Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 181 Conditions for the Platinum Trophy

Chapter 181: Chapter 181 Conditions for the Platinum Trophy

"Alright, brothers, we’ve cleared the first run-through!"

"That’s it for today. Once I wake up tomorrow, I’ll delve into the game’s side stories and see if there are any other endings."

Gan Di glanced at the time—it was already past four in the morning.

He thought he would be able to finish by three o’clock, but the final BOSS unexpectedly held him up for an hour before he could defeat it.

That aside, the BOSS fight was indeed exhilarating, and it was the most memorable BOSS battle Gan Di had encountered in the past two years.

It was a fitting conclusion to "Ascension".

Gan Di’s live stream wasn’t very popular to begin with, and now that it was past four in the morning, there weren’t many viewers left.

However, they still sent a flurry of "Congratulations" and "666" in the chat, sharing their joy.

Gan Di couldn’t help but wonder, "What are the conditions for getting the gold trophy in this game?

"It’s hard to guess.

"Right, let’s see what achievements this game has!"

Although he had already obtained two gold trophies, Gan Di clearly wasn’t satisfied.

Of course, he also knew that the chances of continuing to get gold trophies were slim, as Nitiandang’s games were becoming more popular and the number of players was increasing. With so many talented players, even if Gan Di had eight more livers, that wouldn’t guarantee that he could bag all the remaining gold trophies.

But regardless, he still wanted to try.

The conditions for getting a gold trophy in each of Nitiandang’s games were different, and Nitiandang’s official channel doesn’t necessarily reveal the exact criteria for winning the awards.

Take "Ascension" for example. To get the gold trophy, is it for being the first to clear the game? Or is it for being the first to achieve the hidden ending? Or are there other conditions?

It’s hard to guess.

But, based on Gan Di’s understanding of Nitiandang’s games, this clue is often hidden in the game’s achievement system.

The toughest achievement in the game is often directly related to the gold trophy.

Gan Di opened "Ascension’s" achievement system, which had 33 achievements in total, and he had already completed 15 of them in the normal game progression.

He scrolled straight to the bottom of the achievement system—the last one was undoubtedly the platinum achievement, which one gets automatically after completing all the previous achievements.

The focus was on the second to last achievement: "Brief Sleep"!

The description of the achievement was: Complete the "Sunrise Awakening" ending within 3 hours.

Gan Di instantly had a guess: "Could it be... the condition for this time’s gold trophy is to see who can finish this ending the fastest?

"’Sunrise Awakening’... What kind of ending is that? I don’t seem to have come across that option before. Is it a hidden ending?

"To complete a hidden ending within three hours? Boy, that’s challenging!"

Although Gan Di still had no idea what the conditions were for achieving the "Sunrise Awakening" ending, it was clear from the achievement list that this was a hidden ending in the game.

And since it’s a hidden ending, it most certainly requires completing a series of specific side missions compared to the normal ending.

Based on the current progress of clearing the game, Gan Di could roughly estimate the speedrun time for "Ascension".

If it’s the traitor ending during the invasion, it’s possible to skip going to the Upper Realm and fighting some BOSSes, and the speedrun time could be reduced to under forty minutes.

The standard "Return to Nature" ending should take less than an hour.

What about the more complex "Sunrise Awakening" ending? It’s estimated it could be reduced to under an hour and a half.

But it should be noted that these are world record levels!

Speedrunners fight for every second and these data are the extreme limits. But for average players, even if they deliberately practice according to the guide and perfectly plan the related processes, this time would probably have to be at least doubled.

Which means, achieving the "Sunrise Awakening" ending within three hours is definitely a huge challenge for the players.

To get all the achievements in this game, it looks like they’re in for some crazy suffering!

...

...

The next day.

February 3rd, Monday.

Wei Chengjie arrived at the company on time and found that almost all the workstations were empty except for Zhou Yang, who sat at his desk, yawning while playing "Ascension".

"Hm? Isn’t today Monday? Did I get the date wrong?" Wei Chengjie was quite puzzled.

Zhou Yang glanced at him, "You saw correctly, Brother Wei, today is indeed Monday."

Wei Chengjie was even more puzzled, "Where is everyone? Why hasn’t anyone come to work?"

Zhou Yang continued to earnestly fight the BOSS, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Brother Wei. President Gu mentioned before that the first three days after the game’s release would be under a flexible work schedule. Everyone can decide their own work hours or choose to work from home.

"After all... there isn’t much to do even if we come to the office."

Wei Chengjie gaped, speechless for a moment.

You really do make sense!

In other companies, the week after a game’s release is definitely the busiest, with everyone on standby at the office, ready to respond even after hours.

After all, bugs or emergencies are likely to pop up after a game’s release, and they need to be dealt with promptly.

It’s only after a week, when it’s clear there are no major issues, that everyone can relax a little and quickly start working on the development of a new version.

But Nitiandang’s game was clearly a whole different story.

Since not a single line of code could be changed after the game’s release, and no new version could be developed, why come to work?

Even if we did come, wouldn’t we just be idling at our desks?

It was precisely with this in mind that Gu Fan turned the first three days after the game’s release into a flexible work schedule.

And this was true flexibility, where employees could bounce around as they pleased, unlike other companies that say they offer flexible hours but in practice, you can only extend them, not shorten them.

Wei Chengjie looked towards Zhou Yang, "Then why did you still come?"

Zhou Yang kept his focus on the game, "Hey, the early bird catches the worm! I can’t always rely on President Gu to carry me; I have to make an effort too!"

Wei Chengjie sat down at his own workstation. Since he was already there, he might as well work for a bit, oh no, stay at work for a bit.

Over the weekend, Wei Chengjie was naturally keeping an eye on "Ascension."

After all, it was the first game he developed after joining Nitiandang. If it had flopped, he would have questioned his life choices.

But luckily, the game was a success without any major issues!

During the short span of the weekend, Wei Chengjie’s emotions were like a roller coaster, experiencing many highs and lows.

At first, many players were angrily leaving bad reviews due to the massive bugs in "Ascension," causing its ratings to hover in a "mixed" zone for a long time.

But soon, Wang Dawei decoded the game’s storyline, helping players realize that these bugs were part of the narrative. Combined with the discovery of hidden mechanics like "Sky Swimming," "BUG Sword," and "Manual World Switch," the playability of "Ascension" greatly increased.

Therefore, the game’s reputation quickly improved, and it had now reached "mostly positive" reviews!

Given some time, it wouldn’t be strange for it to progress to "overwhelmingly positive."

Yesterday, numerous clips of streamers suffering in "Ascension" appeared on video websites.

Seeing different perspectives in co-op mode, world switching in single-player mode, competing for NPC quests, getting decimated by bosses... all of these made for excellent show content, so these clips quickly gained immense popularity, aiding in "Ascension’s" secondary dissemination.

And the most amusing part was probably the character "crash."

Opening the live streaming platform, almost more than half of the channels in the console area were streaming "Ascension," and most of those streams featured the "crash" character on screen.

Netizens joked around, suggesting "Ascension" was a game teaching players how to write "crash." This "crash" referred not only to the characters in the game but also to the players’ mental state outside of the game!

In its early days, "Ascension" was indeed purely a game of strife.

However, as hidden mechanics were gradually discovered, players of different types began to experience completely different joys within the game.

For those who love action games, the hardcore players refused to use the bug-riddled Relic Sword, stubbornly persisting in clearing the game with standard mechanics.

They even set additional challenges for themselves by trying to clear the game under the "Three Bans" condition!

The so-called Three Bans meant no items, no techniques, and no Seeking Immortal Record—essentially relying on only the game’s basic actions of moving, jumping, dodging, attacking, and parrying to clear levels.

As for players not keen on honing their skills, they could simply follow video tutorials and use Sky Swimming to sneak into the Monastery of True Words right after reaching Jiangdu City.

The first visit to the Monastery of True Words would normally trigger the illusionary BOSS battle. Still, since it’s a mechanic-based boss, it can be cleared relatively easily after watching a strategy guide.

Then, Sky Swimming back to the Monastery of True Words a second time would allow players to acquire the BUG version of the Relic Sword and embark on a path of unparalleled strength.

Not being able to Perfect Parry is no issue either; using the BUG Sword and various items is enough to clear the game.

Of course, many players opted for a balanced approach. They would go for the BUG Sword but also practice their combat skills, only using the BUG Sword to clear levels in certain tough situations.

In summary, players could adjust the difficulty of battles and enjoy the game in their preferred way to achieve happiness!

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