Elemental: War of Magic - Catch All

I caved. I wan't planning on picking it up until the game was 100% complete, but this is one of the few games this year I am truly excited about, and the coupon last week made up my mind. Just installed - now to check it out...

I pre-ordered the limited edition copy in the hopes the feelies live up to my hopes.

Beta 3 isn't doing it for me. I played just enough to tell that the finished, polished product will be very enjoyable. But if I keep playing the Beta then my opinion of the game will be so low that I won't be interested once it's finally released. Guess I'm not a Beta person. But I'm looking forward to August!

I've preordered the game today. Nothing like reading some forum posts to relieve me of $50!

I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but my game isn't stable in the slightest. I get crashes within 8-15 minutes of playing, and reloading saved games seldom complete (the reload hangs). I noticed others are having these issues as well (probably doesn't help that I am on OS X running Win 7 via bootcamp).

Good thing: it forces me to wait until the game is released so I can experience it in all of its resplendent glory.
Bad thing: I really wanted to dive in this weekend when I had a couple of spare hours.

HedgeWizard wrote:

I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but my game isn't stable in the slightest. I get crashes within 8-15 minutes of playing, and reloading saved games seldom complete (the reload hangs). I noticed others are having these issues as well (probably doesn't help that I am on OS X running Win 7 via bootcamp).

Good thing: it forces me to wait until the game is released so I can experience it in all of its resplendent glory.
Bad thing: I really wanted to dive in this weekend when I had a couple of spare hours.

There are still some issue to work out, but that is the point of the beta is to find these things. As I understand, another update went out to address some crashing issues.

Island Dog wrote:
HedgeWizard wrote:

I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but my game isn't stable in the slightest. I get crashes within 8-15 minutes of playing, and reloading saved games seldom complete (the reload hangs). I noticed others are having these issues as well (probably doesn't help that I am on OS X running Win 7 via bootcamp).

Good thing: it forces me to wait until the game is released so I can experience it in all of its resplendent glory.
Bad thing: I really wanted to dive in this weekend when I had a couple of spare hours.

There are still some issue to work out, but that is the point of the beta is to find these things. As I understand, another update went out to address some crashing issues.

Oh absolutely. I was just sharing my grief that I finally had a spare couple of hours to spend with it, and I didn't get much out of that time. But I knew that going in - I know Stardock's MO with betas, and that by release Elemental will be humming along just fine.

This game is a disaster in the making. While it might be good six months after release or even a year after, it most certainly will not be good upon release if they go ahead with their plan to release it next month. It is just a hollow, soulless experience.

ZaneRockfist wrote:

This game is a disaster in the making. While it might be good six months after release or even a year after, it most certainly will not be good upon release if they go ahead with their plan to release it next month. It is just a hollow, soulless experience.

To be fair, if you've been playing the beta, you're not playing everything in the game. They've been very explicit to note that they are testing very specific elements of the game which does not include everything. In other words, you're only being exposed to very specific elements (if you will) of the game.

So while your perception may be valid, it isn't sound.

I know this is going to sound like a strange critique, but whenever I look at the game, it just appears dead and hollow. A memento mori picture best encapsulates the feeling that I get from looking at Elemental. You have a person, they were once alive, but are now dead; however, the illusion of life is being thrust upon you, yet you see through it. That is the way I feel about the art and environment of the game. But beyond the graphics and art, the game itself is hollow and just as lifeless.

lol It's a beta, Zane. It's not done yet. Ignore it and check it out when it's finished.

Robear wrote:

lol It's a beta, Zane. It's not done yet. Ignore it and check it out when it's finished.

That would be understandable if they were not releasing the game next month.

Hey Zane?

HedgeWizard wrote:
ZaneRockfist wrote:

This game is a disaster in the making. While it might be good six months after release or even a year after, it most certainly will not be good upon release if they go ahead with their plan to release it next month. It is just a hollow, soulless experience.

To be fair, if you've been playing the beta, you're not playing everything in the game. They've been very explicit to note that they are testing very specific elements of the game which does not include everything. In other words, you're only being exposed to very specific elements (if you will) of the game.

So while your perception may be valid, it isn't sound.

This.

Maybe you'll end up being correct; I have no idea. I haven't even touched the beta yet because I don't want to ruin my initial experience but stardock has been very clear that we're only getting different pieces of the game at a time.

By all means, be dead-set and adamant about disliking it before it comes out just don't expect us to join in or even engage you until we see the final product. =)

oilypenguin wrote:

Hey Zane?

HedgeWizard wrote:
ZaneRockfist wrote:

This game is a disaster in the making. While it might be good six months after release or even a year after, it most certainly will not be good upon release if they go ahead with their plan to release it next month. It is just a hollow, soulless experience.

To be fair, if you've been playing the beta, you're not playing everything in the game. They've been very explicit to note that they are testing very specific elements of the game which does not include everything. In other words, you're only being exposed to very specific elements (if you will) of the game.

So while your perception may be valid, it isn't sound.

This.

Maybe you'll end up being correct; I have no idea. I haven't even touched the beta yet because I don't want to ruin my initial experience but stardock has been very clear that we're only getting different pieces of the game at a time.

By all means, be dead-set and adamant about disliking it before it comes out just don't expect us to join in or even engage you until we see the final product. =)

Despite not pre-ordering it, I'm not too worried. Definitely not worried enough to panic and refuse to buy it over perceived shortcomings. Stardock has a strong history of continuing to update and support their games, and given my current lack of time to play games I don't have any issue with waiting for 1.1 if I need to.

oilypenguin wrote:

Maybe you'll end up being correct; I have no idea. I haven't even touched the beta yet because I don't want to ruin my initial experience but stardock has been very clear that we're only getting different pieces of the game at a time.

By all means, be dead-set and adamant about disliking it before it comes out just don't expect us to join in or even engage you until we see the final product. =)

Except what they have given is the whole game, except for the multiplayer part of it. It is not just bits and pieces of the whole product. Ultimately, I am just saying not to get your expectations up too much because from what I have played, it is a very poor game.

And your point is now well established. Don't belabor it.

Certis wrote:

And your point is now well established. Don't belabor it.

Is it any concern of yours? Do you tell people that are too excited about a game to not go overboard with writing about it?

Around here we generally leave folks to their optimism about upcoming games. It's worthwhile to make note of concerns, but we don't belabor them.

I'm looking forward to the game because I have faith in Stardock, but I realize every good company makes missteps. I believe there will be patches in time, and the game will have a long, healthy life.

I'm just as excited about Elemental as I was when it was first really getting discussed last year, and having watched the beta come together over the last year, I'm confident it will end up being a solid game. I'm not sure if it'll quite be there in time for the official initial release, but if there's one thing I can trust Stardock to do, it's continue supporting the game and continually improving it post-release. No worries here or regrets about preordering it.

Certis wrote:

And your point is now well established. Don't belabor it.

I am sorry for snapping, but you have a habit of butting in discussions and trying to shut people down with negative opinions and that irks me.

Farscry wrote:

No worries here or regrets about preordering it. :)

In the very least, Elemental will be very moddable and Stardock has a history of supporting their games extensively, so it could very well grow into being a very good game.

ZaneRockfist wrote:
Certis wrote:

And your point is now well established. Don't belabor it.

I am sorry for snapping, but you have a habit of butting in discussions and trying to shut people down with negative opinions and that irks me.

You do know who he is, right??

NathanialG wrote:

You do know who he is, right??

I do and it does not change what I think. I was not being inflammatory or disruptive.

ZaneRockfist wrote:
NathanialG wrote:

You do know who he is, right??

I do and it does not change what I think. I was not being inflammatory or disruptive.

No, you weren't. And I agree that Certis should not be treated with kid gloves. He's may be a good guy and we may be in his house but he is a part of the community and should be disagreed with when warranted.

However, that was his polite way of pointing out that your point has already been made and now you're harping on it. Please be more mindful of stuff like this. Opinions are welcome here and we want them. Hell, when you get right down to it, that's all we are: a collection of opinions. But you've stated yours and it has been established as valid. Now let some other people express themselves and we can all be polite to one another and await this game's release, yes?

I'm looking forward to seeing if you're correct and the game is as empty as you seem to think it is. And if I end up disagreeing, well, then we can pick up on this conversation in a few weeks. =)

Three walkthrough videos are up on Gametrailers.

Forget Civ 5, this looks awesome.

garion333 wrote:

Three walkthrough videos are up on Gametrailers.

So much drooling. Wow, I love the idea of a Civ-style game where the map remains only sparsely populated with towns, separated by dangerous wild lands. If they can nail the magic feeling of questing into the wild with encounters varied enough to feel like a simple RPG, then this is gonna be a blast.

Those walkthrough videos drove me to pony up for a pre-order of this game. I hope you're happy with yourself, garion333!

mwdowns wrote:

Those walkthrough videos drove me to pony up for a pre-order of this game. I hope you're happy with yourself, garion333! :)

Enabling people? Around here? Happy? Never.

mwdowns wrote:

Those walkthrough videos drove me to pony up for a pre-order of this game. I hope you're happy with yourself, garion333! :)