Game Design Issues

[HCTotorro]

It wouldn't hurt to add a chat feature to pvp as well or the game lobby in general.

[KugBau]

Gameplay issues that I've come across (sorry if any of these should be in a different sticky):

With effects such as Fear, Defender, etc it would be nice to know the information without going to the forum guide. I'm still not sure of all the stat changes and bonuses my units have as I keep having to check what they mean.

Pinned? What does this mean and why does it happen? Is it like an opportunity strike or something? Some sort of information (even in the forum guide) would be useful.

In one game I played I didn't know why I won. (Game ID: gid=4059841503). I only had 3 portals with the enemy having 1. I attuned the enemies home base and killed all their units. Is that why I won? But they still had a portal so couldn't they still call up more units?

In another game (Game ID: gid=2803286272) I killed the enemy Succubus without hitting her. I think it was because I had poisoned her earlier but she still had a fair bit of HP left on the health bar when the victory screen came up.

Completed battle music could be a bit longer, or not looped. It can get annoying if you actually want to read the results of the battle. FIXED!

It's annoying when I have to hit 'Cancel' to select a different unit during the battle sequence. I'd like to be able to select a unit, see what their special attack is and then select another to see if that attack is any better.

Only undoing one action is completely frustrating. I can live with it but it annoys me. FIXED!

As everyone else has said, the menu system is a bit bulky. When you're moving units and selecting cards it can be pretty awkward. FIXED!

On a positive note, I like how the game pauses when you select a different screen. Very useful when having to check the guide XP.

[SaintTape]

Also, not sure if this would go here, or if these exist already, but perhaps an option to select graphics quality and presence of battle animations (eliminate characters walking to their new positions, and stop the attack/special animations in mini battles) and such? I don't know if it's to do with the internet I have, or my browser, or my machine in general, but sometimes it's a stretch to get 7-12 frames per second. zOMG! has both these options, and I find it really helps to prevent lag and make the experience more enjoyable. Perhaps adding such options to settings (I was a little disappointed not finding them there already, truth be) would be helpful for those of us on older machines, or with suboptimal bandwidth?

I also like the idea of a chat function, both in the lobby and in the game (as mentioned above). It would help in setting up PvP matches. Being able to toggle both of them to show up or not show up would be nice as well, in case you don't want to witness the constant stream of communication.

As for the trouble with multiple battles and consensus in PvP, could we make the auto-choice of a battle only happen there perhaps? Or make it an option one can toggle in single-player mode.

And speaking of multiplayer, is it/might it become possible to chose who you meet up with in addition to the random queue? My roommate and I are both betas for the game, and we would like to try out multiplayer together. Is that possible/might it be a future addition to the multiplayer function?

[Red Kutai]

SaintTape

Also, not sure if this would go here, or if these exist already, but perhaps an option to select graphics quality and presence of battle animations (eliminate characters walking to their new positions, and stop the attack/special animations in mini battles) and such? I don't know if it's to do with the internet I have, or my browser, or my machine in general, but sometimes it's a stretch to get 7-12 frames per second. zOMG! has both these options, and I find it really helps to prevent lag and make the experience more enjoyable. Perhaps adding such options to settings (I was a little disappointed not finding them there already, truth be) would be helpful for those of us on older machines, or with suboptimal bandwidth?

If it's hampering your gameplay, note that you should be able to right-click any Flash content and change the Quality settings directly - I agree that the game should certainly make them easier to find, but there is an effective workaround available. 3nodding

Part of the issue, I suspect, is that there is very little in the way of vector graphics used in the game, so changing Quality will actually have a minimal impact. It's still a good (and obvious) first resort for addressing those issues, but it likely won't have the significant effect it can have on other Flash animations.

Quote:

And speaking of multiplayer, is it/might it become possible to chose who you meet up with in addition to the random queue? My roommate and I are both betas for the game, and we would like to try out multiplayer together. Is that possible/might it be a future addition to the multiplayer function?

This function already exists, though deceptively named; the "Gaia Friends" option creates a private room, and gives you a link that can be shared with whomever you want to play with (currently only other Beta testers, of course). Either you or your roommate should be able to create such a room and share the challenge link, and arrange a game that way... 3nodding

[Red Kutai]

KugBau

On a positive note, I like how the game pauses when you select a different screen. Very useful when having to check the guide XP.

I've been meaning to ask: am I just dense, or is there no way to un-Pause, without refreshing? I've been treating a "PAUSED" screen effectively like a game crash, because it doesn't appear to happen reliably when I leave the screen, and doesn't have an obvious way to recover when it does happen. For a fully turn-based game - i.e. when things can't happen unless you're clicking the buttons - I'm not sure a Pause feature is really necessary regardless, but in my experience the current one is doing more harm than good.

I can understand the value of using it to stop the animations for a bit to ease strain on one's computer, and in general I can understand why the feature might want to exist, but including a button or hotkey (I tried 'P', 'Enter', and 'Space' first - then I tried my whole keyboard xp ) to manually restore the game seems necessary...

[KugBau]

Red Kutai

KugBau

On a positive note, I like how the game pauses when you select a different screen. Very useful when having to check the guide XP.

I've been meaning to ask: am I just dense, or is there no way to un-Pause, without refreshing? I've been treating a "PAUSED" screen effectively like a game crash, because it doesn't appear to happen reliably when I leave the screen, and doesn't have an obvious way to recover when it does happen. For a fully turn-based game - i.e. when things can't happen unless you're clicking the buttons - I'm not sure a Pause feature is really necessary regardless, but in my experience the current one is doing more harm than good.

I can understand the value of using it to stop the animations for a bit to ease strain on one's computer, and in general I can understand why the feature might want to exist, but including a button or hotkey (I tried 'P', 'Enter', and 'Space' first - then I tried my whole keyboard xp ) to manually restore the game seems necessary...

I've found that clicking anywhere on the screen un-pauses my game. It would suck having to refresh every time xp

[HCTotorro]

I'm stuck in a conundrum about the turn timer that is set in pvp mode.

I mean, it makes sense to have it there since things can come up and a player could possibly not be able to complete their turn due to real world situations or what have you.
It would definitely suck to be playing against someone and be forced to wait 10+ minutes for them to complete their turn.

But at the same time, it severely limits the decision making time you have when it comes to placing units and setting up attack strategies and such.

Not only that, but if one or both players is experiencing lag (I know it is being worked on to make the game run smoother) the timer keeps going.
You can easily lose complete turns because of the simple fact that you were lagging too much to finish before your time was up.

[Durithill the Black Blade]

Red Kutai

Additionally, this gives options like making the Attuner keyword variable - existing Attuners would have Attuner 10; Guardian of the Plith (if I understand his effect correctly) would have Attuner 4; more expensive Attuners could have higher values, to allow players to keep improving even after all Mana Wells are captured. One of the current problems the game faces is that there is a limit to the total Mana on the map at any one time - after a point, gaining any more requires your enemy having less, meaning the game hits its dramatic climax way too early. Allowing yourself to put small Attuner effects on 'Regulars' would allow Aggro strategies that don't give up combat prowess for Mana, while larger Attuner effects would allow control and ramp strategies to run more large, splashy effects at the cost of less early board presence. And again, the basic game is unchanged because starter decks can still primarily retain the Attuner 10 characters they have, if you'd like.

Looks like they sorta took your suggestion:

[Red Kutai]

Durithill the Black Blade

Looks like they sorta took your suggestion:

Hot dog! I've not been on yet today, so I hadn't even noticed. sweatdrop

I was actually going to go back and ammend that suggestion to include a combat buff on the Attuner keyword - decreasing Attuner base stats by about half of their Attuner value, and letting it make them stronger while they're attuning a Mana Well. It feels like Attuners - especially big Attuners - should be able to hold their own a lot better with that much mana at their disposal...

[Durithill the Black Blade]

Red Kutai

Hot dog! I've not been on yet today, so I hadn't even noticed. sweatdrop

I was actually going to go back and ammend that suggestion to include a combat buff on the Attuner keyword - decreasing Attuner base stats by about half of their Attuner value, and letting it make them stronger while they're attuning a Mana Well. It feels like Attuners - especially big Attuners - should be able to hold their own a lot better with that much mana at their disposal...

Ooh, that's a good idea. It would also make battles for control of mana wells, which are an important resource in the game, actually be, like battles, if you know what I mean. I mean attuners are really weak (at least maybe until we get new cards), so at least in my games battles for mana wells tend to just be "Attack mana well with one weak regular unit, win!", lol. I'm usually too busy worrying about holding victory portals to worry too much about sending backup for my attuners.

[Red Kutai]

Durithill the Black Blade

Red Kutai

Hot dog! I've not been on yet today, so I hadn't even noticed. sweatdrop

I was actually going to go back and ammend that suggestion to include a combat buff on the Attuner keyword - decreasing Attuner base stats by about half of their Attuner value, and letting it make them stronger while they're attuning a Mana Well. It feels like Attuners - especially big Attuners - should be able to hold their own a lot better with that much mana at their disposal...

Ooh, that's a good idea. It would also make battles for control of mana wells, which are an important resource in the game, actually be, like battles, if you know what I mean. I mean attuners are really weak (at least maybe until we get new cards), so at least in my games battles for mana wells tend to just be "Attack mana well with one weak regular unit, win!", lol. I'm usually too busy worrying about holding victory portals to worry too much about sending backup for my attuners.

It would be especially useful - I think - for 'ramp' decks, that try to use more expensive Attuners to pump out bigger Units faster - losing Attuners could really chop their legs out from under them, and while that should be a potential counter-strategy, it shouldn't be as easy as sending an extra cheap Regular to clear them out. Giving those Attuners an obvious buff to take advantage of give them some extra resiliency seems important.

One of the other reasons I liked it is that it differentiates Scouts from Attuners a bit more; currently, their stats look and feel really similar. This way, Scouts would be more immediately combat-relevant than Attuners, which makes sending your Attuners out on scouting missions (where they might encounter enemy Scouts or Regulars) less viable. You would definitely want to know where a Mana Well was (via Scouts), before you send them out blindly... 3nodding

[Durithill the Black Blade]

Red Kutai

Durithill the Black Blade

Red Kutai

Hot dog! I've not been on yet today, so I hadn't even noticed. sweatdrop

I was actually going to go back and ammend that suggestion to include a combat buff on the Attuner keyword - decreasing Attuner base stats by about half of their Attuner value, and letting it make them stronger while they're attuning a Mana Well. It feels like Attuners - especially big Attuners - should be able to hold their own a lot better with that much mana at their disposal...

Ooh, that's a good idea. It would also make battles for control of mana wells, which are an important resource in the game, actually be, like battles, if you know what I mean. I mean attuners are really weak (at least maybe until we get new cards), so at least in my games battles for mana wells tend to just be "Attack mana well with one weak regular unit, win!", lol. I'm usually too busy worrying about holding victory portals to worry too much about sending backup for my attuners.

It would be especially useful - I think - for 'ramp' decks, that try to use more expensive Attuners to pump out bigger Units faster - losing Attuners could really chop their legs out from under them, and while that should be a potential counter-strategy, it shouldn't be as easy as sending an extra cheap Regular to clear them out. Giving those Attuners an obvious buff to take advantage of give them some extra resiliency seems important.

One of the other reasons I liked it is that it differentiates Scouts from Attuners a bit more; currently, their stats look and feel really similar. This way, Scouts would be more immediately combat-relevant than Attuners, which makes sending your Attuners out on scouting missions (where they might encounter enemy Scouts or Regulars) less viable. You would definitely want to know where a Mana Well was (via Scouts), before you send them out blindly... 3nodding

I agree completely.

And speaking of scouts, I wonder what exactly the "Scout #" ability does. Like, is the number a percent chance to reveal a single space next to you? Or like what, you know?

[Red Kutai]

Durithill the Black Blade

And speaking of scouts, I wonder what exactly the "Scout #" ability does. Like, is the number a percent chance to reveal a single space next to you? Or like what, you know?

I've commented about that on both Tutorials - it says Scouts are 'better' at finding hidden VPs and Mana Wells, but doesn't explain how. Saying 'better' implies that there's a chance of doing so without a Scout, but I've never seen it; I'd assume it's unique to the Scout keyword, but whether it defines a range or a probability, I have no clue. I've mentioned that I'd like to see the tutorial covering the definitions of the keywords themselves rather than 'classes', because the classes are rather arbitrary - telling players what things actually do seems better than giving them vague roles and suggestions... sweatdrop

[Durithill the Black Blade]

Red Kutai

I've commented about that on both Tutorials - it says Scouts are 'better' at finding hidden VPs and Mana Wells, but doesn't explain how. Saying 'better' implies that there's a chance of doing so without a Scout, but I've never seen it; I'd assume it's unique to the Scout keyword, but whether it defines a range or a probability, I have no clue. I've mentioned that I'd like to see the tutorial covering the definitions of the keywords themselves rather than 'classes', because the classes are rather arbitrary - telling players what things actually do seems better than giving them vague roles and suggestions... sweatdrop

Yeah, what would be really nice to see would be an in-game encyclopedia or something with detailed descriptions of all the abilities. My guess though is that they're saving something like this for open release as they're mostly focusing on bugs and such now. But if the guide sticky here is all there's going to be, they at least need to format it better or something. And as you mentioned before, the "keywords" for units like hero, scout, attuner, etc. seem more or less pointless since the units are unique enough and their abilities themselves pretty much are the same as the keywords. You could get rid of it and do things like in Magic, such as "Creature - Dragon", and then you could have abilities like Kingdom gets "Dragonslayer 5" where they get a bonus when fighting dragon type units.

[Red Kutai]

Durithill the Black Blade

Yeah, what would be really nice to see would be an in-game encyclopedia or something with detailed descriptions of all the abilities. My guess though is that they're saving something like this for open release as they're mostly focusing on bugs and such now. But if the guide sticky here is all there's going to be, they at least need to format it better or something. And as you mentioned before, the "keywords" for units like hero, scout, attuner, etc. seem more or less pointless since the units are unique enough and their abilities themselves pretty much are the same as the keywords. You could get rid of it and do things like in Magic, such as "Creature - Dragon", and then you could have abilities like Kingdom gets "Dragonslayer 5" where they get a bonus when fighting dragon type units.

What I'd like is a 'tooltip'-style reminder text for the abilities, available on mouseover - for the keywords and the stats, as well as a few other things I'm sure. I really don't like having to refresh myself on the exact properties of a keyword in the Game Guide, each time I want to move a piece. gonk

I think "Dragonslayer" would work just as well where they get a +X when fighting Flameborn enemies, so Unit subtypes aren't really a necessity. I suggested keeping Attuner and Scout as subtypes just to give new players a hint as to how to use them (figuring it out from stats and keywords is a little advanced), but I'm not sure it's really necessary in any capacity. The distinction between Heros and Units is acceptable simply because it helps the Heros to feel special - like Legendary Creatures in Magic; players love those even though "Legendary" is technically a downside - but making Attuners and Scouts feel special really isn't at all necessary...