Chapter 149: Dual Processors and Volder’s Alpha
A CPU almost exactly the same as what had been called the Pentium II in Insu’s previous life was released. In this world, it was named Slotron, but Insu was not used to hearing that either, so he decided to just call it the Pentium II.
“So we’re replacing all the servers with this, right?”
“That seems likely, doesn’t it? The price-to-performance ratio is good, and they said that dual processor thing is really amazing.”
(Translator’s Notes: Dual processor — A system configuration using two CPUs in one machine to improve parallel processing, multitasking, and server workload distribution.)
Since Seongcheol was spending a large amount of money to introduce it, he had examined the specifications in detail. However, since he lacked a deep understanding of programming and hardware, he only understood it roughly as a technology that allowed two CPUs to be used in one system, increasing parallel processing performance.
“Yes. Basically, it’s advantageous for multitasking, and since there are more CPUs, the amount of hardware that can be controlled, including memory, also increases, so scalability and overall performance can rise greatly. And since there are two heads, the workload can be distributed that much. Even if a problem occurs and one dies, one remains, so stability also improves.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
Even that was a fairly simplified explanation.
In any case, compared to servers using the immediately previous version, the Pentium Pro, the price was about twenty-five to thirty percent cheaper at around three thousand to forty-five hundred dollars, yet the performance difference ranged from two to three times.
Beyond simple processing power, scalability, maintenance stability, and multimedia capability were all superior, so they had held out as long as possible and were now purchasing them in bulk all at once.
The server management team and each business team updated kernels and drivers for the new servers, adjusted server programs for optimization, and tested the servers’ performance.
“Wow! With this, the decay system can run on a single server without needing to use an external system.”
“The concurrent processing ability is insane.”
An MMORPG had many tasks that needed to be processed simultaneously, such as login, chat, combat, item processing, and changes and interactions based on real-time passage of time. Thanks to the dual CPU, simultaneous processing through true parallel work became possible.
On top of that, the basic CPU performance was higher than before, so the efficiency was absurd.
“Looks like we can increase concurrent users up to three times?”
Clayton, his heavy rear planted in front of the computer, spent a long time typing on the keyboard and staring at the monitor before muttering in a tone that sounded half-dumbfounded.
And apart from performance, stability also made more compressed server operation possible.
Previously, even if the performance supported it on paper, they deliberately used servers with a margin because of stability concerns. Now that there was basic stability, there was no need to do that.
“If multiple things are handled by a single system, I think we can raise security sharply too.”
Jaden from the security team spoke in a cautious tone.
“No matter how much you encrypt it, if data moves around here and there, there’s a chance it can leak or be stolen. If it doesn’t leave in the first place, that won’t happen. And the more servers it moves through, the more holes there are.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
Insu did not know much about security, but explained that way, he understood.
This powerful performance brought innovation to all the internet-related businesses Insu was servicing. It made complex and risky services that had previously been impossible become possible.
Taking Parallel Soft’s most representative service, the portal site, as an example, not only could search speed and accuracy be improved, but complex backend tasks such as large-capacity mail storage, attachment processing, and spam filters became possible.
“Information updates by the second are also possible. We could provide breaking news, stock prices, weather changes, and things like that on the portal.”
Processing large-capacity data such as images, audio, and video also became possible. In other words, if internet speed just became faster, they would be able to recreate most of the services used in 2025.
‘And like Google did, functions that analyze user behavior data in real time and provide personalized ads will become possible too.’
Since he had studied servers quite diligently, Insu could vaguely estimate the expanded possibilities as he listened to the server programmers’ explanations.
And the effect on MMORPGs, which Insu considered most important, was also large.
As already mentioned above, they became able to increase concurrent users dramatically. In MMORPGs, concurrent users were an important factor that determined how close that virtual world could become to reality and how far it could expand.
There was also the fact that more complex and varied systems and functions could now be implemented.
They had barely managed to develop and service the current TLF Online by using every possible method, but because it had been implemented by squeezing everything nearly to the limit, it had been difficult to add anything more. If they had not made it turn-based, using such a complex system would have been difficult.
That was why the Spirit content had been quite excessive, even though it had been implemented by reusing as much existing code as possible.
But with this server replacement, the possibilities expanded greatly again.
“Of course, the planned exchange should be possible, and the farming system and mining system in the proposal will probably be implementable too.”
“That’s a relief.”
Since Insu knew about the future, he had expected the appearance of the Pentium II and proceeded with his plans accordingly, but expectations were still only expectations, not a confirmed future, so he had not been without anxiety. Only now could he finally feel relieved.
And although he had not yet made proper planning documents, he had a few more things in mind besides content updates like those.
He wanted to make effects and character movements more varied and flashy, and add real-time interaction with maps.
As those restrictions were lifted, Insu’s motivation soared.
In June 1997, Volder’s alpha test was carried out.
“Oh...! The Apostate is seriously amazing.”
Travis Morgan, one of the QA team members, cheered as his character stretched out a hand. Something like a transparent wave swept over the enemies, and those whose health dropped to zero rapidly swelled up before spraying dark-red blood in every direction and collapsing in droves.
The Apostate was literally someone who had once been a believer of the Cult of the Absolute Truth, but after feeling intense fear toward Volder, their mind control broke, and they escaped. Half-mad from trauma and obsession, they had barely overcome their fear and returned to this place in order to sever the connection between Volder, the source of it all, and this world.
“What’s it like?”
“Huh? Look.”
When Elliot Park leaned his head toward Travis’s seat and asked, Travis used a skill called Skewer of Faith this time, piercing a hole through a large zombie’s body with a white beam of light.
“It’s just a mage.”
“Well, basically.”
Strictly speaking, according to the setting, it could be called a priest, but it had none of the healing or support abilities priests usually showed in fantasy. Since all of its skills were grotesque offensive skills, by familiar fantasy standards, it was a mage, or more precisely, a warlock.
“What are you playing?”
“Me? Cyborg.”
Its appearance was just like a muscular professional wrestler, but in truth, most of its body had been replaced with machinery. It was a character with powerful melee attack power that occasionally used weapons hidden inside its body for area attacks.
Clank!
When he used a skill, its right arm folded outward, and from the opened elbow area, bluish-white light poured out, sweeping the front in a fan shape.
“That’s flashy too.”
The Cyborg was a character covering close and mid-range combat. Its difficulty was high and its sense of speed was slightly slow, but it boasted high durability and powerful area damage. At the same time, since it was not entirely melee, it could be considered a hybrid type.
“Did you get your items set up at all? I only get blue ones.”
Elliot felt that if he could just get a little more gear, he could sweep away everything blocking his path so frustratingly, but his damage was just slightly lacking. It was disappointing that he could not wipe enemies out with his short-cooldown rapid-fire skill and had to use the skill assigned to right-click to finish them off.
“Mine are almost all blue too. Hehe. But about thirty minutes ago? I got a helmet with +2 Blood Explosion.”
“Huh?! +2 skill?”
In any game, difficulty increased in steps as progression advanced. However, the spacing of those sections, the degree of difficulty increase, and the changes caused by a character’s spec increases had to be properly matched. Volder matched those things brilliantly.
If one went just a little too far, it became impossible to handle. The previous area could be swept through as long as one focused. The area immediately ahead was technically possible to hunt in, but felt like one was exactly one step short of what was needed, making the desire for upgrades surge sharply.
“Huh? A bug!”
Elliot, wanting to upgrade his gear too, wandered around the map looking for elite monsters that dropped good items. Then he suddenly saw monsters caught at the edge of the screen collapse all at once even though he had not hit them, and after staring blankly for a moment, he shouted.
“Everyone seems really focused.”
Eunha, who had come with Insu to observe the QA team, whispered quietly as she watched the employees concentrate on their monitors and continuously click their mice.
“Yeah. It looks playable for now.”
He spoke modestly to Noona, but inwardly, Insu felt proud.
He had started by trying to recreate Diablo II, but because he did not want to copy it outright, he had changed quite a lot according to his own ideas. Even so, it seemed to have come out properly without damaging much of the original’s fun.
However, he did not let his guard down. More bugs were appearing than expected, so if they did not control things properly until the end, they could create something fun only to end up getting cursed at.
‘Besides, Diablo was a work that showed powerful IP strength.’
The second game was the most famous, but the third, which was evaluated as inferior, sold far more copies. Diablo II sold around five million copies despite its fame. Of course, that was by no means a small number, but it showed just how intense the players’ passion had been.
Diablo III, however, sold a staggering thirty million copies. That proved Diablo’s IP power. And even after Blizzard declined, after Diablo disappointed people with its sequels, and after powerful competitors appeared, Diablo IV still sold ten million copies.
‘If they’d maintained it properly, it could have become a powerful franchise like GTA.’
(Translator’s Notes: GTA — Grand Theft Auto, a major open-world action game franchise known for massive commercial success and strong global IP power.)
With that, Insu continued the alpha test while maintaining his tension.
WGAME, the world’s first ESD, had a considerable impact on people interested in the internet and computers.
“They’re directly distributing games through the internet?”
In truth, the concept of downloading and playing games itself was not particularly unfamiliar. From the moment the internet began, there had been many people who copied games, downloaded them illegally, and played them.
However, that was ultimately a dark route.
Because of that, it felt morally unpleasant, but more than anything, it depended entirely on the people who created and uploaded the files. One had to wait endlessly without knowing when something would appear, the download environment was unstable, and above all, it was extremely difficult to obtain the latest titles being loudly advertised, the games one actually wanted to play.
And as piracy gradually increased, developers also began using various security measures, including CD keys, as countermeasures, making it increasingly difficult.
“Fifteen dollars? If I pay that, I can play the latest games right away? Then I’d rather just pay.”
Wanting things for free was natural, but obtaining pirated games also came with the frustrations and anxieties mentioned above. So in places with a certain level of economic power, many people preferred to simply pay and obtain them legitimately.
Even in Korea, although piracy was widespread, people still paid several thousand won to ten thousand won for those pirated CDs. It was not that everything absolutely had to be free.
Even if copyright awareness was lacking, people still had at least the basic concept that if one wanted to obtain something, one had to pay a price.
So if a cheap, convenient, and safe method appeared, even among people who had enjoyed pirated games before, many were ready to use it.
Translator’s Notes:
Pentium II — Intel’s CPU line released in 1997, succeeding the Pentium Pro and widely used in late-1990s personal computers and servers.
Pentium Pro — Intel CPU released in 1995, aimed mainly at servers and high-end workstations.
Dual processor — A system configuration using two CPUs in one machine to improve parallel processing, multitasking, and server workload distribution.
Kernel — The core part of an operating system that manages hardware resources, memory, processes, and communication between software and hardware.
Backend — The server-side portion of a software system that handles processing, databases, security, and other functions not directly visible to users.
GTA — Grand Theft Auto, a major open-world action game franchise known for massive commercial success and strong global IP power.
CD key — Product authentication code used to verify ownership of PC software or games, especially common in the 1990s and 2000s.