Star Atlas

TL;DR

Star Atlas is an ambitious space-themed MMO built on the Solana blockchain, combining high-end graphics with deep gameplay revolving around space exploration, territorial conquest, political domination and more. Players pilot NFT spaceships to mine, craft, trade and battle their way to fortune in a distant galaxy. The game's economy is powered by the ATLAS token, while the POLIS token enables decentralized governance via the Star Atlas DAO.

Introduction

Enter the year 2620. Centuries of space exploration have passed. Three major factions have emerged to control the galaxy, each vying for resources, territory and political power. This is the universe of Star Atlas, a groundbreaking metaverse game that combines blockchain mechanics with the visual fidelity of Unreal Engine 5.

Developed by a veteran team of game and graphics industry experts, Star Atlas aims to deliver a AAA gaming experience with true digital asset ownership and a fully decentralized in-game economy. Built on the high-speed, low-cost Solana blockchain, the game enables players to influence the evolution of the metaverse via the Star Atlas DAO powered by the POLIS governance token.

How to Play Star Atlas

At its core, Star Atlas is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) set in a sci-fi universe. Players choose one of the three main factions to align with - MUD (humankind), ONI (alien races) or Ustur (sentient androids). They acquire NFT spaceships, which come in varying sizes and capabilities, to explore a virtual galaxy filled with resource-rich planets, space stations, and fellow players to interact with.

The main gameplay loops revolve around:

• Mining - Players can survey and mine planets for valuable ores and resources, which can then be refined and traded. Obtaining land claims allows them to build mining installations for greater rewards.

• Crafting - Raw materials can be used to craft various items like ship components, equipment, consumables etc. Becoming a skilled crafter can be a lucrative profession.

• Trading - The Universal Marketplace allows players to trade all in-game assets, from raw ore to rare ship skins. Supply/demand dynamics create opportunities for savvy traders.

• Combat - Players can engage in space dogfights to attack (or defend) mining operations, trade routes, and contested zones. Large-scale faction warfare is a major endgame aspiration.

To get started, players need to set up a Solana wallet (like Phantom) and acquire at least one spaceship NFT. These can be purchased from the official Star Atlas site or secondary marketplaces like Magic Eden. ATLAS tokens are also needed as in-game currency for things like fuel, repairs, and marketplace taxes.

What Makes Star Atlas Unique?

Several aspects set Star Atlas apart as a next-gen blockchain game:

• Unreal Engine 5 - The game boasts stunning high-fidelity graphics made possible by UE5's advanced rendering technology. This makes Star Atlas look and feel on par with top conventional video games.

• Decentralized Governance - The Star Atlas DAO, powered by the POLIS token, allows players to submit and vote on proposals that shape the future of the game. This ranges from treasury management to new feature prioritization.

• Dual Token Economy - ATLAS serves as the in-game currency for day-to-day transactions, while POLIS enables governance rights and captures more of the game's long-term value. This balance of power between players and stakeholders is intended to create a sustainable economy.

• Multi-Layered Gameplay - Beyond the core activities of mining, crafting, trading and fighting, Star Atlas offers a rich tapestry of player-driven intrigue via the political layer. Aspiring leaders can employ diplomacy, espionage, and propaganda to gain control of Faction and regional DAOs.

• True Ownership - All in-game assets in Star Atlas, from ships to equipment to land claims, are represented as NFTs (non-fungible tokens). This gives players full ownership and the freedom to trade them however they wish. In contrast, most traditional games use walled garden economies where players don't truly own their virtual items.

Star Atlas Features

• Massive procedurally generated universe with 12 unique starter systems to explore
• High-definition spaceship models with distinct manufacturer traits
• In-depth ship customization spanning components, cosmetics and crew
• Realistic resource distribution based on planetary geology
• Complex crafting system with recipes to discover
• Player-driven economy with regional marketplaces
• Tactical space combat with multiple weapon types
• Land & asset ownership secured on the blockchain
• Earn staking rewards for locking up ATLAS or POLIS tokens
• Faction, regional and planetary DAO governance
• PC browser and Unreal client support

The Star Atlas Team

Star Atlas was founded in 2020 by Michael Wagner (CEO) and Pablo Quiroga (CRO). Michael has extensive experience in game development, having built and sold two prior game studios and worked on AAA franchises like NASCAR and Madden. Pablo comes from a Hollywood background, having worked at the likes of Disney and Dreamworks on visual effects and animation pipelines.

Other key figures include lead game designer Jacob Floyd who has shipped multiple console/PC games, blockchain architect Xin Wu who built the Paygo blockchain for telecom payments, and Danny Floyd who serves as chief product officer and designed the in-game asset NFT framework.

Star Atlas has also assembled a sizable advisory board featuring executives from Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, IBM, Lucasfilm, and more. The extended team includes over 200 full-time employees across game design, engineering, art, marketing, and business functions.

Star Atlas Roadmap

Star Atlas is currently in a pre-alpha state with core gameplay loops in active development. The roadmap has already delivered an in-browser minigame demonstrating ship NFTs and the marketplace. Major milestones on the horizon include:

• Faction Fleet DAO - A ship staking program where players lock their ships to earn rewards and gain access to special events. Serves as a precursor to deeper DAO gameplay.
• CREAM - The crafting resource management game, allowing players to gather, refine and craft components for their ships.
• SAGE - A strategy and exploration game using an abstracted 2D world map, resource nodes, and territorial control mechanics. Sets the stage for the full 3D Unreal client.
• Unreal Engine 5 Showroom - A graphical tour-de-force letting players experience their ships in high visual fidelity, interact with each other in shared environments, and discover easter eggs hinting at the lore.

The full scope of Star Atlas is planned to roll out gradually over the coming years, with an alpha targeted for late 2023. Ultimately, the developers aim to deliver a feature-complete metaverse experience with robust DAO governance, a thriving player-driven economy, and a vast procedural galaxy to explore.

ATLAS Token & Tokenomics

ATLAS is the in-game currency of Star Atlas, used for the majority of the game's economic activities. Players earn ATLAS by selling gathered resources, trading crafted items, and various other gameplay actions. ATLAS is needed to purchase consumables like fuel and ammunition, pay marketplace taxes, and acquire certain game assets.

The total supply of ATLAS is 36 billion tokens. 25% was allocated to the team & advisors with a 5-year vesting schedule. 20% went to the foundation reserves to support ecosystem growth. 33% is earmarked as rewards for gameplay activities. The remaining tokens were sold through seed, strategic, and public sales to bootstrap the economy.

ATLAS has inflationary tokenomics, with new tokens being minted as player rewards. The Star Atlas DAO has the power to adjust economic dials like rewards distribution, sink mechanisms, and exchange fees to maintain a healthy balance as the game grows. An ATLAS Burns mechanism taxes certain activities to counteract inflation.

Players can stake ATLAS to the Faction Fleet to earn additional ATLAS rewards. Tokens are locked for the duration of a staking campaign, typically lasting 1-3 months. This also grants players access to Faction Fleet events and airdrops.

POLIS Token & Tokenomics

POLIS is the governance token of Star Atlas. It empowers holders to participate in the Star Atlas DAO, shaping the future of the game. POLIS holders can submit proposals for changes to features, tokenomics, DAO structure and more. They can then vote on these proposals, with voting power proportional to their POLIS stake.

The total supply of POLIS is 360 million tokens. 30% was allocated to the team & advisors with a 5-year vesting schedule. 40% went to the foundation reserves to support ecosystem growth. 16% is earmarked as participation rewards. The remaining tokens were sold through seed, strategic, and public sales.

Unlike ATLAS, POLIS is deflationary. No new tokens are minted, and a portion of ATLAS fees are used to buy back and burn POLIS, reducing the circulating supply over time. This positions POLIS as a long-term store of value for the Star Atlas ecosystem.

POLIS can be staked into the Star Atlas DAO to increase voting power. Longer staking periods up to 24 months confer greater voting weight, incentivizing commitment to the ecosystem's long-term health. Staked POLIS also earns a share of ATLAS revenues from the game, providing a passive income stream.

Security & Audits

As a blockchain-based game, security is paramount for Star Atlas. The team has contracted several reputable smart contract auditing firms to review the game's code. These include CertiK, Kudelski, and Solana Mates.

The CertiK audit focused on the ATLAS and POLIS token contracts, staking pool, and lockdrop contracts. No critical issues were found. The full audit report is available here.

Kudelski, a leading blockchain security firm, performed a comprehensive review of Star Atlas' architecture and key smart contracts. This included game logic, faction fleet staking, and asset ownership. The audit results were positive, with a few minor recommendations that the team addressed. More details can be found here.

Solana Mates audited more recent additions to Star Atlas' codebase, including the lockdrop program and crafting system. No significant vulnerabilities were discovered. The report is available here.

Star Atlas also maintains a bug bounty on Immunefi, offering up to $100,000 for the discovery of critical vulnerabilities. The bounty has been running since 2021 without any major incidents reported.

The team is committed to transparency around security, with detailed postmortems shared in the event of any issues. All smart contract code is open-source and available for public review on the Star Atlas Github.

Conclusion

Star Atlas is one of the most ambitious and visually stunning blockchain games on the horizon. By combining high-end graphics with deep, player-driven gameplay and a sophisticated virtual economy, it aims to set a new standard for digital ownership and fun.

While the full game is still in development, the team has shown strong progress and commitment to their vision. For gamers and crypto enthusiasts alike, Star Atlas is definitely a project to watch. The future of the metaverse may well be written in the stars.