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Card Hunter-

DarKPenguiN

Arcane
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
1,323
Location
Inside the Hollow Earth
So, I know this is not an MMORPG but since its online ONLY I figured I would discuss it here.

I played for a few days to just mainly screw around and its actually quite charming and fun. The Turn Based battles are reminiscent of standard 'party based' Tactics games but with an added component of 'Trading card' type games... Its really an odd mix and at first I hated it (still think its less strategic as a result) but it works and is pretty fun once you are used to the system.

My problem with this game is the fact that its online at all. The game seems perfect for an offline game with an online multiplayer component and the only reason I can see that they went with an online format is to be able to able to charge a subscription for the full game experience- A subscription to the tune of $10/month (and they withhold items from you if you dont pay- Yet wave them in front of you with every reward screen you see) PLUS an addition fee of $25 for a starter package that has some additional content/avatars and other random shit.

Anyhow, I did have some fun with the game during the short time I spent with it... Browsing the forums its evident many feel similar to myself about the payment model (i.e. A fucking rip off) but on the other end of the spectrum the players all insist its not 'pay to win' and there are no real 'pay gates'.

I do not trust those fuckers. I trust the Codex (and only the codex) to share my opinions and tell me what is 'cool'.... But there seems to be nobody around here discussing this fairly codexian game with a popamole new fangled, decline ,price rape.

So...Who has played and whats the truth here?

Discuss.
 
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Galdred

Studio Draconis
Patron
Developer
Joined
May 6, 2011
Messages
4,346
Location
Middle Empire
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
The game is shit. Search for my thread about it.
Actually, I don't agree at all, it has a very interesting multiplayer system (games are interesting, and last for 15-30 minutes, which is a sweet spot for me), and the deckbuilding part of the solo is very good too (the exploiting stupid AI oversights is not so fun, like AI focusing on invulnerable characters, and killing itself running with a Path of Knives curse on it... The worst part is that these problems could be trivially addressed).
The core game design is very solid IMO (I don't think adding extra characters would add much, as it would make the deckbuilding/preparation phase very tedious). The problem is everything else :

The monetization is strongly pay to win despite claiming not being so (paid members have basically a 100% higher drop rate than non paid members. In a game where items are that important, it is a big problem, especially because items are not balanced very well, so having some of the few very good legendaries items makes a huge difference...).
The worst part is that even if you were willing to pay, it would only make sense to do so if you can devote a large time playing the game the month after (100% rare drop rate increase for the next month if you pay 10$) : So basically, you are decouraged to play if not being a paid member (I at least do not fancy to see the items I would have got if I had payed for the monthly sub), but you are discouraged to pay if you cannot play a lot next month at the same time (paying 10$ if you only have time to play a few games next month would be a poor use of your resources even if you happened to be willing to walk the pay to win route).

The multiplayer reward structure is non sensical too :
You get loot depending on the number of games won in a day.
But, you have an elo ranking too, which pairs you against opponents of the same level.
So basically, you are rewarded for winning games as fast as possible, which is very different from playing as well as you could :
This favors :
- builds that can win or lose very quickly
- people who tank their ranking on purpose in order to be paired against weaker opponents

I really like the game itself, but the monetization and reward structure are too strong a deterrent for me to keep playing it in its current state.
 

J1M

Arcane
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
14,616
That looks like a list of reasons why you agree with me. Do you often fall for these types of artificial reward loops?
 

Galdred

Studio Draconis
Patron
Developer
Joined
May 6, 2011
Messages
4,346
Location
Middle Empire
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I like the gameplay very much, and I found the game genuinely fun so I cannot discard the game as being shit. I had fun with the game itself, as I had a blast with the MP, and not only reward induced fun. Concerning the artificial reward loop, I try to stay away from this kin of schemes, but I have completionnist OCD :)
If items did not make such a great difference, having less of them would not be a big issue, but given how imbalanced they are, it makes these issues all the more severe. At least, the second best weapon in the game is a common :)
 

fastjack

Augur
Joined
Mar 31, 2004
Messages
347
Location
the south bay
I found the single-player game fun despite never paying for anything. Has a quirky charm with its retro D&D presentation which I enjoyed. I would say it is a nice game for lunch break play.
 

SirSingAlot

Arbiter
Joined
Nov 27, 2014
Messages
750
Location
in front of my keyboard, obv
steam recommended this to me, so who am i to argue. (also, its free)

installed it and tbh i enjoy the campaign quite a lot.
dont think the game is pay to win (maybe once you get very deep into multiplayer?)
that beeing said, multiplayer is actually a thing from what i read. didnt dive into it as i am just not prepared and dont wanna be easy prey.

after all its a funny little RTS/ deck buidling hybrid game with some meta-rpg'ing.
basically you equip certain stuff which adds certain cards to your deck you play with.
plenty of loot to collect and thus many options when equipping your characters.


as it is free, i would recommend people that like RTS/Deck Builders to try it out.
my expectations werent high when i tested it, but i actually was positively surprised
 

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