System Down: The Customisable Hacker Card Game!

[3XXXDDD]

Just 1.

Also, well there are various archetypes such as Bots, Trojans, Loggers. I was thinking about creating an archetype called "Profile" which would reflect the cyber-personalties of the many people who access their computers on a day to day basis, such as face-bookers, bloggers, hackers or anti-hackers themselves, MMORPG'ers. I would like to keep the world of this to Cyber Space but in a more personified manner (such as worms actually being drawn as earth worms slithering over a micro chip or something).

[3XXXDDD]

I'm kind of looking to test the game in formats such as this:

Formats
Format 1
Deck: 30
Individual Card Limit: 3
Hand Size: 5
Life: 5 or 10

Format 2
Deck: 40
Individual Card Limit: 3 or 4
Hand Size: 5 or 7
Life: 5 or 10 or 15 or 20

Format 3
Deck: 50
Individual Card Limit: 4
Hand Size: 5 or 7
Life: 10 or 15 or 20

To help better define the best flow the game could have.

Ok, so simply put 50 is too much.

So the formats are now scaled down to the following:

Deck: 40
Limit: 4 or 3
Life: 5 or 10 (Each damage being 1 Critical regardless of that units Value)

And

Deck: 30
Limit: 3
Life: 5 or 10

5 Cards are hand, some would imagine more due to games like M:TG but since I don't have any restriction on the cards being slammed down on the table, 5 is enough, anymore would be insane.

10 life is looking to be decent with.

30 is probably much too small for a deck and games would end way too quick.

40 feels like a good number for a deck. All I need to determine now wheter 3 or 4 cards are better. Games with 4-Copys always seem a bit cloggy to me personally.

Also yeah, the "Test" cards are way too good.

[3XXXDDD]

Okay, I've done some test-drawing and I believe the best mix is

40 Cards
3 Card Limit
5 Card Hands

This is, and at the same time, isn't a resource based game. That is to say, our Resources do other things beside than give us Resource to pay with and even more so than the Location cards in other games, So increasing our deck size to a standard fifty would create nothing but an overload of cards, plenty more than is needed. This is the same with having too many copies of the same card, not to mention less copies create more re-playability value and in a round about way gives players more space to work with (since due to the looseness of this games design, "staples" are sure to be created.)

The hands is an interesting one, in this game I feel a hand limit is indeed necessary to restrict some play. I was actually thinking keeping it at a 5, I'm still unsure of this.

I am also unsure of the life values but I do seem to be leaning towards 10 with every successful attack equalling one critical point of damage.

So who agrees/disagrees?

[Dabem]

So profile cards would replace system cards? Perhaps system cards could still exist in a sense as a buff for profile cards.

I also think some profiles should have more or less life than others. Some are more vulnerable in real life too.

[3XXXDDD]

What? No. There wouldn't be System Cards anymore, just System Points.

Profiles are just an idea for a Virus/Anti-Virus Archetype to help make the theme a bit more flexible and can relate to other people as well as the usual sci-fi fans.

[Dabem]

Oh I though profiles were going to be like a 'hero' card of some sort.

System cards must have disappeared on the playtesting floor because I didn't see it happen until just now.

It's your game and you should take whichever direction you feel is best. However I think the move from the system cards to an abstract value is a step backwards, not forwards. System cards that give you certain advantages is clever, and different from any other game I'm familiar with. An abstract value your opponent must whittle down has been done to death.

[3XXXDDD]

System Cards are incredibly hard to balance. They might be included later but right now abstract System Points would be the best way to develop other areas of the game.

[3XXXDDD]

Oh I though profiles were going to be like a 'hero' card of some sort.

System cards must have disappeared on the playtesting floor because I didn't see it happen until just now.

It's your game and you should take whichever direction you feel is best. However I think the move from the system cards to an abstract value is a step backwards, not forwards. System cards that give you certain advantages is clever, and different from any other game I'm familiar with. An abstract value your opponent must whittle down has been done to death.

Would you have any suggestions for system cards? Should they be one card with 5 different effects or 5 different cards with an effect reach? What kind of effects would System cards have? Maybe every 2 damage inflicted gives you a boost such as being able to scry the top card of your opponents deck before they draw and place it on top or bottom as one of the more powerful effects?

[3XXXDDD]

Although this might change deck size ideas, I'm considering tapping into the BattleTech CCG idea of milling your opponent to win, which would also somewhat fit into the idea of disrupting your opponent, it might not be a system card but it could prove to be much more flexible than any other conditions.

Not to mention, players would then need nothing but their main deck, no paper/pen, no extra cards (Systems) and might give it a much more fluid feel.

Could also include an "Infected" or "Quarantine" zones where they milled cards go to so they wouldn't be as accessible as cards in the Archive or Recycle Bin.

[3XXXDDD]

Scratch that! System Cards are back!

However it should be noted they will only have "Activated Abilities" which will require a cost regardless of being on or off, to help balance them while giving the controlling player an option (versatility) instead of a passive bonus (Basic Strength)

[Dabem]

That's a clever solution. I've been watching the thread but I haven't had much time to reply since I was covering for two people who were out of the office last week and getting ready for a dinner party in my time at home. Anyways I think system cards should only offer a bonus to the opposing player after they've been deactivated. As in:
RAM 3: Draw an extra card next turn.

Decking someone might make sense in a game designed off of it but I think it'd require a rework of a few mechanics.

I recommend they are 5 different effect cards, each with their own life values. One card might have 1 life while another has 3. The ones with low life values gives a smaller boost to the opponent when activated. The higher life are harder to deactivate, but give major bonuses when they're through.

If we come up with or 7 cards it'll make the total life value variable and more strategic.

To start though there should just be 5 cards with 2 life that all give a decent bonus.

[3XXXDDD]

Note:
I may have taken a break from this game in favour of Macro but that's just because this game is intended to be a much larger project and requires an insane amount of thought, practice, testing and revision!

I do intend to finish a Prototype in the future sometime.

[Dabem]

That's fair.
I just realized that right now the cost and attack values of cards are exactly the same. Perhaps changing that would help balance a little. I'm not certain, it was just an idea.

Anyways, PM me when you intend to start working on this again.

[3XXXDDD]

That most likely should be implemented. The cost/power value was the same in the earlier version to keep the game simple but it's kind of gone past that now.

[3XXXDDD]

Well this is odd idea.

Each time a System is damaged, a card (top most likely) of the opponent's deck is placed under that card to note how much damage it has taken. Simply so to avoid needing to bring any unnecessary item's to the game other than your cards. If a System is fixed (re-activated) those "Infected" cards go to the discard pile.

Also Dabem, I saw you suggesting life variables? Do you mean both players have various System Cards that = a Total X (say 9) amount and it's split in different ways, like you have 3 systems with a value of 3 each and your opponent has 2 systems, one at a value of 6 and the other at 3.

Or do you mean closer to WoW? Where the HP total is different depending on the Hero used.

As another idea (inspired by the WoW thought) what if Players use just 1 System Card? And the effects they would be allowed to use de-activating the System cards of the older rules is rather gained progressively, so on 1 Damage to system, you can activate an okay effect. Then once you reach 3 damage, you can do something even cooler and then when you reach like 9, even something more insane!?

Also here's a great kicker idea to that, the activation cost of this progressive effects, is reducing the damage down to the level of the previous effect? Essentially, your trading Tempo Damage-wise for Tempo Card-Vantage wise?