CrossFire's Online Spellfire is designed to allow people to play Spellfire over the internet. Since Spellfire is the greatest multi-player CCG in the world, it seemed silly not to support mulit-player...so it does! Online play was the original goal of CrossFire and about 3 years later it is a reality. Of course, this does NOT mark the end of CrossFire's development! Online play and CrossFire in general will grow, improve, and change as it is used. This has been a long and fun-filled journey for the developers of CrossFire and we hope you enjoy playing online.
If you open your deck before everyone is ready, wait until they are ready and then select Game -> Restart. This will clear your window and reload your deck.
You can add a player after a game has begun if so desired. To add someone, do steps 2 and 3 above for them. Have the new player do the above start up. Finally, each person who has been in the game needs to do Game -> Refresh Opponents. This will update your formation for all of your opponents.
The Game Notes window is for placing messages that others need to remember throughout the game. The can be added with Note -> New and removed with Note -> Remove -> title. You can only remove the notes you post.
If you want to have more than one card displayed per window, you can right-click on any card to create a seperate window of that card. This is especially helpful during combat.
During a game, you are bound to need to discuss the game. This is done, of course, with the chat window.
Drawing Cards
Click on the "Draw" button below the hand box or press Ctrl-D to draw a card. The auto-update card viewer will display the drawn card and it will be highlighted in the hand display. To draw mutliple cards quickly, right-click on the draw button for a pop-up menu. This menu allows you to draw up to 8 cards at once. A message of how many cards you drew will be sent to the chat window. If your deck is empty, the discards will be shuffled and sent to the deck. If you have no discards either, you will not be able to draw any cards.
Moving Cards
Moving cards has been implemented with a simple drag-and-drop style interface. Drag-and-drop is not a part of Tcl/Tk, so I had to create my own. It is possible that one could attempt to move cards too fast for it to keep up. If this happens it will politely ask you to slow down and the card may be in an unexpected location. The cursor will change to a target when the drag has started and change back to the pointer when finished. If you do not want to drag a card, be sure to wait until the cursor changes back before moving. Cards moving when you do not expect them to is a symptom of you not waiting the 0.1 seconds it needs!You can basically drag a card from anywhere to anywhere else. To move a champion and his attachments, drag the champion (the attachments will follow automatically). Some simple checking is implemented such as you can only place a realm on a realm target. The view of your formation on your opponents' computers will automatically update as you move cards.
Realms: Realms are dropped onto the bisque colored label, not the box below. The box below is for realm attachments, such as holdings, several artifacts, etc.
Pool: Adding to the pool is slightly different than the other boxes. To add a champion, simply drag and drop it in the pool box. To attach a card to another, drop the attachment onto the card to attach it to. Attachments will be indented below the card. You can detach a card by dragging that card to somewhere else. If you need to place a non-champion in the pool but NOT attached to a champion, drop it on some blank space in the box or onto another card's attachment. This is for cards such as Obsidian Man acting as a champion.
Panes of War: The Panes of War behaves the same as the pool.
Out of Play: As it states, dropping a card here will permanently remove that card from play. The removed card will be displayed in the chat window.
Deck: This target allows you to place a card on the top of the deck (draw pile). Used for returning your spoils to the deck, etc.
Raze / Unraze Realms
You can raze a realm by right-clicking on the realm name and selecting raze. Once razed, the pop-up menu will change to unraze so you can unraze it later.
Phase Buttons
The phase buttons are included on the interface for your convenience. They do not change the operation of online play in any way. These will probably be used more in the future especially if we have an online tournament.
Finishing Your Turn
Press the "Knock" button or press Ctrl-K to knock and signal the end of your turn.
Just In Case...
Unfortunately, someone could get disconnected from the internet while playing a game. If this happens, everyone should stop moving cards! After the dropped player returns to the game (the windows will stay), every player should do Game -> Refresh Opponents.
We all know Spellfire cards can do a myriad of spiffy things. Some of these have been implemented with online play. These features are on the menu bar. More will be added over time.
2 Draw Mulligan
You can declare a mulligan with Game -> Mulligan. Note that your hand will be displayed to your opponents.
Discarding Events
Events normally go to the Abyss when discarded. However, there are cards that allow them to go to the discard pile. You can change this with the Game -> Events Go To Discard toggle. Events will go to the discard pile when this is checked. A message will be displayed for your opponents when this is changed.
Discard a Card From an Opponent's Hand
Good ol' Hettman! This actually has to be done by the person who is losing the card. Inform the player that they must discard a card and they will do this with Hand -> Discard Random Card. The shortcut for this is Ctrl-C. The discarded card will be displayed in the chat window.
Discard All Cards in the Hand
Don't you just love Transformation!! You can discard your entire hand with Hand -> Discard Entire Hand. The cards you had in your hand will be displayed in the chat window.
Show Me Your Hand!
You always gotta be able to see someone's hand, right? Inform the player whose hand you want to view and they can show it to you with Hand -> Show To Opponent. The shortcut for this is Ctrl-S. The player showing the hand will receive a dialog to pick the opponent to show the hand to. You will not be able to do anything else in the game until you "give the hand back" (close the window). A message will be sent to the chat window to tell everyone that a hand is being shown.
Hide That Pool
Isn't everyone's favorite champion Cryic in all decks? You can hide your pool for your opponents with Pool -> Hidden. This is a toggle to hide or reveal your pool. Your opponents will see the same number of cards in your pool as before, but they will all be "Spellfire".
Target That Hidden Champion
Gotta kill that Cryic with Wish, so I can play mine! Since the pool is hidden, you need a method to target a fairly target a champion. This is done with Pool -> Pick Random Champion. The selected champion will be revealed only to the player with the hidden pool. This is because the targeted champion could be immune to the effects. A message will be displayed in the chat window when a random champion is picked.
Con Game
We all hate it, including me. But, some people insist on putting this card in their deck. Play the Con Game card to the Panes of War and announce who is receiving it. That player must invoke Pool -> Con Game. The list of cards the player must discard will be displayed in the chat window. It is up to them to move the cards to the discards and move the remaining cards to the hand or leave in the pool.
Draw a Card, Noting the Last Digit
Can't live without Spellfire's random number generator! This action is Hand -> Draw & Discard. The number you drew will be displayed in the chat window for everyone to see.
Drawing Dungeon Spoils
Since Dungeon Spoils are special, there is a menu option for it under Deck. The drawn card will be sent to the Panes of War for all to see. Be sure to move it where you want it after everyone sees it. If it is a realm it will automatically go to the Abyss.
Shuffle the Deck
For those times you just gotta shuffle, select Deck -> Shuffle. Of course, a message will be sent to the chat window that you have done this.
Look At Cards In Your Opponent's Draw Pile
Ren would be happy...he can once again use his crystal ball! To view an opponents hand, tell them which cards you are permitted to view. That player will select Deck -> Show to Opponent. You will not be able to do anything else in the game until you are finished viewing. You can select cards and send them to the discard pile, abyss, or bottom of the draw.
Look At Such and Such Cards in Draw Pile
Those nosey Hags of Tepest are always looking around in the draw pile... To look at all of part of your draw pile, select Deck -> View. The shortcut for this is Ctrl-V. You can select all the cards or just a couple from the top or the bottom. The draw pile will be displayed with options to send a selected card to the top or bottom of the draw pile or to the hand. You will not be able to do anything else in the game until you are finished viewing. And, of course, so no one cheats, a message will be sent to the chat window.
Bag of Beans
So, you use the Bag of Beans card, huh? Well, you can use it's power with the Deck -> Bag of Beans menu item. If the card is a realm, it will automatically be sent to the discard pile. Naturally, a message will be displayed when using this card's power.
Recycling the Discards
Out of cards? Need some more? You can recycle your discards back into the draw pile with Discards -> Recycle. The shortcut for this is Ctrl-R. The draw pile will be shuffled. A message will be displayed in the chat window telling everyone you are environmentally friendly.
Send the Discard to the Top of the Deck
Some cards let you shuffle your discards and place them on top of the draw pile. You will find this option at Discards -> To Top of Deck.
Gimme My Spells Back!
Ah yes, Recall... To recall all of your spells, select Discards -> Recall Spells. All cleric and wizards spells will be returned to the draw pile and reshuffled. As expected, a message will be sent to the chat window when you do this.