gamestop  isn't taking pre-orders yet.  Doing it through impulse should* be the only way to pre-order at this point.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.

September 22nd isn't that far, and it'll probably be out before then. While I realize this is going to be "work", it's going to be work that I love. I have to second some questions though:

1.) If you preordered early and didn't receive verification, do we need to preorder again?

2.) Will it just show up on Impulse or do we have to do something special (like send in a verification code, see above)?

3.) How long will the the "window" be to download the beta? A day? Two? A week? An hour? (lol, hope not)

Also, thank you for allowing us to have this remarkable opportunity. I'm sure people who have been waiting for months, even years, will appreciate it. I know I do.

1.) No.

2.) No idea

3.)Once it's there should be there till full game, as well as beta updates of course.

Where I come from, Summer ends. September 1st. So GIEF EPIC BETAZ!

...to me it's Labor Day..which is..er..today.  Beta plz?

AFAIK you will get a mail at the address you entered when preordering, with a code to enter in Impulse. Since I didn't get to enter any Impulse ID when preordering I don't think it will magically show up there

Also, Metereological Summer has already ended...

Woot? the summer all ready ended! where is my beta key????

Warder

I just figured I should use my impulse email.

"2.) Will it just show up on Impulse or do we have to do something special (like send in a verification code, see above)?"

I beleive once the beta has been released, so long as you preordered, it should just appear. Along with a email reciept that you have been charged for said game. At least that how it worked for GC2:ToA beta.

Like many here already I am still waiting to pre-order with PayPal, If there is no PayPal window for the beta then looks like I am waiting for the final release to buy it.  Real bummer if that's the case.

are you sure? Mine was charged in the same moment I made the preorder...

Yep, I did as well. But it didn't indicate as such, so I'm not 100% sure.

First day of fall is September 22, so it'll be available on or before the 21st

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Autumnal_equinox_2009

Also, we're planning on sending emails out to notify those who pre-order when the beta's officially available (as well as massive announcements here on the forums).

Apparently, not so easy a question to answer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn

But I'll take the word of a Stardocker as good value.

My biggest problem with Civ4 is the primitive "combat system", if we can call that a system at all.

Civ 4 combat system seems (at least to me) to be just as good as that found within all previous Civ games and all the Galciv games. Sure its not as interactive as say E:TW, but it works. It was certainly more advanced then measuring the two strengths of the army and killing the weakest.

I love Civ 4 BTS it is very good and runs very nicely even on my ageing laptop. But to be fair I probably wouldn't have bougth the expansion if it wasn't for the unbeleivably good Fall From Heaven 2 mod. With that mod installed the game is the best I've played in years.

Correct, preordering at a store will NOT get you beta access. You must preorder direct from us for that.

Even this isn't true. The combat rolls are absolutely random. So if theres a unit with 6/6 stats, and 1 unit with 9/9 stats, it happens fairly often that the unit which has 6/6 stats will destroy the stronger unit. It's a primitive system, period. Elemental should use a much more advanced system. I fear that it won't...so far we know that the units in Elemental will have att/def stats. Am I correct? So basically this looks like the Civ4 combat system sort of...with some additional stuff like fire/ice etc. dmg. I don't know...I wanted to see a much better system in this game. Blunt/piercing etc. dmg types + resistances of course. This isn't a big problem, if we can mod in new damage types, but I highly doubt it that we can. This looks like hardcoded to me.

Btw, to those who didn't preorder through impulse like myself, but just didn't it online through the link on the preorder page. The support people told me that once the beta is released that we will recieve a SN through the email address we supplied (the one you recieved your invoice through) and have to input it through impulse.  If you open impulse, go to my games, and click register product you will notice that there is an entry for Elemental: War of Magic.

Yeah do it online. And thanks to Demigod Stardock and Gamestop don't have the best relationship. I refuse to go to gamestop anymore for a number of reasons

My experience as well - I liked the Rhye's and Fall of Civilizations mod, but most of all enjoyed the Final Frontier mod.

The combat system of Civ made very little sense, I agree, but most of all I missed the unit customization. I really liked building my own units in Alpha Centauri - well armored but poorly armed garrison units, extremely expensive shock rovers, eventually getting clean reactors...

My main problems with Civ4 were 1) its "this is how history goes" approach to storytelling - "Pity, you want to make a civilization that respects both science AND religion? ha! The Scientific Revolution always invalidates the science bonus of religious buildings! Because that's what the Scientific Revolution did, get it? hahahah." And 2), I don't know if other people had this problem, but the game took longer and longer to make a turn the farther it went on, and all my units started to move slower and slower and slower, regardless of how far I turned down the graphics. It was obnoxious.

By all accounts, Elemental is the game for me, and I put my money where my heart is. I guess I'll get to see first hand what an EPIC beta is like.

Besides the obvious fact that you stated one shouldn't forget that Stardock profits much more from a direct download copy than from retail. (I'm aware though that retail is important as well to get shelf presence)

Not that far away now WOOT!

But the main point still stands that they can't possibly give you a beta if they don't have the details of your preorder, or an account to tie it to

I think the civ issue is being blown out of proportion.

I look forward to the beta, gives me more QA testing thingamajig.