First impressions thread

Ok, so, absolute first impressions, in that I've only had about 80 minutes with the game at this point.

Game mechanics, very nicely thought out and easy to learn, well-taught by the tutorial, which does a good job of introducing each concept. There's no real questions left unanswered, at least none that I can think of anyway. The way everything works is interesting and creative, and it seems there's alot of depth here.

The card design and variety is excellent so far, even at early levels, and the artwork on them (and art for the game as a whole) is also good.

Nice, easy interface.

I'm also liking that it looks like this game is going to have plenty of challenge to it. Heck, I did a level 2 adventure, something like a wizard's house I think it was, and the boss golem at the end nearly ate my team, with his constant pummeling and high armor. Won without losing anyone (barely), which was very satisfying. If the game keeps up a high level of challenge like that, then it has my attention, as I generally need a high level of challenge in any game to retain interest.

Aint tried multiplayer as I am not far enough yet, so I cant speak on that.

And as for the free2play bit, I really have no issues with throwing some money at the game... I still remember an era when you had to BUY each game, you know, with money, and I never hit a point of having that "entitlement" attitude that some have. Most of the time I have no practical spending limit, so if I'm enjoying it I'll likely lob cash at it at random intervals. Bought the starter pack immediately.

As a fan of strategy games, and TCGs (including Magic, of course), this is right up my alley. Very glad I found this. Cant wait to see where you go with it from here.

 

The challenge does indeed keep up - indeed, it gets harder!

 

I posted both an initial thoughts and a one-month follow-up over here.

 

I didn't have much time to spend on the game or the community as of late because of IRL stuff, but I wanted to quickly express my appreciation for the last batch of reviews/interviews which hit the net as of late. Both interviews with Jon were really great and informative, well done ♥

 

Where are the reviews and interviews? I wouldn't mind reading them.

 

Talking about the ones which were posted to BM's twitter

3 Moves Ahead episode with Jon: https://www.idlethumbs.net/3ma/episodes/night-of-the-card-hunter
Jon interviewed by Certain Age Gamer: http://certainagegamer.com/2013/11/02/podcast-interview-with-jonathan-chey-of-blue-manchu/
@examinercom's review: http://www.examiner.com/review/card-hunter-is-a-beautiful-merging-of-genres
Free-4-All episode on CH by JRufu: http://t.co/WE486UNVQq

 

Yeah, noticed that bit rather fast.

It very abruptly went from "Well, that was fairly easy" to "Ye gods! That giant goblin dude just smashed my warrior with the force of a collapsing star!"

 

First post!

What strikes you first when you play the game?

Hmm...well...the first thing that occurred to me was that it was really a board game. This was a touch I liked, because it made the game seem real, in a sense. It's not just another game set off in a distant land in a distant time in a distant era and so on and so forth. Maybe it could look far better and very realistic if it was not like a board game (i.e. WoW), but I like it better this way.

What's your overall impression?

To put it in a single sentence: Card Hunter is a game of strategy where you have to use what you've been given for each turn, no matter how bad it is.

What do you find confusing?

Does a card's rarity determine how often it gets drawn? Or just how easy it is to find on an item?

The second closest thing to confusing is the build up of items in the inventory. Lot's of them aren't ever direct upgrades, so it can become difficult to decide what to get rid of. Lately I've had to just start selling stuff, deciding what I'll (probably) never use. Of course, searching makes this a lot easier to manage.

What needs more work?

• Reliable Mail and Solid Mail need unique images. (I accidentally sold an item with 2 Reliable Mail cards because I thought something with 3 Solid Mail cards had 3 Reliable Mail cards. I only noticed my blunder the next day...)
• The sound effects can get a little repetitive. (Clank My Reliable Mail worked! Clank And again! Clank Clank Clank I get the idea- Clank )

What's do you find appealing about the game?

Aside from the strategy (I'm into games which make you use your head), something which attracts me to the game is the card system. It reminds me of the (somewhat old) Megaman Battle Network series on the Gameboy Advance. (It involved battles where you had 5-10 'chips' from your folder on each turn.)

I like how there are the stories for each module and then dialogue from Gary/Melvin. It gives a bit of life to the game. I'm not a huge fan of the art style, but I like it none-the-less. The card text is strangely funny in several places. ("'What sorcery is this?' - the painful kind." )

Finally, I like that it's a browser game. The game is (almost) hassle free. (Yay, no hour-long updates!)

 

A little background about me would be useful to put my first impressions into context.
An avid gamer since my early teens, I've played most common P&P RPG/ Board Games at one point or another, been a beta tester for a goodly number of MMORPGs but with the advent of family/real life this has tailed off somewhat.

What strikes you first when you play the game?
The simplicity. It was very easy to pick up and get the "gist" of the game.

What's your overall impression?
Excellent design. The game mechanics are a joy to behold.

What do you find confusing?
I suppose the sheer number of items in your inventory, after say level 7-8 can be overwhelming.

What needs more work?
At the present, nothing much. I'm still wading through the campaign.

What's do you find appealing about the game?
The business model seems quite cool. I will be tossing some $ at BM for sure.

 

Very entertaining game that is both easy to learn, complex without being overwhelming, fast paced and fun. Love the references to old school D&D. My young son and I play together and enjoy the challenges thoroughly. We've barely scratched the surface but I can see a lot of good times in the future.

One thing I am not sure of is how to view cards associated with items you do not yet own? I'd like to view the cards before I buy and equip the items as I am not yet familiar with all the card effects.

This forum and the wiki are very helpful for us noobs. Thank you for that!

 

If you right-click an item its cards are enlarged for better viewing.

 

I tried right clicking but when the item is, say, in a shop and you are thinking of buying it, hovering over the item lets you see the cards but doesn't let you right click on them. However, I did figure out that hitting space bar will pop up the cards even in the shop. So problem solved! Appreciate your reply, Jarmo.

 

Great that you solved it! That's strange, though, because for me at least right-clicking works in shops, too. You're not meant to right-click the cards, though, you right-click the item to see the large cards.

 

I've been playing for about two months now but I'll post my first impressions as I remember them.


What strikes you first when you play the game?
I thought it was really easy to get into the game. The tutorials were amazingly well done and the humor was a nice touch.

What's your overall impression?
I really liked the level of polish. The game doesn't feel like your regular flash game. There is a level of professional touch that can be seen with pretty much everything.

What do you find confusing?
Card rarity. We deal with items so cards shouldn't even have rarity because rarity is meaningless to players. It's just information that we don't really need. I found some other random things confusing as well, but that's mostly because there was so many things to take in, not because it was poorly presented.

What needs more work?
Items and card balance. Also MP needs to be more than just hunting for that purple chest. Tournaments etc. would be nice.

What do you find appealing about the game?
As a veteran of both tabletop RPG's like D&D, and online CCG's, it wasn't surprising that I was instantly hooked. I like the retro feeling of everything. I also like how the game combines ccg's and tactical things like positioning.

 

What strikes you first when you play the game?
I really like that you can learn by playing, without a lot of side education necessary to get a decent handle on gameplay and flow.

What's your overall impression?
I'm having a great time, but I'm a bit frustrated with how long it takes to pass certain levels past 4 or 5. I understand that the purpose of making it tough is to better round out your players understanding of how the different aspects of gameplay work, but when it's simply down to a few HP left and luck of the draw and you get shafted on a much needed heal or attack card, it can get pretty grrrrrr.

What do you find confusing?
Honestly, when I'm just playing against the computer in a campaign, how relevant is it that the computer can see my hand? The computer dealt my hand after all.

What needs more work?
Not really sure at this point, seems presumptuous to assume I'd know what could be better when I'm still learning teh ropes.

What's do you find appealing about the game?
I like the graphics and the storyline. Melvin is the doppelganger of a buddy from HS. Brilliant!

 

Yes, but the AI does not have to be designed to take that into account.

Imagine if you were writing a computer poker game. You want to have the computer player seem intelligent, but not to be cheating. Even though the computer deals all the cards, it would be obvious if it knew what you had. It would fold its aces every time you got a set of 2s! So the part of the program that decides what it is to do doesn't get the information on what cards you have.

In fact, this is why Obvious Manoeuvre is written the way it is. The AI is not all that clever, and cannot take advantage of seeing all your cards in the same way that a human would. So you don't get to draw another card when playing against the computer.