I voted fair - the game crashed, videocard stopped working and after a few seconds I've noticed a reset. But that's ok for a beta.

My main problems are too few diversity in  terms of advantages/disadvantages ( units, abilities, techs, equipment ), too few summoning spells and so on. I want to play Pariden as a nation of mages that have unique spells, unique techs, strongest magical equipment  - I want them as different as thalans in Gal Civ 2 Ultimate.

One example - let them cast a spell that turns a mage unit into the arcane warrior of Dragon Age. Let them be different and play diferent as a result. Radically different as factions in C&C Generals: Zero Hour.

That problem plagued Elemental as well - basically even kingdoms and empires played the same. It's not Civ 5, it's a fantasy world.

I bought the Limited Edition of Elemental and I will buy future games - but please continue in the right direction. Right now you are at the level of Gal Civ 2 at the beginning...

I'm still lurking an keeping a file with notes at hand while playing.

REALLY GREAT! I just tried it, and I had not been in the earlier betas, but I can say this is already way better than WoM got to be!

A few bugs do exist (It IS beta. ) like portraits failing to appear, or sudden lag spikes in tactical (just once or twice).

A thing I did notice that is not there from WoM which makes no sense to me at least, is the utter lack of offensive spells that are not fire based.

I was hoping for a dart spell for each of the four elements or something, because when I fought the fire monsters, I suffered! And I had my character as a complete magician, like in having all schools.

So far it seems like Fire is offense, Air is buffs, Earth is defense buffs, and water is an oddball will blizzard, which is not that good for one opponent  at all.

Also a doubt... caravans are gone? because I got the trait of not attackable caravans, and yet they never appeared on my unit list.

But overall, it is still awesome.

I voted Good, in the current poll.  I applaud Mr. Wardell, Mr. Paxton, and the rest of the design team for all the remarkable work they have been doing!  To paraphrase comments I have previously made, in other Discussion Threads on this site:

              IMHO: FE is already Good; it is clearly getting Better; and I think, in time, it will be Great !

I also read the 150-plus comments made earlier in this thread.  (And all that small type gave me a headache, but that's another story.    )    In that regard, while acknowleging that, there are many good and productive comments, I am a little surprised at the number of folks who have used this thread as an opportunity to flame the game, or otherwise behave like Trolls.  However, I assume the design team will simply discount them.  Alas, there will always be some unhappiness in this world.  Que Sera, Sera ... 

Hmmmm ... does seem a tad masochistic.  All I can say in my defense is that I have always been something of a compulsive reader ...

Also: Your replies #118, #120, and #159, to this thread, suggest something similar ...        

The updates trip my protection software. I had to reinstall twice. That is why I voted fair.

This is not a bad suggestion.  If they want to keep pioneers build times low, and also don't want to have separate units to establish settlements and outposts,  then maybe having a time frame to construct a settlement or an outpost is the solution.  It could take say 10 turns to actually build a settlement and 2 turns to build an outpost with a pioneer.

I voted good (at least).  This beta was a major jump to me; the affects were not subtle, and I am beginning to see the flavor this game will have when it's finished; what will set it apart.

Major Pros

• Monster AI and difficulty:  This is the first time I actually felt like the game reflected the premise: I felt that the world itself was much more dangerous, that it is alive with monsters, they are more likely to chase my units, and they are difficult.  No longer did I feel I had the ability to wander the countryside, slaloming between the 2 few high-level monsters that could actually damage me.
• Magic: Spells feel much more useful, plentiful, and accessible.  I am enjoying the variety, and would like to see more added.  Also, the artwork done for them is awesome.  Now THAT'S a wave of flame!
• Items: I love the new unique items for each faction.
• Weapon abilities: Back swing with axes, counterattack with swords...  both are awesome.  "Clink" in battle is a cool addition in that it provides more battle feedback, and I would like to see visual notifications that represent armor deflecting damage types (or other in-battle cues) more visible.

Major Con

• To-Win Formula: As others have iterated, and reiterated ad nauseum, there is a walkthrough for this game: spam cities and outposts, use your sovereign with a few champions to scour the countryside, don't train any armies until you have the winning technology combination, then steam-roll the enemy factions.  This is the result of three issues:

1. Once you clear an area, monsters will rarely (never?) attack your city or outpost.  Therefore, there is no need to have units guard your cities.  As the sovereigns and champions are so powerful, there is also little need to create many soldiers for their party.
2. Created units are exceptionally weak for long into the game.  Their powers greatly contrast with sovereigns and champions' abilities.  As a result, I currently use them for fodder: send them rushing at the enemy while my main characters attack with magic and arrows from the rear.
3. The technology tree, now simplified, feels like there is a clear right answer for every decision.  At most, it takes me a few seconds to decide which research to chose, and this is not because I am following an overall, well-thought strategy.  Please note: I am also very new to this genre, so I am not relying on much previous knowledge.
4. There does not appear to be effective AI to counter my city-spamming.  While expanding quickly does have its rewards, doing such a thing should also be risky.  In reality, trade and travel to distant outputs is inherently more risky, difficult and dangerous.  When a civilization over-extends (like Rome at the close of the western empire's days), the opposing forces and locals make the civilization pay dearly.  Can there be a meaningful choice when deciding to send pioneers over the horizon?    Can the more distant cities or outposts be made more vulnerable to the local and roaming fauna? If I was a roaming bandit and observed an undefended outpost miles from its country's nearest city, you'd better believe I would go plundering.  In summary: spreading yourself very thin should be a gamble, not an easy decision.

Minor Cons

• Spell type breadth versus spell depth: I would like to see enough spells and elemental spell specialization added so that there are meaningful choices when choosing which school of magic to pursue.  Should I invest deeply in fire magic, knowing I could be in trouble if I encounter an adept water mage?  Or should I balance myself by learning more spell types, knowing that I will not be as powerful with each type as a result.
• Technology tree: The technology tree feels over-pruned now (see number 3 above).  It doesn't have to be exceptionally dense, but I feel it is currently under-cooked.

P.S. In regards to some individuals' feedback: one of my wisest teachers always told me, "If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask the question."

So far its a big improvement over Beta 2, and I would say that you guys are easily on the way to making a great game. So far I would rate it as a B-.

Now for the beta it seemed on the 2 games that I played that the AI seemed rather lethargic. On the first game they would declare war on me and never attack my city, while on the second game the other plays empire strength never raised past 120, while mine was over 1300.

Now for some suggestions:

1. Casting a hostile spell on a city should be considered an act of war. Meaning you shouldnt be able to cast Curse city on a player that your not at war with. Also when a player casts a negative spell on your city or your units it should pop up on the information bar to let you know whats going on.

2. There needs to be more defense against enemy city enchantments. Perhaps add terrain bonus (Nightshade) from MOM, that would make your cities immune to enchantments if you built near it. Also some class specific city scructures would be nice. For instance one factions could have a 50% chance to reflect the magic back at the caster, while another faction could have a 50% chance to absorb the spell and add it to the players mana supply. etc...

3. I would like to see magic dueling, like we see in tactical combat, used on the strategic map. Make it to where a good portion of the enchantments on cities take 2 turns to cast, and that if a spell is being cast on your city you have a chance based upon your spell casting skill to detect the spell and counter with an interrupt, reflect, absorb etc..

4. Random Events......

5. More global spells... For instance didnt WOM have a volcano and flood spell? I would like to see these added back into the game. Also I would like to see some global enchantments added some for good and bad. Examples look at Master of Magic and Age of Wonders for inspiration. Also I would like to see spell detection, disjunctions, spell reflects and spell stealing added on the strategic game.

Examples:

a. Meteor Shower (fire) - Meteor's strike random points on the map outside of the casting players domain for as long as the spell is active. If a meteor hits a city the city loses a percentage of its population and some buildings are destroyed.

b. The great flood (water) - tremendous flooding strikes the world outside the casting players domain, preventing movement through flooded terrain and causing damage to units that are foolish enough to be out in the rain.

c. Draught (fire) - halves the food productions of all enemy players as long as the spell is active causing cities populations to starve as long as the spell.

d. Dawn of the Dead (death)  - Spawns aggressive undead units at random points on the map every turn. These units will attack caravans, destroy improvements and attack units.

6. Hero summons would be nice.

2 Suggestions:

1. Adding the dynasty system back in would be nice.

2. Also it would be nice to have a toggled option to give heroes/champions a chance of dying when they are defeated.

3. And add some way for injuries to be healed.

I totally agree with everything DragonRider862 said. +1 Karma was a no brainer.

The second post (reply #57) is the most important of these because it explains exactly why the things that Frogboy seems to be believe are strategic decisions really are NOT. At least not in the current version of the game. The strategic choices that exist either have only one sensible answer (ie do I settle another city <yes>, do I build an outpost <yes>, what do I set my taxes to <0 most of the time>, do I build troops <no, not beyond what you need for a few monster killing stacks>) or the answer chosen doesn't really matter that much (ie where do I build my next city <pick a high grain/material spot if you can but the most important thing is that you DO build the new city>, what building do I build next <build anything that increases growth first, after that build anything with no maintenance>).

That isn't to say FE is a disaster. Far from it, I really like the way the rest of the game is going. The wildlands were an inspired move and the crunch/flavour is coming along. But I can't help feeling that a 4X game should have meaningful decisions about how you go about building your empire and right now they aren't that meaningful. With a bit of serious spreadsheet/notepad designing and then a few well placed changes to the numbers or mechanics I think they could be made meaningul.

The most worrying thing for me is that Frogboy seems to be saying that SD don't care about this. I'm almost certain that is a mistake. This is a 4X game, is being compared with other 4X games (particularly Master of Magic), being made by a company which gained much of its gaming reputation from 4X games (ie GC)... lets face it much of the target market is going to be 4X gamers. Saying that this game isn't for people who like typical 4X strategic decisions is... well, you get my drift!

Agreed your spell book needs to have tabs in it.

i.e. Unit Enchantment, City Enchantment, Tactical Combat Spells, Strategic Combat Spells, Summons etc...