After the end of the first China Gamer Development Conference, Zhang Lexing did not leave Beijing immediately, when the unsuccessful poaching wind set off, he also heard about it, but out of trust in his company's employees, he did not intervene, and later facts proved that his confidence was able to stand the test, and it didn't take long for the poaching operation to die down. While it's frustrating for someone to dig into their own corners, it also proves the status of their employees in the industry, and indirectly shows that there are more companies trying to enter the gaming industry than in the first half of the year, which is also a good thing in some ways.

During the days when he stayed in Beijing, Zhang Lexing would open the ICQ every morning, although the connection to the server was very slow and often failed, although it was not possible to receive Chen Zishan's reply every day, but compared to the transoceanic call, ICQ was still much cuter, and he could send it at any time if he had anything to say, even if it took a long time to receive a reply ^_^ from Chen Zishan, Zhang Lexing also felt very happy.

One day in mid-October, Zhang Lexing, as usual, sent a greeting through ICQ, and when he was waiting for a reply, there was a knock at the door of the office, and when he looked up, it turned out to be Wang Mengyao, although the door of the office was not closed, but she still knocked on the door habitually.

Seeing Zhang Lexing raise his head, Wang Mengyao walked over with a smile on his face and said, "Boss, SuperA'can developed by Dunwei Technology and produced by UMC has been listed, and this is relevant information. ”

As she spoke, Wang Mengyao took out a piece of information from the folder in her hand and handed it over, Zhang Lexing took it and looked at it, and the information read: "SuperA'can English code name F-16, Chinese Dunhuang, developed by Dun Panic Technology and produced by UMC, using Motorola 68000+MOS6502 dual CPUs, and contains two UMC special chips UM6618 and UM6619, which are used to process background animation and sound effects respectively. The system has a built-in 128KB VRAM and provides 8 sets of DMA. The maximum output resolution of the system is 640×480, the number of supported colors is 32768 colors, and the maximum number of colors on the same screen is 256 colors.

……

The maximum size of the main character is 256×256, and the color of the main character is 256 colors, which can be used to zoom in, reduce and mosaic. There are up to four layers of backgrounds, two of which can be transparent, swirling, scaling and mosaic, and the bottom graphic layer can be directly pasted into the image.

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The console includes a rocker, mouse, keyboard, light gun, battle connection (providing the function of connecting to play), and CD-ROM.

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The main performance of the SuperA'can host performance booster

The number of background layers can be up to 10, which can double the processing speed of zoom in, zoom out, rotate and crystal ball effects, and support texture drawing and shadow painting. THE HIGH-SPEED DSP FOR THE GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR IS UP TO 28 UMHz, the system VRAM capacity is increased to 256 KB, the maximum computing performance of 3D planar maps is 2.25 million vertices (750,000 POLYGOM/block), and a set of 2-channel ADPCM voice functions are added.

……

The companies involved in the development of the game include Juwei Technology, Panda Software, Dunhuang Technology, Jingxun Information and many other well-known companies, and the upcoming games include "Formosa Showdown", "Three Kingdoms", "Son of Evil", "Sonic Wyvern", "Super Bright War History" and other ......"

Combined with the console pictures and related introductions attached to the materials, Zhang Lexing remembered that it seemed that this console had been introduced in several consecutive issues of "Video Game Software" in 96, and at that time, it was claimed to sweep the all-Chinese domestic consoles of Super Nintendo and Sega MD, and it was sold in the mainland for a while, but unfortunately it was disbanded not long after. It is said that this project was led by UMC, because the console sales were not satisfactory and the related game development could not keep up, so UMC backed down first. As soon as UMC, which contributed the most money, withdrew, the remaining companies could not stand it, and the SuperA'can host alliance disappeared.

Zhang Lexing has also studied why the SuperA'can host failed, and it has been mentioned in many materials, one is that the product is overpriced and lacks competitiveness; The second is that the timing of the product launch is not right, when the SuperA'can console was launched, it was already the end of the life of the 16-bit console, and the international market has begun to fully transfer to the 32-bit game console, compared with the performance of the SuperA'can console, it is not competitive; The third reason is that due to the low sales of consoles, there is a lack of attraction for third-party game developers, and it is impossible to get blockbusters like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest that can attract players' attention. Of course, the most important thing is that the production is controlled by others, and there is a conflict between the purchase order of the SuperA'can console and the chip order of the Super Nintendo, as long as the large purchaser Nintendo makes a slight gesture and pretends to cancel the chip order, then the chip manufacturer can only make a choice that is not conducive to the SuperA'can console.

For this kind of doomed host, Zhang Lexing will not pay much attention, but the reason for its failure is still very valuable for reference, at least it can be known from it, if the game console is to succeed, then it must be good enough in the three aspects of price, performance and game support, so that it is possible to compete for the final victory, so Zhang Lexing has to fully consider these aspects when preparing his own game console.

Putting down the information in his hand, Zhang Lexing raised his head and said to Wang Mengyao who was next to him: "Well, help me buy it...... Five sets of this SuperA'can console are back, and if there is a new game on the market, you can also buy it back. ”

"Boss, you don't want to arrange someone to develop the above game, do you?" The expression on Wang Mengyao's face was slightly surprised.

"Ah, what's the problem?" Zhang Lexing asked rhetorically.

"That's the case,Tianzhiyuan has evaluated the SuperA'can host,They think that the cost of this host using cartridge as storage media is too high,It's hundreds of times that of optical discs,The performance is also too big a gap with the now popular PS and SS,And the follow-up peripherals, including CD-ROM, are still just an idea,So I'm not optimistic about the development prospects of this host,I didn't contact it。

"Oh, that's right. But I don't want you to buy this console to develop the above games.,I'm going to keep it for collection.,I want to set up a game museum in the future.。 ”

"Boss, I understand, I'll do it." Wang Mengyao nodded, then turned around and left.

The matter of buying a SuperA'can console, Zhang Lexing is not worried about it at all, after all, Asian Interactive still has some relationship in Taiwan, and buying a game console or something is not a problem, the only thing that worries Zhang Lexing is that this game console should not be taken off the market in advance, so he is so anxious to ask Wang Mengyao to purchase.

Wang Mengyao left for less than five minutes and came back, Zhang Lexing felt a little strange, so he asked her, "What's wrong, something?" ”

"Boss, that's the case, just now a person claiming to be Bian Xiaochun from the leading company came to you at the door, let him in?" Wang Mengyao explained.

At this time, how did Bian Xiaochun find it, Zhang Lexing was a little confused, but it didn't matter if he didn't understand it, he would naturally know it when he met. Thinking of this, Zhang Lexing said to Wang Mengyao: "Okay, let him in." ”

After a while, Bian Xiaochun walked in with Wang Mengyao, Zhang Lexing put down the documents in his hand, stood up and said, "Yo, Mr. Bian, what kind of wind blew you here." Meng Yao, go pour a cup of tea for Mr. Bian. ”

"Mr. Zhang, how can I compare to you, your office here is so big and elegantly furnished." Bian Xiaochun said modestly.

"Mr. Bian, come and sit here." Zhang Lexing came to the sofa and sat down, then beckoned to Bian Xiaochun, and then instructed Wang Mengyao: "Mengyao, go and pour a cup of tea for Mr. Bian." ”

"Please come later, right away." Wang Mengyao answered, turned around and left.

Bian Xiaochun was no longer polite, and came to the sofa next to Zhang Lexing and sat down. Zhang Lexing turned his head to Bian Xiaochun and asked, "Mr. Bian, what is the matter with your special trip?" ”

"Hmm...... Mr. Zhang, I won't tell you, I do have something I want to ask you for help this time. ”

"Oh? Tell me something, if you can help, it's definitely no problem. ”

"Mr. Zhang, that's right, the last time I held a seminar, I heard that you have an overseas distribution channel. Our company is currently developing a game, which has been basically completed, and we have estimated that if we only sell it in China, we are not sure that we will recover our investment, so we want to seek export channels, so let's see if you can help. ”

"Oh......" Zhang Lexing was about to speak, but saw Wang Mengyao coming in with tea on a tray, so he changed his words: "Mr. Bian, don't worry, let's take a sip of tea first." ”

Wang Mengyao took the tea, carefully put it in front of Bian Xiaochun, smiled and said to him: "Mr. Bian, please use tea", then put away the tray and waited next to Zhang Lexing.

Bian Xiaochun absentmindedly picked up the teacup and took a sip, and after putting down the teacup, he hesitated for a moment, but still took out a disc from the briefcase he carried: "Mr. Zhang, this is our upcoming game "Guandu", why don't you take a look at it first." ”

The name "Guandu" caused Zhang Lexing to have a lot of memories, this game is the first game launched by the former leading company, it is said that the reason for the birth of the leading general manager Bian Xiaochun is obsessed with the Three Kingdoms, and there has never been a mainland Three Kingdoms game defects. Bian Xiaochun's liking of the Three Kingdoms game can be said to be well known, since they started their first magazine "Video Game Software", Bian Xiaochun often writes some trial experiences about the Three Kingdoms game alone or in cooperation with others, so when the director plans to develop a computer game, making a game about the Three Kingdoms has become their first choice. Zhang Lexing used to play the game "Guandu", but after so many years, he can't remember anything anymore, but he vaguely remembers that it seems that the battle map is divided into several levels, and there are videos and voices in the game from the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". I didn't expect the first game to be made by the current precursor is "Guandu", and it seems that some things are not so easy to change.

After taking the "Guandu" game disc handed over by Bian Xiaochun, Zhang Lexing returned to his desk. There are two computers on the desk, one is an office, a regular DELL business jet, which houses the company's internal management system, and the other is a specially customized computer for gaming, with the latest KylinWindows95 system installed. Zhang Lexing turned on the gaming computer, waited for the desktop to come out, put the disc in, and soon the AutoRun function popped up a dialog box, which could be selected from "install the game", "view the disc" and "exit". Zhang Lexing clicked on "Install Game", and the installer of "Guandu" immediately jumped out, selected the installation directory, and waited for a while, and the installation progress bar went from zero to 100%. After the installer ended, the "install the game" in the previous dialog box automatically became "run the game", Zhang Lexing clicked "run the game" again, and thus entered the world of the Three Kingdoms.

In the process of Zhang Lexing's play, Bian Xiaochun also introduced on the side: "Mr. Zhang, our game mainly describes the strategic decisive battle between Cao Cao's army and Yuan Shaojun near Guandu (now northeast of Zhongmu, Henan) that took place in the fifth year of Jian'an, that is, in 200 AD......"

After a familiar and slightly blurry video of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", after some selection, the picture on the computer screen shifted to an antique camp tent, and on the book case below the screen were bamboo slips, pens, ink, inkstones, etc., and the Chinese military generals of the big tent sat in two columns, seemingly waiting for Zhang Lexing to give orders.

Bian Xiaochun continued to introduce at this time: "Well, Mr. Zhang, the place you see now is a handsome tent from a subjective perspective, which has never appeared in similar games. In the tent, players can flip through official documents, view maps, and instruct waiters to arrange summons, promotions, rest, and other things. If there is some important military situation, there will be a report from the Malays, if the advisers have important ideas, they will also come to ask for an appointment, a messenger who has sent troops for help may suddenly come to see him, and a messenger sent by the enemy will also come to deliver a letter. You can just order a little bit in the tent and give it a try. ”

Zhang Lexing casually clicked on a Wenchen on the left-hand side, and suddenly there was a circular video window and a pop-up text box on the screen, and the text box read, "Kong Rong: Yuan Shao is powerful, you can't fight, you can only make peace", at the same time, the same voice came from the computer speaker, but it was also a little interesting, but it was a little sticky to the form, and the cooperation was not coordinated enough.

Bian Xiaochun was about to introduce at this time, Zhang Lexing hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Mr. Bian, I'll study it myself first, and see if it's easy for you to get started in this game." ”

"......" Bian Xiaochun spoke, and saw that Zhang Lexing seemed unwilling to listen anymore, so he had to swallow the rest of the words, and then sat next to him, looking forward to Zhang Lexing's reaction anxiously.

Zhang Lexing clicked randomly, not only heard a bunch of real voices, but also pointed out the game map. Compared with some of the Three Kingdoms games that Zhang Lexing has seen, the scope of this map can be said to be very small, only in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the southern part of Jizhou, Sili, Yanzhou and Yuzhou, but compared with other Three Kingdoms games, this map is very detailed, not only Xuchang, Liyang and other big cities can be found, even many cities and ferries that have never appeared in the Three Kingdoms game have also appeared on the map, and even the intersections on the roads between cities are described in a similar way. It's easy to feel the grandeur of the battlefield when you play.

Continue to go deeper, Zhang Lexing found that "Guandu" is not the kind of conventional Three Kingdoms game, in the game has completely canceled the internal affairs, although it feels like there is less to play, but it is very reasonable to think about it, the Three Kingdoms period is the most exciting for players is the war, always can't players lead troops to fight on the front line, there are always some things that need to be cultivated or built water conservancy need to be arranged, this should be something that should be dealt with by middle and lower-level officials, otherwise everything has to be managed, Wouldn't that become "the name of the king, but in fact the county order".

In "Guandu", the city is no longer the foundation of settling down, but only as a medium for the garrison army to hoard grain and grass for defense, as long as the army is still there, it can continue to struggle.

"Guandu" also abandons the turn-based combat mode commonly used in the previous Three Kingdoms games, and adopts a more exciting real-time system, after the enemy and us give various marching, combat, and transportation orders to the army, you can see a red and blue arrow slowly extending along the road on the strategic miniature map. At this point, players need to constantly think about where the enemy is targeting, and where will the enemy point next? Players must seize the gap in time, skillfully pass between the enemy's troops, take the opportunity to sneak attack the enemy's food and grass, and surround the main general after the dispersion of the troops, only in this way can the war be won. Classic strategies will be realized through the player's actions, rather than relying on some so-called "strategy" on the selection menu to show like a spell like the previous Three Kingdoms games.

Zhang Lexing was surprised by these design highlights in "Guandu", he couldn't imagine that there could be such a wonderful idea in the planning of the Three Kingdoms game, and it stands to reason that if this design idea can continue to develop, it will definitely be able to give birth to a game that has good performance at the three levels of strategy, campaign, and battle. "But why hasn't it appeared, is it related to the withdrawal of the leading company from game development?" Zhang Lexing couldn't help but think about it.

Of course, there are also problems with this "Guandu", and the highlights of the overall design cannot cover up the roughness of its details, the most typical of which is the artificial intelligence (AI) part. At first, Zhang Lexing also thought about personally operating the troops to fight at the tactical level, but it took a lot of effort just to get the troops out of the camp, and then the whole team turned out to be a few villains on the screen who didn't do it, and they wandered around refusing to stand in the designated place. The battle was urgent, and Zhang Lexing didn't have time to continue to consume, so he commanded the team to rush towards the enemy, but only half the way out, a few villains somehow ran to the water's edge and stood in a daze, as if they didn't move if they didn't see the boat. When he finally pulled most of the troops to the front of the enemy camp, he found that it was also a very challenging thing to start a war, so Zhang Lexing simply gave up personally operating the troops to fight.

Putting down the mouse in his hand, Zhang Lexing sighed and talked about his feelings about "Guandu": "Mr. Bian, it's not bad if your game is just played as a real-time strategy game, although the timing of those videos and animations is not particularly ideal, but the performance at the strategy and campaign level is not bad, but the 'battle' at the tactical level is really bad, if it can be regarded as a battle." The operation is a bit unclear, and the effect of the battle is also not ideal, and even the marching army has a lot of people left behind. To be honest, this game can only be regarded as improvised, and the design ideas are very bright, but the details of the implementation are too rough. I think it's better for you to put more thought into the AI part and make the parts that need to use AI, such as war AI and automatic pathfinding, more reasonable, so that your game can be more popular. At least the battle at the tactical level needs to be improved, at least when marching, don't always be unable to find the direction, and when attacking the walled city, you need to have more tricks, not just archery, you can also join the scolding array or something, the enemy can't always shrink into the walled city, you can arrange appropriate counterattacks or sudden reinforcements, so that the fight is a little interesting. It can't be like now, I use 10,000 men to block tens of thousands of enemies in the walled city, and I can slowly shoot them all to death with a bow and arrow, which is not interesting at all. ”

"Mr. Zhang, that's the case, our trial version is not perfect enough, and we are still in the process of revising. This time, I mainly wanted to hear opinions. Bian Xiaochun explained.

"In this case, I think it is necessary to revise "Guandu", and if there are any technical difficulties, we can provide some help." There are many problems with "Guandu", but Zhang Lexing appreciates its design ideas very much, so he wants to give them a hand and make the future development of "Guandu" smoother.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, if only you could support a few programming masters, we are in a shortage of experienced programmers." Bian Xiaochun was not polite, and spoke directly, maybe they are really difficult now.

Zhang Lexing hesitated, turned his head and asked Wang Mengyao: "Mengyao, is there any extra manpower in the creative workshop now?" ”

"Hmm......" Wang Mengyao lowered her head and thought for a while, and replied: "Boss, except for the people who are on vacation, everyone else in the creative workshop happens to have projects in their hands." ”

"Oh, how many people are on vacation, is there a program in it?" Zhang Lexing asked again.

Wang Mengyao took out the notepad she was carrying and flipped through it, and said: "There are a total of 6 people on vacation, there are two programs, one is named Tian Zhuo, who has five years of programming experience and two years of game design experience, and the other is Zhao Rendong, who has three years of programming experience and one year of game design experience. ”

"Well, when the vacation of these two is over, I will arrange for them to help, what do you think?"

"Mr. Zhang, thank you so much." Bian Xiaochun said really from the heart, since the establishment of the leading company, a lot of people have been recruited, art and planning are okay, but the program has always been their weakest point, this time there can be two experienced programmers to help, not to mention anything else, at least to teach some experience to the company's rookie program, maybe the development of the next game will be smoother.

……

Bian Xiaochun left, although he did not get Zhang Lexing's promise to help export sales, but he still gained a lot, and he planned to wait for Tian Zhuo and Zhao Rendong to come, and then improve "Guandu". When he first visited E3, Bian Xiaochun can be said to have benefited a lot, but unfortunately due to the company's strength problems, many ideas of "Guandu" have not been realized, and he hopes to make up for some of his previous regrets after receiving support. And the "Guandu" demo disc left by Bian Xiaochun was taken to the creative workshop by Zhang Lexing, and when he planned to plan the Three Kingdoms game, it would be used to arouse everyone's thinking, and it could also collide with a unique Three Kingdoms game.

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