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Today, Operation Delta finally released a preview of the S4 season, and this time the team showed a bigger goal than ever before.

First of all, there is the large scale of the update of new content - new operators, new weapons, and a night battle mode that will directly affect the gameplay logic and the trading market;

Secondly, the product has also gone a step further by launching a carnival event such as "Onslaught", which combines player memes and game mechanics, based on the popular content in the player community.

Finally, the game also previews a series of plans for the second half of this year: a destructible map in all scenarios, island warfare for beach landing, underwater diving, and cooperative prison escape.

It is not difficult to see that the goal of "Operation Delta" is to become the next evergreen game.

And in fact, it has every chance to do so.

After all, Tencent revealed in the 2024Q4 and annual performance report that the double-end revenue of "Delta Action" in Q4 exceeded 1 billion yuan, and Tencent executives already believe that it has the potential to become an evergreen game - that is, the level of annual turnover of more than 4 billion. Just today, the game also officially announced the latest number of daily active users: more than 12 million.

Grape Jun participated in the test of the S4 season of the game this time, and through the various actions in it, we can see what the next stage of the game wants to go to, what it looks like.

01

A new game

Night battles are the core content of this S4 season, and many new designs are based on it.

Operation Night covers two modes, the map is "Dam Zero" in the Beacon Zone and "Trench Warfare" in the full-scale battlefield.

As far as the experience of Grape King in the test server is concerned, the main thing that makes Night Battle different from updating a new map and a new operator is that it provides a new dimension to the game, so that the player's game experience not only increases in quantity, but also changes in quality.

This new dimension of the game is the use of "light".

Friends who have played "search and withdraw" games should know that "reading information" is a very critical ability, even more important than marksmanship. Because the TTK (kill time) is short, and the terrain is easy to hit the back, whoever takes the lead is basically a sure win.

In the past, the information difference in "Operation Delta" mainly came from the sense of hearing - listening to the footsteps, listening to the direction, listening to the material, listening to the skill, listening to the weapon, listening to the medicine and manicuring, etc., but now the information difference from the vision has been added: night vision devices, flashlights, thermal imaging, ......

One might think what is this? It's good for everyone to have night vision devices, everyone is the same.

But in fact, where night battles need to be gambled, it is precisely to obtain visual benefits while also taking corresponding risks.

For example, the night vision helmet is a 5 armor, only a pitiful 20 points of durability, far lower than the 50 points of the same kind, and it is easy to be killed by a headshot. And the night battle mode is not all out of sight, and when fighting in a brightly lit indoor place, the night vision device is at a disadvantage.

In addition, there will be starry lights outside, which may be more comfortable to see with the naked eye in non-total darkness, after all, the blue-green filter of the night vision device needs to be adapted.

Another example is a flashlight. Many people will feel that playing a flashlight in the dark is not revealing themselves? Whoever is stupid will use it. But in fact, the main focus of the flashlight is a flexible, open and on, according to local conditions. Of course, there is no need to drive in a hurry, and once the two sides exchange fire, the advantage of the flashlight will be highlighted.

Because you will find that when you are flashlight on the opposite side, you can't see anything except a large aperture of light, and the other person can easily shoot the head. Not to mention the flashlight and the powerful add-on skill "Burst".

The source of the picture is station B UP mainKey725

And then there's thermal imaging. It is a low-return option with low risk. The main benefit comes from being able to quickly locate the enemy's position without revealing yourself. But the disadvantage is that you have to open the lens to use, and it will be blocked by various equipment and skills, and if you turn on the flashlight on the opposite side, you can't see anything clearly.

When you see this, you will find that what equipment strategy players should choose to deal with the visual information required for the night battle mode is the focus of this S4 season.

And different types of players get a completely different experience.

The impact on rats is certainly the most direct. Because of the information gap of one more dimension, there will be more locations and opportunities for the old six yin people on the map, and the running knife boy who picks up garbage also has a protective color such as dark night. In the Eve (Regular difficulty) mode, everyone can't bring night vision and thermal imaging, they can only use flashlights, and the rats are happier when they run.

For the six sets of full-fledged rich brothers, it is completely possible to carry night vision devices, thermal imaging, and flashlights, giving yourself more strategic space, and choosing the best visual information props according to the actual battle situation. Of course, even so, there is still a possibility of being attacked by rats and rats out of nowhere.

The source of the picture is station B UP main Key725

This brings us to the new Operator "Nameless". His special feature is anti-detection, after opening the ultimate, not only can he narrow the range of sound propagation when he moves, but the enemy's information detection props cannot find its specific location. Therefore, he may have an advantage in the night gameplay, and may replace the bee doctor and the hacking claw to become the favorite character of the rat and mouse.

It is also thanks to the operator system that compared with the night battle mode of other similar games, the night battle experience of "Operation Delta" will be more refreshing, and the choice of combat strategy will be richer, rather than the turtle point of all members. There are pros and cons between each reconnaissance information bit and anti-investigation bit, and there are checks and balances between each other, which can collide with more sparks in the gameplay.

At the same time, a new weapon, the Twin Barrel Shotgun, and a new shotgun bullet, Dragon's Breath, have been added to the game. The double-barreled shotgun has a range comparable to that of a rifle, with a single capacity of only two rounds, but it does a lot of damage, while the Dragon's Breath is not only powerful, but also has a fireworks-like burning effect.

For battleground players, Night Mode may offer a more immersive frontline experience: wall lamps in the trenches and moonlight in the sky, shouting that the general attack will be launched at dusk and end the war in the middle of the night.

Judging from the observation of Grape Jun on the test server, in this mode, without night vision devices, you will get a more refreshing game experience, and the visual impact and battlefield atmosphere are very sufficient.

At the same time, the Full Battlefield Mode will also usher in the Commander System on May 9, bringing new coordination and strategy space to player squads, providing a more focused perspective for spectators, and I believe that this S4 season will bring battlefield users to a higher level of immersion.

In addition to constantly introducing new content, the game is also continuing to optimize and solve users' pain points: character mobility, mobile operations, sound orientation, battlefield map opening and disabling, etc., and brings more easy-to-use and user-friendly features, such as making the appearance randomly enter the game, and simplifying the operation of the secret service.

To put it simply, the feedback in the user community has really been listened to.

On the one hand, the version is fresher content, and on the other hand, there are optimization iterations of a large number of pain points, and this S4 season is really enough. If the above is just the conventional means of the "big change", then the "Onslaught Festival" is really a big job.

02

Launch an onslaught

From April 29th to May 5th, Operation Delta will complete the game's first festival, the Onslaught Festival, through holiday-limited mechanics, special gameplay updates, and mysterious blockbuster benefits.

The slogan of the festival is "Attack, Earn Money", and players will be able to fight without worries through various supplies and welfare activities.

Swipe left and right to view

The purpose of this design is also obvious, that is, those players who are usually reluctant to load up and worry about losing money can also carry out the "onslaught" with peace of mind, after all, the tactical depth brought by the four major classes and the combat coolness brought by the kill feedback are undoubtedly the most unique longboard experience in the same kind of "Delta Operation".

Therefore, "Onslaught" has become a common behavioral cognition in the player community. At this time, the official launch of the "Onslaught Festival" reflects the official's attention, respect and amplification of player culture; On the other hand, it is also encouraging players to immerse themselves in the game and play more enjoyable in a variety of ways.

And once this cultural trend is really formed, it will be very attractive to pan-entertainment users. Just like "Operation Delta" before, there have been a bunch of stalks such as wheat mice, shield dogs, battlefield quacks, and red wolves. Many people watch the video and think it's funny and funny, and they will have the urge to enter the pit.

Offering more chips to enter the game, increasing the odds of the battle, all of this is to say to the player, "This is the best time to enter the Delta."

Eventually, the "Onslaught Festival" has the opportunity to become a long-term and sustainable brand label of "Operation Delta", similar to the existence of "Honor of Kings".

It's also worth noting that the team has made a new round of upgrades to the year-round update plan released at the beginning of the year, and both the Beacon Zone and the full battlefield will usher in a new experience.

Beacon Zone focuses on the richness of the content experience, and will provide more gameplay experiences around a certain level theme: cooperative prison break, underwater stealth, and evacuation as the real core keyword. Coupled with the new boss and the new Egypt map, the player freshness is in place.

The full-scale battlefield will go one step further in the direction of realism and immersion, adding new maps that can be destroyed in all scenes, and battlefields with more extreme environments. In addition, there are unique experience water battles, as well as island battles that focus on three-dimensional landing.

If this momentum continues, the summer file war will be worth watching.

03

The goal is evergreen

How popular is Operation Delta today? Compared with the 1 billion yuan revenue figure in Q4 in the financial report, the 12 million daily active users announced this time may be more intuitive or its offline terrorist reign.

I've seen people playing Operation Delta more than once in various places, commuting subways, buses, queues in front of popular restaurants...... The most exaggerated time was when I was at the door of the movie theater and saw a group of people arguing around a table, and I got closer to see that "Operation Delta" was displayed on the screens of mobile phones, iPads, laptops, and various devices.

If you go to the Internet café again, it will be even more exaggerated, and half of the machines in a row may be full. According to the data of Shunwang Technology (the Internet café system with the largest market share), "Delta Action" has entered the TOP3 of the Internet café hot list since February this year, and has also won this ranking in March.

What's even more commendable is that "Operation Delta" is the only game in the top ten with cross-terminal data, which means that the main body of players is not just on the PC side. Although other games also have mobile products, the data is not interoperable, and they are essentially two games.

The game has also been in the top three for a long time on the popularity list of the WeGame platform. Due to the unabated popularity, WeGame has also released a geolocation-based leaderboard, where players can dynamically check their ranking in the current city and province.

Such a high popularity naturally drives the data of the content ecology. For example, the topic of "Delta Action" on the Douyin platform alone has reached 38 billion views, and the official account of Station B has 50 videos with more than one million views.

And under such a content ecology, it has also given birth to the top anchors of the whole network such as Lao Feiyu, Bai Ze, and Lin Shu.

Among them, Lao Feiyu became popular with "Operation Delta". According to the data of the fireworks platform, before the game was launched in September last year, Lao Feiyu's B station had less than 100,000 fans, but he has now become a million-level UP master with more than 1.6 million fans.

And the rat and mouse emoji he often uses, and the magical BGM "Lonely People Listen to Sad Songs", have also become one of the hot stalks of the game out of the circle.

At this point, the potential of "Operation Delta" to become Tencent's next evergreen game is already very obvious.

The reason why the game can have this potential is due to the continuous pursuit and polishing of the gameplay experience by the team behind it - levels, combat, art, double-end rendering, and "Operation Delta" strives to be the best in every aspect.

At this year's GDC (Game Developers Conference), Dong Haiyang, the game's level chief planner, said that he has been observing the changing trend of the level size and form of shooting games in the past decade.

The team hopes to solve many shortcomings of the open level in the big world on the basis of satisfying the freedom of the open level: the objective is lost, the pace is uncontrollable, there is no solid level structure, and so on.

Therefore, they carefully calculated the volume and size of the bunker, doors and windows, set the standards for the level, bunker structure, and scene recognition, and finally summarized the standard document of more than 20 pages "Level Gameplay and Scene Manual", Dong Haiyang said that this document can make the team eat for ten or twenty years in the future.

In terms of LOQ (Level of Quailty Image Quality Grading), they adjusted a lot of elements based on their team characteristics and pipeline, and integrated various POI (point of interest) heat maps, player movement maps, and data tracking tools into the design process.

Olio, the main planner of the battle, said that in order to make the game unique, after determining the direction of hero skills + tactical shooting, it took them two years and 7 versions of difficult derivation to determine the TTK, operator skills, growth, levels and other elements little by little, and gradually tighten the design.

Before the game was officially launched, many people thought that the slogans of "Operation Delta" were bragging in the sky; Before the actual results, the team's behind-the-scenes efforts may also be regarded as self-moving.

But now, with one promise after another being fulfilled and one design after another being recognized by the market, looking back at what game producer Shadow said, "The temperament of a team often determines the temperament of the product." If the team wants to climb and become the number one in the industry, then you will naturally choose a less commercial way to create and choose the best things in the industry." Maybe it's not a lie.

When the product completes the verification from 0 to 1, how to find a balance between high-intensity updates and ecological maintenance, and how to maintain the sharpness of gameplay innovation while continuously absorbing user feedback, will determine whether this product can truly cross the distance between "explosive" and "evergreen".

Perhaps for Operation Delta, the road to evergreen has just begun.

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