AAA Level Blockchain Shooting Game SHRAPNEL Beginner's Guide
SHRAPNEL is a AAA evacuation shooter built on Avalanche.
Author: Stella L (stella@footprint.network)
Original text: Click this link to read. This article was first published on July 5 in the CoinGecko column of Footprint Analytics.
Latest news: SHRAPNEL announced its participation in the China International Digital Interactive Entertainment Exhibition (ChinaJoy 2024) to be held in Shanghai, China from July 26 to 29.
Key points of this article
Developed by the award-winning team at Neon Machine, known for BAFTA and Emmy awards, SHRAPNEL is an exciting AAA extraction shooter game.
The blockchain system of SHRAPNEL operates as a subnet on Avalanche, but players will need to wait a bit to fully experience the blockchain features in the game.
SHRAPNEL will officially launch its early access version on Epic Games in February 2024.
The core mission for players is both simple and challenging: survive, collect, and safely extract.
Introduction to SHRAPNEL
SHRAPNEL is a AAA extraction shooter game set to launch on PC in 2025, with early access available since February 2024. The game is meticulously crafted by the award-winning team at Neon Machine, combining high-stakes skill challenges, limitless creative modding tools, and a vibrant community marketplace. SHRAPNEL supports both solo play and team collaboration, with a strong emphasis on user-generated content, allowing players to create and mint their own in-game items as NFTs on its Avalanche-based blockchain network.
SHRAPNEL
Avalanche, launched by Ava Labs in 2020, features a unique three-chain architecture, including X-Chain, C-Chain, and P-Chain. This platform empowers developers to create customized blockchains with specific rules and functionalities according to their needs, known as subnets. SHRAPNEL utilizes this technology to operate its blockchain as a subnet on Avalanche.
As an early access game, SHRAPNEL will continue to evolve, providing players with the valuable opportunity to participate in game development and provide direct feedback to shape its future.
SHRAPNEL Studio: Neon Machine
The SHRAPNEL studio, Neon Machine, was originally part of HBO Interactive before becoming independent. The studio brings together top award-winning experts from AAA games and platform technology projects. Team members have rich industry backgrounds, having worked at renowned companies such as Xbox, HBO, EA, ConsenSys, Microsoft, and Amazon, contributing extensive knowledge and expertise to SHRAPNEL.
Neon Machine features a unique combination of designers, producers, artists, and programmers, forming a diverse team. They operate at the intersection of games, television, film, and animation, having created iconic series in the entertainment industry, including "Halo," "Call of Duty," and "Westworld."
SHRAPNEL Financing
SHRAPNEL has successfully raised a total of $37.5 million through three rounds of financing.
SHRAPNEL Financing Events
The first round of financing was announced in November 2021, led by Griffin Gaming Partners, with support from Polychain Capital and Forte, raising $10.5 million, primarily for team expansion and game development. At the same time, Forte provided technical support for the project. In April of the following year, the second round of financing successfully raised $7 million through a token sale, specifically for building the infrastructure of the SHRAPNEL subnet on Avalanche. By October 2023, the A round of financing was successfully completed under the leadership of Polychain Capital, raising $20 million to drive in-depth game development and prepare for the upcoming early access release.
Why is SHRAPNEL popular?
Since its inception to the early access phase, SHRAPNEL has achieved numerous significant milestones and strategic accomplishments. Here’s a concise review of the key development stages of SHRAPNEL:
November 2021: Neon Machine successfully raised $10.5 million in the first round of financing.
April 2022: Neon Machine completed a $7 million token sale.
June 2022: The Operators NFT series was officially launched.
October 2022: The first game trailer was released, built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5, showcasing world-leading real-time 3D creation technology.
December 2022: SHRAPNEL's social media followers approached 100,000.
April 2023: At Consensus 2023, SHRAPNEL publicly demonstrated the MPX.1 prototype for the first time.
September 2023: The Web3 developer platform Mercury (formerly Gamebridge) was officially launched.
October 2023: SHRAPNEL successfully completed a $20 million A round financing.
December 2023: The number of registered users for SHRAPNEL exceeded 100,000.
December 2023: The pre-release community of SHRAPNEL expanded to over 100,000 Discord members and 370,000 followers on X platform.
February 2024: The SHRAPNEL game opened early access on the Epic Games Store.
February 2024: The first early access event "SHRAPNEL Training Exercises" (STXs) launched on February 8, held monthly in the initial phase.
May 2024: The V1 version of the SHRAPNEL trading market went live.
SHRAPNEL's popularity is attributed to its meticulously planned development process, outstanding graphics quality, and cutting-edge technology applications, all crafted by a team with deep AAA game development experience over a long period. The gameplay cleverly blends elements of risk and reward, providing players with an experience that is both thrilling and strategic. In the game, players must skillfully balance the temptation of acquiring rare loot with the deadly threats they may encounter before extraction, enhancing the game's appeal and playability.
SHRAPNEL Game Trailer Screenshots
The seamless integration of traditional AAA game development with blockchain technology forms another cornerstone of SHRAPNEL's success. The game cleverly leverages partnerships with security platforms like Fireblocks and Subsum, as well as partners like Layer Zero and MoonPay, dedicated to enhancing user experience, to build a secure and convenient gaming environment. This perfect combination of high security and low-friction gaming experience has not only won the favor of traditional gamers but also deeply attracted enthusiasts in the blockchain space.
Additionally, SHRAPNEL is committed to community engagement, actively expanding its series into diverse narrative media (such as comics and short films), greatly enhancing its appeal and influence.
SHRAP Token
SHRAP token is an ERC-20 token created on the Avalanche C-Chain and used within the SHRAPNEL subnet. At the time of the token generation event (TGE), a total of 3 billion SHRAP tokens were issued. According to the SHRAPNEL official whitepaper, no additional tradable SHRAP tokens will be created or issued in the future.
The SHRAP token has multiple uses within the SHRAPNEL ecosystem.
Content Publishing: It serves as a bridge to facilitate the publishing process of all player-generated content (PCC) on the platform, covering codes, badges, skins, maps, and decorations. These unique creations are transformed into NFTs and put on-chain with the support of SHRAP tokens.
Governance and Promotion: Token holders are not only participants in the game but also active participants in community governance. They have the right to vote on DAO proposals and other important matters. Additionally, token holders can vote to promote their favorite maps or virtual items, increasing exposure for these contents and fostering the diversification and prosperous development of ecosystem content.
Transaction Medium and Payment Functionality: As a gas token, SHRAP enables seamless payments among validators within the subnet, eliminating the extra cost burden for players and creators during usage, providing a smoother gaming experience. Meanwhile, in the SHRAPNEL trading market, SHRAP tokens serve as a medium of exchange, facilitating economic interactions between players and between players and the platform, promoting the healthy development of the in-game economy.
The SHRAP token is allocated into seven categories: community rewards (33%), team and advisors (27%), seed token holders (20%), ecosystem fund (8.5%), market makers and liquidity (3%), and public distribution (1.5%). Starting from the TGE on April 29, 2024, these tokens will be gradually unlocked over a maximum of 60 months.
In March 2024, the unlocking plan underwent an adjustment, significantly reducing the number of tokens scheduled for unlocking in April 2024 by nearly 75%, while the distribution of tokens from the community rewards pool and the allocation of the ecosystem fund remained unchanged. This non-linear unlocking scheme divides the overall unlocking period into four phases, with a lower initial unlocking rate, which will gradually accelerate as the user base grows and the utility of SHRAP increases.
SHRAP Token Unlocking Plan
In May 2024, SHRAPNEL announced an important update: players can directly acquire SHRAP tokens using credit and debit cards. This change breaks the traditional practice of purchasing tokens through cryptocurrency exchanges, allowing players to quickly and conveniently convert fiat currency to SHRAP tokens using payment gateways like Moonpay or Stripe.
How to Play SHRAPNEL?
Before downloading and registering for SHRAPNEL, there are a few key pieces of information to note. First, as an early access game, you need to purchase an "Extraction Pack" to gain access. The early access event STX occurs once a month and lasts about five days, during which you can play the game. Please note that the game servers will close after the event ends for the Neon Machine team to make necessary optimizations and improvements in preparation for the next STX event. Secondly, to ensure you enjoy the highest quality AAA gaming experience, please confirm that your device's system configuration meets the game requirements.
SHRAPNEL System Requirements
Creating a SHRAPNEL Account
Visit the SHRAPNEL official website and click "GET GAME."
Download the game from Epic Games. If you do not have an Epic Games account, you will need to create one first.
Download SHRAPNEL from Epic Games
- Please register a SHRAPNEL account using your email address, after which you can log into the game smoothly with that account.
Log into SHRAPNEL
Obtaining Early Access to SHRAPNEL
"Extraction Packs" are the key to early access to SHRAPNEL. Each "Extraction Pack" contains controllable characters (Operators), decorations, consumables, and more. Players can purchase them in the SHRAPNEL application market. The basic pack is priced at $9.99, while light, medium, and heavy packs are available for $19.99, $49.99, and $99.99, respectively, containing more in-game items, consumables, and exclusive skins to enhance the gaming experience. SHRAPNEL supports various payment methods, including credit/debit cards, bank transfers, and Cash APP payments.
SHRAPNEL Trading Market
SHRAPNEL Gameplay
The story of SHRAPNEL is set in 2044. In this year, a small asteroid violently collided with the moon, creating debris that orbited the Earth and continuously bombarded the surface, triggering a catastrophe. This disaster forced an urgent evacuation of a dangerous area known as the "sacrifice zone." Originally tightly guarded by paramilitary contractors, this area quickly transformed into a fierce battlefield for mercenaries competing for wealth after the discovery of valuable asteroid debris.
Scientists discovered that these fragments, named "Compound Sigma," possess unimaginable physical manipulation capabilities. This discovery instantly skyrocketed their value and ignited fierce battles between mercenary factions. In no time, the struggle for control and wealth within the sacrifice zone continued unabated.
In SHRAPNEL, you will play the role of an "Operator." You can start your adventure by simply clicking the "Deploy" button on the homepage. This process typically takes only a few seconds, and the system will assign you to an appropriate server.
Start Playing SHRAPNEL
Your mission is clear and challenging: survive, collect, and extract. You need to explore the area, searching for new weapons and items to enhance your survival capabilities. Discovering Sigma fragments can enhance your abilities, helping you defeat other Operators. The ultimate goal is to reach the extraction zone and escape with Sigma to achieve a good ranking on the STX leaderboard and earn rewards.
SHRAPNEL Players' Tasks in the Game
For players accustomed to popular shooter games, the control scheme on PC for SHRAPNEL will feel quite familiar. The game uses standard key bindings, where the "WASD" keys control character movement, the left mouse button is for shooting, and the "shift" key is for sprinting.
SHRAPNEL Default Control Keys in the Game
Now you can explore the area and find new weapons and items.
SHRAPNEL Gameplay: Find New Weapons and Gear
Once you discover Sigma, quickly press the "F" key to pick it up. During this process, be sure to stay alert to avoid being attacked and eliminated by other Operators. Your goal is to survive as long as possible!
SHRAPNEL Gameplay: Pick Up Sigma
After successfully defeating other Operators, you can collect their Sigma, weapons, and items, which you need to drag and drop into your pocket or backpack to ensure they are not intercepted by other Operators.
SHRAPNEL Gameplay: Collect Weapons and Gear from Other Players
Finally, you need to reach the extraction zone and escape. Successfully extracting will ensure that you keep the Sigma and items you collected, helping you climb the STX leaderboard and earn rewards.
As you experience SHRAPNEL, you may realize that this game is not a typical early access shooter. Currently, the game only offers a single Operator character, limited weapon choices, and a map that is not fully constructed. During exploration, you may encounter buildings and other surfaces with missing textures, as well as basic geometric shapes serving as placeholders for future content. The entire game environment presents a "gray box" state, with many areas still in development.
SHRAPNEL Gameplay
Neon Machine has adopted this strategy to involve the gaming community in the development process as early as possible. They hope that through this approach, they can make detailed adjustments and optimizations to the game map and extraction gameplay in SHRAPNEL based on the feedback from a wide range of players.
Looking Ahead
SHRAPNEL showcases the charm of a blockbuster-level FPS game in both visuals and gameplay, particularly impressive in its trailers and demonstrations. During the current STX event, players may not even realize that this game is built on blockchain technology. This is because the game's focus is entirely on providing an ultimate gaming experience, rather than integrating Web3 functionalities such as wallet connections or NFT purchases. Therefore, players do not need to have expertise in Web3 to easily get started with SHRAPNEL and enjoy the fun the game offers. For the development team, their primary goal is to create an engaging FPS game because only when the game itself is interesting does the addition of blockchain technology become meaningful.
Neon Machine is gradually and cautiously expanding the blockchain economic system of SHRAPNEL, which goes far beyond the SHRAP token itself. According to SHRAPNEL's roadmap, players will soon be able to create and mint unique weapon and gear skins as NFTs, and even design custom maps. These player-created works will be promoted and traded within the community using SHRAP tokens, forming a vibrant ecosystem of creation and sharing. As one of the most anticipated AAA FPS games, SHRAPNEL is poised to lead a new wave of transformation in the blockchain gaming space, bringing players an unprecedented gaming experience and interactive fun.
