the length of a match will always depend on meta, and it can be changed with new cards. sure, but for example, correct me if i am wrong, wizards make now more profit from mtgo. so this kind of stuff is popular. so if devs will constantly update the game with new cards and feats, it can be a lot of fun.
Your not alone and I'm actually kind of sad to hear theres no offline for the very same reasons. I'm still looking forward to picking this up later+DLC but I mainly play my iTouch/iPad offline becasue, well...thats always been my preference(plus I'm always on the go frequently in and out of sleep mode on the devices).
Yep we do plan on putting in an offline mode in an update soon. Maybe even in the next update if there are enough requests for it.
Well, as far as I understand it, it is still possible to play by oneself against AI. You'd just have to be on-line to prevent cheating. Too bad that it can't be played on Touches on the public transport, at least not here in Europe, but their reasons make sense. I hope that the off-line practice mode comes soon, though. If the gameplay itself is interesting enough, rewards are secondary. And of course the training should help to do better on-line too. P.S. +1 for having the off-line practice mode in the next update.
Good to know and I hope so. Can it be done kind of the way Dungeon Defenders has there Offline/Online setup? Main reason I enjoy that game is due to the way there setup is because I can use the exact data saved offline, online very smooth.
Yes, me too! Offline would be great and I am really looking forward to play SE whenever I want! ^____^
Game Impressions While you have to be online, it seems you can earn both gold and Shadow Crystals (the two currencies used to buy cards and to buy decks/boosters, respectively) while playing against the AI, so, in essence, there is a single player mode, just like Isiel points out. I gave the actual play engine a few test runs on the homepage, and it's very nice. Matches are fun, the engine is smooth and the graphics and animations are nice, and the UI, as a whole, is rather informative, practical and pedagogic (though there is still a lot to be done to make the presentation of match information optimized). The actual game mechanics are rather simple, for a tcg, with neither the intricacies of Magic: The Gathering, nor the brilliant bluff and prediction mechanics of http://www.urban-rivals.com (also available for iPhone on similar premises, cross-platform play, trade cards, buy decks, online, etc). However, it is not as simple as to be boring. Quite on the contrary. The matches have a nice, slow flow, with lots of time for consideration, and long-term (for a card match, that is) tactical decisions. The card artwork is very high-res and *very* well-painted, but suffers from a art style that is almost the very archetype of generic fantasy art, with all the trappings of the genre: scantily clad fantasy heroines who are too stereotypical to even be sexy (and with a survivability almost as low as the cm2 of body coverage of their armor), impractically bulky armor pieces who look like they've been designed by a hedgehog with an extra penchant for spikes, generic fantasy beasts of 50% fur and 50% teeth, and absolutely no signs of any particular cultural context or macro-perspective world-crafting. All in all, I really like Shadow Era, in spite of my criticism of the artwork. The fact that I can either go head to head against other players, or keep building my deck (albeit at a slower pace) against the AI is a strong selling point, one I've often wished for in Urban Rivals. I'll definitively keep playing, and hope or tournaments, additional modes, ELO ratings, all stuff that makes the game more competitive, but also for additional world development, storylines, metaplots, etc.
Nice to see complaints about the IAPs already. FFS, You don't have to pay anything to play this game. It's easy to get all the cards you need just by leveling up in-game. Complaints about IAPs are usually pathetic, but they are especially pathetic in this case, since they aren't necessary at all.
I wouldn't use quite as strong words, but AchillesReborn is absolutely right: there is absolutely NO need for IAP to progress in Shadow Era. The FAQ claims, and what little playtesting I've one so far supports this claim, that you can even remain competitive without IAP.
Ah, yes, a longstanding gamer tradition: complaining about stuff you've literally never seen. I first ran into it in the early '80s as a D&D player ("I hear that new Fiend Folio is going to suck, bro!"). The two biggest differences now are, 1. The complainers are more vocal when it comes to electronic games, and 2. The development of internet forums, which has granted a large audience to anyone old enough to manipulate a mouse and a keyboard.
Wait, did somebody just compare Shadow Era to the rock-paper-scissors game of Urban Rivals? There is plenty of surprise and turnarounds in SE, it just comes within the confines of your own turn, rather than the constant interrupts of MTG that would kill a multiplayer game. I suggest playing a few multiplayer matches before drawing any quick conclusions about the game design. Please do compare the artwork of Shadow Era and any commercial TCG out there, I think we hold up quite well and in my opinion come out on top. (MTG Duels of the Planeswalkers comes to mind with some pretty terrible artwork)
Looks great but without an Offline Mode I'm reluctant to play. So if I buy boosters, they'll be available on both my iPhone and iPad? And if I'm playing on the train on my commute, where the network connection is intermittent, the game won't just crash out on me or anything, right? It'll just patiently await reconnection? Cheers, Jamie.
/agreed A good point on THIS kind of IAP (purchasing resources which are registered and stored in the cloud, tied to your account, and, if there is some form of local storage, compared to the server-side database on each launch) is that it is the ultimate defense against piracy, as the process is virtually unhackeable (or at least unhackeable enough to prevent the masses from doing it). It might give Shadow Era a greater chance to succeed, which any fan of the game should be happy about.
You should probably re-read my post. I explicitly stated that the "card artwork is very high-res and *very* well-painted". My criticism dealt with the originality and context of the images, not the quality of the handiwork. As for Urban Rivals being "rock-paper-scissors", I'd have to respond in kind, using your own words: "I suggest playing a few multiplayer matches before drawing any quick conclusions about the game design". Putting other games down to elevate your design is seldom an effective marketing strategy. (Rock-paper-scissors is a game of minor prediction, and an overwhelmingly large random factor. Urban Rivals, and games of similar design, are built around the concept of bluffing, and predicting, often with GREAT accuracy if you've the skill (a notable contrast to rock-paper-scissors), your opponent moves. Also, for these and many other reasons, deck building in UR is as important as in Magic, or most other TCGs. The extremely high consistency of ELO ratings in Urban Rivals should, alone, stand as a testament to the primary importance of skill and tactics.) I also praised the game quite a lot. Be sure to take away both the negative and the positive from a review. It will make your career as a developer far more rewarding. As for "the constant interrupts of MTG that would kill a multiplayer game", the inter-turn interactivity is one of the qualities that truly make MTG a good multiplayer game for many players.
It depends what cards you think are un-original. I think the elemental class is pretty unique in a TCG, for example. But of course it is a fantasy game, so we do have our share of scantily clad women warriors and cliche mages and beasts as does every game. That's hardly a point worth mentioning...
This Also This. Really would like to know the answer, cos I do game whilst commuting a lot. If intermittent connection affects the game,it's not a deal breaker cos I will still love to play the game, just not as often as I would like. Thanks (seriously, I cant wait till midnight!)
