Influence to Launch on StarkNet
Influence to Launch on StarkNet
Bringing the best-in-class L2 scaling solution to Influence, a Space Strategy MMO
Scaling Influence with StarkNet
We are thrilled to announce, with the support of the StarkWare team, the Exploitation release of Influence will launch on StarkNet. Uri Kolodny, CEO of StarkWare, is excited for the possibilities that StarkNet brings to Influence, “Gaming, as has been the case for decades, is at the cutting edge of tech adoption. The Influence team has already provided a powerful demonstration of the broad appeal of their game on L1. Now they’re taking it to the next level on StarkNet, where they can build an exciting game for millions of users. We couldn’t be prouder to support them in their mission.”
Influence’s transition onto StarkNet will substantially improve the player experience by significantly lowering gas costs and delivering near-instant transactions. Kolodny describes StarkNet as the “Leading permissionless ZK-Rollup, which opens up unimaginable opportunities for permissionless blockchains. It offers massive scaling, while relying on Ethereum’s security.” StarkNet does so by moving computation off-chain and by utilizing STARK proofs, a type of zero-knowledge proof, to “rollup” a set of off-chain transactions into a single proof which is verified on Ethereum layer 1. Furthermore, StarkNet achieves a fully non-custodial and secure layer 2 solution through on-chain data availability.
What does this mean for players?
High Scalability & Low Fees
Despite Influence’s persistent focus on minimizing fees through gas efficient smart contract design, players have been responsible for sizable gas fees for minting, scanning, and naming asteroids and crew. Upon our transition to StarkNet, we expect to see a reduction of 100X or more in gas fees.
Instant Actions
As soon as transactions are submitted to the sequencer, they’ll be treated as final within Influence. This will allow for a near-instant user experience rather than necessitating loading states and long waits for transactions to be mined.
Deeper Mechanics
One major benefit of rollups is the ability to increase the complexity of computations as part of transactions without increasing the transaction gas cost. Since only the inputs and outputs are committed on-chain, the computation itself can handle deeper game mechanics to ensure a compelling in-game experience that isn’t held back by layer 1 computation limitations.
Crew Assignments
Influence’s in-game events system will launch initially with “Crew Assignments” intended to allow players to utilize their crew early, pre-Exploitation release. These event chains will enable customization of crew, and provide for some early distribution of rewards as players participate in the scuttling of the Arvad and early settlement of Adalia Prime. Crew assignments will take advantage of StarkNet to provide all of the benefits above and ease the transition from layer 1 to layer 2.
About Influence
Influence is an immersive, persistent space strategy game where players compete through multiple avenues, including: mining, building, trading, researching, and fighting, and interact in a 3D universe through third-person control of their ships and the installations they build.
One of the most compelling strategic elements, and a novel game mechanic to the multiplayer space, is the implementation of realistic orbital mechanics resulting in the real-time movement of 250,000 asteroids and a dynamic, ever-changing strategic setting.
According to Chris Lexmond, creator of Influence, “Deep strategy games and the virtual economies within them are a perfect match for blockchain. Influence takes a ‘game-first’ approach that prioritizes the economy and enables Play/Earn.”
Influence is poised to be one of the first immersive Play/Earn MMOs fully playable on the Ethereum blockchain with the upcoming release of Exploitation.
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