Recent posts by Rolaran on Kongregate

Topic: Kongregate / New card art!

That’s incredible. I’ve been trying to find the actual wording (because I know mine wasn’t quite right). What are the odds that you would already have it in your profile?

Standing on a mountaintop in northern Siberia under the rapidly descending bulk of an asteroid, with a calculating expression and a baseball bat.

Cool. Also a little eerie.

Topic: Kongregate / New card art!

Anyone wanna place a bet on how long it will be until someone better at photoshop than me adds Ashi to that picture? ;-)

Also, the Popo vs. Robot picture reminds me of the greatest one-sentence story ever…

“The man stood on the mountaintop, staring up at the oncoming meteor, with a baseball bat over his shoulder and a thoughtful expression on his face.”

Topic: Kongregate / Kongai 1.1

A Card Encyclopedia. Knowledge is power. I know who to use against whom just by knowing the cards. New players and low-card players don’t have that benefit.

I second this motion, either make it accessible in-game or provide a link to it from the Cards page.

Finally, a player should have a chance of getting a new card if his opponents forfeits, quits or leaves the game Because right now, a player sometimes gets a new card ONLY IF he actually wins, but not if his opponents just forfeits or quits. And a lot of people just quits when they are about to lose.

I’m pretty sure you can get a card if your opponent forfeits, I got a card that way.

By the way, thank you for adding the ability to host a private game, that is greatly appreciated!

Topic: Kongregate / people gets badges before released

I agree that this is an excellent idea. However, don’t some games already do this? I know with Monster’s Den: Book of Dread, when the challenge came up, I started the game and was rewarded with the card and two badges instantly. (That was a pretty cool surprise)

In the meantime, if you have “lost” a badge this way, is there some procedure you can go through to get it without repeating the game? I know I completed Hedgehog Launch in 4 days, in a total luck-out that I will most likely never be able to repeat, the day before the badge came out XD

Topic: Off-topic / Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

Actually it can be done… I’ve participated in message board D&D games before. There are sites for online dice rolling, online character information, and so forth, so you can have access to everything that you would have at a table.

Topic: Kongregate / Monster's Den: Book of Dread just got featured on Game-Life!

Monster’s Den Puts Dungeon Crawling In-Browser

A very nice review. Prepare to welcome people from the WIRED blog Game-Life!

Topic: Kongregate / EARLY 2008 IS OVER

Already posted further up the page Sammy. Not particularly funny the first time it was posted in the thread, and does not improve with repeated postings.

EDIT: Milski, would that be a sign that you are a fan of Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw?

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Well, I for one played on Kongregate for a while before I actually signed up. I knew there were badges and achievements, but those seemed pretty meaningless, because they didn’t really, you know, do anything. It wasn’t until I found out about Kongai that I actually signed up; I gotta admit I’m a sucker for Pokemon-style games, and the idea of collecting cards that could actually be used for something hooked me in.

Badges are great once you realize what they’re for- they say “This is a game Kongregate thinks is worthy of your attention.” But if you don’t realize that, and you’re not interested in rewards that do nothing but look shiny, they’re not likely to grab you. The cards just might.

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Rolaran, would making cards available to those that want them change anything for those who play the flash games for fun? NO.

Wow. Something just happened that I would not have predicted. Suddenly, what you just said makes perfect and absolute sense. I honestly cannot think of a negative effect of leaving old challenges up, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it was about this solution that had me campaigning so hard to prevent it. If the challenges were left up, you could slog through them to get all your cards, and the people who enjoy the games would only have another reason to play them. Everybody wins, really.

Congratulations. You have convinced me.

extends handshake. Peace?

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Well, I’m back. I intended to commit this thread to the flames, believing that everything of value had already been said. Then after Ilk’s post at the end of the last page, I felt the need to come back and say something. And my attempt to reply turned into an angry, bitter, spiteful page-and-a-half rant that now makes me feel about ten inches tall for having wrote it. I won’t post it. I’m not proud of it.

But there’s no need for vitriol. Wolfinthesheep has summed up my position in three sentences.

You think it’s a chore. Others do not. Your opinion is not universal.

That’s the key here. You (and the people you have chosen to speak for) don’t like the games, and don’t want to play them. Many of us do like them, and would play them even if there were no cards. I sincerely hope they can find a solution that satisfies both groups. Good luck in your quest for change, Ilk. God bless.

Topic: Kongregate / Badge Suggestions!

All’s fair in platforming and war (easy) – complete level 1 of The Unfair Platformer

All’s well that ends well (medium) – complete “The Unfair Platformer”

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

If that’s what you think a CCG is, then I guess this isn’t a CCG.

Wow. Mr. Sirlin said that? Alright then.

Ahem.

I hereby admit that I may have, in fact, entirely misinterpreted the intentions of Sirlin, Kongregate, and all other parties involved in the creation of Kongai. Upon examining my previous statements, I find that several of them are based upon these faulty premises. I retract such statements, respectfully bow out of the argument, hope that Sirlin, Greg et al. are successful in making Kongai something that we all can enjoy, and extend my apologies to anyone I have antagonized over the course of this debate. Thank you and good night.

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Re: The Youtube analogy: I’ll grant that it’s not airtight, but you also forget that this is a beta. I would object if you had to watch random crap to see your friend’s videos, but if your “friend” is actually a Youtube employee working on something new and exciting, and doesn’t want to show the video to just anyone, then that’s his choice. You want to see it, you have to jump through some hoops.

As for certain cards being better than others, once again, it is a beta. Every patch has changes meant to improve balance. Ideally it will be balanced when it actually releases, to the point where your card selection is not an issue. Likely it won’t be quite that perfect, but it will be close enough that it’s mainly a question of skill.

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Sirlin absolutely detests aspects of games that give you an advantage over an opponent that you did not earn in that very game. That is, time > skill and money > skill are huge faux pas in his book. If I understand Sirlin correctly, every player would have access to every single kongai card any time they wanted to.

I do not believe that you understand Sirlin correctly. The skill that enables you to win Kongai is not “having a big deck as soon as you start”. The skill is in the mind games. Therefore, an unfair disadvantage would be if, say, one player could see the other’s moves. Not what cards they have.

Sirlin detests any barriers to entry, and believes that anything that can get players playing the “real game”, and by Kongai’s real game I mean constructed deck vs. constructed deck should be implemented posthaste. So if I interpret Sirlin correctly, this means, once again, that any player that wished to have access to every single Kongai card would be able to in short order.

And once again, I believe you misunderstand what the “real game” is. The mind game is the “real game”, the cards are just means to an end.

Whatever card challenges there were in the past, I will not go and play those games ever again. I have the kongai beta test level, meaning aside from ripping through a game of Feudalism (sorry, I can’t resist ninjas) or Streamline/Music in Motion (those mp3s are too good), I’m not going to go and play anything.

Okay then. If you don’t want to play Flash games, don’t. But Kongregate’s main purpose is to let you play Flash games. Would you go to Youtube, and moan about them “making” you watch movies?

If you’re worried that it’ll just make kongregate into a kongai host, to me, IT ALREADY IS ONE

As I said before, this is the problem. You view the site as something completely different from what we, and what the site’s developers see in it. Therefore, we are and shall continue to be at loggerheads.

If it’s any consolation, I will grant you this concession. Your situation with a starting deck where you don’t have the cards you want is unfair. However, that is one of the things that happens with collectable card games, and a system where anyone can tear through in one afternoon and collect everything removes the “collectable” aspect. Maybe that’s what you want, and personally I wouldn’t mind a game where everything is available from the start. However, Kongai is a collectable card game, so there must be a mechanic that makes it impossible to earn all the cards quickly.

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

If people who buy all the cards have a huge advantage, so do people that registered earlier than the 6ish months I estimate it would take for a player to get all the cards normally. Why is that any less lame?

Because that means that in 6 months, I will be where they are. I have time. I don’t have money. I’m a university student :-P

But maybe that’s not a fair way to look at it. Really, looking at my previous comment what annoyed me about PoxNora was the fact that people who paid had the best cards, and people who didn’t pay were permanently stuck with dreck. If the cards people pay for are the same as the cards people gradually earn, then I can live with that. I just worry that if they let people pay to get good decks faster, the next argument will be “if I pay money, I should be able to get an exclusive, superpowerful card.”

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Greg, I do feel that this would make the game less appealing. I actually was driven away from another game that was somewhat similar to this one, PoxNora, because they gave a considerable advantage to those who shelled out the most money. Having said that, if that’s the route you want to go, that’s your choice.

Topic: Kongregate / Suggestions

I’d like the option to sort one’s friendslist into categories. Some people I have on my friendslist because I like chatting with them, some people are on there because I know them IRL, etc. and while I can keep them straight easily enough, it would be nice to be able to sort them.

Also I like the first idea put forward by KakkoiBishounen. I find the current whisper system somewhat unwieldy.

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

You dislike Flash games (aside from a few examples such as Kongai). Therefore, you view playing the other games as a chore that gets in the way of getting cards. You would not play the other games if you didn’t have to. This seems to be why you are frustrated.

Those for whom Kongai is intended are those who, like myself, enjoy Flash games. We view the cards as a nice bonus on top of playing games. Personally, I have often played games even before they got challenges, just for fun. Thus, we enjoy the status quo.

Since our two views are incompatible, and I believe our view is supported by the Kongai developers, I am afraid you will continue to be disappointed.

As for letting players choose the card they get, while I would not be opposed to, say, allowing a player to choose between two or three cards (You completed the “Random Example” challenge! Select Vanessa Voss or Ring of Curses), allowing a player to choose out of all the cards leads to everybody “cherry-picking” from the same few cards that are “top-tier”. I don’t think that is a good solution, as I’m pretty sure Mr. Sirlin made it a goal from the start to avoid that trap.

Topic: Kongregate / Kongai Update 1.6!

Next update, assuming you signed up on the Cards page, you will be let in. (And me too, we should look each other up and play a round when we get in!)

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Gereffi, if I remember correctly, Mr. Sirlin has said in an interview (with Gamasutra I think) that he wanted to keep the deck small in order to decrease the learning curve.

Now then. In response to ilk’s latest (actually quite valid) points, if you are coming to Kongregate for Kongai alone, I can understand your frustration at having to play a lot of other games just to get what you want for Kongai.

However, I don’t think this will be likely to change soon, as Kongai cannot really be separated from the rest of the site- it is not meant to stand alone, but to also serve as a guide to point people to some of the best games in the Kongregate community (kommunity? whatever.)

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Logically, not all Flash games are inferior to professionally developed software. Otherwise you would not care one way or another how Kongai cards were obtained, since you would have better things to do than waste time playing Kongai (which, last I checked, ran in Flash).

Sorry, that was a bit smartass of me. Let me be serious for a moment.

Pretty much everything I have heard about Kongai (I’m not actually in the beta yet, so I hope someone who is in it will back me up on this) indicates that big deck =/= easy victories. You can have every card, but if you don’t know how to play them and if you can’t handle the mind games, you will lose. Conversely, if you can read your opponents and figure out the proper use of your moves, the fact that you have fewer cards than other people is more or less irrelevant.

In other words, it’s not the size that counts, it’s how you handle it. Oops, getting smartass again.

Topic: Kongregate / The Kongai card earning system is completely screwed up

Hmm. Interesting opinion. I couldn’t disagree more.

To me, part of the appeal of the cards is the idea of building up your deck bit by bit. Certainly it would be nice to be able to get all the cards from the start, but then there’d be nothing special about having them. It’s cool to check Thursday night and see what new card is available. If I could get them all I would, and then I’d have nothing to look forward to.

Topic: Kongregate / Deleting highscores is here!

Ragdoll Avalanche 2 – Assuming an average of 1 spike per second, every all-time score at 15th place and above would have to have successfully dodged spikes for over 2 1/2 hours, and the 1st place holder adamisgood36 has apparently been playing for over 8 years (which is doubly impressive considering the game was uploaded in 2007…)

So yeah, I smell a hack.

Topic: Games / are they serious? (cinema's on kongregate)

I agree with unproductive… I actually quit playing because of the idiotic dialogue.

“Do you like…nature?” “No” “THEN YOU MUST DIIIEEE!”

Topic: Kongregate / KONGAI

There are many threads, but it appears they’ve all fallen off the front page.

Also, I don’t think you read whatever you were reading correctly- Kongai is still in beta, so if you didn’t sign up to be a beta tester, you won’t be able to play until it either sees general release or lets in another round of testers. Sorry.