Otherside Chat w/ James and Figge

OthersideMeta avatar
Othersidemeta
@OthersideMetaSep 10, 2026

The Spaces convened core builders and community around Otherside’s next-gen, on-chain resource economy. James and Figgy outlined a phased open beta launching this year: ~600 Yuga-owned deeds, four environments, dev contracts for resources, and crafted items minted as NFTs that persist, including some beta-only recipes. The economy centers on 74 on-chain resources with Ape as the sole medium of exchange. Harvesting occurs on deeds at owner-set fees (0–100%), with possible RNG variants under testing; deed admins will later gain token gating and other tools. Travel between deeds requires Star Pods (base ships start slow, can be upgraded), with future details on traversal, hauling, and safety. Demand for resources comes via crafting sinks and broader gameplay loops; a robust simulation engine (personas from whales to time-rich/poor) is guiding balance. Levels will matter; Codas enhance play, Mega Codas confer special effects; artifacts remain attached for now. PvP is desired but will be opt-in and carefully designed. Interoperability is core: crafted tokens and MML assets can be used across ODK worlds. Originals vs Expanded Otherdeeds differ technically (Expanded is upgradeable), with deeper tokenomic specifics to come. Communication cadence, lore beats, and regular AMAs will continue, with a Charleston “Nexus & Chill” meetup announced.

OtherSide Economy AMA – Comprehensive Notes and Highlights

Who Spoke and Their Roles (as inferred)

  • James (“Godfather” of the OtherSide economy): now leading OtherSide; primary voice on mechanics, comms cadence, and testing approach.
  • Figgy (Yuga leadership): reinforced test philosophy and the need for phased rollouts; added clarity on contract/tech constraints.
  • PM (OtherSide OG/Product): chimed in on build direction and ODK.
  • Community voices referenced or speaking: Honeybee/Honey Buzzle, Zards, Gary (MrApe36), Red One, Croc/C Rock, Doctor Doge, Jay Bizel, Hype, Mac, PCK, Lancer (Super Phoenix Sports), Dev, Frosties, Trop, Mikey, Copyracks, and others. Internal team mentioned: Minko/Sminko (simulation engine), Colin (lore).

Executive Summary

OtherSide is ramping a next‑generation, on‑chain game economy centered on 74 on‑chain resources and ApeCoin (APE) as the sole in‑and‑out currency (“coin of the realm”). The team is shifting to iterative, public development with a phased, open beta that begins on Yuga‑owned deeds, using a subset of resources and environments to tune gameplay, economy balance, and infrastructure. Codas and Voyagers play central roles; deed owners will control access (including token‑gating) and harvest “tax” rates to attract or gate traffic. Travel between deeds will use Star Pods (player ships), with speed, safety, and logistics as meaningful gameplay. Crafted items will be tokenized and persist; resources used in testing will sit on dev contracts to allow resets if needed. The team emphasizes clear communications “beats,” deeper threads on specific systems (e.g., Star Pods, resources), and frequent AMAs as they methodically unlock one of the most sophisticated on‑chain game economies to date.

Communications Cadence and Philosophy

  • James has been engaging holders directly, with feedback pointing to the need for steady, transparent comms after a long quiet period.
  • Weekly wiki posts have resumed (occasional skips notwithstanding), plus multi‑tweet threads and follow‑up AMAs for each major system.
  • Expect “beats”: sequenced disclosures (e.g., Star Pods thread likely next; deeper resource/economy threads to follow).
  • Commitment: communicate what’s ready, avoid confusion; no more long radio silences.

Core Economy Architecture

  • Resources: 74 on‑chain resources (per official thread). These form the backbone loop; faucets and sinks will be tuned to sustain the economy.
  • Currency: ApeCoin (APE) is the only in‑and‑out currency for buying/selling within the OtherSide economy (“coin of the realm”).
  • Characters: Codas and Voyagers are central to play and lore. Other characters exist, but initial economy/lore focus stays on these pillars. Teased mechanics: “Codas enhance your play in more ways than one”; “Mega Codas bless those who give tribute.” More specifics to come.
  • Lore: The world has a continuing story; the resource loop is the backbone, not the entirety. The team aims to keep lore beats moving while avoiding being over‑constrained by legacy documents (e.g., Obelisk/light paper) that predate current design.

Open Beta: Scope, Persistence, and Reset Policy

  • Start on Yuga‑owned deeds only: reduces variables, enables fast iteration with real player behavior while containing risk.
  • Scale of initial test: approximately 600 deeds (number not final), largely in the “mid band” of the map (not the central nexus). Intent is to preserve a sense of exploration and travel.
  • Environments at start: about 4 environment types (out of 29 total) to begin; environment sizes (1–5) will be tested to validate performance and resource distribution.
  • Sediment: Yuga deeds used in the test cluster around a mid‑tier sediment.
  • Resource contracts: harvested resources during test live on dev contracts so the team can “smash glass” and reset if needed for balance/stability.
  • Player persistence: anything you craft into a token/NFT during the beta you keep. Some crafted items will be beta‑exclusive (never craftable again post‑beta).
  • Date: “This year” for takeoff of Star Pods and the resource loop; no exact date disclosed.

Travel and Star Pods

  • Star Pods are player ships for traveling between deeds; you’ll need a ship to move around.
  • Base Star Pod speed will be slow; travel time from the central Nexus to far edges should feel significant at baseline. Upgrades (speed, shields, logistics) will matter.
  • There may be separate/auxiliary vessels for hauling resources.
  • Travel will be an integral part of the resource loop and player logistics. Detailed Star Pod thread incoming.

Harvesting on Deeds: Access, Rates, and Strategy

  • Anyone can harvest on another’s deed if the owner allows it; the harvester pays the owner’s fee (“tax”).
  • Owner control:
    • Adjustable harvest tax rate (examples discussed: 0–100%). Owners can set lower rates than neighbors to attract traffic or set high/100% to disincentivize.
    • Potential to close harvesting entirely (self‑harvest only).
    • Token‑gating: owners will be able to gate access by NFT collection; extended gating (e.g., CSV allowlists, dynamic gating by achievement) is desired but may arrive after initial release.
  • Dynamics: early traffic will naturally cluster toward central areas due to slow base ships; outlying owners may use lower taxes/gating incentives to pull travelers outward. Expect emergent “market‑making” behavior by owners.
  • Admin tools: Deliberately sparse at launch to learn from holders; will expand iteratively (e.g., token‑gated access, fine‑grained controls). Sub‑area gating (like Clubhouse/Temple analogs) is desired but not in the earliest tests.

Crafting, Demand, and Sinks

  • Why gather 74 resources? To craft items (wearables, placeables, potentially tools) that have in‑world utility and tradable value.
  • Sinks vs faucets: The team will detail sinks (consumption) in upcoming threads; a functioning economy can’t be faucet‑only. Expect deliberate design around resource burn, item creation, and life cycles.
  • Community creation: Long‑term ambition to allow communities (e.g., Zards) to submit their own craftables via the “Object Factory” pipeline; starts with first‑party crafting, then opens up as systems and QA mature.
  • Interoperability: Crafted items will be tokens with MML metadata and usable across ODK worlds. Builders can surface and sell crafted assets elsewhere; non‑crafters can simply buy in APE.
  • Auction house/market: Discussed, but details deferred for a later thread.

Economy Balance and Simulation

  • Extensive simulations run with AI tools (e.g., Claude) and a custom engine by Minko, modeling diverse player personas: whales, time‑rich/resource‑poor, resource‑rich/time‑poor, etc.
  • Repeated runs inform starting parameters; live behavior will still diverge (as seen in prior tests), hence the phased open beta.
  • Global supply caps per resource: not confirmed; preliminary inclination is “no fixed global caps,” relying on faucets/sinks and tuning. Expect a dedicated economy deep‑dive with Minko.

Codas, Levels, Combat, and Safety

  • Codas: “enhance your play in more ways than one”; Mega Codas have special interactions (“bless those who give tribute”). Specific buffs/mechanics to be revealed in dedicated threads.
  • Levels: Level cap increases are paused while the team focuses on the core resource loop. Levels will matter for the economy (benefits implied), and level systems should resume once loops are solid.
  • PvP: Highly requested but will be opt‑in/clearly flagged to avoid griefing. Concepts like raiding/ambush risk are on the table; details will arrive later.
  • NPCs/dangers: Teased that “OtherSide is a dangerous place,” but no confirmations on NPC mobs at this stage.

Original OtherDeed vs OtherDeed Expanded

  • Technical constraint: Original OtherDeed contract is locked; Expanded is on an upgradeable contract. This limits how far feature parity can go.
  • Expect more malleable mechanics and evolving features on Expanded. Original deeds won’t be abandoned, but there are hard limits on retroactive changes to locked contracts.
  • In‑game representation/visitation: Players will be able to visit deeds represented in the game world regardless; specific tokenomic implications and resource production differences are to be covered in a future deep‑dive.

Metadata vs Lived World: Resource “Bleed”

  • Resource metadata indicates N/S/E/W quadrants, but strict adherence can make worlds feel sterile.
  • The team will allow slight “bleed” across boundaries (e.g., some Limy Leaf showing near a Fragmentia zone) to make the 3D world feel more organic while respecting the spirit of metadata.

Navigation, Social Layer, and Discovery

  • The star map is public (OS wiki, otherside.xyz), so total “dark forest” discovery isn’t feasible.
  • New social layer foundations deployed: Global/World/Party chat, friends list/groups. The system knows your holdings, and course plotting to friends/known deeds is an intended UX goal.
  • Question of contiguous traversal (walk/run/glide deed‑to‑deed) was deferred to a later thread.

ODK Worlds and Builder Guidance

  • Keep building. ODK development (e.g., OtherGames) should continue in parallel; nothing announced today should force rework.
  • Crafted items from the resource loop will be visible/usable in ODK worlds (token + MML), allowing builders to incorporate economy outputs into their own experiences.
  • Community tools/dashboards: Because on‑chain, expect third‑party dashboards (e.g., by Frosties) from day one of public contracts.

Accessibility and Participation Without Deeds

  • Non‑owners can join as Voyagers, harvest, craft, and sell. The loop is designed to be attractive without deed ownership; owning a deed is an aspirational next step (for hosting experiences, configuring access, and capturing tax flows).
  • Client: download/stream the client and play; broad access at launch of the beta. No date disclosed.

Events, Esports, and Growth Programs

  • Esports/tournaments/broadcasting: desired and designed for, but later in the roadmap once loops are stable (walk/run phase).
  • Referral/ambassador programs and guild systems: acknowledged as important for UA, slated for later once the core economy is proven.
  • Community events: “Nexus & Chill” announced for Charleston; ongoing engagement through Discord/X.

Notable Questions Deferred (Expect Dedicated Threads/AMAs)

  • Star Pods: deeper capabilities, logistics ships, upgrades, safety.
  • Resource system: faucets/sinks, seasons, deposit deplete/replenish rules, global supply mechanics, per‑resource tokenization specifics.
  • PvP specifics: opt‑in zones, raid mechanics, risk vs reward tuning.
  • Artifacts: role and interactions; current stance suggests artifacts remain attached to deeds (no detachment “as of now”).
  • Daisy‑chaining/linking deeds and moving resources between them: unaddressed due to lore/tech considerations.
  • In‑game marketplace/auction house design.
  • Treatment of deeds with no visible resources; potential compensatory mechanics.

Community Input Invited

  • Travel time tuning: How long should a base Star Pod take to reach the farthest deed from Nexus?
  • Deed admin features: token‑gating sophistication (e.g., CSV allowlists, activity‑based discounts), monetization tools (e.g., mints, promotions), and ownership UX.
  • Tokenomics shape: balancing faucets/sinks, seasonal patterns, and production boosts (e.g., “watering the garden” analogies from community suggestions).

Key Takeaways

  • ApeCoin is the transactional backbone; every economy interaction is designed around APE.
  • Iteration is the philosophy: start small (Yuga deeds, subset of resources and environments), observe, rebalance, expand.
  • Player agency for deed owners is central: access gating, tax rate competition, community activations to attract harvesters.
  • Travel and logistics are gameplay, not loading screens: base ships are slow; upgrades and routing matter.
  • Persistence is meaningful: crafted items from beta persist and some are beta‑exclusive; resources during test can be reset if needed.
  • Builders: keep building in ODK; crafted assets will be interoperable across worlds.
  • Comms will be steady: expect focused threads and follow‑up AMAs for each subsystem.

Near‑Term Nexts

  • Star Pods deep‑dive thread; likely next AMA focused on travel/logistics.
  • Resource economy threads covering sinks/faucets, deposit behavior, and persona‑based tuning (with Minko).
  • Continued weekly wiki updates and environment showcases.
  • Ongoing community Q&A sessions post‑thread to align understanding and gather feedback.

Fun Closer: Favorite Resources (for the vibes)

  • James: Lumileaf (often used as example), honorable mention Fragmentia.
  • Community shout‑outs included Nebula, Oblivion, Brimstone, Whisper, among others. Not financial advice; just vibes.