I guess we've all been waiting for Land 1.5 for so long that when it's finally close to arrival some are wondering if it's really here...
I'm not one of them, and I think excitement will pick up once the game is released and the competition begins. Maybe even as close as having it on the Mavs server, so we can play with it ourselves.
So, during this week's Splinterlands town hall we had the chance to see Land 1.5 in action, presented by WeirdBeard.
Apart from something that needs to be fixed at taxes on Keeps or Castles and connected features (Harvest All), I haven't seen anything major that was broken. There were a few "TODO"s displayed here and there on a few columns, but all the major functionality works by what I could observe at a glance.
I expect there is going to be a rush and a serious time to commit for those with many plots to fill when Land 1.5 first launches, then it will work quite on auto-pilot with a number of tweaks, strategy updates, and actions needed here and there, at least until Land 2.0 arrives.
We have to keep in mind that when they were talking about "many child screens", they weren't joking. I expect it will take some time to get used to the interface, and the fact it starts with a rush, means the getting used to part should take place prior to launch.
Those who have access to the Mavs server should and probably will test Land there when the time comes, to see what to expect and get used to it. Plus, you never know what other bugs will be uncovered this way.
Those who have land and don't have access to the Mavs server, should probably pay attention very well to previews such as this, plus what is expected to be presented by the Mavs.
I did notice something that makes me wonder how I am going to handle staking cards to plots. That will probably be, by far, the most time-intensive operation we need to do at first.
Screenshot from the Town Hall Land 1.5 preview
If you have already pre-associated individual cards with certain slots on particular plots, it seems the interface doesn't help a lot. There is a way to sort by PP, which is great already, but you can't search for a card by its name.
So, the problem arises if you have cards of high PP associated with different plots based on the terrain type and the bonuses or penalties. I guess with what we have we'll have to browse through our cards until we find the exact card we want to stake.
Maybe something like PeakMonsters or Splex can come out with something that can fill out this void and have the option to search for a card to stake on a slot? But the question is, will they do it in time before the official launch? Because otherwise I have no doubt they will have more in-depth land-related tools.
Something else we have to keep in mind is that in the preview by WeirdBeard nothing was at stake since it was on the QA server. But if you do it on your real account, if you stake cards in the wrong spots, unstaking is a process that takes 3 days, during which the card doesn't produce, can't be used in battle, can't be rented or delegated out. It's true, you can place another card in its place immediately, but imagine you block a high PP card for 3 days... So, we'll have to be careful in the real game, especially with high PP cards.
Personally, I'm excited by the approaching Land 1.5. Far from ready for it, but excited, lol.