Bitcoin Forum

I thought it would be cool to talk a little about this project that I've been working on and a little about myself and background as well. I thought it would also be interesting to discuss some of the struggles as well, not just technical, but working with other people on a project too. So, as you can imagine from the title, I'm working on building a science fiction based RPG adventure game that uses Bitcoin as a not only in-game currency, but also contains hidden treasure rewards in bitcoin too. Players can earn bitcoin by solving puzzles, defeating other players, and finding it as "loot" in unexplored areas of the game

Why build a game like this? So, right, I grew up playing adventure and rogue-like games on the C64 like "The Pawn" and "Adventure" on the Atari 2600. These games captivated the imagination and got me interested in computers, which then led me into a career in enterprise infrastructure for more than 20 years. Games like Kings Quest and Space Quest from Sierra were played all night long, sometimes with a high degree of frustration. Really though, playing games like Zork and then reading the choose your own adventure books got me interested in sci fi. So later on, playing games like MajorMUD and Tradewars was great, because you would really develop a kinship with other players that drove a community narrative, so many, many years later when Bitcoin came along, I wanted to really build something on top it and weave bitcoin into the game as a currency.

Another aspect to the game that I wanted to build in was a bit of a treasure hunt. Growing up, I was fascinated with those time life mysteries of the unknown books and other mysteries with lost treasures. The thought of going on a treasure hunt and solving a mystery was often a lure that led me to other interesting works and projects. So for example, reading the book Ready Player One, or the forest fenn treasure, and also the Treasure's Trove book with jeweled bugs were fascinating to follow. So some of these things were inspiration to build those things into SpacePirate, I wanted to include a mystery and a hidden treasure into the game for players to find and solve. Bitcoin was also the perfect type of element for doing something like that, no need to pack a bag and go half way around the world. So the concept of hiding something within the context and narrative of the game was key. I didn't just want to build a "hack and slash" only game, while it is still in there, the ability to explore and seek a treasure without combat was an interesting concept that I liked.

From a motivational standpoint, I wanted to create a world setting for this concept but didn't want to write a book, while I liked writing, my technical side comes alive. So, my background is IT-based, with over 20 years of IT infrastructure experience in aerospace, starting as NASA network engineer back in the early 90's. So naturally, I liked to develop, create, and design IT systems and when Bitcoin came along, I started to mine and joined this community. At this point, all I had was ideas, so I started to jot them down and think about it and kind of build a concept of a MUD with Bitcoin integration. So I started to worldbuild what that universe might look like in that kind of a narrative. It's very much a dark post-apocalyptic distant future (~2500 years from now) where space travel is common. There's exoplanet mining, colonies, a military presence, privateers, ai-driven robots, and bounty hunters. A lot of the technology has broken down and isn't well understood due to a large pandemic that wiped out about 80% of people about 1500 years in the future. As a result, advancements in technology, science, and culture stopped. That's where the "Age of Rust" concept comes from for this first "episode" of the game.  The idea being that technology is going dark, rusting, and falling apart, and that is in what is now "present day" in the game.


As you can imagine, a few people in the community got excited about this. Either through just me discussing it, or just in general when talking about bitcoin or RPG's, I would talk about "this game I'm building". As a result, some people wanted to invest into the game, so I've received some BTC to help develop and build the game. More people wanted to invest, but I didn't want to focus my time on crowdfunding right then and there, so I put it off.  However, in 2017 I've decided to do a crowdfunding campaign to accelerate some of the development in the game and add additional features and extend some of the game. That being said, I'm about 70% through development, so I think that's a good thing to discuss in terms of being able to deliver a working game for people that do decide to help crowdfund it. Here's a roadmap showing what's been developed and what's left in the game to still build:


There's still a lot left to build, so I've been working on that. Recently I've just put up a basic website to share additional information about the game. Like all things, it still needs work, I plan to add a video showing gameplay and other things. Then eventually will have some early access to the game to play it for those who want to try it out, right now the game is running with testnet bitcoin. There's a lot I want to do security wise before putting the game on the live blockchain. From time to time, I'll also hire people here from the board to help work on pieces of the game. I've hired a few of you to subcontract out pieces of the development. To me, this is an important thing with Bitcoin in general, to help the community within itself and what better way to do that than build something fun. In any event, if you have questions or comments about the game, even ideas or concepts that you would like to share, i'd love to hear them.   :D

In the next week, I'll be doing a "prologue" story before the launch of the game with a puzzle to solve with a 0.1BTC reward.  Clues will be on the website and tell an intro story in the form of a narrative that leads to the start of the game.

As a BatMud addict, I can tell you that these games can be huge. A big kudos to you for using Bitcoin as the in-game currency and not a token or

Alt coin, like the other fools. I will be looking forward to see where this one will be going and I hope it's going to be EPIC.  ;D ... Batmud has it's

own in-game currency, but you can buy the currency with Fiat or make donations in other payment options. Just a pity, they are not accepting

Bitcoin...  ::) ..... I would be the Mithril King.  ;D ;D ;D ;D

So this is a large scaled MUD that you're integrating blockchain assets on?
Seems interesting.. If you need a tester I would be willing to dive in :)

Nice, I'll check out batmud, just did a quick look on it and it looks like it's been running for a long time. It's interesting to see woldbuilding mud like that run for a long time. It's all about having a good community to work within and game with. I like mud's so I'll be checking it out, thanks for the tip. How long have you been a player there?

Yeah, I had flirted with an altcoin earlier for the in-game currency, but decided against it in the end. I have some light counterparty integration for some things in the game that are tokens on the bitcoin blockchain. They are puzzle-related though and not used as currency in the game.

Yeah, I don't see doing payment options in spacepirate at the moment. I don't want to get into an area where say, people use the game to convert paypal to bitcoin as a backchannel way to buy bitcoin. So I see it being bitcoin only... But I like that honestly. :D

Boy,if this post was on reddit,it would have got insane upvotes by now!
Did someone ever tell you you're a nice story teller ?Okay,on-topic now :

Are the graphics still in the development phase or the game's UI is something like the terminal?
From the screenshots on your website,the game does look like a bit technical to me,a step ahead of regular gamers but of course bitcoiners love that!
How many developers are contributing currently ?Don't tell me you've coded the thing alone ?
Btw,I can jump in if you need any help with the development.

Wow this is quite intriguing. They way described it got me interested in the devlopment of the game. i will be following this :D

Please keep updating about the project and are you looking for some input from others.. or beta testing.. then maybe i can be of help :D

That's correct... The game economy is 100% bitcoin, but I'm also using blockchain assets (counterparty/bitcoin tokens) for some game puzzle elements.  Awesome, I'll be opening alpha and beta testing in the next couple of months.

Thank you, I'm humbled by your very kind words!! I deeply believe that sharing the experience of building the game with the community is important. Plus, I love sharing the stories and getting great ideas from everyone.

The graphics are still in development and yeah, the overall UI is very retro/terminal style. I'd love to make a star-citizen kind of game, but I don't have the team or money for that, so maybe at sometime the future. For now, it's very much an ascii art kind of presentation of some game assets. Otherwise it's a terminal style game, similar to a game called "Code 7".

You picked up on part of it, I've kind of built some elements of the game to appeal to people who play some of the dice games. I would imagine that I'm going to have to ease-down some of the complexity on the game. The other thing is that I hope it exposes some of bitcoin to people who may not be familiar with bitcoin or can't afford bitcoin. This will be a way for people to get it if they can win it or find it in the game.

I've had some developers come into and out of the game over the past few months, mainly I'll outsource piece of the code and game to developers here on the board. I strongly believe in hiring local and those familiar with bitcoin and paying for services in bitcoin as well.  I've done roughly maybe about 30-40% of the coding on myself, so not alone, no.  That great, the next time I have a work package that I need done, I'll let you know and see if you're interested :)

I have been playing it on and off for 16 years... and when I started it was only text. They have a huge following and many of the players are

from Finland. The game is VERY addictive and I clocked many YEARS on that game.  ::) I do not know if people will find these games

interesting, but through the MudClient most of the actions are automated. This is the site ---> https://www.bat.org/ and here are some info

about the game ---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BatMUD

Very cool, thanks, I spent some time last night checking it out. There's a lot of active muds out there, so it's been interesting checking them out.

You're right, this isn't a "mass appeal" game, it's very much built towards a niche. I kind of modeled it towards a game people may wander out and wander back in over time. Some of the concepts for it also came from sitting in chat at dice game sites, like just-dice. While it's not a gambling game, it's something to do while chatting and vice versa. There's also 4.6 bitcoins in treasure sitting in the game, which will grow, so that may bring some people in too.

Definitely having these rewards will reel people in.

"What? A game where I can earn real money? Why wouldn't I play?"

 I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this. Great idea.

Thanks, I've been getting a lot of positive feedback in various communities (mud, gamedev, bitcoin, etc) which has been helpful. I'm working now on getting a bit of an early peek into a bit of the game, kind of a "prologue" into what happens before the main game and storyline starts. The prologue will also feature a 0.1BTC reward to whoever solves the first puzzle.  I hope to have the prologue running in the next week.

Its truly nice if your project will be done since i think there's so many online players wants to play for it and earn money aswell and hope you give decent amount for prolong so people will catch this one,

Much better if you set a date of the game launch so people could see and monitor on when do the game would start.

Maybe there not so many gamers in this site. Try to introduce your game at others site.
This game got the chance to hit big in gaming industry.
You can earn some penny while you playing a game?!
I'm waiting for official announcement for this game.
Two thumbs for your efforts!

Thanks Gandalf :D I've been talking to others in this genre of game over at some other sites, /r/mud for example and the gamedev facebook group, twitter, and some kickstarter groups. I'm working now on an early preview of the game to get something out there in the form of an announcement in two weeks. The prologue will be a small playable adventure with a 0.1BTC unlockable reward. The full game launch is slated for April 2017.  ;)

Great man! Can I sign up for an early sneak peek and maybe I could get a lot of people on board right after! I have a lot of friends who are die hard fans of MUDs and Crypto!

Nice, I like strategy base defense, I think it will be the first time a feature like this will appear in a BTC game, that is why I had interest in coming to this thread to see how is this project progress and to see more details about it. If there is a BETA phase, or pre-launch phase, I would like to join if possible.  :)

I would like you to give these guys a run for their money. < Plarium.com > They have banned me for 1 year on their forums, because I mentioned Bitcoin once in a thread. They do not know what they are missing, and I think someone should show them what is possible. They have loads of in-game items to buy, and skins and they sell crystals for users to buy items that would take you years to acquire, if you worked for it in the game.

A game like this will quickly go viral and we will see a price rise like never before. ^smile^

Like the site even tho there is a few issues with spacing.
The idea seems cool like the pictures and everything else ill be watching for this to drop.
April it launches right or is that just the crowd fund?

The game will launch in April, but there will be a crowdfund in January to add a few extra things and hopefully push the timeline up a month. An alpha version of the game will launch in about a week which has a small but fun little mission and puzzle to solve (with a 0.1btc reward).  ;D

Oh ya? And... Where are the hints for this mission? Hahaha. Is it out yet? I'm not home for the holidays so can't check on my computer until after the new year.

Can't wait for Little mission to be launch , how hard this game will be? Give a bump to this thread hopefully more people will notice it.

Oh alright ill keep my eye out for the launch then.
Will you be posting the alpha in this thread?

what happened here, its been a long time since the last post, was the project stopped ?, what is the status of the game? when will be posted the last news about it, what about the story line?

Hey, thanks for asking! :) Yes, the project is still going and I'm still working on it. I wanted to add a couple of things into the alpha that I felt were important, the first was a mini-game inside the game that allows you to "hack" things in the game to access them (airlock panel, computer, etc). The second thing that I wanted to add was some artwork and some sound into the game.

I have a put together some information about the game on kickstarter, you can check it out below, it has some video captures and screenshots of the game. It also talks about the storyline and background of the game.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisloverme/862671735?token=0bd90578 (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisloverme/862671735?token=0bd90578)

I haven't done an intro video yet, that's coming shortly, I'm still writing the script on introducing the game. 

The playable demo is coming soon, I'm putting the finishing touches on it. Whatever I do or don't finish, something will be out this month hell or highwater  ;)

Rendering the bridge of the Tucana IV.... Two styles of artwork to consider for the game, the more retro stylistic computer graphics or the higher-end raytraced graphics. Hmmmm

https://i.imgur.com/ja2w9HZ.gif?1https://i.imgur.com/IHVwJXm.jpg

Release Alpha v0.1
The alpha test is now up and running with some basic game functionality. The first prologue-story is running in the game, which has a complex puzzle to solve by interacting with some items in the game. Solving the puzzle reveals a 0.1 bitcoin reward that players can claim outside the game without doing a withdrawal. The game engine itself is running on bitcoin testnet but will eventually be running on mainnet. More updates will be coming later this week and crowdfunding will kick off the third week in April.

Kickstarter preview (going live in April) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisloverme/862671735?token=bbc9c77f (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisloverme/862671735?token=bbc9c77f)
Game account signup: https://spacepirate.io/sp (https://spacepirate.io/sp)

An official announcement thread will be coming soon as well, since this project is still in development, progress is being updated here.  ;D

How many work on this?

Right now, I've got 3 people working on it (including myself).  ;D

Grear development man! If you guys need some marketing please do PM me!

I think once I hit beta release, I'll enlist your help! :D  Looks like about 2-3 weeks away, maybe less.

Tried it over the phone but phone is slow so nah. (Typed /look then there was money on the ground and my phone's browser crashed and the 0.5 btc was gone) Anyways, great game! Will try it using a laptop later.

Thanks, still working on enhancements, and got a lot of great feedback today on some of the bugs and issues. So another update will be coming soon.

Also, just to clarify to avoid any lost bitcoin panic:

- The bitcoins in the game are testnet bitcoins, so anything you find on the floor or get from killing another player are testnet coins.

- The 0.1 btc prize for solving the puzzle in the prologue are real btc.

Proof of prize will be posted shortly 8)

Edit:
Prize: https://blockchain.info/address/1AN4pDgC9YoLDdYwtmtuSk9hiW6K6cKj8J

Hi, so did anyone solve the puzzle yet?
I was so close already.
Going to college, and if anyone hasn't solved it yet... i will do it xD

Hi OP,

I was wondering, where did you get the ideas to create this amazing sci-fi game? Love the graphics and the story of the game :)

Can't wait for it to go live in near future...

I haven't said anything about the website itself - nice index btw. And the game reminds me of visual novels. Nice detailing.
The auto scroll though - when reading something, it scrolls down again. So I had to go up again and it goes down again.

Not sure though about the prologue. I can't find it - or is it the one in Tucana IV? Or maybe I haven't searched enough.

Thank you, I'm deeply humbled by the positive feedback. The main storyline is something that I've been developing for a long time. When I worked for NASA I started to think about this story, the idea of a space faring civilization is something that I always found interesting; one that looks and feels "lived in". The game will reflect that, the future depicted in the game is of one where civilization is decline, things are rusting and breaking down. For time, I was going to write a novel, but the techie in me wanted to explore the narrative in a unique way, and that's what the game will be. 

Me too, there's a lot more to come in the game, this is but a grain of sand as to what is to come :)

Thank you, much appreciated. The design and style is meant to reflect that early style of game play, similar to the SSI D&D games from the mid-80's. The scrolling is something that I'll be looking at re-working for the next major update. Also, you'll be able to cycle through previous entered commands via the up/down arrow keys as well.

Part of the intro is stored in the notepad, type /notepad and then click on the green icon next to it and you'll see it there. It will be easier to access the notepad in the next major update. The prologue itself is the story of the game, what's in the alpha release is only about 1/3 of the prologue. It's meant to be much longer, but I wanted to get something released since a lot of people were anxious :)

Not sure how I hadn't noticed this thread before but definitely going to keep tabs on it now!  I'd be happy to help with story / quest development if you ever need a hand with that.

In terms of the artwork (I'm going only by the pics you posted), I'm not sure but are you creating the high-res image first and then just reducing the resolution and posterising the colours down?  If so why not have both (since creation of the retro look graphics will not take you long at all), and allow the player to switch between them?  (Obviously if you're creating the low-res graphics from scratch this is null!)

I was just wondering on what platform this will run? Computer or Android devices? My sisters kids are very interested in playing games where they

can earn Bitcoin and was hoping I could introduce them to some game on their mobile phone, where they can have fun and earn Bitcoin at the

same time. How is this project coming along... any updates?

Thanks, I do need some people to create missions for the game later on. I'll PM you the style guide that I'm using with another quest developer as well for interesting side missions  8)

As far as low res/high res graphics are concerned and letting the player choose, it's an interesting idea. I'm not so far into it as to go one way or the other, but some of the clues for solving the puzzles are in the images, so it may impact game play. More people seem to like the retro-style 80's graphics in the game. It's interesting, because I was showing the game to someone who is a game dev for a large company and they were like "oh wow, I remember that game!" even though it has never been released until now, because I just created it.  ;)

The game runs online at this point through a browser, I don't think I could make a stand alone version of easily anytime soon. I've thought about a small mini-game that would tie into it that would run on iOS and Android, but that's a bit of a pipe dream at this point. It might make an interesting stretch goal for the crowdfunding though :)

Project status:
- The game is about 60%, you can see timeline here that shows completed and pending: https://spacepirate.io/images/services/timeline.png (https://spacepirate.io/images/services/timeline.png)
- I expect that the full game will launch right around the end of July 2017 with all the advertised functionality.
- A kickstarter for the game will start the week of April 10th, 65% of the funds will go to create wiring, artwork, sounds/voiceovers. You can see a "preview" of the kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisloverme/862671735?token=bbc9c77f (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chrisloverme/862671735?token=bbc9c77f)
- Yesterday the alpha test launched, which has a limited set of functionality, but begins to tell the story of the game. There's also a "long puzzle" that takes about 30-40 hours to solve and has a 0.1 bitcoin reward.

Proof of puzzle solution:

There are 5 codes that are in the alpha test of the game used to unlock the reward. The prologue has a mini puzzle where you get clues in the game and unlock the 5 codes. Once you have all the codes, you have the capability to access the reward in the game. How you use the codes is a bit of a puzzle as well.

Funds: https://blockchain.info/address/1AN4pDgC9YoLDdYwtmtuSk9hiW6K6cKj8J

To verify:
Visit https://www.browserling.com/tools/sha256-hash
Input all 5 codes from the game.
Click Calaculate Hash.
Result is: 2fdafbc507b935ced50d862bf543f276fbbb84cb1ba43c8e7eea2e27a2479b5f


The order of the 5 codes to generate the proof hash is as follows: (only the last 4 digits revealed as to not ruin the game)
2a36
8181
0126
efb7
ed6b

Well i dont know about others, but i reached the stage where you have to input 2 override codes on the airlock console using /use console (code). I had 2 codes 1- and 2- but they didn't work. i tried in like so many different ways.

I reached this point in like 1-2 hours into the game but just cudn't proceed further.

You're on the right track, you're very close to solving the first puzzle in the prologue. I think you're the one player that the furthest along to solving it.  :o

Haha. Cool atleast i am on the right track.. i will find a way to crack this !!  ;D

I'm in love with the game already! This thing is addictive!I knew it since day 1,this project has potential.I don't care if I ever solve even a single puzzle but the whole command line gameplay seems very fascinating to me !Well programmed!
Add more tutorials and stuff as without your commands on the chat,I'd have never figured out how it works.

What game engine used for development this game ?

It's a custom engine, all the MUD/RPG engines I had looked at didn't provide the retro mid-80's SSI look and feel that I was going for. The game rules are based on the Palladium system of play (HP and Armor ratings, 20 is a critical hit, etc). It's however modified so that dice rolls are provably fair.  Graphics are done in Daz 3D, sounds (in future builds), and storyline are all custom to the game. Bitcoin integration is custom and uses a combination of offline wallets and an online full node, shapeshift.io (to use altcoins) uses the shifty API and is custom integrated as well.

Thank you Patatas, I've seen you around in the forums, glad to have you play! Adding the help and a faq asap to help new players. This is just a very small sample of what's to come, so it's ambitious but also a passion project for me. Thanks again for the kind words  :D

Are you planning to incorporate only BTC or possibly one or more other cryptos as well?

I've been considering adding another crypto into the game, but I'd like one that would fit into the game and overall theme. When the strategy portion of the game is played, it might have a strong use case in a couple of examples as resources within the game.

Here's the roadmap for crypto:

Alpha version - Testnet Bitcoin
Beta version - Mainnet Bitcoin + Shapeshift.io Altcoins
Final version - Mainnet Bitcoin + Shapeshift.io Altcoins + ?

Well i got all the 5 codes mentioned and i arranged it and hashed but i cannot get the result. I tried with the numbers 1- 2- 1- 2- 3- and without. Keeping spaced and without spaced.

I doubt you have to use the '-' hypen while using the console if we're on the same path.This is more complicated than I expected,Cryptography makes it even harder.
Just a suggestion,the puzzles could have been made a little less complex which would have been suitable for players with basic/no cryptography knowledge.You know that would help us get a wider audience and not only bitcoin geeks who know how shit works.

Okay i get what you mean but i think rather than just making it more simple... the part of the puzzle concerning with cryptography if any can have hints for people with no knowledge. Because the nature of the puzzle is being tough. If everyone could just solve it in like 1 hour then there is no gameplay hours left.

to be honest the prologue puzzle had no cryptography per say in the game itself, just the end part where u have to put in the codes in the SHA256 website for a hash.

Very sage advice... Future puzzles will not have this difficulty level.  The original intent is to reward players in the game with bitcoin directly to their online account. Smaller amounts of bitcoin will be rewarded to players in the future for solving puzzles. The treasure hunts for larger amount of bitcoins will be scaled to not involve knowledge of cryptography for checking the solution.  This feedback is important because it's what I wanted to learn from players during the alpha stage of gameplay :)  Much appreciated!

I agree that checking the hash of the solution is a bit of a stretch and a geek thing. I have the same issue with provably fair dice rolls for the RPG because that involves a hash as well.

Finding balance with the puzzles is difficulty, players have found all of the codes to "unlock" the reward in a single day, whereas I thought it would take players between 30-40 hours to get the codes.

However, people are having fun exploring and sharing with other players and working together, which was beyond my hopes for the game, even in this very early testing.

Oh i see what you mean. That is a good plan.

about the thing you say that the puzzle was meant to be solved in 30-40 hours but people did that in a day... is there a way to control actions per day ?  maybe not the whole game, just few parts or special missions can also be like that no. it just clicked me.

The concept of a series of available actions or turns per day to do things is built into the strategy portion of the game (which is not in the alpha release at all) and is about base building and then defending said base.  So you would start out with x actions per day that would allow you a reasonable amount of gameplay per day on the strategy side. The strategy play is also fully optional as well, so it's not required, since players just may want to solve puzzles and explore the storyline. The framework is there to support it though, but it's not implemented today.

Question! I've been playing the game from time to time. Exploring a little bit - didn't know that commands like 'hack' are included. Saw it in the preview but not in the FAQ. Are you going to include all commands in the help section or would let players explore? Asking this since I am that type of person that plays a game by just exploring the game itself (with help and faqs).

Yes, so the help page has now been updated, so if you click on the three bars, "☰" and then "Help", you'll see the commands you can use in the game.

Fixed:
- The hacking mini-game had a bug where you could get locked out by entering a long series of commands, this has been fixed. If your current mini-hack game is frozen, you can type /hack console reset

- When you're killed, all your items drop to the floor properly now.

Next update (estimated 4/15)
- A new area will be added and few NPC's will be added to the game to test NPC (non-player character) combat
- The fix for rooms not loading right away should be available. As a workaround today, if you think a room has not loaded, just hit refresh in your browser.
- A video intro will be uploaded so that new players have a bit of an idea what the game is and how it works.
- A new clue will be added to help players solve the "5 codes" puzzle.
- Money will drop when you're killed in the game, yes, your money ;)
- FAQ will be an option on the ☰ menu.
- The kickstarter campaign will launch  8)

Beta release update: (estimated late April / Early may)
- The game will move from Testnet to Mainnet on bitcoin
- Altcoins will be supported through shapeshift.io
- New areas (The Silver Dawn) will be added to the game along with a new puzzle that has a 0.1 bitcoin reward
- Sound for areas will be added when looking around areas for extra game ambiance (and clues).
- Voice overs for a couple of the sections
- You'll be able to hack androids to make them attack other players for you.

Wow that is great. looking forward to this :D

Thanks to everyone who has been playing the game and helping to test. The feedback and interaction with the game has been a wealth of information to use to help build out the rest of the game.

A couple of bugs were fixed today:
☠ The shotgun sounds were not working correctly, hopefully not too many of you were jolted to an early death. :-[
☠ A bug that prevented the chat log from loading should be fixed now. The site should also start to work a little faster as well.
☠ A new test area was added, there's no puzzles in it, but it has sound as a test.


Beta release with new areas and puzzles are on track for end of the month. The beta may also have a card game for the mess hall, it's like screw your neighbor, only with guns involved.  ;)

A few updates today:

☠ A new hint was added for the first puzzle 0.1 btc (full real bitcoin, not testnet)
☠ Three new areas were added, more will be added tomorrow.
☠ A hint system was added: /hint
☠ Hints can be bought like weapons and such from the kiosk/shop in the game.
☠ Tipping was added (bitcoin testnet) /tip (user) amount
☠ Money will drop when you or others are killed (bitcoin testnet)
☠ Enemies in the game will now attack in a single turn based format
☠ Some game actions will roll against your stats like in a traditional rpg.

More updates to come...
☠ Video to help new players get started
☠ Kickstarter campaign to fund more development/levels
☠ Additional art, sound, voiceovers...

Awesome stuff. Love the updates.

The turn based idea for battle makes more sense and balance rather someone just pounding like a fighter game xD

also how does out stats improve, do we have to train or something ?

Interesting game, do let me know if you need game tester.

Yeah, enemies won't just pound on you without stopping. This gives you as the player the opportunity to flee, fight, or take some other action in an rpg gaming style.

Once the beta version is released, you'll have more character options. Experience will be awarded for solving and doing things that give you progress in the game. Once you level up in the game, you'll have the option to put points towards character improvement. I should be able to carry forward characters created during the alpha testing and beta testing and retro-actively award experience for early-stage players later on.

There will be alignment as well, so if you attack a player with good alignment, that can have an impact in the game play later on. There's a mission designed where a non-player character has to trust you, but if you're overly evil, the character might not trust you at all. On the flip side, there's another side quest mission designed where you won't be given information if you're overly hero-good, but it will be obvious that's the case.

Yes, so the game is right now in alpha testing. So sign up and play... there's currently a reward of 0.1BTC in the game that any player can find and win.  8)

Project update news:
Today was the last day for "new development" on the alpha test version on the project. Work will now progress on the beta version of the game (strategy, rpg character development, several full-length missions, and taking the game off testnet. Bugs in the alpha test will continue to be fixed/addressed.

Here's what's in version 0.1c:
☠ Replaced most graphics with higher resolution images.
☠ Added 7 areas and many more additional puzzles.
☠ up/down arrow function to recall past entered commands
☠ RPG game elements (if your character's IQ is too low you might fail a task, etc)

Future plans:
There's a good chance that the game economy may change to something token-based (like how spells of genesis in-game items works) or the game's own cryptocurrency. Rewards for solving puzzles would stay in Bitcoin though. Still thinking about this, so your feedback is encouraged.   ;)

☠ A video intro / tutorial to help new players
☠ A kickstarter campaign to allow for more missions, artwork, sound, and more
☠ Planning and design work for the beta version of the project

A special thank you to all the supporters and alpha testers so far  ;D

An update on the reward status:

Prize #1 is still unclaimed: https://blockchain.info/address/1AN4pDgC9YoLDdYwtmtuSk9hiW6K6cKj8J (https://blockchain.info/address/1AN4pDgC9YoLDdYwtmtuSk9hiW6K6cKj8J)
Prize #2 has been added to the game as part of the alpha test: https://blockchain.info/address/1CuoHE5La85WFTsbFCgz11Tm29znoxW2nL (https://blockchain.info/address/1CuoHE5La85WFTsbFCgz11Tm29znoxW2nL)

Play the game, find the clues, solve the puzzle, claim the reward.

It's likely that I'll start a new ANN thread in another forum, but feel free to ask question and such on the project and I'll still continue to monitor and answer.

I'll be adding the blockchain-based collectable and trading cards to the game in May. These cards will be used in the strategy portion of the game that will be in the beta release.  This also coincide with the game moving from testnet to mainnet as well. The cards will be issued in a limited release, used in the game, and can be traded outside the game as well as tokens on the blockchain. Cards will have the ability to upgrade your character's stats, give you items (ships, etc), access hidden game areas with loot, etc. As an example, holders of the forgotten wasteland card will enable them to travel to that area in the game. While some will be set aside for in-game rewards, they'll also be issued and burnt at a later date. The first issue will be for 4 cards coming this May as an early opportunity.

For of those you following our project progress, we've launched our kickstarter campaign. Wish us luck  8)



If you still want to be part of the project, let me know :D

Future updates and token information will be in the official announcement thread:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1895425.msg18817994#msg18817994

Bounty campaign is now active: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1907888

so 22nd may the game will be launch officially? or just a test?

Hey Chinesegandalf, good to see you again!

Here are some dates and links:
April 1st - Launch of the alpha test of the game: https://spacepirate.io
May 8th - Bounty campaign to earn RUSTBITS: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1907888
May 22nd - Start of the ICO for RUSTBITS: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1895425.0
June 22nd - End of the ICO for RUSTBITS, unsold rustbits will be burned.
July 1st - Start of the sale for RUSTCHAIN cards (exchangeable for RUSTBITS)
July 7th - End of the Bounty Campaign
September 30th - Unsold RUSTCHAIN cards will be burned
August 2017 - Beta version released
Fall 2017 - First official release of Chapter 1 Age of Rust

Beyond...
2019/2020 Chapter 2 will be a multiplayer 3D game with an interface similar to GuildWars

Sounds like fun and I'm glad you doing it we need more games and indications like this. Why not instead of using Bitcoin have your own coin ? Spacepirate coin. You could give coins to players who reward early participate in beta as well as a special reward and title. It's a nice way to give incentive. Also good to get more interest too.

It does look like they are using a new coin called RUSTBITS in the game and doing an upcoming ICO soon. Not sure if the rustcoins are in addition to bitcoin or a separate aspect though. This game does look pretty interesting and I plan to check it out more soon.

Check out our RUSTBITS (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1895425.0) token sale, that's what they will be used for. There are also digital token cards that can be collected, traded, and used in the game to enhance your character or unlock areas only for card holders, etc.

The original concept had bitcoin as the in game currency, but there's several problems to that. I did a long study on how gamers use crypto and under what circumstances they will spend it, gamble it, or trade it. The short story here is that bitcoin did not make a good "premium" currency. Players want a non-crypto currency to buy weapons, armor, and those kinds of things but rewarded with a premium currency that has value but something that's not work hodling over a long term. You'll notice several games are doing that now... a good example is Spells of Genesis, they have "coins" in the game, but it's not crypto. If you want to enhance something, you can use crypto or buy an in-game modifier to add more playable options. 
 ;)

I hope the machine is created I want to try.
 ;D ;D

The game engine is custom for right now. There was no engine that I could modify enough to weld in crypto currency easily.

A beta release will be available later in the summer. For now the alpha version is running :)

very interesrting for project, spacePirate

Thanks, much appreciated! There's more information in the ANN thread:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1895425.0

Development continues, more artwork.

Some of our players have contributed sci-fi stories of their own that we are building into the game. If you'd like to get more information on how to write a quest for the game, send me a PM.  ;)

---

Holy Crap! Where was I when all this happened ! ? Dude,never know there is an ICO page with 10+ pages of discussion and people showing interest! Wow,must admit you did turn the project into something.I'm going after the bounties now. :P
Stoked to see how the ICO turns out!

Yeah, lots of activity on the game too, Flux solved both the reward puzzles and earned 0.2 BTC playing the game.  :o

We now got a token sale progressing soon and then adding blockchain asset cards (like spells of genesis) that will function within the game adding additional game play features.

August BetaSome updates to the game will be coming again soon. We released SP: Age of Rust as an alpha test in April 2017 with about 20 puzzles and 2 bitcoin prizes in the game.  The game ran using bitcoin testnet coins for some basic game elements including purchasing hints to solve puzzles and buying weapons. The prologue of the game runs about 80 hours to solve the majority of the puzzles. That being said, many of the players  

Prologue changed to an Introduction
The prologue in beta has gone through a major overhaul. There will be a visual tutorial to play through the first puzzle with a voice narration and introduction. The introduction prologue is far shorter, the complicated puzzles have been replaced by a much easier this-than-that approach to scale up players that have never played an adventure game before. This will address the "how do I play?" aspects of starting the game.

Navigation
This was a big request from players, moving in the game can be done in the traditional "dungeon crawler" sense with keys for directions (n,s,e,w,u,d) for moving in the game.

Updated commands
General game commands will no longer require the "/" in the beta release, so to look around, "/look" will become "look". Many players would leave out the "/" causing some confusion and difficulty. System commands for the interacting with other players, will retain the "/", such as "/seen"

Currency
The in-game traditional currency will continue to be free, this is something that the players wanted to see. Right now, the game currency is bitcoin/testnet and this will shift in beta to simply 'credits' and will be free to acquire in the game (ie kill a bad guy, get credits). The free currency will be used for things that player need, like a weapon, armor, buying health kits, etc. There will also be a premium currency in the game as well, this will be for things that players want to enhance the game experience. Rustbits will also be used to purchase game cards that are used in the game as well as other things like hints to some puzzles.

Game cards
Rustchain cards are bitcoin blockchain tokens (via counterparty) that players use in the game. Players don't have to transfer your cards to the game, they just verify their wallet and the game can tell which cards and how many cards players have. These cards give players the ability to enhance their character (add bonuses like additional health, armor, damage, etc) and also grant access to special areas in the game. For example, if players have the "Keplar Canyon" card in their counterparty wallet, it will allow players visit Keplar Canyon in the game. Quantity of cards will also unlock and give game modifiers too; as an example, if a player has qty 10 of the "MD100 Pulse Rifle" card, an additional 10 damage would be applied.

Rewards and Prizes
In the alpha version, when a puzzle with a bitcoin reward was claimed, that was it. In the beta version, if someone solves a puzzle with a crypto reward, the reward will refill over time and the puzzle solution will change. The rewards will be very much like how free parking is sometimes used in monopoly, where game funds pool up waiting for a winner. As players purchase hints and game packs, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will fill up waiting for players to solve the puzzle and claim the prize. When players purchase game cards, a percentage of that purchase will go back into the game towards rewards and other prizes in the game.

Sounds and narration
Environment sounds and narration will be in the beta release. If players are in a desert environment, they will hear the wind when inspecting the area. When NPC's are interacting with players, the voice will narrate over the text. Sound helps sets the mood for the setting players are in and enhances the game.

Character stats
Character stats will show up in profile information replacing the tab "social media". This will display the important information about your character (health, armor, etc). The beta version will also introduce the leveling capabilities and upgrade options for characters.

https://i.imgur.com/wrZAqXw.jpg

A few of you asked for updates here, so our token sale is live today.

Also, some game art :)
https://i.imgur.com/5o1kJM8.jpg

Still in development :)

We will have a beta version out in a couple of months as well. Since the project "started" here, I'll still drop in from time to time here and keep you updated on new game additions, game art, and progress too.  ;)

Damn, this is a good start.  ;D ..... Analyst estimates place GTA V's combined development and marketing budget at over US$265 million, which

would make Grand Theft Auto V the most expensive game ever made. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot estimated that the average production budget

for the generation of games following Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 would be $60 million. In an 2012 investor report, Take-Two admitted some of

its "top titles" cost in excess of $60 million for development alone. Borderlands 2 - $30-35 million - In a 2012 1UP piece asking developers about

game budgets, Gearbox's Randy Pitchford estimated that the RPG shooter cost between $30 million and $35 million. The development and upkeep

of World of Warcraft, is costing roughly $100 million-plus.  ::) 

Thanks, I'm still moving forward on the development and project, so we're doing really well. In fact, today Spells of Genesis announced our collaboration together.  We will support some SoG cards in the game and we're also offering a bonus on the token sale for card holders. They tweeted us out and added us to the newsletter blast today.

http://mailchi.mp/everdreamsoft/sog-is-out-download-and-play-free-now-2397753?cn=bWVudGlvbg%3D%3D

https://twitter.com/SpellsofGenesis/status/881169942783160320

 8)

Wow! Project sounds incredible and that game art, amazing.
This could be huge. Great to hear you raised enough funds to do the concept justice..

Great stuff  :D

Thanks, really looking forward to taking the game concept to the next level. Our partnership with Spells of Genesis is an important growth step for the project as well, that interoperability with blockchain assets is the next generation that we're looking to really get involved with.

I used to play "the Pawn" days and weeks! So I understand you!
Okay, brother, I'm your fan!

Damn, I feel like an idiot in the alpha. I have one access code and two other codes and have no idea what to do from there.
Killed KV-44 and nothing happened.
Still trying to figure out what to do with the wires.

I also love the game so far.
Thinking of investing a little more into the game.

Thanks! :D Yeah, there's a lot of the game that's inspired from games like that.  I remember long Saturday afternoons trying get by the boulder on the path in The Pawn.  A heavily influence in Age of Rust comes from these types of games.  The Beta version won't have as much text-based influence, while a lot of people like it, the new generation of players have a more difficult time learning on it :)

Thanks for playing! So right, the alpha version difficulty is like level 10, when the beta comes out, it will be a little more intuitive on what to do next in terms of context. So, let's say for example, you need to drain water from a cave system and there's a pump doesn't works and the game tells you it needs power, etc. Join the slack channel and ask Flux for tips, he got through the whole prologue :D
http://spacepirate.herokuapp.com

Hi Everyone. I'm flux. Winner of both btc prizes. Let me tell you it wasn't easy :) but highly enjoyable.

What I love about the game is a very well written storyline with a mix of sci fi, horror, and even some light comedy !

The puzzles were challenging yet fun.
If you think too hard though, you may get stuck like I did. It took me about a month or so of playing a few hours a day or more to win both puzzles.

You had to use logic, clues in the game and piece together what evidence you found in the storyline to solve it. Honestly some answers were so simple they are right in front of you. Others are complex and require clues from multiple rooms. I love how you have to examine every object and NPC (droids) and try different combinations of codes, clues and inventory items.

Be sure to try different commands too, sometimes, as the clue is often in the images picturing the room

I also love how you can chat with other players and help them or hurt them haha along this perilous pirate path. I tried to collaborate with some to solve the puzzles sooner, but they refused, their loss :)

Overall great game 9/10 for me !

Can't wait for more !

Good on ya, Congrats!

We are now working on the beta version of the game, I've hired some developers to continue the development of the game. You can find more updates and screenshots on the website and the twitter account. Also, updates are also posted in the slack channel too and the ann thread.

-Age of rust trading cards are now available in Book of Orbs. You can collect, buy, and sell cards for rustbits in the app on your mobile device.
-Cards are also for sale for BTC (if you missed out on the token sale) in the store.




The beta version when it comes out will have rewards in bitcoin, rustbits, bitcrystals, spells of genesis cards, age of rust cards, and pepecash  ;)

First of all great update.

those are some nice different currencies. i would understand all except the pepecash :P

any particular reason?

That Will be nice

Pepecash has a strong following in the counterparty community, so I'll add some into the game. However, it's not integrated into the storyline or anything like that.  ;)

Ah i see. well i guess that would be nice since u say its a strong token on counterparty. After all the game includes decentralization aspect.
it would be good to add support to others as well

October Dev Update: https://medium.com/@SpacePirate_io/october-dev-update-90d7004e02f0


https://i.imgur.com/OumSC3q.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/xWZNuZs.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kjsPT0u.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YF4el8I.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7mAa0dP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HGsjjHY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FzOXWiG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FmPtUUg.jpg