Info: A Brief History of Sweating

[Rayne Jade]

First of all... Project Entropia "went Gold" with Version Update (VU) 4.2 which was posted on 28 JAN 2003. That means this game (or whatever you would like to call it) was not longer in beta testing. So let that be a reference point in history. There were a lot of players already ingame, some of which are still kicking around.

24 NOV 2003 - VU 5.3
Mindforce is introduced!
The first version is in, allowing for the use of extra sensory powers. You need a Mindforce implant to use the Power chips found here and there. To activate a Power, you need to have it in your fast key interface and use the corresponding F1-F12 key. One Mindforce can be used without any equipment though, and that is the Sweat gathering skill. If you have nothing equipped in your hands, you may use this power. The requirement is that you are close to the creature you want to extract its fluids from.
A new Energy Matter is available, which is one of the two parts of making the Mind Essence energy needed for using Mindforce Powers. You combine this EnMatter with the other part in an EnMatter refiner to make the Mind Essence.

17 DEC 2003 - VU 5.4
Added Mindforce
Several Mindforce upgrades added, as well as a completely new Mindforce power.

17 FEB 2004 - VU 5.5
Added Mindforce
Several Mindforce upgrades added, as well as a completely new Mindforce power. Rumours have it there are a revival Mindforce chip in existence.

6 OCT 2004 - VU 6.1
Sweating modified
A single creature now has a definite number of vibrant sweat available.

15 FEB 2005 - VU 7.1
Mindforce updates
A new area of Mindforce has been added to Project Entropia – Resurrection.
The public Federal authority has supplied Calypso with a limited amount of portable resurrection technology in the form of Mindforce power chips. The chips are built using non-replicable robot technology reverse-engineered from robot wreck findings. The shipment of the new weapon against the robot menace was however intercepted in space by automated Devastator class strike robot ships before the security grid on the Exodus Space Station had time to kick in. The Federal Military Cargo carrier crash-landed somewhere on the Amethera continent, and when the dispatched search and rescue force arrived, the site was already scrounged for every piece of equipment there. An initial analysis show traces of robots at the crash site, suggesting that the machines reclaimed the weapon the humans were to use against them.
This setback has initiated several courses of action. First, the chips need to be recovered, before the robots destroy or use them for their evil purposes. Second, more robot parts are needed to supply human researchers with basic materials to create more chips using this cutting edge technology. Third, the Federal Government has acknowledged the need for on-site located support, and talks about establishing a permanent research base on Calypso have been initiated.

22 MAR 2005 - VU 7.2
Trapping issues
The creatures of Calypso have evolved to notice when they are being “trapped”. This means that when a creature is unavailable to reach a target for different reasons, it will behave differently, and in some cases, will become immune to damage, until the creature believes it is no longer trapped.
Sweating
A slight adjustment upwards as to the number of sweat bottles acquired per successful sweat gathering has been made.

4 MAY 2005 - VU 7.3
Added Mindforce
Several high-level Mindforce powers added.

24 MAY 2005 - VU 7.4
Trapped creatures die
After a time period, a trapped creature will die.

1 JUL 2005 - VU 7.5
Sweating once again considered hostile
The creatures of Calypso once again consider sweating a hostile action which may trigger attacks. However, sources claim the number of sweat bottles extracted seems to have increased as well.

22 SEP 2005 - VU 7.6
Creature sweat levels
There are reports that the creatures of Calypso are getting sweatier...

1 NOV 2005 - VU 7.7
Focus charges protects while sweating
A Mindforce Focus now protects while sweating.

4 JUL 2006 - VU 8.5
Sweat Limit
There is no longer a skill cap for sweating.

18 DEC 2006 - VU 8.8
Other Enhancements
A message now informs participants when animals are in states where sweat cannot be gathered from them.

18 AUG 2009 - VU 10.0
General Info
All MindForce is inactive upon the deployment of VU 10.0; this includes sweating.

29 OCT 2009 - VU 10.2
RESETTLEMENT UPDATE
A new scientific breakthrough has been made: a safe, practical tool for extracting the life essence known as “Vibrant Sweat”. By emitting a low-energy field for harvesting the essence, the tool focuses vibrant sweat and encodes it into a suspension fluid. Vibrant Sweat can then be refined together with Force Nexus to produce Mind Essence.
To operate the VSE Mk 1, move within 30 meters from the target, aim carefully and pull the trigger. Keep the tool aimed at the target until the sample is collected.
Note that the VSE works only on animals and not on mutants, robots or other colonists.

NEW AND RETURNED FUNCTIONALITY
* Sweating is back! And this time, it’s point and click – no more concentration, just pick up your new handy tool VSE Mk 1, aim it and start sweating! This tool is a gift to all players, old and new, for gathering sweat. The VSE Mk 1 is free for everyone and does not decay.


I am sure most of the old-timers know all this already, but perhaps a few of the newer players will find this little history lesson useful and informative.

[Dalas]

Hey Rayne, very nice post. I actually was going to do this one a loooong time ago (almost 2 years), I think I did a post which still exists, but it was just asking if people would be interested because I didn't want to go into it all and have no one care. I was going to include information about the Sweat Farms and Camp Phoenix and stuff, the "eras" as I like to think of them, of sweating.

It's a topic close to my heart as I am indeed one of those guys "still kicking around" (every day) from that Pre Gold period and have been sweating since November 24th 2003, so thank you for the post! I hope people enjoy it. I sure did.

[Mega]

Very interesting history of sweating from the dawn of Project Entropia

Thank you for digging it all out!

[Wody]

Don't forget to add that everybody has a fixed 20% chance of getting any sweat per attempt, and instead of removing the skill, which would have been too much work, they only disabled the code which checks the sweatcap-limit

[Rayne Jade]

Originally Posted by Dalas

Hey Rayne, very nice post. I actually was going to do this one a loooong time ago (almost 2 years), I think I did a post which still exists, but it was just asking if people would be interested because I didn't want to go into it all and have no one care. I was going to include information about the Sweat Farms and Camp Phoenix and stuff, the "eras" as I like to think of them, of sweating.

It's a topic close to my heart as I am indeed one of those guys "still kicking around" (every day) from that Pre Gold period and have been sweating since November 24th 2003, so thank you for the post! I hope people enjoy it. I sure did.

I was not confident enough in my experience (or memory) to elaborate on that, Wody. Perhaps you would..? I do not remember which VU introduced the turrent at Camp Phoenix, ending sweating there. Information about the "eras" I feel would be fantastic! A great deal of newer players are probably wondering why Nea's is now the sweat capital? When I was starting out, I was taken to the cliffs northwest of Zychion Citadel. If you jumped just right, the Cornundcauda would be trapped and the bottom and 7-10 people could sweat it safely. There was always someone there ready to kill it either when it was dry or if it was just not cooperating. Some of the VU comments are rather mystical as well. For example, the VU 5.4 comment that "a completely new Mindforce power" was added... which one? In what order were the mindforce chips introduced? Once it is all pieced together, I am sure we will see a rather clear picture regarding the rise and fall of sweat demand.

Originally Posted by Wody

Don't forget to add that everybody has a fixed 20% chance of getting any sweat per attempt, and instead of removing the skill, which would have been too much work, they only disabled the code which checks the sweatcap-limit

I did not add that because I did not know that until I read your post. Do you know this from a MA source or is that a result of testing or a theory?

Thanks for the comments! You too, Mega!

[Wody]

There have been many tests which all came around 20%, results have been published here on EF many times too, I'm suprised you didn't see it. Also, people from MA have confirmed it to me and others. The programming hasn't been confirmed (obviously) but every programmer knows disabling a single line (if SG-level higher than xx then display message 'You are too intune') is much easier than disabling and removing entire pieces of code and removing data from an entire database (the SG-skill) etc. Apparently, they can not even change a single value back (my Stamina skill was reset to 1 instead of the 9 it should be) without it causing a giant load on the database, according to support.

[McCormick]

Thx for that ^^

[Rayne Jade]

Originally Posted by Wody

There have been many tests which all came around 20%, results have been published here on EF many times too, I'm suprised you didn't see it. Also, people from MA have confirmed it to me and others. The programming hasn't been confirmed (obviously) but every programmer knows disabling a single line (if SG-level higher than xx then display message 'You are too intune') is much easier than disabling and removing entire pieces of code and removing data from an entire database (the SG-skill) etc. Apparently, they can not even change a single value back (my Stamina skill was reset to 1 instead of the 9 it should be) without it causing a giant load on the database, according to support.

Nice info! Thanks for sharing. So lets hear from the "old-timers" about the chronology of sweating. How about the order in which the mindforce chips were introduced... when was the turret installed at Camp Phoenix? That sort of stuff.

[Rayne Jade]

I finally found a content list for VU 8.8 (don't ask...) It included a mention so sweating so original post is updated.

[Faalagorn]

It still lacks of a bit of details, however: great work .

The thing that are missing are the approximate sweat bottle prices at times of that VUs (because it's a valuable reference information), a bit of technical infos about the pull success, and, i think the most important thing - player receptions about sweating after that VUs...

But hell, that's a History of Sweating, not the player feelings about it .