how to play a discarded card (via Vassal)?

Previous topic - Next topic

santamonica811

Not sure if this is a bug, but . . .

Game: 24495263.  Turn 12

By playing Ironmongers, I had set up an action as my top card.  So, I played Vassal.  That card was discarded, which is correct.  But, while the info in the game log did give "You may play [that discarded card] from your discard pile" as one of my options; I cannot find a way to actually pick this decision. 

Unlike many situations in Dominion, there is not a hot link via the game log, so clicking there accomplishes nothing.  Clicking on the action card on the top of my discard pile does nothing.  On the main board, the only option I can see is the usual button telling me that I can play another action card from my profile (and this does work).

Am I missing something obvious?  Or is this a true bug?


Ingix

Unfortunately, I couldn't load your game (internal error). I tried to recreate it as best as possible in #24497399.
You have Actions, you have Action cards in hand, you have Villagers and Vassal discards a Necropolis. The UI is equivalent to your screenshot.

That "Play Action" button under the Citadel is exactly what you are looking for. It's not a "usual button", because you play cards from your hand (profile?) by clicking on them and not by a button prompt normally. In my case, it played the Necropolis. In your case, what did happen?

Ingix

It seems you are not alone with this bug, it happend to another player as well:

http://forum.shuffleit.nl/index.php?topic=3439.0

I still have no idea under what circumstances it may occur.

Ingix

Maybe it's not a bug but a misleading UI. After more descriptions from the poster of the other thread, it may be that you were both mislead by the UI. Read my (possible) explanation here: http://forum.shuffleit.nl/index.php?topic=3439.msg15081#msg15081

santamonica811

It's funny that two people would have had, roughly, the same question on the same day.  Small world.  :)

I just played another game with Vassal.  THIS time, hitting the Play Action button did play the discarded card.  Which for sure did not happen in the game I mentioned earlier.  So, it might have been a glitch unique to that one game.  But I of course did try using 'Undue' a few times, just to try clicking on various parts of the screen.  Older game:  Could not get it to work.  New game today: Worked no problem.

But I agree that the interface needs to be cleaned up.  There will be lots of games where one does Not want to play the discarded card.  So, it needs to be more clear about where to click if you want to play that discarded action, and where to click if you want to next play one of the actions already in your hand.

Ingix

The internal error when trying to load your game suggests that there was a problem in addition to what is described in the other thread.

ElisabetK

I just wanted to clarify that I'm not 100% certain there was any button at all in the problem I initially reported. Unfortunately I didn't save the number. I have had issues in the past where needed buttons disappeared and I couldn't continue at all - but that was last year I think.

To continue Josh's point: a highlighted card in the discard pile that the user could select to play when Vassal pulls it up would seem to me to be the most intuitive indication of what can be done, perhaps with "you may play..." message.

As it is, sometimes there's a message, sometimes not, and even when it's there, the "play action" button is not obviously connected to either the message or to the card in question. I mean, it is by default, but the whole interaction feels rough.


Ingix

Again, I agree that the clickable card in the discard would be a good thing.

Generally I think that this a problem that will only affect players that almost exclusively play base-only games. Because Vasall gives you a choice about a card not in the usual zones where you can make a choice (like Chapel about what to trash from your hand, which you see all the time). The message that you are looking for is there, it is just in the log area. It has been critizied before that it does not appear elsewhere, but if you play games with more expansions that will happen all the time, so you get used to it and it is not such an extraordinary thing as it might be for Vassal and base-only games.


santamonica811

Ingix,
When I played Vassal, the first place I looked (for a hot link) was in the game log.  As you noted in your most-recent comment, this location is where one has to click to accomplish many things (eg, setting aside a purchased card via Cargo Ship. etc. etc. etc.). 

I have no problem with critical steps being placed in the Game Log (there is a limited amount of space when playing online, after all).  And players here quickly get used to looking at the game logs for just this sort of information.  The problem I had--as a very experienced online player--is that none of the information in the game log was 'hot' after playing Vassal.  That is, left-clicking on the game log information accomplished nothing when I played Vassal...and this was a point I included in my OP.  :-)