| |
Site Navigation
Main
News
Forums
Games
Games Database
Top 100
Release List
Support Files
Features
Reviews
Previews
Interviews
Editorials
Diaries
Misc
Download
Gallery
Music
Screenshots
Videos
Miscellaneous
Staff Members
Privacy Statement
|
|
Unknown Player continues to be pretty active - here's an article about Magic: The Gathering Online, the online version of the trading card game that is supposed to go online in about 3-5 months. The article isn't too positive, btw. Take this as an appetizer:
In addition to cards being "free," a handy deck building tool has been included with the software. The deck builder is just an excel spredsheet come alive, but it allows you to view your deck, sideboard, and collection at the same time. There is also no limit to the amount of decks you have. The deck builder's mirror is the collection view, which is an ugly emulator of a binder that can be sorted by expansion. Unfortuneately, the collection view is the only way that cards can be traded, which is also allowed within the game's interface.
The most prominent issue with M:TGOL is one that has been the bane of online games since the first MUD: lag. The server that the game sits on is terrible, to say the least. Since the cards that you posess on your hard drive has to match a rough list that the game's database has on file, there is some serious bottlenecking when people buy mass quantities of booster packs when the server starts getting shakey. In the past three weeks, the server has been running at about 75-90% stability, and it tends to go into fits of packet loss that affect everyone for one to ten minutes. Unless WOTC plans on buying a few more server boxes that exceed their current standard (judging from the speed of the website, and the lag within in the game, anything above a Commodor 64 with a tape drive would be an improvement), the game will face a release that would make Anarchy Online look smooth. |
|
|
Magic: The Gathering Online Article
