Terraforms

What is the Terraforms NFT project?

Terraforms is a collection of 9,910 unique, on-chain land art NFTs that have been developed and released by Mathcastles. The project is focused on building a virtual environment known as the "Hypercastle," which spans 20 different levels. Each NFT in the Terraforms collection represents a 32-by-32 grid of terrain within this virtual world.

Each Terraform NFT has visible attributes such as colours, ASCII characters, and animation speed. Additionally, each parcel of terrain has invisible metadata attributes that correspond to its location within the Hypercastle. This information indicates which level the parcel is on, as well as its x and y coordinates on that level. Each Terraform NFT also has three modes: terrain, daydream, and terraform.

In terrain mode, the NFT represents a parcel of land in its original state, which features a pulsing ASCII design that looks similar to a topographical map. In daydream mode, the owner of the NFT can draw whatever ASCII creations they want on a blank slate. Owners can initiate this mode by inputting a command directly into the contract on Etherscan and then using a community-built tool to do the drawing. Terraform mode is activated when the drawing made in daydream mode is locked in or saved back to the blockchain so that it can be viewed by others. A given parcel can switch between daydream and terraform modes indefinitely, but the initial change from terrain to daydream can only happen once and is irreversible. This means that the quantity of terrain mode NFTs is limited and can only decrease over time.

Mathcastles' Terraforms project has generated a significant following among collectors and developers, who have created a rich set of tools to use the project's on-chain data to interpret and visualize the Hypercastle. The tools include Hypercastle Explorers, which renders the virtual environment using the Unity game engine. While the Terraforms collection is not a social 3D world, it is a collection of eternally stored data that is open to interpretation and specific visual presentation with licenses that permit creative use.

Does the Terraforms by Mathcastles metaverse exist?

While most NFTs function as digital assets, Terraforms can be thought of as the building blocks of a virtual place. Each token features animated art rendered on a 32x32 grid of text characters, which is stored in an SVG file. Terraforms also function as a practical software tool that allows each token to transform into a drawing program capable of overwriting the existing Terrain artwork. The tokens feature three modes: Terrain, which displays the land art animation; Daydream, which enables users to draw on it; and Terraform, which commits the drawing back to the blockchain for others to view.

What makes Terraforms unique is that they are fully on-chain and contain all the information needed to render the visuals. The ASCII designs require special font information, and even that is stored in each smart contract. Unlike most metaverses, which present an image of a world that obscures the code that makes it all possible, Terraforms does the opposite. Mathcastles has built an imaginary world out of the material of smart contracts, rather than creating images of a virtual world and connecting them to smart contracts after the fact. Terraforms are made of text, both in their mechanism and their display. This new approach allows users to create and interact with an immersive virtual world that is transparent in its presentation of the material substance of code.

Moreover, Terraforms offer various levels of engagement. They are not just passive objects but can be transformed into a drawing program, which allows users to overwrite and commit new drawings to the blockchain for others to view.

Terraforms NFT unique architecture

The innovative architecture of the Terraforms NFT project introduces a captivating and unique approach to generative artworks. Each token, referred to as a "parcel" or "plot" within the project's vibrant community, is a visually striking composition of distinct characters. What sets this project apart is that the data and algorithms required to generate these captivating visuals are stored directly on the Ethereum blockchain, ensuring an utterly on-chain experience.

A key aspect of the project is the concept of zones, defined by captivating colour palettes inspired by iconic schemes from popular culture. These zones add a sense of depth and uniqueness to each token, making them visually appealing and diverse. Another defining characteristic is the biome, which determines the character set displayed on the tokens. The project team has carefully curated a diverse and peculiar collection of Unicode characters, contributing to the project's distinct artistic flavour.

Furthermore, the animation type of each token is influenced by the chroma attribute. Although the diversity in this aspect might not be immediately apparent, factors such as character cycling speed, animation speed, and animation location introduce a significant level of variation. Additionally, there is another attribute that plays a vital role in the animation's motion. While visually discerning this attribute can be challenging, its value determines whether a cell undergoes character changes or cycles. The contract governing this attribute's variable name is known as "resourceName," and it includes functions that enable modification of both the naming and contract address.

The Terraforms NFT project truly offers a groundbreaking approach to generative artworks within the NFT ecosystem. With its on-chain architecture, distinct character sets, captivating zones and biomes, and engaging mode system, this project provides a visually stunning and interactive experience for both collectors and artists alike. By leveraging the power of the Ethereum blockchain, Terraforms NFT pushes the boundaries of digital art, creating a vibrant and evolving metaverse of unique generative tokens.

What was the Terraforms mint price?

The highly anticipated public minting event for the Terraforms NFT project took place on December 17, 2022, marking a significant milestone in its journey. During this momentous occasion, collectors and enthusiasts had the opportunity to acquire these unique tokens at a mint price of 0.16 ETH each. The project's creators decided to make 11,104 tokens available for minting, of which 9,905 were successfully minted by eager participants. Interestingly, rather than allocating the remaining tokens for Opensea royalties, the creators made a strategic choice to reserve them for other purposes.

Notably, the decision to reserve a portion of the tokens instead of allocating them for Opensea royalties demonstrated the project creators' forward-thinking approach and their intention to explore alternative avenues for these reserved tokens. This strategic move hinted at potential future developments and initiatives within the Terraforms ecosystem, leaving room for speculation and anticipation among the community.