[MTG] Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012

Baron Of Hell wrote:
StaggerLee wrote:
Baron Of Hell wrote:
StaggerLee wrote:

Well this is sad. The game doesn't seem to like my set-up. I'm running an e8500 intel core 2 duo, 4gb ram, and two 4850 ati cards, and it just looks awful - as in unplayable awful. help?

Edit: this pretty much describes my issue: Display issues - Users are reporting display and resolution issues, including monitor lock-ups. (#3 under "Steam" here)

Seen the below statement on the steam forums. Give it a try.

Edit the config.cfg in the Steamsteamappscommonmagic the gathering dotp 2012-folder. Don't know how it will handle "unofficial" resolutions, but for me it works for the official ones (had to change to 1920x1080 manually, cause ingame it would switch to 30Hz, which didn't work for me).

I tried this, but as soon as I ran the game, it changed the settings back to what they were previously. Thoughts?

Mark the file as ready only.

Smarty-pants.

Wow that UI is terrible.

Jeff-66 wrote:
StaggerLee wrote:

In case anyone can help out, here's what happens - regardless of resolution setting, refresh rate, or any other graphical setting mode, when I run the game, the videos flicker, but I can get through those to the main screen.

Repeating a tip I posted earlier:

look in the folder: x:Steamsteamappscommonmagic the gathering dotp 2012movies

You can delete everything in it and will remove all the splash screens and the intro video (if you don't care to be shown the intro video everytime you start the game) I know you can click through these, but by removing (or renaming) the files, your game will load immediately to the 'Start' screen.

For me, the videos stuttered badly when the game loaded, but they play fine in VLC. Renaming or deleting them removes the annoyance of having to click through them.

Thanks for the tip! Was wondering about that. Besides the awful menu, I do like the new layout etc etc.
Choose native resolution as well. Very smooth all in all. Had to work on the regeneration timing, like Judge mentioned. Lost a troll here and there because of that.

'Shroud' was something new to me:

Shroud is a static ability of players or permanents. A player or permanent with shroud cannot be the target of spells or abilities (even his or her own). While the keyword "shroud" was introduced in Future Sight, the ability itself existed long before, first appearing on Spectral Cloak; cards which featured this ability were all issued rules errata to have or grant "shroud." Creatures with shroud are most often blue or green.

Seemed also to absorb trample from my 'Stampede card'. Not totally sure about that.

Also found you cannot quickly look up these things. Or I missed that somewhere.

One downfall are those little 'puzzles' that are outright an insult to your intelligence. They should be in a tutorial or at least be optional.

Don't worry, the puzzles will jump straight from insultingly easy to bullsh*ttingly hard soon enough.

Does anybody know if the AI hands are just as "random" as they were in the last game? By "random" I mean not random at all.

muttonchop wrote:
Phishposer wrote:

So I got way stuck on one of the challenges, and it was because of a UI difference (and a bad one IMO) between this one and the previous DotP.
I think in the previous version when you sacrificed a creature you had assigned to block, the UI would still display the creature as blocked after the sacrifice. In 2012 after the sacrifice resolves, the line from the attacking creature to the target resolves back to you. The blocked creature is still correctly blocked and does no damage to you, but the UI cue indicates it's unblocked and will damage you when combat damage is resolved.
I think the UI should just remove the attack target line entirely in this situation. Otherwise I have to remember which creatures are truly unblocked and which ones are blocked but had their blocker sacrificed.

In the previous version if you blocked and then sacrificed your blocker, it would still show the attacking creature attack you directly, but it would do 0 damage.

Ok, so same behavior in this iteration then, thanks. I still think that's a poor UI cue.
And to clarify, if you sacrifice a creature you've assigned to block, the blocked attacker does no damage. This tactic is required to solve one of the challenges.

Some of the UI stuff is a bit weird to me. I always played that you regenerate a creature whenever it gets killed, but here you have to do it before attacking or blocking and it is a regeneration shield. That just seems off.

obirano wrote:

Some of the UI stuff is a bit weird to me. I always played that you regenerate a creature whenever it gets killed, but here you have to do it before attacking or blocking and it is a regeneration shield. That just seems off.

I believe that was a rule change in 2010 (actual year 2009). From WOTC:

If you want to activate regeneration abilities, cast damage prevention spells, pump your creature's toughness, or do any other kinds of combat tricks, you now need to do so during the declare blockers step. At that time, combat is deterministic enough to give you a good idea of what's coming. You'll be able to tell whether you need to regenerate your blocker, for example.

Also, from the Rules FAQ:

38. When a creature dies, can I regenerate it later on in the turn? (Magic: The Gathering Rules)

No. Regeneration prevents a creature from being destroyed,
replacing the destruction event with another. It cannot bring the creature
back from death in any way.

The Chandra deck was a PITA to defeat. The AI always seemed to have instant +4 damage cards and when it didn't it had creature cards that did +3 or +4 damage.

Jeff-66 wrote:
obirano wrote:

Some of the UI stuff is a bit weird to me. I always played that you regenerate a creature whenever it gets killed, but here you have to do it before attacking or blocking and it is a regeneration shield. That just seems off.

I believe that was a rule change in 2010 (actual year 2009). From WOTC:

If you want to activate regeneration abilities, cast damage prevention spells, pump your creature's toughness, or do any other kinds of combat tricks, you now need to do so during the declare blockers step. At that time, combat is deterministic enough to give you a good idea of what's coming. You'll be able to tell whether you need to regenerate your blocker, for example.

Also, from the Rules FAQ:

38. When a creature dies, can I regenerate it later on in the turn? (Magic: The Gathering Rules)

No. Regeneration prevents a creature from being destroyed,
replacing the destruction event with another. It cannot bring the creature
back from death in any way.

That is odd. Not really what I think of when I think of regeneration.

In the past damage would go on the stack, so you would be able to respond to it, allowing you to regen, sacrifice, etc. and still cause damage to go on the bad guy - but that has been changed in the new ruleset. Damage can't be responded to, so it happens immediately. Of course, a spell that would cause damage can be responded to before its effects resolve, but the best you could do in a combat situation is respond to the blockers being assigned.

Oh, and once blocked, always blocked. So even if a blocker is removed, the creature will still be considered blocked and no damage will go through, unless the creature has trample.

iaintgotnopants wrote:

Wow that UI is terrible.

Dont understand this... ya the main menu would be better if the mouse scrolled through the options, but how long do you sit in the main menu? I dont feel put out because i have to click at all. What are a few clicks?

The ui when playing the game is pretty much the same as before.

ranalin wrote:
iaintgotnopants wrote:

Wow that UI is terrible.

Dont understand this... ya the main menu would be better if the mouse scrolled through the options, but how long do you sit in the main menu? I dont feel put out because i have to click at all. What are a few clicks?

The ui when playing the game is pretty much the same as before.

I don't click; I use the l/r arrow keys & enter; much less irritating

So is the revenge games just the same guys with modified decks? Possibly to tease you to buy them as dlc? I played the first one and besides seeing new cards i didnt get the point.

ranalin wrote:

So is the revenge games just the same guys with modified decks? Possibly to tease you to buy them as dlc? I played the first one and besides seeing new cards i didnt get the point.

Yes, it is the same guys with better decks - not sure if you can unlock some of the cards they use too, but you could be right and it is to entice people to get DLC of new decks.

Tanglebones wrote:
ranalin wrote:
iaintgotnopants wrote:

Wow that UI is terrible.

Dont understand this... ya the main menu would be better if the mouse scrolled through the options, but how long do you sit in the main menu? I dont feel put out because i have to click at all. What are a few clicks?

The ui when playing the game is pretty much the same as before.

I don't click; I use the l/r arrow keys & enter; much less irritating :)

Exactly. The keyboard is the way to go.

I would not say the UI is "terrible", but it's main problem is that it was designed for the console, and ported to PC.

I have a theory in regards to what happened. If you remember in the previous version, the XBLA and PSN versions came out first, and then it was quite awhile before it was ported to Steam/PC, and the PC version didn't have a lot of the lazy and obvious flaws in the interface.

So my guess is this time, they a) coded for the consoles first, b) quickly ported to PC and shipped them all at once. Now they'll go in and finish and patch the PC version. This is the typical red-headed step-child treatment that we often see PC games get these days.

I double dipped and got the XBLA version of this too, and it's clear that the UI was designed with the gamepad in mind. You can really fly around in the menus and game with the gamepad. But like I said earlier, the keyboard works really nicely in the PC version. The mouse sucks in the menu, as there is no scroll-wheel support (lame), and even clicking on a menu "card" will often just make the card move instead of selecting it. So it becomes a bit of a pixel hunt. Using the arrow keys and enter is much easier.

Had to pick this one up for 360, as I played a ton of the first one. I really like the changes so far and think it is worth the $10, especially for anyone you liked the first. I hear complaints from the pc guys about stability and UI issues but it's working smoothly on the 360. Love that there's some deck customization but not too much, as I'm not looking for an in-depth Magic experience. Highly recommend for a mere $10, kinda makes the previous game obsolete.

I put in 3 hours on the PC with zero problems. I haven't played online yet though.

This is my first Magic game, can you build your own deck?

Baron Of Hell wrote:

This is my first Magic game, can you build your own deck?

No. This is "Magic Lite", but trust me, that's a good thing

You can't mix cards between the pre-constructed decks that you're given, but you can swap cards in & out as you unlock them. So let's say you've unlocked 10 cards for the green deck, you can trade out cards you don't want, and keep the deck count at 60. Most say you want to keep your deck as close to 60 as possible.

This is an excellent game to learn Magic with, but unfortunately, it's pretty limited with deck construction. DOTP won't let you trade out land cards, which is BS in my opinion. It's still a very good game, though.

The artifact deck is pretty ridiculous if you can get two Steel Overseers on the table. I had so many tokens on my creatures, when I finally attacked with all of them I knocked my opponent down to -66.

I'M really digging the Ancient Depths deck.

You can get a lot of land out quickly and can use it for some big hitters early in the game. You also have the option to swarm if you use Aether Mutation on one of the high cost creatures.

Arovin wrote:

I'M really digging the Ancient Depths deck.

You can get a lot of land out quickly and can use it for some big hitters early in the game. You also have the option to swarm if you use Aether Mutation on one of the high cost creatures.

Try polymorphing one of your small creatures if you get the chance. Given how many huge freaks are in that deck, odds are good you'll wind up with something good.

Sparhawk wrote:

Also found you cannot quickly look up these things. Or I missed that somewhere.

If you zoom in on any card, there's a "More Info" button on the right side.

muttonchop wrote:

The artifact deck is pretty ridiculous if you can get two Steel Overseers on the table. I had so many tokens on my creatures, when I finally attacked with all of them I knocked my opponent down to -66.

I've also been enjoying the artifact deck. I can't remember the card name, but get two of those that lowers the cost for all artifacts and you can play some great stuff early on as well.

Still some bugs in the game. One creature, when cast, will give another creature +2/0 and haste.
Well, I couldn't even assign it to a creature of my opponent. It would have benefited me.
But ok, so I gave it to my own...but no haste... bummer....

That's not a bug, you have to turn off the assisted targeting feature or whatever it's called. It basically stops you from casting "beneficial" spells on the enemy.

gregrampage wrote:

That's not a bug, you have to turn off the assisted targeting feature or whatever it's called. It basically stops you from casting "beneficial" spells on the enemy.

mmm ok, will do that. But still I should have gotten haste on my own creature. That's a bug.

Can't find where to turn that off. But will keep looking.

Sparhawk wrote:
gregrampage wrote:

That's not a bug, you have to turn off the assisted targeting feature or whatever it's called. It basically stops you from casting "beneficial" spells on the enemy.

mmm ok, will do that. But still I should have gotten haste on my own creature. That's a bug.

Can't find where to turn that off. But will keep looking.

Oh yeah I missed that part. Definitely sounds wrong.

Are the majority of goodjers playing on PC, XBLA or PSN? Just want to get the version that has the most potential people to play with.

The Steam group has 66 people in it currently, so unless there are a LOT of lurkers around here who play it on XBLA or PSN and just haven't said so yet, I'd tend to assume that the PC is probably your best bet.

Stupid console-designed menus aside, the PC version is probably the best one to get anyway, since any game with this much text and icons and little moving pieces is probably going to play better on the highest-resolution display you can manage. At least, that was my experience with the previous DotP, which I played on both Xbox and PC. It's not a dealbreaker, but unless you're way more invested in XBL Achievements or PSN trophies over Steam trophies, Steam is probably the way to go.

I cannot find the option anywhere. How do I change the resolution on the PC?