In The Netherlands, Bongs firing off is like eating a Burger in the US. Legal and not novel in any way shape or form. Might as well tell Dunkle to stop eating burgers because that's what you're saying.
They recently removed the clan limit, my own clan has over 125 members.
Most of all I want a client that's bug free.
I'd like to see a client that supports play with a laptop, with a touchpad, on wifi.
I'd like to see an improved set of social functionality. Better representation of who's on or offline, the ability to appear offline so I can trade or deckbuild without interruptions. User specified groups of friend/bot etc.
Groups in the buddy list! I currently only add bots to my buddy list and don't add humans because I don't want to confuse the two. But if I had different categories I could put people under like "bots" or "humans," then I would know. I think AIM has had that technology for oh about 15 years now.
Search functions in the deck editor equivalent to those on Gatherer.
That's actually more or less how the initial beta worked. You could move cards in and out during the trade and refuse cards from your ops piles (If I am not totally misremembering with my early onset senility and all...)
Some more: I hope the memory leak dies. I want some live audio chat options. I would enjoy some trade automation. I want infinite loop technology. I want better solitaire options for testing. I want a more streamlined tournament room. I want keyboard shortcuts to cycle through the various screens. I want better file management system for decks and past trades (e.g., type in a url in the deck editor and the relevant deck pops up). I want a "cards I'm considering" floating space in the deck editor. I want to be able to upload winning MTGO decklists without leaving the client. I want Card Rulings in the deck editor.
I could go on and on...sigh. Pretty decent roundup of the major highlights though, Danger.
I played an online CCG roughly TEN YEARS AGO that had a better system (in my opinion) using a 'storage box' and a trade interface that no cards could be seen by the trading partner until 'I put them up' and could let you lock the piles before you traded/confirmed ... then again the card pool there was a few hundred cards not thousands ... I can also vaguely recall beta-testing version 1 of MTGO but not much about it as I didn't actually play once it was released until a few years went by ...
The idea of individual 'binders' for trading is the idea that really struck me. It was one of those ideas that never really dawned on me, but as soon as you said it, it made perfect sense.
All the other points are very valid. I personally never really cared for leagues, but I know lots of other people miss them.
I really appreciate that you explained you thought process and logic behind giving the team another chance to impress you with the UI. I lean towards the optimist myself and it's nice to know I am not alone :)
I agree with all your suggestions for V4.The chat functionality is abysmal and if anything has to change it is that.
Achievements are an interesting idea as well. If they implement your 'win a 100 drafts' suggestion I fear I will never get there. hehe. Seriosly though, this is a great idea.
I have to admit I also miss being able to see my Avatar at the table flicking cards. I remember they were supposed to make the Avatars 3 D for V3, but it never came to fruition. I would be happy to see that feature come back.
I am looking forward to an improved client in V4. Hurry up and get here!
I think an important addition would be the ability to sell cards while offline...like pretty much every single other major multiplayer game out there. I understand that this may take some infrastructure to get going, but it really needs to be done.
The ability to buy/sell/trade cards is what I consider a basic functionality for an online CCG. Forcing players to go to expensive and (sometimes) unscrupulous third-party vendors to fill this basic functionality is completely asinine. Even if you just allowed player to list 10 cards in an auction house with a buy-it-now option that would be amazing. Every single MMORPG can do this, so why can't we? And I spend a helluva lot more on MTGO than I do LOTRO, so I don't think this functionality is asking too much.
Hell, to sweeten the deal WOTC could even change a small auction fee for doing so, so they can actually profit from all our buying/selling. I think that have a convenient way to sell cards that does not involve running MTGO in the background while you do other things or spending tons of $ on bots would not only be convenient, but would most likely also result in card prices going down significantly, which might just boost tournament attendance and make WotC some $ in the process.
The old league payout structure is a minor reason people miss leagues. I think most people miss leagues because it allowed competitive limited play without having to sit down for 2+ hours at one time. Being attached to one limited deck for a month was nice too.
Again, nice article. I am hoping WotC can get a good client for once. I would love to see an iPad app too, but one can only dream.
Great article. I believe you when you say you can go on and on ... After 9 years we're still playing on this horrid user interface. I'm optimistic because seeing what small Internet start-ups can do with a user interface in a short time, I can only imagine what WOTC has been doing for 3-4 years on v4, especially considering DOTP which looks good. Of course there's also a negative side to v4 - the risk for backlash. I see the launch of v4 as a no-fail option for WOTC. The numbers suggest the community has been accepting of v3's shortcomings and patient for a solution. But if v4 flops I don't know if the community will be able to look the other way a second time. My fingers are crossed.
You aren't ever going to make everyone completely happy. If they get a 80% perfect product I'll be elated. Keep in mind my %80 might be your 60 or 90, and that is the point.
Thanks for the answers guys! The current schedule doesn't work for me, but I'll start to build my collection after the MED1234 sealed events. Sooner or later WotC will change the events table. Meanwhile I can have some fun playing at the TP room. To be honest, I'm not a tournament player myself. But I think classic is a nice constructed format, since you don't have to care about rotations, and your cards usually retain value, if at some point you decide to liquidate.
I don't think I can get a better compliment than that.
The article seems a lot smaller than the 3800 words it is when I look at it now, but honestly I cut it short because I could go on and on about functionality this new client should have, and I wanted to cut bait an go with it. Wish Hammy were here to add what I'm sure would have been even better points.
Like I said in the article, the current group isn't really responsible for anything you see on MTGO in terms of how it works, short of the server architecture that (if I'm correct) Gordon Culp is responsible for, and that's the part that *is* working. That being said, a company's shortfalls are inherited, so I'm giving these guys one shot to get it right. If not, I'm right on the bandwagon.
I suggest holding at least a glimmer of hope that v4 will get it right.
Glad that you are interested in Classic! Weekday's are generally tougher to expect a DE to fire at the moment. I'm imagine that of those days, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday would be the most likely to fire. The problem is most Classic players are "older" and have regular jobs. For people on the East Coast, starting an event at 10:30pm when you have to get up for work at 6:00am the next day, is not a realistic expectation, nor is someone on the West Coast starting an event at 4:30pm.
That being said, Classic has been generally successful in firing events on weekends that are not during release events and or nix tix/packs. As for the 2-man's...they are dead right now since as GainsBanding indicated, even if you win, you kind of lose since the current prize pack, M11, is teetering close to sub-2 tix levels. Once this rotates with M12, or hopefully something else in the meantime (M12 isn't scheduled for release until early August on MTGO!), they should pick up again.
But, with the current 9th anniversary celebration, the next couple of weeks will be a great time to buy the MED staples.
After the 15th there are Master Edition events that will put alot of classic cards in the market, this should reduce prices a bit as well as give you an opportunity to crack some of these money cards. Hopefully that will add at least a few new classic players to the pool, which will in turn add to the number of events that actually fire off. If money is no barrier for you, it would be a wise time to invest(after the 15th or so..might as well get the cards a little cheaper) as eventually/hopefully we will get some power 9 pieces, etc. and many of these staples will go up again.
BUT I do not believe wotc is going to be able to make v4 proper. They have a track record of fail after fail. They have shown that they do not care what the players think. I believe v4 will be another disaster. The best I would hope for is a working client that still looks outdated by 5 years.
Right now the Classic dailies are scheduled one a day - Sun 3:30pm, Mon 7:30pm, Tue 4:30am, Wed 3:30pm, Thu 7:30pm, Fri 4:30am, Sat 9:30am (times are pacific).
We are having trouble firing them these days, but the solution to that is more players, so if you're interested, join up. There are always games in the TP room though.
2-mans are also rough these days because the M11 pack you win is barely worth the entry fee. Hopefully Wizards will fix this soon, but if they don't it will fix itself when M12 comes out.
If you're interested in Classic at all though, the next two weeks is the time to buy in. With ME1234 sealed, duals and all the pre-Mirage cards will be at rock bottom prices.
In The Netherlands, Bongs firing off is like eating a Burger in the US. Legal and not novel in any way shape or form. Might as well tell Dunkle to stop eating burgers because that's what you're saying.
They recently removed the clan limit, my own clan has over 125 members.
Most of all I want a client that's bug free.
I'd like to see a client that supports play with a laptop, with a touchpad, on wifi.
I'd like to see an improved set of social functionality. Better representation of who's on or offline, the ability to appear offline so I can trade or deckbuild without interruptions. User specified groups of friend/bot etc.
Great work! I've been longing for your articles. :-)
Can't wait for the second part though! :D
Groups in the buddy list! I currently only add bots to my buddy list and don't add humans because I don't want to confuse the two. But if I had different categories I could put people under like "bots" or "humans," then I would know. I think AIM has had that technology for oh about 15 years now.
Search functions in the deck editor equivalent to those on Gatherer.
you forgot about various types of notification for things like round starting, trade opened, DISCONNECT etc... This should all be customizable.
That's actually more or less how the initial beta worked. You could move cards in and out during the trade and refuse cards from your ops piles (If I am not totally misremembering with my early onset senility and all...)
Some more: I hope the memory leak dies. I want some live audio chat options. I would enjoy some trade automation. I want infinite loop technology. I want better solitaire options for testing. I want a more streamlined tournament room. I want keyboard shortcuts to cycle through the various screens. I want better file management system for decks and past trades (e.g., type in a url in the deck editor and the relevant deck pops up). I want a "cards I'm considering" floating space in the deck editor. I want to be able to upload winning MTGO decklists without leaving the client. I want Card Rulings in the deck editor.
I could go on and on...sigh. Pretty decent roundup of the major highlights though, Danger.
I played an online CCG roughly TEN YEARS AGO that had a better system (in my opinion) using a 'storage box' and a trade interface that no cards could be seen by the trading partner until 'I put them up' and could let you lock the piles before you traded/confirmed ... then again the card pool there was a few hundred cards not thousands ... I can also vaguely recall beta-testing version 1 of MTGO but not much about it as I didn't actually play once it was released until a few years went by ...
Nice job Danger.
The idea of individual 'binders' for trading is the idea that really struck me. It was one of those ideas that never really dawned on me, but as soon as you said it, it made perfect sense.
All the other points are very valid. I personally never really cared for leagues, but I know lots of other people miss them.
I really appreciate that you explained you thought process and logic behind giving the team another chance to impress you with the UI. I lean towards the optimist myself and it's nice to know I am not alone :)
Write more!!
Hey Danger, nice article.
I agree with all your suggestions for V4.The chat functionality is abysmal and if anything has to change it is that.
Achievements are an interesting idea as well. If they implement your 'win a 100 drafts' suggestion I fear I will never get there. hehe. Seriosly though, this is a great idea.
I have to admit I also miss being able to see my Avatar at the table flicking cards. I remember they were supposed to make the Avatars 3 D for V3, but it never came to fruition. I would be happy to see that feature come back.
I am looking forward to an improved client in V4. Hurry up and get here!
I think an important addition would be the ability to sell cards while offline...like pretty much every single other major multiplayer game out there. I understand that this may take some infrastructure to get going, but it really needs to be done.
The ability to buy/sell/trade cards is what I consider a basic functionality for an online CCG. Forcing players to go to expensive and (sometimes) unscrupulous third-party vendors to fill this basic functionality is completely asinine. Even if you just allowed player to list 10 cards in an auction house with a buy-it-now option that would be amazing. Every single MMORPG can do this, so why can't we? And I spend a helluva lot more on MTGO than I do LOTRO, so I don't think this functionality is asking too much.
Hell, to sweeten the deal WOTC could even change a small auction fee for doing so, so they can actually profit from all our buying/selling. I think that have a convenient way to sell cards that does not involve running MTGO in the background while you do other things or spending tons of $ on bots would not only be convenient, but would most likely also result in card prices going down significantly, which might just boost tournament attendance and make WotC some $ in the process.
Great write up.
The old league payout structure is a minor reason people miss leagues. I think most people miss leagues because it allowed competitive limited play without having to sit down for 2+ hours at one time. Being attached to one limited deck for a month was nice too.
Again, nice article. I am hoping WotC can get a good client for once. I would love to see an iPad app too, but one can only dream.
id like to be able to shred some of my cards, and a decent auction channel
think you covered just about everything else tho
Great article. I believe you when you say you can go on and on ... After 9 years we're still playing on this horrid user interface. I'm optimistic because seeing what small Internet start-ups can do with a user interface in a short time, I can only imagine what WOTC has been doing for 3-4 years on v4, especially considering DOTP which looks good. Of course there's also a negative side to v4 - the risk for backlash. I see the launch of v4 as a no-fail option for WOTC. The numbers suggest the community has been accepting of v3's shortcomings and patient for a solution. But if v4 flops I don't know if the community will be able to look the other way a second time. My fingers are crossed.
I should point out that after standard, classic games seem to fire the most in Casual Play, Casual Decks (aka cas cas).
You aren't ever going to make everyone completely happy. If they get a 80% perfect product I'll be elated. Keep in mind my %80 might be your 60 or 90, and that is the point.
Thanks for the answers guys! The current schedule doesn't work for me, but I'll start to build my collection after the MED1234 sealed events. Sooner or later WotC will change the events table. Meanwhile I can have some fun playing at the TP room. To be honest, I'm not a tournament player myself. But I think classic is a nice constructed format, since you don't have to care about rotations, and your cards usually retain value, if at some point you decide to liquidate.
Thought provoking and interesting read. Nice job sir and thank you.
I don't think I can get a better compliment than that.
The article seems a lot smaller than the 3800 words it is when I look at it now, but honestly I cut it short because I could go on and on about functionality this new client should have, and I wanted to cut bait an go with it. Wish Hammy were here to add what I'm sure would have been even better points.
Like I said in the article, the current group isn't really responsible for anything you see on MTGO in terms of how it works, short of the server architecture that (if I'm correct) Gordon Culp is responsible for, and that's the part that *is* working. That being said, a company's shortfalls are inherited, so I'm giving these guys one shot to get it right. If not, I'm right on the bandwagon.
I suggest holding at least a glimmer of hope that v4 will get it right.
Glad that you are interested in Classic! Weekday's are generally tougher to expect a DE to fire at the moment. I'm imagine that of those days, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday would be the most likely to fire. The problem is most Classic players are "older" and have regular jobs. For people on the East Coast, starting an event at 10:30pm when you have to get up for work at 6:00am the next day, is not a realistic expectation, nor is someone on the West Coast starting an event at 4:30pm.
That being said, Classic has been generally successful in firing events on weekends that are not during release events and or nix tix/packs. As for the 2-man's...they are dead right now since as GainsBanding indicated, even if you win, you kind of lose since the current prize pack, M11, is teetering close to sub-2 tix levels. Once this rotates with M12, or hopefully something else in the meantime (M12 isn't scheduled for release until early August on MTGO!), they should pick up again.
But, with the current 9th anniversary celebration, the next couple of weeks will be a great time to buy the MED staples.
After the 15th there are Master Edition events that will put alot of classic cards in the market, this should reduce prices a bit as well as give you an opportunity to crack some of these money cards. Hopefully that will add at least a few new classic players to the pool, which will in turn add to the number of events that actually fire off. If money is no barrier for you, it would be a wise time to invest(after the 15th or so..might as well get the cards a little cheaper) as eventually/hopefully we will get some power 9 pieces, etc. and many of these staples will go up again.
They'd all not join thinking the DE wouldn't fire. :)
Sign up. Convince more people to join. Have fun and people will play.
I agree with all those things......
BUT I do not believe wotc is going to be able to make v4 proper. They have a track record of fail after fail. They have shown that they do not care what the players think. I believe v4 will be another disaster. The best I would hope for is a working client that still looks outdated by 5 years.
Right now the Classic dailies are scheduled one a day - Sun 3:30pm, Mon 7:30pm, Tue 4:30am, Wed 3:30pm, Thu 7:30pm, Fri 4:30am, Sat 9:30am (times are pacific).
We are having trouble firing them these days, but the solution to that is more players, so if you're interested, join up. There are always games in the TP room though.
2-mans are also rough these days because the M11 pack you win is barely worth the entry fee. Hopefully Wizards will fix this soon, but if they don't it will fix itself when M12 comes out.
If you're interested in Classic at all though, the next two weeks is the time to buy in. With ME1234 sealed, duals and all the pre-Mirage cards will be at rock bottom prices.