Chapter 10: Players' Hot Discussion!

I just did a quick search, and sure enough, many gaming forums were already flooded with posts about "Dark Sand"!

Though the number of beta players wasn't high, those awake at this hour and posting were basically all beta players.

Because other players would typically still be asleep at 6 a.m.

After experiencing the game, this group was clearly bursting with the desire to discuss it, and they immediately inundated the forums with posts.

Many forums had dedicated sections related to "Dark Sand," which, just the day before, were filled with spectators idly chatting and munching on melon seeds, and now they were engaged in intense discussions about the game's content.

"This game is absolutely incredible! I never expected the official website's claims to be true, but the realism is indeed 100%! I was totally shocked when I entered!"

"Yeah, it's so realistic, I almost thought I'd time-traveled. So this is what it feels like for protagonists in web novels to travel through time!"

"The NPCs in this game are seriously realistic too. I thought the guards standing on both sides were just for show, but when I kicked one, I was immediately subdued..."

"You're too wild, the guy above me. How could you bring yourself to kick them when these NPCs look just like real people."

"I think these NPCs would easily pass the Turing test, no problem. The game's freedom is too high! Even a subtle facial expression can provoke different reactions from NPCs. No wonder the beta player recruitment announced that players' acting skills are required!"

"Yeah, I suffered from not being able to act. I got exposed as soon as I entered the grand hall..."

A large portion of the posts expressed shock at the game's level of realism.

Other players speculated how the game could achieve such realism when compared to other virtual reality games—it felt like a product from a completely different era.

But they were all using the same virtual reality equipment.

Some people knowledgeable about virtual reality technology made guesses, saying that the current neural connection technology actually has a very high theoretical limit, but software development tends to be cautious to avoid causing minor damage to the brain, which is why other gaming companies' virtual reality games are more restrained.

And this game might have pushed the current limits of virtual reality technology significantly higher through some powerful technological methods.

Like in the past, with the same console, some games could only utilize sixty or seventy percent of its capability, whereas others could achieve a "god-level" optimization, not only perfectly using all of the console's functionality but also reaching 120% game performance.

But in the end, these are just speculations.

After all, this is a company that's a mysterious giant, able to advertise on the world's top news and social media sites, with 100% realistic virtual reality technology and NPCs capable of passing the Turing test, just adds two more unknown mysteries.

Players were curious but not too hung up on it because they felt that an explanation would eventually emerge.

Relative to that, they were more concerned with the content in the game.

The main topic was how to clear the instances.

"So, has anyone cleared it? I can't remember anything about what I went through tonight, just that I kept dying!"

"There are four instances. I first tried the assassin instance and was repeatedly killed by Emperor Yanling, which scared me away from the warrior and Ranger instances, so I went to the scholar instance. I ended up locked in a dungeon, unable to do anything, tired, hungry, and injured. After a while, someone came to interrogate me, and I didn't know how to respond, so I was dragged out and beheaded..."

"I think the most nightmarish must be the warrior instance. The war scenes were just too realistic! After being killed twice, I didn't want to play anymore. It just made me appreciate living in a peaceful era!"

"So no one has cleared any? Not a single person has cleared any of the four instances?"

"I guess not, I've checked all four instances and I have no clue."

"The goal in the assassin instance is relatively clear, but I have no idea how to successfully carry out the assassination, it seems to require very good acting; the scholar instance's specific conditions for clearing are still unclear, it seems to be about finding a way to survive in the dungeon; the warrior instance probably involves defending the city; the Ranger instance seems to be about killing a tyrant, but that tyrant is too strong, highly vigilant, and has a bunch of underlings. Anyway, I died in every instance, unable to clear any of them."

"This game's difficulty level is just outrageous, is it even meant for people to play?"

"Is there any way to provide feedback to the officials? Maybe dial down the difficulty a bit?"

"Yeah, this is the most difficult game I've ever seen, bar none, almost inhumane. It's a waste of such amazing technology!"

Hai Ping simply flipped through the discussions and realized that most players' first impressions of the game were similar to his own.

The technology of the game was indeed incredible, almost as if it were time travel, but the drawbacks were also quite clear—it was just too difficult!

Not a single player had managed to clear any of the beginner instances throughout the entire evening; this level of difficulty might be truly unprecedented, with no one likely to come after.

After all, most game companies, when making games, still consider pleasing the players. Even in games that are meant to be challenging, there should at least be a proper difficulty curve, starting with some easier bosses to lure players in before ramping up the challenge.

But this game? Not only was the difficulty high and guidance lacking, but there was also no way to provide feedback to the game itself. The game did not cost a penny to play, access to the beta was obtained through a draw, and they even restricted playing time to only at night.

Could this be... the caprice of wealth?

...

Hai Ping got out of bed, washed up, and went to work as usual.

If it weren't for the game being only accessible from 10 pm, he might have taken annual leave just to grind at home.

Yet, sitting at his workstation, he still habitually took out his phone, mindlessly scrolling through the forum.

He couldn't help himself—a gaming addiction was kicking in.

He was almost tormented to his limit the night before; even if the game time hadn't arrived, he was almost ready to exit and rest. After all, non-stop battling and dying did put some mental strain on him.

But after resting a bit, Hai Ping felt ready again.

Maybe he would be able to dominate all four corners of the game upon entering again?

Too bad the game was under maintenance.

Hai Ping flipped through the forum again and found that discussions about "Dark Sand" had increased. Clearly, after the first batch of beta players had their say, more netizens waking up had joined the conversation.

Some speculated that these beta players were boasting, as a 100% realistic virtual reality game sounded too much like something from Skytop Star Technology, and they doubted whether this was a large-scale scam. There were also rich players who wanted to buy beta access at high prices to experience it personally.

Yet, in terms of solving the game's content, there still wasn't much breakthrough.

At first, Hai Ping was a bit puzzled; with so many players, how could they not have figured out what to do?

It was later that he realized the number of beta players might be even less than he imagined.

If there really were hundreds of thousands or millions of players entering, perhaps someone would have figured it out on the first day, but if the number was small? Then the likelihood of clearing the game would drastically decrease.

Just when Hai Ping thought he could only rely on his own exploration, a post caught his eye.

"I suffered through the game last night but had some thoughts. I got up early this morning to research some materials and now have some conjectures about how to clear the game, which I'd like to share with everyone! I hope we can pool our wisdom and clear it soon!

"First, I can only consider myself a history enthusiast, although I do play a lot of puzzle games. There are definitely many experts out there with a richer knowledge of history than mine. My conjectures might have some oversights, so consider this as just a starting point for discussion.

"I'm pretty sure now that all four trials are based on actual historical events.

"The assassin's trial of 'Stabbing King in his Chariot' goes without saying—it's the scene of Nie Rang assassinating Emperor Yanling. Anyone with the slightest historical knowledge should be able to guess that.

"The scholar's trial of 'Pleading for the People' must be from Great Wei. At that time, an ordinary official Yang Yan presented a memorial to the emperor, which enraged him. Yang was thrown in jail and tortured to reveal his 'supporters', sparking a significant political upheaval. The goal of this instance, I reckon, is to refute all the inquisitors rationally and steadfastly, and somehow survive the severe torture until the reigning emperor dies and a new one ascends.

"The soldier's trial of 'One General's Feat' must be from the mid-late period of Great Chu. There was internal strife within Great Chu, and the Beidi encroached. The renowned general Geng Zhong held the northwestern frontier for over forty years until all the soldiers had grown old and grey, with only seventy-four waiting for reinforcements, and in the end, they survived.

"As for the Ranger's trial, it must involve the Liang Dynasty, but since I explored this instance very little, and didn't find any significant names, places, or specific timelines, I can't quite pinpoint the exact event yet.

"Actually, after identifying these instances' historical prototypes, it's quite easy to guess their clearing conditions.

"Moreover, combining these four different identities and the trials, I have some conjectures about the deeper mechanics and theme of the game, but since no one has cleared it yet, I can't accurately grasp the full picture of the game. So I won't talk about these conjectures for now. Everyone can explore on their own and come up with other ideas."