Update 1. 3 – Avacyn Restored

Hey there!

We have another update for you: Avacyn Restored drafting! With prerelease events taking place all over the world, we thought it was about time to launch an MTG Booster update on the very same day the new set hits stores shelves. And here it is, ready for drafting.

Only time will tell the real strength of each Avacyn card, so for now the simulated players pick according to their judgment of how cards will perform, without those cards having seen play ever. So, if some opponent’s picks are a bit off, please be patient. In about two weeks there will be another update to improve opponent’s gameplay, as the experience with the new set will allow us to up-rate and down-rate some of the cards. Especially the new Miracle mechanism will have to be explored.

More new features in MTG Booster: You can now freely choose the editions you want to draft. We have configured some typical presets (triple Innistrad, triple Avacyn Restored and Dark Ascension-Innistrad-Innistrad), but if you want to draft a different crazy format, go ahead.

Also we have received some complaints about booster randomness. Players have reported that the same cards keep showing up in the boosters. Truth is, we have not been able to confirm and reproduce the bug. We tested this, programming a routine that opens 1000 virtual packs and counts how often each card shows up. The analysis shows that every card in the set shows up in a frequency according to its rarity. In any case we have done some research on the topic of pseudo-random number generation and have replaced the random-generator we were using by a random-generator widely accepted as the one with most randomized results. In any case, please let us know if boosters are still un-random and in what way (repeating rares? Repeating double-sided cards? Always the same common artifact?) and we will investigate the case. 

And that’s it for now. If you have any question or suggestion, do not hesitate to write us an email. Enjoy drafting Avacyn Restored and take care.

Cheers,

AweDroid

Update 1.2.3 – FNM mode available

Hi everyone!

Two weeks ago we launched the Dark Ascension update and as we were overwhelmed by your (generally positive) feedback. But everybody asked us the same thing: Why can’t one simulate a real draft, like on Friday Night Magic, consisting of first pack Dark Ascension and second and third pack Innistrad. Well, here it is, update 1.2.3 gives you the opportunity to practice for your FNM drafts. :-) After updating the app you probably won’t notice any obvious difference. In fact, in order to draft DKA-ISD-ISD, please open the menu, click preferences and mark the “FNM mode” checkbox. That one disables the triple Dark Ascension mode, which still remains the default setting.

What else? In this new version, we revised several features to improve game play. First of all, we revised all card ratings, as experience has shown that some cards are less powerful than they first seemed and others are much more effective than initially expected. Also, the simulated opponents now draft smarter: We fine-tuned their “desire” to stick to their archetype and colors drafted so far, but at the same they are flexible enough to not constantly pass powerful cards. And lastly, we improved the booster generation algorithm. Up to now, boosters were 100% random, which meant that despite all improbabilities you could open a booster with all uncommons and rares being of the same color. That is hardly realistic, so from now on we dismiss all boosters that are color-wise unbalanced.

Unless anything goes terribly wrong, the next time you will hear from us will be at the Avacyn Restored release. Until then, please drop us a note if you have any suggestion for new features or if you have technical problems with the app and enjoy practicing for your FNM sessions!

Cheers,
AweDroid

Release 1.2 – Dark Ascension

Hello everybody, dear MTG Booster community!

A new release is out! Finally! It has taken us way longer than expected and we would like to apologize for that, but the good news is: Dark Ascension is now available for drafting.

And that is not the only new feature! It is no longer necessary to download all card images prior to first use. That means in four clicks and ten seconds you are good to go and ready for drafting. And if you prefer downloading all pictures at home where you have wireless LAN, no problem at all. Just download them all at once, using the new download service we have implemented (open the menu and click “Load card images”).

Aside from Dark Ascension, the other most notable improvement we have made in this new version is the draft algorithm itself. CPU players draft in a more realistic manner now. If you still believe that CPU players underestimate certain cards or draft archetypes, please let us know and we will keep improving their artificial intelligence.

Okay, so much for the good news. Unfortunately we also have some bad news as well. As you might be aware, after years of ignoring mobile app development, Wizards of the Coast have finally released their own Magic: the Gathering app. For now it is only available for iPhone, but it won’t be long till it comes out on Android. Why is that a concern at all? Well, it turns out that WotC have started to take legal action and forced Apple and Google to remove most MTG apps, claiming that those apps were infringing copyrights. As of now, we are still on Google Play, so that is good news. But still we do not want to go on just like nothing had happened and that is why we have revised MTG Booster and have removed all copyrighted logos and graphics we could renounce. We are sorry that with this update the app has lost some of its original beauty and “Magic-ness”, but we feel that this is the only way to keep this project alive. 

For further reading on this issue, we recommend the following blog post by Platty Soft, which describes quite well the dilemma that independent MTG app developers like us are in. Here it is:

 http://www.plattysoft.com/2012/01/30/why-there-are-no-good-mtg-free-apps-for-android/

And that's all for now. As always we would like to encourage you to participate by giving us feedback, it is greatly appreciated. Until then, happy Easter and have fun drafting Dark Ascension!

Cheers,
AweDroid