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By: hamtastic, Erik Friborg
Apr 19 2007 9:12pm
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Caveat:  All these things are based on the current version of the Beta Client, things have changed and are changing as we speak.  As things change I'll update this guide.

Update 4/20/07.  Global Disconnect Timer

Update 4/21/07.  Adding deck export instructions. 

Basic Navigation and Setup

If you're already installed and running, feel free to jump down to the "Now what?" section, however, if you're starting from scratch, the following section will likely be helpful. 

First of all, welcome to the new, improved, Magic Online III.  If you haven't already done so, you'll need to download the client.  You can find it here: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=825792.  The client is quite large, so prepare yourself for a long download. 

Now, once you've downloaded and installed the client, you'll want to check for updates to the client.  Launch the kicker application (located in "C:Program FilesWizards of the CoastMTGO Online 3.0" by default) by clicking on the Start menu, then selecting Programs, the Wizards of the Coast, then Magic Online III, then Magic: the Gathering Online.

You should now see the update/launcher screen.  This program will tell you if there is a new version available by showing green text that says "New Version Available" when you start it.  On this screen you have a few options.  We have "Launch MTGO After Update", "Scan all files", "Overwrite Files" (which is only available if you've selected the "Scan all files" already), and "Auto Download New Versions".  The first and last options are fairly self explanatory.  The middle two are a bit more ambiguous as to what they accomplish.  The "Scan All Files" selection box can often be useful when you're having odd problems with the client or launcher, and the "Overwrite All Files" will replace all the old files with new ones.  As these files are very large, this should be used sparingly.

Another quick note: if you select the first and last check box ("Launch MTGO After Update" and "Auto Download New Versions"), the application will automatically start up without giving you a chance to change those settings.  To fix this, or make manual changes you can edit the file named "Kicker.exe.config" in your MTGO Online 3.0 folder.  Or you can delete the file and have the Kicker program start a new one if something goes wrong.

Okay, I'm logged in.  Now what?  (How to get to the Support Staff room)

This client is very different than our previous, familiar client.  The first room a lot of people will want to visit will be the equivalent of Moderators and Support Staff, or MaSS as it was called previously.  This can be accomplished by utilizing the "Menu" system in the bottom left of the client.  Click on Menu->Help->Chat with Support as shown below.  Once you're here, you will see a list of people in the Dock on the right hand side of the screen.  The dock is a very important new feature in V3, and you'll come to use it a lot.  I will discuss more uses of the dock further in the article.  For now however, we want to leave it alone.  Now that you're in this room, you can ask all the question that you have that this guide doesn’t cover.

 

How to get to the games room:

Getting to casual play rooms is similar to the steps used in getting to the Chat with Support room.  You'll once again be using the Menu system in the bottom left side of the client.  However, instead of going into the Help area, you'll be going to Menu->Play->Casual Play->Casual Decks (or whichever room you're used to playing in).  See below for the graphical "how to".

How to use the Dock (minimize, restore, undock, redock):

Okay, now for some information on a very important new feature, the dock.  The dock exists on the right hand side of the client.  It contains a wealth of contextually relevant information as you navigate through the client.  It is the default chat area, a card preview window, a shopping cart, and more.  To minimize the dock, click on the white arrow on the edge of the dock as highlighted below.  To restore the dock  click on the arrow again.

.

To undock a window like a chat window, click on the icon that looks like a "^" symbol over a sideways ")" (see graphic below).  This will 'undock' the current window.  Once a window has been undocked you can move it around, change the text styles if applicable, and change the layout from vertical to horizontal if applicable.  Change the window to horizontal is very handy for text windows.

To redock the undocked window click on the icon that looks like ">)" (see graphic below for more details).  Once you redock a window, it will go back to the default size and shape, as well as return to being vertically alligned.

 

How to disable the filter:

First you'll need to load your personal settings by selecting Menu->Settings->Personal Setings.  When the screen loads you can toggle the Profanity Filter off or on, based on your personal preferences.

How to add items to the filter:

The filter resides in “C:Program FilesWizards of the CoastMTGO Online 3.0Data” by default, and is the file named “censorlist.dat”.  To add a word you don’t want to see, that file is the place to be.  Also, by editing this list  you can allow words that don't offend you while still leaving some that do.

How to zoom in on card art:

To zoom in on a card, you can either click the scroll wheel of your mouse, or if you don’t have one you can press Control + Shift while hovering over a card to zoom in on the card, or by clicking the right and left mouse buttons at the same time while hovering over a card.  You can zoom in on cards in play, cards in the Collection Screen, and cards in the deck editor. 

 

 

How to trade:

Trading is not exactly the same as it is in 2.5 yet.  Currently, there's no way to make cards available/unavailable during the trade.  So, have everything ready before you enter the trade.  Also, keep a close eye on the bottom of your screen, as that's where the cards selected will display.  Also, that area can be toggled between image view and spreadsheet view.  I will update this section as more information becomes available.

Deck Exporting:

Exporting decks as CSV files is about the same as before, with one minor exception.  It seems that you currently cannot choose the path of the save file, and they instead default to C:Program FilesWizards of the CoastMTGO Online 3.0Export.

Feature Enhancements

Increased Clan Limits:

One of the complaints of the 2.0 client is the low clan limits.  Previously clans were limited to 20 players per clan.  However in Magic Online III, clan limits have been increased from 20 members to 50 members.  Hopefully this can help out some of the multi-chapter clans that currently exist and are forced to use other means to communicate.

There is no news on whether or not there will be any way to easily merge clans once 3.0 is released.  You will likely have to manually add the people from the other clans into the main clans.

Increased Net Deck storage:

Net decks are stored on the MTGO server and can be called up from any MTGO client.  There appears to be no upper limit to the amount of Net Decks that can be stored, at least at the time of this article.  I was able to store over 120 Net Decks on the MTGO server and never received an error.

After you've worked on a deck, click the "Save As" button on the top of the screen.

Next you'll need to change the storage location from local decks, to Net Decks.  To do this first select  "Net Decks" from the drop down in the upper left of the new window, then select Net Decks.

Lastly, you'll want to name the deck and save it.  To do this, enter the decks name in the File Name box and click the save button.

New feature- In Game Chat Window:

For quick chatting during a duel you can just type text during the game, and the In Game Chat Window will appear and accept the text.  It will also appear when your opponent has typed a message to you.  This window will not appear if you have the status text window (from the dock) for the game open.  If you have the status text window open then all chat will be displayed in that window, much like version 2.5.

New Feature - Cycling through the tabs:

Pressing ctrl + tab will cycle through your open tabs at the bottom of the screen.  Pressing Ctrl+shift+tab cycles you backwards through the tabs.

New Feature - Disconnect Timer:

For EVERY game there is a 10 minute disconnect timer.  Meaning that even in your casual matches, you will no longer have to concede to a 'lost connection'.

New chat emoticons and functionality:

Instead of pressing crtrl+q then a character, you press and hold ctrl, press and release q, then press the character.  There smileys are as follows:

Changed Feature- Draft picking:

Instead of 2.5's ctrl+click to set a 'default' choice during a draft, you instead right click on the card you wish to have picked for you once the time expires.

31 Comments

Decks from 2.5 by Stassic (Unregistered) 80.78.0.130 (not verified) at Thu, 04/24/2008 - 10:28
Stassic (Unregistered) 80.78.0.130's picture

Hello Hamtasti,

One hot topic I can't find so far is "How to convert old decks [from 2.5] to MTGO 3?"

If anyone knows, pliz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How to update by hamtastic at Sat, 04/21/2007 - 15:37
hamtastic's picture

Updated how to export decks as CSV's and where they're saved (now that it's working).

New Feature Added by hamtastic at Fri, 04/20/2007 - 10:44
hamtastic's picture

Update: I just added a new feature I was informed about. "Disconnect Timer"

Thanks by Evu at Fri, 04/20/2007 - 11:38
Evu's picture

Hamtastic, this article is much-needed; thank you for writing and updating it.

It should be especially useful since it seems like there are a lot of minor features that are new or changed since V2. No telling how long it would have taken me to discover all of those on my own.

Thanks! by hamtastic at Fri, 04/20/2007 - 08:36
hamtastic's picture

Thanks guys! Yeah, I've actually been waiting for a while for the NDA to be lifted so I could submit this article. :) I'll be keeping this article up to date as things change in the client, or perhaps make update articles for when things change. That would allow for some change history which could be very interesting.

by Lord Erman at Fri, 04/20/2007 - 08:45
Lord Erman's picture

Thanks for this article. Without doubt, when the time comes, I will surely make use of this. Can we somehow make this a "sticky article" so we can look at it anytime we want? And as you say Hamtastic, please do update it often.

by fhooglander at Fri, 04/20/2007 - 09:35
fhooglander's picture

Yes the article is legal. The NDA was lifted a few hours ago.

by runeliger at Thu, 04/19/2007 - 22:53
runeliger's picture

Nice Article, can someone please tell me if this article is even legal? I recall there was an attachement in the beta that stated a pretty big NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and I would hate to see someone get in trouble because of that...

by dragonmage65 at Thu, 04/19/2007 - 23:13
dragonmage65's picture

The NDA was lifted a few hours ago.

Nice article, though there's a lot more that could be covered in a future article.

Thank you very much for the by bayan giyim (not verified) at Tue, 01/05/2010 - 07:00
bayan giyim's picture

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