This is currently in early alpha versions, being worked on by me. I'm making this a more public post for people who are interested when it comes online later to suggest features before the design is completely finalized and anything you add is a 'pack plugin' under this architecture system. -017
FTCG — Forum Trading Card Game (Design Snapshot / Public Discussion)
FTCG is a XenForo-integrated trading card game where normal forum participation earns an in-game currency (“FTCG credits”), and those credits are used to open packs and build a collection. Cards then become both:FTCG — Forum Trading Card Game (Design Snapshot / Public Discussion)
- a real game system (deckbuilding + duels), and
- a social layer on the forum (ex: reacting to posts using owned cards).
1) Core Loop: Earn → Open Packs → Collect → Play / Social
Earn credits from forum activity
Posting and other configured actions grant FTCG credits. This keeps the economy grounded in participation rather than paywalls.
Spend credits on packs
Credits buy packs, which roll from configured rarity/weight tables (pack systems are designed to be “pack plugin” modules so admins can add/enable content cleanly).
Optional real-money support (admin-controlled)
Forum admins may optionally enable real-money purchases through XenForo Resource Manager (XFRM) as a premium convenience category, such as “unlock many credits now” microtransactions. This remains optional and server-governed. Currently untested.
2) Card Types, Identity, and Progression
Card identity
Cards are referenced by stable card_id strings, with a registry system planned to define rules, visuals, rarity, and behavior. Intended card categories
- Creatures (core combat units; Pokémon-like)
- Traps (hidden / triggered effects; Yu-Gi-Oh–style)
- Land (land like Magic the Gathering - applies environmental effects)
Creatures evolve across stages. Grades increase move count, initiative bonus(grade 2 = +2 card), with one “special” move or passive effect per creature. Branching evolutions are preferred for build variety.
3) Duels and Match Formats (Planned Pillar)
Match sizes
- 1v1
- 2v2
- 3v3
Energy is accumulated/attached to enable stronger moves. Traps have element types and may require upkeep/maintenance energy.
Traps may support “owner-fed” energy vs “sapped” energy modes (sabotage style theft of energy from opponents).
Conditions + staged effects
A conditions system is planned with staged elemental states (ex: cold → frozen, singed → burning), integrated into visuals and combat resolution.
4) Card Presentation (The “Hero UI”)
FTCG is designed around premium card presentation:
- 2.5D layered cards (base art + up to multiple layers for parallax/tilt)
- Holo/foil styling for higher rarity/grade
- Optional audio riffs (attack / reveal / pack reveal / selection)
5) Packs
Packs are catalogs of unlocked cards with rarity chances and other parameters finely controlled, including the art of the pack.
Packs do not have anything to do with installed plugins directly(for example the flagship plugin system which is unfinished is a real plugin extending game functions significantly)
6) Personal Cards: Community “Calling Cards” Unlocked by Activity
Goal
Reward long-term community members with a personal card design that becomes part of the forum’s evolving “Forum Card Pack.”
Unlock model (admin-tunable)
Personal card slots unlock either by:
- milestones (ex: 1k posts, 5k posts, 10k posts…), or
- percentile rankings (top 25%, 10%, 5%, 1% by post count), or
- a hybrid of both (recommended).
Submission + approval workflow
When unlocked, a user can submit a “personal calling card” design form:
- art/assets (or staff-provided art selection)
- name, flavor text
- stats/moves constrained to allowed templates/functions
- element/rarity rules constrained by admin policy
Staff must approve before it is minted as an actual card entry.
Forum Card Pack population + series rollover
- The “Forum Card Pack” can contain up to 150 approved user cards.
- When it hits 150, the server rolls to a new Forum Card Pack Series (Series 2, Series 3, …).
- Older series can remain openable as legacy packs, rotate seasonally, or be “vaulted” (admin option), but the main point is: the community pack remains curated and doesn’t balloon forever.
7) Gifting Packs (and/or Credits) via XFRM
Admins can optionally enable gift purchases through XenForo Resource Manager:
Gift flows
- Gift packs directly (recipient receives pack tickets / pack openings)
- Gift credits (recipient receives FTCG credits to spend)
Key design requirements
- Recipient selection at purchase time (username lookup + confirmation)
- Gift message (optional)
- Audit trail (who bought, who received, what was delivered, timestamps)
- Fraud controls (cooldowns, minimum account age if enabled, staff review triggers on high volume)
This supports community events (prizes, giveaways) without staff having to manually grant inventory.
8) Trading Cards
Trading is a core “TCG fantasy,” but it must be built to minimize scams and “he said/she said” disputes.
Trade Offer → Review → Accept windows (two-party escrow model)
- Offer Window(initiator selects what they give + what they request)
- Shows a clear itemized list (cards, quantities, any credits if allowed).
- Review Window(receiver sees the exact terms)
- No ambiguity: “You give X, you receive Y.”
- Mutual Accept(both sides must accept the same locked offer)
- Once accepted, the system performs an atomic swap (escrowed transfer).
Hard anti-scam rules
- Trades are system-enforced only. No “trust trades” required.
- Items in a trade are locked once offered (can’t be edited out from under the other party).
- Trades can expire automatically.
- Trades can be canceled before acceptance (with clear notifications).
- Cards that are in a deck / otherwise reserved may be blocked from trading (to prevent weird edge cases and “vanishing cards”).
- For real-money related grants, admins may optionally enable trade cooldowns or restrictions to reduce chargeback abuse.
The UI should make scamming difficult because the player never has to interpret “what was promised”—it’s all explicit and confirmed.
Last edited:
Google