Chapter 355 - 226: The Heavenly Dao Above All Beings

The development of a game requires numerous processes and is not something that happens overnight.

Among them, single-player games are somewhat easier, as you don’t have to consider as many factors and there’s less need to worry about server-side issues.

Even if a single-player game has bugs, it’s actually not that big of a problem; they can be fixed gradually later on.

But online games are different.

Due to the multiplayer connection aspect, both players and developers have a much lower tolerance for bugs in online games compared to single-player games.

For this reason, the development cycle for an online game is often not much different from that of a single-player game; it might be completed in one or two years. But for players to finally get to play the game, they might have to wait a long time.

Let me give you an example.

Two games with the same investment scale, one being single-player and the other online, are developed simultaneously.

The single-player game might already be on sale, while the online game is still in the first testing phase. The single-player game has undergone several updates and its sales are stagnant, while the online game is still in the second testing phase...

By the time the single-player game’s sales start to dwindle and its popularity decreases significantly, the developer might begin offering discounts; by then, the online game might only just start "open beta testing"!

Don’t think this is exaggerated.

In fact, this is a very common phenomenon in the gaming industry.

The reason this situation occurs is mainly because single-player games can first release a "semi-finished product" and then gradually update, fix, and improve it.

Game has bugs?

No problem!

Which single-player game doesn’t have bugs? In the early stages of a game’s release, all sorts of bugs can be found everywhere. For example, the classic "Cyberpunk 2077" and "No Man’s Sky"—those who played them when they first launched know how it was.

But this does not affect the game’s scheduled release. At most, player reputation might decrease slightly; the game will still sell as planned.

Can online games do the same?

The answer is, no!

A single-player game can be released as a semi-finished product and will still sell normally even with a bunch of bugs.

But if an online game dares to release a semi-finished product with a bunch of bugs still unresolved during public testing, then it’s just waiting to die!

This statement doesn’t mean that online games can’t have bugs during public testing...

Rather, the bugs can’t be too numerous or too severe. At the very least, you can’t treat an upcoming online game’s public testing phase with the same standards as a single-player game.

"First test, second test, third test..."

Chen Ba explained, "Are so many rounds of testing really wasting time? Definitely not. Every round of testing has a purpose."

"Even if you test and test and the game disappears, it’s still the case?" Huang Qing joked.

"Don’t be absurd!"

Chen Ba said helplessly, "If the game disappears while testing, it’s usually because the licensing is stuck, which has little to do with the game itself."

For example, DNF Mobile, right?

And the predecessor of "Peace Elite," "Stimulating Battlefield," why did the internal testing last so long?

These are all due to licensing issues, which is why the testing lasted so long; some games even disappeared during testing or were renamed.

"We don’t have licensing issues."

Chen Ba patted his chest to assure, "Based on this point, the testing process for ’Cultivation Fantasy’ should be a lot simpler, and it won’t drag on stinky and long."

Conducting a first test and second test should be enough.

After the second test ends, we can practically move on to public testing, skipping the third test, closed testing, and non-wipe internal testing phases.

"Only two rounds of testing?"

Huang Qing didn’t expect Chen Ba to be so bold—testing only two rounds before daring to proceed to public testing for a large-scale multiplayer online role-playing game?

"Two rounds are enough!"

"No matter how many rounds of testing you conduct, it won’t help. You have to understand, our Tianba Studio games are of perfect quality without bugs."

At this point, Chen Ba’s expression was slightly embarrassed as he said, "There may be some game features, but believe me, there’ll definitely be no bugs in the game."

"I don’t trust you at all..."

Although Huang Qing hadn’t been with Tianba Studio long, he had heard a lot about this miraculous game studio.

No bugs? That’s impossible.

While it’s conceivable that games from other studios might have no bugs, games from Tianba Studio are bound to have bugs.

As the Tianba Community says, the day Ba’s games have no bugs is the day we can stop playing!

Just joking!

As a studio built on game bugs, players would rather believe men can give birth than believe Ba’s games have no bugs.

"If you don’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do! But honestly, two rounds are enough; if we can’t find the bugs in two rounds, continuing to test is pointless."

This is Chen Ba’s heartfelt view.

Previously, he also considered testing aggressively, but testing for bugs can’t rely on brute force—it requires a bit of luck.

Sometimes, they tested for half a day and found nothing, yet players discovered major issues as soon as they got their hands on the game.

Who can be blamed for this?

Blame them for not being thorough in their testing? Nonsense! It’s clearly due to their lack of flexibility in simulating the players’ myriad thought processes.

Two rounds of testing.

The first round is internal testing, not open to the public, conducted only within Tianba Studio.

The second round is open testing, inviting a batch of players to enter the game through activation codes to test its stability and playability.

After making the appropriate arrangements, the next step is to produce a semi-finished game for the upcoming first round of internal testing.

The development process is pretty solid.

Though it’s the first time they’re making a large-scale cultivation style MMO game, the development team led by Chen Ba is seasoned, with extensive game development experience.