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marquis vs. marquis - game mechanics issue. We both cast vampiric touch. Mine activated first. Then his. Since his energy had been lowered by my attack he received energy back. I didn't. This happened again later in the same game. Surely this ain't how it should play. Either both should get the energy back or not.
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Re: Saus' comment about his card list (which you can find here: http://momako.blogspot.com/2008/04/kongai-card-list.html)
I'm not Saus, so I thought I'd mention that his card list is every bit as awesome as he says it is. You should all favorite it, look at it, and tell your friends about it. When I grow up, I want to be like Saus's card list. ;)
— Bruce
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Re: "well it might encourage more beta [testers] to play if they had more cards to experiment" —
Great point. It would be great if we could earn cards to use in beta, which encourages us to play more so we can earn them, but unlocks cards reasonably fast so we can actually earn them quick enough to want to keep playing instead of saying, "bah, grind", and not playing. I'd be nice if we could keep those cards as a "thanks for beta testing" reward, but Kong may not think that's fair to non-testers. So they could take away the cards we earn from the beta test acquisition method, and so long as (A) they tell us that's what they're doing, and (B) they make it so we get them from playing, I'd say the net effect would be more play, more testing. — Bruce
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If it's not smacking too much of self-promotion, I thought I'd mention that I've put a list of all the cards and associated information up on my blog which can be found here:
http://momako.blogspot.com/2008/04/kongai-card-list.html
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@administrators
I'd like to renew my call for a dedicated message board here, on this site. Sirlin's is nice but not everyone knows about it or will bother to head over and sign up while they're already registered here. But, honestly, this comment thread is becoming a swamp that I find increasingly hard to pay attention to. Suggestions that have been made before get buried and repeated, basic knowledge that's passed along gets ignored so the same questions get asked over and over again, and interesting discussions get lost under the weight of time. You'll want a board at release, so why not start now?
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@Magician X re: Pokemon
I believe that it was said in one interview or another that Kongai IS basically Pokemon with a few little twists - like removing, simplifying, a lot of the resistance grid and adding in an energy/mana system. It's really only a matter of time before we're hunting about the site with our Kongre-Capsules looking for the latest batch of cards.
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@low tester population
I agree, the lack of people on and waiting for games is not just annoying but troubling. I know I stopped playing for a little while because of a combination other commitments and soul-sucking lag. But the server move has made things much, much better seemingly wihtout bringing a lot of other people back. I'd guess it's one of those chicken and the egg problems - no one's playing because there's no one on and no one's on because no one's playing - but in any event a solution needs to be found. Maybe the next patch will do it, I don't know.
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@UAX
For people who want to test the cards they don't have, that's what the Random(All) button is there for. If you don't like it then you should have been playing longer to earn more cards - testing conditions of scarcity and imbalances in the player population is more important than testing what happens when everyone has everything.
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Seems nice :)
Reminds me a little bit about PokeMon with the 1 item restriction, switch out and 1 on 1 battles thing... not that its a bad thing thou =3
What would be nice could perhaps be if the characters got levels and "evolves" or something, a reward for playing with a weak character for example, making it more poerful when it levels up, and the player would get ranks depending on his/her characters/cards level etc. i dunno, looking forward to the final result nonetheless^^
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Bardblaster—
I think you have great points, but from my observations, it seems Kongregate are more interested in gathering data and less interested in us having access to all cards to test balance (I assume they gather data when we play, such as what cards we use, what moves we make, etc; not sure, though). Very few players can give decent balance feedback that's actionable. Data is more reliable and objective. You could argue that giving access to all cards would give you better data, but if Guild Wars teaches us anything, it's not always wise to give people full access to in-game resources (which makes the game really fun because it removes barriers to entry) and then take that away. Players tend to revolt, so perhaps Kong are wise. Do keep up the great feedback, though.
— Bruce
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cocobeaqn,
You were probably attacked by an attack that damages all (or one) of your "benched" characters (i.e. a character in your deck that isn't in play). It's a viable game option, not a bug, unless you experienced something different.
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Bug! When i was using my Ashi (axe battler) i had *Reinforced breastplate* on, now I have my Onimaru in play, and it shows the *reinforced breastplate* still in the corner even though I have nothing for him, and when i scroll my mouse over the *Reinforced Breastplate* it doesn't show what its abilities are for it... Weird...
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I think that being able to change your starter cards would be nice, since I am not able to test out anybody but Andromeda, Marquis Le Morte, or Helene to see if I can find imbalances on any specific card.
The whole point of beta-testing is to have people who help you find the bugs (at least from the maker's perspective), and it is generally a good idea to let them test out EVERYTHING that you have already programmed into your software.
I think that it would be nice to allow the testers an option of changing their starter cards, even if this means that any decks that they have created are removed.
I found out one of Andromeda's major problems (for me at least): she is not a good starter, since the game starts with both players at the close range.
Anyway, this is just my idea...
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the beta testing has been going on for quite awhile and i guess many people are bored :s we should have acess to more cards to allow us to see if the game has any imbalances
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Just so everyone knows:
Prime your intercept engines, folks—Kongregate changed servers, so Kongai should now be running faster and should be, dare I say it, lag-free. Tell your friends!
FYI, I wrote in more detail about the update in my Kongai FAQ: http://www.kongregate.com/forums/1/topics/3965?page=3#posts-142790
— Bruce
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re: "I think the range change fee is too high"
I'm pretty sure the game is balanced around the 50 energy range-change cost. Change that, and, to use Sirlin's wooden plank and marble analogy (that no one here will know of, heh), if you move one thing, it upsets the balance of everything else.
More detailed feedback about what situations you're having trouble with (ie. cards? rough stat counts? etc) would be helpful.
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we seriously should have more beta testers, there only like 8 people on at all times. I try to play but they're always busy playing another game.
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re: ongoing discussion about the timer—
I posted a good comment about why the timer is important in Sirlins forums. Find it here:
http://www.sirlin.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2365#post2365
I also made a thread where I talk about cool things like "Fast-mode Kongai". The post even has an interesting puzzle with an awesome solution if you figure it out! Find it here:
http://www.sirlin.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2368#post2368
— Bruce
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When we get decent lagtimes, 30 seconds should be enough per move. An overall time bank like in chess or scrabble games would also be good. Or something like a Fischer clock.
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Something weird happened, I was fighting someone with the Tiger's Claw equipped, and the bleeding effect hit Higashi, who was not in play...
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@re: timer
I thought the timer was 30 seconds. The time-out for disconnects is a full minute but I thought the between-rounds timer was shorter because, yeah, a full minute for each click is too much. It also can lead to trouble with griefing - it would be very annoying to face a player/bot who waited every single time until the very last moment to move - so, like in a game of chess I wouldn't mind if there wasn't just a timer for making moves but an overall pool that timer burns through which, when used up, causes a forfeit or forced moves or something. Bruce is right, though, that having that time isn't a bad thing. Being able to think about future moves and plan ahead adds to the game's depth.
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Agree with shirt. We should have an option at least to lower the timer. Most games could have 15 second timer and be fine. So many minutes are used up with an opponent who has a single choice. Also, there is a major amount of lag recently - THAT'S WHY NO ONE IS PLAYING IT.
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I guess that if it takes you a minute to think about your next move then Kongai isn't too slow. However it appears that most players, me included, think that a minute is too long. A 30 second timer would increase the action and push players to think quickly.
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I don't get the "game takes too long" comments.
When I play, I either use the minute to think or talk to my opponent, or if I am waiting for my opponent, I sit and try to guess what my opponent is doing so I can learn more about him and test my intuition, or I talk to my opponent. Sometimes I wish I had more time! (But no, 1 min is fine.)
Would a "Kongai-fast mode" be fun? Yes. But is Kongai too slow? I don't think so. Think or talk more.
- Bruce
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this game is good, but i get confused easily(due to the fasct i did not read instructions). The only problem I have with the game is that it is time-consuming, it takes to long for the turn to pass. Giving the game more graphical animations may make up for the slow speed(in my opinion)
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first of all this game is great and very original. the idea of gaining the cards over time and have to work to earn them is good. but have some downsides for new joiners who want to play kongai.
And there is more to do before the realease of this game:
1. add a 1 time reset for selecting the starter cards. new players nomraly would select cards that they won't fit to thier strategy after a while.
2. something must be done to the AI of single player. when there is no players around there is nothing to do with this game because the AI is terrible, the enemy doesn't change ranges and only rests and intercepts and it not really fun to win 5 enemies with the use of only 1 card.
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The most fun part is when the first match is higashi vs higashi and we get to play stun palm roulette to see who wins
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however i must add that compared to some other more competitive games Kongai does lack the right to be competitive due to the game being able to swing too wildy on a consistent basis
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PS. For more on this topic, see here:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060222/sirlin_01.shtml
… and before you get outraged at that article (it's only part of the full perspective), please read:
http://www.sirlin.net/?p=127
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jewstylekungfu,
Don't want to drag the Kongai comments too far off-topic but: Kongai is great fun for me. Playing fellow opponents, the process of self improvement, yomi (reading the mind of the opponent), landing that intercept—all fun! Kongai has great art, but that's just a facade; a surface. The rule set, and what it tests and lessons it teaches, is what's important. Eg. Street Fighter appears to be about cartoon fighting, but it teaches you some excellent life lessons.
- Bruce
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Bruce, some of us just play games for fun. The internet is a great place for self-mastery, but mastering yourself to these scantily-clad card character girls is a little sad.
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zonsolo,
Kongai, and all competitive games, are about self-mastery. The game and your opponent are just constructs used to walk that path.
— Bruce
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reminds me of tag-team wrestling too much with the swap-out stuff. Not too thrilled with trying to play a mind reader.