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[Kirian]

They released new installers for each update.  No clue if the game auto-updates now.  I wouldn't count on it?

Really?  /sigh

[markusin]

Now I'm no security expert either, but I'm interested in the topic and may even pursue a master in information security in the near future. Does anyone know how Unity apps communicate with the server?  If it's some sort of SSH connection then sending unencrypted information like passwords is bad but not a catastrophe, so long as password information is still hashed server-side.

Looking at strace output: everything is being sent through SSL, just as expected. This is good and correct.

If it's some sort of SSH connection then sending unencrypted information like passwords is bad but not a catastrophe, so long as password information is still hashed server-side.

If it's sent through SSH (or SSL) then it wouldn't be "unencrypted information"...

Again, so we don't have MF's word on anything yet, so can we please stop spreading all this FUD?

Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding and any doubt I could have caused. I didn't know it was standard practice to let SSL handle the encryption of the plaintext password when sending it to the server. I figured there would still be an intermediate step where the client encrypts the password with the public key or something before the message passing process for the password.

[markusin]

Okay, so I tried out Dominion Online V2, but only had the patience to play one game against the bot. You know, I think I would have enjoyed the experience a lot more if it weren't for the choppy animations and what appeared to be lag. At halfway max speed setting, I barely got a chance to see what my opponent was gaining. Maybe V1's shoving the cards your opponent gained in your face every time was a bit obnoxious, but here I would probably need the log to keep track of all my opponent's gains. I don't particularly mind the bells and whistles with the sparkles everywhere, but would want to have the option to disable them if it's not already implemented somewhere. The sparkly colours around the cards you have the option to interact with (playing, trashing, topdecking, etc.) is a nice plus for me.

I think they didn't properly solve the max 10 cards on one page issue properly. I would have preferred it if they only expanded the first page to show 12 kingdom cards if there are additional supply piles like ruins or the Young Witch bane. Instead, It fills up those slots with whatever it can. The game I payed against the AI had Mercenary and Diadem on the first page, which was confusing because Both Urchin and Tournament were in the Black Market deck. I found it a bit weird when I had to select a prize to gain when one of them was on a different page from the rest.

But like, at its core V2 has the V1 game-play that I had gotten used to. I hope that the performance issues I was experiencing will be addressed in due time, say before V1 is discontinued. If they are, then I'd be happy continuing my Dominion Online journey through V2.

[Kirian]

Has there been any indication that the doubling of cost was intentional?

[Mic Qsenoch]

Has there been any indication that the doubling of cost was intentional?

The exchange rates can be a bit confusing. The governments involved aren't terribly stable.

[ben_king]

Now I'm no security expert either, but I'm interested in the topic and may even pursue a master in information security in the near future. Does anyone know how Unity apps communicate with the server?  If it's some sort of SSH connection then sending unencrypted information like passwords is bad but not a catastrophe, so long as password information is still hashed server-side.

Looking at strace output: everything is being sent through SSL, just as expected. This is good and correct.

If it's some sort of SSH connection then sending unencrypted information like passwords is bad but not a catastrophe, so long as password information is still hashed server-side.

If it's sent through SSH (or SSL) then it wouldn't be "unencrypted information"...

Again, so we don't have MF's word on anything yet, so can we please stop spreading all this FUD?

Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding and any doubt I could have caused. I didn't know it was standard practice to let SSL handle the encryption of the plaintext password when sending it to the server. I figured there would still be an intermediate step where the client encrypts the password with the public key or something before the message passing process for the password.

Everyone should be glad to know that MakingFun definitely does not send passwords in plaintext.  I ran a packet sniffer on Dominion v2.0.  It uses SSL and doesn't submit anything other than DNS requests in plain text.

[Throwaway_bicycling]

They released new installers for each update.  No clue if the game auto-updates now.  I wouldn't count on it?

Really?  /sigh

Okay; so it looks like the Mac version on offer is still dominion_v2-0-29.dmg, which is the one that sucked hard when I tried it on Friday evening. I tried the application just now, but it is unable to locate opponents for me, even when I specify bots. Is anybody actually able to play the beta now?

[Seprix]

They released new installers for each update.  No clue if the game auto-updates now.  I wouldn't count on it?

Really?  /sigh

Okay; so it looks like the Mac version on offer is still dominion_v2-0-29.dmg, which is the one that sucked hard when I tried it on Friday evening. I tried the application just now, but it is unable to locate opponents for me, even when I specify bots. Is anybody actually able to play the beta now?

I don't know. I refuse to play until it gets updated. Closed Beta members specified these bugs since the beginning, and they haven't been fixed yet.

[IanP]

I'm unable to start a game tonight...  Are MF updating, has the game crashed, or is there another problem?

I've also noted that the game has doubled in price since last week.

[enfynet]

I'm unable to start a game tonight...  Are MF updating, has the game crashed, or is there another problem?

I've also noted that the game has doubled in price since last week.

I noticed that as well. I may not buy the online version after all. I could spend that money and sleeve all my IRL cards in premium sleeves.

[Throwaway_bicycling]

I'm unable to start a game tonight...  Are MF updating, has the game crashed, or is there another problem?

I've also noted that the game has doubled in price since last week.

I noticed that as well. I may not buy the online version after all. I could spend that money and sleeve all my IRL cards in premium sleeves.

So if you do...I have to point out that I have been disappointed in the performance of the Mayday premium sleeves. They look tough, but have a significant split failure rate.

Concerning the price of the alleged online version: you know, I would pay that doubled price again (already own it once) if the thing actually worked. I mean, if you count only rated games I have played, these are down to $0.25 each, and, sure, I would totally pay that forever for a quality client. So I am guessing that many would only pay, oh, a nickel ($0.05 US) per game. But that would still cover the cost of all of the things, so far as I could tell. If they had a platform you could play on.

[Polk5440]

I'm unable to start a game tonight...  Are MF updating, has the game crashed, or is there another problem?

I've also noted that the game has doubled in price since last week.

I noticed that as well. I may not buy the online version after all. I could spend that money and sleeve all my IRL cards in premium sleeves.

So if you do...I have to point out that I have been disappointed in the performance of the Mayday premium sleeves. They look tough, but have a significant split failure rate.

Concerning the price of the alleged online version: you know, I would pay that doubled price again (already own it once) if the thing actually worked. I mean, if you count only rated games I have played, these are down to $0.25 each, and, sure, I would totally pay that forever for a quality client. So I am guessing that many would only pay, oh, a nickel ($0.05 US) per game. But that would still cover the cost of all of the things, so far as I could tell. If they had a platform you could play on.

You and only a handful of other people. At that price a whole host of other board game apps, not to mention video games, becomes very attractive to me.

[cactus]

Has there been any indication that the doubling of cost was intentional?

If it was / is intentional it seems like a bit of poor form. If the price was going to double they really should have promoted it. Something like "order now - prices must rise at the start of the next financial year" or something of that sort. They could have put the message where they have the advert that says "New Item - Dominion Giulds!"

No price rises since the original was released and then doubling the price overnight. It's like they're setting out to piss off potential customers.

Disclaimer: I already own all of the (available) sets.

[Cave-o-sapien]

You and only a handful of other people. At that price a whole host of other board game apps, not to mention video games, becomes very attractive to me.

It seems ridiculous to pay $90 for a board game app, especially one that doesn't allow me to play offline.

[Donald X.]

It seems ridiculous to pay $90 for a board game app, especially one that doesn't allow me to play offline.

Good news! This amazing game, that so many people have paid $45 for a physical copy of, that won so many awards around the world and spawned so many rip-offs, is available online for the low low price of $0. It's completely free. And if you don't believe me just go on now and play it. For sure it's not going to get cheaper than free (insert joke about how they'd have to pay you to play the beta).

It's popular to think that whatever you want should just be yours. It's popular to think that someone else's 10 years of work is worth exactly as much as their zero years of work. A board game with 5 expansions is worth exactly as much as a board game with 10 expansions; the expansions, they're something you're owed, not something you pay for. I hope your time hasn't been spent as worthlessly as mine has! I made all these expansions, as if they were worth buying, as if they weren't just hurting an existing product by making it more expensive to have everything.

I have given this speech before! The game is free; if you want to complain about price, there is only the price of individual expansions to complain about, and complaining about the total is like saying an author wrote too many books, a band put out too many albums.

[Beyond Awesome]

I don't think doubling price is a bad idea. However, they should have given some warning, if even a two-week notice. $90 seems like a lot, but there are a lot of expansions, and they should charge what they want. If people aren't happy, they don't have to buy. I do think the real money is withe iOS, Droid market. And, that market likes things cheap. So, yah, I'm not sure what their plan is just yet. Maybe ads for people who don't play. A trailer that plays on your phone before you can play. Although, if they do this, they should also bring down the prices.

Oh, and btw, I wouldn't spend a dime on the current POS version they released. I thought Goko was bad, but man...

[SCSN]

$90 for lifetime access to a rock-solid, fully functional online Dominion implementation is more than acceptable, but doubling the price for what you get right now (including serious doubts about the longevity of the project) is a truly baffling decision.

[Chris is me]

Now I'm no security expert either, but I'm interested in the topic and may even pursue a master in information security in the near future. Does anyone know how Unity apps communicate with the server?  If it's some sort of SSH connection then sending unencrypted information like passwords is bad but not a catastrophe, so long as password information is still hashed server-side.

Looking at strace output: everything is being sent through SSL, just as expected. This is good and correct.

If it's some sort of SSH connection then sending unencrypted information like passwords is bad but not a catastrophe, so long as password information is still hashed server-side.

If it's sent through SSH (or SSL) then it wouldn't be "unencrypted information"...

Again, so we don't have MF's word on anything yet, so can we please stop spreading all this FUD?

Ah, sorry for the misunderstanding and any doubt I could have caused. I didn't know it was standard practice to let SSL handle the encryption of the plaintext password when sending it to the server. I figured there would still be an intermediate step where the client encrypts the password with the public key or something before the message passing process for the password.

Everyone should be glad to know that MakingFun definitely does not send passwords in plaintext.  I ran a packet sniffer on Dominion v2.0.  It uses SSL and doesn't submit anything other than DNS requests in plain text.

While it's possible I jumped the gun on criticism here, I was more worried about whether or not the client log was sent over SSL as it apparently contains the user password.

[Witherweaver]

Does the $90 model give you access to Adventures once it is released?

[LastFootnote]

It seems ridiculous to pay $90 for a board game app, especially one that doesn't allow me to play offline.

Good news! This amazing game, that so many people have paid $45 for a physical copy of, that won so many awards around the world and spawned so many rip-offs, is available online for the low low price of $0. It's completely free. And if you don't believe me just go on now and play it. For sure it's not going to get cheaper than free (insert joke about how they'd have to pay you to play the beta).

It's popular to think that whatever you want should just be yours. It's popular to think that someone else's 10 years of work is worth exactly as much as their zero years of work. A board game with 5 expansions is worth exactly as much as a board game with 10 expansions; the expansions, they're something you're owed, not something you pay for. I hope your time hasn't been spent as worthlessly as mine has! I made all these expansions, as if they were worth buying, as if they weren't just hurting an existing product by making it more expensive to have everything.

I have given this speech before! The game is free; if you want to complain about price, there is only the price of individual expansions to complain about, and complaining about the total is like saying an author wrote too many books, a band put out too many albums.

I agree with SCSN that, for the amount of enjoyment I get out of the Dominion expansions, a one-time payment of $90 is a steal. But I am not most people. Making Fun's current prices seem divorced from the reality of the market. It seems almost impossible to believe they will get more revenue from a few people buying really expensive (for the market) expansions than they would from a ton of people buying much cheaper expansions.

I am sick of hearing people complain about the total price of the expansions. I wonder if perhaps it would be better if Making Fun did not offer packaged deals at all; if each expansion needed to be bought individually. That would remove some of the sticker shock.

[Elanchana]

Even though I'm speaking from already having bought the expansions on Goko, I'd much rather pay $90 to have every single card online than $300 for them IRL. It's not as cheap as $45, but it's still a steal... with a working system.

[Seprix]

Thankfully I don't have to worry, because I already paid for the expansions!

The fun I had was worth the $90 though. Does it suck to pay $90 instead of $45? Well, yes. But that's how the market works.

Don't worry Donald, I've only got Alchemy, Guilds and Intrigue before I complete my collection.

[pacovf]

Does it suck to pay $90 instead of $45? Well, yes. But that's how the market works.

Pretty sure that's not how the market works, because that would imply that there are people actually paying those 90$. Instead of, you know, spending that same amount of money on a dozen or more games on Steam, or playing whatever other currently popular F2P card game.

[Seprix]

Does it suck to pay $90 instead of $45? Well, yes. But that's how the market works.

Pretty sure that's not how the market works, because that would imply that there are people actually paying those 90$. Instead of, you know, spending that same amount of money on a dozen or more games on Steam, or playing whatever other currently popular F2P card game.

Well, nah. That is how the market works. People can set whatever price they please. Whether people will buy it or not though is the issue. Well, most of us hardcore players have the sets already, and they're not going to milk more money out of us. Then again, where else can you play Dominion online? Nowhere, they have a monopoly of sorts. Of sorts. What other game could you buy with $90?

[pacovf]

Does it suck to pay $90 instead of $45? Well, yes. But that's how the market works.

Pretty sure that's not how the market works, because that would imply that there are people actually paying those 90$. Instead of, you know, spending that same amount of money on a dozen or more games on Steam, or playing whatever other currently popular F2P card game.

Well, actually you're wrong. That is how the market works. People can set whatever price they please.

I can attempt to sell a regular Bic pen on eBay for 1000$. That's not an example of the market working.

I don't have anything against MF charging however much they please for whatever they want. But Dominion online doesn't exist in a vacuum. Ignoring the market is going to hurt them.

If, despite what everything seems to point towards, they have studied the (purposefully obscure) market and assessed that increasing the expansions prices is the move that is going to increase their revenues the most, then all the more power to them! But somehow I doubt it.