Entropia Universe Version Updates

PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 4.3
2003-03-04

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING STRANGE IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE APPROACHING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

Welcome!
The Version Update 4.3 (“VU 4.3”) for Project Entropia is a major step in the development of Project Entropia. Information about the content of the version update is located in this document.

VERSION UPDATE FEATURES AND UPGRADES

New Construction Areas
Two new areas of construction are introduced; Weapon Attachment Construction and Tool Construction.

Avatar Health Increase
The Avatar now gains Health when becoming more experienced.

New Avatar Animation and Emotes
A new “Away from keyboard” emote has been implemented to show fellow colonists when a participant is away from the keyboard. Also, several minor enhancements to the animations have been performed - most notable the new turn animation when an Avatar turns around.

More Trade NPCs
Several new trader NPCs have been introduced. Some of the terminals have been removed. Among the new traders is the Technician, who sells blueprints.

New Armor Available to Crafter
Several new armors have been introduced that are craftable only – some of these are the Trooper, Expedition and the Vampire.

Decoys
A new tool called the decoy has been introduced. This tool can throw a chasing monster off track for a short while.

New Skills
Several new skills have been introduced, together with skill icons.

Avatar Professional Standing Present
All avatars get a professional standing based on their expertise. This can be viewed in the Avatar stats section. If someone scans you, that info will also be visible.

New Transfer Amount Interface
To enhance functionality for those using the mouse, a new Transfer Amount UI has been introduced. It is most noticeable on the PED Card, where you now can withdraw PEC as well as PED.

Death Sequence Changed
When you die you now get the option to insta-teleport yourself to the last used Revival Terminal. If you have never used a Revival Terminal you still must travel to one.

Speed Bar on Tools
Several tools have a speed bar like the one on ranged weapons. Even more tools will have this in the future.

Increased Monster Behavior
Several monsters have been blessed with smarter behavior.

Changes to Refining
In order to increase performance you now must place a stack in a Refiner that is dividable by three (for Ore) or two (for Energy Matter) before you try to refine.

Problems Entering Doorways and Stairs Fixed
The problems when going up ramps, stairs or through doorways have been fixed.

Society Editable
You can now edit entered society information.

Carry Capacity
Instead of being binary as before, the carried weight gradually slows an Avatar down. If you carry more than 250 your Avatar can only walk.
NOTE: This limit will be reduced in future VU:s – please use your Storage Terminals. Also, carrying large inventories will reduce your performance and increase slowness to your experience.

Changes in the Traders’ Stock
The trade terminal will no longer sell weapon attachments, clothes or blueprints. The new place to find blueprints and books is on the Technician Trader. The number of Fast Aid Packs available will drop to the FAP-5 only. The rest will be removed from the stock entirely.

Items Info Touch-ups for Components
Several components have had their look changed in the Items Info window.

Mining Re-spawning Rebalanced
Mining areas will function much better now. Claim rods will disappear when they should.

Enhancement to the Autostack Function
The autostack function has been enhanced.

Closed Door Functionality Changed
When approaching a closed door, you will be notified about this.

Visible Shooting Bug Fixed
Sometimes you could see people with no ammo firing their weapons on your client. This has been fixed.

Blueprint Book Appearance Change
The upgrade routine on the blueprint books (when your book becomes more luxurious with more and better blueprints) has been updated.

No Longer Possible to Scan the Dead
You cannot use a scanner tool on restless souls.

Drill Towers Enhancement
The Drill Towers (which come automatically when you find a big deposit of ore or energy matter) have been enhanced.

Society Deletion after Seven Days
If a society does not consist of at least two members + one founder it will be removed automatically after seven days.

Updated Look on Drill Tower Deeds
The deeds associated with the Drill Towers have their own look separating them from the ordinary claim deeds.

Updated Sound Ranges
Several sound ranges have been tweaked.

Spelling Errors Fixed
Several spelling errors have been fixed.

The Robots are up to Something...
Rumors about a new robot attack are floating around.

Monsters Maturity Level Shown
The monsters will have different sizes showing their maturity/difficulty level.

Added Mouse Wheel Support
You can now scroll with a mouse wheel in most interfaces.

Bandwidth Optimisation
Several updates have been done to decrease the amount of data needed for communication between the client and the server. NOTE: In the Client Loader, in the “Options” section, you should enter your connection speed. Entering the wrong info here will result in lower performance, as you will get packet loss and sub-optimised data streams. You will NOT get better performance choosing a connection speed higher than you have, as this will choke your client.

Updated performance when Transactions are Being Made
Several improvements have been made throughout Project Entropia to ensure maximum security when trading, constructing and mining.

Increased Speed in the Systems
Several optimisations to reduce “lag” and slowness in the systems have been conducted. This should increase performance in trading, mining, shooting, inventory management, etc.

“Undead” Monster Bug Resolved
The haunting bug of dead creatures striking back from the dead has been fixed.

Sound Bugs Fixed
Several sound bugs have been fixed.

Bug in the Skill Ranking Fixed
A bug resulting in no Skill rank at level 510-520 has been fixed.

Reduced CTD Rate when Clicking on a Blueprint Book
A bug often resulting in a CTD (Crash To Desktop) when clicking on blueprint books has been fixed.

Jukebox Can Now be Shut Off
For those music haters out there ,-)

KNOWN ISSUES

VISA Use Temporarily Disabled
Until the 3d Secure system is in place, the use of VISA in the Project Entropia Bank interface is suspended. Several alternative payment systems are being developed, in addition to the ones existing already on the Project Entropia web page (in the “Webshop” --> “Alt Payment” section).

Radar is not updating all the time
Yes, we know. It has become better though. It will be completely fixed in the future.

Yes, you can run through trees
This is not a bug.

Missing icons on clothes and items
On certain PC configurations sometime the item icons in the inventory become invisible, or you receive a dummy icon called “Unable to show”. If this happens to you, please update to the latest video card drivers, check if Project Entropia officially supports your video card, and also change the video settings on the Setup button in the initial login screen. If this fails, please contact the Project Entropia Support.

2003-04-04
VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

Auctions
Auction houses and independent auctioneers have been added throughout the continent of Calypso. These points of trade will increase the commerce between participants and societies. Everything that normally can be traded between participants can be traded on the global auction market.

Enhanced Communication between Participants
Several enhancements have been made to ensure secure communication between participants. A new special Society tab has been added for intra-society communication. A “Friends” list has also been added, in which a participant can add friends to and chat with them directly if they are online, regardless of distance. All messages sent and received through the Friends-list are also saved in the client folder, in a file called “FriendChat.txt”.

Clothes Making
The avatars now can make clothes using raw material from the fauna of Calypso. The system works a lot like the construction system with raw material, a blueprint of the design one wants to make, and a special machine for performing the action.

Colorize
Participants can also colorize their newly created clothes to suit their own style and feeling.

Added Uniforms
Official MindArk representatives present in Project Entropia will have distinct clothing showing they are officials. Also, several of the NPC traders have received special clothes.

Avatar Information Sheet Present
A new section displaying the Avatar skill, skill levels, skill ranks, and skill XP has been designed. The section also has info about the avatar name, social status and professional standings. This information section has also been prepared for future implementation of avatar reputation, fame and credibility, as well as background, trivia and statistics.

Added Boxing Ring
Boxing rings have been added. These work like limited PvP areas where combat can take place. The rules are set by the participants.

Added Production Platform
An Omegaton Survey Probe Ship has dispatched an automated production platform. This platform has gone missing and Omegaton has even denied any knowledge about its whereabouts. Rumor has it that it indeed functions and is pumping crude oil out into the open, free for grabs!

Added Catwalk
A catwalk stage has been built just outside the fashionable Nymphtown, to enhance fashion shows, dance competitions, and other kinds of entertainment.

Added Range Information to Items Info
The items info view port now displays the range for all ranged weapons.

Changed Condition Function
Items now stop working at a condition of 10%, instead of 0% as before.

Several Updates in the Skills Section
Many new skills have been added. More details are also now available on the descriptions of several skills.

Fierce Monsters
Several monsters have evolved on the Calypso surface.

More Items
The stock of items present in Project Entropia has been expanded, with new weapons, armors, tools, and other items.

Added Support for Credit Cards
The Project Entropia Bank now has support for Visa once again. In the future, Diners Club, and American Express cards will also be supported. NOTE! THE VISA FUNCTION WILL COME ONLINE A FEW DAYS AFTER THE ACTUAL VU IS RELEASED!!

Robots are Gaining Strength
While attempting to strike at Calypso settlements several times already, the robots have something else up their collective sleeve. Some unconfirmed data reports at least one new type of robot never before seen.

Support for DirectX 9 Implemented
Project Entropia now has DirectX 9 support. Please note that from this update forward, Project Entropia requires Microsoft(r) DirectX(r) version 9.0, which can be obtained from Microsoft's official site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/.

New Entry Points for Newcomers
Newcomers to Calypso will find themselves closer to civilized areas.

New Sound Engine
Project Entropia now has a completely new sound system in place, which will grant Project Entropia much better options using sound and music as mood enhancers and to create cool effects.

Ghost Jumping
The restless soul of a dead Avatar can now jump.

General Updates to the Client Software
Several fixes and updates have been performed on the Project Entropia Client Software to increase stability and performance.

Client Error Messages Updated
The error messages given to participants when they fail to connect to Project Entropia have been updated and are streamlined.

Zombie Creatures Be Gone
The problem with “undead” creatures striking back after they have been killed has been fixed.

Rebalancing
Almost every system has been reviewed and rebalanced somewhat.

KNOWN ISSUES

Yes, you can run through trees
This is not a bug.

Missing icons on clothes and items
On certain PC configurations sometimes the item icons in the inventory become invisible, or you receive a dummy icon called “Unable to show”. If this happens to you, please update to the latest video card drivers, check if Project Entropia officially supports your video card, and also change the video settings on the Setup button in the initial login screen. If this fails, please contact the Project Entropia Support Team.

Tab key does not work
The function of the tab key has gone missing.

Society chat and Kicked Out Members
When a society member is kicked out of his or her society, the former member is still allowed to use and listen to the Society Chat messages, until the former member logs off Project Entropia.

Reverb
Project Entropia now supports environmental effects set in applications like Creative(r) Surround Mixer(r). If you experience exaggerated reverb effects in Project Entropia you should check your surround mixer settings, and disable “game effects” if necessary.

SPECIAL

Scan
The first time you scan an entity in Project Entropia after VU 4.4, your will transfer your level in “Enemy Scan” to the four skills “Scan Human”, “Scan Animal”, “Scan Robot”, and “Scan Mutant”. The skill Enemy Scan is removed. For example: You have Enemy Scan level 50. The first time you scan an entity you will gain level 50 to “Scan Human”, “Scan Animal”, “Scan Robot”, and “Scan Mutant”.

April 25, 2003 13:58:26 GMT

A quick update - the lag reducing efforts are being tested inhouse, and moves along nicely. The main area that is addressed is rubberbanding, synching between client and server and primarily that kind of lag. We have also reduced load on the databases. Login and logoff is also sped up.

Minor areas in 4.5 is the client lag when entering cities (which lag due to data being loaded from your harddrive) and when many avatars are in view. These areas will be better, but the big improvements there will be in 4.6, or later.

Updates in the auction are being done. It is mainly bugfixes and no new functionallity.

The main content part of VU 4.5 is the ability to team up and share loot.

VU 4.5 will come in two parts, with about a week of each other, in the first half of May.

Lag has been pretty bad the last few days. The reason for this is a great influx of new participants. This makes the 4.5 VU even more needed.

Lag Kills! Defeat Lag!

PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 5.1
2003-06-13

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING STRANGE IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE CONTACTING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

Welcome!
The Version Update 5.1 (“VU 5.1”) for Project Entropia is a major step in the development of Project Entropia. Information about the content of the version update is located in this document.

We are still heavy at work with the mission to reduce lag and increase performance. In the upcoming VU 5.2 the new Item Management System will be in place, and once it is, we envision that all problems correlating to items will be solved once and for all. This release will make way to this major upgrade. Please check the Known Issues section in the Support section on the Project Entropia web site for current issues. Also, the best place for up to date info about what is going on is the Project Entropia Developer’s Post forum on the Project Entropia web site.

VU 5.1 is expected to arrive around the 20:th of June. The date may change though.

VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

Attachment crafting level 6-10
Attachment crafting on level 6-10 is in, together with the associated components needed. At the moment none of these designs require Lysterium. ,-)

The Project Entropia Newcomer Shuttle Port
Just south of Port Atlantis the Federal Empire has built a Shuttle Port, where all newcomers arrive when coming to Calypso. This area has information booths available, giving the basics of Project Entropia.

Project Entropia Transfer Center
The old Project Entropia Bank is replaced by the new Project Entropia Transfer Center.

New deposit option
For those who do not have a credit card a new pay-by-phone option is implemented in the new Project Entropia Transfer Center. Just pick up the phone, dial a number, and you get PED to your avatar, while your phone bill is charged.

Avatar Trivia and Avatar Background
The avatar has the possibility to make a personal presentation of himself in the Avatar Interface that will be visible to other Avatars.

Rebalance success rates while crafting and mining
Generally you will succeed with your action more often, but the output value is reduced.

Rebalanced skill advancement
Several skills now have a higher increase rate, mostly those that have less skill checks per time frame. This mostly affects mining and crafting, and does not affect hunting much.

Rebalanced attribute advancement
The attributes now increase in greater steps than before, especially at lower levels.

Possibility to learn from mistake
When failing using a skill the avatar still has a small chance of raising the skill.

Dynamic XP message
The XP gain messages have been updated somewhat.

Society in target square
When targeting an avatar the society the avatar is a member of will show in the target square.

Feedback on 15% Condition
When an item is deteriorated to 15% of its full Condition a message will tell the participant it’s a good time to consider repairing the item.

Recharge delay bar on melee weapons
When using a melee weapon a delay bar will show when the weapon is ready for use again.

What killed the avatar?
When being killed the avatar will get a message in the chat window that says what killed the avatar.

Trader NPC’s have “uniforms”
All the trader NPC’s (Technician, Auctioneer, etc) have similar clothes as other NPC’s of the same kind, to distinguish them more easily.

Change of stock in the Trade Terminal
The Trade Terminal will have new weapons available, the Omegaton M2200 and the Sollomate Busho.

New weapons
New weapons are added.

New tools
New tools are added.

New armors
New armors are added. Shadow is no longer king of the hill. ,-)

Updated component names
Several components have name updates, mostly the word “Parts” have been added.

NPC’s are talkative
Several NPC’s have a lot more to say.

New NPC’s / Monsters
New species will inhabit the continent.

Tougher NPC’s / Monsters
Bigger, meaner and more dangerous forms of already existing npc’s will appear.

More NPC’s / Monsters
Despite all hunting the numbers of existing monsters is steadily growing

The NPC’s / Monsters will make more sounds
Several new sounds have been implemented on the NPC’s / Monsters.

NPC / Monster AI is optimized
Several of the Monsters have new AI controlling them. Expect less passive monsters.

Lost ruins
Somewhere on the continent a ruined city has been found. Unfortunately the coordinates to its location were lost in the transmission.

Minopolis
The new city of Minopolis founded, located some distance north of Nymphtown. This is a city designed in a new way, with a more distinct look than the old outposts.

Added facilities to outposts
Storage terminals and auctioneers will be present in more outposts than today.

New looks of the old outposts
Several outposts have new looks.

Changing skies
The first step in the future Weather system is in place – the sky will change depending on where you are on the Eudoria continent.

Items in auction
The avatars will always see the items they select.

Healing is reduced when moving
If you are trying to heal using a medkit when moving the result will be diminished to about a quarter of the normal heal rate.

Deterioration per use
Weapon attachments now have the correct “deteriorate per use” set.

New animations and sounds when dying
The avatar can now be killed in more varied ways than before.

New animations and sounds when using melee weapons
New animations and sounds added to a variety of melee weapons, most notable on the powerfists.

Leader becomes founder
Prior, the founder of a society was titled “Leader”. This is changed to “Founder”.

None becomes Freelancer
Prior, an avatar not a member of a society had society rank “None”. This is changed to him or her being “Freelancer” instead.

New music
A lot of new ambient music has been added.

Skill management system changed
The skill management code has been optimized to increase performance. This will decrease the strain on the systems, and will reduce the login and logoff times.

Several performance / lag fixes
Many steps have been taken to increase performance and to reduce lag. We are still in the process of making several heavy upgrades, which will come in VU 5.2.

Audio system
The audio system is optimized.

Database
The database is optimized. This will help performance, until the major re-write of the item management system is implemented in VU 5.2.

ADDED: Gamma selection
You will be able to select your Gamma setting, making those with dark monitors see better.

SPECIAL

The below is currently tentative, and might not make it to VU 5.1.

Teams
You have the opportunity to form temporary groups with other avatars. You will see the other team member’s health status. A series of click-commands are also in place. Loot distribution is automatic within the group, and every member has full insight on what is going on. Items will be distributed randomly among the members, while stackable items are split as evenly as possible throughout the group.

PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 5.2
2003-10-15

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING STRANGE IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE CONTACTING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

General Information
The Version Update 5.2 (“VU 5.2”) for Project Entropia is a major step in the development of Project Entropia. Information about the content of the version update is located in this document.

VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

SYSTEM UPGRADES

Item Management System
The Item Management System of Project Entropia has been extensively upgraded. This means that the internal system handling all items and transactions has been upgraded, to increase performance and to reduce the number of issues occurring in regards to item manipulation.

As Project Entropia is built to utilize maximum security, all item manipulation and trades are conducted on the secure server, before the client shows what’s going on (the Project Entropia client does not hold any vital data whatsoever). This has sometimes caused confusion, as the client predicts actions. These predictions have sometimes shown incorrectly on the client, even though everything is perfectly okay on the server. The most common area where misunderstandings occur is the shown ammunition when quickly logging off and logging on again.

One obvious change is that the participant may notice some of his or her items become ”faded” into a blue-gray icon when moved. This means that the item is currently being handled by the server and cannot be manipulated until the server says so. This has always been the case, but before it was not shown to the participant.

Inventory
The inventory functions have been revamped. One of the areas that has been an issue for participants using slow connections is synching of items between the Project Entropia Servers and the client software on the participant’s own computer. The major reason for participants’ timing-out, crashing, starting with ”no inventory in newbie clothes”, etc was due to the sheer number of items in the avatar inventory. Even though no real problems were derived from this, it caused confusion. Therefore, we have made several upgrades to reduce this behavior.

One major change is the introduction of ”container” items, which are boxes, cases, chests, etc in which items are stored. The system only synchs items between the server and client that are in the currently used container, meaning that a participant will not experience long load times while logging onto Project Entropia, but will experience somewhat longer load time while manipulating cases of different kinds, as the containers are synched when accessed. With the containers, the synching of items has been distributed to many different areas, instead of one giant area. Please feel free to put seldom-used items in a special container and leave them be – then that container won’t use your connection or disturb your load times.

In future releases more types of containers will be implemented, even such that will bring a reduction to the weight carried in it. At the moment a participant cannot drag items to a closed container, but must open it to place items inside.

An inventory can at most show 500 items. More items than that in an inventory will render the additional items invisible. MindArk strongly recommends that participants restrain themselves to have inventories with max 200 items. More items will cause performance hits on you, loss of connection and possibly other strange effects, especially if you have a lesser connection (below 2Mbit) or have an ISP of lesser quality.

Auction
The auction system is completely redone to eliminate the issues with ”stuck items”. Also, the interface has been redone to utilize for much meaner and leaner operations. The new auction has a fee of one PED for each item put on the auction, to reduce ”Spam”. When VU 5.2 is applied, all current bids are nullified and returned, and all items offered are also returned to respective participant. The new auction will therefore be completely empty directly after the VU 5.2 is applied.

Another area that is upgraded is how transactions in the auction are handled. Instead of the participant needing to visit the auctioneer to get the latest info, all such messages are handled in real time. If a participant is offline, the message will be stored until he or she logs on again. All money is also transferred the moment a change occurs. The only thing that has to be manually collected is an item won.

Crafting
As stated above, the major reason for having performance problems is due to a high number of items. One of the most cumbersome areas is crafting, or more specifically, the blueprints. Therefore there have been changes to the crafting system. The number of unique blueprints has been reduced to about half, and some crafting categories have disappeared (Tool, Weapon, Armor, and Attachment Components, and Tailoring Materials) completely. The associated skills have also been removed. Some skills have also changed name (the old “Assembling” skills are now called “Manufacturing” instead, and the old “Manufacturing”-skill are removed). Those who have blueprints and/or skills in these areas should read the ”Compensation” section, below, before contacting MindArk.

The crafting system overall has been changed in that way that there are no longer any overlaps between lootable items and craftable items. All craftable items are craftable only. Therefore, a whole range of new craftable items is introduced. With this, several new minerals and EnMatters have been introduced as well.

Tailoring now works more like the rest of crafting. You have a raw material; you use a refiner on it and get a refined piece of material you can use together with a blueprint to make clothes.

The Manufacturing Interface is also revamped, and more logical than before. The participant is also informed on the relative chance of success, based on skills, blueprint QR and the level of difficulty.

Overall, the crafting system is somewhat easier to manage, with fewer steps needed from start to finish.

We are very much aware of that this is a major change and can feel like a letdown for some participants. This simply had to be done; otherwise the crafting area of Project Entropia would hamper performance across the board for every participant.

Compensation
There is an automatic compensation system in place when you load up Project Entropia the first time after the VU. If you are entitled to any compensation you will receive messages to that effect. Obsolete blueprints and components will be changed to current blueprints (with QR 1) and into minerals. Items/money stuck in the auction will be returned to your personal storage facility. Also, those affected by lost Quality Rating (including QR on converted blueprints) will be reimbursed for this, in a compensation system, where the participant can select which kind of compensation he or she desires. In this compensation system obsolete skills are also taken in consideration.

PCGamer Quest
Those participants that joined Project Entropia through the client distributed on the PCGamer (US) edition also have a special quest available.

MIXED FIXES/UPGRADES

In no particular order:

If you lose connection to the chat server the system automatically tries to re-logon, without the need to re-logon Project Entropia.

Added a connection indicator in the client. A three-lights display is located by the radar. If the load is light, they are green. If the load is heavy, it changes to yellow, and if the load is high, it changes to red. This display is updated a couple of times per minute.

Added functionality to the Friends-list, indicating when friends come on- and offline.

Added new, more Asian looking face textures to Avatar Creation Interface.

Upgraded the performance substantially in the Fast key Interface.

Added new music and sounds.

”Nothing to loot here” – The frequency is reduced, but you will still encounter critters with no loot. It’s not a bug.

Updated an instance where client-to-client synch mismatched in PvP Trade.

The Hadesheim Siren is now silenced when no attacks are in progress.

Updated functions when stacks are split, to show more accurate info in the client.

Update the servers extensively to reduce lag and performance slowdowns.

Several new items added, especially high-level equipment.

T-key changed to move stuck avatars to a random location, instead of a fixed.

Fixed so newbie clothes should not multiply.

Fixed an issue with claim deeds not being removed after deposit was depleted.

Updated the defense turrets.

Updated that both parties engaging in a PvP Chat gets automatic focus in the Chat window.

Fixed an issue with blueprints weighing double if inserted into a blueprint book.

Fixed an issue with items picked up from the ground weighing incorrect.

Fixed a minor issue with the selected title being reset to the top one in the Avatar Information interface with each login.

Fixed an issue with being able to vote multiple times in the Vote Booth.

Fixed an issue where uncolored clothes could not be used in the Coloring Interface.

Further secured the Trade Terminal Interface.

Upgraded how the teleporters behave if the system is under heavy load.

Upgraded the looks and functionality on the various Loot Interfaces.

Empty blueprints books are now sellable.

Fixed issues in the Repair Interface when using the quick-buttons (not making items un-accessible anymore).

Quality Rating on Blueprints associated with Value, meaning that Value will rise with higher QR, to the max of one PED at QR 100.

Fixed an issue with a full inventory covering buttons in the auction.

Fixed an issue with current value/condition not always showing the correct amount in the auction.

Several upgrades of functionality in the PvP Trade Interface, most noticeably the removal of ”Cancel” functionality once ”Accept” is pressed. You may however cancel once the order confirmation is presented.

Clothes and armor with a value/condition of zero are not wearable (exception: newbie clothes).

The autofire bug (the weapon could uncontrollably fire due to an ALT+TAB change) is eliminated.

Fixed an issue with the PED Card while withdrawing PEC, making the PED Card crash.

Fixed an issue with ever-active decoys.

Corrected a client bug when merging two full stacks, one stack would go missing.

Corrected some tool tip errors.

Added more detailed error messages for rarer instances.

Fixed an old issue that allowed avatars to chat even while dead using the Focus button.

Fixed various graphical glitches.

An avatar should only have one set of newbie clothes.

Many items have enhanced looks in Items Info view port.

Fixed a potential issue with the mouse pointer focus changing when someone requests a PVP Trade or PvP Chat. The pointer does not automatically change to pointer mode now.

Fixed ”leveling” of blueprint books (visual leveling).

Enhanced the Trivia/Background info.

Enhanced the messaging when leaving/entering PvP zones, to ensure the message is displayed.

Fixed the prefix elimination on ”Uncolored” clothes when colored.

Fixed an issue with commands being sent to the Main Chat instead of the PvP Chat.

Fixed an issue with NPCs just spinning round and round.

Rebalanced success rates while crafting and mining. Generally you will succeed with your action more often, but the output value is reduced.

Rebalanced skill advancement. Several skills now have a higher increase rate, mostly those that have less skill checks per time frame. This mostly affects mining and crafting, and does not affect hunting much.

Update to the PvP Chat informing the other party when the first party left the chat.

Fixed so the Avatar busy message is shown correctly.

Updated the boxing ring bell to have a two second delay.



KNOWN ISSUES/MISSING FEATURES

In no particular order

You can’t repair a weapon with attachments attached to it. You have to detach them prior to repairing.

Currently, the virtual companies on the Exchange don’t offer any shares.

The drill tower cannot be accessed. The minerals within it will be transferred to the avatar’s Personal Storage Facility.

Sometimes attachments may detach from a weapon when logging on.

The Team chat is not always initiated when the Team Leader invites the first member.

_________________
Regards

-Marco Behrmann
-PE Community Manager
-MindArk PE AB

Hello crew,

Today’s update was a minor bugfix-update. Most noticeable is the increased spawn rate for the new minerals, and the completely new Support Section.

The PE web page and Support is a work in progress and have some glitches right now, it will be fixed the following days. For those of you who get an error when watching - this is due to an updated DNS entry (meaning that the pages are now at a different address, and the servers on the Internet that act like "phonebooks" sometimes are slow to update this info).

Please familiarize yourself with the new Support section. Mail to Support will still work, but will soon be shut off. You get the picture when you browse the new Support. You may change your login the first time you enter info into the Account info. Please note that the account info given here is for everything you do with PE and/or MA.

This update includes several lag fixes, but we still have some lag monsters that needs to get killed. The devs have found a major culprit and will annihilate him as soon as possible (even if it might take a while).

In the future, the annoying "overweight when logging in" bug, as well as the "HoF strangeness" bug, will be fixed.

A note to miners, some resources expiry dates acts up, showing strange data (like expiry on the year 24567). Such deposits should be extracted as fast as possible, as they may disappear within a minute’s time.
_____________
Regards

-Marco Behrmann
-Director of Community Relations
-MindArk PE AB

VU 5.3 Listing




PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 5.3
2003-11-24

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING STRANGE IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE CONTACTING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

General Information The Version Update 5.3 (“VU 5.3”) for Project Entropia is a major step in the development of Project Entropia. Information about the content of the version update is located in this document. --



VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

Housing system
The first version of the PE housing system is in place! Several small communities have been set up for future buildings. You can acquire your own house by bidding on the corresponding lot deeds in the auction. The lot deed’s item info (right-clicking on the deed) shows the location of the lot and house. You may also store items safely in your house. In the next VU’s the system will be enhanced and will allow an almost complete customizability. The supply of houses on Calypso will be quite limited, and we will not litter the countryside with houses.

Space travel
The initial steps has been taken in the quest of personalized space travel.

Interactive content
In PE there you can now find the first of a series of puzzles, or “quests”, requiring in-universe manipulation of items and scenery. Search and find out!

Map
The map is updated with the new house communities, as yellow dots. If you hover the mouse pointer over one of these, you get a tooltip displaying the name of the location.

Mindforce
Mindforce is introduced! The first version is in, allowing for the use of extra sensory powers. You need a Mindforce implant to use the Power chips found here and there. To activate a Power, you need to have it in your fast key interface and use the corresponding F1-F12 key. One Mindforce can be used without any equipment though, and that is the Sweat gathering skill. If you have nothing equipped in your hands, you may use this power. The requirement is that you are close to the creature you want to extract its fluids from.

New EnMatter
A new Energy Matter is available, which is one of the two parts of making the Mind Essence energy needed for using Mindforce Powers. You combine this EnMatter with the other part in an EnMatter refiner to make the Mind Essence.

Crafting Equipment
Some of the “Equipment” crafting (Mechanical, Metal, Electronics) material have been updated to be used at various places on Calypso.

Skills
New skills have been added in the Mindforce section of the Avatar Information Interface.

Fast key
The performance of the fast key system is enhanced.

Friends chat
If you receive a message from a person not on your Friends list, you now get the info that the person isn’t on your list, as well as you see who it is.

Server load indicator
The Server load indicator is upgraded to more actively show the system load. An indicator in the reds may indicate that the system might be heavily loaded, and can affect the experience. However, this is not an exact indicator.

Avatar weight calculation
An error in the avatar weight calculation when logging on has been fixed.

Decoy
An issue concerning decoys and logging off has been corrected.

Teleport stacking
Sometimes when several avatars teleported to the same place at the same time, they got stacked on top of each other. This has been fixed.

Containers
Several minor glitches with containers have been fixed.

Lag/stability fixes
Several server and client updates have been applied to reduce lag and performance slowdowns. The system login process is enhanced, as well as how a participant performs – an avatar performing a lot of activities may experience “lag” him-/herself, but other participants do not get as affected as prior to VU 5.3.

Nude avatar
By manipulating the inventory interface, you could make your avatar nude. This has been fixed.

Spelling errors
Spelling errors have been fixed. --



KNOWN ISSUES/MISSING FEATURES

You can’t repair a weapon with attachments attached to it. You have to detach them prior to repairing.

Currently, the virtual companies on the Exchange doesn’t offer any shares.

Sometimes attachments may detach from a weapon when logging on.

The Team chat is not always initiated when the Team Leader invites the first member.

Some kind of items cannot be placed in a house. Hall of Fame does not display time correctly in the 24 hours section.

VU 7.0 Content List

PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 7.0
2005-01-25

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE CONTACTING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

General Information
The Version Update 7.0 (“VU 7.0”) for Project Entropia information is located in this document.

--

VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

New Navigation backbone
There are several ways of performing actions in Project Entropia. An action can be anything from moving the avatar to using items.

Help screen
To get a default view of the keyboard and mouse settings, please press the ‘H’ key on your keyboard.

Aim/Cursor modes
There are two general modes in Project Entropia – Aim mode and Cursor mode. In Aim mode, moving the mouse changes the view direction. In Cursor mode, when you move the mouse, you move a cursor around on the screen. In order to click on items and buttons, you need to be in Cursor mode. To change mode, press the Spacebar key.

Options
Pressing the ‘O’ key will open up the Options interface, in which you can assign various keys for various actions. You can select other settings as well. Everyone who partakes in Project Entropia has the same default key layout.

QuickBar
The QuickBar is the main quick access interaction tool in Project Entropia. There are nine bars available, each with twelve slots. These slots are generic and you may assign a multitude of actions to them. These actions are visualized by icons. You activate an icon by either left-clicking on it, or pressing the corresponding key on your keyboard.

Each slot can be assigned an action or item:

To assign an action to a slot, open the Action Book (default key X) and drag the action to to the slot.
To assign an item to a slot, open the Inventory (default key I) and drag the item to to the slot (Note: only items that can be held in your hands can be used in the QuickBar).
Some examples:

Your avatar holds nothing in his or her hands. You click on a rifle icon in the QuickBar and the avatar equips the rifle. If you click the rifle icon again, you will fire the now readied rifle.
You click the run icon. Your avatar begins running straight ahead, until you influence the movement.
The nine QuickBars can be cycled using the arrows at the end on the bar. You can also access them using the keyboard – using the F1 to F9 key. You can access each slot in a bar by using the keyboard keys beginning with 1 and the next eleven keys to the left. Note – if you want to invert this, just click the ‘F’ icon in a QuickBar. If inverted, you cycle bars using the 1-9 keys and you access the slots using the F1 to F12 keys.

Holding the cursor still over an icon in the QuickBar will show a tooltip with the name of the action or item.

Action Book
The Action Book is a collection of all available action icons you can use, from movement, item manipulation, to emotes. You can use the actions in Book directly, by clicking on the icons, but it is often easier to drag the icons you want to use to a QuickBar slot.

Inventory items
Inventory items can be dragged to a QuickBar slot. Left-clicking on an item icon will equip the item, if not already equipped – then it will be used instead. If you right-click on an item in a slot, you will receive its ‘Items Info’.

Status bars
All creatures, avatars and interactive objects in Project Entropia have a shortcut, called a Status bar. A status bar is created when you left-click and hold down, and drag, the mouse button over an eligible target. A small floating Status bar is then formed, which you can move around the screen. You can choose to interact with the target of the Status bar by clicking on it directly.

Some examples

You have a Status bar of a Storage facility on your screen. You click on the Status bar and thus selecting it, the next click will move your avatar to the Storage facility and when in front of it opens it.
You have a Snablesnot Status bar created. You click on it with a held ranged weapon. You will automatically align yourself to the Snablesnot and fire when in range. If the weapon was a melee type, you would move towards the Snablesnot and then attack. When the Snablesnot is killed, you can loot it using the Status bar as well.
Status bars are floating and can be moved around on the screen. If you move Status bar close to one another, they will ‘snap’ together, creating larger blocks of Status bars.

Movement
Default movement in Project Entropia is through the steering keys 'Q', 'W', 'A', 'S' and 'D' and using the mouse to move the screen.

As an alternative way of navigating the virtual universe, you can in cursor mode click on the terrain. The former auto-run function accessed with '3' is now replaced with a double click on a spot in the terrain and your avatar will now run there, or if you click in the sky it will run forever in that direction.

Targeting and selecting
Aiming on or holding the mouse over a creature or object will target it. A frame will be shown around the target with its name and health status. Left clicking on a targeted creature or interactive object will make it your selected target and you can now perform actions on the target. If you initiate an action but has no target selected, you will be prompted to do so. If you want to target yourself as an override (useful e g when using a Fast Aid Pack in combat) you press the ‘ALT’ keyboard key. You can also click on your name in the main interface.

Mouse scroll wheel
The mouse scroll wheel is used to zoom. If scrolled back, the camera will move behind the avatar, and scrolling forward will set the camera in the eye level of the avatar. If the avatar has a held weapon with a scope, scrolling forward from eye level will zoom the scope.

Mixed additional notes

The default navigation setting is the old pre-VU 7.0 way. You need to access the Project Entropia Options (key ‘O’) to enable the updated methods of navigation.
Running with a held item in a ready state reduces your movement speed somewhat.
Remember that the ALT key will target yourself – useful when using Fast Aid Packs for instance.
Right-clicking and holding down the mouse button will open up a context menu with options and actions.
Note that you will operate a held item if you select the icon for that item, i.e. a weapon will fire.
To unequip a held item, using the QuickBar, you need to use the ‘Unequip’ icon. If you are in Cursor mode and press and hold down the mouse scroll wheel, while moving your mouse, you will move the camera around.
--

KNOWN ISSUES/MISSING FEATURES

The Action book may disappear. It will be fixed in a patch on the 26th of Jan.

The option settings gets reset from time to time. This will be fixed in a patch on the 26th of Jan.

If you have an item in your hands while accessing a manufacturing machine, your avatar will disappear in your inventory. This is a visual glitch only.

All tailored clothes shown as “Uncolored” in the auction, even if they are colored.

The PED Card has issues when removing PECs.

You can’t repair an item with attachments attached to it. You have to detach them prior to repairing.

VU 6.3 Content List




PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 6.3
2004-11-23

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE CONTACTING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

General Information
The Version Update 6.3 (“VU 6.3”) for Project Entropia is a big step in the development of Project Entropia. Information about the content of the version update is located in this document. --



VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

Auction updates
The auction has received several updates;

• A “Last Calls” section added, where offers that are close to expiring are shown. A good place for making last minute bargains.
• The number of items a single seller may put in the auction is changed to 15, from the old number of five.
• Split the mineral section into subsections, and every mineral type receives a heading. So if you look for iron, you select the “Iron” section to see all iron offers.
• Changed so that feedback messages from auction (like item sold, bids returned, etc) comes in dialogue boxes, instead of lines in the chat area. This will reduce the risk of missing vital information.

Public houses
The owner of an estate may now select to make his or her property public, using the Estate terminal. This means anyone may enter the estate, and have a look around.

Treasure Island open
The auction for Treasure Island on the Amethera continent is progressing. Now the area and buildings are opened up for public viewing and inspection. The Treasure Island is expected to be a center hub of communication, commerce, and logistics.

Loot rebalance for tougher creatures
Higher-level creatures have received a loot rebalance, meaning they carry loot more often.

New items
Various items added.

Graphics update
Some areas in Project Entropia have received enhanced graphics.

Fixed an issue with PvP trading
Carried weight now is calculated correctly on both parties involved in a PvP trade.

Fixed target boxes
Several creature target boxes have been updated to make it easier to hit and loot the creature.

Fixed issue with decayed bleaching attachment
A bleaching attachment could in some instances be used even when it was decayed to zero value. This is fixed.

Fixed creature animation
Some creatures had the wrong animations showing while walking. This is corrected.

Fixed health bar mismatch
Sometimes the health bar on a creature did not update correctly from the server to the client. This is fixed. --



KNOWN ISSUES/MISSING FEATURES

All tailored clothes shown as “Uncolored” in the auction, even if they are colored.

The PED Card has issues when removing PECs.

You can’t repair an item with attachments attached to it. You have to detach them prior to repairing. The client shows the carried weight wrongly. It is just a visual issue, and does not affect your movement abilities.

VU 6.2 Content List




PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 6.2
2004-11-02

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE CONTACTING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

General Information
The Version Update 6.2 (“VU 6.2”) for Project Entropia is a major step in the development of Project Entropia. Information about the content of the version update is located in this document. --



VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

Teaming updates
Teaming is massively updated. Here comes a list of features.

• A team can now consist of twelve members.
• A team is created by clicking on the Team button in the row in the main interface.
• While it is possible to have a one-man team, loot cannot be acquired under such circumstances. The team must be at least two members strong for looting to work.
• Loot distribution added. This means that when a team leader creates a team, he also chooses a set of rules that determine how team loot is distributed between the team members. Once these rules are confirmed they cannot be changed. If changes to the rules set are needed the team must be disbanded and a new team must be created. This is to ensure that once the rules are set, the team leased will not be able to change the conditions of the teaming activity without the consent of the team members. The various loot distribution rules are:
  • Item Distribution
  • Damage Decides Order: The team member who does the most damage receives the highest valued item (if present) in the loot, the member who did the second highest damage receives the second highest valued item (if present), etc.
  • Leader Takes All: The team leader always receives all items found.
  • Most Damage Wins All: The team member who does the most damage receives all the items present in a loot.
  • Queue: The first found item is given to the topmost team member, the next found item is given to the second member, etc, going through the roster of members. The queue position is saved every time looting occurs.
  • Random: Any item present in a loot is randomly distributed to a random team member.
  • Money Distribution
  • Damage Determines: Any PED and/or PEC found is divided among the team members, in accordance to the damage each member did.
  • Equal: Any PED and/or PEC found is divided as equally as possible among all team members.
• All team members can look at the rules by clicking the team button at any time. If the rules are not to your liking, we suggest you leave the team.
• In the event a member disconnects from Project Entropia, he is still a part of the team for a period of five minutes. Team members kicked from the team does not have this grace period. A disconnected team member will continue to receive loot, if he, according to the team rule set is entitled to receive any. The member will however not see any loot window or text feedback concerning this. The team member will simply find the items/PED’s looted during his absence placed directly in his inventory.
• A team member will receive loot regardless of distance. This even works over continents!
• If the team leader quits the team, the team is automatically disbanded.

Hall of Fame updates
The Hall of Fame has been updated, with new looks and functions. Some of the new features include:

• Entries in the HoF list now show to which society an avatar belongs to at the time of the HoF-event.
• The top 25 avatars is shown instead of top 15.
• The mining section will now present the correct mineral found, instead of sometimes showing “Unknown”.
• When manufacturing items, the manufactured item name is shown in the entry instead of the just the category shown prior to the update.
• The previous “PK Streak” is back, including an All time high and a 24h version. This is now called “Killing Spree”.
• A loot must contain a minimum value of 50 PED to be added to the HoF list, if the value is above the current lowest entry. For Killing Spree, the minimum is ten different avatars.
• Please note that the HoF entries are not updated in absolute real time. This means the HoF list may, at rare times, appear to have different entries when two different avatars look at the list at the same time. Any such difference is updated within an hour at the most.

Share owners
All avatars owning shares from the time the Project Entropia Exchange was in operation will have their shares reimbursed at twice the purchase sum. The shares are then removed from Project Entropia. The Exchange is closed but may be reopened in a later VU.

Visuals of clothes and armor
When you drop clothes and armor on the ground, or on a shelf, they look much better than before.

Updates to visual interface styles
The overall feel in the dialogue boxes and interface is updated to a more coherent style and look.

Updated looks on armor
The Chronicle, Vain, Sentinel, and Supremacy armor, among others, have added details and looks.

Chat updates
If you type “/?” in the chat you will get help info about shortcuts. You can now send messages directly to the team (if present) by adding “/t” or “/team” before your message. The same goes for society messages, where the prefix is either “/s” or “/soc”.

More furniture
New pieces of furniture added, including gothic looking stuff and shelves.

New weapons
New weapons added, especially as loot on the Amethera continent.

New armor sets
Armor sets added.

Added confirm to Mentor
Now you need to confirm the kicking of a disciple before it happens.

Server backbone updates
A lot of changes to the server system has been made, both with software and hardware. It is our continuous strive in bringing you better stability and performance.

Fixed avatar synch issues
Some issues showing avatars running on the spot and similar things updated.

Fixed an issue with Map updates
The map interface should now show all locations, including the unsafe (PvP) ones.

Fixed an issue with Society tax
You sometime couldn’t see the land tax using the Society terminal (using the land area marker worked though). This is fixed.

Fixed an issue with Society attitudes
You should be able to once again change your official standing towards other societies.

Fixed an issue with death teleportation
If you pressed “No” in the interface, you no longer have to wait 60 seconds before pressing “T”. --



KNOWN ISSUES/MISSING FEATURES

All tailored clothes shown as “Uncolored” in the auction, even if they are colored.

If you are selling or buying an estate, make sure no activated and deployed shopkeepers and/or mannequins are present. They must be traded separately in a trade between the avatars. Else they may stop working.

The PED Card has issues when removing PECs.

You can’t repair an item with attachments attached to it. You have to detach them prior to repairing. The HoF shows old All time high hunting entries as "unknown" with regards to creature killed.