[Machine Affairs] is a column in the G-Cores article section, updated every Friday. Before leaving work each Friday, we collect a few "short essays" from editors, with free themes and self-chosen topics. The column name is taken from the lightest text editor built into Windows, representing "lightness and smoothness."

This week's featured characters: Forty-two, Snow Bean, Gao Gao

Recently, "Alabaster Dawn" launched, and I tried it out right away. I've only played the beginning, so I don't have much of a feel for it yet.

The most obvious impression is that there's been accumulation and improvement in combat and feel.

"Alabaster Dawn" is a top-down perspective action RPG from a German development team, whose previous work was "CrossCode," a standout title during the indie game market's rise.

"CrossCode" was overall very good—exquisite pixel art, diverse combat styles centered around a single weapon, making it a worthwhile small-scale game. Thanks to the quirky German aesthetic and ideas, the setting and story were quite fresh (think of it as a European nerd's take on a cyberpunk anime story), and the boss fights were well-executed for a top-down ARPG.

However, in the mid-game of "CrossCode," some puzzles and combat intensity became unreasonable and very exhausting—and back then, I was younger and had the energy to go head-to-head with these Germans, playing until I passed out.

Playing the start of "Alabaster Dawn," my simple feeling is that its strengths are even stronger: more refined visuals, dialogue, and performances, along with fast-paced top-down combat feel and clear, direct interactions with monsters—all more advanced than "CrossCode." From the beginning, the story introduction in "Alabaster Dawn" is even slower and more fragmented. The game's store page says it has 30 to 60 hours of gameplay, so who knows when I'll finish it...

I hope the puzzle intensity in the mid-to-late game doesn't ramp up too high.

I've set a custom bouldering route at Beijing's Rock Time Climbing Gym in Guanzhuang. Everyone is welcome to try it.

See the picture below.

Instructions:

1. The squares indicate starting holds you can use. The rule is that once both feet leave the ground, your body must rely on these holds to maintain stability before climbing further. Official bouldering routes use tape to mark starting points. If only two strips of tape are applied (possibly on one or two holds), it mandates hand positions (left or right not specified). If four strips are applied (possibly on one, two, three, or four holds), it mandates limb positions (left or right, hand or foot not specified).

2. Black circles indicate holds you can use after starting. In official bouldering routes, mainstream gyms use hold colors to distinguish routes (within a certain range, same-colored holds form a route). Routes vary in difficulty, usually indicated by the tape color at the start. I personally rate this custom route as V3, a difficulty between beginner and intermediate.

3. White circles are the finishing holds. You need to touch this hold with both hands and maintain body stability to complete the route.

Think about how to climb it.

Reference solutions are below.

Solution 1 (intended route): After starting, place your right hand on the small square starting hold, press your left palm on hold 1 (with a small chip nailed on, easy to use), step your right foot on the second nail chip from the bottom on the large square starting hold (blue), place your left foot on the left side of the large square starting hold, shift your center of gravity to your left leg through hip movement, then push your center of gravity to your right leg with your left leg. Once centered, continue with your right leg to propel your body upward and right, reaching out with your right hand to grab hold 3. Don't lock your arm; go with the body's swing, slap your left hand onto hold 2 to control the swing. Then, step your left foot on the nail chip of hold 1, push your right foot against the wall to shift your center of gravity left, and press your left hand onto the upper left of hold 4 (not a direct grab, as the hold is flat). Once stable, lift your left foot off, hook your right toe (toe hook) onto hold 3 (held by your right hand), stabilize, change your left hand to a reverse-shoulder grip, bring your right hand to hold 4 (both hands together), grip firmly, step your left foot on the left side of hold 2, release your right foot, tighten your core to control the swing, push off (mainly using your left foot on hold 2, preferably switching to your right foot for easier center of gravity drop), reach out with your left hand to grab hold 5, swing your lower body to step your left foot on hold 6 (optional, increases endurance demand) for stability. Grip the groove of hold 7 with your right hand, hook your right heel (heel hook) onto hold 4, stabilize, bring both hands together, use the hooked right foot and hip movement to shift your center of gravity right, press your right hand in a reverse-shoulder grip onto the left-facing opening of hold 8, create counter-pressure with both hands, release your right foot, step your left foot on hold 5, stabilize, bring both hands to hold 8, step your right foot on hold 4, left foot on hold 7, push right, reach out with your right hand to grab the finishing hold 9, adjust foot positions to left foot on hold 3, right foot touching the wall, center of gravity under left foot and finishing hold 9, stabilize, touch finishing hold 9 with your left hand, completing the climb.

Solution 2: After starting, place your right hand on the small square starting hold, press your left palm on hold 1, step your right foot on the second nail chip from the bottom on the large square starting hold, place your left foot on the left side of the large square starting hold, shift your center of gravity to your left leg, push with your left leg to shift your center of gravity to your right leg, reach out with your right hand in a reverse-shoulder grip to press hold 2, create counter-pressure, lift your left foot to step on the small square starting hold, stabilize, bring both hands to hold 2, lower your center of gravity (try adjusting your right foot's position), push upward and right, reach out with your right hand to grab hold 3, change your left hand's grip to clamp together with your right hand, control the swing. Then proceed as before.

Solution 3: After starting, place your right hand on the small square starting hold, press your left palm on hold 1, step your right foot on the second nail chip from the bottom on the large square starting hold, place your left foot on the left side of the large square starting hold, push with your right leg to propel your body upward and left, reach out with your right hand to grab the upper left of hold 4, control body rotation, step your right foot on hold 2, push off with your left hand to grab hold 5. Then proceed as before.

I've recently started watching baseball games—while searching for materials, I stumbled upon an ad for KONAMI's "Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball A." After playing it a bit, I began looking for professional and major league games to watch during the season.

Honestly, I still can't figure out how to judge an "infield fly ball," but after a month of watching, I finally understood one thing: the variables in baseball are ridiculously huge.

Before, watching soccer, whoever scored won, and the situation was roughly clear. But baseball? The pitcher strikes out a batter, but the runner on base might take off if the catcher doesn't secure the ball—that's an "uncaught third strike"? My mind went blank the first time I saw it. With runners on first and second and a ground ball to the infield, which runner should the defense target first? The complexity of baseball rules makes it hard for me to grasp the nuances quickly.

But it's this very confusion that makes baseball so fascinating to me.

For example, there are over a dozen ways to grip the ball. Before each pitch, the pitcher and catcher exchange secrets through signals. The batter has only 0.4 seconds to decide whether to swing. But it's far from a duel between two people: with a runner on first, the pitcher might suddenly pick off; with a runner on second, the shortstop subtly shifts; with a runner on third, the outfielders adjust their positions.

There are 24 base-running situations in the game, each altering the defensive formation. The essence lies in those invisible calculations.

What I find most enjoyable is probably the "fielder's choice" in the game: one out, runner on first, the batter hits a ground ball to the infield. The shortstop throws to first to force out the batter, but the runner advances to second. Alternatively, the shortstop could throw to second to get the lead runner. If the second baseman catches and forces the out, then throws to first, it becomes a double play. The defense trades one variable for two outs. That split-second decision, I think, is more flavorful than hitting a home run.

Why is baseball's pace so slow? I think it's because before each pitch, the defense reassesses all variables: how many outs? Runners on which bases? Score? Batter's tendencies? Wind direction? Pitcher's stamina? Has the catcher's pitch selection been decoded? Then the pitcher nods and throws. In a fraction of a second, everything reshuffles. And the spectators outside also make the same calculations in those brief moments.

Before each pitch, the entire stadium suddenly falls silent, everyone staring at the mound. After the ball is thrown, it could be hit for a home run, roll into an infield sure out, foul off, or hit the batter directly—countless outcomes in just a split second.

I think I get it now: the joy of watching baseball isn't about understanding all the rules, but about experiencing that "calculated to the last detail" feeling, only to have it shattered by randomness.