By William M. Peaster
Source: Bankless
"Remind everyone that 99% of social VR is closed source, even most cryptocurrency-based VR, with the exception of Webaverse, which started out on the path of building a real Hard road to open stack...Webaverses are a modder's paradise, a perfect match for internet remix/meme culture" - Jin , XR Philosopher and Webaverse Contributor
What is the Webaverse?
Webaverse is an open-source browser-based web3 metaverse engine on which anyone can build and host virtual worlds and gaming experiences. Since the system is powered by the user's browser, it can be used on a variety of devices, including VR headsets.
What makes Webaverse different?
A principled open metaverse project spearheaded by XR developer Avaer, Webaverse optimizes user freedom and interoperability by relying on popular open file formats and components such as Three.js, WebGL and WebXR
These components, combined with Ethereum, allow Webaverse users to easily bring their NFTs to life in the metaverse environment, and freely customize and own their avatars, worlds and other things.
What is Upstreet?
Built in collaboration with the creators of the Webaverse, Upstreet is the first massively multiplayer online (MMO) game created on the Webaverse engine.
"Upstreet is to the Webaverse what Fortnite is to Unreal Engine (a 3D creator tool)," Jin noted . The Metaverse researcher also likened Upstreet to the "story mode" of Internet Cinema Universe (ICU).
Upstreet NFT issuance
For Season 1 of Upstreet, the Webaverse is holding a season pass NFT drop. Each of these passes -- or Origin Tablet Shards -- can be used to subscribe to one of the game's 15,600 procedurally generated tiles (out of a total supply of 20,000).
The Upstreet alpha is open to anyone, so these NFTs are not necessary to play the game. However, over time, holders of these parcels will receive more content from the Webaverse team in the form of NFT asset airdrops.
As for the specifics of NFT minting, it will be done in two stages via Metadrop . The first stage is the whitelist + lottery list process, in which 20 NFT communities will get 150 whitelist places, which will be drawn to the holders of these communities. That said, signing up for the sweepstakes does not guarantee a mint spot, but winners will be able to mint a season ticket each for 0.2 ETH.
Raffelist registration closes on August 5th at 10:00AM PDT, so if you qualify, you can queue up at Metadrop . The 20 target NFT communities are: Admit One, Anata, Azuki, BAYC, Clonex, CrypToadz, CryptoPunks, Cyberbrokers, Doodles, FRWC, goblintown.wtf, Interleave, MAYC, Meebits, Mfers, Moonbirds, Nouns, RaidParty, VeeFriends, and Wassies .
The whitelist + lottery list mint will be held from August 6th to 8th. On August 9th, the second phase of mint - an open capped English auction began, which may last for 24 hours. All winners will pay the same price, with a price cap of no more than 2 ETH during mint.
Webaverse adoption example
epilogue
Many of the world's most powerful companies are currently building closed Metaverse™ platforms. These efforts are new attempts to attract large numbers of users, threatening the future of online freedom. By all accounts, the Webaverse was built from the ground up for accessibility, openness, and interoperability, so the project is the polar opposite of these nascent Metaverse ventures. At this point, you could argue that the Webaverse came at a time when we needed it most in the open metaverse battle. Now, we definitely have a fighting chance.