It seems like the metaverse is growing and changing every day, and we’re eager to support that growth in any way possible. As you all know, we are firm in our belief that User-Generated Content (UGC) will be a critical component to the development of the Upland ecosystem. As evidenced by our recent Winter Holiday Ornament Contest, our community clearly possesses the talent and expertise to design incredible high-quality content. As such, we are excited to announce that we will be continuing to expand our UGC efforts with the introduction of the Master Builders Contest, starting TODAY!

For the very first time, we will be tasking our community with designing unique Structure NFTs for each city in Upland. This means that there will be 16 brand new Structure NFT models that are unique to each city across the Metaverse! In our continued effort to rebuild the world, it’s important that we create opportunities to distinguish each city by its unique history, culture, and architecture. The Master Builders Contest is just the first step in bringing that vision to life!

The Contest

Players will be required to submit a polished 3D model for any Upland city of their choice; players will be limited to 1 model submission for each city. The model should accurately reflect aspects of each city’s real-world counterpart and should borrow architectural elements of buildings in that city. It’s important to remember that players are not required to design any specific buildings that exist in the real world, and are encouraged to use their imagination to capture the essence of each city. Please note that players should not be designing any Landmarks for each city as the model will be usable by all players.

For the sake of simplicity, we will be grouping this competition into Phases, and each Phase will include a new set of cities that players can design for. Refer to the “Contest Schedule” below to see which cities belong to which stages in addition to deadlines for each. 

We also encourage players to collaborate and share each others’ designs in the #master-builders channel in Discord!

The Future of User-Generated Structure Design

Each UGC contest we host is an opportunity to demo how we introduce this type of content into Upland. Moving forward, we envision three primary pathways for players to introduce new structures into the Metaverse:

• Designing Replicas of the Real-World; these are buildings that match 1:1 with their real-world counterparts.
• Contributing to a City or Neighborhood; these are buildings that will be specific to neighborhoods and cities across the Metaverse.
• Selling Blueprints through Metaventures; these are designs for unique structures that players can purchase from other Uplanders via a new type of Metaventure.

It’s important to remember that all user-submitted designs will require approval from the Upland team in order to maintain a coherent design philosophy. Over the next year, we will significantly expand support for UGC to allow for players to have a real impact on the overall look and feel of the Metaverse.

Community Voting

After the Upland team has completed their initial review process, we will invite the community to cast votes on their favorite models for each city. The top vote-getter for each city will have their model introduced into the Upland Metaverse!

Please keep in mind that some models may not make it to the voting stage due to various problems with their submitted models. All players will have one opportunity to fix any rejected models before submissions close, however, if their resubmissions still have issues, they may be excluded from voting. 

Rewards

Having your own Structure NFT in Upland is no small feat, and we would like to reward each contest winner in an appropriate manner. Each winner will get naming rights to their model and will be perpetually inscribed on the model’s description. Additionally, winners will also receive the highly exclusive “Master Builder” badge, in addition to 1 Spark and 100k UPX!

Submission Guidelines

Submission Must Use an Upland Official Template

Players must utilize the provided Upland’s Official ‘Structure’ Blender template file as their base. Please refer to the Style Guide for additional information on how to design your models.

Official Structure Template

Structure NFT Style-Guide

Note: .Blend files will be the ONLY 3D file type that we support.

Model Must Reflect the Real-World

Model must reflect the real world and should mimic the style of structures within the city’s real-world location. The scale, footprint, and height of each model must all match the real world and should not contain fantasy-based elements.

Finally, all models must pass Upland’s QA Checklist included in the Submission Form. Click the relevant link below to submit your model!

Submit a San Francisco Model

Submit an Oakland Model

Submit a Santa Clara Model

Submit a Fresno Model

Contest Schedule

Phase 1: San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Clara, & Fresno

Phase 2: Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Cleveland, & Chicago

Phase 3: Nashville, New Orleans, Kansas City, & Rutherford

Phase 4: Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, & Staten Island

Week 1 (2.21) 

Tuesday (2.22): 

• Phase 1 Submissions Open

Week 2 (2.28)

Free Week: 

• Work on your designs! The window for submissions gets smaller later on so be sure to plan accordingly!

Week 3 (3.7)

Wednesday (3.9): 

• Phase 1 Submissions Close at 11:59 PM PT

Friday (3.11): 

• Phase 2 Submissions Open

Sunday (3.13): 

• Phase 1 Re-Submissions Close at 11:59 PM PT

Week 4 (3.14)

Tuesday (3.15): 

• Phase 1 Voting Begins

Wednesday (3.16)

• Phase 1 Voting Ends at 11:59 PM PT
• Phase 2 Submissions Close at 11:59 PM PT

Thursday (3.17)

• Phase 1 Winners are Announced to the Community

Friday (3.18)

• Phase 3 Submissions Open

Sunday (3.20)

• Phase 2 Re-Submissions Close 11:59 PM PT

Week 5 (3.21)

Tuesday (3.22)

• Phase 2 Voting Begins

Wednesday (3.23)

• Phase 2 Voting Ends at 11:59 PM PT
• Phase 3 Submissions Close at 11:59 PM PT

Thursday (3.24)

• Phase 2 Winners are Announced to the Community

Friday (3.25)

• Phase 4 Submissions Open

Sunday (3.27)

• Phase 3 Re-Submissions Close 11:59 PM PT

Week 6 (3.28)

Tuesday (3.29)

• Phase 3 Voting Begins

Wednesday (3.30)

• Phase 3 Voting Ends at 11:59 PM PT
• Phase 4 Submissions Close at 11:59 PM PT

Thursday (3.31)

• Phase 3 Winners are Announced to the Community

Sunday (4.3)

• Phase 4 Re-Submissions Close 11:59 PM PT

Week 7 (4.4)

Tuesday (4.5)

• Phase 4 Voting Begins (2 Days)

Wednesday (4.6)

• Phase 4 Voting Ends at 11:59 PM PT

Thursday (4.7)

• Phase 4 Winners are Announced to the Community

Note: The above timeline is subject to change pending operational constraints.