Realms: Week in Review - Blobert Cometh and Major Starknet Updates
Issue #10 - February 22, 2024
By O_Excess
Welcome to Issue #10 of the Realms: Week in Review!
First, an update on the Herald Report. We’ll be moving to Tuesdays next week to better align with author schedules. Expect a condensed version of this report on February 27. We are breaking up the Frontinus House updates over two issues as a result.
Now for this week’s report. Here are the top stories that you need to know:
Starkware Token Unlock Update: Starkware switches up token vesting schedule for more gradual release
Starknet Defi Spring Initiative: 50M STRK tokens granted to defi protocols to boost ecosystem liquidity and incentives
Blobert NFT Drop: A collection featuring everyone’s favorite squire was dropped this week with near instant sellout
Frontinus House Project Updates and News
Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
Blobert Cometh
After months of teasing, the official Blobert mint occurred this week (February 22), with all 4,844 Bloberts selling out in 25 minutes. The release featured 111 traits and 48 legendary variants, many of which drew inspiration from memes within the Realms Discord, the broader Starknet community, and other aligned projects.
Blobert is one of the first meme collections on Starknet and is being used as a PFP by many ecosystem leaders (we see you Abdel and Odinfree). It originated within the BiblioDAO community in February 2023 from a member named some_one12345675765, who submitted the image as part of a community contest to create images for training an AI model for Realms' flagship project, Eternum. One of the Realms' core members, Secretive, noticed this *ahem* unique character and brought it to the attention of other BiblioDAO members. Blobert quickly gained popularity within the community and became a fixture, even evolving into a member-created chatbot to answer questions within the Discord server. The mint marks the approximate one-year “birthday” of Blobert.
Interested in owning a Blobert? They're available on the Realms marketplace. Congrats, Blobert! You made it.
Starknet News
There were several big stories within the Starknet ecosystem this week. First, Starkware responded to community concerns by adjusting its token lockup period for a more gradual release, extending to March 2027, to ensure market stability. Additionally, the Starknet Foundation, in partnership with OpenBlock Labs, launched the Starknet DeFi Spring program to distribute 40M STRK tokens to DeFi protocols over six to eight months, aiming to enhance liquidity and participation in the DeFi ecosystem, with plans for an additional 10M STRK in future allocations. Read on for full details.
Starkware Adjusts Token Lockup Schedule
StarkWare has announced adjustments to the lockup schedule for its early contributors and investors, transitioning to a more gradual release of tokens in response to feedback from the ecosystem.
Initially, about a third of the tokens allocated to early supporters (~1.3 billion) were set to be released on April 15. However, after reviewing community feedback, StarkWare decided to modify the lockup period. The updated schedule now begins with the release of 0.64% of the initially minted 10 billion tokens (64 million tokens) on April 15, a significant reduction from the originally planned 13.4% (1.34 billion tokens).
The revised unlocking process will continue with a monthly release of 0.64% (64 million tokens) until March 15, 2025. After this date, the pace will increase to 1.27% (127 million tokens) per month for the following 24 months, concluding on March 15, 2027. Under the new plan, 580 million tokens will be released by the end of 2024, in contrast to the 2 billion tokens scheduled in the original plan. By the end of 2025, an additional 1.4 billion tokens will be gradually released, followed by another 1.5 billion by the end of 2026, and finally, 380 million by March 15, 2027.
Starket Foundation Defi Spring
The Starknet Foundation, in collaboration with OpenBlock Labs, has launched the Starknet DeFi Spring program to distribute 40M STRK tokens to DeFi protocols on Starknet, aiming to boost liquidity over a six to eight-month period.
A bi-weekly distribution of the 40M STRK tokens is planned, with an additional 10M STRK reserved for future liquidity programs within the ecosystem. Allocations will be adjusted based on protocols' performance, ensuring alignment with the evolving needs of Starknet.
Participating protocols have already started to design and implement incentive programs for their users using the STRK tokens received. These programs kick off today (February 22, 2024), with users eligible to claim their incentives by March 7, 2024. To further engage users, the Starknet Foundation is launching a Quests campaign, offering unique NFT artworks as rewards. The Foundation noted that by completing quests, users may be able to earn STRK tokens through independent programs and initiatives.
The DeFi Committee has allocated an additional 10M STRK for upcoming initiatives, including hackathons and grant programs, aimed at continuous ecosystem development.
BiblioDAO News
Ecosystem Council Meeting on Feb 23 at 9pm UTC: BiblioDAO members are meeting tomorrow to discuss the Ecosystem Council (BIP-29). If you are interested in being considered for the council or have ideas for the DAO, please check in to the ecosystem channel within Discord.
Blobert NFT Sellout: On February 22, 4,844 Blobert NFTs were minted out in 25 minutes. Though the collection isn’t an official PFP for the BiblioDAO ecosystem, many members celebrated the drop and are using the Blobert images as PFPs.
Frontinus House Updates
As noted in our introduction, we are moving our weekly publication to Tuesdays. Consequently, we are highlighting only some of the Frontinus House projects today. We’ll note updates from the projects not mentioned below early next week.
GM Lord
This week, the GM Lord team enhanced the user experience for their GM Lord integration into Eternum, focusing on UI improvements and quality-of-life enhancements. They implemented a new database, npc_spawn, to facilitate contract calls and introduced a feature for generating NPC names and traits. Finally, they completed a major milestone by developing a working memory system for NPC villagers.
Loot Auto Chess
This week, the Loot Auto Chess team concentrated on improving the game's PVE play by suggesting a new Roguelike tower climbing mode, which introduces different difficulty levels for players. After an in-depth discussion, they've outlined two main approaches for this feature: a “random version” for unexpected challenges and a “strategic version” that requires careful planning. This initiative is designed to make the game more engaging by providing players with tougher challenges that go beyond the existing mechanics.
Loot Royale
This week, the Loot Royale team has been awaiting new UI and game assets from their development studio in China. Despite this, they've made progress by enhancing the game's mechanics, specifically by refining how the game operates and moving away from relying on external tools for creating game environments.Underware (FKN Loot Underworld)
Underware has been refining its brand and web presence, strategizing DAO alignment, and actively working on funding initiatives. They’ve also been busy with their three projects.For "Pistols at 10 Blocks," the team has enhanced the animation workflow, although facing a delay to redo animations. The Ser Walker character animation update is nearly complete, with plans to introduce graphic novel elements and finalize smart contract refinements for a comprehensive functional, UI, and art update soon. You can see some of their animation work below:
Underworld has also shifted to the Godot engine for better environment and sprite system prototyping, alongside experiments with advanced asset generation technologies.
Finally, the team has a call to action to report this week. They’ve offered a bounty for developing a social bot to notify players of challenges in Pistols at 10 Blocks. If you are interested, please reach out to Recipromancer.
Mississippi
This week, the Mississippi team focused on developing contracts for upgrading outer city buildings and adding four resource acquisition features. These parts are now finished. The team is currently starting to integrate these backend developments with the game's frontend.
Rising Revenant
This week, the Rising Revenant team continued their work on transitioning to the Unity front end. As reported last week, this transition should take until the end of the month.
Nibs and Sir Nobs - Contest
This week, join our Nibs and Nobs meme contest. Create the best meme caption for the image provided to win a Realms Starter Package, which includes 100 $LORDS, a Blobert NFT, and a Loot Survivor Beast. To enter, tag and follow Loot Herald on social media. Additionally, one subscriber of our Newsletter who participates will win 100 $LORDS.
*Note: All prizes are in Starknet tokens, requiring winners to have a Starknet wallet to claim their rewards.
