Might of the miner: The sudden, spectacular rise of the miners union

In the ever-expanding Alien Worlds Metaverse, a remarkable transformation recently occurred.

At the center of this transformation is the Miners Union, a collective of committed players wielding a newfound power and promising to enhance the gameplay experience for fellow Explorers. Since its emergence earlier this year, the Miners Union has led the charge in empowering players and redefining power dynamics within the community, particularly when it comes to influencing Planetary Syndicate elections. A closer look at how the Miners Union works and what it hopes to achieve reveals the scale of its ambitions…

REDEFINING NFT POINTS TO MAXIMIZE MINERS’ INFLUENCE

While the Alien Worlds mining process rewards Explorers with both Trilium and NFT points, active mining is one of the only ways to procure the latter. (Trilium, on the other hand, can be obtained through mining and missions, dispersed in community events and quests, allocated by the Galactic Hubs grant program, and purchased on a range of cryptocurrency exchanges).

With this in mind, the bright minds who formed the Miners Union viewed NFT points as more than just a means to obtain avatars, minions, weapons and mining tool NFTs from the game’s Outpost. Indeed, they reimagined NFT points as the de-facto medium of a new player-centric collective, rewarding the only players who can conceivably own such points – miners.

In traditional governance models, influence tends to concentrate according to a member’s wealth or resources. The Miners Union disrupts this paradigm, providing members with greater voting power in the Planetary Syndicates based on their mining endeavors – as determined by their NFT points haul. Effectively, the collective gives a larger player base the the opportunity to play a key role in the game’s decision-making process.

The Miners Union was born from a desire to empower all miners and level the playing field in what has become a fiercely competitive metaverse. By designating NFT points as distinct, the Union gives Explorers a fighting chance of both extracting value from, and influencing, Alien Worlds’ economic ecosystem. To quote from the MU whitepaper, “We give miners a way to meaningfully influence elections with their NFT points, without having to stake tokens themselves.”

This innovative approach not only incentivizes miners to actively engage in the mining process, it also grants them a fairer opportunity to increase their influence in the Planetary Syndicates. Moreover, the Union represents another community Explorers can become a part of, distinct from the Syndicates themselves. Naturally, this forward-thinking approach brings a sense of inclusivity and democratization to Alien Worlds, amplifying miners’ voices regardless of the size of their Trilium stack. It also sets the scene for collaboration and camaraderie, cultivating a democratized environment in which miners feel as though they matter.

MEMBERSHIP PERKS AND MISSION CONTROL

The Miners Union doesn’t just turn NFT points into a commodity to help miners influence weekly elections. It also offers members access to Spacecrafts, which can be used in missions launched by any player or planet to earn a portion of the missions prize pool. This feature unlocks new avenues for miners to expand their horizons and earn from non-mining activities.

Additionally, the Union provides members with CPU, a particularly valuable resource for newer Explorers who may not have extensive reserves. By bridging this resource gap, the Miners Union is delivering value for novice miners as well as OGs.

The Miners Union is linked to another recently-launched platform called Mission Control, within which Explorers can view their membership status, select the most profitable planet to mine based on their build, embark on quests, and use the Tool Tactician to discover how much TLM can be earned from different build and land configurations. Mission Control handles a lot of the strategic legwork, saving miners time and freeing them up to “set and forget” their rig. It’s also become a weekly quest game where players can earn a portion of a Trilium prize pool for participating.

As Alien Worlds continues to innovate and flourish, the Miners Union's role in amplifying the voices of regular miners and nurturing a vibrant, engaged player base cannot be overstated. Signing up for the Union costs 10 TLM, after which an inspector checks the account for botting activity. Once approved, miners can start turning their NFT points into vote power to elect their preferred Syndicate candidates, participate in TLM drops, and access CPU for mining NFT points. The Miners Union represents a pivotal development in Alien Worlds, aligning with the fundamental principles of decentralized technology and distributed governance. By recognizing the intrinsic value of NFT points and granting miners greater influence over governance matters, the Union sets a precedent for community-driven gaming.

Postscript: The Miners Union has announced that it will retire the name from August 31, though the Union itself will remain a feature of Mission Control. Missions and Spacecrafts will also be discontinued on the same date, with new features to be announced. The application fee to join Mission Control will increase from 10 to 25 TLM on August 31.