Development Journal：Meeting FAQ
[h3]Greetings, Warlords![/h3]
At the end of July, we held a meetup with Chinese Mainland players where Warlords from all over the country gathered to discuss Conqueror's Blade's current issues and future plans with the developers.
First of all, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the Warlords for taking the time out of their busy schedules to participate in our meet-up and provide valuable suggestions for the game. Now, let's review the FAQ of the meet-up together.
[h3]1. In the recent two seasons, there have been frequent issues of crashes and sudden disconnects. When can these be resolved?[/h3]
Optimization is always the lifeline of a game, and we have received lots of feedback from Warlords concerning improvements, whether it's from community feedback or this current meeting. So, we would like to discuss the issue of game optimization with everyone first.
Through data monitoring and customer feedback, we have indeed observed that the frequency of crashes and unexpected exits in recent seasons has increased compared to before. After internal analysis, we found that the main reasons are as follows:
Over the past few seasons, the development team has been continuously improving the game's graphics and performance. As a result, players may notice increased detail in attire textures, skin and hair materials, and special effects compared to when the game first launched. However, these new features come at a cost, such as higher memory usage, increased CPU calculations, and more complex algorithm logic. When implementing these features, we did not strike the right balance between visual quality and player system requirements. In some new levels, special effects, and attire production, we did not set reasonable asset budgets, causing some players to experience crashes due to insufficient memory or graphics memory after playing the game for a while.
Secondly, some crash issues are caused by corrupted data packets, which often occur after a Steam version update. As the game content increases, the size of the game client also becomes larger, and the probability of this situation occurring also increases.
In addition, we noticed that players with high-end hardware frequently experience crashes. After analyzing the issue, we found that part of the problem is due to some new hardware mechanisms. We did not have enough time to conduct thorough compatibility tests on a few recently released high-end RAM, motherboards, and graphics cards, leading to compatibility issues. For example, overclocked DDR5 memory on certain motherboards may cause crashes.
After analyzing, we've found that the majority of the problems players encounter, such as crashes, freezes, or frame drops, are closely related to game performance optimization. Therefore, we have formed a dedicated optimization team internally, planning to solve these issues [[within the next six months]. The optimization plan is divided into the following stages:
Game asset optimization: We will conduct a thorough scan of the game's art assets, optimizing some excessively used assets, such as highly complex effects, high-resolution textures, models without LOD, etc., in order to meet our set asset budget requirements. This can significantly resolve issues like crashes and frame drops caused by insufficient memory on the GPU.
Engine Algorithm Optimization: We will optimize some algorithms in the engine, such as upgrading the game's memory management mechanism to promptly release unused texture data from the system, thereby reducing the requirements on the graphics card; improving the memory management module, reducing memory fragmentation, and increasing memory usage efficiency; optimizing fabric algorithms to lower CPU workload.
Improve performance standard testing process: We will internally upgrade and refine our performance standard testing process. Before each version is launched, we will conduct a comprehensive performance test for all levels under different hardware configurations, to ensure that the game's performance is within an acceptable range.
Package size (game client) and compatibility issues: In addition to performance-related issues, we will also address compatibility and package size problems. On one hand, we will gradually control the package size by placing some less frequently used assets on the server and downloading them when needed. On the other hand, we will optimize the package integrity verification algorithm and process to ensure that players' downloaded packages are not damaged. The team will purchase new mainstream PC hardware every quarter and give it to the testing team for compatibility testing to ensure the game runs smoothly on these devices.
[h3]2. How will the balance of the battlefield be maintained?[/h3]
With the recent balance adjustments and the addition of systems such as Unit Mastery, we have gradually found a suitable battle rhythm for the battlefield: it's neither Cavalry charges nor Arrow Rain, but rather a focus on ground Advance as the primary pace-setter, allowing various units to have room for performance in the battle rhythm.
Therefore, unit mastery and balance adjustments are crucial to gradually stabilize this ecosystem. This season, we have increased the mastery of many units in the Melee Infantry group, and these units have become important members of the battlefield due to the new combat mechanics brought by the mastery system, forming a diverse ecosystem.
Subsequent plans:
In the short term, we will not add new five-star Unit Mastery, but rather focus on balancing five-star Units. Our goal is to create a battlefield ecosystem centered on five-star Units, allowing other Units to have playable features and opportunities to enter the battle.
For lower star-level Units, we will gradually unlock their Mastery potential, exploring more possibilities in terms of gameplay experience, allowing for a wider variety of battlefield choices.
We understand that many Warlords may not have much time and are aware of the pressure to accumulate military manuals, unlock Mastery Units, and catch up with others. Therefore, you can also pay attention to the upcoming events, which will offer a lot of rewards. This will help everyone progress faster and make it an important part of finding the right development rhythm for maintaining balance and stability in the battlefield.
[h3]3. Anti-cheating Measures[/h3]
Siege matchmaking is one of the core gameplay elements in Conqueror's Blade. We fully understand the negative impact that cheats have on the battlefield environment and everyone's overall gaming experience. For some time now, we have been dedicated to combating the endless surge of cheats through various methods such as self-developed encryption for game data transmission and client protection. However, there are still some that manage to slip through the cracks.
Based on everyone's feedback, we are aware that there are many new types of external plugins in the market, and they continue to be updated constantly, which causes us a great deal of trouble.
To improve the anti-cheating technology and samples, and detect different cheats through various methods, we have deepened our cooperation with NetEase YiDun anti-cheat system this year. By utilizing their comprehensive anti-cheating system and combining it with in-game character behavior data analysis, we constantly monitor and combat any suspicious accounts 24 hours a day.
However, we know that various anti-cheating measures need to be continuously updated to be effective, as cheats are constantly changing. In the meantime, if you encounter any players suspected of cheating in the game, you can report them through their Avatar or the Rating board, or contact us via our customer support system. We will follow up as soon as possible.
[h3]4. Regarding the future update plans for Territory Wars[/h3]
After discussing Siege, let's talk about Territory Wars. Through Territory War, Warlords can forge deep friendships with their comrades while occupying cities in the World Map of Conqueror's Blade. We are delighted to see friendships being made through Territory Wars, but at the same time, we have noticed many issues that cannot be ignored from the feedback given by Warlords, these include:
- The game has a high learning curve and complex rules.
- The power development cycle in Territory Wars is long.
- The cost of unit kit and replenishing units exceeds the rewards
- Accumulation of resources yields no benefits.
Our primary goal is to involve more players in Territory Wars, and the above-mentioned issues may hinder their enthusiasm for participating. Therefore, these barriers and rewards-related issues are our top priority to address during the optimization of Territory Wars.
Next is the participation rhythm in the Territory War itself. During the fief battles, many players can only wait outside to join the frontline, which results in a lack of fun gaming experience and makes the individual's Territory War experience less interesting. How to make every participant valuable and involved in the war is the second problem we need to solve to improve the overall gaming experience of the Territory War gameplay.
It should be noted that the Territory War is a combination of various gameplay elements, such as the World Map and Siege Battles. Therefore, adjustments to the Territory War require considering many aspects, and the content to be adjusted is extensive. The development cycle will be relatively longer. Although we have a clear plan for the adjustments, it will take some time for them to be officially launched. Meanwhile, we hope that all Warlords can participate and provide more information and ideas.
In addition, we are also considering the possibility of conducting joint research tests for Territory War in the future. After making certain content adjustments, we will invite all Warlords to participate and work together to complete the testing of this large-scale gameplay.
We once again thank all the Warlords for providing us with valuable suggestions regarding the Territory War through meetings and the complaint system.
[h3]5. Will CBL (Conqueror's Blade League) be held again?[/h3]
After eight seasons, the CBL has always been an event where Conqueror's Blade developers and players participate together. It's the biggest stage for players to showcase their tactics and represents the highest level of Conqueror's Blade tactical gameplay. During the CBL, we cheer all cheer for the legendary teams and support those who dare to challenge those. No matter the result, we see everyone's passion for Conqueror's Blade and the CBL. Therefore, we will continue to hold the Conqueror's Blade League and strive to involve more players in the pursuit of the highest battlefield standards.
At the same time, we also hope that apart from the Conqueror's Blade League (CBL), more players and organizations in the community can join us in organizing various community tournaments. Official support includes but is not limited to promotional assistance and reward incentives. For more details, please refer to the upcoming notice.
Finally, as the pinnacle of Conqueror's Blade gameplay, we hope that everyone can participate in sharing tactics and skill so that more Warlords can see and understand the fun in it.
Here's a little sneak peek: the CBL Winter Tournament is expected to open for registration in late October. See you on the battlefield, Warlords!
[h3]6. There are many game modes, but their replayability is low. Will reward acquisition and gameplay design exploration be improved in the future?[/h3]
We have always hoped to bring different gameplay experiences to Warlords through updates in Conqueror's Blade, besides Siege matches, and allow them to earn more rewards and resources during the process. However, after some events were launched, Warlords' feedback on the game modes gradually became negative, with words like "forced" and "pushed" appearing in the comments. These, obviously, do not align with our original intentions.
In the future, we hope to make some changes that will allow warlords to freely manage their gaming time while still obtaining enough resources and enjoyment. Firstly, we will adjust the resource production logic in some game modes, similar to the well-received "different paths, same destination" mechanism in other games. As long as you invest time into the game, regardless of the game mode chosen, you can obtain the resources you want. This way, the freedom to play the game will be increased, and you can play the modes you want while still keeping up with the progress.
In terms of gameplay mode updates, we will also seek breakthroughs and try various directions until we eventually settle on some interesting content. However, this does not mean we will force everyone to spend their precious gaming time on content they do not enjoy.
[h3]7. Plans for updating hero/unit attire and the methods of obtaining these attires[/h3]
We won't make the attire in Conqueror's Blade too exaggerated in terms of the sense of the era, in order not to lose the historical charm of a cold weapon warfare game. Thus, highly technological and modern attire like Cyberpunk is unlikely to appear in Conqueror's Blade.
As everyone's aesthetic appreciation improves, the demand for more sophisticated fashion design increases. We will take on this challenge and you can look forward to next season's seasonal attires to see if our design not only meets the historical requirements but also has a more uncommon aesthetic compared to the previous Conqueror's Blade designs released recently
In the future, we may consider incorporating themes from ancient legends into the game, but these will not give players a sense of being disconnected from the era. We believe that some of the legendary stories and myths from ancient times represent people's expressions of beauty and imagination at that time.
In terms of Attires acquisition, direct purchase and Attire Chest draws continue to be the main ways to obtain attire in the future.
P.S.
The above is the main content mentioned by the developers and warlords during this dev/player meetup. Once again, thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend our offline meeting and providing us with a lot of valuable suggestions. Your enthusiasm far exceeded our expectations. Of course, this meeting is just the beginning, and we will hold more online and offline activities in the future, inviting more warlords to join our gatherings in multiple regions.
This FAQ comes to an end. For the next FAQ, we will seriously consider the opinions of Warlords in the comment section. See you there!
