MTGO mobile?
Online Magic forum
Posted on Jan. 18, 2015, 11:38 a.m. by Hallowed_Titan
Anyone with app(android) making experience? I am wondering if it is possible to make an app to play magic on against friends with the app. Is this possible? I suppose you could forgo adding rules and phases and just let players handle that although that might discourage some folks.
I just want to play mtg more that once a week or 2 without buying mtgo : )
GlistenerAgent says... #3
UnTap.in and Cockatrice are both very useful resources. The former is a browser-based program, while the latter requires a download, but both are free and allow you to play games of Magic at virtually any time of day.
January 18, 2015 12:03 p.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #4
Thanks for the move epoch. And GlistenerAgent i am familiar with those but I was more meaning on a mobile phone or something. Not a computer or laptop. Something I can use at work.
I'm not a fan of untaps ui and I generally hear shitty things about cockatrice.
This is probably unrealistic and wishful thinking anyway.
January 18, 2015 12:26 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #5
I mean, the game is complicated and creating a clean UI on a phone screen would likely be very hard to pull off.
January 18, 2015 12:29 p.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #6
Epochalyptik why would it incur resistance by wotc? I mean cockatrice and untap.in are things. Why can't there be an app for mobile devices that lets you play?
January 18, 2015 12:29 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
If I remember correctly, cockatrice was almost entirely shut down. The one server that everyone now uses is the only one that survived.
And, you know, it is WOTC's game. They're well within their rights to force facsimile programs off the market. They probably care more when other people are making a profit off these programs, but that doesn't mean they won't also pursue free-to-play programs that are using their intellectual property.
January 18, 2015 12:40 p.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #8
That makes perfect sense epoch, had not really looked at it like that. I just love the game and want to play more : (
January 18, 2015 12:48 p.m.
I agree with Epo (Not tagged because he is busy) because they spent money to make a game. They deserve to sell it.
January 18, 2015 12:49 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #10
I agree that some degree of freedom to play the game is nice, but anyone who produces a program like cockatrice needs to be mindful of the rights of the game's producer.
January 18, 2015 1:01 p.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #11
Just to make sure there isn't any confusion, the app I am dreaming about would be like untap.in(or cockatrice) but on mobile sevices(like my phone). So no buying/selling/trading of cards. Just input a deck and play.
January 18, 2015 2:12 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #12
Yes, but you're still using WOTC's intellectual property. IP laws are most definitely a thing.
January 18, 2015 2:21 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #13
So, one thing: cockatrice is completely free, however, t sued because of copyright infringement.
Just because you make it free, doesn't mean the law can't be followed.
Two: a free service on android could potentially be a thing. The only issue is the HUGE amount of time it would take to make it work.
When building apps for mobile devices, you have to test compatibility with aol use common devices, as hardware issues and limitations may not exist on one, but will exist on another. In the mean time, the programmer would also have to figure out how to manage the screen space, at various resolutions, since not all android devices have the same size screen.
But before even getting there, you would have to build a database. Of course, you could just copy/paste cockatrices, but then you need a way to read that information into cards.....
This project is something that would take somebody at the minimum, three months to get even released, and when it is, you'll realize that magic wrant meant to be played on android devices, as the interface would probably be worse, and more outdated, than mtgo's.
January 18, 2015 2:41 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #14
So yes, it's possible, but not in a reasonable amount of time, and it's probably going to incur some legal wrath, and the end product may not be what you want it to be.
January 18, 2015 2:42 p.m.
Hallowed_Titan says... #15
See, this is exactly why I posted this. I do not have the knowledge or know how to do this or even start it. Thanks to everyone who chimed in. Seems more complex than it would be worth. (Sighs in defeat)
January 18, 2015 3:21 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #16
Yeah, programming usually is more complicated then people realize at first.
It's not impossible, it's just not going to end up like how it's imagined, plus legal ramifications are a huge hindrance.
January 18, 2015 3:44 p.m.
Wagic: The Homebrew recently got Android support. It's not fully optimized, but it works on a lot of devices. The interface is similar to Duels of the Planeswalkers.
It's just a bit of a pain to install because you have to get all the card images online, move them to your phone via USB, and install the program as 3rd. party software.
Epochalyptik says... #2
Moved.
You would probably incur some legal resistance from WOTC.
January 18, 2015 12:02 p.m.