Hi @quantumodo,
Thank you for your reply.
While we acknowledge the FAQ addresses this issue, we believe the resolution method is not correct. The card “01123” is unique in its ability to ask players to spend resources or perform actions that may not be possible. Other effects do not combine resource spending with potentially unresolvable actions, such as “16078,” “16146,” “02046,” and “40072a.”
Consider an encounter card that reads:
Choose one: 1. Spend [energy] resource 2. Spend [physical] resource 3. (an action you cannot perform).
If you have two cards in hand - one generating energy resource and the other generating physical resource - both options 1 and 2 can be resolved. In this case, what should the engine do if the player clicks Cancel?
Now, imagine you have only one card, “50014,” in your hand, and you are playing as “03001b” with two allies in play, “08012” and “52033,” both of which have the “S.H.I.E.L.D” trait. This means “50014” can generate energy resource by exhausting “08012” or physical resource by exhausting “52033.” Again, what should the engine do if the player clicks Cancel?
Additionally, the engine is not human and cannot determine which option the player “can most fully resolve.” Coding for every possible situation would be challenging, especially as FFG continues to update the rules.
We believe the engine should not attempt to decide which cards to spend as resources without consulting the player when they click the Cancel button. The player’s hand is hidden information, and the engine should not make assumptions about it.
Additional Information About Effects
An effect has three parts:
- The operation
- The targets
- The cost
Spending resources is the third part of resolving an effect; it is not the entirety of the effect.
“01123” reads:
Either spend [energy] [mental] [physical] resources or exhaust each character you control.
This creates two effects for the player:
-
Effect 1:
- Operation: None
- Targets: None
- Cost: Spending resources
- The “can most fully resolve” rate of cost is unknown because it involves spending resources, and the outcome will only be known once it is attempted.
- The “can most fully resolve” rate of targets is 100% since it does not require a target.
-
Effect 2:
- Operation: Exhaust targets
- Targets: Each character you control
- Cost: None
- The “can most fully resolve” rate of cost is 100% since there is no cost.
- The “can most fully resolve” rate of targets is 100% if you have any characters to exhaust, or 0% if you do not.
As you can see, coding an algorithm to compare the “can most fully resolve” rate is complex due to the lack of a standard rule.
What are your thoughts on this? If you have a different perspective or additional insights, I’d love to hear them.