Star Atlas is a high-quality metaverse gaming experience built on the Solana blockchain. Its developers combined the perks of blockchain gaming and crypto with traditional gaming, creating a fully-immersive experience.
At the time of this writing, Star Atlas is still under development. Only a mini web version of the game is available. Yet, Star Atlas developers want players to go beyond the screen and be in the world itself – in virtual reality.
Accordingly, the full-scale version of the Star Atlas space exploration game is not rolled out yet. According to Michael Wagner, Star Atlas’ CEO, it might take a few years to complete producing the entire game. Nevertheless, most of its blockchain features, NFTs, and crypto assets are out there.
Sandstorm brings you everything you need to know about Star Atlas in this piece. This article will cover the gameplay in its available version and proposed features of the upcoming game.
Star Atlas Gameplay: Battle in the Outer Space
The game depicts events happening in an imaginary universe in the distant future of the 27th century. Here, three types of entities: Humans, Aliens, and Android machines are in a constant fuss of trying to take control and govern the universe.
Each of the entities has regions and territories they control. While humankind controls the MUD Territory, alien races govern the ONI Region, and android machines own the Ustur Sector. The factions are constantly in a struggle for sustainable resources and warfare.
Meanwhile, each player is also a faction on their own. So, a player’s objective is to join one of those entities, participate in the power struggle, and help to restore order. Of course, being a blockchain game, Star Atlas rewards players’ efforts with crypto assets they may exchange for real money.
Solana and other blockchain networks set a footprint for Star Atlas as the game features resource mining and asset staking. For blockchain networks to run, they require mining and staking nodes (computers) that validate transactions.
Similarly, players can set out to mine resources within this vast digital cosmos or discover mined assets. Factions also fight to take control of precious resources and the wealth they bring.
As a hybrid game, the following are the major activities on Star Atlas:
Grand Strategy: Set tactical plans to expand your empire and install trade routes within a region or multiple regions of Star Atlas. But be ready to deploy offensive and defensive strategies.
Exploration: as earlier mentioned, you can mine and take over precious resources in outer space. To do that, you need spaceships that can scan and discover these assets. You can purchase a spaceship from the Galactic Marketplace. In this market, Star Atlas allows you to explore the ship’s inner and outer space and its crew. Afterward, players can pilot the ship out into the deep universe.
Role-playing Mode: there are opportunities for multiple career roles apart from playing the actual game. You can set up new revenue streams with the wealth derived from exploring this universe. Then, you may enter in-game career roles like cargo hauling, crafting ship components, and trading ore. Also, you may go on rescue missions, pirating, bounty hunting, cargo storage, etc., with your spaceship.
Space Flight Simulation: Every ship in the Star Atlas game has multi-functional buttons, control panels, throttles, and other features of a physical engine. Therefore, the cockpit view of a Star Atlas ship delivers a simulated experience of piloting an actual spaceship, especially when playing the game in virtual reality.
Game Pillars
In the PvP and PvE modes of Star Atlas, the gaming modes you can access include:
Faction Security Zones
When you begin the game, you must select a faction you wish to belong to, either with Humankind, Aliens, or Androids. Each faction has a secured zone where you can arrange your ship and affairs before setting out to the competitive space.
Likewise, there are also zones with medium safety. In these zones, you can regain every asset lost during combat. However, once you set out to the final distant zone, be ready to defend your ship with full force.
Deep space Exploration
You can visit all the stars in the Star Atlas universe by manually piloting our ship to the ones visible on your radar. Meanwhile, it would help if you equip your ship with a high-tier scanning module. This equipment will help you discover stars farther from you as they contain assets of higher value.
Combat
Your journey through the space of Star Atlas won’t be tedious and straightforward. Instead, you must fight against enemy ships over resources or territories.
Each ship has its weapons powered by fuel and protected by shields. When fighting an enemy ship, you can target its subsystems to finish it off quickly. Moreover, you may fire at other weapon installations of an enemy. But watch out, the installations will fire back!
Decentralized Autonomous Corporations (DAC)
These are alliances formed by Star Atlas players with common interests. The goal of a DAC is to combine resources and use them to build more potent weaponry for dominating regions and resources.
Similarly, DACs can build independent cities and set up economies in them. POLIS token will facilitate these economies, as the DAC controlling a city can charge taxes and fees for other players joining the city.
Other gameplay modes on Star Atlas include Station Modular Construction, Crew and Ship Component Outfitting, and Professions.
NFTs and Cryptocurrencies
Solana is a fast and reliable blockchain. It can process about 50,000 transactions in a second. This speed gives it a hedge above its competitors.
By building on Solana, Star Atlas has provided an enabling environment for its internal economy to thrive. Moreso, players can enjoy fast payment delivery and low gas fees when exchanging assets within Star Atlas.
Star Atlas NFTs
There are various non-fungible tokens in Star Atlas. Spaceships, mined resources, and mining equipment are all NFTs that players can buy or sell in the Galactic marketplace. While some purchase these NFTs for in-game use, others buy them to resell for a profit.
The essential NFTs in Star Atlas are spaceships, and they are diverse in their types or rarity. Every player needs a spaceship before engaging in combat or space exploration.
Types of spaceships include the bomber, bounty hunters, refuel, and fighter ships. Meanwhile, ship rarities are classified into the anomaly, rare, uncommon, and legendary.
Star Atlas Cryptocurrencies
Star Atlas features two ERC-20 tokens – Atlas and Polis. While Atlas is a utility and reward token, Polis is a governance token. Players use Atlas to acquire NFTs from the Star Atlas marketplace and to pay for all forms of value exchange within the game. In fact, you need Atlas tokens to refuel a spaceship.
Meanwhile, Polis is a cryptocurrency that facilitates the political system of Star Atlas. Players holding Polis can own and control specific regions of this universe and impose taxes and laws on other players using these regions. Polis token holders can also vote on decisions the Star Atlas team will make and use their votes to influence the project’s roadmap.
Concluding Thoughts
Star Atlas is a metaverse under construction. Over the coming years, its developers will continuously release the game’s most critical phases. Moreover, players will keep earning rewards and mining assets in the Star Atlas universe even when it goes live in virtual reality.
