First impressions thread

Actually I think it was the free one. My bad!

 

First impressions are very good. It is super fun and very playable. My stupid old Mac is 6 years obsolete, but didn't have any troubles. Clean, intuitive interface. Gary and his brother crack me up.

A couple of minor gripes:
- Tutorial was easy, but the first real adventure, the Wizard's Workshop, was much more difficult, and didn't seem to scale correctly. I had to go back and grind the Tutorial Levels again to beat it. Everything since (I've leveled to 4 and gotten through the Ruby Demon Portal) has seemed pretty well-balanced. Most of the time I win, sometimes I lose, but then I learn my lesson and succeed.
- Boy, the sell vs. buy value at the stores seems harsh.
- If you put the cursor on the border of a card, it flickers on and off (and the range indicator on the board flickers) annoyingly.

But other than those, I love it! Great work!

Any chance a tablet interface/app is in the works?

 

I just started playing the other day. I've been mostly playing campaign mode so far. I've gotten my party to 12th level and have completed all of the adventures level 10 and below. I've been enjoying the difficulty level so far. There are several battles that I've wiped and had to reset the adventure for another chance to beat it. I've been playing using only items that have dropped as loot so far. I'm sure that by buying some items from the vendors it would make things a little bit easier.

I really love the style of the artwork and a lot of the little details. I really got a kick out of the art in the homebrew modules by Gary and Melvin. Switching the map to a hand drawn battle map was a nice touch.

I think the tutorial could have benefitted from more explanation of the differences between Armor and Blocking as well as some information on facing. The order that effects are applied is still kind of unclear to me. If a character has a healing card and a damage card attached to him, which hits first? In the same vein, if a character ends his turn on a lava square but has a card attached that allows him to move one square at the start of his turn what is the order of resolution?

In a lot of free to play games, the cash puts me off. Even if I play the game it is usually enough to keep me from recommending the game to friends. So far I do not get that feeling from Card Hunter. The offerings in the store and their pricing seems reasonable. By the time I got to the first treasure hunt mission I felt pretty sure that the game was worth a $10 investment. Based on how long it takes me to play through an adventure I'm paying just a little over a buck an hour for additional content, the items are a bonus. The extra loot for being a member is nice but not something I feel I need to buy if I want to have be able to have fun with the game. After the final wipe, I'd probably pick up a membership if I knew that I'd have a couple weeks where I'd be playing a lot. The character models also seem fairly priced.

I'd really like a way to save gear loadouts for my characters to more quickly switch my setup.

 

Does the Multiplayer mode auto-unequip your characters equipments?

I ask as I made a habit of selling off all of the drops I don't need at once. Browsed around the multiplayer areas. Then wanted a few gold to buy chests, went to the store and sold all the extra loot I had.
Realized afterwards my characters had no equipment on and I was SOL. Whoops..

Edit: The non-Club-Member Club Rewards seem obnoxiously rigged to get you to become a member. Nothing but uncommon drops at best for me, -3- Epic Club Rewards in a single session. Seriously?

 

That's just RNG, nerdstick. I, for example, only seen a couple of items on that pillow that I really wanted.

 

Here are my first impressions of Card Hunter. I've recently been playing a lot of Mojang's Scrolls, so I can't help but compare the two. I can't really speak on the multiplayer aspect, because I've spent all my time on the campaign so far.

First off, for a game that's still in closed beta, it's incredibly polished. I've bought a lot of supposedly release-quality games on Steam that are nowhere near as tight as this one. Card text is well-written, and not full of minor spelling/grammatical errors like most games at this stage of development. The card mechanics are complicated, but well described. And in cases where I wasn't sure how they worked, it just took trying them out in a battle to clarify.

The difficulty level is great. I coasted through the first half-dozen levels before I started to run into problems, but I never felt like the AI was cheating me. Usually, I just needed to tweak my in-game strategy, but in a few cases I actually had to rework my gear. The tactical options available to you are huge, but I never felt overwhelmed. The game does a great job of easing you into the complexity by keeping the monsters simple in the early going.

I'm a big interface nut, and Card Hunter has the best browser-based interface I've seen. I was pleasantly surprised more than once, like when I realized you can use the mouse scroll wheel to display terrain info, or that clicking on a character's item slot filters out the store and mule windows for that slot. Those are the kind of touches that usually come into a game well after release, if at all.

The tooltip info almost always gives me what I need whenever I'm unsure about a card detail or game mechanic. The menu help page is great for everything else, but I was playing for a while before I found it. Maybe it should be put in a more noticeable spot. I forget if it was mentioned in the tutorial, but it should be if it wasn't.

Speaking of, a lot of work has clearly been done on the tutorial. I actually found myself laughing out loud at some of the gaming inside jokes. I never felt, as I have in some games, like the tutorial was intrusive and slowing down my progress. It was more like having a veteran watching over your shoulder, offering nuggets of wisdom here and there.

Gameplay is the most important aspect of any game, and in the week since my beta key arrived, Card Hunter has taken almost all of my spare time. I never felt like the game was a grind. I haven't been doing modules to get loot, I've been doing them because they are fun. The loot is just a bonus. The amount of content here is impressive. Every time I start to get complacent, out comes a new batch of monsters and/or cards that shake up my strategy.

I also like the in-game store pricing system. Unlike some RPGs, I don't have to spend all my gold buying an item that's a minor upgrade and will only last me a few modules. I've done a great job of shoring up holes in my characters with the 5 or 10 gold item choices.

The style is unique and well presented. From the thickness of the board to the simple-yet-evocative graphics, it just feels like table-top gaming should. Add to that the module covers that look like they were found in someone's basement amidst copies of the Fiend Folio, and you have a game that feels like it was custom-made for me.

The pay model is very well done. I've already made a $20 pizza purchase to unlock all the treasure hunts, and feel like I'm getting good value there. I'd also like to have a Card Hunter Club membership, but feel that it's a little overpriced. I had to pay $20 just to get into the Scrolls beta, so Card Hunter gets a big thumbs-up in the "value for money" category from me.

I'm cautiously looking forward to trying out the multiplayer. Unlike Scrolls, where I can be fairly competitive against others using one of prebuilt decks, I've got a feeling that I would get slaughtered by a good MP tactician with good/complementary equipment in Card Hunter.

Now for the negative. Battle screens usually load too quickly for me to read the hints, so it would be nice if I could view these in another window at my leisure. Wow, that sounds petty, but it's really just because I can't think of any other negatives.

Apologies for the length of this, but I'm a jaded gamer who didn't think I could get this excited about a game anymore. Well done everyone involved. Card Hunter is the game I wish I made.

 

As I said in my introductions, I felt that this should be a real, physical game: it's that good.

This is esp. true in light of games like Dominion and, more recently, the Star Wars LCG(with a very similar build mechanic).

But first things 1st. Get this game up to snuff for the mad masses, resulting in profit.
Unless....Kickstarter...?

*stares into the distance*

 

My first impressions so far -
First of all, I'm not at all experienced with TCG-type games, and the closest things I've played involve playing only one character, RPG style. I like this, though, and am going to have to look into more of this kind of game.

I wasn't so sure about the way you're introduced to the game. I don't enjoy being thrown into something like that, when I'm not even sure how things like drawing cards works yet. I get the purpose of it, though. Here's what I would recommend to alleviate it some, at least for someone like me - have a little window with the very basics right before the battle starts, and then throw you into it. I felt the various tutorial levels were well done. They weren't boring, and didn't feel tacked on in any way.

So far, I've played up until my characters reached level 5. I would say the level of difficulty for the battles I encountered was good - I've lost once, but in my haphazard decision making, quite a few of them were very, very close, which is a nice experience. One of the issues I had with the game, though, was seeing which tiles were intended to be obstructions. The how to play link on the website has a good rundown of the tiles, but I'd liked to have encountered it in the game. Another thing was being unable to cancel clicking on some cards - I accidentally left-clicked a few times, and was locked in to that decision, which was unfortunate. Also, I noticed that when trying to select the direction of the fire spells for my wizard, the squares were rather hard to click on. One other little thing was that at one point, when Gary was explaining facing and highlighted what was behind and in front of an enemy, the previous cards from an attack were still on the screen, obscuring it. It was easy to infer what was going on, but I just thought I'd note that sometimes it might get in the way of his explanations. That's all I can recall at the moment - there weren't too many recurring issues.

Now for the stuff in between battles. First, as far as I could tell, there wasn't a way to check out the cards for items before you buy them. Not having a lot of gold, it would've been nice to figure out if I'd like a card before buying an item with it. Second, I have to admit that I'm not fond of the way club items from chests are handled. Perhaps a mini locked chest next to the bigger one would be fine, but it's irritating to watch so many rares and the one epic item I've seen so far pop up in there. I've also noticed that a few items have the same art, which I hope is just a matter of the game being beta. That said, I really like the way items can be dragged, and this and various other little features make the interface feel overall quite polished.

Finally, I feel like what happens when you lose and what happens when you exhaust an adventure should be explained clearly beforehand. I was surprised to see that apparently, I only get so many attempts to beat something. What happens when I've used up all three? And do finished adventures stay exhausted? In addition, I stopped playing for the day after losing that first battle (great excuse to take a break and do what I should be doing). However, after trying to go back and glance at the shop interface again for the purpose of this post, I am told I'm still in that adventure. What happens if I leave it? I'd like the game to let me know that. Also, is grinding possible in this game, and if so, is it necessary?

On the cash side of things, I think that other than my annoyance with the club items, this was well handled. I've never been one to pay monthly subscriptions/memberships in games, so I can't comment on the prices there. That said, I do go for the various one-time purchases for items and new content, and what I saw seemed reasonable and worthwhile. Gary's provision of some pizza slices early on is a nice way of introducing them, too.

As to the overall features of the game, and the game as a beta, I have to say I'm very impressed. The graphics are great, the interfaces are very well realized, the game has a great sense of character to it with Gary and Melvin and all the trappings of a tabletop game, and I didn't encounter any actual bugs. There were a couple times where, after clicking a card, I thought the game would crash, as it froze for a bit, but that could've easily been on my end. The mechanics behind the game are satisfying, and the game plays well, without feeling punishing. Also, I have to note that the random names are highly amusing.

 

I like the game, or perhaps the potential the game has. I do think that with my party at only level 6 I don't know if I'll ever spend money on it. I am not entirely sure why that is. Perhaps it's because of the shops or the inventory or the 'hey here's another item you could have had if you pay us by the month'. Sometimes when I play the game I feel that the item system (cheap to sell, expensive to purchase) or perhaps the quality of said items is very much off. Sometimes I can get something relatively cheap and which is rather good whereas the store is also filled with expensive junk. Not to mention those items requiring orbs. I don't want to see them, and twice now I've accidentally purchased one. It's all a bit of a shame, really, because it detracts from the gameplay, which is rather enjoyable.

I could easily be missing things which make my misgiving go away and I fully admit that this is a subjective view probably coloured by how I feel, and not directed by cold reason.

 

First impressions are that this is AWESOME! Just like playing an RPG but sort
of solo. VERY strategic and challenging. The randomness of cards is very close to
real card draws.

The only downside is the cheesy side talk with Melvin and the other guy.

 

Shouldn't there be a grace period after you sell an item in which you can re-buy it for the same price (until you've left the store?)
A number of times already I've sold an item and immediately realized I shouldn't have upon clicking..

The inventory system seems incredibly cluttered and confusing when you mix in Multiplayer (since Orb-requiring items can't necessarily be worn in single player), it makes it so difficult to figure out what I can sell. There should be some sort of icon over an item signifying that it's equipped in Multiplayer mode, if applicable, so I don't sell it in single player thinking it's side loot.

It would also be great to have a bank of some sort to store items I want to keep. But maybe it's just my RPG instincts to inspect every new item I get and sell it if it isn't useful, which isn't very accessible to do currently.

Edit: Figured the workaround would be to sell items in Multiplayer, and ended up selling a sword I had equipped in Single player :/ item management in this game is a real chore.

 

My first impression was "wow the volume is loud." I control my computers volume on a per-application basis with my master volume at a mid level such that I can balance them all, music, youtube, games, etc. The second thing I noticed was that during the beginning tutorial, with the popups going on, I was unable to use the options menu to turn down the game and music volume.
Obviously not a really big deal, but extremely loud music blasting at me forcing me to turn off my master volume and pause my other applications is not an ideal first impression.

Even once I was able to manipulate the volume, with the music muted and the sound at its lowest volume the game is rather loud compared to other applications, necessitating a re-adjustment of my other settings to accommodate it. Again, clearly not a huge deal but it was one of my first impressions and I thought I should mention it.

Something else that I found to be a rather disturbing first impression to me was the way the game deals with disconnections. My connection is actually somewhat unreliable. I have tried for years working with my ISP to get it resolved, but my connection still drops out several times a day. I know not everyone has this issue, but random disconnects do happen from time to time so I believe it could be handled more conveniently. I also frequently have to step away from the computer. A turn based game like this should be a perfect game for someone who has to step away occasionally, however I frequently come back to find I have been disconnected and have to re-do the map.

Another online card game I play whose rounds are much faster, only a couple minutes long, has a feature where if you are disconnected it asks you if you want to resume your previous match and can return you precisely where you left off. The game is much simpler, it would be more difficult to implement here I am sure, but it would be incredibly appreciated. It caught me off guard the first time it happened, I am being punished for something out of my control.


Other than these two issues, the game is incredibly fun and addicting. I don't want to give the impression that I am not enjoying it. I simply wanted to mention the two things that did turn me off about the game. Also, some of the maps are probably a little too difficult, but it does add longevity to the game. I just worry that it will turn some people off for not being able to progress.

 

I am coming into this completely blind. No reading reviews, no scouring the webs of the internets to find other opinions, etc. Except for a game trailer I watched at a friend's recommendation... So maybe not completely blind (one eyed, maybe).

First Reaction: "Wait... this looks like Hero Quest. And Magic the Gathering! What? Do want!"
After playing through the first maybe half an hour or so (I've made it through all the introductory stuff, and the tutorial modules), I've gotta say, this game is right up my alley. I can't say I've ever played a game that combined a table top miniatures battle game with trading card mechanics so elegantly. The Interface is intuitive and great fun to look at - I love the wood table, cardboard cutouts, random snacks, pencils, paper and other RPG paraphernalia that litter the margins of the game screen. That combined with Gary as your own personal DM (along with his older obnoxious super elite nerd brother that keeps popping up) give the game a palpability; you really feel like your hanging out in your best buddy's dungeo- I mean, basement - on a Saturday afternoon, rolling dice and drinking too much soda.

The feedback during battle is fantastic - the sounds are hilarious and informative and the animation is sharp and satisfying. I love all the box and module art - dripping with nostalgia and reminds me a lot of the older Gygax era art work that I would furiously try to copy freehand as a kid.

I'm sure a lot of this has already been discussed, but I would love to see some CO-OP game modes; You and two friends playing through modules run by Gary, or you and two friends fighting it out through modules run by a fourth player DM.

There is so much to love here, and I can't wait to get deeper into the mechanics of the game! Thanks for making a great game, guys. Keep up the good work

TL;DR: I will play anything that looks like Hero Quest

 

Honestly the first things that popped into my head after an hour were 2 things and a small quality of life change.

1: I wish I had a bank or a lock item from being sold button to prevent accidents (such as me selling my epic cleric armor that I hadn't equipped because im not currently using one and mine wasnt high enough level as I sold 6 adventures worth of stuff)

2: There was a timer on when an exhausted dungeon was going to be back up

and 3 not really a complaint but more of a cosmetic/quality of life thing. When I am in the tavern buying a new hero it would be a lot better rather then scrolling through all the classes race options then the next class to have it set like a 2 way system IE 2 tabs. Class on the top tab and race below that way there is no scrolling and if you guys add more class/race diversity (IE Add Trolls and they cant be clerics but they can be hunters or something idk I am not thinking that far ahead) it is far easier to navigate and see what you want to do. Just a thought.

Overall I love the game and honestly I purchased Club membership 20 minutes in because I knew it was going to be a longstanding game with me. Thanks BMC for the great game.

 

Hey, loving the game so far!

You guys have made such an amazing homage/spoof of all of the boardgames, roleplaying games, card games this group of beta testers have probably all known and loved, while also bringing really solid game mechanics to play. I have played up to level 9, and I have found the learning curve to be pretty much right on. Play after to the tutorial section has been constantly challenging to me, which is what I look for in a game like this. My last couple of challenges (Melvelous the Magnificent, and Lord Stafford's Treasure) were nail bitingly close, which was great fun, and made for solid deck building challenges. I like being required to think carefully about card choice, and so far the campaign is nailing it.

The only confusing moment was right at the beginning of the game when I didn't understand how card redraw was going to happen, but I get why the dragon challenge was laid out that way for the storyline. It's a cool idea too, as a way to give the player a taste of mechanics to come.

I have encountered a few bugs, I will check the bug list to see if anyone else has seen them.

I love how much humor has been injected into EVERY element of the game, well done!

 

Well then, great! Glad you're enjoying it!

I wonder, though: did you choose your username based on the game's for-cash currency, or just because you like it?

 

Haha, a little bit of both

 

I am loving the campaign mode. Finally a game that is fun to play and has just the right amount of challenge to it. I played a few rounds of mp and I guess I just need to see more players online for more evenly matched opponents. There is so much goodness in this game that I had no issue buying 300 pizza to get all the extra campaigns. I can't stop playing
Only gripe so far and the only thing that needs improving is the inventory management.

 

Care to explain? We have various threads about possible improvements, and we know that certain features are coming (like being able to save "builds"). What would you like to see?

 

Loving the game! I'm up through level 9 in the PVE and haven't touched PVP yet.

I'm 40 years old and I have a lot of nostalgia for 1st edition D&D, Againt the Giants and so forth. I love turn-based games. Card games are OK but the sort of tactical combat you have going on reminds me of my lost hours playing Ultima IV and V. So I guess I'm pretty much in the target market or something. My 7 year old daughter is loving the game too. She's been giving me tips--- daddy, move that guy away from the zombies!

I had some difficulty with the Trogg levels and Lord Stafford's Treasure. But nothing insurmountable. A little more loot and some better tactics and luck and I got through OK. Very satisfying. I don't mind the pay structure so far. I've gotten a lot of fun for free so far. I'll definitely be buying the treasure hunts. Maybe card hunter club for some months where this is a game I'm playing for hours. I want this game to do well and be well supported... hats off to the team, keep up the good work.