Delendar

NAME: Altar of Nihil + Fleshbender broken interaction DESCRIPTION: When playing Nihilation and then Infection, the summoned squads get the benefit of Altar of Nihil (-85% summoning cost) without the drawback of them dying afterwards. That way, one can summon all 120 unit cap as 12 T4 units for aproximately 400 power. I'm not entirely sure if this is a bug, or just an interaction, but it seems that the transformation effect of Fleshbender cleanses the Nihilation debuff at the moment of summoning. REPRODUCIBILITY: It is very easily reproducible. Get a deck with both Abominations and Evil Eyes, Fleshbender, Enlightment and Altar of Nihil. Proceed to Enlight Nihil, play Nihilation, then Fleshbender's Infect, then spam summon the Abominations and Evil Eyes around Altar of Nihil. Can also be done with many other cards so long Altar of Nihil and Fleshbender are used like that. Can be easily replicated in the Community Smithy community map as well. SCREENSHOT/VIDEO: Nihilbending.pmv LOG: _log_proxy_latest.log ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: If it, hopefully, isn't a bug, please dismiss my post. (It is so much fun)

My headcanon is to see Bren again in future adventures searching for some legendary ale (actually just a Juice Tank) on his way back home and then see his wife angry enough to slap him down to 1 hp for taking so long to get back with a loaf of bread and a jug of milk (he got conscripted while on an errand). Love it.

This could be a more workable idea.

Must be incredibly annoying to code without the base code.

That's fair. Although I think there has been a misunderstanding somewhere. Of course everyone here, including me, undoubtedly wish to see the Amii faction in all its glory and making a ton of new untis would be nothing short of insane, that's why I mentioned it as one project to the pile and moving down the largely ignored/unused hybrid T2 to T1. Bandits and Twilight for example, got 12 T2 units and 14 T2 units respectively, while people don't use more than 3 or 4 at best. Also that is why I compared them to the AI, when you play campaign maps, what you fight at Tier 1 are units like banditos and twilight crossbowmen, so it should fit, kinda. In any case it seems to be final so I'll drop the defense of any argument about it. Thank you for the response!

And here I am... ---------------------------------------------------------------- Orb Assignment One of the main concerns is, clearly, the automatic orb assignment when a Tier 1 hybrid unit is summoned. To address this, we could explore different methods of assigning the initial orb, taking into account the following ideas: A. Pre-Game Selection of Starting Orb (Probably the more simple option) At the start of a match, if the player hasn't played a card, allow the player to manually choose the primary orb type they want to start with by choosing the element from the orb monument as normal but at no cost and no building time once. Pros: This gives players control over their starting strategy, is very intuitive and fits within the existing game mechanics. Offers a more generic approach as this can work as a base mechanic of the game itself, not necessarily something exclusive to hybrid cards. Cons: Players desiring to play hybrid cards might find this adds an unnecessary step to the game start. B. Orb-Based Prioritization System (My personal preference) Assign a predefined primary orb to each Tier 1 hybrid card. For example, a Tier 1 Bandit hybrid card could default to a Fire orb if the card is the first unit summoned. This could be displayed with some effect related to the predefined orb color somewhere in the card, for example as a red ring around its orb cost meaning it will produce a Fire Orb or a purple ring meaning it will produce a Shadow Orb. Pros: No new UI is required; uses existing game mechanics. Easy to balance around predefined orb choices. Forms of display are easy to be made intuitive. Cons: Limits player flexibility in choosing which faction they want to focus on first, which could reduce the appeal of hybrid cards. Note: This can be circumvented by giving different affinities a different starting orb, although this may be undesirable considering each modified abilitiy. C. Dynamic Orb Assignment via Card Affinity Use affinities on hybrid cards to determine their orb requirements, with the affinity of each card being tied to a particular orb element, specified in the tooltip of the modified ability, for instance, the Tier 1 Banditos with Frost affinity could have, at the end of its ability "Blessed Alliance", 'This card summons a Fire Orb'. Pros: Utilizes existing affinity mechanics in a novel way. Adds strategic depth without overcomplicating the UI. Cons: Could be confusing for new players unfamiliar with the affinity system, as affinities have traditionally influenced only card effects, not orb requirements. And the need to read a text is always a challenge on dynamic gameplay where speed is more desirable than wasting time finding out which card does what. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Balancing Concerns Balancing Tier 1 hybrid cards is essential, especially in PvP contexts where Tier 1 units form a great part of many strategies, as well as many campaign maps where the Tier 2 and Tier 3 orbs are behind enemy lines. Here are some ways to achieve balance: A. Power Cost Adjustment Hybrid Tier 1 cards could have slightly higher power costs (e.g., +10 or +20 power) to compensate for their versatility and to prevent them from being strictly better than base faction cards. Pros: Ensures hybrid cards do not outclass pure faction cards, preserving the balance. Cons: May discourage players from using these cards if the cost is perceived as too high. B. Limitations on Hybrid Card Synergy Restrict certain powerful synergies that could arise from combining hybrid cards with base cards. A hybrid card might have reduced effectiveness when used in conjunction with base cards. For example, an additional passive ability that makes Tier 1 hybrid cards deal less damage while in certain range of base cards. Pros: Maintains balance without overly nerfing the hybrid cards and builds a preference of having hybrid faction. Cons: Adds complexity to deck-building and may be frustrating for players who want to explore all combinations. Note: This could be circumvented by possessing a Tier 1 Spell card corresponding to each hybrid faction, that could temporarily nullify this penalty. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Conclusion While making these cards work may result in extra effort on the development side of the issue, the return would expand the game in even greater ways. By addressing the technical challenges, balancing concerns, and maintaining factional identity, Tier 1 hybrid cards could very feasibly be implemented into the game. Increased Strategic Diversity: Hybrid cards create new early-game strategies and openings, allowing players to explore novel combinations and tactics that were not previously possible. This diversifies gameplay, particularly in PvP, where the introduction of Tier 1 hybrid cards would lead to a more dynamic and less predictable meta. Enhanced Faction Identity: By allowing the use of hybrid cards from the very start of the match, each faction can receive more attention, deepening their identities and enriching the game's lore. This adds flavor and context to each faction's playstyle, making the game more engaging and immersive. Expanded Deck-Building Options: Tier 1 hybrid cards provide more flexibility in deck-building, enabling players to create fully factional decks from the start without needing to rely on base factions. This opens up new possibilities for deck construction, catering to both experienced players seeking variety and newcomers wanting straightforward factional cohesion. Utilization of Underused Units: By introducing new Tier 1 cards, especially for factions with less-utilized units at higher tiers, developers can give new life to cards that are currently overshadowed or redundant. This makes a wider array of cards viable in both PvE and PvP contexts, offering players more meaningful choices. Potential for Future Expansions: Successfully implementing Tier 1 hybrids could serve as a foundation for further expansions, such as new hybrid units at higher tiers or unique faction mechanics. This would support continued growth and interest in the game, providing ongoing content for the player base. Improved PvE and PvP: Thoughtfully designed hybrid cards could offer new tools and counterplays in PvE scenarios and PvP matches, expanding the game further and enhancing the strategic options available to all players. ---------------------------------------------------------------- All that said, my only real capability here is to suggest and convince the community and developers, specially the developers making this fantastic game work, that this is possible. Also this is not something to consider right now even if it is received favourably, but more of a rather long term project to the pile of projects being worked on. Anyway, thank you for reading this text wall of mine!

Mhm, well, that makes sense. I shall get back to this with a more comprehensive and detailed analysis on ideas as for how it could be implemented considering various factors instead of throwing a wild idea and let you do all the figuring out.

Idea: Seeing how there are now mixed orbs as seen on Nightshade Plant... wouldn't it be possible to have some Tier 1 non-base faction cards? Reason: Fully factional decks and make some redundant/lacking units useful at a lower tier. It opens the possibility of granting the lowest tier units that one normally encounters in pve, more strategies as they could be summoned alongside pure-element units and creates new niches. As some ideas for Tier 1: Bandit: Commandos and Banditos. There are currently way too many bandit tier 2 that no one uses or are so incredibly situational they barely are chosen. Twilight: Twilight Minions and the chance of including some human twilight archers as the elven ones are already covered by the Tier 3 Twilight Slayers. Lost Souls: There are currently no S sized group-type Lost Souls units at the moment so it could be a chance to create new ones! Actual Reason: This is just wishful thinking for the sole purpose of having a 100% faction deck and not have to start with one of the base factions to then move onto a mixed one. I don't have the slightest hope for this but the mixed orb is out there, so this is not impossible.

Oh yes, I completely agree that it is not a priority and as a cosmetic topic it certainly wouldn't make it far up in the list of things being worked on right now. I am just hoping to keep it in the queue even if its at the end of it. The beauty of this game is one of the things that caught my attention when I started playing it and this has been on my mind for more than a decade. If anything it is just me speaking my mind with a comprehensive analysis and comparison. 🙃

Well, thats what forum threads are for, enlighten people and discuss solutions! Just look at me, I didnt even know the language it was written on and now i know its on C++ and now I can have a better assumption as for what this stuff is about. Shoulda just told me that from the beginning though lol. If there is a way to figure out what produces the greying, then the trigger could be changed to something that registers the IDs of each card into the ID of each deck. That for sure must be a thing.

Well, leave that deck out then. It should have its own ID too: Collection, PVP and PVE. Just have either PVP or PVE as selectors. Or make it "every other" deck that is not "Collection", since that's how it appears to work right now with your currently selected deck. I believe you understand my idea, I am not entirely sure why you keep pushing this strange fact forward. A command/mode that greys out every card in your collection that belongs to any deck of the category of the deck you currently selected. Make the display of each card greyed-out for all cards belonging to PVP or PVE decks, depending on which deck is currently active or "selected". Leave "Collection" alone.

No, the cards in your deck are in your selected deck. If you look at your collection with a deck selected, the cards in that deck will be greyed out in the collection. While other cards, no matter if they are in some other deck or not, will not be greyed out unless you select those other decks. In the case of this command or mode, all cards that are in any deck will be greyed out in your collection while those that are not, will appear as normal.

Except those that are not in any decks, which is the whole idea of this command 😉

I'm pretty sure it's just me, and probably a few more, but I honestly feel like something doesn't fit with some cards. Like, there is a different color pattern or different shade of those same colors for absolutely no reason (Except for fire, fire is fine). So this suggestion is to recolor the following cards: Overlord, Necrofury, Unstable Demon, Stranglehold, Abyssal Warder and Ironclad. If a recolor is not possible from the development/artist side, then disregard this suggestion. Shadow: Look at Overlord and Necrofury, then compare it with quite literally everything else (except units not big enough to matter). All buildings and large units got this Purple+Gold pattern, distinctive I assume, from the Obsidian Throne, which is the faction of the game related to the Shadow element. Of course I can't just assume that all demons will sport their colors but at least the larger ones that aren't entirely demonic beasts from the void. That said, there are lore excerpts of an Evocator's Handbook which may alude to a proper systematical and learned way to summon and manage demons, which for a faction like this, makes perfect sense so while the beasts looking like beasts makes sense, for other more armored units it should make more sense to share the color palette of the Obsidian Throne just like Promo Harvester and Grim Bahir do. (Forgot to add Unstable Demon to the picture, but its armor is also black and purple rather than gold) Nature: All buildings have this polished, light stone color on all its buildings, a couple may seem darker, but that's just the different gamma impact due to the surrounding light and glows, if you go to a color picker it will be the same or ever so slightly darker. Then there is Stranglehold and Abyssal Warder with completely different shades and colors for no real reason. These two cards were released way later and perhaps look different because they were made by different artists (and a bit lazy ones since the top of the Stranglehold is the main part of Healing Gardens). That said, I don't really see any need to make them that way. Stranglehold should be like every other building, and Abyssal Warder is quite literally a walking building. If we get into the lore, all nature buildings are actually stationary Ancients. Frost: This one is just one thing only that I believe has not gone unnoticed. Frost's entire color palette is the best, its uniform, clear, and was re-used even for newer cards. Except for Ironclad, which looks like a mechanical clown made of scraps in different stages of corrosion. The right pauldron matches the color palette of the buildings, although its windows glow yellow instead of blue (nothing else shines yellow in frost); the left pauldron, helmet, legguards and kneepads are black for no reason as there is nothing black in frost either, and I can only assume they were trying to get the same color as the cannons or hammers of the many buildings (particularly worldbreaker gun) but failed miserably, at least the eyes and sigil glow blue; the chest and boots are silver; the guns are literal copies of the worldbreaker gun, that much is obvious and clear but, again, in a different color, more like copper oxyde than cast iron.

Well, that one is already covered though, deck cards are greyed out. Which decks to consider I'd say all pvp or all pve depending on what deck you are building, since you select which when creating a new deck I can assume both have different IDs. If the exact same thing could be done as when your deck cards are greyed out from your collection, but with all your decks, i think that'd work.