Please make "Bu Wei Chi" a standard feature in 3D mobile games.

On the eve of the “Journey Test” launch, the pre-registration count for *Blue Star: Journey Ballad* (hereinafter referred to as *Blue Star*) has surpassed the 20-million mark.This figure stood at 15 million during this year’s BW event. Such rapid growth is exceptionally rare in today’s market environment. This serves as further proof that players who know Manjyu from sources other than *Azur Lane* are genuinely looking forward to this new 3D title.

However, for a free-to-play game, transitioning to a paid model with a server reset is often the hardest hurdle to clear. From how to set up the gacha pool to how to sell skins—if even a single detail isn’t handled properly, all the hard work could go to waste.

Over the past two years, quite a few games have stumbled during their paid beta tests, with players’ expectations turning to disappointment. While there have been some cases of games making a comeback later on, they ultimately had to take a detour.

So, before I was invited to try out the new version of *Blue Starfield*, I was still feeling a bit apprehensive. On the one hand, I wanted to get an early look at just how much new content had been added in the “Journey Test” (the third beta test); on the other hand, I was concerned about the game’s balance in terms of monetization.

Fortunately, Manjiao still understands players better than I do. *Blue Starfield* has followed the industry-wide trend of “price cuts” for paid games and further refined its content.

01

I really love the new character designs.

Returning to the Continent of Promelia, what struck me most was how much more polished the game has become.

The new version opens up a vast new area called the “Mystic Forest” located below the City-State of Fleis.Stepping out of the vast golden wheat fields surrounding the City-State of Fleece and into the lush forest, where various Qibo creatures dart back and forth, I truly felt as though I were in a pristine, untamed wilderness. During my limited playtime, I found myself held up several times by the small puzzles scattered throughout the Enigmatic Forest.

The puzzles aren’t particularly difficult, but they always make me stop in my tracks, pause to think, and search for a solution. This sense of serendipity—which doesn’t feel contrived—brings the new areas to life and makes them more interesting.

What really made me feel like the game had taken a step up in terms of polish were probably the new characters introduced. “Pei Pei,” dressed as a panda, is absolutely adorable when she runs; and the special move unleashed by the cat girl “Maple Sugar” exudes a touch of sweetness amidst its soft pink hues.

Maple Syrup’s Ultimate Move Is Too Sweet

Among the already-revealed characters, this update brings some new changes. For example, one of the playable characters, the pink-haired “Tushan Xiaoyu” (a 5-star character), has received a full-scale, galgame-style personal story event with top-notch production values. However, after experiencing the story mode, it feels a bit cumbersome—there’s a lot of text, and the pacing could use some refinement.

Content density has also increased. During my discussions with the development team, I learned that the number of Qibo in the new version has surpassed 200+, an increase of nearly 70 types compared to the previous “Constant Sequence Test.” In addition, there’s a “Stellar Haze” variant with a unique color scheme—the moment I saw it, the word “rare” immediately came to mind.

Overall, the completion level of the third test version has improved significantly, to the point where it’s clearly visible. I think that once the initial exploration phase is over, Maijiu delivers highly efficient and high-quality results during the scaling-up phase.

02

Qibo Showdown: A Major Update

In response to some issues identified during the previous test, the new version has undergone optimization and adjustments with a focus on reducing the burden on users.

In the “Constant Sequence Test,” players reported that the stun duration when using Star Knot to grab Chibos was too long, which disrupted the combat rhythm. In the new version, the development team addressed the issue head-on: Star Knot no longer freezes time. With this single fix, the process of grabbing Chibos is now much smoother.

The Qibo Duel is another case that has received a lot of feedback. I believe players who participated in the previous two tests will initially find themselves confused by a series of actions, such as the timing of deploying Qibo and casting skills. This is especially true during critical stages of the duel, when skill effects obscure the battlefield and hinder players’ ability to assess the situation.

The new version features a major overhaul of the gameplay. Players must select 3 out of 8 Qibo cards to field, and the process of destroying towers has been simplified to Qibo duels—the first player to deplete the opponent’s health bar wins. Based on testing, this gameplay offers a much faster pace, with matches now lasting about 1 minute.

A Major Overhaul of “QiBo Showdown”

With a limit of three Qibo in battle, combat places greater demands on players’ Qibo team composition. Players must consider both attribute advantages and disadvantages between Qibo as well as the synergy of their skills.While the game is indeed simple and straightforward to pick up, the strategic depth has increased significantly. It’s particularly difficult for the underdog to stage a comeback, so players need to put extra thought into their Chibo selection before each match begins.

There are also a bunch of small optimizations that may seem insignificant on their own, but when taken together, they’re quite useful.

For example, once you reach a three-star rating in daily dungeons, you can enable auto-battle, so you finally don’t have to bother manually farming stamina every time; the Home system has been streamlined, so you don’t have to keep navigating back and forth between submenus; and when faced with situations like treasure chests on rooftops or platforms halfway up a cliff, you can summon the little chicken to fly short distances—it’s a real lifesaver for getting around.

Reduce the number of menu levels in the Home section

Lingzi looks even more beautiful

When comparing the areas for optimization from the second beta test with the adjustments in the new version, it appears that the development team is addressing each point one by one. This approach of respecting player feedback has also been carried over to the monetization plan for *Blue Star Origin*.

03

Not littering is good manners!

Thanks to this opportunity to try out the game, I got an early glimpse of the monetization framework for *Blue Starfield* and gradually let go of my previous anxiety.

As for the card pool—which players are most concerned about—it can definitely be described as a “balanced pool.”

90 pulls guarantee a current-event limited 5-star character, and every 5-star character obtained will be from the current event. The pull progress will carry over to subsequent limited pools. The limited weapon (Spirit Particle) pool works similarly: 80 pulls guarantee a current-event limited Spirit Particle.

Players have repeatedly complained about the “unfair gacha” pools with a guaranteed drop after 180 pulls. The frustration caused by receiving unwanted cards has been enough to drive some veteran players away.Over the past two years, a number of 3D mobile games have introduced innovative gacha mechanics that not only reduce the variance in gacha results but also lower the expected number of pulls required to obtain rare cards—a approach that has gradually proven its worth in the market.

“Blue Star Field” has followed suit by adopting a fair gacha system, which is naturally a benefit to players. I predict the development team will receive a round of applause from players.

The animation effects in the shipment are really cool.

I believe that when developing monetization strategies for future large-scale 3D mobile games, developers will inevitably take the competitive landscape into account, driving “fair pool” systems to become the standard for new games.

The flip side of these price cuts is that *Blue Star Field* has shifted its monetization focus to cosmetic items.During the trial period, I tried out several new Qibo skins; for example, the new outfit for “Cai Ji” gives him a more dashing pilot’s look. However, some of the Qibo skins are a bit bland—they feel more like simply “changing the color”—and don’t seem to differ much from the existing alternate-color Qibo variants in the game.

What a Noob Looks Like

There is still a lot of potential for in-game cosmetic purchases in anime-style games, and products such as character skins are expected to be revealed by the developers in the future.

Of course, my current impressions of the business model are purely my personal opinion. The upcoming third beta test is, in itself, an opportunity to fine-tune the pricing strategy on a broader scale. However, after trying the game myself, I’m even more confident that *Blue Star Origin* will be well-received.

04

A Key Indicator

The arrival of the third beta test signals that *Blue Star Origin* has entered the final sprint toward its open beta. Earlier information from the App Store had already provided a vague indication of this. Given the game developer’s consistent development pace, *Blue Star Origin* is highly likely to officially launch before the end of the year.

After all these years of development, the content of *Blue Star Origin* has indeed been improving day by day. And in today’s mobile gaming market, a title that features a vast 3D open world populated entirely by cute girls is a rarity in and of itself.The third beta test is a tough challenge, but we’re confident that *Blue Starfield* will pass this milestone successfully and achieve an outstanding result.

What I value even more is that flagship new games, such as *Blue Star Field*, are willing to adopt a fair gacha system—one that doesn’t skew the odds—to enhance the player’s gacha experience and strike a new balance between player satisfaction and the developer’s revenue. This is a crucial indicator of the industry’s direction.