Release the tools before the game

yeah... its called a beta.  I'm sure that a beta for all that customization stuff stardock wants for the game will be released before final retail release.

Assume what you want, but remember what that verb can do to you and me

I still haven't seen any details on how (or if) custom spell design will work with the core single-player game, much less the multiplayer stuff. If anyone else has spotted info like that, please share links here.

I sincerely doubt anyone will feel a need for a slab of extra spells on launch day, or extra anything, really. Regardless, the tools (if any) or ways to edit the game (raw .xml like in GalCiv2) will surely be available with the late betas.

(I love that pun.  +1!)

I feel that its basically confirmed.   Sure, it likely is not going to be included  early, since frogboy hasn't mentioned it.   But stardock has been putting everything through beta of late, and there is no way they arn't going to give the custom-content a stress test as well.  (Like luckmann says)

Have there been an announcement about actual tools at all? It's possible that it just slipped by me - partly because I don't really keep up with the actual articles (spending most my time on these actual forums) and partly because I don't care overly much.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but even GalCiv2 didn't get actual tools until Twilight of the Arnor - and even so, I felt that I had a lot more control just editing the xml. And I'm not even that much of a modder (or even a good one, at that).

That's basically why I doubted the idea that standalone editing tools would be prominent in the beta for Elemental. And I'm like you, not involved with modding since the base GC2 series has been plenty fun for me with the internal customization options.

there hase been this

https://forums.elementalgame.com/331361

also called 'unlimited expansion by us and the players'

it isn't anything particulary specific, but it does imply that this is much more than selecting clip together blocks seen in GalCiv.   Obviously this requires custom models, custom techs, and similar features.  They talk about how its like a game mod, but 'one step further' in company support.   if they are considering this part of the game's ambition, I would say they are telling us that it WILL be part of the main game, i.e. will be available before release.

Yeah I'd be surprised if they decide to implement such a complex feature without getting any actual player input beforehand. If they plan for the 'unlimited expansion' feature to be ready by the official release date, I think we'll have access to at least a preliminary version of the tools they plan to use.

The tools are part of the game. So they'll be in the betas.

Just in case, make sure that the beta doesn't mind my Windows XP being non-english, please. It's not my fault if Configuración Local (Local Settings in english, i think) has a "weird" character in it. (still wanting to try Demigod because of this... and no, no regedit for me.)

Good point Wintersong.  UTF-8 character support would, in addition to helping our friends outside of N. America, allow for nice "fantasy-like" names, full of accents, umlauts, and other fun.