PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Windows 8... Thought this might help some of you.

Ok, so... I got a new laptop. I am very happy with my Acer V3-551G-x419. Runs multiple games at the same time all on highest settings INCLUDING entropia. And it was also a lot cheaper than similar specs on other machines.

But it came with windows 8. Why Microsoft had to make an OS without a start menu I will never know.. I mean the start screen really doesn't do anything useful. It has live tiles that suck bandwidth. It doesn't give you easy access to your utilities tools and other important programs. Windows 8.1 made it a bit easier of course... But I still wanted to be able to hit a button and see all my stuff in a nice list.

So:

I went to Acer's website looking up other issues, seen a link to go to Pokki. http://www.pokki.com/windows-8-start-menu

It gave me back a real, functional, modernized version of the classic start menu. It is free, do a CUSTOM installation of course on ANY programs you install from anywhere. Seems the standard now is for EVERY company to partner with toolbar and spyware companies. Toolbars will wreck your computer and it's performance.

I am not affiliated with the company, this is not in any way sponsored... I just want to help ease some of everyones frustrations when it comes to Windows 8 bloatware (It is bloatware, 3 gigabyte to patch from 8 to 8.1!!!!)

Everyone Ive said hey, want your start menu back? to Looked at me as if I were nuts.

It is the mission as always of this blog to increase your positive experiences with Entropia and any other areas pertaining to it... And well, if you are happy with your computer you are going to enjoy using it more. And I don't know ANYONE that is happy NOT having a real start menu.

WARNING: MA, Banks, and Bait and Switch = Stolen Helicopter

Well MindArk, you did it again. Thanks to your unwillingness to help, I am blowing the whistle on you.

I redeemed my loan voucher on my dragonfly helicopter. Day or two later I repawned it at the same bank in new oxford.

After YEARS of having one month terms, I HAD NO REASON to expect all of a sudden they would decide to give me a 1 day term.

So... I get the notice that my loan expired.

Support is NOT helping in ANY way.

PLEASE DO NOT PATRONIZE ANY BANKS PARTICULARLY THE ONE IN NEW OXFORD IF YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE TO. I am calling for a boycott of Banking in Entropia.

If they've screwed me over and are so happy to, just wait til you pawn something unique or rare and lose it because the terms have been changed on you.

They claim it is not bait and switch... But after years of having one month terms every time you apply for a loan, WHY the hell would you expect it to change?!?!?!?!

Oh! I almost forgot! Disciple Graduation is broken!

I have a disciple at 100% of his training but it's not allowing him to currently complete it and collect rewards. MA says it will be fixed in the next VU, but who knows. Hard to say when they routinely have mini updates after their updates to fix what they broke when they updated!

OPEN LETTER TO MINDARK

I know, fat chance they will actually read this rave, but it's high time I said something.

When I first started playing entropia about 6 years ago, I could deposit 100 peds, mine unamped without losing it all in one day. I actually played 6 months before I deposited anything past my initial $10. Sure there were ups and downs but I actually got enough loot to keep playing.

Now, without fail, I am lucky to make 100 peds last more than half hour. If I want to make it last a whole hour I have to double my bombing distance... What's sad is, yes, that is funny, but it's not funny because it is so true.

I know someone who lost $300 in 45 minutes recently without a hof, and barely any globals. His highest return was MAYBE 50%.

For me, it doesnt matter what finder I use, where I mine, lately on calypso, I've been hitting maybe one or two level IV through VI claims after about 25 to 40 NRFs. If I wanted to bomb without hitting claims I would go to FOMA for crying outloud! Seriously, after that rock was sold to Foma, every single run I've been on up there since has required 200 bombs of NRF's before I could even get a IX or X and THAT IS WITH AN AMP. Unamped same problem, 200 drops before I might get a claim.

Mindark makes it clear Entropia is not a casino. Heh, I can guarantee that it's not, you have a better return in a casino, at least you actually get wins to go with your losses. See, casinos learned long ago that if you cut the payback too low, people no longer have fun and if they are not having fun, they are not going to stick around and throw their money away. I am not sure what is wrong with Entropia right now, but there is no real breakeven any more. Either you are a crapload ahead which is rare, or you are a crapload below where you need to be to break even.

You cannot stay in business by screwing your customers. Let our pedrolls last long enough for us to get some enjoyment out of the game. If loot were working like it did before VU10 came out, I would not be complaining one bit. There actually was something called loot. But when you have to reduce globals to 10 peds and up on some mobs, that is a sign that the game is messed up. Used to see all kinds of 50 ped globals on argonaut young and even exarasaur youngs really. Not any more.

If Mindark wants to actually make money, they need to increase the lifespan of the average bankroll, then more people will stick around and deposit. If a person loses a lot of money over a long period of time to a slow grind fine, it is at such a rate that it is acceptable, but to be broke minutes after depositing just doesn't work. I've cut way back on deposits myself because $10 an hour is not acceptable price to pay for the entertainment value that Entropia is currently providing.

I am not here to make waves, or stir up any kind of a war. And I know the last thing many of you want is to read my rants and raves, but we need something to change. I don't know what it is, I don't even know if Mindark knows what it is. But I do know that if they don't act fast, and fix whatever is wrong with the system as it is, their bottom line is going to fall right out from under them, and if Mindark crashes and burns, so does any and all value of your items, peds, estates, and skills that are currently on or in your avatar and it's storage.

The reason the typical casino slot machine has 90% and higher paybacks is quite simple. Any less than that the customer gets mad and leaves and doesn't come back. With at best a 50% return (yes even I am lucky to get more than 50% back on anything I do and THAT IS WITH MARKUP), I am looking at putting more of my entertainment budget towards more lucrative endeavors. I love video poker, I've made a lot of money playing video poker. But I love Entropia, and what it COULD become if those running it would ALLOW it to become. As it stands now, Entropia's golden age has long since passed when the old Calypso passed out of existence and was reborn with the launch of CryEngine 2.

Thanks everyone for listening to my soapbox... It's been too long that I've been quiet, and I would rather see Mindark feel the heat and pressure so they actually fix whats wrong before they crash and burn and we are all screwed out of a wonderful game and everything we have into it. I would be more upset losing my progress from 6 years of playing than I would anything my avatar has to be honest with you. I'd feel like the last 6 years of playing were wasted if the game went bankrupt and had to close down for good. I'd imagine a company with better management and business plans would buy out the assets if things got that bad and we would see a huge paradigm shift in how the game was operated, BUT... That is speculation.

Customer service is the number one goal of ANY business, but apparently MA is ignoring it.

PAYPAL DEPOSITS WORK GREAT!!! THANK YOU MINDARK!

Thanks to Mindark FINALLY listening to us, we now have the ability to deposit via PayPal!

The option is only available through your account dashboard in the website. Minimum deposit is $1. On $5 deposits they kept 1.90 Peds leaving me with 48.10 peds per $5.

Now getting them to allow cashouts back to PayPal is quite another matter!

Good luck and happy hoffing! (Well, not too many of us are happy or hoffing lately. Loot was improving a little while earlier in the year but now, it's virtually non existent.)

Mining Advice 7-26-13

A lot of you have told me that none of my tips and advice are really helping mining results. Well,, I think the mining algorithms may be busted or bugged and MA isn't fixing them. Mining is NOT anywhere near stable or reliable. Looking at Entropia Life, will tell you that something is clearly wrong. Look at the numbers for crafting and hunting. Then look at mining. If that doesn't indicate something is broken I don't know what does. The numbers for mining have never been lower, and I know a LOT of people spending more peds than ever before mining including myself. I've burned hundreds of amps and have never hoffed while amped. All my big mining hofs were unamped. Even the little ones. I don't know what is up.

Now... I got tired of dropping 50 bombs and not hitting any ore claims. So, I decided the hell with it, I will drop combo probes and look for both ores and enmats. The minute I started doing this, I started hitting tons of claims. My returns are around 90% if I combo drop. I am on RT currently, but my advice is you will want to hit Ark for denser claims, or Caly just because it's easier to get markup on your mined materials. MARKUP should NEVER be underestimated in your total returns. Without markup, you are doomed.

If you don't normally solo drop, try solo dropping. If you don't normally try combo dropping, try combo dropping. If you are doing badly at something you normally do good on, try the opposite. The system apparently is so dynamic that anything different than usual can produce good results.

Also, I tend to do better on Level 3 amps than I do with say a level 7 or 8. I can actually global on a level 3 but I have barely been getting globals on 7s or 8s.. It seems screwed up but if you are losing your shirt on big amps, try some smaller ones :-)

Publicity Stunt? Or did something really happen?

This on the Rocktropia Launcher after the fresh update... Not sure what to make of it. Read for yourself and see what you think.

http://rocktropia.com/news/2013/06/19/neverdie-is-dead-long-live-tutankhamun/

If I figure anything out of course I will update and revise this posting.