Stardock - Elemental War of Magic... wut?

Right, so we know stardock has done some nice low budget games that have been successful, sins of a solar empire and gal civ are amazing.

But Elemental War of Magic is out in a few days, and ive been looking at trailers wondering "what the hell is this" dont get me wrong, the gameplay ideas sound nice, but my god it looks absolutely terrible. even putting graphic whore biased aside, I cant take it seriously (in the light hearted way even)... its just so pathetic.

Giving it a try soon, but what were they thinking? ok low budget and wide range of hardware, but it reminds me of a TBS/RPG version of runescape... RUNESCAPE!

I think the art-styIe is fantastic.

Looks like tons of fun.

The graphics are not that good, but man the depth in this game looks CRAZY!
I was not super excited about this game but after watching the two Demonstartions from Brad who worked on the game.

I like to support smaller devs to like Stardock.

I think more games should do videos like they have done for this on youtube.. the Demonstration videos I just watched from July I think where fantastic! There are ALOT of custimzation to for your character!

Also when you start off the world has been leveled and there is pretty much nothing around you except a few trees and ALOT of sand.. but as the game goes on things start to fill out and look better.

Think I will get this after Mafia2.

It defiantly doesnt look like a game for everyone, but man the gameplay and depth looks interesting. Not for people who rely on graphics though.

Check out these two Dev videos if anyone is interested.

VIDEO #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wya5o1An8

VIDEO #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndfModTEIJ0&feature=channel

Here is also another Preview or two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONaM6XHdx0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6e0y-jaQfM&feature=related

*It is of the beta remember*

I think the art-styIe is fantastic.

UpInFlames

Looks like tons of fun.

The graphics are not that good, but man the depth in this game looks CRAZY!
I was not super excited about this game but after watching the two Demonstartions from Brad who worked on the game.

I like to support smaller devs to like Stardock.

I think more games should do videos like they have done for this on youtube.. the Demonstration videos I just watched from July I think where fantastic! There are ALOT of custimzation to for your character!

Also when you start off the world has been leveled and there is pretty much nothing around you except a few trees and ALOT of sand.. but as the game goes on things start to fill out and look better.

Think I will get this after Mafia2.

It defiantly doesnt look like a game for everyone, but man the gameplay and depth looks interesting. Not for people who rely on graphics though.

Check out these two Dev videos if anyone is interested.

VIDEO #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wya5o1An8

VIDEO #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndfModTEIJ0&feature=channel

Here is also another Preview or two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONaM6XHdx0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6e0y-jaQfM&feature=related

*It is of the beta remember*

kozzy1234

[QUOTE="kozzy1234"]

Looks like tons of fun.

The graphics are not that good, but man the depth in this game looks CRAZY!
I was not super excited about this game but after watching the two Demonstartions from Brad who worked on the game.

I like to support smaller devs to like Stardock.

I think more games should do videos like they have done for this on youtube.. the Demonstration videos I just watched from July I think where fantastic! There are ALOT of custimzation to for your character!

Also when you start off the world has been leveled and there is pretty much nothing around you except a few trees and ALOT of sand.. but as the game goes on things start to fill out and look better.

Think I will get this after Mafia2.

It defiantly doesnt look like a game for everyone, but man the gameplay and depth looks interesting. Not for people who rely on graphics though.

Check out these two Dev videos if anyone is interested.

VIDEO #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wya5o1An8

VIDEO #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndfModTEIJ0&feature=channel

Here is also another Preview or two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OONaM6XHdx0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6e0y-jaQfM&feature=related

*It is of the beta remember*

Birdy09

Once again things start off very bare and somewhat ugly, but from the look of things, are you build up your cities and areas, things start to fill in.

Definatly not the best graphics I agree, but this is something I can overlook if the gameplay is great and deep.

I honestly was thinking the same thing you where until I saw some stuff of the map/game later on, it looks alot better.

Wow, this looks pretty cool the more I look at it.

I knew Stardock was making a new game but I really hadn't paid it much attention since around the time it was first announced. Looking forward to this now.

The game doesn't have a random map generator. I've been looking at the forums and I must admit that things seem rather underwhelming gameplay-wise aswell. Also despite having such weak graphics it seems to be a demanding game aswell. _Pedro_

I think I'll wait to see what people who play the game say about the gameplay rather then forum opinions about what they've seen somewhere somehow questionable. Maybe they're using the computer power to create a playable fun game rather than a graphical masterpiece of ****. Just sayin'.

The main problem I find with the game is the control system - the move map / select unit options aren't intuative, and the UI is kind of cluttered. Also, the battle screen is kinda underwhelming, and doesn't a saving grace of fluid animation or meaty looking units to save it.

[QUOTE="_Pedro_"]The game doesn't have a random map generator. I've been looking at the forums and I must admit that things seem rather underwhelming gameplay-wise aswell. Also despite having such weak graphics it seems to be a demanding game aswell. Rickylee

I think I'll wait to see what people who play the game say about the gameplay rather then forum opinions about what they've seen somewhere somehow questionable. Maybe they're using the computer power to create a playable fun game rather than a graphical masterpiece of ****. Just sayin'.

The game doesn't have a random map generator. I've been looking at the forums and I must admit that things seem rather underwhelming gameplay-wise aswell. Also despite having such weak graphics it seems to be a demanding game aswell. _Pedro_

[QUOTE="_Pedro_"]The game doesn't have a random map generator. I've been looking at the forums and I must admit that things seem rather underwhelming gameplay-wise aswell. Also despite having such weak graphics it seems to be a demanding game aswell. Renevent42

I think it looks great and I'll be buying it hopefully soon.

Please keep us informed on just how good/bad this game is. Not gonna duy until i getsome feedback, thanks in advance.

Well I broke down and played a 2 hour game...couldn't resist lol. The game is fun as hell but the people on the forums are right about tons of stuff. The game has a memory leak or something...basically the longer you play the game starts to really slow down. Also, the interfaceneeds work and there's a lot of glitchy control stuff present. There seems to be some balance issues too, though with so little play time I can't really say yet.

With all that said the underlying game is very very cool. There's tons of options and there seems to be a lot of depth. Tons of stuff to research, explore, fight, and build up and conquer cities. The game has a lot of character and draws it world very well. Really cool imo!

I think once the game get's sorted out it will be a no brainer for any strategy/4x fan...and definitely those who enjoyed other Stardock games like GALCIVII and Sins. But like I said it's very rough right now...they said the day-0 patch will be released this evening so I will report back later :)

Patch summary:

AUGUST 24th, 2010.

This is a day that the team has been waiting for for three years!

As some of you know, some retailers broke the street date and to make sure our beta testers and pre-order customers didn't get the short end of the stick, we released an interim build of Elemental (internally called Gold Edition++).

It turns out that this was a blessing in disguise because we have gotten a tremendous amount of useful feedback from those of you who got the game before release. The results of this comes in two parts.

First, tonight we released a new interim build. This version is basically bug fixes and such based on player reports. You can see what's new in it here. Looking at the change log gives you an idea of the complexities of making a new PC game in 2010 with a brand new engine.

But tomorrow (or later today as I write this) is the big one. The official day 0 update that the team and I have been working on since Beta 4 (the beta group can go into more detail on this but in brief: After beta 4, the game tree was split in two. One version went on to be the gold version which is what those people who have it early are playing. The other tree went on to become day 0. These two trees were merged today already and will be going up tomorrow.

So what can you expect?

Here's a few highlights:

1. The UI is updated to be somewhat more intuitive.

2. The campaign is significantly updated (though only for those starting fresh).

3. Resources are treated more like units. This is hard to explain but essentially the game will let you know of what resources you're not using and how to make use of them.

4. There's a lot of performance improvements the day 0 build, particularly for those with lower end CPUs.

5. The "day 0" AI is in it.

6. There's been a polish pass to the spell books and tactical battles.

7. There's been a general polish pass to the main game UI overall.

8. There's been a lot of balancing to monsters, units, etc.

The day 0 version, as most of you know, is the version that was originally expected to be the first version most people would ever play. We're definitely glad, however, that people got to play the pre-day 0 builds because we got a lot of very useful feedback and some crash reports that were not known about.

Now, a couple words on multiplayer. The servers are up but we are not going to enable multiplayer until next week. Part of this is, to be honest, team exhaustion. The early release meant a lot of people who were expecting this weekend off to rest from the grueling last few weeks had to come in. So we're going to let them get a couple of days off later this week and open up the MP next week.

One piece of good news on MP. Originally we had planned to eliminate tactical battles from MP entirely because of balance. Some people correctly guessed the misguided (in hindsight) reason for this: We were approaching MP from a purely competitive point of view. Based on the persuasive arguments made by our players, we have decided that tactical battles will be made available in MP – as an option – at a later date as a free update. So that's all for now. After the day 0 update, I plan to take a day or two off too. I hear sleeping is the new "in thing" and you guys know me, I'm all about being cool and…um..what not. Stardock

These seem to address most my gripes with the game...so it's promising.

Please keep us informed on just how good/bad this game is. Not gonna duy until i getsome feedback, thanks in advance.

Frozzik

Its very fun imo. There are some issues like the kind sir above me said, but alot of Stardocks games have issues when they first come out.

Very promising game though, its all there for a great series.... its very deep and the gameplay is fun. With more mods and more stuff added by Stardock and mod community it could be a real winner.

Some people find it doesnt hold your hand or tell you much, but for me the campaign was a ncie litle tutorial and you learn stuff as you go.

Rough around the edges but what is there is very good.

... and I thought Stardock make dock gadgets for Windows :lol:Crimsader

Having so much fun on this in the free world/continous mode..

It really gives me that ONE MORE TURN!!! tyep of feeling that I get when playing games like Civilization, Simcity and Dawn Of Discovery.

[QUOTE="Rickylee"]

[QUOTE="_Pedro_"]The game doesn't have a random map generator. I've been looking at the forums and I must admit that things seem rather underwhelming gameplay-wise aswell. Also despite having such weak graphics it seems to be a demanding game aswell. _Pedro_

I think I'll wait to see what people who play the game say about the gameplay rather then forum opinions about what they've seen somewhere somehow questionable. Maybe they're using the computer power to create a playable fun game rather than a graphical masterpiece of ****. Just sayin'.

Im just having issues learning stuff rofl..Took me awhile to figure out how to build tropps an exct..Also im trying to figure out who can build new cities lol..How ever ther does need ot be a tutorial for folks like myself..With that said i did have fun trying to figure things out last night..

Started playing today, another freaking awesome Stardock game!

Im just having issues learning stuff rofl..Took me awhile to figure out how to build tropps an exct..Also im trying to figure out who can build new cities lol..How ever ther does need ot be a tutorial for folks like myself..With that said i did have fun trying to figure things out last night..

Gladestone1

Having so much fun on this in the free world/continous mode..

It really gives me that ONE MORE TURN!!! tyep of feeling that I get when playing games like Civilization, Simcity and Dawn Of Discovery.

kozzy1234

This is not good news at all. Have you see nmy sig and the list of games i currently have on the go, Mafia 2 is yet to add and it looks like i will have to buy this now too. Not happy.

[QUOTE="Rickylee"]

[QUOTE="_Pedro_"]The game doesn't have a random map generator. I've been looking at the forums and I must admit that things seem rather underwhelming gameplay-wise aswell. Also despite having such weak graphics it seems to be a demanding game aswell. _Pedro_

I think I'll wait to see what people who play the game say about the gameplay rather then forum opinions about what they've seen somewhere somehow questionable. Maybe they're using the computer power to create a playable fun game rather than a graphical masterpiece of ****. Just sayin'.

Sorry didn't mean to imply that the Stardock forums where questionable just forums in general. People tend to complain and usually those are the only ones that post. People that have no complaints rarely post cause they're too busy playing. Also I don't have a sense of trust from random people on other forums. I read these forums and have a generally good idea as to who to trust and who to ignore. I've also seen posts now by those I trust that have played some of the game and that gives me a more positive outlook. Still early though, we'll see.:)

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/25/elementals-disastrous-launch-stay-well-away/Gammit10

I came here to post this. Expect Stardock and Impulse fanboys to ignore it.

They're contradicting their own Gamer's Bill of Rights:lol:

The newest patch (day-0) seemed to have fixed most of the more serious issues I had which is great. With that said reading the forums there still seems to be some issues mostly with balancing and smaller bugs though. Regardless, that article by PC Gamer isn't too far from the truth. I am very happy I purchased Elemental and I am confident the game will get much better in time, but man it is a really bad launch. Even without the balance/bug stuff the game just doesn't feel polished to a degree expected from a released game.

Regarding that 'Gamer's Bill of Rights' thing...I've ALWAYS felt like that was very unfair to other developers and was really nothing more than pandering to the whiny unreasonable demographic...so in a sense I am glad it's biting them in the ass a bit.

I am on the fence with this game, I know very little about it other than a few videos and a friends high opinion of it. With Civ 5 coming out soon, I'll probably just get that instead.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/25/elementals-disastrous-launch-stay-well-away/Gammit10

I dont care what the pc gamer article says to be honest.

I bought the game and have not had ANY crashes in 6 hours of playtime.

There definatly is some issues though. Yesterday my Archers would not fire (so i just made others instead) and later on in the continous mode it slows down a bit when you have your place getting bigger and the deeper into turns that you get.

Other then those two things my experience with the game has been fantastic.

Its a very deep and excitign game to me.
The base is set here for a very excellent series. Once modders made some mods for it ahd Stardock keeps pumping out updates its going to be even better.

The first two patches are a great start and the game is very very playable now.

Thanks for the warning PC GAMER, but I don't care to be honest, im enjoying Elemental so far more then most other games this year.

I don't remember how many turns into my game I am (probably 400 or so) and I've put about 9 hours into the game. I've had one crash, and I'm on the kind of system that is supposed to be most crash prone (Win7-64bit and an ATI card). If you're worried about that, I would suggest waiting a bit longer but I really, really don't think it's nearly as serious as they're claiming. The game is great, though I still think the AI needs some tweaking. It seems as if one kingdom/empire is stronger than the rest. In my game, Kraxis has built a colossal lead over everyone else and I have absolutely no idea how. If it was just me that was bad, then all of the other empires should be beating me.LongZhiZi

I am using 64bit Windows7 also (though Nvidia card) and i have not had one crash in 6+ hours. Glad im not the only one not having crashes every 30 mins :P

The AI definatly needs some tweaking but thats how stardock does things, they take what the community says and keep improving there games over time.

Glad you are enjoying it bud ;)

I dont know if people played Galactic Civilization2 but that game had alot of issues on day one also, now its considered one of the best strategy games ever.

What is here alreayd is awesome imo, just needs some work is all. Very ambitious game though, you cant expect zero problems. Lucky I guess that my time so far with the game has been pretty much great.

[QUOTE="Gammit10"]http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/25/elementals-disastrous-launch-stay-well-away/Baranga

I came here to post this. Expect Stardock and Impulse fanboys to ignore it.

The game does lack polish in some areas, and was prone to crashes pre-0-day, but much of that article is just totally uncalled-for. I can't believe PC Gamer would publish something like this..

I've played for 6-7 hours now, and have only had 2 crashes total (both of which were v1.01, *zero* crashes in v1.05 thus far.) Lack of polish aside (and it's mostly tiny things) the game is very fun, and I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in playing it.

I have had zero crashes since the latest 1.05 patch also. By the end of my sandbox game I did have about 8-10 cities and it was struggling with performance when I checked (I play with just the cloth map, give that a try and you will see that it is awesome!) That game I was finishing was from the 1.0 version so maybe I just needed to start a fresh game.Xavier_12

Yup, thats the only problem I have with the game so far is that in the later stages the game slows down quite a bit.

Other then that I have not had any crashes or anything.
ROugh around the edges but Ive had TONS of fun with this game.

It really has that addictive "ONE MORE TURN" feeling to it that I get from games liek Dawn of Discovery, Galactic Civilization, Civilization 4, Simcity4, etc..

I just played 2 more hours on a large map on sandbox mode and man its been a blast! I took over two enemy towns finally and expanding my civilization!

To think a few days ago I wasnt going to buy this game... so glad i bought it.

I dont know if this is jsut MY type of game or what but this is as fun as games get for me.

Wow kozzy, you seem to like even more buggy, unpolished and unfinished games than I do!:P

10 hours in ive never experienced a crash. Before patch 1.01 I was getting alot of memory leaks but after the patch all good :)

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/25/elementals-disastrous-launch-stay-well-away/Gammit10

Wow kozzy, you seem to like even more buggy, unpolished and unfinished games than I do!:P

Baranga

Its honestly not that buggy to me dude.

Sure there are some AI issues, In the later rounds it slows down ALOT, some UI issues that some people have, but I have not had any crashes or any gamebreaking bugs so far.

Its just a fun strategy game that really is something special imo.

Definatly rough around the edges but man is this a wicked game.

Really the only problem I have is the slowdown in way later rounds, if they can fix that im a happy camper.

Maybe its just me but I personally like ambitious games with a few issues instead of big block buster games with no depth at all. TO me I would way rather play an ambitious game with some issues like ELemental or Alpha Protocol then some games like Assassins Creed, Call of Duty or other games that are mainly about flashy graphics and hype.

Give me some good gameplay with some great new ideas and I seem to be a happy camper, im wierd, what can i say lol.

10 hours in ive never experienced a crash. Before patch 1.01 I was getting alot of memory leaks but after the patch all good :)

Prexxus

Glad to see im not the only one not having crashes and is enjoying the game :D