PROJECT ENTROPIA VERSION UPDATE 7.0

2005-01-25

*** PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT IF YOU FIND SOMETHING OUT OF THE
ORDINARY IN PROJECT ENTROPIA! IT MIGHT PROVIDE THE INFO YOU NEED BEFORE
CONTACTING PROJECT ENTROPIA SUPPORT! ***

General Information


The Version Update 7.0 ("VU 7.0") for Project Entropia information is located in this document.

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VERSION UPDATE FEATURES

New Navigation backbone
There are several
ways of performing actions in Project Entropia. An action can be
anything from moving the avatar to using items.

Help screen

To get a default view of the keyboard and mouse settings, please press the 'H' key on your keyboard.

Aim/Cursor modes
There are two general
modes in Project Entropia - Aim mode and Cursor mode. In Aim mode,
moving the mouse changes the view direction. In Cursor mode, when you
move the mouse, you move a cursor around on the screen. In order to
click on items and buttons, you need to be in Cursor mode. To change
mode, press the Spacebar key.

Options
Pressing the 'O' key will open up
the Options interface, in which you can assign various keys for various
actions. You can select other settings as well. Everyone who partakes
in Project Entropia has the same default key layout.

QuickBar
The QuickBar is the main quick
access interaction tool in Project Entropia. There are nine bars
available, each with twelve slots. These slots are generic and you may
assign a multitude of actions to them. These actions are visualized by
icons. You activate an icon by either left-clicking on it, or pressing
the corresponding key on your keyboard.

Each slot can be assigned an action or item:

• To assign an action to a slot, open the Action Book (default key X) and drag the action to to the slot.
  
• To
  assign an item to a slot, open the Inventory (default key I) and drag
  the item to to the slot (Note: only items that can be held in your
  hands can be used in the QuickBar).

Some examples:

• Your avatar holds nothing in his or her hands. You
  click on a rifle icon in the QuickBar and the avatar equips the rifle.
  If you click the rifle icon again, you will fire the now readied rifle.
  
• You click the run icon. Your avatar begins running straight ahead, until you influence the movement.

The nine QuickBars can be cycled using the arrows at the end on the
bar. You can also access them using the keyboard - using the F1 to F9
key. You can access each slot in a bar by using the keyboard keys
beginning with 1 and the next eleven keys to the left. Note - if you
want to invert this, just click the 'F' icon in a QuickBar. If
inverted, you cycle bars using the 1-9 keys and you access the slots
using the F1 to F12 keys.

Holding the cursor still over an icon in the QuickBar will show a tooltip with the name of the action or item.

Action Book
The Action Book is a
collection of all available action icons you can use, from movement,
item manipulation, to emotes. You can use the actions in Book directly,
by clicking on the icons, but it is often easier to drag the icons you
want to use to a QuickBar slot.

Inventory items
Inventory items can be
dragged to a QuickBar slot. Left-clicking on an item icon will equip
the item, if not already equipped - then it will be used instead. If
you right-click on an item in a slot, you will receive its 'Items
Info'.

Status bars
All creatures, avatars and
interactive objects in Project Entropia have a shortcut, called a
Status bar. A status bar is created when you left-click and hold down,
and drag, the mouse button over an eligible target. A small floating
Status bar is then formed, which you can move around the screen. You
can choose to interact with the target of the Status bar by clicking on
it directly.

Some examples

• You have a Status bar of a Storage facility on your
  screen. You click on the Status bar and thus selecting it, the next
  click will move your avatar to the Storage facility and when in front
  of it opens it.
• You have a Snablesnot Status bar created. You click on it
  with a held ranged weapon. You will automatically align yourself to the
  Snablesnot and fire when in range. If the weapon was a melee type, you
  would move towards the Snablesnot and then attack. When the Snablesnot
  is killed, you can loot it using the Status bar as well.

Status bars are floating and can be moved around on the screen. If
you move Status bar close to one another, they will 'snap' together,
creating larger blocks of Status bars.

Movement
Default movement in Project
Entropia is through the steering keys 'Q', 'W', 'A', 'S' and 'D' and
using the mouse to move the screen.

As an alternative way of navigating the virtual universe, you
can in cursor mode click on the terrain. The former auto-run function
accessed with '3' is now replaced with a double click on a spot in the
terrain and your avatar will now run there, or if you click in the sky
it will run forever in that direction.

Targeting and selecting
Aiming on or
holding the mouse over a creature or object will target it. A frame
will be shown around the target with its name and health status. Left
clicking on a targeted creature or interactive object will make it your
selected target and you can now perform actions on the target. If you
initiate an action but has no target selected, you will be prompted to
do so. If you want to target yourself as an override (useful e g when
using a Fast Aid Pack in combat) you press the 'ALT' keyboard key. You
can also click on your name in the main interface.

Mouse scroll wheel
The mouse scroll wheel
is used to zoom. If scrolled back, the camera will move behind the
avatar, and scrolling forward will set the camera in the eye level of
the avatar. If the avatar has a held weapon with a scope, scrolling
forward from eye level will zoom the scope.

Mixed additional notes

• The default navigation setting is the old pre-VU 7.0
  way. You need to access the Project Entropia Options (key 'O') to
  enable the updated methods of navigation.
• Running with a held item in a ready state reduces your movement speed somewhat.
  
• Remember that the ALT key will target yourself - useful when using Fast Aid Packs for instance.
  
• Right-clicking and holding down the mouse button will open up a context menu with options and actions.
  
• Note that you will operate a held item if you select the icon for that item, i.e. a weapon will fire.
  
• To
  unequip a held item, using the QuickBar, you need to use the 'Unequip'
  icon. If you are in Cursor mode and press and hold down the mouse
  scroll wheel, while moving your mouse, you will move the camera around.
  
  

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KNOWN ISSUES/MISSING FEATURES

The Action book may disappear. It will be fixed in a patch on the 26th of Jan.

The option settings gets reset from time to time. This will be fixed in a patch on the 26th of Jan.

If you have an item in your hands while accessing a
manufacturing machine, your avatar will disappear in your inventory.
This is a visual glitch only.

All tailored clothes shown as "Uncolored" in the auction, even if they are colored.

The PED Card has issues when removing PECs.

You can't repair an item with attachments attached to it. You have to detach them prior to repairing.

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Mini Patches


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Update : A miniupdate has been applied to VU 7.0. The major fixes/changes are:

- Problems while swimming

- Fixed a crash issue

- Changed Right Mouse Button default setting to not firing when no target is present while in Aim mode.