January 4th was the day that had been officially announced for the internal beta test launch of Swallowing Heaven and Earth.
In the days leading up to this moment, the official team had already distributed 10,000 activation codes through the mobile reservation system on a strict first-come, first-served basis. After all, with the Reaper Server now performing excellently and handling everything, they could absolutely afford to be this generous and confident.
Although Evan now firmly believed that the game's overall completion quality was extremely high, with virtually all significant bugs already resolved, and it would genuinely be difficult to find any major bugs during the internal beta phase, internal beta tests in games are often not exclusively just for technical bug hunting or identifying unreasonable UI design elements.
Monitoring player retention rates, average online time duration, specific points of interest and engagement, and monetization conversion rates through internal beta testing provides invaluable data that purely technical tests cannot capture. And based on the specific behavioral patterns and preferences of internal beta test players, it helps tremendously in formulating reasonable operational strategies that are properly tailored to actual player interests when the game launches officially.
At 9:55 AM, every single Redbird Studios employee was stationed at their computer workstation, anxiously refreshing the exact same webpage over and over with repeated F5 key presses.
10:00 AM sharp was the official start time for the internal beta of Swallowing Heaven and Earth. There wasn't anything particularly special to say about that specific time choice—it was basically just standard industry convention, a time slot when pretty much anyone could spare a moment, falling comfortably between breakfast and lunch hours.
Before the internal beta went live, Evan had followed his usual protocol and personally informed Rachel Waters about the launch, and related news coverage was published on the GAME World portal website and in their physical magazine.
Although the coverage wasn't particularly extensive or given massive prominence, it made Evan quite curious about Rachel's actual identity and position within the organization. His Redbird Studios didn't have any special insider connections or personal relationships with a large-scale influential website like GAME World, so this favorable treatment could only be attributed to Rachel's own professional connections and influence within the company.
This was definitely not something she could achieve with her initial modest claim of being "just an ordinary editor," which made Evan even more curious about who she actually was in the organizational hierarchy.
The time reached 10:00 AM sharp.
Swallowing Heaven and Earth closed beta officially begins!
Test server "Soaring Cloud" officially opens!
Almost exactly at 10:00 AM on the dot, the previously empty and quiet server was absolutely flooded with eager players logging in simultaneously.
Thanks to the incredible reliability and performance of the Reaper Server infrastructure, there was absolutely no player congestion, queue times, or connection lag whatsoever.
Although card game players couldn't physically see each other or interact visually in the game world, the rapidly refreshing stream of public chat messages on the world channel made the situation abundantly clear.
All players entering this new game world for the very first time were behaving like curious babies, touching and examining everything, looking around at all the features.
The intuitive and well-designed interface quickly made players understand that they needed to draw cards now to get started, and to make the test server experience actually meaningful and engaging, Evan had generously given all players 30 completely free gacha tickets right from the start—more than enough for a satisfying initial drawing session.
So less than a single minute later, the public chat channel started refreshing continuously with various automated announcement messages:
"Congratulations to player 'LaughingGhost' for obtaining an SR-grade spirit beast: Colorful Whiskered Kun in the Shan Hai Scroll!"
"Player 'JustBrowsingNotBuying' was blessed with exceptional fortune, obtaining a UR-grade spirit beast: Dao Realm Kun in the Shan Hai Scroll!"
"Player 'KillerInstinct99' was blessed with exceptional fortune, obtaining a UR-grade spirit beast: Underworld Lantern Kun in the Shan Hai Scroll!"
...
Evan also walked over behind Owen's workstation, watching him nervously monitor the backend server systems and meticulously record various statistical data in real-time.
"How many players are currently online right now?"
"There are 5,742 people logged in at this moment, and the number is still slowly but steadily increasing."
Evan nodded approvingly—this was a very good, solid number.
Generally speaking, even if you pick an absolutely optimal time slot for launch, not all players who received activation codes will have the available time or immediate interest to enter the game right at that exact moment.
So if a game's internal beta test sees 70% or more of code recipients enter the game immediately at launch, it almost certainly means the game's advertising and promotional campaign has been extremely effective.
Swallowing Heaven and Earth hadn't quite reached that benchmark threshold, but a 57% immediate login rate was already a very strong and promising result for a completely new game without any existing IP recognition or brand boost.
"A player has made their first purchase—directly spending two thousand dollars in one transaction!"
Sasha exclaimed from her desk across the office. "And it's not just one player doing this either!"
Evan walked out from behind Owen's station, raised his hand in a calming gesture, and said with a confident smile:
"You've all personally experienced and tested the demo version extensively yourselves. Card drawing is genuinely addictive by design.
You need to have complete confidence in the game that you created."
Lana, who was watching the same monitoring screen alongside Sasha, smiled and added her own observation:
"Evan's absolutely right about this.
I think these players might actually just be making smart investments. After all, our internal beta rules very clearly state that this is a closed beta with full data wipe, and there will be a double refund credit on the official server launch.
So spending two thousand dollars now might seem like a lot in the moment, but they'll receive four thousand dollars in premium currency back when the official launch happens.
The players who are making purchases right now probably feel one simple thing: 'Maybe you made a profit, but I definitely won't lose anything!'"
At the end of her analysis, Lana even made a playful knowing remark with a slight grin.
Evan couldn't help but feel simultaneously amused and exasperated, shaking his head and saying:
"That's certainly true from a purely economic perspective, but players who actually dare to invest real money at this early stage are showing genuine confidence in us and the game.
Overall, it's absolutely a win-win situation for everyone involved."
At this exact moment, Owen suddenly exclaimed loudly:
"A super whale has just arrived—someone directly spent fifty thousand dollars in a single session!"
Even Evan couldn't remain completely calm and composed now.
A first-time top-up purchase of fifty thousand dollars was operating completely at the level of what the mobile game industry referred to as a "mega whale"—a player who absolutely needed to be treated with careful attention and special consideration.
In some smaller-scale games, a single player like this could literally single-handedly support and sustain an entire server's operational costs.
Evan thought for a moment, then gestured for Lana to come over.
"Lana, I need you to arrange for us to recruit dedicated customer service personnel as soon as possible.
For the specific requirements and job description, go find Logan. Just tell him we need 'VIP customer service specialists,' and he'll understand exactly what I mean."
Lana nodded, indicating she understood the assignment.
Evan then leaned down and gently patted Sasha's shoulder, pointing to the game running on her monitor screen and saying:
"I've been thinking about this, and I believe that as a game company, we should actively encourage our employees to play and engage with our own games regularly.
You can discuss with the other department heads later and work out how to properly arrange these game benefits as part of compensation."
Sasha also nodded and said professionally: "Evan, rest assured—I will handle these matters properly and present you with a proposal."
Marcus Stone was what you'd traditionally call new money—a nouveau riche in the classic sense of the term.
As a wealthy person who had made his substantial fortune in the coal mining industry, and whose family also owned and operated a successful construction contracting business, Marcus had never really had the opportunity or genuine interest to cultivate refined, elegant hobbies.
For example, he knew absolutely nothing about classical piano, sophisticated wine tasting, or golf club culture.
As a bachelor in his thirties with no other particularly notable virtues besides being extremely rich, he had really only one true hobby: playing video games.
Spend the most money, be the most god-like whale player—this was Marcus Stone's personal motto and philosophy for playing games.
Around New Year's Day, Marcus had noticed a new game making waves online: Swallowing Heaven and Earth.
As someone slightly older than the typical gamer demographic, the incredibly realistic cinematic CG had completely captivated him, and the promotional materials also clearly stated it was a browser-based web game, requiring absolutely no client download, playable on even the most basic computers.
Such a convenient game?
Marcus immediately applied for an activation code without any hesitation.
As a seasoned veteran gamer, Marcus was thoroughly well aware of the benefits that came during a game's closed beta phase with data wipe. Usually, all purchases would be refunded with double the value in premium currency, so in a very real economic sense, the more you spent during beta, the more you effectively earned.
Why would anyone hesitate then?
After entering the test server environment, the comfortable and smooth interface design, the thoughtful and atmospheric soundtrack, and the incredibly detailed original card artwork all left an extremely deep positive impression on Marcus.
Although he couldn't articulate in precise technical terms exactly what was good about it, the overall experience made him feel that this company was genuinely serious and passionate about making quality games. And the brand-new card-drawing gameplay mechanic left an even deeper impression on him!
Although there wasn't a huge variety of things to spend money on in the game right at this moment, Marcus still directly topped up fifty thousand dollars without thinking twice. So he would receive a hundred thousand dollars worth of premium currency refund credit when the official server launched.
He also firmly believed this game would definitely become hugely popular.
As someone who considered himself a straightforward, no-nonsense guy, he felt one simple truth: no one could possibly refuse the pure satisfaction of drawing cards!
plz throw powerstones.