Android:Netrunner on OCTGN

Db0

A short introduction to Android:Netrunner, it’s OCTGN plugin and a short step-by-step guide to get it up and running.

Android:Netrunner logo. A woman under a blue light, wielding virtual interfaces with both handsI mentioned a while ago that the first and most basic version of Android:Netrunner has been released on OCTGN, and you haven’t really heard from me since. Well the reason is that I was too busy coding improvements for it. I think it’s time to give my latest creation the usual treatment and announce it here.

So Android:Netrunner is a new reimplementation of the Classic Netrunner, but given a really good polishing in the rules and art by Fantasy Flight Games. The game has not been released yet ((Release Date is mid September 2012)) and it already seems like it’s going to be a runaway success! There an absurd amount of excitement for the new version online and the game has been sitting in the hottest games of Board Game Geek for weeks now. It’s sitting in the second rank for customizable games, even before people has a chance to really make decks with it.

The game is a unique blend of asymmetric gameplay combined with a significant element of bluff. This combination, along with the Cyberpunk setting and the (now) Noir flair of the Android universe, makes it a very interesting and exciting game to play.

At the moment of release there’s going to be  7 factions to play with. 4 Corporations, and 3 Runners. One of the runners is even going to be an anarchist ((Supposedly. I’m not convinced FFG understand anarchism enough to do it justice. Noise, the first Anarch runner seems more bent on mindless destruction rather than anything else. Lets hope future expansions show us a better aspect of the movement.)) playing around with computer viruses. The game comes out with 113 unique cards which is light for a first expansion, but not particularly limiting. You can check out this thread for some in-depth and in-flavor analysis on the runner factions.

I’ve played about 8 games on OCTGN until now, just with the starter decks, and I’m really liking what I see. The feeling I get when I play this game is that it has more cohesion within each faction. They each have a specific style of play that they favor and their faction cards complement it. In deck construction you can use cards from other factions to complement your strength and perhaps even do something completely uncharacteristic and throw your opponent off. I think this cohesion is good because it allows some natural balance as it’s impossible to defend from all angles, so it comes down more to whoever can use their limited tools and some good bluffing to avoid exposing their weak points and hit their opponent where they can defend the least.

So, for anyone interested in trying it out, here’s some instructions on how to get it to work with OCTGN

A Game of Android:Netrunner on OCTGN in progress
The Jinteki Corporation VS a Shaper runner. The runner has just stolen an agenda and the Jinteki is punishing her by doing net damage.

Once everything is set up, you need to find someone to play with. You can go to the Host/Join tab to see if anyone has a game waiting. If nobody does, host your own and put in the title that you’re a new player. There’s a lot of people who will help you learn

Once you find someone, one of you hosts and game and the other joins. Leave the two-sided checkbox checked and make sure that whoever is going to play the Corp is set as player [A] (the host can click on the letter to switch it) and once the game is started, load your starter decks. Things should be fairly intuitive but keep in mind these basic things in relation to the OCTGN engine plugin.

  • First thing you do after you load a deck is Setup (Ctrl+Shift+S). This will check if your version is up to date, show you the Message of the Day, and also give you some Tips on playing the game.
  • At the start of your turn, declare it with F1.
  • At the end of your turn, declare it with F12. Make sure the game announces that your turn has ended and is not expecting you to discard down to your max hand size 😉
  • If you’re a runner, start a run with [F5] – [F8], or by playing cards. Once your run has ended, finish it with [Esc] is unsuccessful, or with [F3] if successful.
  • Double-clicking is your friends. Almost everything you want to do, you do it by double-clicking on the card in question.

The below video will take you through a step-by-step tutorial on using OCTGN to play Android:Netrunner

There’s a lot of other tricks you can use in the engine and most of them have been put into the “Did you Know” starting tips. So pay attention and you’ll be flying through the controls in no-time. Any new innovations I add to it, are also going to appear in the changelog and future MotDs, so you’ll know when good stuff has arrived. In fact I’ve been coding like crazy for the last few weeks, much to the annoyingment of the wifey. So much so that I’m starting to feel like this.

A card from Android:Netrunner. A hacker jacked into his interface is using powerful drugs to focus and bypass corporate defenses
Coding an ANR plugin is kinda like this.

There’s already a large group of players using the Android:Netrunner OCTGN plugin daily, since unlike my other plugins, this game is hot stuff. You’ll find a lot of potential opponents to test your deck-building and bluffing mettle.

If you’ve enjoyed this plugin, feel free to give a diesel tip, to fund further caffeine-fueled development 😉



Good Running!

38 thoughts on “Android:Netrunner on OCTGN”

  1. Any advice for scanning cards? How do I get them into the set? I'm brand new to OctGN, I have a scanner (though it's not great).

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  3. My friend and I just followed this guide and tried to play last night. While it was mostly great, we would often get python errors that had something to do with a value being null. Times we got this errors included deck setup (ctrl+shift+s) it was also not shuffling our decks or auto-drawing our hands (which i think it is supposed to do?). Other times included the runner action to look at the top x cards of r and d. Any ideas? Thanks.

    1. Did you download and install all files? There should have been 3 of them (Game definition, Markers and Core Set). If yes, what version were they?

      1. Hello,

        Same problem here, but the solution must be a bit different- I can’t insyal the markers. This is what comes up when I try:
        ‘ANR-Markers-1.0.4.o8s’ an error occured during installation:
        The set ‘Markers’ is incompatible with the installed game version.
        Game version:
        Set made for version: 1.0.0.
        The markers are taken from the ANR part of OCTGN forum.

        Without them, when I try to set-up in-game I keep getting python problems, I don’t get cards to hand etc.

          1. Yes, that’s what I’ve thought. The problem is, I don’t know where to get them from. Like I’ve said, those are taken from the glued topic on ANR sub-forum called “Game & markers”.
            Your plugin looks very beautiful, I’d play ANR through it gladly, but do not really know how. Have you thought about writting a more clear, step by step guide for those, like me, that never heard about Octgn before? Obviously, there is one in the very topic I’m replying to, regrettably it is written from a perspective of a Octgn user: you write about downloading patch and do not mention what to do with it, there is this marker thing and no instruction where to obtain more updated ones and how to install them.
            I’ve checked the git-gub repository, those there also seem to be outdated.

            I hope I didn’t sound too harsh or demanding, as it was not my intention. I just don’t know how to set up this sweet plug-in 🙂
            I’d appreciate some more guidance.

          2. You can always find the latest markers here: https://github.com/db0/Android-Netrunner-OCTGN/downloads

            I don’t have time to write a more detailed install guide I’m afraid so I’m relying on the community. Some others have done some videos and written some articles but none on the installation afaik. Mostly on how to use OCTGN to play the game.

            To be fair, the installation is not that complicated.

  4. Hello,

    Downloaded the files, but can't find the .o8g file anywhere in the bundle…?

    The only version I can find for game definition is version 1.1.14…

    Thanks

      1. I am having problems finding a .o8g file also. I have no experience with OCTGN (I downloaded it just to use your plugin, after seeing it in action on Youtube). I downloaded the zip from the link above. What am I doing wrong?

      1. the zip files you download do not contain the o8g file I have downloaded every file form that site and none of them contain the o8g to install the game

        1. I’m sorry to say, but you’re using a bad browser. Do not use Internet Explorer because it *renames* the .o8g file you’re downloading to .zip without telling you.

          Just rename the .zip file to .o8s and you’ve got it. Even better, don’t use IE 😉

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  8. Tried playing with this today and got tons of errors. Also being unable to inspect your opponents cards is a real hassle.

  9. what kind of errors? Nobody else seems to be having them so you may have forgotten to install your markers file. You can inspect opponent’s cards by targeting them with shift+click and pressing ctrl+I

    1. Turns out we were using it incorrectly – we had only run the game setup for one of the players. Cheers on the inspect tip, but why isn’t it part of the ordinary right click menu for them?

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  11. Hi!

    First: ANR is awesome on OCTGN. Thanks for all the work!

    Second: Is there a way to “patch” the game definition without uninstalling and reinstalling in game management? I tried installing it over the old one, but it didn’t seem to do anything. In case it’s not obvious, I ask because it would avoid also having to manually install each set. Not a big deal with ANR at only 5 sets to install, but could get more annoying as they pile up… 🙂

    1. You may be confusing two different things here. The game definition does not have to be uninstalled before you reinstall, but there is a bug in OCTGN which requires that you do not play a game before installing the new version on top of the old one (https://github.com/kellyelton/OCTGN/issues/655). To work around this, simply restart your OCTGN before installing the new version.

      There’s also the sets patching, which does not require that you reinstall your sets at all.

  12. When I build a deck at ‘cardgamedb.com’s deck editor’ I cannot use it at octgn after the current update. Do you know why? Any hints how to play with these decks?

    1. Can you explain how you cannot use it? It works for me. Perhaps send me a link to your deck on cardgamedb?

      1. If I want to load the deck I cannot see the local stored file. Have no account on cardgamedb. Therefore I cannot send you the link. But I can provide you with the o8d file if you send me your e-mail address…

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