Kubik

As I said Aviator is working on new updater, that should support having 2 versions of the game (one for main server, and another for test server) based on his feedback he is progressing slowly. After that I think we can start making changes on test server.
Activity counting is fully under our control, so changes are possible, you must ask MrXLink, he is "Game Lead", and "Design Lead".

As I already said:
adding/removing "official" maps to/from the ranked pool is literally 1 number, and 1 comma in the code.
random maps have one (not publicly disclosed) disadvantage for us, but if team decide to add them it is same as above. (Fiki is working on solution to get rid of that disadvantage)
random maps was not removed from ranked pool, I need to write that pool from scratch, and I did not know EA have them in ranked pool so because of the disadvantage I did not add them.
adding community maps would be much more complicated, especially because EA's file checking is broken, because each player can have different map just with same name.
Zyna, and Ladadoos should be already working on converting community map to "official" map, and after that it would be same as above.
Changing units/cards on test server is not a problem, changing it ONLY on test server is, because of how EA made the game (this one actually is not blame to them). Aviator is working on new updater, that will allow us to overcome this issue. (But MrXLink said no changes before release)

Your comments about t1 imbalance, i fully agree with. nature and frost t1 both are not up too par (for different reasons and it would be hard to find balanced fixes for this imo. damn, now i wrote an essay about it... again...).
still, we should also examine fire and shadow t1 as well as they do contain some quite problematic elements. mostly it's the towers, but i feel that overall, ranged units seem too dominant in t1. in almost any matchup a ranged unit spam is par of the course (with some exceptions in the form of thugs spam, which needs a nerf), where as in t2 you can see much more variety in units being played. as there are 2 primary ranged units per faction, this often leads to a real lack of variety in what is being played and the ranged units matchup is a big part of why nature t1 and frost t1 fail as well.
this is especially prominent in the nature t1 vs. shadow t1 matchup, where you can't even dare to start with a swift unit as the nature player on the vast majority of maps. you can forget about dryads as well for the most part and you usually start spearmen and hope your lack of swift does not get abused too hard when you so much as dare to take a well. your t1 basically got reduced to two s units, none of them swift (unless you play werebeast but i am not convinced of those yet). I don't see how your suggested changes would fix this. with the amazon buff, fire t1 would be in real trouble tho. I think the cost reduction on the swap is too much to ask for as it can already be quite usefull. I get that you want it to be better vs. split attacks, but this is going overboard. scavangers already need to avoid the unit due to the damage reduction, which helps quite a bit. Main problem with this is also that it doesn't help vs. shadow (pretty much nothing aside from -5 on werebeasts is), which means that we have a matchup specific solution only, which might get a problem if you want to further buff the faction to do better vs. shadow t1 as well.
 
i'm not saying that counters should not exists, but in t1 it has gotten to a point where you can just entirely forget playing certain units in certain matchups. even in some very problematic t2 matchups, it is rarely this one-dimensional in terms of unit-viability. in t2 you see burrowers being played into pure fire decks and harvesters against frost-splashes. even if viable counters exist, those cards aren't just removed from the game like it is the case with t1 and can turn the game if used in the appropriate situation. T1 tho? Not so much. In some matchups you are basically playing half a deck and that just isn't going to work out. i feel this needs to be adressed if we want to have a properly balanced t1, but i don't think it would be possible to find the support needed to make this happen, so best can likely do is buff frost t1 and nature t1 into viability somehow, which comes with its own set of issues:
 
nature t1 is amazing when there are 3-4+ units on the field and some power is avialable for spells. cc often gauarantees favorable trades and allows to kite back and heal units without much counterplay in open field. damage reduction, s unit counter spell, mele unit counterspell, units with heals, archers with multishot and a very good healing spell, not to forget shamans, all scale like crazy into mid and late t1. problem is, as you pointed out, that this advantage is gone when split attacks are used and the units are costly on top of it, so you can really abuse the faction hard.
but what is the fix to that supposed to be like? Make the units cheaper and you will hit the power-spike sooner, making the faction really good in a mid-fight without wells and a terror in late t1. On the other hand, so much of nature t1's power comes from the synery with cc and heals, so you most likely can still chesse the faction as usual. Don't get me wrong, it's entirely ok that the faction has issues when dealing with split attacks or otherwise low power levels. It's just too extreme to properly balance that out considering just how well the faction scales. You often feel forced to just go t2 as otherwise you are pretty much guaranteed to get steamrolled if you don't play t1 towers.
Personally i think some of the utility nature t1 has needs to adjusted while the units get a bit of a buff to be able to hold their own on low power levels. the t1 heal is really strong, especially considering cc and damage reduction can be used to juggle damage and keep units alive. root and hurricane destory the vast majority of staple units of other factions in late t1, which in my opinion is really out of line. the issues are not as prevalent in t2, where cc is ubiquitous and cost efficient aoe damage spells present some working counters.
 
frost t1 is so map dependent and passive, it's not even funny. aside from the loss of map control and the voulnerability to swift unit rushes, the faction can barely fight in open field, has problems counterattacking (at large well distances. good luck grabbing a clost well tho, since the enemy would love to fight you in open field and you have no swift) and lacks any sort of meaningful engage to start a fight (if you do it right, you can just mass firesworn vs. frost t1 without giving much of a change for the enemy to go t2 and make them lose because they can't force a fight. it's just really dumb!). In short, 90% of the time you are forced to play reactively and hope the enemy messes up somehow (like walking into an obvious gylph of frost in a mid-fight). on the bright side, any non-cheese attacks likely don't get very far. home soil, glacier shell and ice guardians are so good at defending single wells, most player don't even try anymore. but how on earth do you buff frost? make the units good enough to reliably counter swift spamm cheese tactics? what about large maps? what about mid-fights? what if you want to engage without having your ig kitet around?
let's say you managed to fix those issues somehow, but then what? how am i supposed to attack frost t1 then? standard attacks are not working out already it will only be worse if the faction is buffed. do i still get to try the swift unit cheese even if failure is much more likely? if that strat goes bad, it tends to go really, really bad. the matches would essentially be very volatile and still very map dependent.
 
In short, frost t1 and nature t1 are problematic and fixing them without, making them op in situations those decks already excell at, will be much harder than excpected.

As for pvp maps, i really think we should have a contest, preferably an official one where maps get added to the ranked pool. Making good maps takes quite a bit of effort and it sucks not seing them played at all and maybe just winning a few bfp in a contest. I agree that with some measure of care taken for cliffs, center of map balance, map size and t2 oppertunities, we can make some really good and interesting maps and it would be great to roll out new maps for when the game gets released. This should be really low effort for the devs, since the community is going to be in charge of making those maps and voting for them in the end. Since it was already possible to remove random maps from the ranked pool, i am hoping it should be rather easy to add maps as well.

@Karl Lavafeld Is it possible to win 3 challenges with one replay? (Most stylish 1 player run, which is fasterr than the 2 player run)

Hello fellow Skylords,
Check out the new awesome map "Into the Jungle1" !!! The map and scripts have been created by "Emmaerzeh", "Kyriel" and "Perendi". Special thanks to all those who helped in testing and translating.

 Description:

It is a 2 player PvE map set in jungle scenery. Various enemies of the nature faction have to be defeated on your way to the ultimate boss: The King of the Forest Elders. He has blessed some of his nature creatures with a magical aura that prevents your ranged attacks. If marked camps are not destroyed within respective time limits, he will summon swarms of flying units to attack you.
 
Card Restrictions:
To ensure diversity and encourage new strategies, some cards are not allowed on the map:
-Amii Monument
-Enlightenment
-Mark of the Keeper
-Wheel of Gifts
-Nightguard (both affinities)
Using any of these cards in-game results in a default loss.
 
Competition:
To further promote the map, it will revive and continue the old tradition of community challenges.
-Competition period: 01 November 2019 – 31 December 2019
-Prices will be given out at 02 January 2020
 
Prices:
-Fastest 2 player run:              3000 BFP (1500 each)
-Second fastest 2 player run:   2000 BFP (1000 each)
-Third fastest 2 player run:      1000 BFP (500 each)
 
-Fastest 1 player run:              1500 BFP
-Second fastest 1 player run:   1000 BFP
-Third fastest 1 player run:       500 BFP
 
Besides the speedrun category, there will also be prices for creative/ stylish attempts. The determination of the winner of this contest is subject to my discretion.
-Most creative or most stylish 2 player attempt : 3000 BFP  (1500 each)
-Second most creative or most stylish 2 player attempt : 2000 BFP  (1000 each)
-Third most creative or most stylish 2 player attempt : 1000 BFP  (500 each)
 
A big thank you to all voluntary sponsors of the event:
- 1000 BFP Eudoxos
-   300 BFP by dersuchti
-Further donations are very much welcome
 
Additional Rules:
-The competition uses the map version "IntoTheJungle1.pak".
-The map has to be played on expert difficulty.
-It is not allowed to share monuments in any way in a 2 player run, this means at the given camps 1 of the monuments is for each player, including tier 1 starting orbs.
-This rule does not apply for 1 player runs in which you are allowed to take available orbs freely.
-For 2 player runs each team is allowed to submit 2 replays, 1 for speedrun, 1 for style run category.
-Everyone may additionally participate with a 1 player speedrun replay.
-Players can only be part of one team for their submission, hence if "Player A" submits a replay with "Player B", he cannot also submit a replay with "Player C".
 
In order not to limit the speedrun prize pool to possibly only a few traditional players, each player can only receive 1 prize.
-If successfully participating in multiple categories one will only receive the highest prize money earned.
-The priority for which category the prize money will be received if you win multiple prizes of the same value is: 2 player speedrun, 2player style run and 1 player speedrun lastly .
-The prize money for other runs will instead be given to the next best player/team along the ranking, replacing their original reward and shifting all other prizes one rank down.
-The position in the ranking will not be affected by this.
-All winning replays will later be published and attached to this post and a selection of the best will be uploaded to YouTube with explanatory commentary by RadicalX.
 
Participation Guidelines:
-To participate, you may not violate any of the rules above. This will be verified by me.
-Make your final replay (file format is .pmv) available to me via Discord before 01 January 2020 UTC+1 and indicate whether it is a stylerun or speedrun. My Discord name is Emmaerzeh#0240. You can also find me on the official Skylords Reborn Discord Server.
-You can update your replay submission during the time of the competition any number of times.
-It is not allowed to pressure the event organizer or other participants to publish tips or replays.
 
Known Bugs:
-The Burrower and Swamp Drakes show wrong names if you click on them (that is a mistake in the editor which cannot be changed).
-Replays of community maps sometimes do not show up in the game Replay viewing selection. This issue has been reported to the developers. A workaround is to open another lobby of a Community Map first and then go to the Replay viewing selection again. Or try close the game, copy the replay to another place, rename it and copy it back to the replay folder. If the replay there shows the gear as an indicator of being broken or outdated, try again later and make sure you have the "IntoTheJungle1.pak" file in your C:\Users\<username>\Documents\BattleForge\map folder. (Auto)saved replays can be found alongside the same path in the folder […]\replays.
-If you find any other bugs, report them to me.
 
Current Ranking:
These are the best currently submitted speedrun times. Styleruns will be determined at the end of the challenge. To foster competition early on it is more fun if you tell your best time right away and do not wait until the last second. Of course, both ways are allowed.
 
2 player speedruns:
1. LEBOVIN + Pritstift            15:44 min
2. Douglas + Dersuchti        24:04 min
3.[Names] [Time]
 
Styleruns:
1. DieBieneMaya + Edlend 
2. LEBOVIN + Pritstift 
3.[Names]
 
1 player speedruns:
1. Pritstift                  23:11 min
2. [Name] [Time]
3. [Name] [Time]
 
Downloads:
-Attached you will find the map file which you first have to unpack and then save in your C:\Users\<username>\Documents\BattleForge\map folder. Alternatively, the map can be downloaded directly in game. Make sure to have older versions deleted.
-Later I will add the collection of replays that won in this challenge.
 
I wish you the best of luck and lots of fun exploring the jungle!
Karl Lavafeld (Emmaerzeh)
 
IntoTheJungle1.rar

maybe this will help

hey guys, i just wanted to thank you for allowing me to relive my childhood, yesterday, me and my brother spent 5 hours just exploring the game and honestly enjoying it, so thank you so so much 

you want to say you get same 8 cards in every booster?
you already get 190 different cards from the boosters that include for example: Rogan Kayle PROMO, Enlightenment, Forest's Vim, Wrathgazer, Volcano, Nox Carrier, Grinder, Brannoc, Jorne, Corsair, Mine, Dryad, Lost Shade, Skyfire Drake, Sunstriders, Swamp Drake, Nomad, Giant Wyrm, Eruption, Regrowth

I would need to disable it but I think Zyna and/or Ladadoos are working on it

I am using only SSDs for last few years and from my data some players do not load in 15 minutes I can not imagine on what they emulate the PC

I am at work right now, so it was surprise the video even open, but the video quality is very bad (may be caused by some settings here).
I did not see anything wrong there.
Can you try on test server?
instructions: https://discordapp.com/channels/173414671678832640/606796207137882132
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/606796207137882132/628245180637773849/LauncherTest.exe

Well, the last trivia was pretty fun ^^
Here are some suggestions for ones to come.
1) I implore you to enforce the first rule and repeat it before each trivia in game. (Everyone has only one chance and therefore one answer each: Think carefully!)
2) If there are people who repeatedly submit multiple answers or spam just ignore (disqualify) them for the given trivia.
3) Award winners after the trivia not during one, that way you won't have to remember winners, you'll have them written on the paper and won't mistakenly award the same person multiple times.
4) Write the answer to the question before moving on to the next one, especially for lore questions; which could be a great learning experience and not just one word.
5) Don't rush it! Most fun comes from pressure and anticipation, a little stalling could make it much more fun.
6) Don't just pass the question if no one knows it yet. Since we all have just one chance give us some time... A minute or two at least.
7) I think we should be allowed to use all means available to us in game to get the answer, be it trying cards out in the forge, searching for a card in the market, scrolling through our own cards or taking a peek in the lore book, it just makes it that more fun and since we have a restraint on time this won't be a problem.
8) Announce when you're raising the prize for the given question and give us a second chance! ("No correct answers yet, the prize doubles, everyone has a second chance!")
 
Oh yeah btw, forgot to tell you, Brannoc was not just a blacksmith, he was indeed a smith!

based on report less than 0.02% of players have this problems (that includes you, even thou you did not send me any logs)

many actions like opening mails, creating auctions... cause your inventory to refresh
this is bad EA's design and we can not fix it without writing our own client
when the refresh happen game send packets to server (get cards, get boosters, get upgrades, ...) and expect to get response
the problem is it sending the packets one by one and expect the response to be the first packet it receive.
before that packet reach the server it can be 0.5 second (if player is in Australia)
if any packet arrive sooner than the response you will have no Cards (or boosters, or upgrades, ...) that includes chat messages, group requests, trade requests, deck requests, ... that can be send at any time
I limit that issue by queuing these packets in launcher, which creates only small window in which these packets can arrive before the response

100-200 players play at least 1 ranked PvP each day, so if you remove the top 10 there is still a lot of players to play against that are not in top 10.
problem is the time when they play
I heard a lot that PvP players do not play, because they do not want to collect cards twice...
It was decided that the game will not be promoted (by us) untill the release. And I kinda agree that calling people "hey come to play, we will delete your progress later" is not the best approach

I'm not sure these cards should be able to earn up to 4x charges. Maybe you can complete each achievement 4 times and you have to choose which cards to get (so 1x reward for all colors, or 4x for all fire but none of anything else, etc.)
 
We should balance the specific card rewards, but I think part of the charm of getting a powerful rare card (for example, my wife getting soulshatter) is that you know that the card is rare and not everyone has it. She doesn't feel the same satisfaction when playing giant wyrm, for example. She started with it and everyone has it. Soulshatter feels unique to her deck.

I do not know MrXLink did not like my suggestion with 66 achievements

as far as I know there are even cards sold for over 10k

I have this proposal:
+ Amii now grant 4 of every orb, instead of a single orb.
+ Amii can be played on t1, instead of t3.
Make amii give 4 of every orbs on t1 for the ultimate enriched experience. It will create loads of options for possible decks and strategies that would straight up not exist without this change. It can be argued that it overshadows alternatives, but it does not remove a single one. Strictly speaking it would be a purely enriching change as far as possibilities go.
What are we waiting for?
Edit: The flaw in this reasoning is that overshadowing alternatives (even if it doesn't remove them) does matter. We can't balance anything without reference.

as far as I know there are even cards sold for over 10k

you getting whole booster (8 cards) every day, and 150 BFP, which is worth ~1/3 of a booster
isn't that contradiction to point 1-?
Are you selling or opening boosters?
how that would help anything? I think it would only make players angry that their BFP/cards randomly change value
easily tweakable system that sounds almost perfect, do you know any example? @ShadowUsagi

https://trello.com/b/4HFfIUCA/skylords-reborn

https://trello.com/b/4HFfIUCA/skylords-reborn

https://trello.com/b/4HFfIUCA/skylords-reborn

Could you also upload the log file from the error message please? The one ending with 08.24_3.log