Extended Play Test

For the last week, the Spider Tank Project (final title TBD) has been the hottest thing happening in the Gala Games ecosystem. On Wednesday July 14th, there were a couple community tests of the fully playable Alpha MOBA. Hundreds of concurrent players battled it out with their Spider Tanks for the first time. It was beyond epic. In fact, it was so amazing that the Gala Games team decided to extend the play test through the entire weekend!

That’s right. All weekend long members of the Gala Games community can download and play this incredible game. Just beware that once you start playing, you may not want to stop. For the download link to get in the game, visit the Announcements channel of the Gala Games Discord Community and find the link (with instructions) announcement from Bitbender on July 14th.

Beautiful Shiny Tank Skins

The Alpha Executioner Chicken Tanks from the last couple days may have flown the coop, but you now have a brand new chance to get the first limited edition skins in the upcoming game: Noxious, Gridlock, Arcane, Overlord and Alpha Gold.

You read it correctly. The price for all remaining skins will double when the timer runs out, so you may want to make up your mind quickly.

Golden Perk Tank Skins

The most observant of you may have noticed that while there are 6 Tank Skins pictured in the cover image, there are only 5 available for sale in the Gala Games store. That’s because every member of Gala Gold will be receiving one.

On July 18th at midnight PST (7am UTC July 19th) a snapshot will be taken. Every member of Gala Gold at the time of the snapshot will receive the Uncommon Sentinel Skin, which is not available for sale but IS pictured below in all its glory.

Look how it shines!

This is just another example of how it pays to go Gala Gold. You’ll get exclusive sneak peaks, special Discord perks, even bonus NFTs from time to time! To upgrade to Gold, visit THIS LINK when signed into your Gala Games account.

Now get out there and put this extraordinary new game to the test!

It’s time for another dive into the unique Mirandus-Themed Town Star Skin Packs! This time, we’re going through the first pack of the set by sharing some stories and showing you some never-before-seen shots from the creation of these beauties. While they may look like relatively simple aesthetic upgrades, a ton of work went into the development of these skins. This gives our team an awesome opportunity to show you an inside angle of some of the fascinating in-the-weeds toil that brings video games to life.

Skins as NFTs — A Revolutionary Idea

In the traditional gaming world, skins can sometimes be a “hard sell” because of their exclusive focus on the visual aspects of gameplay. This idea is out the window when gaming skins become blockchain-backed NFTs.

Current Town Star Skin listings on Opensea

These skins are transferable. Instead of being forbidden by some unsightly list of lengthy terms, trading of Gala Games NFTs is encouraged and facilitated through Opensea. This is one of the pillars of Gala Games’ player empowering mission.

These skins are worth something. Instead of a kiss-your-money-goodbye kind of purchase, you can rest assured that your Gala Games NFT skins will still be worth something. In some cases, it’s even possible that these NFTs may trade in the future for more than they originally cost.

These skins come with something extra. In each pack, an exclusive 1/10 Dragon Voucher is included. Players who collect all 10 Dragon Vouchers will become the proud owners of a Dragon Familiar in Mirandus! Unlike the followbot pets in some games, these Dragons will have multiple layers of functionality, empowering and enriching your gaming experience.

Digging In — Mirandus-Themed Skin Pack 1

Pack 1 started with the most basic units that are first experienced in the game. At the beginning of each Town Star game, you’ll have a Farm House, a Silo, a Builder House, a Wood Shed, a Well, and some fields. Mirandus-Themed Skin Pack 1 gives most of these original buildings a fresh makeover, plus one of the others that you’ll need to get quickly as you progress: The Storehouse.

Farm House

These old thatched roofs may be a little tougher on the maintenance and a lot more flammable, but luckily there are no big bad wolves threatening to blow your farmer’s house down in this fairy tale. The bright yellow makes for a chipper and rustic feel throughout your town, and the medieval version of the house is a fine place for the Mirandus-themed farmer and his family.

The hat was a crucial piece of clothing in the Middle Ages. The modern farmer may wear a trucker hat to support his favorite brand of heavy equipment and to keep the sun out of his eyes. The ancient farmer wore a hat to keep his head warm, or to protect himself from insects, rain, sunlight and more. Hats were worn by all men in the Middle Ages; many farmers wore a basic cloth hat called a coif, which covered the head and tied around the shoulders. This is the type of hat sported by our Town Star farmer friend. Below are a few alternates for the medieval farmer that didn’t make the cut.

Silo

With no advanced industrial building methods available in the Middle Ages, keeping harvested crops safe and dry was a matter of life and death. This is why silos were built so carefully, and why so much care was also taken in the development of the Mirandus-themed Silo skin. Pictured below is the first round of Silo candidates.

Eventually the choice was made for the wood planked roof of option IV, probably due to its steep slant and enhanced ability to keep water out of the silo. Still, a few more details remained undecided.

Michael McCarty is the one who made the call to go with the red textured body for the silo, because this art was made before the addition of T. Eilliot Cannon as Town Star Director. There was the medieval Silo in all its glory!

Woodshed

In medieval times, wood was not stored as cautiously as crops or goods. The primary goals with wood storage would have been keeping the wood dry and allowing it to cure properly while avoiding rot. This is why in the Mirandus-themed skin below you’ll notice that the walls are incomplete. Only a foolish woodworker in the Middle Ages would have wasted more wood than absolutely necessary on the building that stored his wood. The thatched slanted roof works perfectly for keeping rainwater off of the stored wood.

Well

The original well in Town Star is an incredibly simple construction of stone. While it requires wood to build, the wood is not visible in the final product, so it can be assumed that the wood was used to put together the internal mechanisms allowing the well to fetch water.

For the Mirandus-themed skins, the well was redesigned into a more fantastical fairy tale sort of well, complete with a roof and a water bucket on a coiled line. There were originally two different options: One with no roof and a pulley system for the rope and bucket, and the other with a side crank that raises the bucket by wrapping the rope around a horizontal pole. The latter was chosen as the final skin.

Storehouse

The medieval Storehouse had a very interesting journey of development, with several discarded options before the final consensus was reached. It was decided that the first two options (pictured below) fell short of Michael McCarthy’s impeccable authenticity standards. This was most likely due to the flat roofs that too closely resembled the Town Star Storehouse we all know.

After revisiting and researching authentic storehouses of the Middle Ages, our art team came up with several more options, all of which added variety and authenticity. The Town Star team decided on the first Storehouse pictured below, giving the classic building a completely fresh feel.

Next Time

Remember, you can pick up these Mirandus-Themed Skin Packs now in the Town Star store, but they’re limited in quantity! Only 2000 of each pack has been released, and subsequent sales are TBD in both date and price. The absolute best time to start securing your Dragon Familiar is now!

In an upcoming Behind the Skins, we’ll be diving into Skin Pack 2. This pack contains the beloved Mirandus Chicken Coup, complete with our now famous friend, the Pecksecutioner. We’re also prepared to show you several chickens that didn’t fit the bill. Here’s a little taste…

Jungle Safari Chicken, I presume?

Get your Mirandus-Themed Town Star Skin Packs while they’re hot, and stay tuned for some more inside looks in our next Behind the Skins post, coming your way soon. Good luck this weekend on your Town Star builds!

This week we’re entering the home stretch of the first wave release of our Mirandus-Themed Town Star Skin Packs by dropping the first 2000 of Pack 7. This pack is a special treat because it comes with tons of extras and bonuses.

Every single reimagined Mirandus-themed building in this pack also comes with a dedicated “worker” unit. It’s almost like you’re getting 10 new skins instead of 5! You’ll also find Dragon Voucher 7/10 in this pack, which will get you one step closer to having your very own playable Dragon Familiar in the world of Mirandus.

Someone Else’s Skin

Have you considered all the possibilities of owning game skins as NFTs? Building and minting on the blockchain allows for real player ownership of your assets, including skins. This means that should you ever grow tired of a particular skin (and we doubt you will), you can list and sell it on Opensea. With Gala Games, you won’t find restrictive terms that forbid you to exchange your in-game items for real money. On the contrary, we encourage it and intend to create as many ways as possible to facilitate trade between players. You can collect, play, transfer or sell your skins. They’re your skins.

Hopefully this historic first round of Gala Games NFT skins will give you all a taste of what NFTs can do for in-game assets. Considering that we are building a platform that will eventually contain (at least) dozens of games, each with their own assets and economy, the possibilities for value and utility are endless. These Mirandus-Themed Town Star Skins will always be remembered as the first.

Digging into Pack 7

Pack 7 is bursting with unique assets and creative value. Every building has a story, and every building comes with a character unit that enriches the experience. Because most of these are more advanced buildings in Town Star, these new characters usually won’t join your game until later in the weekly competition, but they’re well worth the wait.

Forklift

The medieval Forklift comes with a double bonus. Let’s start with the building that houses the Forklift. The first image was chosen because it looked more thoroughly period than the other, and the yellow thatched roof gave it a more authentic appearance.

The Forklift itself was designed in an incredibly imaginative way that is almost believable as a contraption of the Middle Ages, running on simple mechanics and gears.

Forklift Driver

Several options were presented for the Forklift driver. From his yellow hard hat to his bulging belly, the original was full of character. The artists were certain of one thing: The Forklift driver needed a hammer. We think you’ll agree.

Here’s an interesting snippet of discussion from the art team regarding the… stature of the driver:

“His concept suggests he is a strong body character, but his 3D model is using the fat body. The main difference is the strong model carries items on his shoulders and the fat model carries it on his front side. Should we maintain the original fat body for the Medieval Skin?”

Freight Pier

As the enhanced water shipping system, it was important for the Freight Pier to look more powerful than the original Trade Pier. This was easy to illustrate using the long modern freight ship, but carrying that idea over to the medieval style was a bit of a challenge for the art team. As usual, several options were first presented. Ultimately, the one with the most majestic (and fastest looking) sails was chosen.

The Freight Boat Captain was also a tough choice. Using the same character model as the original, a few different choices were presented.

Option 1 was approved as the final choice. This was lucky for the Captain, who ended up wearing the comfiest possible outfit for his sailing duties. Here he is, ready to set sail.

Mine

The Mine is another unit that consists of several pieces: The mine, the cart and the miner. Here’s an interesting build shot of the mine being reimagined in medieval style that will also give you an idea of how these mines were originally designed.

And here were two different options of mine appearance, one with large round poles and the other using planks and different coloring. The more detailed plank approach was chosen as the winner.

Like the other characters, the Mining Engineer was reimagined using the same basic character, but given a new medieval outfit. Some choices had to be made, and this was a tough one for the team to decide. The pickaxe is a great tool that has withstood the test of time and very little has changed about it through the generations, so every iteration of the Miner still holds his trusty pickaxe. Instead of the cup of coffee in the left hand of the modern version, the team opted for a sack. This Miner must now drink his coffee before hitting the mines for his long day’s work.

Nuclear Power

anachronistic — /əˌnakrəˈnistik/ — adjective
Belonging to a time or period other than that being portrayed.

Obviously there was no such thing as nuclear power in the Middle Ages, and (presumably) there will be no such thing in the fantasy world of Mirandus. This fact created a perfect opportunity for the art team to deconstruct and conceptualize the idea of nuclear power. They started by boiling it down to the simplest seat of “power” from the time period: The castle. The blocky version was chosen over the cylindrical, which looks more like a fairy tale castle than a seat of power.

Next there was the massive challenge of redesigning the Nuclear Engineer, who clearly could not be pictured in their blatantly modern HazMat suit. The first conceptual choice of the artist was to go with a Knight.

Adorable and well protected as these Knights were, the creators of Town Star had something different in mind. It was back to the drawing board for the art team. Later they emerged again with some variants on the Knights’ bosses.

Option 4 looks like some kind of nightmare villain. The beaked mask of option 3 looks like that of a Renaissance plague doctor, and the robes and book of option 2 make him seem like some sort of clergyman. Finally, the team was left with the clear choice of option 1, who looks like a person who truly calls the shots and commands power wherever he goes.

Windmill

The art team had the wind at their backs in redesigning the Windmill. Both building and operator only required simple makeovers in appearance. There was no need to dig deep in the concept, because windmills were used in the Middle Ages. In the end, the stone constructed Windmill was chosen over the wooden one.

The Miller is one of our favorite Town Star characters. From the piece of wheat that he casually holds in his mouth to the buckle down crossed arms and the hot shot raised eyebrow smirk, there was a lot of individuality to carry over into the Mirandus skin. After checking out the following options, it was decided that the floodwater brown pants and deep blue shirt were the way to go for the Miller.

There you have it! We told you there was a lot going on inside Pack 7, which is now live in the Town Star store. While supplies last, you can also pick up Packs 1–6, each containing a different set of building skins and a different 1/10 Dragon Voucher!

In the next Behind the Skins we’ll be jumping back to Mirandus-Themed Skin Pack 1, which contains reimagined medieval versions of some of the most basic and essential Town Star buildings. Then next week we’ll move onto Pack 8. Here’s a sneak peak… a conundrum of facial hair!

Good luck on all your Town Star builds in this week’s competition!

At Gala Games, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible with blockchain gaming. We noticed that there wasn’t a high-quality MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)/Brawler available for the blockchain space, and were therefore delighted when we learned that the Spidertank Project from Gamedia, an AWESOME award-winning developer was coming to the blockchain space. Is anyone ready for mass adoption?

In pursuit of awesomeness, we would like to submit the following proposal to the Gala Games Node Ecosystem for approval.

Project Name: The Spidertank Project (working name, but the community will choose the final name)

Game Developer: Gamedia (https://www.gamedia.nl/en/) led by Dittmar Tukker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dittmar/)

Genre: Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) / Brawler

Node Drop Mechanism: Up to 8.5% of all NFTs/Tokens Dropped to Node Operators based on the number of nodes online (More Nodes = Heavier Drops)

Final Release Date: Estimated to be Q4–2021

The Brawler is one of the best genres for esports arena play, and games like DOTA and League of Legends have defined the space … until today!

Gala Games is happy to announce that Gamedia is interested in bringing a game to the Gala Games Ecosystem! The game is designed as a 3v3 Brawler/MOBA, which allows players to pick and choose between a number of “Spider Tanks” and armaments, then battle it out on a series of maps. As a free-to-play game with play-to-earn mechanics centering around skill-based competition, resource collection, and a player-driven upgrade cycle, The Spidertank Project will redefine gaming. Whether you want to play with a small group of your friends or in a high-stakes competition, this game is going to knock your socks off.

The NFT strategy for this game will center around tanks, weapons, buildings, and ownable land, upon which workshops and resource mines can be placed. These workshops can be used to upgrade tank bodies and armaments with resources collected via play. The land, workshops, and resource mines can also be improved, but only generate resources when actively in play. Some resources such as land, which will have a tightly constrained emission schedule based on player numbers, will be available only via purchase, but other NFTs such as tank bodies and armaments will be upgradable on a play-to-earn basis. Some NFTs, such as certain tank bodies, armaments, skins, etc. will only be available for purchase through the Gala Games store.

The Node Reward distribution model will be based on a sliding scale, meaning that the more nodes are online, the larger each node’s share of the overall distribution will be. This was created to address the perverse incentive of node owners not wanting more nodes online as they feel it would dilute their rewards.

Node Operators will also receive a drop of the native token for The Spidertank Project (currently conceptualized as TANK) on a distribution schedule which starts at .5% of total daily drop and continues up to 8.5%, based on the number of nodes online. This drop will start several weeks after an approval vote as part of the integration process with the Gala Games ecosystem.

There will also be a pool set aside for the future development of game specific nodes, though this will in no way impact the Founder’s Node reward pool in a negative way.

Lastly, as the name has not yet been chosen, Gamedia has decided to enlist the help of the Gala Games Community to help choose the best name. There will be a naming contest with a reward for the winner that chooses the name of the MOBA that is going to change blockchain gaming forever!

A Note from Gala Games: The Spidertank Project is one which we are VERY excited about! Internally, we have been play testing it with Dittmar’s team for the last several months and BitBender has had to physically restrain Eric from posting leaks to the Gala Gold chat. It is AMAZING, and we are confident that you will love it. We believe that this project has the potential to be a contender for the next major esports phenomenon and can easily climb up to stand beside the best non-blockchain games and attract millions of players.

Get your questions ready, because BitBender is going to be hosting an AMA with Dittmar Tukker on Monday, July 12th at 08:00 PT (15:00 UTC).

Potential Voting Options:

Question: Should The Spidertank Project be included in the Gala Games Ecosystem?

• YES — A vote for including The Spidertank Project in the Gala Games Ecosystem
• NO — A vote against including The Spidertank Project in the Gala Games Ecosystem
• ABSTAIN — A vote showing no preference

To Vote: Open your Gala Game Node Software (PC/Mac) and click on the “Voting” tab

Voting Duration: The Node Vote will run from 5pm PT on Friday, July 9th until 5pm on Monday, July 12th.

Requirement to Pass: Simple Majority of Votes Cast

Get ready for some exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at the Town Star creation process! In an upcoming series of Town Star exclusive posts, we’ll be sharing sneak peeks, never-before-seen process shots and unique anecdotes all about Town Star. Let’s get this ball rolling by taking a closer look at Mirandus-Themed Skins: Pack 6, which was released earlier this week in the Town Star store.

Each Skin Pack contains 5 unique Mirandus-themed skins that will change the look and feel of your Town Star builds. After they are purchased, the individual skins can be claimed through the owner’s Treasure Chest. Once claimed, the skins can be applied to in-game buildings, transferred or traded on Opensea. Plus, each different Skin Pack contains a 1/10 Dragon Voucher. Any player who collects all 10 Dragon Vouchers will become the owner of the Dragon Familiar, which will join their avatar in Mirandus.

Digging into Skin Pack 6

Many Town Star buildings come with dedicated units, such as the operating workers or the livestock. For these Skin Packs, all units are reimagined in the Mirandus theme, so in addition to the building skins, there are a bunch of new characters. Each had its own unique creation process, and many of them were presented in several different forms before the final choice was approved by the team.

Lumber Mill

For the medieval Lumber Mill, it seemed appropriate for the building’s roof to be made of logs instead of shingles or panels. There are no high-powered table saws in the world of Mirandus, so the splitting axe can be seen on the work table. The alternate option with the water wheel would have been an interesting choice, and while accurate to medieval methods, the water didn’t quite fit on an otherwise dry tile.

Great consideration was put into the Millworker’s outfit. He still has the recognizable Millworker’s stance and impressive full beard. The initial instincts of the art team were to create an equivalent to the protective eyewear of the original, but it was decided that his glasses looked a little too steampunk and they were vetoed. Option 4’s authentic dress bears close resemblance to a nightgown, so ultimately option #1 was chosen as the Millworker’s skin.

Ranch House

The Ranch House was given a more rustic and old-fashioned makeover, complete with wood walls, a straw roof and a patch of green ground to sit on. In the middle ages, many roofs were expertly crafted through a time consuming process called thatching, using layers of branches, reeds, straws, mosses and more to route water away from the roof and keep inhabitants dry.

The Rancher has the same cocky pose and the same can-do attitude, with the addition of a puffy armed shirt and a fashionable buckle hat, complete with a long feather. This rancher is ready to ride! Here she is on horseback, as the ATV from Mirandus-Themed Skin Pack 4. Horses: the original ATVs.

Sheep Pen

The Sheep Pen was given the standard thatched roof treatment, completing that authentic medieval feel and making a comfortable dry home for sheep of any time period.

In the Middle Ages, wool was used as a versatile textile to make capes, tunics, blankets, scarves, hats and more. Wool is still used for many of these same purposes today.

Because not much has changed about the appearance of sheep through the ages, the choice of sheep headwear was of utmost importance. The 2nd hat was eventually chosen to keep the flock’s ears and heads warm during the coldest nights.

Water Pump

Ancient water pumps are an impressive thing. Using only the forces of nature, people were able to create devices that delivered from a body of water to crops, households or production facilities. The Mirandus take on the Water Pump uses towers and water wheels to pump water to your Town Star industrial buildings.

Farm Tractor

A few different ideas were presented by the art team for the farmer’s “tractor” before the goat was chosen as the winner. They made the right choice. Rather than using goats for their meat and milk, Town Star Farmers can use them as work tools. Now the owners of this skin get to see their tractor farmers majestically riding goats to and from their fields.

Mirandus Skin Pack 6 is full of not only buildings, but some great new skins for familiar characters. Now you’ve seen some of the images that didn’t make the cut, and hopefully this has given you a little taste of the complex preparations that go into the creation of each and every artistic asset from Gala Games.

Skin Pack 6/10 is the latest currently available of these limited edition NFT Skin Packs, and we’re excited to dig into Pack 7 next week! Only 2000 of each Mirandus Skin Pack are available at the current price. Once they sell out, additional future sales of these skins are TBD.

Growing and Building

As the Gala Games team continues to grow, our flagship game will continue to pick up momentum, bringing you tons of exciting new developments and keeping you on your toes.

“Our players have been playing the same checkers for months. Let’s make it chess and throw in some new pieces.”
 — T. Elliot Cannon, Town Star Director

We want to show you some exclusive behind-the-game images and sneak peeks. We want you to be as excited about these new developments as we are. And most importantly, we want to deliver the most compelling and satisfying experience in the world of play-to-earn gaming.

Good luck on your Town Star builds this weekend, and good luck collecting those Dragon Vouchers and Mirandus-Themed Skin Packs. Pack 7 will be released in the Town Star store early next week. As always, thank you for your support and thanks for growing with us. The best is yet to come!