SEC Chapter 425 50%
Chapter 425 50%
CrossFire can no longer release complete packages directly like before.
He has to take it one step at a time. Today he'll let out a little hint, tomorrow he'll drop a rough sketch, and the day after tomorrow he'll write a few lines of core code.
Make the team feel that this project grew from scratch, not that he brought it down from the sky.
The problem is, he had already sent the code for "CrossFire" to Chen Mo.
Given Chen Mo's personality, he would definitely find someone to verify the quality of this demo.
Once the verification is successful, he will ask when it will be available online.
At that point, Lu Ran won't be able to say it's still under development, because the demo will be complete enough to be launched directly.
Therefore, he needs a new explanation.
Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, several plans swirling in his mind.
Finally, he came up with an idea—to say that the demo was the complete version made by that mysterious team, and that after Tutu Technology obtained the license, what they needed to do was localize it and develop subsequent content, not write the code from scratch.
This explains the source of the code and solves the development cycle problem.
This claim, like the previous one about Minecraft, doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but no one can disprove it either.
Anyway, that "mysterious team" doesn't exist, so whatever he says goes.
Lu Ran went through the plan in his mind and felt there were no major problems, so he started writing the specific development plan in the document.
He spent a full hour writing, dividing the localization of CrossFire into three stages.
The first phase involves porting and testing the basic functions, which is expected to take one month.
The second phase involves localization adjustments to maps and weapons, which is expected to take two months.
The third phase is server setup and stress testing, which is expected to take one month.
The entire development cycle is four months, and with internal testing and modifications, it can be put into public beta within six months.
After finishing writing it, he reviewed it and felt that the schedule was quite reasonable. It wasn't too rushed, which would arouse suspicion, nor too slow, which would waste opportunities.
He then opened the map section and wrote out the detailed designs for the Desert Dust and Transport Ship maps.
It's written in great detail, covering everything from map dimensions, cover locations, and firefight point distribution to tactical suggestions.
He wasn't writing design documents; he was providing the team with references. These maps had been tested by countless players in previous lives, and the location of every piece of cover and the width of every passage were verified as the optimal solution. He didn't need the team to innovate; they just needed to follow the existing model.
After finishing writing, he saved the document and turned off the computer.
My phone vibrated at that moment.
He picked it up and saw it was a message from Shen Yuege, containing only one sentence: "It's ten o'clock."
Lu Ran was stunned for a moment, then realized—her new song had been released.
He opened the music app, and the banner on the homepage featured Shen Yuege's new song recommendation. It had a red background and gold lettering that read "Shen Yuege's 'A Thousand Songs' - New Year's First Performance".
He clicked on it, and the playback interface popped up. The cover was a photo of Shen Yuege, wearing a black dress, her face turned to the side towards the camera, against a dark red background that looked very high-end.
He put on his headphones and pressed play.
He closed his eyes as the prelude began. The piano's tone was clean, each note bursting forth like someone slowly telling a story.
Then Shen Yuege's voice came in, clear and bright, every word sung clearly.
Looking back slowly, the nights that once belonged to us. Honghong is still you, the bright sun in my heart—
Lu Ran listened to the entire song and remained silent for a few seconds.
Shen Yue sang even better than he had expected.
This song, "A Thousand Songs," was a classic in its time, with a beautiful melody and moving lyrics. Priscilla Chan's version has already achieved legendary status.
Shen Yuege did not deliberately imitate the original singer; she performed in her own way.
Her voice is clearer and her emotions are more restrained, unlike the original singer's intense and unrestrained style. But that subtle expression makes people feel more sorry for her.
He glanced at the playback page; the numbers in the comment section were jumping rapidly.
Less than a minute after it was posted, there were already over a thousand comments.
"Holy crap, a Cantonese song! Shen Yue is singing a Cantonese song!"
"This melody is so catchy, I can hum along after just one listen."
"Who wrote the lyrics? 'Even if a thousand songs are sung in the future, they will drift on my distant road.' This line is really well written."
"Who else could have written it? Lu Ran, of course. Who else could write lyrics of this caliber?"
"Lu Ran writes the lyrics, Shen Yue sings; these two work together so well. Please, please, collaborate on a few more songs."
"I've listened to it on repeat five times already, I just can't stop. This song is definitely going to top the charts."
Lu Ran looked at these comments and a smile crept onto his face.
He listened to it again, this time paying close attention to the arrangement.
To give other members of Shen Yuege's studio a chance, the arrangement wasn't done by him, but by someone from Shen Yuege's studio.
The piano, strings, and guitar are clearly layered, and the emotional progression is very natural.
When the strings came up in the chorus, I got goosebumps all over.
He exited the music app and glanced at Weibo.
On the trending search list, "Shen Yuege's Thousand Songs" has reached number one, "Shen Yuege's Cantonese Songs" is ranked third, and "Lyrics and Composition by Lu Ran" is ranked seventh.
The top trending topic has garnered over 200 million views and hundreds of thousands of discussions.
The level of popularity was even higher than he had anticipated.
He sent Shen Yuege a message: "Listened to it. She sang very well. Even better than I expected."
Shen Yuege replied with a smug emoji, then said, "Of course. Don't you even know who sang it?"
Lu Ran smiled but did not reply to the message.
He put down his phone, stood up, and walked to the window.
The sun was shining brightly outside, illuminating the lawn below, where a few children were still flying kites. He watched the kite drifting between the blue sky and white clouds, his mind wandering to the game "Crossfire."
Chen Mo hasn't replied yet, but he's not in a hurry.
He was familiar with Tencent's decision-making process; it involved reporting upwards layer by layer, and even the fastest process would take two or three days.
Moreover, Chen Mo would definitely speak up for him, because this game would directly benefit Tencent's business in East China.
What he needs to do now is to get things arranged at Tutu Technology.
The staff at the Chengdu branch will be in place soon, and they can be entrusted with the maintenance of "Seven Heroes" and "Three Kingdoms Kill", which will free up the main team to work on "Minecraft" and "CrossFire".
Although manpower is tight, it's not insufficient; the key is how to allocate it.
Lu Ran turned around and walked back to his desk, turned on his computer, and began writing a personnel allocation plan in a document.
He wrote it down in great detail, specifying which people would go to Minecraft, which would go to CrossFire, and which would stay to mentor newcomers. He arranged everything clearly for each person.
After finishing writing it, he read it through and found no problems. He then sent the document to Zhou Mingzhe with a note: "Brother Zhou, take a look at this personnel allocation plan. If it's acceptable, then proceed with it."
Zhou Mingzhe replied instantly: "Have you already decided, or do you want me to give my opinion?"
"I'm asking you to give your opinion. If you have different ideas, we can discuss it further."
Zhou Mingzhe sent a "Let me see" emoji and then didn't say anything more.
Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the blinds, casting long, thin shadows on the desk.
As he watched the lights and shadows slowly move, a thought suddenly popped into his head.
Once CrossFire is finished, Tutu Technology will have three main products.
League of Legends is a MOBA, Minecraft is a sandbox building game, and CrossFire is a first-person shooter (FPS).
Three tracks, three different user groups, covering the mainstream categories of the game market.
No matter how strong EA is, it's impossible for it to compete head-on with Tutu Technology on three tracks at the same time.
They have Wildlands, and other product lines, but MOBA and FPS are not their strong suits.
Needless to say, Sakura Games specializes in RPGs and action games, which do not overlap with Tutu Technology's main business.
As for Weibo, Lu Ran never considered it a rival.
Weibo is a social media platform, not a gaming platform.
No matter how much Wang Huabing tries, he can't change the fact that Weibo is not a gaming community.
He picked up his phone and sent Chen Mo a message: "Mr. Chen, have you discussed the profit-sharing arrangement with your superiors?"
Chen Mo replied quickly: "We've communicated. They said 60% is too high, but 50% is negotiable."
Lu Ran thought for a moment and replied, "Fifty-fifty. It can't be any lower."
Half an hour later, Chen Mo replied, "Deal."
Looking at those two words, Lu Ran felt a weight lifted from her heart.
Fifty percent, which is even better than he had expected.
Actually, his minimum is 50%.
After all, Tencent is still the leading company in China's internet industry.
He replied, "Mr. Chen, thank you."
Chen Mo said, "No need to thank me. It's because the game itself is good that the higher-ups agreed. If you brought over some garbage, no amount of talking would help."
Lu Ran smiled. Chen Mo, though direct in his speech, always made sense.
"So what's the next step?" Lu Ran asked.
"You prepare a cooperation agreement, and I'll prepare one too. Let's compare them, and if there are no problems, we'll sign it. After that, the technical teams will coordinate and get started."
"Okay. I'll have Brother Zhou prepare it."
"There's one more thing," Chen Mo said. "Could your game be launched before summer vacation? Summer vacation is the golden period for the game industry. Students are on holiday, have more time, and are more willing to spend. If you can launch before summer vacation, the promotional effect will be much better."
Lu Ran thought for a moment.
According to his development plan, it would take four months to develop and two months to test, which would coincide with the summer vacation.
But that's the ideal situation; if any problem arises along the way, there won't be enough time.
"I'll try," he said, "but I can't guarantee it."
"Just do your best," Chen Mo said. "President Lu, it's a pleasure doing business with you."
"It's a pleasure working with you."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Ran leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.
The CrossFire project is basically settled. Now it's time to get to work.
Lu Ran picked up his phone and sent Shen Yuege a message: "What do you want to eat tonight? It's on me."
Shen Yuege replied, "Why are you being so generous today? Did you sign some big deal again?"
It wasn't a big order. I'm just in a good mood.
"Even when you're in a good mood, you can't just spend money recklessly. Let's eat at home, I'll cook."
Lu Ran looked at the words and a smile crept onto his face.
"it is good."
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