Question about the new Cards in Shandalar

[Frank55]

Hi,

at first i have to say: great work - i love the Manalink 2.0 and all the new cards - nice memories from my childhood...^^

Maybee someone asked it before , but I can`t find it so I have to ask again: is it possible to integrate some (or all) of the new cards in the "Shandalar-Part" ?

I realized that some cards already have new pics, but i miss par example the lands like gaeas cradle or the mulitcolored cards ... etc?

Don`t know if there is any update/ mod that allows me to play shandalar with those new cards...

Thx for your answers and sorry if already someone asked this question.

(and I`m realy apologizing for my bad english, but it isn`t my native language^^)

[stassy]

Unfortunately it is not possible, the new cards are only available for Duel, Gaunltet, Challenge, Limited, Custom and Tournament mode.

[monopoman]

The coders have tried many methods to integrate cards into Shandalar it was one of their main goals back about a year ago.

If we had access to the source code they could probably pull it off.

[aquilla]

Do they have the source for the other elements of the game or how come it's so simple to add cards there? Is it possible to modify casting costs and the like to shandalar or is that hard coded as well? It'd be so much fun to play a more balanced version of the game

[CirothUngol]

quoth aquilla:

Do they have the source for the other elements of the game or how come it's so simple to add cards there?

Simple?! Even with the Source Code, it still wouldn't qualify as simple... just much, much easier. And no, there is no Source Code available for any aspects of Microprose's MtG. Only through the skill and tireless effort of Mok and many others were the original executables decompressed and decompiled (into ASM, mind you) so that even the most basic of modifications could be made. Very few games have ever been cracked to this degree without any Source Code, quite an achievement by anyone's standards. Please, check out this thread by jatill that explains a little of Manalink's history, very enlightening.
Since it is also an independant executable, in order for Shandalar.exe to be opened up as Magic.exe has been, it would take a similar amount of skill and effort (from a rather savvy ASM programmer), and a similar amount of time (we're talkin' years here) to achieve. Or, perhaps we could start to pool our funds together and try to buy the Source Code for Microprose's MtG from Hasbro... whaddya think the going rate would be for a fully-moddable, accurate, rules-enforced computer version of the world's most popular trading-card game? ^_^

[aquilla]

Oh, wow! That's a lot of work! I suppose I'm waiting for the next guy crazy enough to attempt something like that

I'm not that good at laws and stuff, but I wonder about the patent... did Wizards "lend" their MtG license to Hasbro allowing them to produce a game involving their product? While we're on the topic, there was a really good swedish team that were creating a fully functional rules-enforced "MWS" prior to MTGO's beta. Let's just say Wizards heard and shut them down...

[CirothUngol]

I think it's more like Wizards "leased" the license for a number of years to Microprose, who produced the computer game. Surely, that ended after just a couple of years, but no matter because Wizards was purchased lock, stock and barrel by Hasbro and now they own them outright. Very litle chance of getting Source Code from them, seeing as how it's their biggest cash cow.
I'd love to check out the work of that Swedish team, I'm unfamiliar with that.

[gmzombie]

along time ago pre this site and i believe pre manlink.de site i tried to find someone who worked on the game and i tracked down a guy at firaxis one of the programmers although it was for sound i believe or maybe software...anyways long story short he said that it would be impossible to get source as the company had been sold quite a few times since microprose and that the dept they were in was gone or something. wether or not he was just telling me a line of bs or not i dont believe you could get that source from hasbro if your life depended on it even if they still had it...very doubtful. sorry for the history report.

[Uresti]

i dont now much about US laws on licenses or copyright but... last year hasbro sold Microprose to Interactive Game Group and sold again to Legacy Engineering Group, (from Wiki) maybe someone in this groups can be so kind to supply the source code....