2025 / End of Year DME Message to the Community

[DarkMoonEnigma]

As we close out 2025, I wanted to take a moment to speak directly to the community. As we look toward the future, I want to share some thoughts on where we are and where we are headed. Developing for Planet Toulan and DSEC9 this year has been a labor of love, as always, but it’s important to reflect on both our shared successes and the complex landscape we navigate as content creators.

Our Vision and Your Voice​

Our primary goal as content creators has always been to remain true to a specific vision for Planet Toulan and DSEC9. We strive to create environments that feel distinct, immersive, and purposeful. However, that vision isn’t a monologue ... it’s a conversation.

This year, we have done our absolute best to listen to your feedback and implement player suggestions wherever they align with the core identity of the content. Balancing "community wants" with "world-building needs" is a delicate process, but it is one we tackle with as much intensity and freedom as allowed, as well as the amount of time we have available to accomplish our goals.

A Perspective on Development​

It is important to remember that our team does not work on content creation full-time. We do this out of a genuine passion for Entropia Universe and this community, and because of this reality:

• Diverse Opinions ... Not every update will be exactly what every individual wants. We ask for your understanding that our decisions are made with the long-term health of our locations in mind. Finding the balance between "community wants" and the core identity of our locations is a delicate task, but it is one we approach with a deep respect for your experience.
• Constructive / Over Critical ... While we welcome feedback, an abundance of complaining and negativity, or withdrawal of support when a specific request isn’t met can be incredibly taxing on a small team. We are humans behind the screens, doing our best to provide you with an environment of enjoyment.

The Weight of Uncertainty / The Entropia Universe Expansion​

This year has brought a unique set of challenges with the announcement of The Entropia Universe Expansion and the Genesis Probe Project. While the prospect of new tools and broader horizons is exciting, the current lack of definitive specifics from MindArk creates a heavy atmosphere for Planet Partners. There are ongoing discussions behind the scenes toward a greater understanding of where we go from here, but these discussions will remain private until MindArk decides to share more with the EU community.

As content creators, we are forced to weigh development decisions against dynamics that are not yet public. Without a clear roadmap for how these new utilities will function or integrate with existing systems, there is a very real potential for stagnation. We find ourselves in a position where we must consider:

• The Technical Shift ... Navigating the transition to new systems without knowing the full scope of the requirements.
• The Risk of Stagnation ... The difficulty of moving forward in a bold new direction when the underlying "rules of the universe" feel like they are in flux.
• Strategic Caution ... Balancing our desire to innovate with the need to protect the stability and investments of our current player base.

This uncertainty adds a significant layer of weight to every development hour we spend, requiring us to be more calculated than ever before.

Cultivating a Better In-Game Environment​

Beyond the mechanics and the lore, the heart of our locations is you ... the community. Lately, we’ve noticed that our in-game chat channels can sometimes become weighed down by complaining and a focus on the negative. Many have told us that they have backed off from engaging in chats as a result.

I want to challenge us all to make our in-game chats more welcoming and supportive in the coming year.

• Help a new player find their way.
• Share your successes.
• Keep the atmosphere light and adventurous.

Negativity often breeds more negativity, and it can be a barrier for new players trying to join our ranks. We are tasked as Planet Partners to work on player retention, and it is more successful if we can work in partnership with the community to give guidance and help toward making the environment more enjoyable. While we understand that uncertainty and change can be frustrating, an abundance of negativity can be draining for both the development team and your fellow players. Let’s make our public channels a place where people want to hang out, rather than a place they feel they need to mute.

Moving Forward Together​

We are grateful for the many players who continue to support us, who offer constructive insights and champion our three locations. You are the reason we continue to build, even in our "off" hours. Your support is the foundation that allows us to keep building, despite the uncertainties of the broader universe.

Thank you for being part of our 2025. Here’s to a 2026 defined by clarity, creativity, and a stronger, more positive community spirit.

 

[Neon]

I’m honestly surprised by the statement that community feedback is being heard. Since September, I have reported several clear bugs (via toulan chat, dm, discord and forum), none of which have been addressed. Additionally, one of my bug reports was moved to the Suggestions forum, despite describing several issues that are clearly a malfunction rather than a feature request.

From a player’s perspective, this comes across as dismissive. Many of us make a consistent effort to travel to Toulan daily, investing time and resources to complete missions and engage with the planet, even though objectively, it currently offers less content compared to other planets.

I fully understand the challenges of limited development time and broader uncertainty within Entropia Universe. However, acknowledging reported bugs and maintaining clear communication around them would go a long way toward reinforcing trust and demonstrating respect for the players who continue to support and engage with your locations.

With this said, here is once again my bug reports:
- You can´t spawn your pet on the Armor instance
- Baraka Armor Pices are NOT dropping ( i got 3 pieces from over 160 cuhof legends+ over 500 cuhof 1-5 instance runs) Thats over 500k peds in cycle
- Loot is capped at 80% in Storehouse
- Overall lack of balance in drops to upgrade Baraka armor

 

[Eugenio Anhithe Wilde]

I'm not going to justify some of the above posts with much of a response other than I'm not going to allow such personal abuse on this forum, especially when it also targets members of the Entropian Community and people I feel responsible for. Online Defamation is a real thing and everyone should be careful, you can't just spread lies (or things you have no idea of whether they are true or not) and expect no consequences.

Anyway, a couple of general points,

• I judge the Halloween and all other fashion contests, they are subjective and it is true that around 3 years ago an EVIL leprechaun did win an event with a really low turnout (hence no honorable mentions). I wanted to cancel the events due to the turnout but was convinced otherwise. I'm happy to cancel these kinds of events if it causes controversy, its not as if I make a commission on somebody getting dressed up.
• I look after all the development, so if something is not to your liking its my fault and nobody else's. I tend not to discuss loot for a couple of reasons, there's elements I don't control and I also think its unfair that someone might have an advantage if they happen to read on a random forum that an item might be more frequent suddenly etc. There's been times when its been stated categorically that an item doesn't drop and I could see that it has dropped regularly, perhaps someone has figured something out (not everyone declares all they know publicly). its not fair for me to explain that to the general populous. Other times I'll let Mindark know and they'll make whatever adjustments they see fit.
• On the general approach, Toulan was a place that had no unlimited items, no higher end gear, no efficient weapons etc. There was a long period of time where we were unable to release new weapons or unlimited items so I focused on Quests and vanity items. I got a lot of feedback that harder content and some useful unlimited and limited items were highly desirable. In order to get these things they need to be rare, perhaps difficult or challenging and maybe require some activity, like completing an instance to get a chance of something less frequent. That's been pretty much my design approach, trying to increase the amount of rarer things on Toulan by adding content that's a bit more challenging, takes a bit more time or is just really rare so that I can introduce these items to Toulan. Sometimes these things need adjusting and I'll work with Mindark to do that and sometimes its exactly as intended because its needed to justify the reward.

Anyway there's nuances to everything. This is a passion project for me and I try to do my best, that may not be enough but unfortunately until such day as it changes, I am all you have!

Ant

 

[Eugenio Anhithe Wilde]

@DarkMoonEnigma could you move the reported posts to some archive please, I want to keep this thread clean.

 

[Eugenio Anhithe Wilde]

I’m honestly surprised by the statement that community feedback is being heard. Since September, I have reported several clear bugs (via toulan chat, dm, discord and forum), none of which have been addressed. Additionally, one of my bug reports was moved to the Suggestions forum, despite describing several issues that are clearly a malfunction rather than a feature request.

From a player’s perspective, this comes across as dismissive. Many of us make a consistent effort to travel to Toulan daily, investing time and resources to complete missions and engage with the planet, even though objectively, it currently offers less content compared to other planets.

I fully understand the challenges of limited development time and broader uncertainty within Entropia Universe. However, acknowledging reported bugs and maintaining clear communication around them would go a long way toward reinforcing trust and demonstrating respect for the players who continue to support and engage with your locations.

With this said, here is once again my bug reports:
- You can´t spawn your pet on the Armor instance
- Baraka Armor Pices are NOT dropping ( i got 3 pieces from over 160 cuhof legends+ over 500 cuhof 1-5 instance runs) Thats over 500k peds in cycle
- Loot is capped at 80% in Storehouse
- Overall lack of balance in drops to upgrade Baraka armor

Hey Neon,

• It's not that unusual for pets to be disallowed in Instances but I've had a look and see no issue in turning them on for the Armor instance, this should be enabled in the next VU.
• I've asked Mindark to look into the loot around the Armor Upgrade Quests (Armor pieces and upgrade items needed) to check if everything is as intended
• For the Storehouse, there's nothing I've put in place or can put in place to cap loot its the same system used for other chest based instances, I did remove the chests for the CUHOFs because people didn't like it (mainly around looter skills) it's the reason I separated the Storehouse with the rest of the instance so that someone would have to have completed the instance to have a chance of a rare item. I can have a look but I'm reluctant to change this.