While Ethereum is still a favorite choice for smart contracts and dapps developers, many have been hurt by the extremely high gas fees and slow transactions associated with the network. As a result, NFT and DeFi projects are moving to other scalable and cheaper blockchains like Solana.
The Great Gas War of 2021 caused countless casualties, and now, AGE of SAM, an innovative Solana-based NFT project, is planning on taking survivors to the moon and beyond.
About AGE of SAM
AGE of SAM (AOS) is a multi-project hold-to-earn NFT platform built on the Solana blockchain with extended utility for 12 partner Solana projects.
The project is the first of its kind. It plans to bring the popular battle of blockchains into its story, highlighting one of the biggest distinctions between Ethereum and Solana – gas fees.
AGE of SAM illustrates this distinction in a unique and quite captivating sci-fi lore, laying the foundation for a cross-project utility as never seen before.
The Great Gas War of 2021
The entire foundation of the AOS NFT ecosystem stems from a war dubbed the Great Gas War of 2021. Following the fall of House Ether, 12 remaining factions continued to battle for survival as the most scarce of resources, Solarium, was running out.
The 12 factions, which are represented by 12 unique already-existing Solana-based projects, including Solpunks, Bold Badgers, Jungle Cats, Piggy Sol Gang, Soliens, Ernest in Disguise, Unirexcity, SolYetis, Famous Fox Federation, Fancy Frenchies, KAM1, and Rat Bastards, came together to establish House Sol.
However, try as they may, lasting peace could not be achieved because the amount of Solarium left was depleting fast, and they were constantly fighting for it.
Soon they learn of large deposits of Solarium on the moon and must travel to the Dark Side of the moon to mine it. To do this, about 10,000 miners were cloned from the finest DNAs provided by the 12 factions.
Who is SAM?
Solarium Autonomous Miners, or SAM, are the project’s native non-fungible tokens (NFT)s, which are machine-generated from the DNA of the 12 factions, and that is the NFT that players will mint.
The acronym, SAM, pays homage to astronaut Sam Bell from the movie Moon, and players would also have to travel to mine Solarium.
Each SAM is an astronaut with a unique face representing one of the 12 unique Solana NFT projects. No two SAMs are alike, as their characteristics determine their rarity.
Mining SOLARIUM
Players will be able to use their SAM NFT to mine Solarium, which serves as the project’s native token, via Moon Missions, where players stake their SAM NFTs. Each Mission is scheduled to last for a week, during which players’ SAM mine Solarium.
Players use the Solarium mined to purchase and upgrade facilities to build up their Moon Base and establish economic dominance in their part of the metaverse.
The amount of Solarium a player mines depends on the rank of their SAM NFT. Below are the five ranks:
- Scout: This is the most common rank and is needed to find the mines with available resources. Scouts earn 1 SOLARIUM in the weekly Moon Missions.
- Technician: Technicians survey uncharted regions by foot and take readings at different locations around the base camp. Technicians are uncommon, and they earn 1.5 SOLARIUM per week.
- Engineer: Engineers are rare SAM NFTs that devise new methods to make mining faster, cheaper, and better. They earn 3 SOLARIUM every week.
- Scientist: This category consists of epic NFTs that are key to unlocking the powerful secrets of the platform’s ecosystem. Scientists earn 15 SOLARIUM weekly.
- Commander: This is the rarest rank. They are legendary and extremely skilled. They earn 60 SOLARIUM during the weekly Moon Missions.
The Hold-to-Earn Utility
Interestingly, the AGE of SAM project also features a hold-to-earn utility that rewards holders of the 12 partner Solana projects.
If a player holds any NFT from the 12 different projects, they can earn 1.5x more SOLARIUM during the Moon Missions. And if they hold a matching faction NFT with their SAM NFT, they can earn 2x more SOLARIUM.
The Prize Pool
AGE of SAM is focused on community building. Members of each faction can join the project’s Discord server to participate in various trivia contests, games, and activities, where they stand a chance of winning numerous Solana NFTs.
Factions that earn the most SOLARIUM will win various prizes in addition to whatever amount of SOLARIUM they mined.
The team developing AGE of SAM is currently working to establish partnerships with several other top Solana projects to bring additional rewards to the hold-to-earn experience.