Test Build 1.54 (9 Jan 2014)

Discussion in 'Testing' started by Jon, Jan 8, 2014.

  1. Jon

    Jon Blue Manchu Staff Member

    The first test build of the new year is here!

    There's not a huge amount in this build as we're working towards releasing new content (probably next month), but there are still some changes in here.

    The big one is probably our first in-game sale - Club membership is 25% off!

    Farbs has put some work into optimising the deck builder for those of you with large item collections.

    This build also contains the Inspiring Presence rebalance that has been hotly debated.

    And, as always, there are new MP boards and figures, this time the fiery Vulcan dwarves.

    Any testing would be much appreciated.

    Costume Store
    • Only really new figures show the new sticker.
    • Updated blister pack new sticker.
    • Removed the holiday figures from the costume store.
    • Added vulcan dwarf figures.
    Deck Builder
    • New unordered collection serialization technique, improves load times for large collections.
    • Collection display performance improvements for large collections
    • Fixed not sorting after adding an item to the inventory then scrolling.
    Multiplayer
    • Rotated in the Vulcan MP boards.
    • Fixed Winter Bridge board to be symmetric.
    AI
    • Added a new probabilistic target weakest tag to MP AI characters.
    Club
    • Club membership is on sale for 25% off.
    Shops
    • Removed the holiday store.
    Cards
    • Inspiring Presence rebalance.
    API
    • Boosting max scenario name size in metrics/api from 32 chars to 64
    • Fix an error with retrieving battle results in rest API
     
    Jayce, Jacques, Stexe and 2 others like this.
  2. Kalin

    Kalin Begat G'zok

    So another month before MM3?
     
  3. Jon

    Jon Blue Manchu Staff Member

    Probably not until Feb, yeah.
     
  4. Kalin

    Kalin Begat G'zok

    Common shops still have winter items.
     
    Farbs likes this.
  5. Jon

    Jon Blue Manchu Staff Member

    Gah.

    Fixing.
     
  6. Jon

    Jon Blue Manchu Staff Member

    Deployed 1.55. Holiday items should be gone from restocked shops. Also fixed the news text a bit.
     
  7. The new dwarf figurines remind me of squished Jaffas from Stargate. Hm... A Stargate themed map...
     
  8. Pengw1n

    Pengw1n Moderately Informed Staff Member

    Would it be possible to add a "new" filter to the costume shope? Or have all the new ones turn up as a promotional first costume page? It's good the new ones are marked - but might be hard to locate all new ones if you dont't pay attention (such as a cross species "packs" like the recent holiday one).
     
    LeisureSuitLoli and Flaxative like this.
  9. I wanted new MM content. :(
     
  10. Oh man.. the two MP maps that I saw were looking really bad. Nothing but narrow corridors and blocked terrain. If the other maps are similar, it's going to be impossible for wizards, and a field day for WW/WWE + step warriors. Those two maps look worse than Gladius maps.
     
    Flaxative likes this.
  11. Jon

    Jon Blue Manchu Staff Member

    Ha, we were talking about exactly the same thing. Unfortunately, we ran out of time.
     
    Flaxative and Pengw1n like this.
  12. Flaxative

    Flaxative Party Leader

    New maps look neat, though I can't really check their balance just by playing Gary with crap gear, and I haven't invested much time in my test account.

    New figures are fantastic, especially the wiz and priest. Nice job
     
  13. Kalin

    Kalin Begat G'zok

    What if you made item (and figure) tags for each holiday, so you can automatically swap them in and out just by changing one variable in the server? Also, you wouldn't need to manually create the holiday shop's inventory each time.

    I'd also like to be able to search my collection for holiday items I own.
     
  14. TheShadowTitan

    TheShadowTitan #3 in Spring PvP Season

    About the Club membership discount, I think you should put it at 220 or 230 because there is nothing at XX5 pizza, so you can't get anything with that 5 pizza except trade them for gold.
     
  15. Why not trade it for gold then? :) I mean it's such a small amount that it doesn't even matter. If they advertise it as 25% off, then I think it should be exactly 25%.
     
  16. KarbonKhan

    KarbonKhan Mushroom Warrior

    I'm playing warriors so gotta love the new maps. Also very good job on the dwarven figures. Played some matches and didn't see anything wrong with the build so c'mon - roll it out please.
     
  17. Yes, it's going to be great time for warriors. I currently play wizards so I probably have to skip the whole month again like I did with the Gladius maps. :)
     
  18. Pengw1n

    Pengw1n Moderately Informed Staff Member

    I believe the idea of switching maps, is to actually have to adapt - as has been mentioned before (to avoid a overall dominant deck). The devs want to encourage variation and deck building, which sounds good to me?
     
  19. Well, I could write a book about this subject but I'll try to keep it short.

    There is no deck variation with a biased maps. It's the opposite actually. With biased maps we will see less variation in decks, because everyone will play builds that perform well in those particular maps, and ignore all the other builds. You can call it "encouraging variation" or "adapting", but what it really is, is the developers influencing metagame by basically telling the players what they should and should not play during that month. For example these new maps, with low amount of squares and lots of blocking terrain, will probably heavily favor warrior builds, especially those running WW/WWE, so it's kind of like saying "hey guys, it's warrior month!". Having biased maps wouldn't be a big deal if map rotation was shorter, but a month is a long time having to use a build you do not really enjoy playing.

    If you really want to encourage variation, deck building and adaptation, what you need to do is introduce new cards, races, or other kind of new pvp content. This way we will have more options and not less. And if we want to avoid an overall dominant deck like you said, how about instead of messing around with maps, we focus on the core of the problem and simply nerf that dominant deck (as it's usually done in online games)?

    I will try the new maps when they arrive, but if wizards are at a big disadvantage, like I think they will be, then I will skip PvP for a month on principle. And to be clear, I don't want any anti-warrior maps either. What I'd like to see is maps that are different but not biased towards any class.
     
    Pilgrim Bailey likes this.
  20. KarbonKhan

    KarbonKhan Mushroom Warrior

    Hmm actually I think there is an issue with Purge not working, both in SP and MP mode, tried mutliple times and it failed to remove any attachements.
     

Share This Page