"Shooting the Condor" is one of the martial arts products that Gyro pays the most attention to this year. Since NetEase announced the project, the project team that does not set limits for itself, let alone martial arts, has passed multiple rounds of testing, raising the expectations of players again and again, and invisibly shaking some of our stereotypes of traditional martial arts RPGs.
For all players who love Jin Yong and martial arts RPGs, the days of waiting for the launch of "Shooting the Condor" are undoubtedly long - until today, the official announcement was suddenly made"Shooting the Condor" is scheduled for March 28. What I didn't expect was that on the eve of the launch, the project team even carried out a massive renovation and tuning of the public beta version, and the successive big moves are undoubtedly releasing a signal to the industry and players:
Condor Shooting is ready, and the martial arts RPG may be about to change.
It is in a class of its own and cannot be benchmarked
Also "martial arts" to true freedom
As the gaming industry evolves into 2024, many genres have entered a relatively "mature" stage, especially martial arts RPGs - this maturity does not mean that it is perfect and meets all the expectations of players, but it is actually a delicate balance with the meaning of "compromise".
Limited by factors such as technology and commercialization, most players (perhaps) have become accustomed to the upgrade routines in martial arts RPGs, used to sect moves, and used to bringing their district server ...... when walking the rivers and lakes to self-report their IDsIt doesn't seem like the ideal freedom, but these "classic elements" do become an uncomfortable and helpless part of the gaming experience.
For many years, it has always been like this, and the gap between imagination and reality is good to get used to.
However, in my opinion, the most courageous point of "Condor Shooting" is that it is the first to challenge "habit" and insist on breaking this compromising balance. When the official beta was announced, they also put forward a bigger vision:Let martial arts be truly free. In many of the new martial arts RPG concepts of "Condor Shooting",One server in the worldThe concept is particularly commendable.
What is it?One server in the world？There are countless regions and dazzling servers, and there is only one in the rivers and lakes since then, and all the young heroes share a blue sky, and there is no barrier between "you and me".
This is too important, no matter how good the quality of the game is, the existence of the region and the server will definitely dissolve the fate between strange players to some extent, and it will deal a heavy blow to the immersion and substitution of martial arts. Breaking down the barriers of regional services is to solve this problem at the root.
There are also developers in the industry who have imagined this, but how difficult it is to achieve. At present, only the "Condor Shooting" project has made a commitment and really practiced it - according to the development log, they have solved the problem of data carrying capacity and used technical means to carry people's vision of free martial arts.
Based on the world's one suit, "Shooting the Condor" further explores the free and unrestrained martial arts experience. When a knowledgeable player flies up the wall and explores the water, there's no hateful wall of air or an awkward moment to load a readbar. Seamless big worldIt supports the young heroes' high mobility and high degree of freedom to travel, without a fixed route, everything moves as you like.
What is even more commendable is that in the world of "Condor Shooting", the rivers and lakes are by no means lifeless flat maps, and the project team's conception and creation of "ecology" is particularly delicate.
On the one hand, the detailed interaction of a large amount of management covers almost the entire journey of the young heroes. Players can give full play to the "power of my search": if I can take this object, then it can really be held; I thought that this building is not ordinary, and it may really be a mystery when you walk in; Even casually petting cats and dogs on the street can lead to unexpected stories.
On the other hand, the world of "Condor Shooting" is alive and flowing. Players can feel and transform when they are in it, and their every move is like a butterfly flapping its wings, affecting the operation of the world everywhere. Young heroes can freely purchase properties, and these industries are also visible and interactive to everyone on the server. According to the official data, 1,859 young heroes set up shop here during the last closed beta - so there are several more commercial streets with different styles around Wudingfang, and the town is more lively and prosperous.
A senior martial arts fan friend once said that the "martial arts" he understands should be the people and things in the rivers and lakes, not just the rivers and lakes themselves. Gyro Jun deeply agrees with this, perhaps this is also the common feeling of most people - so there is a "Condor Shooting" Taoyuan community-style practice, gathering the power of players to create rivers and lakes.
The world is one server, a seamless world, and a town ...... that grows by rotationIf these innovations that break through imagination and technical challenges are regarded as the external moves of "Shooting the Condor", then the project team's in-depth exploration and reconstruction of the humanities of the Song Dynasty and Jin Yong's original work are more like internal skills, which makes this game suddenly show a unique temperament.
In the slogan of "Shooting the Condor","Song Jiyuan".The concept is particularly eye-catching.
What is "Song Jiyuan"? A friend who participated in the closed beta told me that this may be the martial arts RPG that he has experienced closest to the customs of the Song Dynasty. From clothing patterns to eating habits, from architectural forms to land and water transportation, the clothing, food, housing and transportation of the characters are all reproducing the style of the time, which is not only a rare experience in the martial arts category, but also in the entire game field.
Looking through the development log of "Shooting the Condor", I found that the project team's attention to cultural details has reached the level of "madness".
As a simple example, during the development period, they directly enlarged various ancient paintings depicting the Southern Song Dynasty by a full 20 times, so they met the "takeaway brothers" of the Song Dynasty, some of whom put the food on their heads, and some of them directly took the freshly cooked food out of the store and walked to the delivery location.
This was the "foot shop" business of the citizens of the Song Dynasty. Based on this blueprint and inspiration, the project team designed a building full of dynastic characteristics such as "Wang Erjiao Shop" in the game.
According to the records of ancient books and paintings, and referring to the description of Jin Yong's original works, their discoveries and gains have all become the nourishment of the humanities and arts of "Condor Shooting". So the fashion of the Song people and the interest of the Song people ......A large number of details buried in the dust of history have been recreated, which not only brings players a unique audio-visual experience, but also gives the game a unique style.
Compared with some "greasy" martial arts on the market, the look and feel of "Shooting the Condor" is more simple and elegant, fresh and smart, just like the texture gap between high-end models and Internet celebrity models.
Of course, players are clearly not just here to experience the life of the ancients. The weight of the word "Jin Yong" in the entire history of Chinese martial arts is heavy, and the burden on the shoulders of the project team is heavy.
In terms of plot performance, "Shooting the Condor" not only disappointed, but even broke through expectations, creating a unique and unique experience for all players who love Jin Yong and martial arts.
They not only reproduce all the classic passages in the original book 1:1, but also make up for the blank space under Jin Yong's pen and ink, and show all the highlights and shadows of the characters in the form of **g branches. Players can stand at each key time node and travel through Jin Yong's martial arts stories from different angles to gain more understanding.
More importantly, based on the trilogy of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Legend of the Heavenly Slaughter", players will be accompanied by the heroes and heroes in them, witnessing their magnificent lives and feelings150 years of ups and downs and changes of the times.
The time span is so long, and the plot volume is so large, there is only one NetEase "Shooting the Condor" at present, and it seems not too much to say that "the ancients have not been seen before, and the comers have not been seen after".
The public beta is imminent, and a large number of renovations are available
It said it wanted to be "the Haidilao of the game world".
For the user, no matter what you say, everything has to come down to the actual experience.
Condor Shooting is therefore particularly clear about its own positioning. After the food and wine are served, the long-term service is also crucial. According to the development log, after several rounds of testing, the project team has collected a large number of player suggestions and feedback, and has made major adjustments and renovations on the eve of the game's launch.
For example, in terms of story experience, the open beta version has been addedSkip function. On the one hand, it is to avoid players from having too many repetitive experiences in multi-branch plots, and on the other hand, it is to take into account the user habits of the current fast-paced era and the factors of some players' tight entertainment time - after all, giving players "freedom" is the consistent purpose of "Condor Shooting", and how to experience the plot should be decided by the players themselves.
In terms of gameplay experience, the project team revealed the public beta versionDozens of new moves of Jin Yong's martial arts,The depth of martial arts will be further strengthened, players will be more free on the road of exploring martial arts, and in the future, there will be more young heroes who integrate hundreds of schools of thought and unique martial arts to appear in the rivers and lakes of "Shooting the Condor". In addition, the open beta version also optimizes the operation details such as intelligent combos, strike feedback, and movement smoothness, so that players feel more comfortable.
In addition to polishing the gameplay experience, the open beta version is right"Song Zhiyuan" aestheticsThe exploration is also getting deeper and deeper. After the launch of "Shooting the Condor", there will be as many as 65 new sets of fashions, including the 24 solar terms series based on ancient paintings, the lyrics and songs inspired by poetry, and the design from martial arts.
This not only brings a richer aesthetic experience to players, but also contributes to promoting traditional culture and broadening the aesthetic boundaries of users in the new era to a certain extent. With "Shooting the Condor" as a window, more users will be able to get a glimpse of the wisdom and elegance of the ancients.
Of course, Condor Shooting's quest for uniqueness wasn't all smooth sailing – some players had already complained about the in-game character models. In this regard, the project team has only one attitude: change. It must not only be changed to conform to the player's wishes, but also retain the original internal personality expression of "Condor Shooting".
In the open beta version, the faces of the Dangerous Moon and Sun Pleiades will be replaced; The faces of Mu Nianci and other chivalrous servants will also be optimized. Judging from the pictures released by the project team, they seem to have gradually touched the way between recognition and beauty.
What interests me even more is the "dress up" function that will be implemented in the open beta version - it is not the usual way for players to change their own clothes, but to change Han Xiaoying, Guo Jing, Mu Nianci and other knights into the clothes that players like. As the propaganda says, the NPCs in "Condor Shooting" are "real" characters with their own personalities and lives, and of course they can't wear fixed costumes. The significance of changing the costume of the knight is not only to satisfy the player's "dress-up" habit, but also to supplement the need for the authenticity of the character from the side.
In addition, the open beta version of "Condor Shooting" will also open the ultimate image quality and frame rate to meet the "magnifying glass" experience needs of players; At the same time, the requirements for configuration are further reduced (the minimum support is Xiaomi 6, iPhone7P). In other words, there is almost no threshold for entering Jin Yong's martial arts world, so that more Jin Yong fans and martial arts lovers can experience the real and free rivers and lakes here.
Animation quality upgrades, lip shape and voice adjustments, ......The various alterations and renovations will not be repeated. All this makes me feel that in terms of research and development, the "Condor" project team is an enterprising creator, and when faced with user needs, they become meticulous personal butlers. Everything you can't think of, they are always doing their best to take care of it.
Conclusion
How difficult is it to adapt a well-known and far-reaching cultural IP?
I think the project team's "cautious" performance is enough to make people feel it. However, judging by the current content and volume of "Condor Shooting", you can never say that it is tied down - on the contrary, it is so big that it is in a class of its own and almost unmatched on the market.
Once "Shooting the Condor" is gradually iteratively completed as expected, it will not only become the product closest to Jin Yong's martial arts spirit that we can experience at the moment, but also lead the entire track to a higher dimension of creation.
The "wall-breaking" moment of traditional martial arts RPGs seems to be finally coming.