Below are details behind the game mechanics of Hungry Wolves. Our team has worked tirelessly on this project and taken meaningful input from external advisors who are far smarter than ourselves, e.g. Scott Kominers, a tenured Harvard economist.
The result is something that we believe will be extremely fun and while founded in the Ethereum blockchain, playable without significant gas fees.
This document is broken into several sections:
In each section we’ll discuss the mechanics, reasons why we made the decisions we did, as well as expected timelines for release.
The Hungry Wolves mint launched in December 2021 and SOLD OUT on 1/6/22. It was separated into three phases, all of which were priced at 0.06 ETH. You can now purchase Hungry Wolves on the secondary market via OpenSea: https://opensea.io/collection/hungry-wolves.
- MINT PHASE 1: 100% of the first 2,500 Hungry Wolves minted held an Alpha rank.
- MINT PHASE 2: 25% of the next 1,000 Hungry Wolves minted held an Alpha rank. The other 75% were Betas.
- MINT PHASE 3: 10% of the last 2,500 Hungry Wolves minted held an Alpha rank. The other 90% were Betas.
These phases resulted in 3,000 Alphas and 3,000 Betas that became part of the overall collection.
To be clear, despite their name, Beta wolves are not secondary members of our pack or community. They can do all of the same things as Alpha wolves. The trait pool is identical, they can join Wolfpacks, collect and eat sheep, earn Dominance and rewards.
The one difference between Alpha and Beta wolves is their hunting prowess; Beta wolves retrieve smaller prey during regular airdrops. We’ll discuss this further in the Scrumptious Sheep & Lil Lamb Airdrops section.
Our NFTs each hold a metadata trait called Rank so you can easily identify if a wolf is an Alpha or Beta. This is also the foundation for wolves to be able to steal/swap ranks with each other using PVP mechanics, discussed later in the PVP section.
There are 10 standard 1-of-1s included in our collection (one representing each of our 10 Wolfpacks) and 10 Werewolf Coins. Each were distributed at random during our mint.
Holders of a Werewolf Coin have the ability to work with our 3D designers to transform it into a 1-of-1 custom Hungry Wolf based on their specifications.
All 1-of-1s and Werewolf Coins initially hold the rank of Alpha.
Hungry RUNTZ were announced in late-January 2022 as a “free-to-play” layer of the Hungry Wolves ecosystem. They are ERC-721 NFTs just like Hungry Wolves. You can learn more about RUNTZ at https://runtz.hungrywolvesnft.com.
With an expected launch in February 2022, RUNTZ will be a completely FREE-TO-MINT (only pay gas) collection. RUNTZ are for everyone; especially those that are new to NFTs. The goal is to make them accessible to anyone who wants to explore the Hungry Wolves project and mechanics.
With RUNTZ we are also introducing a new concept; an INFINITY MINT. There will be no collection cap with RUNTZ and the mint is designed to run forever. RUNTZ are meant to be perpetually available to anyone who wants to join the Hungry Wolves community.
Beginning with Series 1, RUNTZ have hundreds of randomized traits creating millions of combinations. At a point in the future we will close Series 1 and launch Series 2 and so on. Each Series will have a unique trait pool; meaning new traits will be unveiled and some older ones, retired forever. RUNTZ with specific trait combinations may become rare collectables over time.
RUNTZ are born into the world of Hungry Wolves. They can join Wolfpacks, eat sheep, earn Dominance, and even upgrade their visual traits. However, in most cases, RUNTZ must rely on their Hungry Wolves brothers & sisters for assistance due to their size. This is discussed further in the sections below.
Once you acquire a Hungry Wolf or RUNTZ, you become eligible to join one of 10 Wolfpacks based on your NFTs unique traits.
Hungry RUNTZ have a single trait (Fur) mapped to Wolfpacks and each is eligible to join a single pack.
Hungry Wolves have a more complex mapping of traits as shown below and in most cases are eligible to join multiple packs.
By entering The Wolf Den via our website, you can easily see which Wolfpacks each of your Hungry Wolves or RUNTZ are able to join.
One of the big questions we’ve wrestled with: should joining a Wolfpack be “wolf” or “wallet” based?
While our original plan was to allow all wolves to join Wolfpacks, regardless of how many one held in their wallet, we determined this created potential for significant imbalances as well as opportunities for players to cheat. Not to mention confusion and complexity for those holding large numbers of wolves.
We decided the right path was to have our players (i.e. wallet holders) choose a single Wolfpack. We want each person to develop a genuine affinity for their chosen pack — like a guild or clan in an MMO. This simply isn’t possible if everyone can join multiple (or even all 10) simultaneously.
When you enter The Wolf Den, you’re asked to choose a Primary Wolf from those available in your wallet. This Primary Wolf is then able to join a Wolfpack based on its unique traits. You can change your Primary Wolf, join, leave or switch Wolfpacks at anytime.
While only one Hungry Wolf or Runt per wallet can formally join a Wolfpack, we’ve ensured that other game mechanics are designed in a way where it’s strategically advantageous to hold multiple. More on this in the sections below.
Once your Primary Wolf joins a Wolfpack, a channel will unlock in our Discord allowing you to communicate and strategize with your packmates.
This will be important when it comes time to compete and earn rewards with your Wolfpack; discussed below under the section Wolfpack Competitions.
The Wolfpacks feature was released on 1/9/22.
Beginning in January 2022, we began delivering monthly airdrops to all Hungry Wolves holders. Each month on the full moon IRL, Alpha wolves yield Scrumptious Sheep and Beta wolves, Lil Lambs.
Important: Alpha and Beta wolves can eat both Scrumptious Sheep and Lil Lambs. Rank simply determines which variety each type “hunts” and therefore retrieves during airdrops.
Hungry RUNTZ are too small to hunt on their own and therefore are not eligible to receive airdrops. However, they can eat Scrumptious Sheep & Lil Lambs if they acquire them via other means. This is discussed further in the Eating Your Sheep section below.
During each airdrop, you’ll receive one Scrumptious Sheep or Lil Lamb for each Hungry Wolf in your wallet; but not all of them are the same. Some are rarer than others and as a result worth more Dominance when eaten.
Scrumptious Sheep and Lil Lambs come in five varieties, each with an associated monthly drop rate:
There are 10 different NFTs that can be acquired, each worth a scaling amount of Dominance when eaten. Think of it like a menu depending on how hungry you are! We’ll get into specifics of this in the next section.
Before we go any further though, you should probably ask yourself if you have the constitution to eat this Mythical Lil Lamb. If the answer is no, you might have a hard time playing our game.
We’ve decided to make these 10 NFTs static; meaning the same 10 Scrumptious Sheep & Lil Lambs will be dropped month-over-month during regular airdrops. This is to ensure they’re easily visually identifiable and our OpenSea collection will always show 10 available NFTs for purchase vs. getting cluttered with potentially hundreds of extremely similar options.
However, we know that many of our holders have been looking forward to “collecting” our sheep and having new visual traits available. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
In addition to our regular monthly airdrops, we’re committing to doing at least one additional drop each month with a unique collectable NFT sheep designed by our team.
These will be limited drops and never made available again in the future. Collectable drops will still be segmented by Alpha and Beta rank (Scrumptious Sheep vs. Lil Lamb) and will be edible, albeit for a significantly reduced amount of Dominance.
In line with above, Hungry RUNTZ do not receive collectable drops. They are reserved exclusively for Hungry Wolves holders.
Our team has launched two collections on OpenSea:
- Hungry Farm: Meant for eating. Reserved for the 10 static NFTs of varying rarity used in our standard monthly airdrops.
- Hungry Barn: Meant for collecting. Reserved for limited drops.
You can view the traits of each NFT to view the amount of Dominance the NFT is worth when eaten.
We know you’re all hungry. So when you eat a sheep, what happens?
We mentioned above that there are 10 different potential options to receive in our regular monthly airdrops; 5 versions of Scrumptious Sheep for Alpha wolves and 5 versions of Lil Lambs for Beta wolves.
Each based on its rarity is worth an increasing amount of Dominance when eaten. See the chart below.
*We reserve the right to adjust these figures in the future if we determine it necessary to balance game mechanics.
Based on rarity levels, the end result is that Alpha wolves will receive a Scrumptious Sheep worth an average of 30 Dominance per month. Beta wolves will receive a Lil Lamb worth an average of 15 Dominance per month.
While Hungry RUNTZ cannot hunt on their own, and therefore don’t receive their own airdrops, they can eat Scrumptious Sheep & Lil Lambs. In doing so RUNTZ receive 1/2 of the Dominance value compared to Hungry Wolves. As an example, if RUNTZ consume a Common Scrumptious Sheep, they earn 10 Dominance vs. the 20 listed in the chart above.
Dominance will be a wallet based value — meaning as you eat your sheep, regardless of which Hungry Wolf or RUNTZ in your wallet consumes them, it all adds up to a singular value for the wallet holder.
If you consume sheep with your Primary Wolf, Dominance earned will also be mirrored and added to a total for your Wolfpack, creating the foundation of Wolfpack Competitions which is discussed below.
Each Hungry Wolf in your wallet will be able to consume a maximum of three NFTs (either Scrumptious Sheep or Lil Lambs) per month before it becomes full. RUNTZ, due to their small size, can only consume one NFT per month.
This was a BIG decision and implemented for a variety of reasons. Let’s talk through some examples and implications:
- If you hold a single Hungry Wolf in your wallet, you’ll earn one NFT during our monthly airdrop. You can acquire up to two more via buying/trading and can eat a maximum of three Scrumptious Sheep or Lil Lambs before you have to wait until the following month to consume more. This caps the amount of Dominance you can earn via eating each period.
- If you own more wolves, you can eat three NFTs with each of them during a period; significantly accelerating your wallet-based Dominance earnings. As an example if you own 6 wolves, you’d earn enough sheep during a single airdrop to fill up two of them, which can be done all at once.
- Since only one of your wolves can be your Primary Wolf and belong to a Wolfpack, it creates balance for Wolfpack Competitions, as each wallet can only eat three sheep per month that also benefit your Wolfpack.
- This creates incentives for your Primary wolf to consume rarer sheep and maximize Dominance that’s simultaneously attributed to your Wolfpack.
TLDR: Owning more wolves will allow you to significantly accelerate your Dominance earnings, not only by receiving more sheep via airdrops, but being able to consume them more quickly within a single wallet.
While technically you could mint large numbers of RUNTZ to accelerate Dominance earnings (due to them being free-to-mint) it would come at a high cost given they only yield 50% of the Dominance value to the wallet.
All Scrumptious Sheep and Lil lambs are Polygon ERC-1155 tokens. There are two major benefits to using this token type:
- They’re “stackable” in the sense that if you own multiple, you’ll only have one token shown on your OpenSea profile along with a X owned counter. This is the same for when you visit OpenSea to purchase / sell sheep, or view your own wallet holdings.
- They cost virtually nothing to transfer. Which means that when you eat, and therefore burn, the NFTs — gas fees should be extremely minimal.
You’ll be able to enter The Wolf Den to see your wolf and sheep holdings, as well as eat them in bulk through a “shopping cart” like function. Dominance will then be immediately earned and available to spend.
Our plan is to release functionality allowing you to eat your Scrumptious Sheep and Lil Lambs in Q1 2022.
One of the major goals for our project is to create the ability for you to collaborate and compete alongside your packmates.
We shared above that:
- You choose a Primary Wolf from your wallet to join a Wolfpack.
- When you consume Scrumptious Sheep or Lil Lambs with your Primary Wolf, Dominance earned will be mirrored & attributed to your Wolfpack.
Wolfpack competitions will be held on a monthly basis.
At the beginning of each month, we’ll take a snapshot. If a wallet address has a Primary Wolf inside a Wolfpack on that date, that’s the pack their NFT will be a part of for purposes of competition and rewards, regardless of whether they switch their pack mid-month or sell their NFT. This is to prevent cheating.
As a result, any newly acquired wolves will need to wait until a new monthly competition starts to participate. They’ll still be able to join packs and earn Dominance in the meantime — just not to support the existing competition.
When we launch this feature, we’ll start with a simple binary goal for each Wolfpack: hit or miss. It will be to acquire X total Dominance for the month — scaled based on the membership size of each pack. If achieved, any Primary Wolf that contributes will receive a Dominance bonus for its holder.
Hungry Wolves designated as Primary Wolves will receive 200 Dominance and RUNTZ designated as Primary Wolves, 100 Dominance.
We’ll design the first goal to be extremely attainable, so the majority, if not all of the Wolfpacks will earn the reward.
Once we observe the first competition, we’ll be able to set new bars (as well as multiple gates) for subsequent ones.
We expect these competitions to evolve and incorporate different mechanics over time.
We will also implement versions where only a certain number of Wolfpacks emerge victorious based on speed-to-goal or total. Each month will present new challenges.
Our plan is to implement Wolfpack Competitions in late Q1 2022.
PVP Challenges will only be for Hungry Wolves. They’re simply too dangerous for RUNTZ!
There will be two types of PVP challenges in Hungry Wolves:
- Opposing Rank: Beta vs. Alpha
- Same Rank: Alpha vs. Alpha & Beta vs. Beta
For Beta vs. Alpha challenges, there’s a grail at stake: the Rank metadata tag of the Alpha. If the Beta wins the challenge, the Beta wolf will BECOME the Alpha, and in turn, the Alpha will become the Beta.
But with significant reward comes significant risk. Risk that the Alpha wolves can capitalize on.
If a Beta wolf wants to challenge an Alpha, they’ll need to risk 100 Dominance. That’s not an insignificant amount given the average yield of a Lil Lamb — what the Beta wolf receives during monthly airdrops.
Not only that, but if an Alpha wolf accepts a Beta’s challenge, the Alpha wolf can do so bullishly — knowing it has a 75% chance to win.
If the Alpha wolf wins the challenge (and it’s statistically likely to do so) its wallet holder will acquire 90 of the 100 Dominance that the Beta put on the table. The other 10 is burned as a deflationary and anti-abuse mechanism. For those counting, 90 Dominance is the equivalent of eating three average Scrumptious Sheep; a meaningful bounty.
If the Beta wolf manages to win the challenge, it keeps its Dominance and switches metadata tags with the Alpha. This means for all future airdrops, the Beta wolf (now the Alpha) begins to acquire Scrumptious Sheep.
Given that OpenSea does not update metadata immediately, we will keep a running ledger of recent battles on a public page for buyers to reference.
For Same Rank competitions (Alpha vs. Alpha & Beta vs. Beta), it’s all about Dominance. Both wolves will put up 100 Dominance, 10% will be burned (20) and 180 (total) will go to the winner with a 50/50 chance of either being victorious.
The challenges will be made inside of The Wolf Den, where a player can select the Token ID of any wolf in the collection and propose a challenge. If that wolf logs into the Wolf Den and accepts, a winner will be determined and spoils delivered accordingly.
Our plan is to make these HIGHLY visible via Discord and Twitter integration, so wolves can challenge others publicly and cheer on the results.
We will also be implementing a Leaderboard showing number of challenges won by wolf and wallet. We may implement rewards for this at a later date.
While all initial challenges will be random chance, we do have ideas on how to incorporate skill into them as well. It’s something we’ll continue to evaluate after the initial mechanics are live and we can generate feedback.
We also recognize the need to properly incentivize Alpha wolves to accept challenges from Beta wolves and will adjust over time if necessary.
The plan is to have PVP challenges rolled out by early Q2 of 2022.
While we expect there to be a multitude of ways for you to spend Dominance, both digitally and physically, the most exciting (for now) will be to upgrade the visual appearance of your Hungry Wolf via our Augment System.
This means you’ll be able to permanently change certain aspects of your NFT. Initially five traits of your Hungry Wolf will be augmentable via this method:
- Tier 1: Hat or Object— 2,000 Dominance
- Tier 2: Background or Tail— 1,000 Dominance
- Tier 3: Hands — 500 Dominance
RUNTZ will also be able to upgrade their visual traits via the Augment System, but the tiers will cost 50% of the above due to RUNTZ earning Dominance at half the rate via eating and Wolfpack Competitions. Specific trait categories initially available to augment for RUNTZ will be announced shortly after public release.
To upgrade all five traits on a single Hungry Wolf, you’ll need 6,500 Dominance.
The goal is for this to be something to strive for and work on over time, not to happen overnight. Though of course those that own multiple Hungry Wolves will have the means to get there faster.
We may add additional trait categories over time. As well as additional levels of upgrades and even options for you to choose from.
When you enter into The Wolf Den with enough Dominance, you’ll be able to select one of your Hungry Wolves or RUNTZ, as well as which trait upgrade you’d like to purchase. If confirmed, the mapped IPFS image and metadata of your NFT will change to reflect your newly acquired spoils. From that point forward, the NFT is sellable/tradable along with its augments.
There will be a method available for you to revert back to the original NFT if you choose to do so.
The traits of the NFTs will NOT change, as we do not want this system to affect rarity. However we will add a new trait to each wolf who has gone through this process called “AUGMENTS” with a number underneath it, 1–5. This will allow you to track and see via OpenSea which wolves have changed their visual appearance via the Augment System. We will also work with Rarity.Tools to ensure this trait is ignored for purposes of rarity.
1-of-1s, both standard and custom wolves transformed from Werewolf Coins, will not be eligible to use this system at launch. They are rare assets in their own right and will remain that way. We may devise ways for them to augment their appearance in the future.
Our plan is to release the Augment System in Q2 2022.
For more information we’d encourage you to join our Discord via https://discord.gg/HungryWolves.
We will be updating this whitepaper as new information becomes available.
STAY HUNGRY!
