Chapter 36: Counterfeits and Counterfeits
One month after the launch of FGO, its terrifying ability to rake in money and its overwhelming word-of-mouth reputation completely changed the ecology of Youxing Network and even the entire Blue Star gaming circle.
Countless players were immersed every day in researching Low-star War Gods, challenging high-difficulty stages, and thirstily reading the background stories of Heroic Spirits in Da Vinci's Workshop.
Amidst this craze, the giant that occupied half of the Blue Star gaming market—Tianpeng Interactive Entertainment—finally revealed its long-premeditated fangs.
[Tianpeng Interactive Entertainment's Annual 3D Holographic Strategy Masterpiece—'gods and demons defense line', begins its shocking Open Beta today!]
[Log in to get a free ten-roll! First top-up of six yuan gets the out-of-print SSR 'Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady'!]
[Break the shackles of tradition! Say no to clunky mechanics! Experience the ultimate refreshing feeling of tower defense mowing!]
Overwhelming advertisements occupied almost every social platform and city billboard overnight.
Tianpeng Interactive Entertainment's marketing was extremely targeted, with every line subtly mocking FGO's strict Cost limits and its "extremely difficult early-game experience."
They attempted to use the most effective tactics of traditional online games—"high benefits" and "instant gratification"—to snatch away players who had been tormented by FGO's hardcore mechanics.
In the Shark Stream Room, PD raised an eyebrow as he watched the ads for 'gods and demons defense line' popping up all over the screen.
"Brothers, this big company Tianpeng Interactive Entertainment has finally stepped into the ring to make a tower defense game. Looking at these slogans, they're clearly aiming for Chaldea."
PD rubbed his chin. "Even though I'm a die-hard fan of FGO now, the benefits this big company is giving out are indeed plenty."
"Anyway, we've finished the story for the First Singularity. Let's go test the waters and see what this 'era-surpassing' tower defense is actually made of."
With a mindset of curiosity and comparison, PD put on his VR headset, downloaded, and entered 'gods and demons defense line'.
As soon as he entered, a very thick "traditional online game" formula hit him in the face.
The screen was filled with colorful pop-ups for "First Top-up Rebates," "Daily Special Gift Packs," and "VIP Exclusive Privileges," nearly blinding PD's titanium dog eyes.
Patiently closing a dozen pop-ups, PD entered the tutorial for the first stage.
The tactical grid, the high and low platform terrain, and even the mechanism requiring "Spiritual Power Points" to deploy characters were carved from the exact same mold as FGO.
"Oh, they even copied the UI interface? This reskin is quite direct."
PD curled his lip and casually dragged the SSR mage "Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady," which he got from the first top-up, onto the battlefield.
According to his experience of being beaten in FGO, the deployment cost for such a high-rarity grand mage would definitely be extremely high; they could never be placed at the start, and one would have to deploy a Vanguard first to generate points.
However, the moment he dropped the card, the system notification rang out cheerfully:
[Ding! Detected that you are a distinguished VIP 3 player!]
[VIP Privilege Active: Initial Spiritual Power Points increased by 50! Your SSR character has ignored deployment costs and descended directly onto the battlefield!]
"Pfft—!" The mouthful of water PD had just taken sprayed directly onto the holographic screen.
"Holy crap? What the hell?!" PD's eyes widened as he watched the "Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady," glowing with a cheap golden light and possessing giant wings that took up half the screen, land steadily on the high platform.
"VIP privileges directly add to starting costs?! You can ignore Cost limits if you pay?!"
PD felt completely numb.
"Then why the hell do I need Vanguards to work and generate points! What strategy is there to speak of? Can't I just slap a fully equipped five-star squad in the enemies' faces and steamroll them at the start?!"
After a brief moment of daze, the viewers in the stream room erupted with overwhelming mockery:
"Hahaha! What kind of god-tier VIP privilege adds to initial costs! These copycats didn't even understand tower defense at all!"
"They copied the 'Cost System', the core mechanism that limits stat bloat in FGO, and then used VIP privileges to render that mechanism useless? This operation is like taking off your pants to fart—completely redundant!"
"Too funny, is this the comprehension level of a big company? Everything can be VIP, huh!"
With a feeling of extreme absurdity and disgust, PD continued playing for a while.
But the more he played, the tighter his brow furrowed.
Although the game's art had plenty of lighting effects, with all sorts of giant wings and golden special effects flying everywhere, a closer look revealed they were all soulless industrial assembly-line products.
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