Race for the Galaxy preparing for the Brink of War

Front Page Discussion
#1

Originally published at: http://statelyplay.com/2017/12/06/race-for-the-galaxy-preparing-for-the-brink-of-war/

iOS Universal, Android, PC •


We’re starting to put together “best of 2017” lists behind the scenes and, to be honest, this year is a tough one. There have just been so many great releases this year that picking 5 or 10 and ranking which are better than others feels like telling one of your kids that you like them the least [it’s the middle kid, by the way -ed.]. There are a couple games, however, that are easy to toss near the top of the list and Race for the Galaxy from Temple Gates is one of them. A simply brilliant digital take on the classic card game, RftG has everything you’d want in a digital port. Well, almost everything. It is lacking the Brink of War expansion, but that’s going to change on December 14th.

Like any RftG expansion, Brink of War will bring a slew of new cards into play. There are four new starting worlds and 36 new developments and planets to settle. If you like to play with goals (and why wouldn’t you?), Brink brings five new ones to mess with as well. It also introduces a new mechanism, Prestige.

Each round players will compare their Prestige score and the player with the most will earn a VP and, maybe, more. You can also use Prestige to buy cards, but then those free VPs are going to go to your opponents. There is also a one-time ability for each player to search through the deck and find a card that meets certain requirements.

The new expansion isn’t the only thing happening to RftG on the 14th. The app will also be updated:

- Updated tutorial - Better phase tooltips - More language support - Duplicate card treatment
I don't even know what Duplicate Card Treatment means, but I want me some of that. The Brink of War expansion will be available on all platforms via a $4 IAP. We'll post when it goes live, just so you don't forget. https://youtu.be/HSHTC91zFHE
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#2

Great news! I’ll buy any expansion for this, event those that are generally unliked.

Now drop the friend code system and this game gets my GOTY vote, but only by a tiny bit over other great contenders.

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#3

Yesssssssss!!!

My GOTY so far.

Hopefully they will update the app with better/more robust notifications and iPhone X support too.

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#4

Yes awesome game and I’ll buy any expansion too, I only play less frequently cause Pitta keeps stealing my cards and beating me :wink:

Just picked up VEmpire which is out now btw

#5

GOTY!

I’ll be buying the expansion on day one.

I do hope the notifications improve. But it is great that I can switch between my iPhone and iPad in the same game.

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#6

@Mirefox

Just for some clarity, what’s the problem with the friend code / what would you prefer?

We went with that scheme since other schemes seemed worse (w/ email you now have to make your email public, w/ usernames then usernames would have to be unique/unchangeable).

One solution we’re considering allowing people to optionally associate an email address, then you’d be able to use friend-code or email as you prefer. Would this option interest you?

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#7

I personally like unique logins like you see in other top-tier apps like Through The Ages or Twilight Struggle. I don’t care that they can’t be changed. Perhaps I am in the minority, though.

One issue I’ve had with friend codes is that I’ve had to get two new phones in the last month, once because mine was stolen and once because I put one through the wash (don’t ask). Because I didn’t take the time to link accounts, I had to go through the process of re-connecting with me friends again, and they had to deal with potentially three of my codes in their lists, only one of which was right.

Thank you for taking the time to respond; I really am only nitpicking. Great app.

#8

I would prefer usernames. They are easier to share and don’t change when switching devices, unlike friend codes. I don’t think their unique or unchangeable properties are a problem. But you’ve got this system going and it works, so changing is probably not worth it.

Notifications seem to work some of the time. I’ve played game on two devices, and it seems that only one gets the notifications. It would be nice to get notifications on both devices.

Overall I think you’ve done a great job with the game. The UI works well and the game is a blast to play.

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#9

@greysphere

I’m fine with friends codes, but that’s a problem when they are tied to the actual device and you buy new ones.
Maybe an email login system would be better.
Bought a new phone and thanks god I still had an iPad to link the code.
Btw if you restore the game from an iphone backup (ie…what almost everyone will do when buying a new one) notifications won’t work. You have to delete and reinstall, then re link the code assuming you have another valid device.

Speaking of improvements…notifications are fine but they don’t stay nor they go away if you take a turn on another device (I submitted this long ago on boardgamegeek)

Example…I see I have new red badge on iPhone…I open the game but I decide I’ll wait to take my turn on iPad where I can see better the cards…the badge goes away in iPhone (should stay).
Or the other way around…if I take my turn in iPhone the badge still persist on iPad till I open the app (should go away as soon as I take my turn on the other device).

Also, I really hope you’ll support iphone X estate…those black bars are ugly and hopefully you’ll get cards a tad bigger (often I refrain to take my turn on iPhone because it’s too small…please consider having a bit bigger cards and a bit smaller UI in your next game, which I can’t wait btw).

Other than this, the game is absolutely perfect and my GOTY so far.

I play at least 2 games daily (generally Rebel vs Imperium, my fav expansion).

Thanks for the awesome work and looking forward the expansion!!!

#10

Ehi @skoptic !!! We should play again!!!
I beta tested VEempire and it’s a great deck builder, too bad it’s not async tough.

#11

TTA is a great contender for GotY, but my vote will go to RftG!
i have played over 100 games and don’t get bored at all. still fresh and exciting.
had so many great games, so many nailbiters (nails? what nails? gone!).

now i can’t wait for the expansion and update.
i hope that the permeable log button will be fixed :pray:

#12

Thanks everyone for the notes folks. Yeah the device migration stuff is pretty subpar. We’ll be looking to address some of the issues you’ve brought up with Roll and then probably propagate those solutions back into Race. Don’t want to commit to anything but at this point we’re thinking about optionally associating an account with an email for linking/transfer/recovery.

Also good catch on the iphone-backup/notifications issue, we’ll investigate.

IPhoneX support will happen when one of us gets an iPhoneX - let’s hope Santa is feeling generous!

And if the log-button issues is what I think it is, you’ll be pleased with the patch :wink:

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