Time passed day by day. During this period, numerous games launched their promotional campaigns.
Even the Channel Alliance began promoting certain games.
However, this had little impact on Nebula Games.
After all, Chen Xu had just recently announced a wealth of information about Monster Hunter: World.
At this stage, both the so-called Channel Alliance and Nebula Games clearly understood this was a war of attrition.
Victory wouldnât be decided quickly. It all came down to releasing game after game, steadily increasing playersâ attention, spending, and loyalty toward their respective platforms.
While online communities buzzed with discussions about the latest popular games,
Inside the Nebula Games office,
Chen Xu was finalizing future content plans for Monster Hunter: World with Qin Yi and the team.
Game development was progressing smoothly. Thanks to prior experience developing Dark Souls, many challenges were no longer difficult.
Moreover, compared to before, Nebula Games Platformâs transformation had allowed the team size to grow further.
Now, employees joining Chen Xuâs team were almost exclusively industry elites.
Under Chen Xuâs leadership, the game development speed had naturally become vastly different from the past.
The gameâs overall framework was essentially complete. A massive amount of art assets had already been reviewed and approved.
What remained were primarily weapon-specific actions, boss feedback mechanics, numerical balancing, and fine-tuning details.
"The appearance of third-party creatures shouldnât be too frequent. Itâs one of the gameâs selling points, but not the core aspect."
Sitting at his desk, Chen Xu observed the scene on-screen.
In the middle of battling Diablos, he was suddenly interrupted by a Barroth barging in.
Although the Barroth was instantly crushedâhad Diablos been carnivorous, not even bones wouldâve remainedâ
In ten test runs, Barroth had appeared five times. Thatâs a fifty percent chance.
Such a high probability was simply too much.
The game world was a continuous open-world environment. Zones were separated by narrow tunnels, rushing rivers, and steep cliffs, forming distinct regions. Meanwhile, the entire ecosystem would behave dynamically.
But too high a probability wasnât desirable.
"Appearing occasionally can surprise players, but appearing constantly turns surprise into annoyance. Reduce the chance significantly. You can reference the Murlocs vs. pigs battle easter egg in Don't Starve as a reference," Chen Xu explained to the nearby employees, pointing out certain shortcomings in the game.
"Hmm⌠Bazelgeuse is an exception, though. Given its ecological behavior of roaming across the New World in search of prey, its appearances should naturally be more frequent," Chen Xu added.
"Then Mr. Chen, should we adjust the difficulty later on?" Qin Yi asked tentatively.
Having worked on monster action design, they were well aware of the gameâs difficulty.
On the surface, the game seemed simple, but in reality, it was extremely hardcore.
Especially when players first encountered monsters like Diablos.
Frequent Dragon Charges, tough scales, massive damage, and various roars that could stun youâ
It was incredibly frustrating.
Not to mention the weapons, which looked flashy and cool,
But mastering them required serious practice.
If you jumped in with zero experience, youâd likely end up with Great Swordâs Level 3 Charged Slash swinging at air, Charge Bladeâs Super Amped Element Discharge hacking the ground, Long Swordâs Foresight Slash never landing its 'ding,' and Hammer users just foot-trimming.
Actually, new players probably wouldnât even execute a Super Amped Element Dischargeâtheyâd just swing wildly at random.
As a result, Huntersâ daily routine would often devolve into being carted three times in a row back to camp.
"Adjust what? The difficulty is perfectly balancedâjust right! Look how easily you can deal with Great Jagras, and Kulu-Ya-Ku is a walk in the park. Compared to Dark Souls, this is far more humane, gradually progressing from easy to Hardened. Isnât that completely normal?" Chen Xu said with a cheerful grin.
Hearing Chen Xuâs words, Qin Yi was momentarily speechless.
Chen Xu couldnât help but chuckle.
In reality, the difficulty of Monster Hunter: World had indeed been significantly reduced.
The original Monster Hunter series was notoriously difficult.
But Monster Hunter: World struck just the right balance.
By following the main quest and occasionally grinding gear, players could generally only achieve one-shot kills by the time they reached Nergigante.
Throughout the journey, healing items, armor, traps, and Palicos provided ample support, greatly reducing the difficulty.
There were even many cheese strategies available in the game.
Of course, these required players to have a basic understanding of Monster Hunter: Worldâs systems.
Without that understandingâŚ
Great Swordâs charge attacks were the romance of men. Charge Bladeâs Super Amped Element Discharge was pure damage output. Long Sword was cool, Palicos were cuteâwhat else mattered?
"If all else fails, isnât there the Team Up system? Players can just team up and fight monsters together," Chen Xu said with a smile.
Seeing Chen Xuâs cheerful expression, Qin Yi and the others nearby were utterly speechless.
Seriously, they believed him!
Team up to fight monsters!?
As a cooperative hunting game, Monster Hunter: World could certainly showcase a unique charm.
In most games, teaming up drastically reduced difficulty.
But Monster Hunter: World was different. For rookie players, multiplayer hunts actually increased the difficulty!
Although there was no friendly fire, attacking teammates still caused flinch/stun.
During a Dragon Charge, the Dual Blades-wielding teammate beside you suddenly unleashes Demon Dance.
Stunned, you watch helplessly as the Dragon Charge turns into a carting.
Youâre executing a Rising Slash with your Long Sword to sever a tail, already picturing the Elder Dragon writhing in painâ
Then, out of nowhere, a Level 3 Charged Hammer strike smacks you in the face.
The most dangerous part of cooperative hunting isnât the bossâitâs the teammate standing next to you.
Dual Blades foot-trimming and back-scrubbing, all white damage numbers, spinning and jumping straight into a cart.
Protect the Elder Dragon in front of you. Attack the teammate beside you.
Thatâs the daily reality of Hunters teaming up!
âŚâŚâŚâŚâŚâŚ
Time continued to pass.
One after another, many games began their warm-up promotions.
In the industry, numerous designers discussed the current wave of gaming hype.
"Have you guys been following the recent few games? They seem to be gaining a lot of popularity."
"Of course. NetDragon, TengHua, and even the Channel Alliance havenât said much, but itâs obvious theyâre cooperating."
"Targeting Chen Xu? Planning to counter Monster Hunter: World?"
"Unlikely. Probably just testing. Besides, these games have decent quality, but nothing particularly unique."
"Still, Monster Hunter: World is a hunting gameâitâs a relatively niche theme!"
"Exactly. Itâs a test. If Monster Hunter: World underperforms, the Channel Alliance will definitely jump in. But if it succeeds, theyâll just feign death."
"Though come to think of it, Chen Xu hasnât reacted much lately. No news about Monster Hunter: Worldâfeels kind of low-key."
"Developmentâs been going on for a while. Itâs probably nearing completion. Honestly, I really hope Chen Xu succeeds. Nebula Games Platform has truly reshaped the domestic dominance of traditional channels."
Many industry designers were chatting about this.
As for the players, they were growing increasingly impatient.
Why?
Previously, leaks about Monster Hunter: World popped up every few days.
But what now?
One game after another had started their promotions.
Why was Nebula Games still silent?
Could it be they only made a folder?
While players kept @-mentioning Chen Xuâs official Weibo account and flooded forum communities discussing Monster Hunter: Worldâs progress,
Finally, Chen Xu and Nebula Gamesâ official Weibo account dropped new news about Monster Hunter: World.
And they just announced something that excited many players.
(End of Chapter) <