Gala Games has made a name for itself doing things differently. From the perspective of mainstream gaming, we have differentiated ourselves by asking what would happen if people were able to actually OWN their in-game assets. From a blockchain perspective, we have gone in new directions again and again. Often, people have gotten quite salty with some of what we have done, but we just keep on working and innovating. This is not going to change.

Tuesday’s VOX drop was very much a return to purist NFT-tech or the ERC-721 as an homage to the NFT greats in the world…the CryptoPunks and CryptoKitties of NFT history. However, while the pure form was retained, Ethereum showed that it was not quite as well suited for this type of sale as it once was. Additionally, several factors, such as verifying the contract and revealing it beforehand (which was designed to allow the community to see the contract first), creating opportunities for people to jump to the front of the line and sidestep some of the protections we had put in place to serve the community.

The whole drop sold out in 8 minutes, which is a massive success. However, it left a LOT of people out in the cold who wanted to get their hands on some VOX goodness, but were unable to get any.

In the past, we had other drops, such as the Potions for Mirandus, which sold out in minutes as well. While we had only intended to sell 50% of the potions, we filled orders with the remaining 50% and refunded other orders. We have made a reputation for always doing our best to serve the community. A project is nothing without the community behind it, and we want to make sure that the community understands that we know the vital role they play in growing the world’s largest decentralized gaming ecosystem.

So, with this in mind, we would like to address the pain many felt as their VOX transactions failed or got crowded out. It is no surprise that there will be another VOX series focused around Mirandus, so what we have decided to do is this: For each failed transaction that hit the VOX contract, we will be tallying the amount of ETH spent in gas fees and dropping ERC-1155 tickets that will be worth one VOX in the Mirandus VOX drop. This means that users can share these tickets, give them as gifts, or sell them on the open market. In the days before the Mirandus VOX drop, a snapshot will be taken of these ERC-1155 tickets, and the address holding those tickets will be whitelisted for that number of Mirandus VOX. While these VOX will be free, users will still need to pay the ETH gas to operate the contract. However, they will be able to do so before the contract opens for sale to the general public via a smart contract whitelist. Additionally, some of these ERC-1155 tokens will be dropped to the Gala Games Node Ecosystem.

The average cost of a VOX + gas was about $750…but we feel that is a bit high. So, if you had a failed transaction that was initiated before the VOX sold out and confirmed within 24 hours of the drop, you will receive one ticket for each $400 (or portion thereof) in gas fees spent on transactions from the moment the contract opened for minting. For example, if a particular wallet attempted to purchase and spent $1950 in gas fees, they would receive 5 tickets while a user wallet that spent $350 in gas in an unsuccessful transaction would receive one ticket. These numbers are in aggregate per address, not per transaction.

These tickets will be tradeable, and will be captured in a snapshot at a future date before the VOX Mirandus drop.

Note on Cancelled Transactions: If you had a cancelled transaction, you can also be included for the gas fee for the replacement transaction. However, you MUST fill out the “VOX Cancelled Transaction Form.” Please fill this out even if you have filled out the previous form. We have no way to see your cancelled transactions unless you tell us, so you MUST fill out the form.

We recognize that this isn’t the perfect solution that everyone wanted, but it at least addresses the lost gas fees on failed transactions. We are moving forward on process improvements in the future.

Thank you for being here and being an awesome community! We look forward to many years of working together to advance the decentralization of gaming!

As part of our master plan to empower players by building the largest decentralized network of games in the world, Gala Games is happy to announce the next game for your consideration to join our ecosystem: Echoes of Empire!

This game is breathtakingly beautiful, cosmic scale strategy adventure at its absolute finest. EOE’s amazing art and style alone would have had our attention. Other factors such as depth of story, exquisite design, a unique world and limitless possibilities made Echoes of Empire absolutely perfect for the Gala Games ecosystem. This is why we submit for the approval of our node operators the following proposal.

Project Name: Echoes of Empire

Game Developer: ION Games

Genre: Strategy/4X

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 Q2 2022

In a distant future within a galaxy not unlike our own, humankind has expanded well beyond their terrestrial origins and set up a sprawling empire that touches the darkest corners of the galaxy. This great empire has prospered for over a millennia, ruled by the oldest, continuous hereditary monarchy in known history.

In a moment, this celestial renaissance was suddenly torn asunder. The Emperor has died under suspicious circumstances. His vast colonies and outposts, ruled by generations of cosmic high-born, are engulfed in a galactic civil war, and you, a member of a small aristocratic family at the edge of known space, are thrust into the burgeoning conflict.

Pledge your allegiance to one of the warring factions. Explore, trade, build an armada, consolidate your power and look to leave your mark among the stars as the next galactic emperor.

Learn more about the world of Echoes of Empire in THIS POST, written by ION Games, the developers of the game.

Potential Voting Options

Question: Should Echoes of Empire be included in the Gala Games Ecosystem?

• YES — A vote for including Echoes of Empire in the Gala Games Ecosystem
• NO — A vote against including Echoes of Empire 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 Tuesday, August 10th until 5pm on Friday, August 13th.

Requirement to Pass: Simple Majority of Votes Cast

4X Strategy

4x is the abbreviated name for a subgenre of strategy games in which players win by Exploring, Expanding, Exploiting, and Exterminating. Because of its vastness and limitless possibilities, space is a perfect example of a 4x game setting. It is full of endless danger, incalculable unknowns and limitless conflicts. 4X games encompass complex interaction between players, whether it’s waging war between guilds, player trade, raiding bases or capturing mines. This complex and intricate world is a perfect platform to create an enticing NFT strategy and offer players a wide spectrum play-to-earn gaming within the EOE world.

Multiple Layers of Ownership

In Echoes of Empires, players will mine resources on their own planets. You’ll also be able to issue mining permits to other players, renting out the right to mine your land for passive income. Upgrade and expand your base to create epic spaceships of your very own.

The complexity of 4x strategy allows additional reward structures to exist around social elements, like Guild Token and Royal Peerage. Guild Token will enable you to form a Guild. The larger your Guild, the greater your chance of becoming the most powerful house in the galaxy.

Land Claim — Venture into the foreboding galactic frontier of Maffei and claim your place among the stars. You can harness exotic resources, expand your intergalactic empire, or construct the greatest Armadas. Only the most powerful will ensure that their legacy endures!

Guild Token — A Guild’s authority comes from three mighty houses within the Maffei Galaxy. Will you form a Military Guild and empower your legions and armadas, or a Guild of Commerce that will give you access to new markets and enhanced trade presence? Perhaps you will give rise to a Noble Guild, expanding your sphere of influence, and receiving even greater treasures as tribute. With the power of your Guild behind you, you will be ready to face the galaxy!

Royal Peerage — Declare your Sovereignty! As is your privilege, guide your grand dynasty as it expands throughout the Maffei Galaxy. Claim lordship over your sector of space as a member of the Royal Peerage, accumulating favor and generating more influence and power for the future of your people!

Gala Games Goes Galactic!

We are extremely excited to bring you such a massive and player-empowering game as Echoes of Empire. We believe it will be a 4x strategist’s dream, as well as an incredible and compelling experience for first-timers.

All you node operators, make sure to cast your vote in the next 3 days, and stay tuned for more updates from Echoes of Empire and the team at ION Games.

Gala.Games
Discord Community

Dropping Aug 10, ~3:00pm PST

Get ready for a drop today from Gala Labs that everyone’s been talking (and dancing) about. Each VOX in the inaugural series is a unique Town Star inspired character with a randomized set of traits true to that character.

CollectVox.com

Complete with an FBX source file, VOX are versatile companions who can be animated, 3D printed, used in augmented reality and more. Every VOX will also generate future play-to-earn rewards by interacting in various ways with the Gala Games ecosystem.

8888 VOX will be sold in the first series drop. Each VOX will be sold for 0.0888 ETH (plus gas fees). VOX may only be purchased with ETH.

The inaugural series of VOX will be available for sale at CollectVox.com starting August 10, 2021 at 3:00 pm PST. You won’t want to show up fashionably late to this party.

Own Your Expression

We can all agree that the art of digital expression has taken a massive leap forward in recent years. From the chat rooms of the 90s where we piled our favorite qualities about ourselves into one glorious screen name, to the sideways punctuation we used to express some of the earliest iterations of the emoji 🙂 ❤ on a freakishly durable Nokia phone.

Now, thanks to blockchain technology, we can actually own things. With cartridge video games, cassette tapes and DVDs, we were brushing on the idea of real ownership, but then the share-it-all culture that came with the early internet changed the rules. For two decades the digital property ownership battles have raged on. Until the rise of blockchain, players and collectors could never be empowered by real ownership. As the players of the world continue waking up to the idea that they can own the things they play with, blockchain-backed ownership will become the new standard for digital possession.

Virtual Self

One of the most fascinating things about the emergence of NFT collectibles, blockchain gaming and crypto assets into the mainstream is what it says about individuality. By opening the door to an entirely new level of economy and society, people are given greater freedom and more opportunities than ever before to express their unique identities.

Your “identity” is simply a collection of stories. More specifically, it’s the collection of stories you tell yourself about yourself. An identity can be as large or as small as anyone can imagine. Like a holiday tree that you can decorate with an endless amount of ornaments, your identity forms throughout your life.

Now that digital asset ownership is being gradually intertwined into our lives, it can be a source of joy, solace or fond memories. Our digital belongings will be direct reminders of some of the most important stories we tell ourselves, the stories that make up our identity. Being able to own unique virtual items will enrich our natural abilities to know ourselves, as we begin to craft virtual versions of ourselves.

Unique in Multiple Ways

Every VOX is unique. Think about that for a moment. Until you open the box, you don’t know anything about the VOX. It could be an incredibly rare combination of traits, the rarest of which will earn greater defi rewards in upcoming games. No matter what, your VOX will be one-of-a-kind, a unique part of your digital identity.

In addition to each VOX being an individual, the idea is brand new as well. Of course there have been other avatar NFT projects. Some of them have even offered randomly generated unique traits (like VOX) and fetched high prices on secondary markets. By offering source files as an ownership benefit, Gala Labs is creating the opportunity for your VOX to boldly go where no avatar has gone before, no matter the metaverse. VOX is the beginning of something big, something all across the metaverse, something that will earn, and something that is provably yours.

Avatars that Defi

We don’t think it’s too soon to turn defi into a verb! There is no better word for what these VOX avatars will do as the project unfolds. They will defi! Just owning a VOX will unlock your future ability to earn gaming rewards like VoxCoin. The more rare the VOX, the more epic the rewards!

Join the Party!

This isn’t just another party where everyone tries to fit in. This is the party where absolutely everyone stands out! Express your digital self with Vox!

CollectVox.com
Discord Community

Do you remember the May Mayhem? Throughout the entire month earlier this year, Gala Games ran the biggest competitive tournament in Town Star history, with $1 million in combined weekly prizes on the table.

Enthusiastic fans of Town Star turned out in record numbers, packing the competition server to its literal breaking point, which tragically brought the first week’s contest to a sudden halt. Thousands of towns were lost, never to be recovered. The heroic Town Star engineers worked relentlessly long hours locating and solving the problem, and within little over a day, the game was restarted and the true May Mayhem continued.

The unexpected setback was taken with good spirits by both team and player base. In fact, it is now looked back upon with fond remembrance as the day of the bug. With such incredible growth over the last few months, to have been involved in this “bug” is now a badge of honor, and one that we intend to celebrate in our favorite customary fashion: With rewards!

Buggy Mr. Puddles Wants to be Your Friend!

If you were with us during the May Mayhem “bug” and your town was destroyed as a result, a special Waterbot friend is coming to join you in your future Town Star adventures. If you’re kind and patient with Buggy Mr. Puddles, he will perform your Town Star water duties tirelessly.

Basically, Buggy Mr. Puddles works very similarly to ElfBot and SaltyBot, who both have specialized resources (Sugar and Salt.) Buggy Mr. Puddles deals exclusively with water. Place his home in your town, and he will deliver water wherever it needs to go. There are a few advantages to this specialized skill set. First, his only priority is water, which means that you’ll no longer be stuck with a full Well, waiting for an available Farmer to collect its water. Secondly, Mr. Puddles is not limited to the simple duties of a Farmer. He will deliver water wherever it is needed, even if that delivery typically falls under the jurisdiction of a Builder or a Water Worker.

Distribution

We love to reward our node operators with things like early drops, exclusive NFTs and voting privileges. In this spirit, 10% of the Buggy Mr. Puddles NFTs have already been distributed to lucky node operators and are already available for in-game use.

Today, the remaining supply was distributed to everyone who had a town at the end of Week 1 (excluding those eliminated from the contest for cheating). A total of 10,684 players should receive a Buggy Mr. Puddles in this distribution. If that’s you, you’ll find a Buggy Mr. Puddles in your Treasure Chest, just waiting to be added to your inventory. Once you’ve added it, you’ll immediately be able to use him in-game, familiarizing yourself with his special skills. If you did not receive one but were supposed to, feel free to reach out to customer service.

For the Rest of You

You may notice that Mr. Puddles doesn’t move quite as quickly as ElfBot or SaltyBot. What did you expect? He’s buggy. We’re excited to announce that a non-buggy Mr. Puddles will soon be released in an upcoming NFT sale in the Town Star store.

The new and improved Mr. Puddles will…

• Move faster than the buggy version!
• Be available at a 50% discount for the first 24 hours!
• Be one of the most affordable NFTs Gala Games has ever sold!

Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of the upcoming Mr. Puddles sale, accompanied by an exclusive behind-the-design look at his creation by Town Star Art Director Warren Marshall.

Thanks for all your continued support, and thanks for growing with us. At Gala Games, we love to shower our community with rewards and value!