@everyone SAGE: Escape Velocity Update - Loot Drop Refinement & Gameplay Conclusion
This announcement is for everyone playing SAGE: Escape Velocity and awaiting the next loot airdrop.
**1. Sunsetting of SAGE: Escape velocity is on July 7, 2023.
- Loot Distribution Date: EV loot will be released on Thursday, June 29th
- Anti-botting measures are in effect: EV loot cap and bot identification**
Sunsetting of Escape Velocity Gameplay
SAGE: Escape Velocity (EV) was released in April 2023 as a technical showcase of revolutionary, real-time on-chain mechanics on Solana.
As a stress test at scale to enhance the robustness and resilience of all future releases of Star Atlas: Golden Era (SAGE), it has had an invaluable contribution to further game development.
As a sandbox test environment, we moved quickly with launching and updating EV, such as by introducing frequent updates, changes in mechanics, and additional features. We wanted to make it as easy as possible for players to jump in and start participating in true on-chain gaming—and we have seen significant success on this front with player engagement levels increasing dramatically and with the team able to gather valuable information on player behavior.
With enough information gathered and lessons learned for future use, the primary purpose of EV is now nearing completion, which means a conclusion to this massively popular feature test. We will therefore be sunsetting Escape Velocity on July 7, 2023.
For players who want to continue gathering R4 resources themselves, you will be able to do so through the use of Claim Stakes and soon-to-be released Mining Ships in the Faction Claims app (https://play.staratlas.com/claims).
For those playing Never Alone, please make sure to finish all Escape Velocity-related quests before the closure date.
Introduction of an EV anti-botting loot cap & loot distribution
In both the wind-down period of EV and in the future, we are looking to further improve on the experience for players based on the data gathered during the test. One category of insight that we are acting upon immediately is botting. We have identified a small percentage of participating wallets that have made unauthorized use of automation software (“bots”). Although there are only a handful of addresses engaged in botting, they account for a significant amount of total rewards scanned in EV to date.
As the unauthorized use of automation software diminishes the player experience as well as goes against the Terms of Service, we are introducing a ceiling, effective retroactively, on the amount of loot botting addresses are eligible to receive in the upcoming EV loot airdrop on June 29. The ceiling was set based on an analysis of player participants in EV, and does not exceed the amount that a genuine human player could have obtained. Botting addresses will not receive any discovered higher-tier rewards (Gold, Platinum, or Diamond) and will receive a capped amount of lower-tier loot (i.e., R4).
Instead, lower-tier loot discovered by botting accounts in excess of the ceiling will be distributed to all human EV participants at a rate proportional to their own discovery of loot from June 15 onward. This EV loot will be released on Thursday, June 29th.
Furthermore, now on until its closure, any EV player whose activity is determined to be that of automated services will not receive any of the loot discovered.
Going forward, we may take more aggressive actions against wallet addresses that engage in botting activity, including by eliminating any loot scanned by a botting address. We hope that these actions and the increasing complexity of SAGE over time will slow the proliferation of botting activity. We appreciate the reports we have received on suspicious bot activity; your comments and feedback are, as always, very welcome.
Power to the People!
