chsdbacks Page 928
Page 928
It also drew the attention of some players who weren't usually paying much attention to external developments to "Heroic Anthem".
What surprised the production team of "The Song of the Holy Maiden" even more was...
This is because "Heroic Anthem" has increased the pace of the game, removed in-game purchases, and attracted some new players who were not originally interested in SLG online games.
In addition, its theme is "Western fantasy", so many well-known European and American game streamers have started to try out "Heroic Anthem" in their live streams and have praised its innovative gameplay.
"This game is seriously addictive!"
Chapter 636 Starfire Empire: The Radiant Sun
May, 2023
琼州
International airport
Huang Wenfeng got off the plane with a backpack.
After getting off the plane, like many others, he didn't rush to take the shuttle bus, but instead took out his phone and started snapping pictures of the plane behind him.
In recent years, Qiongzhou Airlines has painted about a dozen aircraft with special liveries for the Spark game, as well as some liveries for other Spark Alliance games.
In the aviation industry, it has been jokingly referred to as an aerial billboard.
When flying with Qiongzhou Airlines, there's a good chance you'll get a flight with a special livery, but getting a flight with your favorite game on it still requires some luck.
From this perspective...
Huang Wenfeng was quite lucky, because the plane he boarded happened to be the promotional plane for "Girls' Frontline 2".
As the official sequel to "Girls' Frontline".
Girls on the Frontline 2 has been highly anticipated since its announcement and project initiation, although at this point only a few rendering videos have been released.
However, in the rendered video, both the ultra-high precision rendering and modeling of the characters, as well as the depiction of details such as the characters' clothing, stockings, and hair, are top-notch.
Therefore, among all the planes of Qiongzhou Airlines, this one, which just finished filming "Girls' Frontline 2", is the most popular. Being able to sit on this plane when you come to Qiongzhou to participate in the Spark Carnival can be considered very lucky.
"Hey, speaking of which, Lao Huang, do you know why Qiongzhou Airlines has had so many Spark liveries these past few years?"
The person standing next to Lao Huang is also a content creator (UP), whose online name is Lao Lao Liu, and whose real name is Wu Liulei.
The two often teamed up to play Gundam Battlegrounds and Battlefront Girls Siege, so they were quite familiar with each other.
Upon hearing Wu Liulei's question, Huang Wenfeng smiled, put away his phone, and turned to look at him.
"Sixth Brother, aren't you just asking a question you already know the answer to? Everyone in the industry knows about the relationship between Qiongzhou Airlines and Xinghuo Games, right? Haven't you seen that meme of President Lin flying a plane?"
Qiongzhou Airlines faced a crisis in 19 and finally completed its restructuring at the beginning of this year.
To be honest, this matter initially had nothing to do with the gaming industry, and no one would have made any connection to it. However, soon the media started reporting on the restructuring report of Qiongzhou Airlines.
Some surprising words were discovered, such as "Linli" and "Xinghuo Holdings".
Then, these media outlets continued digging and uncovered a shocking "revelation".
In 19, Qiongzhou Airlines was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Qiongzhou government searched everywhere for funds to restructure the company. In the end, Xinghuo provided a sum of money to inject start-up capital into the restructuring plan.
After the restructuring was completed in 23, Xinghuo naturally acquired a portion of Qiongzhou Airlines' shares.
"Isn't the Global Spark Carnival air travel package launched by Qiongzhou Airlines a while ago for this reason?"
This so-called Global Carnival Air Pass is still a product of cooperation between Xinghuo, Qiongzhou Airlines, and the Qiongzhou government, covering global and domestic routes.
As long as you take the designated flight, one ticket includes not only your airfare but also a ticket to the Spark Carnival.
Moreover, it's different from previous events.
Previously, these events were only held when Spark organized events, but this time there are several flights every month throughout the year because this year's Spark Carnival is being held at "Spark World Park".
Tickets will go on sale after this year's carnival.
"Speaking of which, where's your plane ticket? Don't forget about the lucky draw."
"Oh right, I had forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it."
Qiongzhou Airlines and Xinghuo Games have a very deep level of cooperation.
For example, Qiongzhou Airlines was the official designated airline for this year's Spark Carnival, and Spark also designed several limited-edition game merchandise items specifically for Qiongzhou Airlines.
You can use your plane ticket to participate in a lottery. If you win something good, you can keep it for yourself or resell it.
The two chatted as they boarded the shuttle bus.
The bus was already packed with passengers. Since this was a private flight, most of them were players who had come to participate in the Spark Carnival.
Therefore, even though everyone on the plane was a complete stranger to each other.
But their actions after getting off the plane were surprisingly consistent: take photos, then selfies, and then post them on StarTok.
Let alone others, even Huang Wenfeng is the same.
After taking the photos, I casually opened StarTok Square and refreshed the page.
Sure enough, the homepage was instantly flooded with posts related to the Spark Carnival. Some players were showing off their limited-edition merchandise, some content creators were sharing selfies of themselves riding in a Girls' Frontline 2 themed plane, and some were even livestreaming their journey from the airport to the carnival.
"Old Huang, look at this!"
Wu Liulei leaned over and pointed to a video on the phone screen.
"Damn, this guy flew all the way from Shanghai to Hainan and actually won a limited edition 'Girls' Frontline 2' figure! That's incredibly lucky! I only got a keychain..."
At this moment, every time the StarTok Plaza is refreshed, it is filled with photos related to the StarTok Carnival taken from all over the world.
They're either taking pictures of airplanes or tickets.
"Alright, getting a keychain is not bad."
What did you smoke?
"Me? A limited-edition power bank..."
"Holy crap!! The luckiest person is right next to me."
Besides the two of them, everyone else on the shuttle bus was clearly excited, and they were all discussing similar topics.
"Old Huang, do you think they'll show a gameplay demo of 'Girls' Frontline 2' at the Spark Carnival? I've been waiting for this for ages, I really want to see just how awesome this game is."
Huang Wenfeng pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I think it's very likely. After all, this carnival is so big, Spark Games certainly won't miss this opportunity. Moreover, judging from the previously released rendering videos, the game should already be quite complete."
As the two were chatting, the shuttle bus slowly came to a stop in front of the terminal.
Passengers disembarked one after another, and Huang Wenfeng and Wu Liulei followed the flow of people into the terminal building.
Inside the terminal, promotional posters for the Spark Carnival are everywhere, and the entire airport seems to be surrounded by the theme of Spark games.
"That's quite a generous gesture..."
As Huang Wenfeng and Wu Liulei walked, they exclaimed that Xinghuo had become increasingly wealthy in recent years, and they hadn't even walked a few steps before another surprise appeared.
A large group of people carrying cameras appeared in front of the two. A few seconds later, a man wearing a white shirt and black trousers, leading a cameraman, jogged up to them.
"Hello, we are from TV Asahi. May we have a moment to interview you both?"
Huang Wenfeng and Wu Liulei exchanged a glance, somewhat surprised.
What's going on? Why is a Japanese TV station interviewing people at a Chinese airport?
Although somewhat bewildered, the two nodded politely.
"Ah, please speak."
The Japanese television reporter flashed a professional smile and spoke in fluent Chinese.
"Thank you very much! We are the documentary production team from TV Asahi's 'The Empire of Sparks Shines in the Sun,' and we came here specifically to report on the Spark Carnival."
"We see you two have just gotten off the special flight to the Spark Carnival. Are you here to attend the Spark Carnival?"
to be frank.
When the reporter solemnly announced the title of the documentary, "The Empire of Sparks Shines in the Sun," Huang Wenfeng almost laughed.
What a terrible show! It's so over-the-top and cringeworthy.
Chapter 637 Overclocking Officials of Qiongzhou
Although he was internally ranting and raving, he ultimately didn't ask the camera why the production team chose this name.
Just nodded briefly.
"Oh, we're all here for the Time Game Carnival, and we'll also play a few matches."
"Contest?"
Upon hearing the word "competition," the host visibly became more excited. He hadn't expected to find such a resource so easily.
"Ah, yes."
"What kind of competition is it? Could you tell me more about it?"
"Actually, it's not a big competition. It's just a Bilibili UP host fan challenge for the Gundam Battleground at this carnival."
"Oh? You two also play Gundam Battlegrounds? So, what are your thoughts on Japan's runner-up finish two years ago?"
Huang Wenfeng was speechless again upon hearing this.
No, that happened two years ago, and he was only a runner-up.
Didn't Germany pull off a major upset and win the championship?
Although Japan fought Germany that year, which was dubbed the Axis Wars by domestic media and generated a lot of buzz.
But... that was two years ago, wasn't it?
Considering that this year's World Championship hasn't started yet, it's obviously more worth asking about last year's World Championship. China played against the United States and ultimately came back from a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2. How awesome was that?
Oh, I see. So you don't want to mention it because Japan didn't make the quarterfinals last year and China won the championship?
Huang Wenfeng silently complained in his heart, but still maintained a polite smile on his face.
"The Japanese team performed quite well the year before last, especially their teamwork and tactical execution. However, there are always winners and losers in competitions, and Germany's victory proves that the competitive charm of the Gundam battlefield lies in its unpredictability."
Wu Liulei couldn't help but chime in from the side.
"Yes, and last year's competition was even more exciting! Although the Japanese team didn't make it to the quarterfinals, the Chinese team's performance was truly exhilarating! Especially the final match, it was simply a textbook example of skill!"
Upon hearing this, the reporter's smile froze slightly, but he quickly recovered, said a few words, thanked them, and then went to interview another group of people.
After the reporter left.
Huang Wenfeng and Wu Liulei exchanged a glance, then burst into laughter.
"What a load of rubbish production team! Why ask about the year before last instead of last year?"
"Oh, don't talk about them. It's Japan's best historical record."
As time goes by, the influence of the Gundam Battlegrounds World Championship is growing, mainly due to the increased entertainment value of the matches.
In addition, it also stems from the reforms of the Gundam Battle Arena in 21 years.
After the 21st Gundam Battle Tournament, the official committee was established.
On the one hand, the mixed server tournament with "multi-level" servers, which had consistently low viewership, was removed, and a rest period was added, dividing the year's competition into two relatively concentrated events: the regional tournament in the first half of the year and the world tournament in the second half.
At the same time, the recruitment mechanism and recruitment benefits have been optimized.
In addition, Gundam Battlegrounds has maintained stable popularity over the past few years, resulting in consistently high viewership ratings.
"What a pity. We finally got on TV, and I bet our segment will be cut."
"If I get pinched, I get pinched."
"No, I just did a search, and it seems like the ratings for 'Starfire Empire: Radiant Sun' in Japan are pretty high..."
"real or fake?"
"Really, it seems to be a special program for the 8th anniversary of the Spark program on TV Asahi."
"...This world is truly surreal; Japanese television stations are producing special programs for Chinese companies..."
"Hey, what do you know? I heard that Spark's influence in Japan is no less than in China. Remember when The Wandering Earth 2 topped the Japanese box office at the beginning of the year?"