Project Entropia (Now Known as Entropia Universe)

Game started out WAY back in the day. Touted itself as being the best "Real money to ingame conversion" out there. You could even CASH BACKWARDS. That's right, making MONEY off the game depending on what you want to do. It's like a futuristic SIMS, you could own real estate, be a tradeskiller or hairstylist (yes, even barbers) to being a Hunter and fighting the in game mobs. You could fly around in ships and leave the planet and go through space to explore many different worlds with many different themes.

Here's my quote from a separate post that I made somewhere else:

"If you have money or a bunch of free time, Entropia Universe. This game has a real-world currency system meaning you can donate to get money in game and most people invest and take money out (that's right - out.) you can cash out in real world currencies. People live and breathe and invest in this scifi game. A man even owns a famous casino in the video game and told me he pulls home over 200k (In game money) in a month from the expenditures in his casino. That's 20,000 real world dollars. (10 to 1 currency from PED - which is 'Project Entropia Dollars') This is video play of a man piloting a personal spaceship (called a Sleipnir) across some space and planets:


THE WORLD MAPS are FRIGGING HUGE. And if you donate enough you could earn a piece of land through their deed system and own a plot and run your own taxes or shops. And the universe is constantly expanding - including the base world Calypso to the other four areas through deep space to live on.


It may look dated and well it should, releasing in 2003-4? Maybe earlier. It still is completely open and free. You do not HAVE to donate to be someone awesome in the game there are some famous entropians who made all their money in game and from nice people. I however, suggest a donation of 10 dollars. It gets you basically everything a newbie can need to start off on Calypso. For 20, you can also get a ship (ships are 10 bucks IRL - 100ish PED) and all newbie gear.

That was more than I needed to hook me in. I already cashed out half of what I put in (500 bucks, so 250? ish). So I can attest they pay you. Problem is the curve is like Eve and unless you have friends/read forums and guides you'll fall behind some of the people who own the planets/big name franchises.

Not so bad, though, because plenty of newbie friendly clans and people roam the beginning area because they want your money to influence their real world economy, so the community is beautifully nice and finding a true "money spot" is coveted. Another part of my other post about this game:

"Keep in mind this game is so lifelike and has some of the most innovative systems I've ever seen in a game. From the way you actually mine in areas (dropping probes and reading monitors) to how each bullet you spend you keep track of, because it's all real world impact. This doesn't mean you have to invest money in, but I suggest a 10-15 donation like you'd pay for a monthly subscription as it keeps life in the game steadily easy to circulate. There are plenty of guides online how to earn in-game money without donating and there's even a guy who gives lectures on how to be famous on no money put in. This game is widely recognized in European countries, and less so in America I find. But I love the people on there - the community was real. Everyone was trying to make their own way, just like real life. It's futuristic (from mining on an asteroid casino) to interplanetary travel, the game has it all. And a fun, fun society. The graphics may look dated because it's been around since like 2003. But they've had graphics overhauls. And their game is still just that universe people live in."

That being in mind, has anyone played/playing this game? It's quite wonderful. I still visit it from time to time.

I'm surprised I never heard of this game before, based on the information you gave it sounds a lot like SecondLife except the videos clearly show a more in-depth game aspect as opposed to just a virtual social network. I've never played this game but I will likely check it out on my free time if I ever get the chance. The biggest obstacle for me and many American players might be how the server is, if it's hosted in Europe or a different country then it might be difficult maintaining a lag-free experience. Also, what's the current population for this game?

There is no lag. The servers are nearly flawless, and they still have the same folks they had 10 years ago inside it because everyone is investing their REAL LIFE money into the game.

It's populated enough you'll see plenty of folks near metropolis like areas (Like Port Atlantis, the newbie starting zone for planet Calypso) but there really is no newbie zone. You're just dropped into their world and left to fend for yourself, so I suggest guides and talking to some folks near the entry way. Lots of guilds (Called Societies) in that game will grab people right from the start because they want them in their company.

The better part of the game world being empty in some spots is the mineral ore and veins can be found anywhere. In that Sleipnir video I posted, he flew over mountains and lakes and the planet. You could literally land anywhere you can find a spot to set it down and drop a bomb to probe the area for ore. I call this "Random hunting". So, it's very wide open. Also, in thick areas of enemy population you can get better results. For helping with this, I hired a "Distractor" who I let fly with me and his job was to lure all the enemies away from the mining spot while I mined it up and he makes a profit.

People also want to help and make friends, because it's again, like the real world. You can't earn money and stuff right off the bat, and you WILL notice a decrease in funds and the fact you're putting in more then you can make out. If you go into this game thinking you'll make a lot and cash out, stop now. Nobody really makes that much, and the elite who do have been there since launch. I consider "breaking even" on repairs/bullets and bombs to be the best feeling in the world. I get skillups and I can afford to keep recycling my money.

The folks are generally very helpful, and since it does take real money you get genuine people who care for you. The only downside is if you do not donate money, their free way of making money (called "Sweating") off of enemies takes a very long time. Certain "Sweats" are needed for spellcasting, so spellcasters will always need it. Thus always having a way to earn cash.

I would suggest 20-100 dollars a month if you want to progress your character on a faster-than-normal pace. I dropped 40 bucks one time and made that 400 PED last me almost two months, with returns from my hunts/mining trips equaling out into the probes/bombs I spent mining, or the durability on your armor and gear. Armor and gear degrades so you have to repair it. Also, enemies all do different types of damage and armor only protects against certain types for certain sets, so reading is essential if you're going off to fight new enemies. The game literally is so huge and vast, it's quite possibly Like Sims Meets Secondlife Meets Ultima Online.

Seems interesting. It kind of sounds similar to the new game Blizzard were creating - Project Titan, at least from the rumours of that game having non combat professions. It was apparently cancelled though. I thought that sounded cool, but here I am finding out a similar thing already exists. I'm also surprised I've never heard of it before. I don't really have any money to invest at the moment, but I'll consider downloading it sometime.