TCGxp

About, and some history

TCGxp was born from an idea that originally emerged in 2005. Back when online TCGs were very manual, the idea was to make a PHP script that would help improve the way TCGs were ran.

Alpha: DynamiqueTCG

Version 0.1; as it was the first experiment and had only 1 release.

The first script that appeared was used for a very short-lived TCG whose name I forgot (update: I've figured out how I called it from the Exposure forums where I created my account back in 2007; it was called Enchanted and it was about Disney-born stars). It let the members have cards of their chosen deck right after joining, and did not use a database. Why? Because back then, I didn't know how to use a database. So, how? It was text-file based.

Beta: TCGxp

Flashforward to 10 years later, and now I know how to use databases. I've decided to jump back into the TCG world, and after playing for a little while, I wanted to bring back my original ideas. Did you know that in the span of 10 years, web technologies have drastically changed? And that's when TCGxp was born.

TCGxp, and its features

I'm not one to brag at all, ever. Everything I do is the product of my efforts to improve things. However, if I've learned something over the years, it's that people steal ideas and don't give enough credit. Had it not been for that, I wouldn't be writing this page.

That said, here is the list of features I'm bringing to TCGxp version 1.0

• A new way of seeing the value of a card
  Every deck now contains uncommon and rare cards. Along with this comes the algorithm that spits those out less often than the common cards.
  This includes:
  • Logging card releases.
• A new way of evaluating levels
  I'm experimenting with levelling up with the number of completed sets instead of the number of cards earned.
• Making the game more of an experience
  The first game to use the script is Crossing Realms, a TCG about the TV show Once Upon a Time. This theme was chosen because I love it (duh!), and also because of the way their ideas could inspire concepts and games for a TCG.
  This includes:
  • Customizing the script to fit the game's story.
• Including trade posts directly in the game
  This includes:
  • Letting members organize their cards in 4 categories:
    • Collecting
    • Keeping
    • Maybe
    • Trading
  • Newly earned cards are categorized differently to let members organize them before displaying them on their tradepost
• Posting updates
  In order to properly log cards, the posting updates feature had to be tied to the TCG, since many owners release new decks and give out freebies there.
  This includes:
  • HTML parsing (still on a very experimental level)

Features that were considered but rejected

• Including trade posts directly in the game
  Part of what makes TCGs personal are the fact that members take care of their own trade posts, and customize them or design them according to their personality.