Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 542 - 525 Gan Di’s Modesty

Chapter 542: Chapter 525 Gan Di’s Modesty

In contrast, Gan Di suddenly felt a sense of clarity.

Previously, he and the viewers in his live stream had been wondering how to resolve the game’s settlement issue.

Although some viewers argued, "The goal of ’Star Plan’ is to escape from Comet, and leaving the Comet is a proper ending," most players still hoped to enjoy unlimited resources at the end.

I went through so much trouble to complete the Star Plan, what’s wrong with enjoying the benefits?

However, exactly how to implement this free mode was worth discussing.

The solutions suggested by the viewers previously didn’t seem quite natural; mainly, they failed to integrate tightly with the game’s plot and mechanics.

What no one had considered was that "Star Plan" inherently possessed a special game settlement mechanism that allowed entry into this "unlimited mode"!

In this mode, the game time is unlimited, and the resources are almost unlimited.

Players can truly create a glorious civilization on this new planet.

They could even expand to surrounding planets.

So, in what ways is this unlimited mode better than those mods everyone had thought of before?

The beauty of it lies in the fact that it isn’t unconditional; instead, it has a clear screening mechanism. Players need to achieve an ending through a "public opinion victory."

Moreover, this mechanism also provides some plot support for the unlimited mode: as Gan Di interpreted, only by mobilizing all the silicon-based dwarves through the public opinion mechanism and involving them in the Star Plan can the government avoid collapse.

This approach is a bit more refined than most solutions people had come up with before.

"Alright, since that’s the case, let’s start creating the mod right away!"

Gan Di no longer hesitated and made up his mind immediately.

The viewers in the live stream were somewhat puzzled, "Huh? Why?"

Gan Di had been particularly troubled before, unsure whether to create a mod or not, but now that the official unlimited mode entry method was confirmed, theoretically, mods seemed entirely redundant. So, why create one?

Gan Di smiled slightly and explained, "The reason is quite simple!

"Before, when everyone thought there was no official unlimited mode, I didn’t want to create a mod mainly because I feared it would be superfluous.

"Because an extra mod could potentially affect players’ experience of the game itself.

"But now that it’s confirmed that there is an official unlimited mode, I no longer have so many concerns.

"Because players will definitely try out the official unlimited mode first, and in this process, they will fully appreciate the developers’ thoughtful intentions.

"Since their gaming experience is already complete, I no longer have so many restrictions in creating my mod.

"My mod is aimed at those players who have already fully experienced the game mechanics, understand the game’s content, and want to skip the cumbersome steps to enter the unlimited mode directly.

"Therefore, I will add an activation condition in the mod: it can only be manually activated in each new game after the player has triggered the unlimited mode once.

"Of course, after activation, it can only match players who have installed the same mod."

The viewers in the live stream could not help but be impressed; indeed, Gan Di was profoundly insightful!

No wonder his mod was popular among players!

Typical mod creators only see a demand and then go on to address it.

However, such a demand may only represent a superficial or partial need, not a comprehensive or deeper one.

Therefore, many mods can only satisfy the desires of a small group of players and often impact the other enjoyment of the game or disrupt the game’s value system or deeper mechanisms after being applied.

Such mods ultimately circulate only within a niche community.

Of course, many mod creators don’t see this as a problem because mods were initially meant to satisfy a minority of players.

But Gan Di is different; he always tries to think from Nitiandang’s perspective.

He doesn’t just address a need upon seeing it; instead, he delves deep to analyze:

What deep significance does Nitiandang have in doing this? If I change this aspect, could it trigger a chain reaction, potentially causing issues elsewhere?

It is because he always addresses problems from a higher perspective that his mods consistently blend perfectly with Nitiandang’s games, letting players engage smoothly without contradictions.

Therefore, his mods become a must-try for every Nitiandang player.

The bullet comments praised, "Gan Di is really the Liver King, incredible! With his understanding of the game, couldn’t he easily become a producer at Nitiandang?"

Gan Di proudly, yet pretending to be slightly indifferent, read the comment out loud and then insincerely said,

"Oh dear, that’s too much praise for me. What virtues or abilities do I have to be a producer at Nitiandang?

"Nitiandang is a place with hidden talents. I bet any janitor there understands games beyond the skies. I’d better not disgrace myself by trying.

"I’ll just quietly continue being an ordinary mod author. That’s fine.

"When there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkey is king. I’ll just be the monkey of that mountain."

Although he was being modest, he was actually showing off in a roundabout way.

But clearly, Gan Di enjoyed this kind of showing off, and he happily went on to create a new mod.

...

That night,

Lilith, looking at the players’ discussions online about "Star Plan", widened her eyes in shock, unable to believe it.

Gu Fan was quietly watching from the side.

He felt that Lilith was about to blow up any second, and even had the words "Gu Fan" on the tip of his tongue, but then suddenly she swallowed them back down and reverted to charging up her anger.

Why?

Because Lilith couldn’t understand!

She vaguely, no, very clearly felt that there was a problem with the "Star Plan". Whether it was the negative emotions generated by the game or the players’ praises online, all undeniably pointed to this.

But what exactly was the problem?

What is this so-called infinite mode? That isn’t in the game design documents!

And why does the appearance of this infinite mode signify "an elevation in the intellectual and content depth of ’Star Plan’"?

How did it become "a victory of public opinion"?

How did it become "the masses are the true creators of ’Star Plan’"?

She couldn’t understand at all.

Lilith could read the words, but when put together, they entered her knowledge-blind zone, leaving her utterly confused.

Worse yet, these ideas weren’t initiated by any one person.

It seemed suddenly, players on the forums started discussing!

Lilith angrily tried to trace the origin and eventually found that these ideas seemed to originate from Gan Di.

It was Gan Di who, during a particular special match, accidentally discovered a bug where the fake-AI would replace the Governor player in construction under certain conditions.

Then, Gan Di cooperated with the fake-AI to complete "Star Plan."

This action triggered an even more severe bug— the original settlement mechanisms of the "Star Plan" failed, and the match became timeless.

By this time, this save had already spread rapidly, and countless players downloaded it.

To them, this was the "primeval save," which held great collectible value.

Besides, those wanting to play with infinite resources also started showing off their skills based on this save.

In short, everything was a mess!

As for why players deduced so many wild conclusions from this save, Lilith couldn’t understand.

She also looked at some analyses, but it was clear everyone had a different interpretation, and the players had not formed a particularly stable, clear consensus.

Their only consensus was: "Star Plan is freaking amazing! Nitiandang is freaking amazing!"

How can anyone even discuss this!

Lilith looked at Gu Fan, clearly having a bellyful of fire, but just as she was about to burst, Gu Fan had already preemptively predicted it and took the initiative to say, "President Li, I’m ready to explain."

Lilith’s lips twitched slightly, "...Go ahead!"