Playing Cards Doesn't Always Require a Royal Flush

The pay-to-win system of later generations would be a game-changer at this time.

But can't you play cards without a game-changer?

You don't need to be too far ahead of the market, just a little bit ahead is enough to break through among the various private servers currently available!

Chen Guiliang decided to research the market first and immediately asked, "Uncle, what kind of Legend private servers are popular now? Compared to the official server, how abnormal are the leveling speed and equipment?"

Feng Tao said, "Most of them just slightly increase the leveling speed and equipment drop rate. As for equipment, the most popular new gameplay now is porting things from Legend 3."

There are five types of Legend private servers in later generations: Shanda-like, light change, micro change, medium change, and super change.

Players from different periods like different types.

According to his uncle, the popular types now are Shanda-like, light change, and micro change.

He couldn't just listen; he had to experience it himself.

"Uncle, I want to play a Legend private server. Which one is the most popular right now?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Private server versions change quickly, and Feng Tao wasn't sure either.

He told Chen Guiliang to move aside, sat down in front of the computer himself, and quickly opened a forum, saying, "This is the 7GG Forum. It didn't do private servers at first, but now it's the largest private server base in the country."

"But they don't have the best technology. The experts on the Le Du Forum are particularly amazing. The 17577 Forum is most popular with newbies; a newbie who knows nothing can learn for just two or three hours and set up the private server version they provide."

"My favorite expert is called noyeys. He often shares the new functions and technologies he develops selflessly..."

Feng Tao rattled off names like a treasure trove, commenting on the major forums and technical experts.

Seeing him speak so enthusiastically, Chen Guiliang didn't feel right interrupting. He could only go along with it and chat with his uncle, while also noting down the names of those forums and experts.

Feng Tao chose a relatively popular private server and continued chatting while it downloaded. He talked non-stop for half an hour until his aunt's voice came from outside the study: "Time for bed!"

"Coming, coming."

Feng Tao dropped the mouse and said to Chen Guiliang, "You play by yourself, I'm going to bed."

This private server was almost finished downloading, but Chen Guiliang's attention had shifted to those forums.

He carefully browsed various hot posts, researched the current private server players, and recorded his findings on A4 paper for summarization.

The main content of the hot posts was summarized as follows:

First, complaining about the official Shanda server, saying the new maps on the official server were boring and became dull after playing for a few days, making them reluctant to waste point cards.

Second, cursing The World of Legend as trash.

Third, complaining that current private servers lacked innovation, with thousands of private servers all being largely the same, and private server administrators only caring about making money.

Fourth, complaining about too many bugs in private servers that introduced new features.

Fifth, praising experts who shared technology selflessly and cursing those who hoarded technology to sell for money.

After the first private server finished downloading, Chen Guiliang continued to download the second most popular one.

He registered and logged into the first one, quickly entering the game.

He found the leveling speed to be incredibly slow, estimated to be only two or three times that of the official Legend.

Chen Guiliang stopped grinding after leveling up a few times and instead ran to the major safe zones to check out the top players' equipment.

Based on the content in the public chat box, he could basically conclude that this private server made money by selling the Six Great Armors and Wrath Sever, Dragon Tooth, and Carefree Fan.

There were even free-to-play players who were reluctant to spend money, using cross-dressing accounts to frantically look for husbands in the public chat, just hoping that wealthy players would give "her" a Carefree Fan.

Chen Guiliang smiled and recorded on the A4 paper: Popularize all equipment before the heavy armor version, everyone can afford Heavenly Devil Divine Armor, everyone can use Dragon Tooth and Wrath Sever. Spiritual poverty alleviation.

After uninstalling this private server, Chen Guiliang installed the second one.

The second one was quite interesting; its selling point was porting equipment from Legend 3. It also ported textures from Legend 3 to partially beautify the private server. However, it couldn't achieve overall beautification, so it looked quite awkward at first glance, creating a strange stitched-together monster.

The leveling speed was also very slow, possibly four or five times that of the official Legend.

Chen Guiliang wrote on the A4 paper: Leveling speed can be increased by more than twenty times compared to the official version, and the top equipment from Legend 3 can be modified to have abnormal stats. Make money by selling abnormal equipment.

The basic idea for making a private server was decided: create a super abnormal Legend to give the current newbie players a taste of something new!

Chen Guiliang turned off the computer and sat at the desk, thinking for a long time.

If he were to cooperate with someone to make a private server without any capital, even if the collaborator didn't burn bridges, he probably wouldn't get much profit.

He had to find a way to get a sum of money out of thin air first!

Of course, if he couldn't get it, so be it. He would make whatever he could, since he had no technology and no capital.

After carefully reviewing the entire plan, Chen Guiliang began to write.

He wrote until late into the night before going to bed.

The next day, early morning.

Feng Tao came to the study to get his satchel and saw a stack of A4 papers filled with writing on the computer desk.

He looked at two pages out of curiosity, then put them back, no longer interested.

"Guiliang, get up and eat!"

Lin Chunhong called out from the living room.

Before long, the three of them were gathered around the table eating breakfast.

Feng Tao casually asked, "You're writing a game design document?"

Chen Guiliang said, "Not that detailed, just some game concepts and ideas. I plan to sell them to that Boss Tao."

Feng Tao thought this was a high school student's wild fantasy and scoffed, "He runs an internet cafe, he doesn't make games himself, why would he buy this stuff from you?"

Chen Guiliang didn't reveal his true purpose, saying half-truthfully, "It's best if Boss Tao likes it, but I won't lose anything if he doesn't. Just trying my luck."

Feng Tao said, "I see the title is 'Free Games and Operation Model'. If games are free, how can you make money?"

Chen Guiliang chuckled, "Isn't Legend private servers a type of free game?"

Feng Tao retorted, "That's different. Private servers rely on low costs to secretly make a little money. If you develop or act as an agent for a free game, you probably won't even recoup the costs."

"Haha." Chen Guiliang couldn't explain.

Before Zhengtu became a massive hit, no one believed that free games could make money.

Perhaps some did, but the bigger the company, the less they dared to take risks.

There was no point in hiding it.

Ideas like this become worthless if they expire. Making a small amount of money quickly from them would be a gain – in just two or three years, most of the ideas on that A4 paper would be implemented by Shi Yuzhu.

Chen Guiliang was a pauper now. If he waited until he made his first pot of gold to make games himself based on the pay-to-win concept, there simply wouldn't be enough time.

He would definitely be beaten to it by Zhengtu!

So, he might as well throw it out there and see.

If it really didn't work, he could use the opportunity of participating in the New Concept Composition Finals to go to Shanghai and peddle it to a few big companies.

Although it was likely to fail, what if it succeeded?

Anyway, it was a no-cost venture, and he could cast a wide net and sell to multiple parties.

As for going to talk business today, that pay-to-win concept was just Chen Guiliang's way of testing the waters.

Otherwise, would he really try to fool a small boss from an eighteenth-tier city into developing a game?

The difficulty would probably be no less than selling Brain Platinum to Shi Yuzhu.

"What are you talking about?" Lin Chunhong asked curiously.

Feng Tao chuckled, "Guiliang wrote a set of game concepts that can be used to develop online games, and he plans to take them to sell to Brother Gang today."

Lin Chunhong said, "Making games is very expensive, right? Does Boss Tao have that much money?"

"It's not a question of whether Brother Gang has enough money," Feng Tao explained in detail, "All your assets combined are only a few million. A high school student comes over with a few pieces of paper and says that making a game based on this can make a lot of money. Would you be willing to buy those few pieces of paper, then sell your house and car and risk everything to make a game?"

"Impossible." Lin Chunhong shook her head repeatedly.

Immediately after, she added, "Even if I were going to make a game, I wouldn't buy those few pieces of paper. Since they're written on paper anyway, I can just remember them in my head."

Chen Guiliang smiled.

In his eyes, there was only the question of whether or not to make the game, not the principle of making the game and not paying for it.

If the other party really dared to do that, who would be the one getting screwed was still unknown.

At worst, he would publicly post the contents of the A4 paper on game forums and print dozens of copies to send to major game companies.

There would always be a big company that could see the value and develop a similar game in advance.

At that time, Chen Guiliang would just not get the money, while the defaulter might invest millions and lose everything!

A lose-lose situation.

One would be slightly injured, the other would have their head chopped off.

Chen Guiliang was not a benevolent person.

[Regarding the 2002 Italian server Legend leak incident, the articles, posts, and videos circulating online, if they are general discussions, all insist that "source code was leaked."]

[But the dry posts that actually involve specific people, sites, and technologies say that the "server program" (including configuration files and scripts) was leaked. There are also a few who worked on private servers back then who explicitly stated that the Legend source code was never completely leaked before the dissolution of the Lingfeng Studio.]