This article is designed mostly to inform people who are new to Hex or have returned to the game after a hiatus in Alpha where exactly the game is in terms of development and projecting what features are likely to be implemented in the Closed Beta over the next few months. Most of this information comes directly from a blog post from Jones a few months back detailed the features that would be in Open Beta, as well as the InfamousNeo-Jones interview (both of these are good resources in their entirety). The blog in particular outlines the features that we can expect to be implemented during the Closed Beta for the Open Beta. I've composed a list of the features from the list of "Open Beta" features that I expect to be implemented or changed over the course of Closed Beta, and in roughly the order I expect them to come in, with further description about what these changes might entail.
Tournaments
I'm loath to include tournaments in this overview since it was obviously a feature that they hoped to have fully functioning for the launch of Beta, but as correcting whatever there currently are with tournaments is taking over a week now, I think it is relevant to include them on a list of "upcoming features." The three types of tournaments (Constructed, Sealed, and Draft) are also, as of Alpha, only available in 8-man Casual & Competitive variants. The Casual variant offers 3 rounds of play, pairing you up against players with similar records within that tournament. Every win you get over the course of the tournament earns you a booster, so going undefeated earns you another draft set. Semi-Competitive and Competitive queues are single-elimination tournaments that earn you packs based on your ranking at the end of the tournament. Semi-competitive pays 5-3-2-2 for 1st place through 4th place, and Competitive earns you 8-4 for 1st and 2nd place respectively, so confident drafters can earn more in more competitive queue formats.
While the Casual tournaments demonstrate Swiss-style pairing capabilities in the client, Hex did not have an official tournament that went above this eight-player queue limit during Alpha, and as such larger tournaments are still a feature that is up in the air for Closed Beta. The HexTCGPro Challenge Series, which has held monthly tournaments within the Alpha since January of this year, were organized outside of the client and handled matchmaking outside of the Tournament area of the client. Plans for custom private tournaments like these also appear more distant, possibly even post-launch (the interview with Jones by InfamousNeo & JTatta goes into this a bit further). Specifically with regards to Sealed, Asynchronous play has not been implemented or tested in Alpha. This style of gameplay would involve you building a sealed deck and then getting paired specifically against people who have also build decks, but not having the time constraints of a Swiss or Single Elimination Tournament, and likely collecting prizes per win as you would in casual events.
During the Closed Beta, Tournaments will be the primary means to get Gold, an in-game currency used on the Wheels of Fate. Gold will be disseminated through PvE when those features are implemented, and it is uncertain whether PvP will maintain the current ratio of gold distribution throughout Beta and if it will go away altogether once other "Gold Faucets" become available--indeed, this may be the topic of an entirely separate article).
Auction House
The Auction House was one of the features that was slated to be launched slightly before or simultaneously with Closed Beta. While it didn't make the cut-off, it appears to be the top priority of the non-Alpha features as noted in the interview. It is uncertain whether there will be some features of the Auction House which aren't working immediately. A fully functioning Auction House would have the capabilities to buy and sell cards, as well as anything else that isn't account bound, from your stash (boosters, equipment, mercenaries, chests) for gold or platinum. Since many players wish to save their boosters for draft and are looking to acquire the last few copies of specific cards for their deck, the Auction House will likely be very active once it is implemented. Player-to-player trading goes in tandem with the collection redistribution concerns of Auction House, and would likely be seen shortly after it is implemented.
Guilds
Guilds were right behind the Auction House for making the cut for Closed Beta, according to the Jones-InfamousNeo interview. Guilds are a fairly expansive addition to the game and it appears that when they are implemented (it will likely be the next major feature after the auction house) it will be rolling out in bits and pieces. One of the features of guilds discussed is a Guild Bank, which has similar logistical constraints with player-to-player trading, and I imagine would likely be implemented in conjunction with Trading in general. There is also discussion about a Guild Library.
Doubleback
Doubleback card features seem like a deceptively large addition to the game, since it requires a level of card control within the collection heretofore unseen. The sample doubleback card features the community has seen include achievements specific to that card, badges for having won tournaments, statistics, and an experience bar which you can fill to unlock a foil version of that card. Putting aside just the amount of components that needs to be put into the game, Collection Management will need to be updated to accommodate the doubleback in order to ensure you are putting the cards you want in a deck in the deck. As it is when you are selecting a card for a deck you just double click it and it is added, so there needs to be an additional system in place for adding a card to a deck if you want the Buccaneer that won a draft for you.
Chat
Chat may seem trivial to note, but with the inclusion of guilds and private trades, a reform of the Chat system beyond General Chat and Match Chat might be required for other systems within Closed Beta.
Collection Management
This too may seem trivial since it is mostly in place, but I imagine an upgrade to Collection Management will be required around the time we get Doubleback Features. As of right now individual cards can be lumped together and the differences between the two are fairly arbitrary, but alternate art versions were separate from the regular version, and upon launch of Beta it was actually possible to use more than 4 copies of card since the alternate art version and the regular Booster version didn't seem to overlap on these restrictions (this may have been changed).
In-Game Tutorial
Surprisingly, a tutorial is not in the game yet. This may be because the want to revamp the placeholder AI for the tutorial or make is customized based on the deck that is chosen at account selection. Players who are new to Hex and unfamiliar with MTG or other similar CCGs (they somehow exist) might be confused and intimidated by the level of complexity it has to offer right out of the gates. It's definitely a feature that they want for Open Beta, but since I'd wager most players who have backed Hex (the ones that can actually play it) are at least familiar with the basic game play, it seems like something that will come much later in the Closed Beta, and possibly be the last major feature see implemented before the transition into Open Beta.
Treasure Chests
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| Must... Get... Gold... |
As we move into the weekend, hopefully there will be a fix to the tournaments so that I can draft to my heart's content (I've been so bored this week I'm actually working on final papers). Once tournaments are fixed and stable you can probably expect the Auction House and Guild implementation to be the focus shortly after, with Trading in conjunction with, or slightly before the Guild Bank feature. With my mind on finishing up mt final semester and getting a glut of free time around when guilds might first me introduced, I'm debating between starting a local guild or joining up with a larger established one, so if anyone is recruiting let me know and shoot Kyrstrava a friend request ;)
Also if you have any more information of speculation on these features or when you expect them to be implemented, feel free to leave a comment.
Until next time, keep your eyes on the horizon!
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