The Alterra Project

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

Lord Sputnik

• Game Conference
  May 26, 2022
• Naming the Team
  May 26, 2022
• First Match
  May 25, 2022
• Matchmaking
  May 25, 2022
• Teaming Up
  May 24, 2022
• Dismissed
  May 24, 2022
• Margo
  May 24, 2022
• Running and Gunning
  May 24, 2022
• The Military Base
  May 23, 2022
• First Impressions
  May 22, 2022
• Keeping Up Appearances
  May 21, 2022
• Prelaunch
  May 21, 2022
• First Full Dive
  May 20, 2022
• It's On!
  May 20, 2022
• AI Fanboys
  May 19, 2022
• Sleep is for the weak
  May 19, 2022
• No Game, No Problem
  May 19, 2022
• Prelude
  May 19, 2022

What readers say about The Alterra Project

• “Welcome to a fun romp around a VR game - or is it? The newest game has just launched and our hero is a lowly broke gamer who manages to win his way into it, only to find that not everything is at it seems. Alterra is adding strange rules and stranger stipul…”

  AtenburghRoyal Road5.0 / 5

• “Well, before you read my review there are a few things that have to be said. As I have read the rest of the story on another site, my review will be taking a longer view of the story than what the chapter count of this review will display. Style - This is t…”

  Akten DreamsRoyal Road4.5 / 5

Reviews

Community Reviews(5)

• AtenburghRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Welcome to a fun romp around a VR game - or is it? The newest game has just launched and our hero is a lowly broke gamer who manages to win his way into it, only to find that not everything is at it seems. Alterra is adding strange rules and stranger stipulations to its game, and he might not have time to figure it out before everything comes crashing down.
  The story is still taking off but already you can tell there's a lot going on, what with all the switches from Gray's perspective and the focus on minute details most wouldn't look at. I've got high hopes things will continue getting more and more complicated in the long run.
  Characters is where this story shines. Little one-off mentions, like Gray's financial AI advisor panicking when he heads towards GameGo or "The thread was locked after the 53,040th user posted the slapping forehead emoji." do a lot to breath life into the world. Clear five out of five.
  The style is also great. Bit bare bones but isn't afraid to have fun, and I was easily able to understand everything. Plenty of quips for those that enjoy them - I particularly like that it's not only Gray who says all the best lines, and the world doesn't hesitate to poke fun at itself. League of Legendary Legends indeed. A few grammar mistakes but nothing to keep it from being legible.
  Overall, a very fun start to a story, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here.
• Akten DreamsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Well, before you read my review there are a few things that have to be said. As I have read the rest of the story on another site, my review will be taking a longer view of the story than what the chapter count of this review will display.
  Style - This is the worst part of the story. The story is delivered in a 3ed PoV omniscience way. That is not a bad thing as most stories are written like this. The problem is with how it feels when you read it. I will say it frankly, it makes it far more boring than it should be. Especially as a lot of explanations on characters and their actions are just dropped like an info dump. Add to that the info dumps that happen from time to time on mechs, weapons, military, tactics, and such. It is not as bad as it sounds but it could be better displayed.
  Grammar - Grammar is fine. Few typos do happen but there won't any problem with reading it.
  Story - Story-wise I must say that the author did a good job, especially since it was his first story ever written. The world he built feels unique. The way the events flowed was structured in a nice way and it helped to display the events and characters' interactions. That said since I have read ahead I saw the endings of the arcs and I must say that they could have been written better, but the author has assured me that he is fixing the story as he is posting it here on RR. Therefore I have given 4.5 stars to the story as I see the potential that it holds.
  Character - Despite how info dumps happen around some of the character's interactions, there is enough dialogue to display the uniqueness of the characters. Their interactions feel genuine for the most part and I have a feeling that this will improve in the fixed version of the story.
  With all that being said, people won't be disappointed with reading it but I do have a suggestion. Wait for there to be more chapters so that you can binge it, as the story takes a bit to roll into propper gear. It is not slow but it's not fast either.
• Evil_WarlordRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The thing that catches my attention the most about the story is the world in which it takes place, being a futuristic world where the planet was practically swallowed by the sea level.
  A world where artificial intelligences are involved in practically every part of life, whether socially, financially or as an assistant in different tasks.
  I highlight those facts because of how naturally we are drawn into the world as we move through the story and how well the author does to make it clear that the world around the protagonist is unique.
  I also like it, because among the stories I've seen of virtual reality games, there are very few that have a unique world with as much potential as this one.
  Also, since the story takes its time getting us into the virtual reality machine, seeing an interesting world makes you stick around to see what else the author can show once the protagonist is connected to the virtual reality machine.
  The story has certain touches of comedy that make the story enjoyable and entertaining enough to make the chapters go by fast and without realizing it you will be moving on to the next one.
  Perhaps for those who like to see everything quickly, it takes a while to get into the machine and the game, but I think the author has done well to take the time to introduce the world of the protagonist.
  Anyway, I think it is a promising story and there are some details that give the feeling that there is something bigger. So it certainly has a lot of potential.
• HWPerfidyRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  The Alterra Project has a very interesting setting. Most of the world is submerged underwater, and humanity lives in domed cities under the sea level. Technology is advanced, to the point that AI helpers and VR are like regular commodities. Even the VR game that Alterra created is extremely high tech, offering a full, immersive experience to its players, allowing them to experience the utmost realism.
  Characters are very vividly written as well. Every character has their own unique little voice that’s presented in the dialogue, and not a single one has a bland or unremarkable personality. Character interactions contribute a lot to the humour, and the MC’s internal monologue is interesting to read as well. In terms of characters, my personal favourite is Major Valen.
  I personally feel that style and grammar are not this story’s strong suits. The style feels a bit bland for my tastes, and uses a lot of the “Character did this.” format of sentence structure. However, whereas the story lacks in literary devices, it’s made up for in the form of jokes interspersed throughout the narrative, making it an interesting read nonetheless.
  There are a couple grammar mistakes, usually in the form of tense errors. It trips up the flow of reading a bit, but nothing that makes the story difficult to understand.
• WagenarRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  The story has an interesting premise, making you wonder what will happen to the characters further down the line, as while the main characters goof around playing their game, a shady corporation does shady corporation things in the background.
  The world is futuristic, with AIs taking care of most things, including aiding people in their everyday lives. The little we hear about what happened to the world in the meantime doesn't seem unrealistic (e.g. ice caps melting).
  The story and storytelling seems heavily inspired by anime or manga, with an MC who constantly talks to himself, typical anime character types and exaggerated emotions. The author likes to  add in jokes, memes and other humorous bits, which is fun to read but doesn't help with immersion and makes it seem low-stakes. That makes it feel more like a light novel or an anime.
  What bothered me was that sometimes, especially during exposition, the story switches from past tense to present without warning or reason.
  TL;DR: If you're looking for a gritty mech battle fantasy, keep looking. If you want an anime-style mecha story that makes you laugh both at the derpy characters and the authors meme game, this might just be the story for you.