Incline HEX MMO Trading Card Game

[felipepepe]

So, this Kickstarter campaign just launched: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cze/hex-mmo-trading-card-game


Fuck yeah, a decent online TCG! I'm absolutly hyped for this!

Especially of people finally exploring the possibilites of non-physical cards, and the freedom that it gives you, with some cool ideas like this:

Or this:

Of course, there's stuff that is obviously MMO grinding, like this:

But seems mild and interesting enough, and a good non-abusive way to reward players, as no doubt some people will furiously grind to have a full foil deck, but that is just cosmetic.

I'm a bit worried that the upper reward tiers look VERY pay-to-win, with 11 "KS backer exclusive cards" (PVE only though) and stuff liek "100% more loot for life" or "+1 card on initial hand at PVE battles"... but the game will be free-to-play, and as long as you can still fight battles and earn cards without dropping money, I'm more than happy to join it. And on a good TCG, a well biult deck means much more than a expensive deck.

Besides, the initial tier seems good enough, for $20 you get 2 decks, 10 boosters and beta acess. There's a ton of info on their website, take a look and let's DISCUSS!

 

[Excidium]

Cards with gem sockets and special equipment

Clearly, booster packs are not enough bullshit.

 

[felipepepe]

At least they are trying stuff and taking risks, unlike Blizzard's cookie-cutter Heartstone...

 

[Destroid]

For all this guys talk about innovation the game's mechanics sound awfully familiar...

 

[felipepepe]

I like the ideia of "raiding" against a powerful enemy on a TCG battle... it will require completly different decks and strategy.

 

[Jaesun]

Hmmm this does seem rather interesting. I don't get the MMO aspects of this though.

 

[felipepepe]

Hmmm this does seem rather interesting. I don't get the MMO aspects of this though.

Why? Seems like the logical evolution for me... what bothers me on MMOs are the shitty quests, loads of grind against repetitive enemies and the fact that after some time all you're getting is bigger & better NUMBERS! Reached lv 90 in WoW? Cool, now learn your rotation and use it on absolutly everything to grind your item level from 200 to 250, so you can use the exact same strategy and defeat tougher enemies....

By using cards, things get a lot more interesting, is a much more dynamic system than any MMO combat, as new cards completly change your playstyle, you have to react to each move the enemy makes and sometimes even biuld a entire deck to counter a nasty foe. Add tournaments, achievments, group vs AI battles and stuff like that and you'll have a very addicting, and hopefully fun game.

 

[Excidium]

I like the ideia of "raiding" against a powerful enemy on a TCG battle... it will require completly different decks and strategy.

Doesn't MtG have a format like that? Archenemy I think it's called

At least they are trying stuff and taking risks, unlike Blizzard's cookie-cutter Heartstone...

More like they are just overcomplicating things and adding more grind. Blizzard at least knows to keep things simple and fast.

 

[Jaesun]

No the actual MMO aspects. Like do we travel around an open world? Do we walk around and then some monster starts chasing us and then we have a card battle? Do we travel around in a group? What MMO things do we do?

 

[Excidium]

No the actual MMO aspects. Like do we travel around an open world? Do we walk around and then some monster starts chasing us and then we have a card battle? Do we travel around in a group? What MMO things do we do?

Grind money to buy endgame gear for your cards.

 

[Jaesun]

D:

 

[J1M]

I like the ideia of "raiding" against a powerful enemy on a TCG battle... it will require completly different decks and strategy.

Doesn't MtG have a format like that? Archenemy I think it's called

At least they are trying stuff and taking risks, unlike Blizzard's cookie-cutter Heartstone...

More like they are just overcomplicating things and adding more grind. Blizzard at least knows to keep things simple and fast.

They tried to, but it doesn't work because the "raid boss deck" is just a regular deck + a deck of cards that gives that player one big advantage each turn. It was designed around getting you to buy a deck of archenemy cards to add to your collection, not around new mechanics or coordinating efforts by the allied players.

I've heard the WoW TCG did a better job of this concept. Essentially you purchase a "raid deck" like a starter deck and it contains a themed and balanced encounter to play against your friends. Can't confirm from own experience though.

 

[felipepepe]

I like the ideia of "raiding" against a powerful enemy on a TCG battle... it will require completly different decks and strategy.

Doesn't MtG have a format like that? Archenemy I think it's called

Yeah, I heard about, and it seems ver intersting. Sadly it ins't available in HUEHUE lands, so I never managed to actually play it.

No the actual MMO aspects. Like do we travel around an open world? Do we walk around and then some monster starts chasing us and then we have a card battle? Do we travel around in a group? What MMO things do we do?

From what I read is more like a single-player game with some online stuff like player guilds, co-operative battles and tournaments. Seems like there is a faction system, so you might get quests like "Defeat 4 faction A players" or something...

As far as exploration goes, it's probably just menu-based cities that leads to dungeons:

Explore

When you arrive at a new dungeon, you will only be able to see as far as the entrance. Each dungeon is completely unique: you may find yourself exploring an underground cavern teeming with vennen poised for ambush, an ancient haunted forest, the tower of the sphinxes, or the twisted castle of a crazed, sentient skull. As you work your way through, you will encounter battles, traps, puzzles, and caches of treasure all leading up to the final encounter.
Go For The Gold

Whenever you complete a puzzle, navigate a trap, or defeat an encounter, you gain momentum. Your momentum directly increases the rarity of the final encounter’s reward. You could choose to head directly for your final objective, and receive a healthy pile of gold, a new magical trinket, and a new card. If you fully explore the dungeon, however, you might get a mountain of gold, an artifact, and a much more powerful troop for your deck.
But Don’t Fail

Whenever you fail to win a battle or are caught in a trap you gain a Death Mark. Death Marks only persist for any given attempt at a dungeon, and once you get three, you’re out, and you will have to start the dungeon again from the beginning. Part of the dungeon’s strategy is deciding when to keep pushing and when to merely sprint for the finish line.

 

[J1M]

I like the ideia of "raiding" against a powerful enemy on a TCG battle... it will require completly different decks and strategy.

Doesn't MtG have a format like that? Archenemy I think it's called

Yeah, I heard about, and it seems ver intersting. Sadly it ins't available in HUEHUE lands, so I never managed to actually play it.

It is part of Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 on steam.

 

[felipepepe]

Gameplay of a full battle:



That's the biggest Magic clone I've ever seen.

 

[Kane]

BLIZZARD MADE ONE NOW WE MAKE ONE TOO

guys. magic the gathering. rest is crap/don't annoy me.

 

[Destroid]

There are also other more innovative card games to play like Battletech (surprisingly good) or Netrunner. The WoW game from these guys had some interesting ideas too.

 

[felipepepe]

Well, they copied MTG without regrets, I guess they can take cool ideas from other games as well.

And I feel like they are really pushing the possibilities of having virtual cards, with stuff like this:

Shuffling shitty cards into an enemy's deck is quite cool.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I've seen plenty of online TCGs with some interesting mechanics like this, the problem is that they usually end up being grindy and unbalanced as fuck. The WoW one actually caught my interest because it was going to have something like a free drafting mode; where your pre-existing collection is irrelevant and your skill (and luck) is all that matters.

 

[Terpsichore]

Is he showcasing the intended audience?

 

[Jaesun]

To be honest I thought he did good on the LULZ part of his pitch video. But selling the product... I felt he was weak on.

Him shooting the clown was hilarious.

 

[felipepepe]

Wow, they are blowing all the stretch goals, 500k alreasy and 22 dyas remaing. Sadly, I feel their goals are lame and even fake... Crafting system and an extra city is cool, but a 490k goal that unlocks chance of dropping a special booster with only rare cards...really?Besides, they are adding A LOT of high-tier backer exclusive cards... I always found that to be a douche move, especially in a competitive game.

I'm still hyped for the game though, they are showing some interesting thigs, lke this class skill tree:

Seems crazy enough, hope they manage to balance it.

 

[IDtenT]

Did you ever play Wizard101, felipepepe? It's relatively simple (although, simple does not mean a lack of tactical play), but it does give you an idea of how such a game has been implement as an MMO.

 

[felipepepe]

Did you ever play Wizard101, felipepepe? It's relatively simple (although, simple does not mean a lack of tactical play), but it does give you an idea of how such a game has been implement as an MMO.

I saw a gameplay video, I don't think Hex will be very similar to that... If I got this right, they won't even have 3D world exploration or anything, just menus.

 

[IDtenT]

Did you ever play Wizard101, felipepepe? It's relatively simple (although, simple does not mean a lack of tactical play), but it does give you an idea of how such a game has been implement as an MMO.

I saw a gameplay video, I don't think Hex will be very similar to that... If I got this right, they won't even have 3D world exploration or anything, just menus.

I understand, I was just pointing out an example of an MMO that uses trading cards and it works really well - even for what is ultimately a simple system. I mean, there is more tactical variation than you will see in WoW because of that.