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There was a balance patch several months ago, that changed the effect of some of the Jokers. However the game mechanic hasn't changed at all, that I know of, since the beta days, even then I am unsure the beta core mechanics are different.
However, I have seen what you have seen where the game seems to be actively "going against me". However, I am almost certain that is a **Confirmation Bias**. I only notice the game going against me more as that is a more memorable (in this case, negative effect), while I can easily just forget or discount the other times (and probably happens even more) when the game is just being the game.
Many Rogue-likes and Rogue-lites all have this similar issue. You remember the things that frustrate you a lot, even though there are so many other times where the game is just being random, which it is.
And when you see a Boss that will end your run then it's time to adjust your strategy. Or buy the voucher that lets you reroll the boss blind for $10. Or skip a blind that rerolls the boss. If possible of course.
In your example, you had money. You probably could have replaced a few of your jokers and beaten the boss.
You played the game for 18h, total. 3h in the last 2 weeks. You did not notice anything too wild for the first 15h. Then you played some more, you feel like the game randomly countered your actions a few times, now you're wondering if the game is rigged.
It is not.
It also helps to really know how the game works to not become paranoid over simple normal things happening. Like when you say, "I kept getting bombarded with more Jokers in the store". I'm not doubting it. You sure did. Because that's just how the game works, you see more jokers than tarot cards or planet cards in the shop. If it were not biased towards jokers, it would be horrible. Many games would end before seeing a joker in shop.
The same chain of events happening to you with a different build would have made it an easy run. It's all RNG. But we tend to remember very well that one time the RNG worked against us, and to not even notice when it works for us.
Hang in there. RNG does not care about you or anyone else.
Now that is a conspiracy theory if I ever heard one. After listening to interviews with the dev before, he does not sound like someone who would do that. He literally made a game he thought was fun.
I personally think it is Confirmation Bias myself. I have great days with many wins and some days I think it is fighting me. It is literally my mind thinking "it has to be the game... can't be me or randomness", when it likely very much is just that, the game being the game in fact the same game in the last many months.
Also having almost 300 hours in the game helps with perspective and following the game development quite a bit.
Actually time spent with the game really does make a difference. Because you unlock new jokers and vouchers the more you play and do certain tasks.
Also you just understand how jokers and synergy works more after playing a lot. That is a blessing and a curse, in my case, as I fall into a trap of wanting a certain build that I am not getting because I have unlocked everything so getting the cards and jokers I want is less likely now.
However, that taught me newer strategies and different way of winning the game, that I only fully understand after 150+ hours vs just playing 20 hours. Again, your mileage will vary, some people don't understand why they would want to spend this much time in this kind of game. For me, nearly 300 hours is not enough.
I am not looking to be the answer for you. If you think the game was changed to actively work against you, then I guess you are going to believe that.
I'm not making any judgement on you or your play based on the hours played. But when you say
"I get really frustrated sometimes because it seems like the game was Random when it 1st came out and now it seems the devs have added a system where the AI tries to counter your deck."
it makes sense to link that to your hours played and recent activity. You could have played 200 hours before, it does not change anything about my analysis. What's true is you played only 3 hours in the last few weeks. That's short enough that it is a possibility that yes, on such a short period, RNG might have really been working against you. It's all about the sample size. I did bring up the hours because they make your story more credible. I could not care less if you are a total noob or a grandmaster, and that's why I never brought it up.
About the code, you can dig into it yourself if you feel like it. Many people did already, for many reasons, including to verify if RNG really is RNG in this game or if the game is lying to us in any way.
Turns out, nobody found anything other than: it's all pure RNG.
A Wheel of Fortune can work 0 out of 12 times.
A shop can have 2 jokers for 4 shops in a row.
If you want to confirm all that yourself, please, go for it.
Edit: better quote them I guess, it's unfortunate that a post can vanish like this.
Yeah, I mean RNG will always be an issue in all Rogue-like/-lites. In Balatro, you start a new profile with 105/150 of the jokers unlocked, and many of vouchers locked behind certain conditions also.
It took me a long time and watching others play online to learn about ordering of jokers and the ordering of the actual cards I play. Example, 20 hours in I would have never known:
- When using Photograph, I should put my face card at the end of my hand instead of the beginning, because if my other cards give me +mult, I don't want it to be x2 until all the non-face cards play that could be giving me +mult
- However if I have Hanging Chad, maybe I want my face card as the very first card now, because Hanging Chad will retrigger the card 2 more times giving x2 three times (x8 total), maybe that's better
- If I have a Blueprint, should I copy the Hanging Chad or the Photograph now? Depends on what you want to do. You want more retriggers (copying Chad gives 5 triggers instead of 3 now) maybe because you have a lucky face card that you want to try to get +20 mult or $20 from - but Photograph is triggered only 5 times (x32 mult). HOWEVER, if i copy Photograph, I only get three triggers on the first card, but twice for each Photograph giving my 6 Photograph triggers (x64 mult !!).
And that only scratches the VERY surface of the type of decisions you make in this game. Harder stakes have even different types of decisions (example, I would never take a Madness joker, unless I was on a harder stake with Eternal jokers, because that becomes manageable and powerful)
Everything works if you know how jokers and score combos synergize with each other.
I know I am beating a dead horse, but this statement reminded me of something most new players of Balatro either forget or do not realize:
The Random Number Generator is "SEEDED"
That means if you give it the same Seed value over and over, the random numbers generated are always the SAME set of numbers. How is this possible? Well, in most of computer science, almost all random numbers are not really random. They are random enough to fool most people though.
Random numbers have a starting number, called the seed. Every time the system needs the next random number, a series of mathematical operations are done against the current number to make the next number. Each additional ask for a random number, does the same exact calculation. So if you have two people with the same random number algorithm and they have the same seed and then generate 100,000 random numbers, they will both have the same exact set of 100,000 numbers in the same order!
Balatro uses seeds. In fact, when you win or lose the game, the final popup has the seed used for that run that you can copy and share. When you start a new game, there is an option to put in a seed you have (including one from a recent game you played). (WARNING: using a seed for a game will forfeit that one run from any achievements or unlocks)
Ok, so how are different SEEDs created? Interestingly enough, another RNG, but with a different seed. A seed built into most operating systems, often based on current system date/time and maybe things like internal serial numbers or location (if enabled).
So, in in that regards, yes, bosses, cards, everything are sort of pre-determined when you start. Anytime you do an action that requires an RNG (a shop re-roll, opening a pack, using a wheel, game choosing a boss, etc...), it advances the RNG.
In fact, given two players with the same seed, if they do the exact same actions, they will get the same exact game outcome (as long as they are running the same version of the game, of course)