Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 448 - 431: Puppet Transformation

Chapter 448: Chapter 431: Puppet Transformation

Qiu Qinghong decided to test the puppet form’s combat capabilities again.

He had a feeling that the human form might be a bit of a letdown. Although one would imagine it to be agile, cool, and strong, in reality, it was as fragile as paper.

According to Wei Chengjie, to prevent players from feeling too discouraged due to part destruction, like previously being decapitated by a monster’s upward thrust, it seemed that the game had armor-like equipment such as helmets, meaning you could specifically stack the defensive power of certain body parts.

But this was just a demo, and those armors weren’t available yet.

Moreover, Qiu Qinghong highly doubted whether there would actually be helmets in a game set in the Victorian Era.

Even if there were special armors to protect the head, they probably wouldn’t be easy to obtain.

So if he couldn’t beat them, why not join them? If puppets were strong, why not become a puppet himself?

Thinking this, Qiu Qinghong immediately returned to the lamppost to check the available options.

Indeed, there was an option for "prosthetic modification."

As per normal game progression, some features are initially locked and require specific processes to unlock. Typically, players must use these features at designated NPCs. For instance, early upgrades must be done with a special puppet, while prosthetic modification required a special Puppet Craftsman and a workbench.

Of course, as the game progressed, these features would be integrated into the lamppost for the convenience of the players.

It’s just that in the demo, those special functions were not yet implemented, so everything was integrated into the lamppost.

However, upon clicking the option for prosthetic modification, Qiu Qinghong felt a little dizzy.

"I can’t modify the head!"

Wei Chengjie cleared his throat, "Of course, there’s a certain sequence to puppet prosthetic modifications. You can’t just replace the head right from the start; that would be quite unscientific."

In the game, transforming into a full puppet is a lengthy process. It requires collecting various parts, key items, and the crystallized essence of Unclean Blood — in layman’s terms, experience points earned from defeating monsters.

Moreover, there’s a set sequence to the modification.

Initially, players have only the left arm as a Puppet Prosthesis. The subsequent modification sequence is the right arm, legs, back, abdomen, chest, and finally the head.

Upon careful consideration, you’ll find this sequence quite rational. It’s based on the "danger level of modification" and the "essence of being human."

The limbs and the back are relatively unimportant, the abdomen contains the digestive organs, the chest is in charge of breathing and heartbeat, and the head bears human thought. So you must continuously upgrade to eventually transform the entire body.

This left Qiu Qinghong feeling quite helpless because he had intended to modify his head first and make himself invulnerable.

It seemed he had been too optimistic.

Wei Chengjie cleared his throat again, offering consolation, "Actually, modifying the limbs and torso has its benefits.

"If it’s a human body, damage to the limbs can have severe consequences.

"For instance, damage to the legs can cause movement speed to decrease and stumbling during footwork, and damage to the back can lead to substantial backstab damage from subsequent hits to the area, affecting the internal organs.

"In more serious cases, it could even cripple the player, rendering them unable to move in combat and only able to crawl.

"Furthermore, modifying the limbs will cause subtle changes to movements."

Qiu Qinghong listened, astounded. Goodness, so the damage effects of other body parts are just as brutal?

He had thought that only head injuries were fatal, but now it appeared that damage to any body part was equally lethal.

Injuries to the hands distort attack motions?

Injuries to the legs limit movement?

The back would even bleed heavily?

Clearly, damage to these parts could also greatly weaken a player’s performance. Although it wouldn’t be an instant kill, it was almost as bad.

After all, he was already struggling against the monsters, but with an injured leg, wouldn’t he stand even less of a chance?

Wei Chengjie quickly added, "Of course, part destruction won’t stop players from being able to play completely. After combat ends, players can repair the damaged parts through certain means.

"If it’s a human body, light damage can be treated with simple bandaging; severe damage requires the injection of special repair crystals.

"If it’s a puppet body, various tools are used for repairs."

Qiu Qinghong was sweating bullets, thinking that the designers of Nitiandang were really merciful!

They didn’t make players drag a broken leg to the next streetlight; instead, they kindly provided a way to repair damaged parts. This is so humane... my ass!

This is still a pain in the neck!

The repair of the damaged parts had to be done after the battle was over, and whether players could drag along a broken limb and hold out until the end of the fight was a big question mark.

And even with the possibility of repairs, it was certain to consume resources, undoubtedly adding to the players’ burden to some extent.

Although the more he played, the more he felt the game was doomed to fail, it was after all designed by Client Daddy, and as a studio employee who had lost all personal agency, Qiu Qinghong didn’t have the gall to complain too much and could only continue to grit his teeth and play on.

Luckily, the demo was relatively merciful, providing players with quite a few resources, so Qiu Qinghong could directly turn himself into half a puppet right at the streetlight.

Right hand, change!

Legs, change!

Back, change!

That’s where it ended for now, as the demo hadn’t offered more parts to swap out; the abdomen, chest, and head—three vital areas—might only be swapped out in the official game through specific plot developments.

But even just changing limbs and back, the transformation was already drastic enough.

By now, you could clearly see the character’s body had changed, with joints resembling those of a puppet appearing on the arms and legs and gear drives vaguely visible on the back, along with a very sturdy shell.

Qiu Qinghong couldn’t help but feel pretty good about himself, "Nice, I must be pretty tough now, right?

"As long as I protect my head and front, there should be no big problems."

He noticed that both puppets and characters were still relatively small in stature, and since it was just a minor monster, its actions were also relatively simple.

As long as he dodged the Upward Thrust, he likely wouldn’t get stabbed in the head.

Most enemy attacks were primarily swinging from side to side; taking a hit with both arms shouldn’t be a problem. Although the main attack method of the puppet was a Stab, a slight dodge would avoid the chest area and prevent too much damage.

With this in mind, Qiu Qinghong moved forward again.

This time, he discovered that after transforming his body into that of a puppet, even the action modules had changed!

The first thing was that after replacing his right hand, the original human-like attack method disappeared, now more like that of a puppet.

Just pressing the attack button made the puppet’s move not a fluid attack action like a human’s, but rather it would pause at the highest point of the lift, like a puppet being wound up.

And if you just tapped the attack, not only was the move slower than a human’s, but it also did less damage than a human’s.

Correspondingly, players could choose to hold down the attack button, causing the puppet’s arm to continuously gather strength and lash out quickly upon release, causing considerable damage.

Qiu Qinghong was delighted, "Great, I’ve got the Fast and Slow Blade down pat!"

Though he felt the move was a bit stiff at first, he quickly got used to it, and this method of charging attacks was quite suitable for turn-based combat.

However, one downside to becoming a puppet was that his movements became less agile.

Whether moving or stepping to dodge, performance had dropped significantly, slightly cumbersome.

A critical issue was that it seemed there was an increase in the wind-up time; before acting, the puppet had to wind up, but this brief charging period prevented it from dodging immediately.

"What if I kept my human legs and only transformed the arms and back into a puppet?"

Qiu Qinghong subconsciously conceived this idea, but soon he was torn.

Because the damage of the puppet also depended to some extent on the total number of puppet parts; the more parts, the more closely connected the gears of each part were, the greater the power could be unleashed.

From a pure numerical standpoint, becoming a pure puppet would yield the highest damage, but this would also bring a host of issues such as stiff movements, and there are many factors that affect combat in a game, so blindly pursuing high damage may not be the best solution.

Qiu Qinghong felt his scalp itch as if he was growing a brain.

But these complicated mechanisms were mostly things that would have to be verified and considered after the game launched. After finishing the body modifications, Qiu Qinghong distinctly felt an increase in defensive power. He dodged the Upward Thrust attack, protected his head well, and swiftly took down the small monster.

He quickly repaired his body with a crystal and chose to continue moving forward.

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