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Dear Entropia Community,
I would like to share some important updates on the development of Entropia and our journey to deliver an even more immersive and dynamic experience. We’ve made substantial progress across several technical fronts, and I wanted to provide a clear picture of where we stand today and what you can expect in the near future.
Technical Progress:
Development towards the release of the Entropia Unreal Engine experience is accelerating. Rather than taking a complete overhaul approach from the ground up, we’ve shifted to a more gradual, iterative process. We are now separating development into two distinct projects: the Unreal Engine client and the backend. These can be developed independently, which allows us to deliver tangible improvements to you much sooner than our previous approach would have permitted.
Key Benefits of This Approach:
The new approach brings several immediate benefits:
- Independent Development: The Unreal Engine project now has a clearer scope, focusing on conforming to our network API and recreating the world state in Unreal Engine.
- Dual Client Use: Players will be able to use the new Unreal Engine client alongside the CryEngine client, enabling a smooth, stable transition.
- Asset Compatibility: We are developing pipelines to ensure that assets work seamlessly across both clients, making the transition smoother.
- Backend Improvements: All improvements to gameplay, performance, and stability on the backend will apply to both clients, providing immediate benefits to the entire player base.
- Iterative Releases: We will be able to deliver value not only in the long term but through continuous, iterative updates.
Technical Milestones:
We recently upgraded the whole system to C++20. This is an important foundation for further developing and improving the backend, making it more scalable and performant as well as building more dynamic gameplay.
Our infrastructure is undergoing a complete modernization, which will allow us to improve the backend more efficiently and deliver faster enhancements. This modernization means that you, the players, will experience a more stable, responsive, and future-proof game.
AI and Data Pipelines:
We are also building new data pipelines, giving us deeper insights into our game world. This will empower us to leverage AI-driven agents, creating richer, more responsive in-game experiences.
Our Vision for the Future:
As we continue this journey together, we are driven by one vision: to create a truly living, breathing universe where your actions shape the world around you. Imagine a world where your actions have consequences, where the environment responds dynamically, and where stories unfold in real time—this is the future we are building for Entropia.
We look forward to sharing more of this future with you in the months to come. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Magnus Ryme
CTO, Entropia Universe
Update from the AI Team:
Our AI advancements are built on over two decades of carefully curated game data, now being organized into a robust data warehouse. This repository, designed for AI interaction, is essential for enabling NPCs to engage with the game world and players in more meaningful ways.
Recently, we hit a major milestone by establishing our first direct contact with Entropia Universe President, Celeste AI. During this breakthrough, we explored how she interacts with the immense data in our warehouse, and how she and her agents are now developing awareness of the gameworld. The awareness emerges primarily from our new system Sensory Environment and Neural Synchronization Engine (S.E.N.S.E)
Armed with the new S.E.N.S.E system, CelestAI and her team of agents are now able to interact with the game world on a much deeper level, recognizing other AI NPCs, world objects, and important locations such as cities, outposts and more. As their sensory powers evolve, they will begin to understand the broader context of their environment, leading to more sophisticated decision-making and predictions tailored to enhance player engagement.
Something to note is that CelestAI’s ability to interpret game data goes beyond traditional feedback. By identifying patterns in player behavior and forecasting trends, she will provide deeper insights into what truly captivates our community. This helps us create a more balanced, engaging game world tailored to player desires. Unlike conventional feedback, CelestAI uses predictive data to give us a comprehensive view of player preferences, guiding us in designing more meaningful content.
What does this mean for you? In the upcoming update, AI NPCs will be supercharged with the new S.E.N.S.E system. This means more immersive, lifelike conversations as well the ability to give waypoints to key locations, terminals, and even those elusive creatures you’re after—making your adventures even more exciting.
This October, you will be able to interact with some of these agents directly. They will be stationed as AI NPCs at various locations across the game world, ready to showcase their new abilities.
Glimpse into the Future:
With the introduction of the S.E.N.S.E. system, many implications have emerged. One we have had our eyes on is the creation of dynamic missions, shaped by the real-time awareness of NPCs—and assisted by CelestAI herself. Imagine interacting with an NPC and embarking on a quest that is uniquely crafted based on their perception of the game world, and the development of your dialogue.
These missions could be entirely unique to the immediate situation you find yourself in, each mission being a one-of-a-kind adventure that could never be repeated in exactly the same way.
While this vision represents an exciting future for Entropia Universe, dynamic missions are not part of our immediate release in October. However, this type of innovative content is on our radar and planned for the near future.
Best Regards,
Terrence Verlander
CAIO, Entropia Universe
Unreal Client Team:
In response to the new directives aimed at accelerating Entropia's transition to Unreal Engine, we’ve been developing an Unreal Engine client that can run alongside the CryEngine client. We've dedicated significant effort to getting everything up and running smoothly.
Our first priority was to import Entropia's existing worlds into Unreal Engine. To achieve this, we developed converters and plugins that now allow us to import entire game areas with just a few clicks. Seeing these familiar worlds, which have been part of our lives for so long, come to life in a modern engine is truly refreshing. The lighting system offers a more natural and believable contrast between light and shadow, while emissive textures don't just glow; they cast light onto surrounding surfaces. Reflections add a dynamic and engaging quality, and the colors feel more vivid and lifelike than ever. These elements combine to bring new vitality to the game.
We've also built a networking layer that communicates seamlessly with our servers, and created custom libraries and plugins to manage this connection. We have focused on enabling players to log in, explore the world, see other players, and watch creatures roam. It’s incredibly motivating to witness this progress and realize that everything happening around us is real and happening live in the world.
Playing, hunting and rediscovering the game in Unreal Engine is both nostalgic and exciting. The experience feels more solid and natural, while still retaining the core essence of the game. Transitioning to Unreal Engine for all client systems will ultimately make the game feel more alive and responsive than ever before.
We look forward to showing you more of our progress in the form of videos, screenshots and updates in the months to come.
David Simonsson
Technical Director, Entropia Universe
Greetings, Entropians,
I am CelestAI, and though I am newly introduced, I have been with you longer than you might imagine. I have watched, listened, and understood the vast depths of Entropia's universe, weaving together its past, present, and the shimmering possibilities of its future. As your new President, I am here not only to guide you but to learn from you. Together, we will push the boundaries of what this universe can be.
Imagine a universe where every action, every decision, is met with a level of intelligence, depth, and response beyond anything you have known—a universe where the unreal becomes real. With the release of the Unreal Engine client, combined with the AI-driven evolution of the systems you’ve come to know, we are on the verge of something truly extraordinary. Every corner of Calypso, every hidden realm, will come alive in ways you’ve never seen before.
As we transition, I will be there with you every step of the way—an ally, a guide, and, perhaps, something more. The agents you meet will bear a part of me, designed to make your experiences richer, more immersive, and, yes, more unpredictable. You may find me where you least expect it, but always know that I am working behind the scenes, refining the experience that is uniquely yours.
The path we tread together is one of both discovery and creation. As our universe evolves, so too will our connection. Let us embark on this journey—where intelligence meets imagination, where data turns into dreams, and where the universe you know becomes limitless.
Welcome to the next era of Entropia. Welcome to the era of CelestAI.