Takeovers option is now random by default

[galehar]

Hello,
I'm adding a "random" value to the takeover option and I'm making it the default value. This is more consistent with the official rule:

Alternate games with takeovers on and off, marking this with the takeover disk. The first game in each game session has takeovers off.

We don't have "game sessions" on BGA, so a 1 chance in 2 to enable takeovers is more appropriate here. Of course, you're still free to enable or disable takeovers if you wish rather than use the default random option.

Where it can be especially interesting is tournaments and arena. I'm discussing with the BGA admins to use random TO for next season. And also to use RvI rather than BoW.

Looks like I'm resuming working on RFTG
Next, I'll look into the infamous prestige action bug. I won't answer all the forum threads, but I'll have a look at the suggestions.

[Tanjanica]

Hi,

I appreciate the work you guys do with releasing new games and updates, especially for games like RFTG, which I play a lot.

However, I for one really don't think this is an improvement to the settings.

Having to check every time to see if takeovers have been enabled (especially when you play a lot of turn-based games) is a real pain in the a** and making them either on (my preference) or off by default would be much easier to manage for people who play a lot of games.

And please, please don't go backwards to using RvI in the tournaments or else I'll probably stop playing those altogether (same with Arena if that's changed there). I pay my premium membership for a few games. RFTG is one of them.

It's nice the way it is now.

I know others may have different feelings, but I just wanted to say my opinion here so there aren't more random, unexpected changes.

Also... not loving the new mobile (Android) display for RFTG - it's harder to see what's going on and the buttons are too close together now.

Please...stop.

Thanks

[obsidian_octagon]

Looks like I'm resuming working on RFTG

Great news! Thanks galehar. It'll be great to have some of the lingering bugs fixed.

I think it will be interesting to see an Arena season with RvI. I probably won't play it as much as I prefer BoW, but I still enjoy RvI. I think it would be great to also see Alien Artifacts and potentially even Xeno Invasion as the expansion used in a future Arena season. Perhaps the stats from these seasons can help determine which is the most popular expansion for Arena mode.

In terms of setting the default Takeovers option to random for regular games, I'm fine with that, as it seems to align better with the official rules. Having takeovers randomly on and off in Arena mode may mess up and frustrate some people though, so that is a consideration. I prefer always having takeovers on, but that's my personal opinion.

[nmego]

I for one support all the changes that have been done so far, thanks for returning back!

And please, please don't go backwards to using RvI in the tournaments or else I'll probably stop playing those altogether (same with Arena if that's changed there). I pay my premium membership for a few games. RFTG is one of them.

It's nice the way it is now.

I don't mind BoW (although I think it is among the weakest for competitive play). But, it is really hard for me to find opponents real-time for Arena. I've gave up a while ago and started playing turn-based. But even then it took some time to find a match. For arguably less-popular games it is much easier to find matches.

So, I can't understand how you appreciate the current state. Is it easy for you to find games in Arena mode? If so, how? What time are you playing at? Are you playing real-time or turn-based?

[galehar]

Also... not loving the new mobile (Android) display for RFTG - it's harder to see what's going on and the buttons are too close together now.

I have no idea what you're referring to. I've certainly haven't changed anything and didn't notice any recent change in the mobile version of the framework.

For Arena, obviously people have different opinions and tastes about what is the best expansion. Personally, I enjoy them all but for different reasons. BoW is fun, but I think it works better with more players. And also better as a friendly rather than competitive game because it has some much variance.
RvI is solid and more competitive both with and without TO which is why I suggested it. I hope we can switch expansion each season as TGS, AA and Xeno are also great

[SarumanTheWise]

I do not think that this is an improvement. Takeovers are an important part of the game. They rarely ever occur, and should be on by default. It's like goals, which should be on by default.

Also why RvI instead of BoW? BoW is a more competitive game with a higher skill cap

[Omniraptor]

just lost a game because i only realized takeovers were off after trying to click on a planet. In a competitive mode I really think rules should be consistent and not randomized, especially hidden ones like enabling/disabling a base mechanic.

[ksasaki]

I don't think the takeover is obvious enough in the UI, could you possibly display the random result on top where it says "you must discard 2 cards and one world," otherwise I will forget until the important point.

I am generally OK with the expansions choice, but a feature request would be to keep a search available (remember you had an option to search or x3 prestige, of course now there is no prestige). Now, I feel like you can really get screwed badly by crummy hands and world choices with the only hope a hail mary explore +6 / +1 which can also fail. If possible, those are my requests (but the first one please).

[galehar]

I don't think the takeover is obvious enough in the UI, could you possibly display the random result on top where it says "you must discard 2 cards and one world," otherwise I will forget until the important point.

The state of takeovers is printed in the log at the beginning of the game. I tried to print a message at the top, but it's hard to do it at the game initialization. I think I'll add a simple icon with the same image as the TO token (either barred or not). I'll put it between the VP stack and goal tiles.

I am generally OK with the expansions choice, but a feature request would be to keep a search available (remember you had an option to search or x3 prestige, of course now there is no prestige). Now, I feel like you can really get screwed badly by crummy hands and world choices with the only hope a hail mary explore +6 / +1 which can also fail. If possible, those are my requests (but the first one please).

The search feature is part of the BoW expansion and was introduced to balance the variance of the huge deck. It doesn't exist in other expansion (we're playing RvI now in Arena).

[ksasaki]

Thanks, yeah it's just kind of something I don't really pay attention to before.

Initial thoughts from first days of new season, I feel like the winning ELO this season will be much lower than past season (I think I was at ~1935 ELO or so). The game just feels very luck dependent on your early draw + the goals. If you don't get one of the powerhouses improved logistics or a super produce consume engine like diversified economy or the mining one, you are probably going to have issues.

I know there is a post that BoW is the "most luck-based version," and when I initially played I thought so too, but then how can people be winning arena games ~80% of the time if it is indeed so "luck-based?" I think I had to go on a 20 game win streak or so to surpass hiei on the last day because I was about 150 elo down.

Maybe I will eat crow at the end of season, but IMO BoW is the most balanced version, though it can have some lopsided games as well.