(The Xbox videogame was supposed by to released but Wizards made an announcement that the game is delayed.)I just wanted to tell everyone that there is now an Xbox Magic game. “Duels of the Planeswalkers” from the Xbox LIVE Arcade (XBLA) network. You don’t buy booster packs like Magic Online, it has around 280 cards and a 40 hour single player campaign. You can also play against someone else over the Internet or in a Two-Headed Giant game. It also supports free-for-all multiplayer with up to three other players.
If you have played this game please leave a comment. I am especially curious to know how good is the AI? I am guessing that each deck has an AI designed especially for that deck which should make the AI relatively smart. MTG Forge has a more general AI that can use any deck.
Wizards Announcement
You can also read an article written by the lead developer, here.
You are right. The Ai is more fit to close controlled and premade decks so 280 or 290 cards as i have been told can be managed quite efficiently.I have just started discovering the XBL game so i can tell you little but from what i have seen the decks especially the green one is a typical trampler with big wurms, the kind which was released many years ago with simple mechanics and easy to understand creatures in order not to scare the newbies and possibly make a big promotion for the phisical card game. I have to admit that this kind of thinking from Wizards is exactly what will make the unknowing crowd come and start appreciating the long developed and often exploited game. Hardcore gamers will breeze through the campaing, unlock the challenges and hidden cards and try the multiplayer, expecting more and more with ingame DLC packs... MTG forge is a way better and intelligently developed program. There is no need to talk about the general implementation of the rules you have managed to do, it is awsome. Prettier and fuzzier graphics does not mean the underneath core is also polished. The discussions of the limitations are already starting, take a look :) http://forums.xbox.com/1552/ShowForum.aspx
ReplyDeleteKeep on improving MTG forge, no MTG AI program has done so much for users untill now. Just be weary of Wizard's lawyers.. regards :)
Hi.
ReplyDeleteYou can read a lot of it here: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=167583
The AI seems to be not too good,at least the people saids.
You can also read an article on WotC web: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/43c
In this article, I LOL when I read: "So, that's the Duels of the Planeswalkers engine in a nutshell. On Monday, I'll be back with an in-depth look at how the game's artificial intelligence makes decisions based on this engine. It's no stretch to say that it's the most advanced Magic AI ever created, and even advanced Magic players will find themselves challenged."
Iamn't not agree with him of course. He would need check some free magic app which using an AI ;)
Regards
Fran
Can't customize decks beyond adding or removing 17 "unlockable" cards from each pre-configured deck. This seriously cuts down on the amount of time that can be consumed by the game...
ReplyDeleteAlso to arrive at a "40 hour" single player campaign number, they are obviously counting on players playing through every match of the game with every deck, which would be rather tedious.
Also the AI is horrible. I haven't played M:TG since 5th ed, and I *suck* at it, badly, and I am walking all over the AI.
Well at least it makes me feel better that the Xbox AI isn’t outrageously awesome since they had 40 people and a couple of years to work on it. I’m glad one unemployed programmer CAN make a difference.
ReplyDelete(Special thanks goes to Dennis and Rob from the forums for their major contributions.)
Go Forge! I have no Xbox so I cannot compare the 2 games but I did read about the game so...
ReplyDeleteMTGForge has a mana pool!
MTGForge has nearly 1700 cards!
MTGForge has dedicated people who report bugs and some even more dedicated bug-fixers.
MTGForge gets updated with bugfixes and new cards almost every 2 to 3 weeks.
MTGForge lets you request cards to be put in the game.
MTGForge is free, as in: made by dedicated "amateurs" who are not looking to make a profit but instead just want to make a good and enjoyable single player Magic game.
Somehow, I feel the commercial game will only scratch the surface of most of the above. I am sure it will be fun, but limited due to the small card pool. Updates will have to be paid for. Bugfixes will likely not be as rapid as the free version.
And requesting your favorite cards to be implemented in the game? No chance for the Xbox game I think due to the fact that they aim at casual players.
Ok, the one thing Xbox'ers get that "we" don't have is a proper implementation of trample. But I can live with that because nothing says GAME OVER like a 1.765.801.984/1.765.801.984 Chameleon Colossus with a Loxodon Warhammer on it.
And MTGForge delivers just that! (as long as there is just 1 blocker) :-)
I have the game and I do like some aspects and hate others. The AI is decent but not the best.
ReplyDeleteThe decks they give you.... ehhh
The decks in a nutshell are what you'd get for 10 bucks at a hobby store, except here you get 8 of them and each has a customized booster with only rares and uncommons in it.
So based on the price comparison it wins.
It also lets you play online in a few different game types, which is also nice.
The game would be much better if it let you sub in the unlocked cards. Instead the game has a internal formula it runs to add more land to your deck as you add the unlocked cards. The mana ratio is ok because of it but I'd really rather sub out walls of wood and some of the lame 1/1 swampwalk type creatures that are in the game.
Someone on a forum e-mailed the company to ask why there was no deck editor and supposedly it was stated that it was Wizards call. The reasoning was that they wanted the xbox game to not revolved around the FOTM decks that the tournament scene gets plagued with.
While I can agree with the sentiment I can't agree with the implementation. There are ways to make GOOD decks that use the mix of rares and uncommons they want without dumping in ass cards like wall of wood, Wurm's tooth, plague beetle (there's 4 of these stupid things in one deck), and the like.
Plus these look like core type pre-cons. I don't know if anyone has played the pre-cons that came out in the past few years expansion sets but theyw ere actually not too bad. There were some crap cards but overall the decks had a purpose and stuck to it. There are a few decks here that do that too like the elf, white, and green deck. However other decks seem like they are just ideas tossed into a box.
The black deck would be really great but some of the ideas in it fall short. The game moves in a way that Megrim is a crap card. By the time you get it out and use it your taking damage from attackers, so you'll have to wait to cast it and then your opponent has no cards in hand with which discard. the deck also has 2 underworld dreams with no way to force your opponent to draw cards.
Lastly every deck lacks enough utility cards. Most decks have some sort of single target removal but usually only like 4 total. Red of course has more but it also runs out of steam fast.
So I do like it, but the game has more potential than it used.
Xbox AI game article is out. You can read here: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/44
ReplyDeleteThe article is very interested under my point of view, and maybe usefull. It seems use a tree-branch approach similar to used by deckbot
The Xbox game doesn't have a deck editor, wow, I would have never guessed.
ReplyDeleteI think the xbox game is semi optimized for "fun". I really enjoy playing it against the computer, although admittedly, the computer is not very intelligent. It doesn't make mistakes persay, but it definitely has a hard time playing against my blue deck. playing the two-headed campaign with a friend is really fun.
ReplyDeletemy friend, who isn't super familiar with magic, is having a hard time beating all the single player opponents. however, I pretty much managed the beat the entire single player with a blue deck in about 12 hours. overall, this game is just a taste of magic, but a good taste.