While resting in the darkness before dawn, Murphy opened the game forum and found that the discussion about the "Battle of Morland Village" was still going strong.
Aside from Mud Truck Iai and Forklift Operator, the two unlucky middle-aged men who got too carried away shooting and had terrible luck, the other ten players had survived the fierce battle. The little players considered it their first major victory in the game.
On top of that, the special nature of True Otherworld—the total immersion, the feeling that it was impossible to tell reality from fiction—had left the players raving about the experience even after logging off.
But some people were still unhappy.
For example, the two unlucky guys who had died on the eve of victory. The truth was, Mud Truck and Forklift Operator really weren't very good, and they'd had the bad luck to run into Natalie, the Witch Hunter wielding the Steam Gatling. But who would admit they were bad at a game online?
So the game's difficulty must be the problem!
A bug!
A serious, game-breaking bug!
It had ruined their experience, and they had to report it!
They'd report the hell out of it!
The two had joined forces with the three student players who'd died in the previous test—Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car, Bionic Snail, and Meow Shark—and flooded the forum's feedback section with posts. They argued from every angle that their deaths were caused by a game bug and strongly recommended that the development team give them another chance.
The middle-aged men were doing everything they could to preserve their dignity as gamers.
The constant stream of new posts in the feedback section was starting to irritate Murphy, so he simply turned off new-post notifications and lurked in the built-in forum group instead, hoping to see what the little players thought of the battle. Meanwhile, the others were sending two or three messages a second.
Since it was a day off, no one had to worry about the time.
Of course, some people were exceptions.
Lumina Sunscar: You guys go on ahead. I'm about to pass out. I need to log off and sleep for a bit.
Leading Pigeon: It's only noon! Hey, miss, is your schedule always this weird?
Lumina Sunscar: But it's already the middle of the night where I am! Q^Q If I stay up a little longer, I'll probably see the sun come up. I finally have a day off, so give me a break, okay? But hey, this game is so much fun. If there's another test, remember to call me in the group. I'm logging off. Good night, everyone. Bye~
The young lady studying abroad logging off didn't interrupt the others' lively conversation. The group stayed as lively as ever.
Meow Brother and a few of his equally shameless coworkers whom he'd brought into the game even started reviewing the details of the Battle of Morland Village, with all the benefit of hindsight.
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car: Damn it! The admin won't listen to us at all. They deleted all our feedback posts, and we even got a warning not to spam the forum. Ah, I'm going to die without True Otherworld! Can someone tell me when the next test is?
A-Cha'en: We'll have to wait for the noobs to revive, right? The story's reached the point where our NPCs have met up with the other vampires, so this operation is probably over for now. If I had to guess, they might test a new area next.
Maybe that Cadman City the NPCs keep talking about?
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car: Damn it! A-Cha, why don't you make yourself clearer? Who are you calling a noob?
Leading Pigeon: Keep barking? We're all still alive, and you're dead. If you're not a noob, who is? Besides, you three will be revived in a day, right? Stop causing trouble. If you piss off the admin and get your accounts deleted, what are you going to do?
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car: You ungrateful brat! When I get back in the game after I revive, I'm going to wreck you!
Chen Dian Niu Niu Not Afraid of Difficulty: Hey, bros, I just gave a bunch of my friends the full sales pitch for this awesome game. Everyone in my dorm's waiting to get in and tear it up. Anyone know for sure when the invite codes are going out?
Electronic Succubus Lao Qu: Just wait. They only hand out five at a time, so who knows how long it'll take to get to you. But Niu Niu, you fought that female demon head-on before. Tell your big bro, how realistic are the character models in this game?
Chen Dian Niu Niu Not Afraid of Difficulty: ??? What do you mean? The character models look pretty realistic to me.
Meow King: grinning.jpg Hey, looks like the innocent student still doesn't understand what makes this game special. It's supposed to be fully realistic, with actual physics and collision. When you took that female demon down, you must've touched her.
I checked right before logging off. That female boss was actually pretty hot.
Spicy Gugu Chicken: A gray-haired huntress with a slim waist, long legs, and a big ass! Drool, drool. The damn devs really know what they're doing!
Lumina Sunscar: Hey, hey, get a grip, you bastards! Weren't we talking about the game's story? How did we end up talking about a female NPC again? Ah, so this is what male players care about?
Meow King: Ahem. Lumina-chan's pretty, too. Wait, didn't you log off?
Lumina Sunscar: I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see Morland Village. It's like I really went to another world and fought a battle. It was so exciting—way more thrilling than roleplaying or full-contact armored combat.
Meow King: I totally agree! But why can't we make female characters in this game? With character models this realistic, it'd be a shame not to play a trap.
Forklift Operator: Meow Brother, what exactly are you planning!? Horrified.jpg
A-Cha'en: @Meow King, if you make a trap character, remember to tell us. Let your bros have a turn first. Grinning~
Alpha: Hey, the little players are full of energy! Looks like you were all happy with the last test. The development team was happy too, and we finally passed this round of testing. But we've got another big job coming up.
@Everyone
Let's pick a time when everyone's free. I'll adjust the schedule, then we can all log in together and take a quest from the tutorial NPC. The development team needs to test a complex battle scenario and NPC intelligence, so everyone has to participate.
Also, here's some good news: this is the second-to-last test in the first closed beta.
Thanks to everyone's hard work, we've fixed a lot of little bugs, and we're now one step closer to the next round of testing.
Murphy's sudden appearance brought the quiet group back to life. The people who'd just finished lunch began popping up one after another.
Chen Dian Niu Niu Not Afraid of Difficulty: Great! I'm free anytime, Admin. Can you let me stay in the game all twenty-four hours a day?
Leading Pigeon: We all have plenty of free time, okay? And the admin said last time that the headsets won't get the direct-connect feature until the next stage of testing. You're so clueless.
Meow King: The main thing is to get everyone's login time lined up so the admin can adjust the schedule. The testing team's work is more complicated than you think. Even I have to book a time in advance when I'm doing contract software testing, let alone for a massive project like True Otherworld.
Black Silk Under Keyboard: Everyone else should be fine, right? The main issue is Lumina's time zone. She's on a different schedule from us, which is a bit of a hassle.
Mud Truck Iai: It's a hassle now.
Once the free-login feature is unlocked, Lumina can help with tests in the game's nighttime environment. That'll be her unique advantage. For all we know, she might progress faster than the rest of us.
Don't forget, our main-story NPC is a vampire. He's a real nocturnal creature.
Oh, right! I hadn't even thought of that!
At that moment, Murphy blinked inside the swaying carriage.
The little players really did think outside the box.
He'd wondered why there was a student studying across the ocean like Lumina among the testers. Now it seemed she hadn't gotten an invite code through luck alone.
Testing the nighttime environment was indeed an important part of the job.
Invincible Tyrannosaurus Car: Damn it, using your natural environment like a cheat code is so sneaky! No way. I can't lose to a girl studying abroad. I'm starting to train my ability to stay up late right now! I'll do my best to flip my sleep schedule!
Meow King: How about tonight? It'll be morning for Lumina, and everyone else can log in too. Tomorrow's a day off, so it won't interfere with anyone's regular schedule.
Forklift Operator: But the five of us haven't revived yet. How are we supposed to take a quest? This is giving me a headache.
Alpha: Don't worry. The test will last at least two or three days in game time, so you five will have plenty of time to catch up. I heard tonight's job is for you to discuss tactics with the main-story NPC. That's what my coworkers on the development team told me, anyway.
A-Cha'en: Discuss tactics with an NPC? Is he really that smart?
Alpha: The main NPCs in True Otherworld are all played by the most advanced AI. They have deep-learning programs, and they're smarter than a lot of real people. The more you interact with them, the smarter they get. That's one of the game's major selling points. Take the Battle of Morland Village, for example. If you tried the same tactics again, they probably wouldn't work nearly as well.
Leading Pigeon: Holy shit, that sounds amazing! @Alpha, are you guys really making a game? That's some serious tech you're putting to use. Why does it feel like you're up to something big? Side-eye smile.jpg
Alpha: Want to hear a secret? We're actually trying to take over the world in secret. Sigh, but even if that's true, what does the company's grand plan have to do with a wage slave like me?
We've settled on 9 p.m. tonight. Is that okay with everyone?
@Meow King
Meow Brother, can you coordinate everyone?
Meow King: No problem.
Chen Dian Niu Niu Not Afraid of Difficulty: Admin, I have a question. Does this game have a "likeability" system?
Alpha: ? Why would you think that?
Chen Dian Niu Niu Not Afraid of Difficulty: Because after I helped the NPC subdue that female demon today, he treated me differently. He was a lot gentler, and he even gave me a weapon. I was wondering if there's a hidden likeability system.
If there is, can I raise it by doing quests?
Alpha: You tell me.
Meow King: Damn, that means there definitely is one! This is a bottomless pit! So besides the faction reputation system they'll obviously add later, do we also have to keep track of each NPC's personal reputation?
Spicy Gugu Chicken: Drool, drool. I only care whether the NPC ladies will treat me better than everyone else when my reputation's maxed out. Falling in love with a fictional character would be so great.
Leading Pigeon: Your wife, who has a thousand close friends of the opposite sex, sounds great! Side-eye smile.
Chen Dian Niu Niu Not Afraid of Difficulty: Your wife sounds great! NTR is awesome.jpg
Spicy Gugu Chicken: Damn it! You perverts, don't run! Take a taste of my blade!
The little players started their usual nonsense. Murphy left the forum and sat up in the swaying carriage on its way to the Filthy Swamp. Rubbing his chin as he gazed at the irritating sunlight outside, he couldn't help letting out a strange laugh.
"Likeability? Right. What could make the little players behave themselves better than a hidden likeability system? Genius!
My silly friends really are a bunch of geniuses. Their extraordinary ability to keep themselves in line is fantastic.
Great, it's decided!
I, Ravnos Murphy Lasombra, hereby officially launch my personal likeability system today!
Maxim's likeability will have to be set up afterward, too.
Hmm, I'll need to come up with a persona for him first. A taciturn white-haired loyal retainer who yearns to become stronger and gain power? Emmm, that's a classic archetype. Surely it can't go wrong?"
Thinking this, Murphy was about to close the forum when he noticed a new post in the feedback section, which had just been cleared of spam. It was from Meow King.
Meow King was one of the little players Murphy kept a close eye on, so he opened the feedback post and found that the guy had submitted a fairly formal report:
Summary of issues discovered while playing True Otherworld:
1. I've confirmed that the game has a complete day-and-night cycle. That's awesome, but the two worlds seem to have a twelve-hour time difference, which is extremely inconvenient.
I recommend that the development team synchronize game time with real-world time, so players can enjoy the game during the day, too.
P.S. I checked the built-in features of the game headset over the past few days and found a "sleep connection" mode that's currently locked. So the time difference might not be a bug, but a way to help players schedule their time. It might also be related to the development team's testing plan.
If that's the case, please ignore the first point.
2. Strongly recommend adding a player interface!
At the very least, give us a quest log.
I understand that the development team might be aiming for a completely realistic gaming environment, but having no interface prompts is a real pain. I can't exactly carry a notebook around in the game to keep track of my quests, can I?
3. Please speed up the testing process!
Better yet, launch the open beta right away.
It's a real pain that players can't connect whenever they want and can only log in at scheduled test times. Your game is addictive. I can't play any of those other flashy games anymore!
Seeing that last point, Murphy immediately grinned.
It looked like the "game" he was in charge of testing really was very appealing. Unfortunately, he couldn't fix any of the three problems Meow Brother had raised.
"But how did the game headsets they use to 'cross over in consciousness' end up in their hands?"
Murphy stared at Meow Brother's feedback post and pondered.
"Is there really a True Otherworld operations team in charge of the game in the world they live in? Or is this another feature that comes with my amazing Administrator System?"
A few minutes later, the vampire's eyes darted as he came up with an idea, then he edited a reply.
As the forum administrator and testing lead, even though Murphy hadn't volunteered for the job, he still had to respond positively to the little players' earnest feedback.
Now that was professionalism.
That was what it meant to love the job you did!
Meanwhile, Meow Brother had just gotten off work and was sitting in his apartment. Still riding the high of the Battle of Morland Village, he fidgeted with his game headset on his head and prayed to every god he knew to hurry up and start the next test. But the gods ignored him completely.
With nothing else to do, the sly, worldly man could only pass the time by browsing the newly opened forum in the headset. A virtual interface, projected before his eyes, looked a lot like one you'd see on a VR device.
He was having a great time chatting in a shitpost thread when he heard the forum's private-message notification. He opened it and saw a feedback-receipt message from "Brother Fa."
It was remarkably brief:
We have received the report submitted by tester "Meow King." It is detailed and clearly identifies the issues. It has been forwarded to the development team for consideration.
Additionally, testers are required to evaluate the game headsets used to play True Otherworld. Tester "Meow King" is hereby invited to explore all the features of the headset and submit a full user evaluation.
P.S.
Testers may refuse this invitation. However, upon completing the headset evaluation and submitting a full report, they may receive a rare physical reward in the game.
Finally, thank you for your valuable feedback. We wish you an enjoyable experience.
-
True Otherworld Testing Team Member · Alpha.
"??? Are you kidding me? I was just complaining, and you give me a quest? You want me to work for NPCs in the game, and now you want me working for your company in real life, too?"
Meow Brother complained bitterly.
"Also, why are you so fast at handling feedback? Hey, if you've got time to personally reply to posts, how about using it to speed up development?
Do you think I care about some rare reward? I just want to play the game!"
He curled his lip, but the promise of a rare in-game reward still tempted him a little. He took off the game headset and glanced at the computer beside him.
He'd spent tens of thousands on that hulking thing with its flashy case lights. He'd loved it at first, but now it was like an unwanted mistress, rejected without mercy. Every game on the computer had been rejected along with it.
What kind of age was this, still fussing over ray tracing and graphics with a traditional mouse and keyboard?
Could it at least try not to embarrass itself in front of the competition?
The guy curled his lip and started fiddling with the game headset even more diligently. A few minutes later, a strange cry rang out through the bachelor apartment:
"Holy shit! This thing has airflow, air conditioning, and a massage function? What's bioelectric power? Sounds so advanced. And it even supports an external 220-volt plug or AA batteries?
Why is it so down-to-earth?"
Before you continue