As we are getting closer to early alpha, we are getting the core gameplay and cards in better shape than ever before.
While the developers have been working hard on the client, the design team have been finetuning the Unearthly Origins set, to make sure that every card has a place in the game.
- Some keywords are being removed or added to cards.
- Keywords such as Arrest and Incapacitate are being unified into similar keywords like Imprison and Disable.
The player's hand will now be referred to as Hand, rather than TARDIS. Furthermore the TARDIS Shields will now just be Shield or Shields. This way we avoid confusion about the TARDIS as shield and the TARDIS as hand, while also keeping in line with Doctor Who’s lore and standards granted by the BBC.
There are tons of exciting changes and tweaks.
The change most visible to the eye is that the card type Planet will now be Environment with Planet becoming a subtype. This will give all cards a similar layout and allow us to design other interesting Environments that players can enjoy.
This is way more fitting to Doctor Who and supports ideas involving space-stations, pocket universes and everything in between.
Back in March we released an article which briefly touched on the planets and their role in deckbuilding and gameplay. Since then we have tweaked that system to be more cohesive with the rest of the game and with future designs. (If you are interested in knowing more about the game mechanics in detail, you can read more in the game manual at a future date.)
What changed?
It is important to note that while some cards have been changed due to technical limitations, the overall goal is to improve the game and the cardpool in general. This will inevitably affect the current power of some cards.
Yes, some has been nerfed, but it’s mostly buffs and tweaks that make cards more accurately resemble what is happening in the show.
The card changes fall roughly into three categories, which we will explore briefly below.
Clarification of Concepts
These are changes to wordings that do not affect gameplay, added or removed subtypes, and name changes. The reason for most of these changes are a concern for readability and lore.
This also includes changes such as the players’ available cards being referred to as Hand rather than TARDIS.
Most cards have received changes in this category.
Attribute changes
Attribute changes such as increased/decreased artron, attack, health and other numerical values. This can also be added/removed keyword abilities.
All of the changes to attributes are with balance in mind.
We want to make sure that as many cards as possible will be picked up and played along with the already top-performing cards.
Although many of the cards are getting their attributes improved there are still some cards that have been performing too well during internal testing. Some of those will be brought down in powerlevel a bit. Maintenance of the powerlevel of cards will be an ongoing effort on our part, as we want to see a different variety of cards being played as well as ensuring fun and engaging gameplay.
Card Reworks
Complete list of card reworks, such as a complete change of text or main card type, can be found below.
Cards could also be considered reworked if they receive multiple Semantic and Attribute changes.
As a result of the core mechanics, and the underlying game-systems being finished, some cards just had to change to fit. If some cards must change the question becomes; what to change them into?
By changing some cards, we can take the opportunity to neatly adjust the game to be more cohesive and immersive.
Among the top priorities are; to make sure that the card represents the lore from the show, and to utilize and showcase core mechanics like placement and reactions.
We have also kept an eye on opportunities to make the cards better fit their rarity.
