Some People have been wondering about Club NEVERDIE on NEXT Island and why it is there and is it a conflict of interest etc...

Here is some info that may Clarify some of these Questions..

Firstly I have been making my living from CLUB NEVERDIE for 5 years. This is a Business model i have confidence in.. Creating a Start up 3D Design studio is a very Risky undertaking, especially if it is intended to create content solely for a brand new platform that was in early stages of development...

In order to help Planet Partners keep costs to the bare minimum I chose to invest heavily in my studio and Build NI at below cost, without even budgeting for a Personal Wage, since I had income from CND

I was not planning on operating NEXT Island after completion only providing 3D content on Request by the NI Live team...

My compensation and financial motivation for Building NEXT Island was the addition of CLUB NEVERDIE and Bank NEVERDIE at Launch..

Not Very Different from a major Hotel Group Developing a Small Island in conjunction with a Government in order to Build a Resort...

NDS doesnt Stand to make a Profit from 3D design from NI ( or RT) until Next Island is Profitable... This is a Good Faith arrangement, that was done to encourage development of the Entropia Platform and to try to keep costs for PP's to a Minimum...

Many Virtual Worlds have gone under in 2010, we are trying to buck the Trend.
Delays in Production due to any reasons have an enormous impact on the final budget.
NEXT Island initially hoped to launch at the End of 2008... imagine the impact that 2 years of delay have had.

NEXT island was not conceived to be a replica of Calypso and the focus was not necessarily to be selling Plots of land to players like calypso, but rather to develop Destinations for Marketing partners and Brands on the main island. Not to suggest that no land would be available to players, but the Business model is focused on major brands... (In order for land to be available for sale to End users, there must be enought population to support them.. Calypso didn't start selling land Until almost 2 years after launch.)

Once Club NEVERDIE was established any future investors in land on NI would be fully aware of what they were competing with and would value the land accordingly...

At the Time that NDS made the deal to Build NEXT Island NDS was not a Planet partner and NEVERDIE was not subject to Planet Partner agreements.

NEXT ISLAND is a Different World, a Different game to Calypso, it is like another country, it makes perfect business Sense to extend a brand like Club NEVERDIE across multiple worlds with unique player bases...

Given the Extremely Long Production period, I actually had to Sell CND on Calypso to Keep NDS in business long enough to Complete production.

NDS was going to build other Planets for other companies in all of these instances we were planning to build at cost with only the guarantee of a new CND at launch..

At this time without income from Club NEVERDIE, operating a studio to supply content for this brand new platform is not a viable business option... This may change once new planets actually take off, but for now Running a Studio is a LOSS making Scenario.

Now instead of owning two Club NEVERDIE's to subsidize my Studio, I only own one on a brand new planet,
Which is not ideal at all at this stage, when it is still going to take considerable time to expand the user bases on the planets...

The Best case scenario would have been NDS could have Provided content to multiple planet partners in order to keep costs low for everyone while the platform was growing.... Since we are now down to two Planet Partners NEXT ISLAND and ROCKTROPIA, without a Real Burst of Explosive Growth, it is going to be extremely challenging financially to maintain an ideal Team...

working hard, what i think i can do in-world is to focus on healing newbies as much as i can

So from what I can basically gather from that myself is that Club neverdie is almost like adding your companys logo to the product apon completion,
At the end of the day, You build the planet at a low cost as possible,
And you sign your work with a Club,

Not to much to ask imho.

Andy.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it amusing that someone who posts with made-up account details is talking about reputation, honour, being a man etc.

I think you must be lost, incessant whinging about ND takes place on a different website. Here we are all trying to work together to make Rocktropia a success.

Ok Mr know it all, you can predict the future,
tbh, Don't care.

Don't come here causing trouble,
It wont be tollerated.


Andy.

Id rather keep quiet about this now to be honest,
No sense in arguing.

well after today's auction ending on Medusa I really think you made the right choice about selling the asteroid.

It is interesting to see how it all came about too!,after all it is a business,run by a business man who also has his people (us) at heart too, not just for the money but the love of the game and his music.

Originally Posted by optimus primemortal

It is interesting to see how it all came about too!,after all it is a business,run by a business man who also has his people (us) at heart too, not just for the money but the love of the game and his music.

Well said m8,
And very True,

Granted money helps,
Thats the point of a buisness,

I just wish people would cut them some bloody slack,
They do not have an easy job right now,

The sort of work that goes into development of a game.

Alot of developers when creating a game the devs usually have to build the platform from scratch,
And then put everything on top,
You could argue that NDS work is half done for them with the platform in place.

But the perspective I get is they are working with a platform they don't know 100%,
Cannot edit any source code,
They don't know exactly how the loot system is managed.
Mindark take care of the balancing system,

So while you have NDS creating destinations, Items, Blueprints, etc,
Mindark pretty much do the rest.

So at that point, NDS have limited tools available to them right now,
Which must be bloody frustrating when trying to make something they want,
But can never have it exactly the way they want,

for instance, Creating a blueprint that solely use only rocktropia specific ores,
Hasnt happend yet.
Probably wont either,
Because MA are in control of balancing,
That also means that NDS cannot control how much of the ingredients in a blueprint are used.

I am only presuming here but that could also mean the stats of weapons for instance are also not in NDS control.

So people that give ND shit for planets not being 100% complete or unblanced, or this that or the other, dont actually realise alot of what they are complaining about is down to MA's team,

on the other side of the coin you also have MA, used to developing one planet for years,
And have had plenty of time to balance and work on calypso,
all of a sudden have 3 planets,
Which puts a huge strain on them also,
So if somthing is bugged, or perhapse unblanced then thats not entriely their fualt either,

So please I urge all the people that keep giving NDS the shite about NI, or RT not being complete or whatever,
Its just as much MA as it is NDS,

Then the subject of ND's Avatar.
Ok fair enough the contract said he wasnt allowed to have an avatar.
Ok after the community make a huge meal out of it,He has dropped his avatar,
But let me also remind you,

If you like or Neverdie or don't,
This man went from nothing to this in just a few years,
And mostly because of hardwork,
But also because of his avatar,
And the people that belived in him and still belive.

5 years of CND, The first man on earth to make that much money from a virtual world,
The first man on earth to become a pop icon in the virtual world, It doesnt matter if you like his music or not.
Facts are facts,

Forbes, Discovery Channel, BBC News, CNN and many more.

How many of you can say you have been noted in such a way?
Most of you cannot,
Even Mindark themselves havent,
and they created the platform,

But ok,
You might say so what. Just because he is a celebrity he is allowed somekind of immunity to the rules?
No that is not the case,
But there are more constructive ways to point out that things are happening that you might not like,
Such as a support case,
or a letter or email,
Or perhapse speak to neverdie yourself,
He isnt exactly a difficult person to get a hold of,

But a public flogging is just uncalled for,
And that's exactly what it was,

But with that said I will conclude with this,

What is done is done,
People got their wish,
But mark my words,
Neverdie Studios, Rocktropia & Next Island will prosper,

Neverdie's dreams will become a reality, And there is nothing you or anyone else can do to stop it,
Keep an open mind.

I have a strong faith in Rocktropia, And it is the community that will make it strong in the long run,
So now is the time to work together,
Now is the time to build the foundations of a brighter future within Entropia Universe,

Calypso community needs to stop self destructing, And pointing fingers at people,
Rocktropia Community is doing all it can to build the future, but still I think needs to get closer, and embrace new commers,

But Ill stop my ranting and raving,
See you all ingame,

Let's do this

Andy.

Very well put Andy! I cant wait to be more involved in the RT community