Welcome to our 204th newsletter on Star Atlas! This weekly newsletter, published by Aephia Industries, focuses entirely on the development of this ambitious game. Here, we attempt to aggregate all the newsworthy tidbits revealed, primarily by the team, throughout the past week.
This past week brought an unexpected surprise: the team quietly launched the z.ink A.LPHA Test Airdrop Season. This was clearly the highlight of the past week, and nearly 2,000 accounts have already been registered!
Beyond that campaign, the team gave us a rough development roadmap for the rest of the year, and the DAO Council elections for the third term have begun!
Let’s dive in!
z.ink A.LPHA Test Airdrop Season
z.ink A.LPHA Launch
Without any prior announcement, the team surprise-launched the Test Airdrop Season for z.ink this past Thursday, October 30th. The core purpose of this test phase is for the team to test their z.ink Dashboard, including zProfile creation, and zXP weighting and allocations.
To be clear about this right away: there is no z.ink allocation tied to this Test Season! That is not to say there are no benefits/rewards from participating in this test, however. There are three in total:
- Founder’s Badge (SFT) — A collectible, cosmetic badge that you will be able to apply to your zProfile (down the line).
- A boosted start in the O.RIGINS campaign — You will maintain your daily Check-in streak bonus going into the O.RIGINS campaign. This effectively means that you can start that campaign with up to a 25% boost in zXP earned.
- A head start in the O.RIGINS campaign — You’ll begin the O.RIGINS campaign at the level you reached in A.LPHA, up to a maximum of level 20. If you hit (or surpass) level 20 in A.LPHA, you’ll start O.RIGINS at level 20. Otherwise, you’ll start at your actual achieved level.
We have written an extensive guide on how to join and earn zXP. It delves much deeper into all the aspects of this campaign, so definitely give that a read if you’re interested in participating.
Of note: Over 1,800 zProfile accounts have been created since launch, of which 700 have actually earned any zXP so far.
O.RIGINS Campaign
This A.LPHA campaign lasts about 6 weeks, and is followed by 1-2 weeks of downtime, during which the team conducts a final check on their zXP mechanics. Afterwards, the team plans to launch the actual airdrop campaign, dubbed O.RIGINS. This campaign will last approximately three months, and during this time, you can earn a slice of the initial z.ink airdrop.
Development Roadmap
During the Atlas Brew, Santi (VP of Community & Ecosystem) shared with us the rough order in which things are planned to roll out for the remainder of the year. The list started with the launch of the z.ink Dashboard, but that went live one day later, so we removed it from the list. The order is as follows:
- The team will start working on cleaning up some technical debt to get the following out:
- CORE Act 3 — The last six issues that form the closing act of the CORE Graphic Novel
- Starpath — Not entirely clear what needs to happen here. Most likely, there are some loose ends (tickets) regarding this campaign that concluded a few months ago.
- Never Alone campaign rewards (possibly still through meta-crafting recipes)
- Holosim Chapter 2
- The next big UE5 Patch — We actually referenced this one last week, as it was initially dubbed the “October patch” (at least, internally). It looks like this one will take a little longer.
- Launch of the SAGE C4 Public Test Realm (PTR) — This means C4 will go live on the testnet, allowing players to explore and test the next phase of gameplay, before it goes live in (likely) Q2 of next year.
Additionally, Michael shared some further information regarding what to expect after the O.RIGINS campaign concludes in late March (at the earliest) next year. He stated that he hopes to:
- Launch z.ink mainnet directly after O.RIGINS wraps up
- Launch SAGE C4 on the z.ink mainnet on the very same day
Star Atlas DAO
DAO Council Elections
The 2nd Council term is slowly coming to a close, which means it is time to kick off the election period for the 3rd Council term, which officially begins on January 11th, 2026.
Right before the second Council term, a new procedure was implemented to ensure there is ample time to facilitate the elections, and a whole month is allocated for the newly elected council members to shadow the present Council in their roles.
The new term will run from January 11th, 2026, to October 11th, 2026, for a total of 9 months.
Timeline
The timeline is looking as follows:
- October 29th – Self-Nomination Opens
- November 12th – Campaign Period Begins
- November 26th – Election PIP Goes Live (voting starts!)
- December 10th – Transition Term Begins
- January 11th – New Council Assumes Full Authority
Self-nomination
At this point in time, the window for self-nomination is open for everyone to step forward and toss their hat into the ring. The DAO is an essential institution for the longevity of Star Atlas, and anyone stepping up for the whole 9 months of a Council term to put their shoulders beneath it is a hero in the ecosystem.
If you are up to the challenge, please use the form to introduce yourself to the current Council.
The self-nomination period is open until November 11th, and at the time of publication, five community members have already stepped forward.
News Bits
To wrap this issue up, here are two final bits of news:
First off, the Holosim Chapter 1 rewards have been sent out. Please check your Inventory for the Claims.
Lastly, Michael and Santi have returned from Switzerland, and Michael had the following to say on the matter:
Just got home from a Switzerland trip over the past week. Finalizing some deals that are going to transform metaverse, gaming, and specifically Star Atlas. None of this will be immediate impact, but will all start materializing over 6-9 months. We’re witnessing the birth of the first Cybernation. A true digital nation state. Coupled with a censorship resistant digital identity powered by
@ZinkSVM. Bullish.
You’ve reached the end of this week’s issue. Thanks for reading, and see you next week!