Chapter 729.2: War For Paradise

Tail: Giao!!!!!!!!!!!! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ”

Quit Smoking: HOLY SHIT! Beta 0.7!

Professor Yang: 100,000 beta slots! Open beta is getting closer! HYPE!

Night Ten: Good lord! Sacrifice one Garbage and immediately summon a new version update!

Garbage: FUCK you! Do you have any manners?! ୧(๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭ ୧(๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭ ୧(๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭

Makka Pakka: Hahahahaha!

Sisi: Umm... I have a feeling it might be because I submitted Shelter 70's Administrator Logs. Ah well, small matter. Probably not important.

Tail: Oh! Maybe Shelter 70 is actually the reason the beta cap increased!

Roshan: Probably just a coincidence. .·°՞(≧ ᗜ ≦)՞°·.

At present, the server only had slightly over 40,000 players. Compared to the increasingly vast game world and the New Alliance's ever-expanding sphere of influence, that number was indeed a little low.

That was especially so after the previous 0.6 update, when the game map had expanded all the way to regions equivalent to five light-years away. Even then, the entire server could only hold 50,000 players.

Although the increased beta limit would not immediately translate into more online players, veterans knew the pattern. Every time the beta cap increased, the number of beta invitations distributed each day also increased.

And that was the truly important part.

That was also what countless players waiting for beta access had been eagerly hoping for.

Many of them already had actual businesses operating in the game. Some had even invested in their own enterprises, yet they themselves were still stuck outside in the queue.

It had to be said, that was pretty damn frustrating.

While the cloud players were focused on the expanded beta access, veteran players were far more interested in the actual update content.

The newly established Mutant Slime Mold Research Committee had more than doubled the range of player activity. Enterprise and Academy territories had New Alliance save points and communication stations. Players could even use their VMs to trade, turn in quests, and receive rewards.

Combined with the newly announced War for Paradise, the update was undeniably packed with content. That said, some of the newly added maps felt a little shamelessly thrown into the list.

Falling Feather: Wait a second. Port Gallon, French Fry Harbor, South Sea New Alliance Archipelago, Shelter 70, Guardian Manor Plains, Guardian Manor Military Base, Ten Peaks Mountain, Ice Sea City, Below Cloud City... Holy shit! Aren't all these 'new maps' places we've already unlocked?!

OId Wine Lamp: A few of them were literally built by us!

Irene: Congratulations. You've discovered the essence of open world games. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Elf Wang: Confirmed. The devs are getting lazy. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Ample Time: That's not entirely fair. Access rights to Ice Sea City and the Below Cloud City came from the Mutant Slime Mold Research Committee... though French Fry Harbor and Port Gallon really were developed by us. And the South Sea New Alliance allies were indeed recruited by us too. ( ˶°ㅁ°)

Dumb Turtle: Big brothers, forget the new maps for a second. Which front should I join? First time participating in a campaign. Total newbie. Kinda nervous. UwU

Ample Time: Whatever you like. If you've joined a corps, just go wherever your commander sends you. If not, choose whichever interests you more.

- The Northern Front currently has more missions available. The Southern Front is still fighting for island control, and both sides are playing very cautiously.

- Most naval combat is beyond visual range anyway. Once you're locked on, it's basically a few torpedoes or missiles and you're done.

- If you can't fly planes or sail ships, you might as well wait until the landings begin.

Midnight Pubg: Yeah. Without sea control, you don't get air superiority. It'd be nice if we could build an aircraft carrier using Coral City and Peace Island's production facilities. Unfortunately, they're all submarine factories. The North Island Federation’s largest shipyard is sitting with Chalas. Give him another couple months and he might launch another destroyer.

Mosquitoe: Have you considered a submarine carrier? ( ๑‾̀◡‾́)✨

Midnight Pubg: What's that supposed to be? ( ╹ -╹)?

Daydreaming Star River: A submarine aircraft carrier! It’s an ancient relic from World War I. People brought the concept back up after the Iraq War in the 1990s, but the technical challenges are insane. Jet aircraft and propeller aircraft are completely different beasts. Flight deck requirements aren't even remotely the same.

I seriously doubt it will work.

Spring Water Commander: Actually, if we're being rational, maybe not. However, this is a game, not reality. Copy-pasting real-world logic isn't always correct. Looking at the Dolphin's cargo hold, it honestly isn't that different from an aircraft carrier. Hell, building a non-submersible version of it in real life would already be absurdly difficult.

- If the cargo section were redesigned into an upward-sloping runway or catapult system, and the upper deck became a flight deck, the blueprints might not even need major modifications.

- Even if it only functions as a mobile sea airport capable of diving underwater to avoid missiles while allowing aircraft to rearm and recharge, it would still be amazing.

- If I remember correctly, that submarine uses fusion power, right?

Daydreaming Star River: Holy crap. That's actually genius...

Ample Time: Hmm. Sounds interesting. I'll ask some professionals in-game and see what they think. (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

...

"Geniuses... These guys keep finding new ways to have fun." Inside Shelter 404, after uploading the patch notes, Chu Guang couldn't help sighing with admiration as he casually liked several of the replies below.

To be fair, his little players had surprisingly sharp instincts. Several times, they had come dangerously close to guessing the truth.

And yes, the distribution of Wasteland Online beta access was indeed linked to unlocked shelters. Though there wasn't really any need to hide that fact. After all, even if it seemed strange, it could easily be explained as part of the game's setting. Only by unlocking more "starter villages" could more new players enter the game.

For veteran players, exploring shelters also had benefits beyond simply avoiding spending all day engaging in private activities with the same familiar faces on their friends list.

Ever since unlocking the level B7 Manufacturing Center, the Shelter System had gradually delegated many authorities to him.

That included manufacturing nurturing cabins and clone cabins. Previously, those had either been produced through mysterious black-box methods or awarded through quests.

Now, not only could they be manufactured directly on level B7, but low-tech structural components could even be outsourced to Dawn City's factories, preserving B7's valuable high-end production capacity.

Aside from triggering emergency missions under specific conditions, the Shelter System no longer acted like a nanny teaching him how to be an administrator, nor did it hand out daily chores like chopping trees, hauling bricks, and farming the way it had during the early days.

Recovering Administrator Logs rewarded varying amounts of genetic sequences. Other than emergency missions, that was practically the only source of it.

From the players' perspective, those naturally translated into beta access slots.

Previously, Pioneer City had managed to recover several abandoned shelters in the Great Desert. Those obtained from their Administrator Logs’ recovery totaled roughly 20,000.

Shelter 70 had contributed close to 30,000.

Altogether, that amounted to just under 50,000.

Considering the New Alliance's rapidly expanding territory and the ongoing War for Paradise, Chu Guang simply released all available beta slots at once and increased the daily distribution rate to three times the baseline value.

Over the next three months, that should bring approximately 30,000 new players into the server. The ongoing war would conveniently absorb this sudden population increase. Whether they chose production jobs in the rear or combat roles on the frontlines, there would be more than enough positions available for them to find a playstyle that suited them.

Besides, veteran players would be there to guide them. There was little risk of newcomers causing chaos. Once they followed the normal progression and obtained their VMs, they would basically integrate rapidly into the server.

As for the Southern Front's submarine carrier concept... That actually wasn't a bad idea. When he had met Captain Chen Jianhong before, they had already discussed the issue.

The Dolphin's cargo bay was absurdly large. Could it perhaps be converted into a runway?

Influenced by habits from his parallel-world memories, Chu Guang realized that not only his players but even he himself had always possessed a special fondness for aviation equipment.

Their practical experience had proven that aircraft were indeed incredibly useful, especially when operated by the New Alliance's infamous ace pilots.

Not only could they accurately drop bombs on enemy positions, but they could also turn themselves into bombs and perform a 72 hour-cooldown precision-guided strike.

Unfortunately, Chen Jianhong had only provided an ambiguous answer. After all, he was a submarine captain, not a shipbuilding expert. Since Camp 101's experts knew little about naval architecture, the discussion had ultimately gone nowhere.

The South Sea New Alliance's submarine experts were all on Peace Island.

Now that Commander Li Minghui had agreed to form a new joint government with the members of Shelter 70, borrowing some equipment and specialists should not be difficult.

Chu Guang had complete confidence in the players he personally trained. Surely they had mastered the art of not pissing people off when talking to others.

"... Looks like I don't need to worry too much about the Southern Front. Until the South Sea New Alliance secures control of the Southern Seas, we can focus more resources on the Northern Front. Oh right, Little Seven. Where are those Wislanders now?"

Hearing its name, Little Seven immediately straightened its back from where it was sitting at the edge of the pen holder and swung its legs around playfully. A crisp reply quickly came. "Report, Master! The Army’s forces arrived at Bist Town yesterday! According to the local mayor, 50,000 clones of the Army of Glory are currently boarding trains. They'll be transported directly to the Brocade River Province aboard the special trains we've prepared."

After a brief pause, it continued, "The Falcon City Civilian Regulation Committee also sent word that the Eastern Army’s 310,000 troops has departed aboard the airship Loyalty. In addition to tanks and self-propelled artillery, they've brought a Bison all-terrain armored Walker. They're expected to arrive at the frontlines within three days."

Chu Guang's eyes lit up. "Is it the same one we saw in Falcon City?"

Little Seven nodded seriously. "That's what I've heard."

Of course, Chu Guang remembered the Bison. He had seen it outside Falcon City. The Academy's assessment was that it was some bizarre hybrid of diesel and fusion technology. In his eyes, however, it looked more like a four-legged railway artillery platform, a 200mm cannon equipped with an autoloader capable of unleashing the firepower of an entire artillery battalion within a short period! Combined with a deflection shield and heavy armor...

Clearly, the Marshal of Triumphant City took the Torch Church very seriously. Otherwise, he wouldn't have endured such tremendous logistical strain to transport so much heavy equipment from the West Coast over 10,000 kilometers away.

Noticing Chu Guang's thoughtful expression, Little Seven continued, "The Enterprise and the Academy forces are arriving soon too."

"According to reports from Yichuan, the 100th Mechanized Mountain Division and the 7th Air Squadron are moving from Spur Province into the Brocade River Province. They have a combined strength of over 10,000 personnel."

"The Academy also informed us that the Science Committee's Alpha Mobile Task Force will arrive at the airbase north of Dawn City the day after tomorrow. Based on travel permit applications, their force numbers around one thousand."

"In addition, the Bugra Free State, Lion Kingdom, Honey Badger Kingdom, Falcon Kingdom, Xilande Empire, Garbage City, and numerous other survivor factions have dispatched forces to the front. Most are expected to arrive within the next half month."

Hearing that, a smile gradually appeared on Chu Guang's face.

The stage had already been built and the actors were taking their places.

"Looks like we're in for quite a show."

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