For a moment, I stared blankly at my screen, not comprehending what had just occurred.
"I won…? How?!"
"Oh, you didn't know?" Harry popped up behind me. He had been watching the entire match the whole time, and was looking pretty smug that I somehow managed to pull a victory out of nowhere. "That's one of the new win conditions after the expansion pack last year. If you destroy the commander unit of your opponent, it's an automatic loss for them."
I almost burst out laughing at that. No wonder Jiao Ao was desperately pulling his Daemon Lord back the first time he hit my base, and I had his health in the red during the Broadsword counterattack. In the second skirmish, he had nowhere to run because I was literally knocking on his front door, having taken up one of the tertiary bases that was just outside his secondary. If he had allowed that position to fall, I could push right into his secondary base, and then finally have a clear line of sight to his primary base, where my Panzer tanks could unleash hell upon his infrastructure and cripple his production and upgrades.
The moron had invested so much in his Commander unit that he was forced into an all or nothing scenario. As powerful and game-changing the Commander units were, they were clearly a double edged sword. In the hands of a competent player, they could win you the game, but at the same time they were very risky units to play with because if you lose your in-game avatar, you automatically lost the game. It sounded like quite the unfair price to pay, but I wasn't in charge of game balance. Personally, I agreed with this mechanic – it kept a tight leash on players who would otherwise abuse the Commander units to their hearts' content.
This way, players had to weigh the risk of sending their Commander units into battle and perishing, and the benefits of such a maneuver because such powerful units could undoubtedly turn the tide of battle in their favor. Furthermore, it also prevented the game from devolving into Herocraft, where all players needed to do to win was build the most powerful Commander character, give it all the upgrades, and then sent it wading through the opponent's army and wiping them out in the style of Dynastic Warriors or hack-and-slash games. After all, Spacecraft was still a Real Time Strategy game, not a hack-and-slash or a MOBA. Despite hybridizing MOBA elements to appeal to a wider audience, they couldn't allow it to dominate the game too much, because…quite frankly, if people wanted to play hack and slash, they would play hack and slash, like Dynastic Warriors or El Diablo. They wouldn't play Spacecraft.
Furthermore, that would risk alienating old-time fans and enraging hardcore players who wanted a "pure" strategy game. I remembered how Dusk of War 3 tried to MOBA-ize, and it flopped commercially, which led to the developer canceling the expansion packs, additional Downloadable Content and sequels that were planned.
The established fan-base of a game was not to be messed with.
The Commander unit was indeed a fun addition, and it did not really alter the core mechanics of the game – in the end, its role was to buff the units around it, and while it was definitely powerful, it was still not a one-man army, and could be countered…such as how I almost slew Jiao Ao's Demon Lord the first time with a squadron of gunships. He then swapped his upgrades to gain flight capability, but that in turn rendered him vulnerable to my lumbering Titans. As strong as they were, they were not gods. They still needed an army to function and protect them from threats.
My Commander Titan, for example, was not a god-engine that annihilated entire armies with a single salvo from its formidable arsenal. His role was to buff the Salamanders and Titans around him. He couldn't even buff tanks – that was for Tank Commanders. Also, his abilities appeared to be more defensive in nature, despite providing a buff that doubled the damage output of mechanical units. However, I knew he wasn't meant to win games on his own, which was why I hid my Commander Titan behind a wall of heavily armored walkers. Jiao Ao didn't even notice my Commander Unit, and even if he did, his demonic horde failed to get past my rows of Titans (though they did succeed in trampling past my poor Salamanders eventually).
According to other Spacecraft gamers, particularly the vocal whiners who frequented forums and social media, this was the reason why nobody liked the mech Commander unit for Terran. They wanted something more…powerful. A unit that promoted attack over defense, something that discouraged turtling strategies. Every time I read their comments, I had the urge to roll my eyes. If you hated turtling, or defensive abilities, play something else. Pick another Commander or change your strategy. Hell, if you hated defensive, high-armor units with massive health pools, and turtling strategies that allowed you to build an army of them, then why the hell were you playing Terran mech in the first place? You were basically complaining about the essence of Terran mech…or demanding that Terran mech players not be allowed to play the way they want. In other words, these hardcore whiners firmly believed that there was only one single way to play Spacecraft, and if you try something different, then you were either a cheater, hacker, troll or idiot. There was no room for compromise, only abuse.
I was so glad the balance team had continued ignoring them throughout the years. Some complaints should never be taken seriously.
Speaking of complaints…
"This is impossible! Impossible!"
Jiao Ao was howling from the next booth. Wheeling my chair back, I glanced at him. He was clutching his head and was on the verge of tearing his dyed hair out.
"Ha ha ha! He has to give away ten thousand dollars now!"
"Serves him right for bragging!"
"Idiot. He got what he deserved."
Several of the other customers in the net café had been here since the beginning of the incident, and they were gloating in my place. As for me, I felt…nothing. No vindication, no triumph, nothing. Just wonder, and satisfaction – not from humbling Jiao Ao, but from learning a new strategy. So I could win if I slew the enemy Commander. This was going to open up new strategies and playstyles. I liked the possibilities this would bring – it meant that Assassination would be a viable tactic.
"You cheated! You must have cheated!" Jiao Ao spun around in his chair and jabbed a finger at me, froth flying from his mouth. "I want the manager here! Ban this fucker for hacking and cheating!"
"There are anti-hack programs installed in every computer in this café," Harry informed him patiently. "I can assure you no hacking happened. We were also watching, so we can testify as witnesses if necessary."
"Shut up! You're all his friends, of course you'll back him! I want the manager!"
"What's the problem here?" Gary stalked out of the office, having heard the commotion. Harry went over to explain the situation, but Jiao Ao jumped in to interject his side of the story. Gary sighed and shook his head. "Like my staff already told you, there are anti-hack programs installed in every computer here. It's impossible…"
"How would you know if you don't check?!"
Gary sighed again, and relented, sitting down at my booth and running several checks. After scanning the computer, he then turned to face Jiao Ao, his expression grave.
"Clean."
"That's not…"
"If you continue to kick a fuss, I will have security escort you out of the café. You're bothering the other customers and disrupting my business here."
"That won't be necessary." Da Jia strode forward and lowered his head. "I'll bring Young Master out of the café. I apologize for all the trouble he has caused."
"No, no!" Jiao Ao hollered. He turned on Da Jia. "Beat that fucker up! Break his arms and legs! How dare he humiliate me! I won't let this stand!"
"No." Da Jia's voice was firm. "As I said, Young Master, physical assault is illegal. Now, please comply."
He took the screaming, raging arrogant young master by the arm and firmly dragged him out of the booth and toward the exit.
"I will kill you!" Jiao Ao raged, spitting at me. "You better watch out, you bastard! This isn't over! I'm going to kill you!"
"Issuing threats is also a crime," Da Jia reminded him stoically. He then turned around, retrieved a wallet and offered a wad of cash to me. "Sorry, I almost forgot. The terms of your bet. Young Master owes you ten thousand dollars. I hope you won't pursue the case with him."
Meaning, he would give me ten thousand dollars, and hope that I wouldn't report Jiao Ao for threatening me. I was fine with that, mostly.
"Keep the money. I don't need it. It was just a game. Receiving money from a non-tournament match leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
"That's…" Da Jia hesitated, but Jiao Ao snatched the cash back.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Honoring the bet you issued," Da Jia replied simply. Jiao Ao bristled.
"That doesn't count! He cheated somehow! I will kill that fucker for cheating, for humiliating me! He has no right to defeat me in Spacecraft!"
"What a sore loser," someone muttered.
"Is he serious? Or just trolling?" another remarked incredulously.
Fortunately, we didn't have to put up with his nonsense, and we just watched Da Jia drag Jiao Ao out of the café, which was followed by merciful silence.
*
"Call in the gang! I want a hit on this fucker! Break his limbs! Make sure he can never go out on the streets again!"
"You don't have a gang," Da Jia reminded the raging Jiao Ao flatly.
"Then hire one! Or get an assassin! Kill that bloody bastard! No one gets to beat me in Spacecraft and get away with it!"
"This isn't the first time you've lost, you know?" the bald bodyguard informed him, suppressing the irritation in his voice. Though it was probably the first time he lost to an opponent that he had met face-to-face in an Internet café. It was easier to hate me because I was right there in front of him, than a faceless, anonymous opponent hidden behind the Internet.
"Whatever!" Jiao Ao stomped through the halls of his luxurious residence, heading straight for his father's study. "Dad! Where are you, Dad?!"
"What's all this ruckus about?" Jiao Shu looked up from his desk irritably, glaring at his son, who rudely barged through the door. Unlike the flashy appearance of his teenage son, Jiao Shu was a slightly plump, middle-aged man with a mustache and neatly trimmed beard. Despite being at home, he was still dressed formally in a suit, a white, long-sleeved shirt with a loosened tie, and his blazer hung from a stand nearby.
He was in the midst of reviewing several documents pertaining to a business deal, and he had no time for his son's tantrum.
"Dad! I want to hire an Assassin! Kill this fucker who dared to shame me!"
"What in the nine hells are you even talking about?!"
"Sir." Da Jia went over and whispered briefly into his ear. Jiao Shu listened for a moment, and his expression grew severe. Steepling his fingers, he turned to glower at Jiao Ao.
"Let me get this straight. You want to hire an assassin to kill someone just because he beat you at a computer game?"
"He humiliated me! He cheated! He definitely cheated! I will make him pay for his transgression! How dare he embarrass me, the heir to the Jiao Corporation…"
"Shut up." Jiao Shu clutched his head, wondering where he had gone wrong in bringing up his son. He never thought that Jiao Ao would grow up to be such a spoilt, deluded brat. He turned to Da Jia. "Lock Ao'er up in his room. Do not allow him to leave the house. I'll have to arrange for a counselor, or a psychiatrist…"
"What are you talking about?! I'm not sick…"
"Just shut up!" Jiao Shu snapped, and his son was so shocked that he actually fell silent. Da Jia nodded when his boss turned back to him, and went over to gently but firmly lead the stupefied Jiao Ao out of the study.
The CEO of the Jiao Conglomerate watched as the two figures depart his home office, and then sighed heavily, rubbing his temples.
"What the fuck is wrong with kids these days?" He growled, irritated. "Hiring assassins and attempting to murder other people over a fucking video game? Seriously?! Is this the new trend in Chinese web novels or something? Jesus Christ, whoever came up with that logic is seriously messed up in the head."