GameSpot’s GDC Preview of Elemental

from Elemental Forums

It seems everyone is still trying to catch up from all the news from this years GDC, and GameSpot has posted an interview with Brad Wardell with the topic being Elemental: War of Magic. 

“To begin with, Wardell reiterated his commitment to getting the game into a testable, playable state earlier than usual. Stardock plans to run a "beta zero" phase, where a working prototype of the game, using extremely simple art assets, will be made available to a small group of beta testers to thoroughly test gameplay--pretty art assets, such as the oil-portrait-like textured characters you've seen in screenshots, will be added later during subsequent phases of beta, which will test the game many, many times to ensure that it ends up being a highly polished, well-balanced, and enjoyable finished product.”

Read the full preview at GameSpot.

30,159 views 17 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, that's the way to go! Sounds good!

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Some people that commented on the article are a bit ruffled about having only 2 races. Nobody seems to know there are 12 factions.

 

Maybe it should be mentioned more often.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Heh, 2 races are better than 3.  Look at Total Annhiliation over Supreme Commander.  TA only had 2, so they could put in whatever exciting awesome units they wanted, without worrying too much about balance.  I'm not worried.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

The posters also missed reading about being able to build your own races and uploadiing them for all. This will allow one to build campaigns with the different races as well. Glad they are focusing on 2 races and making them perfecto. I am really liking the screens and layout.

Great interview. glad to see lots of exposure for this game! |-)     (ALSO GalCiv III - Awesome! )

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm very interested to learn a bit more about this...

...and also since the game's lore is apparently so extensive that Wardell himself is chronicling it all in a book he's writing concurrently with his game development duties.

Is this book something that will be available (as part of the manual?) to the players? I'm a big fantasy fan, and I'd like to learn more about the world we'll be playing in, and how it evolved from the earliest ideas to it's final form.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Scorpiana, reply 5
I'm very interested to learn a bit more about this...


...and also since the game's lore is apparently so extensive that Wardell himself is chronicling it all in a book he's writing concurrently with his game development duties.
Is this book something that will be available (as part of the manual?) to the players? I'm a big fantasy fan, and I'd like to learn more about the world we'll be playing in, and how it evolved from the earliest ideas to it's final form.

Sounds like a good item for the collector's edition of Elemental.  I enjoyed the backstory Frogboy posted for GCII and I am looking forward to what he comes up with for Elemental.  Heck, it would be awesome if he published it as a novel or guide book(Now I can't get the idea of a nice big D&D hardcover style book complete with high quality art out of my mind for Elemental).

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Wow, this looks hot. I just can't wait to see how much time I'll end up wasting playing this.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

man, everytime I listen to that demo I'm shockd by Brad's voice.  It just seems so different from other times when I heard him talk like on the demigod interview on X-play.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Solam, reply 2
Some people that commented on the article are a bit ruffled about having only 2 races. Nobody seems to know there are 12 factions.

 

Maybe it should be mentioned more often.

 

This.  Can't stress this enough, I'd suggest completely dropping discussion of two races and just focus on the fact that there are twelve factions.  I've heard numerous people say "Oh, yea I heard about that game but there's only 2 races...".

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Excellent points made above about the "two races" vs. "twelve factions" issue. I'm interested in the game and even I had the same reaction, so imagine what people who are just coming to it for the first time are thinking. Variety is the spice of life and all.

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

And after  6+ months  Gamespot still has Elemental:WoM  listed as a  Real-Time Strategy   game.  

o_O  

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, won't you be playing the game in real time? And is it not a strategy game? There, real-time strategy.;)

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Wintersong, reply 12
Well, won't you be playing the game in real time? And is it not a strategy game? There, real-time strategy.;)
Genius!

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Wintersong, reply 12
Well, won't you be playing the game in real time? And is it not a strategy game? There, real-time strategy.

No, the course of real-time is stopped when playing your turn during this game.  Thus...  Turn Based Strategy.   Even in the most recent developer journal  it reads as  " Elemental is a fantasy strategy game (turn-based) developed ... ... ".

 

:grin:  

Reply #15 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting NTJedi, reply 14

No, the course of real-time is stopped when playing your turn during this game.  Thus...  Turn Based Strategy.   Even in the most recent developer journal  it reads as  " Elemental is a fantasy strategy game (turn-based) developed ... ... ".

 

 
I can swear that Earth's time won't stop while I play my turn in this game.:O

 

XD  ;P

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Wintersong, reply 15




I can swear that Earth's time won't stop while I play my turn in this game.


Yes, Earth's time will stop while playing this game.   It's one of the intended features so there's no need to take vacation time off from work.   According to the chat channel it will be beta tested during December.    Thus... turn based.

Reply #17 from Elemental Forums Top

I hope its simultaneous turn or the game will take years to play with 4 or more players.