The realism of Kryptonian Empire extended far beyond its social systems.
The graphics, environntal detail, NPC behavior, physics, and world interactions all felt indistinguishable from reality.
The only obvious difference was that players could adjust their pain settings.
"Guild leader! Guild leader! What are the benefits of joining your guild?"
"Recruit !"
"Send an invite!"
"I'm serious! I'm not one of those people who ask and then disappear!"
While so players focused on guild recruitnt, others were far more interested in exploration.
In a ga with almost unlimited freedom and near-perfect realism, exploration had always been one of its biggest attractions.
And adventurers were never in short supply.
Take Columbus, for example.
A veteran explorer by nature, he had been fascinated by the newly introduced Swarm faction ever since the Third Beta patch notes were released.
Personally, he preferred the Swarm.
According to the previews released on the official site, the Swarm's species looked fierce, monstrous, and intimidating.
In his opinion, they looked far cooler than ordinary Kryptonians.
After all, power levels changed with every update.
Looking cool was forever.
A surprising number of players agreed.
Many ca from older MMORPG communities where bizarre races, monsters, and alien creatures had always been popular.
Sotis ugly was cool.
Sotis monstrous was aweso.
Aesthetic debates could go on for days.
Still, Columbus wasn't rich enough to switch factions.
The transfer cost was absurdly expensive.
He wasn't so billionaire willing to throw money around.
The wealthy players had already transferred.
The forums were flooded with screenshots and videos from those lucky enough to enter the Swarm faction.
So Columbus made a different decision.
If he couldn't beco part of the Swarm...
He would find them.
Specifically, he would locate the Swarm Howorld.
It was probably a terrible idea.
But death wasn't permanent.
That was half the fun.
Swarm Howorld
The first batch of players erged from the soil.
Literally.
One after another, insectoid creatures clawed their way out of the ground.
"Huh?"
"Wait, why are we hatching out of dirt?"
"Aren't we supposed to be so terrifying alien race?"
"Dude, look at my blade legs!"
"Forget that, let's go kill Kryptonians!"
"This is insane."
"Seriously, screenshots don't do it justice. It looked realistic before, but actually being here is sothing else."
"No kidding. I can feel every single leg."
One player lifted several limbs experintally.
"The ga isn't controlling them for . I'm actually controlling all of these myself."
To demonstrate, he imdiately began dancing.
As much as a giant insect could dance, anyway.
Nearby players applauded.
The Swarm Queen watched the spectacle and chose to ignore it.
Drex Valen had warned her beforehand.
Players possessed a unique talent for chaos.
Trying to understand them was pointless.
More and more insects continued erging from the ground.
Their numbers rapidly approached four digits.
The problem with any growing population was simple.
Once enough individuals gathered together, disorder beca inevitable unless soone established authority.
The first signs were already appearing.
Several Blade Bugs had begun arguing.
Soon there would be more.
Eventually, soone would attempt to beco a leader.
Given the temperant of players, that might very well lead to violence.
Fortunately, the Swarm Queen intervened before matters escalated.
Her voice echoed directly into every player's mind.
"My children."
Instant silence fell.
"I am your Queen."
"For the Swarm, dedicate everything you have."
As she spoke, a flood of information accompanied the ssage.
Ordinary Swarm creatures inherited instinctive knowledge through their genetics.
They were born knowing their purpose.
Players, unfortunately, required instructions.
"Looks like we're the lowest-tier unit. Blade Bugs."
"Apparently there are multiple evolution paths above us."
"How do we compare to bugs from Starship Troopers, StarCraft, or Warhamr?"
"Probably not that strong."
"Anybody know how to do this lumberjack quest? They want us cutting trees, but they didn't give us any tools."
A nearby player pointed at his oversized forelimbs.
"These are the tools."
"What?"
"Our front blade legs. They're stronger than the others. They're designed for chopping and mining."
"You clearly haven't spent enough ti on the forums."
"While you guys were arguing, I've already started mining."
"Co on, let's go. Resource collection team. We need wood, stone, and food."
A group of insects imdiately wandered off.
The ordinary non-player Swarm creatures were already hard at work.
So mined.
So chopped trees.
Others transported resources.
Everything proceeded with perfect efficiency.
Several players stared for a mont before inspiration struck.
"Anybody have the exploration quest?"
"Let's form a group."
"I'm doing lumber collection. Need soone for transport duty."
"Transport duty? With what?"
"We all start as Blade Bugs!"
"At least wait until you've earned evolution points."
A shout suddenly rang out.
"I'll pay one thousand dollars for a single evolution point!"
The surrounding players imdiately turned.
"Wow."
"The whales arrived fast."
"Good thing this ga doesn't allow microtransactions."
"Otherwise we'd never be able to compete."
The argunts resud.
anwhile, back within the Kryptonian Empire faction...
"They updated it!"
"What got updated?"
"The Swarm Howorld guide!"
A player rushed into a gathering area.
"One of the Third Beta players posted a walkthrough."
Imdiately, a crowd opened the forums.
Sure enough, a thread had already climbed to the top of the front page.
[The Magnificent Life of Being a Monstrous Alien: Entry #1]
The post read:
Hello everyone.
I'm Lulubuleika. So of you might know from my livestream channel, Little Wizard Boy.
Getting accepted into the Third Beta was one of the greatest monts of my life.
I've already told my friends and relatives hundreds of tis, so I won't bore you with that story again.
This thread exists to docunt life on the Swarm Howorld.
Since I'm writing while actively playing, updates may be slow.
Please be patient.
First, so photos from the mont we spawned.
[Images]
[Images]
[Images]
Because Blade Bugs are fairly tall, most screenshots end up being taken from an elevated perspective.
Honestly, it feels pretty aweso.
For those curious about our appearance, here's a selfie.
[Images]
[Images]
Now, onto the important stuff.
Just like many people predicted, everyone starts by crawling out of the ground.
Why one of the most famous alien hive races in science fiction begins life buried in dirt is beyond .
The developers are insane.
Anyway.
The first available quests involve clearing terrain, moving stone and lumber, harvesting resources, and cutting down trees.
Most reward a single evolution point.
Average completion ti ranges from one to two hours.
The post continued to gain replies at an alarming rate.
For players trapped inside the Kryptonian Empire, information from the mysterious new faction was worth its weight in gold.
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