Welcome To The PirateVerse

Become part of The Damned Pirates Society 🦜

Steven Seagull

You’d be forgiven for not knowing about The Damned Pirates Society. Whilst the NFT world is focussed on Ethereum and Solana mints, new and innovative projects are cropping up all over the place on networks which are faster, and more importantly don’t cost you hundreds of $ in gas! Personally, I can’t wait to get involved!

This couldn’t be truer of The Damned Pirates Society, which possesses some of the most impressive blockchain gaming mechanics I’ve been introduced to — It uses the Moonriver token ($MOVR) and therefore operates on the innovative Kusama ecosystem.

The gaming contract is due to drop in the next couple of months, so keep an eye on Discord and Twitter for announcements.

In this article I explain how to swap to the Moonriver network and purchase $MOVR. I will also set out the mechanics of the contract and how to start playing (once it drops), plus give some sneaks into the future of the project.

The Damned Pirates Society is one of the latest and most exciting blockchain gaming concepts I have come across, in which you stake your assets, such as Ships, Pirates and Artefacts in order to head on Voyages, find Treasure and earn $DOUBLOONS — the currency of the metaverse.

There are huge plans for the project and in this article I’ll break down the mechanics of the phase 1 gameplay, what they are and how they may work. Note: The documentation is a work in progress and subject to changes in the interest of the contract mechanics.

Firstly, New to MOVR? Start Here.

In order to explore the PirateVerse you’re first going to need MOVR.

If you haven’t bought or sold MOVR before, it’s an ALT coin and you will need to add the Moonriver network to MetaMask — don’t worry, it’s easy!

• The easiest way to add the Moonriver network to Metamask is to head to Moonbeam — https://docs.moonbeam.network/builders/get-started/moonriver/
• Scroll down and click on the button in the article ‘Connect Metamask’. Metamask will pop up and ask if Moonriver can be added as a network. Check the details and then click ‘Approve’.
• Then click ‘Switch Network’ to switch to the Moonriver network.
• If you need further help doing it automatically or manually — it has been fully documented in this video from Moonbeam: https://youtu.be/ywpc1UwpIyg
• The full network details are documented here if you want to verify them further: https://docs.moonbeam.network/builders/get-started/moonriver/

You can buy MOVR on a number of exchanges, including Kucoin, Kraken and Crypto.com. However, to turn ETH into MOVR I found it was easiest to use Solarbeam:

1. Go to https://app.solarbeam.io/bridge (connect to Ethereum network in MetaMask) and bridge ETH to MOVR (it takes about 10–30 minutes).
2. Once you have done this, you are going to need some MOVR to pay the gas for the exchange and any approvals. On https://app.solarbeam.io/bridge click on the ‘Faucet’ tab and then click on the button labelled ‘Give me some MOVR’ to be given a small amount of MOVR. This will help cover the gas on your first Swap.
3. Then once complete, go to https://app.solarbeam.io/exchange/swap (connect to the Moonriver network in MetaMask) and swap your ETH for MOVR.

(I just want to give a nod to MarkiMark#1559 over on the Solarbeam Discord — also a DPS member — for helping me through this process. He was extremely helpful and responsive and even sent me some MOVR when I got things wrong — Cheers Mark! 🙌🏼 The NFT community are once again proving their community spirit!)

MOVR on CoinGecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/moonriver

Step in to the PirateVerse 🏴‍☠️

The aim of this guide is to help you understand the full mechanics of The Damned Pirates Society (DPS) so that you can get involved.

First we start with an explanation of what everything is, before moving on to the flow of the game.

Note: The documentation is a work in progress and subject to changes in the interest of the contract mechanics.

Pirates 🦜

Pirates are the games first PFP. To play the game you first need to mint a Pirate.

Each one comes with 3 skills and are awarded between 150 and 300 skill points in each skill. The 3 skills are:

• Navigation — offers a higher chance to skip the next interaction.
• Strength — helps to reduce the chance of your ship being damaged on a voyage.
• Luck — increases your chance of finding treasure.

Pirates are the only assets that can be staked to generate Treasure Maps (TMAP), which are necessary for beginning voyages.

As the DPS game expands, Pirates and TMAPs will become necessary for taking part in other activities.

If you do not own a Pirate, then soon you will be able to buy one from the secondary market (Moonbeans) and begin staking to immediately start earning TMAP in preparation for the release.

Ships ⛵

Ships are needed to start Voyages and can be purchased from the Shipyard.

• Each Pirate can own multiple ships.
• A Pirate can go on one Voyage at a time.
• Each Ship comes with 1 skill attribute (luck, navigation or strength), which can help compensate for your pirates’ weaknesses. Choosing the right ships for the voyage can increase your chances of success.
• There are 3 tiers of ship available, with higher skill values, to purchase using $DOUBLOONS, and Pirates will always be able to claim a basic ship for free.
• You will have sight of what the Voyage is before having to select the right Ship for the job e.g. If there are a lot of enemies on the voyage, choosing a ship with high strength will be beneficial.
• Ships cannot be fully destroyed on voyages and players will always receive enough $DOUBLOONS to repair a damaged ship in the Shipyard — thus ensuring players do not go bankrupt and unable to play — but it may set your progress back, so be careful.
• Higher tiered ships will give you the ability to complete more difficult voyages with a higher rate of success.
• If your ship is damaged on a voyage, you must repair it at the shipyard before using it again. More expensive ships cost more to repair.

Shipyard 🔨

• You can repair your ship, buy new ones and sell existing ones back to the shipyard for a percentage of their original price.

TMAPS 🧭

• Staking your pirate will generate Treasure Maps (TMAPs).
• The rate at which TMAPs are generated will depend on supply in the economy.
• TMAPs are exchanged for voyages.
• Non-pirate holders (NOPs) cannot generate TMAPs. As new players enter the game and treasure map supply is low, relative to the number of players, the value of your TMAP generating pirates should increase.
• It is intended that TMAPs may have additional future utility thus adding further value to them and your Pirates.

Cartographer 🗻

The Cartographer will have three functions:

1. Sell TMAPs to other users.
2. Buy extra TMAPs.
3. Exchange your TMAPs for a Voyage.

The Cartographer’s prices will dynamically update to reflect supply and demand.

Who would buy TMAPs?

1. Pirates who want to go on more voyages or more difficult voyages.
2. Pirates who want to take advantage of the prices at the time.
3. Players who do not own a pirate but want to participate in the game (in future).

Voyages ⚓

Voyages will vary in a number of ways:

• Difficulty
• Length (time to complete)
• Number of islands (clues to your next location)
• Number of Chests (chances at finding Treasure)
• Number of enemies (chances at damaging your ship)
• Cost (number of TMAPs you need to buy the voyage)

Before the voyage you can choose the ships you’d like to take. You can take a maximum number of ships on each voyage. Choosing your ships will require skill to max your potential rewards.

Treasure 💎

Though there is a high chance treasure will contain $DOUBLOONS, other treasures may be dropped into the loot pool from time to time, such as other NFTs.

At the end of a voyage you will be able to exchange your treasure chest at The Collectors Guild.

There are different rarities of Chest with their own loot table, resulting in higher tier chests and higher chances of more rewards.

Economy & $DOUBLOONS 💰

$DOUBLOONS are the main currency of the game. In Phase 1 their primary function is to purchase and repair Ships. As the game expands the utility of $DOUBLOONS will too.

This may be cosmetics, land and more.

In Summary:

• Pirates cost MOVR.
• Voyages cost TMAP.
• Everything else costs $DOUBLOONS (buy or repair Ships).
• When you sell things (Ships, TMAPs) you will get $DOUBLOONS.

Now that you understand the key features of the game, here’s how it plays out.

Phase 1 Gameplay

The first iteration of The Damned Pirates Society is focused on building a fair and sustainable in-game economy and getting the core ‘gameplay’ loop balanced, whilst working to increase future value for Pirate and TMAP holders.

In this phase, DPS is a web-based, idle style game, in which you make strategic decisions to try and affect the overall outcome of your voyage.

By committing your assets (Pirate, Ships and Artefacts) for the duration of the Voyage, you experience encounters based on the difficulty of the Voyage you choose. All encounters will have a chance of damaging your ship, failing the Voyage, or, if you are successful, finding Treasure in the form of NFTs, $DOUBLOONS or Artefacts.

TMAP

By staking your Pirate you will earn TMAP, which will in turn allow you to exchange your TMAPs for Voyages from the Cartographer.

Additionally, you can buy or sell your TMAPS to the Cartographer for $DOUBLOONS. This will become important as non-pirate holders begin to enter the game and need TMAPs to participate in Voyages.

Choosing a Voyage

There are 4 tiers of Voyage difficulty, ranging from Easy to Legendary. Each Voyage also contains a set of random variables:

• Difficulty
• Length (time to complete)
• Number of islands (clues to your next location)
• Number of Chests (chances at finding Treasure)
• Number of enemies (chances at damaging your ship)
• Cost (number of TMAPs you need to buy the voyage)
• Plus, an insurance payout if the voyage fails, in $DOUBLOONS, to cover a sloop repair.

Each condition you will experience in the form of enemies, treasure and clues are all fail/success criteria and dependant on your skill rating.

A combination of Pirates skill + Ships skill + skill from Artefacts will all improve your chances of success upon Voyages.

Selecting your Fleet

Once your Voyage has been chosen, you will need to select your fleet, which will be made up of your Pirate and their Ships.

The number of ships you need will depend on the Voyage chosen and the first time you play, if you do not have a Ship, you will be able to claim 1 free Ship per Pirate.

As your fleet grows you will need to repair damaged ships and buy bigger and better Ships across 3 tiers (by spending $DOUBLOONS), which carry different skill ratings.

By increasing your fleet you will increase your chances of success on Voyages.

Some skill will be required to choose the correct ships to safely navigate your Voyage and earn the maximum rewards.

Going on a Voyage

Once you have selected your Fleet you will be able to begin your Voyage, upon which you will encounter enemies, clues and eventually treasure.

Your ships may be damaged along the way, and if they are, you will need to repair them in the Shipyard once the Voyage is complete.

If your fleet is not strong enough to handle the level of difficulty, there is a chance your Voyage will fail, so choose wisely.

At the end of the Voyage you will be provided a summary which will include details of any damage you received and how many treasures were found.

Finding Treasure

At the end of Voyage, and if you are successful, you will likely find Treasure.

There are 4 tiers of treasure ranging in rarity from 1–4.

You will be able to exchange your Treasure for Loot at The Collectors Guild, which will come back to you in the form of $DOUBLOONS, Artefacts which contain additional skill points, or potentially rare MOVR NFT drops.

What’s Coming in Phase 2?

During Voyages DPS plan on introducing a real-time front end display of what’s happening, and anticipate releasing this not long after the launch of Voyages. Initially, you will receive a brief summary of what happened.

Further down the line, it is the desire that Voyages will not only be supported by real-time information, but animated shorts or events taking place on your Voyage.

The Damned Pirates Society have extremely ambitious goals for these gamified contracts and the PirateVerse as a whole, which they intend to deliver as part of regular, small, achievable goals.

The first iteration is intentionally very simple so that the core voyage loop is built on a solid foundation going forward.

The DPS also wants the help of the community, and your feedback will be vital for improving the game and expanding the PirateVerse, to create something we’re all proud to be part of.

Opening up the game to non-pirate holders (NOPs) will be necessary for long-term revenue generation & growth, but it’s the DPS’s priority to ensure the growth of the game benefits pirate holders and increases the value/utility of the NFTs you own.

Summary

I have to say, I am really impressed with what The Damned Pirates Society have put together, and even more impressed it’s been done on a fast growing network which keeps gas fees (almost) non-existent. This will allow all players an opportunity to become completely immersed in the mechanics of the game.

Add to that the impressive artwork, and it wouldn’t surprise me if The Damned Pirates Society becomes a cornerstone of the Moonriver NFT gaming system. I can’t wait to get involved!

Lawpez

DPS Resources

Website: https://www.damnedpiratessociety.io/
Discord: https://discord.gg/Za6yDFFrv9
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDPSproject