HEX: Eventual Shards of Fate (just get it from Steam)

[Fabricated]

Game mechanics and set are good, client leaves much to be desired and Crypto seems to spend most of their time breaking stuff while fixing stuff then rebreaking stuff while fixing the stuff they broke.

Client is still better than Magic the Gathering online.

Also like the playerbase so far is completely retarded. Quite possibly the dumbest people I've ever seen on an official forum for a game-type thing.

[Rendakor]

The in game playerbase isn't bad from what I've seen; it's only the forums that are full of sycophants and products of incest.

[schild]

In-game player base is pretty bad. I was not a 65-75% draft winner in Magic. Though, Austin is highly competitive compared to say, Waco or Dallas (bunch of softy losers up there).

[Quinton]

Client is still better than Magic the Gathering online.

Except for the card text being fucking unreadable unless you zoom the card.  Grrr.

[Rendakor]

When I said "isn't bad" I meant attitude, not skill.

[Speedy Cerviche]

So I just tried this, it's the first trading card game I have really played, kind of fun. Is this considered a good game by people with more experience in the genre?

[Rendakor]

Yes. Set 1 (all that's available right now) is one of the best TCG sets I've ever played. Development has been a bit slow but otherwise I'm having a blast with it. PM schild for subforum access; we've got an IRC channel listed there if that's your thing and I have a New Player thread that covers a lot of info.

[Thrawn]

Prepare yourself to care less about a Hex update than you have ever cared before - https://hextcg.com/the-accidental-knight-available-now/

[Pezzle]

How else can you learn about the amazing adventures of princess furryjugs and prince dies to a worker bot?


I could probably pitch that as the plot of the next novel.  Nursing him back to health after a harrowing encounter with a disabled robot.  The beautiful frienship.  The hot furry action.

[Soulflame]

Is this a thing that actually happens?

/baffled

What does a card game need with a starship storyline?

[Malakili]

Is this a thing that actually happens?

/baffled

What does a card game need with a starship storyline?

Apparently:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Magic:_The_Gathering_novels

[Rendakor]

For anyone interested who doesn't read the subforum, Set 2 released today and is surprisingly stable. Tournaments are working and I've only noticed a minor bug or two.

[WayAbvPar]

For anyone interested who doesn't read the subforum, Set 2 released today and is surprisingly stable. Tournaments are working and I've only noticed a minor bug or two.

This. I was absolutely shocked by how well everything ran. Also, Set 2 cards are really fucking cool. If they can keep up this quality in the future, this game is going to run for decades.

[Ruvaldt]

If you like TCGs you should be playing Hex.  Like right now.  Go play it.  Set 2 is outstanding and it's a good time to draft because even experienced players are having to figure the new set out so the field is more level for new players, I think.

[Ironwood]

Yeah.  This incarnation is head and shoulders above the last time I tried it and the last time I tried it I was actually impressed.

I foresee a large CC bill in my future.

[Rendakor]

Insert obligatory IRC plug here.

[Scold]

For those interested in more than just Hex (figured I'd mention it here since it's a related audience), set 4 of SolForge just came out a little under a month ago and it's unbelievably good. The meta is the healthiest it's ever been, tons of strategic depth and room for creativity and skilled play, the most fun I've ever had with a TCG online or off.

[Fabricated]

I haven't played in like a month and a half since life has been busy and I've had a lot of other games. I think I'll actually stop letting my poor draft tickets waste away.

I also got a few primal packs. Noice.

[schild]

For those interested in more than just Hex (figured I'd mention it here since it's a related audience), set 4 of SolForge just came out a little under a month ago and it's unbelievably good. The meta is the healthiest it's ever been, tons of strategic depth and room for creativity and skilled play, the most fun I've ever had with a TCG online or off.

Fuck Kibler. Those shitheels are too busy fucking up their ascension kickstarter to deserve props in any other part of their business.

[Comstar]

edit- never mind, I found the hex forums that answered my questions. Though the HEX fourms are making me not want to bother installing the game either, so there's that.

[schild]

Like any other official (or unofficial) forums, it's a shithole.

[Comstar]

Is the PVE version out yet, or is it still PayToWin that the forums suggest?

[Ruvaldt]

Is the PVE version out yet, or is it still PayToWin that the forums suggest?

If all you want to play is constructed, investing money into a deck is what you need to do, though there are some low cost constructed decks out there and most set 1 cards are pretty affordable.  Especially when you compare it to other TCGs.  Constructed isn't the fun part of the game though.

Draft is what you really want to be doing and it is not PayToWin.  You do have to pay to play, but everyone pays the same amount (3 packs and $1) and has similar odds because you're drafting cards from the same 24 packs that are opened for the tournament.  I recommend the swiss draft (not the one labeled competitive) if you're new and you want to get a solid 3+ hours of entertainment out of your money.

[Malakili]

Is the PVE version out yet, or is it still PayToWin that the forums suggest?

Don't be one of those people.

[schild]

It's a CCG. Consider no part of it free and move on.

[Tebonas]

Asking for arrival time of the PvE Campaign is a valid question, though.

To answer it, no it isn't here yet.

[Scold]

For those interested in more than just Hex (figured I'd mention it here since it's a related audience), set 4 of SolForge just came out a little under a month ago and it's unbelievably good. The meta is the healthiest it's ever been, tons of strategic depth and room for creativity and skilled play, the most fun I've ever had with a TCG online or off.

Fuck Kibler. Those shitheels are too busy fucking up their ascension kickstarter to deserve props in any other part of their business.

I did the ascension kickstarter, seemed to receive all of my rewards just fine?

[schild]

For those interested in more than just Hex (figured I'd mention it here since it's a related audience), set 4 of SolForge just came out a little under a month ago and it's unbelievably good. The meta is the healthiest it's ever been, tons of strategic depth and room for creativity and skilled play, the most fun I've ever had with a TCG online or off.

Fuck Kibler. Those shitheels are too busy fucking up their ascension kickstarter to deserve props in any other part of their business.

I did the ascension kickstarter, seemed to receive all of my rewards just fine?

CE edition has not shipped. Which is the only reason to have backed at $400. In fact, they haven't even shown pictures of the fucking cards yet.

[Scold]

For those interested in more than just Hex (figured I'd mention it here since it's a related audience), set 4 of SolForge just came out a little under a month ago and it's unbelievably good. The meta is the healthiest it's ever been, tons of strategic depth and room for creativity and skilled play, the most fun I've ever had with a TCG online or off.

Fuck Kibler. Those shitheels are too busy fucking up their ascension kickstarter to deserve props in any other part of their business.

I did the ascension kickstarter, seemed to receive all of my rewards just fine?

CE edition has not shipped. Which is the only reason to have backed at $400. In fact, they haven't even shown pictures of the fucking cards yet.

$400 on a Kickstarter!? Jesus.

Well, sorry to hear that. I thought I was a high roller b/c I bought in at the level that got me the physical Rise of Vigil expansion plus access to the digital beta, they delivered everything on time. Didn't even realize a CE edition existed, surprised people are willing to pay extra for foil but I guess it makes sense.


Though FWIW, my holiday Hedron Dreidels haven't arrived in the mail yet, so they're not perfect for me either...

[Scold]

Y'know what? Why not. Downloading Hex now. Can't be worse than Scrolls, which I just tried and recoiled from.


EDIT: Just played a couple of hours' worth. Initial impression: feels like a somewhat vanilla MtG. As card games go I think MtG is terribad, so that was not a good thing. Lack of serious F2P options (no daily rewards) aside from the initial battles that earn you cards is a total nonstarter, though I imagine they'll fix that in time (through the campaign, I guess?). Wish the combat system wasn't just a straight copy-paste of MtG's underwhelming combat style. Will probably play around with it more, though.

[schild]

As card games go I think MtG is terribad, so that was not a good thing.

Typically my whole "your opinion is wrong schtick" is just that, a schtick. Not here. Not today. You dont get to say Magic is terribad. If you like card games, in any capacity beyond poker, that is not an opinion you get to have. It was the first and is likely to be the last. Everything you like about SolForge owes something to Magic.

It does, however, explain why you like SolForge.

[Rendakor]

Y'know what? Why not. Downloading Hex now. Can't be worse than Scrolls, which I just tried and recoiled from.


EDIT: Just played a couple of hours' worth. Initial impression: feels like a somewhat vanilla MtG. As card games go I think MtG is terribad, so that was not a good thing. Lack of serious F2P options (no daily rewards) aside from the initial battles that earn you cards is a total nonstarter, though I imagine they'll fix that in time (through the campaign, I guess?). Wish the combat system wasn't just a straight copy-paste of MtG's underwhelming combat style. Will probably play around with it more, though.

I don't understand the (admittedly common) expectation that every game be F2P these days. It's got the trials to let you know what you're getting, but beyond that why is there a problem paying for entertainment? This is ignoring the fact that any noob f13er starting up in Hex could get hooked up with a bunch of cards if they were so inclined, and would thus have an even easier time getting started.

[Scold]

As card games go I think MtG is terribad, so that was not a good thing.

Typically my whole "your opinion is wrong schtick" is just that, a schtick. Not here. Not today. You dont get to say Magic is terribad. If you like card games, in any capacity beyond poker, that is not an opinion you get to have. It was the first and is likely to be the last. Everything you like about SolForge owes something to Magic.

It does, however, explain why you like SolForge.

Oh, I totally agree with the debt owed. It was The First, it pioneered a ton of stuff. It's bad *for 2014*, in the same way that I think, say, Lord of the Rings is bad for 2014 but I get that it was The Originator that everyone owes a debt to. Just because many other things I like owe it a humongous debt doesn't mean it's fun to play compared to the alternatives. That said, I wish Richard Garfield had invented Ascension back then and spawned an explosion of deckbuilding games this whole time instead; still tons of fun and way more compatible with adult financial/time priorities.

I don't understand the (admittedly common) expectation that every game be F2P these days. It's got the trials to let you know what you're getting, but beyond that why is there a problem paying for entertainment? This is ignoring the fact that any noob f13er starting up in Hex could get hooked up with a bunch of cards if they were so inclined, and would thus have an even easier time getting started.

I don't mind dropping cash for games. My Steam library is up over 700 games now. I don't even mind dropping a significant amount of cash on one single game; since I started SolForge back in August, I've strategically spent about $200 to build a full collection rather than just going the F2P route.

-I mind the feeling of not making steady, incremental progress towards obtaining new cards from my ingame actions. The whole point of a digital TCG, aside from being able to do really cool stuff with the rules like SolForge's card transformation mechanic, is that they can conjure cards from thin air for me whenever they deign to.

-I mind the feeling of hitting the wall and having to invest money before I hit the 100-200 hours-played mark, where I'd have a really strong sense of the game to choose what cards/decks I'm interested in investing in.

-I mind that it seems heavily slanted toward attracting whales, who are in the game with a financial commitment they hope to one day recoup, rather than the get-a-ton-of-people-to-pay-a-small-amount-each approach that so many other games with excellent communities (SolForge and CounterStrike spring to mind) have taken; usually a whale/show-me-the-money focused community is stagnant and means a lot more lame people to deal with, as borne out by the comments on this thread about the Hex official forum being a cesspool.

-(rambly rant incoming) I mind that TCGs are in that window of time right now, identified by consumer psychologists, where things we grew up with (the 'cool car' when we were all 14, the prized baseball card, etc.) massively spike in financial value (e.g. check the price of a used Toyota Supra these days) as everyone who grew up with them hits their peak earning years and a chunk of them want to spend that money acquiring all the shit they went googly-eyed over in childhood. If you just wanted to play the game and not play CNBC with cardstock, MtG felt like a ripoff back in middle school when the dual lands cost me $8 each; obviously it's far worse now. Any game like hex that tries to inherit that "it's not just a game, it's an investment" ethos risks attracting that same crowd, but with the added fervor that they're "getting in on the ground floor this time," potentially creating an overheated market for key cards among these age 28-45 big spenders with no relation to how fun the game actually is or isn't. The only way to win is not to play, and insist on patronizing games that eschew/repulse whales and financial speculators in favor of friendliness to the Little Guy in their cost structure.

[schild]

Modern games are fucking Twitter compared to Magic's long form book style.

If that's what you like, cool.

I like Twilight Struggle and Magic. That's how things go.

[Malakili]

I mind the feeling of hitting the wall and having to invest money before I hit the 100-200 hours-played mark, where I'd have a really strong sense of the game to choose what cards/decks I'm interested in investing in.

...

The whole point of a digital TCG, aside from being able to do really cool stuff with the rules like SolForge's card transformation mechanic, is that they can conjure cards from thin air for me whenever they deign to.

The problem is, in a TCG, your cards have actual value.  The things you want would tank the economy of a TCG.