So I've been seeing a lot of referral links dropped and talk about this in the past week on Torum and thought I would check it out to see what all the hubbub was about.
At first look the visuals reminded me of the cancelled Jagex game Stellar Dawn.
Taking the time to read the introduction on their homepage we learn that everything is owned by players, and is ensured on a distributed LEDGER that is enhanced by a revolutionary cNFT protocol.
Okay, so what does that mean exactly? It means that every asset in the game will be a cNFT. This includes your ships, parts for your ships, space stations, land sectors, bases, and items such as resources and ammunition.
So now you may be asking yourself what is a cNFT. How does it differ from a traditional NFT?
To answer that question I'll post this excerpt from the official guide:
Collateralized Digital Assets
cNFT - a proposed standard for ERC-20 collateral staking on Non-Fungible Tokens for borrowing against game assets
The core idea behind cNFT is a collateral stake to grant the intrinsic value of a digital asset created in the game.
Simply put, cNFT is an NFT that holds a certain amount of ERC-20 as a collateral inside.
At any given moment, cNFT's owner can burn the token and receive the ERC-20 stake, unless the cNFT is not used as a collateral itself (and that's the most important part).
Backed by ERC-20, a cNFT can be used as a collateral for an ERC-20 loan. Staking an existing cNFT for lending additional ERC-20 allows for creating a new cNFT - rinse and repeat - that might create a leverage for multiplied growth (refer to Staking cNFT).
That said, a cNFT item can be used in many different ways:
- playing the game - fly the Ship to haul goods, complete contracts, fight for loot, explore the universe, search for rare materials, act as a mercenary, to name a few;
- as a collateral to borrow Credits;
- as a storage of value (HODLing a Ship);
- as a source for Credits (disassembling an item will release staked Credits);
- for sale (list it on OPENSEA or an internal marketplace).
So to break that down into something that is a little easier to understand what this means is that each of these items or cNFTs will lock ERC-20 into the game to add value to your assets. And the only way to take that value out of the game is if the items are destroyed or you sell them to another player.
Once you register and open up the in-game guide we are again presented with a slightly better description of the game:
"Farsite is a blockchain-powered sandbox MMO RTS game with elements of adventure in a sci-fi setting based on a post apocalyptic story."
It features a "Persistent virtual universe with player-owned and player-controlled economy running in a trustless environment" where "Every item in the game is created by a player using materials found by a player. Production requires a Blueprint, Components, a Base on a Planet and some Credits. Components are made from Resources - those can be found on Asteroids and Planets or purchased from other players."
We also learn that "Every item in the game is location-dependent. That means if a Resource was mined on an Asteroid it shall be hauled to a production site or a station to be used or traded."
This last bit is a little interesting as it makes the game much more realistic than other games out there. Items actually have to be hauled and transported rather than being added to an unrealistic inventory system that can be accessed anywhere in the game at any point in time.
Stepping away from the more technical side of this game let's get back to the gameplay and visual feel of Farsite.
Gameplay
If we go back to the beginner's guide provided to us in-game it tells us that there are 9 different career paths we can choose from. They are:
- Hauler - Accomplish delivery contracts to earn Credits for safely moving goods between Stations and Planets. Equip your Ship with powerful Modules or hire Fighters to protect you in low-secure environments.
- Miner - Acquire a Sector on a Planet and establish your Base to mine and refine Resources -- those are required for every in-game item production. Sell them to Manufacturers or Traders on a local Station.
- Manufacturer - Craft Components, Modules and Ships. Master rare items for high margins. Acquire Resources from Miners, rent the facilities or establish your own Base. Acquire rare Blueprints for monopoly on an item.
- Military - Become a Pirate to collect loot from random victims or serve as a Mercenary to help Haulers and Traders safely pass dangerous territories. Form Fleets and create coalitions with Corporations.
- Explorer - Discover the vast universe and hunt for exotic Materials. Jump through Stars to find a rare Asteroid, Comet or an Anomaly - you will always have a bunch of stories to tell about your adventures.
- Governor - Acquire control over a Star to set your own rules and collect Credits from every market deal and service ordered on the territory. Hire Mercenaries to force Corporations (to) develop your territory.
- Recruiter - Recruit new Pilots and help them learn basics to get started in the virtual universe. A lifetime share in Credits from every action they perform in the game then may be a good reward.
- Politician - Open a Corporation, form an Alliance, define the objectives, lead members and manage roles, curate contractors, accumulate Credits and achieve the global dominance.
- Trader - Follow the market to buy cheap, ship goods where they are in the most demand and make profits. Contract Haulers and Mercenaries to avoid risks, negotiate with Manufacturers for a monopoly.
So there's a pretty wide variety of roles you can choose to play, but the overall feel of the game is space exploration and settling planetary systems.
This instantly brought to my mind similarities to No Mans Sky which is described on their official website as "a game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated galaxy"
I have also heard many people comparing it to Eve Online and it being said this is going to be the block-chain equivalent. Being a console gamer myself instead of a PC gamer, I had heard of Eve Online before but had never really looked into it or played it before. After doing some research it appears that this opinion is pretty accurate.
Visuals
Now to take a look at the visuals. Here is a banner for the game which includes their official logo:
Again, in my personal opinion seeing this logo reminded me of the website design and logo for Jagex's cancelled game Stellar Dawn. Below is a screen capture of the official website that was archived through the Wayback Machine:
Once you register an account you will be brought to your hanger which I have taken a screen capture of:
This does indeed make the game look more similar to Eve Online instead of No Man's Sky.
Eve Online:
No Man's Sky:
As you can see by the pictures FARSITE really does look pretty similar to Eve Online in terms of visuals as well as gameplay. It is a darker more realistic depiction of space than the vibrant colorful scenery of No Man's Sky. You can also see the space stations, the destruction and player vs. player action that will be in Farsite in the screenshot from Eve Online.
The final visual comparison I drew between Farsite and another Sci-fi media is a similarity between the gates used for intersystem travel in Farsite and the intergalactic GATE system from the Stargate universe. They are both a FTL (Faster Than Light) travel method with a similar design. You can see the comparison below:
Farsite Gates:
Stargate Intergalactic Gate Bridge:
Current Status:
Currently Farsite is in the Pre-Launch stage, meaning the game has not fully launched yet. Right now you are able to "Enlist today" (Register an account) and "Get a powerful starter spaceship with a set of modules".
Once registering you are awarded a basic starter ship (the Moon A-1) and can start working on obtaining modules such as a Rail Weapon, a Kinetic Mining Laser, and a Resource Storage Container for it as well as a more powerful starter ship called the Moon A-2.
You can do that by completing different social tasks such as linking different social media accounts, posting content on those social media platforms, and referring other users. Each of these tasks rewards a different amount of Scores which is just a way of measuring how much you are promoting the game. The more Scores you earn, the better the unlocks you can obtain with the best unlock being the "powerful starter ship" (the Moon A-2).
Another benefit for completing these tasks and obtaining Scores besides these guaranteed bonuses are a chance at getting a daily White Crate airdrop which "contains valuable in-game items". I'm not exactly sure what that entails because I have not won one myself. In fact to be eligible you have to be one of the users who have the top 100 balances of Scores. The good news though is that everyone that receives an airdrop gets their Scores reset to 0 giving a better chance the next day to users who have not received one yet.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while this is a space themed setting commonly seen in many crypto games due to meme culture surrounding crypto including terms such as "Mooning" and "To The Moon" and things such as Astronauts, Spaceships (Thanks to Elon Musk and SpaceX), Aliens and Mars this is much more than a simpler mining simulator such as Alien Worlds and looks like it will be the first blockchain game that feels like a normal PC or Console game.
I'm really looking forward to when it fully launches and hope it does well. If this game sounds interesting to you as well and you're as excited about it as I am or are even just curious and want to check it out I would really appreciate if you used my referral link to register: https://farsite.club/u/solar-black-gopher
Thank you for reading my article, I hope you learned a bit about Farsite so you can know what it's all about now.
And if you didn't come across this article from me sharing it on Torum and are not already a user on that site you should totally check it out by clicking on the hyperlink. (It's an awesome Social Media site focused on everything crypto and has an amazingly wonderful, friendly and welcoming user base.)
Stay safe everyone, and may you have many green candles in your portfolio's future.
