Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 579 - 562: Additional Content for the Physical Book

Chapter 579: Chapter 562: Additional Content for the Physical Book

Besides, the physical book also has another function, which is to obtain a small amount of extra resources.

It’s mainly things like treasure chests falling from the sky, or fish, meat, fruits, or a small amount of upgrade experience books, weapon enhancement materials, etc.

The stuff is not a lot, but the sense of achievement is still quite delightful.

Of course, would one’s gaming experience be severely affected without the Fantasy Book?

Not necessarily.

If you play normally, the game content is absolutely complete. Even if Hou Ji didn’t know about the Fantasy Book or didn’t see Zhuge Jun playing with the Fantasy Book, he wouldn’t feel like anything was missing.

But with Zhuge Jun playing beside him, the comparison would make Hou Ji feel like he’s missing out on a lot of content.

Zhuge Jun nodded and said, "It’s really fun!

"Like adding a sense of ceremony, an urge for exploration, the corresponding Fantasy Book dialogues in the game, let’s not even talk about those; the key is that it has a very practical feature—guidance!

"This is something I discovered by chance. Look at this page."

Zhage Jun said as he flipped the Fantasy Book back to the first page of the first Chapter.

The first page can be seen as the three-dimensional map of the entire Chapter, where the elements on it basically correspond one-to-one to the map in the game, and the scale is consistent, without any distortion due to magnification of some iconic landmarks.

Zhuge Jun had already tried pressing the iconic buildings with the controller, which produced corresponding introductions.

But more importantly, when he scanned other areas of this page, he also got feedback.

In some places, there was no response from the controller.

But in other places, the controller would emit a slight vibration.

Hou Ji was somewhat surprised: "What does this vibration represent?"

Zhuge Jun explained: "It signifies that there’s a puzzle or treasure chest here that I haven’t discovered yet."

Hou Ji’s eyes widened: "Damn, it has this feature? Then it looks like I have to buy one..."

It must be said, this feature is a life-saver when playing in the open world!

When is exploring the vast world the most frustrating?

Of course, it’s the most painful when an area’s exploration is stuck at 99%.

Because almost the entire map has been explored, who knows where the remaining 1% could be.

If the game itself doesn’t provide clues, then players can only search for guide videos online, follow the videos to run through the entire map, and fill in the gaps.

But that’s obviously very user-unfriendly.

Running through guides although ensures 100% no omissions, many players dislike it, feeling like they’re working, completely losing the joy of free exploration in the open world.

Thus, many games have corresponding hint mechanisms.

Certainly, marking all playable elements on the map is the most foolish approach, which is what generic games do.

Usually, players are given some kind of special tools, allowing them to roughly identify the locations of missing items on the map.

This way, at 99% completion, you wouldn’t need to turn the entire map upside down.

Endless Fantasy Legend 2 also has this kind of tool, which players obtain from the reputation officer in each kingdom.

Completing tasks in the current area, exploring the map, or fulfilling certain requirements all increase reputation, and upon reaching certain levels, special rewards for that region can be obtained.

The exploration tool is unlocked at Reputation Level 3, and it’s pretty friendly.

Players can easily reach this level by doing more tasks and contributing some materials in the early stages.

However, even when using this tool, it only searches within a certain area nearby for treasure chests or puzzles; its range is about the distance between two teleport points.

If there’s nothing in this location, players need to switch to another teleport point to continue the search.

And after using the tool, it only displays a treasure chest icon on the map without any other clues.

The hints from the Fantasy Book are much more interesting; players can scan the map with the controller, and when passing over an area with a chest, the controller will vibrate.

This gives a feeling similar to minesweeping.

After scanning, players can match the scanned regions in the Fantasy Book to seek out missed treasure chests or puzzles.

The range of detection itself is not very precise, but this uncertainty lends itself to the feeling of searching for treasure with a treasure map.

In addition, the Fantasy Book is full of little easter eggs that you would only discover if you scan them.

Zhuge Jun flipped a few more pages of the Fantasy Book, coming to the end of the first Chapter.

There’s a blank frame here, used for stamping.

"Once you complete all the tasks of this Chapter and reach 100% exploration, you can have a staff member stamp this frame.

"Look, each Chapter’s stamp is designed differently, each with a unique shape."

Hou Ji was somewhat resigned: "It’s just a stamp, what’s the significance?"

Zhuge Jun shook his head: "You’re mistaken!

"What’s the significance of the points marked on the card at amusement parks, or the signature stamps of various tourist attractions?

"Actually, it’s all pretty meaningless, it’s just about collecting! It’s about the ritual!

"Anyway, I’m planning to do it properly, stamp the whole booklet full, go for a grand perfect 100%."

Hou Ji nodded, "Hmm, you have a point, this is also part of the gaming experience, and it’s quite fresh.

"It does enhance the game experience, and the treasure hunting feature is quite useful.

"I’ll buy one too."

Soon, Hou Ji also came back holding a new Fantasy Book.

Not just him, players who came to the experience store to play Endless Fantasy Legend 2 basically had one each, the spread of this thing was incredibly fast.

There were also many people who didn’t play in the experience store but still specially came to buy the book + reading pen or controller bundle.

This shows the popularity of this set of physical products.

While playing, Zhuge Jun suddenly thought of a question.

"Eh, by the way, where’s Gan Di?

"I checked his live streaming room, and he hasn’t streamed for over a year, and even now, there’s no stream.

"Shouldn’t be, right?

"If it’s because Endless Fantasy Legend 2’s reviews weren’t so good at the beginning, and he was afraid to stream for fear of backlash, the game’s reputation is actually not bad now?

"Or is it that Nitiandang actually has some special rule that staff members are strictly forbidden from streaming to prevent spoilers?"

Zhuge Jun wasn’t clear about the situation, but from what he could see, Gan Di had indeed disappeared without a trace and hadn’t streamed again.

He didn’t think much of it; after all, Gan Di was a free agent and hadn’t signed any long-term contract with any platform. Perhaps he was close to financial freedom working as the main planner at Nitiandang, so he might as well not stream.

Just continue to experience the game.

...

At this moment, at Nitiandang headquarters.

Gan Di was carefully checking player feedback on Endless Fantasy Legend 2 on his computer.

Actually, the reviews were okay.

At least compared to before the game’s formal launch and during the trial version, the formal version’s reputation seemed to be warming up slightly.

Even in Gan Di’s own streaming channel and fan groups, people would often ask when he would return.

But Gan Di knew very well that this was an illusion!

As the main designer of Endless Fantasy Legend 2, he knew better than anyone that the game was currently in its nesting phase.

The previous beta version was just an appetizer, the main course, so to speak, would only truly be revealed after the initial fifteen-day nesting phase had ended.

So, Gan Di thought it was best not to show his face.

Streaming now, as the main planner of Endless Fantasy Legend 2, could indeed reap some benefits, casually chatting with viewers might even boost his popularity significantly.

But what would the cost be?

The cost would be that once the game ends its nesting phase and starts to ’collect the net,’ he would definitely be cursed to no end.

By then, all that popularity he gained would turn into boomerangs stabbing into himself.

"May heaven bless, may heaven bless..."

Gan Di felt that he had done everything he could; the rest was up to fate.

...

Two weeks later.

Endless Fantasy Legend 2 welcomed a new version.

Of course, this game is different from others; it doesn’t actually need updates, everything is set from the beginning.

However, unlike single-player games, many key data points for Endless Fantasy Legend 2 are stored on the server, and unpacking them chaotically can be legally risky. Without any special motivation early in the game, few people would mess around.

The new version of Endless Fantasy Legend 2 is opened entirely according to server time. At this point, the first Chapter’s main quest has reached its final end.

In addition, after completing the main quest, it will focus on some character tasks and side quests, along with exploration activities on the large map, collectively forming the game content for the following two weeks.

Of course, another important aspect is the additional activities and the card pool updates.

The upper half card pool closes, the lower half opens, and two new UP characters make their entrance.

Additionally, the official will provide some version-limited activities, such as various challenges, puzzles, mini-games, etc., to increase fun.

In any case, for most players, this pacing is just right.

Those Gan Di players who play for more than ten hours a day might be a bit impatient, but for most who can only play two or three hours a day, the pacing allows them to enjoy the game thoroughly.

Zhuge Jun and Hou Ji arrived at the experience store to continue their journey.

The first thing, of course, was to see which characters were in the new UP pool.

Even if they didn’t necessarily plan to draw, what if they encountered a character that fit their XP perfectly?