Lilith's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked at the computer screen and found that the BUG fix record was indeed quite detailed.
The times of discovery and repair were crystal clear, and the specific manifestations of the BUGs, as well as the test results after the fixes, were also recorded.
This meant that the game originally had dozens of BUGs. Gu Fan and Su Tong had painstakingly tested and fixed them down to two.
It seemed... extending the testing time and recruiting a Test Team Leader did have an effect.
But this didn't completely answer Lilith's question, "But why did 'Infernal Trajectory' only have one BUG after three days of testing, whereas Sisyphus had two after two weeks?
"Based on the total number of BUGs you've modified, that number has clearly increased!"
Gu Fan said earnestly, "Do you demons also 'mark the boat to seek the sword'? Are these two games equally difficult to develop?
"'Infernal Trajectory' is a standard FPS game; there are existing templates to use, so naturally, there are fewer BUGs. 'Sisyphus' is an original gameplay that you created; there's no template, and I could only write the code on the spot, so of course there were more BUGs!
"Don't you know, as the designer, how difficult it is to write new gameplay that involves underlying physical rules!"
Lilith was momentarily at a loss for words, but she quickly found a new angle, "Even so...
"Why is it that you seem to fix only the trivial BUGs while leaving behind the two most important ones?"
Gu Fan responded righteously, "What do you mean by trivial BUGs? A BUG is a BUG, we treat them all the same, it's only that these BUGs are on the surface of the game and easier to discover!
"The two undiscovered BUGs are deep-seated. I guess they are related to the underlying physical rules in the editor, which are not so easy to detect!
"No, this might not even be considered a BUG, it should be called a 'design flaw'!"
Lilith's expression instantly turned to shock, "Oh really, you admit that these are program flaws that you wrote!"
Gu Fan shook his head, somewhat speechless, "You should clean your ears; you can't hear clearly!
"When did I say they were program flaws? I said they were 'design' flaws! The problem lies in the design plan you provided from the start!"
Lilith almost exploded in anger, "What? How could there be problems with my plan? Clarify what you're saying!"
Gu Fan sighed silently as he once again began to rapidly check the causes of the BUGs, just like before.
Lilith watched discontentedly from the side.
Finally, after over half an hour, Gu Fan managed to pinpoint the core code of the BUGs.
"See, this is what I meant about problems with the underlying rules! And these underlying rules issues are closely related to your design plan!
"You wrote it very clearly in the plan, that we wanted to use a game template with as realistic a physical engine as possible, right?"
Lilith nodded with a stern face.
Indeed, she had clearly written that in the design plan, for a simple reason: she wanted to ensure the boulder rolled down the hill more effectively. Without a realistic physics engine, how could one properly simulate this process? And how else could one make players break down and contribute negative emotions?
Therefore, when making the game, Gu Fan did indeed opt for a fairly advanced physics engine.
"But the more realistic the physics engine is, the easier it is to trigger some bizarre BUGs, especially when it comes to forces and physical effects..."
Gu Fan pointed to a few lines of code: "Without Sisyphus carrying the rock, jumping was supposed to be a meaningless action. However, under the influence of this physics engine, it inexplicably exerted a force on the rock, causing it to roll faster and faster.
"The same logic applies to the 'Dragon Flap Wings' BUG..."
As he spoke, Gu Fan quickly located another segment of code: "Your design plan stated that the Giant Dragon could interfere with players, could use its wings to knock them down, so the dragon has to have a model, a collision volume, and physical effects, right?
"So that's what I did.
"Who could have imagined that players would be able to jump onto the dragon's back?
"And the operation of this Dragon Flapping Wings is even more outrageous. When players were hit by the dragon wings, they jumped at that moment, combining the force of the dragon wings and the lift from the airflow, which is why the players flew up.
"As for how high they could fly specifically, that's all calculated automatically by the in-game physics engine, which has nothing to do with me at all..."
Lilith's eyes widened slightly, her face full of disbelief.
"You mean to say that the physics engine is 100% to blame?"
Gu Fan shook his head, "I didn't say that. I think giving 70% of the blame to the physics engine would be more reasonable."
Lilith nodded, "Fine, at least you have some humanity. As a programmer, you should indeed take 30% of the blame."
However, Gu Fan immediately shook his head, "When did I ever say I would take 30% of the blame? That 30% is on you!"
Lilith was shocked, "How could it be mine!"
Gu Fan explained, "If it weren't for you specifying in your design to use a 'realistic physics engine,' how would this situation have arisen? Even if there is a problem with the engine, it was chosen based on your requirements!
"Moreover, you didn't make any additional clarifications in your design documents either!
"You didn't say that this big rock couldn't accelerate, did you? You didn't say that this dragon couldn't be stepped on, did you?
"How can something you didn't write be considered a BUG?
"If you had written it in the design document, would I not have done it for you?
"I've implemented the features you wanted, and I didn't dare to add the ones you didn't want, otherwise you would accuse me of acting on my own initiative!
"In any case, you wrote the design document, and the game engine was also picked based on your requirements. If there are flaws, it's because you didn't foresee them, what does that have to do with me!
"The designer didn't anticipate that players might play the game this way, how could I, as a programmer, have foreseen it!
"You tell me, is this a 'programming flaw' or a 'design flaw?'"
Lilith was stunned. She seemed to be trying to find a loophole in Gu Fan's argument, but she couldn't find any.
She even felt it made quite a bit of sense!
Her head hung low, her brows furrowed tightly, "Why is it my problem again!"
Confused and indignant, Lilith found she really had a hard time rebutting.
She couldn't even claim there were two BUGs, because there were no code errors per se, it seemed more like a type of "unexpected situation" that had occurred due to many factors interacting under the rules of the game's physics engine.
Holding Gu Fan responsible for these two BUGs? That really seemed a bit unreasonable.
But Lilith clearly wasn't ready to give up just like that, "Wait, that's still not right. Should I take full responsibility? Does no one else share any of the blame?"
Gu Fan sighed silently, "If we really have to put it that way…
"I think the reason this BUG occurred is partly due to the physics engine, partly your design draft, and there's another very important reason.
"That is Instructor Ding!
"But then again, Instructor Ding's factor can still be traced back to you."
Lilith was shocked, pointing to herself, "Why should Instructor Ding's reason be traced back to me?"
Gu Fan said assertively, "Think about it, wasn't it your decision to spend the entire three million promotional budget on Instructor Ding?
"If we had only let him stream for two hours like before, would he have even discovered the BUG?"
Lilith was dumbfounded.
Only two hours according to the original plan?
Yeah, it really seems like there wouldn't have been any issues then…
After all, Instructor Ding streamed on Christmas Eve, which was the first day, and nothing happened.
He streamed for two hours and didn't find any BUGs at all. Judging by his reaction at the time, Instructor Ding almost had a breakdown because of the game; he even began to question his life choices and hurried off to play a couple of FPS games to vent his frustration after quitting the game.
The next day, the number of streamers broadcasting Sisyphus had significantly decreased.
If it weren't for Shang Dan insisting that Instructor Ding stream for at least five days, he probably wouldn't have opened Sisyphus the next day, and naturally, he wouldn't have discovered any bugs in the game.
But the decision to have Instructor Ding stream for five consecutive days was made by Lilith herself.
Her motive was simple; she wanted to get even, to use the game to properly torment Instructor Ding.
Only she hadn't anticipated it would backfire…