Alstein
6161
No, the sandbox. No one really bothers with the campaign.
From what I’ve seen from the forums, Stardock fans only seem to care about the sandbox game, they don’t like campaigns or MP.
Looks like the Limited Edition is today’s 25 days of christmas deal; 20% off and free shipping. Includes download version to so getting the first expansion for free by registering it in impulse before the 31st should be trivial.
I haven’t had an opportunity to play around with 1.1 much so I’ll let the ones who’ve played it make recommendations :)
Lilan
6163
Thanks a lot for the opinions!
I’ll keep waiting for stardock to solve the “problem”…
For those who haven’t used up their 20% off discount coupon for “premier” Impulse members, you could always get it cheaper still.
FWIW, I’m glad to hear about all of these improvements. I think I may fire up a game to get into it before the first expansion just to see what the “base” version should be. I have yet to actually play through a game in it.
I’m probably one of the few that actually likes the game. It isn’t perfect or near perfect, I don’t like how much it cost, and I think it could use improvement still, but I’ve been having fun with the game since release. It has gotten a whole lot more enjoyable since release, too.
Sarkus
6166
Not that I have high expectations, but this kind of bums me out that even now, four months after release, they still haven’t managed to make the game worth buying (or playing in my case as I already did buy it). I guess that just reinforces what a long road ahead it’s going to be.
Thasero
6167
Yeah, the patch for improving the magic system basically brings the game up to the level I had expected to get during the beta when it was announced that the magic system was in the game. The magic system is now fundamentally usable and even fun, just with some quirks, bugs, and probably exploits that need to be handled before it’s really golden. For example, some tactical spells are listed as having a duration in ‘seasons’ rather than turns, and the Spell Blast spell is described as a radius 1 explosion but is actually radius 2.
Although the stuff that has been worked on in the post-release patches is indeed dramatically improved, I don’t think that Elemental will be a genuinely good game until ALL of the systems have been covered so that they gel together. The spell systems now hangs together, but when I go into a tactical battle, the battle system is so lacking that it can’t support any interplay among your tactical spell options. Likewise, dynasties won’t live up to their potential until you have both heroes that feel genuinely heroic and diplomacy that’s smart and tough enough to make you want to participate in it - because dynasties are the intersection of hero units and diplomatic manipulation. Hero units are also a part of the spell system and combat system… diplomacy is also related to the tech tree that unlocks diplomatic options… it’s all one big interrelated jigsaw.
Elemental might be a good game in 2012. I checked out the latest patch because I was curious, not because I expected to be entertained.
After some time with it, 1.1 has brought the game to what most would consider an early beta state.
kerzain
6169
Yea, I’ve been messing with it since 1.1, it is almost certainly ready to enter beta.
Skinner
6170
Thanks for saving me the time dude. I pre-ordered and I thought it was horrible on release. I don’t think I’ve touched it since two weeks from release. The last time I checked this thread the thought was it would be good by Christmas. Looks like I’ll wait until sometime next year to try again. You know, at this point, I don’t know if I’ll ever even be in the mood to play it. They can’t possibly make a game out of that train wreck. What a fucking drag. I had a feeling it was going to be shit as soon as Brad announced it would not be the standard mythos of Humans, Elves, Orcs, etc.
Yeah because every game needs Elves and Orcs to be good games!
Thasero
6172
If there was a lot of personality in the humans, then it would be fine. But, well, there isn’t. There’s the human kingdom with a name that starts with a C, and the human kingdom with a name that starts with an A, and there are two other human kingdoms with different names that I can’t remember. Or was it three other human kingdoms? One of them has a farming bonus.
There could be personality in the specific units you use and deploy, but in Elemental the units are hand-designed… meaning they’re all generic. After the success of the ship-creator in Galactic Civilizations I can understand why they tried this, but it still doesn’t work. If I build an 8-attack 3-defense infantry unit, it’s the same infantry unit in game terms whether I make it as the kingdom-with-a-C or the empire-with-a-Y. I can take the unit creation tool and make one of them bald and looking towards the left while the other wears a bandana and kneels towards the right, but slightly different body language on unit cards does not really provide the pageantry and wonder of a well-realized high-fantasy world. If anything, the fact that all of my infantry guys will have the SAME haircut and expression makes it feel like I am in possession of a magical clone factory.
Skinner
6173
That’s not it. It was to be in the vein of the classic fantasy games. Master of Magic, Age of Wonder. Blah, Blah, Blah. That was all Brad preached. Oh, by the way - scratch the big element of fantasy - the other races.
I said I had a feeling it was going to be shit as soon as Brad announced they weren’t in. Not that it sucked because they weren’t.
Paid closer attention to dialogue next time you bozo troll. Your inferences suck.
Alstein
6174
Really, I think a large part of the problem with Elemental is that it was designed more as a GalCiv game then a fantasy game. Some things really felt cut and pasted from GalCiv II.
There’s a part of me that wouldn’t mind Stardock cutting their losses on Elemental, and just making GalCiv III instead, as some of the things done in Elemental would really have improved GalCiv II. (and it’s things Brad noted that he didn’t like about GalCiv II)
Well, I tried a sandbox for a little bit and I enjoyed my time spent. I actually had the urge to start it back up again this morning, although I opted for Sins instead.
There seems to be some fun in there, although it could still use some polishing and I haven’t played enough to get into any problems with the mechanics or the AI. I’m going to be looking forward to the first add-on to really see what they’ve got to offer.
Lilan
6176
Well, i do think it’s a shame that we are reduced to “be looking forward to the first add-on to really see what they’ve got to offer”.
There is many good game out there (including boardgames, miniatures and video games), i do no feel like i have money to waste on a game unplayble until you buy an add-on…
My biggest regret is that the teaser was really great : Fantasy Sandbox “à la Galactic Civ”, with multiplayer. That would have be the game to play with my friend, since she favors “builder” games over “war” games…
I’m not buying another goddamn thing that Stardock develops after what happened with Elemental. I’ll take my two free expansions. Who knows, maybe they’ll actually make the game into something good.
But even if they do pull off a miracle salvage, I will never spend another dollar on a Stardock-developed game again. I decided to take Brad’s advice about not being a customer if I didn’t like his development strategy to heart.
Good for you. Enjoy the games you play, and I’ll do the same. Hopefully they’ll help you relax enough to let that chip on your shoulder slide off. ;)
Maybe he’ll drop his chip when you furl your Stardock banner?
Where can I get a Stardock banner? I hear they make great sleds.
