Slashdot Mirror
Magic Online - Gathering Fans?
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the Wired News article discussing the relative success of Magic: The Gathering Online. According to the article: "They said that it couldn't and shouldn't be done.. but a year after the online game's launch - and a decade after the original Magic craze began - more than 100,000 players have registered for the Internet edition.. and almost 40 million digital cards have been traded." The piece also discusses the pro players available to duel with online "..it's like having Allen Iverson or Latrell Sprewell hanging out at your neighborhood playground, always ready for a quick game of one-on-one."
My buddies and I always theorized that the addicting nature of M:TG was caused by chemicals in the ink. I mean, you opened a new package of cards, and there was something about that smell. You had to have more of it.
... nah!).
... I spent enough money on it the first time around. I don't need to start spending money without even having the benefit of having 8 binders full of cards in my closet when I quit the hobby a second time!)
Years later, it seems they've finally figured out how to hook people without the addicting chemicals (or, just maybe, we were pathetic geeks who spent way too much money playing a game
(Seriously, I've stayed far away from this game
Not representing or approved by my company or anybody else.
he has a Magic The Gathering card trading site
cutting-edge-cards.com
One of my favourite items there are original framed artworks of the Magic cards, I have a couple myself much to the envy of some of my kids friends 8)
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
Yeah, and for every Allen Iverson there are 25-30 foul-mouthed little punks who will scream obscenities at you for every lay-up and then disappear into a puff of smoke seconds before your final shot, which would win you the game.
Or worse (just to belabor the analogy even more) they'll take the ball and sit on it when you're one shot from victory and refuse to budge until you need to go home, at which point they'll cry, "Quitter! I didn't lose! You quit! Ha ha ha!"
Who needs that?
A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself.
I refuse to pay for something I cant keep. I'm sorry, if the packs were like, 50 cents or something, and you could get 30 a month for 15 bucks (i.e., the price of a MMORPG), then that would be a new influx of cards every month, which is kinda like "leveling up"... it always bothered me that I could spend 5 bucks or 5000 bucks and not have anything to show for it if they just up and closed shop one day. At least with a MMORPG you're only paying X amount a year, MAX, and its more of a "service" as opposed to a "product".
This is my sig. Its pathetic.
"There's only one level-five judge in the world right now, that's how complicated the game is," said Wizards of the Coast's Hauck. "But there's a level-five judge online all the time, so there's no arguing between friends about the rules."
There is such a thing as loving your job a bit too much....
Sure, for some people that live in somewhat remote areas MTG:O is attractive. However, many, many card sales come from the wannabe professional magic player.
At any time you can find 8 man tournaments where the top two players, and in some cases top 4, gets a few packs of cards for their victory. A really good player can, and does, play almost for free. The catch: to join the tournament, you have to pay for 3 packs of cards and about 2 extra dollars, for a total of $12. Many player belive that they'll get a better bang for their buck if they spend $12 on 3 packs + a chance of winning than just paying $10. This tournaments are considered gambling in some states, where it's not legal to participate in this kind of tournaments in Magic Online.
So this tournaments of the game, one of the most popular, are little more than a casino of sorts. One big casino where the house has a larger profit margin than any regular one. After all, the prizes are digital magic cards, just entries in a database.
Just get yourself Apprentice (kept up-to-date at e-league.com) and play for free. Granted, you have to find an iRC room or an online friend to play with, yourself, but that's no big hassle. You play for free and you can construct any deck you want. (Yes, this can lead to powergaming, but there are folks out there who aren't twits). It has functions that generate random cards, if you want to play drafts...all in all, a good program.
Virtue finds and chooses the mean.
Aristotle, Ethica Nichomachea
There was a time when M:TG was a very enjoyable game, a lot of fun to play, and the game shops where it was played were full of fun people to be around.
That was the past. I played for years, starting when The Dark was out, and played through the introduction of Urza's Saga (with a break inbetween). I enjoyed the game, spent a lot of money and time on it, and enjoyed the shops I'd go to, where the other people were fun to be around, interesting to talk to, and the game had an interesting environment.
However, I quit when Urza's Saga came out, and brokenness and ridiculous combos and speed ruled the environment, along with the crowd at the shops changing from the older gamers to 10-year old "my mommy bought me all the best cards and you suck" brats that you just want to smack across the face.
I tried playing again, about a year and a half ago, and the crowd at the game shop was just as bad, if not worse due to even fewer people with any semblance of maturity, and some of the stupid things they've done with the game (split cards? looks like something off of a web site with poorly-made fan cards).
I suppose I probably would play the game again (the real thing, not the online version, as the social aspect is a big part of the game that can't be copied on computer) if I could find a place that wasn't full of obnoxious brats.
"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
Is there way to play MtG single player? I know about the MicroProse edition of MtG, but it's out of print, and the Starter software plays only a very limited game. I'm looking for something like Apprentice that can expand with the game, but is smart enough to play on it's own. I'd like to play, but I know I'd get owned playing someone else, and that's no fun.
If you draft a lot, the common sets aren't really necessary, but getting the small discount on ebay is very useful.
Learn to Play Go
As one of the MTGO addicts since Oct last year, I originally had all teh same complaints voiced above. In looking at the product, however, I soon found the following: 1) Once you have collected a complete set of online cards, you can REDEEM them for the physical set of online cards. Check ebay, you can normally find a complete set in the $70-100 range, comparable to what the physical cards cost you. Buy the online set, play til you're sick of them, then redeem or sell the cards online and recoup your investment. 2) I just don't have the time/money/inclination to deal with local card stores, kids, and aggravation. I have numerous friends online, we talk, chat, and play games. Compared to the two other friends I had in the real world who played, this is infinitely better. At any time of the day or night I can find a match, play in a league, or enter a tournament. 3) I have become a MUCH better player playing online. I play almost daily, and in the first month alone I really began to understand the mechanics of the game that sometimes get lost in real world play. Ever try to figure out rules to something complex by yourself and then realize later you were doing it wrong? The computer forces you to learn properly here. 4) There is a thriving market on eBay for cards, tickets, etc. I've found that I sustain my habit by joining a league, playing for 4 weeks, then selling the cards when done. I buy new cards with the proceeds and continue. For my money's worth, I get far more entertainment than a comparable book, console game, or movie. There's just nothing that beats meeting and playing against real people. 5) Jerk factor is about 1/10. Most people are there to have a good time and play. Most punk kids you can whoop up on anyway. :)
My two cents
Would it be legal to build an open source magic "clone" that closely mirrors the MTG rules, but without using any of Wizards copyright material (rulebook, cardnames etc.). Communities could run leagues and tornaments, issuing credits to each player to buy cards. The system would use cryptographic signatures to verify that player don't cheat, much like the WotC version does (I imagine, I've not played a game of magic in years).
The only thing holding me back from playing mtg:online is all of these real mtg cards I have. If they would make it so real cards came with a cd that gave you online cards or something I might be interested, but I'm not going to rebuy all of my cards just to play online. Thats like buying mp3's to replace your cd's.
The Whole function of MTO is to allow you to get in practise for the real thing in an easy way. Most people playing MTO are not constructing decks.. they are playing DRAFTS... and then they hock what cards they can win for tickets to more DRAFTS.. its all about clocking up game time experience.
.. HAVE NO FEAR
And another thing.. if having the cardboard is somthing thats so important
once you collect a full set online you can trade it in for a real physical set!!!
So stop bitching and bagging out somthing which you have never tried. AND you can try it for free.
get the download.. and play with the tester decks until you are familiar enough with the interface to play a real draft.
I do agree its a great way for WOTC to make money.. but heck.. everyone in the world is out to make a buck.. this is just one simple case!!.. and atleast its a fun way!
OK? Cancel
You get a chance to counter it.
That triggers an effect.
That triggers another effect.
OK? Cancel
You let something resolve. Now you must go through the OK? step again and again and again.
Magic Online is sucessful in spite of itself.
If you wanted to play a CCG without spending $500 to compete and without clicking OK all day, and with no broken cards and dowzens of strategies, you could always play my online CCG, Chron X. The game has been online since 1997. You'd think that Wizards (and Leaping Lizards) would have looked at Chron X and copied what we did right.
Anyways, sorry about the blatant ad. Chron X is a better game. Download it and let me prove myself right.
Online wrestling as a trading card game? WWF With Authority.
Wizards of the Coast was granted patent number 5,662,332 on September 2nd, 1997.
Here is the abstract from the Patent Office:
Provided herein is a novel method of game play and game components that in one embodiment are in the form of trading cards (10, 12, 40, 42, 44, 48, 54, 60, 64). However, the game components may take other forms, such as a board game, or the game may be played in different media, such as electronic games, video games, computer games, and interactive network. In one version, the game components comprise energy or mana cards 40 and command or spell cards (10, 12, 42, 44, 48, 54, 60, 64) having commands or spells associated therewith that utilize the energy to enable a player to attack, defend and modify the effect of other mana cards, spell cards, and the fundamental rules of play. The goal of the game is to reduce the life points of other players to a level below one. In this game of strategy and chance, players construct their own library of cards, preferably from trading cards, and play their library or deck of cards against the deck of cards of an opposing player. Cards may be obtained from retail outlets, trading with other players or collectors, and winning cards at games and tournaments.
ChronX never worked right. The game sucked and there was no depth. I played it since beta and it never got past Pokemon level.
The will let you exchange them one for one. The online version got me playing again. I have boxes full of cards, but organizing them into decks and then finding geeky people to play with is just something that, as an adult, I don't have much time for. Online, there is always a player and you can play sealed deck which elimitanes the "richest players win." The game kicks ass and I will continue to play it for a long time. It is no longer my primary game addiction, but I can always fire it up and play a good 30 minute game.