Comments on: Interview: David Simmonds on the Business of Entropia Universe

By: John

John — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:53:33 +0000

Or they could tax insertions of money and give players a MindArk-run world where players create MindArk-made goods and sell them to others. They can ensure, in this way, that players do not monopolize certain disciplines purely because of innate talent or skill. For example, if they allow players to make their own paintings and the top artists in the game also happened to be artists in real life, then players might complain that they cannot compete with the top artists in-game because they're RL artists. Remember, most RL economies have a high number of poor people. That's because they're not competitive and do not have the skills or talents necessary for it. So there WILL be poor people in an economy that's entirely player-run. This means those players that're losing money (poor) WILL leave and MindArk will suffer attrition. So Mind creates every item and good that will be used in the economy and ties every player action to a skill that they created and can moderate. This ensures that players are more on equal ground.

By: John

John — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:52:14 +0000

continued….

So a lot of players WILL lose, even big, and the manner in which this is all done depends on MindArk.

They could sit back and tax insertions of money into the Entropia Universe pot and give players a true player-run world where players create their own goods and sell them to others – let the best player win! It would be a highly competitive, yet discouraging environment for the least talented players. It's what everyone seems to want. What they forget, though, is that not everyone can leave with more than they put in. It's an impossibility. It might feel more genuine, in some way.

By: chief75

chief75 — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:42:15 +0000

Its a scam trust me, its a stealth casino. THis 1 sentence can end all of the hot boys saying EU isnt a gambling site:

Does it involve RL cash?, Is there an element of luck involved?

Every1 with half a brain knows the above to answers, all you need to do now is google gambling definition ) Quite simple really

ROFL @ the comments about theres ways of doing it better.

Sure yeah you can do most casino games, if not all, better, like doing it sober, etc. It still doesnt disguise the simple fact that EU is gambling.

Unlike all other gambling sites though, its unregulated, un-licenced and doesnt carry warnings bout gambling additiction.

Thats why i laugh at the comments saying i won blah blah, so that means EU isnt a scam, LOL! what ajoke, its 1 of the biggest internet gambling scams around

By: Andrew Watson

Andrew Watson — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:22:08 +0000

Just thought I’d add a comment from a current EU player. The footguards situation still has not improved since this article was originally published, many STILL have not looted a single pair of foot guards since their introduction and the average cost of playing seems to be spiraling even higher than before.

By: looks like China is slated for June 2008 - Page 3 - EntropiaForum.com : Entropia Universe Discussion

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:50:43 +0000

[...] out the following recent interview with David Simmonds, MindArk’s Business Development Director: The MMO Gamer ? ? Interview: David Simmonds on the Business of Entropia Universe [...]

By: Why does MA want us to lock PEDs in game? - Page 2 - EntropiaForum

Why does MA want us to lock PEDs in game? - Page 2 - EntropiaForum — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:29:23 +0000

[...] subscription charges. We only make money when people are inside our world doing activities. Full interview They say that they earn from when we use things, so actually they would earn more if we did use [...]

By: SufferingFools

SufferingFools — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:06:13 +0000

In response to David Simmonds reply to my initial comments:

David –

Firstly, the thrust of my comment was that, for gamers, EU does not provide a clear path of advancement. (This interview was for MMO Gamer, after all. So the target audience here are gamers with an interest in these thing)

Secondly, I appreciate the fact that you did not disagree with any of the details of the other points made in my initial comment. Such as not preparing the playerbase for the introduction of footguards in the new version or the very real gap between ubers and mid-level players that could only be crossed by spending tens of thousands of real dollars or 8-10 years of real-life play time. And, please note that I don’t take issue with the “time” vs “money” choice that you leave to the player. only the very unrealistic amounts of each that are required to utilize in-game items efficiently and economically.

I know that as a “business” MindArk can’t be expected to be this honest to a prospective player without running the risk of losing that potential income. That is why comments sections such as this allow for a more balanced insight for the prospective player.

and, thank you Steven for providing David’s response…

By: Steven Crews

Steven Crews — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 20:00:48 +0000

David Simmonds asked me to add this reply in response to SufferingFools:

Entropia Universe is a multi level social structure where everyone can find their own level of participation, whether this is “time” based or financially based, its the individual choice of the user.

We do not have “levels” that players have to attain to move forward, advancement is up to the individual,, and of course it could just be the social scale your interested in advancement in .

Very much like real life Mindark has to “balance” the economy much like a real government! and as we know not all decisions are popular but are made in the best interest of the whole!

By: Entropia Gateway » MMO Gamer Interviews David Simmonds on the Business of Entropia Universe

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:36:34 +0000

[...] Click here for the full interview. Bookmark to: [...]

By: MMO Gamer Interview with David Simmonds - EntropiaForum

MMO Gamer Interview with David Simmonds - EntropiaForum — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:30:25 +0000

[...] MMO Gamer Interview with David Simmonds Published on November 19th, 2007 in Features Steven Crews is an author and journalist specializing in the MMO genre. The last time I played Entropia Universe, John Kerry was looking like the next President of the United States, and the game was still going by the moniker of Project Entropia. [...]

By: SufferingFools

SufferingFools — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:31:32 +0000

As bright as the future that David predicts may be, at its core MA still shows itself to be inept when it comes to player relations and, quite frankly, greedy as regards cash flow in game and item balancing.
Case in point:
Just prior to “E for All”, MA touted the new Version 9.0, emphasizing a massive improvement in Avatar, Clothing and Armor models. Better polygon counts and redesigns would bring a breath of fresh air into models that had been unchanged for quite some time. The new models do require “pixel shader 3.0″ and most of the players do not have graphics cards that support the new models. This is understandable as a function of improving the game, however, the players lost all of the modifications that they had paid real money for and were forced to re-create their avatars from scratch, and now must pay again for avatar mods like hairstyles and body mods.
Also, one of the largest issues to arise with Version 9.0 was the surprise introduction of “foot guards” to the armor sets in game. For years, a full armor set consisted of a Harness(breast plate), Armguards, Thighguards, Shinguards and a Helmet or Faceguard. Players grew comfortable knowing that these made up a full set and the real money value of those sets ranged from USD $3.00 to over USD$ 10,000. With the introduction of footguards, those sets that players may have paid hundreds or thousands in USD for now required those players to either invest hundreds or thousands more to “complete” that set or deposit almost the same amount to try and loot footguards from a creature in game. Despite assurances from MA that footguards would be widely available, this has turned out not to be the case. They remain rare and expensive in the market in game. Not surprisingly, this has led to a number of established players selling out. A fairly regular and usual occurance when MA introduces a new version without preparing the player base first.
Add the above to the fact that the new players coming into the game who wish to earn enough skill in a given profession to be efficient in game are required to either buy those skills for over 50K USD or deposit close to that amount while trying to skill over 8 to 10 real years in game and you have a significant barrier to entry that doesn’t sit well with most gamers. As such, there exists a huge gap in the ubers vs mid-range players in this game and that gap can only be crossed by the players with large amounts of disposable income or the patience of a stone.