S.H.I.E.L.D. Intercept Changes *Update (1/16/17)

Pants1000

I've been getting 500 ISO a lot since the patch. Did that replace 250 ISO, or just another option?

mega ghost

Some notes:

1) I wasn't exactly keeping track, but I did get several intercepts in a row, including 2,000 ISO, 1,000 ISO, a Heroic token, and an Elite token. So far this is in line with good runs I've experienced previously, but if it happens again right off the bat tomorrow, I'll note it as an improvement.
2) I don't know what the complaints are with Elite tokens. Heroic tokens are essentially garbage past the 2-to-3* transition. They offer roughly a 4.1% chance at a 4*, a 24.6% chance at a 3*, and a 70.2% chance at a 2* (I know that doesn't add up to 100%, but I'm going off the numbers on their info screen, which may need updating.) I don't have an Elite token on hand to look at the pull rates, but assuming the 2* rates are the same, that means there's roughly a 30% chance to pull a 3*, which is an improvement over Heroics. But most notably, while the game is still stingy with Heroic tokens, they give out Elite tokens like candy, comparatively. So while the 3* pull rate is only slightly better, because I get many more Elite tokens than Heroic tokens, I end up with way more 3* covers from Elites than Heroics.

hodayathink

TLCstormz wrote:

Like someone already said, this clearly FEELS like just another nerf.

Too many people getting the 1,000 Iso intercept? 250 Iso is added in and becomes the #1 most frequent reward.

Too many people getting the Heroic Token intercept ( with chance of a 4* ) ? Elite Tokens ( with NO chance of a 4* ) are added in.

*sigh

Without actually knowing the frequency of any of the Intercept rewards, we can't know whether this is a buff or a nerf. Elite tokens are worth more than 250 ISO, and arguably more than 10HP (which I've gotten more than a few times), so if we get them in place of that, it's a buff.

mega ghost

3) Who are you Steam players? Why would you play this game on your computer or TV? Do you not own smartphones? And if you do, you do realize you can play in more than one location, right? When I'm busy, I play this game the most on my phone in three scenarios: I'm in bed waking up first thing in the morning, I'm on the toilet, or I'm in the middle of something else but waiting for something (a train, the bus, to get home, in my kitchen with something cooking, at my computer waiting for a file to upload, download, etc.)

Things to consider:

-No developer is going to choose to diminish a game experience for one platform over the other, due to their own preference or laziness. If they haven't developed a feature or update for a specific platform, it's due to the platform itself.
-Developing for multiple platforms requires completely different builds of the app for each one. This requires different teams of developers. Different coding. Different art / skins / UI. Every time here is an update or change, it has to be created for and pushed to each unique platform. This can be very expensive.
-If a platform has a small userbase, this effort and expense is just not worth it, financially.
-More often than not, platforms simply have limitations or rules inherent to them that prevent certain features.

Acting like you've been slighted by the developers is simply missing the point.

mega ghost

So, while I don't know the exact reason for a lack of intercepts on Steam, it's pretty safe to assume it's either a limitation of the platform/service itself, or due to the cost vs. userbase size (if it'll cost them $10K to launch and they've earned about $500 from your platform this year, it's just not in the cards.) But really, it's still more likely that it's the former versus the latter. Steam users complaining about not having intercepts while other platforms do is like a landlocked city complaining to the national government that they don't have any beaches while coastal cities do.

smkspy

mega ghost wrote:

Some notes:

1) I wasn't exactly keeping track, but I did get several intercepts in a row, including 2,000 ISO, 1,000 ISO, a Heroic token, and an Elite token. So far this is in line with good runs I've experienced previously, but if it happens again right off the bat tomorrow, I'll note it as an improvement.
2) I don't know what the complaints are with Elite tokens. Heroic tokens are essentially garbage past the 2-to-3* transition. They offer roughly a 4.1% chance at a 4*, a 24.6% chance at a 3*, and a 70.2% chance at a 2* (I know that doesn't add up to 100%, but I'm going off the numbers on their info screen, which may need updating.) I don't have an Elite token on hand to look at the pull rates, but assuming the 2* rates are the same, that means there's roughly a 30% chance to pull a 3*, which is an improvement over Heroics. But most notably, while the game is still stingy with Heroic tokens, they give out Elite tokens like candy, comparatively. So while the 3* pull rate is only slightly better, because I get many more Elite tokens than Heroic tokens, I end up with way more 3* covers from Elites than Heroics.

Your mileage may vary. I've pulled plenty of 4s with heroics, so losing that small percentage chance just doesn't make an elite has an improvement to me. Just another case of reward dilution adding them.

mega ghost

smkspy wrote:

Your mileage may vary. I've pulled plenty of 4s with heroics, so losing that small percentage chance just doesn't make an elite has an improvement to me. Just another case of reward dilution adding them.

I might pull one 4* cover a month from a Heroic token. I'm at the point where I have most of my 3* characters champed and about 10 of my 4* characters champed. I don't have enough roster spots to farm 2* characters (I'm trying to make room for that), so really I'm happier getting a reliable supply of 3* covers to feed my champion rewards and getting my 4* covers from CP and LT. Because I easily get Elite tokens at a rate of 4 to 1 to Heroic tokens (if not better), they've been a much better source of 3* covers for me.

Alsmir

mega ghost wrote:

3) Who are you Steam players? Why would you play this game on your computer or TV? Do you not own smartphones? And if you do, you do realize you can play in more than one location, right? When I'm busy, I play this game the most on my phone in three scenarios: I'm in bed waking up first thing in the morning, I'm on the toilet, or I'm in the middle of something else but waiting for something (a train, the bus, to get home, in my kitchen with something cooking, at my computer waiting for a file to upload, download, etc.)

Things to consider:

-No developer is going to choose to diminish a game experience for one platform over the other, due to their own preference or laziness. If they haven't developed a feature or update for a specific platform, it's due to the platform itself.
-Developing for multiple platforms requires completely different builds of the app for each one. This requires different teams of developers. Different coding. Different art / skins / UI. Every time here is an update or change, it has to be created for and pushed to each unique platform. This can be very expensive.
-If a platform has a small userbase, this effort and expense is just not worth it, financially.
-More often than not, platforms simply have limitations or rules inherent to them that prevent certain features.

Acting like you've been slighted by the developers is simply missing the point.

Thanks for being as ignorant as the devs.

I happened to hear about MPQ, while watching a Youtube video, on a channel that mostly covers PC games. By the time I realised that there is mobile version, my account was 3-4 months old. Maybe 2 months later I finally decided that installing an app will be more convinient, but I was shocked that my progress didn't transfer between platforms. I had no problem playing Hearthstone on my PC and phone, with the same account, same decks etc.
Only MPQ was forcing me to start from scratch and after spending 6 months, collecting covers (and spending money) there was no way I'd do this.

If they don't care about Steam users, they shouldn't have made Steam version in the first place. If they keep updating it, and I can make in-game purchases via Steam I expect full support or at least let me transfer my account to mobile app.

mega ghost

Alsmir wrote:

mega ghost wrote:

3) Who are you Steam players? Why would you play this game on your computer or TV? Do you not own smartphones? And if you do, you do realize you can play in more than one location, right? When I'm busy, I play this game the most on my phone in three scenarios: I'm in bed waking up first thing in the morning, I'm on the toilet, or I'm in the middle of something else but waiting for something (a train, the bus, to get home, in my kitchen with something cooking, at my computer waiting for a file to upload, download, etc.)

Things to consider:

-No developer is going to choose to diminish a game experience for one platform over the other, due to their own preference or laziness. If they haven't developed a feature or update for a specific platform, it's due to the platform itself.
-Developing for multiple platforms requires completely different builds of the app for each one. This requires different teams of developers. Different coding. Different art / skins / UI. Every time here is an update or change, it has to be created for and pushed to each unique platform. This can be very expensive.
-If a platform has a small userbase, this effort and expense is just not worth it, financially.
-More often than not, platforms simply have limitations or rules inherent to them that prevent certain features.

Acting like you've been slighted by the developers is simply missing the point.

Thanks for being as ignorant as the devs.

I happened to hear about MPQ, while watching a Youtube video, on a channel that mostly covers PC games. By the time I realised that there is mobile version, my account was 3-4 months old. Maybe 2 months later I finally decided that installing an app will be more convinient, but I was shocked that my progress didn't transfer between platforms. I had no problem playing Hearthstone on my PC and phone, with the same account, same decks etc.
Only MPQ was forcing me to start from scratch and after spending 6 months, collecting covers (and spending money) there was no way I'd do this.

If they don't care about Steam users, they shouldn't have made Steam version in the first place. If they keep updating it, and I can make in-game purchases via Steam I expect full support or at least let me transfer my account to mobile app.

Unless I actually am ignorant, you're completely wrong. You can sync your account across all platforms, and even play on multiple platforms at once. I've personally switched from Android to iOS. They do make you play a couple of quick prologue matches again, if I recall, but once you're past that (a 15-minute time investment?) you're good to go. This may require that you have your data backed up to Facebook, but I can't say for sure.

Edit: Or is there still no account linking between mobile and PC? And if you can't play on both platforms simultaneously, can't customer service at least make the transfer between the two platforms for you?

Vhailorx

hodayathink wrote:

TLCstormz wrote:

Like someone already said, this clearly FEELS like just another nerf.

Too many people getting the 1,000 Iso intercept? 250 Iso is added in and becomes the #1 most frequent reward.

Too many people getting the Heroic Token intercept ( with chance of a 4* ) ? Elite Tokens ( with NO chance of a 4* ) are added in.

*sigh

Without actually knowing the frequency of any of the Intercept rewards, we can't know whether this is a buff or a nerf. Elite tokens are worth more than 250 ISO, and arguably more than 10HP (which I've gotten more than a few times), so if we get them in place of that, it's a buff.

But isn't that actually the point. This announcement doesn't actually contain any of the information that players need. It's Schrodinger's Intercept Change. It could be good, or it could be bad. But we don't have the data necessary to resolve the superposition.

(author's note: I am not a physicist; I apologize for abusing physics with this post)

revskip

mega ghost wrote:

Alsmir wrote:

mega ghost wrote:

3) Who are you Steam players? Why would you play this game on your computer or TV? Do you not own smartphones? And if you do, you do realize you can play in more than one location, right? When I'm busy, I play this game the most on my phone in three scenarios: I'm in bed waking up first thing in the morning, I'm on the toilet, or I'm in the middle of something else but waiting for something (a train, the bus, to get home, in my kitchen with something cooking, at my computer waiting for a file to upload, download, etc.)

Things to consider:

-No developer is going to choose to diminish a game experience for one platform over the other, due to their own preference or laziness. If they haven't developed a feature or update for a specific platform, it's due to the platform itself.
-Developing for multiple platforms requires completely different builds of the app for each one. This requires different teams of developers. Different coding. Different art / skins / UI. Every time here is an update or change, it has to be created for and pushed to each unique platform. This can be very expensive.
-If a platform has a small userbase, this effort and expense is just not worth it, financially.
-More often than not, platforms simply have limitations or rules inherent to them that prevent certain features.

Acting like you've been slighted by the developers is simply missing the point.

Thanks for being as ignorant as the devs.

I happened to hear about MPQ, while watching a Youtube video, on a channel that mostly covers PC games. By the time I realised that there is mobile version, my account was 3-4 months old. Maybe 2 months later I finally decided that installing an app will be more convinient, but I was shocked that my progress didn't transfer between platforms. I had no problem playing Hearthstone on my PC and phone, with the same account, same decks etc.
Only MPQ was forcing me to start from scratch and after spending 6 months, collecting covers (and spending money) there was no way I'd do this.

If they don't care about Steam users, they shouldn't have made Steam version in the first place. If they keep updating it, and I can make in-game purchases via Steam I expect full support or at least let me transfer my account to mobile app.

Unless I actually am ignorant, you're completely wrong. You can sync your account across all platforms, and even play on multiple platforms at once. I've personally switched from Android to iOS. They do make you play a couple of quick prologue matches again, if I recall, but once you're past that (a 15-minute time investment?) you're good to go. This may require that you have your data backed up to Facebook, but I can't say for sure.

Edit: Or is there still no account linking between mobile and PC? And if you can't play on both platforms simultaneously, can't customer service at least make the transfer between the two platforms for you?

CS is unwilling or unable to migrate accounts. Not sure which is the case but in either case Steam users are hosed.

I'd like to see them come up with something for the Steam users but since they represent a tiny minority of the user-base I doubt it will happen. Which sucks for them but at least they get a much nicer UI. Not that I would trade Intercepts for the vastly superior UI, loot is loot but the interface on Steam really is better laid out and has more info, better graphics etc.

mega ghost

revskip wrote:

CS is unwilling or unable to migrate accounts. Not sure which is the case but in either case Steam users are hosed.

I'd like to see them come up with something for the Steam users but since they represent a tiny minority of the user-base I doubt it will happen. Which sucks for them but at least they get a much nicer UI. Not that I would trade Intercepts for the vastly superior UI, loot is loot but the interface on Steam really is better laid out and has more info, better graphics etc.

Ah, see that detail I was ignorant of. Doing some drunken Googling now, it seems like there is a division between Steam / console users and mobile / everyone else? Is that accurate? And that the console game is a purchased game with expansions, versus the free-to-play mobile version that also tries to get you to spend money. If these are in fact two separate player universes working with different pay models, then console players not having intercepts isn't a disadvantage, since they're never competing with people that do. Plus y'all have Iron Patriot! I forgot about that.

hodayathink

Vhailorx wrote:

hodayathink wrote:

TLCstormz wrote:

Like someone already said, this clearly FEELS like just another nerf.

Too many people getting the 1,000 Iso intercept? 250 Iso is added in and becomes the #1 most frequent reward.

Too many people getting the Heroic Token intercept ( with chance of a 4* ) ? Elite Tokens ( with NO chance of a 4* ) are added in.

*sigh

Without actually knowing the frequency of any of the Intercept rewards, we can't know whether this is a buff or a nerf. Elite tokens are worth more than 250 ISO, and arguably more than 10HP (which I've gotten more than a few times), so if we get them in place of that, it's a buff.

But isn't that actually the point. This announcement doesn't actually contain any of the information that players need. It's Schrodinger's Intercept Change. It could be good, or it could be bad. But we don't have the data necessary to resolve the superposition.

(author's note: I am not a physicist; I apologize for abusing physics with this post)

To declare that something is bad because "it feels bad" without any proof of it actually being bad is, at best, thoroughly annoying. The honest truth is that we know there's a general prize pool that contains a bunch of different options (1000 ISO, 250 ISO, 2000 ISO, 100HP, 25HP, 10HP, Heroic Token, 1CP, and maybe one or two other ones I'm forgetting). Elite tokens are being added do that pool with nothing being taken away (as far as we can tell). I just don't get why that needs to be met with disdain, since it's not like Elite tokens are a terrible prize and they aren't "replacing" anything.

mega ghost

mega ghost wrote:

2) I don't know what the complaints are with Elite tokens. Heroic tokens are essentially garbage past the 2-to-3* transition. They offer roughly a 4.1% chance at a 4*, a 24.6% chance at a 3*, and a 70.2% chance at a 2* (I know that doesn't add up to 100%, but I'm going off the numbers on their info screen, which may need updating.) I don't have an Elite token on hand to look at the pull rates, but assuming the 2* rates are the same, that means there's roughly a 30% chance to pull a 3*, which is an improvement over Heroics. But most notably, while the game is still stingy with Heroic tokens, they give out Elite tokens like candy, comparatively. So while the 3* pull rate is only slightly better, because I get many more Elite tokens than Heroic tokens, I end up with way more 3* covers from Elites than Heroics.

I just got some Elite tokens and checked the pull rates in the info. The 3* rate actually stays the same, and the 2* rate eats up the difference, at 75.4% (jumping up from 70.2%.) So I was wrong! But that said, my last point stands: we get way more Elite tokens as rewards than we do Heroic tokens, so at the end of the day we get more 3* covers from the Elite pool.

kidicarus

mega ghost wrote:

revskip wrote:

CS is unwilling or unable to migrate accounts. Not sure which is the case but in either case Steam users are hosed.

I'd like to see them come up with something for the Steam users but since they represent a tiny minority of the user-base I doubt it will happen. Which sucks for them but at least they get a much nicer UI. Not that I would trade Intercepts for the vastly superior UI, loot is loot but the interface on Steam really is better laid out and has more info, better graphics etc.

Ah, see that detail I was ignorant of. Doing some drunken Googling now, it seems like there is a division between Steam / console users and mobile / everyone else? Is that accurate? And that the console game is a purchased game with expansions, versus the free-to-play mobile version that also tries to get you to spend money. If these are in fact two separate player universes working with different pay models, then console players not having intercepts isn't a disadvantage, since they're never competing with people that do. Plus y'all have Iron Patriot! I forgot about that.

steam users play with/against mobile users. Console users are in a different universe altogether.

So yes us steam users are disadvantaged as we compete against users who potentially have a 7k daily iso advantage.

I personally play on a touchscreen enabled laptop so I can use it anywhere - including while sitting on the loo.

mega ghost

kidicarus wrote:

mega ghost wrote:

revskip wrote:

CS is unwilling or unable to migrate accounts. Not sure which is the case but in either case Steam users are hosed.

I'd like to see them come up with something for the Steam users but since they represent a tiny minority of the user-base I doubt it will happen. Which sucks for them but at least they get a much nicer UI. Not that I would trade Intercepts for the vastly superior UI, loot is loot but the interface on Steam really is better laid out and has more info, better graphics etc.

Ah, see that detail I was ignorant of. Doing some drunken Googling now, it seems like there is a division between Steam / console users and mobile / everyone else? Is that accurate? And that the console game is a purchased game with expansions, versus the free-to-play mobile version that also tries to get you to spend money. If these are in fact two separate player universes working with different pay models, then console players not having intercepts isn't a disadvantage, since they're never competing with people that do. Plus y'all have Iron Patriot! I forgot about that.

steam users play with/against mobile users. Console users are in a different universe altogether.

So yes us steam users are disadvantaged as we compete against users who potentially have a 7k daily iso advantage.

I personally play on a touchscreen enabled laptop so I can use it anywhere - including while sitting on the loo.

If Steam users are playing in the same universe as mobile users, and their build offers the same store / pay / in-game currency mechanics, etc., then I can still understand why the platform might not support the intercept feature or how the economy of it is just prohibitive... but it bewilders me as to why you wouldn't be able to sync with other devices and/or be able to migrate your account to a mobile device. Has there ever been any official word on this?

Bloody_Marvel

Honestly, must we really find the negative in every improvement being made to the game?

Yes, it's unfortunate that push ads aren't allowed in Steam games. (Note: Allowed, it's not by choice). Yes, it would be nice if an alternative was offered for Steam players. But does that mean the devs can't make improvements to the mobile game?

Every change they've made has been to improve the game. Sometimes the improvement doesn't work as well as they hoped (like the new leveling system), or it introduces bugs which weren't encountered or caught during testing (and, yes, they do test the new options, though regression testing can use some expansion/improvement).

Need I remind everyone of what D3Go! has done over the past year?
- removed 20 Iso-8 rewards (and improved other rewards)
- increased alliance participation rewards from 10 to 100 Iso-8 per player
- introduced champions
- introduced Shield Clearance Levels
- introduced more bonusses
- introduced more vaults

And before you start the discussion that they're just "money grabbing", they are still running a business. Employees need to be paid, servers need to be maintained, and profits need to be made. The choice is still yours if you spend money on the game or not.

Can we try and be a little more positive please?

zulux21

Bloody Marvel wrote:

Honestly, must we really find the negative in every improvement being made to the game?

Yes, it's unfortunate that push ads aren't allowed in Steam games. (Note: Allowed, it's not by choice). Yes, it would be nice if an alternative was offered for Steam players. But does that mean the devs can't make improvements to the mobile game?

while yes they can't merely put push ads in the steam version, there is still not any decent reason why they can't make it a VIP exclusive feature that grants extra rewards like it does on the mobile version. the coding is all there for the mobile version, and since they keep all the versions up to date it really can't be that hard to implement that VIP perk on steam. As it stands mobile versions get vastly more VIP benefits for the same price. and I mean sure, maybe by purely the steam numbers they don't seem to think it is worth the effort... but at the every least I have talked a number of people out of trying the game since this just because they are willing to treat part of their player base so much worse than the rest.

and given that steam users play against the mobile users... yes... that really does mean they shouldn't make improvements to the mobile game in regards to giving out extra resources. They offer no options for steam users to keep up, no options to let steam users obtain the rewards even in the way of one time migration to mobile. really there are a ton of ways they could fix this, but they have taken no steps to even try.

at the very least they should have made the token effort to at least not push this darn message to steam users as well to just rub it in their face that they are neglecting them still.

Bloody_Marvel

zulux21 wrote:

while yes they can't merely put push ads in the steam version, there is still not any decent reason why they can't make it a VIP exclusive feature that grants extra rewards like it does on the mobile version. the coding is all there for the mobile version, and since they keep all the versions up to date it really can't be that hard to implement that VIP perk on steam. As it stands mobile versions get vastly more VIP benefits for the same price. and I mean sure, maybe by purely the steam numbers they don't seem to think it is worth the effort... but at the every least I have talked a number of people out of trying the game since this just because they are willing to treat part of their player base so much worse than the rest.

and given that steam users play against the mobile users... yes... that really does mean they shouldn't make improvements to the mobile game in regards to giving out extra resources. They offer no options for steam users to keep up, no options to let steam users obtain the rewards even in the way of one time migration to mobile. really there are a ton of ways they could fix this, but they have taken no steps to even try.

at the very least they should have made the token effort to at least not push this darn message to steam users as well to just rub it in their face that they are neglecting them still.

And I'm fully with you on that they should really do something to compensate the Steam players.

Every time a change is announced the negative, uninformed, and even downright hateful comments immediately pop up .

Comments like these, for instance, are they really necessary?

TLCstormz wrote:

Like someone already said, this clearly FEELS like just another nerf.

Too many people getting the 1,000 Iso intercept? 250 Iso is added in and becomes the #1 most frequent reward.

Too many people getting the Heroic Token intercept ( with chance of a 4* ) ? Elite Tokens ( with NO chance of a 4* ) are added in.

*sigh

ClydeFrog76 wrote:

Looking forward to 20 ISO making a comeback in a future Intercept update!

Brigby clearly mentioned the frequency of intercepts is going up, and more intercepts awards are added, and while an Elite token may not be as nice as a Heroic token, it's better than 250 Iso-8.

I have the greatest respect for Brigby. He's doing his utter best to keep us informed, and all he keeps getting is flack from the community.

zulux21

Bloody Marvel wrote:

Every time a change is announced the negative, uninformed, and even downright hateful comments immediately pop up .

Comments like these, for instance, are they really necessary?

TLCstormz wrote:

Like someone already said, this clearly FEELS like just another nerf.

Too many people getting the 1,000 Iso intercept? 250 Iso is added in and becomes the #1 most frequent reward.

Too many people getting the Heroic Token intercept ( with chance of a 4* ) ? Elite Tokens ( with NO chance of a 4* ) are added in.

*sigh

ClydeFrog76 wrote:

Looking forward to 20 ISO making a comeback in a future Intercept update!

Brigby clearly mentioned the frequency of intercepts is going up, and more intercepts awards are added, and while an Elite token may not be as nice as a Heroic token, it's better than 250 Iso-8.

I have the greatest respect for Brigby. He's doing his utter best to keep us informed, and all he keeps getting is flack from the community.

they aren't necessary, and people should be happy about positive changes... obviously in this thread you have us bitter steam players lol.

I would argue though that right now most people are unhappy with them merely because they have repeatedly messed things up with the updates, most of which should have been found with simple testing.

really they need to hire some beta testers. let them test the patch for a day before they send it off. Heck they could even do something simple like just give them VIP on their account as a reward as it wouldn't unbalance their rewards, and ideally some of these big bugs won't happen in the future.

I am appreciative of Brigby as well. a new fish in a very angry pond, and he seems to be swimming still