I keep trying to play MTGO, and I keep giving up because I really really hate the client and the experience. I wish I could give WotC my money because I sure would love to be able to spend a few hours playing a competitive game of MTG whenever I felt like instead of being restricted to the schedules of local game stores. Instead, what typically happens is I log in, look around for a bit, remember why I hate MTGO, and go play or do something else instead.
It seems like there is a lot of grumbling about MTGO, but except for Kibler's blog post about it - the grumbling has very little visibility. I've seen coordinated efforts to communicate priorities to companies succeed before. Specifically, in Eve Online a lot of people were upset by a bad expansion and there were protests, mass sub cancellations, etc. As a result, CCP refocused significantly and Eve since then has grown in leaps and bounds in a time when almost every other MMO is shedding subscribers.
In what way can the magic community provide similar feedback to WotC? Is there some way to make the push now, or do we really need to wait for Hex, Hearthstone, and SolForge to take noticeable chunks of players before they care?
Like all products/servives, speak with your wallet. This is the best way to tell a company you are unhappy with it.
Complaining/negative feedback while still playing doesn't do anything. That's because if you're still playing, obviously the experience is still good, no matter what your complaint/feedback is.
Specifically, in Eve Online a lot of people were upset by a bad expansion and there were protests, mass sub cancellations, etc
The bolded part.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
MTGO is actually a pretty good product... Ok, I know there are a lot of issues and I don't play it as a result, but every time I've had a significant issue I've sent them an email and I've gotten a full refund for the event. They even gave me a refund the first time because I didn't understand the interface and it resulted in a loss for me, but they stated they wouldn't do it again.
That being said, it's really the best they could do, and until we perfect the Occulus Rift along with virtual reality, the online version of Magic will continue to be clunky.
That being said, it's really the best they could do, and until we perfect the Occulus Rift along with virtual reality, the online version of Magic will continue to be clunky.
It honestly shouldn't be that hard to program considering the limitations of making a virtual card game all of the mechanics have been made in physical form. especially with such an archaic structure. This thing doesn't even push any buttons when it comes to art design either.
So what's the excuse? Wizards/Hasbro doesn't want to spend more money to ensure a better program? or would it hurt their paper division? There are a lot of people who would love to play MTG online in a reliable, competitive and legal environment. I fall into this camp, because I live in rural nowhere, doing a job that overlaps with FNM. But thinking about the structure of MTGO (I've used it a few times) reminds me that my money is better spent elsewhere.
It honestly shouldn't be that hard to program considering the limitations of making a virtual card game all of the mechanics have been made in physical form. especially with such an archaic structure. This thing doesn't even push any buttons when it comes to art design either.
So what's the excuse? Wizards/Hasbro doesn't want to spend more money to ensure a better program? or would it hurt their paper division? There are a lot of people who would love to play MTG online in a reliable, competitive and legal environment. I fall into this camp, because I live in rural nowhere, doing a job that overlaps with FNM. But thinking about the structure of MTGO (I've used it a few times) reminds me that my money is better spent elsewhere.
I work in Software Engineering so here is a guess...
The budget given is probably only good enough to keep up with rules interactions. Sure drawing cards and tapping them on a screen is not super hard to do... but when their Engineers are spending all of their time making new card interactions work properly UI bugginess can fall by the way side.
It could also be a lack of testing. Some companies dont value testing as much as they should and it results in buggy products.
Hearthstone was built from the ground up; there's nothing in the game that wasn't first conceptualized as a software object; it's also much simpler.
Magic is a little different; it's primarily a paper game and new mechanics may or may not have an existing precedent. Furthermore, interactions between mechanics can often be complex, so there's no default heuristic for ensuring that abilities stack or interact in the right way - ensuring, for example, that Melira's Keepers don't get a counter when the Persist, but Melira, Sylvok Outcast does isn't the easiest thing in the world. Magic has so many edge cases.
I run into them more and more as I play EDH.
I think, really, the best way to get Wizards to invest in MTGO is to encourage more high-profile players like Kibler to comment on MTGO. Not necessarily to criticize it, but to analyze it and promote it as an alternate means of Magic play - but if any only if it improves. If Pros start creating a demand for a better product, Wizards would have to respond.
I keep trying to play MTGO, and I keep giving up because I really really hate the client and the experience. I wish I could give WotC my money because I sure would love to be able to spend a few hours playing a competitive game of MTG whenever I felt like instead of being restricted to the schedules of local game stores. Instead, what typically happens is I log in, look around for a bit, remember why I hate MTGO, and go play or do something else instead.
It seems like there is a lot of grumbling about MTGO, but except for Kibler's blog post about it - the grumbling has very little visibility. I've seen coordinated efforts to communicate priorities to companies succeed before. Specifically, in Eve Online a lot of people were upset by a bad expansion and there were protests, mass sub cancellations, etc. As a result, CCP refocused significantly and Eve since then has grown in leaps and bounds in a time when almost every other MMO is shedding subscribers.
In what way can the magic community provide similar feedback to WotC? Is there some way to make the push now, or do we really need to wait for Hex, Hearthstone, and SolForge to take noticeable chunks of players before they care?
the only way they will listen is if everyone votes with their wallet
Wanna hear what I think about restaurants?
Check out my http://damancy.blogspot.com/
Trust me! IM FAT!!!!
Complaining/negative feedback while still playing doesn't do anything. That's because if you're still playing, obviously the experience is still good, no matter what your complaint/feedback is.
The bolded part.
"Sometimes, the situation is outracing a threat, sometimes it's ignoring it, and sometimes it involves sideboarding in 4x Hope//Pray." --Doug Linn
That being said, it's really the best they could do, and until we perfect the Occulus Rift along with virtual reality, the online version of Magic will continue to be clunky.
It honestly shouldn't be that hard to program considering the limitations of making a virtual card game all of the mechanics have been made in physical form. especially with such an archaic structure. This thing doesn't even push any buttons when it comes to art design either.
So what's the excuse? Wizards/Hasbro doesn't want to spend more money to ensure a better program? or would it hurt their paper division? There are a lot of people who would love to play MTG online in a reliable, competitive and legal environment. I fall into this camp, because I live in rural nowhere, doing a job that overlaps with FNM. But thinking about the structure of MTGO (I've used it a few times) reminds me that my money is better spent elsewhere.
I work in Software Engineering so here is a guess...
The budget given is probably only good enough to keep up with rules interactions. Sure drawing cards and tapping them on a screen is not super hard to do... but when their Engineers are spending all of their time making new card interactions work properly UI bugginess can fall by the way side.
It could also be a lack of testing. Some companies dont value testing as much as they should and it results in buggy products.
Magic is a little different; it's primarily a paper game and new mechanics may or may not have an existing precedent. Furthermore, interactions between mechanics can often be complex, so there's no default heuristic for ensuring that abilities stack or interact in the right way - ensuring, for example, that Melira's Keepers don't get a counter when the Persist, but Melira, Sylvok Outcast does isn't the easiest thing in the world. Magic has so many edge cases.
I run into them more and more as I play EDH.
I think, really, the best way to get Wizards to invest in MTGO is to encourage more high-profile players like Kibler to comment on MTGO. Not necessarily to criticize it, but to analyze it and promote it as an alternate means of Magic play - but if any only if it improves. If Pros start creating a demand for a better product, Wizards would have to respond.