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''Entropia Universe'' is a massive Virtual Universe with a Virtual Economy , where Entropia Universe currency can be redeemed for US Dollars. There are no experience points or levels within the game, and it is not officially categorized as an MMORPG ; however, it shares elements of regular MMORPGs, in that skills and special items figure prominently in game play. DEVELOPMENT Development of Entropia Universe (formerly Project Entropia) was started in ''. The game was launched commercially at the start of 2003 . 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 Avatar s 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. ENVIRONMENT ''Entropia Universe'' presents a vast landscape to explore over two continents, Eudoria and Amethera. Both continents are located on the planet Calypso. There is also a space station in orbit over the planet, however, in order to get to it, players need to own a hangar which contains a working spaceship; this can be quite costly. Alternatively, players may pay for someone else to transport them. Just added is "Club Neverdie", which as of January 2006 costs between 25 and 30 PED to travel to. COST TO PLAY The game can be Downloaded and played for free, however " Newbies " when they first start playing are not given any other items or clothing beyond a bright orange Jumpsuit . As such, although you can play for free, more involved gameplay is very difficult. Players with little or no money are limited to the following actions:
One major difference in ''Entropia Universe'' from other MMORPGs is the ability to convert real world money (via a . The exchange rate is fixed at 10 PED to one US Dollar . A transaction fee is charged for converting the currency both ways. Players may kill and Loot tougher creatures which contain a higher than average number of items or PED. Players may also be paid for actions in the game; most of this sort of payback comes from guessing locations for Minerals in-game. Similar to Gambling , the payback is usually much less than that which is required to be contributed. 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 , it was announced that Project Entropia had launched a real-world cash card attached to the user's account within the game that would allow game players to use their online credit in the real world. As reported on the BBC newsfeed {Link without Title} 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. CONTROVERSIES Many players are attracted to PE by the prospect of making money from the game. MindArk itself encourages this belief by stating that the game "must offer unlimited income opportunities to the player" {Link without Title} . Following media publicity MindArk reported in per hour to play. Players are encouraged to regard this cost as an Investment , whilst some players believe that the game functions more like a Casino . The difference is that, in most countries, investments and gambling are Regulated Industries whilst on-line games with real economies are currently unregulated and players therefore have limited rights under the game's EULA and little legal protection if MindArk were to go Bankrupt . MindArk are able to change game rules, Income from player activities and Algorithms to meet their commercial objectives and therefore investing in PE can be regarded as an extremely risky investment for anybody except those who have a vested interest in on-line computer games. Experienced players are more likely to treat payments into the game as an alternative to the traditional monthly fee and expect little, if any, return. PE players encounter the same problem with Virtual Crime as other MMORPGs. However, the fact that in-game 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, much like other games where real money is involved (think poker, for example), tends to make the players more "serious" about their time logged in. It also makes a certain amount of secrecy about game mechanics and strategies both necessary and challenging. 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 class conflict this leads to just as in real life situations of haves and have-nots. This extra edge of consequence can be quite addictive. EXTERNAL LINKS Official links
Game Archive and Review sites News sites
Player resources
Links to Entropia Universe related sites and info Economy
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