Arguably the most ambitious project in Web3 Gaming, Star Atlas is now part of the Epic Games Store ! This is yet another major step forward towards the mass adoption of Web3 tech as well as the realization of a full-blown metaverse. There’s clearly been a lot of work going on in the Star Atlas camp, and with this latest development, many people who currently have little or no knowledge of the project will soon be aware of it. But what exactly has Star Atlas been up to? And can they succeed in their bid to bring Web3 gaming and the Metaverse to a wider audience? Let’s find out!
Bringing Web3 to the Masses
The move towards a Web3 world is gradually gaining pace as more partnerships are formed and companies begin exploring the potentials of the technology. While many of them won’t get it “right” on their first or even their second attempt, the good news is that companies are interested and that things are actually starting to happen. For those who do manage to successfully harness the power of Web3 tech, the payoffs will undoubtedly be enormous.
Star Atlas has been around for about two years now, but it’s already managed to grow pretty rapidly. With over 300k followers on Twitter, this Solana blockchain-based grand space exploration project has a suitable amount of support as many hope it will one day evolve into the massive metaverse its developers promise it will become. What makes Star Atlas truly ambitious (other than its proposed multi-planet scale) is the fact that it’s being built on top of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 . If Star Atlas is going to be a success, it’s putting all its chips on being incredibly immersive, consisting of multiple worlds and factions, and generally just being absolutely amazing all round.
Now if you’re skeptical about Star Atlas’ ability to achieve, your skepticism isn’t unfounded. I’m not here to tell you they will succeed or that they won’t succeed, but I am telling you that they’re definitely making some moves. The fact that they’ve actually managed to get themselves on the Epic Games Store is impressive in its own right. I mean, I don’t think Epic Games would get involved with any project they didn’t think could succeed or would potentially bring their platform into disrepute. If this gaming giant is all-in on Star Atlas, well, I wouldn’t call that a bad sign.
The Pre-Alpha Showroom
OK, so you’re not going to be able to jump into a complete game with all the bells and whistles just yet, but you will be able to connect your wallet and view any ships that you currently own in the showroom. Don’t have a ship? Don’t worry. You can still check out the showroom and view a sample spaceship. Is this anything truly revolutionary or incredible? Nah, not really, but at least it shows that progress is being made.
Find out how to enter the pre-alpha Showroom by clicking here .
This latest development, as well as several others, were announced at the recent 426LIVE:NYK event which took place on September 29 2022. Along with the pre-alpha showroom, the Star Atlas team announced the following updates:
- Release of the F-Kit - The 426LIVE:NYK event saw the release of the Foundation SDK, an open source tool available to any developer that enables the rapid integration of Unreal Engine 5 with the Solana Blockchain
- Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellowship - In order to bring up and coming developers into the world of Web3 gaming, Star Atlas is taking part in this program (sponsored by Solana) where promising developers contribute towards existing projects and kick off their careers in the world of Web3. Over the next 12 weeks, 4 newbie developers will work together with the Star Atlas team to expand the Foundation SDK’s existing use cases
- Star Atlas: CORE - This episodic graphic metaverse novel is intended to bring Star Atlas, its lore and characters to the masses. With amazingly rendered art, Star Atlas: CORE will be available to read via the Star Atlas website as well as the Showroom in the future
- ATLAS Locking - This new feature in the Star Atlas DAO interface is intended to further integrate the galactic economy and its marketplace with the governance layer. In much the same way with POLIS, players will now be able to lock their ATLAS tokens for up to five years
For those of you who are a little more curious, you can watch the entire 426LIVE:NYK Keynote event in the following video:
Dissent Among the Ranks?
As the old saying goes, you can’t please everyone. Some supporters of Star Atlas seem less than impressed with these latest developments with many commenting that they want to see some actual gameplay.
In all fairness, development on something this ambitious is going to take a lot of time. And when I say a lot of time, I mean several years. I’m sure everyone would love to see some gameplay and even the game itself right now, but that’s nothing short of wishful thinking. For example, Star Citizen is still being actively developed well over a decade since its inception. However, there is gameplay you can view, and it actually looks pretty insane:
I believe Star Atlas can get to this level and even beyond, but to think it isn’t going to take years is ludicrous. Despite the concerns about gameplay that certain supporters have, I think Star Atlas has a good chance of succeeding. They still have a long way to go, but it’s encouraging to see that they’re now part of the Epic Games Store and that things are indeed happening.
What’s the Final Word?
There’s still plenty to be excited about with Star Atlas, and it’s good to see that the team is still actively working to ensure that work continues at a respectable pace. Whether or not Star Atlas will come out on top is a matter of conjecture, but as long as they deliver the goods, I think they can expect a lot of support and an increased playerbase in the future. All things considered, I wish Star Atlas and everyone who supports them all the best and will be sure to follow up on their progress in the coming weeks…
So what do you think of the latest developments with Star Atlas? Is the showroom on the Epic Games Store a big deal? Or do you think the devs need to pick up the pace? Let us know your thoughts!
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