Since writing my first program in 2008 I had always been fascinated by digital communities. Experiments with Multi-User Dungeons like Gemstone 4 had exposed me to an entire group of folks who could still vibe when less is more. Massive worlds imagined, a shared experience catalyzed in the visualization of text.
In the spirit of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS’), Reddit and Twitter I originally sought out to create a social network for minimalists. This ended up serving as a test-bed for so many more ideas though! With less overhead I was a able to turn experiments into new features and put all of it on top of an old game I had written. And that became something else entirely.
The Story
In the future, Earth has been relegated to an overpopulated and corrupt refinery in an otherwise barren region of space by the galactic community. Primarily facilitating the transition of imported Tetrazite, an exotic deep space metal, into Tetra (T) — the interstellar standard. A currency used by every civilization in the known universe.
Weak governments and social upheaval has ushered in an age of dystopianism. A world in which monopolistic corporations make the rules. Having normalized space travel with advancements in genetic engineering and propulsion, humanity set out to champion the frontier in hopes of discovering a new purpose.
Note: this is a key revision of the original storyline present through versions 1–4 (currently 5. See also: the changelog).
The Game
Apsis Online is a minimalist multi-user roguelike (MUR) based on the First Paradise project. The game is still early in development but is presented as a series of both multiplayer and single-player “sequences” set in a dark science-fiction universe.
You are a voyager. A human, mentally and physically augmented for a new life in deep space. Your mission is to carve out a place for humanity among the stars. A largely hostile environment. Build outposts with resources found at the farthest reaches of the frontier itself. Survive, create new economies from scratch, capitalize and recruit others to join you.
Platform & Aesthetics
Borrowing its likeness from the classic depiction of a player-character dating back to the original Rogue. The Rogue BBS is a minimalist social network. Built for speed and security by geeks for geeks who have a love for the command-line. Rendered in a sharp colorful ASCII style for the purist in all of us. Join the conversation!
- Post, comment or subscribe to things you find most interesting.
- Create a board. Invite others, share privately or with the world.
- Create or join a Frontier Company, employ others and build an empire!
- Toggle in and out of gameplay sessions with ease.
- Email registration optional.
This service will never store sensitive user data or any information about your machine or location.
Worldbuilding & Economics
What is a good multiplayer game without a solid foundation in the form of game lore and player-driven stories? Apsis Online is built as a roguelike with procedurally generated events, planets and even perma-death. But don’t worry! Your wealth will always be saved to your account not the character.
Inspired by the likes of Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead and Dwarf Fortress but carrying with it the literary spirit of multi-user dungeons like Gemstone IV. For years the underlying goal has been to consistently flesh out the game’s backstory through a combination of contributing to a growing wiki and even writing short stories.
For a while there were micro-fiction contests submitted by users before the platform for hosting these shut down (RIP Desura!). It was at this point that RBBS was conceived. The hope is to continue expanding on the idea of both user and A.I-generated stories in order to build a more immersive experience (despite the graphics!).
The inclusion of cryptocurrency also makes for an interesting dynamic. As the RBBS has always been a privacy-centric platform for a new type of gamer. In the next part I’ll briefly discuss what natively supporting Monero (XMR) means for the user. This being the latest version 6.
Exchange & Transaction Fees — How it Works
Players will be able to earn the platform-issued Tetra by participating in normal activities. Specifically referring to their participation in the operations of their frontier company (FC). The Rogue BBS takes no fees from XMR deposits nor does it deduct from any Tetra transactions taking place on the #Marketplace board in-game. All platform fees are restricted to direct purchases of Tetra and withdrawals of any Monero held on the BBS.
It should be noted that #Marketplace activity is restricted to Tetra due to it being the native currency and cutting down on any crypto-associated fees. Especially when considering the potential for higher volumes as players discover or create new items that they assign values to.
Each new account generated is assigned a unique wallet address. Large withdrawals may be restricted to users with 2FA enabled. Both to eliminate instances of players locking themselves out of accounts with significant funds in them and/or funds being sent without authorization.
The project previously integrated cryptocurrencies (LTC, ZNN, GIC etc) as its sole means exchange. But managing sync and downtime issues for various blockchains became too cumbersome and expensive. Although in the future, the #Marketplace board may be expanded to allow more cohesion between crypto and non-crypto users.
This is not a new idea and was in fact inspired by many existing mmorpgs (like Entropia Universe or Second Life) with very dynamic economics that the players themselves can ultimately benefit from outside the confines of the game world itself. Apsis Online is just doing it with a focus on crypto!
Read on for more details!
Links & Resources
Wattpad Story (set in the game universe)
Play (Test!)
Discord: doop#3388
