Chapter 66

Before Feng Buju opened his computer, the server had already been shut down for over an hour. Since then, a lot had happened. The forum he was browsing had activated a posting restriction, allowing each user to post only once every five minutes, but even so, the page refresh rate was still about one page every ten seconds.

As early as 8:00 AM, the system had already disabled the queue function, no longer generating any scripts, and prompted players to log out. At that time, players who were already in scripts were still unaware. By 10:20 AM, players who were in scripts gradually completed or left them. For over two hours, the log-out prompt remained on the screens of all logged-in players. By 10:30 AM, even those who stubbornly stayed in the login space were forced to log out, and the game server was subsequently shut down.

Then, the players flooded into the forum.

After seeing the prominent announcement at the top of the web page, the players had a wide range of opinions, with no consensus.

Most users expressed varying degrees of dissatisfaction. These players were not necessarily of low level; in fact, many were close to or had already reached level 20. However, they felt that the beta test ending so quickly was unfair to those who had specifically purchased game pods or obtained accounts through other channels. Players without beta test accounts could wait a few days and still play *The Thrilling Park*.

In reality, the root of these players' resentment was that the mere 50-plus hours of beta testing had not given them the significant "advantage" they had imagined.

At this point, the official pinned post by Dream Company began to cite "terms and conditions," implying that these terms were agreed to by all players initially. When selling the game pods, it was clearly stated that the beta test cap was level 20, and the beta test would end when 10% of players reached this level. Now, this condition had been met, and not opening the public beta would be a breach of promise.

Thus, the players were left speechless. Who would actually read those terms and conditions? In the face of no reasonable argument, some began to make unreasonable trouble. They posted comments like "High-level players are all from studios; Dream Company ignores the feelings of ordinary players" and more aggressive ones like "The black-hearted game company colludes with studios to inflate the price of game pods for profit." There were quite a few of these people, who fundamentally did not understand the relationship between game companies and studios, nor the basic knowledge of the industry, and had no concept of the cost of game pods. Yet, they still boldly expressed ignorant views and irresponsible accusations to vent their dissatisfaction. Ironically, these posts often attracted a large group of even more ignorant and less thoughtful people to support them, parroting their words. When more rational players posted a few counterarguments and meaningful information, they were often attacked and cursed, accused of being shills or alternate accounts for Dream Company. This phenomenon was simply because the accusers' arguments were baseless and easily refuted, leading to their anger and frustration.

There are always people who enjoy making unreasonable trouble, like shrews, and arguing with them is meaningless. Their limited knowledge and ability quickly lead them to run out of words, at which point they resort to their own dictionary, filled with their usual vocabulary—profanity, and occasionally phrases like "hehe," "what's the excitement about," and "mind your manners." These words, accompanied by their own profanity and selective ignorance, bring others down to their level, engaging in a battle of words. Arguing with such people is like holding a handful of "reason," "story," and "time," all in large letters, feeling confident, only to find that the other side holds "fallacy," "ignorance," and "shouting," leaving you feeling helpless and frustrated.

Of course, there were many silent accounts on the forum, observing the situation. Some, risking being overwhelmed by criticism, publicly supported Dream Company's decision to open the public beta. These were not members of Dream Company but high-level studio players. They genuinely supported the public beta because, from their perspective, having level 20 players unable to level up was a waste of resources.

There were also some peacemakers who tried to mediate, posting suggestions like "Dream Company should prioritize the interests of ordinary players, changing the '10% of players' condition to '10% of non-professional players,' and reopening the beta to ensure fairness." These people were all "ordinary players" who did not want "fairness" but rather benefits, yet did not want to join the unreasonable troublemakers, so they used seemingly reasonable language.

The chaos on the forum pushed useful strategy posts and help requests to page after page, like stones sinking into the sea. The already lively forum was now so "hot" that it seemed to be under a malicious software attack, testing the server's capacity.

But Dream Company faced this situation with a "surrounded by a thousand enemies, I remain unmoved" attitude. The announcement was already posted, the game server was shut down, and they continued to update and upgrade. If the players had the ability, they could wait for the public beta and not play.

In response to some users' comments like "Let's all return our game pods and see what they say" or "I won't play anymore, it's a garbage game, a black-hearted company," Dream Company's staff viewed it as a joke. They knew that no one would actually follow through. These posts did not need to be deleted; after a week, they would become evidence of the posters' own humiliation.

One could say that as a new company, Dream Company's response and style were entirely that of a monopoly or industry leader—no admission of fault, no change in decision. The choice for users was to either accept the situation or not play. It was like an oil price hike, with no room for negotiation.

These days, many operators let games "test" until they collapse, testing as long as possible, making money through indirect charges for in-game items, and using the "testing" excuse to cover up game bugs.

Dream Company, by daring to defy the norm, managed to not only prevent the game from losing popularity but also gradually increase it, with ongoing promotions and hype.

On this Sunday morning, Dream Company announced the basic equipment required for the public beta phase. Besides players who purchased *The Thrilling Park* game pods, those using other companies' game pods or headsets needed to buy Dream Company's exclusive external devices to log into the game.

This news slightly calmed the anger of the beta testers, at least showing that the public beta was not completely barrier-free. It was like the beta testers had bought a PS2 and about 50 hours of priority playtime, while public beta players needed to buy a PS2 controller to join.

After the announcement, at 11:00 AM, Dream Company immediately opened the registration for public beta accounts and listed several compatible external devices on their website, available for direct online purchase with next-day delivery.

In just one hour, the number of orders had already exceeded 200,000 and was still rising. A large number of public beta players obtained accounts and flooded the game forum, drowning out the original posts with water posts, leading to another round of heated arguments between the two groups. Strangers on the internet said all sorts of nasty things to each other, burning through thousands of household registration books in half an hour—what a grudge...

In short, Feng Buju felt as if he had slept for a whole month. When he sat down with a bowl of noodles in front of his computer, he saw such a dramatic change.

The internet is so interesting; the parties involved might think they are experiencing or participating in a historic event, but to outsiders, it's just an ordinary morning.

For Feng Buju, whether the public beta opened early or late was irrelevant. He had no intention of competing for the top level, nor did he think extending the beta test would give him any significant advantage. Strong players would always be strong; even if you practiced for an extra month, the gap would still be just one month, and they would eventually catch up. At the same level, they would still be stronger.

However, since the public beta was really about to start, it was undoubtedly good news for Feng Buju. During the beta test, he had already felt that there were many things in the game that were not yet open: currency trading, public areas, the mall, deck systems, and many other features he had not even thought of yet.

And now, in at most 48 hours, the full picture of *The Thrilling Park* would be revealed to him.