioning systems, and have recently gotten their internal communication devices replaced with a newer and flashier kind. However, it turns out the Warriors are now out of sync with each other as the devices are not yet linked.
It is therefore expected that the Warriors will gather up during the weekend to reconnect.
The energy in the air, created by the sudden returning of MindForce-powers in the colonists, have made the Molisk population anxious and wary. As a result, the Molisks has been spotted gathering up in groups to fight for their kin against this perceived invisible enemy.
It is expected that when the Molisk once again get used to MindForce users, everything will go back to normal, most likely within 72 hours.