Mar 6, 2023

KARDS - The WW2 Card Game - Elin

Hello everyone!

Following the announcement in Lead Game Designer Keli’s dev blog about the new content cycle, we have prepared a list of the 10 most frequently asked questions from the KARDS community. If you missed Keli’s dev blog, you can check it out here: The Cycle of KARDS.

You can also check out the latest episode of the official 1939 Games podcast, The Frontline, where Keli and Chief Creative Officer Gummi talk about the content cycle and answer some community questions.

https://youtu.be/TX7sDQtGDwc

FAQ

1. Why are you introducing a rotation?

As we are introducing a new cycle of regular content delivery, with a major expansion every 6 months and potential smaller releases in between, this could lead to up to 200 new cards coming into the game each year. This can lead to a number of issues (e.g. deckbuilding becoming tedious, power creep issues, inaccessibility for newer players). We want to implement a good and stable mechanic that deals with these potential issues before they become actual, big problems that can cause a lot of trouble. This is how we aim to lay the groundwork for a long lasting, successful and enjoyable game where players have a framework they can trust will last in the long term. We see the rotation as a necessary step to take as the game matures, to create a healthy cycle for the longevity of the game.

2. Why is 800 cards the number you aim to maintain?

In deciding on this exact number, the ratio of competitive versus filler cards was an especially important point. Compared to many other card games out there, KARDS has a relatively high number of competitive cards. Another main point taken into consideration is the overall diversity and depth of the meta, which we feel is achieved well in KARDS at around 800 cards. That said, there’s always the possibility that this number may be adjusted in the future.

3. What happens to cards in the Reserve pool?

Cards that move into the Reserve pool will remain a part of your collection. You’ll still be able to use them in Training matches, challenge matches against players on your friends list, as well as an upcoming PvP game mode, Classic. Cards in the Reserve pool may be reintroduced into the game alongside a new expansion. You will also be able to keep creating cards that are in the Reserve pool with Wildcards, but you’ll receive a warning prompt as you try to create a Reserve pool card.

4. Why is there no ranked/leaderboard in Classic?

As our playerbase is not as large as some other popular card games out there, we have decided not to have a competitive leaderboard in this game mode for the time being, as this may be detrimental to the overall health of the game. There is however the possibility that this may be introduced in the future.

5. Will there still be balance patches?

Yes! While balance patches will play a much less significant role in shaping the meta of the game, you can still expect some balance patches. Balance patches will especially be used to address any serious bugs or power issues, such as overpowered cards or particularly toxic cards or card combos.

6. When will I know which cards will be rotated out?

We’ll communicate about the specific cards to be rotated into the Reserve pool several weeks ahead of time - you can generally expect about 4-6 weeks notice. The full list will be communicated through dev blogs and we’ll make sure that this is communicated in the UI as well - potentially marking them in your collection and warning you when you’re trying to create a soon-to-be Reserve card with Wildcards. These cards will also stop dropping in packs well in advance.

7. Will I be compensated when my cards move into the Reserve pool?

Yes - we are currently planning for a one-time larger compensation when the first full rotation hits with the summer expansion. Going forward, we are reworking the crate mechanic, which includes cards that you own entering the Reserve pool going towards filling your crate. Other things, such as gaining a national level may also go towards filling your crate. The crate will also be filled more frequently but each crate will offer reduced rewards (overall similar gains, but you’ll open your crate more often).

8. Will any card packs aside from Core and the latest expansion be available?

National packs will continue to be offered as rewards as they are now. We may also put together some specific pack types down the line and make them available in the shop for a limited time.

9. Duplicate protection - what does it mean?

Duplicate protection means that you will not receive duplicates in card packs if possible. Duplicate protection will not affect rarity distribution within the packs, so if you have a fully completed collection of cards of a certain rarity you will then receive duplicates in that rarity (e.g. if all standard cards have been collected you will start getting standard duplicates).

10. When will the first rotation happen?

The first phase of the rotation will happen in spring, that is most likely to happen in late April. This will be a very minor rotation to test the feature and gather more feedback. Around 5 very infrequently used cards will be moved into the Reserve pool, all cards except the latest expansion (Legions) moves into the Core set, and Theaters of War and World at War bundles will be removed from the shop. The first real rotation will hit this summer, when the summer expansion is released, at which point around 80 new cards enter the game and the same number of cards move to the Reserve pool. We also aim to introduce the Classic game mode around the same time.

Please let us know in the Content Cycle Feedback channel on Discord if you have any feedback or questions about the new content cycle!

Feb 21, 2023

The Cycle of KARDS

KARDS - The WW2 Card Game - Elin

Hello friends!

Last year was on the leaner side in terms of new content, as we prepared for our fast approaching mobile launch. We are finally set to clear that forest. What does this mean? A new expansion of course! We have already started work on a new expansion for KARDS, slated to be released this summer. The goal is to have the new expansion follow closely in the footsteps of the mobile launch. The new expansion, which will be of a similar size as the Breakthrough and Legions expansions, is the first of many we are planning. We are setting up a more regular content delivery pipeline, so we will have two major expansions every year and in between smaller releases, some of which can include new cards.

It is too soon to dive too closely into the details on the upcoming expansion, but rest assured that we will keep you closely updated in the coming weeks and months. What this dev blog is intended to do, apart from announcing that a new expansion is on the horizon, is to cover some of the other features related to the new expansion pipeline we are working towards. So buckle up, we have a lot to cover. Or, if you are strapped for time, you can skip to the bottom of this dev blog to read the tl;dr summary for the highlights.

Oh, one more thing before we continue - this dev blog liberally uses the terms expansions and sets interchangeably throughout. The two terms have the same meaning, i.e. Breakthrough for instance is both a set and an expansion. Usually, the term expansion will be used when talking about soon-to-be released sets, while the term set is used when talking about already existing sets or a group of sets.

Core Play

First of all, we are simplifying the current set structure. This has two main benefits. One is to make the store easier and cleaner for players (especially new ones) to navigate and understand, especially with the plan to release new expansions on a regular basis. The second reason, which we will cover in more detail below, is to allow us to better control what to do with older cards as the overall card pool increases over time.

Once this feature is live, you will only see 2 sets in store - the latest set (currently Legions) and a permanent Core set. The Core set will include all older sets. The Core set will include all cards in the Base, Allegiance, Breakthrough, World at War and the Theaters of War sets. Due to this, we will rebrand Theaters of War slightly, removing the card rewards. This will happen in two steps; first we will remove Theaters of War from the store (this does not affect those that already own the campaigns in any way), later we will add it in again without the card rewards (at a lower price of course). The World at War sets will be removed as well, there is no plan currently to re-introduce them later in the same form, though the props and battlefields will show up separately in the store at a later date.

Any packs you own from any of the sets in Core will not be touched. This change is only for what packs you can buy in store and get from rewards. So if you own for example a Breakthrough officer pack, you can choose to sit on it as long as you want and it will be kept in your collection.

We are also making a couple of other changes. First of all, we will introduce full duplicate protection, for all rarities. This includes duplicate protection for gold cards (such as gold elites received as season rewards). Secondly, we want to make base and officer packs a bit more distinct so players have a better understanding of what to expect. Our current plan is for gold and wildcards to only drop in officer packs and slightly adjust drop rates of all card types on both packs - feel free to voice your opinion here because this is not set in stone yet.

Send In The Reserves

It is inevitable for all card games that once the card pool reaches a certain size then problems arise. The meta becomes too chaotic, deckbuilding becomes tedious, new players are left further and further behind and power creep issues become more prevalent. Currently we have around 800 cards in the game (not counting HQs). We deem this to be close to the optimal number of cards for the game. This is a bit less than found in some other card games, but KARDS has less ‘filler’ cards than most other card games, so the actual number of construction-worthy cards is at a similar level.

With this in mind, going forward each time a new expansion drops, we will move a similar number of cards from the Core set to the Reserve Pool. Cards in the Reserve Pool cannot be used (or randomly show up) in ranked battles or casual and will not show up in drafts. The cards in the Reserve Pool are not removed from the game, they will still be part of your collection.

The way this works is that when a new expansion hits, then the former newest set (Legions right now) will become part of the Core set and an equal number of other cards in the Core set will be moved to the Reserve Pool. Here is a diagram to help you visualize this process (all images used in the diagram are just for visualization aid and not an indicator of what is slated to rotate):

Many of you may ask why we are not rotating cards to the Reserve Pool based on sets, like most other card games do it. This would simplify understanding the process, but it creates some problems for us. The two main ones are that it would make some allies basically unplayable, as the bulk of their cards come from the set they are introduced in. Secondly, because we are a historically based game, we are limited for instance in what unit types we can use - i.e. we don’t have the luxury of easily swapping like-for-like when something iconic would rotate out. This could mean we would end up with a WWII game without any Panzers or Spitfires, and no one wants that! So for these, and other, reasons, we will hand-pick which cards will be moved to the Reserve pool each time.

In making this selection we will look at things like how popular a card is, how toxic it is to the majority of the playerbase, how oversaturated strategies it belongs to are, and other things. What will be rotated out will be clearly shown in client weeks before a new expansion comes along, giving players ample time to adjust and adapt. This includes for instance a warning when trying to craft a card slated to be rotated and such cards not dropping in packs for some time before the rotation.

If you look again at the diagram above, you will notice that cards can also return from the Reserve pool back into the active pool. Once this system is up and running, we are planning to return around 20 cards (exact number may vary) back from the Reserve Pool with every rotation (every time a new expansion drops). Of course, this will not happen in the first rotation, as the Reserve pool will be mostly empty at that time (see below on why only mostly). But from the Winter ‘23 expansion and going forward, a number of cards will return from the Reserve pool. The number will be far below the cards rotating out, so the Reserve pool will grow over time. This means that not all cards will return from the Reserve pool. The intention is that the cards returning from the Reserve pool each rotation will be impactful cards, preferably ones that fit the overall theme of the expansion they are coming back alongside.

Our current plan is for returning cards to be added to packs from the new set (they will still retain their old set watermark and are counted as part of the old set for collection % purposes). They might drop in the Core set as well, this is still undecided. The reason we are contemplating them being part of the new set packs is that it makes it easier for newer players to get their hands on those cards, than if they only become part of the much bigger Core set. This would not reduce the number of new cards coming in each set (at least that is not the plan right now). So the Winter ‘23 expansion is slated to have around 80 new cards, same as the Summer expansion, but also have around 20 returning cards. Note that this means because the first rotation of around 80 cards is alongside the Summer expansion, then 20 of those 80 cards will return mere 6 months later. In the long run though, we aim to have more time between a card going out and it coming back, so when it returns it will feel more like an old friend returning after a long journey. Let us know your thoughts on the mechanics for cards returning, what would you like to see?

New World Order

It is undeniable that the creation of a Reserve Pool will have a big impact on the game. Until now, players have been able to buy our products knowing that the cards they get are theirs to use as they want. Now this will no longer be the case, as some cards in players collections will not be available for ranked, casual or draft matches. To acknowledge this fact, we are planning on providing players with some compensation in two main forms. When the first rotation hits with the Summer expansion, players will receive a one-time compensation, which we will communicate about in more detail closer to the first rotation.

In addition to this, we are planning another (smaller) compensation feature that will become a regular part of the game. We plan to re-implement the crate system so that more than just duplicates contribute to filling the crate. Things like gaining a national level and cards in your collection becoming part of the Reserve pool will then contribute to the crate. The crate itself will also be reworked a bit so that you will fill it more frequently but get reduced rewards each time (exact numbers still to be determined). This feature is slated to be ready alongside the Winter ‘23 expansion.

Cards in the Reserve Pool are of course still part of the game. As time goes by and the Reserve Pool grows, we will start to show more and more divergence between the active (800 card) pool and the total pool (active + reserved). This will be a chaotic environment, but undoubtedly quite fun as well. With this in mind, we will add a new battle mode, termed Classic. In these battles, you will be able to use any cards in your collection, including those in the Reserve Pool. Classic battles are not ranked, nor have an Officer club or leaderboard. Matchmaking will use the hidden Elo-based rating all players have. The reason for this is not to split up the player base too heavily and to make sure newer players don’t feel like they are missing out by not being able to compete in this format.

On the Horizon

Let’s look into the future a bit. As stated above, the plan is to now start putting out new expansions and other content on a regular basis. This cadence is important to make sure we shake up the meta on regular bases and for players to have a better idea of what is coming down the line. With the regular expansions, we are scaling back our balance patch work. The balance patches have been one of the main tools in our arsenal for the past year or so in making adjustments to the meta. With regular expansions and cards rotating in and out of the Reserve pool, this is no longer required. We will still do balance patches when needed, but only to hotfix serious bugs or balance problems.

We intend to put the content cycle feature on live before the first major rotation, to give us to time to tweak and adjust the in-client UI, such as the indicators for which cards are slated for the next rotation and how to filter between Active and Reserve Pool. Battletesting this feature will require a handful of cards to be put in the Reserve Pool. We intend to pick 5 very infrequently used cards for this.

One thing that is very important is for players to have faith in having the time to enjoy new cards they buy. So cards in new sets will be exempt from rotation for a time. Only cards in the Core set go to the Reserve Pool. When a set moves into Core, then none of its cards go into Reserve. On the next rotation, these cards are safe as well. It is only on the 2nd rotation after the cards became part of Core that the cards can be moved to Reserve. For example, Legions is currently the newest set. When the Summer expansion drops, Legions cards will be moved into Core, but none of them will be moved to the Reserve Pool. When the Winter ‘23 expansion drops, Legions cards are still not touched. It is only when the first expansion of ‘24 drops that cards in the Legions set can go to the Reserve Pool. This means that cards in the Summer expansion will definitely be playable until the 2nd expansion of ‘24 at the very least. Exceptions can be made in extreme cases, but we don’t foresee needing to do this often (if at all). To understand this process a bit better, here is a diagram for your viewing pleasure:

Tl;dr version

Here is a brief summary of the deliveries this year, as discussed above.

Spring. Introduce rotation on a minor scale to battletest the feature and gather feedback. We will put a few (around 5) very infrequently used cards in the Reserve Pool. All cards except Legions become part of Core. Theaters of War removed from Store.
Summer. New expansion lands with around 80 new cards. Same number of cards moves to the Reserve Pool. Classic battle mode available.
Fall. Re-introduce Theaters of War without card rewards. Reworked crate system. Finalize system for cards returning from the Reserve Pool.
Winter. Winter expansion lands with around 80 new cards as well as 20 cards returning from the Reserve Pool (exact numbers to be determined).

We would love to hear your feedback about all of the elements discussed above. Please visit the Content Cycle Feedback channel on the official KARDS Discord to leave your thoughts and engage in discussions about the new content cycle.

Feb 17, 2023

New User Interface: Coming Soon!

KARDS - The WW2 Card Game - Elin

Hello everyone!

Get ready - the new KARDS user interface is just around the corner! Here, we’ll go over the timeline of the release of the new UI to PC and provide an overview of what these changes entail.

When is the New User Interface Available?

The New UI will become available for all players in the latter half of March.

Prior to the full release, we will have a short test period for the new UI, starting in the beginning of March. Players on Steam will be able to access a public test branch with the new UI. We will provide specific details on how to join the public test and how to give feedback when we are closer to the actual test in early March.

New User Interface: Overview

From our own insight, community feedback, and the ambition to run KARDS for many years to come, we’ve seen that the KARDS user interface could be improved. In developing the mobile version of the game, we saw an opportunity to overhaul the user interface, to streamline it and improve the overall user experience. The new user interface will be available on both the PC and mobile version of the game, so players will have a consistent experience regardless of which device they are playing on. Here, we’ll give a brief overview of what you can expect with the new UI. For more details, you can refer to the dev blogs written by our Chief Creative Officer Gummi: New User Interface: Part I - KARDS Home Screen, New User Interface: Part II - Play, and New User Interface: Part III - Cards.

KARDS Home Screen

The KARDS home screen is changing fundamentally with the new UI. The KARDS Home Screen has a new look, allowing for increased flexibility and for us to communicate better about all the exciting things going on in and around KARDS.

1. The Top Bar

On the far left, you’ll find the Home button. Simply click or tap the KARDS logo to take you back to the home screen from almost any other part of the UI.
Next is the button to your profile - indicated by your current rank and player name.
Then, the resource overview - the amount of gold, diamonds and wildcards you have.
Finally, on the far right, you have the Friends and Settings buttons.

2. The Main Menu

PLAY navigates to Battle, Training, Campaigns, or any other game mode. More on this below.
CARDS gets you to your decks, deck builder and card collection. More on this below.
SHOP takes you to the shop.

3. Content Carousel

The content carousel is a rotating banner on the home screen that keeps you updated on all the latest things in KARDS. This can be information about a recent expansion, decklists, guides, dev blogs, news, store offers, tournament info, etc.

4. The Right Side Buttons

The buttons on the right side will vary depending on the content we want to highlight or feature at any given time. They will mostly be reserved for shortcuts to specific events or game modes, such as Skirmishes.

5. The Progress Line

On the bottom of the new UI you will find your national progress - the UI will by default show you the last main nation you progressed in, but you can also switch to a different nation. You can also access your missions here.

PLAY Button

The Play button determines how you enter any given game mode.

Under the Play options, you’ll be able to select any of the game modes available at the time:

Battle (PvP) - with a toggle between Ranked or Casual
Training (PvE)
Draft
Campaigns - starter campaigns or Theaters of War
Skirmish - when available

Select Deck

After picking a game mode to enter, you’ll be prompted to select a deck from your library to play with. Scroll or swipe up and down to browse your list of decks. Decks will be ordered by usage (last played, last created, etc.).

On the right hand side, you’ll see the selected deck and interact with it through the buttons provided. Customize the deck (swap card-back, HQ, board items or emotes), or hit the star button to favorite the deck, so it’ll always show up at the top of the deck list.

Below the selected deck, you’ll be able to toggle between ranked or casual mode, and, finally, hit the play button to head into the game!

CARDS Button

The CARDS button on the main menu brings you to the new interface where you can explore your decks and collection of cards.

Click or tap the PACKS button on the Top Bar to open your unopened packs.
Click or tap the COLLECTION button on the Top Bar to access your card collection.
Browse through your library of decks by scrolling or swiping up and down.
Click or tap the empty deck slot to create a new deck.
Click or tap any of your existing decks to bring up details about the deck and edit it.
- Mark the deck as a favorite, copy the deck code to your clipboard, delete the deck, customize deck elements, or edit the deck.

Deck Builder

The layout of the deck builder has changed quite significantly. These changes are done with consideration of a lot of community feedback we’ve received throughout the years. The goal with the new deck builder is to improve accessibility, provide an improved deck overview, have a consistent and clear UI for the upcoming mobile version of the game, as well as introducing various improvements for power users (especially on desktop). The new deck builder is split into three main areas:

The Top Bar, where you can click to “show all” (including unowned cards), with a search bar, a wildcard overview, and a button to access filters.
The Card Collection, filtered by the nations in the deck. Scroll or swipe up and down to view all the cards. Click or tap a card for more details and the ability to create a card with wildcards.
The Deck Overview is visible in its own panel on the right side. Here, you can have a convenient overview of the cards in your deck, access more details about the deck, change the name of the deck, and edit the HQ/battlefield.

That covers the main points of the new UI changes. As a work in progress, there may still be some adjustments to the elements outlined above.

As previously mentioned in this blog, we will do a short test with the new UI in early March. This test will be accessible to Steam users through a public test branch. We aim to release the new UI to all PC users in the latter half of March. We’ll update you on the specifics of the test as we get closer to the test time. Keep an eye out for new dev blogs, join us on Discord and follow us on social media to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

Jan 25, 2023

January Update - Patch Notes

KARDS - The WW2 Card Game - Elin

Hello everyone!

Following the announcement of this month’s card balance changes on January 11th, we have deployed these changes on January 25th. Check out the dev blog for more details about these balance changes: Card Updates: Rally.

This patch also includes several bug fixes and some behind the scenes additions.

We thank all of our players and the KARDS Community in general for reporting bugs and discussing the game balance. If you want to get involved, join us on Discord!

Card Balance Changes

A total of 15 cards have been updated in this patch.

5TH PARACHUTE BRIGADE

BALUCH REGIMENT

Old: Deployment: Give your HQ +2 defense.
New: Deployment: Give your HQ +3 defense.

M4 FIREFLY

Old: Damage from M4 FIREFLY ignores Heavy Armor.
New: Deployment: Deal 5 damage to an enemy tank.

3. FALLSCHIRMJÄGER

361. AFRIKA REGIMENT

BARRAGE

Old: Choose one - enemy units have -3 attack this turn OR deal 5 damage to a ground unit.
New: Choose one - enemy units have -4 attack this turn OR deal 2 damage to a ground unit.

34TH GUARDS

A-20B

Old: Costs 1 less to deploy if you control a US unit.
New: Costs 1 less for each US unit you control.

SBD 3 DAUNTLESS

AICHI D3A-1

Old: Destruction: Deal 1 damage to the enemy HQ.
New: Destruction: If it is the enemy turn, add an AICHI D3A-2 to your support line.

ANCIENT EMPIRE

Old: Give your HQ +4 defense and all friendly units +1+1.
New: Set your HQ’s defense to 8. Draw an ANCIENT EMPIRE.

PZL P.11

Old: Your Exile cards cost 1 less, to a minimum of 1.
New: Your Exile cards cost 1 less.

HURRICANE PL

Old: Deployment: Give another unit with Exile +1+1.
New: Deployment: Give another friendly Exile unit +1+1 and -1 operation cost.

BATTLE MK I PL

Old: The first order you give each turn also gives your units +1+1.
New: When you deploy another Exile unit, give it +1+1.

2e RIMa

Old: At the end of your turn, give each other friendly unit Mobilize.
New: At the end of your turn, give adjacent units Mobilize.

Bug Fixes

AI Bugs

Fixed several broken card interactions in AI matches.
Fixed Pin effect not being correctly removed in specific circumstances in AI matches.

Cards

Fixed Ambush pop-up displaying when hovering over 39th RIFLE REGIMENT in Card Collection.
Fixed issue with 39th RIFLE REGIMENT attack increasing by +2 instead of +1 when taking control of enemy M8 GREYHOUND.
Fixed gear icon not turning below unit BLOHM & VOSS BV 138 after its ability was triggered.
Fixed broken interaction with YAMATO and orders with Remove Destruction abilities.
Fixed issue where PB4Y-2 PRIVATEER cost +1 Kredit to attack for enemy units, instead of +2.
Fixed issue where, in certain circumstances, URA! dealt only excess damage.
Fixed issue where 37mm M1 AA GUN did not correctly reset the attack value of some units.
Fixed issue where the cost for using the CROSS OF LORRAINE order was not appropriately decreased after starting the first turn.
Fixed broken interaction between MINORITY RECRUITS, 15th MOTOR RIFLES and cards with Retreat ability leading to permanent immunity on enemy HQ.
Fixed passive effect (+) icon not being correctly displayed under BLACK WATCH on the battlefield.
Fixed broken interaction between RAID order and 22. INFANTRY REGIMENT’s ability, leading to permanent cost increase on drawn unit.
Fixed issue where red number 1 was displayed at the center of the battlefield for several seconds after 56. JÄGER REGIMENT unit with active Pincer was retreated into hand.
Fixed issue where OVERWHELMING FORCE order did not reset attack value of IRISH GUARDS unit when Pincer was active.
Fixed issue where 2nd PARA C’s Pincer ability was triggered after the Pincered unit was removed from the battlefield.
Fixed issue where NEW DOCTRINE order ability continued to work after target unit was returned to hand and redeployed.
Fixed issue where KI-43-IIB OTSU’s unit ability was not triggered after enemy air unit was removed from the battlefield.

Campaigns

Fixed bugged special condition in Japanese Theaters of War Campaign battle.

Update 25.01.23
An additional patch has been deployed to address the following bugs:

Fixed special effect from SEABORNE INVASION.
Fixed issue where when AI destroyed AICHI D3A-1, an AICHI D3A-2 was spawned in the AI support line.
Fixed PATROL not removing the destruction effect if the target was destroyed.
Fixed EXPANSION drawing cards when the enemy had a Japanese unit in the frontline.
Fixed HOME DEFENSE’s cost not being reduced when ANCIENT EMPIRE was played.
Fixed IL-2M PL’s ability not triggering when it attacked.

That’s all for now. As always, we welcome your feedback in the comments below and on the KARDS Discord.