NOVEL WEB Chapter 38: Alpha Version 0.2 Update: the Arachnid Invasion
Official website:
Magus Academy Online Testing Server Alpha Version 0.2 Update Announcement
Major Update:
- New Storyline — “Arachnid Invasion”
Brace yourselves for an enthralling event! The “Arachnid Invasion” is now online: There will be an invasion of hundreds of arachnid creatures known as “Lesser Hiveborne Arachnids” in the academy. The timeframe for this event will depend on the storyline progression. Players must rally to fortify the academy’s defenses and arm themselves for the impending challenge. Be thoroughly prepared! - New In-Game Risks and Challenges
If the invasion is successfully defended against, all players who meet the average online time of 6 hours or more daily during the closed-alpha stage will earn a limited title of “Arachnid Disaster Survivor,” and those who contributed significantly will be awarded an even rarer title of “Arachnid Disaster Hero.” If the challenge fails, the game server will be suspended within a time limit, and the test will be relaunched after the difficulty setting is adjusted. - New Virtual Shop
To assist players in their preparations, a virtual shop has been introduced within the game. Here, players can exchange merit points for valuable spell models, bodies of knowledge, and other amenities. - New “Night” System
Players will now be able to log in beyond their usual twelve-hour limit and try the game's night system.
- Increase in Total Quota for Applicants
The quota for closed-alpha players has been set to 100 or more. - Recording and Screenshotting Now Available
Players, you have spoken, and we have listened! This update will implement in-game video and image capturing, but please beware that this is still the testing phase, and restrictions will be applied to maintain the balance and fairness of the game.
Optimization:
- Enhanced Graphics and Environments
Prepare to be awed by the graphical improvements and immersive environments! - Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements
Our team has been hard at work weaving away any pesky bugs and enhancing the overall performance of the game. Your experience in Magus Academy Online will now be smoother and more enjoyable than ever.
Please note that the server update will occur from 12:00 EST until 18:00 EST, so you don’t have to worry about having less time to play. This is a major update, and we appreciate your patience and feedback as we continue to refine and expand the world of Magus Academy Online. Stay tuned for more exciting updates and announcements in the world of Magus Academy Online!
After posting the announcement, Victor logged into Discord. He opened the Gamer’s Empire Discord server, which was already buzzing with activity. The first encounter with a magical beast had clearly made an impression, but now the server was ablaze with discussions about the Alpha Version 0.2 update and the surprise drop of the “Arachnid Invasion” event.
Gigglebelly Grumblefart: “Holy shit! Yo, did anyone catch the news on the official website? There’s an update coming our way!”
Stickman_Just_Passing: “Yeah, seen it. But seriously, a big event for a game still in closed alpha? This is outrageous!”
Captain Derp: “The game’s not even a week old, am I right? What’s up with that? What about folks who didn’t make the alpha cut? Won’t they miss it?”
“…”
Squadzell: “Are the game devs stupid or something? Do they hate money or what? Somebody ping the stupid game promotional manager; I want to speak with him!”
MikeIsHandsome1000x: “@CyberWarlock, someone called you and the whole dev team stupid.”
Squadzell: “Shit, I was just joking! 😱”
(Squadzell deleted a message)
Squadzell: “No hard feelings, I swear! I can give you money, so please give me access!”
This guy… Doesn’t he have anything better to do? Some players were really passionate about getting in on the action, even if they had to resort to desperate measures, it seemed.
Victor was too lazy to reply to each individual message, so he decided to write an entire passage of a development diary to post on the official forum. Major updates like this concerned the interests of all players. Therefore, of course, he had to use the identity of the game promotional manager to have a good chat with the players.
“Dev Diary #1: Alpha Version 0.2”
“Hi everyone, I am your dearest promotional manager!
“I hope your time in the game has been nothing short of amazing. As for me, I’ve been burning the midnight oil with the rest of the development team to push forward this update. Fun fact, one of our programmers even had to postpone their honeymoon to make this happen, so you know we’re serious!
“Now, I get it, the ‘Arachnid Invasion’ content update might have been sudden. But trust us, it’s all part of the plan; we also want to take this chance to test the server’s stability when running a big event such as this. Rest assured, we’re not just unleashing giant spiders on you for fun, although that does sound pretty fun, doesn’t it?”
After all, it wasn’t within Victor’s ability to predict things like this. If he could, he wouldn’t want the invasion to happen; developing in silence and secrecy would be best. But since this was unavoidable, he had to take the next best course of action.
“Of course, we understand that you’re barely experiencing the game and are not ready to take on this challenge. Worry not! Our ever-wise headmaster has come to your rescue with a brand-new addition to the game — the virtual shop! Now, you can get your hands on those long-desired spells and start flinging magic like a pro!”
Naturally, they first had to be promoted to first-stage Initiate Attunement before casting magic became a possibility. However, Victor anticipated that some players would achieve this stage within the next few days, or at most, a week. These individuals would be the primary combatants Victor would rely on in the oncoming battle against the arachnid invaders.
“Other than that, I’ve heard players complaining about only being able to enter the game after six in the evening and having to stick to the official website for daytime ‘shitposting,’ as you so eloquently put it.
“Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the night system! From now on, you can log in whenever you want, day or night. How about that? I bet you’re surprised, and you should be, because this is a game-changer!”
With time being of the essence, Victor needed players to spend more time inside the game to help him.
“Now, I want you to hold your horses from celebrating there. In Magus Academy Online, your characters are acolytes treading on the Magus path. Part of your in-game routine involves practicing meditation techniques to gather mana and, in a way, replace the need for sleep.”
What Victor wrote next emphasized that the game developers aimed to strike a balance between the players’ real lives and their in-game time. Even if they logged in during the wee hours of the night, it wasn’t like they could go out and explore the world. Their scope would be limited to the academy grounds, where they’d serve as Victor’s slav— lackeys.
“Moving on to the last topic I want to discuss here is the implementation of in-game video and image capturing. I promised a certain someone that I’d push for these features in this update, and I’m not one to eat my words. However! There are some crucial restrictions I want to emphasize, and these are non-negotiable!
“First, players will only be able to record what they see through their own eyes, and they must not be too far from the academy. Panoramic recording is currently impossible. Furthermore, capturing anything that falls under the R18+ rating is strictly forbidden, as this goes against our policies. Failure to comply with this rule will result in a permanent ban from the game. There are a few other smaller restrictions within the game that players will have to discover for themselves.”
He intentionally left out specific details about these restrictions. One such restriction was related to the virtual shop in the Shadowlink Mark, which players could exploit. This limitation was due to the fact that he planned to sell spell models there in e-book form, which would have been the size of a full book in their physical form. This was so that he could distribute them in large quantities and spare himself the trouble of printing them one by one.
However, with the new image capture feature, a single person could buy a spell model or a spell e-book and easily share it across the internet, potentially undermining the purpose of the virtual shop. Victor wasn’t so petty as to forbid anyone from spreading magic spells without buying from the virtual shop, but he wouldn’t help them either; there had to be some sort of restrictions so that it wouldn’t end with a single-time purchase.
As for live streaming, that could be thrown away altogether. Victor was sure that he would be able to control the different time flow between the two worlds to some degree once the academy leveled up at least twice, and thus, it would be very hard to synchronize!
Of course, there was an option to make the streaming available between in-game players only, but this was something he could add at some point in the future.
“Regarding the downloading of screenshots and recordings taken in-game to your personal device: Rest assured, they will all be accessible on your account’s private page on the official website. This eliminates the need to connect your gaming capsule directly with your device.”
This could not only screen out overly suggestive content or exploits but also prevent players from attempting to hack the gaming capsule — a feat that was nearly impossible anyway. While hosting such a vast amount of data might seem daunting, the Nexus Beacon seemed to have an almost limitless storage capacity. Thus, Victor felt no cause for concern.
“That wraps up the first installment of the dev diary. I hope you all enjoy this exciting new update. Happy gaming!”
Seconds after the edited posts were published, countless replies immediately overwhelmed the chat. Victor had given them a clarification, so there was no need for any further additions.
As he was about to close the holographic screen, someone pinged him from the Discord group he had created for the first batch of players.
ZeroXScyth: “@CyberWarlock Sorry to bother you. If you don’t mind, could you give us an answer to our question? Of course, if it’s a company secret, you don’t have to tell us.”
Hrm? Answer what now? Victor scrolled up and saw these five people talking about the recent update. They were speculating about whether players had an influence on controlled and uncontrolled events happening in the game. The catalyst for this conversation was none other than Prominence, the one who led the group of players and allegedly triggered this update.
CyberWarlock: “I suppose I can give some explanation since it isn’t a secret. The answer is a resounding yes. The main storyline of the game is intricately shaped by the actions of the players.”
Storm Bringer: “So, does this mean every choice we make will have consequences? By the way, thanks for pushing my request through! Now, I won’t have anxiety from not being able to play on the day!”
CyberWarlock: “No problem. And to answer your question: Indeed, we have designed the game to be adaptable and responsive to the players’ actions and the circumstances at play.”
Prominence: “Damn!”
This might be a big revelation to the players, even if it wasn’t the case for him. After all, most, if not all, games out there followed predetermined scripts. Having a game that could dynamically react to player choices meant that it was just like the real world!
MikeIsHandsome1000x: “Honestly, at this point, I don’t know if I’m surprised or not. Though It does remind me of those VR novels that were all the rage a decade ago.”
CyberWarlock: “Hahaha. Well, we’re not quite at that level yet, but I can’t spill all the beans.”
ZeroXScyth: “No worries. Thank you for sharing.”
Storm Bringer: “Yeah! Big thanks for introducing us to this game.”
SuperNovaX: “For sure.”
CyberWarlock: “No worries. We’ve been online friends for years, so of course I would ask you guys first among all my friends.”
With nothing more to contribute to the conversation, Victor closed the holographic screen and redirected his focus to the task at hand: locating the magic formations of the academy’s barrier.
