Unreal Engine 5 Devblog

Information Entropia Universe Unreal
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[HEADING=1]Welcome to Entropia Universe Unreal[/HEADING]
Greetings Entropians! I’m Dennis Antonsson, the Game Director responsible for taking Entropia into the new era that is Unreal Engine 5 — or what is known internally as the Odyssey project. We’ve built an amazing team here to make Odyssey a reality.
But what lies ahead?
Jump onboard, we’re setting sail on our Odyssey!

[HEADING=1]What is Entropia Universe Unreal?[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]Evolution and Migration[/HEADING]
In the broadest sense, the project comprises activities related to:
[ul]
[li]the evolution of core systems, such as hunting, mining and crafting[/li][li]the migration of items and value currently present in Entropia Universe[/li][/ul]
[HEADING=2]Preserve the Soul, Stay Fresh[/HEADING]
The goal of this evolution and migration is to preserve the soul of Entropia whilst staying fresh.
To achieve this we will:
[ul]
[li]Improve and refine the core features of Entropia Universe[/li][li]Appeal to both current and future users.[/li][/ul]
Many key aspects of Entropia will remain the same:
[ul]
[li]Users will explore and exploit resources [/li][li]The world will be sci-fi themed and single shard[/li][li]Users will have one avatar with no class selection [/li][/ul]
In addition, we will continue to appeal to a niche segment by remaining:
[ul]
[li]A sandbox MMORPG [/li][li]With a user-driven, real-cash economy[/li][li]Based on PED[/li][/ul]
[HEADING=2]Exploration: an End in Itself[/HEADING]
[I]We will focus our efforts on worldbuilding to make exploring our worlds more stimulating and exciting. Exploring will become an end in itself!
https://www.entropiauniverse.com/bulletin/development-blog-unreal-engine-5/blogposts/2022/05/10/what-is-entropia-universe-unreal/blog_illustration_concept_20220510.jpg[/I]
[HEADING=2]Gameplay Experience[/HEADING]
“Explore and exploit the resources of vibrant alien worlds as part of a real-cash economy that has grown over a period of two decades. Build trade networks and contract other users to work for you. Hone your skills and find your niche as you make a name for yourself in our thriving online community of daring entrepreneurs”.
[HEADING=1][/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Vision[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]The Holistic World[/HEADING]
In Odyssey, exploration will take place in a world which is holistic.
This means that each part of our world will have a function and a purpose, with a defined relationship to other parts.
One of the ways we will achieve this is through systemic design.
[HEADING=2]Systemic Design[/HEADING]
Systemic design involves different systems in the game reacting to each other:
[ol]
[li]Entities in the game are set up to respond to predefined inputs and outputs [/li][li]If these inputs and outputs ‘match’, an outcome occurs involving these entities[/li][/ol]
Before we can really start populating our world with entities we must set up the basic rules of our world. These rules will form the basis for constructing reliable, consistent tools for maintaining our expanding world in the years to come.
[HEADING=2]A Living World[/HEADING]
Users will be able to discover the ‘unspoken rules’ of our world by noting connections between world elements. Knowledge of these connections will help users ‘navigate’ the world more successfully.
On a grand scale, systemic design produces a living, vibrant world that reacts to the user and to elements within itself. It can lead to emergent gameplay, i.e. gameplay emerging from the interaction of multiple systems rather than the intentional designs of the developer. These varied interactions are stimulating, motivating users to experiment and explore.
[HEADING=1][/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Creating the Universe[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]What have we been doing?[/HEADING]
Up until now we have focused on pre-production, learning Unreal Engine 5 and fleshing out our core system designs. We aim to create better open worlds faster by using a modular approach in accordance with systemic design principles.
[HEADING=2]Visual Style[/HEADING]
[I]We wish to set a visual target that incorporates the alien feel of Entropia Universe and stands the test of time.
Currently, we are evaluating a general art style that is defined as “Stylized realism with a sci-fi theme”. Stylized realism means we can enhance, exaggerate and remove real-life aspects to achieve certain effects — without being overly restricted by ‘true-to-life’ principles. This art style is subject to change, since fully defining our art direction is an iterative process.
The area pictured below is Setesh, a moon of Calypso. Setesh will act as our development ‘playground’ — a smaller area where we can test builds to gather data and feedback.

https://www.entropiauniverse.com/_internal/cimg!0/fdsm3af1keglllbiknxar30my10n44i
https://www.entropiauniverse.com/_internal/cimg!0/inxbughtwf183j1a30nqn0e6z2kilpa
https://www.entropiauniverse.com/_internal/cimg!0/24s2fbhijtro0247q9k1tftbcb6ai5y
https://www.entropiauniverse.com/_internal/cimg!0/8zd3gqiu96ak6d9dfz4egx1ab4xq8re
[/I]
[HEADING=2]Backend[/HEADING]
We are building a completely new backend. This work is being achieved using modern techniques and is informed by our experiences from Entropia Universe.
We aim to create a dynamically scalable universe where the game world is regarded as a single world and the computational load is split among servers in a distributed way. All this should be completely invisible from the client side. We are also working with the Gameplay Team to ensure we can implement interesting gameplay utilizing the impressive features of Unreal Engine 5.
[HEADING=1][/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]The Future[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]Teasers![/HEADING]
Using our holistic approach we will create something akin to a Metaverse: an alternate world made exciting by the sheer range of possibilities it offers.
Here’s a quick glimpse of what the future might hold:
[ul]
[li]Fully-functional user-driven economy with a wide range of goods, services and professions enabling users to gain expertise and a role within the community[/li][li]Single shard universe with thematic consistency[/li][li]Properly defined corporations with group characteristics[/li][li]Developed background story helping users orient themselves within the game world[/li][li]Defined biomes teeming with alien life [/li][li]Introduction of environmental dangers[/li][li]Interplanetary jumpgates [/li][li]Contract system: inter-user contracts to harness user labor as well as NPC corporate contracts (i.e. ‘missions’) [/li][li]Resources governed by consistent, clear rules[/li][li]Relative value of items from Entropia to be kept[/li][li]More information on resources and creatures[/li][li]Ownership (estates, land areas etc.) with a larger range of customizable entry options[/li][li]A truly open MMO world allowing users to drive their own projects, whilst including a multitude of optional goals [/li][li]User revenue from interactions with user-created content[/li][li]Hubs with centralized facilities and features to encourage users to congregate [/li][li]Talent tree: visualized skill and professions with the potential to customize towards your playstyle together with the gear[/li][/ul]
[HEADING=2]Roadmap[/HEADING]
[I]We are currently focusing on Combat and Hunting; with Mining, Resource Gathering and Crafting to follow.
In about a year we aim to have a fully playable part of the world with close-to-final visuals, core functionality and mechanics — enabling us to lay the foundations for future systems and gather your valuable feedback.
We’ll release a devblog regularly so you can travel with us on our Odyssey to a new and exciting Entropia Universe!
Until next time!

Dennis Antonsson,
Game Director, Entropia Universe Unreal

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------[/I]

[COLOR=rgb(0, 168, 133)]This Devblog has been transferred to the forum in order for us to view feedback from our customers.

42 Likes
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Nomen est omen… no we hope not! Thumbs up and all the best for the work ahead.

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Thanks for sharing. Exciting stuff!

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just one thing.. “listen to players” …
give us what we want and we will swipe our VISAs

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I enjoyed reading this, please keem them coming. Can’t wait to explore the new world you’re making. This part “Explore and exploit the resources of vibrant alien worlds" gave me a smile since I thought of sweat for some reason.

One thing you didn’t mention is the shares and deed that exist currently. For example, if Calypso is reworked into something new will CLD functionality remain the same?

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Thanks for sharing.
Good luck.

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exciting and scary at the same time

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Well… according to what was passed down to us from antiquity the Odyssey took ten years and ended in a bloodbath.
:dunno:

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Seriously? Is this anything more than what has already been put out there as of May 10th? Except that the word ‘new’ has been removed from the title?
Replacing a thread every three months means losing whatever was said by us the first time round - without even anything updated on your side.
If I’m wrong in any significant way, then apologies. Can you please then highlight what’s new.

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  1. Whats the total cost of the upgrade to UE5?
  2. Who is paying the upgrade?
  3. Are the Land deeds owner interested in this upgrade?
  4. Are Deed owners contributing to this upgrade?
  5. Where is MindArk funding this upgrade?
  6. It’s the same players that will pay the upgrade?
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Maybe i am just thick as dung, but i did not get any really new info out of this blog. He talks about about a world, but not the universe. Is this just about Calypso and one again mining and crafting will have to wait!! Will be getting a blog next year saying they working on them SOON?

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Does this mean the game will legitimize exploits in the future?

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It’s a repost for our feedback.

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Will we be able to stresstest / playtest UE5 before release?
(Will you let us visit the moon to help find bugs / give feedback)

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dont worry its already paid by ep4 users =))

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I’m just excited and eager to explore the world again.

In any game, in any MMO, the most enjoyable thing is to be a clueless headless chicken running around having 0 idea. While knowing what EU is, with such drastic changes it will be exciting to explore and figure out what is what, what is where and so on.

I also do hope we wont lose to much functionality in the translation of keeping EUs core mechanics, aside of hunting, mining and crafting, one thing I direly love in EU is how oldschool it feels. Select target, shoot. write stuff look things up on the side, interact with friends and all of that at the same time, part of me hopes that wont fully go away.

And i still look forward to as time goes by to see what interplanetary jumpgates mean in reality. I really do hope it is a system to allow us to just jump teleport to arkadia, then after realizing it was meh we can go to Next Island in a instant, and then back to caly for some team hunts with friends and what not, without the massive cost space brings in time and money. (I know theres a handfull of people who thrive on space taxi driving, and i dont want to start a debate about it, but they should not be forgotten so i hopefully do hope we get to see new various ways to part take in space that is more interactive, and possibly more enjoyable for more people than just the select few).

Is there any plans on releasing teaser views of the work, especially on instragram at increasing rates as the times go by? I know the dev post was in may, and it was stated then “in a year” and that this thread is a fairly straight on copy paste, nothing wrong there, but a year from may, and a year from august, is two very different things, is it still in line with being a “in 9 months from today” if talking about august? and will teases ramp up as time goes by?

Will we get insight in how the UI will be set up, how character screens will look and how it looks to equip gear, weapons, accessories like rings and clothing?

Will clothing and armor finally be seperate and not overlap (replace one another unecessarily) and allow the horns of zagol as one example, to finally be used with every armor helm etc?

4 Likes
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Thank you for this devblog. Saw the first video of the new environment, it’s awesome job.

Translating the game into other languages would bring in many new players that don’t practice English

Hope you’ll be able to add this in the future too

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" Introduction of environmental dangers" = climate change, cow farts and sun screen coming soon.

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Yes, this is a repost. We have created a new forum section dedicated to the Unreal Engine 5 project. This will be used to share new information, discuss and gather feedback. I will keep an extra eye on this and when time allows, answer the questions that I can.

Let us start with a few:

just one thing.. “listen to players” …

We will do the best we can. Our current players are important to us and we aim to deliver a much better experience than what is offered today.

One thing you didn’t mention is the shares and deed that exist currently. For example, if Calypso is reworked into something new will CLD functionality remain the same?

Yes, the functionality will remain at least the same.

Will we be able to stresstest / playtest UE5 before release?
(Will you let us visit the moon to help find bugs / give feedback)

Oh yes! We plan to have several and playtesting the moon will be one of the first when it is ready. We want you to be involved in development process. Looking forward to it. No ETA yet ;).

Is there any plans on releasing teaser views of the work, especially on instragram at increasing rates as the times go by?

We want to increase the rate yes, there are some less attractive images that doesn’t make sense to new players that we might post on the forum instead just to keep you all in the loop. We will use Devblogs too for a more in depth explanation of certain areas. The next one that you can expect this autumn is regarding creatures.

Will clothing and armor finally be seperate and not overlap

We have just started fleshing out a new armor and clothing system. When the time is right, the info will be shared.

Cheers!

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More notable stuff from the community in my opinion includes:

Biggest question I have is whether the environments will be available in parallel for a while, i.e. testing at the test planet [moon Setesh]?
New poll: guess how many times they will update the blog before it goes silent for 9 months??? [well, it just got copy+pasted after 3, but not updated]
Lots of potential for improving the game and for fucking it up too. Hope they tread carefully and listen to player feedback. A shame they don’t add regular players from different player levels to test out out the game in UE5 on the Gameplay Team that they have. They could get really good feedback that way.
“gameplay emerging from the interaction of multiple systems rather than the intentional designs of the developer.” This would make no interaction an exploit any more. If the effects are too undesirable (and MA finds out about it), it would be up to MA to change the ‘parameters’ or code surrounding the interaction of features. Expect way more secrets known to varying degrees…
Ownership, user-created content, inter-user contracts and guilds (corporations with group characteristics) are going to be biggies. Let’s pray that the systems are transparent from the start, and way way different from the step-by-step snug-building/veggie boxes etc. Progress, ok, yes, but clarity of pathways in the same way that upgrade materials info is now available for armour chains, for example.
A wild idea, imagine if space was no longer a lootable pvp zone, and instead only had high risk areas in space being lootable pvp, and for the most part, the rest of space had proper mobbing, and space ships could be used for proper team hunts using space ships purely (i know that is sort of a thing, but think expanded, bigger, optimized and properly from a to z with more ships more ship parts more weapons more space stuff overall.) could be interesting.
I hope space is integrated into the exploration idea rather more, but with limited risk most of the time. I certainly hope space is not simply an afterthought in the new design… but worthy of even dedicated space guilds, territories and bases etc.
However, on top of hopes for better auction and trading capabilities and a functioning overall economy… and pp integration… I wonder how valued our opinions really are to MA.
One of the problems of “well-balanced” at the moment is the very low probability of hitting certain goodies in loot. You cannot learn by doing which haystack the needle spawns in if it means trying out dozens of haystacks for 10k mobs or whatever, or if you can’t bankroll a certain mob hp to even try it out 1k times.
Will guilds/socs or forums/wikis publicise/share infos, or will info itself be even more in lockdown in the new ‘exploration is a fundamental part’ game?
… Point is, all I ever hear is people talking negatively about EU and the expansions, sometimes warranted due to bugs or delays, but since the game opened 19 years ago there has been constant progression and eventually MA delivers. There will be bugs. Sometimes it takes longer than expected. But the change since the beginning till now has been dramatically positive.
sorry to sound pessimistic, but haven’t we had this repeat time after time for the past 20 years, all the promises all the goods to come all the woohoo’s and end result is always the same bull, cheaters exploiters winning everyone else getting shafted, half the crap doesn’t get implemented, investors left waiting years upon years for anything to even happen.
the real interesting part would be a “Hard coded RENTAL system… i get an item for X minutes/day/hours/ weeks” and at the end of rental period the item is AUTOMATICALLY RETURNED to the lender, being SOULBOUND while in possess of the borrower.
Free negotiations in hte “rental window” as per upfront payment … that would help all people that “collect” items to obtain a fee and allow borrowers to "TRY " or “use” an item without the need for any collateral, being the return of item assured by engine.
But I really think user created content will be a huge game changer and will breath a new life into this game.
I really want to see new user created vehicles, clothes, buildings, furniture, etc. Maybe weapons skin?!
Another thing I’d like to see is docking stations at Settlements. If a Mothership or Privateer is dropping players off at Caly for example, these people should get dropped off at a settlement, not in space. Have the Mothership “land” at a random settlement to let people off.

Maybe the best bits of this can be commented on, or a theme put together, such as what difference will player involvement and guilds make in the future…
edit: beaten by Dennis by about 30s - well done Dennis! Points may thus overlap - thanks!