The above image (click to enlarge) breaks down the interface into different areas, 22 in fact, the rest of this post will go over each area as to what it contains and useful info about each bit. If as a new (or old) player, you feel there is information that should be added to this, please send me a message suggesting such.
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The top bar, often not seen because of it's unobtrusive nature, is very useful. As a new player there are 4 buttons that will matter the most to you, the rest look at, but they're not as beneficial at the outset.
- The first being the "View Announcements" button, this could also be in red, and rather say "View *** New Announcements" with *** being a number. When clicked, this opens up an in-game window detailing the changes the game has gone and is going through, by reading announcements you will be kept up to date on the changes that have taken place in the game.
- The second is the "Game Intro" button, this will reopen the introduction to MD that would have appeared when you first logged in, you may have closed this without reading it first time round, or forgotten what it said, so it may be helpful to go through it again.
- "Active Forum Posts" may not be immediately helpful in itself, but it will link you onto the forum where there's a lot of information and help available - though not all information found will be helpful.
- And lastly "Free Credits" if you are not able to buy credits for whatever reason, or plain don't want to, but feel that credits could come in handy there is the Free Credits section. This area displays a list of weblinks, clicking on each and voting where required will give you some credits over time - the amount you get from each link is shown there. Along with the credits you gain, you also get small stat bonuses for voting. See section 18 for information about and the use of credits.
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- On the left there's what are referred to as activity day arrows. You initially get 1 per day, which then slows down in rate, the newer arrows laying over the older. When a player reaches a year of active days, this design changes into a diamond type symbol. In short, the more fanciful the design is, the more active days the player has.
- Following that is your playername, your ID, and then the amount of active days you have - you get +1 active day every server day you log in (server day will be explained in section 10).
- The "Logout" and "Go Idle" buttons are different options for players should they wish to stop playing for the time being. Logout works like it would suggest, as in any other game, it logs you out, players aren't able to interact with your account etc. Go Idle offers you the ability to allow others to interact with your account on a basic level (see you there, send messages, attack etc) without you being active yourself. An account will automatically go idle after a certain period of time of inactivity.
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This is the "filled" version of the left hand menu, when you start the game you will have a few of the items enabled, and as you play the others will unlock and display for you. The 'lens' currently shown around the scroll will place itself over whichever icon your mouse is hovered near. I'll detail here what each icon is for.
- The first item, looks like a scroll, is one. This will show you your current Story Mode progress, clicking this will produce the same effect as clicking the big glowing scroll in the Paper Cabin Study Room.
- Second item down represents a compass. Whenever a game instruction says to click on the compass, it means this button. This button will take you from viewing any other page, to viewing the navigation screen - the screen displayed in the main image at the top.
- Next we have an icon which looks like the heads and shoulders of three people. This icon is for alliances, if you decide to join one (and they invite you) then this is where you will be able to see the current and online members of your alliance, as well as be able to have conversations with alliance members wherever any of you are in the realm.
- The fourth icon, that looks kind of like the head and shoulders of an angel? is for your "Profile and Personal Characteristics" the page displayed when you click it displays your stats like attack, defence, etc as well as your principle values. You pick your principles during Story Mode, and then increase their value later in the gameplay. If you are part of a land or alliance you can also see the bonuses given by them there. The lower part of this page shows you avatar information for when you get one (or want to upload your own), as well as general information about your account, like when you created it.
- Then below that you have an icon of a shield with two crossed swords over it - this is for your "Current Equipment" page. This page displays the weapons and varied pieces of armour that you have 'bought' (with Value Points, not connected at all to your actual money) in game, and allows you to view details about each piece, as well as equip the items. You can find equipment shops in various locations around the game.
- The sixth icon is actually a little baby dragon, though some people initially think it a "squelch" or even "an elephant with a mace". This will take you onto your "Available Creatures" page. At the top it has an elevated 'Vitality Orb' with a figure, or figures bowing around it, the level of the orange content of the orb reflects how much Vital Energy (see section 6) you have, and therefore how much can be given to your creatures should they be injured.
Below that image are your creatures, you will see a very basic overview of each one (you can click the creature icon for a more detailed version), and if it has less than it's maximum health an orange bar will appear below it, clicking this will give it a portion of your Vital Energy. The proportion of your own Vital Energy that you give to the creature depends on how many adepts (section 6) you have, the more adepts, the larger the proportion. Having more adepts also increases the amount of figures bowing around the vitality orb.
- You then have an envelope icon, this will open an in-game pop up showing you the messages you have received from other players, and gives you the option to reply to them. There are also a couple of paid shop features that enhance the message system, but this help text won't go into that.
- Below that is a map icon, this will open up the realm map. As you go through Story Mode you have to pick up a scroll with the map on it, after picking it up, this button is how you will access it in future. When you open the map you will see a rippling orange 'blob' that is where you are on the map.
- Second to last icon is of two crossed swords. This is where you can view your previous battle logs. The game is mostly Player vs Player, so don't expect lots of shades dotted about like in the tutorial section of Story Mode.
- And last but not least is an icon that looks like....three ink drops in a swirl, yes, that was said. This icon will take you to the "Magic" page. Initially you will have no spells, you gain these through various methods as you progress in the game, but when you do you will find them listed on the "Outer Magic" part of this page. The "Illusions" and "Inner Circle" parts of this page are currently locked off until further game changes are implemented.
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The top line of this image displays the title of the scene you are currently in, you can also view this in area 6. There may also be a slightly smaller line of text below this (not shown), referred to as the location subtitle. The subtitle of a scene is set by a player using up a Wishpoint (see section 9.1). Not all locations have scene titles.
Below the scene title(s) is the line "Research and Connections". When clicking this text the side panel (section 10) will reload displaying some further information. This is a feature of the game whereby you can use research points (you start with 10 and can get more from the Wishshop (section 19)) to reveal information about certain parts of the game, given enough personal research you can also submit research for review and possible inclusion into the game.
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This, you will not see until you are Mindpower 4 (the next 'level' up from when you start out). It is called the 'Erolin Device', with it and the 'Erolites' above it you can store and release temporary Heat - not to be confused with Heat Tolerance, this game's version of experience (will be explained in another help doc to do with battles). Each erolite stores 1000 heat, to store, you just click on the erolin device itself when you have 1000 or more present and it will be transferred into an erolite, with anything above disappearing - you can do this in multiples, so if you have 2000 heat, you would be able to fill two erolites. You start out with two erolites, and can buy a further four from the MD Shop (section 18), as well as gaining them during the game's winter celebrations and at other announced points. The erolin device itself can hold a maximum of 4400 heat before being capped, and will undergo various different patterns as the amount increases. You can gain heat through moving around the realm, and also through fighting, it works much like the concept of a stat multiplier when fighting.
To release stored heat back into the erolin device, all you need to do is click on one of the erolites - this will release the 1000 heat it had stored.
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- At the top of this area you have your regeneration counter. The bar below the countdown timer displays in a pictorial form how far away from regeneration you are, the more filled the bar, the closer the moment is. When the counter hits 0, you will regain some of the stats listed below it. How long the counter is and how much of each stat you regain depend on whether you are part of a land or alliance (section 3) or not. The values for each land vary.
- Below that lists the location you are currently at.
- Then you have your Mind Power level. The first number represents how many principles you chose during story mode, up to a maximum of the second number - the second number being your mind power(MP) itself. In this example the player has chosen four principles, and is MP5.
- You have the stats as listed on your "Profile and Personal Characteristics" (section 3), and you also have these stats: Vital Energy (also known as VE or Vitality), Action Points (AP), Value Points (VP) and Exploring Points (XPL).
- VE is essentially your health in the game, you provide it to your creatures when they fight for you. Having no personal (as opposed to creature) VE doesn't stop you from fighting though.
- AP you spend as you move around, travelling from scene to scene uses up these, as well as various other actions, as the name would suggest.
- VP is like the stat version of money in the realm, you primarily use it when recruiting creatures, and also when buying armour.
- XPL you spend when visiting locations for the first time.
- Below those stats you have your adept counter. A player can set who they are an adept of through the Daily Progress Page (section 12), which forms a mentor-student relationship. The adept counter displays how many players have listed you as their mentor, clicking on it will provide a list of them, as well as being able to send a message to each of them. As you gain more adepts the icon changes in design to reflect this.
- At the bottom of this section there is a small circle with a bar moving around it, when the bar reaches the top the stats above it refresh their values, keeping them up to date.
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This is the Trigger box. It serves several purposes; an announcing tool in the form of the "Newsbox", Tips and Hints, and as a display for the 'Triggers' in game.
The Newsbox displays informative announcements from time to time, such as when the forum is offline, or when certain contests or events are taking place.
The Tips and Hints provide useful information, particularly when starting out, they are fairly varied in content so keep an eye out for what they say.
The Triggers themselves reflect magical activity within the realm. The "UID" part is the User ID for the player that has cast the spell, or that it has been cast on (varies between depending on which spell) and the text following is information about what type of magical activity has happened. It doesn't just show spells cast, but the use of certain items as well as fight causes (will be explained in another help doc to do with battles).
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Town crier info
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- On the left of this area, the book icon, takes you to a page displaying your "Achievements and Trophies". You have to initially find these within the game before being able to achieve them. There is a "More Info" button at the top of this page which will provide more detailed information.
- To the right, the star icons, are Wishpoints, the icons are golden when you have one available to use, the area displays a maximum of ten, though you can achieve more than that. Wishpoints are the currency of the Wish Shop (section 19). You can gain them through completing quests, or by reaching certain achievements, there are also some wish points given out by the system, too, for example; solving the puzzle in the Broken Pattern Gazebo.
- At the top of this area it lists the "Server Time", this is set to GMT/UTC+2. When organising things that are happening in the realm, players usually use the server time (ST) as a universal so that everyone can relate to it.
- Below this is the game day and year, the day series begins with 0 on January 1st and progresses, whilst the year is counted from when the foundations of the game were first put into place, it increments along with the Gregorian calendar.
The picture shows the side panel which contains various things, indicated by each menu item listed together at the top. A few of the ones that are considered to be more important are listed below.
- Inventory - The image above displays a player's inventory, you will not start out with any items, but when you do attain some, this is where you will be able to see what you have. By clicking the "<< Details" button, you will be able to view a more detailed list of your items. The bottom part of this side panel page allows you to transfer items to other players.
- Personal Page - Clicking this will produce and in-game pop up. This page is considered personal in that it is yours to edit, not in that nobody else can see it. The edits you make to this page reflect on your player page located at "http://magicduel.com/players/<playername>" where <playername> should be replaced with your actual playername.
- Notebook - Clicking this will produce and in-game pop up. This is where you can store personal notes or information within the game. Nobody else can access this apart from you.
- Mood Panel - This is where people update their status's, it's currently the preset view on the side tab. This is a MD Shop (section 18) feature, in the Extra Features branch.
- Options - Where you can change your preferences, as well as changing your registered email address and password.
- The "Development Status" indicates what area the development team are currently working on, by clicking the status itself you will be able to determine what each status means.
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Side panel info
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This is the Live Help button, by clicking on it you will produce an in-game pop up to appear which will have some help pages to the right, and on the left will give you the option to message(section 3) a Live Help Operator (LHO). If you have any questions about the game or how to go about playing it, the LHOs are there to help.
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This is the Daily Progress Page icon.
Clicking this will display the changes in stats your profile has had that day. Below this will show how many swords(wins) and sheaths(loses) you have had in total (fighting will not be detailed here), you should keep these balanced. In the same area, your stored heat (experience) is shown, along with your current honour and loyalty. You can get more detailed information about honour and loyalty by clicking on the Live Help button (section 11), and opening the help page to the right entitled "Online users, Live chat, Viscosity, Loyalty and Honour".
There is then a box where you can enter who you want to be an adept (section 6) of. When you reach Mind Power 4, you will also be able to 'worship' another player, where you donate Heat from your Erolin device (section 5) to another player, in exchange for the donated heat, you gain 1 loyalty. There would be a second box below that for adepting yourself, for entering who you would like to worship.
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NEEDS REPHRASE FOR GoE
This is the scene you are in, there aren't always arrows to click to move around, in the case of the Gazebo of Chaos seen here the bridge leading away from the central area allows you to click it to leave. There are also a lot of other things that can be clicked on in the realm, have a look around each scene for what you can click on, you might find some fun things.
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Resources in this location
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- The online player list. This area lets you know how many players are currently in your current location, and then lists them. If the player is listed in orange it means that the player is currently there, and if they are in grey then they were online in the last 60 minutes or have just passed by.
- To the left of the playername is sometimes a small icon, they vary in design, but reflect that the player is part of an alliance. Inbetween that icon and the playername are some vertical dots - either two or three, and orange or black depending on Mind Power level of the player.
- There is also reference to "RP Reality Requirement" this basically defines how realistic a player should be with their roleplaying in each particular location, based on the amount of players present. Exact specifications can be found on the More Info link next to it.
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Live Chat.
-At the top of this area there is a narrow box which you can type into, pressing enter/clicking 'talk' will then cause you to speak. Different things that you can do in chat can be seen in the "More Info" link just above this, as shown in the section 15 image.
Talking will cause what you say to appear in the left of the two columns in the picture, where it says "No recent messages...". As indicated by the message below the chat, the messages written last for 12 hours.
- The right hand column can display a player's mini-profile when you click their name in the playerlist, or in chat. The mini-profile will let you see a bit of information about the player, as well as being able to view their personal papers (will explain that in the next paragraph). In addition to being able to view various bits about the player, it also gives you the option to attack the player (not explaining here) and send them a message (section 3).
- Below the chat area are three buttons; friends, papers, spells.
- 'friends' are an MD Shop (section 18) feature, but can also be attained during our winter festival. When pressed it displays in the right hand column all the players you have added as friends. By having this list of friends, you will be able to message these players easier, as well as being able to tell if they're online. If you have paid for the feature, you can add a friend by viewing their mini-profile and clicking the add friend button there.
- 'papers' when pressed, displays a list of various documents you have picked up in game and allows you to edit them to display information about your character to other players, they are known as your personal papers. You can pick these documents up in the MagicDuel Archives (MDA) which is a land to the north of the map, more specifically in the 'Indexed Room of Memories' - enter the Archive building itself when you get there, and take the left doorway once inside. The man at the table has the papers. Due to viscosity (section 22) you may find it difficult/impossible to reach there when you first start, but it will become easier and certainly possible later. You will have to first pick up the documents from MDA, prior to seeing them clickable in this side list.
- 'spells' by clicking this a list of spells you are able to use, and have casts available of, will show in the right side column. As mentioned in section 3 about the Magic icon, you begin with no spells, so this list will initially be empty. You can get spells from the Wish Shop (section 19) or on special occasions.
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This is the armour statue. You will not, at least initially, have this as it is an MD Shop (section 18) feature. If you do choose to purchase it, it's function is to display your current armour (section 3).
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The MD Shop.
Below the icon you can see how many credits you currently have available to spend. You can buy credits yourself through various methods listed, get credits from other people, as rewards, or out of players being generous, or alternatively through the free credits (section 1).
The MagicDuel shop has a wide variety of items in it, split into different related areas. You are spending actual money in this area, so be sure about what you wish to get, you can't return items.
New accounts get 5¢ credited to their account automatically, so long as nobody from the same computer or network / IP address has previously claimed the bonus.
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The Wish Shop.
This is where you can redeem your Wishpoints (section 9.1). At first, you won't have many visible wishes in this shop, but like the MD Shop, more interesting things get unlocked as you spend more wishes. The wish shop features a variety of spells as well as a few wishes that grant access to locked places or mutate creatures to create rare ones.
You will not initially be able to access this area, you need 40+ active days to enter it.
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Some more help documents, every help document you find will contain at least some useful information, do be sure to read them all at some point.
Secret status is secret..shhh.....
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Clicking this will produce a pop up giving you options of how to spread the word and tell your friends about the game.
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+sky visibility, edit play music
- Top left of this area you have 'Visits Here' this displays how many times you have travelled through or stopped in that location.
- Then you have 'Location Viscosity' there is detailed information through the 'More Info' button located above chat, but essentially if a place isn't visited much, it becomes harder to access, and those visited regularly become much easier to. The +36 in this scene reflects that it'll cost 36 extra action points to enter this scene, so if the regular action point cost was 1, it will require 37 action points to move.
- If you are a part of a land or alliance, you will gain loyalty towards that day, +1 each day. Whilst travelling on your own homeland, this will be removed from the usual travel costs of the location.
- The 'Play Music' button is for scenes in which music is playing, if music is coming from the game you can both start and stop it from here.
- Along the right starts with the 'Territory'. This is what land the current location belongs to. Each land has their own territory which affiliated players gain benefits for travelling across.
- 'Coord' is the co-ordinate for each scene in MagicDuel. Every scene has one and it means that you can pinpoint your location, even when you're a little lost.
- 'Tags' certain scenes throughout the realm have tags attached to them, allowing certain things to be able to be done in particular locations, or denying other actions. Keep an eye on what the tags might be in any particular scene.
- What isn't seen in this scene, but is present in a number of other scenes, are "resources". Resources come in a variety of forms, and are collectable through the use of certain items (section 9.3).
John Constantine reacted to Gridalthea in Whenever you're stuck, please try these first!
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