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Digital Board Games Thread: Async Multiplatform Meeples
- Thread starter AstroLad
- Start date
PittaGAF
Member
Looks fine to me
Rematch as you wish!!!!
(Awesome game, already enjoying it a TON more than Ascension, despite the app shortcomings).
RaySpencer
Member
Not that I know of. It sucks, haha.
If you have any suggestions for improvements, bug reports, etc., then definitely contact them:
http://starrealms.com/contact-us/
You can send messages to their Twitter, Facebook or G+ accounts as well (see top right on the page).
http://starrealms.com/contact-us/
You can send messages to their Twitter, Facebook or G+ accounts as well (see top right on the page).
PittaGAF
Member
Sorry guys, but the DUMB OF THE YEAR prize is mine this year.
I just discovered....it's embarrassing really, that my major gripe with the Star Realms (zooming cards on iPhone in particular) was totally my own fault.
You do not have to 'two fingers tap' to zoom....you just keep pressed one finger on the card.
The game became much more enjoyable all of a sudden on iPhone....where I played two hours yesterday (iPad was charging) cursing the devs.
I just discovered....it's embarrassing really, that my major gripe with the Star Realms (zooming cards on iPhone in particular) was totally my own fault.
You do not have to 'two fingers tap' to zoom....you just keep pressed one finger on the card.
The game became much more enjoyable all of a sudden on iPhone....where I played two hours yesterday (iPad was charging) cursing the devs.
At the risk of getting repetitive, Star Realms is just damn good. If you haven't at least checked it out for the whopping price of FREE then you are missing out, I promise.
I think Star Realms illustrates how far "slickness" goes when it comes to making a great iOS or other digital version of a board game. When I think about the board game apps I play regularly, they are all super slick. Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Lost Cities, Elder Sign, Ghost Stories, and now SR: all smooth experiences and I can't get enough. Even games I don't really love like Lords of Waterdeep and Agricola are made more enjoyable by slick app versions.
Meanwhile some of my favorite games in real life like Eclipse, Manhattan Project, Suburbia, and soon Dominion* go unplayed on iOS due to clunky, frustrating, or just plain broken digital implementations.
Hearthstone and Solforge illustrate this well, too. Both are great games, but Hearthstone's polish makes it much more approachable. Obviously HS is easier for new players to jump in to as well, but you know what I mean.
Hopefully app developers see a pattern here and realize that "good enough" versions of their games just won't stand up to the competition any more.
TL;DR - Good job Star Realms.
*Maybe Dominion won't suck, assuming it ever actually happens. But let's just say I'm not stocking up on Gokoins.
I think Star Realms illustrates how far "slickness" goes when it comes to making a great iOS or other digital version of a board game. When I think about the board game apps I play regularly, they are all super slick. Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Lost Cities, Elder Sign, Ghost Stories, and now SR: all smooth experiences and I can't get enough. Even games I don't really love like Lords of Waterdeep and Agricola are made more enjoyable by slick app versions.
Meanwhile some of my favorite games in real life like Eclipse, Manhattan Project, Suburbia, and soon Dominion* go unplayed on iOS due to clunky, frustrating, or just plain broken digital implementations.
Hearthstone and Solforge illustrate this well, too. Both are great games, but Hearthstone's polish makes it much more approachable. Obviously HS is easier for new players to jump in to as well, but you know what I mean.
Hopefully app developers see a pattern here and realize that "good enough" versions of their games just won't stand up to the competition any more.
TL;DR - Good job Star Realms.
*Maybe Dominion won't suck, assuming it ever actually happens. But let's just say I'm not stocking up on Gokoins.
Haha yep it's so true. You've got to have slickness and then some element that can maintain interest long-term (usually async play, maybe tournaments, bonus if you've got persistent stat tracking). Sometimes it's the little details that can really knock you out of rotation -- I think Eclipse is a pretty good example of this. Superficially the app looks super polished and the game is one of the best ever. But it's missing things like displaying last turns played and it's got a few pretty bad gameplay bugs. The former in particular should basically be in there by default. I can only chalk it up to ignorance about async that any developer would do otherwise since Carc figured out how to do it the right way what, four years ago now?
Need to grab Star Realms.
In other news, looks like Ascension is out on Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdekgames.android.Ascension
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdekgames.android.Ascension
ID is risottoball - please invite me for Star Realms!
I think I'm past the stage where this game is punishing me for knowing the Playdek interface and the frustration of trying to start games with my wife and
a) realizing I had to buy it twice (she plays on my app store ID), then iTunes NOT letting me buy it twice on iOS
b) going into public games while trying to start games with her and having no way to cancel those.
Oh man, I really needed this post!
I think I'm past the stage where this game is punishing me for knowing the Playdek interface and the frustration of trying to start games with my wife and
a) realizing I had to buy it twice (she plays on my app store ID), then iTunes NOT letting me buy it twice on iOS
b) going into public games while trying to start games with her and having no way to cancel those.
Oh man, I really needed this post!
For those of you struggling with the iPhone version - the PC version seems to be pretty solid too:
http://starrealms.com/star-realms-digital-app/
Once you learn the mechanics of the game a bit it'll be much easier to play on a small screen.
http://starrealms.com/star-realms-digital-app/
Once you learn the mechanics of the game a bit it'll be much easier to play on a small screen.
PittaGAF
Member
At the risk of getting repetitive, Star Realms is just damn good. If you haven't at least checked it out for the whopping price of FREE then you are missing out, I promise.
I think Star Realms illustrates how far "slickness" goes when it comes to making a great iOS or other digital version of a board game. When I think about the board game apps I play regularly, they are all super slick. Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Lost Cities, Elder Sign, Ghost Stories, and now SR: all smooth experiences and I can't get enough. Even games I don't really love like Lords of Waterdeep and Agricola are made more enjoyable by slick app versions.
Meanwhile some of my favorite games in real life like Eclipse, Manhattan Project, Suburbia, and soon Dominion* go unplayed on iOS due to clunky, frustrating, or just plain broken digital implementations.
Hearthstone and Solforge illustrate this well, too. Both are great games, but Hearthstone's polish makes it much more approachable. Obviously HS is easier for new players to jump in to as well, but you know what I mean.
Hopefully app developers see a pattern here and realize that "good enough" versions of their games just won't stand up to the competition any more.
TL;DR - Good job Star Realms.
*Maybe Dominion won't suck, assuming it ever actually happens. But let's just say I'm not stocking up on Gokoins.
SO TRUE.
RaySpencer
Member
Yay! I need WiFi! I almost downloaded all 600mb over LTE, but decided against it. Haha.
I will figure start figuring out a tourney for it this weekend. If anyone has suggestions or anything let me know.
Union Carbine
Member
Downloading Star Realms now on iOS. How is the free version compared to paying for the full game?
For free, you only get access to the Easy difficulty level against AI, the first couple of levels of the campaign mode (which I have ignored anyhow), and limited or no access to online against other players (I think?)
Buying it is really worth it, as it unlocks across multiple platforms.
The Xtortionist
Member
Loving the Star Realms app, though it could use a few minor improvements. I think most of the animations (playing cards, sweeping up played cards at end of turn, scrapping cards) could be sped up without losing much. Game is stellar though. Waiting on synchronized play to get into online, but campaign has been highly entertaining to me so far. Need to beat the last four chapters of campaign 2 on hard mode and I'll be done. Some neat stipulations like the 100 authority endurance match and the level where scouts/vipers/explorers give more resources.
Union Carbine
Member
Gotcha. Having never played before, it is a good representation of the game though, right?
For the most part yes. I'd argue that the app version is a little more enjoyable, because in real life the game can get bogged down when there are lots of combos to resolve. The app does all the math and reminds you if you forgot something.
I played on Mac last night instead of iPhone, it doesn't know when the opponent makes a move so I'm forced to keep exiting out. Considered installing this on my work PC...
GG! That was prob the more tight strategic game I've had.
For the most part yes. I'd argue that the app version is a little more enjoyable, because in real life the game can get bogged down when there are lots of combos to resolve. The app does all the math and reminds you if you forgot something.
I agree that digital helps speed-up the upkeep and shuffling and stuff, but the physical version has other modes for more players; I wonder if the app will ever incorporate those.
Weird. I play it on both my Macbook Pro and my Windows PC and there's literally no difference.
I sometimes get the issue where it seems to hang and not refresh, but it normally does refresh on its own.
PittaGAF
Member
RaySpencer
Member
Huh, I don't know anything about battle lore, but that looks kinda cool.
The bigger news is FFG is making digital stuff!
GIMME NETRUNNER NOW!!!!
Crazy, I never played the pokemon card game, but I loves me some pokemon.
The Xtortionist
Member
Don't really have much interest in physical games anymore but when a friend let me try Netrunner, I knew it was one of the most well-designed, flavorful, and deep games I've ever played. I'll buy a digital version day one.
ascension is out on android!
finally i can try this out!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdekgames.android.Ascension&hl=en
edit: derp beaten already
finally i can try this out!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdekgames.android.Ascension&hl=en
edit: derp beaten already
Yeah we have a whole thread dedicated to it! http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=662005
Gonna binge on SR tonight if anyone's up for semi-realtime games - risottoball
Rebooted and logged out of iPhone, same deal.
Rebooted and logged out of iPhone, same deal.
Don't Laugh
Banned
i played the gbc game back in the day at the height of the card game's popularity, and it was really a lot of fun
i hope it translates well to iOS
it's been a long time since a game other than carcassonne's hooked me
PittaGAF
Member
Grifter....I thought I had the game firmly in my hands but...wow last turn.
Your array of outpost was really damn scary.
Impressive.
This game is soooooooo good.
Best deck builder ever.
It's 'simplicity' is fantastic.
EDIT: impressive win Grifter!!! What a comeback!!! Great game, thanks!!!
Your array of outpost was really damn scary.
Impressive.
This game is soooooooo good.
Best deck builder ever.
It's 'simplicity' is fantastic.
EDIT: impressive win Grifter!!! What a comeback!!! Great game, thanks!!!
The battles look exactly like in Age of Wonders 3... haven't played the board game but definitely keeping an eye on this one.
This game feels like Starcraft where you can go zerg rush, mid-tech, or tower up for full tech.
Epic game! Not real sure how I regrouped. You were destroying me something like 72-14 by the time I got defenses up but mentally I had written the game off as I couldn't hurt you faster than you healed. Was lucky to get bases going yet you still had turns where you'd take the whole group of ~6 out.
Epic game! Not real sure how I regrouped. You were destroying me something like 72-14 by the time I got defenses up but mentally I had written the game off as I couldn't hurt you faster than you healed. Was lucky to get bases going yet you still had turns where you'd take the whole group of ~6 out.
PittaGAF
Member
Yeah truly epic!!!!!
But your line of outposts was impenetrable and you continued to get those out.
In 3 turns you destroyed me!!!!
FANTASTIC!!!!
PittaGAF
Member
Yeah!!!
I love how there isn't a massive number of cards, yet you can have all sorts of combos.
In few games against different opponents I saw sooooooo many different strategies it's incredible.
And I always feel I'm in total control of my strategy, expecially compared to other deck builders.
Can't win a game to save my life on star realms recently. Lost like 6 in a row now.
Just had a guy down to 2 health,then 4, then 1 in consecutive turns and lost. Aaaarrrrghhh!
Eh make that 5 in a row, just beat ray. Thanks for breaking that streak Ray!
In other news I downloaded Ascension, but it won't launch. Gonna try a reinstall.
Just had a guy down to 2 health,then 4, then 1 in consecutive turns and lost. Aaaarrrrghhh!
Eh make that 5 in a row, just beat ray. Thanks for breaking that streak Ray!
In other news I downloaded Ascension, but it won't launch. Gonna try a reinstall.
RaySpencer
Member
Yep, I have the same problem. I'm pretty terrible at the game, but luckily it's short enough that trying again is not an ordeal. I've managed to almost make it to level 3 through perseverance!
The Xtortionist
Member
A few tips that I've found useful
-I like to take red cards with scrap abilities early. Big moneymakers are also good (Freighter, Trade Pod). Cutter is also great early on.
-almost always scrap explorers after using them. Almost anything you buy with them will be better.
-if your opponent is focusing on a single color, consider cutting them off by buying cards of that color. This is especially useful for cards that are good in general (8 attack blob card, Recycling Station, etc) or that self-replace by letting you draw cards.
-respond to your opponent's buys. Take Missile Bot if they're loading up on bases.
-don't underestimate damage, especially in the early game. Star Realms can often come down to a few points of authority.
-don't buy cards! Well, not all of the time. Late game, your deck might be a tightly packed engine of destruction. Don't add subpar cards that will only dilute it.
If you don't do your turn in 48 hours you'll lose.
PittaGAF
Member
I see, Thanks!!!