Official Website:
[Wasteland OL Closed Beta test server alpha 0.2 version update announcement.]
[Major Updates:
1. The number of players in the closed beta increased to 30.
2. The expansion "Winter is Coming" goes live: the game will enter winter within thirty days, with temperatures dropping to negative ten degrees within sixty days. If players successfully resist the cold invasion, all those who average more than four hours of online time per day during the closed beta will receive the limited title of "Winter Warrior". If the challenge fails, the game servers will be shut down for a period, and after difficulty settings are adjusted, the closed beta will go online again.
]
[Optimization:
1. A more realistic physics system.
2. A richer variety of mutant creatures.
3. Increased freedom.
4. Fixed a few bugs.
5. ...
]
[The Player Manual has been updated to version 2.0, please check it in time if you have acquired an invitation.]
[Current number of reservations: 113 people]
Damn.
In the blink of an eye, two more reservations popped up.
At this moment, Chu Guang was sitting in the residents' hall of Shelter No. 404, staring at the backend of the official website on the computer screen, pondering in his mind.
"Where did all these people come from?"
There aren't that many live people in the group chat...
Alts?
Impossible.
No one can create an alt on the official website of Wasteland OL.
Forget changing your IP; changing your whole head would be useless, the reservation qualification is tied to the person, not to the computer.
Chu Guang opened the forum and took a look. There were quite a few familiar IDs, and some he was seeing for the first time.
Quit smoking: [Why did so many people suddenly show up in the forum???? Where are you all coming from!]
"Kakarot" From the Future: [King's group for starting black? I saw a link someone else posted.]
Elena: [I'm different, I'm from the driving group. (Sly)]
All the Good Names Were Taken by Dogs: [Brother, lend me a speech.]
A Touch of Yearning: [(Eating melon)]
Teng Teng: [What game is this anyway, is it serious?]
Everyday Big Devil: [+1 same question.]
Quit smoking: [No need to ask, it doesn't look serious at all, do those people above look serious to you? I'm begging you, please don't book! It's fake, all of it is fake. (Freaking out)]
Teng Teng: [≡ω≡]
Everyday Big Devil: [Farewell.]
Chu Guang: ...
Is this Quit smoking guy out of his mind???
The official forum had finally started to get some traffic, and before it could heat up, he managed to drive one away.
And possibly more than one...
Chu Guang was speechless but didn't take it too much to heart.
He wasn't the kind of small-minded man.
After browsing around the forum for a bit, Chu Guang had a rough idea why there had been a sudden influx of new users lately.
He didn't know which group insider had shared screenshots of the Cow and Horse Club's group chat along with links to the game's official website to other gaming groups.
Then, out of nowhere, this Wasteland OL, which only had an official website, settings, and "pie in the sky" promises, suddenly became popular in gaming circles.
Many of the new users came from following trends in other gaming groups, most of them asking questions like "What exactly is this game?", "When is the internal test for the game?", and strange questions that are difficult to answer, like "Can you take your pants off?" and "Is there a mosaic?"
There weren't many who were seriously discussing the content of the game.
Chu Guang wondered to himself whether he should appoint a few forum moderators to help manage the forum.
Switching to the desktop to log into his QQ account, Chu Guang opened the "Cow and Horse Club" gaming group chat, which was buzzing with activity.
The topic of closed beta qualifications seemed to have been discussed earlier, and now the focus of the group had completely shifted to the alpha 0.2 update and the "Winter is Coming" expansion.
A game still in closed beta is releasing an expansion?
That's just ridiculously unbelievable!
Pick up trash 99 level: [Damn, those without closed beta qualifications are missing out, aren't they?]
④ Who ⑧ Understands: [It's really absurd!]]
Quit smoking: [Can someone tag Dog Planner, recruit more people, please! I don't want money! No, I can give money!]]
Pick up trash 99 level: [@Guang, someone's calling you Dog Planner.]
Quit smoking: [Damn!]
("Quit smoking" retracted a message)
Chu Guang: "..."
Not this guy again.
Just as Chu Guang was pondering whether he should pop up in the chat, he suddenly discovered that Long Days Ahead had sent him a private message.
[Brother Guang, are you there? (Gritted Teeth)]
Curious about what this "bro" intended to say, Chu Guang typed back a response.
[Just finished up, what's up.]
Long Days Ahead:[There's been something that's really been puzzling me, and I'd like to consult you... it's about that NPC known as the Manager, is it played by an employee of your Company, or is it an AI?]
Worried that this "bro" might find the question inconvenient to answer, after sending that message he quickly added another one.
[Just asking casually, haha, if it's a corporate secret or anything, just pretend I didn't ask.]
Light:[No worries, it's not exactly a secret. Besides, a mere planner like me wouldn't have access to such secrets anyway.]
Fang Chang looked thrilled and quickly typed eagerly.
[Yeah! Please tell!]
Chu Guang gave it some thought, then brazenly banged out his response on the keyboard.
[Simply put, its existence is quite special.]
Special!
Man oh man.
This NPC is definitely not simple!
Seizing on two key words, Long Days Ahead got completely excited, his thumbs dancing on the screen of his mobile phone.
[Can you be more specific?]
Light:[He is the first generation of complete artificial intelligence developed by our company.]
[Complete artificial intelligence??]
Fang Chang looked utterly confused.
This was beyond his realm of knowledge.
But—
It sounded so awesome!
Sitting in front of his computer, Fang Chang's eyes gleamed with excitement, wishing this "traitor" would reveal just a little bit more.
And Brother Guang did not disappoint his expectations, continuing to type out words on the screen.
Light:[That's right, a complete AI almost indistinguishable from a human!]
Light:[He has his own personality, memory, thought patterns, as well as values and motivations for action, so we have given him the authority to restrict players and the duty to guide players into the Game.]
Exactly as I thought!
I'm freaking genius!
Fang Chang was so excited he almost dropped his phone on his face; his trembling thumbs kept typing.
Long Days Ahead:[I get it now! No wonder his decisions can affect the progression of your testing! I've realized that the content of the Game itself is very thoroughly developed—the immersive feeling is just like a real world! No exaggeration, even someone as picky as me can't find a single blatant bug!]
Long Days Ahead:[If there's one slight disappointment, it might just be that there are too few NPCs! So, I was thinking, is it possible that you're not actually testing the Game itself, but testing the Game's AI? Even including the expansion pack "Winter Is Coming" that was launched with the alpha 0.2 update, it could be for this purpose... Am I right?]
Spot on!
Right to the point!
This was Long Days Ahead's own evaluation of his remarks.
Piecing together various clues, he felt he had fully perceived the intentions of the Game developers.
His gaming friends were all discussing why Wasteland OL had launched the "Winter Is Coming" expansion during the closed testing phase. All those fragmented conclusions and guesses they had made seemed superficial in his eyes.
They barely scratched the surface, not even the first layer.
Only he had reached the stratosphere!
The mysterious company developing Wasteland OL was ostensibly testing the Game, but what they were really testing was the "complete artificial intelligence" operating within the Game's framework!
And this expansion called "Winter Is Coming" was this mysterious company's trial run for the "first generation complete artificial intelligence"!
A silence ensued for a while.
Seeing that Brother Guang wasn't speaking, Fang Chang already had his answer and the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously.
I really am a genius!
Light:[You're very smart.]
Light:[Indeed, just like you said, the "Winter Is Coming" expansion is indeed to test the performance of the first generation complete artificial intelligence, and this is also a necessary procedure to start the next round of testing.]
As he typed these words, Chu Guang silently deleted the spiel he had just edited in his document.
Because he thought this bro's ramblings sounded more convincing.
No flattery, no slander, this guy was indeed talented.
In terms of creativity...
Long Days Ahead:[I think I understand what you mean, so the progress of testing is really affected by how the Game's storyline progresses, right?]
Light:[Yes.]
Long Days Ahead:[And at this stage, the only one capable of driving the storyline is the Manager of Shelter No. 404, right?]
Light:[Right.]
Long Days Ahead:[Thanks! I get it! Sorry for bothering you, and for all the insider information you've shared with me. Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret! (Gritted Teeth)]
Light:[Actually, it's not really any insider info; it's okay if you don't keep it a secret.]
Long Days Ahead:[No no no, I will keep it a secret, you can count on that! Anyone who knows me knows I'm super trustworthy! (Gritted Teeth) (Gritted Teeth)]
Chu Guang: "..."
Is this what they call corporate-level understanding?
Eye-opening, indeed.