The Church of Tommy was a unique concept in Entropia Universe. It was born out of the fact that in game Society’s are inherently flawed. This is one area of the game that needs drastic improvement. Since someone brought the subject up let’s take a look at it. What we find may be a little surprising. You may end up finding exactly where you do, and don’t, want to be.
Guilds And Society’s
Most popular MMORPG’s like World Of Warcraft or Runescape have some sort of society or guild. A group inside the game you can join. Somewhere you can make friends and have adventures. Entropia Universe is no different in this respect. Once you are in the game you will have the ability to join various Society’s. But Entropia Universe is unlike any other game. That means that the society’s you will find are unlike those in other games.
Ghost Players And Society’s
The problem that I have seen over and over is ghost players. Entropia Universe is often advertised as a Free To Play game that can make you money. We’ve established that this is technically true it’s not the whole picture. The fact is you will likely have to deposit. There are very few free things you can do. None of which stay entertaining long term. This spills over into in game society’s.
Society’s are started by new players who are excited about the game. They gain members who are usually also new. For a few weeks everything is amazing. People game around the clock. The society chat channel is always active. You can do group activities, talk about the game and make friends. But then the society starts to die off.
You slowly notice that fewer society members are online. The society chat channel starts to die down. Before you know if you are the only one logged in. You will often find yourself waiting days or weeks without other members online. Eventually you decide to look up the other members. What you will see over and over is the same message: Member has not logged in for 100 days. This is because only a small fraction of new players stay. They realize you have to deposit in order to play or make money so they leave.
Real Life
Real life also happens. People have families. Kids have sporting events and people take vacations. There are careers that need to be focused on. At the end of the day even some of the most dedicated players have to take a break because of real life. Then there’s the burn out factor. Even the most dedicated grinder will experience burn out at some point.
When you combined all of this facts together it’s no wonder why so many society’s fail. It’s why you will rarely see the same people in game every single day. That is the inherent flaw in the system. And out of this flaw the Church of Tommy was born.
Founding The Church Of Tommy
Back in mid-2018 when I was still a pretty new player I was at a Sweat Circle one day. I was Googling the game and had gotten tired of farming Evade at Zychion Citadel. There was nothing really special about that day. The sweat circle was just another sweat circle. Then suddenly someone said “Tommy Be Praised!”. That player was Fatteus Fatty Thorsson; and we’ve been friends every since.
I had no idea who Tommy was. No idea what he had done that was so cool. But I knew this Fatty character seemed to be funny guy. So for no apparent reason I started saying it too. Then we started making it our thing. Everywhere we went we would say it over and over again. As time went on other players started saying it too. Before you knew it we were all friends and we were always online.
Fatty The High Profit
Let me be ABSOLUTELY CLEAR: Fatty is the one that started the CoT. Not me. It was his idea and he should 100% get the credit for it. The fact that people are trying to give me credit for someone else’s idea is pretty shameful. Fatty is the one that started it that day. He has also played a vital role in everything from the chat channel to the discord. If it wasn’t for Fatty’s dedication the CoT would not exist.
While the rest of us gave Fatty a lot of input it was his creation. He still runs the CoT today. We helped him create the core beliefs and backstory. But at the end of the day it is his creation and it would not be the same without him. Also please note that we call him the High Profit as in All Time High and Profit as in PED. Not Prophet as in religious. This is a common misconception.
Part of the reason it caught on so fast is because of the Lootius theory. For years players have claimed that some magical deity called Lootius controls loot returns. It’s easier than admitting they don’t know what they are doing. Some of the same people have no grasp of statistics. But I find it hard to believe anyone in EU actually believes in some sort of game-god. That would make you one of the stupidest people on earth. But then again players stupidity levels never fail to surprise me.
The CoT Backstory
We decided early on that the Church of Tommy should NOT be an official Society. For all of the reasons listed above we felt it was a bad idea. So instead we decided to start the #ChurchOfTommy chat channel in game. This is the chat channel we still mainly use today. You will often find me there. If i’m not active I’m probably still watching the chat.
We also decided that the CoT needed an official backstory. What we came up with was absolutely brilliant. Our theory is that a man named Tommy wrote the first line of code for what would later become Entropia Universe. If MindArk ever discloses the first programmers name and if it is not Tommy I will admit it. Until then I am simply going to consider that persons name was Tommy.
That being the case it would only make sense that he was the first avatar. Tommy would have had to code the Random Number Generator’s for the game. He would have also had to code the loot algorithms. So by this logic it made sense that Tommny was the first great avatar. The creator of the Entropian Universe.
Values And Real Life Ministry
From the start we agreed that the Church of Tommy should more or less be based on our beliefs. I was raised Assembly of God Christian. Anyone who knows me knows that when I was 18 I became an Atheist. A VERY outspoken one at that. But then something happened that would change my life forever. I made an hour long road trip to meet a woman. And the moment I met her I realized I had been wrong.
A promise I was made at 18 which I thought was impossible was shown to me that day. My friends know that my Fiancee was that woman. Her in game name is Princess Hofsalot MiraclePromise. She was the miracle I was promised. If you have known me for any amount of time you know there have been some real struggles in our life. Things that would break most people.
I’ve done live-streams and told you guys what would happen. And then it did. That’s because I know the power of prayer. I could tell you story after story of miracle after miracle. I wanted to share the amazing things that have happened in my life. But I didn’t want to offend anyone or be pushy.
The Christian Concept
The CoT has always included people of all beliefs. We are not here to judge. After all; it’s a video game. Not real life. But we still based it on some basic Christian concepts. There was a great creator of the universe. He has left us but will return someday. Blessings are from him but we do not chase them out of greed. We work to help others and lead by example.
All of the core CoT concepts are Christian based. I don’t feel this in any way contradicts what my personal beliefs are. Look at the universe around us. Mathematically it had to be programmed. The only way I can explain Fibonacci Ratio’s is if I admit that the universe I live in is programmed by design. I don’t have time to tell all the story’s here but some of you have seen it happen live.
Michael Tyler Stewart is one player who saw it. And because of it he has had some amazing things happen in his personal life. Nothing could make me happier. The CoT was more than just a group of friends. It was a real life ministry opportunity. One that has allowed me to share the great things that have happened in my life. And something that has had a positive impact on several other players. For that I am externally thankful.
Why Bashing The CoT Was A Bad Idea
The fact of the matter is I’m not joking. And some people are about to learn that the hard way. Some people have recently decided to try and trash my reputation. These same people stole from me then tried to spread lies about me. And then they want to attack something I designed to help me minister to others? Take a moment and look up some information from the Bible. Do you know what happens when you try and attack someone who has God’s favor?
It generally does not end well. My God is a merciful, forgiving, loving, peaceful, vengeful God. And when you attack one of his people you are attacking him directly. I don’t have to know who you are. It will be taken care of for me. The Bible says that no weapon formed against me will be allowed to stand. I’ve had some BIG weapons pointed my direction before. NONE of them have succeeded.
I may never know when or what; but it will be taken care of for me. And when it happens you will know. Remember the actions you took. Think about the money you stole. The lies you spread and the harm you tried to do. I promise you what you meant for my harm He will use for my blessing. You can bet your PED card on that.
Other Society Applications
At the root of it this article is about the flaws with Society’s. The University of EU is the official in game society of earnPED. We intend to keep it active and you will meet great people. Many of whom are online virtually everyday. We actively try and weed out people who don’t reflect our dedication to serving others. Hopefully we can one day use this group to enjoy some of the things it was meant for.
Likely the coolest and least used feature of Society’s is land grabs. There are several land areas that come up for grabs every so often. Each society has a chance to engage in a PvP battle for control of the land area. If your group wins the income from the land area goes to your Society’s members for a certain amount of time. There are currently a few groups that dominate these events. One of my goals is that our members can one day soon participate in these events.
Conclusions About Society’s
In closing let me advise that you find an in game Society like University of EU. A group that has players who are dedicated to logging in daily. Somewhere the people are willing to help you learn the game. But let me also remind you that this is a game of opportunities. Regardless of your personal beliefs I think this is wonderful. We have so few chances to share our story with others. Make of it what you will.
Personally I will always like the CoT concept. I will always believe in it’s core beliefs. You will often be able to find me in #ChurchofTommy chat channel. At least until the day MindArk reveals to me the first programmers name.
I usually close my articles by giving people a chance to Join Us. Our members are able to watch Videos and complete Offers to earn PED. We even have a Music Video Competition underway as we attempt to build sponsored radio. Today I want to go a step further. If there is something missing in your life, if you don’t understand “those people” contact me in game. Allow me the chance to tell you my full story. Let me share with you the things God has done in my life. I was in a place darker than you could ever imagine. I received the greatest gift I could ever receive that day. And I’m willing to share it with anyone who wants it.
