[MtGPQ] Handover Announcement

Magic:PQ Support Team
Magic:PQ Support Team ADMINISTRATORS Posts: 3,476 Chairperson of the Boards
edited September 2023 in MtGPQ General Discussion

A long-lasting legacy

Greetings everyone!

Today, we would like to share some exciting news with the community! After nearly 6 years of devoted service by Oktagon, the time has come to pass the reins over to a new development team to usher in a new era of Magic: Puzzle Quest. Introducing Webcore Games!

Who are all these new faces at Webcore Games?

With 20 years of experience covering a variety of consoles, mobile, and AR/VR games, Webcore Games released the first original Brazilian game internationally on consoles and helped pioneer F2P on PlayStation to a player base of over 10M gamers. Our achievements include two Best Brazilian Game titles and the Epic Mega Grant. Our team is known for its flexibility and senior involvement in all projects. Additionally, we’re currently licensed by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Besides our contribution to diverse soon-to-be released international titles, our own ongoing ventures include a Switch focused title, a VR game, and the live-ops of a renowned mobile title you all might be familiar with.

We understand that Magic: Puzzle Quest is a complex and intricate game, rooted in THE legendary Game Multiverse that has shaped the world of collectible card games for over 30 years.

To ensure that both the source material and our community receive the dedicated knowledge and attention they deserve, we've assembled a cherry-picked team who come equipped with a breath of knowledge perfect for the job. Not only are they experts with a wealth of experience from multiple platforms of AAA titles, but many of them have been judges at local and international Magic: the Gathering events, totaling over 30 years of combined judging experience. And most importantly, our team is united by a shared passion for Magic in all its incarnations.

Looking back there were clues…

By now, you might have cracked the clues scattered across Oktagon's official forum posts and realized they've been leading up to this important announcement. If you have, give yourself a pat on the back!

Transitioning a game as intricate as Magic: Puzzle Quest to a new studio is no small feat! This monumental shift has required us to deeply immerse ourselves in every aspect that keeps the game running. You may have noticed the side effects of this intensive onboarding process: a slower pace in bug fixes, fewer new cards and events, and other changes over the past months. But rest assured, this is all part of the process as we get fully up to speed, learning the ins and outs of the game's operations and requirements.

And as we've become more familiar with the game, our role has expanded. Our hands-on participation has increased, especially in areas the community has shown interest in for some time now. Hi Danitha!

On the Topic of Upcoming Activities

The balancing changes recently deployed are only the first of a series of efforts to catch up to the list of currently needed actions, bug fixes, improvements, and updates, including but not limited to:

Further Balancing Changes

We are pleased that the balancing actions taken on Danita, Benalia’s Hope, and Kiora, Sovereign of the Deep were well received by the community, however, we understand that there are other interactions that need to be revisited. Rest assured, these are being actively worked on. While we are not ready to disclose which interactions will be adjusted on today’s announcement, we can share that these changes are scheduled to go live with the upcoming version of the game.

Bug Fixes

We mentioned during the Balancing Changes how the bug fixing was below our usual standards due to internal restructuring, and we’re grateful for your patience and for continuing to submit your reports. With the transition now complete, we're ramping up our efforts to address lingering issues more promptly. As we ask you to understand that not all fixes are the same, with some requiring more complex work, expect a slew of fixes in the next game version (the details of which will be provided in its release notes).

Events, Matchmaking, and Ranked System Rework

Our plans to overhaul the Ranked System and Matchmaking mechanics remain firmly in place. However, these systems directly interact with other key areas of the game, such as Events, requiring some additional attention. While we can't commit to a specific date for the revision on these, be assured they are tagged as "High Priority." These should not be rushed out - we have to work diligently to ensure they not only function well individually but also harmonize with each other to elevate your gaming experience.

We Can’t Wait to Tell You All About [REDACTED]

While we're intensely focused on top-priority tasks—such as crucial bug fixes, gameplay balancing, and attention to new content—we're also brimming with excitement for what lies ahead.

To say we're enthusiastic about the game's future would be an understatement. We're actively discussing a multitude of ideas that we look forward to sharing with you when the time is right. Our ultimate goal is to not only invigorate our existing community with new and compelling experiences but also to make Magic: Puzzle Quest irresistibly engaging for those who've yet to join us.

About the Upcoming Version

We've touched on a lot of updates set to arrive with the upcoming release of version 6.3.0, and we have one more piece of content to confirm: the latest Magic: Puzzle Quest expansion, Wilds of Eldraine, will be introduced to the game. This set will contain a diverse range of cards with new and returning mechanics, including some very spicy, fan-favorite classics making their debut on Magic: Puzzle Quest. We swear this is not a fairy tale.

A comprehensive breakdown of this expansion will be shared as we approach the release date in early October.

Today has been packed with information, and we hope it has left you as excited as we are about what's in store with version 6.3.0 and beyond. We want to express our gratitude to Oktagon for their years of innovation and unwavering commitment to the community. We appreciate Oktagon's support and commitment to quality in passing the torch to ensure that the same level of care and passion for the game and its community will continue to thrive. In this process, Oktagon and 505 Go collectively have been incredibly diligent in selecting the right studio to take over the game, ensuring its continued success and growth. Rest assured we’ll do our best to uphold and build upon that legacy.

Stay tuned for more updates coming your way in the next week!

Sincerely

Webcore Games team

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Comments

  • TIMEWARP
    TIMEWARP Posts: 93 Match Maker

    Welcome Webcore team! Excited for the next steps!

  • Mainloop25
    Mainloop25 Posts: 1,961 Chairperson of the Boards

    Does this mean revolving Planeswalk will finally be fixed?? :#

  • gozmaster
    gozmaster Posts: 279 Mover and Shaker

    AWESOME! And THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Okty Crew, we appreciate all you've done over the last 6 years!

  • Janosik
    Janosik Posts: 618 Critical Contributor

    While we're intensely focused on top-priority tasks—such as crucial bug fixes, gameplay balancing, and attention to new content—we're also brimming with excitement for what lies ahead.

    Well it will be nice if this happens, although this is not the first time it's been said ;)

    Welcome Webcore! 👋

  • TheHunter
    TheHunter Posts: 325 Mover and Shaker

    Welcome Webcore and a huge thanks to Oktagon for their stewardship of this great game. Looking forward to all these changes!

  • Killroy
    Killroy Posts: 51 Match Maker

    A bittersweet moment for the community as a whole but completely understand. This marks a new chapter in the life of this game, thank you Okty for all you have done, and welcome to the show Webcore Games! Looking forward to some positive healthy changes.

  • Metroplex78
    Metroplex78 Posts: 74 Match Maker

    Please ban loop decks!

  • Metroplex78
    Metroplex78 Posts: 74 Match Maker

    @Raistlin0309 said:
    Please consider the players that have stuck by through all this and the ones still paying for VIP and getting SO many Non-dupe standard packs that are worthless. They could at least have a higher rarity percentage so we got more than 70 orbs out of them. 😅

    Glad to hear the announcement and excitement it seems your team has. Don't be afraid to reach out to a few of the MTGPQ OG's with questions or advice. There are a few players that out a TON of time into this game as well. (Goz, Julie, Oppenstomper, MainLoop, etc.) They have an excellent view of the game and also a great take on how the whole community is feeling.

    Welcome to the party!!

    I know, giving people only the latest release in the VIP non-dupe deck packs is a bad idea, this release was small and I had all the cards in no time so everytime I opened my VIP card packs(latest release only)I ended up with a bunch of worthless dupe pulls.

  • DREAMER
    DREAMER Posts: 16 Just Dropped In

    Don’t listen to them :D

  • Keyler
    Keyler Posts: 67 Match Maker

    Welcome Webcore Games and good luck in your new voyage, also thanks to Oktagon for those years and good luck for us too.
    About the news for the game in your notebook for the future, may be will we have a real draft/sealed system in puzzle quest at last? Hope yes, its my wish since the game started. Will be a very good experience and fresh game for veterans and also for newbies to starting knowing the new sets system and cards.

  • Janosik
    Janosik Posts: 618 Critical Contributor

    @Metroplex78 said:
    Please ban loop decks!

    I'm more of a control player than a combo player myself but I think it's important to recognise that there's a portion of the player base that really enjoy assembling, constructing, testing and proving combo decks.

    I think banning combo altogether would be a mistake.

    What's important is that combo decks are difficult enough to put together they they don't become ubiquitous or better than all other decks in Standard: the pieces should be of a high enough rarity and mana cost, and they shouldn't all fetch and/or pay for each other in a deck.

  • Tremayne
    Tremayne Posts: 1,693 Chairperson of the Boards

    @Janosik - I don’t see how you can restrict the components for combo/loop deck to a rarity that is hard to get, when VIP allows you to gain every card in a new set the same day or next week after a new set drops. You have to restrict it some other way.

    Of the top of my head, one solution could be to change LPS, so that when LPS triggers on Greg turn, the human player automatically wins the match. This is not fun for the non-loop player, but at least I can lay down the device and wait for me to win the match. The loop player can still make the loop deck, but he is also risking that other players can get a high score much more easily.

    A prerequisite for this idea is of course a series of changes to the game which makes it impossible for players to get a perfect score in any event is impossible. When all players are used to best place is not equal with a perfect score, no player wants to give their opponent free points.

    Furthermore, there is a huge need for changes to the user interface, those endless animations need to be removed. I have never understood why the user interface is so procedural as it is. Why not change the animations so they are a result of the aggregated result of the round? For example Damage to creatures and PW could be shown once with the totals as one number that fades away slowly. If you wonder how the result came to be, go to the log or request a procedural replay. But in most turns, you don’t need to see an animation for every damage dealt.

  • Mainloop25
    Mainloop25 Posts: 1,961 Chairperson of the Boards

    @Metroplex78 said:
    Please ban loop decks!

    Let's not do that

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