Upland’s origins in San Francisco were recently expanded to the other coast. Manhattan has been opening up in stages and buyers have been flocking despite how much more expensive those properties are. Some whales just gotta own iconic stuff!
For the rest of us however, even San Francisco is getting a bit expensive. When the game first opened it wasn’t uncommon to find properties for 1000 UPX (equiv to US$1) or less. When I first joined in May the cheapest I found was around 2300 UPX. Now it will cost you almost 4000 UPX to get a single property.
Have no fear!
Coming in the next few weeks, Fresno! Wait, wut? Why Fresno? For one, it’s way cheaper. For two, it’s not too far from SF so Fresno residents can participate in events. Plus, it also gives the developers a chance to try out trains!
First, regarding the price. Fresno is the beta test for the Fair Start Act. No idea how much properties in Fresno might be but a VERY quick glance at real estate numbers shows that the average cost of a home in Fresno is 15% of San Francisco. Suddenly that 3000 UPX ($3) starter property becomes 450 UPX (45c). So what’s to keep other rich players from buying up Fresno?
That’s where the Fair Start Act comes in. Most of Fresno will ONLY be available to Visitors and Uplanders. You are a visitor until you reach 10,000 UPX in net worth, and an Uplander until you reach 100,000. So most of the lower net worth players will be able to pick up several properties here and add them to collections, get bonuses, get boosted earnings, etc. Plus Fresno will have it’s own collections, treasure hunts, etc.
Of course, getting from Fresno to SF would take a long, LONG time with your explorer moving at walking speed. So this is a perfect time to add train mechanics. Air travel was introduced with Manhattan. Trains should be very similar. It will take longer but be much, much cheaper. Right now it takes 3 hours to drive from Fresno to SF and game mechanics should be expected to be similar. It would be advised NOT to start a train trip as soon as you log on. You’ll have no gaming to do for 3 hours. Maybe start it in the evening just before you log out and in the morning, boom, you’ll have arrived.
In anticipation of Fresno there are a bunch of contest going on for the next couple of weeks. Right now new players have a chance at winning 30,000 UPX ($30) in one contest, 45,000 UPX ($45) in another and possibly another 20,000 UPX ($20) in a third contest. It is highly suggested that you join the Discord community to increase your chances. And if you come in through my referral link, I can personally mentor and help you make some big gains quickly.
Hope to see you soon!
