Honkai Star Rail: Developing Mobile Games on Xianzhou

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"Now let’s check out Stelle’s ultimate ability!" Excitedly, Guinaifen activated Stelle’s Ultimate move.

At this moment, what she most anticipated was witnessing each character’s ultimate ability animations.

Every character had their distinct style and traits, accompanied by exquisite and lavish visual effects. It stood in stark contrast to the poorly made games she’d played before.

It was evident that the development team had poured meticulous effort into every detail. For instance, the brief flash of a character portrait when activating an ultimate ability left her utterly impressed.

It left Guinaifen utterly amazed.

"Whoosh!"

The character portrait of Stelle exceeded her expectations with its commanding presence. Standing on one foot mid-air, she held a golden orb in her left hand, exuding an aura that proclaimed her as the unrivaled top dog, gazing down imperiously. A fusion of steel and steam surrounded her, with the massive Astral Express traversing behind.

"Ace of Stars!" With a cold demeanor, Stelle swiftly drew a baseball bat from her waist.

This seemingly ordinary bat now shimmered with layers of lightning and star effects, transforming it instantly into a divine weapon, as if enhanced to +999!

"Rules exist to be broken!"

Her subsequent group attack became incredibly powerful, almost seeming capable of shattering the screen itself!

Monsters struck by the blow instantly perished, dealing an unprecedented high damage of 124 points!

Previously, the damage had only scraped in the tens. Not just Guinaifen, but the viewers in the Live Streaming Room were visibly thrilled beyond expectation.

"This protagonist’s ultimate move is seriously impressive!"

"Using a baseball bat like it’s the Sword of the Galaxy—amazing!"

"It’s so well-made and thoughtful! The skill animation is fantastic!"

"What a badass female lead—I love it!"

As Guinaifen continued watching, her admiration for the protagonist grew stronger.

She was absolutely thrilled.

Eagerly, she sought out more monsters to engage in combat.

Upon reaching the elevator, they entered the next segment of the storyline.

A malfunction occurred with the elevator’s operating system, blocking the protagonists’ path to the Master Control Zone.

Fortunately, Dan Heng appeared just in time.

After some playful banter, they decided to head to the Monitoring Room to seek help from Arlan of the Security Division.

Following this dialogue sequence...

Suddenly, a purple flash illuminated the screen!

Beneath a winding maple tree, a man leaned against its trunk, his expression cold and composed. Holding a long azure spear across his arms, he exuded an air of detachment from worldly affairs.

[Dan Heng (Four-star, The Hunt) joined the party]

???

"What does this mean? Did they just give us Dan Heng for free?" Guinaifen’s eyes widened, somewhat uncertain.

She opened the party interface.

Shockingly, she saw a "new" character added to the roster, confirming that players indeed received another character without cost. The tutorial even prompted users to level up the newly joined Dan Heng.

"No way! They’re really giving him away?"

"Three characters now! Based on the previous ones, I bet Dan Heng’s ultimate is going to be equally impressive!"

"Other games try every trick in the book to drain our gold, but this game has already given us three characters for free!"

"Is the development team running a charity? I’m genuinely worried they might go bankrupt!"

"Don’t give any more away—let me spend some money!"

Guinaifen was equally astonished by the game development team’s generosity.

Considering the high-quality production, they could easily have sold these characters, yet they insisted on giving them away for free!

No further explanation was needed.

The viewers in the Live Streaming Room were already astounded and wondering how this game would ever make money!

After encountering Arlan, March 7th remembered that she possessed the key to unlock elevator access rights.

As she passed a room, she casually "picked up" a Light Cone.

Reading through the tutorial, Guinaifen quickly understood:

"...So, Light Cones are weapons unique to each character’s fate paths within this game."

"The designers did a great job integrating these elements; even in reality, they’re rare items we can’t afford."

"In-game, they’re categorized as three-star, four-star, and five-star levels."

"For now, I’m not sure how to obtain other Light Cones."

Equipping the protagonist with this three-star Light Cone, they arrived at the elevator entrance.

This time, the enemy encountered seemed stronger than any before—a centaur-like monster.

In the context of Voidrangers, it qualified as an elite foe.

"If I met such a creature in real life, I’d definitely take a detour, but since this is a game..."

"I want to test out Dan Heng’s ultimate ability!" Guinaifen declared determinedly, gritting her teeth.

Without hesitation,

she activated Dan Heng’s ultimate ability.

[Realm of Illusion: A Dream Unfolding]

"Between life and death, a single thought suffices."

Dan Heng held his long spear at the ready.

At its tip rested a seamlessly unified bead, half black and half white. Rings of white smoke emanated from around the bead, mirroring the ultimate ability’s name:

"Realm of Illusion: A Dream Unfolding."

As a maple leaf swept across the screen, Dan Heng’s surroundings transformed into a scene reminiscent of ink-wash painting, with only crimson leaves interspersed amidst the black ink strokes.

Dan Heng opened his eyes, poised for action.

"Break!"

With this command,

he instantly materialized behind the Voidranger Trampler, the ink-like fluid splattering like blood from his spearpoint.

[Battle Concluded]

"Wow! That’s incredibly cool!"

"What?! How can such a serene ink-wash style convey so much lethal intent?"

"The atmosphere and effects are absolutely unbeatable!"

"This is pure Xianzhou aesthetic! The developers must be from Xianzhou!"

"They’re giving away characters like this for free? Now I have to download the game."

"Starting with March 7th and Dan Heng as gifts—what an amazing deal!"