April has proven to be a difficult month for many people around the world, that are affected in some regard by the effects of COVID-19. Though national economies have been negatively affected, along with many people’s jobs and living situations, it is a relief to report that all is well in the ZENZO Ecosystem. Over the past month, the majority of focus and energy has been invested in the development of ZENZO Core v2.0 (hardfork — mandatory update) and the ZENZO Forge. Incredible progress has been made in such a short amount of time and the ZENZO Core Wallet v2.0 release work remaining is largely tidying up the frontend. Alongside these main developments, ZENZO has also been in conversation with several game developers, discussing the potential benefits and application of the ZENZO Forge for both the game developers and gamers.
The ZENZO Core v2.0 release will be a hardfork and a mandatory update for everyone who is currently using the ZENZO wallet or has coins safely stored on your wallet, but not running it. Regardless of your situation, it is strongly advised for everyone to download, install, and run the latest version once it is released. For anyone that has never experienced a hardfork before, don’t stress. The ZENZO Team is happy to discuss and clear up any confusion in either the official ZENZO Discord or Telegram.
*Never download the ZENZO Wallet from third-party sites and it is always recommended to download directly from the official ZENZO GitHub.
*It should also be noted that anyone running old versions of the wallet, once the hardfork is successful, will not be running on the correct and official ZENZO Blockchain. This will result in all actions made essentially being pointless (ie: you will not be staking on the correct network, masternodes will not be running, and any outgoing/incoming transactions you make will not be reflected or carried over on the correct chain).
In the upcoming weeks, there will be development screenshots and updates via the ZENZO GitHub, Social Media, and Discord and if you have any questions about this release, feel free to ask in in the ZENZO Discord.
Currently, the games on the ZENZO Arcade are only purchasable with the ZENZO Coin (ZNZ). Previously, both PIVX and BTC were accepted and are in the process of being reintegrated, along with the consideration of other coins as payment methods. If you would like to see a certain coin or token as a viable payment method on the ZENZO Arcade, please feel free to share your suggestion in the #arcade channel.
This digital marketplace is undergoing a complete makeover on the backend, to provide a more secure and reliable experience. The developers are also working on concept models to provide trustless transactions and purchases, as the arcade pushes towards a bi-directional marketplace where users can buy and sell. The next step, now that the ZENZO Forge is stable, is to allow for people to buy, sell, and trade their ZENZO Forge Items (ZFIs). The first phase of this release is to grant owners of ZENZO Forge Items the ability to sell their assets on a trusted, public, and open marketplace safely and securely.
Some of the most exciting updates over the past month have been happening with the ZENZO Forge, as it is starting to attract a lot of attention from the community and also game developers. Most of the development recently has been on the core foundation and base protocol level. Over the course of a month, with extreme stress-testing from the team and select community members, the optimization of speed and security has improved drastically.
Latest commits — Key Improvements and Upgrades:
• 2-Step Validation (Valid & Pending Items) —9aaba5f
• ZFI Card Designer Preview (in App) — 40ae816
•Introduce Lockable Validation Queue — 1d98b4e
•Improved UXTO Locking Mechanism (ZENZO Core)— f8dacd2
• Deterministic Smelts — 332a44e
Progress on the ZENZO Forge can be publicly tracked on the official GitHub, as this technology is entirely open-source and free to use. Also, there are notifications in the #github-updates channel in the ZENZO Discord almost daily. Currently, the ZENZO Forge v0.4 (Alpha) is being worked on for public use — an MVP that provides a full-fledged backend and frontend.
Interested in testing it out or have any questions? Join the ZENZO Discord
King of the Apocalypse, also referred to as KOTA, is the first ZENZO Forge Tech Demo that will showcase the benefits, features, and possibilities of the new era for blockchain gaming. KOTA is a post-apocalyptic, FPS survival game that will first start out with a campaign mode and already in discussions for a multiplayer mode. The ZENZO Team has decided that much of KOTA will be community-driven project, where people with all different backgrounds and skills can have some influence on the direction of KOTA.
The first public release will be a limited testing phase, known as “Early Access”, and only 50 players will be able to join for this release. Don’t worry, if you don’t make the cut, you will be able to join for the Alpha Release. The ZENZO Team is looking for players with both passion and experience in the fields of blockchain, cryptocurrency, and gaming. Passionate players that want to be involved in game development, without being developers or programmers, this is for you!
>> Sign up for Early Access
>> Register for the KOTA Newsletter
With Special Guest Jeremy “frozenfire” Choo (Ammobox Studios)
> Eximius: Seize the Frontline
The Checkpoint Level 6 happened on April 25th, 2020 and was streamed across multiple platforms (Twitch, DLive, Mixer, Youtube, Periscope). For this event, ZENZO invited the CEO of Ammobox Studios, Jeremy “frozenfire” Choo. Ammobox Studios is the developer behind the release of Eximius: Seize the Frontline, a unique combination of FPS and RTS wrapped into one.
This was one of the first events that ZENZO featured an indie game that currently has nothing to do with blockchain and cryptocurrency. While the focus is on the integration of cryptocurrency and blockchain in the gaming realm, the major bridge that many people overlook is introducing this technology to game developers, not just the gamers. With that being said, there are a lot of great indie games out there that simply just deserve some spotlight, whether or not blockchain is suitable for their game model.
During the event, Tendo was going through the tutorial mode and eventually into the online skirmish modes, while Jeremy was guiding him through the process and sharing about the game mechanics. Jeremy also spoke about their journey of game development and future plans they have for Eximius. As most people already know, a large part of The Checkpoint is dedicated to some great giveaways and Ammobox Studios was kind enough to donate 10 keys of Eximius: Seize the Frontline to 10 lucky winners!
Special thanks to all of the sponsors and allies for The Checkpoint: Level 6 (Ammobox Studios, PIVX, CoinDreams, Voidnet, and Cryptocurrency Checkout).
The Checkpoint Level 6 with Ammobox Studios (Eximius)
Watch: Full Event (3 hours)
The Checkpoint: Level 7 is currently being planned and the official date has yet to be decided, but it will be towards the end of May. Stay tuned for news and updates regarding who the special guest will be and what all you can expect. As always, the ZENZO Team is open to feedback from the community: what you want to see, talk about, review, and discuss. If you have any comments on what you would like to see at the next Checkpoint event, go to the ZENZO Discord and comment in the #💫-the-checkpoint channel.
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