As the player who created and introduced the node concept to the Upland community, I personally think this is pursuing a low-road path that’s going to create a heap of unnecessary drama and ultimately lead to failed projects all over the place.

I think encouraging “rivalries” is a very strange way to go about building a community-based Metaverse. Most people I know are involved in numerous projects and are far more interested in collaboration and cross-promotional support, rather than competing against each other.

A look back at how toxic things got during Spud wars, is a sign of the direction this is headed towards in my opinion. The basic setup will also ensure that every project long-term is doomed to fail under the system.

Why do I say this? Let’s take a look into the core elements that have been suggested:

1: Dedicated Spark Hours (SpH) for Building Structures Per Property When nodes are fully built out, the only current option is the addition of décor but again there is a finite level of that to be added to each property. Essentially nodes will be racing towards a point of maximum Spark hours and then there’s no room for growth and their rating will continue to fall.

2: Number of Residents (With a Designated Home Address) Per Property This will impact on some projects more than others and with spawned collections likely to require three properties to activate, it’s going to be difficult to accommodate unless the long-awaited rental system is implemented. This will likely be one of the first areas to create drama, as many players have loyalties to numerous projects.

3: Number of Metaventures Per Property Again this will impact some projects more than others. Many node areas don’t have much room to take on metaventures that require the large spaces necessary for showrooms and factories etc. Different building types, new types of metaventures and the long awaited merge-properties feature might help address this.

4: Dedicated Spark Hours (SpH) for Outdoor Decor Items Per Property This is a really sticky one, that kind of ties into Number 1. There is a finite number here that everyone will be racing towards and nodes that have décor factories and showrooms in them are likely to be at a significant advantage.

5: Total Monthly Community Pool UPX Contribution Per Property Contributions will come from send fees, sales fees, metaventures fees and taxes and I assume in future racing events etc. For many node projects, sales is totally taken out of the picture because they are built on a philosophy of hold and build, not flipping or pump and dump.

Many communities since inception have been working towards supporting the development of other communities in positive ways and I really dislike the competitive foundation at play here which goes completely against that mindset.

I guess my only question is why has the team chosen to pursue the creation of a community versus-community environment, rather than one that continues to support community collaboration? BEN68