The Grand Plan: Step-By-Step

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Hello everyone, 

Today, I write to you with an excited hand. I have truely begun to put the first parts of Entropia Revival into action, and let me tell you - the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. 

In this post, I am going to make an effort to document, in a step-by-step format, exactly what the new "Entropia Revival Project" intends to do. Although there is a lot of information here, many things are unfortunately going to have to remain unclear (lest I turn this post into a novel). To compensate for this, my plan is to write separate posts on each one of these steps, and then link them on this page as I go, updating this page constantly. Therefore, this "Step-by-step" is going to become the hub for all the data on the project as it happens. 

I will, of course, continue to post non-plan-related things as well! However, for the sake of staying on topic, let's get down to business. 

Listed below are the steps that the Entropia Revival Project plans to take on world, in Calypso. At the end of document will be a brief section of how I see these things working in favor of one another to bring together the broader scope of things. 

Step One: Increase the Supply cost of sweat to 4 ped / k.

• Reason: The sweat market is the base market of Entropia, and it is where all non-depositors start off to make their first few Ped. That being said, this market is a prime target if one intends to make an impact on the overall economic system. The goal of increasing the price of sweat is, ultimately, to raise the income of new players. By putting peds in the hands of new players, those new players will be more apt to spend it on the auction and in the malls, increasing ped flow for the entire economy. Although it’s a massive undertaking, working to increase the price of sweat will provide new players with double their current expendable income which can make a major impact on the trade market as a whole. This shouldn’t conflict with any of MindArk’s plans – and if anything, the recent changes to certain aspects of the game point toward a need for greater cash flow through the economy (more on this coming soon).

• Method: My plan is twofold. Entropia Revival Project has amassed a working capital to begin buying sweat ourselves at 4 ped / k. This, along with a strong in-game advertising push will be the early phases of pressure on local buyers (this part of our plan is already underway). Once the word has really begun to spread, I intend to work with larger corporations to put a temporary stop-sale on sweat. Doing so will take millions of bottles of the market temporarily and drive the price up for small-time sellers, putting the peds where they need to be. Done correctly, corporations should then be able to re-introduce their wares in increments with minimal effect to the price. Although I hope to drive the initial spike higher than 4 ped, the plan is for the market to settle there. This will hypothetically double the expendable income of new players. That can be a game changer.

Step Two: Re-Market and Re-Target the Mall System

• Reason: The malls are currently struggling, and (unfortunately) it seems that the problem is the auctions. The auction system is easily accessible and despite the auction house fees, the prices in said auction are still relatively decent. However, the auction can be confusing for new players and the Malls have the advantage of being free of auction fees meaning that, even if it's just a small amount, malls have the opportunity to sell at a lower prices than the auctions virtually 100% of the time. The problem is this: currently, malls are just a group of stores housing collection of wares that people put out to sell with very little rhyme or reason; in other words, they aren't being managed properly and as a result they’re suffering. If done properly, the malls could be re-invigorated by attracting a specific base of customers that Malls can most easily meet the needs of. Combining proper targeting with good marketing practices could re-invigorate the malls, and 

• Method: Malls need to be re-targeted towards newer players and they need to undercut the auction. To do this, someone needs to start working on the mall’s visual merchandising, marketing and layout. The Entropia Revival Project Plans to reach out to each mall owner (starting with the Port Atlantis Mall) and speak with them about their visual merchandising, and what we can do to help them re-arrange their store and increase sales and revenue. Then, The Project will take on the job of acting as the marketing team for as many of the shops as possible. Although this may seem like a conflict of interest, our goal is to market the mall as a whole, and let the shops speak for themselves. There are some holes in this plan, of course – as well all know some shops are abandoned and have been for quite some time. Don’t worry, though. We’re working on that.

Step Three: Re-invigorate the Events Terminal

• Reason: Making a push into the events terminal will help organize what will (hopefully) be some very large events. Community is key in Entropia. As all experienced players know, the Entropia Universe is about sticking together and if there’s one thing that’s been sorely missing in the past few years, it’s been large-scale, social events. These events help move trade by promoting interaction, and help foster a sense of community that grows trade-trust and develops partnerships.

• Method: For this, we’re currently recruiting an events planner. However, all events will be handled through our society, the events terminal and posted on this site and on Facebook. Exciting, right? We’ll have more on this soon as we develop the staff and plan for it.

Step Four: Investigate the Banking Situation

• Reason: There was a point in MindArk’s history where the current banking system was slated to be grown into much more than it is right now. Getting to the bottom of what happened may lead us to a possible opportunity to grow the game farther. This part of our plan is still in the research phase, so not much is clear yet.

• Method: We have to start with learning. Finding out what happened to the banks will be key.

Step Five: Pressure MindArk to make a series of small Tweaks, ensuring that our efforts stick

• Reason: Let's face it: No matter what we do, MindArk has the final say. However, part of the reason why I'm writing so much here is to give not only a clear explanation of the problem to the players, but to everyone - including you, MindArk. There are a series of small changes we can make to the game that will make a major difference in cash flow throughout the game. Although I'm no expert, I think I have a pretty strong grasp on what a large majority of these changes are - and I intend to make note of all of them. Hopefully, this will result in an open line of communication with MindArk that will result in a series of positively beneficial alterations, ensuring that Entropia is here to stay.

• Method: Simple. I write. A lot! 

The Bigger Picture

In general, the idea is this: By putting ped in the hands of new players, we increase customer retention. Furthermore, new players have more to buy, meaning they are far more apt to spend than a veteran would be. Therefore, if we want to re-invigorate the economy, the way to start is to put ped in newer hands. 

From everything I can tell, increasing the price of sweat is the way to go to accomplish this. Granted, the demand is low, and granted, it will probably continue to get lower. Artificially increasing the price of sweat is very likely only a temporary fix, but it only has to work long enough for MindArk to notice and to get some ped moving through the economy. If those two things happen, then we may be able to get some more serious notice of the remaining portions of this project. 

Combining Step one with the remaining parts of our plan paints a picture of Entropia that looks more newbie-friendly. In my vision of the game, the malls are the newbie-centers of the universe. With the right advertising and marketing the malls can be used not only as a sales center, but also a place for new players to go and learn about the items in the game without having to go look at a 3rd party website (because as we all know, they're all way out of date). And with some extra ped to spare, these new players will buy what they see. 

All the while this is happening, The Revival Project will be ramping up to do some major events and parties in hopes of drawing back some old players and vets. Although this might be a long shot, it's the only shot we have at continuing to retain our current all-timers. Besides, events help introduce new players to all the right people, and as we all know, people are the game's most valuable asset. 

So, the bigger picture of this is a more MindArk involved, more new player friendly Entropia. 

What do you think? Do you think that an Entropia like that is possible?

As I said earlier, I will be posting individual articles on all of these things and linking those articles here as as they come into existence. The more knowledge everyone has, the better.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone on world. Thank you to all for the already overwhelmingly positive feedback on the first parts of our Grand Plan that have already started. I can’t wait to continue on with this initiative. Every moment of it excites me.

Good Luck out there.

Sincerely,

Faucon