Luke Dalas Cambridge ~ New blood in *Adopt a Newbie* Foundation

[IMGALIGNLEFT]http://www.entropiaplanets.com/gallery/pics/3/adopt-a-newbie-banner.jpg[/IMGALIGNLEFT] *Adopt a Newbie* Foundation has been successfully run since the 8th of January 2010. It was founded by EntropiaPlanets.com by me, Lykke based on the idea of School of Lootius back in time - and to help both Newbies to get implemented faster into game and for societies to have a chance to recruit people by 'trying' them out in the soc first.

Many newbies have signed up on the list so far - and many societies also adopted or shared their wish to adopt soon - not to speak of all the people donating to the Foundation fund. Thanks to all the contributions ANF is growing stronger each day and new areas in the Foundation will soon see the light. I had to face though, that there's just too much work in ANF for only one (busy) person. I cried out for help, and I'm pleased to announced, that *Adopt a Newbie* Foundation now has two members in the crew!

May I introduce to you, the new *Adopt a Newbie* Foundation Partner:

Luke Dalas Cambridge

Avatar Age:
7 years, 4 months (in Feb 2010) / Start Date: Sometime in November 2002 (yes, I was 13)
Best Skill:
Level 22 Sweat Gatherer and Laser Pistoleer (Hit) (Skilled) (if only there was a Chat skill, in that I would be Entropia Master!).
Real Name:
Luke Cambridge
Real Age:
20 (21 in April 2010)
Location:
Wiltshire, South West in the UK.
In world Interests: [IMGALIGNRIGHT]http://www.entropiaplanets.com/gallery/pics/3/luke3.gif[/IMGALIGNRIGHT]
Meeting people, helping people, chatting, sweating, hunting, mining, tailoring, exploring.
Real Interests:
Nature, skateboarding, fitness and health/nutrition and exercise, music, (environmentally friendly) travel.

Extra Info:
Dalas has worn a mask since before anyone can remember. No one has ever seen his face.


Biography

Dalas joined Project Entropia in the Commercial Open Trial/Pre Gold period. Luke, being just 13 years old at the time, didn't have much in the way of funds, but after being a member of Runescape for a while already, had the taste for MMO adventure.

"When browsing Teletext one day (which I only did about 3 times ever)", Luke explains "I stumbled upon this advertisement for a new Virtual World, which sparked interest instantly. Having just got Broadband, I decided to go for it, and never looked back".

Luke tells me that he never took any game or other MMO seriously, after joining EU (PE) "...or played/stayed longer than to try them out briefly", he continues "I grew up with EU, literally. A lot of change naturally happens in our teenage years, but in mine, EU was a constant. I always loved it, and have logged in every possible day since I joined, with an average session time of about 4 hours".

Project Entropia
When Luke joined PE he found people to be extremely friendly and helpful, probably because there wasn't much big money involved yet and there were less than 100, 000 members. Comared to the approaching 1 Million we have today, that's very few!

"The biggest HoF I remember at the time was NZR with a 2k Neconu, something we wouldn't bat an eyelid for today", Luke smiles and continues "Things changed, obviously, times moved on but I was always there moving along with my beloved Universe".

"As more money started pouring into the Economy, I noticed a direct correlation with that and the way people acted and treated each other", he gets a serious look on his face and stops up a few seconds before continuing "Unforunately for the newbies these days it meant that people became more greedy and unhappy, thereby influencing their interaction with one another. I wanted to keep the atmosphere of the old days alive in at least my own actions, so the people who met me would get a glimpse of what I encountered when I first arrived and which, I'm sure, had a huge impact on how I perceived EU on my first impressions and most likely had a direct impact on me staying and being so active for so long with no end in sight!"

How dit you start out in the game, I asked Luke; "I started out with 2 months of exploring and chatting. I got myself a little job as a Runner, which was possible because mobs never changed who they attacked so if a noob got a mob to attack them, a hunter was free to shoot away. In this way I met my first few close friends in EU and with my salary of 1 ped per hunt plus tips if loot was favourable, I was able to gather my first few peds. Although I was young, I managed to deposit $20 after 2 months, which really got me kick started, though I was afraid to spend the money since it was REAL :O I did manage to buy a mask quite early, and no one ever saw my face again...".

Rig, Sweat Camp and Real Love
"My first year was spent hunting and at the oil rig which was far more peaceful back then" Luke looks at me and smiles "When Sweat Gathering was introduced in November 2003 I was on the front line. I became an overnight convert to sweating, and (almost) never stopped!" He grins and continues "Of course, there were the Sweat Caps which only allowed one to reach first 100, and later 200 skill points in Sweat Gatherer. I hit both caps and had a hunting period in between. When the cap was released and Camp Phoenix was no longer the place to sweat, I discovered my own EU home in Atlas Island North where I started my own sweating community which lasted a few years until the Cryengine destroyed Atlas North (or AIN as we lovingly called it)".

"During the Atlas Island North days, I made many friends, helped many newbies and most importantly, met my girlfriend!" Lukes face lights up in a huge smile when he says this "Yes, that's right, I met my real life girlfriend while gathering Vibrant Sweat on Calypso. We've been together for over 2 years and have plans for me to move to Norway with her this summer to attend University to study Scandinavian Music and Outdoor life. I'm even learning Norwegian!" Aww, this made me feel all warm and fuzzy because I also met my husband in game and remember the awesome, exciting but very very hard times when the only place we could meet was in game - for example in Minopolis, teasing each other by hiding little piles of coins around ...

What we call 'home'
When did you join a soc yourself, after starting playing? Luke have a few seconds break while thinking; "In November 2005, after getting my first ever HoF (690 ped Combibo Mature), I actually felt ready to create my own soc, which I named Hate Crew after the name given to the fan of my favourite band at the time, Children of Bodom". Luke looks down "Hate Crew got a lot of bad responses and negative reactions due to its "offensive" nature despite being known as a funloving soc around the Swamp Camp of the era: Camp Phoenix. So after some time we decided to change the name to Death Unlimited (of which I'm still leader), after the third studio album of another similar band called Norther".

"I was never put off by the loss of my homes, however, as dwelling on loss is a sure way to fail in EU. I moved on and have thrived on the freedom of being a nomad once again. The most recent loss, AIN, was the most heartfelt since it was my own "child". I was even named the King of AIN by the people in the community!", Luke remembers "Most of my time being spent at the Oil Rig since the Cryengine, I have missed the rest of the Universe greatly. However, my project at the Rig has ended and I have a new home lined up in Fort Ithaca and I feel a great weight lifted from my shoulders giving me the freedom to take up new challenges, such as helping Lykke with the Adopt a Newbie Foundation!" Luke smiles and I smile with him, yes, that is going to be a new adventure indeed!

​

On helping newbies

What is your own background for helping newbies? Luke begins "My history of helping newbies is long and pleasant. I've led such initiatives as Treasure Hunts and TP Runs informally before" He smiles and continues "On the more formal side of things I've been in touch with the Guides Simon and Emma about my own project to start a real School inside EU, teaching about the various things a newbie would benefit from knowing".

OH a school, sounds nice and reminds me of my own School of Lootius years back. What would you be doing in the school, I ask "The lessons included: Sweating and other Free Stuff, Scamming and Etiquette, The HUD, Hunting, Mining, Crafting, Mob Lore and Beauty and involved 10 dedicated teachers. The project fell a bit off the tracks when the development of the Cryengine was coming to a close last year, and I am aiming to get it back on track this year. It will be interesting to see how Mindark manages their newNewbie Tutorial system, but I intend to go ahead with my School before they release that one. Of course logistical problems occur all over the place, people get ill, quit, take breaks, disappear and are too busy, and the teaching is based on volunteers so there is no obligation. These things have made it hard to get underway, but I'm determined!"

"Another initiative I've taken in the past was to announce that when I reached 1000 Sweat Gatherer skill, I would buy sweat from newbies for 1 pec per bottle, when the market price was approaching 0.5pec per bottle. My thread can be found here: http://www.entropiaforum.com/forums/sweating/62806-new-sweat-buyer-scene.html ".

"Now I see a new chance to help out the newbie population of EU by helping you, Lykke out with your project, the *Adopt a Newbie* Foundation. I've been welcomed on board warmly and hope to spread the warmth to all the newbies that pass through the Foundation!" - I smile at Luke thinking, I look very much forward to the partnership myself! It sure sounds like I got help from the right person!

Thank you, Luke, for taking the time for this awesome introduction! Luke smiles and shouts "Good luck out there guys, I hope you'll give me a wave if you see me out there!"


[IMGALIGNLEFT]http://www.entropiaplanets.com/gallery/pics/3/luke1.jpg[/IMGALIGNLEFT]Goodbye Luke and back to Dalas

The tasks and responsibilities
We will mostly know Luke in game and on the forum as Dalas, which is why I change the name now :) Dalas will be a partner of the *Adopt a Newbie* Foundation and will have a few responsibilities to work with.

One huge part of *Adopt a Newbie* Foundation is to keep a constant and informative relationship to the societies out there, who wish to adopt, but also inform new societies about their possibilities.

Dalas will make sure to keep the contact with the soc leaders and, together with me, follow up on the newbies who are being adopted. Luke will also promote ANF in game and to the societies in different ways.

On top of this it will be Dalas who has the responsibility of the Newbie Fund - all the items awesome people have been and still are donating to ANF. At this moment I can honestly say it has been and it is difficult for me to be able to meet up with people in game to hand over the newbie kits - and this huge task is something Dalas will be in charge of. If you have donations for the fund in future, Dalas will be the one to contact.

I will still be in charge of the ANF and update the list with newbies as I also will sent out the contracts to the societies/newbies - aswell as I will also help in the promoting and contact to both newbies and societies.

A new service in ANF
Last, but not least, ANF will soon announce a way for single players (freelancers) to adopt newbies. With this it will be possible to have the responsibility of a newbie without having to invite them into a society (like the old mentory system, just without an ingame system as we know it). The reason for this is that we have been contacted by several players, who wish to 'adopt' a newbie on their own. This, of course, needs a concept - and this is something we are working on - so stay tuned :)

The Future
We hope ANF will continue to grow and be a success and that people using the system are satisfied and happy with the arrangements. The ANF are still looking for societies to adopt newbies, and newbies to join the adoption list, as we also encourage any kind of service made in EU which helps Newbies to give us a hint, so we can inform the newbies. Also, if any service out there is interested in some kind of cooperation with us or have some ideas you wish to share, please pm either Dalas or me.

Thank you so far for all the support ANF has had and also for all future contributions!

Lykke & Dalas
*Adopt a Newbie* Foundation

 

Actually, Dalas has been here for quite some time now, he's a part of the EP crew and just recently got handed over all responsibility for the ANF (Adopt a Newbie Foundation)