Chapter 106: Game Launch!
In the experience store, Jia Peng and Qian Kun were shouting and yelling as they played the game.
“Damn, your Blademaster is here again, so annoying! Don’t chop my peasants, holy crap!”
“Shit, you’re secretly teching up behind my back, don’t think I don’t know! Chop your little Wisp to death!”
“Fuck, don’t push me, I’ll go all out against you!”
“Damn, self-destructed, holy crap!”
It had to be said that guys had a bit of an advantage when it came to real-time strategy games. These two were the first to clear the campaign mode, and then they couldn’t wait to start sparring in actual matches.
Jia Peng was really enthusiastic about this game because RTS games didn’t rely much on luck. Of course, he basically never used heroes like the Blademaster or Demon Hunter. A Blademaster that never got critical strikes was completely harmless.
The girls, on the other hand, weren’t interested in this kind of combat. They just wanted to clear the campaign, but with their skill level, even finishing the campaign was tough…
Except for Wen Lingwei, the other girls were all stuck on the Undead campaign, unable to get past it.
Chang Xiuya said, “Boss, can you give me a cheat tool? I really can’t get through this!”
Chen Mo took a look and, sure enough, RTS games were way too unfriendly for these girls.
“Alright, I’ll teach you a magic spell,” Chen Mo said.
Chang Xiuya was stunned. “Huh? A spell?”
Chen Mo nodded. “Open the input box and type +1, oh wait, no, it’s ‘whosyourdaddy’.”
Chang Xiuya almost burst out laughing. “What the heck is that! Are you asking the computer, ‘Who’s your daddy?’”
Chen Mo said seriously, “Really, just try it.”
Chang Xiuya followed Chen Mo’s instructions, typed the string into the dialogue box, and pressed Enter to confirm.
“Oh, it doesn’t seem like anything changed?” Chang Xiuya said, puzzled.
Chen Mo said, “Try attacking that monster.”
Chang Xiuya controlled her Death Knight to attack the monster in front of her, and with one swing, the monster died instantly!
Chang Xiuya was startled. She attacked another monster, and again, it died in one hit. Plus, her Death Knight was invincible—no matter how many enemies surrounded her, her health didn’t drop at all.
Chang Xiuya happily exclaimed, “Wow, it really is a magic spell! Boss, you’re awesome! Wait, boss, you actually snuck something like this into the game? Oh my god.”
Chen Mo smiled. “There are plenty more spells. Want to learn them? I can teach you.”
In Jia Peng and Qian Kun’s match…
Qian Kun typed: “whosyourdaddy”
Jia Peng typed: “???”
Qian Kun let out a miserable scream. “Ah! Boss, this spell doesn’t work! You tricked me again!”
Jia Peng was speechless. “Damn, you’re secretly using cheats? Wow, you’ve got no shame!”
Chen Mo chuckled. “You’re always messing around with these shady tricks. Use your brain—obviously, it wouldn’t work in online versus mode. Seriously, did you even need to test that?”
Chen Mo also took a look at Qian Kun and Jia Peng’s match. They were still at a very basic level—multitasking was practically zero. If they built units, they forgot to fight; if they fought, they forgot to build.
Their tactics were also very one-dimensional. They mostly just hoarded resources to mass high-tier units for a final decisive battle. Even when clearing neutral camps, they often lost a lot of units, which made them both lose interest in creeping.
They were still beginners, far from truly understanding the essence of the game.
But Chen Mo wasn’t planning to teach them advanced strategies yet. He’d let them figure things out on their own. As they played more and more players joined, various tactics would naturally be developed.
…
Soon, the launch was approaching. The details of “Warcraft” had basically been polished to the level of the original.
In terms of graphics, game engine, and online mechanics, it even surpassed the original in every way.
Especially in the online mechanics, Chen Mo had built a comprehensive ranking system within the game. This system used scores for ranking, ranging from 0 to 4000 points.
According to the plan, 1500 points was roughly the average player level. Below 1500 was considered a noob, and above 4000 was professional-level.
Additionally, Chen Mo planned to develop a replay system from his past life and embed it into the game. A single match replay file would only be a few hundred kilobytes, making it easy for players to watch high-level matches and learn advanced tactics, thereby driving overall skill improvement.
In his past life, it was precisely because of these replay files that classic matches could be widely shared and legendary tactics could continue to thrive.
…
This time, everyone in the experience store, including Su Jinyu, was full of praise for the game. Even the girls who weren’t used to RTS games thought it was great.
The only dissenting voice was Qian Kun, who questioned the pricing model and asked why Chen Mo couldn’t use the “I Am MT” model. Chen Mo shot him down.
Everyone was full of confidence. “Warcraft” was bound to be a game that was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. It wouldn’t just challenge “Legion Conquest” for the top spot in RTS games—it would redefine the concept of RTS games!
…
At 2 PM on the 1st, “Warcraft” officially launched!
This time, Chen Mo again only listed it on the Thunder Game Platform and the official app store, ignoring all the other messy channels.
For Chen Mo at this point, he no longer needed to kowtow to those channels. All the effort he’d put into the card games and promoting the Thunder Game Platform was for this very day.
Of course, he also posted on Weibo.
“The authentic storyline of Azeroth, redefining RTS games. ‘Warcraft: The Frozen Throne’ is officially launched today!”
The netizens who had been following the game immediately logged into the Thunder Game Platform to download it!
Chen Mo didn’t choose the conventional buy-to-play model for this game. Instead, he adopted a strategy of free download, with the first chapter free to try, and the subsequent story and online mode requiring payment.
The price for “Warcraft: The Frozen Throne” was set at 88 yuan, which was considered quite expensive domestically. For reference, “Legion Conquest” was priced at $40 overseas, but when it came to China, it only dared to sell for 99 yuan for the full version. After all, different countries had different economic conditions, so you couldn’t just convert the exchange rate.
Domestic players had relatively low spending power compared to those in developed countries. To sell more copies, games had to keep prices a bit lower.
Typical domestic single-player mobile games sold for 10 or 20 yuan, while RPGs sold by playtime, requiring only small upfront payments.
Asking players to fork out 80 or 90 yuan all at once for “Warcraft” was on the pricier side.
“Legion Conquest” dared to sell for 99 yuan because it was an imported product, carrying the halo of a “foreign blockbuster.” Chen Mo’s “Warcraft” selling for 88 yuan, in the eyes of ordinary netizens, was an incredibly bold move.
“So expensive! The full version is 88 yuan. What’s the difference between this and ‘Legion Conquest’?”
“No collector’s edition, just the full version.”
“Way too confident. Which domestic RTS can beat ‘Legion Conquest’? And they’re setting such a high price? A bit too cocky…”
“Maybe it’s precisely because it can’t beat ‘Legion Conquest’ that they’re selling it at a high price to make back costs?”
“The guy above is an idiot. Chen Mo choosing a buy-to-play model is already pretty generous. Have you forgotten ‘I Am MT’?”
“Yeah, buy-to-play is really fair. Plus, you can try it for free. What more do you want?”
“Mainly, this game is tied to the Azeroth universe, so I have to give it a try. I wonder how well it’s been executed.”
“Whatever, let’s just download it first!”
Since it was free to try, players following the game didn’t hesitate much and directly chose to download it!