Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 439 - 424: Weapon Combination and Transform Slash

Chapter 439: Chapter 424: Weapon Combination and Transform Slash

All those present nodded repeatedly, feeling that it made a lot of sense.

Only Zhou Yang and Wei Chengjie had something different in mind from what Lilith was thinking.

Lilith thought that Gu Fan’s design did indeed distinguish itself from the general high-difficulty games on the market and was different from "Ascension," making it seem very promising to stir negative emotions.

What Zhou Yang and Wei Chengjie wanted, of course, was the success of the game.

However, it was clear that the combat system proposed by Gu Fan, though already possessing the potential for success, still lacked some details for true success.

Because this was not a one-size-fits-all design solution!

Take the GP invincibility frames in weapons, for example; this was clearly an imperfect design.

For an action game, to ensure that the game’s content is rich enough, it’s essential to have a diversified array of weapons available.

Having dozens would be best, but even if not, there should at least be more than ten different types, each with its own characteristics and good balance.

This is a bit difficult.

If it were another game without the setting of GP invincibility frames, balancing weapons would be relatively easier.

Because the balance of weapons can be designed based on several factors: attack speed, different action modules for attacks, resilience during attacks, damage, guard breaking, elemental attacks, combat skills, etc.

In general, heavy weapons are slow to attack, have a long wind-up and wind-down, but are resilient and have a domineering body during attacks, their damage and guard breaking capabilities are also relatively high.

While light weapons attack quickly, have short wind-ups and downs, are more agile, but definitely do less damage.

Even within heavy or light weapons, there are subtle differences.

The more differences there are, the easier it is to balance by proportionally weakening or strengthening them as needed.

But when Gu Fan decided to add the GP effect to all weapons, things got a little tricky.

Because the GP effect is a very powerful tool, it can severely disrupt the balance between light and heavy weapons.

Following conventional design logic, the GP for light weapons should be easier to execute, for example, it could be triggered by a simple movement; whereas the GP for heavy weapons should be more difficult.

But after careful consideration, one would realize that this design wouldn’t work, because if the light weapon’s GP was easy, President Li would definitely disagree.

The best solution would actually be to make the GPs for light weapons difficult, and heavy weapons should not have GPs at all. Only then would it be relatively balanced and satisfy the level of difficulty President Li finds acceptable.

However, if this were the case, the game’s combat system might lack distinctiveness, making it not much different from other average games.

Could it really be possible, as President Gu said, to add GP to all weapons and still maintain a degree of balance?

This seems rather difficult.

Thinking this, Zhou Yang voiced his concerns, "President Gu, President Li, if we add GP to all weapons, I’m afraid it might not be very balanced?"

Lilith was unconcerned: "Balance? What’s that? Is it something you can eat?

"It’s completely unimportant!"

Gu Fan couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly, seeing that Lilith had not yet grasped the seriousness of the issue.

In Lilith’s view, weapon imbalance didn’t matter. For instance, in the most extreme scenario: there is only one good weapon in the game, and all others are just toys. After trying them all, players would realize this infuriating situation, isn’t that a good way to generate negative feelings?

But Gu Fan cleared his throat and said, "President Li, think it over.

"If the weapons are very imbalanced, there will inevitably be a weapon that allows for an easy game completion, something unexpected by us. I believe that’s not what you would like to see."

Lilith’s eyebrows shot up, instantly alert: "Hmm? You’re right, that makes sense!"

The balance of weapons was indeed a big issue; even for the top action games currently on the market, it is very difficult to achieve perfect balance with a variety of weapons.

And there will always be some "easy weapons" that not even the designers had anticipated.

These are what players commonly refer to as "wheelchairs."

Did the designers intentionally create these wheelchair weapons?

In some games, yes, the designers, worried that players might not be able to pass certain stages, deliberately left some mindless wheelchair weapons. But not in others, as seen from the post-launch balance patches issued by the production team, frantically cutting down on wheelchair weapons.

Directly halving the attributes of overpowered wheelchair weapons is a common practice.

This shows that even the most mature and strong production teams have difficulty achieving perfection in balancing right from the start.

A particular weapon might seem average to you, not overpowered, but once players start exploring its potential, they might discover it’s incredibly strong, a bona fide wheelchair!

It goes without saying that even if Nitiandang tried to balance things perfectly during development, once "Blood of Lies" was released, such situations would inevitably arise.

For other companies, this wouldn’t be a big deal.

Just slash whatever is too strong, and at most, they’ll get a few angry comments from players afterwards.

But Nitiandang can’t do that, as once its games are released, there can be no updates, making post-release patches to balance the game absolutely impossible.

Therefore, to avoid players easily finishing the game using wheelchair weapons, this balance issue must be addressed carefully.

Lilith was somewhat deflated: "So, is it possible to balance the strength of all weapons with GP? It seems to me that this might be a bit too difficult..."