TL:DR
Here’s the quick TL:DR, all the details are below.
In the Studio Update, we’ve got plenty to discuss about the Alpha and the business dealings that are going on behind the scenes. In the Development section there is a gallery of screen images from the Alpha build. The AI team has accomplished many more items that push our AI NPCs to be better than any others we’ve witnessed. The Blockchain team covered changes to support the Mine Runner experience among other support, and the Community team touched on this month’s contests and the Q1 Questionnaire feedback. Let’s get into it!
Studio Update
The alpha on the Alpha: The AI integration while rewarding has also been challenging. Because we feel this truly will be a revolutionary shift in how our project will be seen, we are taking extra time to be sure it is working flawlessly. This won’t be just ChatGPT lip sync’d by a model, but expressive, thoughtful conversations to include facial and body gestures. When this type of feature is off, it’s apparent. When it is done right, as we are doing it, we feel it will be monumental.
So much so that we are designing our first NetVRk Alpha AI contest focused around users recording and posting their experiences with our AI. Those community members who showcase their creativity with our AI NPC characters the best are in line for some special recognition. Stay tuned for all the details as the Alpha is finalized.
Additionally, we are in conversations with a number of new centralized exchanges to add NETVR to their listings. For obvious reasons, we aren’t able to share any details about the deals until they are in ink, but the conversations are with more than one, and we anticipate that these will open the door to the T1 exchanges in the near future.
Mike and Linus are interested in combining the previous Devlog TL:DR videos with the AMA format, to host a community talk on a regular basis. These ‘town hall’ events would be a place to go into more detail about the project plans and all of the opportunities things like the Killer Whales appearance has opened up. If this idea has merit, let us know in our socials.
We are contracting a web development company to craft a fresh and innovative website, ensuring it exudes a modern look. Our goal is to captivate our expanding community who are heading into the project and effectively showcase our cutting-edge offerings, including the revolutionary AI Avatars. The current website falls short in adequately highlighting these features, and we’re determined to rectify this to leave a lasting impression on visitors.
Finally, we are lining up a number of influencers in preparation for that Alpha release. As great as it is to have the community see and experience the work that Mike and the team have put in, it’s even better for the project’s long term success to have a good number of influencers see and promote the project to the larger web3 world. As we sign these deals, we’ll be sure to share that with everyone.
Development Update
More has been done to expand the world of the Alpha and create as rich and detailed a world as Unreal can provide. The team has created the gallery below as a preview of what is in store.
AI Update
Creating really humanistic speech and gesturing has been the goal for the AI team, and we continue to make progress to that end. During the month of March, the group expanded on the facial expressions and body language that was added in the prior months. They integrated a custom trained Llama2 large language model, informed by the NetVRk history and lore.
Additionally, the AI driven NPCs are now given the ability to spot, lock on, and follow a player about the space. Not just in the traditional sense that NPCs have done for years, but based on the emotional attachment you can earn from your interactions with this AI driven character. Make them happy and they want to spend time with you. Make them angry and you might find yourself being ignored or chased. This is again in service of the realism we envision.
Finally, the speech output has now integrated an emotional component that will affect tone of voice. Now “have you seen where the project is headed” can be said in many different ways, each suitable for the proper emotional state (which is obviously excited)!
Blockchain Team Update
In March, the Blockchain team focused on three pivotal objectives and started one major initiative. Firstly, we executed a distribution of our new token to users who acquired the old token between the incident on December 23rd and the public announcement to stop trading. If you’re yet to receive the new token, simply visit claim.netvrk.co and follow the instructions provided.
Secondly, we redoubled our efforts to enhance the play-and-earn blockchain module for Mine Runner and Metaverse Alpha, aiming to elevate user experiences and drive deeper engagement.
Next, we’re preparing to allocate rewards to users who staked their NFTs and participated in the reward eligibility program throughout Q1 2024, ensuring that their ongoing commitment is duly acknowledged and rewarded.
Finally, we have begun the design of our Play-and-Earn system to be built around some upcoming gaming features, like shooting and driving. While we design the system, we are asking for guidance from the compliance and legal teams to understand how best to handle anteing up of money and handling p2p payments on various skill based games.
Community Update
The community team began the Treasure Hunt organized by our partners at Martians vs Roughnecks. A total of 7 projects are taking part to offer a prize pool worth over $5K. This is a very large undertaking, but with a reward pool so valuable, an effort we’re happy to be a part of. Be sure to check out each of the other partner projects in the contest. You can find more info in: https://netvrk.news/join-the-treasure-hunt/
We received a fair amount of feedback from the Q1 Questionnaire, which is one of the two available participation requirements to qualify for NFT staking rewards, and endeavoring to respond. The community team has reached out to many of you, and will continue to do so. Please make sure to check your emails as we may want to ask some of you to explain more on some of the ideas you laid out and understand some of your suggestions better, all with the goal of being able to take action on the best suggestions.
We thank you all for your continued support as we roll into Q2. Many exciting things are in our future, and we are so appreciative that you give your time and energy in the many ways you do in support of NetVRk. We’ll speak again soon!
