*Below is a press release by Earth2. Summary and full transcript as follows:-
Summary
Earth2 officially announced Raiding live on main site after having deployed it earlier unannounced to test stability.
The Raiding game engine will set the foundation for tracking millions of objects across Earth2 in future.
1 million Cydroids already built across 5 different rarities.
There are 30+ types of Cydroids and while currently all of these can be used for raiding, each Cydroid will have a different purpose and utility in future, which will be revealed in due course
Early benefit:- Cydroids can be built simultaneously for a limited time only. When this promotion ends, Cydroids will revert back to Mentars only being able to build 1 Cydroid at a time.
Users will be able to improve Cydroid performance and raiding efficiency with the upcoming Cydroid Management features, Jewel slotting and Civilians.
Full Transcript of the Press Release
Last week Earth 2 quietly deployed Raiding Version 1 to our production website, the first iteration of the Raiding Game Engine. It is important to point out that the primary purpose of developing the Raiding Game Engine was to test it in a live environment as a predecessor to the massive, upcoming EcoSim Game Engine which will track millions of objects, tasks and activities, in real time, as Players gather, process, craft, move, trade and build all over the world and on a much larger scale.
Though the primary purpose was to test our new game engine, one of the secondary purposes was to give Earth 2 Players something else to do, and even in the absence of an official announcement, many active Players still happily picked up on the covert release. As a result, we have already experienced a significantly high volume of activity from the new feature along with an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from the community!
WHAT IS RAIDING VERSION 1?
Raiding Version 1 allows Players to build Cydroids on any properties with 4 tiles or more and a Mentar, using Essence. Once built, the Cydroid’s primary utility is the ability to Raid other Player-owned properties for unstable E-ther and, if detected during the scan, to collect it and bring it back to the Mentar it is tethered to. Cydroids can also relocate between friendly properties, store the E-ther they collect, dispense that E-ther, as well as be Powered, recharged or De-Powered. They even come in over 30 different types, of varying rarities.
The core design of Raiding Version 1 makes it something that can be played casually so it is simple to play but difficult to master. It also has the clear potential to increasingly reward Players who choose to spend more time and discover more strategies pertinent to mastering the Raiding system.
With relatively little effort, some early Players have already doubled or tripled their daily E-ther, meaning strategically placed properties have the ability to not only generate E-ther using traditional Mentar detection methods, but Raid additional E-ther for a healthier-than-ever E-ther intake.
Whilst the official Raiding announcement was not released until today, by Friday last week over 1 MILLION Cydroids had already been built by Players, and over 280,000 of those Cydroids were built in the first 24 hours alone!
Many Earth 2 Players have already sent their Cydroids on scores of raids, testing out raid strategies that they had been planning for months in advance based on details released by Earth 2 in the form of articles and videos. Some of these strategies have been discussed publicly within our community and shared with others, whilst others are being kept close to their chests.
If you’re looking for a quick way to get started with Raiding, jump to our videos for How to Raid and How to build a Cydroid. Otherwise, continue reading to refresh your memory on what Raiding Version 1 is all about, including some hints and tips for our early Players!
While one team of developers have been building the Raiding Game Engine, some developers from our Phase 3 team have been simultaneously focusing on representing and visualising Cydroids Raiding inside E2V1. Here’s a little sneak peek for anyone interested!
A QUICK SUMMARY OF RAIDING RULES
Whether you are a new Player wanting to know what Raiding is, or an active Player wanting to learn more, the following information will give you some much needed insight:
E-ther is stable in the first 24 hours of its 48hr+ stability cycle. Stable E-ther cannot be raided by other Players, only the property owner can collect this E-ther.
E-ther becomes unstable after the first 24 hours of its spawning cycle. Once unstable, this E-ther can be raided by other Players using Cydroids.
Stable/Unstable periods are based on when the E-ther generated or spawned on each individual property, not from when it was last claimed.
The property owner can still claim their E-ther while it is unstable so long as another Player has not yet Raided it or the full cycle is complete and the E-ther disappears.
A property must have a Mentar in order to build and tether with Cydroids.
A Cydroid takes 24 hours to build (this time can be reduced by slotting an Orange jewel into your property’s Mentar). PROMOTION: Cydroids can be built simultaneously for a limited time only. When this promotion ends, Cydroids will revert back to Mentars only being able to build 1 Cydroid at a time.
You cannot destroy built Cydroids to recoup the Essence build cost, so build your Cydroids strategically if you plan to Raid with them and not simply keep them for other future utility.
The 5 Essence used to POWER up Cydroids can be recouped by DE-POWERING them. De-Powering can only take place when the Cydroid is 100% charged. Recharging Cydroids is free.
Cydroid E-ther storage, speed, and power cell efficiency can be improved using jewel boosts. Coming in the near future with the Cydroid Management feature.
Cydroid task automation and management can be unlocked by synthesising Civilians on your property. Civilians are also planned for release in the near future.
RAID MECHANICS: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Why is my Cydroid stuck on a raid with the scanning time as ??:??:?? ?
A: During a raid Cydroids may come across a Mentar that only contains stable E-ther. In this case the Cydroid will wait on the Property until it becomes unstable and raidable. If, however, the owner collects the E-ther before it becomes unstable, the Cydroid/s will immediately return to your property, and the raid will have been unsuccessful. When this happens, it means your Cydroid is putting in an extra effort to make sure it has a chance of being ready to collect any E-ther the moment it becomes unstable. This gives Players the biggest chance to catch even the active Players napping, who may be only a few minutes late in collecting their E-ther for that day.
Q: How do I know what rarity my Cydroid is?
A: All 30+ First Edition Cydroids have their own rarity which is shown by a coloured circle around the Cydroid:
White: Common
Green: Uncommon
Blue: Rare
Purple: Epic
Yellow: Legendary
For now, each Cydroid will share the distinct ability to raid unstable E-ther. However, over time, new individual skills and abilities will be discoverable or revealed as the EcoSim expands. The higher rarity will most likely mean the more special the Cydroid’s abilities are, which could also mean it will be more difficult to build via the EcoSim later.
Ultimately, each Cydroid will have both immediate utility and future utility which is very exciting.
Q: What is the difference between Charging and Powering?
A: To put it simply, Powering a Cydroid is the act of inserting an Essence Power Cell into your Cydroid. Charging a Cydroid is required when the power in the Cydroid’s Power Cell has been depleted.
When a Cydroid is De-Powered, it has no Power Cell and cannot function. When a Cydroid has 0% charge, it simply needs to be recharged (for free!) to be functional. You can charge the Cydroid in the Raid Menu by clicking the Property’s Yellow Icon leading to the Property Stats.
Q: What is the yellow screen icon for?
A: This icon is a quick access to your Property’s Cydroid overview, where you can see which Cydroids are Idle, Relocating, Raiding, Full of E-ther, or Dispensing. You can access this view just by deselecting any of the BUILD, RELOCATE, POWER, and RAID buttons too.
Q: I want to see more details about my Cydroids, where can I find this info?
A: Cydroid Management will be part of a future release and this is where you will be able to see more specific details about the Cydroids you own, including a more holistic view with additional ways to manage them.
Keep in mind that Cydroid Management will also give you the opportunity to gain more insight into your raids and the ability to slot your Cydroids with Jewels.
RECENT UPDATES TO RAIDING:
We have been meticulously recording all of your bug reports and suggestions and the following updates which will further improve your experience are now live!
1. Properties will not auto-zoom focus on map on selection now.
Auto zoom was a cool feature to visualise on the map but it chewed up a lot of juice on the client side device so was removed to improve the overall gameplay experience.
2. Target properties can now be filtered by tile size!
A super useful addition that will reduce time searching for the perfect properties to raid.
3. Target icons to allow manual auto-zoom for those who wish to visualise where the property is.
While we removed the auto-zoom, there are still target icons in relevant places for when Players wish to visualise their property or target property during Raiding.