Booster Crafting Delayed (6/22/17)

LakeStone

Hi Everyone –

As most of you are aware, we announced last month that Booster Crafting is coming to Magic: Puzzle Quest. While this highly anticipated new feature is still coming to the game, we regretfully announce that the release has been delayed.

The reason for the delay is that Booster Crafting is a very complex feature that is requiring our designers and programmers to spend countless hours in making this the best possible feature and we aren’t quite there yet. Because of the complexity of the system, we need to make sure it is launched properly and to do so, we are adding new members to the team to make sure it is done right (and to fix some of the other recent bugs). These new members are helping us focus on the overall game stability and infrastructure improvements as these are both prerequisites in order to create the best possible experience with Booster Crafting.

So what should we expect before Booster Crafting?
The next big milestone is the release of the new card set: Hour of Devastation (HOU). This set is going to be awesome and will contain a ton of cards. New Planeswalkers and new events tied to HOU are incoming as well.

Many improvements are on the way including:

• Improvement of the Event Deck flow
• Ability to search cards per Evergreen or Keywords.
• Ability to know where to find a card in the game via the Cards Finder
• Lots of other improvements and bug fixes are coming as well

The HOU update will be launched shortly after the TCG release.

For now, if you are saving your duplicate cards for Booster Crafting, we recommend you continue to do so. We still plan on sharing more details before we go live later this summer, including the conversion numbers, so you can decide which route is best for you.

Thank you for your patience and for playing Magic: Puzzle Quest.

- The Team at D3 Go! and Hibernum

babar3355

@lakestone Are you guys still determining how the system is going to function?  Are we going to be able to target specific cards?  Do conversion tokens correspond to the rarity of the card converted? etc?

I understand delaying, but was wondering if we could at least get an idea of what to expect.

majincob

I don't mind if they take their time to get it right. Hopefully they are taking our feedback into consideration.

Thanks for the heads up on the expected release schedule change!

I hope the pack opening bug is on the shortlist for fixing. Opening multiple packs is a nightmare right now.

GrizzoMtGPQ

Booster crafting. Vague, and yet clearly implying that it is not CARD crafting. Reserving the element of duplicity. Such that you can open a booster and get some dupes, craft those dupes into crafting tokens, buy a booster with those crafting tokens, and get more dupes. See they SOLVED the dupe problem. Clever, no?

Brigby

@babar3355
I know I'm not Lakestone, but at the moment we don't have any communicable information to announce. Due to the delay, it's possible details might change, so we want to make sure the information we do end up providing is guaranteed to be implemented.

@majincob
The pack opening bug is anticipated to be fixed in the 2.2.0 patch update. If you have experienced that issue, please reach out to Customer Support for assistance. Thanks!

GrizzoMtGPQ

@Brigby any idea when 2.2.0 might come out or when details on what else will be in 2.2.0?

madwren

Thanks for communicating the delay!

That being said, the thought that all "details could change" seems a bit disingenuous. Maybe the exact ratio of crafting components might, sure.  However, in order to design a system, there has to be a goal. They are not designing in a vacuum, wondering where their coding is aimlessly taking them, and being surprised at the result.

"Hey guys--the weirdest thing happened! I was just testing the system, and it turns out that players are guaranteed a non-duplicate card when they open their crafted pack/card!"

"No way? How'd that happen?"

"I don't know!"

I think it's time for all of us to realize/accept that we're just going to be crafting more lottery tickets, and generating more dupes from our dupes.

PersonMan

Since things are still up in the air, I just wanted to reiterate my two real concerns:

1) if you get a duplicate Mythic or Masterpiece when you spend 400 unobtainium, there should be some way for you to get a non-duplicate Mythic or Masterpiece from a Standard block without having to spend additional resources.  (For example, it shouldn't convert to the equivilent of 300 unobtainium worth of crafting tokens, and Mythics/Masterpieces from the Standard Kaladesh block shouldn't convert to Unrestricted format cards from other blocks you can't use in most events). 

2) This overlaps with number one, but in general, cards from the Standard Origins/Kaladesh/Aether blocks should convert to tokens or cards from their blocks, and not tokens/cards from Unrestricted format cards, because Unrestricted cards are mostly useless, and it makes it much more difficult for you to get new cards from those respective blocks. 

Brigby

@madwren
I am merely expressing the fact that I currently do not have any new, definitive information pertaining to Booster Crafting. I am not a designer/developer, so there are development details I do not have access to until it nears completion.

Apologies if I seem less than sincere though, especially with the "details may change" line. That was not my intention.

madwren

Sorry, Brigby, it isn't you I'm frustrated with. I realize you can only give the information to which you're privy. As indicated, I just think there are certain design goals that COULD be shared with us (and with you) that would at least give people a clear idea of what to expect.  Instead, we're continually kept in the dark.

ElfNeedsFood

A thirty second video showing what a draft idea of what the new system could potentially look like would go a long way. Talk about crafting tokens generically without even giving the trade-in ratio. 

naphomci

Is anyone surprised this got delayed? 

On a slightly less cynical note, this means probably not until August at the earliest right? If this is now slotted for after HoU, which probably won't be until mid-July, at earliest, it'll be, what, another month at least?

babar3355

Brigby said:

@babar3355
I know I'm not Lakestone, but at the moment we don't have any communicable information to announce. Due to the delay, it's possible details might change, so we want to make sure the information we do end up providing is guaranteed to be implemented.

I get that @Brigby, but I think D3 could take a big clue from wizards.  Spoil stuff with purpose.  If you say something is exciting it better be exciting.  If you tell people you are "adjusting the packs to give people more access to rare cards" but mean you are reducing their probability of getting rare or better cards... Well the community won't be happy.  If wizards decides to nerf drop rates they explain why rather than hyping how awesome it will be.

damonsteine

so, they want us to gather even more dupes.... 

Delnai

I for one don't really mind being in the dark about crafting. The relevant thing is that I'm not handicapping myself hoarding dupes for completely no reason. This seems plenty "purpose" enough for what they told us, and I'm glad they did. 

Houdin

Am i the only one who sees this as another load of tinykitty by d3? 
I mean lets look at this. The not another dime movement was gathering quite a bit of support, then suddenly we are told booster crafting is coming and are biggest complaint about dupes will be solved.
Everyone cheered. Hope was restored.
Then slowly the initial comments were retracted to the point we are all pretty sure now that this will be just another piece of tinykitty system to tinykitty us out of even more resources.
I mean really how hard would it be to make a simpke statement that booster crafting will garauntee new cards? 
Its fairly obvious that the fact @brigby or @lakestone wont make that comment is because we will he trading all of our hard earned cards for just more duplicates.
And then of course, a week before this was to drop, suddenly its pushed back by months.
Unless you have the most incompetant staff in the entire world, or you never planned to actually release something when you said you would (i know which one i think it is) drop dates are never pushed back that far. Perhaps a few days or even a week. Months? I mean seriously,how stupid do you rewlly rhink we are.
Well D3, here we go again.
Not. Another. Dime!!!!

hawkyh1

booster crafting is a delicate feature. be too generous
in allowing players to get new cards and they have
little to look forward to and also decks soon feels too
similar. not being generous enough and it becomes a
not so useful feature like the deck slots. once players
are allowed to gain new cards there's no way of taking
that back for cards that are already given. I think they
are being careful in exactly how they plan to implement
it.

HH

madwren

hawkyh1 said:

booster crafting is a delicate feature. be too generous
in allowing players to get new cards and they have
little to look forward to and also decks soon feels too
similar. not being generous enough and it becomes a
not so useful feature like the deck slots. once players
are allowed to gain new cards there's no way of taking
that back for cards that are already given. I think they
are being careful in exactly how they plan to implement
it.

HH

They don't need to specify how generous they're going to be, or what the exchange rate is. They simply need to specify if exchanging our duplicates will potentially result in more duplicates. That's it. Nothing complex, nothing indelicate.

It is impossible to have designed a system without them knowing the answer to that one simple question.

Mickleberry

I'm not terribly upset with the delay. Sure: I wish it was coming this month, but, whatever...

What WOULD make me incredibly angry is if the booster crafting feature is implemented behind our backs with no knowledge of how it will impact the players.

Whenever the devs do decide to release this change, there needs to first be an announcement that is both transparent and comprehensive in how this system works. It needs to come in long enough advance (at least a week) so that players can make an informed decision whether to convert their dupes to runes or to wait for the crafting system to become part of the game.

@Brigby
Will the devs be willing to give such an announcement in order to empower players with a more informed decision whether to convert hoarded dupes to runes or to wait it out if they so desired?

hawkyh1

madwren said:

hawkyh1 said:

booster crafting is a delicate feature. be too generous
in allowing players to get new cards and they have
little to look forward to and also decks soon feels too
similar. not being generous enough and it becomes a
not so useful feature like the deck slots. once players
are allowed to gain new cards there's no way of taking
that back for cards that are already given. I think they
are being careful in exactly how they plan to implement
it.

HH

They don't need to specify how generous they're going to be, or what the exchange rate is. They simply need to specify if exchanging our duplicates will potentially result in more duplicates. That's it. Nothing complex, nothing indelicate.

It is impossible to have designed a system without them knowing the answer to that one simple question.

duplicates exchanged for more duplicates is a way
of varying/controlling/capping the exchange rate for
players with a lot more duplicates than most other
players. maybe they have yet to decide how the
system should affect these players.

HH 

shteev

madwren said:

It is impossible to have designed a system without them knowing the answer to that one simple question.

I dunno, they have some pretty talented designers working on this game.