Somnium Space: A Virtual Reality World | Review
Introduction
Somnium Space is an open, social and persistent Virtual Reality (VR) world that is built on blockchain, where everyone can buy land, build or import object avatars, easily monetize their experiences and immerse themselves into a completely alternative reality.
About Somnium Space
Somnium Space is the world’s first equity crowdfunded social VR world, where people can buy and own land in one of the most ambitious and innovative Virtual Reality worlds of today. In simple words, it can also be said as a Blockchain-based Video Game.
In fact, it is a whole new world shaped by players, which is a true VR platform with land ownership on the blockchain as well as a virtual investment. Somnium Space is actually a world with its own economy and its own currency.
Somnium Space is a vast open-world that is designed for VR devices like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. However, the platform is designed to be a digital social location where people from around the world can meet, socialize, enjoy events, play games and much more.
History
The CEO and Founder of Somnium Space is Artur Sychov. Artur has worked as an investment trader for years before becoming a serial entrepreneur. He has founded several startups and holds several patents for hardware inventions which he has implemented into the market. Artur strongly believes in the ultimate future of virtual worlds.
Artur Sychov said:
“Virtual Reality and digital ownership brings the next level of human interaction. Soon, humanity will be spending the majority of its time by living inside virtual reality worlds such as Somnium Space, and I believe that digital art with proof of origin and ownership will play a huge role in shaping the look and feel of those environments.”
Artur Sychov
The Team And Advisors Of Somnium Space
- Artur Sychov — Founder and Vision Architect
- Vita Pur — Chief Operating Officer
- Carleton Di Leo — Principal Developer
- Arkady Gribachev — 3D Artist
- Fernando Gonzalez — Lead Designer
- Ondrej Dusilek — Member of the Board of Directors at CSD Prague, a CEE Stock Exchange Group Company
- Samuel Huber — Founder and CEO of Admix.in, the first programmatic monetization solution for VR/AR
- Dr. Beatrice Hasler — Assistant Professor in the Sammy Ofer School of Communications at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel (Specialist in the psychological study of virtual reality and avatars).
What Are The Objectives Of This VR World?
As Somnium Space is the new virtual reality world, with a 2D mode which is made mainly for exploration purposes.
However, Somnium Space is a world that will be shaped and built entirely by users, who will be able to buy virtual land and build almost anything they envision. For example, marketplaces, games, cinemas, parks, schools and much more.
As it is a virtual reality world, it is a world that is fully interconnected and seamless. It will be accessible from any device whether it be in 2D / VR modes on a user’s Desktop or Mobile VR mode.
Check out a Tweet from the official account of Somnium Space:
Wait what?!! You boys and girls are the best ❤️ #VR and #blockchain community out there! Not even 6 hours in and we have such stats! We are really proud of our team and a hard work they are doing! Don’t miss a chance to grab your PARCEL now! Join 👉 https://t.co/eKn9d9sGB6 pic.twitter.com/v6DfJCud3h
— Somnium Space ➡️ #VRDays (@SomniumSpace) October 13, 2019
How Does It Work?
Making any sort of investment comes with its own particular risks and rewards, from something as simple as buying an in-game item to put money into stocks and shares. Many companies have invested in the future of virtual reality (VR) technology.
Artur Sychov stated:
“Our ultimate goal is to bring a long-lasting dream of humanity to fully immerse themselves into a huge world which is constantly changing and is never the same no matter when you decide to join.”
Artur Sychov
He added:
“Ability to create a functioning economy within the virtual reality world is a dream and an internal goal we have at Somnium. This round of funding allows us to bring many more features into Somnium Space faster, in order to empower creators to start shaping the world of everyone’s dreams. I am more than ever convinced in the bright future of Social VR and we are going to do everything we can to make that vision to reality very soon.”
Artur Sychov
Check out an official tweet on Somnium Space:
Did you forget that more than 1.5 years ago, we have showed mock-ups of #SomniumSpace on #Android phones? Our team didn’t! We are dedicated to bring our #VR #blockchain world to as many people as possible. Create on the go and upload to your parcel! Coming 2020 #wip #experimental pic.twitter.com/Gh0hwhZva1
— Somnium Space ➡️ #VRDays (@SomniumSpace) November 5, 2019
What Happens When A Player Buys A Piece Of Somnium Virtual Land?
Land sale is the driving force behind our economy. So, the team believes in the idea of virtual land ownership where anything will be possible and imagination has no limits.
Therefore, the game offers the following types of land ownership:
Three types of size and height can be purchased. So, heights are divided in –
- Small parcel: 10 meters (33 ft approx.) height and depth limit,
- Medium parcel: 25 meters (82 ft approx.) height and depth limit,
- Large parcel: 50 meters (164 ft approx.) height and depth limit.
However, players are able to purchase additional height and depth meters, and they are allowed to combine several parcels together to form bigger spaces.
What Happens When Players Express Themselves On Their Land With The Builder?
Here, the Builder is the centerpiece of their world and the tool to start developing creations on their land, where the only limits will be the player’s imagination. With the builder’s vast capabilities and specially designed UI, the only limit is the player’s imagination.
Build from scratch and choose from 500+ specially designed assets and sounds, anyone can buy additional assets from Somnium Store and enhance their creations. They can also import and modify their own model from popular 3D modeling software. They can even sell their models on the Somnium Store and monetize their creations. So, they can buy and ready to use models of buildings and structures from the store and use them on their own land. They can enjoy creations right away without a need to do anything.
Thus, players will be able to import objects or complete scenes and use them inside Somnium through the SDK.
Check out an official tweet on Somnium Space:
Same persistent, beautiful, live and procedurally generated #SocialVR #blockchain world you know from PC is coming to #OculusGO & #OculusQuest by the end of this year. Get ready to build, explore, socialize, monetize and have fun very soon! #VirtualReality #mobile #SomniumSpace pic.twitter.com/9T2O65kOmO
— Somnium Space ➡️ #VRDays (@SomniumSpace) November 7, 2019
In-Game Mechanics Of Somnium Space
- Cross-Platform: Available on all major VR headsets.
- Customizable PC Client: Create and adjust one’s own layout setup for fast in-game interaction.
- LIVE Forever: Automatic recording mode of that particular gamer (person) on their own property for future AI analysis to bring their avatar to life.
- Blockchain: Integration of blockchain allows true ownership of digital goods, avatars, items, and virtual land. It is creating a long-lasting Economy which will allow instant monetization for their in-world creators.
- Persistent Social VR World: Unlimited scalable world built by users within one instance.
- Virtual Land Ownership: Players can buy and customize their own land, and build anything that they envision.
- Scriptable World: They can program their own experience and monetize through the asset store or on their property.
- Monetize Their Space: They can take advantage of a fully programmatic VR advertisement plugin; capture and analyze gaze tracking, engagement, and conversion rates.
Long-Term Vision Of Somnium Space
The ultimate long-term vision of Somnium Space is to create a virtual environment that offers a rich addition to reality, packed with new and exciting possibilities. Built as a cross-platform world, Somnium Space allows people to experience one constantly expanding, seamless single instance shaped by players. Combined with an in-world economy, it also provides the next step towards a true metaverse experience.
Somnium Cubes
Somnium Cubes is the inworld currency of Somnium Space. It is designed to be safe, decentralized and interchangeable between other VR worlds. Actually, Somnium Space is a member of the VRBA (Virtual Reality Blockchain Association).
What Exactly Is Somnium Space Map?
Parcels are connected by roads. By buying more than one parcel, the roads can be used as a building surface. So, players who purchase their land through the Indiegogo campaign will be able to reserve land parcels before the Initial Land Offering (ILO) which took place in February 2019.
Similarly, two weeks before the ILO reservation, a map will open its doors firstly to SeedingVR backers, then to Indiegogo backers and later on to the general public. This will allow early backers to get the best spots and decide whether they want to keep the land or sell it right away through Initial Land Offering with a possibility to get a higher price than their purchase price.
The New Update Of The Game
Initial Land Offering (ILO) is the biggest update that had started on October 6, 2019. It is the new version of the website. So, with the launch of the new and improved Somnium Space version, it is also starting its land auction. This time, it will be available for everyone, and easily accessible on OpenSea.io
What Makes Somnium Space A Little More Unique Than Other VR Social Experiments?
Users can actually take ownership of the land, just as they would do in their real world. By using blockchain as its backbone, Somnium Space allows users to purchase ‘land parcels’ on which they can theoretically build whatever they want. And just like in real life, city centre land is more expensive due to its inherent appeal more than land out in the middle of nowhere.
Currently, version 1.0 of Somnium Space is available to download now via Steam for free, with version 2.0 in the works. Sychov explains that the new edition will add a lot of the features the community has been after, including full-body avatars, SDKs, enhanced controller support as well as Oculus Go and Oculus Quest support.
News On Somnium Space
On November 30, 2018, Somnium Team stated:
“Hello, amazing Somnium people!
You all did it! We reached 111% of our goal in 3 days! This is beyond any of our wildest expectations and we are forever grateful to have you all on board! We still got 2 months to go and many more people are joining our community every single day! As a way to celebrate this we are launching a new absolutely exclusive and limited Perk — Live Forever Mode subscription. Yes, you heard it right! Only 75 of you will be able to experience this special mode inside Somnium Space in 2019. That means we will be recording all your moves and actions on your parcel then using this data to allow you spawning your second YOU as an avatar and let people talk to you even if you are not there. We know, it is a lot of “you’s” in this sentence, but that’s because we want you to Live Forever in a digital reality!”
The Upcoming Ideas Of Somnium Space
- Implementing key game mechanics first, in order to have baseline fundamental functionalities such as land ownership and builder tool ready first.
- Making sure that their world is built optimized for all experiences from the very beginning such as Mobile VR, PC VR, Android apps, etc to make sure smooth implementation later down the line.
What Do You Need To Know More About Somnium Space?
- The true vision of Somnium Space is to create a world that will fulfill even the wildest dreams of everyone who decides to join and fully immerse its citizens into a parallel reality.
- Looks stunning, constantly changing the persistent Virtual Reality environment (world) which can be explored by thousands of people at the same time.
- Ability to create, build and express yourself (as a player) and, share and explore creations of others.
- Fully own and monetize your creations. Be a true and the only owner of your creations. Make money by selling your items in the open and independent marketplaces. Be a part of a fully working economy.
- At Somnium Space, people are currently enjoying themselves inside a persistent and beautiful VR World.
- The team has already developed a fully functioning world full of events, gatherings and fun places to explore. People are enjoying live concerts, educational talks and sports competitions or simply sitting in the park and watching birds flying by. Moreover, for the past 8 months, the team has been tirelessly working on a brand new, much better and visually stunning version of Somnium Space which they internally call “Somnium 2.0”. This will bring amazing performance and visual updates to the whole world and will allow people to immerse themselves even deeper into the VR environment.
Views And Opinions About Somnium Space
There are some VR Industry Leaders, whose views and opinions are mentioned below:
Philip Rosedale, Founder of High Fidelity and Second Life, said:
“Somnium Space is a compelling virtual world developed rapidly by a strong team, with unique features. We look forward to working with Somnium Space in the VRBA to enable interoperability across worlds.”
Philip Rosedale
Samuel Huber, the Founder and CEO of Admix.in, said:
“I have been very impressed by the team at Somnium Space, who really understand what it takes to build a complex VR experience, and have a clear plan going forward. They also understand what it takes to turn their experience into a successful business, by implementing multiple revenue streams very early on.”
Samuel Huber
James Biacoianu, the Principal Engineer at JanusVR, said:
“Somnium Space is doing great work to advance the idea of interconnected virtual worlds. Their cross-app teleporter makes it easy to follow your friends as you explore the Metaverse together.”
James Biacoianu
Steve Bambury, the Head of Digital Learning, said:
“Really impressed with what I saw inside the beta build of Somnium Space today. I think that when this thing opens it’s doors properly it’s going to be a pretty popular destination in VR.”
Steve Bambury
Conclusion
Thus, it can be said that Somnium Space wants to bring users the best experience possible, therefore early access to the Social VR world which enables the team to get in touch with the community, get their feedback and develop Somnium Space to be the best product possible.
For more details, you can check: somniumspace.com
Source: medium.com | vrfocus.com | somniumspace.com | store.steampowered.com | roadtovr.com | steamcommunity.com | indiegogo.com
