Simplified graphics options and simplified damage display

[TruePurple]

Many different graphics in the game are uselessly fancy.  I would like a option to disable some of these, helpful with a slower computer too. A option for simpler graphics would cause the coin flip to be reduced to it telling you who goes first, cards would simply appear in your hand, rather then flipping over. Played cards would simply show up, rather then sliding out. Attacking etc cards would show their color along the sides unmoving. Anything else I am not thinking of too.

I think damage numbers and mana drain numbers should just show up, rather then show up then slide left fading along the way. It makes them harder to read that way, and doesn't contribute anything positive that I can see.

When you play a direct damage card like life drain, fire bolt, or ice bolt, it should show one damage number, the total damage it did, rather then a whole lot of individual numbers, this would make it much easier to tell what damage it did. Same with the healing shown from life drain.

Emphatic Bond should do its healing all at once, with one number, when that cards turn comes along. This would have the inadvertent effect of making it not synergize with adrenaline, but that synergy never did make sense and is too powerful anyway IMO. Perhaps I should have put this in a nerf card thread, but I am not sure this is how the card was specifically meant to work anyway and goes to the convoluted damage/healing display system currently in effect.

[Kuross]

You do know that you can set your settings to "low" to essentially accomplish the same effect you are looking for, right?

[TruePurple]

You do know that you can set your settings to "low" to essentially accomplish the same effect you are looking for, right?

I know that is totally not the case, this is completely false. Setting quality to low only accomplishes system speed up on slower computers, and at the cost of lower quality too. There much more to what I am talking about then system speed up. And even at that, even if your computer is running it faster, you still have to wait for those graphics. One can accomplish alot more speed up, with no loss of graphics, with this idea, even just talking about speed, but that is not the only thing I am talking about here.

Lets take the numbers moving left/right and fading off, lower quality doesn't change the fact that this makes reading those numbers more challenging, it actually exasperates the problem.

And please do explain to me Kuross, how lower quality graphics, helps make one know how much damage they did with firebolt etc.

Bah, please read posts before you reply to them.

[Kuross]

@ TruePurple...


I did indeed read your post all the way through and it seemed the ultimate point you were making was you wanted to play your games in an easier mode thereby allowing for faster play.

but since you explained your first post more clearly, it seems you are asking for three entirely different things. One, you want gameplay to move faster by lowering graphic effects- easy, note my first post on this thread. Second, you want some effects changed because they don't fit with how you see the game- suggestion: make a seperate thread and post what you think those effects should be instead and see if anyone else agrees. Third, you want to know exactly how much of an effect a spell/permanent will give or do- quickly look at the relavent item/quanta associated with the spell and do the math.

I'd recommend making three different threads and addressing each issue individually. That way people can stay on topic with what you are talking about in your opening thesis/thread.

[Daxx]

Actually it seems like a usability issue that he's complaining about. The way that certain graphics are displayed in the game are indeed not particularly user-friendly, despite being pretty. I think he's asking for a graphics setting which is more user-friendly at the expense of the fancy animation effects.

[TruePurple]

Exactly right dexx. My main issue is practical information instead of fancy useless graphics. Damage/healing numbers moving around and damage/healing from a single source showing as a single number, rather then multiple little numbers being the main two of this issue. Some other graphics make viewing the basic numbers and cards displayed a bit more challenging too.

My second issue is indeed speed, a option to cut out a number of these fancy useless graphics would increase speed much better no matter your system, then lower quality graphics setting, no matter what your system specs are, and it would do so without having to look at grainy pictures. Of course it is not mutually exclusive and those who want especially fast could have simpler game graphics and reduced quality too.

All of these are the same issue though, how the game shows events happening. I don't see a point of dividing up such a thread.

quickly look at the relavent item/quanta associated with the spell and do the math.

What is the point of the game showing damage numbers other then to tell you what damage was done? It shouldn't be to 'dazzle' us with sideways flowing, fading numbers that don't tell us anything so that we can do the math ourselves.

[Kuross]

I believe, without ever having to look at the code, that the algorithm repeats itself for every instance of a card's effect with regard to having an effect depend on a specific gameplay state. For instance, Emphatic Bond's counting of it's life gain goes through a cycle by looking at the number of emphatic bods then looking at each creature in turn and adding the appropriate life total, then repeating the cycle at the next creature down the list.

I only understand coding to a limited degree, but either that code is easier on gameplay, zanz hasn't simplified the code or zanz left it that way intentionally for asthetical purposes. I suspect he left it that way on purpose since it seems to be a nice asthetic touch, but maybe looking into a more controled measure of system settings would allow users to adjust those effects individually and rendering the sum of an effects damage/life/etc. I'm sure zanz, or someone as qualified, could answer to that.

As for the math part, I tend to run my gaming in the "Lo" spectrum on settings and counting is something I do without really paying attention. I've been playing CCGs for many years and it's a habit I picked up. It's probably me, and I'm in the minority, but I've never had a problem in gaming that way.