Beta 0.1 Update! All-New Merchant Gameplay and the Corps System!

The atmosphere at the scene was boiling like fire, the clamor of the crowd surging like roaring ocean waves. Standing on the third floor, Chu Guang could see the sea of faces brimming with passion. He could almost feel the heat of their excitement and longing brushing against the tip of his nose. Hot blood surged through his chest. That emotional resonance rippled outward through the crowd. He believed that he was not the only one who had been waiting for this moment. At six o'clock in the evening. The boiling noise on the plaza died down slightly, and right at that moment, a solemn and booming voice echoed over the open square. "From the moment the heavy doors opened to this day, nearly two hundred days and nights have passed. From an endless wasteland to tens of thousands of mu of fertile fields outside the farm, it took us a mere six months. "In this brief span of six months, we drove out mutant beasts, subjugated savagery, overcame the Tide, pressed forward amid artillery fire, and cultivated barren soil. "We accomplished a miracle that others deemed impossible. This came with sacrifices, but we never abandoned a single person. "Now, we have ample reason to believe that we possess both the courage and the strength to carry order to places far beyond! "Let us cheer for this moment! "For ourselves, and for everyone standing beside us! "Victory belongs to us! "It belongs to every person who has fought for this land!" As the words fell, every syllable rang out with ringing authority. Applause thundered. Cheers reverberated across the plaza. "Long live the Administrator!" "Shelter 404 will endure forever!" "Long live the Human Alliance!" "Demacia!" "Emperor of Mankind!" "A man lives only for—mmph, let go of me, let me finish!" Some shouted words of greatness and long life, while others spouted baffling or outright incomprehensible phrases, yet that pure emotion remained entirely the same. People were expressing the thrill in their hearts in their own ways, venting their emotional resonance amid the cheers. Chu Guang waited for the surging wave of voices to settle. At the very end of the celebration's opening ceremony, he announced the resolution reached by the management of Shelter 404—in the lore of *Wasteland OL*, the Administrator's authority was likewise granted by this "fictional body" situated on the shelter's lowest level. "...According to the collective vote of Shelter 404's management, Shelter 404 will fulfill the mission entrusted to us by the era of the Human Alliance. We will march hand in hand with our compatriots waiting on the surface, reforging a new alliance upon the ruins, rebuilding an equal and prosperous new world, and reclaiming our home!" In the name of the alliance, the United Front for the Restoration of Human Civilization was officially proclaimed! To distinguish it from the old-era Human Alliance, it would be referred to in short as the "New Alliance." A vast expanse of territory spanning Yumu District, running from the North Fifth Ring Road of Qingquan City to Yuanxi Town, would serve as the New Alliance's first Restoration Zone. Meanwhile, the broad stretch of land from the outpost to Changjiu Farm would be merged under unified administration under the name of Shuguang City, serving as the capital of the New Alliance. As for the legislative work and institutional development, they would unfold in due course without being elaborated on here. There was still a mountain of detailed and complicated work ahead, but fortunately, there was also plenty of time. People had time enough to grope forward and discover the path that suited them best. This endeavor was like developing an app. You could first roll out a runnable bug, then slowly tweak it until that bug became acceptable to the majority, or at least stopped causing absolute agony to most. A program that satisfied everyone one hundred percent did not exist even in the prosperous Golden Era, where productivity and resources were unimaginably abundant. Even big data honed through endless iterations had moments that sent blood pressures soaring. Yet at the end of the day, having something was better than nothing at all. Chaos had persisted in the River Valley Province for two centuries, and the people living here had waited for this moment for far too long. Even if the vast majority of the wasteland natives did not comprehend the true meaning of an alliance—at least not yet—that did not stop them from cheering its arrival. They needed a reason to unite. A reason they could proclaim with pride. Standing inside his steel can, Bucky rubbed the lower edge of his helmet with an index finger, looking up with keen interest at Chu Guang on the sanatorium's third floor. "The New Alliance... Sounds intriguing." Bearing witness to the birth of a rising power meant this westbound journey of his had not been in vain. Heya's face showed hardly any change in expression. Her head was currently packed full of broodmother specimens, DNA profiles, and research concerning that induced expression serum. Having lived through that "farce" all those years ago, she had long since seen through the tedious futility of human nature. She cared only about things worthy of her interest. Standing beside them, Yin Fang rubbed the bridge of his nose and remarked thoughtfully, "This caught me by surprise." Bucky glanced at him curiously. "What did?" "I thought he would crown himself emperor." Though uttered in a teasing tone, Yin Fang was not entirely joking. Shelter 404 had never felt to him like a shelter in the conventional sense, or at least not like the several shelters he had visited before. Perhaps due to faith, or perhaps due to sheer personal charisma, the residents here obeyed and even worshipped that man unconditionally. So long as Chu Guang wished it, he could do whatever he pleased. Never mind becoming an emperor; even if he did something far more outrageous, no one would likely object. In fact, given what Yin Fang knew of Chu Guang, the man rarely worried about methods when pursuing his objectives. Certain audacious maneuvers had left Yin Fang dumbfounded more than once. Yet what remained baffling was that he rarely did any of it for his own sake. Human beings were truly complicated creatures... "Long live the New Alliance! Long live Shuguang City!" Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Ditwei cheered passionately, his gestures even more exaggerated than those of the locals, drawing sidelong glances from everyone around him. Sier, the proprietor of the Gray Squirrel Clothing Store, stared at him in astonishment. He had come here merely to restock his goods and happened to run into the celebration, never expecting to spot a regular customer. "Aren't you a Boulder City man?" "What does that matter?" With an excited gleam on his face, Ditwei said nonchalantly, "We're all survivors of Qingquan City. We live on the exact same wasteland. What's wrong with me cheering? Nothing wrong at all!" A Boulder City man? He didn't recall ever taking on that label. He was a wandering merchant, a trader roving across the wasteland. He wasn't born there, nor was he any lord's retainer. He followed whoever helped him make a fortune, and wherever money could be earned, that was where he brought his coin. If someone assumed he was a Boulder City man simply because he frequently conducted business there, they were sorely mistaken! Ditwei was not the only one thinking this way; not far away, Liszt harbored similar thoughts, though his mood was far more complicated. He held considerable prestige among the travelling merchants of Boulder City. Having traversed north and south for over a decade, his sole aspiration had always been to settle down in the inner city. Yet recently, that conviction had begun to waver. It was quite unbelievable. Liszt had been to places far more prosperous than this—Ideal City in Yunjian Province, for instance, which was practically paradise. Yet not once had he ever entertained the idea of spending the rest of his days there. The concerns of the people there were completely alien to his own. Even during simple business dealings, he could feel that they belonged to two different worlds. If he took his fortune and went to live there, most likely he would squander away his savings and then be kicked out in disgrace. The people there had never possessed any notion of embracing outsiders, and he could never integrate into their way of life. Here, however, it was different. Whether one was a refugee or a travelling merchant, as long as you obeyed the local laws, you would find acceptance. True, Boulder City was nominally the same—at least anyone could enter the outer city—yet the two places gave him entirely different impressions. Liszt couldn't quite put his finger on it. In short, it was simply different. Standing in the doorway of the weapons shop, Xia Yan stared blankly at the azure power armor, lost in thought. Xiao Yu, perched astride her shoulders, swung her little calves excitedly, craning her neck to look left and right while chewing on the plastic stick bobbing in her mouth. She didn't understand what Big Brother Chu was saying. But everyone seemed so happy. Something wonderful must have happened! Sitting on Rou Rou's shoulders, Tail gazed toward the weapons shop with eyes full of envy and jealousy, muttering under her breath, "Dammit... Why is Boss Xia the one carrying Xiao Yu! Tail wants to be Xiao Yu's mount too!" Sisi shot her a startled look. "Eep! Can I call the police?" At this monumental moment celebrated by both wasteland natives and players alike, a server announcement popped up simultaneously across every player's VM. And on the official website forum. [Wasteland OL Closed Beta Version Beta 0.1 Update Announcement!] [Major Updates: 1. The player cap for the closed beta has been raised from 1,500 to 4,500! 2. Complete map upgrade! Exploration boundaries expanded to regions surrounding River Valley Province! 3. Added new facility: Merchant Guild! 4. Added new feature: Corps System! ] [Optimizations: 1. Added extensive in-game modeling and a more realistic climate dynamics system. 2. Introduced additional caravans from beyond River Valley Province, complete with localized dialects and unique cultural customs. 3. Xiao Yu grew another 1 cm. 4. Fixed several minor bugs. ... ] Following standard practice, the moment the announcement went live, Chu Guang had Xiao Qi cross-post the thread he had prepared earlier directly onto the official forum! "Developer Log: Version Beta 0.1" "Hello everyone, this is your dearest game designer, Ah Guang! It's been a while, but I've been watching over you on the forums all along. "After sacrificing two hundred software engineers, our servers have finally been reborn! We can now accommodate 4,500 concurrent players! Production of virtual reality helmets is currently running at full throttle. We plan to release 10 to 40 activation codes and helmets daily. In other words, starting three days from now, fresh, delicious—I mean adorable—newbies will be joining our ranks every single day! "Thrilled? Excited? Though the queue before the gates to this new world stretches into the horizon, the door has at least cracked open a sliver! No need to applaud us; save your applause for the alpha testers who endured so much hardship inside the server... What? You want to come in and suffer too? Just hold on a little longer! Your chance will come! "In short, through the tireless efforts of countless testers, our virtual community has begun to take shape, and Wasteland OL has officially entered Phase B testing! We pledge to conclude the closed beta before GTA 6 and Star Pie launch, and depending on circumstances, decide whether to tack on a closed beta before the open beta. "Now, let's talk about this Beta version! "In the new version, we will focus more energy on developing the virtual community itself, strengthening cooperation between players as well as between players and NPCs, while enriching player classes and gameplay options. "Traditional questing remains the primary path, but it is no longer your only choice. You can bypass complex quests, take the money you've saved from odd jobs, and register as a roving merchant at the Merchant Guild. Start small, build your business step by step, and then lose it all over again. "If you don't want to shoulder all the risk alone, you can use sweet talk and swindling to drag a friend onto your pirate ship, making them cover part of the overhead in exchange for a slice of the profit. "If commerce isn't your cup of tea and you lack the confidence to haggle with cunning wastelanders in broken Human Alliance language, you can also hire NPCs or get hired by them to manage trade routes, eventually becoming a regional tycoon or a notorious deadbeat. "You can even register as a caravan guard running around putting out fires, leaving the stress of money behind to focus purely on the journey itself. After all, death for you is nothing more than a three-day cooldown before recalling to base. "Beyond the above, we have also prepared brand-new content for combat-oriented players—namely, the blood-pumping Corps System! "In the new version, player warfare will evolve from conscripted levies into standing corps. NPCs will establish one or more standing formations as needed, and certain corps will accept player enlistment, tailored for combat-oriented players who have no interest in commanding and prefer to focus on mainstream mission gameplay. "Naturally, alongside NPC-led standing corps, the new version also allows players to establish corps of their own. If you possess supreme confidence in your tactical acumen and have already proven it to others, you might consider taking an unconventional path. "Any player possessing at least three Silver Medals of Honor and holding Senior Citizen status can form an independent 'Corps' alongside at least two friends of Intermediate Citizen status or above. You may design your own flag and unit designation, and recruit like-minded players who trust in your leadership. "We have designed a dedicated progression track for the Corps System, structured into ten tiers just like the skill proficiency system. Formations are categorized into squads of ten, centum squads of one hundred, and cohorts of one thousand. Amassing combat merit allows promotion, unlocking higher recruitment caps, larger encampments, and increased budgets. "It is worth noting that while corps are born for war, their responsibilities extend far beyond foreign campaigns; they are also charged with maintaining order, suppressing rebellions, guarding the peace, expelling mutant beasts, repelling the Tide, and building our homeland. "During peacetime, corps may choose to undertake mercenary contracts, escort duties, and weapons testing according to their needs, earning operational funds to purchase and upgrade equipment. When war erupts, every corps will automatically mobilize in response to the shelter's call to arms and deploy to the front lines. "We will deepen cooperation between production-class players and combat-class players, ensuring both playstyles enjoy an equitable experience through careful balance design. We will grant player corps greater authority over battlefield salvage, while encouraging production players to offer logistical support to the front and claim what they need from captured spoils. "Backing a campaign with favorable odds may prove to be a surefire investment, but a high-risk venture can yield equally astronomical returns. "However, please note: while player corps can decide their tactical targets to a certain extent, they do not possess the authority to declare war independently, nor may they declare war on external factions on behalf of the New Alliance. "As the person directly responsible, a corps commander must enforce strict discipline. The cost of infractions is not limited to having your colors and designation revoked; severe violations may directly jeopardize your account access..." Less than a minute after the post went up, the placid forum detonated instantly. "Holy crap?! Phase B is actually here!" "The dev team is insane!" "Ah Guang: 'Well said, your account is gone.'" "Hahahahaha!" "Wait, why haven't I seen anyone with the closed beta badge on the forums today?" "The badged folks are all logged in right now! Those damned lucky bastards! They're probably having a blast in-game and don't have time to show off on the forums." "Fuck! Why couldn't they wait until the new update went live before launching the celebration! Now I've completely missed the entire Spring Festival event!" "Calm down, even if the celebration had been scheduled after the patch dropped, you'd still have to wait three days to get into the game. Not to mention there are only forty slots a day at most. You think you're guaranteed to draw one?" "Fuck! Did you really have to hit me with reality that hard!" "Stop saying it out loud!" Ever since the screenshot feature rolled out, a deluge of high-definition images had flooded the forum. Pre-registrations had long surpassed six figures and were barreling toward seven. With so many people queuing up at once and only forty accounts released per day at most, some would inevitably get in while others would not. Yet compared to the endless, aimless waiting of before, having accounts drop daily offered a tangible glimmer of hope. It wasn't like during the Alpha phase, where spots were released several times in one month, followed by months without a single invite, driving everyone mad with anxiety. Armchair gamers cheered the arrival of Phase B, spamming the general chat sections into a frenzy. Only the private boards reserved for closed-beta players remained relatively quiet. However... It was only a matter of time before they lit up as well. Players currently online had also received the update notice via their VMs. As soon as the festival began, long lines formed before the save points, full of players looking for shortcuts to log off and join the commotion on the official site. Those who didn't want to queue at the save points had other options. Beer and corn liquor were provided in limitless supply at the festival, selling for a mere five silver coins a large mug or bowl. Veteran players had it even easier: they simply found an out-of-the-way corner, lay down, and pinged Xiao Qi through their VMs to pull the plug. Ever since the Alpha 1.0 version, there were far too many ways to execute a tactical logoff. Still, not everyone was in a hurry to bolt to the website. Why bother? Their friends were right here in the game. Wasn't discussing it here just the same? On the plaza. Staring at the server announcement flashing on his VM, Commander Spring rubbed his chin with obvious excitement. "Our own garrison base, official funding allocated by the shelter, and recruitment of players... with no level restrictions? That means we can recruit fresh blood?" Though his personal level wasn't top-tier, his command skill proficiency was the highest on the entire server. Marginal Water-skater was clearly intrigued as well. The prerequisites for founding an independent corps were three Silver Medals and Senior Citizen status. He met the criteria completely; one of his medals was even a Special Class medal bearing the crest of a shield. Standing nearby, Indebted Big Eye grinned and piped up, "How about the name 'Corps of Death'?" "Get lost!" Though he told him to get lost, Marginal Water-skater was visibly tempted. On the other side of the plaza, the members of the Ox and Horse Squad were also huddled in discussion. Having read through the server announcement, Jieyan began shouting in astonishment, "Holy shit! Is this Corps System laying the groundwork for guilds?" "Most likely," Fang Chang nodded, speaking thoughtfully. "Ah Guang's post makes it abundantly clear: the new version emphasizes inter-player collaboration and focuses on fleshing out the community." Overhearing this, Brother Mole hesitated. "Don't typical MMORPGs wait until level thirty or even sixty before channeling players into guild mechanics? Right now, the server's highest level isn't even level twenty. Isn't it a bit rushed to start hyping this up now?" In typical MMORPGs, once the main questline wrapped up, players were essentially close to the level cap. Adding more content meant constantly patching the storyline, churning out expansion packs, corrupting popular heroes, and redeeming villains. Yet that alone was clearly insufficient. Sylvanas couldn't go burning down the world tree twice. The strategy for most MMORPGs was to guide players into forming communities, binding them to the game through guilds and interpersonal ties. Mentorship systems and marriage features served similar purposes. Yet *Wasteland OL* plainly didn't suffer from that problem. There was far too much content to explore in this wasteland; it felt practically like a real, living world. Even if the damn dev made no updates whatsoever, the existing gameplay loops alone were enough to keep players busy for a very long time. Fang Chang said, "It doesn't make much difference, really. In an average MMORPG, grinding for half a year gets you to level fifty or sixty easily. *Wasteland OL*'s leveling curve is clearly much steeper than traditional MMOs, so offering high-level players more gameplay options is only natural." Lao Bai nodded. "True. In the past, the server had few players and plenty of quests. Now that numbers are climbing, there aren't even enough trees left near the park." Not just the trees, either. Scraps scavenged from the ruins didn't respawn once collected. To reap greater returns, one had to push further afield. This applied not just to logging and scavenging, but to every other profession as well. Pausing for a moment, Fang Chang looked at his companions and continued, "Mark my words: within two updates at most, the server will definitely allow players to purchase hibernation pods for saving their progress, enabling us to set up personalized save points. They might even let players buy incubation pods to establish their own respawn anchors!" Ye Shi hesitated. "And what does that mean?" Fang Chang replied with just one word: "Territory!"