Yesterday, in the metaverse of Upland Brooklyn opened. Kinda. Depending on how things went for you as a player might determine how you feel about the opening which was put on pause just a little over one hour after the 12:00 pm EST opening with the following announcement.
I'm going to take the opportunity of this pause to write about my experience and perspective on Upland. First, I want to introduce my friend whom I'll call Sara to the metaverse of Upland. So this first post is written from the perspective of one who has been active in Upland for all of ten days and wants to share an exciting new discovery with a friend. I think Sara will like Upland but I want her to have a good onboarding experience. This is by no means intended to be exhaustive or definitive. It's just a post to save Sara some time getting started and hopefully improve the quality of her onboarding experience.
Upland Referral Bonus
If you haven't played Upland yet and after reading this post you want to get started then here's my referral link to get you started. Here's the deal on Upland's friend referral program:
Get Informed, Get Connected
Once Sara signs up the first thing I'd recommend is she collect a few resources and join the Upland social community. First stop, Upland Academy. While it's tempting to just dive into Upland a little knowledge will shorten the learning curve and get a new player to the good stuff a bit sooner. Upland Academy is structured so that you can start with some basic knowledge, participate in the Upland world, and return later for some more advanced information.
Now it's good to be aware of where you are joining the game. When I started 10 days ago new players were dropped in Fresno, California. This may be different when you read this. Just be aware of where Upland is starting you and where the current opportunities exist within the game. As a beginner you have the opportunity to buy FSA properties use this to your advantage as in understand what is an FSA before you buy property or UPX? If I was starting today I wouldn't have wasted my FSA's in Fresno, CA but in any case I've read reports of property values in Fresno increasing in Upland by 600% recently so we'll reserve judgement until I sell those properties. With Brooklyn opening, or for that matter, any desirable location, you really want to get in on the ground floor ASAP. With the Brooklyn opening paused I'd still tell Sara to get herself to Brooklyn ASAP.
Play to Own
Image credit: vectorpouch
You can play Upland any way you want so don't let anyone, including me, tell you how to have fun in Upland. That said it's good to be cognizant of the motivations driving many of the players in this metaverse. Yes, it's a game but it's one in which you really can own, and soon sell, the goods for $USD. That's cash to you and me. If you're not familiar with the EOS public blockchain and NFTs (and why some are saying 2021 will be the Year of NFTs) that's okay and it's not necessary in order to play or enjoy Upland. However, at some point you may find it worthwhile to watch this 30 minute video from March 1, 2021 in which Dirk Lueth, co-founder of Upland, dives into the basics of blockchain as this relates to gaming . Maybe you never really get an understanding of the technology underpinning Upland, that's okay, but at some point understanding that you are able to buy and sell NFTs for increasingly serious coin ($23,000 USD for the Wall Street Stock Exchange in Upland) will be advantageous to your game strategy.
Upland Community and Resources
As you get started playing Upland I would encourage you to join the social community.
Upland Official Medium Page - keep up with the latest news and big announcements.
Discord
There's a ton of information and chatter about Upland on Discord so I'd recommend starting with these.
Upland Official Discord - Keep track of announcements and events
Upland Fans Discord - All the top players are here. Okay, maybe not all the top players but you will want to join this site if for no other reason than for some very useful information contained on this site such as newly minted or sold property and the related price paid. This comes in handy when a new area opens up and you want to send your block explorer to a specific neighborhood because you need the address.
Additionally, there are new listings, player-to-player sales information, and information related to treasure hunts. Some of the features may depend on the level of Patreaon support which ranges from $5 to $15/month.
Upland Nights Discord - I'm just discovering this but they have special events to keep an eye on.
Upland Telegram - I think there is some overlap but different strokes for different folks.
YouTube
Upland Action News - an exciting, informative Action News show covering all the best and most important up to date News Stories from the amazing and ever growing world of Upland.
Upland Official Reddit - Not that active currently
Spotify
On the Web
Upland Guru - Loads of news and resources including links to the Upland Contributor Network of folks "known to contribute quality and meaningful Uplander content".
UPX.World - Property leaderboard, urban dictionary, and more
Upland Data - Want to know where a specific neighborhood is located in Brooklyn and what are the cheapest properties in the neighborhood then this is your source.
Upland Hub: Build Your Upland Empire. I haven't used this yet but according the their website, "Upland Hub was created to facilitate business transactions and property trading for the Upland Game".
Upland's Roadmap
While it's certainly not necessary when first starting out to understand Upland's plans for future development it's not a bad idea at some point to take a look at their roadmap to have an idea of where the game is headed.
Okay that's a good amount to help you get started. Good luck, be kind, and have fun in Upland!
