12/21/2010 UPDATE: I have released the source code for my MTGO trading bot “ApocBot”. You can view that blog post and download the code for free here.
I thought I’d take the opportunity to update my blog here to talk about what I’ve been working on lately, as it would appear that my free projects of WWWinamp and the Discogs API are no longer updated
I’ve been working on my first retail product and I’m really excited about it!
After trying to secure a 3rd party trading bot for Magic The Gathering Online (MTGO) v3 from Wizards of the Coast (WotC), I decided it was time to strike out on my own and write one. A lot of people had done so already using automation software (like AutoIT), but I went the path of a more professional software development environment and wrote it in .NET using C# and WCF.
WCF you ask? Yep! I don’t want to dive into the details too much at the moment but it will revolve around a central data hub providing real time updates to users of the application (vs. having to download and deploy a new version every time an update is published from WotC). There will be a bunch of good features as well!
I wanted to poll people on pricing though. I’ve seen prices for ‘Simple’ Magic Online trading bots for anywhere from $99 to $399! And to that, I haven’t even been able to find the price of a ‘Smart Bot’ anywhere, as it seems the people who build them keep the software to themselves.
What I’m thinking about doing is setting up a monthly pricing model. Here’s the matrix:
| Bot Type | 1-Month (Monthly) | 12-Month (Yearly) | Lifetime |
| Trade Bot | $5 USD | $50 USD | $199 USD |
| Smart Bot | $15 USD | $150 USD | $399 USD |
Trade Bot: Your basic Magic Online trading bot. “Buying/Selling x Cards for x Tickets” or “Trading x Uncommons for x Rares”
Smart Bot: Each card in your library can be assigned a specific price. You’re running a Virtual Store on Magic Online.
Some features I’m working on for the Smart Bot will be:
- User Credit System (and ability to create Credit Network spanning multiple bots)
- Interactive Website Showing Sales History / Income Information
I’m offering a time based licensing because I think it’s the most fair pricing structure for this type of software. 
So I’m curious to hear back from anyone who stumbles across this blog post! I want to hear features and requests you would have for such a piece of software! I know Magic Trading bots are a shadey business at best, but I wanted to try to make a legitimate alternative to having to pay a lot of money up front for a piece of software you might not like.
I’ll try to post some screen shots of the bot in action while I’m testing it. I’m really excited about this project!
Cheers!
#1 by Matt on September 21, 2009 - 10:58 PM
I am very interested in this, since MMB and MTGOL(old CBS scammers!) are currently TOGIT…. I’d like to see something more localized than having to pay a rental fee and have them virtually plugged into your bot at every given turn. I was learning how to make my own via autoit, but I found the speed/power of the language to be lackluster. If you need help betatesting, I’d be glad to give it a whirl!
#2 by eric on September 22, 2009 - 6:21 AM
I decided on a Client/Server model to handle updates mostly. I need to be able to push updates quickly if there are UI changes in the Magic Online Client that require updates to the MTGO Bot in order for it to work properly.
I suppose there are benefits to both, but I prefer the centralized method for now. It makes it easy for users to link credit systems and create a network of bots.
As far as beta testers, I’m not there.. YET. The bot does simple trades right now (x for y), but I’m finishing up the smartbot functionality. I’ll post more information here when it’s ready
#3 by Matt on September 22, 2009 - 8:44 AM
Nice. I wanted to take on a task like this but I feel it would require me to learn an entire language before doing so
#4 by Keith on October 6, 2009 - 10:59 AM
Where can i get this bot ???
#5 by Brice on October 14, 2009 - 8:09 AM
I like this idea considerably, I am a drafter and simply want to unload 1000′s of crap cards quickly and cheaply and use the tixs to draft until it all runs out. With that said a bot would make life easy and the month to month subscription is perfect for a person like me. And honestly, after reading some other sites I may like this bot concept and continue using it longer if there is a profit in it.
#6 by linc on October 31, 2009 - 11:08 PM
how is it going with the smart bot so far?
able to program without any problems?
#7 by eric on November 7, 2009 - 6:58 AM
Honestly, I haven’t had much time to work on this lately due to my day job taking up a lot of my time. I have basic functionality down though… so progress is being made!
I promise to post an update here as soon as I have one.
#8 by Larry on November 15, 2009 - 12:15 PM
Thx for working on this..i have tons of cards to deal with..keep me posted if you get close.
#9 by Mikael Sanasac on November 16, 2009 - 2:47 AM
why do you get a discount for the trade bot if you pay yearly but not the smart bot…where’s the incentive.. and the prices are too high.
I know you won’t publish this, but I’ll write a blog about this soon (don’t worry, you’ll get the track back =P)
#10 by Eric on November 16, 2009 - 9:09 PM
I’d like to help; google me…I’m a .NET developer and I’m good. I left out my website address…you should be able to get it from my email first@lastname.com ….
later.
#11 by Ricky on November 24, 2009 - 11:38 AM
Eric, I am very interested in your bot and I don’t think $400 is an unreasonable price at all… given that it works the way it should and it secure. I’d very much like to talk to you more about this. If you’re interested, please shoot me an e-mail. Thanks a bunch.
#12 by peetee on December 6, 2009 - 8:22 PM
I am interested in your bot too, and can volunteer for testing, etc. Thanks!
#13 by Brandon Lane on December 8, 2009 - 11:39 AM
Hey there, this sounds like a great idea, I would buy this for 399.99 if it works like you say it can. This would help me out big time.
#14 by Joe on December 10, 2009 - 7:22 AM
Hey,
I want this bot. My $400 bucks is yours when this comes out. When will it be available for purchase? I am Extremely excited for this. I need it asap.
Joe
#15 by Mikael Sanasac on December 22, 2009 - 2:02 AM
Do you have an ETA yet (within 90 days I hope =x)
#16 by insomniax on January 1, 2010 - 9:13 AM
I have developed a bot with purely .NET and C# language wrapped up some very easy autoit functions. Currently my bot can run 24/7 without any bugs. Whenever something change in MTGO Client my built-in code generator can handle it and rebuild an updated version no problem.
_
I will start selling it whenever I have full control over copy protection (copyrights). I can sell it now but I cannot prevent people copying it or hacking it. I need to find a way to overcome this first.
If you have any ideas please help me as there is already a bot out there which is waiting to be sold
#17 by beaker on January 5, 2010 - 9:18 PM
your idea seems really cool. I like the time based licensing – would gladly pay for a year of smart bot with no regrets, and if I liked it would get the lifetime license. I have thought about doing the programming myself, but know so little about it (read: I don’t know any programming at all) that it seems that it might be easier to have someone else do it who knows what they are doing. Keep me posted if the project comes to fruition.
As for prevention of hacking/copyright laws, not sure if this is a good idea (remember I know nothing about programming), but could you distribute a code each month (or each quarter, etc…) which is required for the program to run? I realize this solution isn’t perfect, but maybe better than nothing?
#18 by J Bond on January 18, 2010 - 3:57 AM
Great plan, i would like Rental liscences too, i dont intend to run a store full time per se, 15 a month seems steep for that, but hey, ill deal lol
#19 by Tallos05 on January 29, 2010 - 9:01 AM
I am very interested in this project, i have been looking for a good safe bot and have found nothing out there that i can trust. unfortunetly i do Visual Communications so the programing is out of my league. If u need any cosmetic imagery to make it look attractive drop me a line. Good luck.
#20 by chris on February 20, 2010 - 12:20 AM
what is the progress looking like for this thing? i’m ready to get it whenever you have it ready.
#21 by Walker Page on February 26, 2010 - 11:02 AM
yo ill buy this
#22 by MTGONS5 on March 14, 2010 - 1:14 PM
Interactive Website Showing Sales History / Income Information is very bright idea good work.
#23 by Jais on March 14, 2010 - 11:16 PM
Dear Eric
Good to hear that you are also developing your own bot. Well I have been working on my bot for sometime now and its in working condition now. I am looking for developers to partner with, please let me know if you are interested in working together.
Cheers
Jais
#24 by Alanna on March 19, 2010 - 2:06 PM
I am new to selling MTG cards and I am looking into MTGO. I am interested in this bot also. If you have a mailing list, please add me. Thanks for you work on this.
#25 by Gardt Lundeen on April 1, 2010 - 12:09 PM
I will pay for this now. Even in beta form. Please let me know!
#26 by Shedjar on May 19, 2010 - 10:45 AM
Is your bot available yet?
#27 by Larry and John Posey on February 27, 2011 - 8:00 AM
Hey,
put us on your list of Bot buyers/renters…we have thousands of cards to unload and would pay the types of prices you are talking about for a decent smartbot.