Chapter Twenty eight - will he spill some beans?

Camelot smiled. "There is no harm in letting you know. Players would notice it when they log in. We have set the cut off value set at 15 hours, currently. So sleeping for 15 hours can net you some buff while will help in getting XP faster. Each buff is different so players have to experience it themselves. In addition to it, the environment will be even more harsh during night time, so the experts will have to work hard to get the XP. I personally think, in later stages, the experts might even alter their sleep wake cycle to make sure that they can play in nights of the game because it tests their prowess to the limits. Then again, it depends on the jobs the experts have and the situation too.

Another thing is that the behaviour inherent to villages to cities. In villages, as soon as it turns dark, it's night and you go to sleep. In contrast, cities don't sleep completely. So players will have more to do and more time to do when they reach cities."

"So how long will it take for players to reach the cities?"

Camelot laughed out loud at the question. He had heard this question overtly and covertly many times. He had been offered millions of credits just for a hint, still more for concrete answer. These TV hosts wanted to know for free?

"Like I said before, this game relays more on player participation. So the time taken to move from village is entirely dependent on them only. All I can share is each village will have different ways to unlock the path."

TV hosts shared a look. When the guest is too slippery, all you can do is try and try again and hope the audience will not feel bored. They started chatting about some of the queries sought by the public.

Can the game sustain with so many players in the game at the same time? Of course. There were still a million plus villages still waiting for players. And each village had a capacity of around one thousand to around fifteen thousand.

How long will be the wait for VR gear this time? The VR gears were being made at max capacity and being shipped from factories. The gaming company was sure that the pre-orders would be fulfilled before the weekend. And the newcomers need not feel sad on missing chances as these players would be sent to new villages unless specified otherwise.

Were there any extra precautions regarding female players?

The basic protection would be available from the time they start playing. It included special harassment button which would be monitored all the time by AI and moderaters and appropriate measures would be taken against the perpetrators immediately including in game and in real life too. Yep. They had talks with various judiciaries and goverments that they could file a complaint based on what happened in game. If the female player used it wrongly, she would also face punishment in game and real life. As the game progresses, various other functions would open up to cater to female players.

Talking of punishments, how bad are death penalties?

Not very bad at lower levels. Instead of losing a whole level of XP, player would lose half of it . Worse would be death debuff. This is mainly to prevent zerg tactics while facing an elite monster or a boss. Everytime you use coins to remove the death debuff, you had to pay more and more the next time. The programmers understand that sometimes death is inevitable but you can't play hapazardly just because you have coins.

How about battle log? It is an upgrade function, different for each player. Then, chat function?? Hahaha, a free floating chat window unseen by other players, would it seem realistic? If yes, please choose it as upgrade option of status screen.

Camelot was a old sly fox. He didn't tell much. But he gave enough hints of upcoming changes.

The clubs and investment giants decided to invest more and be aggressive. Were they running after a mirage? How can they believe a game which is less than a day old? Haven't there been flash in the pan games before? Is it the belief in the people behind the game?

Atharva if he knew such questions were forming in people's mind, he would have laughed like a fool. These people were investing in people. They would be used in this game or in the next one. No big loss. And the money invested, they would recoup it back before leaving the game. They had hundred and one ways of keeping a game alive if it comes to that. They generally would not because they would have milked the game for its worth long before.

Many people from Saint Augustine also sent some feelers for investment. Who among them didn't have background and money? Still its so satisfying to have other invest and you be the boss. Though it was rumoured that around 10 people were planning to have a guild, the actual number was obviously even higher. They just didn't want to publicize before reaching certain point. Right now they were just scions of important families, that's all.

Park also had to field many calls. As the head of the 'Tyrants Rule' was used to put everything in Park's lap, other kids also forwarded the problems to him. They were not tough enough to say NO to these people but Park was tough enough. He was an impregnable wall. Patrick Channing didn't want any interference from others. He was not playing game to make a name for himself. Till he got bored, these investors better forget about the workshop. Park himself was not keen on such investments. So when the feelers came, they left with swollen faces. In front of face of Patrick Channing, was others' face even worth anything?

The pre-orders more than tripled in a single day. Thankfully majority of them was for cheaper VR gears rather than luxury versions which needed more time for fine crafting. It was estimated that within a week, nearly a billion more players would flood the game. The consortium behind the game and the VR gears were laughing even in their dreams. All that worry, pulled hair, sleepless nights- everything got vindicated. The GM, monitors were gearing up for a bad night. The game was not a bed of roses and the players would learn it hard way.