Whether it is our childhood desire to explore strange new worlds or our curiosity of the vast space that made space exploration games very appealing, we cannot deny that this niche of blockchain games are bringing thousands of new users to the crypto market.
Just by opening the games on our computers or smartphones, we can visit and inhabit other planets and even build our own territories. With the integration of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), players can both truly own their in-game items and earn playing the game they love.
Flying your own ship from one planet to another and watching your ship speed away from enemies– these are just some of the few things that make Farsite among the best upcoming blockchain games.
Strap on your helmet, we are going to venture into the amazing universe of Farsite.
What is Farsite?
Farsite is a blockchain powered sandbox massively multiplayer online (MMO) real-time strategy (RTS) game. It has the elements of adventure in a science-fiction setting based on a post-apocalyptic story.
The story of the game goes this way:
After a series of endemics gone under control led to unprecedented social and economic crises mankind’s best minds were forced to develop a technology to allow for intergalactic flights with the sole aim to isolate species for building a better future.
Survivors managed to travel to the farthest places possible, totally unknown galaxies with immediate risks and opportunities yet to be discovered by adventurers. They elaborated the Ethereum 2 blockchain to grant inviolable rights for everyone and minted “Credits” FAR token as the only means of exchange in the new world.
With a limited amount of valuable resources available on Planets and Asteroids, the new socium has an aim to develop and explore in a highly competitive environment. That is the last hope for preserving humankind species.
The gaming universe of Farsite is formed by Constellations containing stars, each with unique set of planets. The stars are connected with predefined pathways describing the distance between them. As such several stars may be united in a Constellation.
“Homestead” is the first Constellation where all players start the game. New Constellations will be discovered by players over time. By using some Credits, players can travel between Stars on spaceships following interstellar paths in faster than light modes. On the other hand, movements within the star is absolutely free and does not require any fuel but has a permanent risk of being attacked in not so secure locations.
If this alone has made you excited or has sparked your interest to the game, you may use this link to register, https://farsite.club/u/warliezdiaz. We will both earn some scores and $FAR tokens. Additionally, performing some social media tasks can increase your scores to get a powerful starter ship.
Technology
Farsite is built using a mix of distributed ledger technology.
For its first layer, it uses Ethereum to grant secure ownership of game items, protect game rules immutability and control the supply and emission of Credits (FAR tokens). All items and credits owned by users can be freely transferred between Ethereum and Layer 2 via bridge enabling trading on external exchanges and marketplaces.
On the other hand, all virtual wallets and their immutability are hosted on the Layer 2 which was built on Polygon (formerly Matic Network). The use of Polygon enables Farsite to cover all fees within the game as Polygon does not only offer cheaper fees but also almost instant transactions. Most of the in-game operations and trading will take place on Layer 2.
Zero-knowledge relay is also being utilized as a third layer where all in-game actions are happening. This allows for fast and free operation of the most non-critical actions of the game.
The game also features Collateralized Digital Assets (cNFT) which is a proposed standard for ERC-20 collateral staking on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for borrowing against game assets. The owner of the cNFT has the right to burn his assets and receive the ERC-20 collateral at any given time.
Environment
Within the Farsite universe, Constellations play a central role. Formally, a Constellation defines a season in the game. With the first Constellation called ‘Homestead’ only 8 to 10 stars will be introduces. Only 4 to 5 Planets will be explored on the start of the same and available for Sectors acquisition.
Constellations are composed of Stars which may contain Planets, Stations, Gates, Asteroids and Anomalies. Most Stars have 4 to 12 Planets on average however some stars may have no planet at all. Stara may contain explored Planets, unknown Planets and dead Planets.
Planets are source for resources and a place for players to establish a base. A number of known Planets in the ‘Homestead’ Constellation will be available for colonization. Initially, all planets are considered unexplored and it is for the players to find and open them. Planets could be organic, toxic, volcanic, stone, ice and gas and provide various resources depending on its type. Exploring a Planet will open its Sectors for acquisition and reveal resources spots and deposits.
Sectors are a part of a Planet surface representing a construction site for a Base. These contain valuable resources that can be extracted using special buildings on the Base. The number of resources and amount of them contained within vary for every Sector. After being acquired by a player a Sector could be used only by that player and is only publicly available for observation. The ownership of a Sector can be traded or transferred to another player with all the contained Resources and constructed Bases.
Stations serve as the hub for all the operations in a Constellation and a dock for a Ship. These Stations create a new spot for trading and storing items in the Farsite universe. The construction of Stations can only be done by a player or a Corporation and requires a lot of resources and credits. Without a Station in a Star, players will need to fly to another Star to perform these transactions.
Gameplay
Career Paths
There are various career paths that a player can choose. A player can be a hauler, a miner, a manufacturer, a pirate, an explorer, a governor, a recruiter, a politician or a trader.
A hauler accomplishes delivery contracts to earn credits for safely moving goods between Stations and Planets. A hauler can equip his ship with powerful modules or hire fighters to protect them in low-secure environments.
A player can become a miner by acquiring a Sector on a Planet and establishing his base to mine and refine resources which are required for every in-game item production.
A manufacturer crafts components, modules and ships. They either acquire resources from miner or rent their facilities or even establish their own Base. By acquiring rare blueprints, they can have a monopoly in the creation of an item.
A pirate earns by collecting loots from random victims or serving as a mercenary to help haulers and traders safely pass dangerous and unknown territories. They can also form fleets and create coalitions with Corporations.
By discovering the vast Universe and hunting for exotic materials, a player becomes an explorer. They go from one Star to another Star to find a rare Asteroid, Comet or Anomaly for resources.
A governor acquires control over a Star and thus by doing so he may set his own rules and collect Credits from every market deal and service ordered within his territory. He can also hire pirates to force Corporations to develop his territory.
A recruiter acquires new pilots and help them learn basics to get started in Farsite. In return, he obtains a lifetime share in the credits earned on every action by the polit he trained.
A politician opens a corporation, forms an alliance or defines the objectives, lead members and manage roles, curate contractors, accumulate credits and achieve dominance in the Farsite Universe.
Lastly a trader follows the market to buy cheap goods and ship these goods where the demand is high to make profits. He contract haulers and mercenaries to avoid risks or negotiate with manufacturers for a monopoly.
Mining, Building Bases and Items Production
The extraction of resources is the cornerstone of production cycle in the Farsite universe. In order to efficiently mine these resources, players need to employ different mining techniques depending on the location. Necessary for the production process of game items are the Bases. Built by players, bases are consist of independent buildings with various functions and requirements which are then connected to each other.
Items can be created through the combined effort of many players through trading or cooperation. These items are created from resources or components found on Planet’s Sectors, Asteroids or Anomalies and blueprints found in crates or purchased from other players.
Farsite is designed as a demand-driven economy where players are placing purchase orders and contracts as requests for certain types of resources and items on certain markets so anyone can get these assets produced and delivered to recceive a granted rewards in Credits.
Storing Items, Contracts and Star Management
Every item in the game has its weight that describes its ability to be stored on a certain Ship. Each Ship has its basic bearing capacity that allows to carry a few amount of goods. In order to increase the volume of goods a Ship can carry it should be equipped a Cargo Module.
Since all items in the game are location-dependent. There are times when players need to put them in one place in order to use them. This can be done through contracts with other players who are willing to perform the said task. There is no way on one side to fake the compliance of the conditions since these are all written in smart contracts.
A player or a Corporation who has the control over more than 50 percent of the planets in a Star can set Star policies, adjust security level for s Star and filter incoming and outgoing traffic of Ships.
Project Development
Currently, Farsite is on the second phase of its development. Its currently conducting an airdrop campaign to early users who register for the game. If you want to acquire ship hull and modules for the game, you may use this link to register, https://farsite.club/u/warliezdiaz. We will both earn some scores and $FAR tokens. Additionally, performing some social media tasks can increase your scores to get a powerful starter ship. These will give early users a reasonable advantage once the game launches.
The $FAR token will be listed on exchanges on the third phase ahead of the game launch. The purpose is to peg the game rewards to the real-world price of the tokens and avoid the wide inequality between players which may make game unfair for new players. This resolves the issues of prior blockchain games which only works well for early users and gives no room for new players to progress unless backed by tenured users.
The fourth phase of Farsite involves an early alpha where players can already start acquiring sectors and earning resources. This will then be followed by the game launch.
Space might be the final frontier and the blockchain games that explore it are only starting to heat up. More than just taking our imaginations to another world, these games are bringing thousands of new users to the world of blockchain and crypto.
A virtual universe with a player-owned and player-controlled economy running in a trustless environment is what Farsite promises. There’s certainly a lot to discover, own and earn in the Farsite universe. Thankfully, it is just a few months away!
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I am not a financial or investment advisor. The purpose of this channel is to raise awareness about blockchain, the technology which will make the greatest impact in the decades to come and help in the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. Please only consider this as educational or informational. This is never intended as a financial or investment advice.)
References:
Farsite Guide, https://farsite.club/.
