Locked challenge cards only work for AI

[Signatus]

hello there, and I'm sorry if this is a stupid problem. I'm using the latest manalink release with challenge mode, but I want to be able to use some of the "you must complete challenge mode to unlock this card" cards outside of it. the specific cards I am talking about it smokestack and goblin welder. They're the missing link in my bazaar stax list they come into play, but just don't do anything. I can attack/block with the welder (and the smokestack if titania's song is in play), but nothing else. I have noticed that when the AI plays smokestack, it works just fine. haven't seen it use welder though (most probably AI issues).


is there a way to go around this? I went to manalink.csv and changed the "CODED" of everything that was at 0 to 1 and then ran that .exe, but the problem persists

[somacat]

No way around it right now, if you want to use those cards, you're going to have to complete the Challenge mode to unlock them for use in other games. Better get started!

[Signatus]

man, that should probably get changed. challenge mode is nice and all, but it's also very frustrating, and I'd like to have some fun with welder/stack are you sure there's no file that can be changed?


and about the locked cards, that can be "unlocked" in the manalink.csv file, are they "dead cards" as well?

thanks anyway!

[somacat]

The 21 cards from the challenges can be unlocked that way - the other cards that are in manalink.csv but not in the game aren't coded yet. It is jatill's long term project, for when he feels like adding stuff. He really enjoys adding new modes to the game (already we have draft, vanguard, challenges...), so he might do a few more to attach to the next mode he creates =)

If you are having trouble with the challenges, there are a couple of threads on this forum about strategies to beat the first few. Unfortunately, Welder and Smokestack are amongst the last cards to get unlocked. There's no thread for strategies on later challenges just yet, but give it time, I'm sure they will pop up soon enough!

[Salbei]

pretty much what Signatus said. i like the idea of "unlocking" cards , but isn´t the difficulty level a bit too high?

i was moving so i didn´t have i-net for a while and the first thing i did was to check this site for any updates.
you should have seen me when i saw the new cards in the deckbuilder .) i was sooo happy to be able to play with all these shiny new toys.thought it won´t tanke more than 1-2 hours to unlock them... well
six long hours later (along with a friend) and i have just reached the 9th opponent in the gauntlet ... jesus christ i was pissed after i got steamrolled 4 times in a row and then having to struggle to get there again.not to mention the gamecrashes.

i´m a casual gamer and i really don´t wanna copy/paste other peoples decks and exploit AI flaws just to stand a chance.it is unbelieveably frustrating to play against the same decks over and over again just to screw up your starting hand during the final 2 matches. you loose the coinflip and then it´s time to fight kobolds again grrrr.

the fact that you are forced to use certain deck types (even certain cards) is really discouraging.i don´t want to play with cards that forces the AI to do horrible missplays and just win because of that.thats exploiting in my oppinion and where is the fun in that?

i´m really looking forward to your next release.it would be great if you could unlock the current locked cards then (and save my mouse from geting tossed into a corner again).

don´t get me wrong here , i really appreciate your guys work.english is not my native language so excuse me if it sounds a bit rude.

[aww1979]

Despite beating my brains in over the fourth challenge, I think this mode is a great idea. Perhaps after awhile Jatill could make an optional patch to unlock them, maybe in a few weeks or something, for those who want something like that, but I wouldn't use it myself.

[jatill]

Despite beating my brains in over the fourth challenge, I think this mode is a great idea. Perhaps after awhile Jatill could make an optional patch to unlock them, maybe in a few weeks or something, for those who want something like that, but I wouldn't use it myself.

Yeah, I'll be doing something like that: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1504

[thedrigo]

I'm a casual player too but here's my to cents.

The whole idea of a "challenge" is that it will be difficult and that there will be a reward at the end of it. I think this is a great way to encourage people to come up with the best decks they can to defeat the challenge metagame; that's what Magic is really about. Is it frustrating to lose to the last guy after you've beat everyone else? Of course. But Jatill is keeping the game interesting and fun and I personally think it cheapens his effort to go around unlocking the cards manually. Build a good deck and beat the challenge, men. If we could, you guys certainly can.

[Signatus]

drigo, it's not just about having a good deck, it's about getting lucky enough. deckbuilding is about long-term consistency. you can be mana screwed in 2 or 3 consecutive games, but if your deck is good, in the long run you will not be mana screwed as much as not. however, these challenges don't encourage this kind of deckbuilding. when the zombie deck goes first and then goes ritual, thug thug thug, you have essentially one turn to answer. you'll be at 2 life in your second turn, so there's a limited amount of answers that can save you. maybe a black lotus can get you enough mana to wrath, but you can only have one lotus and probably not 4 wraths, so it's not about consistency.


but still, some decks here can consistently reach the 5th opponent if you have a tabernacle in your opening hand (or mox, land land propaganda orb), but then you'll have to be lucky enough to have all the stuff in your hand. in 10 CONSECUTIVE games, the chances that one of them you'll get nothing but crap is pretty high, and if you're playing the elves, you probably have had the good ones up until then (so the chances of getting a bad one are "kinda" increasing).


not to talk about the game crashes that can wreck your lucky runs. I've had the game crash in the slivers battle just before I won.


don't take me wrong, it's nice to make a deck that can beat all those decks, but it's fun the first times. after you can't get it because of statistics (duh), it becomes irritating and frustrating because you can't go to the next one NOR can you use the locked cards. :/


EDIT: as has been said before, I appreciate the work you've done, so don't think I do not

[Salbei]

yupp, you can fix consistancy problems - but yesterday i was playing the challenge on a vista mashine at my friends house.sometimes the game even crashes if you put down a first turn basic island Oo
i guess you can imagine how frustrating it must be that you can´t do anything about it - just pray that you can play 10 games straight w/o any crashes.
after a full hour of deckswitching cause of the crashes we´ve switched to a xp laptop and the crashes became less frequent.

i like the pseudo metagaming.your task is to find a deck which beats the strategy of multiple different decks (with a simmilar strategy).
the comp may cheat creatures into play - but hey! you know exactly what he is going to be playing and even predict how the ai is going to (miss)play.

afterall i´m really happy about this challenge thing

[thedrigo]

Challenge mode is supposed to be difficult, bottom line. It's not about luck at all, but does it have something to do with it? Like any game, it surely does. Nobody is claiming they've been dealt perfect hands every game, but I firmly believe that if your deck is strongly built and you're a good enough player, all the challenges are beatable. I had a horrible time beating challenge 1 and 3, like everyone else, but I don't think it takes days to beat them without a reasonable success rate. Besides, people have posted ridiculously powerful decks that easily defeat the metagame or at least have a strong fighting chance at it.

I still think challenge mode is a lot more interesting than building decks to play the regular gauntlet and duel modes. Having to earn the locked cards is awesome, in my opinion.

[Signatus]

I haven't been able to finish the first challenge because I end up having horrible hands somewhere near the end, all the other ones I beat easily. so yeah, 1 out of 1 IS about luck.

[thedrigo]

why don't you post the deck you've been playing with? maybe all of us can help you with it... i find that other people's insight helps a lot when stuck with stagnant ideas.

[stassy]

Most the challenge winner decks can be found in the "Challenge X discussions SPOILER" threads nearby

[Signatus]

I used the winter orb deck. I also tried some other decks, but it's always the same thing. the winter orb was the one I found more consistent and it still fails hands and mulligans into the last stages. also, the only time I got to the slivers, the game crashed before I won :/