Elemental - a game which would have needed another 3-4 months work

from Elemental Forums

I think it is now obvious that Elemental was launched premature. It is not only the bug, the bad performance. There are many feature apparently not working at all, like controlling elemental shards doesn't do any affect I notice.

It is also the many things not really tested and thought over.

Take magic. It just makes no sense. Summoning is useful, but anything else does so minimal damage and misses so often, it is near to hilarious.

Or creatures. How can it be my map is always teeming full of uber mobs? I always spent 95% of my income in soldiers just to keep my cities save, and I am FAR away from ever being able to really clear the world. Even when I started a new freeform game and did NOT research adventuring, at some point the map was full with strong critter. And in my other game were I researched adventuring, after some time the entire world was FULL with dragons and huge demons. This is totally whack out of balance compared to the power, money and soldiers I have at that time. So Adventuring is something I found totally borked. The game should have some limits, esp. in easy levels, and not continue to spawn mobs over and over endlessly.

I also noticed after trying several medium sized worlds that often 80% of the enemies have 1 or 2 cities only, while one or two opponents built VAST empires/kingdoms, and WAAAAY overpower me. I know I am a beginner, but recently it got my quite frustrated, and it is one more hint that the entire balancing of his game is in every way gone haywire. Meaning, there is no balance.

And so many unexplained features you only find out by try, fail and retry. Like that apparently Archers are eventually going out of ammo, and still I have NO CLUE what to do then, bringing me to the point were I just don't create archers at all. Or how rivaling kingdoms at some point had 200 g income, when my not small empire still only had 20-30 g income. I mean, I played Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic REALLY a long time and really often, so I thought I would be prepared. But that is apparently not the case. There are so many things I just don't get and the game did not explain it to me. The PDF manual and the internal help are a joke. They explain only those easy things I can figure myself.

I must say, even tho I have great respect and love for Stardock, this was a real letdown. It was launched many months too early and with way too less testing. With the expected ratings in the mags, I don't understand why they didn't work a little longer on it. Now since every new patch makes us start anew and I expect the game to be really playable, balanced and optimized in MONTHS, I really feel cheated having paid a game I can play maybe with luck at the end of the year.

elemental
6,778 views 13 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

In one of his posts, Frogboy said AI won't be up to what he wants in a year from now (from August 24th).

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting nammafia, reply 1
In one of his posts, Frogboy said AI won't be up to what he wants in a year from now (from August 24th).
End of nammafia's quote

 

Wonderfull news! I'm happy i gave him my 49$ for safekeeping while i wait for a complete game. Had i kept them i probably would have wasted the sum somewhere..

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting robbocroft, reply 2

Quoting nammafia, reply 1In one of his posts, Frogboy said AI won't be up to what he wants in a year from now (from August 24th).
 

Wonderfull news! I'm happy i gave him my 49$ for safekeeping while i wait for a complete game. Had i kept them i probably would have wasted the sum somewhere..
End of robbocroft's quote

It was said before release that the AI, and the game would see continual patches for a good while. But it thats not good enough for you, you could always ask for a refund.

 

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

It really does look like an unfinished game. You can see it especially with the UI, not so much with bugs and balance (that was kind of expected from this kind of game).

But I choose to stay optimistic about it. I see it as a raw gem. Once it's pollished, I´m confident it will really shine.

And it´s not like there´s much to choose from, either. No one makes this kind of games that I love so much anymore.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Really, there are just such a bunch of drama queens on here...

 

This game is totally playable as of now.  yes it needs some work, but at the rate the patches are coming out, I give it a week not 3-4 months.

Frankly, I believe the days of finished games at release are long over.  Especially for smaller companies.  This is the world we live in and it aint that bad....

Sure, maybe Starcraft II was in better shape at release, but it also had a budge maybe 100x that of Elemental.

 

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm certain even Stardock wishes they had a few more months with the game. But the reality isn't quite as simple. Release dates are locked far in advance, and Stardock is not nearly large enough to have much pull with retailers (unlike, say, Blizzard), nor the money to put the game off indefinitely. 

It is understandable for people to be disappointed with some parts of the game. Everyone sort of has different likes and dislikes and something that one person hates, another one loves. And it's definitely hard to discount some stability/performance issues that still exist.

But at the same time, what makes Stardock different from a lot of other developers/publishers is that they don't just take your money and laugh at the problems you've having with the game. For about the past week or so (including weekend), they've been coming in and working close to 16 hour days to get the needed fixes and changes out, and they're still continuing to do so. Certainly everyone would've been happier (including SD) if the game was near spotless, but they do deserve credit and some common decency (not referring to this thread, but there have been others much less kind) for the effort they're putting into fixing issues as fast as possible.

It's natural to be frustrated when you feel you didn't get enough bang for your buck, but I wish a lot of people in general were a bit more understanding and offered more constructive criticism instead of outright flaming. After all, they're still trying to make sure everyone is satisfied with the game, and the last several patches have brought pretty dramatic improvements, and more are to come.

In the end, people who really feel cheated out of their money and are unwilling to give SD a chance to improve the game do always have the option to ask for refunds, which SD tends to give out fairly readily and not make it a "nails on chalkboard" kind of process. Otherwise, for those who are dissatisfied but want to give SD a chance, instead of just saying "<insert feature> sucks!", it's a lot more helpful to say what you want it to be, instead.

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Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Get a refund, wait 3-4 months and buy it again.  Pretend that the game just came out.  Problem solved!

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top


I think it is now obvious that Elemental was launched premature. It is not only the bug, the bad performance. There are many feature apparently not working at all, like controlling elemental shards doesn't do any affect I notice.

It is also the many things not really tested and thought over.

Take magic. It just makes no sense. Summoning is useful, but anything else does so minimal damage and misses so often, it is near to hilarious.

Or creatures. How can it be my map is always teeming full of uber mobs? I always spent 95% of my income in soldiers just to keep my cities save, and I am FAR away from ever being able to really clear the world. Even when I started a new freeform game and did NOT research adventuring, at some point the map was full with strong critter. And in my other game were I researched adventuring, after some time the entire world was FULL with dragons and huge demons. This is totally whack out of balance compared to the power, money and soldiers I have at that time. So Adventuring is something I found totally borked. The game should have some limits, esp. in easy levels, and not continue to spawn mobs over and over endlessly.

I also noticed after trying several medium sized worlds that often 80% of the enemies have 1 or 2 cities only, while one or two opponents built VAST empires/kingdoms, and WAAAAY overpower me. I know I am a beginner, but recently it got my quite frustrated, and it is one more hint that the entire balancing of his game is in every way gone haywire. Meaning, there is no balance.

And so many unexplained features you only find out by try, fail and retry. Like that apparently Archers are eventually going out of ammo, and still I have NO CLUE what to do then, bringing me to the point were I just don't create archers at all. Or how rivaling kingdoms at some point had 200 g income, when my not small empire still only had 20-30 g income. I mean, I played Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic REALLY a long time and really often, so I thought I would be prepared. But that is apparently not the case. There are so many things I just don't get and the game did not explain it to me. The PDF manual and the internal help are a joke. They explain only those easy things I can figure myself.

I must say, even tho I have great respect and love for Stardock, this was a real letdown. It was launched many months too early and with way too less testing. With the expected ratings in the mags, I don't understand why they didn't work a little longer on it. Now since every new patch makes us start anew and I expect the game to be really playable, balanced and optimized in MONTHS, I really feel cheated having paid a game I can play maybe with luck at the end of the year.

End of quote

 

Are you playing the same game I am? It is true that there are issues but difficult MOBS? If you dont research the adventuring tech tree much the mobs will not be that difficult. Especially for the first 100 turns I have mobs with 3 or 5 hp at most. Later on in the game they do get more powerful but nothing that isnt easily handled. Some of your other complaints are just you not knowing how to play, for example you have very little gold? Well gold is determined by trade, trade bonuses, gold mines so if you aren't expanding well and getting gold mines and such you wont have a lot of gold. Also there are research paths that increase resources in the world, so you can get some more gold mines and such.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Ha 3 to 4 months they wait any longer and it would of been to next year. I would by pass this game then and go straight to Diablo 3 and other RPG's.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

I personally find the game enjoyable in its current state. The pre-1.05 patch was a bit buggy, but most my issues have been fixed. Would I have done some things differently if I had my druthers on things? Sure. But I didn't make the game, and Im having fun playing it myself.

 

It definately wasnt released 'unfinished'.

 

My main issue with the actual gameplay at this point is that the AI is far too easy. The monsters that end up covering the map are another issue, but its minor as it just means I hit autoresolve alot when walking from place to place. Just park some strong guys at chokepoints and barricade in yer starting 2-3 towns and you'll be fine.

 

My main issue with the DESIGN, however, is the lack of interesting options in hero development. The sovereign design is fun, but after you initially design him, thats...pretty much it. Sure you get to allocate a stat point every level but thats not very interesting. The items also I feel need to be further differentiated. I want a reason to go for something that the big huge hammer thing every game. Now, this could just be bad luck and I havent found all the real cool items but hey.

 

But your post is flat out wrong. Sorry.

 

Edit: Gotta be careful typing playing and myself in the same sentence, especially if I throw a with in there.

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

Edit: Gotta be careful typing playing and myself in the same sentence, especially if I throw a with in there.
End of quote

Unfortunately, "View Edits" reveals your seekrit! ;)

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Kjun85, reply 9
Ha 3 to 4 months they wait any longer and it would of been to next year. I would by pass this game then and go straight to Diablo 3 and other RPG's.
End of Kjun85's quote

 Really...as much as there are RPG elements to this game (pun intended), it's first and foremost a strategy 4x game. And if you don't like Diablo 3, try out Solitaire! Wait, what?

 

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top



Or creatures. How can it be my map is always teeming full of uber mobs? I always spent 95% of my income in soldiers just to keep my cities save, and I am FAR away from ever being able to really clear the world.
End of quote

 

that is simply PERFECT tbh

 

its a devastated world you HAVE TO DEFEND

you guys are too used to civ where you just cheat ai into non attacking and leave cities nearly undefended

 

this feature is one of the few working in the game

 

Even when I started a new freeform game and did NOT research adventuring, at some point the map was full with strong critter. And in my other game were I researched adventuring, after some time the entire world was FULL with dragons and huge demons. This is totally whack out of balance compared to the power, money and soldiers I have at that time

End of quote

 

maybe because YOU  are failing?

the game is not supposed to stand at YOUR level but offer a challange

in fact i had never a problem clearing the world, maybe you use wrong tactics