Map assets (formerly named outdoor decor items) are decorative items that can be placed on a property that you own. Whether it be a fire pit in your backyard, or a mailbox at the front of your house, these items are created by other Uplanders, manufactured in factories and sold in showrooms. Learn more here about the manufacturing process. Beyond being visually appealing items you might want to have to add to your home, there are two big reasons you might want to add a map asset to your property.
You can find a list of all the map asset collections that Upland has created (some of which in collaboration with some of their official partners) here.
There are 2 special types of map assets:
- Trailers – they play a critical role in the Trade Route system within the metaverse
- Totems – living items that require the STEM token. Learn more about STEM and life in the metaverse here.
As a map asset creator, or someone looking to purchase one, you can use the playground to verify if a specific map asset can fit properly on your property, and how it will look in size proportion to other things on your property. The best part is this can be tested on any property in the metaverse – not only those that you own.
The first reason to place map assets on your property is that the amount of assets collectively added to your influence score, and that of the neighborhood. This is one of the metrics that influence the number of residents your neighborhood is able to attract.
To manufacture and sell outdoor decor items, you will need to open a metaventure. Learn more about these player run businesses.
The second thing that can be done with map assets are to incorporate it into a layer 2 experience. One example is that a specific neighborhood might design a custom asset that is exclusively for those property owners. Alternatively you could create a community, or as I call it a meta-munity, around owners of a specific piece of decor regardless of where they reside in Upland. In the video I discuss forming a meta-munity and how it can tie into map assets. I give an example of manufacturing and selling chess pieces. These pieces can be the key to allow you access to an exclusive chess related community, and even a competitive chess game and tournaments that could be accessible through the Upland platform where players could compete to win prizes.