Star Atlas is one of the recent eye-catchers in the play-to-earn game space, their recent token offering and latest NFT sale have attracted quite some attention. But what can we expect from Star Atlas, and when will we play this space MMO? In this article we try to explain everything, but of course we can only talk about the facts.
The year is 2620. Three factions, MUD, ONI, and USTUR, exist in an uneasy truce across the galaxy. Players explore unknown systems, delve into rocks and earth to acquire resources to build, expand, and conquer! Will you be a fighter, testing your mettle in the arena games? Or an explorer in the depths of space, far beyond the reach of any help? Perhaps a shipwright, creating objects of beauty and technological prowess? Maybe you have bolder ambitions, ones of control and rulership? Well all of these roles and more are open to you in Star Atlas, the space MMO currently in development on the Solana blockchain.
Star Atlas aims to create galactic, space opera MMO where players control the markets and dictate the ebb and flow of goods and products. The rise or fall of various factions will happen because of player actions, not a directed script.
Along with this ambitious goal comes the expected space exploration and combat, but also land ownership. Land owners can build a variety of structures, which allow for example mining, production or research. Land plots are taxed to encourage players to use the land rather than sitting on it.
Lots of Star Atlas NFTs
Assets such as ships, crews, and equipment will be NFTs. Some in-game items, such as the raw materials for production, will be fungible tokens. Players can buy, sell, and trade them through the in-game marketplace using ATLAS, which is the utility token of the Star Atlas ecosystem.
Star Atlas boasts skill trees, allowing players to focus on a specific game aspect and be able to acquire bonuses and perks related to their focus. Star Atlas also recently announced a partnership with Yield Guild Games, allowing players to lease their game NFTs, for example spaceships, to other players!
ATLAS and POLIS tokens
The game runs on two currencies, ATLAS and POLIS. ATLAS, called the operations token, is used for in-game payments, taxes, and fees. POLIS is the governance token. But with an extra bit of game control. Not only can POLIS owners help guide the flow of game development, but they also make decisions about in-game taxes and other decrees that can have a direct effect on the players. Ruling the cosmos will require much more than just might of arms. A stake in the game and the ability to influence others will also be important qualities!
ATLAS is designed as a feedback-loop currency, with fees and payments into the game system being recycled into quest payouts and other funnels back into the player economy. POLIS owners can affect this distribution and even flag a certain percentage of ATLAS income to be burned!
Both currencies already exist and can be traded on FTX, Bitrue, and Raydium. The game runs on the Solana blockchain, which also has its own token SOL. Some SOL will be needed for transaction fees.
How do I join Star Atlas?
The game has not yet launched, though players can access the website to view their items and participate in the first ship NFT sale, which launched September 7th and runs for three months or until it is sold out. You can read about the ships available in the official brochure. Prices range from $15 to $100,000! For this sale, ship purchases are made in USDC. It’s recommended that you first buy SOL, transfer it to your Solana wallet, and then swap some of the SOL for USDC. Players will require SOL for the transaction fee when making purchases. The estimated fee cost is approximately 0.01 SOL.
Ships can currently be purchased in the Galactic Marketplace. There are also various badges and collectibles available. Other game related items such as stations and land plots will be sold in Q4 2021.
There is not a lot of details about actual gameplay functionality, but Star Atlas certainly paints a broad, bold picture for what they hope to accomplish with their game. The developers create the game using the Unreal Engine 5 and promise cinema quality animations with nanite graphic technology.
Other features include individual crew members with their own traits and abilities, decentralized autonomous corporations controlled by player decisions and cooperation, and danger zones, where players could lose their NFTS permanently.
There is quite a bit of information to absorb for Star Atlas. Both their whitepaper, and their economics paper are rather detailed, and a suggested read for anyone who is interested in investing.
For a more visceral experience, watch the trailer!
