The cardpool and the 2000 card limit
Posted: 05 Jun 2009, 02:33Ok so I've been thinking about the card pool, the CSV file and the 2000 card limit.
It would be great if we had a way to increase the limit past 2000, and I'm still hoping a way will be discovered. But to play devil's advocate what if there isn't a way and we are stuck with 2000 as a hard limit? Is it time to rationalise the card pool and to optimise the efficiency of the deciding resource?
I'm not a coder and I don't know what is technically possible within the constraints of the program but a few things leaped out at me while looking at the cardlist in manalink.csv.
First off, there are a couple of dozen cards that are marked as 'empty' or 'none' within the list. That these 'un-used' slots have survived so long suggests that despite the name they are actually serving some purpose (placeholders of some type?). What is it and is it possible to now bypass that original purpose and use the slots with the increased coding knowledge now available? If it is, that would free up 43 slots.
Can we free up any slots by deleting un-codable cards? Some cards look to my uneducated eye as being very difficult or impossible to implement within the current engine. Relentless Assault as an example, listed since the original expansion by Mok into 8th edition cards, but never implemented. Will the engine allow a second combat phase? If not, we can replace that with some other goodie. What about Falling Star, Blinding Angel and others?
Can we free up slots by deleting marginal unimplemented old cards? Don't get me wrong, I love old cards and mainly play with them. But even within the realm of the 'old' I'd rather see say Quarum Trench Gnomes and Great Wall deleted if it meant a slot could be made available for say Contagion and Icatian Javelineers two great old cards (especially the latter, which even now still sees play in Vintage fish decks). Or Shelkin Brownie and Seafarer's Quay etc deleted to make room for the Thallids. Or Chill and Stormbind fitted in somewhere.
Anyway just some ideas. What do others think?
EDIT: May be some duplicates in CSV list too. Gravedigger is listed twice, slot 1051 and slot 1535. Utopia Tree also has 2 slots, 1200 and 1257.
It would be great if we had a way to increase the limit past 2000, and I'm still hoping a way will be discovered. But to play devil's advocate what if there isn't a way and we are stuck with 2000 as a hard limit? Is it time to rationalise the card pool and to optimise the efficiency of the deciding resource?
I'm not a coder and I don't know what is technically possible within the constraints of the program but a few things leaped out at me while looking at the cardlist in manalink.csv.
First off, there are a couple of dozen cards that are marked as 'empty' or 'none' within the list. That these 'un-used' slots have survived so long suggests that despite the name they are actually serving some purpose (placeholders of some type?). What is it and is it possible to now bypass that original purpose and use the slots with the increased coding knowledge now available? If it is, that would free up 43 slots.
Can we free up any slots by deleting un-codable cards? Some cards look to my uneducated eye as being very difficult or impossible to implement within the current engine. Relentless Assault as an example, listed since the original expansion by Mok into 8th edition cards, but never implemented. Will the engine allow a second combat phase? If not, we can replace that with some other goodie. What about Falling Star, Blinding Angel and others?
Can we free up slots by deleting marginal unimplemented old cards? Don't get me wrong, I love old cards and mainly play with them. But even within the realm of the 'old' I'd rather see say Quarum Trench Gnomes and Great Wall deleted if it meant a slot could be made available for say Contagion and Icatian Javelineers two great old cards (especially the latter, which even now still sees play in Vintage fish decks). Or Shelkin Brownie and Seafarer's Quay etc deleted to make room for the Thallids. Or Chill and Stormbind fitted in somewhere.
Anyway just some ideas. What do others think?
EDIT: May be some duplicates in CSV list too. Gravedigger is listed twice, slot 1051 and slot 1535. Utopia Tree also has 2 slots, 1200 and 1257.
lol