Existing Upland cities are often expanded. Not only are new cities released on a regular basis, but Upland does also expand existing cities. Whether it be a city that was not released in its entirety, or expanding into additional suburbs, this is often done to meet additional demand (or future demand) for that city. Here is a list of cities in Upland and their property availability. Secondly, it seems that Upland wants to control the ability for there to be properties available at reasonable prices for new players who are starting out. FSA properties fit this need as they can only be minted by Uplanders (net worth less than 100,000 UPX).
If you have not participated in a city release, the process leading up to it can be confusing and overwhelming. This page will explain in greater details the process, what to expect and clarify many of the frequently asked questions regarding new city releases. Make sure to test your knowledge in our new city release quiz before the release itself!
The announcement
The first step leading up to a new city release is an announcement by Upland. It is typically done first in their Discord server followed up almost immediately on their Twitter channel. Their announcement has all the details you need to prepare for the city release, but leaves out many important small details that new players require. The announcement indicates the city to be released, the date and time of the release, city information, neighborhoods to be released, potential stress test, vanilla/standard mode, and city release. Keep an eye out as some cities will upgrade their treasure hunting tier and visitation fees. Learn more about that here.
City information
The city information is an important indication of its tier within the Metaverse. Based on the PSI index (price, size, icon status) you are able to see how this city fits within the Metaverse. One thing Upland does not disclose is the price aspect. The actual neighborhood values, which are used to determine the mint price of a property are not discoverable until several hours before the city release. Information that is provided are send fees, if the city has an airport, the number of collections, percentage of FSA properties, treasure hunting tier, and the names of the neighborhoods that will be a part of this city expansion.
Another important piece of information provided is whether the city will be released in regular or vanilla mode. Vanilla more means that the collection are not revealed until approximately 1 week after the released. This gives people equal opportunity to mint extremely valuable rare and ultra rare collection properties. In regular city releases, ultra rare collection properties are typically not available for mint. They are typically given away in contests or sold in other methods after the release. Read why Dale the Llama prefers vanilla releases to regular city releases.
Once this announcement is done, we recommend you begin doing research about the city. The best place to do this is google. The best way to think about it is to pretend you are planning a real world vacation to that city. What famous sites are there, what are the popular neighborhoods and streets (for potential collections), etc. This can give you a good start in forming a strategy for the new city release. Start thinking of what areas you want to mint in, and what your budget is (either in UPX or if you plan on buying UPX before the city release). Click here to best prepare yourself for a new city release.
Opening travel routes
In contrast from new city releases, players are already able to travel to the existing city. The Upland Guide Discord server has a travel bot that will help you determine bot the fastest and the cheapest travel route between any two cities in Upland. Watch our video to learn how to travel between cities in Upland.
It is important to note that each terminal has a daily limit of players that can pass through it. This might mean that not everyone will be able to travel to a new city. Upland does make sure to temporarily increase those numbers for new city releases as they want to accommodate more players. All Dale can say is plan accordingly, or watch this video on how you can sometimes get around this obstacle.
Stress Test
There typically is not a stress test for city expansions.
A stress test is Upland’s way to ensure that they are prepared for the release. They want to make sure that the game will not crash and that the release can provide a smooth user experience. To test this, they will often open up one neighborhood in a controlled release. If the release is a regular release, Upland will indicate if it is part of a collection. This test will create a concentration of many players minting a relatively small amount of properties in a short period of time. If there are issues that arise it allows Upland to make improvements or if need be delay the release of the city. Once the complete city is released, the consequences of having to stop it due to bugs or poor user experience can have large negative consequences. Doing a test in a more controlled environment will help to mitigate risks, and hopefully prevent such a situation from occurring.
Upland will give a 5 minute notice in Discord and Twitter prior to the start of the stress test. At the specified time of the test, all the properties in the neighborhood in question will turn from white to grey. Your block explorer which has been aimlessly wandering around the city may be far away from the neighborhood that is part of the stress test. If your block explorer is in range of properties in that neighborhood, they will turn light green indicating that you are able to mint them. Watch our video about how to mint a property if you have never minted one before.
Once the properties turn grey, this is the first indication received regarding pricing of the city. The neighborhood value (mint price / up2) can be calculated and an indication regarding overall city pricing can be evaluated. It is unlikely that the neighborhood that is part of the stress test is the most or least expensive neighborhood in the city.
If you are far away from the neighborhood but want to mint a property, you will have to wait for someone else to mint a property first. In Upland, you can only send your block explorer to minted properties. People who find themselves already in the neighborhood have an advantage over other players because they will likely be able to mint several properties before you have the opportunity to send your block explorer to a minted address. You may find yourself trying to play catchup as players who are half a step ahead of you are minting properties you are going for. Upland can end the stress test at any time, or when the entire neighborhood is completely minted. It is not typical for a stress test to last more than 10 or 15 minutes.
The most important thing to remember about a stress test is that it is a test. There is a high probability that you will not be able to mint many properties due to the high competition for a relatively small number of properties compared to the number of players participating.
City release
Similar to the stress test, a 5 minute notice is provided prior to the release of the new neighborhoods in Discord and Twitter. If the city is a regular release where the collections are known, this will be known due to the collections having already been announced in the collection reveal of the initial city release. In a standard release, its important to note that the collection properties will have the price adjustment. Learn more about that here. Once the city is open, the entire city will turn from white properties to grey, and an area around your block explorer will turn light green. You have the best opportunity to mint properties where you are. If you find yourself in a highly desired area, hopefully you will be able to mint a few properties before people send themselves into the area. The opposite can be true if you want to send yourself to a different location.
Most importantly, familiarize yourself with the top mistakes made by players during new city releases and the new city release strategy for new players.
Get a head start and find out mint prices of the new neighborhoods before the city releases. Learn how to do that here.
Collection release (vanilla mode)
If the city was released in vanilla mode, collections are typically revealed one week after the release. It is important to be aware of this and to remove your properties from the secondary market prior to the collection reveals, watch here to find out why. Stay tuned in Discord and Twitter for details about collection reveals.