Battle Cards

[Xerkis]

I don’t believe I have ever played a PC game that had anything in it called “Battle Cards”.
So this line of questioning is on a general sense as well as how it will pertain to Sovereignty.

Let’s start with the easy ones first. What are? What do you do with them? How do you get them / use them / ect? What other games have them in them? And just any more info on them would be good. I just never heard of Battle Cards before.

[lordzimoa]

Probably the most played and popular battle card system out there, with a massive fan community is Might & Magic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/TCG/NewtoM ... earntoplay

They also are releasing a digital version.

http://might-and-magic.ubi.com/duel-of- ... n-GB/home/

[Xerkis]

Do you realize this will be the end of me if my son’s were to catch me looking at these links?

[OmegaMan1]

Do you realize this will be the end of me if my son’s were to catch me looking at these links?

Just tell him that you are doing research for a top-secret project...

[Xerkis]

Not wanting risk possibly exposing myself to the taunts and snickering – I did my own Google search on the term. But that just kept bringing up a card game created back in the 1990s called “Battle Cards”. I don’t think that is what we mean here.

So I guess – by breaking down the term – it is some sort of system that helps you with combat. I certainly would hope it isn’t the entire combat system, and that there is still stats like strength and attack, etc. But maybe a type of bonus to those things when you enter in to combat.

. . . . . . . Am I close?

[Wodin]

It will be cards that you may use during combat I expect. Like rally troops or some such.

The again as Lord posted those links, maybe it will be like the Might of Magic system....so there go you stats I'm afraid.

If that is a combat system, I'm out I'm afraid. Never really enjoyed those card games.

[Xerkis]

It will be cards that you may use during combat I expect. Like rally troops or some such.

The again as Lord posted those links, maybe it will be like the Might of Magic system....so there go you stats I'm afraid.

If that is a combat system, I'm out I'm afraid. Never really enjoyed those card games.

I hope that isn’t the case. And I don’t think it is.
Because “70+ combat modifiers…” doesn’t sound like it to me.

[Wodin]

Thats what I thought however 70 different card combinations Ie. you get the Sword of Severance +2 attack card is a combat modifier.

For Lordz to direct us to Migh and Magic when we asked about the Battle Card mechanic seems an odd thing to do if thats not the mechanic in game.

[Xerkis]

Maybe, but I would certainly hope not and doubt it – but all of this is conjecture on both our sides.
Let’s wait for someone that knows before making any conclusions. Someone from Lordz.

[lordzimoa]

This early in development we just let you speculate.

There are so many design features still open, up for change or improvement.

Many parts of the game most likely will and can be altered, edited, added or removed. Showing our hand of cards would be very unwise.

We are listening though and reading your opinions, expectations and feedback, and certainly take them into account in some important design decisions, so keep on posting.

[Xerkis]

Well, in that case. . . . since I can still only truly “speculate” on what Battle Cards are and how they might even work – here is my opinion as of now.

If it is something like a bonus to or an add-on that helps in combat – then yes, sounds interesting and I would be open to it. But this means that there are still stats and things like; strength, range, attack and defense values, terrain, etc. that come in to play. And that you could (although you might get a real beating) go in to combat without any Battle Cards to be used.

If it is the only way that combat is resolved and all other means of combat and stats a stripped away. Then I think you just took the game I have been waiting for my entire life right out from under me and I will still be waiting.

[TheGrayMouser]

Here is my uniformed speculation:

Combat will be abstacted in the sence that when a province is invaded you wont be zooming in to a tactical map ( aka Total war games) I get this from the description that this is a province based game and a blend of axis and allies meets masters of magic

However, individual units stats will matter. My guess is combat will be sort like how Ageod games handle, ie each unit contributes but you have no direct control over .
My other guess is battle cards are a combo of stratgic resources, "hindsight in operations " or magic that you bring to the battle , so maybe when you invade province x you bring a sneak attack card, or spell that hides the movement of your army, givingg combat bonus of sorts..... of course cards could be more mundane like supply train, engineering gear or whatnot....

[Wodin]

I hope it's not the Might and Magic combat and like Is aid it seems strange for Lordz to direct us to M&M when it was asked what battle cards are.

Fingers crossed it's more wargame like than card game like.

Edit: Just read Lordz post. Sounds good. If you had hero cards etc that would be great, though I want armies made up of different units. I think Dominions 3 is a must play for Lordz to see how this sort of game can be done and done very well indeed with countless replayability. Now improve the combat resolution of that game and add naval warfare and all that malarky it's a sure fire winner.

[generalgonzo]

When I first heard that a "battle card" system comes into play and the game leans on software pearls like Master of Magic and the M&M series, I thought it could work like this:

You have several cards of different army types at your hand, depending on your production, buys etc.
When it comes to combat in a region, you can throw in what you have on your hand, i.e. 2 cvalry cards + 1 inf card + 1 archer card.
These units then fight the battle out on some tactical battlefield, like in MoM or Heroes of Might&Magic!

Would sound interesting....

[Wodin]

When I first heard that a "battle card" system comes into play and the game leans on software pearls like Master of Magic and the M&M series, I thought it could work like this:

You have several cards of different army types at your hand, depending on your production, buys etc.
When it comes to combat in a region, you can throw in what you have on your hand, i.e. 2 cvalry cards + 1 inf card + 1 archer card.
These units then fight the battle out on some tactical battlefield, like in MoM or Heroes of Might&Magic!

Would sound interesting....

To be honest it's not something I'd have any interest in myself.

[generalgonzo]

What´s your thought then on the "card system" ?

There are some games in development out there which uses similar kinds of game mechanics, like "End of Nations" where I´m in the alpha testing team.

[Xerkis]

What´s your thought then on the "card system" ?

There are some games in development out there which uses similar kinds of game mechanics, like "End of Nations" where I´m in the alpha testing team.

It’s simple – if I want to play cards, I’ll go to the desk drawer and pull out a deck and play cards.
If I want to play a strategy game, then I want lots and lots of units on a big map to spend hours and hours planning and moving them around.
Now if something that is called “battle cards” happens to enhance the combat by adding to it – that’s fine. It just shouldn’t be the complete deciding facture in how combat is played out. As I said before – I should be able to do combat even if I didn’t have any battle cards at the time – although I might get beaten badly – I can still complete the task.

[lordzimoa]

If I want to play a strategy game, then I want lots and lots of units on a big map to spend hours and hours planning and moving them around.

Keep in mind the main focus and design of this game is the grand strategy aspect where you will have hundreds of battles over provinces, where economy, research, magic, diplomacy, trade routes, heroes, navies and armies play their role. So battles are important, but only a part of the game.

It is not a pure tactical focused battle game with flying animated dragons fighting against dwarfs on 3D battle maps.

[Xerkis]

If I want to play a strategy game, then I want lots and lots of units on a big map to spend hours and hours planning and moving them around.

Keep in mind the main focus and design of this game is the grand strategy aspect where you will have hundreds of battles over provinces, where economy, research, magic, diplomacy, trade routes, heroes, navies and armies play their role. So battles are important, but only a part of the game.

It is not a pure tactical focused battle game with flying animated dragons fighting against dwarfs on 3D battle maps.

Actually, I prefer a hex map with counter units. 3D graphics are just something that slows down the PC and takes resource and computer cycles from the AI to do it’s job. I turn off all graphics anyhow. It could just be a bunch of blocks with numbers on them as far as I care on the graphics. So your last sentence there – we are definitely on the same page. Don’t need it – don’t want it.


And the rest of what you said --- oh yeah, definitely looking for all of that too. The more of that the better.

I just would hate to see these “cards” be the soul determination of combat. I think – when you would take all the other stuff you just mentioned – and everything else that sounds like will be involved in this game and then combat is decided by a playing of cards. . . . . . like it was a version of “Magic” or some other card game. . . . it would just seem so out of place with the rest of the game. Not flow right. Almost like taking two completely different games and somehow trying to splice them together. it just would be out of place.

But again, to use cards as a way of dealing out “bonuses” or something like that – yeah sure.

[generalgonzo]

Keep in mind the main focus and design of this game is the grand strategy aspect where you will have hundreds of battles over provinces, where economy, research, magic, diplomacy, trade routes, heroes, navies and armies play their role. So battles are important, but only a part of the game.

It is not a pure tactical focused battle game with flying animated dragons fighting against dwarfs on 3D battle maps.

Yea, that sounds very good but still the question is - as Xerkis mentioned - how the card systems fits in this global strategy game.
If I would here only your descriptions so far I would never guess that any kind of "card game" could be involved because it sounds like a modern version of "War of the lance" or "Sword of Aragon" - if anyone remembers those SSI classics....