Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 291 - 300 Kang Yong’s Plan

Chapter 291: Chapter 300 Kang Yong’s Plan

In the office, Kang Yong looked at the backend data of the game, his expression somewhat complex.

"What exactly is going on here?"

According to the reports from the "World of Star Spirits" project team, the game had indeed encountered a very serious bug. Furthermore, it was the kind of bug that one couldn’t just gloss over; a closer look at the skill and talent descriptions made it clear that this was unequivocally the developers’ fault.

But the problem was that the emergence of these two bugs had indeed brought unprecedented popularity to the test server of "World of Star Spirits."

Be it the return of veteran players, the effective attraction of new players, or the players’ online duration...

These data had obviously multiplied several times over the usual numbers!

One didn’t even need to look at the backend data to understand how popular the game currently was; just by randomly selecting a main city and observing the crowds at the training dummies, and looking at the queue numbers on various servers, one could tell.

Ji Heng hurriedly said, "President Kang, I’m sorry, I should take responsibility for these serious bugs that have emerged."

Kang Yong was actually quite forgiving, after all, objectively speaking, the bug had indeed increased the game’s popularity.

"No worries, no harm done. But...what are your plans for the follow-up?"

Ji Heng replied, "President Kang, there’s nothing much to say. I’ve already directed the development team to urgently fix the bugs.

"At the moment we can’t determine exactly how long it will take to fix these two bugs, but I think if it goes well, it could be done in one to two days; if slower, three days should be just about right.

"Just by adding some restrictions to these few skills and talents to make them conform to their original descriptions and stop triggering each other should suffice.

"At the same time, a compensation plan for subsequent steps is also in the works."

Kang Yong pondered for a moment, "Three days...isn’t that fix time a bit too quick? Or should I say...can we not fix the bug?"

Ji Heng was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head, "President Kang, we absolutely must fix it!

"This bug might be fun for some players for a while, but in the long run, it is a devastating blow to the game’s balance!

"With ’Infinite Starlight Healing’ as a build, why would anyone play other healers? According to our original design, a 10-person group requires three healers, and a 25-person group needs seven to eight healers. But now? A 25-person group might get by with just two or three healers.

"The key is that this build is exceptionally brainless; you just need to stand there and cast one skill. All the other healers, frantically healing, become a joke.

"’Dark Chain’ is just as outrageous, with skill triggers chaining endlessly like a perpetual motion machine, its AoE capabilities are at least three to four times stronger than other builds; and it’s a ranged build so its movement requirements in dungeons are originally not that high.

"If we continue like this, at least seventy percent of the DPS players will switch to ’Dark Chain.’ What future would other builds have then?

"These two builds might make players happy for a week or two, but soon they will grow tired of them. What do we do after that?

"If you ask me, it’s best to make a firm decision and issue a notice immediately saying that this is a severe bug and urgently fix it within two days."

Kang Yong’s brows furrowed slightly as he sat down silently, lost in thought.

He understood all that Ji Heng had said.

’Infinite Starlight Healing’ and ’Dark Chain’ – these two builds that had emerged due to a bug – had indeed made the current gaming environment of the "World of Star Spirits" test server highly unbalanced.

The problem was that they also brought genuine enthusiasm!

If we were to announce it now and then fix it urgently within a day or two, then undoubtedly, the overwhelming enthusiasm that is currently sweeping across would vanish into thin air.

New players who were drawn in might immediately churn, and players who just switched to building ’Starlight Healer’ or ’Dark Chain’ could also potentially quit the game on the spot. The short videos promoting these two builds would naturally vanish quickly from the internet.

Any potential players who might have been drawn in afterward would naturally be turned away forever.

For Kang Yong to give up this traffic and popularity was more painful than death itself.

"Is there some way...that can satisfy both sides?

"On one hand, make the most of the current popularity and traffic, attract new players, while also having a long-term vision and maintaining the game’s future balance?"

Ji Heng was stunned for a moment, "President Kang, please reconsider!

"If a game has a bug, it needs to be fixed. That’s a given, especially since this bug seriously affects the gameplay experience of other players. We can’t let the temporary popularity blind us!"

Kang Yong stood up and took a few steps, "How about this?

"The bug, of course, needs to be fixed, but let’s not be explicit about fixing it just yet – let’s leave that for a while. Let players have their fun for two weeks, even a month.

"During this time, popularity on the internet will surely continue to ferment, drawing in a large number of new players.

"After this period ends, we then release an announcement to fix the bugs. Even if a portion of the players leave the game, the influx of new players will be numerous, and overall we would still benefit.

"In the announcement, we should be sincere in our approach, explain to everyone that this was actually a bug, and fixing it is to maintain a good gaming environment, as well as to take care of the gameplay experience for players of other builds. Offer a substantial compensation package, and that should do it."

Why not be explicit about fixing it?

Because once it’s clear, it would cause nearly the same reaction as an immediate fix; it would still scare off the current heat.

Ji Heng vaguely felt this approach was a bit improper, "President Kang, isn’t this a bit..."

Kang Yong waved his hand nonchalantly, "This is the best option we have right now! Just take this time to do more testing, to get all the other hidden bugs fixed as well. Isn’t this a perfect solution?"

Ji Heng fell silent.

Clearly, there were three paths laid out before them.

The first was to immediately declare it a bug and fix it as fast as possible.

The second was to completely ignore the bug and let the players freely enjoy themselves.

Both methods had their problems - the former would immediately interrupt the current conversion of heat and bid farewell to the tremendous flow of new players; the latter would severely damage the game’s balance, rendering gameplay rigid.

Which was why Kang Yong proposed what seemed to be a perfect solution on the surface, both maximizing the conversion of the game’s popularity and considering the long-term gameplay, balancing the strength of various builds.

Moreover, this method was practically flawless; players could easily see that it was a bug, so fixing it was only proper, wasn’t it?

It’s the players who blissfully exploited the bug who were problematic, right?

When the time came, even if there were players criticizing the officials, there would certainly be others defending them.

It seemed to be the best way to handle the situation.

While Ji Heng still felt it was somewhat inappropriate, it was clear that Kang Yong had made up his mind to proceed this way.

So, he said nothing more, simply nodding his head, "All right, President Kang, let’s do it that way."

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