Why Solana MMO ‘Star Atlas’ Plans a One-of-a-Kind Stress Test with 1,000 Players Online
ATMTA, the company responsible for the highly anticipated space-themed video game Star Atlas built on the Solana blockchain, is gearing up for a massive stress test. The test, scheduled to take place on private servers, aims to accommodate a staggering 1,000 players in a single lobby on Wednesday. The primary objective of this stress test, according to ATMTA co-founder and CEO Michael Wagner, is to showcase the game’s high-density and immersive environments to users.
“This stress test will serve as the first demonstration of our MetaGravity integration,” Wagner explained, adding that the goal is to stress test the game with real players within a single server instance. Participants who have an access code for the Epic Games Store early access version of Star Atlas will have the opportunity to take part in the stress test. Additionally, the company has been distributing additional codes to some users who engage with the game’s official Twitter account.
Star Atlas is an MMO space game that utilizes Solana NFTs and tokens, with a persistent and visually stunning virtual world in the works. In the quest to create a robust experience, the development team has already introduced smaller-scale games to engage users. One of these smaller games, SAGE Labs, accounted for 15% of all Solana traffic shortly after its launch.
Star Atlas made waves during the 2023 Solana PlayGG event, showcasing its potential as an open-world video game. The game’s physics and server infrastructure have been enhanced through a partnership with MetaGravity, a London-based online world developer. Michael Wagner highlighted the unique approach of MetaGravity, which employs a technology called causal partitioning instead of traditional spatial partitioning.
Causal partitioning allows Star Atlas to create massive, single worlds that can support numerous users simultaneously without compromising performance. Previous demonstrations with network-connected bots have showcased the game’s ability to handle up to 30,000 concurrent users, but the upcoming stress test will involve real players. Wagner acknowledged that international players may experience some lag during the test, but emphasized that it’s only an initial multiplayer trial.
The stress test will focus on performance metrics such as frames per second (FPS), latency across different time zones, and the specifications of the PCs used to play the game. User feedback will also be collected to assess their experience. Following the stress test, Star Atlas has a roadmap that includes on-chain character progression, ship mastery, inventory management, hover racing, and full multiplayer support with Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch modes.
Despite challenges faced by ATMTA, including staff layoffs and financial losses due to the collapse of FTX, Wagner remains optimistic about the future of blockchain gaming on Solana. He expressed his confidence in Solana’s scalability and real-time on-chain transactions, reaffirming the team’s unwavering commitment to bringing Star Atlas to life.
In the world of blockchain gaming, Star Atlas’ one-of-a-kind stress test promises to be a significant milestone and a glimpse into the immersive future of MMO gaming on the Solana blockchain.