3661

Indeed. The conclusion is sound enough, but the review doesn’t give the impression the reviewer actually tried playing the game:

[ul]
[li]Ironically, one of the few things Elemental does extremely well at this point, is notifying the player of the state of his cities (in case some other lazy would-be reviewer reads this, Elemental does much the same as Sins of a Solar Empire, but better).[/li][li]The AI is pretty typical for 4X games that aren’t Civ & GalCiv - which, admittedly, does mean it’s utter crap. It’s just not in any way unusual.[/li][li]There’s no multiplayer at all (yet).[/li][li]The screenies aren’t actual screenshots, they’re old promo art.[/li][/ul]
If the 1UP review is any indication, I’m entirely unsurpised Eric Neigherhas been featured in the bad journalism thread. Because while I don’t know about you lot, I can away from it thinking that it’s pure luck it drew the right conclusion.

3662

To derail the thread a bit, all this talk of Elemental makes me want to dink around in construct trying to at least start a skeleton of a simple strategy game. With the programmers here, anyone know of some simple tutorials or point me toward algorithims for designing MoM style, relatively simple tile based continent maps?

3663

Tom’s review basically mirrors my opinions, with the obvious exception of all that stuff about having personal history working on a game manual with Brad and stuff.

I think saying that a game requires one to figure out what the game designer was thinking, through trial and error and experimentation, is one of the worst things you can say about a strategy game. And it’s exactly my problem with Elemental. Even a puzzle game whose entire purpose is for you to “figure out what’s going on and how to solve it” needs to have a clarity of what actions you’re capable of that Elemental lacks, and for a strategy game to be so opaque in design, implementation, and communication of what’s going on and what I can do at any given time, is fairly inexcusable.

I’m basically done with the game until the next game slump I’m in. I really don’t enjoy beating my head against the wall that is Elemental. It’ll sit there in my Impulse list for a few months until I’m between some other games, then I’ll patch it up and see where they’ve gone.

As Tom says, Elemental needs a patch that does much more than clean up some numbers, fix some crashes, and add some campaign messages. SOooo much more. It needs major UI changes, not minor tweaks. It needs a complete and comprehensive balance/cost/resource pass. It needs a host of AI changes. It needs that big SimCity: Societies scale patch that takes the game from a beta state (Ben was right) to a finished, polished, tested product. And frankly, Stardock should feel bad about taking people’s money for the game in this state (whether they feel they “had to” or not).

3664

Sim City Societies is worth playing now? I skipped that one entirely because the reviews were bad and Sim City veterans were generally disappointed. Loved all the previous games though.

3665

I didn’t follow development closely at all and didn’t buy the game until after the “day one” patch was released. Nor did I go in expecting a modern MoM. I’m not regretting my purchase, nor do I feel any pain. No stability issues either - those seem mostly to apply to ATI video card users. Not that’s there is an excuse for that.

Well, Tom is convinced of this but I don’t know if that’s the universal opinion. You can get Sim City Societies cheaply enough now that you can try for yourself, but its ultimately a much different approach to the city builder then the classic Sim City series.

3666

Something I’d like to point about Elemental being a spiritual successor for MoM.
MoM is full of bugs, and the AI doesn’t really work - so it’s pretty much the same.

(Said after just finishing a game of MoM which required restarting MoM because the last wizard had an “ard Pact” hero with 99 attack and 99 defense)

3667

That’s true but as a game design MoM is light years ahead of Elemental.

3668

In her review of the Elemental book written by Brad, Angie mentioned on the back is a code for free DLC. Has Brad talked much about their DLC strategy for Elemental? Do they intend to charge money for additional campaign content or something?

3669

Yeah, stupid internet person, don’t you know when people say things they really mean totally different things than what they actually said? Jeez.

3670

They’ve talked a great deal about additional free content. There has been no word of paid DLC. If this goes the route of their other games, we should expect a fairly steady stream of improvements and content, and perhaps a (paid) expansion pack or two. Pricey ‘horse armor’ would be very surprising.

3671

I imagine their DLC might follow the model with Sins, but Sins wasn’t developed by Stardock right?

3672

Well that is what is confusing. I doubt a $10 book would include a free code for a $15-$20 expansion. And if there isn’t any paid DLC planned, then why include the code at all?

3673

I have the book. This is what you get if you type the code into the website:

Thank you for purchasing Elemental: Destiny’s Embers!

Here are the links to additional content:

Elemental: Destiny’s Embers Character Pack (Xander, Geni, Nym, Galor, Ambrose, Mirdoth, Calis) [SOON]
Elemental: Destiny’s Embers MAP Pack [COMING IN SEPTEMBER]
Elemental: Destiny’s Embers: Part 1 – Xander & Geni [COMING OCTOBER]
Elemental: Destiny’s Embers: Part 2 – Calis & Tandis [COMING NOVEMBER]
Elemental: Destiny’s Embers: Part 3 – Nym & Talax [COMING DECEMBER]

Right now, the code gives you nothing but a thank you.

3674

I believe Brad said they are working on nothing but Elemental for the next two years, at least in terms of game development. I would expect a lot of free patches, updates, and content, and a paid expansion or two.

3675

It’s an additional campaign, not an expansion. Personally, I have no plans to try it. In 4xgames, I jump right to sandbox mode and stay there. This is especially true in Elemental, where the official campaign is definitely not a big selling point.

I think the point of adding the code there was simple – to sell a few more copies of the book. Some people simply must have everything available for a game they enjoy (or hope to).

3676

I really have to wonder what the point of the code is anyway. Do people really buy a $15 book to get a random piece of DLC for a niche game? If I really wanted the DLC (I didn’t even know about the code until I read Angie’s review) I’d just go to the local bookstore and copy it out of the back.

3677

I expect Brad to return from his vacation with a chip on his shoulder. Whatever problems may arise in the further development of Elemental, I doubt that insufficient resources or a lack of urgency will hold the team back.

3678

When some people buy a game, they buy every retail sku associated with it. The limited edition, the strategy guide, action figures, even a book. The point of the code is simple – get the completists to spend a few more dollars.

3679

My understanding is that the book gives you a new campaign based on the events in the book. Hence the characters, map, and parts 1-3 noted by Telefrog.

The copy I picked up at Walmart also apparently has some “exclusive content”, but when I registered it I was simply told “thanks and look for an email soon.” Since the game isn’t even listed on Walmart.com, I don’t know what the free stuff is supposed to be.

3680

Yeah, “totally” different. If you’re five years old, or a robot.