Smart Objects
A central expression of EVE Frontier’s ethos - rooted in player autonomy, composability, and the extensibility of the game world - is the concept of Smart Objects. "Smart" refers to any object that can connect outside the game via a programmable layer, linking the virtual world of EVE Frontier with the material world through blockchain. Smart Objects serve as a foundational layer of programmable entities, providing a unified interface that translates the in-game ontology into an on-chain environment.
Currently, Smart Object entities include Smart Assemblies which interact directly with the mechanics of the Frontier, and Smart Characters that represent on-chain player identities.
Smart Assemblies and MUD: The Framework for Embodied Smart Contracts
In the current phase, the most prominent manifestations of Smart Objects are Smart Assemblies. Imagine it as enhanced base-building. With each structure having a programmable layer, EVE Frontier allows for greater moddability and player expression on top of each “base item”. However, constructing infrastructure and deploying it on the Frontier does not require it to be programmed, rather any player should be able to easily manipulate the tools to bring about common base states. Smart Assemblies infrastructure includes storage facilities, trading posts, defenses and more.
For example, a Smart Storage Unit (SSU) is a structure anchored in space, which acts as smart storage, holding and dispensing any form of inventory players choose to load it with (currencies, items etc.). With Smart Assemblies, this structure can be coded to serve as a marketplace, a quest giver, a bounty hunter system, an arcade machine etc. The programmable interface can be coded to be anything that results in an in-game output relevant to each piece of infrastructure.
What can players build with Smart Assemblies?
Currently supported Smart Assemblies include:
Smart Storage Unit - a Smart Assembly construct that is deployed to a fixed location in space, which has an active inventory attached to it
Smart Turret - a Smart Assembly construct that allows for the owner to build custom logic for targeting systems
Smart Gate - a player-built warp gate which allows for customized gate access logic
And more to come!
What developers can create and extend from these basic structures is bound solely by their vision, drive, and technical knowledge.
MUD-Enabled
Smart Assemblies are brought to life with MUD, which is a smart contract development framework specialized in developing autonomous worlds on any Lattice-developed Ethereum-based blockchain. Notably, MUD is purpose-built for a game like EVE Frontier since:
It separates the save state and logic.
It comes with an automatic indexer for applications designed to use MUD.
It includes MUD World - a new network where anyone can deploy state and logic - enabling Smart Assemblies to be deployed instantly and permissionlessly.
How do players start building?
The programmable interface of in-game infrastructure is manipulated through coding, specifically the open-source Solidity programming language. Using Solidity, players can code functionality through smart-contracts (on-chain code) and connect infrastructure to decentralized applications (dApps). Players can modify how infrastructure functions and behaves in this way.
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