In this episode, hear an AI summary of the latest Star Atlas community event. Full video recordings can be found on the YouTube channel of Star Atlas TV at https://www.youtube.com/@staratlastv.
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Podcast Transcript
The video transcript conveys a general sense of anticipation and a “weird week in the markets” that has permeated the last few months, with a feeling of being both “so over and so back at the same time”. This sentiment extends to Star Atlas, where a period of calm is seen as preceding a significant “storm”. This includes the highly anticipated “announcement of an announcement” from Michael Wagner, the CEO of Star Atlas, who stated, “Something monumental coming for Star Atlas consider this your announcement of an announcement”. The team expressed pride in keeping this development quiet for a long time without leaks.
Discussions also touched upon the progress of Holosim, which has experienced “pure chaos” in a positive way, with intense factional warfare and the Warster fleet demonstrating strong performance, earning the “elders'” pride. The testing phase of Holosim is nearing its conclusion, with “super positive” results, and future seasons and chapters are expected to be “wild”. The game has shown improving stability with “less and less breaking”. Notably, Holosim boasts “absurd” and “crazy” retention rates, exhibiting “very small oscillations between daily users,” which provides confidence that marketing efforts will be effective once the product reaches maturity. This strong retention is a new development, as previous products lacked mechanisms to retain players effectively.
Upcoming community events include Community Week, expected likely next week. During Community Week, Copa will allow guilds to prepare pre-recorded presentations up to 10 minutes in length, a change designed to mitigate past technical issues and language barriers, though live presentations remain an option. For Joany’s, nominations are closing next week, and individuals are encouraged to vote now to ensure their favorite community members and projects are nominated. A special, undisclosed event is also planned for a Wednesday during the week. The Community Carnival will run throughout the week, offering participants the chance to earn “tickets” by engaging in events and chat. These tickets can be redeemed in a raffle at the week’s end for $15,000 in Star Atlas asset prizes. Events include Discord activities, Gartic, marble races, and trivia. Furthermore, builders can take advantage of free exposure by submitting two-minute video advertisements or commercials to be played during “commercial blocks” in events. More information on Community Week is available in the latest AIA newsletter. Additionally, a free-to-join poker night for the community is scheduled for tomorrow, and a Galia game night on Friday.
A significant portion of the discussion revolved around the Star Atlas DAO’s ecosystem fund and the PIP (Proposing In-Game Policies) brainstorming session. The DAO’s treasury holds over $1 million, almost $1.5 million, available for community requests to fund development, meetups, and other initiatives within the Star Atlas ecosystem. The ecosystem fund, which represents about 25% of the total treasury, is slated to be “topped up” soon.
Several PIPs have been approved, including one for Lord Raspby’s documentary, the “Star Atlas Ecosystem Media Expansion,” which is currently in production. Another passed PIP is for “Viden Systems” by Evi, who is actively building. An important, already approved PIP is the Iris Bounty, which streamlines funding for in-real-life meetups by allowing community members to request up to $500 without going through the full PIP process. This “super easy” process requires applicants to fill out a form, provide details about the public event, ensure alignment with DAO values, and, critically, submit deliverables such as pictures, social media posts, and receipts; video content is highly encouraged but not mandatory. Payment for the Iris Bounty is made in Atlas. It was noted that many community members, including the Italian community who recently applied, were unaware of this simplified funding option, highlighting a need for better promotion. Other PIPs, such as an in-person community meetup platform and term limits, have failed.
In terms of new ideas and drafts, the DAO council encourages the community to “think outside the box” and propose “off-the-wall stuff,” even if initially met with skepticism, as these ideas can spark valuable conversations. A strong suggestion emerged for a streamlined funding mechanism for Star Atlas tournaments, similar to the Iris Bounty, where funding (e.g., $500 for prizes) could be easily accessible if specific player engagement requirements are met. This would circumvent the daunting full PIP process for smaller-scale events. Other ideas included a Twitch extension for Star Atlas streaming, a multilingual fund to support content creators with translations, and a multilingual community wiki. It was also highlighted that documentation is available for community members to build a DAC management tool, for which they could request DAO funding, and a job board to match tasks with builders was also strongly supported.
The absence of a large marketing budget for Star Atlas was explained as a strategic decision: the team is waiting for products like Holosim and the upcoming UE5 release to reach a mature state with high retention numbers before investing heavily in marketing. This approach prevents “throwing money in the fire,” as data from past game nights showed player spikes quickly dropping off. Once retention is consistently high, any DAO-funded PIPs will yield better results. For community members looking to propose PIPs, it was advised to “get started yesterday” as the process can take several months.
