Q&A with Oktagon - Feb/Mar Edition (3/26/18)

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Brigby
Brigby ADMINISTRATORS Posts: 7,757 Site Admin
in MtGPQ General Discussion
Hi Everyone,

It's been a whirlwind of activity these past couple of months, and we want to thank everyone for being so patient. While Rivals of Ixalan is already available in-game, and some questions were inherently answered with the recent updates, we still wanted to take some time to provide some of the answers to questions that players had submitted back in February and March.

Without further ado, here is Pedro Rauiz Estrigarriba Gestal to answer some of your questions. Enjoy!
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Your Ixalan blog post talks about pulling cards from the latest Masters set. Will you continue having the Elite cards be playable in Standard, or will these cards be changed to reflect their actual legality of Legacy?
They will be always linked to the set they are released with. Ixalan’s masterpieces, for example, will leave Standard when the Ixalan card set does, as well.

What will Standard block look like after Rivals of Ixalan’s release?
Kaladesh and Aether Revolt will be rotating out of Standard. Since Aether Revolt was a significantly smaller set than Kaladesh as well as dependent on it, removing Kaladesh once Ixalan released would had had a negative impact on the environment. As such we decided to wait until Ixalan’s smaller set is released to remove Kaladesh block as a whole.

How will your team be handling Exclusive cards? Will they all be paid for, or can some be won in events?
As usual, Exclusive cards will join regular packs after the next set release, however some cards will be obtainable in events; case in point, The Immortal Sun in the newest Rivals of Ixalan event.

Are you planning a better way to implement Vigilance? Its current iteration is very poorly designed. Creatures with this ability might as well just have Defender.
We will be gathering feedback, regarding how you feel about the differences between tabletop Magic and MTG PQ, as the game goes on on the forums. This will definitely be on our radar.

Will we eventually be able to see the cards in the deck we’re playing against? // Can we get the option to view the graveyard / exile stack?
Right now we're unable to give you an ETA on when you will be able to see that in-game, since our priority is catching up to Wizards. However, we are aware of those limitations and plan to eventually correct them. As far as seeing the decks you are playing against, for now, we plan to release with every new PvE event, high-level-design deck information for each node.

Can we get an option to disable battle animations?
We plan to eventually add an option that allows players, particularly for experienced veterans, to skip all animations. We also plan to allow newer players an option to allow cards to remain on screen until dismissed, whenever they get focused on during battle. Right now, we are studying ways to add this to the game in a way that benefits both experienced players and newcomers alike.

Are there any improvements planned for making things better for new players? The increase in AI difficulty in particular makes starting this game harder.
The AI is currently being toned down in all content aimed at newer players. Events will continue to have a stronger AI the further into the event the encounter is. However, even then, they will never reach Ixalan’s overwhelming AI gem matching expertise.

What have you learned about game design after releasing Ixalan, and what will you be applying to the development of Rivals of Ixalan?
Mostly, we learned key differences between tabletop Magic and MTGPQ. For more information, check out our post on changes to Ixalan’s cards: 2.5 Release Notes - Card Balance Adjustments

Are there any plans to adjust the QA process, so that more issues are caught before release?
Yes. We are always looking for ways to improve our creative/development processes.

What are your plans for scaling back power creep, and where will we eventually end up on a cost per power/toughness level? // Could you share the list of cards your team thinks eventually needs re-balancing, and how can we provide feedback on them?
As far as Power/Toughness is concerned, we are aiming to be closer to AKH/HOU cards than we would Origins. We will also keep monitoring the forums to gather feedback on problematic cards (Huge payoffs with no setup required, cards that create long extending loops with little to no effort, etc...)

What cards from Ixalan are you having the most fun with?
  • Spiritmonger
  • Sanguine Bond
  • STAR OF EXTINCTION!!!
  • Search for Azcanta // Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
  • Conqueror’s Galleon // Conqueror’s Foothold
  • Dead-eye Tracker
  • Lurking Chupacabra
  • Queen’s Commission
  • Sky Terror
  • Legion Conquistador
===
We hope you enjoyed the Feb/Mar 2018 Q&A Session! Keep an eye out for the next Q&A Question Submission thread, and as always, thank you for playing Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest!
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Comments

  • DBJones
    DBJones Posts: 803 Critical Contributor
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    Yeah, mostly meh. I am glad they're working on animation reduction options though!
  • Laeuftbeidir
    Laeuftbeidir Posts: 1,841 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Well.. That was remarkably irrelevant.
    Most questions are outdated, and the answers to the "super" Q&A look less motivated and shorter than ever.
    The only pretty cool point : changes to animations. I like the direction!

    The part with the AI sounds like we'll never get smart Greg back and have to live with the lobotomized version :/
  • Kinesia
    Kinesia Posts: 1,621 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Laeuftbeidir said:
    Well.. That was remarkably irrelevant.
    Most questions are outdated, and the answers to the "super" Q&A look less motivated and shorter than ever.
    The only pretty cool point : changes to animations. I like the direction!

    The part with the AI sounds like we'll never get smart Greg back and have to live with the lobotomized version :/
    I think they don't have a aclue how to cut the cascades back to previous levels so Greg is the only bit they have control over and both together was too much for many (and linked in too many peoples heads) but if they can fix the cascades and have smart greg back for Platinum+ (+ = some new additional metric)
  • Thuran
    Thuran Posts: 456 Mover and Shaker
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    So, we basically waited two months to learn nothing new :/ this didnt feel like two months worth of Q&A
  • Mburn7
    Mburn7 Posts: 3,427 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Brigby said:

    How will your team be handling Exclusive cards? Will they all be paid for, or can some be won in events?
    As usual, Exclusive cards will join regular packs after the next set release, however some cards will be obtainable in events; case in point, The Immortal Sun in the newest Rivals of Ixalan event.

    If this is true, please fix the exclusive card issue with HOU where they are still uncraftable.

    Brigby said:

    Are there any improvements planned for making things better for new players? The increase in AI difficulty in particular makes starting this game harder.
    The AI is currently being toned down in all content aimed at newer players. Events will continue to have a stronger AI the further into the event the encounter is. However, even then, they will never reach Ixalan’s overwhelming AI gem matching expertise.

    Please rethink this.  There is a wonderful discussion and poll on this very subject here on these very forums.
    Right here in fact https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/71374/how-do-you-like-your-ai/p1
    Please look at this before making any final decisions on the AI's ability.

    Brigby said:
    What are your plans for scaling back power creep, and where will we eventually end up on a cost per power/toughness level? // Could you share the list of cards your team thinks eventually needs re-balancing, and how can we provide feedback on them?
    As far as Power/Toughness is concerned, we are aiming to be closer to AKH/HOU cards than we would Origins. We will also keep monitoring the forums to gather feedback on problematic cards (Huge payoffs with no setup required, cards that create long extending loops with little to no effort, etc...)

    Interesting strategy Cotton, lets see if it pays off!
    Brigby said:
    Will we eventually be able to see the cards in the deck we’re playing against? // Can we get the option to view the graveyard / exile stack?
    Right now we're unable to give you an ETA on when you will be able to see that in-game, since our priority is catching up to Wizards. However, we are aware of those limitations and plan to eventually correct them. As far as seeing the decks you are playing against, for now, we plan to release with every new PvE event, high-level-design deck information for each node.

    Cool.  This has been a long time coming. 

    Overall, I really hope the next Q&A is better.  This one was mostly old information and useless pandering.  Lets go back to the Q&A with real answers to our questions.

  • Coilbox
    Coilbox Posts: 202 Tile Toppler
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    For the next one:

    - Any plans on expanding the story mode with a full chapter?

    - We've been asking for ages for a revamp of the current Training grounds: Some very good ideas are: legacy/standard options, include orbs on the rewards based on victory streaks (the more victories, the better rewards..?). What do you guys think? Cause right now, after the first initial 4 victories... not much else to do there other than testing some deck ideas...

    - When BC was released you guys said that in some events we would see orbs as rewards... is this going to happen at some point...?

    - Deck slots: We BEG you to let us modify the preconstructed decks that come with each planeswalker after we complete them. I really doubt ANYONE has ever use any of these decks, please?

    Thanks.
     
  • Sarahschmara
    Sarahschmara Posts: 554 Critical Contributor
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    Oof. This feels like a huge step back in communication; it’s just things we already figured out on our own and vague double-speak. 
  • Lars
    Lars Posts: 33 Just Dropped In
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    Brigby said:

    What will Standard block look like after Rivals of Ixalan’s release?
    Kaladesh and Aether Revolt will be rotating out of Standard. Since Aether Revolt was a significantly smaller set than Kaladesh as well as dependent on it, removing Kaladesh once Ixalan released would had had a negative impact on the environment. As such we decided to wait until Ixalan’s smaller set is released to remove Kaladesh block as a whole.

    Could we have Standard rotate in the same fashion as it does in paper MTG please, so it's easier and less of a surprise to keep track of?



    I'm not suggesting the current rotation be rolled back or anything... Rishkar's Expertise in particular was most definitely too strong for Standard (Also: too strong for Legacy, but that's another thread. Also: there's cycling, but that's several other threads). Just, mirror the legal sets in Standard in the future, dropping out old sets at the time when new ones become available.
  • Gilesclone
    Gilesclone Posts: 735 Critical Contributor
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    This is very disappointing.  While I agree with all the positive comments @babar3355 lists above, it doesn’t really excuse the rather complete lack of communication that this q and a represents.
  • Coilbox
    Coilbox Posts: 202 Tile Toppler
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    babar3355 said:
    • ...and permanently eliminate take x or more damage and end with x or less objectives from the game.)...
    This little adjustment to the game... Only reading it made two tears run down my cheeks... <3
  • DumasAG
    DumasAG Posts: 719 Critical Contributor
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    FindingHeart8 said:
    Hmmm, I am not a fan of this either.

    While I maintain hope that Octagon isn't slowly turning into Hibernum (for reasons similar to what @babar3355 listed), a little more transparency would be appreciated.

    Almost everyone here as made their mark as a devoted mtgpq player, and we already knew the answer to most of these questions.  There's no need for Octagon to engage in political avoidance to save face.  I'm sure plenty of players would be sympathetic if the response was "Guys, we've been working really hard here and just need a few days to catch our breath," or "We've been trying to fix INSERT GLITCHED MECHANIC HERE but for some reason it's still not working, don't worry we'll keep trying though!"

    Just level with us here.  Most players' frustration doesn't stem from not getting results quick enough, but from feeling left out in the dark to what's really going on.
    I'm going to have to disagree with you here. People generally are used to instant gratification these days and not given to sympathy or empathy. I would imagine that should the devs actually be 100% honest about what they're dealing with, all kinds of responses from "I'm a developer, and you're obviously doing it wrong," to "why don'y you just hire more people then?" to "this is unacceptable that it takes so long. As a consumer, my money can be spent elsewhere," are going to be posted. What in the history this forum makes you think that honesty from the devs would be met with anything other than toxic vitriol by 95% of posters?

    This forum SPECIFICALLY is more critical than nearly everything else of similar ilk I've experienced. The only other forum that tops it was Solforge, right before the game closed down.
  • FindingHeart8
    FindingHeart8 Posts: 2,730 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited March 2018
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    DumasAG said:
    FindingHeart8 said:
    Hmmm, I am not a fan of this either.

    While I maintain hope that Octagon isn't slowly turning into Hibernum (for reasons similar to what @babar3355 listed), a little more transparency would be appreciated.

    Almost everyone here as made their mark as a devoted mtgpq player, and we already knew the answer to most of these questions.  There's no need for Octagon to engage in political avoidance to save face.  I'm sure plenty of players would be sympathetic if the response was "Guys, we've been working really hard here and just need a few days to catch our breath," or "We've been trying to fix INSERT GLITCHED MECHANIC HERE but for some reason it's still not working, don't worry we'll keep trying though!"

    Just level with us here.  Most players' frustration doesn't stem from not getting results quick enough, but from feeling left out in the dark to what's really going on.
    I'm going to have to disagree with you here. People generally are used to instant gratification these days and not given to sympathy or empathy. I would imagine that should the devs actually be 100% honest about what they're dealing with, all kinds of responses from "I'm a developer, and you're obviously doing it wrong," to "why don'y you just hire more people then?" to "this is unacceptable that it takes so long. As a consumer, my money can be spent elsewhere," are going to be posted. What in the history this forum makes you think that honesty from the devs would be met with anything other than toxic vitriol by 95% of posters?

    This forum SPECIFICALLY is more critical than nearly everything else of similar ilk I've experienced. The only other forum that tops it was Solforge, right before the game closed down.
    Hmmm.  I can see where from a sociocultural perspective where you have drawn these conclusions from, and have seen elements of such echoing through these threads.

    But I've also seen players express gratitude for what Octagon has achieved.

    I would still maintain that there wouldn't be further harm from the transparency.  As it stands, the general consensus is dissatisfaction from the Q&A and the feeling of being withheld information.

    If your claim is incorrect and that is what the players here truly want, then Octagon being more open could yield positive results for them and a relief to the players here.

    However, if you are correct, and Octagon's transparency is only met with more complaints and belittling, then they would have a better idea that investing time into pleasing the players in these threads is not worth the cost, as it is not a practically possible feat, and that they should invest their resources elsewhere.

    If such is indeed true, it would explain why I see Brigby less and less in these threads, and Diane not at all.

    Still though..how I see it is, either way, Octagon is in a better position for being transparent.
  • Kinesia
    Kinesia Posts: 1,621 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Regardless of the possible outcomes (which will be a mix of nice and horrible) transparency of some degree is required.
  • khurram
    khurram Posts: 1,080 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Q&A wasn't what players were expecting for a 2 months combined "super Q&A". It feels a bit rushed and some of the questions i dont think the players asked. But I still commend oktagon for making good on their word this time and posting the thread.

    Set relases are finally catching up to paper and I am hopeful that we will be right on schedule pretty soon. I am sure they are busy working on DOM right now and all the interesting mechanics it will bring. I am particularly looking forward to how they are going to implement sagas.

    So keep up the good work oktagon. Can't wait to see what exciting things you have in store for us.

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