3... 2… 1… Ignition! The team at Farsite has released the alpha version of their upcoming browser-based game Farsite, which is a sandbox, science fiction-based MMO. Set in a universe powered by player industry, every game item (from spaceships to their distinguishing modules—such as rail guns or mining lasers) are created by players, using player-mined materials.
Thanks to the underlying Ethereum blockchain, the crafted items that populate this post-apocalyptic playground aren’t restricted to the Farsite universe, but are instead owned by players as cNFTs. As a result, you can either hold these items safely in a spaceport, use them in gameplay (for example, hauling goods, completing contracts, or exploring the universe), sell them on the OpenSea market, convert them to FIAT currency, or (eventually) blow them up in intergalactic space warfare.
My cNFTs all blew up...
So how do these virtual assets work? You’re likely already familiar with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). But you might not have heard of a cNFT, which is a non-fungible token that holds an amount of Ethereum tokens (ERC-20) as collateral inside the token. Whenever an in-game item is created, ERC-20 must be staked within it.
At any time, the owner of the cNFT can choose to burn the token and receive the staked ERC-20 it contains (unless the item has been loaned in a contract), which is automatically transferred to the token owner’s address. When spaceships are destroyed, the staked ERC-20 within the ship and its modules are automatically transferred to their owner’s (or lender’s) wallet. While the in-game mechanics of this space economy haven’t been fully revealed, this blurring of the lines between the in-game and real-world economy is bound to get gears spinning in the minds of both real-world and Farsite-dwelling entrepreneurs.
Why does this sound familiar...?
If the concept of an industrial science fiction space game, with its own player-driven economy sounds familiar, then you might be thinking of that other sandbox-styled space game Eve Online, which was released in 2003 and is one of the longest-running MMOs. Although the two games have obviously different graphical stylings, and the gameplay features of Farsite haven’t fully been revealed, what we do know from Farsite's play guide draws immediate comparisons with Eve Online. Both games support player career paths ranging from hauling, mining, manufacturing, and pirating, both support modular spacecraft that you can first build, and then destroy in explosive space battles waged over terrain claimed by player-created corporations, and both games even provide similar in-station 360-rotational views of your ship when docked:
To the extent that Farsite combines engaging space-based gameplay similar to Eve, but with economic risks and rewards more fully in the hands of the players who own their own space assets, the future for Farsite indeed looks bright.
If you’re interested in checking out the Farsite universe, you can use my referral code to get started with your own starter ship:
Keep in mind that because the game is in alpha status at the time of this post, you’ll need to have a far-sighted view of Farsite’s future. There’s not much you can currently do in-game beyond buying ships, fitting them with modules, and admiring the rotational view of them within station. That said, the game is incentivizing joining early with recurring time-based airdrops of containers that provide existing players with free modules, credits, and other rewards. To increase the value of the rewards within your crates, you can help promote the game by completing tasks such as joining the game’s Discord community, subscribing to its YouTube, and sharing the game with friends (the links to which are all provided in-game after creating your account).
You can take a look at the Farsite roadmap, with alpha gameplay currently scheduled for Q4 of this year.
In the meantime pilot, buckle in, hodl on, and prepare for your eventual undocking into a promising new universe!
