January 12th, Thursday.

Shangyang Games.

Wang Xiaobin came to Lin Wan’s office door and knocked gently.

“Director Lin, if there’s no issues with the DLC for the remaining two games, they’ll be officially released. Do we still need to inform Ye Zhizhou?”

Lin Wan thought for a moment and said: “No need. He’s in Los Angeles now with the time difference, plus he’s busy doing tactical analysis for FV team. Don’t disturb him. Besides, he already reviewed these two DLCs’ development content when it was finalized. There shouldn’t be major issues. Let’s just release them.”

“You’ve led the design and development for these veteran games’ DLCs. Good work. Take a good rest these next two weeks.”

Wang Xiaobin felt embarrassed by the praise: “Ah, I was pushed into this position. If Mr. Pei hadn’t forcibly dumped this work on me, I never would’ve imagined I could develop these DLCs by myself.”

“The Sea Fortress DLC was basically all Brother Huang’s ideas. I just cooperated with him.”

Lin Wan smiled slightly: “Don’t be too modest. Though modesty is a virtue, it can affect confidence too.”

“Mr. Pei obviously wants to cultivate everyone into all-rounders, so any individual can handle things independently, not just be replaceable cogs.”

“Summarize this experience well. Mr. Pei might give you more similar tasks in the future.”

Wang Xiaobin nodded: “Alright, I’ll go get busy then.”

He returned to his workstation, conducted final checks, then officially updated the new versions of “Back in Time” and “Sea Fortress.”

This veteran games update plan divided into two parts: “Lonely Desert Highway” and “Game Producer” updated earlier since their content was minimal; “Back in Time” and “Sea Fortress” had more content, so they waited until this month.

Especially “Sea Fortress” – they essentially remade an entirely new story mode.

This DLC told the story of before Qin Yi became commander, when he was a special squad leader infiltrating insect nests. The story outline was entirely provided by Huang Sibo, supposedly closely related to “Mission and Choice’s” game plot.

Wang Xiaobin didn’t know “Mission and Choice’s” specific plot, just seriously organized staff development based on Huang Sibo’s requirements and materials for advance promotion.

Now all DLCs were complete. Wang Xiaobin had successfully completed Mr. Pei’s assigned tasks and could finally relax.

“Wonder how Ye Zhizhou’s doing. Don’t tell me he’s really waiting until they win championship to return?”

Wang Xiaobin had constantly complained about Mr. Pei dispatching Ye Zhizhou to Los Angeles as tactical analyst.

The Shangyang Games director and GOG international server operations chief traveling all the way to Los Angeles for tactical analysis seemed overkill.

Originally Wang Xiaobin had many questions for Ye Zhizhou during DLC development, but couldn’t ask due to time differences and Ye Zhizhou being busy there.

But Wang Xiaobin didn’t dare complain much – this was Mr. Pei’s personal request.

“It’s just an esports tournament ioi organized. Don’t understand why Mr. Pei takes it so seriously. Some special consideration?”

“Forget it, I’ll just focus on my work.”

Wang Xiaobin released both games’ DLCs and closely monitored player feedback.

…

Meanwhile, at Tree Sloth Apartments.

Qiao Liang had just woken up, eating timely delivered Slackin’ takeout while mindlessly scrolling his phone.

“GPL matches start at 5 PM. So this afternoon, should I play games or make a video?”

“Hmm, let’s play games.”

“But recently nothing good to play for quite a while.”

“The ioi global finals has FV team’s matches Sunday morning too. So frustrating to wait.”

Qiao Liang took half a second to reject making new videos, happily deciding to slack off.

Even slacking lacked good options – really no noteworthy major releases recently.

At times like these, Qiao Liang wanted to drive directly to Tenda Game headquarters, hold a knife to his throat, and threaten Mr. Pei: “Release new games or I’ll die right in front of you!”

Of course, just thoughts – he’d never actually do it.

Qiao Liang knew Mr. Pei was extremely demanding of himself. Each new game not only changed genres but broke through previous titles.

Unlike many game companies copying successful titles endlessly, just reskinning to make money.

Mr. Pei’s development habits indeed pushed constant game design progress, bringing fresh works each time, but meant increasingly large investments and longer timelines.

Actually “Lonely Desert Highway” and “Game Producer’s” new DLCs had already hinted the next game would be sci-fi, with easter eggs and details making Qiao Liang’s heart itch.

Yet after waiting so long, Mr. Pei’s new game remained invisible, previous enthusiasm nearly vanishing.

Qiao Liang boredly browsed Ai Li Island website, then opened his fan group.

“Hm? ‘Back in Time’ and ‘Sea Fortress’ updated DLCs too?”

“…Crazy!”

“These old games update endlessly. Why not concentrate all hands on finishing the new game?”

“Sigh, forget it. As long as the DLC maintains quality, I won’t complain.”

Qiao Liang vented frustrations but knew his thinking was unreasonable.

Though he desperately wanted new games, major game development naturally took time. Plus game development wasn’t about more people meaning faster – work one programmer finishes in 100 days wouldn’t finish in 1 day with 100 programmers.

Besides, updating old games with DLC was something only conscientious developers did – nothing to criticize.

Qiao Liang immediately opened both games to check update announcements.

Compared to “Lonely Desert Highway’s” DLC costing 5 times the base game, these two games’ DLCs were extremely fair.

“Back in Time” DLC cost 18 yuan, while “Sea Fortress” DLC remained free as before, just adding a new epic weapon.

Qiao Liang paid first, then checked both games’ update announcements.

After all, most veteran players absolutely trusted Tenda – their game pricing always guaranteed value, with no losses or deception.

“Back in Time’s” updates mainly added gameplay with a new “Reincarnation Mode” for veteran players who’d beaten this crisis-filled game easier than walking their backyard multiple times.

In “Reincarnation Mode,” new cycles opened monthly based on real calendar months.

Entering reincarnation mode reset character states to beginning, but monsters, drops, etc. randomized within rules – possibly encountering late-game monsters early or powerful equipment drops.

Of course, randomization followed rules preventing unknown bugs.

Additionally, players could adjust difficulty at Buddha statues or regenerate unexplored world sections, limited to seven times monthly.

Beating “Reincarnation Mode” within a month provided permanent character skins, including full outfits and weapons.

“Sea Fortress” DLC supposedly contained new story mode and an epic weapon, with no further details – presumably for players to discover in-game.

“Looks like ‘Back in Time’s’ DLC is more interesting. ‘Sea Fortress’ story mode might be just 1-2 hours? This game’s so old, couldn’t possibly add 4-5 hours of story, right? That’d be burning money unnecessarily?”

Qiao Liang first opened “Back in Time” to try.

As a veteran player who’d suffered many times, Qiao Liang knew “Back in Time” thoroughly – every monster location, drops, everything memorized.

Not from good memory – just being beaten enough times.

Anyone dying dozens of times in the same place remembers vividly.

Though this DLC lacked substantial content updates, designers clearly worked hard on this mode, genuinely improving replayability and fun.

Though randomized, different monsters, bosses, and items in specific locations might cause bugs or block progression. To prevent this, developers obviously planned extensively, establishing rules avoiding these issues.

Same maps but changed monster positions and drops meant previous speedrun routes didn’t work. Veterans could freshly explore maps from scratch with surprises throughout.

Considering the 18 yuan price, absolute value.

Predictably, monthly “Back in Time” reincarnation clears would become veteran players’ regular tasks, with commemorative weapons and skins showing veteran status.

Qiao Liang played briefly, satisfied with “Back in Time’s” reincarnation mode update, saved progress for later.

Then he opened “Sea Fortress” to check its DLC.

Though known for 888 yuan Flaming Qilin and rich PvP modes, “Sea Fortress” had excellent story too.

At launch, many players joined for “Sea Fortress’s” unique story among domestic FPS games.

Technically, “Sea Fortress” had simple story – beyond shooting, players only interacted with a mute girl, yet even simple plot with enough details remained excellent.

Even then, Mr. Pei’s storytelling talent was undeniable.

Qiao Liang wondered if this DLC could exceed the original story content.

Based on original scale, slightly reduced… gameplay would be short, finishing quickly.

Thinking this, Qiao Liang entered “Sea Fortress’s” story mode.