I haven't listened to the cast yet but had to chime in here. I partially agree and partially disagree. Firing everyone is wrong. Firing itself may not be the answer. However it seems apparent to me that while the intent may not be evil the effect is.
There are definite and severe obstructions going on in WOTC with regards to communications and communicating that they listen to us. Actions speak loudest and we are hearing very bad things. Also I could care less about actual mistakes. Those are the kinds of things that give a game character. Yes sometimes they are unfortunate (Jace, Wallet breaker for example.) And yes sometimes they are just awful (homelands but not entirely because it had its good points.)
MTGO is a wip which I accept because I must. I sincerely hope things look up and soon. I expect them to. But I have become somewhat conditioned to seeing WOTC shoot itself (and us) in the foot with large (huge even) sweeping changes that come off as draconian and uncaring because their corporate culture includes being deceptive, secretive, and uncommunicative.
I am certain many of the employees there are hard working, dedicated and well meaning but that isn't how the company comes off at times.
I don't think that's really the question. The people working there are good people. Firing everyone is never the answer.
I think you should listen to Marshall Sutcliff's interview of Jon Loucks. One of the main points that Loucks made was that the way Wizards is structured is a problem for MTGO. However, Wizards is structured that way in order to ensure that new sets arrive on time and finished every time. And they do.
In a way, this is similar to the wait 2 weeks problem - that new sets appear in paper 2 weeks before they appear online. Yes, it is unfortunate, but there are no real alternatives. New sets need playtesting, and that cannot happen until the set is publically released. (Remember, Wizards tried giving the beta testers early access to one set, after requiring them to sign strict confidentiality agreements and listen to lectures on the importance of keeping the cards secret. The set was spoiled by two different people within 5 minutes of it being given to the beta testers. That's why we can't have nice / on time things.)
Yes, it's sad that we cannot have a better MTGO client and sets on a more timely basis. But firing Worth, or Worth's boss, or firing people further up the chain is not the answer. The only answer would be to change the corporate culture at Wizards. However, that culture is was not by evil or incompetent people. That culture was create to ensure that the set arrive on time, well designed and without serious printing or collation errors. we don't see many green Serendib Efreets, or combo winters, or other serious problems in the paper world. And I'm fine with that. Even if MTGO is not everything it could be - Magic as a whole is better. It's a trade-off I'm willing to make.
I find myself playing more, but that is not related to the client. I have just had more time to play in the last week or so.
They actually mention the tribes depicted which is interesting. Apparently, the unusual Jeskai characters are Djinn and Efreets. Also, there will be a race of Dog people called the Inoch.
It seems the mechanics of the Clans are very reflective of the Dragon aspect that the Clan represents. So MaRo said that the Abzan, who represent endurance, have a mechanic that favours the long game.
Apparently, Sarkhan used to be a member of the Mardu and has beef with Zurgo Helmsmasher - which is interesting. I had Sarkhan down as more of Temur guy.
Not sure if I've missed it, or whether you have (when you had a "week off"), but did you ever show the price changes for the week in which V3 was turned off?
I think data for that particular week would be the most interesting of all the weeks you've been including this feature.
Thanks. I welcome any and all constructive criticism. I'd rather here how something is broke and how to fix it rather than "that sucks." The same can be said for how some have approached complaining about V4. The complaints I like to read are the well thought out and written ones. I try my best to do a little something weekly, and I have decided the niche that I wanted to be a part of was new EDH players. I frequent reddit and they have a good general mtg site and a good EDH one. I often see players on there asking the most basic of questions.
I decided to do this for all the new players who ask "What is EDH and how do I do it?" I am not the best player of any one format, but I love the game. I couldn't keep up with standard and I can not afford any of the rest of the format. I am also always looking for ways to bring more people into the site by shamelessly advertising every chance I get.
Maybe if I relearn a little code I will be better. All I know is that the readers deserve the best I can give them, so as I learn and grow, the articles will reflect such. I was kind of embarrassed by episode 3 anyway.
It takes me about 1 day to come up with my article concept, 1 day to write it, and 1 day to proof it for formatting, grammar and spelling errors. Some times I have to lay back the tone as I tend to write as I talk which is always bad news.
If I can show something to the new guy and get him interested, I feel like that is a win.
The current (messed) state of the multiplayer scene should be there in the "Not happy about" list. A combination of the way the screen is split between the player and the opponents, the red zone that's always there, the wasted space in various places... So many hoops you have to jump it sometimes becomes painful to play.
Hope you don't take this the wrong way, but your formatting has improved leaps and bounds over time. You are quickly becoming one of the most frequent, well-written Commander writers on Pure. I wish I could get back to a point where I was writing as often as you, to be honest. Maybe I will soon... :P
Anyways, interesting read. I like the idea of introducing newer players to the individual colors of the color pie, while describing their weaknesses and strengths.
It's not any one specific deck. Deluge is the de facto board sweeper in Vintage right now. Pretty much all of the U/B/x decks aside from Oath (because, you know, puking a Griselbrand up wins anyway) are running 1-2 copies in the 75.
You get it correctly - sy, for the sloppy wording.
The main issue being different to all prior transitions is that I am tempted into playing (sanctioned events) since they are up and putative working and then loose miserably due to a collection of issues such listed in my previous post. That of course is expensive but more so frustrating as loosing is ok but not repeatedly by demonic intrusion.
When asking the support the reply is that there must be an issue with my computer setup being beyond their responsibility and providing a list of troubleshooting which does not help. Of course, a timely coincidence with V4 is just chance.
Toxic Deluge, at $38.00 is $8 more than the actual deck it comes in, and since Oloro is worth around 8 bucks, it's a sweet deal. It's like the new Flusterstorm. What deck is it being used in that it is so sought after?
Ok, it's a little hard to understand what you are saying due to what I assume are language translation issues, but did you say this transition is worse than the previous ones?
This transition is *nothing* like the last ones, some of those took down all sanctioned play for weeks. This one just works, even if there are a lot of annoying UI and memory issues for some people.
:I think it's ludicrous that the collection sorter considers lands to have color. That's my latest pet peeve.
How is this not an upgrade? It makes it much easier to locate all your lands that produce a given color, just click Land for type, and the color you want.
Really you people Are lucky with your experiences - despite V4 being absolutely awful from
An aesthetic point of view (of course, just my view), reinventing Things New which should not (See eg. Dr. Cats excellent
article) introducing bugs that make certain archetypes unplayable (see Tangle wire) etc. it leaves people
Not Lucky enough to have their software in line (reason can be deduced by pc professionals- on your own expense)
With hidden graveyards, wrong clocks, frozen games with no possibility to relog etc. That costs real lifetime.
By the Way,
A) I experienced all prior transitions with in no way comparable frustration
B) I am still here because I Love the Game and Live in an area without Paper magic alternative
- maybe Tides of Numenera can protect me for too much frustration playing mtgo, though
unfortunately being month away.
Really cool draft! I wish you had stuck to your guns on rare draft a little harder, but I did enjoy it. For instance, I think Hoarding Dragon was your guy P2P1.
I have found the Santified Charge/Triplicate Spirits combo to be amazing.
I did not see many picks that I might have done differently.
I can see how "in-progress" is correct, if it's being used as an adjective for "game." It is akin to writing, "Game 3 half-done." It's not elegant, but if they're not trying to make it a sentence of sorts, it doesn't bother me.
I think it's ludicrous that the collection sorter considers lands to have color. That's my latest pet peeve.
So I wasn't crazy! The V4 USED to remember more settings that it does now! I'm very angry at whoever pushed them to stop doing it!
I didn't get the chance to fully explore the graveyard issues yet. So far, it was functional to me, but I guess it might be one of those cases where they don't push the testing/design to cover extreme scenarios.
I get what you mean, but doing otherwise would make it semi-meaningless, because if you load a Standard deck and the Lobby gives you every game where a Standard deck is legal, you would be presented with Legacy and Vintage games you don't want. I think it's a safe assumption that most people don't want to use a Modern deck in Vintage.
Unless you're talking of a deck built for Vintage, with which you want to play only Vintage games, even if it doesn't contain non-Modern-legal cards. In that case, I suggest you to change the identity of the deck in the options to Vintage (it's the "gear" button in the editor), so the client will think of it as a Vintage deck regardless.
Right, the edited deck isn't automatically selected. On the other hand, I just logged in after editing a deck, went to the Play Lobby and no particular deck was selected. What I meant, though, is that the options you're given to select (that seems to me all the decks I edited lately, hopefully it will not grow up to some unmanageable 2000-deck list) are the decks from the server, and unless you're purposely trying to damage yourself, you should know what you're selecting.
Of course the deck management requires some getting used to, like you said.
The search in the editor/collection seems powerful, though. No need of operators. I just couldn't remember the name of Champion of the Parish, so I tried typing "human counter", and it showed up all the cards with "human" and "counter" in the text ("human, counter" showed up a different subset of cards, and no Champion of the Parish).
The search also answers fast enough to make me almost forget my grudge about the missing "search as you type" function. Almost.
This bug also impacts classic pauper with the promo versions of Blue Elemental Blast. These were released as a common for promos, but are not legal in pauper.
It also used to occur with Kird Ape and Sinkhole, but it looks like the promo versions of those have been updated to uncommon/rare since I checked last.
I'm pretty sure that in order to move the chat window, you can drag the tab. If you drag far enough, it will undock. Then you can dock it somewhere else.
I haven't listened to the cast yet but had to chime in here. I partially agree and partially disagree. Firing everyone is wrong. Firing itself may not be the answer. However it seems apparent to me that while the intent may not be evil the effect is.
There are definite and severe obstructions going on in WOTC with regards to communications and communicating that they listen to us. Actions speak loudest and we are hearing very bad things. Also I could care less about actual mistakes. Those are the kinds of things that give a game character. Yes sometimes they are unfortunate (Jace, Wallet breaker for example.) And yes sometimes they are just awful (homelands but not entirely because it had its good points.)
MTGO is a wip which I accept because I must. I sincerely hope things look up and soon. I expect them to. But I have become somewhat conditioned to seeing WOTC shoot itself (and us) in the foot with large (huge even) sweeping changes that come off as draconian and uncaring because their corporate culture includes being deceptive, secretive, and uncommunicative.
I am certain many of the employees there are hard working, dedicated and well meaning but that isn't how the company comes off at times.
I don't think that's really the question. The people working there are good people. Firing everyone is never the answer.
I think you should listen to Marshall Sutcliff's interview of Jon Loucks. One of the main points that Loucks made was that the way Wizards is structured is a problem for MTGO. However, Wizards is structured that way in order to ensure that new sets arrive on time and finished every time. And they do.
In a way, this is similar to the wait 2 weeks problem - that new sets appear in paper 2 weeks before they appear online. Yes, it is unfortunate, but there are no real alternatives. New sets need playtesting, and that cannot happen until the set is publically released. (Remember, Wizards tried giving the beta testers early access to one set, after requiring them to sign strict confidentiality agreements and listen to lectures on the importance of keeping the cards secret. The set was spoiled by two different people within 5 minutes of it being given to the beta testers. That's why we can't have nice / on time things.)
Yes, it's sad that we cannot have a better MTGO client and sets on a more timely basis. But firing Worth, or Worth's boss, or firing people further up the chain is not the answer. The only answer would be to change the corporate culture at Wizards. However, that culture is was not by evil or incompetent people. That culture was create to ensure that the set arrive on time, well designed and without serious printing or collation errors. we don't see many green Serendib Efreets, or combo winters, or other serious problems in the paper world. And I'm fine with that. Even if MTGO is not everything it could be - Magic as a whole is better. It's a trade-off I'm willing to make.
I find myself playing more, but that is not related to the client. I have just had more time to play in the last week or so.
The full Comic Con Panel is now up on Youtube. Went up on Friday by the looks of things. Check it out for some additional information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S3_oYCnBak
They actually mention the tribes depicted which is interesting. Apparently, the unusual Jeskai characters are Djinn and Efreets. Also, there will be a race of Dog people called the Inoch.
It seems the mechanics of the Clans are very reflective of the Dragon aspect that the Clan represents. So MaRo said that the Abzan, who represent endurance, have a mechanic that favours the long game.
Apparently, Sarkhan used to be a member of the Mardu and has beef with Zurgo Helmsmasher - which is interesting. I had Sarkhan down as more of Temur guy.
Pete
Not sure if I've missed it, or whether you have (when you had a "week off"), but did you ever show the price changes for the week in which V3 was turned off?
I think data for that particular week would be the most interesting of all the weeks you've been including this feature.
Thanks as usual for the great articles. :-)
Thanks. I welcome any and all constructive criticism. I'd rather here how something is broke and how to fix it rather than "that sucks." The same can be said for how some have approached complaining about V4. The complaints I like to read are the well thought out and written ones. I try my best to do a little something weekly, and I have decided the niche that I wanted to be a part of was new EDH players. I frequent reddit and they have a good general mtg site and a good EDH one. I often see players on there asking the most basic of questions.
I decided to do this for all the new players who ask "What is EDH and how do I do it?" I am not the best player of any one format, but I love the game. I couldn't keep up with standard and I can not afford any of the rest of the format. I am also always looking for ways to bring more people into the site by shamelessly advertising every chance I get.
Maybe if I relearn a little code I will be better. All I know is that the readers deserve the best I can give them, so as I learn and grow, the articles will reflect such. I was kind of embarrassed by episode 3 anyway.
It takes me about 1 day to come up with my article concept, 1 day to write it, and 1 day to proof it for formatting, grammar and spelling errors. Some times I have to lay back the tone as I tend to write as I talk which is always bad news.
If I can show something to the new guy and get him interested, I feel like that is a win.
The current (messed) state of the multiplayer scene should be there in the "Not happy about" list. A combination of the way the screen is split between the player and the opponents, the red zone that's always there, the wasted space in various places... So many hoops you have to jump it sometimes becomes painful to play.
I have been playing the rug list and i was wondering if you had suggestions on the mana base
J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!
Hope you don't take this the wrong way, but your formatting has improved leaps and bounds over time. You are quickly becoming one of the most frequent, well-written Commander writers on Pure. I wish I could get back to a point where I was writing as often as you, to be honest. Maybe I will soon... :P
Anyways, interesting read. I like the idea of introducing newer players to the individual colors of the color pie, while describing their weaknesses and strengths.
It's not any one specific deck. Deluge is the de facto board sweeper in Vintage right now. Pretty much all of the U/B/x decks aside from Oath (because, you know, puking a Griselbrand up wins anyway) are running 1-2 copies in the 75.
I'm a big fan of catching opponents by surprise, which is something I feel all of these decks do.
You get it correctly - sy, for the sloppy wording.
The main issue being different to all prior transitions is that I am tempted into playing (sanctioned events) since they are up and putative working and then loose miserably due to a collection of issues such listed in my previous post. That of course is expensive but more so frustrating as loosing is ok but not repeatedly by demonic intrusion.
When asking the support the reply is that there must be an issue with my computer setup being beyond their responsibility and providing a list of troubleshooting which does not help. Of course, a timely coincidence with V4 is just chance.
Toxic Deluge, at $38.00 is $8 more than the actual deck it comes in, and since Oloro is worth around 8 bucks, it's a sweet deal. It's like the new Flusterstorm. What deck is it being used in that it is so sought after?
Ok, it's a little hard to understand what you are saying due to what I assume are language translation issues, but did you say this transition is worse than the previous ones?
This transition is *nothing* like the last ones, some of those took down all sanctioned play for weeks. This one just works, even if there are a lot of annoying UI and memory issues for some people.
:I think it's ludicrous that the collection sorter considers lands to have color. That's my latest pet peeve.
How is this not an upgrade? It makes it much easier to locate all your lands that produce a given color, just click Land for type, and the color you want.
Really you people Are lucky with your experiences - despite V4 being absolutely awful from
An aesthetic point of view (of course, just my view), reinventing Things New which should not (See eg. Dr. Cats excellent
article) introducing bugs that make certain archetypes unplayable (see Tangle wire) etc. it leaves people
Not Lucky enough to have their software in line (reason can be deduced by pc professionals- on your own expense)
With hidden graveyards, wrong clocks, frozen games with no possibility to relog etc. That costs real lifetime.
By the Way,
A) I experienced all prior transitions with in no way comparable frustration
B) I am still here because I Love the Game and Live in an area without Paper magic alternative
- maybe Tides of Numenera can protect me for too much frustration playing mtgo, though
unfortunately being month away.
Really cool draft! I wish you had stuck to your guns on rare draft a little harder, but I did enjoy it. For instance, I think Hoarding Dragon was your guy P2P1.
I have found the Santified Charge/Triplicate Spirits combo to be amazing.
I did not see many picks that I might have done differently.
Great job and thanks!!
Terrific article, as always.
I can see how "in-progress" is correct, if it's being used as an adjective for "game." It is akin to writing, "Game 3 half-done." It's not elegant, but if they're not trying to make it a sentence of sorts, it doesn't bother me.
I think it's ludicrous that the collection sorter considers lands to have color. That's my latest pet peeve.
On the other hand, if I want to play some casual with a friend, we both have to set all our decks to Vintage/Freeform. It's really irritating.
If he challenges me to a game of Vintage, I should be able to select any one of my decks that are Vintage legal.
These three decks all look amazing.
So I wasn't crazy! The V4 USED to remember more settings that it does now! I'm very angry at whoever pushed them to stop doing it!
I didn't get the chance to fully explore the graveyard issues yet. So far, it was functional to me, but I guess it might be one of those cases where they don't push the testing/design to cover extreme scenarios.
I get what you mean, but doing otherwise would make it semi-meaningless, because if you load a Standard deck and the Lobby gives you every game where a Standard deck is legal, you would be presented with Legacy and Vintage games you don't want. I think it's a safe assumption that most people don't want to use a Modern deck in Vintage.
Unless you're talking of a deck built for Vintage, with which you want to play only Vintage games, even if it doesn't contain non-Modern-legal cards. In that case, I suggest you to change the identity of the deck in the options to Vintage (it's the "gear" button in the editor), so the client will think of it as a Vintage deck regardless.
Right, the edited deck isn't automatically selected. On the other hand, I just logged in after editing a deck, went to the Play Lobby and no particular deck was selected. What I meant, though, is that the options you're given to select (that seems to me all the decks I edited lately, hopefully it will not grow up to some unmanageable 2000-deck list) are the decks from the server, and unless you're purposely trying to damage yourself, you should know what you're selecting.
Of course the deck management requires some getting used to, like you said.
The search in the editor/collection seems powerful, though. No need of operators. I just couldn't remember the name of Champion of the Parish, so I tried typing "human counter", and it showed up all the cards with "human" and "counter" in the text ("human, counter" showed up a different subset of cards, and no Champion of the Parish).
The search also answers fast enough to make me almost forget my grudge about the missing "search as you type" function. Almost.
This bug also impacts classic pauper with the promo versions of Blue Elemental Blast. These were released as a common for promos, but are not legal in pauper.
It also used to occur with Kird Ape and Sinkhole, but it looks like the promo versions of those have been updated to uncommon/rare since I checked last.
I'm pretty sure that in order to move the chat window, you can drag the tab. If you drag far enough, it will undock. Then you can dock it somewhere else.