Actually, it wasn't just Fang Chang who noticed, many players had already noticed.
The significance of this update wasn't just about perfecting the economic system or incorporating Contribution Points into the honor system.
Its greatest significance was emphasizing cooperation among players!
With the increase in the number of players, this step was inevitable.
A good social system not only enhances the players' gaming experience but also increases user stickiness and daily activity.
Although the latter seems somewhat superfluous for the technically proficient "Wasteland OL."
Up until now, the players selected by Chu Guang were all hardcore, nearly wishing they could stay online 24 hours a day and unwilling to log off unless forced to.
As disciplined as if they had no sex lives.
In any case, in the eyes of the vast majority of players, the impact of this update on player cooperation was profound.
Although the official didn't update the social system, many settings were actually laying the groundwork for teaming up and the guild system.
For example, the typical one where players can share land usage rights with friends.
5 square meters of land might not accomplish much, but put together by four players, making up 20 square meters, they could build a small apartment.
Isn't this the embryonic form of a guild?
"Xiao Qi, do you know what the soul of a game is?"
"What is it?"
Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, watching players bustling inside and outside the Outpost War Base, Chu Guang's lips curved into a gentle smile.
"It's mathematics."
"Mathematics?"
"Yes, more precisely, it should be said it's the design of values. It's an art form, and excellent value design can even become a gameplay style in itself. Compared to that, plot, graphics, and settings are just added value granted to the game by art."
Even Baidu isn't completely useless.
It can occasionally find some nonsense.
After pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued methodically.
"Through the design of values, we can keep the Contribution Points and money that the majority of routine-following players can earn in a day within a reasonable range."
"For example, under normal circumstances, it takes two to three weeks to rise from Resident to Citizen. This time period can't be too long, as it would cause players to lose confidence, nor can it be too short, as things that are too easily obtained are meaningless. And once players become Citizens, our core users, we immediately set new goals for them, like buying land."
Xiao Qi tilted the camera.
"Buying land? But the land price you set seems inexpensive, right?"
"Correct," Chu Guang nodded, "For players who have already obtained Citizen status, buying land itself won't take long, even just reaching into their wallets. But after buying land, something has to be built on it, right?"
"Building houses requires cement, bricks, and sturdier cottages require steel. If you build several houses, won't the production capacity for materials like cement, bricks, and steel increase? I don't believe these players would enjoy seeing their homes in the game looking as ugly as shanties. Why only give them 5 square meters of Citizen status? If I gave them 10 square meters, 20 square meters, our safe zone would soon be filled with useless shanties and trash."
Xiao Qi: "Ah, this."
For an AI, empathetically understanding these matters seems to be somewhat challenging.
However, Chu Guang didn't mind.
With a light smile, he continued.
"Once the houses are built, they can't just remain unfinished, right? If it's beds or tables and cabinets, or even carpets and curtains, and later when there's electricity, even getting a light bulb—folks will still need to furnish them somewhat. Wood, fur, crafts... in this back and forth, won't production and consumption rise together like stepping with both feet?"
Whether it's buying land to build houses or acquiring furniture, all these require spending money, right?
And where does the money come from?
Sorry, this game is still in closed beta, currently not supporting in-game purchases via real money; if you want to earn money, you have to earnestly complete tasks, grind dungeons, or work on the land.
Through the lever of the task system, Chu Guang could easily control the flow of money and indirectly control the players' actions.
For example, if the refuge lacks food, then increase the rewards for gathering and hunting tasks. If houses need to be built, then increase the earnings for brick moving, plastering, and cement making.
What if mutants or looters attacked?
Then it wasn't a matter of money anymore.
Chu Guang would issue a "never retreat" wartime mobilization in the form of a "game activity" and temporarily waive some of the death penalties for players during the activity, providing them with weapons.
Facing a group of fearlessly brutal Heaven disasters.
Even the mutants who knew no fear would feel a chill.
"...once they've had their fun, I will unlock new identity levels for them to play with. Beyond citizens, there are intermediate citizens, and they can purchase land up to 25 square meters. By then, the second encircling wall would also be completed, and we would no longer lack cement, bricks, timber, or steel; they could build larger houses and repeat all the above steps."
"When they get tired of building houses at their doorstep, I will throw them a noble title, assign them a slightly more distant fiefdom, and let them figure things out. Weapons, ammunition, food, fuel, building materials... they'll produce what they can, and import the rest from home if they can't. It'll be good to find something for the new players to do."
"As for after that? Let's talk about it when it comes. Fuck, I've only just unlocked Level B1 of the shelter, and here I am worrying about their future..."
The exact number of cultivation chambers in Shelter No. 404 is still unknown, and he may well have to figure out how to build these things himself.
He was certain that the all-powerful First Generation Manager had completed some "unprecedented" great technology in this shelter.
And would surely reveal all the secrets to him when the time came.
However, although the road ahead was unpredictable, Chu Guang was still full of confidence about the major update of this Alpha 0.3 version.
He was playing a grand game.
In his first stage plan, players with nine years of compulsory education were all quality labor, and it wouldn't be a problem to leap directly from an agrarian society to an industrial one.
Having achieved basic industrialization, they would then have the prerequisites for survival on the Wasteland.
In the second stage, as the number of players increased, Chu Guang would try to recruit some indigenous people from the Wasteland to join Outpost Base, engaging in basic production jobs like farming, chopping trees, and brewing cement. If there were any exceptionally talented individuals among these natives, he would arrange special positions for them.
Those players who had upgraded to citizens could be freed from the basic manual labor positions to engage more in creative, combat, and exploration work that was both challenging and "fun," fully utilizing their advantages of being able to resurrect and repeatedly make errors.
In the third stage, the final stage.
Ideally, the NPCs from the Wasteland natives and the players as clones should have formed a special symbiotic societal relationship.
Benefiting from each other's strengths and imposing mutual restrictions.
If all went well, the players here with their property, possessions, equipment, friendships, and even love, would regard Wasteland OL as their "second life," becoming upholders rather than challengers of the order, forming a healthy game ecosystem.
This type of game actually exists in reality as well.
Commonly known as a "server environment."
Of course, Chu Guang knew that plans could never keep up with changes, so he also had many Plan Bs prepared to address any sudden situations.
But at least for now, the implementation of the first stage plan was quite good.
These players Chu Guang had carefully selected for the closed beta clearly desired the big picture he had painted, even more cooperative than he had imagined.
Xiao Qi held up the camera, looked at his master standing next to him, and whispered a reminder.
"Master, do you know? You're smiling like a villain right now."
"Villain? Have you ever seen a villain as kind as me?"
Chu Guang glared at this tactless fellow.
"I freed them from their monotonous daily lives, and gave them an extraordinary and additional 12 hours in their lives. All they needed to give was a little sweat and dream time, no other loss, not even spending a dime!"
Damn.
Talking like this seemed rather unfair.
The helmet should have been charged for!
But thinking it over, Chu Guang didn't know what use money would be for him, as things purchased online couldn't be delivered, and the server's electricity and helmet costs didn't need to be paid by him.
At least for now, charging money would be rather troublesome.
Shaking his head, Chu Guang turned away from the window, turning his back to Xiao Qi and yawned.
"The wind is a bit strong on the rooftop."
"I'm heading back to the shelter now, I'll leave this place to you."
His most promising team, the "Calf Horse Squad," had already set out with the bows and arrows, javelins, and dry food they bought with pooled funds; they were probably hunting.
Before this, Chu Guang had been deliberately nurturing a player called Night Ten, not only teaching him survival skills from the Wasteland, how to use "Perception" to track prey, and discern danger but also successfully leading him to find the tracks of a herd of deer.
If they couldn't bring back any game, it would be a shame on his cultivation.
Running low on 9mm bullets, Chu Guang decided to give himself a break today.
Xiao Qi moved the camera obediently, accepting the command.
"As you command, Master."
...
Noon arrived.
Next to the residents' hall in Shelter No. 404, from a partially opened cultivation chamber, a hoarse whimpering emerged.
"Uuu, big sis, I finally survived!"
Previously, too excited upon waking up, she bumped her forehead on the still closing chamber lid, rubbing her reddened forehead as Crow sat up in the cultivation chamber.
Looking at the mirror in front of her, seeing the tender skin and impressive figure, her pupils brimmed with tears.
Half from the pain, half from excitement.
Before going online, she had been observing on the Forum for three whole days!
Three days!
Heaven knows how she endured those restless nights without her helmet.
Wiping away the squeezed-out tears, Crow quickly slipped into the clothes stored in the chamber's storage compartment, pulling the zipper tight, and walked briskly out of the room.
The lights in the residents' hall were on.
Chu Guang, who had just returned from outside, was sitting at the computer in the hall, browsing the internet.
Hearing footsteps coming from next door, he casually closed the webpage he was viewing, released the mouse, and looked over at the player walking into the hall.
This young sapling bowed her head and spoke in a tone of repentance.
"Respected Manager, please allow me to apologize for my reckless and thoughtless actions!"
Although the planners told her that apologizing was meaningless, the NPC was made too realistically.
Especially when he looked over, she always felt that if she didn't say sorry, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
"No need to apologize to me, you've failed the trust of the organization and those still resting in the underground, awaiting their turn."
Chu Guang glanced at her clothing.
If he remembered correctly, each cultivation chamber was only equipped with two sets of these blue jacket uniforms. If she died one more time, she would probably have to run around naked.
On Teng Teng's side, although some warm beast skin jackets had been made, they were only suitable for outer wear; wearing nothing underneath would be somewhat inappropriate for children.
Especially since this person had a somewhat unique figure...
Chu Guang continued with an expressionless face.
"According to the rules, I should deduct 500 Contribution Points from you, but unfortunately, you don't have any Contribution Points to deduct."
Crow bowed her head in shame and said,
"I am truly sorry, and I am willing to accept any punishment!"
"Punishment is to help you learn a lesson. To survive in this Wasteland, courage is not the only requirement; you need intellect too. I hope you treasure your life and this hard-earned chance to come to the surface."
Chu Guang paused briefly, then continued.
"I'll assign you a task. Collect 100 kilograms of food from outside, including but not limited to wild vegetables, berries, and mushrooms. Until the punishment task is completed, your status will be downgraded from 'Resident' to 'Sinner,' which will not allow you to accept regular tasks or receive any rewards."
"Remember, your balance is too low to pay for the death penalty. If you die again, I will permanently expel you back underground."
"Be careful."
Permanent expulsion meant the deprivation of playing rights.
In the fictional game setting, all players came from the deepest part of the refuge — a hibernation center freezing thousands ready as a vanguard to return to the surface.
Hearing "permanent expulsion," Crow trembled and quickly said,
"Yes! I promise it won't happen again!"
Satisfied with her reflective attitude, Chu Guang nodded slightly.
"Go on."
Crow, feeling dejected, was about to walk towards the door, but just then, the Manager sitting at the desk suddenly called her.
"Wait a minute."
Crow stopped and turned back.
"Do you have any other instructions?"
"Hmm, wait a moment, I have something to show you."
Saying that, Chu Guang took out a can with metallic packaging from the drawer, pulled the tab, and tore off the lid.
A fragrance wafted from the inside.
Chu Guang paused after seeing it.
He didn't expect that this aged can, instead of having a layer of fat, looked as fresh as if it had just been produced.
It couldn't possibly be freshly processed...
Chu Guang's expression became slightly odd.
Is there a need to test for poison?
It seemed unnecessary.
Recently revived Crow didn't think through that much.
Her stomach was empty and although she wasn't hungry, upon seeing that deliciously appealing canned food, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
Looking up at the Manager, her face filled with disbelief and emotion.
"Is this, is this for me?"
Chu Guang didn't respond but simply asked,
"Do you want to eat?"
Crow quickly nodded.
"Yes."
Chu Guang continued asking.
"Does the color look okay? Like...any green tinges?"
Crow vigorously shook her head.
"No!"
When you're hungry, everything looks appealing. Her attention was already completely drawn to the food, and again, she couldn't help but swallow.
This Manager was just too kind!
Although he had just punished her, but, but, but —
"Alright, I understand."
Chu Guang took the canned food back.
"I just showed you; don't think too much about it."
Crow: "???"
In the end, the young player ran out with tears in her eyes.
Sitting there eating the canned food, Chu Guang also felt that he might have been a bit too severe this time…