"Transia Tavern" and the game forum had a complementary, subordinate relationship.
The forum's style and content were too formal, which was why they needed a more casual app to add a little color and provide some balance. The two also formed a progression: the app had more members, effectively turning the old two-tier system of "curiosity-satisfiers and players" into a three-tier one of "reserves, curiosity-satisfiers, and players."
This change didn't make much difference to Murphy. Even now, every player's helmet still had to be approved by him and Triss. But with "Transia Tavern" in place, Loyal Brother's organization could better steer this special group, whose numbers were slowly growing.
All in all, Murphy's communication with the real world had moved beyond "testing the waters" and into the stage of trying to cooperate. Both sides were attempting to show goodwill and explore the possibility of working together further, but it wasn't easy.
This contact remained hidden beneath the relationship between the players and the development team. Some clever players had noticed certain changes, but most were still focused on the simple pleasure of experiencing and enjoying the game.
Murphy had no intention of ruining that experience, so he hadn't placed any further restrictions on the app.
He had essentially handed management of the thing over to the real world. However, things like version updates issued by the development team and in-game announcements still had to go on the forum.
There was no other reason. It was simply more convenient for the development team to work that way.
Almost as soon as Transia Tavern went live, a post titled "True Otherworld Beta 1.0 Version Update Overview" appeared on the forum. This time, it received far fewer replies than the previous announcement, clearly because most players were busy trying out the more entertaining