“This combat system is incredible!”
At first, Yan Qi thought the combat system had been changed beyond recognition and was quite displeased.
However, after adapting to this rhythm, he suddenly felt a unique sense of satisfaction.
Now, he was no longer a timid ordinary person—a weakling facing minor enemies in the Burial Grounds—but had transformed into a true martial deity, an ultimate assassin with powerful skills dancing on the edge of a blade!
He also discovered why “Eternal Cycle” had higher values than “Looking Back is the Shore.”
Because “Eternal Cycle” had this special execution mechanism, to prevent executions from being triggered too easily, they had comprehensively adjusted attributes like monster health and stamina, making the entire game’s rhythm more in line with expectations.
This was also to encourage players to perform more perfect parries rather than grinding down Bosses one hit at a time, which didn’t match the designer’s original intentions.
“Considering this, could the scripted defeat by Black and White Impermanence at the beginning be challenged?”
“Previously, I couldn’t defeat Black and White Impermanence mainly because the damage was too low. But with the current combat mechanics, damage level doesn’t matter at all—regardless of how much health the opponent has, finding an opening leads to immediate execution.”
“Hmm, let’s try!”
Yan Qi immediately saved his current game, then created a new save file and returned to the initial courtyard to challenge Black and White Impermanence.
In less than two minutes, the martial deity was once again knocked down by Black and White Impermanence, chains piercing through his collarbone as he was taken away.
Yan Qi: “…”
Indeed, the ideal was perfect, but reality was harsh.
The scene he had imagined was perfect: first exchange blows with White Impermanence, perfectly parrying the crying stick; Black Impermanence would initially just throw some skills from the side, which could be avoided by watching for the right timing; after dealing with White Impermanence, Black Impermanence could also be easily handled…
However, when he actually fought, his first parry failed, and he was immediately struck to the ground by the crying stick.
The crying sticks used by Black and White Impermanence were considered heavy weapons, so their wind-up time was longer than the longsword in training mode, with a different attack rhythm.
Although Yan Qi had practiced well in training mode and felt confident, he had only adapted to the attack rhythm of blade-type weapons. When faced with crying sticks, he was immediately at a loss.
“Well, I guess I’m not worthy…”
Yan Qi silently restored his save and continued with his original save file.
…
Meanwhile, at the Advertising and Marketing Department.
Meng Chang was also monitoring player feedback after the “Eternal Cycle” update.
“What’s with this new combat system! I can’t even beat the minor enemies!”
“Yeah, these minor enemies can also parry, making them impossible to damage. And while fighting, they executed me with one strike—I was stunned!”
“The martial deity is even more useless now… Before, I could at least struggle through to Meng Po, but now even fighting the outside enemies is difficult.”
“Did you try the training level? The tutorial said you need to strike according to the breathing rhythm; otherwise, after your breathing becomes irregular, you’ll be vulnerable to execution by minor enemies.”
“This new combat mechanism encourages exchanging blows. With the correct approach, killing minor enemies or Bosses is very fast. I’m already becoming addicted to this joystick-pushing feeling!”
“Indeed, with this change, it doesn’t feel like an action game anymore, but more like a rhythm game and fighting game: finding the right rhythm and timing, then pushing directions to parry.”
“Too complicated, can’t play it…”
“I think it’s very fun, truly giving a sense of satisfaction that other action games can’t provide, especially that moment when you disrupt the opponent’s breath and execute them—so thrilling!”
As Meng Chang had anticipated, players’ evaluations of this combat system were quite polarized.
Some players who particularly liked “Looking Back is the Shore’s” combat system felt it had been changed beyond recognition and found it difficult to adapt or accept. But another group of players thought this combat system was very innovative, with faster rhythm and stronger satisfaction.
This was normal, after all, everyone had different tastes, and many players preferred the traditional combat mode of “Looking Back is the Shore.”
But overall, after this combat system update, players’ general evaluation was gradually improving.
Because “Eternal Cycle” offered all players another combat experience, giving even those who couldn’t adapt well a very novel feeling.
Moreover, the Demonic Sword’s automatic parrying mechanism had also been figured out.
Players had already discovered that when holding only a Demonic Sword, the more you died, the more frequently the parrying action triggered.
Of course, since only about one-third of the map had been released in the first part, the Demonic Sword’s corruption value had a cap, making it impossible to achieve fully automatic parrying.
With this update, the game’s scene completion had reached two-thirds, allowing players to enter some mid-to-late game areas.
Under these circumstances, the Demonic Sword’s automatic parrying skill triggered more frequently, and the parry types gradually changed from imperfect parries to perfect parries, with increasingly obvious damage reduction effects!
Many people speculated that by the final third of the game content—late-game areas like Yama’s Palace, Six Paths of Reincarnation, and Avici Hell—if you died enough times, the Demonic Sword might achieve a fully automatic perfect parrying effect.
This meant skipping challenging content might be even easier than in “Looking Back is the Shore”!
Many people exclaimed that this was Mr. Pei’s mercy!
Previously, the Salvation weapon in “Looking Back is the Shore” was deeply hidden, only being found a few days after the game’s release.
Obviously, this “mercy” was even more apparent now; Mr. Pei had opened a convenient path for players with poor skills.
Of course, these less skilled players would continue to suffer in the early stages—the pitiful amount of automatic parrying available early on wouldn’t be enough to defeat Bosses.
But as the game difficulty increased, the frequency of automatic parrying would also increase, essentially providing a safety net for less skilled players.
As long as they were willing to suffer, they would eventually complete the game.
Many less skilled players also felt unburdened: worst case scenario, they would slowly practice their skills, take the Demonic Sword, and die their way through. After all, even if they died, they could still accumulate corruption values.
In short, after “Eternal Cycle’s” combat system update, the previous controversial topics quickly subsided, with players proclaiming: Actually, it’s great!
But the more the comments improved, the more painful Meng Chang felt.
“My commission!”
Meng Chang felt as if his heart was being sliced by a knife, seemingly seeing a large sum of money drifting away from him.
He reviewed his plan again and still felt it was flawless, without any problems.
First, release the game’s scenes and monsters in three updates, letting player dissatisfaction accumulate through their suffering, then update the combat system, instantly transforming decay into magic.
However, due to unexpected circumstances, players’ dissatisfaction hadn’t accumulated at all before being dispersed by the combat system update.
This was equivalent to greatly advancing the detonation timing of the Pei-style marketing method. Instead of creating a momentous explosion, the excitement was spread over a much longer subsequent period.
For Meng Chang, he would likely not receive his commission;
For Mr. Pei, it seemed the best promotional effect hadn’t been achieved either.
“Eternal Cycle” was considered successful, but originally it could have generated even more excitement!
Although the DLC would ultimately earn a similar amount of money, it was still imperfect.
Losing a month’s commission wasn’t a major issue, but the key problem was that it made Meng Chang deeply doubt himself.
“My plan completely complied with the requirements of the Pei-style marketing method, yet Mr. Pei mercilessly intervened, disrupting my plan.”
“But last time when promoting the game platform, Mr. Pei didn’t say anything and even praised me?”
“Could it be that my understanding of the Pei-style marketing method is completely wrong?”
“Could it be that the Pei-style marketing method I summarized was a misunderstanding, and the agreement Mr. Pei signed with me didn’t mean what I thought it meant?”
Meng Chang was utterly perplexed.
“Hmm? Someone sent me a message.”
“Don’t they know I’m already troubled?”
“Oh, it’s Qiao Laoshi.”
Meng Chang initially didn’t want to read the message, but seeing the sender was Qiao Laoshi, he opened it.
“Are you planning to make a video about this game? No particular reason, just asking so we don’t overlap.”
Clearly, Qiao Liang was planning to make a video about “Eternal Cycle.”
After all, from the current situation, “Eternal Cycle’s” combat system had been updated, and the core content had been mostly revealed, allowing for early preparation of video materials.
When the final third of the scenes were updated next week, he could add the corresponding content to the video, export it, and publish it.
Qiao Liang didn’t know if Meng Chang would still make analysis videos under the name “Master Tian,” so he gave advance notice to avoid releasing overlapping videos.
Meng Chang replied listlessly: “Not planning to make a video, do as you wish.”
With the promotional plan ruined and no commission, what was the point of making a video!
Previously, Meng Chang had been ambitious, wanting to follow Mr. Pei’s suggestion and build the “Master Tian” account into an internet celebrity account with a distinct persona and fixed fan base, like “Qiao Laoshi.”
But now, he was like a deflated ball, completely lacking spirit.
After a while, Qiao Liang sent another message.
“Understood, then this interpretation task falls to me.”
“By the way, there’s something else I want to ask you about.”
“‘Eternal Cycle’ doesn’t seem to have been updated according to the original plan. Did something go wrong? Why was content originally scheduled for the end of the month updated in the second week?”
“Was there an internal communication problem, or did you change your mind for some special reason?”
Obviously, Qiao Liang was also very curious about this.
He knew that Tenda’s game department was a very mature department, where even ordinary employees were not to be underestimated.
Having made so many games with Mr. Pei, even a fool would have become a game design master by now, right?
However, many previously released big-budget AAA titles hadn’t encountered problems, yet an issue arose with a small DLC, which was indeed quite strange.
Meng Chang originally didn’t want to talk about it, as it was his work error and somewhat embarrassing.
But on second thought, perhaps Qiao Liang could help solve his confusion?
Even now, Meng Chang couldn’t understand why Mr. Pei had disrupted his promotional plan, prematurely igniting the accumulated excitement.
Although Qiao Liang didn’t understand marketing, he understood games and Mr. Pei!
Since “Eternal Cycle” was a game project, perhaps Qiao Liang could see some clues.
Meng Chang felt this was somewhat like a desperate measure, but the matter was significant, and he urgently wanted to know what had happened.
So he briefly described Yu Fei being pushed into becoming the lead designer, his own promotional plan, and the confusion that arose.
After listening, Qiao Liang fell into a brief silence.
“I see, I understand now.”
“Regarding Mr. Pei’s deeper intentions for doing this, I have two ideas, but they’re currently difficult to verify. I need to think more and verify from multiple angles before I can give a very definite answer.”
“So, wait for my new video!”