Support NeoGAF

[mrkgoo]

DEBUG BRIGADE REPORTING FOR DUTY.

Found a small glitch.


When you multi-touch a letter and move it around, when the hand ends it'll stick to the screen. This doesn't affect gameplay, and is generally a minor flaw, but you have to restart the app to get rid of it.

I did it by accident once, and then could replicate it every time.

Just thought I'd let you know, seppo.

There's obviously something sneaky going on - there's an added graphics layer or something. Sometimes when I take screens, certain screen elements are missing.

Also, I think Seppo must know, but in the chat, the auto-correction feature works, but unlike the rest of the esteem, if you leave it hanging on a correct and hit send, the correction isn;t applied.

 

[Dacvak]

Also, I think Seppo must know, but in the chat, the auto-correction feature works, but unlike the rest of the esteem, if you leave it hanging on a correct and hit send, the correction isn;t applied.

Yeah, I noticed that, too.

 

[helava]

DEBUG BRIGADE REPORTING FOR DUTY.

Found a small glitch.

Hahaha. Curses! We found that bug just before shipping, but didn't have time to fix it. I was wondering how long it'd be before someone found it.

Yeah, it sucks that you have to back out to get rid of the stuck letters. We'll address that in an update.

Thanks!
seppo

 

[helava]

There's obviously something sneaky going on - there's an added graphics layer or something. Sometimes when I take screens, certain screen elements are missing.

Also, I think Seppo must know, but in the chat, the auto-correction feature works, but unlike the rest of the esteem, if you leave it hanging on a correct and hit send, the correction isn;t applied.

Yeah - the problem with that is that we're using Apple's standard tools, and are locked into how they behave. That's how they work, so that's how our chat works.

seppo

 

[Dacvak]

Hahaha. Curses! We found that bug just before shipping, but didn't have time to fix it. I was wondering how long it'd be before someone found it.

Awesome! What do I win?

 

[mrkgoo]

I was just pondering about the business model for this.

The 'Pro' version will be a paid 99c app, with the added ability to purchase $10,000 chips for 99c.

Donut button aside, who is the audience that will pay for more in-game money? People who are already very good probably have lumped a mass, and may not spend. People who are casual may be content with the free version (after all, the game itself doesn't change on lower tables).

Is it for people who want to play at big tables? Is it for the addicted casual, who keep losing and just have to keep playing straight away?

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how it pans out.

I admit, gambling games are made much more exciting when there's actually something at stake, but in those cases, there's also something to gain. Will "Gamerscore" be enough keep people paying?

 

[helava]

I was just pondering about the business model for this.

The 'Pro' version will be a paid 99c app, with the added ability to purchase $10,000 chips for 99c.

Donut button aside, who is the audience that will pay for more in-game money? People who are already very good probably have lumped a mass, and may not spend. People who are casual may be content with the free version (after all, the game itself doesn't change on lower tables).

Is it for people who want to play at big tables? Is it for the addicted casual, who keep losing and just have to keep playing straight away?

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how it pans out.

I admit, gambling games are made much more exciting when there's actually something at stake, but in those cases, there's also something to gain. Will "Gamerscore" be enough keep people paying?

re: additional chips, I think there are going to be people who want to play at the higher-stakes tables, and there are already people who have run out of chips. We'll see how that goes.

The Donate option is there exactly for the reasons you state, though - the people who are most likely to really like the game will probably get quite good at it, rack up a huge stack of chips, and not need any more. And I know that even if I like a game, I don't like buying things I don't need. I'd much rather just say, "Look, I like the thing - here's a couple bucks," than to say, "I'm buying 100K chips, even though I already have 1.2 million." So the donator icons provide you with a different kind of reward - to let others know you're a generous player.

Cheers!
seppo

 

[helava]

Awesome! What do I win?

A free copy of Word Ace!

seppo

 

[Dacvak]

A free copy of Word Ace Pro!

seppo

Fix'd

Spoiler

=D?

 

[helava]

From a discussion in the iPhone thread:

You just prove my point. Doesn't really matter what words you made or plan to make during FLOP and TURN. It's only RIVER that really matters and that's why everyone hangs around until then. While, your hand matters almost every turn in Texas Hold'em.

And, people whom usually wins are the ones with large vocabulary + quick thinking after last the letter appears. Game is "random" until then. Take Hold'em, if you are holding pocket AAs, most of the time you are going to win even before the FLOP.

Sort of. And sort of like what mkgoo said.

One of the big differences between Word Ace and Hold 'Em is that the hands aren't automatic. So while I can say without question that AA statistically has an advantage over AQ or what have you, it's *very* difficult to say statistically what a ES or KZ means in Word Ace until you see the community cards AND get a feel for your opponents' word creation skills.

However, just as the subtleties of the differences between your various hole card options are probably lost on a novice poker player, it takes time to understand what cards are "strong" in Word Ace - because you can't go by points alone.

The yellow cards are very high-scoring cards, for instance - IF you can incorporate them into a word, you've got a huge leg up. But to me, one of my favorite hands is ES, which sucks, points-wise. But it has its own strengths - it has two very, very easy-to-use letters, so extending a base word by an additional two letters can easily get you into the 5 point bonus territory, if not into the 20 point bonus - and I'd say getting a 6/7 letter word with ES happens almost as much as being able to use the Q. So you're either getting 7 or 22 points for the ES, as opposed to the 10 for the Q.

You'll find that a LOT of the high-scoring red cards (K/V/B) are extremely powerful as well, because they're simply much easier to use than the J/Q/Z.

Where I'd concede you're probably right is that pre-flop betting is nearly pointless in WA. I still like having it, because it really emphasizes the poker-y aspects of the game, in terms of being able to do a little dance before anyone knows anything. But post-flop betting is hugely important - particularly when you don't have vowels flop.

I think what will happen over time is that as people get comfortable with the game, and as people get a mental picture of the frequency of the letter distribution, betting strategies will get smarter. I've said it elsewhere, but my wife wipes the floor with me, word-creation-wise, but I always win because I bet smarter than she does. And Colin, Self Aware's other co-founder, kicks both our asses because he's amazing at both poker and word games.

The strategy is there, at every step of the way, I think. The key will be letting people discover those strategies. Hold 'Em's been around for a while, now. Word Ace has been out less than two weeks, and for the people here, less than three days. Give it a little time. If you know what you're doing, strategy-wise already, you should be able to rack up a HUGE number of chips.

seppo

 

[Dacvak]

....Does this mean I'm not getting a free copy of the pro version? :<

Spoiler

=P

 

[Ferrio]

I suck at this game *bad*. I've only won one hand... and have lost all my chips tons of times.

 

[Meatpuppet]

55773 here, going online now

 

[helava]

....Does this mean I'm not getting a free copy of the pro version? :<

Spoiler

=P

If I give you a free copy of the WAP, you know what'll happen? Everyone will try to break the game to get a free copy of WAP! It'd be chaos! Madness!!!

Sorry!
seppo

 

[Costanza]

When can we play against you, seppo?

 

[helava]

When can we play against you, seppo?

I'm online every now and again. Been busy, since the game launched so I haven't been playing much, but I try to play a little every couple hours.

seppo

 

[Reno7728]

Just played with seppo!

But I think I upset him by complaining about the game dictionary

Spoiler

Sorry seppo!

 

[helava]

Just played with seppo!

But I think I upset him by complaining about the game dictionary

Spoiler

Sorry seppo!

Not at all! No need to be sorry. TWL is what it is. It can be frustrating for some, but for a variety of reasons, either that or SOWPODS (which has the same issues) still makes the most sense. Good games - the reason I had to go was that we had a couple players on the Pre who needed some help, and I wasn't able to multitask well enough to keep playing.

seppo

 

[Flunkie]

I feel the need to tell every soul I meet about this game.

 

[helava]

I feel the need to tell every soul I meet about this game.

Why stop at every soul you meet?



seppo

 

[mrkgoo]

Just played with seppo!

But I think I upset him by complaining about the game dictionary

Spoiler

Sorry seppo!

What were your complaints about the word list? Note, I learnt that a dictionary implies definitions.

 

[helava]

Put up a post on the blog here:

http://www.selfawaregames.com/blog/?p=195

We'll be printing up physical Word Ace decks. Probably start with a relatively small run to gauge demand, but yeah. We'll be selling 'em through our site. Maybe even through an in-app purchase on the Pre (they don't let you do purchasing of physical goods via the iPhone/iPod, unfortunately). Will let you know cost when we know, but we'll be putting in the order mid-next week.

seppo

 

[Remy]

Put up a post on the blog here:

http://www.selfawaregames.com/blog/?p=195

We'll be printing up physical Word Ace decks. Probably start with a relatively small run to gauge demand, but yeah. We'll be selling 'em through our site. Maybe even through an in-app purchase on the Pre (they don't let you do purchasing of physical goods via the iPhone/iPod, unfortunately). Will let you know cost when we know, but we'll be putting in the order mid-next week.

seppo

Day 1!

seppo, is there a preferred method for flagging users with inappropriate avatars? I'm currently playing against a user named "9inchesSF", and I suppose I should be thankful he's still wearing pants, but...

 

[BobM]

just pulished an interview I did with Seppo about Word Ace. I am really pleased with how it turned out: http://tinyurl.com/tcgint

 

[Foob]

it's fucking nerve-wracking playing with seppo

 

[helava]

Day 1!

seppo, is there a preferred method for flagging users with inappropriate avatars? I'm currently playing against a user named "9inchesSF", and I suppose I should be thankful he's still wearing pants, but...

Right now, if anyone sees anything objectionable, a quick note to our support e-mail would be great. We're working on methods of reporting users. The worst issue is obscene avatar photos, but even objectionable chat would be grounds for a reporting.

Thanks!
seppo

 

[helava]

it's fucking nerve-wracking playing with seppo

Hahaha. GG tonight! Glad to have gotten away from Mr. All-In - I couldn't believe he actually HAD a word. *facepalm* I was sure just calling his bluff would be enough to take his cash, but alas. Still, my wife played at that table a little longer, and he sucked all the fun out of things.

IMO, the easiest thing to do is just leave tables with bullies - if they're bullying you with a large chip stack, they can't bring it with 'em to the new table...

seppo

 

[mrkgoo]

All this talk... I have to go log in

 

[LCfiner]

I think I played around 4 hours of this over the course of the night. my god. I took a couple breaks but, by the end of it, my phone battery was at 20%. down from a full charge.

so addictive.

word ace pro better be out stat. I feel friggin’ guilty playing this for free.

 

[mrkgoo]

Tonight's epic tales at the GAF Word Ace table.

I'm addicted to this game. I think about it when I'm not playing. Tonight, I started off poor, but got a pretty large haul by the end of it, and felt I was pushing my weight around, so I needed to leave. Each hand was my last one, until I was actually able to pry myself away.

Seppo: Thanks again for this game! I was just thinking about something today. Even if this game doesn't do well monetarily, I am confident it will still be a success. You will have created a great mind share for this game - and that can mean more than money. This game will be huge, and I'm sure it will be talked about. The concept is just so great, and the execution in presentation and in balance is extremely apparent to me. Your next game is bound to get the attention you missed supposedly missed out on TaxiBall (hi knows, maybe some people will go back and look at it!). Think about Flight Control -> Real Racing.

And plenty of innovation. Pre cross compatibility, a new concept in money earning (for the iPhone platform), Heck, this is probably the first novel game that has people wanting a REAL set. PSN, XBLA?

Anyway, some fun moments:

A round where everyone was hoping, but couldn't come up with anything better other than communal cards...well other than Shanea (sp.?). Pot split 3 ways from communal cards.

---------------------

I had good letters from the first deal, and after the flop. I could go into dapper or tapper - lots of common letters, so I was bidding big from the beginning. But as it got to the turn, I couldn't think of anything. Without an A, I could only make, like four-letter words. Then the A dropped and it was ... awesome. I spelled out dapper and tapper, but then it dawned on me ...hooray!

--------------------

My attention was somewhat divided by this stage. An earlier round, I had a Q, and I had a ton of money, so I bid 100 before the flop, and everyone folded. This time, a Q came up, and to be a little different to mix it up, I chose not to bid anything - just kept checking. Checked the whole way through until the U dropped on the river. I knew I had something, so to buy some time, I Bet 50, hoping someone would think I was bluffing and raise me. But noone did, but LCfiner called.

During the final seconds, I cam up with masque. As all the letters dimmed (and it was now I realised that what I thought was a graphical glitch in screen cap was just the reveal), I noticed the remaining S. Plural for the win! And what a win - 37, my highest scoring word. Wasted on a poorly bid round, and a pot of 80. To top it off LCFiner even failed at his word, so I would've won even if I didn't submit anything.

--------------------------


In other news, I learned a couple of new words in the past few days:

Qoph = letter int eh Hebrew alphabet.
and Qat: I still don't know what this is.

 

[LCfiner]

for the record, I know Mucass is not a dictionary word.


but imagine it’s like mucus but coming from somewhere else… somewhere down below…


now you try to go to sleep, mrkgoo. I dare you.

Spoiler

QAT

WAT?

QAT?

WAT?

 

[mrkgoo]

for the record, I know Mucass is not a dictionary word.


but imagine it’s like mucus but coming from somewhere else… somewhere down below…


now you try to go to sleep, mrkgoo. I dare you.

Spoiler

QAT

WAT?

QAT?

WAT?

A challenge, huh?

edit: Oh yeah, Seppo, saw your definition of Ninja at the start screen. Lol.

Question: Will the pro version have an option to turn off help popups?

 

[LCfiner]

A challenge, huh?

I can’t fall asleep…

I’m game.

 

[mrkgoo]

I can’t fall asleep…

I’m game.

I'm in with foob. I don't need sleep.

 

[helava]

Ha! Awesome recap. It really was when we started having stories like that playing against each other in the office that we really knew it was gonna work. I'm really, really glad that other players are getting to have the same kind of fun we did.

Thanks! I'll be showing that post to people at work!

Also, to give credit where credit is absolutely, totally due, Self Aware Games is:

Colin Bulthaup Liotta - the other co-founder of Self Aware, a friend of mine since we met at MIT 13 years ago, and one of the smartest and most driven people I've ever met.

Dan Kurtz - the guy who got the Pre to do our bidding, a Javascript MONSTER. The fact that he was able to get a game with this much stuff running on a brand new platform in this short a time is nothing short of absurd.

Crystal Silva - everything you see in the game is the result of her brilliant style, attention to detail, and flawless execution. Between the pixel art of Taxiball and the whatever-you-call-it style of Word Ace, I'm convinced there's nothing she can't make look absolutely stunning.

And then there's me. I'm more than happy to say be the token idiot in that crowd.

In addition, the fact that the servers have been rock-solid from day one despite the staggering response owes a debt to Michael G. Schwern. There's one more guy, but since his name isn't in the current credits, I'll wait 'till it is (in case he doesn't want to be recognized publicly). But he's working on the Facebook version of the game, and has been an amazing part of the Word Ace team.

I just want to make sure that everyone knows this was a team effort. While I end up posting all over the place, Word Ace is theirs as much as it is mine. When I say, "thanks" to you from us, it's from all of us. We all are grateful for your support.

Thanks.
seppo

 

[helava]

edit: Oh yeah, Seppo, saw your definition of Ninja at the start screen. Lol.

Hahaha. I was wondering how long it would take for someone to mention that.

Tried to hop on, when I saw a bunch of GAFers online, but the table was full! Which, naturally, is EXACTLY what I want to see. Most of the time.

seppo

 

[mrkgoo]

Ha! Awesome recap. It really was when we started having stories like that playing against each other in the office that we really knew it was gonna work. I'm really, really glad that other players are getting to have the same kind of fun we did.

Thanks! I'll be showing that post to people at work!

Also, to give credit where credit is absolutely, totally due, Self Aware Games is:

Colin Bulthaup Liotta - the other co-founder of Self Aware, a friend of mine since we met at MIT 13 years ago, and one of the smartest and most driven people I've ever met.

Dan Kurtz - the guy who got the Pre to do our bidding, a Javascript MONSTER. The fact that he was able to get a game with this much stuff running on a brand new platform in this short a time is nothing short of absurd.

Crystal Silva - everything you see in the game is the result of her brilliant style, attention to detail, and flawless execution. Between the pixel art of Taxiball and the whatever-you-call-it style of Word Ace, I'm convinced there's nothing she can't make look absolutely stunning.

And then there's me. I'm more than happy to say be the token idiot in that crowd.

In addition, the fact that the servers have been rock-solid from day one despite the staggering response owes a debt to Michael G. Schwern. There's one more guy, but since his name isn't in the current credits, I'll wait 'till it is (in case he doesn't want to be recognized publicly). But he's working on the Facebook version of the game, and has been an amazing part of the Word Ace team.

I just want to make sure that everyone knows this was a team effort. While I end up posting all over the place, Word Ace is theirs as much as it is mine. When I say, "thanks" to you from us, it's from all of us. We all are grateful for your support.

Thanks.
seppo

Yeah, I've checked out the credits,and I think I've seen crystal playing.

Thank the team collectively please. You'r basically our only conduit.

Also know that my vocab is improving

 

[Costanza]

Grats on the TA writeup! http://toucharcade.com/2009/09/04/word-ace-texas-holdem-meets-scrabble-and-its-free/

 

[Barrett2]

I haven't seen my brother-in-law in over two years (he lives in TX, I live in NY), and we only occassionally email or otherwise communicate; but last night we played and chatted for over an hour while playing Word Ace. This game... is remarkable.

 

[Matrix]

Was just playing with Costanza and Mrkgoo, man I suck compared to those two.

Also wtf does Zeks mean? I had no clue that was a word.


Also this game is draining my battery like crazy About to put a word in and I'm so into the game I don't even notice my battery is about to give out and lights out for my touch.

 

[mrkgoo]

Heh, I still haven't gone to bed. There are some strange words. I'm going to add zeks to the list of strange words. Still not sure what a Qat is. I would say Costanza is better than me. I seem to get real lucky streaks, and then once I have a bit of money I start throwing it around - it gets a bit easier to rack up money once you have money.

I think I said this earlier, but a couple of really addictive word games are Dungeon Scroll and Twisty Text (and Scrabble too, I guess). They all help you visualise words, especially with the use of en, es, et, ed.

Sometimes it's worth a risk to guess words, because you learn what works and what doesn't. For example, I was playing someone and I knew jove didn't work (it was played against me once), but I had joves sitting in front of me, but then I saw the D, and thought I'd better play it safe and made DOVES.

Heh, most of my guesses are failures, but "gentles' is a word, and strangely so is silvex (I used it). I just looked it up - it's a herbicide. I have no idea why I've heard that before. It looks to me like it's a brand name, so I dunno why it's legal. I thought it was some silver metal alloy.

I haven't seen my brother-in-law in over two years (he lives in TX, I live in NY), and we only occassionally email or otherwise communicate; but last night we played and chatted for over an hour while playing Word Ace. This game... is remarkable.

That's a much better story than mine. That's so cool. Word Ace -bringing families together.

 

[mrkgoo]

I couldn't resist, and I had to go back in.

Costanza: You wouldn't believe what happened after you left. I'm not sure who it was, but there was a guy with $3,000 at the table after you left. A gaffer?

But I nearly cleaned him out. I had to bail because I felt bad.

I had a run of good cards to start, and my deal is to normally bid a small amount before even going in, especially if I have like a J and a vowel. I can't recall, but I think I got you with JUKES, after an X was out there, but after you left straight after I was dealt a V and O.


Another good starting, so I bid out like 90 again, before the flop. The deal was something like DY and I. It immediately made me think of VIDEO, but I needed an E. SO I went down another line of thought. "DOVY"? As in Lovey "Dovy"? Who knows. I kept bidding. Then a C on the turn. "COVY"? Was that more real? Kept bidding. Then an "E" came. I was still thinking DOVEY and COVEY, but as the timer ticked down, I noticed I could do my VIDEO. SO I had that entered. As time went by, I changed it to VOICE. Then just as it clicked down, I noticed I could've added D for VOICED. I kicked myself and thought, it would suck to lose when I had a better hand.

Fortunately, I won that one and took the pot (which was substantial).

Next I was dealt a Q and H. I bid straight out. I always do with a Q. The guy must've been annoyed at me (afterall, bidding straight out of two cards three times in a row?), because he went and raised right up $1894 - the exact amount I had. I laughed and thought, what the hey, I'll call him. SO I went all in, and the pool was up at over $4000 (there was another new user too who went all in - who wouldn't with that pot after only dealing two cards each?).

Luck would have it and the communal cards were like XEVIS. I couldn't do anything, so I settled on my usual VEX (15), straight from communal letters. I thought I was a goner. He only needed an N, to make VIXEN or even VIXENS, and bye bye money.

But he played SEXY (14), (can't remember what the other player played, but they had 13), and I left with the pot of using only the communal letters. He must be really hacked off.... :/


I felt so bad, I just left.

Edit:, I remember how it went down - had to edit.

 

[Costanza]

nice :lol

 

[mrkgoo]

nice :lol

ARRGGH , I CAN'T STOP. MY POWERS ARE SCARING ME.

I went back in again (it's 4am), and decided to avoid friends, so just joined a table. This one table had three people playing. Around $400-600 each.

First hand, I'm dealt a K and R. This, I can work from - anything ending in RK. So I bid.
Flop: ICE.

Ok, I can make RICE. But gotta use the K. RICK? BRICK? CRICK? I bid.

Turn: T

OHO, I have TRICK!

I bid more. More people bid.

River: C

Is that what I spy? CRICKET? I go all in, and so do two of the other players.

CRICKET for 34 obviously wins.

By this stage a friend has joined the table. One guy returns. I vow to leave. But I get dealt a V and S.

Long story short - I end up with SLAVED (and a C, I'm sure there's more I could've done - CLAVEDS?), but it's enough to win.

Ok leave? Next hand, V and E. Dammit, I stay and win again with HEAVE (knowing the communal cards were mostly vowels).

Next hand I was dealt a Z, and on the flop, I already had ZONE. By the end I could do MAZE, but noone else was bidding, they had either been eliminated or were folding.

Ok, I REALLY gotta quit now. Basically, I was dealt really good hands for the past probably 10 hands. I love this game. I'm guessing there's gonna be karmic realignment to come.

 

[jessecuster]

Ok, I REALLY gotta quit now. Basically, I was dealt really good hands for the past probably 10 hands. I love this game. I'm guessing there's gonna be karmic realignment to come.

Yeah my hands are slumping bad right now.

I just won a few so maybe its turning around.

 

[Barrett2]

Yeah my hands are slumping bad right now.

I just won a few so maybe its turning around.

I got on a cold streak last night, couldn't get more than 11 points on a hand. Fortunately with some sleep I seem to be doing much better today. :lol

 

[jessecuster]

Are you on the table with Costanza?

 

[LCfiner]

I think mrkgoo is not a human but a machine sent from the future to destroy us and steal our language. he had no need for such trivialities as sleep. nothing stops him, he needs no rest, he never stops.

I had to give in at 4:30 last night (err… morning) but he kept chugging along for, what, 2 more hours.

I am impressed and slightly frightened.

 

[helava]

"Listen, and understand. That mrkgoo is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead."

 

[jessecuster]

P'shaw, maybe you haven't met me yet?