Need better tutorial or rulebook for small details

Discussion in 'Feedback and Suggestions' started by IonDragonX, Sep 26, 2013.

  1. IonDragonX

    IonDragonX Kobold

    I read this in another thread....

    It came as a surprise because it isn't an obvious rule. There needs to be a way to teach new players ALL of the rules somehow.

    For example : I had no idea why Melvelous was casting a spell on his allies that refreshed one "action point". I had NEVER HEARD of an action point in the game. I started to realize that one member in a group of enemies could play one attack per turn.... but I had NEVER been INSTRUCTED that that was the case....
    :(
    I do like the game, of course, but it is disappointing to be "out of the loop" here.

    These are the sort of things that new players need to know.
     
  2. Sir Knight

    Sir Knight Sir-ulean Dragon

    In this case, the action point system is described by Gary in the level 1 tutorials. The attachment limit might also be, I'm unsure--but I do know it is mentioned in a loading tip. Much of this content, though, should be on this page:

    http://www.cardhunter.com/how-to-play-card-hunter

    This is accessible through an in-game "help" button. This guide does NOT currently mention the three attachment limit. It does explain Minions like Gary did:
    That's what you wanted, right? It just . . . doesn't use the term "action point." I'd say this needs revising.

    There was a thread somewhere for this, wasn't there?
     
  3. Aldones

    Aldones Ogre

    I second the OP's sentiment. I specifically played the game before coming here to the forum for answers because I felt it was important to point out that the game didn't feel like it was telling me enough rules at the right times, sometimes. I think it's important that a game like this do a good job telling me what I need to know without needing to visit a wiki or something, and the in-game "help" button may be the answer to my problem (if I was smart enough to look for it in the menu), but currently it only gives me:
    Error establishing a database connection

    so yeah, not a perfect system yet. :/
    certainly, it's potentially much better than nothing, but I'd like things to be even better, and this is coming from a player who's actually been enjoying learning from all the trial-and-error.

    I had a suggestion I wanted to make to help with this too, and this seems like as good of a place as any to make it.
    Instead of putting a help option in the menu, giving a "hint" during loading screens, or asking if I want a hint at the end of a loss, simply place a "Player's Manual" on the table setting to the right of my character sheets and inventory. Something opposite where my PvP characters sit when I'm not using them. Just have it sitting there like this:
    [​IMG]

    just like all the other stuff we see sitting around on the table, only this one we can open up, read, and interact with. Thus, during battles or intermissions we could consult all the less obvious rules like "you can use a walk card to change your facing without moving" and "the first player to pass goes first next round" in a setting that feels both accessible and consistent with the tabletop aesthetic.
     
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  4. Aldones

    Aldones Ogre

    As an addendum to my last suggestion, there are a couple of specific things that I'd like included in such a manual that I think would be helpful, both for the information and aesthetics.

    you guys remember these experience progression charts, right?
    [​IMG]

    Well, at first glance they might not be very important in Card Hunter. Leveling mostly just seems to grant a fixed HP increase, right?
    Well, no, it also determines how many of those orbs you can use, and the game currently seems to be very reluctant to tell me when I will begin to get them, or what color they will be.

    As a good example of why this is an issue, at around level 11 the Goblin Bazaar opened up to me as a merchant. In spite of my low level, the primary bulk of the gear that seems to be for sale there is some extremely overpowered looking stuff that requires yellow orbs to equip. One might assume that if that's what's now being offered to me in the singleplayer campaign to buy, then it must be something that I can expect my characters to use? I must say, much of that gear is quite reasonably priced, and attractive, so the urge to invest a lot of gold into acquiring it is potent. However, because I had no yellow orbs at my disposal, I wisely held off. I'm now level 14 and I still can't use that stuff, but it's been building up in my inventory from chests for quite a while now.

    I'd really like to know at what level I begin to get these skill orbs, and at what frequency. This could be solved so neatly by the inclusion of a single level progression chart, and the aesthetics of having such an oldschool tabletop accessory at hand would actually enhance this game's charm and immersion.

    One other thing that would be helpful to know that could be included:
    Exactly when the dungeon and store timers reset each day. "restocks daily" and "resets daily" doesn't tell me enough. I work a night schedule, so this is especially pertinent to players like me who want to be able to play once per day reliably. Sometimes I refresh my browser and I've just found that my dungeons are all open for play again, but I have no idea when the option to do that became available.
     
  5. Pengw1n

    Pengw1n Moderately Informed Staff Member

    Yeah, I'd be really neat if there was there was an ingame rule book - or a pdf link within the game with a downloadable one. While I think the wiki and the forums are great and awesome, it's like you say - we can't expect everyone to go there, sadly.

    Also, having timers showing on the map is a must - not sure why this hasn't been implemented, esp as they have a timer for the mp track. Just a simple clock in the corner of the sp screen would work.
     
  6. Assussanni

    Assussanni Ogre

    If you'd still like to know this information then I highly recommend the wiki. For example, the page http://wiki.cardhuntria.com/wiki/Power_Tokens has this table on it:

    Card Hunter Power Tokens.jpg

    The wiki also has HP progression tables for each race/class combo, a database of items, etc. It really is very good.

    I believe dungeons reset at 00:00 GMT, but you have to log out and log back in again to get them to reset if you're playing when it occurs. I expect this is true for the shops restocking too.
     
    Aldones likes this.
  7. Aldones

    Aldones Ogre

    I admit, it's great to finally get my hands on this information. I really appreciate this heads up.
    I can finally use this to make informed gear purchases!
    The sense of relief I find myself feeling right now, however, simply reinforces my certainty that this is absolutely the sort of chart that needs to be in the game itself.
     
    Pengw1n likes this.
  8. Sam Jones

    Sam Jones Mushroom Warrior

    There's a bunch of details like this.

    • Right click + control on an empty square gives line of sight on that square.
    • Method for searching for items with drawbacks (I don't remember it. I think Sir Knight posted it on a forum.)
    • Telling what items are guaranteed in loot by looking at the color of the chest.
    • Knowing how much experience you'll get from an adventure based on the level compared the the character level.
     
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  9. Mirkel

    Mirkel Goblin Champion

    Write "handicap" in the search bar. I found that here on the forums too, not in the game - very useful when trying to do the quests that allow only those items.
     
  10. Sir Knight

    Sir Knight Sir-ulean Dragon

    A rulebook on the table! Yes! That should totally be in the game.

    I wouldn't say "instead of" all the current systems, though. The tips upon defeat are very specific, after all, and people might want those.
     
  11. Aldones

    Aldones Ogre

    I definitely agree with you, now that I've gone back through that thread about Gary's hints after a loss. The stuff you guys contributed was all very situational, and tailored to specific trials. It probably wouldn't do in a more general setting like a "Player's guide". It's meant to sound like something specific that your friend Gary is suggesting for that particular situation, right?

    What I had in mind was more of a rulebook that gives a thorough framework, but doesn't really offer tactical advice afterwards. Just everything you need to know so there aren't any nasty surprises later down the road, or moments where you're tearing your hair out because there was something simple you always could have used, but nobody ever told you how to use it or what it's for. My personal example of this is using a movement card to change facing. I had actually convinced myself by level 9 that this wasn't possible, because I'd tried, and it turned out that in my experimentation I just wasn't clicking on the tile under my character's miniature quite right. It wasn't until I started getting hit by encumber effects that I began to notice that something was up and that movement could still be used to at least turn around.
    One little sentence in a player's guide about "movement" would have spared me all that stupidity. :)

    This would also make an interesting format for us to cruise all the cards we've unlocked at our leisure. I've noticed that this game makes a point of pointing out new cards to me each time I use one or have one used on me, and it's almost got that vibe like I'm collecting these somehow and adding them to a list. However, I can't go back and look at this list afterwards, as far as I can tell. I thought about this when I noticed that someone wanted a sort of "gear hall of fame" in their Keep that would display one of everything they've ever collected so they could admire all the stuff they had previously owned. Well, I think it might be even more useful to start a Card Catalog someplace for easy reference, and this seems like as good a place as any. Sort of like those binders TCG players keep their best cards in so they don't get damaged.
     
  12. smeata

    smeata Mushroom Warrior

    Thank you so much for pointing this out, words cannot express my gratitude. Is there any way to search for a range of values? For example, all cards with range >3? At the moment I have to search for range 3, then range 4, then range 5, etc. It would simplify things greatly if I could search for a range. Please tell me you know how to do this? Bestow your arcane knowledge upon me!
    ...I'm going to bed I think lack of sleep has caused my brain to confuse gratitude with adoration...
     
  13. Zalminen

    Zalminen Hydra

    See here:
    https://forums.cardhunter.com/threa...g-you-need-to-tell-people-how-to-use-it.1971/
    So something like this should work:
    range: [3-9]

    (Can't test it right now as I'm in a train and the connection is a bit flaky)
     
    smeata likes this.
  14. IonDragonX

    IonDragonX Kobold

    While I appreciate all the contributors to the wiki, this is just laziness of the developer to hide the rules. Everyone who makes a game should clearly explain all the rules of that game. It is just common sense.

    Nice to know. So, 7pm central time then. This would be a great thing for players to know without having to dig!
     
  15. smeata

    smeata Mushroom Warrior

    Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!


    While I do agree that an official rule book would be nice, you have to remember that they are a relatively small team who are working hard to make this game what it is. If they had to write out (and update) an official rule book they would have less time to improve the actual game.
    Instead, maybe they should just include a link to the wiki in game and add some sort of incentive to update it... not sure how that would work though.
     
  16. Sam Jones

    Sam Jones Mushroom Warrior

    Here's the conclusions I see from the discussion:
    1. The basic guide should link to the wiki.
    2. The wiki could be expanded some. It's a great resource for experts to look up items and cards, but it's not complete as a reference of the more obscure points of the game.
    I may see if I can take up 2) myself.
     
  17. Phaselock

    Phaselock Bugblatter

     

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