Arcane Wonders Forum
Mage Wars => General Discussion => Topic started by: Schwenkgott on September 09, 2014, 01:28:20 AM
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Are you are a big fan of Mage Wars, but you have problems finding players to play when you have the itch to enter the arena? You just want to try out that new spellbook? Want to practice an opening and see how much it will cost but don’t want to break everything out just for 5-10 minutes of your time? If so, then the Mage Wars module for OCTGN is the solution :)
Features:
- Find and challenge new Mages from all over the world.
- Get in contact with the kind and helpful community.
- Meet again the people from the last tournament to grant them revenge.
- View a game as a Spectator, watch your potential opponents’ games to know more about their play style and any special tricks they may spring on you.
- Many ease of play features: Channeling, Flipping Markers, and Burn/Rot/Bleed Damage are all automated.
- All Cards from Mage Wars Core Set, the four expansions, plus all of the released Promo Cards are available to build your Spellbooks with!
- Customize and save your Spellbooks with the OCTGN Spellbook builder.
- Import other player’s spellbooks from the Mage Wars Forum to the Spellbook builder for further editing and review purposes or export them to the same format used by the online Mage Wars Spellbook builder.
- A large variety of game boards for different game styles and flavor. Everything from the 2x3 zone apprentice game board to 4x6 double sized multiplayer board!
- Have a question or problem while playing? Game rules, the FAQ, and Condition Markers are available in game as pdf files, easy to access within the games module.
- 12 pre-constructed OCTGN exclusive Apprentice Spellbooks with 60 spellpoints for each mage to learn or teach the basics of the game along with the original Mage Wars Apprentice Spellbooks.
- Tired of the randomness of winning or losing based on the luck of the draw? Still want the ability to build your custom decks? Mage Wars is just what you are looking for, and we don’t build custom “decks”, we build custom “Spellbooks!”
(http://s7.directupload.net/images/140909/d4lxd4a5.jpg)
How do I get all of this up and running?
1) Download and install the latest version of OCTGN http://www.octgn.net/Home/GetOctgn (http://www.octgn.net/Home/GetOctgn).
2) Create your Account
3) Install the Mage Wars Module for OCTGN
- In OCTGN, click on the GAMES MANAGER tab
- Click ADD GAME FEED button
- In the NAME text box, enter a name to describe the feed (such as “New Games”)
- In the FEED URL/PATH text box, copy and paste this link: https://www.myget.org/f/octgngamedirectory
- Click the newly-added feed in the list to the left
- Scroll through the list of games and install the Mage Wars Module
4) Install the latest Image-Pack for all the cards
- download the Image Pack https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hacumnmrvtmpn9o/TZW6O2IPPD (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hacumnmrvtmpn9o/TZW6O2IPPD)
- In OCTGN, in the GAMES MANAGER tab click on the click ADD IMAGE PACK button and point to the location when you downloaded the Image Pack
5) Install the Deckbuilder Plugin
- Look for the file named OCTGN-SBB-for-MageWars.msi, you’ll find it deep inside your OCTGN Folder at
c:\user\<username>\my documents\OCTGN\GameDatabase\<GameID>\Plugins folder
- Make sure that OCTGN is closed down and run the installer by double clicking on it. When you restart OCTGN you will now be able to check how many of your spellpoints you have spent and validate that you have the valid types and number of cards in your spellbook.
6) Once you are ready to adventure in to the arena, just click on PLAY OR SPECTATE in OCTGN
7) When you are in a game, remember to check out the Game Documents in the menu above to get some fast answers to any questions concerning Mage Wars or OCTGN
8 ) For full details and more the home page for the Mage Wars on OCTGN module can be found herehttp://octgn.gamersjudgement.com/wordpress/magewars/ (http://octgn.gamersjudgement.com/wordpress/magewars/). There are sections such as “How to Play”, “Install Image Packs”, and the always handy: “FAQ”
Looking for Players on OCTGN? Need to ask a how-to-question?
- ghorgorbey
- henry_ketchup
- jacksmack
- moonshield
- murphy
- rumengsq
- Schneeente
- Schwenkgott
- sIKE23
- skv01
- trivium
- vere
- wt200
See you in the Arena!
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I love OCTGN. Thanks!
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I will try to talk my buddy into trying this out with me.
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Yea, OCTGN is cool :)
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Not to dismiss OCTGN or anything, but I really wish Arcane Wonders would create an official online Mage Wars program. OCTGN doesn't automate very many tasks, which makes it hard for newer players to use it (and allows accidental cheating).
An official online version of the game would have a lot of benefits:
1. More Potential Fans - not everyone is into physical card and/or board games, and an online trial version (perhaps featuring apprentice mode or the standard 4 assembled base books) would allow a lot of people to try out the game first-hand before buying it.
2. Better Players - online matchmaking is usually far more convenient than meeting up with friends/rivals. This should result in more overall matches, and therefore a more experienced playerbase. Players will also be able to compete against a larger pool of adversaries, which means more exposure to different metas and strategies. Lastly, if rules are largely automated (as they are in the MtG games), players will be less confused about the various rules (this goes double if there are dedicated tutorials).
3. More Thorough Playtesting - Mage Wars already does a great job of this, but issues always crop up every now and then. Online matchmaking would allow for cards to be temporarily altered and playtested en masse at a rapid pace (either before their initial launch, or in preparation for errata).
If I had to guess, the devs' main holdup is that they don't want an online version of the game to cannibalize the physical one. There are some easy ways to get around that, however. My advice would be to simply tie the two versions together: the only way to purchase online expansions is to buy the physical ones and then redeem a code online (do current sets have any unique identification code on them?).
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When is the last time you played on OCTGN? There is a bit of automation there, what do you think is missing from an automation point of view? Mind you I am constrained by the limits of the OCTGN system itself. I can tell you that after working on this for over a year now what you ask of Arcane Wonders (that OCTGN is not meeting) is quite the under taking. They would have to develop the engine first and then the rules to make the game automated. It is quite the task!!!!
I also believe that with either OCTGN or their own solution, that there will be a bit of a learning curve that all players will need to master to be able to play online. I know many many players find that fact daunting and skip playing as a result. Some get frustrated and walk away from it. Those who have worked through the process (typically 3-4 games (some partial)) and then it is like old hat.....
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@Ganpot
I honestly do not unterstand your critics. When was the last time you played online?
OCTGN - in the state as it is now - provides some comfort automated features, but as player you are still in control and feel that you manage the gameboard. There is no important rule, that you can miss or will never hear about when playing via OCTGN. Everything that happens it written down in the chat box, so there is no accidental cheating. And btw. why would anyone try to cheat? Mage Wars is a game that you play for fun, to see if your spellbook works out against certain other mages ... not for winning at all cost.
Maybe some day, the guys from Arcane Wonders will decide to create an online version of their game. But until now, it's a module imspirated by the fans. And i think it's done in a way, that every player can be excited about Most of all, Sike is putting a lot of his time and passion into this project with all the updates, fixes and patches. He himself has hardly the time to play Mage Wars ... and he is not payed for that.
So why don't you enjoy what you can get for free. Of course, if you have some good ideas what can be improved to make Mage Wars on OCTGN even better, you're always welcome.
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I honestly do not unterstand your critics. When was the last time you played online?
OCTGN - in the state as it is now - provides some comfort automated features, but as player you are still in control and feel that you manage the gameboard. There is no important rule, that you can miss or will never hear about when playing via OCTGN. Everything that happens it written down in the chat box, so there is no accidental cheating. And btw. why would anyone try to cheat? Mage Wars is a game that you play for fun, to see if your spellbook works out against certain other mages ... not for winning at all cost.
Maybe some day, the guys from Arcane Wonders will decide to create an online version of their game. But until now, it's a module imspirated by the fans. And i think it's done in a way, that every player can be excited about Most of all, Sike is putting a lot of his time and passion into this project with all the updates, fixes and patches. He himself has hardly the time to play Mage Wars ... and he is not payed for that.
So why don't you enjoy what you can get for free. Of course, if you have some good ideas what can be improved to make Mage Wars on OCTGN even better, you're always welcome.
Please understand: I'm not trying to belittle OCTGN. For an non-commercialized product, it is pretty good. But from my previous experiences with it, I didn't view it as extremely new-user friendly (and I fully admit that it might be much better at this point).
There are most definitely rules that can be missed/misinterpreted while playing on OCTGN (just like they can be missed in real life). Mage Wars is a complicated game, and therefore has a LOT of minor rules. There are rules which even the devs haven't formed a full consensus on yet (Nullifying a Reverse Magic anyone?).
Again, I am not saying that OCTGN is bad. I am only stating that I hope Arcane Wonders takes the opportunity to develop an official online program. It isn't an insult to say that a decently well-off company should be able to design a more polished and robust program than a group of volunteer fans. After all, the company has a lot more manpower and resources at its disposal.
When is the last time you played on OCTGN? There is a bit of automation there, what do you think is missing from an automation point of view? Mind you I am constrained by the limits of the OCTGN system itself. I can tell you that after working on this for over a year now what you ask of Arcane Wonders (that OCTGN is not meeting) is quite the under taking. They would have to develop the engine first and then the rules to make the game automated. It is quite the task!!!!
I also believe that with either OCTGN or their own solution, that there will be a bit of a learning curve that all players will need to master to be able to play online. I know many many players find that fact daunting and skip playing as a result. Some get frustrated and walk away from it. Those who have worked through the process (typically 3-4 games (some partial)) and then it is like old hat.....
My knowledge of OCTGN is a bit out of date, I admit. I would like to compare these two videos in order to illustrate my point. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=209u9ykbbtI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MthVaZ0fN_c As you can see, DotP performs very fluidly and automates things such as viable targets, mana consumption (from what I remember, OCTGN doesn't take spawnpoint mana into account by default), and combat damage. Mind you, OCTGN is perfectly functional (so long as at least one player is actually familiar with the rules), but it lacks a lot of those ease of use functions.
I'm fully aware that developing a fully-featured online engine for Mage Wars would be a fairly demanding task, which is why I didn't suggest that OCTGN do it (that would be unreasonable). I would be shocked if Arcane Wonders isn't already considering the possibility. They've already got an online spellbook builder and an IOS application. The success of Hearthstone also clearly shows that there's a big potential market for online card games.
There will always be a learning curve with games like this. But with a decent set of tutorials/explanations, a helpful community, and a good presentation, a lot more people can be convinced to stick with it until they learn enough to really start having fun.
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@Ganpot
How much thought have you given the secret face down enchantment aspect?
Do you realize how cumbersome a fully automated game would be when each player would have to pass each and every opportunity of revealling enchantments? (or do you want to program to be able to backtrack?)
Just imagine what revealling an enfeeble, stumble, fumble would do to your options. (And there are MANY more.)
Now consider the options of enchantment transfusion combined with the above.
OCTGN takes 1 or 2 games to get used to. OCTGN does not provide more errors / false plays than reallife - its the other way around.
As Schwenngott said - its all tracked in the chat.
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Mage Wars is much more complex than magic, because you have a gameboard with zones, range aspect, blocked sight, hidden enchantments etc. Certain things cannot be automatized that easily.
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Either way, if you're playing this in real life you're going to have to learn to avoid accidental rules-breaking anyway. In fact I actually would have preferred it less automated. There are some automated things that I can't toggle to manual, and as a competitive player this is a problem since in real life I would have to keep track manually and I can't practice that kind of multitasking to the same extent on OCTGN.
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@Ganpot
Thanks for taking the time to write up your thoughts and feelings on this. They are greatly appreciated. I have been slowly this year working on improving the automation within the system, as several players here have pointed out the complexity of the game is huge.
I would (no inside info here on my part) be very surprised that AW would be looking at developing a full blown game engine and implementation at this point. The player base for Magic or Netrunner is huge compared to the Mage Wars base in both IRL and OCTGN. For an effort like that, I imagine, you would want/require a base large enough to either pay once or a subscription so as to re-coup a good bit of your costs and going forward a margin that makes some money.
I have been watching new players come in over the last couple of weeks and observing them learn to play. It is a bit painful to watch, as you forget how difficult and flailing about you feel when you first start out. There is a video tutorial made by Charmyna, I have updated the documentation on How-To Play, added one for Keyboard Mappings, and added Apprentice Mode and Schwenkgott has created books for an Advance Apprentice Mode along with a how to get everything installed guide. All of this in effort to help new players out. Plus many of the guys who chimed in here, are and have been more than willing to help teach the game the first time players, though they sometimes do decline as they have scheduled a meet with another player. Which I am extremely grateful for! Do you think a new players cheat sheet would help? I envision a single page that can be printed out, that contains the basics and step by step on playing your first game.
A recently added feature lets players Import spellbooks from the forums which was a player request. If you have a feature you would like to see automated let me know and I will try to work it in to the dev process.
We have a couple of big to items that might be of interest, though they will be slow to roll out. The first is a stats server which would collect the results of the game and some basic stats (which stats are still in flux). The second is attaching cards to other cards. Like Surging Wave to the Wizards tower or Bear Strength and Mongoose Agility to a Mage or Creature. Once we get the basics down we can automate that process a bit better and work in rules enforcement like not allowing Bear Strength on a Zombie Brute. This feature is one I am excited about as one we have attachments done we can look at automating things such as Regenerate, which believe it or not is one of the hardest items in the game to automate due to things such as the Unicorn.
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I would (no inside info here on my part) be very surprised that AW would be looking at developing a full blown game engine and implementation at this point. The player base for Magic or Netrunner is huge compared to the Mage Wars base in both IRL and OCTGN. For an effort like that, I imagine, you would want/require a base large enough to either pay once or a subscription so as to re-coup a good bit of your costs and going forward a margin that makes some money.
They probably aren't actively developing something like that at the moment (they have a lot on their plate), but I'd bet they are (or have) at least done some basic analysis (cost vs benefits, potential timescales, etc.).
Mage Wars does have a much smaller population than some (loosely) similar games. I think a big reason for that is the difficulty learning (and teaching) it. I am by no means a stranger to card games, board games, and computer games. But nevertheless, it took me 7 full games to really get comfortable with the rules. I can only imagine how frustrated and confused casual or non-gamers could become.
Even something as simple as a set of 1-action scenarios could visually demonstrate some of the rules in an interactive way, and thus increase learning speed (hopefully gaining more players and increasing Arcane Wonders' profits later down the road). But who knows... maybe the Academy expansion will serve as a good enough introduction that nothing else will be necessary.
Do you think a new players cheat sheet would help? I envision a single page that can be printed out, that contains the basics and step by step on playing your first game.
I imagine that would help a great deal. Most of the people I've tried to teach Mage Wars to (in real life) are completely overwhelmed by information on their first game, and refuse to play any more afterwards (since it takes so long for each game to play out). Apprentice mode doesn't really seem to help. I imagine most of the people trying to play on OCTGN are a little more experienced with the game, but you never know.
Some trouble areas I've noticed in particular are:
1. Quick Action vs Full Action vs Quick-Cast: practically no one I played with could wrap their head around these 3 things. At best, they would constantly confuse Quick-Cast and Quick Actions. After a while, I just gave up and only taught Quick Actions. Every full action was treated like a quick action, and each mage got to play one card from their book each turn and also take a normal action.
2. Traits and Effects: this one is understandable. People can't really be expected to understand the mechanics of Cripple or Weakness right off the bat. I sometimes just hand them the rule-book after flipping it to the Codex section (so they can look stuff up whenever they want), and I also sometimes eliminate traits and effects entirely.
3. Damage and Armor: I was greatly surprised at how confusing the damage system seems to be for some new players. Unfortunately, there's just no way around it. Armor is too important and prevalent to ignore, and without armor crits become useless as well (which just leads to further questions).
4. Mana Cost vs Level: these two things are fairly easy to explain (especially since Level rarely comes up if you aren't building spellbooks), but you just need to be very careful that new players aren't confusing the two stats for the first couple of turns.
We have a couple of big to items that might be of interest, though they will be slow to roll out. The first is a stats server which would collect the results of the game and some basic stats (which stats are still in flux). The second is attaching cards to other cards. Like Surging Wave to the Wizards tower or Bear Strength and Mongoose Agility to a Mage or Creature. Once we get the basics down we can automate that process a bit better and work in rules enforcement like not allowing Bear Strength on a Zombie Brute. This feature is one I am excited about as one we have attachments done we can look at automating things such as Regenerate, which believe it or not is one of the hardest items in the game to automate due to things such as the Unicorn.
Those are exactly the sort of improvements I was thinking of. Even extremely limited or basic rule enforcement would be awesome.
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Maybe it simply helps to read the Rule Book?! The Rulebook is fun to read if you are a fan of fantasy board games.
I did it when i started playing and i had no problem at all in my first game.
After that i had a lot of fun checking out all the cards available and reading the entire codex supplement with all the additional clarifications.
Don't try to teach Mage Wars to people, that are to lazy to do the first step on their own (reading the Rulebook). They won't become the fans you want them to be and it's a waste of time and energy.
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Maybe it simply helps to read the Rule Book?! The Rulebook is fun to read if you are a fan of fantasy board games.
I did it when i started playing and i had no problem at all in my first game.
After that i had a lot of fun checking out all the cards available and reading the entire codex supplement with all the additional clarifications.
Don't try to teach Mage Wars to people, that are to lazy to do the first step on their own (reading the Rulebook). They won't become the fans you want them to be and it's a waste of time and energy.
I'm not so sure about that. Be careful about over-generalizing schwenk. Some people learn faster by trial and error with the rulebook on the side for reference. Granted, this trial-by-fire style of learning might depend on being defeated a lot by opponents with a better grasp of the rules. I know that when I first started playing I didn't do a read through all at once before my first game. I didn't even play it in apprentice mode.
And make no mistake, mage wars is not just for competitive players. It's a great casual game once you have a grasp of the rules. I suppose that perhaps the problem could be that a lot of casual players are prejudiced against complexity in games because they associate it too closely to "extreme difficulty I don't understand- headache, headache, not fun" rather than merely being a greater time investment.
I think that the kind of gamers who would like mage wars if they actually managed to get into it might be far greater than the number who will actually ever be willing to try it. I think new mage wars players generally fit into two groups (not mutually exclusive): patient, casual gamers who enjoy mage wars enough to press through the relatively huge learning curve, and experienced/competitive gamers who don't need as much patience or enjoyment to get into it.
I really wish more people played Mage Wars though.
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I havent read the rulebook yet :O
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I imagine that would help a great deal. Most of the people I've tried to teach Mage Wars to (in real life) are completely overwhelmed by information on their first game, and refuse to play any more afterwards (since it takes so long for each game to play out). Apprentice mode doesn't really seem to help. I imagine most of the people trying to play on OCTGN are a little more experienced with the game, but you never know.
I was thinking an OCTGN type cheat sheet, not how do I play Mage Wars cheat sheet. First, OCTGN is not here to replace IRL games, second I hope that someone played who IRL and has a limited number of local players is looking for a deeper pool to play in finds OCTGN to be a great solution. I do want new players to MW on OCTGN also and maybe a cheat sheet for both types of players might be in order. I think Laddinfance was working on a new players FAQ back 6 months ago and got busy and that went to the side (for now).
I was more thinking like:
How do I roll the dice?
- Press F1 type in the number of dice you wish to roll, the effect dice is rolled every time and can be ignored if not needed (this is done for simplicity's sake).
How do I roll for Initiative?
Items like this, but keep it down to 10 or so items that can be printed out or pulled up on a second screen while playing.
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Maybe it simply helps to read the Rule Book?! The Rulebook is fun to read if you are a fan of fantasy board games.
I did it when i started playing and i had no problem at all in my first game.
After that i had a lot of fun checking out all the cards available and reading the entire codex supplement with all the additional clarifications.
Don't try to teach Mage Wars to people, that are to lazy to do the first step on their own (reading the Rulebook). They won't become the fans you want them to be and it's a waste of time and energy.
I personally did read the rulebook before my first match (and constantly consulted it during the first few games). But Mage Wars has so many rules that need to be remembered that almost everyone will forget something here or there on their first couple of matches.
And in my experience, the absolute worst thing you can do while trying to teach the game to new players is to force them to read the 40+ page rulebook. Nothing kills excitement like 30 minutes of absolute boredom (and there's still the chance that they won't understand the rulebook anyway). If I tried it your way, I don't think I would have even gotten one person to enjoy the game. As it is, I'm still only sitting on a 3 out of 14 success rate.
I suppose that perhaps the problem could be that a lot of casual players are prejudiced against complexity in games because they associate it too closely to "extreme difficulty I don't understand- headache, headache, not fun" rather than merely being a greater time investment.
I'm not sure if the problem is necessarily complexity, or simply that Mage Wars throws everything at you at once. A lot of board games (and card games) start out simple, and then become gradually more complicated as time goes on. For example, in Magic the Gathering each player only starts with (at most) 7 cards to choose from (some of which you probably cannot play until later on). Summoner Wars does start with things on the board, but only allows you to take a few actions per turn, regardless of how much stuff is present (in addition to a hand limit).
I think that when faced with so many choices and such complexity right off the bat, a lot of new players just panic. Which is a shame, because the choices and complexity are the absolute best parts of the game. I for one cannot go back to any traditional card game, because I'll just end up resenting the card draw mechanic.
I was thinking an OCTGN type cheat sheet, not how do I play Mage Wars cheat sheet.
I thought you might be, but I wasn't sure due to your mention of an existing Keyboard Mapping document. Out of curiosity, would it be feasible to add some (optional) buttons to the interface instead of relying entirely on keyboard mappings? Things such as: attack (roll dice), end phase/turn, add token, etc.
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I thought you might be, but I wasn't sure due to your mention of an existing Keyboard Mapping document. Out of curiosity, would it be feasible to add some (optional) buttons to the interface instead of relying entirely on keyboard mappings? Things such as: attack (roll dice), end phase/turn, add token, etc.
I have a request into the OCTGN dev team to add the ability to define (and place) buttons and then let the underlying Python scripts of the game module take care of the responding action when pressed. Once (if) that feature is implemented I will add buttons for Dice Rolling and Phase Advancement. Tokens are a bit more complex, I have mapped out most Tokens/Markers to have Keyboard shortcuts I could easily add a button to add "Other Tokens" which is the screen that is brought up with all of the Tokens.
One of the bigger recent advancements has been automation to add "default" markers to cards. Such as Pet/Blood Reaper/Holy Avenger markers are placed on the Mage card when it is revealed. The Anvil Throne Warlords runes are placed on his Mage Stats card when it is revealed. Load, Egg, Mist, Forcefield, and the Dissipate(on Rolling Fog) tokens have been automated, along with Ready markers (and Ready Marker II). If you haven't tried it in a while, there have been steady improvements in the game automation and it might be worth another look.
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Can somebody help me get the image packs for the Forged in Fire cards? I have installed image packs before. I have the proxy versions of the Forged in Fire cards. I'm really not sure what the problem is. It says that I have successfully installed them, but when I go to view the cards I don't see images. I'm certain I have all the latest updates from OCTGN and that I am not in the proxy view.
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I just wish the validator in the deck builder worked. It works in game, but in the deck builder it seems to always use default costs of 2 sp per level, ignoring my mages training.
Also, it would be nice if the add tokens menu was populated by your recently used tokens list. Guard tokens being in the other tokens list seems like an odd choice.
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I just wish the validator in the deck builder worked. It works in game, but in the deck builder it seems to always use default costs of 2 sp per level, ignoring my mages training.
Also, it would be nice if the add tokens menu was populated by your recently used tokens list. Guard tokens being in the other tokens list seems like an odd choice.
@Boomfrog
Add the Mage card first (to the Mage section of the builder) and then the Mage Stats card that will let the SBB know what rules to enforce.
This would be a nice feature but it would have to come from the OCTGN team. Ctrl+G is the shortcut key strokes to add and flip that particular marker you just have to hover your mouse over that marker. In game it is Right Click on the Card | Toggle Markers | Toggle Guard Marker
Are you alluding to the fact that it is in the Toggle Markers menu? If so that is a no win situation for me. If I were to move out all of those Toggle menu items to the root I would have others complaining the other way.
Three or four releases back I went though and cleaned up all of those shortcuts and re-organized those menus, overall the response to that work has been mostly positive.
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I just wish I knew how to get OCTGN to work.
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I just wish I knew how to get OCTGN to work.
What do you mean?
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I'm not really sure. I've gotten it to load a couple of times, but there are never any players online, or at least I can't figure out how to find anyone. Then after a short period it says I'm disconnected and doesn't reconnect.
Maybe I need to set up a MW "playdate" to have someone walk me through a match or something.
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There is a group on Facebook to help with scheduling a meet up.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/447457058700834/
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Maybe it simply helps to read the Rule Book?! The Rulebook is fun to read if you are a fan of fantasy board games.
I did it when i started playing and i had no problem at all in my first game.
After that i had a lot of fun checking out all the cards available and reading the entire codex supplement with all the additional clarifications.
Don't try to teach Mage Wars to people, that are to lazy to do the first step on their own (reading the Rulebook). They won't become the fans you want them to be and it's a waste of time and energy.
I'm not so sure about that. Be careful about over-generalizing schwenk. Some people learn faster by trial and error with the rulebook on the side for reference. Granted, this trial-by-fire style of learning might depend on being defeated a lot by opponents with a better grasp of the rules. I know that when I first started playing I didn't do a read through all at once before my first game. I didn't even play it in apprentice mode.
And make no mistake, mage wars is not just for competitive players. It's a great casual game once you have a grasp of the rules. I suppose that perhaps the problem could be that a lot of casual players are prejudiced against complexity in games because they associate it too closely to "extreme difficulty I don't understand- headache, headache, not fun" rather than merely being a greater time investment.
I think that the kind of gamers who would like mage wars if they actually managed to get into it might be far greater than the number who will actually ever be willing to try it. I think new mage wars players generally fit into two groups (not mutually exclusive): patient, casual gamers who enjoy mage wars enough to press through the relatively huge learning curve, and experienced/competitive gamers who don't need as much patience or enjoyment to get into it.
I really wish more people played Mage Wars though.
djeez..Arcane Wonders..this last sentence from Sailor Vulcan just says it all...
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Hi, I'm looking for someone to play once or twice a week. It's hard for me to find someone to play it on the board.
Thanks.
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It would be wise to add, if you are european, Asustralian or America resident. Time gaps could be deadly :)
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Sorry about that, I'm European.
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Sorry about that, I'm European.
If you are trying to use Matchmaking that is more than likely you issue, most players still do not use that. Go to the game lobby and look for games there and use the OCTGN lobby to chat up a game.
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This would be a nice feature but it would have to come from the OCTGN team. Ctrl+G is the shortcut key strokes to add and flip that particular marker you just have to hover your mouse over that marker. In game it is Right Click on the Card | Toggle Markers | Toggle Guard Marker
Are you alluding to the fact that it is in the Toggle Markers menu? If so that is a no win situation for me. If I were to move out all of those Toggle menu items to the root I would have others complaining the other way.
@sike: Oh, okay. I didn't realize that it was in the toggle markers instead of add token. Good to know. Thanks for your answers and support for the OCTGN mage wars community. :)
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This would be a nice feature but it would have to come from the OCTGN team. Ctrl+G is the shortcut key strokes to add and flip that particular marker you just have to hover your mouse over that marker. In game it is Right Click on the Card | Toggle Markers | Toggle Guard Marker
Are you alluding to the fact that it is in the Toggle Markers menu? If so that is a no win situation for me. If I were to move out all of those Toggle menu items to the root I would have others complaining the other way.
@sike: Oh, okay. I didn't realize that it was in the toggle markers instead of add token. Good to know. Thanks for your answers and support for the OCTGN mage wars community. :)
All of the two-sided tokens can be found there, since they flip.....
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I had no idea it had two sides... :p
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I just wish the validator in the deck builder worked. It works in game, but in the deck builder it seems to always use default costs of 2 sp per level, ignoring my mages training.
@Boomfrog
Add the Mage card first (to the Mage section of the builder) and then the Mage Stats card that will let the SBB know what rules to enforce.
I finally got a chance to try this out and it still didn't work for me. I started a new book, added the druid card to the mage section, then the druid stat card. Then I added an acid ball to the attack spells section and a vine snapper to the creatures. I tried validating and it said 6sp used. I'm not sure what I could be doing wrong.
EDIT: Oops, found the answer to my problem on the FAQ.
Q: Why does the Spellbook Validator plugin calculate the spell point value of the spell book to be wildly inaccurate?
A: The plugin has not been updated to the latest version. Please review the SBB page to find the procedure to update the Spellbook Builder DLL to the latest released version.
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I'm having a problem with the Plugin Validator, I'm making a Necro spell book with the Sacrificial Altar and the validator tells me that this is not legal in a Necromancer deck.
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Thanks for the guide, Schwenkgott, is really straightforward and easy to follow. I set up octogon for mage wars, and yesterday was lucky to have a chat with Charmyna, who pointed my to a short but comprehensive video tutorial, and later with fapostol who was kind and patient enought to play with me my first game. Thank you both ;)
Expect me seen loged (zorro_jv) in from time to time around 20:00 UTC/GMT (i'm from Madrid, Spain)
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... a short but comprehensive video tutorial...
Hey Zorro, can you please tell me the URL for this video tutorial? Thanks.
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... a short but comprehensive video tutorial...
Hey Zorro, can you please tell me the URL for this video tutorial? Thanks.
Sure, here you got:
http://www.twitch.tv/charmyna/c/3802698
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Played a game this weekend vs. dchamp. Good game. I was a Necro and he was a Priest. He gave me a good trouncing. Are you still collecting names for people who play? If so I'm warder808 on OCTGN.
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Which do you guys like better for creating decks? Does the forum deckbuilder files work with OCTGN? If so, how? Or do you use the builder in OCTGN?
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Which do you guys like better for creating decks? Does the forum deckbuilder files work with OCTGN? If so, how? Or do you use the builder in OCTGN?
I prefer creating spellbooks straight on OCTGN. However, the latest version allows you to import online spellbooks (the forum spellbook builder) using .txt format.
You will need to install Mage Wars plugin as described here: http://octgn.gamersjudgement.com/wordpress/magewars/install-2/sbb/
Next you need to follow these steps:
#1. Create your spellbook at: http://forum.arcanewonders.com/sbb/index.php
#2. Open the menu "Export >> Text" and save it in your computer
#3. Start OCTGN and click on the menu "Deck Editor"
#4. Open the menu "Plugins >> OCTGN Deck Converter"
#5. Click on the button "File on my computer"
#6. Browse the file saved on #2 and hit next
#7. Review your spellbook and click on "Load deck in OCTGN"
Cheers,
Lukard
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Which do you guys like better for creating decks? Does the forum deckbuilder files work with OCTGN? If so, how? Or do you use the builder in OCTGN?
I prefer creating spellbooks straight on OCTGN. However, the latest version allows you to import online spellbooks (the forum spellbook builder) using .txt format.
You will need to install Mage Wars plugin as described here: http://octgn.gamersjudgement.com/wordpress/magewars/install-2/sbb/
Next you need to follow these steps:
#1. Create your spellbook at: http://forum.arcanewonders.com/sbb/index.php
#2. Open the menu "Export >> Text" and save it in your computer
#3. Start OCTGN and click on the menu "Deck Editor"
#4. Open the menu "Plugins >> OCTGN Deck Converter"
#5. Click on the button "File on my computer"
#6. Browse the file saved on #2 and hit next
#7. Review your spellbook and click on "Load deck in OCTGN"
Cheers,
Lukard
Thanks for that Lukard! You can also create the spellbook in OCTGN and Export the book to the SBB format that the online SBB uses.
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anyone in the next hour online for starting a game?
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Thank you for the detailed information about OCTGN and the installation.
Took me some time to understand all, but works fine now.
Baldur333
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Problems to run OCTGN. :-[
This is the message:
:( OCTGN.exe - Assert Failure
Expresion: [mscorlib recursive resource lookup bug]
Description: Infinite recursion during resource lookup within mscorlib. This may be a bug in mscorlib, or potentially in certain extensibity point such as assembly resolve events or CultureInfo names.
Resource name: Word_At
See details
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:( OCTGN.exe - Assert Failure
Expresion: [mscorlib recursive resource lookup bug]
Description: Infinite recursion during resource lookup within mscorlib. This may be a bug in mscorlib, or potentially in certain extensibity point such as assembly resolve events or CultureInfo names.
Resource name: Word_At
Solved:
1) Open "documents/octgn/config/settings.json"
2) Change the line where it says "UsingWine": false to "UsingWine": true
Now will check it, and next days will find a player ;)
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Just to make sure, are you using wine for linux?
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Nop. But tonight was my 1st duel vs a forum kindly mate.
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I can't see the faces of my cards without mousing over them. All my cards appear face down in game even when i try to flip them. I tried restarting the game, reinstalling the image packs, and uninstalling and reinstalling the octgn app. None of those worked. Perhaps if I became a subscriber I could remove and replace the card backs, or if that doesn't work, remove and replace all of the face up card images one by one....
Please help.
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Hey there,
1) uninstall OCTGN
2) get your books out and delete all the files
3) restart your computer
4) reinstall OCTGN and put your books back in the file
5) restart your computer
It should work then. Had this happen yesterday. This is how it was fixed. I assume it's just a bug?
(Not an expert).
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Since the recent update, Harmonize does not seem to work or we're doing something wrong. After attaching, it does say
"theasaris attaches Harmonize to Wizard's Tower",
but during Upkeep only the regular mana is added:
"Harmonize found but no Mana added
Found Channeling stat 1 in card Wizard's Tower
Mana added to 'Wizard's Tower'".
Anybody experiencing this problem as well?
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Yes, it hasn't worked for a little while, I think.
Also, I had another problem vs. Ray the other night when one of us wouldn't get reset. We'd channel, but none of our action markers would reset and our spawnpoints wouldn't channel. Like the game wasn't acknowledging that our stuff was on the board. It was usually me and easily fixed, but it was annoying.
Where do I officially report these things?
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Yes, it hasn't worked for a little while, I think.
Also, I had another problem vs. Ray the other night when one of us wouldn't get reset. We'd channel, but none of our action markers would reset and our spawnpoints wouldn't channel. Like the game wasn't acknowledging that our stuff was on the board. It was usually me and easily fixed, but it was annoying.
Where do I officially report these things?
This typically happens after a disconnect and as is, there is not much us game devs can do. The team that is working on OCTGN itself is working to make improvement in this area, but I am unsure when we will see these improvements.
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Yes, it hasn't worked for a little while, I think.
Also, I had another problem vs. Ray the other night when one of us wouldn't get reset. We'd channel, but none of our action markers would reset and our spawnpoints wouldn't channel. Like the game wasn't acknowledging that our stuff was on the board. It was usually me and easily fixed, but it was annoying.
Where do I officially report these things?
This has been fixed and will be seen with the next release. Everyone will see a vast change in game functionality regarding attachments.
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Hi!
I´ve just returned to OCTGN after a ~4 month break there.
Seems i run an older version than other people. Im not sure if i need to update it (or how to do it)
Only constant problem seems i need to do manachanneling and creture activtion manually, more often than not.
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It should automatically update when you start up OCTGN.....
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Thx for the recent update !
A 4x3 forest. I <3 you 8)
and also : http://forum.arcanewonders.com/index.php?topic=16283.msg61512#msg61512
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A 4x3 forest. I <3 you 8)
Thanks to Schwenkgott for that one.....
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Hmm I finally got OCTGN to run under Linux last week and wanted to look for some players today, but there seems to be a new version which doesn't support Windows XP anymore. I tried the last hours to get OCTGN to run again under wine without success. So if anyone of you is running OCTGN under Linux with wine and knows how to get it to run I would be happy about a PM :)
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After the lastest update the validate plugin doesn't seem to work properly. It seems that it doesn't detect the mage correctly for which the spellbook is constructed. When validating a spellbook that contains "Mage only" cards (e.g. Sacrificial Altar) it gives the following error message: "Validation FAILED. The card Sacrificial Altar is not legal in a none in deck deck.
But this deck definiteley contains a necromancer mage and ability card. It validated just fine until after the latest update. I tried with different decks with different mages (all decks that vaildated fine before) it is always the same. I really need to tweak one of my books before my next match in ADMW tomorrow ... has anyone an idea how I can tell the validator that my book has a certain mage card in it?
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Update your Spellbook Builder Plugin. You can find it in your Octgn/Gamboards/StrangeNumber/Plugins-Folder.
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Thank you. That solved it. I forgot that it needs to be updated separately :-[
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It seems that armor from equipment is not being registered.
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encountered 2 things:
1. armor (equpiment) wasn't recognized and veteran's belt conversion didn't work properly.
problems didn't occur from the beginning. random time in the gamee (no idea what could have a triggered it) it stopped working
2. wanted to attack a wallo thorns with my knight of west and guard angel. instead of initiating attack sequence it prompted me to pay mana for a spell.
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Where do I find the latest image pack? The one used by Arcane Duels with the PvS stuff?
Edit: Never mind. As always after you have looked for a while and posted here you find it.
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Where do I find the latest image pack? The one used by Arcane Duels with the PvS stuff?
Edit: Never mind. As always after you have looked for a while and posted here you find it.
Hope to play you on OCTGN!
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Hope to play you on OCTGN!
Sure! Maybe you can give me the crash course then? I played a few games over a year ago, but I have forgot everything by now. :o
Available this coming weekend? I'm at CET, so we have to adapt the time diff.
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I'm new to Mage Wars this year and really like it. Would love to figure out how to play in on OCTGN. I installed it, installed the image pack, and built a spellbook. When I went into the arena and started a game (just by myself to figure things out), nothing shows up when I load a deck. I've tried the one I constructed and the included decks. There are no cards in the card area though. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong and how to fix it? Thank you.
Edit: Reinstalled. Everything working now, but I'm still figuring it out. Great program in my humble opinion.
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i can't open octgn on the library computers anymore. it says that it requires .net framework v4.6 and the university refused to install it even though it's totally free and takes barely any time to install at all. does anyone know why octgn isn't working anymore? did they update octgn to require v4.6 of .net framework, and if so why did they do that?
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Hi all. I'm New to the OCTGN and I fallowed the steps on how to get mage wars the best I could. But I don't have the Images for all of the new cards. Like PvS and the Academy cards. I'm I missing an Image pack? Thanks for any help.
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Here's the most recent image pack: https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dropbox.com%2Fsh%2F88husko5xmzl3dg%2FAADCe_R80QfMb31xbfRjRohXa%3Fdl%3D0&h=ATOvKW7IJBSgzqq6tPPYjDzFO64madJs7Qh8Uc3Ll9mUmaGoYK0VCOO6LfsVj_6p9BHFkxpBNIzB-dJweZJlgor-KbD4iGZNfSk13ZIP7LC1zQCqJ5pJZFrzLy7u5qQzR4YIImdYpA&enc=AZPtfOV7_aoKHb1Pr17QT7Rhg9IZfLFT7ha8XQ1ntpVLeiTlP5oJapmscFWItbspEJx9OQZWUxHO49ZZafg84jH7pZgQy40G_P8ctLnAnNwMX3QiHwdPLW27d8-dOQGj_SgIv0C8oOZo7kghx_OuixzBQkkisnFXNBrtAGym9nVsew&s=1
I know the URL is weird, it's because it's a link I posted on Facebook to the dropbox. Clicking on it will make your browser try to go to Facebook at first but then redirect to the Dropbox.
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Where can i find the last packs? new forcemaster, paladyn etc
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Where can i find the last packs? new forcemaster, paladyn etc
the post above you :)
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Yea I have that current problem on my computer Sailor. I have a version of windows that is does not support the net framework update and I am unable to properly play bc of it. It's not difficult to update as long as you have the current windows update. Hoping to get the new update or a new computer. I hope to be back on OCTGN soon.
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Just a suggestion.
Would it be possible to pin an easily identifiable post in the forum where the latest on how to install MW on OCTGN is all put together? Every time I change computer I seem to have a hard time to find the right links in the forums as I come here every now and then... If this is already out there, please send me a sign! :) thanks for consideration!
May I take the opportunity to salute those who make MW on OCTGN possible!!
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The updated card images are always in the alternative play section of the forums. Setting up octgn itself is always the same otherwise. If the new version doesn't automatically download and begin installation process when you open the app, go to the website at octgn.net and download the installer from there.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J327A using Tapatalk
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I agree with you,as a sidenote though.. hi =] is this octgn information still relevant? Ive run out of opponents locally,and unfortunately.. my local game shop has gone out of business.
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Hey better late than ever but I'm looking for a regular player to on mage wars octgn and am in uk. Email at glen_marsh@hotmail.co.uk if you still gaming
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welcome to the community. there are a lot of folks all around who want to play both live and octgn games.
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I'm looking for the image pack but the link in the OP https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hacumnmrvtmpn9o/TZW6O2IPPD seems broken. Would anyone be willing to update / shared it again ?