calypso population estimates

Other ways to gauge active population on calypso.  Active population is at least 200000 people at a time.  Take samples from the radar map.  Go to a busy area such as port atlantis or nea's place.  count up the green dots on the radar.  typically in the two areas, I count 40-200.  And the average would be (40+200)/2 or 120.  Now add in swamp camps, areas close to the first two, and twin peaks.  Twin peaks is it's own place with typically 100-300 at a time.  And from sampling different times of day, (every 3 hours is what I did, on 5 separate days) there is not much variation  for an average of 200 people in twin peaks.  Count people in buildings with auctioneers also. Surrounding areas amount to another 100 people per area.  For 80 areas of high population averaging 160 people per area.  Which brings the total estimate to  12800 active players at a time for populated areas.
Now for the less populated areas, such as outposts, mining grounds, hunting grounds, and wide open spaces.  Take there are at least 2 active players at a time in a desolate area.  Yourself and one other player. Sometimes three and sometimes 4 even.  Which average is 2.5 players for out of the way and on most of the planet, areas.
To figure the total areas under consideration consider the area of calypso as a whole.  1500 square kilometers in all.  Consider 10% is water though sometimes that counts also, a lower number over the whole 150+ square kilometers of water, leviathan hunting is fun, 1 person per radar area.  The other 1350 square kilometers includes the low areas of 4.5 players per radar screen and the high areas of 160 people per radar area.  So take out 80 times a radar area or 10000 square meters (I took this from range of my Murdand Groover) for a radar area. 
Now convert that to square kilometers, for .01 square kilometers.  For 80 times 0.01 or .8 square kilometers of high population of 12800 people.  1500 sqaure kilometers minus 0.8 sq. km. leaves 1499.2 sq.km. to account for.  Water is another 150 sq.km. at 2.5 people per radar area or 15000 radar areas and 37500 people.  Now for the rest.  What is left is 1349 sq.km. at 2.5 players per radar area or 134920 radar areas and 337300 players at a time.  Add the figures up (12800+37500+337300) and get 387600 players active at a time. 
Seems incredible that many at once.  But yet the figures are there.  Don't like the estimates?  Cut them in half, still 193800 players active at a time.  Take out times there is no one but yourself.  Another 30% trim and still 135660 people at a time.  So I have some confidence in saying there are at least 130000 people active at a time, anytime, on planet calypso and more likely over 200000 active people.  Similar figures can be obtained for other planets and areas.  The figures only go up during busy seasons and special events.  Hope you enjoyed this estimate of population on calypso and hope to see you sometime, (right now) www.entropiauniverse.com on planet calypso. 

skill implants sales item limit discussion

The sales item limit is a problem when there are 100+/- skills that can be implanted or chipped out. Multiple sizings and number of different skills encourage specialization in professions; hunting profession skills, mining profession skills, and crafting profession skills. With approximately 33 skills per profession, the item sales limit of 30 at a time is reached. And selling multiple skill implants of the same skills limits the scope of activity further.  And the actual practice of each profession is also limited when doing skill trading.  Too many profession items and skill items for sale and not all the items can be sold at once.
On another note, skill trading is a key part of the effort expended, benefit created, and compensation for lost PED balance, in playing.
A colonist/settler trying to raise PED has many options that spill over from real life to entropia life.  I will try and stay with the in-game ways to make or earn PED.  Stuff for the budget minded includes sweating.  For time constraints, depositing is the most perferable.  For people with time, sweating is preferable.  Mining in the game, when beginning, is not recommended because mining has a 25% hit rate.  If an avatar catches the wrong swing of luck, mining will be a bust and it's back to sweating.  Hunting however is a bit more reliable though low margin for loot returned.  It becomes a game of break-even to:  I lost a little less this time than last time. 
Skills are being built however, but cannot really be cashed in until reaching high enough skill levels to overcome what I call market frictions.
 The 10PED limit on empty skill implants is one friction.  The implant will pack in as much as you specify of skill and if there is any left-over, it returns the amount below 10PED as PED and not another ESI.  A loss of the, usually, x7 to x8 markup.  The uncertainty and calculations that go into making filled skill implants are somewhat complex but can be done cautiously.  So to do a good count with skills trading, there is a website that does wonderful for figuring the numbers needed. jdegre.net/pe/unlocker.php
Auction fees and ESI decays when filling them are another friction shaving another 10% of the potential amount gained. 
But that's for when the avatar's skills are high enough to chip out and you properly see, hear, read or know how much goes into each.  Sweating builds enough skills to chip out. (but not sweat gathering skill).  Skills such as athletics, courage, dexterity, alertness, and evade can be chipped out.  A sufficient amount takes a lot of sweating.  Becoming a skills trader is difficult as the 20%+ of market frictions means an avatar needs to have greater than, markup, higher than 20% times whatever implant is being sold. 
Say the implant is a Courage implant at 5 PED.  Marked up x25.  Puts it at 125 PED market value.  Then once it's out or in, turn around and how much can it be sold for to first; breakeven?, then make money?, then lose less money?  Market frictions reduce the implant to 100 PED value.  So with current markup would have a TT value 4 PED implant.  Started at 5 PED.  The way to make the money back is sell at a higher multiple of the PED TT value which would be x31 markup. 
That's how to break-even and recover 125 PED spent on it.  Right at x31 is breakeven.
Above x31 markup and profits are possible. 
Anything below would be a loss.  The way to lose less next time around is play skill markets like a real market.  Buying low and selling high.  It takes time but can be done.  Inefficiencies also exist but because of the financial world equivalent which I call: market frictions, the spreads, of 20% or more, limit the number of profitable transactions that can be done.  Overcoming market frictions, then the sales item limit is a concern with skill implants. 
Be careful, be smart, and your time and money may multiply when a player in entropia universe. 

Sales item limits and implications. I ran into the maximum saleable items barrier on entropia's auctioneer. Not really knowing I had run into it until the pop up window says, you cannot place more items on auction. Please remove items or ? At least that's what I remember. Soon after the message I began to think about how the item sales limit affects what a settler/colonizer does to raise PED.
It makes professions, more professional. It encourages specialization. It sets limits to auction spam. It limits which items to concentrate on to sell. It makes reselling more limited. It makes person to person trades more important. It makes time demands that shape how the economy goes, personal, local, and global. It levels the playing field of newbs vs ubers considerably. It creates opportunities that would not exist without the limits.

been working on some articles about 30 item sales limit at auctioneer and how to profitably understand and use the knowledge to more efficiently and profitably play entropia.

Sweating in entropia experience

Sweating in entropia.  There are many planets to choose from. Calypso is my favorite and among the most populated.  I haven't been anywhere else because I'm so tied to Calypso.  Whether it was sweating at old swamp camp or old, old swamp camp, then new swamp camp, then on to Nea's Place, then on to the fert at Nea's Place, then to Limnadian District, a stop off near a castle and boars, then then punies around Port Atlantis, then after a year (and another 4 years before that) I was done with sweating. 
I still sweat out of habit sometimes.  There were days without thinking I logged in, I was already around sweatable creatures, and pressed the toggle auto-use button and sweated away.  I was hard-pressed to get in 3 hours of sweating a day and goal of 1000 sweat daily.  Though most of the time I reached it and many times exceeded it.  For more dedicated players more is possible.  Once the excitement of Calypso's markets and the scope and beauty of the planet made its mark on me, I calmed down, and proceeded to make my way. 
The journey is tremendous.  Nowhere else in the world provides entropia's opportunity and rates of return for such a low cost.  Even when the ped balance reads 0.00 there are ways to raise it by bootstrapping, something I do not have the patience for.  There is still time for a new player to make it solely on sweat.  A Herculean task, in my opinion, for I have tried and succeeded on some level.  Depositing however amplified my strategy and saved me time. 
Time is the most important commodity there is.  Everyone gets the same amount.  And money can be traded for time.  If not for the tradeoff between time and money there would be no markets.  Skills in your avatar are usually the return of all the sweating and money spent.  And those skills acquired represent more than money.  They represent time. 
Choose your time wisely in Calypso if you are sweating.  Choose your time even more carefully when you are depositing.  May your times in Calypso and the other planets bring, success, wealth, and happiness. Good luck and maybe I'll see you there.