"What?" Andrew immediately flipped out of his game pod upon hearing this, rushed over to Caleb, leaned in close, and his eyes filled with urgency: "Quick, quick, quick, click it!"
The two guys quickly finished reading the update post. After all, Terrabyte never used flowery language; he always wrote plainly and directly, just enough to convey the message clearly, so the word count wasn't high.
To summarize, this update had five important points.
First, the upgrade of Thought Acceleration, which jumped directly from the original 1:3 to 1:10. However, this required entering deep sleep mode, meaning that before this update, players could exit the game by directly disconnecting their neural links, but after this update, that would no longer be possible.
If you wanted to enter the game, you had to be in deep sleep. To exit, you could only find the exit button within the game, or situations like the game pod's nutrient solution running out or the power being unplugged by someone.
Second, the change in the quest system. Previously, completing quests only awarded merit points. After this update, there would be a chance for quests to reward items or skills.
Third, the revamp of the store interface. The store now featured a permanent gacha wheel where players could randomly draw any item or skill. It was worth noting that the update didn't mention the upper limit of this wheel, nor did it mention its lower limit.
Fourth, a new trading market was added. Players could list their unwanted items there to attract other players' purchases and exchange them for tangible merit points.
Considering that some players might possess completely unwanted skills, Terrabyte thoughtfully prepared the Skill Itemization function. Simply put, this allowed skills to be transformed into corresponding skill books, and the original skill would disappear. Since skill books were considered items, they could then be listed on the trading market.
So, once another player obtained this skill book, could they use it immediately? No, only skills obtained through quests or the gacha wheel could be directly mastered. A skill book was truly just a book teaching you how to learn and use that skill... Some might ask, what's the point of such a setting? For Terrabyte, extracting and injecting data for players should be effortless. If he could do it the first time, why not the second?
Terrabyte could certainly do it a second time, but he was unwilling to. For him, the first time injecting and extracting data he obtained from other worlds into and from players was a process of observing himself, stabilizing himself, and strengthening himself. But a second time would be a pure waste of computational power.
Not to mention, after this trading market went online, many skills would undoubtedly change hands multiple times. For Terrabyte, wasting a large amount of computational power repeatedly performing already understood procedures was clearly not cost-effective. Thus, this seemingly abstract setting was born—to master a purchased skill, one had to learn and practice it oneself.
For ordinary players, this setting was obviously incredibly troublesome, but for top players, it might not be. Abilities mastered through self-study clearly offered more variations than fixed routines directly granted by the system.
However, ordinary players mostly didn't need skills anyway. That stuff was clearly for special operatives. For grunt soldiers, a cannonball was more practical. At this stage, skills powerful enough to rival a cannonball were exceedingly rare, but the number of towed artillery pieces, after Mid-Hive began large-scale resumed production, had already surpassed five hundred and was still growing.
Fifth, the game's internal testing had now entered its final stage, with a thousand slots opening daily, with no upper limit. The official public beta date was also stated in the post: when the last two enemies, the ork and the dark eldar, were defeated, and order in Perditia was restored, the public beta would officially begin.
For the two guys in front of the screen, the most important update this time wasn't even the Thought Acceleration upgrading to 1:10, but the launch of the trading market.
One had to know that undergoing astartes Transformation surgery, they were undoubtedly the "special operatives" among the player base.
Moreover, both guys were loyal fans of fighting and action-themed works. After entering the Wahammer world, what they enjoyed most was the thrill of cutting down enemies with a blade and the visceral impact of hand-to-hand combat.
Originally, they had no expectations of acquiring classic moves from iconic works like "Street Fighter," "Tekken," or "Mortal Kombat." But now, the launch of the trading market offered them a glimmer of hope: they might not draw the skills they wanted, but with so many players, surely someone would draw them, right?
For the two guys outside the game, this update was incredibly exciting; but for Robert, who was still in the game as a Helldivers commander, the update experience was vastly different.
First, the thousand new players who joined all at once were like an unannounced flood, instantly surging into the Helldivers' encampment.
Fortunately, an effective organizational structure had long been established within the Helldivers. The existence of the Military Committee acted like a sturdy dam, taking effect immediately.
There was no need for Robert to issue detailed orders; the various teams spontaneously sprang into action, setting up their positions in the encampment square and launching a bustling recruitment drive.
NEW RECRUITS! Tired of the long walk? Do you crave the intimate thrill of delivering Democracy up close and personal?
You like chainswords? You like the sight of alien anatomy separating from its torso in a single, glorious swing?
GET OVER HERE! We're looking for the brave, the unhinged, the ones who know the only proper way to greet an enemy is with a boot in the chest and a blade through the face! Join the Frontline Grinders and experience true, messy, close-quarters freedom!
SHARP-EYED PATRIOTS! Are you calm? Are you patient? Does the thought of vaporizing an enemy brain from a thousand meters away fill your heart with Managed Democracy?
We need marksmen like you! Forget the melee; your job is to deliver precision freedom with surgical, high-velocity rounds. If you can make an enemy meet their great-grand-emperor with a single, clean shot, YOUR SQUAD IS WAITING! Stop wasting your talent and start delivering strategic supremacy!
LAZY?! Good! Why walk when you can drop?!
Attention Helldivers who despise terrestrial travel! Check out our Paratrooper Immersion Class! Guaranteed qualification in one standard week, or we'll drop you without a chute! Learn to experience what real ACE AERIAL COMBAT feels like—the moment your pod hits atmosphere, you're already in the fight! SKIP THE HIKE, INITIATE ORBITAL STRIKE!
Whether they were tough guys who enjoyed clashing with enemies, snipers who liked to deliver fatal blows from the shadows, or those who longed to fly in the sky, they quickly found their place amidst the clamor.
There were even a few players who ignored the recruitment efforts of all the companies, walked straight through the crowd, and headed directly for the foundry. They found Reddito, who was adjusting equipment, and with devout expressions, stated that they wanted to be his black slaves... ah, no, apprentices.
When Robert saw this, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. He found it truly difficult to understand the thought processes of these players. But then he reconsidered, everyone had their own hobbies, and he shouldn't interfere. After all, efficiently operating production lines were also crucial for the Helldivers.
"Never mind," Robert shook his head, muttering to himself, "After all, the Helldivers Legion is their eternal home. They are always welcome to return."
Even with the Military Committee shouldering most of the recruitment work, the subsequent logistical arrangements still took Robert a full day. Fortunately, Thought Acceleration had upgraded to 1:10; if it were still the original 1:3, and such things happened once every three days, Robert wouldn't be able to do anything else, just approving documents and filling out forms.