Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 510 - 493: Question Mark

Chapter 510: Chapter 493: Question Mark

The other party was quite polite at this point, "Hello, how are we dividing the roles?"

Li Wenhao thought for a moment, "I’m fine with anything, you pick first."

Mouth King decisively chose the Leader and pressed the confirm button.

"Okay, that works too." Li Wenhao naturally selected the remaining Enforcer role.

Although the combination of the ID "Mouth King" and the Leader role gave Li Wenhao a vague sense of foreboding, he didn’t think much of it.

After all, as a top player, even with a Mouth King who talks nonstop and holds you back, he should be able to clear the game easily, no big deal.

Moreover, with his high skill level, shouldn’t he be able to win over Mouth King pretty quickly?

Once both were ready, the game officially started.

The initial planning was simple: familiarizing oneself with controls, locating low-level resources, mining and storing them, and climbing the primary technology tree.

Even novice players could perform these tasks well, let alone an experienced player like Li Wenhao.

He started by rotating the mining drills to cover as many veins as possible, then neatly organized the conveyor belts and strategically placed the smelters, storages, and Manufacturing Machines; mining, storing, processing – everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

"Mouth King" also seriously set about his task, setting development goals.

The cooperation between the two in the early stages could even be described as seamless.

Li Wenhao couldn’t help feeling proud, "Look, look, don’t judge a book by its cover – oh wait, don’t judge a player by their ID.

"This guy, see how well he’s playing so far?

"The development goals are sensibly set, the right technologies are being chosen, and many times, his markings on the map are exactly what I’m thinking!"

Li Wenhao did not realize that he had already fallen into an initial trap.

Because that’s how the "Star Plan" was designed in the early stages.

With low technology levels at the bottom of the tech tree, the Leader couldn’t go wrong with their choices no matter what.

The early stages were simply about mining more resources and developing mining and storage-related tech trees, with the locations of pertinent veins being quite obvious on the map, making disagreements between the two players unlikely.

Unless a player was looking to cause trouble right from the start, there usually wouldn’t be too many conflicts at this stage.

When the Leader had nothing else to do, they might type or mark points on the map, and because there were only so many optimal mining and construction locations, consensus was easily achieved.

Once the Leader marked a point and saw the Enforcer quickly building in that direction, they had nothing more to say.

Of course, if there were any potential for disagreement, it would be over the "development targets."

Using Comet Time in ten-thousand-unit increments, the Leader could set the next phase of development goals, including which technology to unlock, how much each resource should be produced, and how much should be stored.

Conflict could arise if the Leader set targets too high.

But at this point, there was no disagreement because the Leader was also a new player, unsure of appropriate targets.

Setting too low would mean surpassing targets and everyone would be happy; but setting too high wouldn’t necessarily be seen as the Enforcer’s fault.

As long as the Enforcer’s play was broadly acceptable, the Leader would often take half the blame, feeling they had overestimated when setting targets, so friction was unlikely.

It was only after the Leader had gained experience and a clear understanding of technology progress and various metrics that disagreements might emerge.

In short, both players, still unfamiliar with the game mechanics, spent the initial phase of the game in harmony.

Ten thousand Comet Time units passed, and the comet’s technology was ready to advance to the next phase.

The weather had also become colder, which was clearly indicated by the temperature metrics.

In "Star Plan," the starting temperature for all players was the same, between -70 and -40 degrees.

This range was considered suitable for the survival of silicon-based life in the game’s setting.

In the entire comet’s orbit, there were four points that met this temperature range.

Thus, there could be four different future temperature scenarios.

It might plummet into a prolonged extreme cold, a prolonged intense heat, a brief period of cold followed by heat, or a brief period of heat followed by cold.

Estimating one’s specific location based on temperature changes was also an early game pitfall.

Shen Guang and Qiu Qinghong had stumbled over this during their trial run.

However, Li Wenhao and Mouth King seemed to be in luck, encountering the most optimistic of these scenarios: a prolonged cold period.

This implied that the comet was moving towards its aphelion, and they would not face intense heat until after traversing a large portion of the comet’s orbit.

Even though the comet’s temperature would drop significantly during this long journey, making survival harsh, the cold was still preferable to heat.

Because, while the cold could be combated in various ways, including digging holes, burning fuel, and building insulated shelters, there were only a few ways, such as genetic modification and advanced technology, to deal with the heat.

With a long cold period, players had ample time to climb the tech tree or plan genetic modifications to prepare for the impending heat.

On the other hand, if the comet erratically jumped between cold and heat, the difficulty level of the game would increase significantly.

"Let me see the goals for the next phase.

"Hm? Artificial breeding? Is this, is this right?"

Li Wenhao was taken aback when he saw the next development target.

Clearly, on this goal, he and the Leader had a significant disagreement.

This was an early technological choice: opting for artificial breeding would allow the population of silicon-based creatures to rapidly increase.

Choosing mechanization, on the other hand, would replace some silicon-based creatures with machinery.

Although silicon-based life is naturally close to robots, there are clear differences between the two: average silicon-based creatures cannot work outside in extreme cold or heat, whereas robots can withstand much more severe temperatures.

Moreover, in terms of cost and research difficulty, it’s obvious that the silicon-based creatures are cheaper, while robots are more expensive.

This choice is critical as it could directly determine the gameplay experience for a while, and it might even directly affect the ending of this save.

To be cautious, Li Wenhao typed and asked, "Are you sure about artificial breeding, not mechanization?"

Mouth King: "?"

"Damn it!"

Li Wenhao felt a surge of annoyance on the spot. If he wasn’t streaming, he might have already lost his temper.

It must be said that the unexpected always seems to happen with broadcasting.

Li Wenhao had not expected the other to start with a classic question mark. Who starts a game of cards by playing the joker right away?

Alright, alright, you’re a randomly matched netizen, I won’t stoop to your level.

If one were to seriously interpret it, that question mark could mean a lot of things.

Like: you don’t understand such a simple question?

Or maybe: I’m the leader, you’re the executor, do you have the right to question me?

But no matter how you interpret it, it certainly won’t turn out to be anything good.

Li Wenhao actually wanted to discuss which policy would be better, since both paths have their pros and cons.

If we go with artificial breeding, these silicon-based creatures are cheap and easy to use, allowing us to quickly expand the production line since many hands make light work.

But the problem is, as the weather gets colder and colder, keeping these silicon-based creatures working normally requires more energy to maintain the temperature, or the construction of more shelters and heating systems.

And in extreme cases, if these silicon-based creatures couldn’t go outside at all, they might just become a pure burden.

What to do then? You can’t just turn them all into data, using the silicon-based creatures as raw materials, can you?

Setting aside whether the game mechanics would even allow that, such a move would be utterly inhuman.

So, choosing the path is only the first step; more long-term planning is needed after that.

That includes other tech trees and the amount of resources mined, all of which need corresponding plans to ensure a smooth transition before extreme situations occur.

Li Wenhao just wanted to talk about this matter, but the other party responded with a question mark, which left him not wanting to say another word.

"Fine, you’re the supreme leader, you have the final say.

"I’ll shut up."

Li Wenhao just grumbled a bit and didn’t type anymore. Since it had come to this, there was no need to further escalate the conflict.

Just follow the leader’s orders.

An executor’s actions are plentiful; if you start typing to argue, you’ll only end up wasting your energy on infighting, which benefits no one.

Li Wenhao started to build breeding centers en masse, producing silicon-based creatures on a large scale while stockpiling fuel and food, which in this case, was the special minerals these silicon-based creatures consumed.

After processing, it was all stored in the warehouse.

And while playing, another question mark appeared on the map.

"?"

Li Wenhao was speechless. "Star Plan’s" map marking feature was incredibly powerful, with dozens of types of markers available, both temporary and permanent.

Players could even convey their intentions to some extent without needing to type, simply using markers.

Yet, "Mouth King" clearly wasn’t too skilled with this system, preferring to use these very simple symbols, like the question mark displayed on the map.

This time, Li Wenhao didn’t indulge him and sent back a question mark instantly.

"?"

The other party paused for a moment, then typed: "Why are you building so many warehouses?"

Li Wenhao was speechless: "If not more warehouses, where do you put the fuel and ore?"

Mouth King: "There’s no need to mine that much in the first place."

Li Wenhao: "It’s getting colder, do you want these people to freeze and starve to death?"

Mouth King: "?

"How are they going to freeze and starve to death, the current production of resources is enough, and even taking into account future temperature drops it will be enough.

"Even if it isn’t, we can just build more when the time comes. Why do all this so early?

"By building so many warehouses now that you can’t use, you’re also delaying the start of the production line."

Li Wenhao was at a loss for words, the two were obviously not on the same wavelength.

If we don’t build now, will there be time later on?

When the temperature drops, we still need to rush to build shelters and expand the heating system. If by then we don’t have enough warehouses and fuel, starting the expansion from the mine, will it be timely?

He really wanted to argue his point, but after thinking it over, he stopped typing.