Apprentice is a programme that assists in playing Magic: The Gathering over the Internet and maintains a searchable database of Magic cards. It was developed by Dragonstar Studios from 1997-1999. The last release was in the version 1.4 branch, and a 2.0 branch was promised in the future. However, Dragonstar Studios disbanded, and version 2.0 was never released.
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Apprentice simulates real-life play in that there is no rules engine; the game moves forwards by the players talking out their current actions. Apprentice simply provides an interface that can keep track of the current phase of the game; cards in play & their current state; and cards in the graveyard. There is no concept of card ownership; players may use as many copies of a card as they would like in decks they create. Cards which interact with sideboards such as the Judgment "wishes" or the Dissension split card Research/Development are not implemented directly, and are instead usually adjudicated by creating temporary new cards on the spot.
The programme is freeware and is downloadable without need for charge nor registration. However, when Dragonstar Studios disbanded, they did not release the source code due to the legal agreement between them & Wizards of the Coast. Hence, Apprentice is frozen in time without the possibility of any future upgrades or bugfixes. However, the simple data format used to store cards has allowed new sets to be added & the registry of cards updated.
Apprentice was officially acknowledged by Wizards of the Coast, as it only uses publicly-available rules and lists of cards. Apprentice does not use copyrighted Magic card art.
NetdraftNetdraft is the main programme used by both Apprentice and Magic Workstation to support "drafts," a popular limited format. Netdraft hosts up to 8 players who may Draft from any magic set. This includes out of print sets which are almost impossible to Draft any other way, as well as the most recent set in the interval between the Prerelease event and the street release. In Netdraft's early days it was considered buggy & did not always compensate for those with erratic connections. Unlike Apprentice, Netdraft has been occasionally updated, and is currently spartan but functional.
Apprentice's usage was threatened with the proliferation of the "Backwash" programme which allowed undetectable cheating; for example, the ordering of each player's library. This programme threatened the viability of Apprentice in leagues where any kind of prizes were available. An update was created that allegedly allowed the staff to check for the use of such 'cheat' programmes, however. A more recent version can be found at Magic-League.
More available info- Magic: The Gathering Online
- Magic Workstation
- Magic: The Gathering video games
- ^ More Apprentice 2.0 Screens (2006-12-13). Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ Zvi Mowshowitz (2005-06-22). VHS, Betamax and DVD: MWS, Apprentice and Magic Online. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ Apprentice Walkthrough / Guide at Magic-League. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ Download Apprentice. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ The Ferret (2001-12-03). Wizards Wrote Me A Very Large Check, That's Why. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ Netdraft Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
- ^ MTGOnline Responds: Why Apprentice Works, & Why You Can Play Safely For Free (2001-12-03). Retrieved on 2006-12-06.
Related articles - Articles with unsourced statements, Freeware games, 1998 computer and video games, Abandonware, Magic: The Gathering computer & video games
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- This page was last modified by Admin. Previous modification to this article was done on 03:44, 11 Dec 2006 by Wikipedia user W.marsh. Based on work by Wikipedia user(s) SnowFire, Andrevan, MasterRadius, can not sleep, clown will eat me & Harryboyles and Anonymous user(s) of Wikipedia. Click here to view authors profile Pub date - 2009-05-15 10:47:38 Related resources:
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