I would love your comments; good, bad, or indifferent, about our new version of FileDBA.com. We’re a lot more search engine friendly and the back end is now a lot more versatile. Change is difficult, sometimes, but I think the bottom line is that this site will take us to the future much more reliably.
Check out this TechCrunch piece about Entropia Universe using CryEngine. CryEngine is just amazing. Look closely at that jungle, and the light filtering through. As well, check out the ocean! I am waiting for the day I can surf in Entropia! 
The demos I have seen really blow my mind and the many features it brings will enhance Entropia Universe tremendously. Players are already getting excited. So am I.
CryEngine is made in Germany, so you can imagine that it’s precise and top-notch with that German engineering. You can see more photos in the press release on Market Wire. A video showing CryENGINE 2 in action is available here: ftp://ftp1.entropiauniverse.com/movies/cryengine2.wmv (150 mb). If you can’t get it to work that way, go to ftp://ftp1.entropiauniverse.com/movie and download it first, then view it… Things are moving quickly, and in the right direction, at Entropia Universe, to say the least.
The CryEngine editor is amazing, too. Imagine the impact this will have on development cycles. Here is a 2 part demonstration of the CryEngine2 Level Editor: Part 1 and Part 2. This will blow your mind, particularly if you’ve developed games and/or virtual worlds.
Today on MN1.com (click here for the podcast) we talked a bit about the auction and item values in Entropia Universe (click the link and scroll down to Auction). We talked about the company MindArk.com and the events that are transpiring in Entropia Universe at the moment, particularly the animal migration and the robot attack.
I also said I would be happy to send the first 10 people who email me a copy of the Entropia Universe DVD with the client and some cool movies, etc. Send your request to johnkbates *at* gmail.com
Also, check out The Truth About Entropia Universe! Awesome.
From the LA Times Article, an avatar looking into an empty Second Life store…
Well, this post on Slashdot regarding the LA Times article about marketers abandoning Second Life sure does have a lot of comments following it. Some are slag, but many are well thought out and reasoned. I think it’s very interesting how heated this topic gets people, and I love the passion people have; good, bad, but very little indifferent!
Something I have been preaching about for quite a while is that virtual worlds are places where people generally want to go to escape the bonds of their real lives. So, it makes sense that they wouldn’t want to marketed to in the same way there that they are in everyday life. I doubt people would want to pay good money to sit in a theater and watch what they had just done all day. We go to places like the movies, plays, and even virtual worlds, for entertainment and to experience something beyond our normal, first life.
Certainly advertising & marketing is going to play a large part in these worlds, but it’s not going to look like just slathering everything with logos and calling it done (not to say that’s the only thing that’s happening now…). Brands who want to make this work for themselves are going to have to bring value to the worlds in a non-intrusive and useful way. Brands will need to bring something to the table to gain their credibility in-world. Just because a brand is strong, and even cool, in the physical world doesn’t mean very much in the virtual world unless they create themselves as strong, and even cool, all over again within the society and context of the virtual worlds in which they’re participating. The goal of not breaking the experience of ‘being in another world‘ is an important one, as well.
Interestingly enough, within Entropia Universe most of the advertising and marketing is for in-world products, events, and services. I think that’s actually very exciting and I think it marks a way for real world brands to participate, as well. Another interesting aspect about Entropia Universe is that they’ve been profitable for the last 11 quarters. I think amidst this negative press about Virtual Worlds it’s very important to bring up the successful worlds, like Entropia Universe.
This year will be a great year to observe the Perseid Meteor Shower.
With a new moon leaving the skies wonderfully dark on the night of August 12th and into the dawn of August 13th. Starting about 9pm watch for comets seeming to originate in the Northeast. This map could help you choose a location to view from.
While we’re on the subject, I highly recommend this group: DarkSky.org. I love what they’re up to and I support their work. I believe that as humanity moves increasingly into light polluted cities we are losing our sense of our place in the Universe. When one looks up and only sees a few stars, instead of the majesty of the Milky Way and the galaxies beyond, our sense of our place and importance is skewed. Check out their Simple Guidelines for Lighting Ordinances for small communities, urban neighborhoods, subdivisions, etc. Their goals accomplish a lot of diverse good. Light pollution has a negative impact on everything from human and animal health to Global Warming (due to wasted energy).
Check out this interview with Jim McCarthy, our CEO. Looking for things to do this summer? Indoor, outdoor? Beauty and the Beast, Bike Rides Across the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Shakespeare, and more… We have over 100 live things to do in the Bay Area!
From BizSolutionsPlus: