Welcome back, 9Catters! It’s been quite some time since our last Medium article on our development adventures, and we’re thrilled to remedy that today! The development of 9Cat Saga has been full steam ahead as we eagerly gear up for the Tokyo Game Show 2024. We’ve smashed all our goals and are absolutely exhilarated to present the game to a new generation of players.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the standout changes the game has embraced over the past few months.

The 9Cat experience everywhere you go!

9Cat Saga has gone mobile! Releases for Android and iOS are now available for all players to try out.

The mobile experience has been tailored specifically to the needs of mobile gamers by extensively studying other such games.

In addition to this, the mobile version of the game is the full release of the game optimized for mobile devices, not a watered down experience of the PC version. You’ll be able to experience the game in its entirety, on the go, anytime and anywhere you please!

Android Users 🤖:
You can find the game on Google Play by clicking >here<

iOS Users 🍎
A full iOS release is coming soon on the Apple App store, but for now, we are using Testflight.
Install Testflight on your iOS device from the link above, then head to https://9Cat.io and click on Free Download.
This will open Testflight up where you then click on Go Testing. This will install the game through the Testflight app.
Once installed, you can start the game anytime through the Testflight app.

Full STEAM ahead! 🚂

The 9Cat Saga PC version has been published on Steam, the world’s foremost online PC game store.
This means that we have greater visibility and accessibility among PC gamers.
Sending love to our PC master race alphas😽

You can find the 9Cat Saga Steam Store page here
Currently the PC version isn’t available to download while we focus our resources on the mobile versions, but it will be available soon!
We invite users to add the game to their wishlist for now, with a scheduled release on PC being in January 2025 ❣️

A fresh new look! ✨

The 9Cat UI has been revised for improved gameplay and ease of access, especially for our mobile gamers!

In the 9Cat Home Space you will find a simplified UI with quick access to the main areas of the game.
The full Home Space UI becomes unlocked once you complete the onboarding process.

In the top left you’ll find some character details such as the display picture, display name and character level.
Below the character information, you’ll find the Cat, Mail and Reward icons. The Cat icon takes you to your character area where you can equip & upgrade weapons, and change your character skin. The Mail icon takes you to the internal mail system where you can find some latest 9Cat announcements and claimable rewards. The Reward icon takes you to the Reward section where you can see your daily Check-in bonus.

In the bottom left, you’ll find the Chat System. Here you can chat with other 9Cats on the server, with your team members in the case of a Multiplayer Lobby, and also private DM’s that your friends have sent you. Messages that you send out via World (Server wide) will be displayed above your character for others nearby to see, and in the chat system.

On the top right, you’ll find your Daily Energy and 9Gamma displayed. If you wish to purchase more 9Gamma, you can click on the + icon that will take you to the 9Gamma store. Next to these are your Friends list, and a dropdown menu where you can access your game settings and a few other things like the 9Gamma store, News, Character Area, and a feedback form. From the friends list you can add players, see who’s online, and invite your friends to play a game.

Below these are the Training, Quickmatch, and Gacha icons. The training area is where you can try out different characters and weapons and practice for future missions. The Quickmatch icon will take you to the Game setup area where you can play a game with friends, or automatically start a game with friends. More details on Multiplayer games are detailed below. Lastly, the Gacha area is where you can roll for new characters and weaponry with your 9Gamma gems.

It’s not just the Home Space menu that has been improved either, the mission UI has been improved too.

When in missions, you will see the minimap in the top left corner with your Health and Stamina being shown as rings around the minimap. You can zoom in on the minimap display with the + and — buttons on either side. Clicking on the minimap will display the full map on the screen. There is also a settings button for changing some in-game settings, or aborting the mission to head back to the Home Space.

The top right of the screen shows your current objective, and in the center you’ll find the time remaining until the next wave of enemies will spawn and wreak havoc.

The virtual keyboard is now hidden and can be brought up by clicking anywhere on the left hand side of the screen giving you some flexibility with how you choose to play.

On the bottom left, you have access to the chat system where you can chat with your team or people on the server.
On the bottom right you have all the buttons necessary for attacking, healing, extracting materials, interacting and sending emojis.
The main attack button is in the center. Short press for a quick attack and long press for a power attack. This button is directional, so for some attacks holding down the button then shifting in a direction will change the attack direction.
There is a character skill button that can be activated on the left, above that is your secondary weapon, and next to that is your main weapon’s special skil.
On the top right of the attack button, you’ll find the extraction button for extracting materials, and the emoji wheel.
On the bottom, below the attack button, you’ll find the item area where you can use your UFO ruins fruit, and your dash skill. Your dash skill can now be used 3 times in quick succession, but travels a shorter distance.

Multiplayer: 2.0 👥

Multiplayer gameplay has been re-envisioned and improved, from creating a game to the stability of the gameplay experience.

Users who wish to play a game with anyone available can simply click on the ‘Quickmatch’ button in the top right of the UI. This will take them to the ‘Game Mode’ selection area where they can select the mission type they’d like to experience — Quickmatch, Campaign 1, or Campaign 2. The game will automatically matchmake them with other available users online.

If you’d like to play with your friends, you can click on the ‘Create Room’ button in the top right corner after entering into the ‘Game Mode’ area. This will create a Team room for you, where you will find a Room Code at the bottom for sharing with your friends. Friends that wish to join your game lobby can enter that Room Code by selecting on the Join Room button in the top right of the Game Mode area.

Multiplayer games started in a Team room are chosen at random, similar to a quickmatch.
If you begin a multiplayer game from a Team room and don’t add enough players, the game will start with bots instead. Quick Matches that can’t find enough players will also share a similar experience.

A Chance at Greatness — The Gacha store 🏪

9Cat Saga now has a Gacha Store where you can roll for new gear and characters.
Feed a golden fish to the mysterious shop keeper and see what goodies you get!

In order to roll for new weapons and characters, you will need 9Gamma.
You can currently get 9Gamma as a daily reward for checking into the game, and from the 9Gamma Store.
It will cost 120 9Gamma for a single roll, with the option to roll 10 times for 1200 9Gamma.

Initial weapons rolled are level 0, with skill and strength upgrades being unlocked for each subsequent roll of that weapon. Unlocked weapons, gear and characters can be equipped in the ‘My Cat’ area.

To reward new players who complete the onboarding process, your first chance at greatness is on us!
Enjoy ❤

Central’s got a new Weapons Master ⚔️

9Cat Saga has undergone a weapons revolution!
In previous versions of 9Cat Saga only the basic pistol was available as a weapon for 9Cat to use and the Hammer for a melee weapon later on, but this has all changed now!

We’ve introduced a full weapons system into the game.
You will be able to unlock a variety of weapons with different playstyles and abilities, equip secondary weapons and augment them in different ways. You’ll also be able to upgrade them to become more powerful through resources that you collect by doing missions and levelling up.

Each weapon will have its own special active attack, regular attack and power attack, as well as stats for Strength, Occult, and Tech. These weapon attributes increment your characters attributes making it better or worse against different enemy types and attack styles in the game. What works against one enemy type may not work as well for another due to their weaknesses and resistances. Combinations of different skills, weapons and augments across different 9Cats will prove beneficial for multiplayer missions.

You can access your weapons in the ‘My Cat’ area. Simply click on the ‘Cat’ icon in the top left, or click on the dropdown menu and click ‘Cats’ from the Home Space UI after completing the Onboarding process!

Space Recruit Initiation — Initial Onboarding 📖

As interest in becoming a 9Cat Space recruit continues to climb, we’ve introduced an onboarding process for new users that dive into the game for the first time.

The tutorial and onboarding process begins as soon as you launch into the game going through gameplay basics, then following up with a practice mission. Once you’re into the home space, you’ll be given a weapon and shown how to use the weapon system, and finally be shown the Training grounds.

As a reward for completing the onboarding process, you’ll be given a free gacha roll which gives you one free weapon or character. Once onboarding is complete, the full Home Space UI is available where you can access the Training area, Dive into a quickmatch, Try your luck in the Gacha store and more.

The Training grounds 🥋

Hone your skills before you step out into battle in the Training grounds.
In this training area, you will have access to a variety of different guns and character types for your chance to play around with them and learn their attack and playstyles. Simply walk over the character you’d like to become them, or the weapon you’d like to equip it.

To access the training area, simply click on the ‘Training’ icon in the top right of the UI once you’ve completed all the onboarding missions.

The grass is greener on the 9Cat Side 🏡

Another aspect of the game that has undergone some improvement is the map generation and environmental assets that go into generating the maps.

Environmental elements have been added, upscaled, optimized for mobile users and the algorithms behind the dynamic map generation have been improved for better aesthetics and gameplay!

In addition to this, there are more animations throughout the game and VFX from enemies, weapons and the environment. This polish throughout the game has improved the game experience immensely and we’re sure our players new and old are going to love it!

Save your Progress — Link to Google! 💾

Login with Google has arrived to 9Cat Saga!
Ensure your in-game progress, items and characters are safe by linking your Google account.
By default, your initial game progress is saved locally for a minimal barrier to gameplay, but if you want to be a proper Space Recruit, we recommend linking after you finish the onboarding process.

In order to link your Google account, once you’ve completed the onboarding process simply click on the dropdown menu in the top right of the UI and select ‘Settings’.
From there Click on the ‘Continue with Google’ button and select your Google account. Simple as that!

If you update your game, you’ll have to go through the Onboarding Process again for the time being. Once you’ve finished the Onboarding process, you can head to the Settings area as described above, logout, then login with your linked Google account. This will be resolved soon in a future update. Likewise, alternative Login methods are on their way, such as Login with Apple.

Missions Galore — Hours of 9Cat fun! 😺

Latest version of 9Cat Saga have more game types for players to enjoy!

Mission types include:

Swarm Extermination — Try and kill as many enemies as you can in the time limit [Campaign 1]
Infiltration — Destroy the drills before they explode. See how long you can survive. [Campaign 2]
Sabotage — Find and destroy the drills hidden across the map [Quickmatch]
Wreckage Remains — Find and Collect Timothy Stones, then escape the planet [Quickmatch]
Protect the Crystals — Stop the swarms of enemies from reaching and destroying the Timothy stones [Training]

We will continue to innovate and come up with additional game modes and campaigns to keep our players entertained for hours. Some PvP modes may be introduced in the future too, so be sure to keep up to date with the latest 9Cat news!

It has been an incredibly busy and fulfilling year over here in our HK office.
We just concluded the Level Up Play Expo in KL and we’re headed to Tokyo next for the Tokyo Game Show 2024 to showcase the 9Cat Saga game in front of tons of new space recruits!
We hope you enjoy the game, and if you find any pesky bugs or would like to share some feedback, you can drop us a message through the feedback from in-game.
There’s plenty more in store, and the game is going to continue to expand and improve. We’ll let you guys know more as details emerge. For now, thankyou for all the support and see you in the next article!

We’re back with our latest update and this one is a big one!

9Cat Saga is taking the fight for the 9Metaverse interdimensional with the release of 9Cat Saga Mobile!

Android 🤖 : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ninemetaverse.ninecatsaga

iOS 🍎 : https://testflight.apple.com/join/9m4Pprsl

Now you’ll never have to feel separated from your beloved 9Cat again!

9Cat mobile has been released for both Android and iOS with a full redesign of the UI to better suit the needs of our mobile gaming friends.

Some of the UI changes include: A topbar UI redesign, a new loadout section for reading the latest 9Cat news and a few upcoming features, a redesigned virtual button layout better suited for touch-screen play, a chat button for accessing the global chat, and the addition of a new friend system for adding and connecting easier with players you meet in 9Cat games.

We’ll give you an overview of each of the features and changes below:

Topbar UI Redesign

The Top Bar has been reinvisioned with a new 9Cat Avatar to replace the image of your 9Cat. This Avatar will be customizable in future releases as more cosmetics are added into the game and will give an indication as to the type of 9Cat you have — Tech, Occult, Strength or Hybrid. Your 9Cat level will also be easily visible from the EXP bar to the right of your 9Cat Avatar.

Your Remaining Daily Energy can be seen in the top right of the screen. Each 9Cat you own will give you 3 Energy per day which allows you to earn 9Photon tokens from each successful mission into the wild. These tokens will be usable towards new weapons, in-game perks, cosmetics, special events, and more which will be implemented in future versions. For more information regarding Energy, we recommend you to take a look at the Lightpaper located on our website.

Next to your Remaining Daily Energy, you have your 9Photon Balance. For each successful run into the wild, you can earn 9Photon if you have Energy available. As stated just previously, each 9Cat NFT you own will grant you 3x Energy daily. There will also be an option to purchase Energy & 9Photon directly in-game in a future update for non-NFT users.

9Cat Friends List
The 9Cat Friend system allows players to connect with friends they meet in game, message them directly and invite them into multiplayer games. Tapping the ‘Friends List’ Icon brings up the Friends list panel where you can see if your friends are online and accept pending invitations.

You can add new friends by clicking on the ‘Add Friends’ button where you can see players you recently interacted with or entering in the username of the friend you wish to add. You can remove friends from your Friends list by simply clicking on the trashcan icon next to ‘Add Friends’ and selecting the friends you wish to remove.

Loadout Menu + News Section
The ≡ icon in the top right is the loadout menu. From here you can access the News section, 9Cat Leaderboard, Challenges list, Gacha system and the Settings menu. A few of these features are grayed out as they are still in development and will be released in future updates.

The News Section accessible through the loadout menu will be the place for players to easily see the latest info from 9Cat HQ. We will post build updates, changes, community notices, contests and more, so be sure to check it frequently. Wouldn’t want to miss a giveaway right? ;)

Server Switch

Below the Loadout menu, you will be able to find the Server switch. Here you can select the server you will play on from a set of fixed locations. Simply select the closest server to you for the best gaming performance. If you wish to play multiplayer games with others, you will need to be on the same server location.

Global Chat
Just to the left of the joystick you have the Global Chat button. Click this to bring up the global chat if it’s currently hidden and to bring out the keyboard for typing. The Global chat is shared across servers so you don’t need to worry which server you’re on to find others online. As player count increases, we may end up making the global chat region specific if there’s a need for it.

Mobile Button Layout

Shooting & Extraction

The concept of ammo has been phased out in the mobile release and now using your weapon will draw from your Energy bar which is displayed in blue below your 9Cats Health during missions into the wild. If you deplete your Energy, you’ll need to wait a while longer before being able to shoot again, so conservation is KEY!

Interaction

The Interact button (paw icon) allows players to interact with NPCs and machines more easily on 9Cat Mobile. If players see a Paw icon pop up, it means they can use the interact button to interact with the element/Character. Alternatively, users can also tap the paw icon directly instead of clicking on the interact button.

Dash

Clicking the dash button gives 9Cat a little extra boost for getting away from enemies. There is a short cooldown after using the dash, but this little ability is going to be a lifesaver in-game. In the future, we may come up with new ways to expand this ability.

Emoji Wheel

Clicking the Emoji button brings up the Emoji wheel where you can publicly broadcast an animated sticker to players around you. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so express your satisfaction or rage with a sticker and save yourself all that extra time. We’ll be adding more stickers in future updates so you better start saving up your 9Photon now! You’re going to need them! :P

Use Item

The Use item button will be for using consumable items that are currently selected from your Quick Access Toolbar at the bottom of the UI. Not every item is usable though, 9Cat still hasn’t found a way to eat glass, but the quickest way to find it is by trying. Using UFO Ruins fruits will heal your character, and some other items can be used for placing machines down.

9Cat Mobile will be running the same version as the current beta release of 9Cat — V0.7.1

Users don’t need to worry about device limitations and tradeoffs as the release isn’t lacking in any features that the PC & MAC versions offer.

The best part is, 9Cat Mobile is crossplay across all platforms.

You want to play with your friends and they’re die-hard MAC fiends? Do you have friends that accept nothing short of the PC master race?

Everyone can choose the platform they want to play on and suffer squirm overload in blissful harmony.

That is to say, regardless of where you play, you’ll be able to chat with and play with your friends on every other platform.

Just pick the Server that’s closest to all of you, and dive right into a game with up to 4 players.

If you would like to try out the latest 9Cat Mobile build, simply follow one of the links below for Android or iOS:

Android 🤖 : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ninemetaverse.ninecatsaga

iOS 🍎 : https://testflight.apple.com/join/9m4Pprsl

We hope you enjoy this latest 9Cat release!

Please let us know what you think and report any bugs you find during your adventures on the 9Cat Discord Community.

Share your gameplay and spread the word of 9Cat! The 9Cat army will grow stronger!

As always, you can check out the latest updates for 9Cat Saga on our Socials — Twitter, Threads, Instagram and Facebook, or by checking out the 9Cat Discord or Telegram Communities.

We will continue to work hard to make the 9Cat Saga game and the 9Metaverse the awesome space adventure we want for our beloved 9Catters.

Thanks for all your support thus far and we’ll see you in the community.

p.s. The next version will also be a juicy one, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the latest sneak peeks!

- The 9Cat Team

Welcome back 9Catters to another exciting installment of the 9Cat Saga game!

The V0.7.0 version of the 9Cat Saga has been in development for quite some time and packs a ton of great new features we’re sure our players are going to love as well as hinting at what’s to come in future updates. So without further ado, let’s dive into some of the newest additions to the 9Cat Saga!

🌸World 2 : Mt Sakura🌸

The largest update by far is the introduction of the 2nd world of the 9Cat Saga — Mt. Sakura.
This world has been built from the ground up and is inspired by Japanese culture and the concept of Yokai. You’ll find Sakura trees, a lush green landscape, bridges, water, and lots of enemies!

The new world brings 3 new types of enemies, each with their own attack styles. There’s the Kasa-obake that will hop around trying to lick you 👅, the Ittan-Momen which is a long-range ghost-like character that’ll give you a toilet paper mummification 🧻, and lastly the Buchi-Buchi which is essentially a possessed lantern that will firebomb you into the depths of hell. Trust me, the Buchi-Buchi’s attack ain’t no joke….He lays down the law 🥲

Everything in Mt. Sakura is not only beautiful, but also extractable! You can have fun using 9Cat’s Extraction gun on the various environmental features you find to see what items you get!

🧭 New General Quest : Unknown Machine Detected 🧭

Mysterious machines have popped up all over the place and they’re wreaking havoc. Reports from HQ say that when you get close to them their defense mechanism activates! We don’t know where they’ve come from, what they do or who made them, but one thing is for certain, they need to go. Find and Destroy the machines 9Cat!

This new mission type is selectable upon creating a game in both the UFO Ruins and Mt. Sakura worlds. Simply select ‘Unknown Machine Detected’ in the General Quest section after clicking ‘Create Game’.

🧭New Core Mission: Operation Save the Sparkos🧭

The robot inhabitants of the UFO Ruins, The Sparkos, need your help! After the planet’s biological creatures succumbed to the mysterious space virus, they started going crazy. To make matters worse, somebody tampered with the range bots to attack on sight. The situation is messy to say the least. Search for any remaining Sparkos and help them out!

Note: General Quests are the primary goal selected when creating a game. Core Missions relate to the main story of the 9Cat Saga and are available regardless of the General Quest selected. Completing General Quests and returning back to the 9Cat Home Space / 9Cat Social Hub via portal will result in a 9Photon reward. Completing Core Missions will result in a reward dependent on the number of times completed and difficulty of the mission. In the future Mission rewards will be posted on Discord and in the 9Cat Wiki.

🦜The Social Hub 🦜

There’s a new place in town where you can meet all your 9Cat pals and that is Social Hub!
When you log into the latest version, you’ll notice that you are no longer spawned into 9Cat Home Space, but rather into a brand new area where you can see all others that are online on the same server. Show off your weapons, skins, emojis and chat with your buddies while you set up games from the central terminal.

This area is just getting started, so we are far from done with it. In the future, there will be a milk bar where you can spend your 9Milk tokens, a store where you can buy gear and skins from, leaderboards, mini-games and much more. This place will grow alongside 9Cat and will evolve over time, welcome to the future OG 9Catters, one step at a time!

You can switch server location through the menu in the top left corner of the screen. Currently there are options for the following locations: Asia, Japan, Korea, Europe, USA, South Africa. We will adjust and add servers based on player demand!
Please keep in mind that when you switch servers, you will only see others that are on the same server as you. If you want to join your buddies game, make sure to be on the same server as one another!

If you’d like to head back to your 9Cat Home Space, you can simply take the door at the top of the Social Hub to get there. From your Home Space you can sort out our inventory, change your weapons, 9Cat and create games if you need a break from the others!

🗺️ New Minimap and HUD 🗺️

V0.7.0 also brings a revamped Minimap and refined player HUD. The new HUD allows you to see your Nickname, Health, Remaining Energy, 9Cat Image, Level and 9Cat Attribute points all from an overlay in the top left of the screen. More Info, Less space and easier to read, can’t get better than that!

The revamped Minimap is a god-send of a new feature. It has been redesigned to be a little easier to follow adding player icons so that you can locate your teammates easier. You now have even less of an excuse to ignore your downed teammates screaming ‘REZ’ and ‘HELP ME’ at the top of their lungs 😉

There will be a changelog posted on Discord at a later point in time covering the major changes and additions in this version, but given the scope of the update and the amount of bugs both introduced and squashed in the iterative feature development process, we won’t be covering them in this article. We hope you understand 📜😆

With all that said now, we hope you enjoy traversing through Mt. Sakura and trying out the new missions with your friends! Feel free to let us know what you think of the update in the #game_feedback channel on the Discord server and if you spot any bugs that need exterminating, please report them in the #bug_report channel!

We will continue to strive towards building the best, fun to play, web3 game that we possibly can! Feel free to share this article around on your socials to show the world 9Cat means business! 💗 That’s all for now, but if you have any questions or would just like to have a chat with us, feel free to say hi on the Discord server! 💬

- Lamster the Hamster and the 9Cat Fam ❤

— Lamster the Hamster

Hello and welcome to the interview Wendy. I know that you’re very busy lately trying to prepare for the upcoming v0.7.0 update and rushing around meeting investors as you begin to prepare for the token side of the 9Cat Saga game.

Many users have been curious to know about our extended plans for the rest of 2023 so I thought it would be a good idea to setup an interview and expand more on where 9Cat is currently sitting, how things have been going so far, and what we can expect from the rest of 2023.

To start things off, Can you let our audience know a little bit on the current state of development? How is this progress compared to your expectations for where we would be at this point in 2023 so far? Any differences?

— Wendy Lam

Hey there, 9Catizens!

It’s great to have this new way to connect with you all through this interview-style platform and share the progress and future plans of 9Cat.

To be honest, things didn’t go as planned when we started at the end of 2021, and we had to pivot to focus on building instead of marketing. We are now in a bear market and have been challenged to secure more investments for our project.

Nevertheless, we remain committed to finding partners and investors who share our passion for creating an authentic Web3 game centered around digital ownership of NFTs.

We’re grateful for our angel investor and co-founder, David, and eager to bring even more investors on board to help us accelerate our progress. Our goal is to get 9Cat out there and into the hands of as many Web3 players as possible, and we’re doing everything in our power to make that happen quickly!

So in Mar 2023, I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone as a game developer and attend more Web3 events. Currently, I attend at least one event per week in Hong Kong and plan to travel to other countries to connect with other Web3 builders and expand 9Cat’s network.

Additionally, I am actively reaching out to different game publishers to explore the possibility of finding new partners to grow 9Cat together and expand our player community. You may find me in Hong Kong Web3 events easily.

In terms of our development progress, we are nearing completion of a vertical slice of the game. We have built the core game mechanics, social hub, crafting system, quest system, building system, chat room, and emotes. The remaining tasks include adding character accessories, skills and resources drop system, raids, and guild system.

However, we have made the mobile version our top priority right now because we want to attract more players. To achieve this, we will focus on creating a mobile version of 9Cat in 0.8.0, as well as a free demo for web2 game platforms like itch.io and Steam to spread the word about 9Cat.

After launching the mobile version, we’ll focus on enriching the game’s resources, story, quests, accessories, skills, and weapons content to create a captivating and immersive experience that will keep players engaged for years to come. Our game development and design pipelines will be optimized to deliver regular updates on a weekly basis, ensuring that players always have new content to explore and enjoy. Our goal is to provide a truly dynamic and evolving gaming experience that grows and evolves alongside our community of players.

By the sounds of it, development progress is flourishing and there seems to be lots of things upcoming to look forward to.

I personally love the build first, market later approach that the project is taking, it’s much more in-line with a traditional web2 game company rather than the approach that many web3 projects seem to take nowadays. I believe it’s important to build trust organically by proving to our community and the public that we are delivering on what we promised and followers of 9Cat will know that’s something we do on a weekly basis.

Now, taking a step back towards the development side of things, I’m sure our fans would be excited to hear about some of the details of the upcoming v0.7.0 version of the 9Cat Saga. Can you let us know a little bit about what we can expect from this version and when it’s slated for release?

We’re gearing up to launch the new version of our game in the first or second week of April. Right now, we’re working hard on testing and fixing any bugs to ensure that the gameplay is as smooth and stable as possible for you all.

The update of 0.7.0 is going to be huge, with a new map called Mt. Sakura, which comes with 3 new enemies, each with unique attack patterns. Plus, there are lots of new assets designed specifically for this map. There are also some huge buildings that you can’t extract yet. But don’t worry, we’re already working on developing more advanced extraction tools for players to use in future builds!

The best part is that the map generation algorithm of the new map is completely different from the last two maps. We’re excited to introduce the third type of random generation map, which is the 3rd core map generation algorithm in our whole game. We will constantly optimize the algorithms to make sure the adventure is prettier and more exciting for players. And don’t worry, these 3 algorithms’ parameters will vary in each map to create a refreshing experience.

We’ve also got a new social hub feature, which will be a place for players to gather around like a big community lobby. We love it so much because now we can be packed closely together as a community in the game without having to worry about getting attacked by those swarm waves. Although things we can do in the social hub are still limited, it’s a good start and we’ll continue to develop this social area for players.

We’ve revised our quest system to use the quest machine in Unity, which means that we’re now ready for the quest content expansion. Those UFO Ruins NPCs, Sparkos, have a new story waiting for you to explore in 0.7.0.

There are many more improvements in the next version waiting for you to explore. Nahin will write a more detailed article introducing the features, improvements, and fixes in 0.7.0. So, make sure to keep checking our social media platform for new updates!

I’ve seen countless test versions of the new Mt Sakura world and am quite excited for it’s official release at last! It’s got a very nice Japanese aesthetic and for a borderline weeb like me, it’s a definite must-try! 😉

The social hub also seems very cool from the sketches I have seen of it so far with some exciting features incoming for players. No longer will my 9Cat have to reside alone in its Home Space, it’s now free to mingle and be a social butterfly, just like me! 😆

With all that being said, I’m sure players are very appreciative of all the effort the team have been putting into trying to create a super fun gaming experience for them!

But you know, it’s quite a milestone. We’re now approaching our 7th Alpha release, each release bigger than the last! It’s a testament to the team’s consistent dedication to the project and promise to deliver.

Now, why don’t we take a look at the project from a Web3 front. Many users who have followed our project from inception will definitely be interested to know what is happening with the game tokens.

When can we expect to see 9Cat game tokens on an exchange and when will they be able to purchase 9Meta tokens?

This is definitely an important topic for us. We understand that many of our supporters are eagerly waiting for us to launch our game tokens, especially the 9Meta tokens. However, we want to make sure that we do it right and at the right time.

Launching tokens on an exchange can be risky, especially when the game itself doesn’t have enough features to keep the tokens circulating within the economy. That’s why we plan to wait until the vertical slice of 9Cat Saga becomes a full version and we see stable play hours and positive player response data. This will ensure that the game is mature enough to support the token’s circulation.

Another important factor to consider is the market status. Launching during a bear market is a high-risk move, so we want to wait until the market is ready for our tokens. We don’t want to risk launching too early and having the token price drop to close to zero within a month, as that would be detrimental to the project.

In short, we plan to launch our tokens on mainnet when the game is mature, and the market is ready. We’ll keep you updated on our progress and make sure to communicate any developments related to our tokens.

Understandable. You don’t want to dive right into launching the tokens and risking a ton of money to setup the exchange listing before the token use-cases are fully fleshed out.

Seems like a wise decision and ultimately it means a less risky approach for would-be investors as they would only be buying into the token once the game is more developed instead of buying incredibly early on and hoping everything works out.

Okay Wendy, we know there’s plenty you still need to do, so I’ll just ask one last question.

Can you give us some more information on the 9Milk token? When can we expect to see some integration of the token into the 9Cat Saga game?

Regarding 9Milk token, it’s actually tied to the progress of our NFT sales. The breeding function is specifically designed to create more 9Cats, so we won’t be releasing it until we sell out our official NFT sales. At the moment, we’ve paused the sales at 900, but we’re optimistic that we’ll be able to sell out the remaining NFTs when we resume marketing with the mobile version and continue to develop a great game.

Apart from the breeding function, there is a milk bar in the social hub where you can pay 9Milk tokens to buy drinks for friends though. It’s on our development list. Drinks paid with 9Milk will provide a temporary buff to players that can boost their abilities during adventures in the game. Right now, this feature is scheduled for development in Q4.

I see, thank you for the informative response. I’m sure our 9Catizens are eagerly awaiting the day they can become 9Cat breeders and single-handedly save the 9Cats from population decline! 😉

Thank you so much for your time today, Wendy. We’ve covered quite a bit, but for those readers still itching to find out more, there is always the chance to connect with us on Discord.

Feel free to pop into the community with your burning questions and we’ll be happy to share what we know.

Remember folks, the V0.7.0 Alpha update is just around the corner and it’s going to be teeming with new features and the new Mt. Sakura world.

There will be an introduction article for the version posted around launch time, so be sure to check that out along with the new version. In the meantime, keep an eye on our socials for all up to date information on the 9Cat project!

Love you guys! ❤

— Lamster the Hamster & Wendy Lam

Website🌐: https://9Cat.io
Discord 💬: https://discord.gg/9cat
IG 📷: https://instagram.com/9CatNFT
Facebook 📘: https://facebook.com/9CatNFT
Twitter 🐦: https://twitter.com/9CatNFT

Follow Wendy Lam on Twitter: @wendylamkw
Connect Wendy Lam on Linkedin: Lam Kui Wun

It’s that time again where we get to show off the toils of our work with the release of the latest version of the 9Cat Saga — V0.6.0 Alpha! This version is packed with new features and updates which will be detailed below!

Global Chat

The first feature that we’re going to talk about is the new Global Chat system. Through this new system, you will be able to communicate to all online players whilst in-game helping with the organization of game lobbies, crying out for help when being chased by squirms, and helping to foster a sense of community between active and recurrent players.

You can find the system as soon as you enter into the 9Cat Home Space with the system automatically notifying others that you’re online. The Chat area will automatically disappear when not in use and can be brought back up again by pressing the Enter Key. At present, the system is limited in its features, so if you’d like to voice chat or add some gifs, feel free to use one of the many available channels on our Community Discord Server.

The Wheel of Feels — Emote Wheel

Another way the new update helps you to express your feelings is through the newly implemented Emote Wheel. This quick access wheel gives you the ability to display a small number of selected animated emotes to the players around you. Give a Thumbs Up, an OK, or a Flex to your teammates when the situation calls for it. 👍👌💪

To access the menu, you simply need to press V, then click on the emote you wish to display. This version contains an initial basic set of 6 Emotes in which all players will have access to. New emotes are slated for release in future updates which users will be able to add to their collection by completing in-game missions and through purchases. Unlockable emotes may only be available to 9Cat NFT holders with more information being available closer to their release date.

New Updated Visuals and VFX

From the moment you start the game, you will notice that the game seems much more polished than in previous versions. A lot of hard work has been put into updating the various visual effects throughout the game in this version. You will find new splash screens, loading screen text, death animations, game menu transitions and a new animated mission success screen.

In addition to the visual changes mentioned above, battles between enemies will also receive their own visual change in the form of a Damage Counter. Damage dealt to enemies will be seen as numbers floating off the enemies body. In this way, you will also be able to see when you land a critical hit on an enemy, especially enemies with a particular weakness to your 9Cat’s type when this system is added in future versions.

New Weapons

A slew of new weapons have been added in this version to fend off alien scum and annoy your teammates with! You will no longer be tied to just the starter gun — The Photon Emission Unit!

The weapon selection menu can be found in the center of the 9Cat Home space. Simply press ‘F’ when nearby to bring up the menu, then scroll down and select which gun you would like to use. You can find statistics for each gun in the menu with some weapons being more effective against groups and others more suited to fighting a single enemy at a time.

Feedback will be observed after release regarding weapons and balance adjustments will be made accordingly. During the Alpha releases many test weapons will be available for use, but keep in mind that some of these weapons may need to be unlocked in future versions leading up to the official 1.0 mainnet release.

*Note: When using the Flamethrower and Machine Gun, please keep in mind they burn through ammunition quickly. They are equipped with 5K ammo when selected, and ammo boxes will replenish 500 ammo each. We may adjust the logic for ammo boxes in the lead up to the next version release based on feedback received.

World One Dungeon

The first world of the 9Cat Saga, The UFO Ruins, is getting its own dungeon! This dungeon will tie into the story for the first world of the 9Cat Saga adventure with more details and missions appearing in later updates. The new area features new enemies and an end of dungeon boss so be prepared for a fight!

To access the dungeon, you will first need to locate the dungeon entrance on the planet’s surface. Just like the rest of the map elements, the location of the dungeon entrance is randomly generated. Once you’ve found it, stand at the entrance until the dungeon loads; if playing a multiplayer game all teammates will need to stand by the entrance to enter the dungeon.

Be prepared though, this dungeon isn’t for the faint of heart, once you’re in the dungeon, you will need to see it through till the very end. Your Exit Portal Creator does not work underground, so the only way out is through the portal back to the surface that appears once you’ve defeated the dungeon boss. It’s also advisable to bring resources for crafting ammunition and extra health especially when playing on normal or difficult settings.

The Bean is here!

Alongside the World One Dungeon, there is another surprise appearance being integrated in v0.6.0–9Bean! The first release of 9Bean helper NFTs were released earlier this year and have been waiting patiently for their time to shine in the 9Cat Saga game. The wait is now over and holders of these NFTs can enjoy having their 9Bean pet follow them around and guard them against the onslaught of enemies, who knows, maybe you’ll even be able to solo a Difficult run now? 😆

With the release of 9Bean in game, there’s no better time to try and nab yourself a 9Bean NFT! We are currently planning for the next batch release of 9Bean NFTs for January, so be sure to stay tuned for updates on our Social Media channels and Discord Community! Players in Hong Kong are able to obtain a Special Edition Yum Cha 9Bean through our current Promotional Partnership with Yum Cha HK, for more information check out the article!

A touch of Christmas

To celebrate the Christmas season, we’ve sprinkled in a little Christmas magic into the UFO ruins. The NPC’s scattered around the UFO ruins will all be Christmas themed and you’ll notice that it’s beginning to snow on the planet — Good thing 9Cat has fur as it totally forgot to bring its sweater!

9Cat Saga Guest Mode

We haven’t forgotten about the newbies coming into our metaverse either, don’t worry!

As part of the new update, new users who wish to try the game out are no longer required to sign up for an account on our website, or have a Metamask wallet ready prior to downloading the game.

The website has been updated to allow users to download the latest version of the 9Cat Saga game from the ‘Play Game’ link on the homepage. Once the game has been downloaded, users can enter into ‘Guest Mode’ by clicking on the ‘Play as Guest’ button on the Login Screen. Guest mode allows users to dive straight into the game with a mochi 9Cat and default name. If users would like to save their progress and items collected during the run, they can setup their Metamask wallet , then bind their account to their Metamask using the option in-game.

Other Additions

- Region Selector in Game Finder -

Players will now be able to sort games in the Join Game lobby by region. Region information will be automatically determined when a game is created. This will help users to locate games with the lowest possible latency for the best possible gaming experience.

- 9Cat Stats in Character Selection Menu -

Users will now be able to view the level and attribute information from the Character Selection Window in the 9Cat Home Space. Simply hover over the 9Cat with your mouse to view the information and click to switch to that 9Cat.

Leveling up your 9Cat will require you to play and complete missions into the Wild with your 9Cat, whereas 9Cat attributes are determined at random when a 9Cat is minted. Each Attribute will contribute a certain amount of advantage over characters of other attributes. For more information on attributes, please check out our lightpaper.

- Various bug fixes -
With every subsequent update there are tons of bug fixes on the previous versions and fixes for new features while in development. We will list a few of the major bug fixes for this version below with a full changelog summary for the v0.6.0 update available for access in the #⌨｜development-updates channel of our discord server

🔸Fixed Null Reference error when finishing a game
🔹Fixed Brief System lag when dashing after extracting a resource
🔸Fixed HP / Ammo not syncing between maps
🔹Show ‘Connection Error’ popup if game detects user is no longer connected to the Internet
🔸Fixed Instances where Revive function doesn’t function correctly
🔹Fixed No Cutscene bug

There are a lot of new things to play with in this version and we hope that you enjoy all the new additions with your friends! As per usual, if you spot any bugs or issues please be sure to report them in the #💬｜game-feedback channel on Discord so we can investigate them!

Thank you to everyone for their continued support. We will continue to work hard to deliver the best web3 game we can!

~ Lamster the Hamster & The 9Cat Fam ❤️

This December, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Blockchain Association (HKBA), 9Cat Saga will be making its way into the hearts, minds and bellies of Yum Cha patrons with some special edition 9Cat themed menu options and rewards. Customers who order during the promotional period will be rewarded not only with an explosion of taste and cuteness, but also with some 9Cat Saga NFT redeemable rewards!

There are two redeemable rewards that Yum Cha customers can look forward to:

1. A 9Cat x YumCha Special Edition 9Bean NFT³
2. An in-game consumable Yum Cha 9Bun NFT⁴

The special edition 9Bean NFT is given as a reward to customers who spend at least 500HKD in one visit to Yum Cha restaurant during the promotional period³. This special edition 9Bean NFT can be linked to your 9Cat Saga account to bring a special Yum Cha 9Bean into the game. The 9Bean will act as your faithful alien companion following you around and helping you to survive the dangers you encounter. 9Bean can be leveled up by collecting exp points to unlock new forms and special passive abilities. For more information about 9Bean, please refer to our introductory article here.

The in-game consumable Yum Cha bun NFT is given as a reward to customers who purchase the ‘9Bean Bun’ special menu item from Yum Cha restaurant during the promotional period.⁴ This redeemable item can be consumed in-game to gain experience points for an in-game 9Bean character. The more buns you order, the more buns you can bring home to your 9Bean pet! 💗

The promotional period for this special collaboration is December 1st, 2022 — Feb 28th, 2023.

How to Redeem

A Metamask wallet will be required to receive NFT rewards. For information on how to create a wallet, please refer to this article.

NFTs rewards can be redeemed through the special redemption page on our website. ¹²⁶
For more information, please check out our Discord Community.

¹ Customers who meet the purchase requirements for rewards will be given a Redemption code for each applicable reward. Redemption codes are single-use, unique, and will expire on the expiration date printed.
² Redemption codes of Yum Cha bun NFT will grant the user a single NFT issued on the Polygon Blockchain to a wallet address provided while redemption codes of special edition 9Bean NFT will grant the user a single NFT issued on the Ethereum chain.
³ Special Edition YumCha 9Bean NFTs are only available while stocks last. 9Bean NFT rewards are only available on Mondays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
⁴ Yum Cha Bun NFT rewards are available at any time during the promotional period. Customers are able to receive one redemption code for each 9Bean bun ordered.
⁵ The complete terms & conditions can be viewed here.
⁶ Redeem site will be ready when the event starts.

About Yum Cha

Yum Cha is the most dynamic and trendy Dim Sum restaurant in Hong Kong. Whether you’re bringing along friends, family members, or business partners, Yum Cha is always ready to serve up a delicious meal that will excite everyone at the table. Traditional Chinese and Dim Sum dishes are refined with an in-house special touch while ensuring the original essence of each dish is retained. Quality is guaranteed and No MSG is added to dishes. With an extensive selection of delicious, Instagram-ready meals, Yum Cha is a must-visit for foodies!

Yum Cha is located at Central Outlet, Shop 1–2, 2F, Nan Fung Place, 173 Des Voeux Road Central, Central.

🌐 Website: http://yumchahk.com
👥Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yumchahkg

About Hong Kong Blockchain Association HKBA

Founded in 2018, Hong Kong Blockchain Association ( HKBA.club ) is an organization with open mind, equality and decentralization. Through learning, communication and promotion of blockchain technology and its applications, HKBA aims to establish a platform to connect the blockchain practitioners in Greater China and in the world. HKBA is also committed to building Hong Kong as the financial technology center in the new blockchain & fintech era.

HKBA connecting Industry Experts, VC & Angel Investors, Teachers, Guest Lecturers, Professors, Students, Entrepreneurs, Startups and Incubators, on Blockchain, FinTech, DeFi, GameFi, Smart Contracts, NFT, Metaverse knowledge exchange.

🌐HKBA 網址: https://hkba.club/
👥Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HongKongBA/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxdIHJTUX_rZSm-X9vDxiTg

About 9Cat Saga

The 9Cat Saga is a Sci-Fi Survival Shooter game set in the deep space of the 9Metaverse. Follow 9Cat, an interdimensional space-traveling cat, as it tries to track down the source of a mysterious virus spreading across the 9Metaverse. Explore, Fight, Collect, Craft, and Survive in this fast-paced multiplayer adventure. The 9Cat Saga is developed with Unity and incorporates the latest Blockchain technology. The 9Cat team aims to create a real game in Web3.

🌐 Website: https://9cat.io
👥Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/9CatNFT
🕊️Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/9CatNFT
📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9CatNFT

(繁體中文)

Hey there 9Catters!

There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to bring cooperative play to the 9Cat Saga game. Last month saw the release of V0.5.0 which laid the foundations for a multiplayer experience and with the release of V0.5.4 we’re ready to create an article talking about some of the major changes and updates that these versions have introduced to the 9Cat Saga game.

Multiplayer Mode

A Multiplayer game mode has been added as part of the v0.5.0 update. It is a co-op style of multiplayer that will allow groups of up to 4 players to connect together and adventure through the different worlds of the 9Cat Saga game. Players will be able to survive a little bit easier through the hordes of monsters and ruthless boss battles knowing that their friends have their back. 😄

The multiplayer mode can be accessed by heading to the Stage Selection interface in the 9Cat Home Space. You will find that the Difficulty Selection screen has been transformed into a Game Lobby and World Selection Interface. Currently, only the first world (The UFO Ruins) is accessible for selection, but a second world is hinted for future release!

From the Game Lobby, you’ll be able to Join other active game sessions, or create your own Single Player or Multiplayer games. To create a game, simply click on the ‘Create Game’, then select the type of game (Single Player or Multiplayer), select the Difficulty (Easy, Normal, Difficult) and for Multiplayer games, select whether you want to share resources between players. Once done, simply click ‘Create’ to Create the game.

For Multiplayer games, you’ll be taken back to the 9Cat Home Space where you will wait for other players to join your game. You can ready up by clicking ‘Ready’ in the bottom right corner, and you’ll need at least 2 players to start the game. Once everybody is ready, you can click ‘Start’ to dive into the wild!

As the map generation occurs and everybody is waiting to jump into the game, a new loading screen will be presented showing the group member’s chosen 9Cats along with their usernames.

Once into the wild, you’ll be free to explore the map, start shooting enemies, and collecting resources. Shooting your allies in multiplayer will harm them, so it’s best to avoid friendly fire if you’re not trying to be the annoying one on the team :P Entering boss battles in multiplayer will pull all teammates into the boss arena until you’ve defeated it, or you’re all dead!

There may be some lag between players in this initial release of the multiplayer version as there is only one server hosting the games located in Tokyo. We are working to release a server application during our Alpha stage to help users host their own games locally. Keep an eye out on Discord for information regarding its release in the coming month or two.

Revival Mechanism

The v0.5.4 update brings a revival mechanism to allow players to revive their downed teammates in multiplayer mode. When a teammate has been slain, you can simply head up to their body and hold ‘E’ to revive them. Revival does take some time though, so it’s best to clear out the area of enemies before reviving your fellow noob 😆

Difficulty & Reward Updates

To ensure our alien scum have a fighting chance against your pro gamer gang with the recent multiplayer release, difficulty scaling will be introduced in v0.5.4 to keep things interesting. This means that the difficulty, spawn rate and health of enemies will be determined by the number of players who join your game.

Fewer people → Easier enemies 👼
More people → Difficult enemies 😈

The v0.5.4 will also bring adjustments to the difficulty of the UFO Ruins boss — The Squirm King👑. The boss will now be more challenging in all game modes with difficulty scaling also applied to multiplayer games.

Home Space UI Update

The Home Space UI has been reorganized in v0.5.0. You will now find all your information in the Top Left corner including 9Cat’s health, level, Daily Energy Remaining, and 9Photon collected.

9Cat will retain its health after coming back from missions and heal using fruits in the home space. If your 9Cat dies while out in the wild, it will return to the 9Cat Home Space with full health. Crafting fruit now becomes a necessary skill for survival 🍑🍴

Bug Fixes & Changes

This version includes so many bug fixes that we would be able to write an entire article on those bug fixes alone! Turns out, rewriting the entire codebase to allow for multiplayer gameplay introduces plenty of nasty bugs with life steal…our poor developers barely made it out alive 😜

Some of the major non-multiplayer bug fixes and changes include:
🔹 Inventory Drag Item bugfix
🔸 9Cat Dash bugfix
🔹 Removed timer for Switching Weapons
🔸 Optimization of the map generation algorithm
🔹 Optimization of Enemy AI and load time

That’s about wraps up the major changes for this release! You can find a full changelog summary for v0.5.0 / v0.5.4 in the #⌨｜development-updates channel of our Discord server.

We hope you guys enjoy shooting aliens with your friends in multiplayer mode, and as per usual, if you spot any bugs or issues please be sure to report them in the #💬｜game-feedback channel on Discord so we can investigate!

The next version of the 9Cat Saga (v0.6.0) will see some enemy attack pattern updates and the introduction of a new dungeon area for the UFO ruins world with its own mini-boss! Stay tuned for more information!

Once again, thank you to everyone for their continued support. We will continue to work hard to bring you the best game we can!

~ Lamster the Hamster & The 9Cat Fam ❤️

Aug 25, 2022 (日本語)(繁體中文)

Deep within the 9Metaverse on a planet far far away, 9Cat finds itself staring at a creature it’s never seen before. The little creature it dubs ‘9Bean’ due to its bean-shaped face is hiding behind a piece of wood. 9Cat meows at the little creature in an attempt to communicate with it, and at first it seems perplexed by the sound, but then bobs up and down.

9Cat isn’t quite sure what it’s found, but it definitely feels familiar with this creature. Little did 9Cat know at the time that this short interaction would lay the foundation for a powerful relationship between two unlikely creatures.

What is 9Bean?

9Bean is an upcoming companion character for the 9Cat Saga game that will aid 9Cat with explorations and adventures into The Wild. 9Bean will serve as a passive helper pet following right beside 9Cat wherever it goes, fighting baddies that try to hurt 9Cat.

9Bean lives on The Ethereum Blockchain. It will be a periodically released free mint NFT that will be redeemable by both free-to-play players and 9Cat Holders alike. The 9Bean companion will help to expand the 9Cat Saga Game, drive users to complete more in-game missions and increase the customization of the in-game playstyle.

The first mint is scheduled for the end of September with a yet-to-be-determined initial amount. More information regarding the mint will be available closer to the mint date via our Community Discord Server.

Origin Story

Unbeknownst to 9Cat at the time of its first encounter with 9Bean, it shares more than just friendship with the mysterious creature. 9Bean was formed in part due to 9Cat, with a little bit of magic, mystery, and good timing thrown into the mix.

In Mt. Sakura, there is a myth that any object can absorb the essence of nature and slowly become alive and self-aware. As 9Cat was exploring through Mt. Sakura, it left behind a ball of fur. The ball of fur didn’t blow through the wind as expected, but rather slowly become conscious of its own existence. 9Bean search for 9Cat after its wake. Let’s see what adventures lie in store for the mysterious creature 9Bean and 9Cat.

9Bean Traits

Each lovable 9Bean NFT is comprised of 4 main traits:
- Body — The Color and Pattern of the 9Bean
- Top—Decorations atop the 9Bean’s body
- Tail — A tail below 9Bean’s body
- Back Item — Decorations on the 9Bean’s back

Traits for the 9Bean will gradually appear as the 9Bean progresses through its evolution stages. Leveling up your 9Bean is done simply by calling it out to play and completing in-game missions. These missions will give your 9Bean experience points (exp), as well as items that will need to be collected for their evolution.

i.e. Stage X → Stage Y might require a certain amount of EXP and specific resources

Evolution Stages

🔹Stage 1 → The 9Bean’s Body is revealed
🔹Stage 2 → The 9Bean’s Top is revealed + Petting animation unlocked
🔸Stage 3 → The 9Bean’s Tail is revealed + Cuddling animation unlocked
🔸Stage 4 → The 9Bean’s Back Item is revealed + Passive 9Cat Damage Buff added

9Bean Accessories Store

A store to purchase accessories to decorate your 9Bean will be available shortly after launch. Accessories will vary in rarity and will be available to purchase with 9Photon and 9Meta tokens. Some special series accessories will be quantity limited with purchases only being available with 9Meta tokens and may even take the form of NFTs.

How can I prepare for the 9Bean mint?

In order to secure your place for each of the 9Bean minting rounds, you will need to obtain a whitelist spot. There are currently two methods of obtaining a whitelist for the first round of 9Bean minting:

1. 9Cat NFT Hodlers: You must hold at least one 9Cat NFT prior to the 9Bean mint and you need to fill in the 9Bean Whitelist Registration form before 29 September 2022.
2. Non-9Cat NFT Hodlers: You must join our Discord and must register for a 9Cat Saga account through the user portal, play at least one game, and then fill out the 9Bean Whitelist Registration form before the registration end date*.

*Deadline for whitelist registration will be 2 days before the minting starts.

** Whitelist minting will start at 10 PM HKT on 30 September.

We will validate all the filled-in wallet addresses and check if they fulfilled the above requirements within 2 days before the minting starts. The whitelisted wallet addresses will be allowed to mint on our website 9Cat.io on the sales date.

Stay tuned for more details… 😉
~ The 9Cat Team

Salutations from the 9Metaverse fellow 9Catters! ❤️

Our development team has been hard at work and the fruits of their labour has finally come to bear. The latest and greatest version of the 9Cat Saga version has now been released — Alpha 0.4.0.

This version introduces a few important new features, fixes some old issues and brings us ever closer to our eventual mainnet release. The main updates and changes will be listed below, and the full version changelog can be found on our discord server in the #development-updates channel.

Player Home Base

For those familiar with our whitepaper, there are two aspects of the 9Cat Saga game — The Player Base & The Wild. The Player Base is 9Cat’s very own little spaceship that it roams around the 9Metaverse in. The Player Base will be the starting point after initially launching the game, where users choose which planet they will adventure to, and where they will return to after missions.

Within the 9Cat Player Base players will be able to equip and craft gear for their adventures, generate resources, view their statistics and play minigames. This area may be personalized with special decorations you can find in the wild, craft or receive from community events.

This version of the game introduces the stock player base design with future versions implementing additional crafting, resource generation and decoration functions.

9Cat NFT Integration

From the initial inception of the 9Cat Saga game, one of the primary goals was the integration of the 9Cat NFTs into the game; to have your own individual 9Cat that you are able to play the game with.

This version marks the beginning of this integration allowing you to see your 9Cat NFTs in the game.
Your individualized 9Cat will be instantly viewable after login with all of their traits displayed. For users that hold multiple 9Cat NFTs you are able to switch between characters using the menu in the bottom left corner.

In future versions NFT integration will expand to include the attributes of each 9Cat; namely, Strength, Occult and Tech.

New Item — The Exit Portal Creator 🔲

A new piece of 9Cat tech will be making its way into the 0.4.0 update — The Exit Portal Creator

The Exit Portal Creator is 9Cat’s emergency life-saving exit device, for when things are getting a little too spicy on the alien planet you are on or when you completed the mission. When you’re down to little health and you don’t think you’ll make it, or when you need to rush back because you forgot you left the baby 9Cat alone with your clueless brother who’s visiting from out of town, the Exit Portal Creator can be used to create a portal to take you back to the Player Base.

Now keep in mind that using this item to leave the map before completing the core mission will mean that you don’t receive any 9Photon rewards or get to keep any items you’ve collected, you don’t get rewarded for running away from battle!

This item can be crafted from within your crafting menu, and for this version, we will add one into everyone’s backpack if energy is not used up so you may try the item out! We’re incredibly kind, we know 😉

New Item — The Healing Vortex 🏥

Another craftable item that is making its way into the latest update is the Healing Vortex.

This fountain-like object is imbued with special technology and has to power to spring 9Cat back to life by restoring its HP once activated. To activate the fountain you simply need to interact with it and place some fruits or plants into the vortex. Once activated, healing will occur passively as long as 9Cat remains near the vortex — A perfect place to hold your ground while you fight off a horde of enemies!

In this version there is only one animation state, but this will be refined in the next update for a more perfect look.

Miscellaneous Updates

Aside from content updates, the 0.4.0 patch introduces a few quality of life updates to the game.

First of all, to the joy of all our headphone users, in-game audio control has been implemented. This allows users to adjust the volume for background music and sound effects separately, as well as providing a master volume control.

Additionally, users are now able to select their graphics settings for the game. Users have the ability to change the resolution that the game is rendered in as well as providing options for the displayed window type — Full Screen, Borderless Windowed Mode, and Windowed Mode.

Next up, the energy requirements for players wishing to enter missions has been changed temporarily allowing users to play missions even when they’ve used up all their energy for the day. If you enter a game and don’t have any energy, you aren’t able to claim any 9Photon rewards for that run into the wild.

Finally, The mouse controls within inventory menus have been adjusted to allow for easier and faster access. Tool tips now follow the cursor for easier reading, and left clicking on an item will allow you to move items quicker than before.

**There are a few more quality of life updates / bug fixes , but too many to list in this article. If you’d like to see the full list please check the changelog on our discord server in the #development-updates channel**

Enjoy the update!

We hope you guys enjoy trying out the new updates to the game, especially getting to see all your 9Cat NFTs come to life! 😍

If you spot any bugs, or just wish to share your feedback, you can let us know in the #game-feedback channel on discord. Now for us busy bees, we’ve got to get started on the next version of the game!

The 9Cat Team

For us, the event was a challenge in more ways than one! For starters, we had about 2 and a half weeks to sort out all the details of our stall — from what we were going to showcase, to the design of the stall, merchandise, and even event shirts for our staff!

Luckily for us though, we have a brilliant team ready to face any challenges that come our way! We condensed a few years of stress, phone calls and grey hairs into a short period and as a result churned out an awesome stall with time to spare! Our idea was simple — to create a photo booth opportunity with some of the art from our 9Cat Saga metaverse, give patrons a chance to see the progress we have made, try out our game and get some nice branded merchandise for stopping by.

This idea turned out to be a resounding success. We had one of the most decorated and eye-catching stalls at the event according to the feedback we received from many of our visitors. People enjoyed taking photos by our decorated backdrop and our branded 9Cat caps turned out to be an incredibly popular item. Our hard work paid off, and the smiles and compliments received by our newfound fans blessed our team with immense gratitude, especially given that this was our first major offline event.

The event also presented a perfect chance for our project to reach out to, and build connections with, other high quality NFT gaming projects, some of whom were not established in Hong Kong, but were invited to the event as top-tier guests and would otherwise be difficult to contact. The mantra is simple: Associate yourself with the best to inspire success. Needless to say that meeting people face to face always yields better results in terms of business partnerships than trying to reach out online, and this was exactly our experience at Artaverse Hong Kong 2022.

Unfortunately in the NFT and crypto space, there are a ton of projects that do little to deliver on the promises given to investors, so an offline event showcasing the best around is the perfect melting pot for collaboration. You can prove your dedication and desire to succeed to others by showing what has been completed thus far, explaining your vision and the steps you’re going to take to get there leading to a much higher chance of building partnerships with those people.

There is nobody we know more dead-set on their vision than Wendy Lam, founder and grand empress of the 9Metaverse, so unsurprisingly 9Cat walked away with friends beyond the 9Metaverse — Mission success! We managed to build our network of contacts for potential collaborations and partnerships of which includes Eric Wy Chow (The Fatties NFT Artist), YOLOSPACE, Gigaspace, Delic Club, Neopets Metaverse and many more!
We look forward to working together with our newfound friends to collectively build out our visions in a mutually constructive manner.

One interesting takeaway from the event that we noted was that most Hong Kongers are still relatively new to, or unaware of the NFT and crypto space. We answered many questions from curious locals about the benefit and purpose of NFTs, as well as giving a background on the concept of GameFi, and of course our project. Offline events such as Artaverse Hong Kong are an important bridge connecting web3 and NFT projects such as ours to everyday people and potential investors outside of the general crypto cliques.

Patrons that came from video game backgrounds but had yet to embrace NFTs aired their concerns with us, primarily coming from positions against in-game purchases and overpriced, low quality games coming out of the NFT space. We engaged with them to discuss the benefits of GameFi and how NFTs differ from in-game purchases found in many online games today.

We fundamentally agree with those gamers that the standard for NFT projects needs to be raised in order to compete on a level playing field with non-crypto games. When we showed those users our art designs and what we have planned for the full release of the 9Cat Saga game, they were content that we were serious about improving the quality of games in the space and that they’re looking forward to trying our game when it’s complete. Ultimately, that’s what drives us, our determination to deliver something that is seen as a fun game to play, not just an investment vehicle.

All in all, the event was a great experience for us at 9Cat. We put smiles on the faces of NFT fans, curious locals and excitable kids alike; met and had discussions with loads of amazing people who shared equally grand goals based in web3, and increased public exposure and interest in our project.

We look forward to our next offline event to which we can leave our mark, and until then, more work is waiting for us on the development front. Our next alpha version is set for release on the 22nd June and we are still aiming to stick a release schedule of roughly 2–4 weeks. We thank everybody who continually supports us and those that came down to see us at the event, you amazing people are our motivation to keep striving hard to build the 9Metaverse! See you on Discord 9Catters!

The 9Cat Team