You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

In just two days, more than two hundred players participated in the submission.

Someone contributed the triggering conditions for the hidden branch of "The Beginning of Destiny", with screenshots and videos attached:

"Sit quietly in the Trial Hall for five minutes without moving, and the NPC 'Forgotten Son Norn' will appear behind you."

Someone sorted out the daily refresh rules of "Star Rift":
"The cracks actually have a biological rhythm, with the peak eruption period being between 3:00 and 3:30 in the morning, especially in the 'Dreamless Land' plate."

Someone else drew a "Memory Fragment Collection Guide" and attached the corresponding NPC memory voice text:
"When you have collected all the fragments and rested for a night in the Traveler's Camp, Alsarian will say to you in his dream: 'You finally remembered the dusk when we first met.'"

After being uploaded to Baidu Wenku and GitHub, this community manual was downloaded more than 100,000 times overnight.

—

The UP host is not idle either.

A new video has been updated on the "Skill Cooldown" section of Station B: "A Complete Analysis of the Release Mechanism of [Star Gate] Rift Slash (If you can't use it, it's not because you're bad, it's because you don't understand the rhythm)"

The beginning is a sentence:

"You think the Sundering is just pressing a button? No, it's a soul resonance."

He used slow playback and voice explanation to analyze the three prerequisite mechanisms of the Rift Slash frame by frame: "Starting Resonance Value", "Astral Rhythm Synchronization Rate", and "Plot Trigger Node".

"This is not an active skill, but a response given to you by fate."

The comment section exploded:
[I finally understood why I couldn’t get out even after trying seven times]

【Severing World is not a skill, it is a belief】

This skill is more complex than my graduation thesis... but it's awesome.

The UP host "Paper Flying in the Cloud" took a different approach and launched a series of long videos: "[Exploring the Star Map] From the Ether Remnant to Every Corner of the Dreamless Land"

In the video, she wears the in-game "Traveler's Robe" and uses a first-person perspective to slowly narrate the history, characters, and legends of each area.

Her voice was gentle and slow, like she was telling an ancient fairy tale.

"The road you are walking on now is called the Path of Oblivion. It is said to be the final destination of those who choose silence."

"The Star Gate won't close, it just waits for you to be ready."

This series of videos has attracted a large number of "sightseeing" players to follow.

Her videos have been hailed as "National Geographic in games" and have even been used as literary material by middle school students to write into their essays.

—

On Xiaohongshu, guide content is also disseminated in a "lightweight" manner.

User "Stardust Cat" posted a graphic note:
[Five steps for Star Gate beginners!]

Don't choose the Star Mage at the beginning, it's too fragile. Don't waste key fragments in the early stage, save them for entering the Star Rift. Remember to talk to the NPC more than three times, and the hidden plot relies on brushing the favor. The seemingly useless "Fate Fragments" can actually be synthesized into Star Amulets. Remember: you are not fighting alone, the Star Realm is watching you.

The accompanying picture shows a cat lying on the keyboard, and the game interface is frozen at the moment of "Brave Upgrade".

The comment section is full of sympathetic messages from "sister players":

[Help, cats understand the mechanism better than me]

[Damn, I almost sold the fragment to the merchant]

[This game is too deep. I only now realize that all my previous efforts were in vain.]

—

At this time, Zhihu also welcomed a mysterious answerer with the ID "Star Researcher".

He published an 8000-word reply to the question "Does the astral system in Astral Gate have a real philosophical prototype?", in which he made an in-depth comparison between the game's "Astral Rhythm", "Fate Cause and Effect", and "Severing World" with Jung's "Collective Unconscious", Heidegger's "Dasein", and Nietzsche's "Eternal Return".

"The moment you unleash the Sundering Blade, it's not just your character's 'awakening,' it's also your acknowledgment of the 'right to write your own destiny.'"

This answer was recommended by Zhihu officials and forwarded by the official accounts of philosophy departments of many universities. The comment section even started an interdisciplinary discussion.

—

StarGate has thus completed the transition from "game guide" to "knowledge co-creation".

It is no longer just a game, but a world; it is no longer just entertainment, but the intersection of cognition, culture and language.

In this star world built by players and creators, every strategy is a piece of the puzzle; every experience is a repair of fate; every level you pass is a statement:
“I understand the world.”

"I have also become a part of this world."

—

When Xuanshuang Mengyu updated his post to "Dreamless Land·Forgotten Forest", he wrote a sentence at the end:

"We don't write these guides to win games."

“It’s to tell those who come after you: You are not walking this path alone.”

"We have lit up the stars ahead for you."

On the 29th day after StarGate's public beta, at 3:00 AM, the official store page suddenly experienced a brief freeze. Five minutes later, players were surprised to discover that the limited-edition "StarWalker Collector's Edition" had sold out.

Not ten minutes, not an hour, but five minutes.

Within five minutes, 99,999 sets of the physical collector's edition were sold out in an instant.

The "Sold Out" notice on the official website's homepage is glaring red, like a kind of mockery - mocking those players who overslept and hesitated for a second, and mocking those who are still refreshing the "Add to Cart" button.

And in the next second, the entire network exploded.

Tieba, Weibo, Discord, NGA, TapTap, Zhihu, Steam community... the overwhelming discussions instantly swept the entire Chinese Internet.

The title of the top post on Tieba is directly:
[I'm gone. The Celestial Collector's Edition sold out in five minutes, and I didn't even finish entering the shipping address.]

The players downstairs were all crying:
[When I entered the last digit of my bank card number, the page suddenly refreshed, and then... it was gone.]

[I just clicked on the page, refreshed it twice, and it directly jumped to "Insufficient Stock." I immediately slashed myself.]

I used auto-fill, pre-login, and pre-linked my payment, but I still can't buy it. Who stole my destiny?

[I am broken, the star realm has not been cut, the shopping cart is broken first.]

On Weibo, three trending searches, #StarGate Collector's Edition Sold Out#, #Why Can't I Get the Limited Edition Peripherals#, and #Splitter Edition#, were all on the list.

Players began sharing screenshots of their failed purchases, with pop-up windows displaying messages like "Insufficient Stock," "Payment Failed," and "Page Closed" becoming the most popular "social death pictures." One player even made an emoji of his failed screenshot with the caption:
“You don’t come here to win, but you can’t even pay.”

This picture was forwarded more than 200,000 times in half a day and became the official expression of "Stargate Player's Lost Day".

At the same time, those who successfully bought the tickets seemed to suddenly possess the light of the world.

B station UP host "White Night Halo" posted in the community: "Brothers, I grabbed three sets of collector's editions. It's not to show off, but to commemorate."

He posted a screenshot of his order and also included a photo of the unboxing.

In the photo, three sets of collector's boxes are neatly placed on a solid wooden table. The boxes are sealed with satin packaging, with a gold-plated star emblem in the center. The inner pages contain a hand-drawn map, a replica of the Star Key, a Star Council setting collection, and a signed poster - signed by all members of the development team.

The comment section exploded instantly:
[Are you rushing to buy or holding a Star Realm meeting? ]

[Boss Bai Ye, did you use the destiny script? ]

[Looking for a set, original price, or let me touch the key (humble)]

[Brother, do you know that what you have now is not a peripheral, but a family heirloom? ]

Just below this post, an anonymous reply caught people's attention: "Someone grabbed fifty sets at once."

It is rumored that this anonymous account comes from the circle of bigwigs in the "collection world".

They disdain to buy one or two sets, but directly use the "script team" to participate in the purchase -

Before 0.3 a.m., ten accounts were pre-logged in, linked to Alipay and WeChat, and used a fully automated ordering script. The inventory status was refreshed every second, and once the goods were released, the order was completed within seconds.

For these big collectors, buying peripherals is not for fun, but for "ownership".

According to insiders, this tycoon has vacuum-sealed ten of the collector's editions, numbered them, and stored them in independent temperature-controlled cabinets; another ten sets are for "zonal display," arranged into small themed display cabinets according to "Initial World," "Ether Remnant," and "Dreamless Land"; the remaining thirty sets are planned to be auctioned ten years later. In his words:

“This is not a peripheral area, it is a cultural heritage.”

As soon as this was said, the forum players were angry:

[Is this your collection? This is the dragon slayer becoming a dragon!]

[You grabbed so many sets, have you ever thought about us ordinary players who didn't even get one? ]

How can one person take fifty sets and live up to the fair spirit of the Realm Breaker?

But there are also rational players who say:
"They invested money and effort, snapped up the technology, and did it legally and compliantly. I can only say I was too slow."

"It's like the astral plane itself—you think it's a fair fight, but in fact, fate has been tilted from the beginning."

—

However, in secondary markets such as Taobao, Xianyu, and Xianyu, the storm has just begun.

An hour after the Collector's Edition went online, over 699 copies were listed on the secondary market, with prices soaring from the original price of 1888 to 8888. There was even a "Splitter Signature Edition" listed for yuan. The seller's note read:

"The developer's signature and the number 01314 mean 'a lifetime'. Buy it and it's your destiny."

The comment section was filled with curses:
[Are you selling a collector's edition or an heirloom key? ]

【You are a "fate scalper"! 】

[My fate is in my own hands, but my wallet is no longer in yours.]

The platform had to urgently remove some illegal products from its shelves and issued a statement: "Please consume rationally and support genuine channels."

But this can't stop the players' enthusiasm.

Because at this time, a new form emerged - group buying and rush buying.

Some players spontaneously formed a "mutual aid group for rush purchases" and agreed to use the "team takes turns to rush purchases" method, assigning one person every day to try to place an order, and after the order is obtained, it will be distributed according to the cost price + express fee.

WeChat groups, QQ groups, and forum groups have been established one after another, and some technical people have even developed a "rush purchase schedule" plug-in that can automatically arrange rush purchase schedules, reminders, and record results.

Players laughed at themselves:
"We are not stealing goods, we are uniting to fight against fate."

"This is not a panic buying, this is a collective action of the Star Walkers."

"The essence of human beings is rush buying scripts + group buying mutual assistance + online verbal battles."

—

On Zhihu, someone raised the question:
"What do you think about the buying frenzy caused by the Collector's Edition of Astral Gate?"

The highly praised answer reads:

"This is not an act of consumption, but a manifestation of cultural resonance."

"Every person who fails to buy something feels not the loss of the product but the loss of their destiny."

"In this game, we are the fixers of fate; but in reality, fate is still uncontrollable."

"We are not trying to grab a key, but to prove that we can also hold the astral realm."

—

The development team released an announcement three days later:

"We will arrange production of the second batch of Collector's Editions as soon as possible to ensure fair purchasing channels. Thank you to every Star Walker for your love. Your enthusiasm makes us realize that what we create is not just a game, but a connection."

Below the announcement is the familiar slogan:
“It’s not about winning, it’s about moving on.”

Officials also announced that a "Digital Collector's Edition" will be launched in the future, including:

Astral Setting Collection PDF OST Digital Soundtrack Limited Edition Hero Skin "Severed World - Memorial Scene" Hidden Story Animation

At first everyone thought it was just an ordinary "limited sale", but more and more signs showed that this was not a simple peripheral sales, but a collective rush of emotion and belief.

01｜Official website "battlefield": refresh, crash, restart

The rush to buy has entered its second round, with the official announcement three days in advance: "The second batch of the Collector's Edition will go on sale on time at 19999: PM this Saturday, quantity: sets."

As soon as the news came out, players seemed to be excited.

On platforms like TapTap, NGA, Zhihu, and Weibo, a large number of “buy-prepare-for-the-game” posts have appeared, all with the same title format:

[Countdown to the Sale: X Days, Full-Process Preparation Guide] [Collector's Edition Sale Manual v1.2 | From Equipment to Mental Preparation] [Sale Simulator is Now Available! Come Practice!]

The player "Programmer Xiaozhan" created a web-based simulator to simulate the official website's shopping process, with each step from "click to buy" to "fill in address" and "payment confirmation" calculated in seconds.

Within three hours of the simulator being online, over 10,000 people used it, and there was even a UP host live-streaming tutorial on how to complete the entire process of buying the simulator:
"Everyone, please note that after clicking 'Buy Now', do not rush to fill in the address. The browser will automatically fill it in first. Then use quick payment for the payment process, and complete it within 3 seconds. Otherwise, you will be eliminated."

The barrage refreshes the screen:

[This isn't about buying merchandise, this is about taking the civil service exam, right?]

[I used my boss's server to practice, I'm sure I'll get the Collector's Edition!]

[I've been practicing World Break for seven days. It's faster to just fill in an address.]

By 7:50 p.m. on Saturday, the official website was in a state of "war."

A large number of players logged in in advance, bound their accounts, and recharged their balances. Some even used two devices to operate simultaneously: a computer on one side and a mobile phone on the other, using their hands and feet at the same time, just like multi-threaded humans.

The countdown starts.

20:00:00
Click.

The website crashed.

Players collectively exploded:

[I give up! The server has been cracked!]

[I have entered the checkout page, but the screen is blank!]

[I just want to know, who went in?! ]

Three minutes later, the website was restored and displayed:

"You are number 39421 in the queue."

Ten minutes later, the system announced: "All collector's editions are sold out."

—

According to official data released later, a total of 138 million people were shopping online at the same time, and the server peak was three times higher than expected.

The 19999 Collector's Editions sold an average of one set every 0.06 seconds, and sold out online in 2 minutes and 14 seconds. (End of this chapter)