Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 46 Try Playing!

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Try Playing!

"Hey treasure buddies, let’s switch things up today and play a game for a while.

"Appraising treasures? We’re not doing that today, mainly because you guys always bring me nothing good, always coming to me with jade Ultramen or solid gold Calabash Brothers, and the key point is, it’s always a bunch of guys, how boring is that.

"What? Asking for more videos in the Three Kingdoms series?

"No more nagging, can’t you see I’m gathering materials here.

"I haven’t played any games by this company before, but I’ve heard they have a pretty good reputation; they’re known for having very creative ideas.

"Let’s see, oh, this company’s got quite a variety of games, they cover a lot of ground, kind of like me.

"Alright, today, let’s give ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ a shot. I’m well informed about the Three Kingdoms! Strategy games like this are my forte, so of course, I’ll clear it without a scratch.

"Let’s set a small goal to start with, shall we? First, to safeguard Jingzhou and Lord Guan, then help the Prime Minister revive the Han Dynasty. After we achieve these two goals, let’s see if we can help Cao Cao win over the wives of all under heaven.

"I’m not sure whether this game supports that kind of play, but I’ve heard it’s pretty open-ended, so let’s give it a try."

Chen Tingquan talked as he officially entered the game.

The game’s opening was a simple cutscene CG.

Clouds parted in the sky, revealing a bird’s-eye view of the ancient Three Kingdoms map, with the contours of the thirteen provinces clearly visible. Between cities, one could vaguely see small figures representing travelers, merchants, and armies. Moments later, dark clouds appeared in the sky, and a great deal of demonic energy entered the cities, possessing the various historical figures.

It was a rough and simple cutscene CG that roughly explained the game’s backstory, and then it moved on to the actual game content.

"This game doesn’t look like any big production.

"Don’t make it too simple, and waste my wisdom."

Chen Tingquan complained a bit. As a history enthusiast who had also played many strategy games, he was quite confident in his abilities.

Clearly, ’Destiny of the Sleeping Dragon’ couldn’t compare to classic strategy games like ’Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, it was more like a simplified, scaled-down version.

Chen Tingquan was also a bit worried that if the game was too simple and he cleared it too quickly, it wouldn’t be very interesting.

The game started with a very simple, straightforward instruction screen and four historical period options.

[Late Eastern Han Period, people live in dire straits, plagues ravage the land, demons run rampant.]

[Demons possess historical figures, and they have only one goal: to kill "Destiny’s Chosen" Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, plunging the world into eternal damnation!]

[Play as "Sleeping Dragon" Zhuge Liang, protect Liu Bei, who is also "Destiny’s Chosen," and as much as possible expand and strengthen your own forces to defeat all demons and ultimately accomplish the goal of restoring the Han Dynasty!]

[Notes:]

[1. Always stay alert, Destiny’s Chosen face enemies everywhere, and all demons will stop at nothing to kill you and Liu Bei!]

[2. This is a highly free world, all characters have their own ideas and goals, major events are likely to differ from history, please make your own judgments.]

[3. Wisely use your intelligence and "Wolong Strategy" to survive in this chaotic world as best you can!]

[Please choose the starting time for the game:]

[1. Crouching Dragon Not Employed (189-197 AD)]

[Key events: Dong Zhuo enters the capital, the coalition against Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao’s campaign against Xuzhou]

[2. Tilling the Soil in Nanyang (197-207 AD)]

[Key events: Yuan Shu declares himself emperor, the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao’s great defeat of the Wuhuan]

[3. Sleeping Dragon Emerges (207-223 AD)]

[Key events: Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, the Battle of Red Cliffs, Guan Yu’s awe-inspiring presence in Huaxia]

[4. Entrusted Orphan’s Minister (223-234 AD)]

[Key events: Seven Captures of Meng Huo, Six Campaigns at Qishan, Autumn Wind at Wuzhang Plains]

"Oh? You can choose the historical period."

"Treasure buddies, pay attention, the real game starts from this moment. You mustn’t think that the game will be the same whichever period you choose; it definitely won’t be!

"My guess is that the difficulty level varies with each of these periods."

Chen Tingquan felt like he was channeling Holmes, deducing the "different difficulty levels of the four periods" from the limited information available so far.

"Obviously, one should choose the first two phases, right!"

"Actually, even though the Late Han gathered so many heroes and brave souls, why couldn’t it revitalize the Han Dynasty? The most crucial factor was time! There just wasn’t enough time!"

"Emperor Zhaolie of Han started with too little, already of age before securing a stable base. By the time Zhuge Liang launched his six expeditions from Qishan, he was like a lone miner against nine, and his own life span was left with only ten years."

"So, after all is said and done, it’s still about not having enough time and starting too low!"

"By this reasoning, certainly the earlier the phase in the game, the simpler it is, and the further you go, the harder it gets."

"Think about it, buddies. In the year 189, Zhuge Liang was only 8 years old. If we could control him to assist Liu Bei at that time, imagine how much could be developed by the year 223! That’s a full thirty years—such a beautiful prospect I hardly dare imagine it!"

"So, my friends, if you also play this game, remember, these four phases from the beginning to the end go from easy to hard."

Chen Tingquan analyzed in one breath, feeling that what he said was particularly reasonable.

Then, amidst the praise of the live comments, he decisively chose phase 1: "Crouching Dragon Not Employed," which is the start in the year 189.

"My friends, this isn’t me chickening out, okay? After all, this is my first time playing the game, and I have to get to grips with the game mechanics. Once we’re proficient, we can take on the higher difficulties, got it?"

...

The game officially began, and the first thing that came into view was still that huge ancient Three Kingdoms map.

The map was divided into thirteen provinces, with many large and small cities scattered about.

Of course, even though the game’s big map has been scaled down, it still can’t be displayed on a single screen and requires dragging the map to see all the details.

The game defaults to keyboard and mouse controls, and clicking on these cities allows you to inspect their detailed status.

The basic information of the cities includes: population, taxes, stored grain, and so on.

Opening a city also reveals a list of key figures present at the time, not only including named historical characters but also NPCs like county magistrates and captains.

In between the cities, you could see farmers tilling the fields, merchants coming and going, and troops on the march.

Of course, for the ease of player understanding, these big map elements have been scaled down to some extent, somewhat similar to how airplanes and shipping routes are represented in "Plague Inc."

At first glance, it does convey a vibrant, thriving world.

But if you observe closely, you will find that the BGM is fraught with peril, even carrying a hint of malevolence. The portraits of many historical figures in the cities also seemed to suggest something nefarious, and some of the more serious ones even had a special effect resembling ’demonic auras.’

Clearly, this related to the "Demons running rampant" mentioned in the background story.

At this moment, there are two highlighted effects on the map, one in "Yuzhang" and the other in "Youbeiping."

The former is the location of Destiny’s Chosen, Zhuge Liang, where his uncle Zhuge Xuan currently serves as the Prefect of Yuzhang; the latter is where Liu Bei is, who is following Gongsun Zan and has not yet joined the coalition against Dong Zhuo.

The game then provided a simple tutorial and guide on the information displayed on the interface and the operations that players can currently perform.

Simply put, in the game, every three months equates to one turn, with four turns in a year.

Each turn, the powers of the world take turns in action.

Players can control only Zhuge Liang and the forces under him, and each military general or civil minister can act once per turn.

That is to say, the larger the power, not only does it mean more resources at hand, but also more actions can be taken each turn.

There are mainly three types of operations that players can perform.

The first type is routine domestic operations, such as farming, taxation, soothing refugees, and eradicating rogues, among others.

The second type includes routine military operations, such as troop training, offense, defense, or using special formations or strategies.

There are many types of strategies available, including "Secret Passage to Chencang," "Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain," "Muddying the Waters to Catch Fish," and others from the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

These strategies are available to all generals with higher intelligence, but each general has different strategies under their command, and the results vary slightly when deployed.

For instance, "Secret Passage to Chencang" allows a troop to march in secrecy, "Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain" can draw away an enemy force, and "Muddying the Waters to Catch Fish" can benefit from the chaos when two enemy forces clash.

However, the system also clearly states that players can only choose a strategy, but exactly how it is executed and the result are determined by AI calculations, and outcomes that might make one’s brain bleed are not out of the question.

The third type comprises special operations, namely the "Wolong Strategy."

These can be viewed as powerful skills exclusive to Zhuge Liang, divided into seven categories: Observing Stars, Brocade Bag, Personal Farming, Verbal Combat, Fire Attack, Empty Fort, and Rangxing. Each turn, players can choose any three to execute.

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