Combinator Cards 101: A Primer on How Combinators Work

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by DOOMTHO

First off, let me just say that I have no skin in this matter, and for what it’s worth I hold a very favorable opinion of OOTP as a whole. I also fully understand the myriad plausible justifications for refusing to take any action in this situation (there is an explicit warning in the game which requires manual confirmation; there is presumably no backend function to simply undo the attempt or “un-erase” the cards in question; the time and effort it would require to rectify the error would likely not be feasible to offer all customers and thus it would be “unfair” to offer it just this time, etc.).

Having said all of that, this is a really, really bad look. For a number of reasons. But to highlight one in particular, based on the specific cards this user lost, it seems likely that they are a fairly new user (of PT mode, at least, if not necessarily OOTP), and the cards they’ve lost would have thus represented virtually their entire resource base from which to continue building their team - it wouldn’t surprise me if they simply gave up on the game entirely at this point. Beyond that, the mistake this user made is honestly quite understandable, which makes it particularly disheartening to see them turned away empty handed - especially since there is a real financial cost associated with the in-game currency, and through that lens one could make the argument that this user just lost the equivalent of several hundred dollars due to a simple mistake.

Again, this doesn’t affect me at all; I simply felt compelled to advocate on this person’s behalf as a neutral observer.

I appreciate you taking the time to make such a thoughtful post, especially considering how seldom you post. I was surprised by the abrupt "no". But I doubt it was affected by the OP spamming the board with demands and threats.

[Germaniac]

What happens if I put a card that was boosted to Level 5 up for sale and am not satisfied with the price I get?

When I pull it back, do I still have the 5 boosts or is it reset to 0 boosts?

[dishnet34]

I would presume it'll still be at Lv. 5.

[HRBaker]

(shakes head)

Seems with Combinators, the cart came before the horse. I said a long time ago I didn't think the entire process was thought through all the possibilities, and each month that goes by seems to confirm that.

I can't help but feel playing PT isn't a lot different than sitting in front of my computer trading stocks live. It's not a game, it's an investment - and the stock market doesn't care if you win or lose.

[dishnet34]

Originally Posted by HRBaker

(shakes head)

Seems with Combinators, the cart came before the horse. I said a long time ago I didn't think the entire process was thought through all the possibilities, and each month that goes by seems to confirm that.

I can't help but feel playing PT isn't a lot different than sitting in front of my computer trading stocks live. It's not a game, it's an investment - and the stock market doesn't care if you win or lose.

Holy crap, just because I said the word "presume" and did not remember right off rip what the correct answer was (and am pretty sure it is the correct answer) to his legitimate question about how it works, you go on this rant? Yeesh.

[HRBaker]

Originally Posted by dishnet34

Holy crap, just because I said the word "presume" and did not remember right off rip what the correct answer was (and am pretty sure it is the correct answer) to his legitimate question about how it works, you go on this rant? Yeesh.

I wasn't referring to your response per se, Dish. The entire discussion just set me off again about Combinators.

In a world of fantasy cards, being able to improve cards in addition to getting better ones is not a "bad" idea, but I can't help but think the complexities trying to get them to seamlessly "play" with existing rules without causing new problems was a lot deeper than at first glance.

Again, my comment was not pointed at you directly, and I'm sorry if it was taken that way.

[Socali]

Originally Posted by Germaniac

What happens if I put a card that was boosted to Level 5 up for sale and am not satisfied with the price I get?

When I pull it back, do I still have the 5 boosts or is it reset to 0 boosts?

I was sure that I've done this and the Combinator level remained the same after pulling from market. Just to be sure in my answer I just created a sell order for a level 5 combinator that I'm not using anymore, then pulled him off market and still a level 5.

[Germaniac]

Originally Posted by Socali

I was sure that I've done this and the Combinator level remained the same after pulling from market. Just to be sure in my answer I just created a sell order for a level 5 combinator that I'm not using anymore, then pulled him off market and still a level 5.

Thank you for checking this

[Big Poppy]

Originally Posted by HRBaker

(shakes head)

I can't help but feel playing PT isn't a lot different than sitting in front of my computer trading stocks live. It's not a game, it's an investment - and the stock market doesn't care if you win or lose.

Like I feel today as stocks go <poof>