WotC MTGO player chat

15:59 WotC_MichaelR: Getting everyone set up. Chat will be starting soon.
16:00 WotC_Lee: Also, if you want to follow us on twitter, I am @Lee_Sharpe, Worth Wollpert is @mtgonline, Ryan Spain is [@R]yanSpain, and Michael Robles posts from @wizards_magic.
16:01 WotC_Lee: err that's @ RyanSpain for Syan
16:01 WotC_Lee: *Ryan
16:02 worth: hi folks
16:03 worth: word on the street is that we are TOTALLY AWESOME
16:03 WotC_MichaelR: Hi everyone watching the chat! I'm community manager Michael Robles. Thanks for coming to the chat. If you want to ask question then / join mtgo10th. First of all, let me say THANK YOU to all who have been playing. No matter how long you've been playing. We've had an AMAZING 10 years. With that, I'll let our guests introduce themselves.
16:05 WotC_MichaelR: (everyone is typing furiously)
16:06 worth: Hi all, my name is Worth Wollpert, I am the Executive Producer for Magic, meaning I work on MTGO, Duels of the Planeswalkers, licensed games, apps, and bunches of stuff I cant talk about Tomorrow June 30th is my 12 year anniversary here at WotC. Super lucky to have this awesome job!
16:07 WotC_Lee: I am Lee Sharpe, I am a business analyst fordigital products focussing on Magic Online. I collect data and use it to help figure out how to improve our event offerings and other business decisions. I've been playing Magic Online since the beginning, I love it, and for the last five years, I've enjoyed working on it even more!
16:07 WotC_K: Hey all. I am Chris Kiritz and I am the business manager for Magic Online and run the day to day operations under the awesome Worth Wollpert. I get to be the conduit between business, development and R&D.
16:08 WotC_Gordon: Hi Team, I am Gordon Culp, Director of Architecture and Systems Design in the Technology Department. I have been working on and around Magic Online since 2006. Pleased to be here.
16:09 WotC_MichaelR: Our first question comes from Oraymw: How much and in what ways does MTGO affect the design and development of Magic?
16:10 WotC_MichaelR: (Ryan Spain will be answering this one)
16:10 worth: while we get Ryan connected to answer that one, I'll take one from WShader who asks if there are plans for android Duels of the Planeswalkers stuff.
16:11 worth: I cant get too specific, but the reaction to iPad this year has been incredible, Both from fans and critics alike, even up to and including the good folks down in Cupertino who have been super supportive of us while we learn how to do tablet stuff.
16:12 worth: So that said, we are always looking at ways to get Duels (specifically, moreso than most of our other offerings) into the hands of as many players as possible
16:12 Ryan_S: Hi there!
16:12 WotC_MichaelR: Oh hey! Ryan's here!
16:13 Ryan_S: Logged on now.
16:13 WotC_MichaelR: He can answer the first question
16:13 Ryan_S: I'm Ryan Spain,
16:13 Ryan_S: I work in R&D as a digital designer, primarilly responsible for R&D's relationship with MTGO.
16:14 Ryan_S: So far, no mechanics being considered for paper sets have been a problem for implementation on MTGO.
16:14 worth: Welcome WShader, DOTP is a great way to expand an already awesome and growing community, even as far as getting players into stores IRL to find other humans with like interests. We love Duels!
16:14 Ryan_S: One of my responsibilities is to keep an eye on new mechanics in development for MTGO and make sure they are viable.
16:15 Ryan_S: MTGO is pretty flexile and the dev team is pretty awesome,
16:15 Ryan_S: so even the diabolical Mark Rosewater has yet to come up with something MTGO can't handle, mechanic-wise.
16:15 WotC_MichaelR: Next Question from Majinara Particle: Q: since mtgo can offer stuff that ain't available in paper magic (think about momir), are some mtgo only cards (or even a special set) planned, that push this a bit, by featuring cards or rules that can't be realized in paper?
16:16 worth: One comment on Ryan's answer, you guys should have seen the faces of the MTGO card integration team when they got handed Future Sight for the first time lol
16:16 WotC_Lee: Worth: That was the first thing I worked on after being hired!
16:17 WotC_K: Majinara Particle: We have definately talked about doing things that are unique to Magic Online, especially with promo cards. There is an awesome opportunity to play with what a Magic card is and can do when you are only concerned about digital.
16:17 WotC_K: Random abilities are clearly one of those things, which is why Momir is so awesome.
16:18 WotC_MichaelR: That's a great question from Majinara Particle. They're going to get a draft set!
16:18 WotC_MichaelR: Next question from SiegePerilous: Q: Will it be possible in the future to associate my DCI# with my MTGO account? and if so how would that change the system
16:22 worth: awesomerandomdude I just saw your comment, I remember playing you too
16:22 WotC_Gordon: SiegePerilous: Eventually MtGO will be hooked up to the Wizards accounts that are now used on the boards and DCI systems, so yes, your DCI number could be related to your MtGO account.
16:22 WotC_MichaelR: While Gordon is answering the DCI question Worth will answer this one: 4:08 PM Chamale: Worth, what influenced the decision to connect DotP 2013 to Magic 2013 more than the previous games?
16:23 worth: One of the things we've really tried to do more and more over the past 2-3 years that we've been putting Duels out, is to try to integrate our analog and our digital offerings as much as possible. We've found that cross-pollination in our digital and analog communities builds them stronger and faster the better we gently nudge those two sets of players towards each other.
16:23 WotC_MichaelR: Great question Chamale! Have a draft set!
16:24 WotC_MichaelR: Here
16:25 WotC_MichaelR: Here's another question MaZmiTh: will there ever be a way to move chat boxes outside of the mtgo client? on multiple moniters it would be nice
16:27 WotC_Gordon: MaZsmith: The new client will support chat windows outside the application window. That was high on the list when we worked on the design and implementation. I am typing in a nice floating chat window in the new client right now
16:27 WotC_MichaelR: (Gordon is working on the answer to this one)
16:27 WotC_Lee: 4:25 PM nayrnosnaws: Q: The great thing about MTGO is the ability to track your games. Does the future of MTGO look to include a statistical package to see how we fair (i.e., W/L %, by color, etc.)?
16:28 WotC_Lee: We try to do a bit of this now with individual draft data and other information in the newsletter. Obviously that's just scratching the surface of some of the Magic Online data that's available to present, and as infrastructure improves we look forward to more opportunities to provide players with cool information about their matches, decks, and play online!
16:29 WotC_MichaelR: Here's a question from joekewwl: Q: Will we ever see someone committed to MTGO boards as a go between and not having them disappear after a few months too busy with other duties to keep the community in touch with Wotc?????
16:29 WotC_K: From Calavera: Q: I love 64 man drafts. Any plans to add them to the Regular schedule? We have talked about adding them to the regualr schedule, but the minimum of 64-players is a worry. I would really like to see larger PEs work and that is something we are look at for the future. I would love to see a Draft PTQ with 500+ players in it.
16:30 worth: Joe, Mr Robles here aside I am acutely aware that we do not have enough resources pointed at places like our forums and community on our site. We are taking some steps to address, but I cant speak to specifics. You guys should hear something you like pretty soon though.
16:31 WotC_MichaelR: What Worth said.
16:32 WotC_MichaelR: Another question: RulerofChaos: Will we get Planechase constructed Ques?
16:32 worth: One more thing related to that, from those of you who interacted with me in the 3ish years that I was very active on the forums, you will know that I think it's important and that maintaining a direct, constructive 1 to 1 relationship with your customers is one of the very best ways to improve your offering. Not to mention it's basically win/win for everyone.
16:34 WotC_K: We talked about it prior to release, but the spirit of Planechase is in more casual open play and we wanted to make sure we matched the spirit of the Paper release. That said, we like may look at more competetive queues for formats like Commander and Planechase in the future.
16:35 WotC_MichaelR: Here we go: rock2011: Q: What does it take to put a set online, is this the reson for the delay between paper release and online release?
16:35 worth: Thanks Ctirpak2003 MTGO is fun and awesome because of you guys though, not me
16:36 WotC_Lee: We have been releasing high quality set releases lately, but an important part of that process is the beta process where users test the set. Obviously this process can't begin too early without the set being spoiled. However, with Return to Ravnica we are shrinking the gap by a week and we are excited by this change!
16:36 worth: Marshall trolling us from social media!
16:37 WotC_MichaelR: MOAR QUESTIONS: VIP: What is the likely hood of Standard Pauper being a sanctioned event ? What do you think of this format ?
16:40 WotC_K: We have talked about out Standard Pauper (and I have gotten quite a few emails about it thanks to JoeKewwl). If we did offer it, it would be in the Casual Play room first so we could see how much demand there actually is for it.
16:41 WotC_MichaelR: Here's a question: DailyMatters: Q: Any plans on integrating MTGO with other social networks like facebook, twitter, etc ?
16:43 WotC_Robert: vaultboy2k asks: Why does wotc keep playing legacy Kobolds.
16:43 WotC_Robert: Answer: Because it's hilarious.
16:43 WotC_Beau: Spellslinging!
16:46 WotC_K: We have definately looked at integrating more social media into Magic Online. There are a ton of opportunities to solidify our community by letting them share MTGO experiences more easily. It will be high priority after we release the new UI.
16:46 WotC_Lee: Many of us certainly like social media! [sS]
16:46 WotC_MichaelR: True
16:46 WotC_MichaelR: Another question: AdahnTheImagined: Q: There are quite a lot of cards (not just high profile ones) that are not available on Magic Online. I guess there must be more to it than just putting them into the system. What sort of obstacles are there in digitizing Magic's complete history? :-)
16:47 WotC_Lee: Masters Editions have tried to capture some of the most famous and high profile on Magic Online.
16:47 worth: Cep I saw your question on Rochester draft and Winston draft...just wanted to say that I love LOVE both those formats, especially Winston. Lots of stuff I *want* to do with MTGO formats, especially formats that play well or are designed for 1v1 play. Winston in particular is something I want badly. Lots of stuff to prioritize though.
16:48 worth: Also if anyone wants a good laugh, speaking of Rochester draft, take a look here: [a:url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW_zkyFoQLI]www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW_zkyFoQLI[/a] and laugh at Finkel destroying me. lol
16:48 WotC_Lee: A lot of the cards would be very difficult (not impossible) to program, though, and there isn't a ton of demand for those cards. And some cards (like involving manual dexterity) or Un-set cards don't work at all.
16:49 WotC_Lee: Definitely interested in feedback if there's specific stuff you'd like to see on Magic Online, but we have no current release the pre-Mirage sets in their entirety on Magic Online. It's possible some of those cards may be release outside of a booster product, however.
16:50 Ryan_S: [@A]dahnTheImagined: There are some cards that just aren't possible (like Chaos Orb), and there are other cards that simply aren't fun/popular. So far, we have mostly released cards on MTGO in booster formats that can be drafted or otherwise played in Limited. We've looked at ways to introduce missing cards in non-booster forms to complete the avilability of all cards.
16:50 WotC_MichaelR: We've had a few questions about this so I'll ask it: Will players be able to create their own Cubes?
16:52 WotC_K: Right now it just isn't possible from a technical standpoint. We like the idea of players being able to take control of their play experience, but there are just a lot of other features that are higher priority.
16:53 WotC_K: The same is true of players being able to create their own drafts where players can bring random packs.
16:54 WotC_MichaelR: Here's a great "almost done" question: Shaterri: 10 years on, what's been your biggest surprise with MTGO? (Aside from the obvious 'how popular it still is' answer, of course)
16:55 WotC_MichaelR: We're going to go a little bit later, (since we started later... thank you RYAN SPAIN). So we'll ask a few more questions.
16:56 Ryan_S: Well if SOMEONE would have had the room READY maybe I would have been going on time!
16:56 WotC_Robert: The room was ready! There was cake!
16:57 worth: Biggest surprise in the last 10 years - I would say the movement of the digital game industry in general to (now) completely embrace a pay-as-you-go model with digital objects. From a guy who was around when we dreamed this thing up, we werent sure our customers would embrace the model. 10 years later it's pretty clear that they do in a big way.
16:59 WotC_K: There are a lot of surprises for me. How passionate the community is (and how awesome many of them are) is one. I have had a chance to meet may players at Pro Tours, Worlds, Magic Online Championship Series, and at the Community Cup. One of the highlights of the year for me is CC and getting a chance to bring Magic fans here and really get to konw them.
17:00 worth: Since we have a lull here as my colleagues are furiously typing... If anyone ever wants to ask me a question on twitter, I try to respond to most (I cant get to all though ) also I read every. single. post. in the magic online general forums on our website
17:00 WotC_Gordon: Shaterri: The way in-store play and online play have supported each other has been great, and like Worth said about the business model, we weren't completely sure that would be the case.
17:00 worth: you can get me at @mtgonline
17:01 WotC_Lee: I liked Worth's and Chris' answers!
17:01 worth: MaZmiTh must not have seen the Mutilate spoiler that just went up (he asked when we're gonna make a good black card again)
17:02 WotC_Lee: You can also follow me on twitter, I tweet regularly about Magic Online: @Lee_Sharpe
17:02 WotC_MichaelR: We've had more questions about this so whoever wants to answer it can: Leagues?
17:03 WotC_Gordon: We got a couple of questions about deck size limits in the new client. The upper size limit is server side, so it will not change (I think it is 1400 in 2 player games). The new client will support binders in the collection that can contain up to 50K cards.17:03 WotC_MichaelR: (You guys should hear the conversation going on behind the scenes right now) :P
17:04 worth: Not gonna get into details too much on Leagues other than this: Leagues in some form (a form recognizable to you all as Leagues) *will* definitely, 100%, without a doubt, be back.
17:05 worth: MaZmiTh wants to know if I've ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight.
17:05 WotC_Gordon: We are going to tackle some major system infrastructure work around player matching and tournament/event management when we build support for Leagues, which I look forward to on both fronts.17:06 worth: To which I say only, "I put my arms around him and held him tight."
17:06 WotC_Lee: (Also, lol @ moonlight in Seattle)
17:07 WotC_MichaelR: 5:07 PM RulerofChaos: Q: Are you guys excited about the new column on Dailymtg covering MTGO?
17:07 WotC_MichaelR: YES!
17:08 WotC_Lee: The Magic Online metagame moves very quickly. It's exciting to try to be on the cutting edge of the metagame and we look forward to seeing a columnist document this.
17:08 WotC_K: Yes. We are really working on ways to get MTGO more in the spotlight, and more integrated coverage is part of that.
17:10 WotC_MichaelR: Deathclaw: Q: you mention casting mtgo into more of the spotlight, is there any plans to have events like the magic invitational/duelist invitational where online players have a chance to develop a card?
17:11 WotC_K: We have Community Cup, which I have already said I love, where we bring players in and really get to play in very fun ways.
17:13 WotC_K: We want to do more articles and really, just more forward facing communication.
17:13 worth: What Chris said.
17:13 WotC_Lee: MULTIBALL!
17:13 WotC_K: really just get more involved with the community in general.
17:14 WotC_MichaelR: I can also answer a little bit of this question. This chat, spellsling, conventions and more are helping bring into the spotlight. It's something that requires a lot of moving parts. The good thing is it's something lots of us want.
17:16 WotC_MichaelR: Here's the final question: DailyMatters: Q: In your indivdual opinion what is the best thing about working in mtgo ?
17:16 WotC_Lee: Working on a product that I'm passionate about with a bunch of other people who are also passionate about the same thing. There's not a lot that can substitute for this. I'm very lucky to work in an enviornment like this.
17:17 WotC_Robert: The best thing about working on MTGO is getting to work with these folks. It's the bee's knees.
17:17 WotC_Lee: It's really great!
17:18 WotC_Gordon: It is really rewarding to work on the digital representation of such a fantastic game. The crew here is awesome to work with as well. Sooo many smrt people.
17:18 Ryan_S: @DailyMatters: Having the opportunity to influence the direction of the digital implementation of the greatest game ever invented. Also, working with a group of people uniformally passionate about the product. I've been in a lot of jobs in the game industry, and it's really quite a unique environment in that regard.
17:19 worth: Best thing about working on MTGO for me is being able to directly affect a program that I truly love, letting me play a game I've loved for almost 20 years. Not necessarily MTGO related, but Magic itself is such a huge part of my life, 4 out of my 5 groomsman in my wedding party 11 years ago I had met through Magic, and I contend that Magic attracts the world's best and brightest. Being around that is cool. It's cool man, it's cool. :P
17:20 worth: Calavera and a lot of others asked about P9, what I'll say is that they'll make their way to MTGO eventually. It's a genie we cant put back in the bottle once we let it out, so I want to be *very* careful about the execution. It's definitely top of mind, all.
17:20 WotC_K: Too much to list. I am working on a prodcut that I am also a fan of, I get to work on that product with other great folks who are fans, and deliver that product to more fans. I think we are actually in the most exciting period of Magic Online's history, and since I know what is coming, it is so exciting planning out how we are going to deliver it.
17:20 WotC_MichaelR: That does it for us. Thank you all for joining us today. We've had fun. Remember Spellslinging continues through 8pm PDT.
17:21 WotC_K: Not so fast Mike!
17:21 WotC_MichaelR: BA-WHA!?!
17:22 WotC_K: I think players are going to be very happy once we release the new UI and we finally get to show off what we have been working so hard on.
17:23 WotC_K: And the best part is that is just the foundation of what is to come.
17:23 worth: bobafett please take it easy on Lee if you play him in spelslinging
17:24 worth: hes no good to me dead
17:24 WotC_MichaelR: Have a great weekend everyone!
17:25 WotC_K: Spellslingers! Please remember that only the first match counts for rewards!
17:25 WotC_Lee: We will post the chat transcript in the Magic Online group blog for those who missed some of it and/or want to review it later.
17:25 WotC_Lee: Hope everyone enjoyed the chat.
17:25 WotC_Lee: Time to start spellslinging!
17:25 WotC_K: Multiple matches do not get multiple cards, and if you lose, more games will not get you more cards.
17:25 worth: Thanks again for being part of this everyone, you're all appreciated more than you know. We're always open to constructive feedback, help us make the product you want it to be! Have a great weekend!