Crypthulhu Studios
11 min readMay 13, 2022

Dimension X White Paper!

Overview

Dimension X is a Free-to-Play strategic role playing game on the Flow blockchain set in the Dimension X comic book universe, where a pan-dimensional explosion created super powered humans, aliens and monsters with radical and terrifying superpowers!

Use NFT heroes to fight villains and monsters, level up, and support your faction in an ever changing world! Build your super-teams and compete with other players! Compete for THUL that can be used to mint new heroes!

The game is still under development and everything contained here is subject to change as we continue to make progress.

Web3 and the Team

Web3 is a wild and bumpy ride! And we couldn’t be more thrilled! As veteran game developers from web2, mobile, console, and pc, we are super excited at the chance to create games for a new ecosystem. More than any other space, projects on the blockchain live and die by their community. And that’s before we talk about Play-to-Earn and NFT utility!

Dimension X was designed from the ground up to be an accessible Web3 game that is developed alongside a growing community. We’ve set the stage with crazy stories, characters, and a game with simple interactions but complicated strategies and LOTS of room to grow. We want you to join us on Discord for community storytelling contests and support a faction in-game so that YOU determine what happens next.

Free To Play

Dimension X will be Free To Play! While 10,000 FREE Generation 0 Heroes were dropped on day 1, players without an NFT can use a small number of starting Sidekicks (account-bound heroes) to begin their journey in DMX and start earning rewards in the form of the in game currency THUL. Anyone can mint new generative heroes and unlock Sidekicks through factional rewards.

The NFT’s

What are they? Super powered heroes enhanced by Element X! Some have control over fire or psychic energy blades, while others have sprouted extra bug limbs! The first drop of Dimension X heroes will consist of 10,000 generated Generation 0 heroes with another 300 custom heroes. These heroes start at level 1 and come with 3 powers at random starting levels. The cost for a Generation 0 NFT will be FREE!

Utility

Heroes are used to play the game — Staking NFT heroes to the game allows them to go on Quests. Quests are cooperative and competitive battles against enemies. Each Quest takes place on a 3x3 grid where heroes are placed to form a team. Each grid contains buffs and debuffs that use hero powers to calculate damage over time.

Powers

Each hero will have 3 random Powers, at random ranks. Powers include: Fire, Ice, Blade, Bug, Magic, Radiation, and Tech. Powers can:

  • Increase the damage a hero does by a % per level. Every 5 levels increases the power’s Rank, which improves the damage bonus per level.
  • Be used in battle to determine what buffs and debuffs are activated when placing the hero on the battle grid.
  • Be leveled up by playing the game and winning rewards!

Cosmetics

Heroes have a generated visual style composed of slots for: face, mask, upper body, and lower body. Each hero has a unique combination of these elements. Some cosmetics are more rare than others!

NFT Progression

Heroes gain XP by dealing damage to enemies while on Quests. Earning enough XP will level up heroes (to a cap). Each level increases a hero’s base damage.

XP gained based on that individual hero’s damage contribution. This means that carefully placing your heroes in order to maximize total team damage is important, but you must also consider placing heroes in highly buffed spaces to accelerate their XP gain.

Staking

Hero NFTs must be staked to participate in quests. Once staked, heroes are free to move from quest to quest as desired. On quest completion, heroes are removed from that quests area, but remain staked.

Improvement

Heroes have 2 ways to become more powerful:

  • Leveling up by earning XP, which increases base damage
  • Leveling up powers by spending matching Power Tokens (at an increasing cost per level). Every 5th level ranks up the power, increasing the damage bonus per level significantly.

Hero Types

There are 3 types of heroes in Dimension X:

  • Generation 0 — Heroes from the initial 10,000 drop on the release of the game. These heroes come with 3 powers.
  • Minted Heroes — Heroes that can be minted by spending Thul. These heroes come with 2 powers and a BOON slot! This can change every season! The current season showcases Harmony.
  • Sidekicks — Sidekicks are Non-NFT heroes that can be earned in-game. They come with 1 power. Sidekicks can have different rarities and even come with Perks!

Minted Heroes

New NFT heroes can be minted with the the In Game THUL currency. When minting a new Hero NFT they will follow the same rules as Generation 0 heroes, except they have 2 powers and one BOON slot. All newly minted heroes start at level 1.

Unique NFT Heroes

There are opportunities to earn non-generative heroes in Dimension X. These heroes COULD be from the comics, major event rewards, the DMX comic card drop, character creation challenges, or any other social event we run!

NOTE: currently, the only way to earn Unique NFT Heroes is through the secondary market.

These characters do not have generative traits but function identically to other NFT heroes while on quests. In some cases, there will only be a single copy of this bespoke character IN EXISTENCE.

Like Generation 0 NFTs, these heroes have 3 powers.

Sidekicks

Sidekicks are account-bound (non-NFT) characters with power sets that can be placed like the NFT heroes (and typically less powerful). All players start with a small number of Sidekicks and can unlock more by leveling up and completing quests for the various factions.

Similar to heroes, sidekicks earn XP and can level up their powers with Power Tokens. Sidekicks have access to less total Powers than NFT heroes do. Unlocking additional sidekicks is critical for participating in multiple quests at the same time.

THUL

DMX is both F2P! Players can earn an in game currency, THUL, to mint new heroes

THUL

  • At launch, THUL will be used exclusively to mint new heroes
  • We will never sell THUL
  • The only way to acquire THUL is through skillfully playing the game and placing on Quest leaderboards
  • THUL is given out according to placement on the leaderboard. Small amounts of THUL will reach lower onto the leaderboard.
  • Top rewards are fixed per quest, meaning that winning by one damage or a million damage does not increase the first place rewards
  • There are 3 different kinds of heroes in DMX. Each hero comes with a number of Powers; access to more powers gives more optionality, growth and utility to a hero.
  • Gen 0 Heroes (3 Powers) — 10,000 hero initial drop on game release. Gen 0 heroes will never be minted again. An additional 300 custom heroes with 3 Powers were also created.
  • Generative Heroes minted with THUL (2 Powers) — Players can mint new Generative heroes by spending THUL. These heroes have 1 less Power than Gen 0 Heroes but also come along with a BOON
  • Sidekicks (1 Power) — Account-bound, non-NFT heroes. All players start with a small number of sidekicks and can earn more in game for participation, factional rewards, and leaderboard placements. Skillful play lets you earn THUL

Game

Cool, so what do you do?

Create teams of super heroes to take on enemies by placing them on procedural battle grids, activating bonuses based on their powers! Your goal is to use your heroes to maximize damage and activate buffs that pass damage between the tiles — we call this “buff circuitry”. Once placed, heroes fight automatically until the Quest is complete, even while you are away. Available heroes can be placed on any number of Quests at the same time, so you will need to optimize positioning across multiple quests to maximize rewards.

As you complete quests you will earn resources which you can use to increase your heroes’ powers, damage and even earn new NFT heroes to take on stronger foes!

You won’t be alone though… all players are fighting against the same enemies at the same time! Players are competing for top positions on damage leaderboards for huge rewards!

Core Loop

  • Stake NFT Heroes to the game
  • Select Quests
  • Place your heroes on the Battle Grid to form a team and maximize damage
  • Earn XP and resources to level up, Earn Faction XP unlock sidekicks and rank up superpowers
  • Compete and place on leaderboards to earn new NFT heroes

Systems/Mechanics

Questing

Once you have staked your heroes you can place them on Quests. Here they will battle an enemy until the Quest is completed, at which point the heroes are unequipped. Multiple quests will be running at any given time. There are currently 3 types of quests planned for launch.

Normal Quests

The standard quest is a fight against a single monster with a large health bar. All participants in the quest are trying to kill the same monster. Your hero team’s damage dealt to the monster will place you on a leaderboard for that quest. Once the monster dies the quest is complete and your heroes will be available to select a new quest. Rewards will be distributed based on your leaderboard placement at the end of the quest.

Timed Quests

Timed quests function the same way as Normal quests but with 2 changes. First is the inclusion of a timer for how long the quest is available. The quest will end if not defeated within the time limit. The second is the addition of rewards after the enemy has taken X% damage.

Event Quests

Event quests are an opposing faction group challenge. During an event quest you must choose which enemy to fight in an attempt to kill yours before the enemy team can kill theirs. The event is completed when the first creature is killed. Event quests also have threshold based reward distribution. Also note that rewards will be different for each group, so choose wisely…

Gated Quests

Gated quests are quests that have restrictions placed on them related to the types of heroes that can be played on the quest. Gated quests can be a timed, health or normal quest.

The Battle Grid

All quest types use the battle grid system. A new grid is generated for each Quest, creating a new set of power bonuses and connections. All players see a copy of the grid to place their heroes on. Strategically placing heroes within the grid will have a significant effect on your damage output. Each grid is a 3x3 square of tiles and may contain multiple power modifiers and connectors.

Power Bonuses

Placing a hero into a tile with a matching power boosts your heroes dps. Multiple matching powers will all be applied.

Connectors

Tiles with a connector will share their damage to the connected tile.

Power Penalties

Tiles with a power penalty will reduce the DPS of a hero with the matching power.

Linked Nodes:

To be activated a hero needs to have the 2 powers that are present on the linked node in order to activate the node. Typically linked nodes have a x4 or a +20 multiplier on them, meaning that activating them can generate large boosts in DPS!

Gated Nodes:

gated nodes mean that heroes that have the power that is present in the gated node CANNOT be played on that node!

Damage

Each hero deals damage to an enemy based on their DPS, which incorporates all Power and Connection bonuses.

Levels

Hero base DPS increases with Hero Level. Heroes will need more XP each time they level up, to the current cap.

Power Levels and Ranks

Powers grant bonus DPS based on the Power Level and Rank. Powers can be leveled up by spending power tokens matching that power type. Every 5th level, the power increases in Rank. Each Rank increases the damage bonus per level.

Leaderboards and Rewards

Each Quest has a leaderboard and 2 ways to give out rewards: Ranking and Brackets.

Brackets

Quest rewards based on total damage dealt in relation to all participants.

Example: Dealing damage in the top 50% of players. Bracket rewards include Power Tokens and XP Boosts.

Ranking

Quest rewards are based on your actual position on the leaderboard

Example: Position 1, 2, and 3

Resources

Participating in quests by doing damage and placing well on the leaderboards will earn you various rewards. Again these represent a work in progress and are subject to change.

Experience Points

Experience points are applied directly to the hero NFT and earned by dealing damage on Quests. After enough XP is earned the hero will level up. Each level up applies a direct boost to the hero’s damage output.

THUL

THUL is the Dimension X in game currency. THUL is used to create new NFT heroes and is earned by ranking on Quest Leaderboards.

Power Tokens

Power Tokens are in-game currencies. There are power tokens for each of the hero power types. Power tokens are used to increase the level of a hero’s power and are typically earned as bracket rewards on Quests. Power tokens can also be earned as Faction rank up rewards.

Unique Hero NFTs

Full NFT heroes will be rarely available as rewards from special quests.

Sidekicks

Account-bound (Non-NFT) heroes will be rarely available as rewards from special quests as well as faction rank up rewards.

Faction Reputation

Similar to Experience Points, Faction Reputation is earned by participating in Quests belonging to various factions.

Roadmap

Alpha Gameplay of questing system and powers is in progress

Beta gameplay Q2 2022

Initial on chain launch is scheduled for Early Q3 2022

Post launch will continue with Event Quests

January 2023-Gear Crafting & Equipment!

Factions

There are 4 factions in the game at launch:

  • Ex Presidents
  • Bugs
  • League of Tyrants
  • Might Mounties

Each Quest is aligned with a faction. Participation in these Quests earns Faction Reputation for the player and bonus Faction Rep can be won for placement on Quest leaderboards.

Faction Rewards

Once enough Faction Rep is earned, the player’s faction level will increase and they will receive a reward. Rewards include:

  • Power Tokens
  • Sidekicks

Seasons

New Factions will cycle into the game, bringing with them unique enemies, heroes and rewards.

Seasons occur roughly every 3 months.

Community Challenges

Submit designs based on a prompt at a chance to get a unique NFT hero OR sidekick!