Enough already with the gas guzzlers…

The recent fcoin gas fiasco and rumors about EOS funded bot attacks (true or not) on the Ethereum network have accelerated the search for scaling solutions among dApp developers. This article outlines how we chose POA Network.

Ethereum is effectively unusable during these periods for contracts that rely on micro-transaction logic, and it’s impossible to predict when or how long these periods last. Our lead said it’s like “launching a boat hire service in a hurricane”.

For the DopeRaider team, things were no different, and we set about evaluating the current landscape of smart contract scalability solutions.

Where are the scaling solutions right now?

What were we looking for?

A proven production sidechain available today. Chains are hard.

Why should we wait to be first on a chain that has not been proven? Open public chain with open source tools, block explorer and code verification capabilities. EVM compatibility or portability, so no re-platforming (if possible). An exchange accessible cryptocurrency for the in-game economy. Sustainable consensus mechanism — something that won’t kill the planet. Speed! Gas pricing suitable for micro-transactions and our gameplay. Popular wallet support, something that wouldn’t be pushing people too far out of the ‘Ethereum comfort zone’ we are used to. A degree of interoperability, so we could migrate ERC721 so existing holders keep their Narcos with minimal extra input!

What did we find?

The short but perhaps unsurprising answer is:

A lot of promises and “soon to be released” unproven options. Proving a blockchain is not trivial even for some of the great minds at work on them.

Let’s quickly run through some of the main contenders…

If your favourite chain isn’t listed, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t considered.

With EOS we had some serious concerns . Loom, seem to be going the Apple store route for dApps, becoming gatekeepers to the networks and charging their own fees. For DopeRaider, the prospect of censorship or unknown future fees was not something we could do. TRON has promise, but is not ready for dApps today.

Looking at the table above, POA seemed to be a decent contender, so we took the unmodified solidity contracts and deployed to the POA test network (taking a few minutes).

We let our players take it for a drive, and the result was amazing:

A few of the reactions to the beta playing on POA test network

POA Network even allowed users to keep their same address as used on the ETH network, with transfers taking two minutes which will be detailed soon.

Okaaaaay, What then, would it take to migrate?

We needed:

a) Find a way to migrate the existing ERC721 tokens from ETH main to POA.

b) Users would presumably want to keep ability to trade/auction on ETH.

c) A convenient wallet as MetaMask has a gnarly configuration for POA.

d) New contracts & UI denominated in POA.

e) An easy user journey for migrating their tokens to play the game.

We don’t think our lead really understands what ‘limitations’ are, and rumour has it that he doesn’t sleep either…

…All we know is, we now have an implemented and functioning bridge that would allow users to keep their tokens and auctions on ETH, or to migrate to POA where the game can be played. Sounds easy right…!

ERC721 bridge to transfer user tokens across chains.

The POA team have forked MetaMask and created a new cross chain compatible wallet ‘Nifty Wallet’ which can be downloaded here. Nifty Wallet will allow users to import existing accounts in minutes and will maintain the functionality of MetaMask. This means that as well as POA, you can still use it for ETH and ‘business as usual’!

That took care of a,b and c. So we then created and verified new contracts for POA core network, a UI modal explaining to users how to switch, and then it all quickly came together — suddenly we were ready!

Wallet support played a bit part in our choice of POA

When does it all go live?

The team will start to float the economy, on Monday the 30th of July , that means putting in the funds raised during presale. The drug pots will be filled so there will be more profit to be made from production, trading and raiding dope! Once you have your Narco and POA ready, you can dive straight in!

How can I play?

Buy a Narco character at doperaider.com Get yourself some POA from one of the markets. (NOT POA20) If you got your Narco on ETH, transfer it to POA (like above). Visit play.doperaider.com at 21:00 UTC on Monday the 30th of July and start your DopeRaider career.

Respect!

To find out more and meet us come to:

Website: https://doperaider.com/

Discord: https://discord.gg/trEA8AY

Telegram: https://t.me/DopeRaider

Email: team@doperaider.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/doperaider

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/doperaider/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DopeRaider/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/playdoperaider/?hl=en

Medium: https://medium.com/@DopeRaider