[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Today, we explore the continent of Eudoria on Calypso as we take a closer look at Entropia Universe, MindArk's distant-planet futurescape.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

This week, we paid a visit to the futuristic planet of Calypso, exploring, trading, and being mentored as we harvested sweat from monsters to bottle and sell. So what's the big picture about MindArk's Entropia Universe?

Entropia Universe, which we recently toured, will be getting a sharp new look. According to a statement on its website, Crytek (Far Cry) has signed a license agreement with Sweden-based MindArk, creators of Entropia Universe, that will allow Entropia to use Crytek's game engine, called CryENGINE 2. The transition's expected to be completed by 2008, and Entropia users can expect more realistic graphics, improved physics, and more lifelike animations.

"When we saw what the engine was capable of, we immediately understood that it would be perfect for Entropia, as both MindArk and Crytek are pioneers in their respective fields," said MindArk's Jan Welter Timkrans.

"We think the combination of our CryENGINE 2 technology and their extremely popular virtual playground will result in a new kind of rich and immersive experience that has not been possible until now," added Crytek managing director Avni Yerli.

Seems MindArk hopes that the engine boost will help Entropia compete a little better against World of Warcraft and Second Life in terms of subscriber numbers, where its approximately 600,000 users are dwarfed by WoW's recently-announced 9 million and Second Life's reputed 7 million.

MindArk's Entropia Universe is featured in the new 2008 Guinness Book of World Records for having sold the most valuable virtual items and real estate among virtual worlds. Its Club NEVERDIE, an asteroid space resort bought for $100,000 by gamer Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs, is listed as "The Most Expensive Virtual Object."

The virtual resort boasts a nightclub, shopping mall, 1000 apartment complexes, commercial space ship docking, mega sports stadium, and hunting and mining biodomes, and is said to be the highest-grossing privately owned virtual event venue online; in its press release, MindArk guesses it'd go for $1 million if it were ever placed back on the market.

The $100,000 record was almost broken this year when a virtual bank license was sold in Entropia Universe in May for $99,900 USD. MindArk estimates Entropia's daily turnover to be around $1.25 million.

"The inclusion of the space resort and Entropia Universe in the Guinness World Records book confirms the viability of our real cash economy," says Marco Behrmann, Chief Information Officer at MindArk PE AB, the development company behind Entropia Universe. "Participants realized early on the enormous potential in Entropia Universe for real commerce. In fact, the space resort had recouped its initial acquisition cost and was operating at a profit after only 8 months, and remains one of the primary event locations in the Entropia Universe."

Internet payment company Paynova has expanded its payment service specifically for online games and worlds. Its first partner for the launch of its new services will be MindArk, who will integrate the Paynova services into Entropia Universe, according to the company's press release.

The announcement represents an extension of an existing partnership between MindArk and Paynova. Entropia Universe already offers Paynova payment options, but they will now have more choices -- Entropia's users can pay via debit card, Internet bank, and a number of local payment methods in Sweden, and at the same time, Paynova's One2One additional service will be implemented, which is aimed at streamlining participant payments both when entering and within Entropia.

The One2One service supports both subscription and "pay-per-component" transactions, so that users of Entropia or other online worlds that support it can make both kinds of payments using the same payment service in-game or out of it.

"Being able to accept payments over the Internet is a prerequisite for our entire business. Paynova has supplied us with a stable, secure payment service for a number of years. It's great that we can now expand the cooperation with more payment methods and new functions. Paynova also gives us the option of accepting more payment methods as they become available without the need for further development from our side," says Carl Uggla, chief marketing officer at MindArk.

Entropia Universe has unveiled some spiff-ups for its in-world avatars, aiming to make them look more real through a series of graphical enhancements. MindArk recently announced that Entropia would be upgrading to the high-end CryEngine 2 graphics engine from Crytek in 2008, but it looks like the made-over avatars are getting a jump on things.

Improvements to the look include the addition of reflective and glossy surfaces, as well as new clothing and armor design that showcases them -- a big plus in the space-age world of Calypso. The detail tech's been upgraded, too, so that the frame rate stays adequate even with a lot of avatars in one area. Finally, advancements in shading allows realistic-looking combinations of leather and colored clothes.
Reflective and Glossy Surfaces

Entropia's had big things going on over the past several months, getting set to expand into China and expanding its payment options. In the company's press release, MindArk PE AB's Chief Marketing Officer Carl Uggla explained the company is striving for "cinematic quality" in the Entropia experience, in the hopes of making it appealing to the film and fashion industries who could employ the world as a "convergence point" for content delivery and special events.

When we toured Entropia, we found the panoramic views, interesting camera angles and surreal skyscapes lent themselves well already to a distinct cinematic feel, so it will be interesting to see the world evolve with the new graphical upgrades.

MindArk's Chief Information Officer and Community Director Marco Behrmann adds, "Our global community has reacted extremely well to the previews we've released for this upgrade. As in any social situation, an avatar's appearance in Entropia Universe is just as important as a person's appearance is in the real world. Our participants spend millions of dollars every year on clothing and beauty services. Owning a great looking avatar is a pop culture status symbol and we are proud to now offer the best free-to-use avatar creation process online."

There are some new screenshots that show off the updated avatar look currently on Entropia's wesbite.

Entropia Universe's Club NEVERDIE, which recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive virtual item bought ($100,000) is set to host the 2008 Massive Multiplayer Online World Championships, beginning Friday, November 23, 2008 with the finals closing the tournament on Sunday, December 16, 2008 in Miami, Florida.

The event is a first person shooting tournament that involves hunting monsters in the asteroid biodomes of Entropia's Calypso world, and players will compete for a two-part prize package: first, an optional all-expenses paid trip to the Florida competition, where the winner will be filmed for -- get this -- a reality TV show hosted by Club NEVERDIE owner Jon Jacobs (a reality show about a virtual entrepreneur? How's that for crossover?). Second, the winner will get $20,000 worth of Entropia land, for which the owner can charge other players mining fees and taxes, so theoretically the winner can continue to earn monthly cash for their prize. Highlights of the event will be broadcast on Spike TV’s Game Head.

Said Jacobs, "The 2007 MMOWC was a tremendous success and we hope that the second time around is just as successful, if not even better. What makes the MMOWC truly unique and different from others is that gamers can compete without ever having to leave their home, whereas traditional video game tournaments involve competing in arenas. We give finalists the option of being flown to Miami to compete.”

At this year's E for All Expo in Los Angeles, MindArk announced that its Entropia Universe has opened its platform to partners and affiliates interested in obtaining their own planet in the Universe. It's already partnered with China's Cyber Recreation District for the venture.

From the looks of things, MindArk's been looking to network with new potential partners at the Expo, in the hopes of enabling companies to form brand extensions in Entropia. Though Entropia's setting involves the futuristic space colonies on planet Calypso (not the best place, for, say, a Pepsi tie-in), they've been hyping up the platform's entertainment, e-commerce and social networking attributes. The sci-fi, monster-sweating elements of Entropia were downplayed, for example, in a recent announcement about some events and competitions surrounding the Guinness Book of World Records-listed Club NEVERDIE.

Could it be that Entropia is trying to reshape its brand identity a little, showcasing a broader array of applications and potential audiences than its fantasy MMO roots would afford it?

MindArk, parent of Entropia Universe, has announced it is planning an initial public offering, which is likely to include an offering of newly issued registered shares as well as existing shares. The company intends to use the proceeds from the newly issued shares to implement its growth strategy -- planning to expand its market position and pursue acquisition opportunities globally. The company has tapped Credit Suisse to help it plan for the IPO and suss out strategy.

Jan Welter, CEO of MindArk, said: "As a publicly traded company MindArk will be able to acquire intellectual property and make strategic acquisitions that will enhance and expand Entropia Universe as the leading Virtual platform for Entertainment, Commerce, Education and Avatar Development. The IPO will also give us an opportunity to substantially expand our development team and to further develop our many current virtual systems and user tools employed by users to engage in commerce, as well as to develop new ones."

Entropia's Jon "Neverdie" Jacobs will announce a $5 million virtual world treasure hunt from MindArk's booth at this year's CES in Las Vegas, the company announced. The treasure hunt, titled "Space Pirates," will be accessible to all Entropia members, and open to new players interested in joining.

The Space Pirates treasure hunt will also mark an expansion for Entropia, adding exploration and colonization of new planets beyond the home world of Calypso, which Worlds in Motion once visited. As part of the expansion, Entropia will introduce new tools, equipment, treasures and artifacts designed to assist avatars participating in the quest.

MindArk says that this year's CES will also be the launch site for its second annual MMO World Championship finals, taking place at its booth on Thursday, January 9th. Jenna Star Mercury of the U.S. and South Africa's Linden Avery will compete to win a prize package of Entropia land the company values at $25,000 USD, which features hunting and mining taxation rights that MindArk says will provide a monthly real world cash income.

The $5 million prize will apparently be put up by MMOWC LLC, a Florida-based corporation which exists solely to manage, market and handle corporate sponsorship for the Massive Multiplayer Online World Championships.

Oddly, when the company announced the cash-laden tournament earlier this year in Entropia at Neverdie's club (often cited to be valued at $100,000), the prize package was revealed as a two-parter: first, an optional all-expenses paid trip to Florida, where the winner will be filmed for -- get this -- a reality TV show hosted by Club NEVERDIE owner Jon Jacobs (a reality show about a virtual entrepreneur? How's that for crossover?). Second, $20,000 (not $25,000) worth of Entropia land. No word on whether Ms. Star Mercury or Mr. Avery will be the next reality TV star after all.

Jacobs commented, "CES has it all - gadgets, games and glamour. It's like the electronics version of the Cannes Film Festival. I'm extremely excited to be riding the crest of the virtual worlds wave at CES this year."

Free-to-play MMO Entropia Universe has launched new German, French, and Spanish versions of its software. Developer Mindark seeks to invite a broader international audience to Entropia Universe by making its website, client software, and customer support accessible in the respective languages.

Now boasting over 720,000 registered accounts since its launch in 2003, Entropia Universe offers a unique virtual economy, attaching its in-game PED currency to the U.S. dollar at a fixed exchange rate of 10:1. Another unique feature for the 3D online virtual universe allows players to withdraw in-game funds as real-life cash.

Said Mindark marketing and PR executive Frank Campbell: "Localizing Entropia will facilitate increased market penetration in these language areas by addressing our users' needs and increasing our credibility. The localization work carried out with one of the world's leading companies in the field, Lionbridge, will also be of great benefit to our revenue sharing Affiliates and Partner planet developers in these regions. Together with the Swedish Trade Council, we are increasing our Marketing and PR activities in these areas during 2008."

Developer MindArk announced that its virtual world Entropia Universe will join graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia's "The Way It's Meant to Be Played" initiative, a program designed to help studios optimize and incorporate exclusive features in their games while promoting Nvidia's graphics hardware.

According to MindArk, Nvidia will work with the company to "enhance" the game's visual effects, taking advantage of technologies in GeForce GPUs and Entropia Universe's upcoming implementation of Crytek's CryEngine2 game engine later this summer.

Launched in January 2003, Entropia Universe has grown to over 720,000 registered accounts from over 200 countries. Users play as settlers tasked with colonizing a wild land, hunting monsters for by-products to trade and sell, mining for materials and exploring as they form new societies.

The game is free to download and play, but all equipment and skills necessary for all but the most basic involvement must be purchased with Project Entropia Dollars (PED). Users may buy PED at a fixed exchange rate of $1 per 10 PED, or they may earn them in-game. The hallmark of Entropia Universe's business model is the fact that PED can also be changed back into real-world currency; theoretically, then, users can earn real money through in-world gains.

Said MindArk's business development director David Simmonds: "We are thrilled to be working with Nvidia and look forward to a prosperous future together. The expertise that the Nvidia team has to offer is so valuable to us as we strive to continually provide the best gaming experience for our players."

Just over a year ago we revealed that Mindark’s Entropia Universe (a Sweden-based virtual world with a “real cash” currency) was to adopt Crytek’s CryENGINE 2, and clearly the company are revving up in preparation of the re-launch of the world.

How do we know? Because they’ve announced a rather unlikely (but impressive) new partnership with Lemmy from Motörhead.

Lemmy and his band are “teaming up” with Mindark to create Motörhead Stadium and Lemmy’s Castle within Entropia Universe -- the virtual universe’s first virtual rock arena and castle that is to enable fans to "hear exclusive music as well as battle Lemmy’s Guardians in hopes of joining his private Virtual Army."

Some of the Guardians, will drop “rare and valuable” Motörhead armor parts, and fans must collect a full set of Motörhead armor in order to gain entrance to the “inner sanctum” of Lemmy's Castle and be eligible to join Lemmy's private army, which will allow privilges including “the ability to chat with Lemmy online in the army’s private chat channel” and the opportunity to compete in special quests and events to win both real and virtual Motörhead merchandise -- among the prizes is an exclusive trip to Los Angeles for drinks with Lemmy(!).

Mindark are to launch Motörhead Stadium and Lemmy’s Castle in conjunction with the launch of the CryENGINE 2 powered Entropia Universe.

“The Motörhead Stadium and Lemmy’s Castle will add great diversity to Entropia Universe when we launch the upgraded version of Entropia Universe using CryENGINE 2,” said David Simmonds, Business Development Director at Mindark.

[Editor's note: Mindark don't seem to have noticed that Lemmy's Castle is the third boss stage in Super Mario World. Or maybe they have and it's a very roundabout tribute?]