One was the 2D character animations.
Since it was an auto-chess mode, Starry Sky didn't have to worry about details like characters being controlled or moved by players during development.
This allowed them to focus their production capacity on character shooting, idle animations, and the texture of firearms.
The muzzle flashes and the feedback when bullets hit enemies were also very satisfying, from the staggering impact of bullets on the body to the dropping of mechanical parts; these animations, combined with sound effects, created what is known as 'impact'.
These accumulated details created a battle scene that, at the very least, wouldn't make people feel disconnected.
Second, during combat, there was a very professional panel on the left side of the game interface, containing a wealth of data such as the output of each T-Doll, their firing speed, and their positional fire coverage.
At the end of combat, this panel would even grade each T-Doll from B to S, and also provide a Commander rating for the entire battle based on combat time and output performance.
In fact, this data wasn't really that useful; it was like the data panel in League of Legends matches, which most people simply didn't look at.
But the existence of this feature genuinely enriched the overall combat detail.
"It's a pity this combat is automatic," Ye Feiyang muttered.
Fully automatic, it was convenient, but he always felt like it lacked the thrill of manual operation.
However, that thought was just a fleeting one, and soon the new interface that popped up after the battle settlement on the screen immediately grabbed his attention.
A row of new T-Doll portraits and names appeared at the bottom of the screen.
"Type 97? Hmm? Wearing white stockings, oh no... she looks similar to that Type 95 just now, sisters?"
"Browning?"
"Kar98k... Isn't that the sniper rifle from Sniper Elite?"
He scanned his eyes, noticing a number in the corner of the screen that flickered after the battle ended.
"Oh, the monsters I just farmed give me Execution Points, which I can use to recruit T-Dolls, upgrade population, or randomize..."
"Got it, got it... Now I completely understand..."
"Speaking of which, this Type 97 should have a synergy with Type 95, right?"
He tentatively clicked the "Recruit" button next to Type 97, then dragged the newly recruited Type 97 onto the chessboard.
As soon as she was placed, a faint glow seemed to flash under the feet of the two T-Dolls, and a small icon with the words 【Fire Rate Boost】 appeared next to their character portraits.
He curiously clicked on that icon, and a line of small text expanded.
"【Starry Sky Origin】: When the number of Chinese T-Dolls on the field reaches 2 / 4 / 6, all allied Chinese T-Dolls on the field gain a 15% / 25% / 35% increase in fire rate..."
"Holy hell!"
Ye Feiyang almost sprang from his chair.
"There really is a synergy! Just two gives a 15% fire rate boost?!"
"Four gives a 25% fire rate boost?! If I get six, won't I just slaughter everyone?"
Ye Feiyang seemed to already envision four long-haired, straight-haired girls standing side-by-side, their muzzle flashes merging into a continuous stream, turning enemies into sieves. With the beautiful hope of being able to dominate by collecting the "sister duo," Ye Feiyang confidently began the second round.
A 15% fire rate increase was indeed very effective.
It was noticeably clear that the fire rates of Type 95 and Type 97 were significantly faster than other T-Dolls, and this wave of small monsters was cut down like vegetables under the combined firepower of Type 95 and Type 97.
"Heh, satisfying!"
Even though it was just fighting small monsters, seeing his "decisions" yield results still made Ye Feiyang feel a sense of satisfaction.
This satisfaction stemmed from the change in "numbers."
In the gaming circle, especially the Chinese gaming circle, due to the "free-to-play + in-app purchase" model, the design of alienated numbers has become a "psychological weapon" to stimulate consumption.
So much so that this method of comparing numbers has become quite commonplace.
It's so common that even free maps for Warcraft 3 have map creators charging to unlock powerful in-map equipment, and some people actually pay for it...
Of course, just as a knife can be used to kill people, it can also be used to cut vegetables.
The tool itself has no inherent good or bad; the fact that numerical comparison can be abused to this extent precisely indicates that the concept itself can indeed support gameplay.
In the combat gameplay of Final Battlefront, this effect was even more pronounced.
Ye Feiyang's first game was actually very chaotic.
He didn't read the beginner's tutorial, so many things he felt he understood, yet also didn't. It was like this lineup system; he only discovered there was a lineup reference on the left side all along after he was crushed by another player in the second round.
It could recommend lineups based on the T-Dolls currently in the formation area.
At the same time, it was also after the second round of combat that he discovered there had been eight avatar frames on the right side all along.
"So this is a multiplayer game?!"
See... even though there was matchmaking from the start, and it even took over 40 seconds to enter the game initially, this guy only just realized it now.
Of course, these things couldn't stop him from getting more and more addicted.
"Alright, so it's PVP, huh? This is getting interesting! Looks like it's time to let you all witness the strength of yours truly, Ye..."
Having understood the situation, Ye Feiyang cheered up again.
His goal was clear: to aggressively acquire Chinese T-Dolls, rely on fire rate for output, and defeat everyone else!
However, how did that saying go?
Dreams are beautiful, reality is harsh.
One round ended, and the shop refreshed.
"Come on, a Type 95, a Type 97, or even a Type 92... please, just one!" Ye Feiyang muttered frantically, his finger constantly hitting the "Random Refresh" button, his Execution Points plummeting.
The shop either refreshed M4s or AKs, occasionally a Mosin-Nagant, but never the domestic sister duo he longed for.
"Damn it! Didn't refresh again?!"
Ye Feiyang looked at the row of "foreign guns" that appeared, so angry he slapped his thigh.
"No, is this game targeting me? Why is it all foreign goods? Where are my domestic guns?!"
He looked at his pitiful amount of Execution Points.
Then he looked at the T-Dolls in the shop with blonde hair and blue eyes or silver hair and red eyes.
This feeling was exactly like a mahjong player who planned to go for an "all character tiles" hand from the start, but upon drawing tiles, kept getting bamboos or circles, but never characters.
However, humans, when it comes to luck, never accept their fate.
"One more refresh! Last one! I don't believe it!"
He gritted his teeth and clicked refresh again.
The screen flickered, and a new batch of T-Dolls appeared.
"......"
Ye Feiyang stared at the screen, silent; still nothing.
"Fine! You win!" He felt his blood pressure rising slightly. "You won't give me Type 95s or Type 97s, huh? I'll buy others! I'll buy a bunch of Mosin-Nagants! I'll overwhelm you!"
Saying that, he defiantly bought the two Mosin-Nagants from the shop.
After the pieces were on the board, they automatically completed their star upgrade.
"!!? Eh!? Holy crap, they can be upgraded!?"
"Three pieces can upgrade stars!"
"No, oh my god, I knew why other people's T-Dolls had stars above their heads and hit me so hard."
"Why isn't there a tutorial to teach this?!"
