Otherworldly Architect

After the League of Legends season three finals, the year quickly entered its fourth quarter.

The development progress of Bluestar's latest game "Soul of Mortal" (codenamed "Soul") has quietly reached 40%.

The Alpha version is ready to go, but the first tests are mainly the first map.

This map is also used for players to learn the combat system. It is the least difficult level in the entire game, which is equivalent to a game demo.

Slightly different from previous alpha tests, the main purpose of this test is gameplay verification.

As early as a month ago, Blue Star just released the announcement of "Alpha test trial experience" on the official website, and the players collectively climaxed.

The official registration channel was collectively bombed!

Originally, the registration form was only a short form of personal information, allowing players to fill in typical information such as their name, age, education level, and game history.

Unexpectedly, the enthusiasm of the players is too high.

They even spontaneously wrote a small paper in the last column "Game Experience"!

Some people have a more simple and unpretentious style, so they write: [More than 12 years of game experience, clear all Blue Star games at least three times, and get the first drill in the League of Legends rank...]

Some people are eager to show their special experiences, so they will write: [I am the teacher's apprentice, I have heard the teacher's speech on the spot, and I even took a photo with the teacher at the carnival! (The link to the photo is actually posted later)]

Some people simply posted their resumes that they spent a lot of money on.

Participating in an internal game test, it was like an audition abruptly, and there was no one left.

In fact, what Blue Star wanted was only twenty or so players with different styles.

As a result, more than 100,000 people signed up on the first day, all of them rushing to the new game.

There are even people who want to make the plank road dark and dark, and like Ling Lingqi, come to a legendary entry-he thought to himself, what if he also makes the chief designer of Ming fancy?

As a result, the huge number of applicants forced the official website to close the registration channel in advance, and also issued a separate notice—

The selection of testers this time is completely random!

There is no other way, let alone the question of whether manual selection will cause players to be dissatisfied, so many people can't watch it manually at all.

It is the most reliable to directly let the AI ​​system randomly assign 20 places.

Finally, after the secretary checked the information of these players one by one, he issued Blue Star's test invitation letter.

Today's Bluestar Studio system process is still very complete, the invitation letter is only valid on the day, and it is divided into several categories such as tour, test, and meeting.

Of course, the two most familiar to players are tours and tests, and many lucky fans have proudly posted on the forum.

The background of the invitation letter is unified with the Blue Star LOGO.

The tour invitations have blue stamps on the envelopes, test envelopes have red stamps, meeting envelopes have gold stamps...and so on.

The corresponding stamp will be displayed below the player's forum ID.

On the forum, players are affectionately referred to as "Little Blue Chapter", "Little Red Chapter" and so on...

Among them, the "Golden Badge" will be looked up to!

The first batch of test players of "Soul of Mortal" also held the "Little Red Badge" in their hands. After passing through the security check of Blue Star, they followed the secretary to the dedicated player test station.

The lady arranged for everyone to get on a dedicated VR device, and at the same time opened the built-in test process instructions in the game.

At this time, outside the testing room, the designers of Mortal Soul were standing early in the morning.

The first is naturally clear words!

He can be said to have learned from experience. This new player test station has single-sided glass. Players don't know that the designers are next door for the time being.

But designers can get a closer look at their gaming experience.

The game as a whole is not finished, but the content of the first one is quite complete.

The protagonist will wake up from the cemetery and use his inner voice to guide the player to operate.

Going all the way, reaching the first campfire point, after the protagonist sits down, let the player start to select occupations, weapons, and other customized personal characteristics.

The combat system of Mortal Soul is quite diverse.

Players can choose one of five professions before the game starts.

Each profession comes with two initial skills and two initial items, usually five blood bottles and one of the simplest weapons.

There are fifteen different weapons in the game, ranging from melee to ranged.

With each profession and each weapon, there will be a chemical reaction, and different combo methods will appear. The system will only teach the simplest and most basic two, and the rest needs to be explored by the player.

In other words, this game has a total of 75 different combat routes to choose from.

The combat itself is more strategic and challenging.

In addition to the BOSS in the game, all the mobs also choose a route from 15 kinds of weapons, and the combat AI is also very clever and knows how to use almost all combos.

It is not enough for players to skillfully use their own combos to deal damage, but also to have a general understanding of the current enemy's attack characteristics to flexibly use the ability to block, dodge and other abilities to avoid the opponent's attack.

It not only tests the operation level, but also tests the combat awareness, and also involves issues such as reaction speed and resource management...

Even star players who are accustomed to **** strategies can easily be killed by a set of mobs they don't understand.

Of course, in addition to the front hard anal, there are other ways.

For example, avoid the enemy in front of you first, and go to the back to get a prop to restrain him;

For another example, go back to the camp and switch to a long-range weapon, and shoot him to death at a long distance by carding a strange terrain;

There are also some enemies who can bite the bullet and rush over, take the props behind him, and the protagonist can die...

After all, the protagonist of Mortal Soul is actually a soul.

If the body dies, it will die! Anyway, the "soul coins" in the box are in hand.

As for that enemy, then there is no need to provoke him again!

In this way, in addition to the upgrade experience of game characters.

Players can even feel that they also have an experience bar.

For example, the first mobs in the whole game are specially set to "must use weapons that restrain the player's weapons".

So the first time you meet, players who are not familiar with combat operations are basically going to be tortured and killed.

After death, the protagonist comes back from the bonfire and loses some san points.

As soon as the san value appeared, many test players were immediately excited!

—Isn’t this the novel system that the leader mentioned at the press conference?

The san value is something that is difficult to supplement. As the san value drops, strange dark shadows will gradually appear in the protagonist's field of vision, and strange and crazy whispers can be heard.

Once the san value is exhausted, the protagonist will really die, and the corpse will become a small monster called "husk" to stay in the game.

Players can only redefine a character to go in and start over!

If you are lucky, you can get rid of the "body" and get back some old equipment and soul coins.

Of course, the current Alpha test version has not done so much, and all players don't have to worry about losing the san value for the time being.

At most, it's just a few more kills by the mobs in the teaching level of a game...

"Damn it, this is a hidden boss, isn't it!!"

"Why is this little monster's damage so much higher than mine! I have a small dagger, he has a long spear, this can make a hair!"

An expert player was even close to tears of humiliation.

Fortunately, he has rich game experience and is witty enough to fight. He quickly figured out the two combo methods of the mobs, and through two dangerous and dangerous key dodges, the mobs fell off the horse.

When the monster corpse dissolved in the darkness, leaving two poor soul coins spinning in place.

He let out a contented sigh.

"Ah! So cool!!"

Killing this teaching Guan Xiaoguai actually brought him endless aftertastes.

It feels like in the mod of the apocalyptic era of "Minecraft" at that time, it took one hour to finally conquer a difficult BOSS!

He stood on the spot and recalled his two dodges, the limit of a thief; and the combo, which was a cool fourteen combo, and it was a trick invented by himself, which the system didn't say...

He has only died twice, and he has figured out the enemy's attack method and distance. Does it mean that he is too genius?

The master brother happily carried the knife and continued to move forward, and this time he encountered another mobs.

And this monster was hiding on top of his head, jumping down and attacking him!

With a jump, the crit hits the soul!

"Fuck!!"

The master brother died inexplicably again, and he was reborn at the bonfire with hatred.

Taking the original road again, he took a shortcut and met the previous little monster in just a few minutes.

This time, he was so experienced that he only let the mobs play one set, and then he skillfully blocked and counterattacked, and killed this monster that once made him feel humiliated with ease and joy.

Then, he stood there for a while.

- The set I just did was really awesome, this kind of mobs don't want to get close to me again!

- I'm not what I used to be, bahahahaha!

This is the most amazing part of "Soul of Mortal".

Obviously, the characters in the game have not been upgraded, and the attributes and skills are still the most primitive. Except for the san value that has dropped a little, there is no change at all.

But the player himself felt a very strong "I'm getting stronger" pleasure.

Just like the feeling of being divorced and then counterattacking, the monster that once made him unable to climb high is no longer his enemy.

It felt sour.

Moreover, this time the master brother was prepared in advance.

After reaching the corresponding position, he blocked the sneak attacking monster and successfully kicked it away, causing a wave of damage.

- It's so cool!

This completely different sourness is like the kind of routine that goes through a book or is reborn.

Unpredictable, clearly arranged the enemies who played cards according to the script.

It also made the master brother feel that he was so awesome from the bottom of his heart. He was so happy that his blood was boiling, and he rushed to this "little monster" with a scream—

...well, and then he lives up to the expectations and gets killed by the "mobs" with a whole new combo.

At this moment, the designers outside the test room all bowed their heads and took notes.

Everyone had a wonderful and contented smile on their face.

"The shape design of the teaching boss is quite successful. The boss didn't give him an extraordinary body shape, and he really deceived a lot of players..."

"They thought it was a little monster at first glance, and they will know what to target next time."

"Our 'Block Tutor' is quite competent."

While talking, the designers turned their attention to the back of Ming Yan standing in front of the glass.

- Master Ming is still the same Master Ming!

- When their design ideas were still stuck in "teaching players to block or dodge", Chief Master Ming had already proposed, "Let the monsters teach them the most suitable method for them".

On the other side, the master brother has already walked on the road of the seventh attempt.

His expression became extraordinarily serious, completely entering the state of the big boss who formed a team to open up wasteland back then, and even more focused!

He has already discovered that the monster standing in front of the only building is not a "little monster" at all, but a real humanoid boss!

The one who wears ragged clothes and is crazy with even tricks!

This is what he learned by paying more attention to the details on the road. It turned out that this BOSS was a fallen priest named "Sisyphus".

The defense and health bar of this boss are actually not high. If you stand still, the player only needs three or four combos to kill.

The problem is that the BOSS's desire to attack is too strong! When he sees the player, he will rush up to fight a combo.

And his third combo can directly break the player's "block" state!

You know, many rookie players are now shrinking with shields.

Dodging is a momentary thing, and you may even be hacked to death by chasing a knife;

But the block is a state that can last forever.

As the saying goes, "As long as I am thorough enough, no one can touch my body"...

It is also called "blocking for a while and being cool all the time, always blocking and always cool"...

But this "Sisyphus" BOSS is different. If he keeps shrinking in front of him, his shield will be broken in infinite combos, and then he will be ravaged to death.

The master brother died like this twice before!

Finally, after he understood the limitations of blocking, he abandoned his one-handed sword + shield weapon combination and began to try to use a two-handed sword.

Master Brother: Come on! Father is hurt! Who will kill who will be killed first?

…

After a minute.

Master brother: I was wrong, I shouldn't have fantasies! Help! Daddy stop hitting me! Ah to die to die...to die.

Sixth attempt.

The master brother suddenly had a flash of inspiration and took out a long spear, which is the weapon used by the mobs on the road.

It was a little monster that he was already familiar with attack patterns, so he tried to learn the little monster's combo.

Not to mention, it works great!

The spear's attack range is very wide, a little longer than "Sisyphus", just enough to allow the master brother to skin twice outside the latter's attack range.

If you can only touch the skin twice, you have to roll and dodge, and then look for the next chance to touch the boss.

Once there is a mistake, if the boss's combo is touched, the defensive ability of a weapon like a spear...

No, long spears have no defensive capabilities at all!

Just lie down and die.

On the seventh and eighth attempts, the master brothers were only a little off.

He felt that his combos were already very skilled, and he had a good understanding of the three sets of "Sisyphus" combos, and sometimes he could even predict the boss's next move.

But it was just one set missing, and when he could kill the BOSS with just one more set, he made a mistake in his hurry.

One more greedy knife, he will be cold.

And at this moment, the game pops up a message box.

The secretary is also outside reminding players that the test time is coming soon, and you can prepare to quit the game.

The master brother couldn't help but said "Huh?"

He felt that he was just getting better and better. He finally transformed from a first-level rookie to a third-level veteran... How could it be 60 minutes so quickly?

There's simply not enough time to play this game.

He was about to overthrow "Sisyphus", and victory was imminent, how could he resist going offline now?

The 60 minutes of the test decided by Ming Yan has actually considered the time for the player to challenge the BOSS.

But I didn't expect it to be enough, because the players cherished this game opportunity too much. They explored back and forth in the first map and didn't miss a little bit of the game content.

And Blue Star has always been a tradition of meticulous craftsmanship, and the beta version of the map already has a lot of details, and even easter eggs.

So this test time feels like it's going by quickly, and it should be out in the blink of an eye.

Then, not as the designers expected.

Players have become "Old Lai"!

"Try again, just let me try again, I'll be able to cross this alley in no time!"

"Sorry I'm suddenly deaf... What? What did you say?"

"I haven't finished this level yet, let me pass the level and I'll end the test..."

…

This problem has gradually appeared since the end of the Blue Star, and now players are simply doing everything they can.

The chance to test the game may be before the official release of the game. The only chance they can touch the game is naturally a treasure.

The master brother was a special chicken thief. Taking advantage of others delaying the time, he hurried in and made the ninth attempt.

This time, all the battle strategies were kept in mind, and my thoughts were calmer than ever before, no greed for knives, no mistakes...

Successfully knocked down the big boss of the teaching concept of "Sisyphus"!

When the corpse of the boss also began to dissolve in the darkness, the unprecedented joy and sense of accomplishment enveloped the master brother.

He even couldn't help raising his fists high and shouting to the darkness: "I'm a genius!!"

And he didn't forget the most important thing—

Stepping over the corpse of the boss, he stepped forward in three steps and two steps, and opened the door of the church!

Ah, this is the gate to the official level! It's a new world feeling!

...then before I could take a step, the game was suddenly suspended from the outside.

The secretary reluctantly paused all the game content and said, "The test time has ended ten minutes ago. Please put down your VR glasses and come with me."

The master brother was confused, so he had to get off the VR device.

Taking a closer look, almost all the players around have the same expression of "dissatisfaction with desire".

The secretary led them to a special reception room, and the customer service was already waiting to ask them test questions.

Along the way, the players have not completely recovered from the huge shock brought by "Soul of Mortal", and they are discussing with twitter.

The master brother asked around, and he was the only one who defeated the boss "Sisyphus", and some people even just defeated the first mobs.

How could he control his swelling!

Brother Master couldn't control himself at all, so he declared proudly: "I killed that boss, it's not very strong, just figure out his combo method and use the long spear that restrains him the most..."

Wow.

Sure enough, the other players made extremely envious voices, and some looked at him admiringly.

The master brother feels that he has reached the pinnacle of his life.

But at this time, another player said: "But, that boss doesn't have to be defeated. I tried a few times, and the hive on the left of the three-way intersection can seduce him to leave temporarily, and then have a chance to bypass it. The boss went straight into the church..."

"What!" Brother Master was shocked, "Have you entered the church?"

The player laughed: "I found that there are shortcuts in this game. As long as you are familiar with the map, you can avoid many monsters that cannot be beaten. The boss can obviously be challenged later, because there is a glowing weapon in the middle of the church. It's a pity that there are two mobs guarding it. I haven't found a chance to steal that weapon, and the time is up..."

When the two master players were chatting about their progress in the strategy, the remaining players all pricked up their ears.

They feel like they have opened up a new world!

- It turns out that this boss is best not to block, it will be easier to use dodge, but you need to be careful.

-what? You can skip the boss first and fight with stronger equipment?

-what? When the boss is in front three times, there is an empty door on the back, you can use two knives to go around the back, and then hit him without injury?

Long guns are not the only solution, almost every weapon has a different fighting style.

There are too many combat skills, and so many genres can be developed for one boss, and each has a corresponding sense of strategy and operation.

Players can even learn new skills from monsters and temporarily switch to a different weapon for strategy.

Even if the data panel of the game character itself has not changed at all, the player himself feels that he has become a lot stronger.

The monsters in this game... each one seems to teach the player the correct way to fight.

There is no one-word cramming, but everything is under the hood!

Halfway through the conversation.

A player finally couldn't bear it anymore and said: "This game... is too strong!"

In front of him, someone turned his head and said, "What are you talking about, this is the presence of the sect master, isn't it a matter of course?"

After dawdling, they finally arrived in the conference room and began to chat with the staff.

After answering the first few questions, the master brother couldn't help himself, and said a little showing off: "I defeated Sisyphus with a spear!"

The staff paused for a moment and smiled: "Amazing."

With just these two words, Brother Master was so satisfied, he said happily, "It's normal, I'm just about to enter the church."

The staff nodded and said casually: "Well, after the church, it's the second level. Your progress in the strategy is very good."

After he finished speaking, Brother Master's eyes widened, and his saliva was about to flow down.

- The second level! You have already done the second level? So why not let us play... oh no, test?

—What the **** is behind the door of the church?

Scratching the heart and scratching the lungs, it tickles to death.

The author has something to say:

Prototype "Dark Souls".