Why no multiplayer?

[Drama[Theurgist]]

I know this is a port, but seriously, this game would be so much fun with a friend. I'd even buy it as a DLC.

[J-snukk]

I second this

[CosmicBara]

We discussed implementing multiplayer into the game but the amount of work required was greater than the return. I've seen enough games with multiplayer thrown in but have no one playing to understand that it might not be worth the effort. That being said, if there's a lot of demand we'll revisit the idea and reconsider it.

[Mr W]

I want a physical deck to play MP with.

[CosmicBara]

We did a Kickstarter for a physical deck earlier this year, but it unfortunately did not succeed. We're looking into other options for making the physical deck, though we have nothing new to report at the moment.

[Oddar]

Stardock: As a fellow developer, I suspect that your biggest concern with supporting multiplayer is having to setup a dedicated server for matchmaking and the effort required for coding robust lobbies at both ends. Particularly since historically such servers become ghost towns after a month or so.

I have a suggestion that could simplify multiplayer though...

Most PC users are familiar with using IP based multiplayer, they just type in the IP of their opponent and as long as their firewalls are set correctly, the match is on. No matchmaking server or lobbies required! For matchmaking you only need to create a subforum here, and the users handle setting up matches and exchanging IPs (privately) themselves. I don't know which engine you use, but Unity for example makes IP based multiplayer fairly easy to add in. Yes, some additional development is required... but far less than the full lobby type.

Just my 2 cents after wrestling with the same dilemma myself.

[Smakx]

Originally posted by Warpstorm:

I want a physical deck to play MP with.

There is a print and play version available, details here:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/262450/discussions/0/558747287479569266/#c558747287624358044

[BlubSeabass]

What about hotseat? Could work since there is no secrecy component. And it's more fun laughing about your friends luck right in his/her face.

[CosmicBara]

There is a hotseat component in the mobile version (we call it Pass and Play), but we didn't feel it was a good fit for PC.

[Smakx]

On the topic of empty multiplayer lounges, a good example to reference would be what Days of Wonder have done with their digital board/card game conversions. Both Ticket to Ride and Smallworld 2 have crossplatform multiplayer between Win/Mac/Android and Ios. As a result their online communities are quite active. This would probably be even more costly/time consuming to implement but also avoids the dead multplayer scene that seems to plague so many good games simply because there is such a glut of multiplayer games these days.

[CosmicBara]

Unfortunately that wouldn't work for us either, as the economies and gameplay of the iOS and PC versions are quite different in some cases. They'd have to be at parity, but unfortunately the respective platforms' quirks prevent us from making the exact same game across them all.

[Mr. Dune Imperium]

Hotseat would work very well if you could play with Xbox controllers locally.

[Suvsz]

I also vote for Hotseat and/or a LAN version. Card games are generally more fun against humans than computers, especially when your opponent is someone you know. The only thing what holds me back from buying the game is the lack of multiplayer mode.
And yes, a physical deck would be nice as well :)

[Sighman]

Re multiplayer, the solution to empty servers is to offer a 2-pack (or 4-pack) and have 'invite a friend' as an option in the game. Most people play card games against friends anyway.

[BridgetFisher]

Originally posted by AwesomeFresh:

Hotseat would work very well if you could play with Xbox controllers locally.

I noticed controller support was never added, guess ill stick with that poker night at the inventory game, having a keyboard and mouse on the couch for a relaxing card game is very difficult.

[wiidad]

Originally posted by GunslingerBara:

We did a Kickstarter for a physical deck earlier this year, but it unfortunately did not succeed. We're looking into other options for making the physical deck, though we have nothing new to report at the moment.

I dont understand how you can afford to create the game for windows but not print it physically. I always understood it was more expensive to produce it in a digital format than in tabletop.