While I've heard many fellow players yearning for diversified graphics, I for 1 am actually okay with the single picture by type: 1) Keeps the app size small. 2) Makes it much easier for the devs to whip out new cards. 3) Allows me to instantly, at an almost subconscious level, know a cards type. I do have a wish, however, with missions to somehow work in, even if only in detailed hover text, a casual mention of the card type (so opposed to "Naval Blockade" something like "the Civic, Naval Blockade").
I have resisted upgrading to 10, but a) I getting a pro in the next few weeks and b) I'd upgrade for this. Having said that, I think if you go that route, it would be advisable to force an announcement screen in game a couple of weeks ahead of time telling people not to download the forthcoming update if they are not on iOS 10 or willing to upgrade.
I liked the game at first but it looks like the AI cheats. A lot. Also the drafting is way too luck based, making the game a glorified coin-toss. Unlocking cards is really slow too. If you have a friend to play, then this could be enjoyable, but the other game modes are just frustrating (cheating AI) and the ever present online pleyers who play all the time ( and have all the cards).
Thanks for the feedback! I won't argue about the luck part, but for the record, the AI does NOT cheat. Not at all. I know some will probably never believe me on this, but this was something I felt very strongly about while designing the AI. I put a lot of time into making it a good challenge without resorting to cheating. (I thought about making a "super hard" opponent that would be allowed to cheat, but ultimately decided against it). I wrote a post on this in the Steam forums a while back (http://steamcommunity.com/app/597970/discussions/0/135511655653676104/) but to summarize: - The AI only knows what you know. It has no bonus information. It does not know what cards are coming up, or what cards you have guaranteed, or what the RNG is going to do. - The AI does not manipulate the RNG in any way. It does not manipulate the random draw. - The AI unlocks the same number of cards that you have unlocked, chosen at random according to the same rules for opening card packs (in terms of rarity). The AI guarantees its own cards at random, which actually gives it a disadvantage because it doesn't try to gurarantee cards together into powerful combos. - The AI has no power that the human player does not have. So what is the AI good at? It's good at looking at the entire board and everything going on at the moment and factoring it all into its decision-making. It's also good at remembering what happened in previous rounds (like how many Underworld cards do I have in my city so far). The Hard AI uses all this information and makes a decision. The Normal AI uses some of this information but ignores some of it some of the time. It's kind of like a lazier version of the Hard AI that doesn't like to think as much. Both AIs are definitely beatable and some players have a really good (like 80%) win rate against them eventually. But I wouldn't call them easy. I still lose to them a lot. Perhaps the biggest advantage they have is that they are not partial to any card or strategy. They adapt better than I do. I tend to want to win a certain way based on how the game is going, and that gets me into trouble. So ultimately, the AI has no advantage over the human. EXCEPT when it comes to the Hard Challenge levels, which are designed to give the AI an unfair advantage (like better pre-placed cards or bonus VP), but these advantages are very obvious and not hidden. They are like Hearthstone's campaigns. Thanks!
Good questions and suggestions. At the moment I've got a long list of player-requested fixes and improvements to prioritize and get through, so that will probably keep me busy for a while. The more an idea gets brought up, the more likely I am to get it done sooner, so please keep sending in thoughts. I would eventually like to get back to making content (more cards and campaigns), especially since that benefits all 4 platforms. But I need to focus on stability first. Some Android users are experiencing tutorial crashes. Kongregate users (who have been playing the longest) want more balance changes and rare card-interaction fixes. Etc...
First ever posting on toucharcade forum to share two simple words about this game and its developer: f***ing fab
If you're not on iOS 10 and an app requires it in its next update then you simply can't download that update for that app...budda Bing budda boom.
I agree unlocking cards is slow (already talked about that extensively). Especially when missions involve playing against friends. But I also thought the Hard AI might be cheating at first. Then I got better at the game and I'm able to beat it more often, but still feel like it's putting up a damn good fight. Btw, Valkyrie has to be the most annoying and unfair card. Everyone is building up their trade cards in the beginning, so if the Valkyrie card gets played at any point, there's basically 100% chance it will knock out that card. And if it gets played on a later round, you don't even have control over which card is in the first position, so you're completely powerless against it.
I've been thinking about speeding up the rate of card unlocks. I actually doubled it after the Steam launch (moving from Kongregate to Steam) based on similar feedback then. This time around, I'm specifically thinking about adding rewards for Normal AI loss (Hard AI loss already has it) and Friend game loss, and maybe adding more cards to each card pack or increasing rewards overall. Let me know if anyone has thoughts on that front. Regarding Valkyries, there's a very long thread on Kongregate about overpowered and underpowered cards. It has been my primary resource whenever I have done a rebalancing (there have been 2 big ones so far and a few minor ones): http://www.kongregate.com/forums/715754-age-of-rivals/topics/695512-overpowered-and-underpowered-cards?page=1. I'm also happy to take feedback here of course.
This meme of The Cheating AI is so strange. Are people really still surprised when a computer is good at playing a game? It has perfect memory of game history and access to whatever probabilities it needs to make an optimal decision. Why, when faced with a computer that beats them, do people assume it must be cheating? If Valkyries is as good as you believe, have you tried using Arsenia to guarantee it for yourself and deny it to your opponent?
Wow! Despite my original disappointment I couldn't play this game during my plane ride, I have enjoyed Age of Rivals. What I didn't expect was for the game to be updated so soon. Now during my next flight I can play. Thanks!
I don't know what the Arsenia card is. But I'm so annoyed with Valkeries that I just quit a game against the AI when it's used. (It shows up usually in the first round.)
Arsenia is a character (I think the game calls it a "rival"). It's possible you haven't unlocked her yet, but if you have, her first slot would let you guarantee Valkyries for yourself.
Ah yes I do have her. I've just been using a different character for a different card. If I use her to guarantee it, my opponent won't get that card at all? Edit: That can't be right. Because then what happens if both players choose the same card?
If you guarantee it and they don't, there is zero chance they can draft the card, even if you pass on it. If you both guarantee it, it seems reasonable to expect both will have the chance to draft it.
