Letter from the CEO
Entropians,
When I was announced as the new CEO of MindArk I stated that one of my priorities would be improved communication between MindArk and the community. As you may have noticed, there has not yet been so much communication from my side. The main reason is that I did not want to announce new ideas and plans without first engaging with the employees at MindArk. It is important that everyone within the company steer in the same direction and look towards the future with enthusiasm. In the eight months since being appointed as CEO, I have met intensively with the various MindArk departments to solicit suggestions on the best way forward, as well on refining the near and long-term vision for Entropia Universe. We now have a solid plan in place to implement that vision.
I realized the incredible potential of Entropia Universe immediately upon creating my avatar and logging in for the first time. It has now become my job to ensure that MindArk achieves that potential. There are many things that we can improve in Entropia Universe, including the relationship and communication with the community. There are many different communication channels where we plan to be more active, including community forums, Discord, and possibly Reddit.
2017 in Retrospect
Before looking ahead to the future, let’s review some of the things accomplished during 2017. In terms of content we are always working to expand storylines, missions and events and 2017 was no exception. Last year’s Merry Mayhem event featured the first implementation of a new event system that is more integrated into the client and accommodates new event formats.
With Loot 2.0 we revamped the hunting loot formula in order to achieve a more flexible, balanced, and rewarding system. Those changes have led to significantly improved loot returns for the vast majority of players and an overall better loot balance. Further improvements to the loot system have been ongoing since the initial implementation of Loot 2.0.
During the second half of the year some of our participants experienced serious lag issues. While the issue itself was not an isolated one with a single cause, a complete review of the engine was made. In addition to fixing the issue, several improvements were made to other systems which made the core server infrastructure more robust as a result. This work has been continuing throughout 2018, with the aim of performing a similar overview and optimization of the client to ensure that Entropia becomes more stable and smooth-running.
2018 and Beyond
For the remainder of 2018 and into the early part of 2019, MindArk will be primarily focused on improving existing Entropia Universe systems and content.
This does not mean that no new content will be added or that no new events will be implemented, however it does mean that there will be a few selected areas that will receive the bulk of our attention. One of these focus areas will be system interaction, modernizing some of the legacy systems we have today, and upgrading others to conform to industry standards. These efforts will improve avatar interaction with the universe and feel much more engaging. Some of you may have noticed that we are inviting a group of participants to MindArk headquarters to help test and provide feedback for some of the upcoming improvements to the client camera system. These changes are something we believe will benefit newcomers and veterans alike.
A similar overhaul will be performed for the various user interfaces, where the aim is to create a more visually appealing, unified and responsive experience. This will be an iterative process to ensure that we are moving in the right direction.
Moving forward, I will share periodic Development Manifestos like this one on the Entropia Universe Buzz page to keep the community informed of MindArk’s design philosophies, decision-making process, future plans, and more.
Finally, I am planning to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) sometime in the near future, either on the Entropia Universe subreddit or on PlanetCalypsoForum.com. More detailed info to come soon!
Kind regards,
Henrik Nel
CEO, MindArk PE AB
Continue reading...
Entropians,
When I was announced as the new CEO of MindArk I stated that one of my priorities would be improved communication between MindArk and the community. As you may have noticed, there has not yet been so much communication from my side. The main reason is that I did not want to announce new ideas and plans without first engaging with the employees at MindArk. It is important that everyone within the company steer in the same direction and look towards the future with enthusiasm. In the eight months since being appointed as CEO, I have met intensively with the various MindArk departments to solicit suggestions on the best way forward, as well on refining the near and long-term vision for Entropia Universe. We now have a solid plan in place to implement that vision.
I realized the incredible potential of Entropia Universe immediately upon creating my avatar and logging in for the first time. It has now become my job to ensure that MindArk achieves that potential. There are many things that we can improve in Entropia Universe, including the relationship and communication with the community. There are many different communication channels where we plan to be more active, including community forums, Discord, and possibly Reddit.
2017 in Retrospect
Before looking ahead to the future, let’s review some of the things accomplished during 2017. In terms of content we are always working to expand storylines, missions and events and 2017 was no exception. Last year’s Merry Mayhem event featured the first implementation of a new event system that is more integrated into the client and accommodates new event formats.
With Loot 2.0 we revamped the hunting loot formula in order to achieve a more flexible, balanced, and rewarding system. Those changes have led to significantly improved loot returns for the vast majority of players and an overall better loot balance. Further improvements to the loot system have been ongoing since the initial implementation of Loot 2.0.
During the second half of the year some of our participants experienced serious lag issues. While the issue itself was not an isolated one with a single cause, a complete review of the engine was made. In addition to fixing the issue, several improvements were made to other systems which made the core server infrastructure more robust as a result. This work has been continuing throughout 2018, with the aim of performing a similar overview and optimization of the client to ensure that Entropia becomes more stable and smooth-running.
2018 and Beyond
For the remainder of 2018 and into the early part of 2019, MindArk will be primarily focused on improving existing Entropia Universe systems and content.
This does not mean that no new content will be added or that no new events will be implemented, however it does mean that there will be a few selected areas that will receive the bulk of our attention. One of these focus areas will be system interaction, modernizing some of the legacy systems we have today, and upgrading others to conform to industry standards. These efforts will improve avatar interaction with the universe and feel much more engaging. Some of you may have noticed that we are inviting a group of participants to MindArk headquarters to help test and provide feedback for some of the upcoming improvements to the client camera system. These changes are something we believe will benefit newcomers and veterans alike.
A similar overhaul will be performed for the various user interfaces, where the aim is to create a more visually appealing, unified and responsive experience. This will be an iterative process to ensure that we are moving in the right direction.
Moving forward, I will share periodic Development Manifestos like this one on the Entropia Universe Buzz page to keep the community informed of MindArk’s design philosophies, decision-making process, future plans, and more.
Finally, I am planning to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) sometime in the near future, either on the Entropia Universe subreddit or on PlanetCalypsoForum.com. More detailed info to come soon!
Kind regards,
Henrik Nel
CEO, MindArk PE AB
Continue reading...
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