f13.net

So, yeah, this is another online card game, similar to others people are familiar with and have played but with a few unique twists.  The interface and UI is fairly decent and the cards themselves are animated.  Its in beta right now and I've managed to get an invite.  I THINK I can invite other people that have signed up for an account but I'm entirely sure if that's the case.  If anyone is interested in trying to get into the beta, send me a PM with your Infinity Wars user name and I'll see what I can do.  Sign up and game info is in the link below.

http://www.lightmare.com.au/infinity-wars/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh1kuin7iOI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUpA5MKbgS_nIx0ysqM5okBQ

What's the plan for monetization? Is it gonna be as expensive as Magic/Hex, or it follows the Magic Planeswalkers business plan?

And is it fun?

Wouldn't let me sign up for some reason.

The simultaneous turn-entry and simultaneous-resolution mechanics make it look like magic meets frozen synapse or whatnot.

Definitely streamlined, but I think removing instants/interrupts/etc removes an interesting piece of gameplay.

Judging by their kickstarter there is a high level of interest in this game.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elphie/infinity-wars-animated-trading-card-game

Oh, No, Wait. HEX.

So it's a TCG that uses animated GIFs for cards?

What does this card do?

(http://www.daylol.com/images/2013/January/15/50f5e84ed654b_original.gif)

So... not... right.  :uhrr:

Hahahahahahahahahahaha

gasp gasp gasp


hahahahahahaha

Seems like we're grasping for fun while waiting for Hex.

http://www.cardhunter.com/

It's ok. It's got more depth than solforge, but is in the same boat in being way less involved than something like magic. The simultaneous movement makes for some interesting tactical choices. I backed it on the kickstarter but haven't really played it all that much, mostly because I haven't wanted to deal with the incredibly clunky alpha client much. I just logged in now and it seems much improved, though still with some rough edges. Can't comment on the metagame or any degeneracy in deck construction. I've just been playing the single player scenarios.

As for monetization, it's pay per packs, with a caveat. There's a currency you get while playing the game that you can use to buy packs as well, so you can theoretically just grind for everything. Looking at the store as it stands now, it looks like you can get pretty much everything for in-game currency (the only exception seems to be a starter deal). If you're going to spend real money, it looks like they're around 2.50$ for a booster pack. It looks like they're going to have cosmetic options (avatars and background images) eventually, so I think their monetization endgame is going to be basically identical to LoL. You either pay real money to save yourself grinding, or you pay for cosmetics.

Yeah, of the three digital pseudo-CCGs in alpha/beta mode at the moment (Solforge/Infinity Wars/Card Hunter), Card Hunter is the best of the bunch by *far*. It's also the one that's the most closed off, unfortunately. You can pre-purchase Solforge or get a friend invite to Infinity Wars, but you just have to luck into Card Hunter.

[Infinity Wars] is also made by like, some dudes.

I don't actually want my online CCGs made by random dudes. I want them to be corporate money-grubbing machines that can support large tournaments.

I wish I were kidding.

Well, Richard Garfield was also just some random combinatorial PhD student when he designed Magic. Everything has to start somewhere.

But yeah, I'm with you. I'm one of the 390 people who backed the kickstarter and they sent me a private message when I did asking how I found out about them and profusely thanking me, and it mostly just freaked me out. "Stop being real people. This is not filling me with confidence!"

Just got into Card Hunter. This may get streamed later tonight or tomorrow.

I'm in CH as "Ghambit."  Me likey so far.

Yeah, its not bad.  Its a bit like Scrolls where you move pieces around a board but I'm finding it to be much more fun.  Plus, you can play it in a web browser.

Edit: We need to get sub forum for all these online card games.  There seems to be a lot of them this year.

Wait, so both Richard Garfield and Skaff Elias are listed as design consultants on Card Hunter?  How the heck did that happen?

We've already got one. (http://forums.f13.net/index.php?board=105.0)

If it's a browser-game (all these TCGs are) then just stick it in the browsergame forum.  I'll do a write-up on CardHunter at some point, but I'm tired from playing it all night. 

Someone get me into cardhunter, I have a few hours to kill.

That's not how it works. You have to lucksack in. Just sign up for the beta, I got the invite within 48 hours.

It took me about 2 weeks to get in.

My invite was instantaneous.  The current batches are going out in droves.
Also, if you want an Infinity Wars beta key, just fire up IGN prime.  They're giving them out.

Yeah, still waiting... :(

I mean, honestly, Card Hunter is kind of trash.

It's basically AD&D 4e.

No, I'm not kidding.

Edit: I should probably say a little more about it - it's pretty obviously a sort of bastardized AD&D 4E, but perhaps that's what makes people like it. The fact they don't have to futz around with 4E rules. Unfortunately, much of the reason I have zero interest in Scrolls is the same reason I'm not exactly enjoying the shit out of Card Hunter. It's a light tactical game with a limited pool of abilities based on whatever deck your dude is saddled with. So, in short, it's a better looking DOFUS with a more... interesting design.

Oh, also, there's absolutely NO CCG aspect to Card Hunter at all. That part of the pitch is bollocks. In fact, the entire name of the game kind of falls apart the moment you play.

Early to midgame I'd have to agree with you.   I've played card-attached (rather then straight deck) games before and they're never truly a CCG until you gain a pretty big collection as the cards you get are dumbed down within the gear.  Not having a social structure within a trading card game doesn't help their cause though.   :oh_i_see:

Tbh, I only like it because I've had boardgame napkin-ideas that use a lot of their mechanics and I'm curious to see how it'll balance.  Having to keep 2 cards and requiring 1 move card draw is kind of interesting to me; it's actually a solution I stupidly hadn't thought of.

Also, this game has been designed for the tabletop already with other IPs (I believe they all flopped).  Damned if I remember the names of them though.