Theryon Wars - An interview with its creators, Pyxel Arts

 EntropiaPlanets.com has published a very nice article/interview with the developers of the new Planet Partner releasing Theryon Wars during the 4th quarter of next year.
Please check out their original article to see all the pictures, video and to post your comments. I wasn't able to directly copy them here for some reason.
It looks pretty interesting and that they will put their own spin on game play within the Entropia Universe. With each planet coming online we are seeing more diverse playing options, and I think that is great.
Here is a copy of what they published.

Olé! Theryon Wars. What's this all about then?

Today we are proud to present an interview with the recently announced Spanish Planet Partner Pyxel Arts. They are currently working on a new concept within the Entropia Universe that is different from the existing "planets" in that it will be more focused on space than an actual planet.

Joining us from Pyxel Arts to answer our questions are the CEO, Rafael Espinosa, and its COO, Jorge Ordaz. They take turns, or combine efforts in order to provide our curiosity with some satisfaction, and they even give us a few glimpses into what we can expect to see when Theryon Wars will go live.

And those of you who were hoping that a Spanish Planet Partner would mean you get to skill up in "Holding Siestas," "Eating Calamaris" or "Drinking Sangria" might be in for a bit of a shock ...

We would like to thank Mr. Espinosa and Mr. Ordaz for their time to answer our questions, as well as to express our gratitude to the Marketing & PR manager for Pyxel Arts, Miss Gil, for making this interview possible.

Question: Who is Pyxel Arts?

Rafael Espinosa, picture from his LinkedIn profile.

Rafael Espinosa:
Pyxel Arts Digital Entertainment S.L. was born in December of 2009 as a new generation studio dedicated to developing video games. By 'new generation,' Pyxel Arts understands more than mere technological developments leading to the same old mechanics put in a nicer canvas.

We can say that Pyxel Arts is of course a company, but it's also a group of professionals and friends of the Spanish video game industry, with tons of experience from other studios, who have finally gathered to do things right by our own standards.

At Pyxel Arts we are committed not only to develop fantastic games, but also the technology making them possible, so they can continue evolving and surprising players year after year.

As you can see, our slogan is “The new age of videogames.” We think there are thousands of new experiences yet to be faced on the videogame industry, and we want to collaborate for them to happen.

Jorge Ordaz:
First of all, Pyxel Arts is a team; then, we deal with issues and tasks either company-wise or studio-wise. This way we stay in the middle point between indie studios and well-known, established companies. It's all about flexibility and allowing ourselves to put our best efforts and illusion in what we do at a very intimate level. Pyxel Arts is not 'just another job' or a brand-new faceless company: We're hand-crafting the games we want to play.

Question: How many are on the Entropia Planet team, and could you give us some background information about them? (e.g., the number of developers, writers, graphic artists, and their experience in these fields)

Rafael Espinosa:
The number of people working will vary along the project. We are starting now and we will be increasing the staff once we reach the production phase (currently on pre-production). Our estimations are around 18-20 members working permanently on the project, with maybe 10 more persons working alternatively.

Preparing a game for Entropia Universe requires a big effort in 2 fronts: Design and Art. Of course programming is an essential task, but thanks to the tools provided by MindArk and Entropia Universe, for this project programming will not be a headache.

As for Design and Art. Our Art team will be around 8 persons (animation, 3D modelers, TD, TA, concept designs, etc). Part of the team has been working in other projects outside the company, and most of them in our first game, Anmynor (www.anmynor.com).

The Anmynor Trailetr

We have 4 designers working on this project right now in a very important phase, pre-production, where we are setting up the whole atmosphere, graphic tone, etc., for the rest of the project. We have people coming from big titles, like, for example, Castlevania, Lords of Shadows, released last year for Xbox and PS3.

Question: Have you or your staff played in Entropia Universe? If so, what about it really appeals to you? (More than one opinion could be given).

Rafael Espinosa:
Yes, of course I've played Entropia Universe. I have my account and play regularly, but not as often as I would like. Unfortunately, managing a video game studio doesn’t mean you have time to play (even your own games). But one of the things I can say for sure is that the graphic quality you have in the games you can play along Entropia Universe is far away from the one we can check in other MMOs, and for me in particular, that's one of the best things. I like MMOs, and maybe the graphics are not so important in this type of game, but for me, they are a really important feature and help me get involved with the game.

But for sure Jorge, our COO and chief of the project, can tell you more about Entropia Universe (he has explored everything in order to make our game different).

Jorge Ordaz:
Well, I first played Project Entropia back in 2005 or so, but neither on a regular basis nor 'being social,' as most of my non-EU buddies had no strong feelings about the game at the time. I see things which could be done in EU and what appeals the most to me is the actual chance to try and do them ourselves in our very own planet.

Question: How did you end up connecting with MindArk?

Rafael Espinosa:
That's Jorge's fault. I was just returning from last year's E3 when he came to me with the news.

Jorge Ordaz:
My fault, granted, but if I may address the Court... We had been refining a concept paper for a new project for some time and I realized its scope was way too ambitious for the technologies we had previously worked with. While thinking about a twitch in the Rewards System, I found myself staring at my screen, right at the Entropia Universe icon and it was like 'yo, what if...?'

Afterwards we started slicing the concept in manageable chunks, from which we chose which will be the core of our EU Planet, others that could be developed at later stages with MindArk's support and several others which will better fit non-EU stand-alone games with the same background story and key elements.

Question: The Pyxel Arts website mentions the name of the game being Project Ninlil. Is that the official name under which the game will be released?

Rafael Espinosa:
No, the final name of the project is “Theryon Wars.” “Project NINLIL” was just a working name. We name our projects with this “gods mythology” until we reach the final name. Again, Jorge's fault.

Jorge Ordaz:
I plead... guilty. But I'd like to point out that our working names are not picked randomly at all.

Question: What made Pyxel Arts decide that the Entropia Universe was the right place for developing Project Ninlil?

The Pyxel Arts logo

Rafael Espinosa:
From a company point of view, Entropia Universe is a unique system, and the options, at a company level, that it offers to us, are incredible.

Jorge Ordaz:
From a studio perspective there are two main reasons. The first and most important one is that both the platform fits the project and the project fits the platform. This is not always evident and sometimes it doesn't even happen. For instance, we can develop assets that will be on par with the client's graphical capabilities; there are other considerations, but I think you'll see my point. I mentioned earlier something about our second reason: we can do new things in EU and we're willing to. Entropia has been out there for quite a while, so it's been fully tested, it's solid enough yet it's fresh and appealing for our project.

Question: We Googled on the name Ninlil, and came up with a connection to Sumerian Religion, where Ninlil is described as the “Lady of the Air” (or open field). Is this the origin of the name?

Rafael Espinosa:
(Rafael points at Jorge) ...

Jorge Ordaz:
Absolutely. It's the first time someone from outside the studio noticed this, as far as I know. This mythology stuff is something I'm bringing with me since... quite a lot of time ago. There are tales, sagas, myth and folklore stories from which anyone can draw inspiration or, as in this case, find common elements with a brand new development.

In the early stages of the Theryon Wars project I noticed two distinct elements we could relate to 'Queen Air.' Which elements, you'll have to find out yourself on planet Theryon. Anyway, I guess then you won't be surprised to find an Easter egg inside another Easter egg...

Question: If there is indeed a connection with the Sumerian religion, what significance does it have to Pyxel Arts?

Rafael Espinosa:
Jorge...

Jorge Ordaz:
Oh, it's not a matter of religion or beliefs. Well, you know most people are used to Roman, Greek and Norse mythology, yet very few of them are aware of other myths and traditions. Apart from the Epic of Gilgamesh, Mesopotamian mythology is pretty unknown yet very rich. As for the game, don't expect to find Sumerian temples and sculptures. Also, we don't have any kind of Sumerian decoration in our studio.

Question: What will the theme of your planet be? (As in what unique selling point will it have?). From the description on the Pyxel Arts website, it seems to hint at being themed around deep space. Could you go a bit further into this for us please, and give us some more insight into what to expect?

Jorge Ordaz:
At this point, we can't say aloud many things we're working on, but I can give you some clues...

Deep space means spaceships and you already know MindArk is working on that; our initial proposal to them already included spaceships crewed or manned by several ranges of players, from small party-sized corvettes to big, so to say, 'clan-sized' warships. Also, take into account there are two main, opposing factions, and as a player, you can sign up for one or the other. This not only impacts PvP but also storylines, sovereignty claims, resources acquisition... About technology and quests, you'll have to find out lots of things by yourselves; if we make things right and you play on a regular basis, every once in a while you'll ask yourselves 'who knows what and how does that knowledge impact Theryon?'

Question: You also state on the website that Project NinLil will “feature unseen characteristics for an MMO.” Being gamers, we’re very keen to see if we could get you to lift a tip of the veil about that statement.

Jorge Ordaz, picture from his LinkedIn profile.

Jorge Ordaz:
The previous question kind of lifts it a little bit... But, ok, another different little bit of a tip won't hurt anyone. At launch time there has been a war and you'll enter the game under a truce between the main two factions.

There will be low-intensity conflicts and skirmishes in the form of PvP, PvE and some blends of both (for instance, NPC-assisted PvP). Once you sign up for one side you can progress through the ranks of your faction, which implies the other faction will probably put a price on your head, and that doesn't necessarily mean money.

In the long run we want to count on highest-ranking players and player-chosen representatives to define the strategies and objectives of each faction, which will then define the operations and missions available each week and month. Players' participation in these events will then change the political map of Theryon, shifting the balance of power and resources, NPC support availability, communications, transportation... Even leading to a new open war. Please, be aware this demands a lot of work on our side, but we think current Entropians will appreciate it and it can also attract new players.

Question: Will these particular features be what sets your game apart from the other Entropia Universe planet partners, or do you have other unique selling points as well?

Jorge Ordaz:
Even more tips to lift? Oh, well... Let's see... Just kidding.

In some other games you play a hero and you're offered quests, clearly split into 'main' and 'secondary' categories. When it's an MMO, you'll play the same quests that I played before and whoever joins the game after you will find the same quests... Theryon's different. Apart from basic and tutorial quests, and some others with faction, rank and other prerequisites, there are three special quest categories I'd like to mention: Hidden, Dynamic and Hierarchical, which are all non-exclusive: there can be Hidden Dynamic quests, for example.

Hierarchical quests will be available to Societies and will have prerequisites related to their members, such as member count or average rank, both in the form of 'quest available if prerequisite is equal or bigger than X' and 'if prerequisite is smaller than.' Most of these quests are team-oriented.

Dynamic quests influence and are influenced by the, so to say, geopolitical situation of both planet Theryon and its surrounding region of space. Once we reach a sizeable player base, we'll include 'Call to Arms' quests in this branch, which we could call massive, multi-front raids for both factions; this not only depends on the amount of players in our world, but also of their efforts to set aside the truce and return to an open war situation... which is impacted by Dynamic quests.

Hidden quests are... pretty secret at this point. I'll just mention three points: You'll have to find their sources by yourself, their rewards can lead to very exclusive and rare technology, and you could run into a Hidden quest without realizing it is Hidden at first.

Question: Are you going to cater to a specific type of customer, and if so, what type of gamers will your game be built for?

The team at Spaniard Blend who will be producing the game.

Jorge Ordaz:
It's not so easy creating a game both for Entropians and non-Entropians. On the other hand, and this is a personal preference, we aim at players, not customers: we make games, not spreadsheets.

Now, for a start, no sweating on Theryon. Let there be quests, let there be exploration... If you like and qualify for it, let there be undercover, infiltration and sabotage missions behind the enemy lines, to name a few. Unwilling to join the fight? Then search for the strange ruins and weird artifacts rumored to lie deep in the wilderness. Or you could also join private expeditions or secret military research programs aimed at untapping the power of devices of unknown origin.

Else, resource gathering was the sparkle that started the First Theryon War: go and earn your bit off raw or refined materials, crafting or trading. We want this kind of variety, not just because of very style-focused players but also for those who want a change. Myself, I like mining once in a while, then trading, then PvE, then if friends join up, some PvP... It's not only playing something you, as a player, are good at, but also being able to take a break while playing something different on the same planet, same setting, same rules, same friends and foes...

Question: The company’s vision on the main part of the website states: “Knowing the players and what they demand … are key factors to success.” How will this work in the Entropia Universe model? The way the universe has been set up is that MindArk will always have the final call on new features, and seeing they have to carefully consider whether a specific feature might influence the other planets, or perhaps investments made by players, could you let us know how you plan on dealing with such issues?

Jorge Ordaz:
Pretty tricky question. First of all, MindArk and us are partners. Ideally, what's good for them is good for us and vice versa, and this also applies to other partnerships -both MindArk's and ours. So, in good faith, it's absolutely fair for MindArk to decide how, when or if certain features will be included in their platform.

On the other hand, Theryon is more than a planet. I previously mentioned that we intend to create different standalone games with the same setting and key elements. Seriously, let's be honest here: It's much less painful for us as developers to use one single technology than using three or four different engines or platforms. Also, there's no need to cripple a standalone game to turn it into a 'feature.'

Last but not least, we as a studio have to listen to the players: if you keep asking for something, we'll search for the way to give to you, be it inside EU or not. That's mostly our position about this. On the other hand, we're currently developing quite a different game, Anmynor. Although the same philosophy applies to both games as for player-studio interaction, please note and let others know that the games, their scopes, their communities and the 'caretakers' are and will be different.

Question: Have you picked a launch date for the game yet, or is it far too early? In the case of the latter, is there a particular period you are aiming for? (i.e., late 2011, Q1 2012, etc.)

Rafael Espinosa:
Late Q4 2012

Question: Where do you see Project Ninlil in 3-5 years?

Jorge Ordaz:
That greatly depends on the players and I'm not used to sharing my wildest dreams...

Question: Do you think we missed anything, or would you have anything to add that we did not bring up ourselves?

No bull!

Jorge Ordaz:
Sure, you didn't ask about virtual bullfighting... We are professional, experienced game developers and Theryon is a brand-new IP for modern sci-fi games. Just in case, we're not including dance towers, virtual bullfights or other bovine byproducts, for those who might mind about this stuff. In the end, nobody expects...

uh oh...

Rocktropia Teaser Just In

I have started asking the different Planet Partners if they would be willing to give me teasers, or let me know about press releases to share here. I got the idea when Meg from the Next Island crew was talking about it last week on their forum, and so will be starting to share atleast things from NI and Rocktropia and hopefully the other planets as well.

This just in from Neverdie,

Teaser for you to Break

Next VU could well see ROCKtropia Achievements!

May 2011 Q&A from Neverdie

Posted on neverdie.com today by Neverdie himself,

Firstly I would like to thank everyone for their patience, it has been a tumultuous time for us at the Studio, things are settling down now as we have delivered the content for the Next VU. So now I can address the Questions.


1. Are there, or will there be unlimited versions of the Rocktropia weapons in the loot pool with the potential to drop in big hofs like there is on Calypso? For example an unlimited zk6, or an unlimited Orgasmatron Axe.

Yes, we actually had some Unlimited Items scheduled for the last VU but they were held back at the last moment, due to balancing issues..My Hope is that you will see these items appear soon.
if all goes according to plan with our next VU, our hope is that we can spend more time on Special items and less time playing catch up.

2. Will Rocktropia be a continually growing and developing Planet or will 2.0 mark the beginning of a long period of stable but never changing gaming like when I started on Calypso in 9.0?

After we get the basics of the Economy into play, which I hope will be with this next VU in June, our focus will shift mostly to Gameplay, Quests and Story for a while, we have so many areas in ROCKtropia we want to bring to life with Quests... Further Expansion will come when our population grows.

3. Will there be Rocktropia events like the robot and mutant events in the past on Calypso?

We dont really have tools yet to adjust Spawn on the Fly.. So we have to be more strategic with our events and allow them to evolve between each VU.

4. How realistic is the idea of RL items dropping in loot. (I understand that video cards have droped on on Calypso in the past and Laptops are expected in loot for the Promotional start of Arkadia)

We will drop real life items in the future, concert tickets, music memorobilia, apparel etc..

5. When will the beergarden open up and start actually pumping beer out? (is there a set amount of decay or ped cycled on the planet required before it can become operational?)

The Beer Garden finally after 12 Months and is working, its great fun be careful, After the Next VU when more BP's arrive, there will be uses for the Kegs

6. When will you make me my own Land area with RTOM mobs with maturities based off the actual rotm's from last year?

I'm looking forward to seeing some private land ownership on ROCKtropia, when the economy is fixed and we start to see some population growth, it will become feasable.

7. Do you have any plans for a Land Area with only low lvl mobs of similar maturity/hp to help with the creation of new player/low lvl ingame events?

We have this Planned for the City of Dreams area, but it may have to wait till after the summer, because Blueprints took up most of our time.

8. Will all Rocktropia BP's be limited or will there be lines of unlimited prints as well?

Both, Im not sure what the Mix is on this first major BP VU, but hopefully we will see both.
After the next VU your feedback will be much appreceated.

9. What happened to Hard Rock/Ingot? Why cant anyone find it anymore?

It's just tough to find,it is my understand that it is there though

10. What happened to Elvis and Neverdie Dragons? Why aren't they around any more?

We do a lot of Spawn moving as we re-organize the World, perhaps you just have to look somewhere else for them, are you sure these mobs are missing?

11. Will we have 'wave event' areas like I hear they have on Calypso?

Yep they should be in after this next VU

12. Will we have our own 'Beacon' or 'Instanced' type missions available on Rocktropia any time soon?

We haven't been provided any tools for this yet

13. Why are the icons in inventory so large? It was much easier to sort them when they were smaller.

Fixed now

14. Will we be able to actually listen the albums and records we loot?

I think there are few other priorities on the Platform before we push for these things

15. When will different areas of RT get different genere of music? (for example Vampire cathedral are used to be promoted as a place for Gothic music)

We actually started out with this, then we moved into One Station, but after the Next VU, Digital abduction managed areas will have seperate streams, this is just the begining of diversity in Music

16. Any ingame concerts planned? there was an old rpg (gothic) who had a nice easter egg that you could activate and you had a german band playing non stop for a chapter with some npc's dancing around... (donno: make a stage, put some metal, make the zombies dance.. )

I believe even more options are coming with the Voice system to support concerts. In the August VU will provide some areas for Player created music events.

17. When new blueprints are added do you have to "Turn them on" after a VU for them to start being found or are they added the moment a VU is launched

"MA control that"

18. Will the rest of the Rocktropians of the month get there stars added ingame (A few people have asked me to ask this)

Who is missing?

19. Once and for all who determines items that drop in RT/NI loot is it MA or NDS (For example if you wanted to add A-3 punisher MKII to drop from Forum trolls is it you guys or MA who would add this)

We determine which Mobs drop which items, that is essential for game design, we don't control how or when, so we can't predict when something will drop

20. There was mention a while ago that RT pioneers or Top hunters would be given a apartment on RT is this true and will it happen if it is?

We do events to win things.. but due to the early instability of the planet some of our events have become derailed... If anyone is due an outstanding Prize, please let us know.

21. Alot of people complain about Lag on RT who is responsible for the servers we use NDS or MA?

Well We have been Very Ambitious with our developed areas so we must keep optomizing them

22. What are there restrictions on Neverdie and the employees of Neverdie Studio? Does the studio have to report the names of the employees' avatars to Mindark? Are there restrictions on how long a personal avatar cannot be used after employment in some sort of non-disclosure agreement or something (some folks on Linked in appear to have worked for NDS a couple of years ago, some probably as interns that were only there a few months - are they still under the prohibition? Are the interns considered a part of that when they are there if there are any interns?)

this is a question to be directed at MA. But I will say that I don't believe anyone who has worked at NDS in the past has any knowledge on specific loots that they could exploit.


23. Will Blueprints start being fixed prior to releases so that L blueprints show up as L in auction and item info screens, and stuff that is not a blueprint does not show up as a blueprint in the item descriptions?

Are they fixed now?

24. Will there be a clarification about who the heck or what the heck Digital Abduction is and how it's tied to Neverdie Studio? Does the prohibited end user activity apply to this company/individual/employee, or whatever the heck it is?

Digital Abduction, manage land areas for some of our Music Marketing partners, they do not own the land deeds, the deeds cannot be sold by them, we can reclaim them at any time... But it is neccesary for our artist partners to have someone manage the land areas, because they are busy being artists... Digital abduction manage the land areas and also will coordinate with the artists and labels on marketing issues.. Think of them as Virtual Web masters for Artists.. We don't give DA any info on Loot. They do not have access to anything confidential at the studio.

25. Are the coins the only way to get in and out of hell? Will hell be hellish without any auction or terminals (sort of like a hardcore playing place?)... Will hell have revive terminals?

Hell Coins will be required to get to hell. Hell is evolving should be some more action Next VU

26. Any updates on Jango? http://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/fo...-Jango-Airplay

We really needed to focus on the economy before we can really get back to work with our marketing partners, I really Hope this Next VU catches us up.

27. Will there be hangers on Rocktropia?

We don't yet have the skinny on the gameplay for Space, so we will have to wait and see.

28. Will monthly 'rent' fees for estates be removed on Rocktropia since there is not going to be any rent on estates on Calypso or Arkadia?

Possibly, we had problems getting our estates to work without rent, lets evaluate the success of this on the other planets, I think its a good thing. I dont like closed shops

29. Are there more plans for integration of user interactive and player generated music content in addition to that coming from your business side?

Currently we have no systems in development with Mindark, We have designed an elaborate Dance battle System, that I would like to Push for when Mindark have completed all the basics for space, taming, makeup etc, but i think alot will depend on the Popularity of our planet and theme

30. Are you negotiating with MA to get back to being able to fully use your avatar?

I'm not Negotiating... But I do not agree with NEVERDIE not being able to play.
If I wanted to try to exploit the system, I would be stupid to do it with my Known avatar..
I enjoy playing it inspires me... MA can monitor my activity and treat my like any other player.
So I think it would be more accurate to say I am Lobbying to be able to play, but not negotiating.

I would prefer Mindark Police the Planet partners avatar accounts, instead of the community.
I do understand the sensitivity of this issue and that there is a huge margin for misunderstanding in the community... But still what would people really prefer, that I play with an undercover avatar and MA monitor my undercover avatar to make sure that I dont cheat? Or I play with NEVERDIE and MA monitor me so that i dont cheat? At the end of the Day only MA can Know what a planet partner is really up to, only they can analyze the financial data, so why force me to use an underground Avatar, when I have a World Famous avatar that have invested heavily in, that would actually make my activities more transparent... I know that people will always speculate on what I'm doing, but I think there are alot more savvy hunters to follow rather than myself..."



31. Will neverdie.com be opened up more to allow mods and Admin's to perform a more active role as at the moment what permissions are avalible is very limited.

I think so.

32. Will there be a review of blueprints such as the Creative Juice bp which seems to have an unnaturally low success rate due to its tt per click vs. tt of success ratio?
Is this whey the Creative Juice bp gives so many errors while clicking it?

We are fixing these issues Edit: Have fixed

33. To begin, how are you all and how is it going? (Hello to ND, Taliesin, Tenacity, and Todd ;-)

34. When will we hear more Ween? ( I just have to ask; having the music stream is great, well not so much the rap..., and hearing Ween would be so nice.)

I love ween too.... I will talk to the DJ

35. Also related to music, can we get an ingame feed of what is playing live?

Yes Edit: No, that would require coding

36. Blueprints! For clothes, etc. where are they?

we finally have the tools for this hopefully you will see some V Soon!

37. Stars for the rest of the ROTMs and for the champions of Todd's Fighting Federation? And will there be more for the new helpful people here?

Hopefully as we stabalize our economy we can also get to grips with our community interaction again

38. Beer cans and the beer stein?

Kegs!

39. Unlimited ZKs and axes, etc?

Look for more unlimited items in the future

40. Apartments for everyone who participated in the Squatters Unite thread Squatters Unite! ?

I will have to read the thread

41. When can we expect concerts, new music from participants, etc?

As soon as the Voice system gets to the next Phase I think we can tackle this properly

42. Jukeboxes, lootable music real life items, etc?

thats what we have to work towards


On a final note for this Q&A I would like to remind everyone that because of delays in the readiness of the platform we launched ROCKtropia before all the systems were provided to us to create a functional Economy, this can be seen with the latest planet on the platform launching with fundamentals we will not have until our next VU .We have paid a heavy price for this and this has been a big game of catch up for us and been extremely challenging emotionally and financially. For those Players who enjoy ROCKtropia, I sincerely hope we move a big step forward with this next VU to giving you a world that you can take pride in and build a community on and that We can market.

In another thread he also confirmed that NDS will be focusing only on Rocktropia now.
Posted in this thread.

Question # unknown:
How does Next Islands announcement of a new game producer affect NDS and Rocktropia?
Does it mean you are no longer working on Next Island and will be able to Dedicate full time to Rocktropia content?


Yes we are focused Solely on ROCKtropia content now

The interesting points for me were,
1. NDS only working on Rocktropia now.
2. Blueprints and UL items potentialy as soon as the next vu.
3. Some more information about the studios relationship with DA.
4. Wave events soon!
5. Beacon or Instanced type events wont be happening soon :(
6. plenty more, but you get the idea.

narfi

Samuel Can't Talk

I got some information from Meg today about Next Island's upcoming VU.

"I'm really excited about the new NPCs in and around Crystal Resort. These new characters will help introduce the background of Next Island, and help us bring David's vision to life!

This is Samuel, one of the robots in Crystal Resort. The First Wave explorers brought Samuel through the transporters, with the intention of using him and and the other robots to set up a new Elysian paradise here on Next Island. Unfortunately, the First Wavers disappeared, and poor Samuel ran into some trouble with the native, hostile papoo. Sure, those little monkeys look cute and mischievous, but they're aggressive, and they do like to steal shiny things, like linguistic circuits. Now there's an half-abandoned starter colony, and a robot who can't communicate..."

His eyes seem hollow and a little bit sad.
I wonder what all the new missions will be about.

narfi

Exploiting The Economy Of Items

I was talking to a friend the other day about some of the changes taking place in the loot tables on different mobs.

He was concerned with his recent inability to hunt anything that dropped good items.
He is a smart guy and although we don't always agree with each other, He always has good reasons for what he bases his theories on. Anyways it got me to thinking about it, so here are my thoughts.

The two traditional mobs for grinding economicly on are Argo and Drones. Drones because they drop a high volume of Gazzurdite which has a decent markup, and Argo because of the iron they drop.

Iron prices have gone from 110ish% to 103ish% (basically tt) since the Argo missions were introduced.
Gazz has held consistantly at 120-125ish% for a long time. It was as high as 130+% a couple years ago when I was camping them.

Both of these mobs also drop or dropped armor and guns in higher tt loots. (minis & globals)
Argo dropped CB19(L)s and Knight thighs & Paladin masks & Kanga masks.
Drones drop Bear(L) armor pieces and LR41(L)s

Lets consider these larger loot drops.
Knight and Paladin is actually fairly decent unlimited armor somewhere between shogun and gremlin in usefulness. But because it was so common and because the other parts for the sets were less common, people automatically just TT'ed any they got in loot.
The same is true about Bear(L) armor, its actually more eco to use than shogun or gremlin with good protection, but because it was so common people TTed it after every run.

The guns as well are good options for the right level of play, cb19+beast or lr41+A104 are both good gun/amp combos and economical to use. But because argo and drones are hunted so heavily the guns became so common that there was little to no markup for them. Once again, people have TTed an uncounted number of these items even though they are actually very good for what they are.

People have been upset about the recent removal of armor from the Argo loot table. But if I was grinding argo, I would have actually been pleased with this. 103% on iron or a couple % on cb19s is much better than tting armor after each run.

After considering it for a while, I think that while these two mobs drop good items, but they are so well balanced that the hunters perception is that they are not good based on the markup they could benefit from them.

Based on several peoples studies over several years we can assume that the average cost (loss) vs. the TT value of input and output for a given activity will be around 10% of what you spend.
Combine this knowledge with the fact that  this is a Real Cash Economy which is always seeking to stabilize itself, we can assume that the markup of items will eventually stabilize at less than the cost to loot them.

As consumers we should seek to buy and use items that are in balance with the system. (low markup)
As hunters, miners, and crafters though we should always be looking for the imbalances in the system and 'exploiting' them.

There are many possible reasons for there to be an imbalance in the system, and when analyzing rather it is something you should attempt to 'exploit,' you should consider if your own actions will affect that balance drastically enough to prevent you from benefiting from it.

Gazz from drones is an example of an imbalance in the system that you can probably 'exploit' without affecting the balance much. It is sold for a high markup in high volumes daily.
It is possible that you find a rare (and useful) armor that drops from a mob that isn't hunted much. You discover that you get one every time you global and it has a tt value of 50ped and a markup of 200%. Historically one has sold in auction per week for the past year. If you start camping these and looting 2-3 of these armor pieces a day you will likely out supply the demand and the markup will drop.
In this case though, I would for sure hunt these as much as I could and sell as many armor peices as I could until the price did drop. Maybe even at 150% I could break even or profit for a while. Say I got a global every 500peds cycled on this mob. That would be 50ped of markup for every 500 at the beginning, and 25ped markup when the price had dropped. That is 10% and then 5% not even counting the few % that I can make on the rest of the loot.

The RCE aspect of this game makes it highly competitive and because of this the markets will always try and stabilize to a point where the item is sold for less than the cost of producing it. What we as players try and do is recognize the opportunities in new items as well as in changes in the loot system. What worked for someone yesterday will probably not work for me today, and what works for me today will probably not work for you tomorow. (or for me)

I am excited about the upcoming changes and improvements that SDS will be bringing for Calypso, NDS for Rocktropia, David Post's team for Next Island, as well as the new planets Arkadia, Cyrine, the Spanish Planet, the Arabian Planet, the MJ planet, etc....

Each of these changes will bring new imbalances into the system and allow players both old and new the opportunities to 'exploit' the markup of items.

Link to my Drone Camping Logs
Recent thread discussing the economy of drones

Good Luck on your quest to exploit the economy :p

narfi