Blazed Cat Metadata 2.0.0
Metadata is “data that provides information about other data”. In other words, it is “data about data”.
Almost as important as the art, the data behind an NFT is one of the perks of the cost of admission. Metadata should define and catalog all characteristics, properties, and traits of the art being created; affording collectors and potential collectors more practical indexability and a shorter pathway to what they are looking for.
Oftentimes metadata is an afterthought; shoehorned onto a project at the last minute to appease its own necessity — but negating the value well-thought-out metadata can add.
Cat Improvement Proposal
With Blazed Cats, we started the project with the goal of getting it off the ground in less than 24 hours after the concept was born. We were successful, with time to spare, but one of the corners we cut was metadata. We had it, but it wasn’t given the weeks of attention it deserved to take advantage of what it could be. Internally we started crafting a better, more principled version of what our properties and traits should be.
One of our immediate goals was decoupling the accessories and clothing into separate synergistic properties that each had individual rarities.
An example is the “Accessory” trait. With BCMD 1.0.0, everything about what the cat is holding is grouped into a single property. Rather than being able to find cats with 5 joints, we are only able to search for this cat’s accessories by looking up “5 Joints Blue Lighter Large Flame”. This breaks any relation this cat would have to other 5 joint kitties or other cats with blue lighters. This isn’t only problematic with indexing, it also heavily skews any rarity metrics derived from our data because our data doesn’t accurately catalog aesthetics. Essentially our collectors who are buying because of “rarity” were only purchasing because of poorly written metadata.
Taking advantage of our toolset
Our current structure was only taking advantage of one type of trait: properties. Properties are great, but at the end of the day, they are just text. When we are describing something like the number of joints, or the height of a lighter’s flame, it’s much better to utilize one of the other attribute types that Opensea offers support for.
Great. We knew that we wanted to utilize all of our traits, but the current state of them made that pretty difficult to get them in this format. This was a job for spreadsheets.
After we imported and checked all of the metadata for all of the cats, we were able to get to work breaking things down into more organized pieces. A lot of gnarly formulas and over-usages of the find-and-replace tool later, and we had something that was starting to look a lot better.
Now that the data is broken down into bite-sized pieces, we can start making decisions on which attribute type we use for which piece of data. We also crafted a handful of features and security enhancements to deploy with the new release.
Insecurities attended to
Although the primary goal of BCMD 2.0.0 is indexability we knew that a dynamic form of art through constant metadata updates runs the risk of having a fractured distribution of versions across our collection. For this problem, we came up with a few concern alleviators.
Baked-in versioning
With each metadata version, we also update a property titled “BCMD Version” to display the version that cat is currently running. We will keep our Opensea description updated with the current version of BCMD so you are able to reference before buying or selling your cat. A cat that isn’t on the current BCMD version will not have an accurate rarity rank and score. To fix, simply refresh the metadata on Opensea and wait until it updates to the current version.
Save the date
To have an added layer of assurance that your cat is on the latest version we are also including a new Date type property that indicates the date of the last metadata update. At a glance, on every cat, you’ll be able to see if it is up to date. No third-party tools. No confusing APIs. Everything right on your cat.
Massive attack
Getting a community of over 2,600 to update their metadata in unison is a challenge we weren’t willing to take on. Instead, we enlisted the help of our friend and amazing developer, Toko, to create a script that updates a collection’s metadata en masse. Moreso, it gives us feedback to let us know the percentage distribution of the upgrade. In other words, with a flip of a switch, we can update all metadata and verify progress. Fun stuff. Thanks, Toko!
In with the new
Revamping our properties meant adding new ones. A LOT of new ones. Many of the properties are taken from the original properties. ex: “5 Joints Blue Lighter Large Flame” Now becomes: Joints: 5, Lighter Color: Blue, Lighter Flame: 3. Three separate properties describing each aspect independently, opening up granular rarities that accurately rank each element in the image.|
Description
The descriptions of all of the cats were updated to become dynamic bios in BCMD 1.0.0. Nothing has changed with them in this version.
Background (previously Background Color)
Retains all color names from the previous version. This property is mostly unaffected in this update aside from its name.
Expression (previously Face)
The high/not high component of the cat’s expression has been decoupled and added to the Eyes property. Some adjustments to property names were made to fit in the context of being an expression rather than describing the entire face.
Eyes (previously Face)
Eyes are now either Clear or Red and are split from the Face description. This introduces a macro-rarity with the “sobriety” of each avatar.
Clothing (previously Clothes)
The color of the clothing has been split from the clothes allowing each property to have independent rarities and indexibility.
Clothing Color (previously Clothes)
Clothing color used to be packed into the entire clothes property. In BCMD 2.0.0 we separate it into it’s own property, introducing a new macro-rarity.
Joint Count (previously Accessory)
Joint Counts will now be their own independent level-type properties that properly enumerate the quantity or absence of joints in the picture.
Paid Endorsement (previously Accessory)
Paid endorsements currently are only occupied by the Jim Weem item, but opens the opportunity for future parody and real collaborations and endorsement units.
Lighter Color (previously Accessory)
If the cat has a lighter, we now have a separate text-based property to let us know what color it is, which adds a new macro-rarity.
Flame Size (previously Accessory)
Flame Size enumerates the size (1–3) or absence (0) of the flame on the cat’s lighter with a level property.
Collaborator
This property is unchanged from the previous version. It notates the name of the Collaborator of the cat it appears on.
On-contract Collab
Indicates the version number of the collaboration in our series of collaborations within the collection.
Sneaky Custom
If the cat has a sneaky custom a text label will be added for ease of indexing and verification that it is in fact a certified Sneaky Custom.
Sneaky Custom Date
A new property that indicates the date a cat was customized on-chain, providing another layer of verification of the customization.
Token Number Boosts
If you are lucky enough to have one of the first 200 cats, you also will have a boost applied to your cat rewarding you for being an early adopter. Founders (First 10), First 100, and First 100 Minted all will have boosts and extra points added to the scores we mention in the next section.
Extras
Extras are any item that the typical cat doesn’t have.
Extras are:
- Joints (each joint is one extra)
- Red Eyes
- Sneaky Customs
- Lighters
- Flame Sizes (1–3)
- Collaborators
Extras are NOT:
- Clothing or any clothing colors
- Clear eyed cats
- 0 Value for Flame Size
Owning our value
Other properties that we are introducing are a bit new and should be talked about separately from the above. The goal of this final batch of attributes is to sever our dependence on third-party tools to tell our collectors what’s rare, valuable, or desirable within our collection. These sites are typically a plug-and-pay-to-play experience to an industry that isn’t necessarily one size fits all. Our new proprietary rarity scoring and ranking system will be transparent and tailored to the aesthetics and story of our cats. With enhancements like the BCMD security layers, you’ll always have the comfort of knowing the actual rarity of your Blazed Cat.
The following ranks are dynamic and will update each time a metadata update is pushed, taking into account any new properties that affect rankings.
Rarity Score
To arrive at a rarity score we modeled a bunch of different ways to attribute value to each trait. We decided on a system that gives 1 point for the rarest trait in any individual category and then fractionally less for each trait that is more common. This retains the top rarities from before, like black backgrounds or “High” cats but takes the massive weight off of less common traits that were actually a byproduct of the trait grouping we utilized on initial release — and not an indicator of actual aesthetic rarity within the collection.
Rarity Rank
Put simply, the rarity rank is where each cat sits on the list of highest scoring cats rarity-wise.
In conclusion…
This update is huge. It is a bold step forward into the uncharted territory of dynamic NFT projects. With this move, we position ourselves as something more similar to an app or piece of software that will receive regular updates and enhancements over time. We pledge to always take care and attention to detail with each change that we are putting out, and will always strive to add value to the project.
