on the crypto
Video game company and 3D engine provider Epic Games has been very active lately when it comes to NFT games, first with the launch of its first blockchain-based title, Blankos Block Party, and then with a second addition announced on Friday.
The Star Atlas space strategy game, described as one of NFT's most ambitious Solana-based projects, has just made its debut on the Epic Games Store, in the form of a limited demo, although the game is unlikely to be finalized sooner. a few years.
Launch of the NFT Star Atlas demo
The demo, described as a "pre-alpha" and called Star Atlas: Showroom, allows players to see the Unreal Engine 5 technology that powers the game in action. Through the demo, those who have purchased an NFT Star Atlas will be able to explore a 3D environment and view the ships and vehicles they have purchased as NFTs.
It should be noted that the Star Atlas demo is only available for NFT game owners. To get an access key, you need to own a ship and join one of the game's factions.
However, AMTA, the company that is developing Star Atlas, has made it clear through its CEO that the demo also offers a single non-NFT ship to explore and that some access codes will be given to certain non-owners.
It is also expected that the Showroom demo will be updated later with more features. These include multiplayer, live chat and the ability for NFT ship owners to fly their ships.
A toolkit for developing games on the Solana blockchain
Simultaneously with the Star Atlas demo, Epic Games also launched a toolkit on Friday that will make it easier for other video game companies to integrate their games with the Solana blockchain.
Called the Foundation Software Development Kit (F-KIT), the developer toolkit is an open-source SDK that incorporates a system that allows users to sign transactions to perform actions in the game.
The release of the F-KIT as an open-source tool means that "mainstream studios now have a faster path" for creating games on Solana, according to the head of Epic Games.
He also said it will be possible to extend the kit to other blockchains, such as Ethereum, pointing out that ultimately the company's goal is to encourage the industry to "build experiences that extend the Star Atlas universe."
When will the final version of the NFT Star Atlas game be available?
Despite the immediate availability of a demo, it's important to note that players should expect the final game to still take several years to develop. In fact, the Star Atlas demo released on Friday is just a taste of the full gameplay experience to come.
In fact, Epic's chief executive has estimated that it will take another five to six years of development to get to the final, full version of Star Atlas.
However, the demo launch is a very encouraging first step. In addition to the features that will be added to the demo by the end of the year and in 2023, Epic Games plans to release a complete "vertical slice" of the game - a fully functional but limited portion of the game that will give you an idea much clearer than what the game will look like in the end.
"We still have a long way to go," said the CEO. "But the idea is to continually release these iterative functions to get more and more engagement."
