Archived Official Wizards Feedback Thread

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by truth

Guys, please quit running up the post count in this thread with questions on specifics for the future.

I don't know if this counts, so I apologize in advance if I shouldn't ask this for that reason...


Do you plan on expanding the story of Heroscape? I would like an official storyline, but Hasbro has always been a bit vague. That's one of the few things that has bothered me... I was rejoicing when we finally got updates on Thormun's Journal, which explained Drake's robotic arm, but it still left me wanting more...

[noodles]

Holy cow, I haven't been on the site in about 5 days....things have flipped here! To the WotC guys, thanks for being on the boards with us! I need to catch up on some threads but I'll have some suggestions soon.

[thaddeus p whirl]

Hey wotcpbarclay, thanks for your patience and support throughout the past few days! I really appreciate it.

My questions are about army card formatting.

1) I know that a lot of people here would like to see some unique art on the army cards instead of the stock photos we have now. Now that WotC controls the game, is there any hope for new creative art replacing the stock photos on the army cards?

2) Have you thought about a change in the shape of the army cards? Personally I would like to see something like a square with nice rounded edges (similar to magic cards) instead of the odd shape of the cards we have now; they just don't stay together well in a "deck" for quickly going through them as one would a deck of magic cards.

Thanks!

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by thaddeus p whirl

2) Have you thought about a change in the shape of the army cards? Personally I would like to see something like a square with nice rounded edges (similar to magic cards) instead of the odd shape of the cards we have now; they just don't stay together well in a "deck" for quickly going through them as one would a deck of magic cards.

Thanks!

Blasphemy!

[Tyrnix]

I think everything that has been stated so far is really great; it gives WotC insight into the players demands and allows them a closer correspondence with the players. I applaud Paul Barclay for his interaction with the community at large and I think we as players deserve this one-on-one interaction especially after the long hiatus of wave 8 and the like; we are finally getting feedback for the hobby and game we all enjoy. But what about the person who knows nothing about Heroscape and wishes to get into the game? How do we get a newb into Heroscape without making it feeling overbearing? There, after all, are a lot of people that could be interested in this game that may overlook it on the basis of complexity of scope, appearing childish, being caught up in another hobby, or some other reason. How do we attract new attention to the game? I think the largest way is through the master sets. For instance, do we keep pushing new figures into a master set or should master sets include a vast assortment of commons from various sets and maybe only a few newcomers? Or should the entire master set be a conglomeration of sets from the past? Should the master set be based on a theme or should it be more generic; universal and palatable with all sets? What really gets someone interested in this game? I think this new shift in development gives us adequate time to reflect what really makes this game worth purchasing for the newb. Likewise, I think our questions to Mr. Barclay should be geared toward not just what we as players want but also what the player who has never heard of 'Scape before might find appealing. Just my two cents...

[Teamski]

Originally Posted by bigkat

Now, suppose you could buy a big box of just terrain and you no longer needed to buy master sets to get terrain. Would you be ok with all uniques in the master set?

Absolutely!!!! That would completely solve the issue!

-Ski

[guido]

Originally Posted by thaddeus p whirl

Hey wotcpbarclay, thanks for your patience and support throughout the past few days! I really appreciate it.

My questions are about army card formatting.

1) I know that a lot of people here would like to see some unique art on the army cards instead of the stock photos we have now. Now that WotC controls the game, is there any hope for new creative art replacing the stock photos on the army cards?

2) Have you thought about a change in the shape of the army cards? Personally I would like to see something like a square with nice rounded edges (similar to magic cards) instead of the odd shape of the cards we have now; they just don't stay together well in a "deck" for quickly going through them as one would a deck of magic cards.

Thanks!

I don't like either of those ideas. First off, I like transporting my cards in between two seven-hexers. Second of all, they just wouldn't fit aesthetically with the vintage cards, and third of all, I don't like buying some eight-year-old's crumby rendition of a heroscape figure. I would rather the cards have a professional look to them, with very little distinctions between the newer and older cards. I didn't even like the changes made to the SotM cards. It felt cheesy.

[Dryden]

The odd card shape does present some unique problems of its own. I hated them at first, but they've admittedly grown on me over the past two years. Changing them now would be messy with the creation of two card designs each with their own dimensions. On the other hand, changing them to traditional printed playing card sizes with rounded edges would probably save a good chunk of change over the long haul. In the end, though, there is something to be said for the unmistakable unique shape of a Heroscape card. One look and you know what somebody is playing, and if you don't you might be inclined to find out.

On the art design, I'm fine with the cards as is. They do admittedly look a little amateurish with their art depicting a photo of the corresponding figure(s), but there is zero room for an artists interpretation here, so newbies to strategy/tactical miniatures know which cards go with which pieces. Once you open up the card design to allow for embellishments and artists begin taking creative license with the cards, how the heck will anyone know which, say ... Marro cards go with which Marro squads?

The photos on the cards are fool proof. I know from experience that they're also seven year old proof. Wrap your head around that for a moment. A 7 year old child can easily look to his army card and find the corresponding piece on a 4' x 4' game board containing over 20-30 figures, and he can sort the pieces and cards correctly through a stack of over 100 cards and 10 Plano 3700 storage boxes.

Anyone that has played Axis & Allies has probably encountered the problem of recognizing which piece is which, particularly when helping a newbie along, due to A&As reliance on silhouettes of the pieces on the corresponding cards. It was a huge problem in the original MB GameMaster edition of A&A, and it's even worse with AH rerelease now that every country has unique vehicle styles and there are more pieces over all. The update, IMO, made the game WORSE because the art direction needlessly made the game more confusing. My wife bought the AH version for me for Christmas two years ago. My group played it once then put it away, and we've since gone back to my 25 year old MB copy.

[guido]

Originally Posted by Dryden

The odd card shape does present some unique problems of its own. I hated them at first, but they've admittedly grown on me over the past two years. Changing them now would be messy with the creation of two card designs each with their own dimensions. On the other hand, changing them to traditional printed playing card sizes with rounded edges would probably save a good chunk of change over the long haul. In the end, though, there is something to be said for the unmistakable unique shape of a Heroscape card. One look and you know what somebody is playing, and if you don't you might be inclined to find out.

On the art design, I'm fine with the cards as is. They do admittedly look a little amateurish with their art depicting a photo of the corresponding figure(s), but there is zero room for an artists interpretation here, so newbies to strategy/tactical miniatures know which cards go with which pieces. Once you open up the card design to allow for embellishments and artists begin taking creative license with the cards, how the heck will anyone know which, say ... Marro cards go with which Marro squads?

The photos on the cards are fool proof. I know from experience that they're also seven year old proof. Wrap your head around that for a moment. A 7 year old child can easily look to his army card and find the corresponding piece on a 4' x 4' game board containing over 20-30 figures, and he can sort the pieces and cards correctly through a stack of over 100 cards and 10 Plano 3700 storage boxes.

Anyone that has played Axis & Allies has probably encountered the problem of recognizing which piece is which, particularly when helping a newbie along, due to A&As reliance on silhouettes of the pieces on the corresponding cards. It was a huge problem in the original MB GameMaster edition of A&A, and it's even worse with AH rerelease now that every country has unique vehicle styles and there are more pieces over all. The update, IMO, made the game WORSE because the art direction needlessly made the game more confusing. My wife bought the AH version for me for Christmas two years ago. My group played it once then put it away, and we've since gone back to my 25 year old MB copy.

Thank you for organizing my frustration.

[Soul Shackle]

Aw, I just discovered the magic of storing and drafting using a CD wallet, please don't screw me now!

[Riggler]

Originally Posted by thaddeus p whirl

Hey wotcpbarclay, thanks for your patience and support throughout the past few days! I really appreciate it.

My questions are about army card formatting.

1) I know that a lot of people here would like to see some unique art on the army cards instead of the stock photos we have now. Now that WotC controls the game, is there any hope for new creative art replacing the stock photos on the army cards?
2) Have you thought about a change in the shape of the army cards? Personally I would like to see something like a square with nice rounded edges (similar to magic cards) instead of the odd shape of the cards we have now; they just don't stay together well in a "deck" for quickly going through them as one would a deck of magic cards.

Thanks!

1) Please, no.
2) Please, no.

[Fatespuppet]

I know it's a bit off track, but I am definitely against any changes to the card design. As mentioned, the photos of the figures leave no room for confusion, and having artwork commissioned is expensive. The card shape is unique and definitely an eye-catcher. I don't find them difficult to store or transport, but then they fit nicely into one of these.





Couple quick questions for Mr Barclay that I hope haven't been asked;

1. You've mentioned a couple of topics you'd like us to discuss and offer suggestions for, but is there some way we can make reading these easier? Would a summary list on the first page make things easier? I know we already do this for our figure counts and things, so I'm sure compiling suggestions and maybe even vote totals could be done.

2. Any chance we could see some non-game related HS merchandise? Keyrings of the general's symbols, t-shirts with nifty slogans, etc. would probably sell well to us addicts.