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WGAA Again...
>Say cheese!
Right as you step into WGAA, you're greeted by the snap sound of a camera.
A girl takes the film spit out by the camera, carefully examining the image.
Hm, this is a nice one. No focus loss, clear facial expression... You look really startled, no doubt about it.
Sorry about that. I just wanted to give it a quick test. Ayla asked me to help her fix this instant camera, but I've been putting it off for like two weeks now. Gotta get it done before she goes completely bonkers on me.
...Say, if I give her an autographed portrait of the Gray Raven Commandant, do you think she'll let me off the hook for forgetting all those deadlines?
Uh... She usually wouldn't, but since I didn't close the orders for the new rangefinder pin, scanner, and spectrum analyzer on time, I'm not so sure about that anymore.
The Construct before you, sporting a bright smile, goes by the name of Leonie, the chief technician of WGAA.
Her role involves providing support to the entire Archaeological Team on Construct equipment and devices. Additionally, she has provided technical assistance to both the Science Council and the Engineering Force, also the very designer of the initial CUB model.
You have had a few encounters with her, and she was the one who assisted in adjusting Hamlet's external parameters when you helped Ayla search for the "whale song" on the surface using Hamlet.
Just Leonie.
You know, I've just got too many things on my to-do list, and there's no way I can get them all done in time by myself.
And with those tight deadlines, I can't manage to complete all the features I want, but I also can't bear the thought of dropping any of them...
Pushing back the deadlines is the only option, right? That's exactly what I told Ayla, and guess what I got in return? She blasted me with a faceful of hyper-cold refrigerant from her gunlance... And I'm the one who added that function, for God's sake.
Oh, right, I almost forgot the important thing.
Actually, I made the request this time, to invite you to be the tester for Hamlet's subsequent model.
So, Hamlet, the prototype model, has some quite advanced VR technology built-in and an AI that has granted it deep learning ability.
After being used to search for the "whale song" so many times, Hamlet itself appears to have undergone some changes. Even though we attempted to restore the factory settings, certain software records just couldn't be erased.
It's quite an intriguing phenomenon, but at this rate, it's gradually straying further from its original role as a "platform."
It looks pretty fascinating to me, so I've taken on the project of developing the second-generation model.
However, there won't be any major changes. I'm still using hardware with the same specs, but I did simplify the underlying structure and threw in an editor and an interactive docking station.
This way, it's not just about experiencing theaters anymore. Now creators can actually use it for a bunch of other stuff with way more freedom.
I've made sure to leave plenty of space in the engine, so users can store their own mods or enhancements.
Scenario modules, voice modules, physics rules, art rendering styles, custom NPCs, social forms, and economic systems...
With the right plug-in, theoretically, you can do pretty much whatever you want here. Whether it's experiencing the cosmic society during the era of great interstellar colonization or living the life of primitive humans in the Stone Age three million years ago, it's all fair game!
Yup, just wait until the official version is released!
But it's still in Beta right now, and I've got about over three thousand patches to code...
Plus, the technology employed by Hamlet is actually quite special, and many people have more or less experienced consciousness synchronization loss after a long dive... which makes it another challenge we need to overcome.
That's why I'm having you here. You have plenty of experience with the prototype, and there's probably no one else in Babylonia with a Mind Beacon as stable as yours.
Simple. You just need to play a "game."
I've put together a scenario using the resources I currently have to test the complete compatibility of the new interactive functions and interfaces with the original underlying structure.
It'd be fantastic if the script runs without a hitch, but in case any bugs pop up during the dive, I'll need to figure out which piece of code is conflicting with the function.
It may sound complicated, but just enjoy the game—that's all you need to be concerned about. I'll handle the rest.
Leonie brings up the scenario she built on an external terminal, which seems to be a 3D chess board.
I just copied it from our generic asset pool. Now, pick an avatar you'd like to use for the dive!
Leonie swipes her finger across the screen, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of pre-set avatars appear before you.
The options are so varied, ranging from regular humans and Constructs to anthropomorphized animals and mechanoids, making it difficult for you to make a choice.
For some reason, your gaze is drawn to a girl-looking avatar.
The girl carries a black longsword and a cannon, with uneven twin tails adorning her hair. She casually drapes a coat over her shoulders, with a huge star symbol on the back.
While other avatars are simply labeled as "Human 01" or "Construct 02", hers stands out with the distinctive name of "BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER".
As you quietly murmur this peculiar name, it feels strangely familiar despite being utterly foreign.
Ah, you noticed it too?
I didn't create this avatar; it just appeared in the editor out of nowhere.
No uploader listed, no patch records—calling it a paranormal event wouldn't be too far-fetched, I'd say...
At first, I thought it was some glitch or a prank, but it didn't trigger any runtime errors, and its parameter code isn't fundamentally different from other avatars...
Why would I?! Don't tell me you can stand seeing such a cool avatar getting deleted!
Just look at her! The way she wields that longsword and cannon, the combination of the stylish coat and twin tails, and the ruthless expression and pose. There are even flames shooting out of her eye... She's like the perfect echo of a Golden Age anime heroine!
Whoever designed her must be a total genius, seriously plugged into the Golden Age anime culture!
Most importantly, by the time I snapped back to reality, I found myself having already rigged her up with over three hundred special effects and motion modules...
Deleting her now would really break my heart!
A-anyway... why don't you just use this avatar?
It'd be perfect for testing more extreme scenarios, and I may gather some extra data while at it.
Hehe... I even designed some exclusive skills for her...
Now, put on this device and lie down in the connection pod.
