Coming to iOS and Android!

[kobal]

Hey everyone, I've been playing for well over ten years and while I never really got involved in the community, I'm sure many of you have dueled me.

I'm happy to announce a good friend of mine (averyclosecall) convinced me to help him make a mobile version of Richard Bartle's Waving Hands (the game that Warlocks is based off).

Our little indie company, Fixer Studios, has finally officially announced our first game, Sinister Dexter, and that means I can share it with the world! Sinister Dexter is going to bring Waving Hands into the 21st century and include great new features like GRAPHICS and PUSH NOTIFICATIONS. ;P

What we will definitely need is a passionate community, and I think this is a good place to look. The gameplay is getting an update, and you can be sure the turn-based magic duelling will be familiar as ever.

So, check out our company's Facebook page and give it a Like if you're so inclined.

www.facebook.com/FixerStudios

We're going to need feedback on lots of stuff, and would love to get you involved into the Beta.

Spread the word, Sinister Dexter is coming.

[BioLogIn]

Sounds interesting! Good luck and keep us posted =)

[salvor]

Some minor notes on gameplay (about the choice of "default" settings/rules).

1.Don't choose Bartle's original rules.
SPF is too good (compared to DPP,DSF,SWD. It is on par with 4gesture PSDF), spammable and makes longer chains (poison, FoD) uncastable. I've had some experience playing original Waving Hands, and it is more boring. Remember, people like to be cool, and with spammable SPF you do not allow them to be. A lot of players have info on their page about casting some weird combo (e.g. Delayed Time-stopped FoD) and SPF makes half of the spelllist unusable.

2. Don't use Confusion
Or at least fix it somehow. DSF has bad issue of being the most dominant mindspell, essentially killing your two-hand spellflow . Maladroit is brilliant replacement.

Confusion also makes Opening theory a bit boring (no alternative to D/P. Game essentially starts with double DSF/PSD and the depends on a confusion outcome). People like to be unique and have a "signature" openings))

3. Using ravenblack Maladroit ParaFC is a good choice (game is played for a ~ 9 years, with ~5 big "World Championships" and hence it's quite balanced and playable).

It has only one (perhaps big) issue. Paralysis is spammable and annoy a lot of people. You may read the controversy about it here in this forum (tons of threads dedicated to it). A lot of players (including me) believe it's ok, but many do not. I don't think that you want to hear "PARA IS BROKEN, FIX THIS" everywhere, so you may consider fixing it somehow.

4. On fixing para. (btw: Never ever try to strengthen para, like in ParaFF or paraFDF).

You can't just delete para without ruining everything. DPP (amnesia) is also as much abusable, and currently paralysis is the best counter to it (not the best one, D/P is still one of the most popular openings). If you weaken para, you must instead make something to compete with amnesia. Also you must add some new F-spell to make that gesture useful (optimally add another mindspell).

slarty.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=warlocks&action=display&thread=270&page=1

5. Currently the most appealing substitution is so-called "Panic game"

Paralysis is changed to SFFF, PFFF, PFFFF (Three different strings. You need SFFF to work with disease, PFFF to be able to defend from amnesia in DP/PS vs XW/YP position. Don't forget to add PFFF. You don't want to have DP/PS vs PP/WW - stalemate.). Perhaps you should also add WFFF to make blindness DWFF more playable. DFFF is also possible, but it has a downside of a nasty fork in the middle of a lightnind bolt DFFF/DFFS/DFFD.

Added another mindspell (cancels with other mindspell, as always), Panic (FFS) which forbids a target from using the gestures caster used on turn of casting. etc
FFS
PSD

vs
DPS
PSD

forbids D/P player of using S and D.

Panic Maladroit ParaFC is quite balanced (though not tested as much as Maladroit ParaFC).

6. If you want to make your own variant (removing para, adding something else), here is a quick test if amnesia is not overpowered.

Consider

PPWW
WWPP
vs
DPPSD
PSDPP

It is a semi-stalemate. P/W player can break this stalemate with para, breaking even. This move is risky if D/P player plays DPS/PSD instead.

PPFF
WWPP
vs
DPP
PSD

If you cross out para from the spellist, P/W player can no longer break this and punish D/P player for stalling.

This line also shows why you must add PFFF para in Panic game (ExDeath did not list it in original variant).

If you change something, make sure to give P/W-player a way out in this loop.

You may try to use weaker amnesia (target must use only gestures used in previous turn). So, player can use PPSW/WWWS under amnesia.


P.S. Of course, it is better to add a lot of variants to the game (perhaps even custom ones), but Maladroit ParaFC or Panic Maladroit ParaFC so far are the only good candidates of default ones.

[mikeEB]

Removing the bug that lets Confusion select > and - goes a long way towards making other openings playable.

Seconded on changing anti-spell's gestures; also, the supplementary command for Time Stop makes its defense-penetrating effect actually useful.

[eliotn]

I am also thinking about making my own version of the game as my own project. I am suprised an indie game company announced it two weeks beforehand.

[BioLogIn]

I am also thinking about making my own version of the game as my own project.

Legio nomen...

[eliotn]

I am still working on this. I will have an initial deployment of the UI available shortly.

[kobal]

It's funny, I was going to say nihil novi sub sole, but legio nomen is more delightful.

[averyclosecall]

Hi everyone, I'd like to invite anyone interested to join the message board over at www.fixerstudios.com and share this little teaser video a friend of the team shot: youtu.be/EaLxPOXemy0

Cheers!

[xade]

Ha, that's awesome.