Why the disappointment is warranted

I think the anger and dissapointment of a lot of people is pretty warranted.  Perhaps many of you were not around when Elemental was first announced, but the complete failure to deliver what was promised is pretty staggering.

Go back to just about any press release in November, 2008, and you'll see what I mean.  This one comes from IGN:

And while things such as the map look like they were hand drawn, the cool thing is that the maps are randomly generated or user-created. Not only that, but most of the content in the game like units and buildings can be modified or replaced by users. The random map generator ensures that no two games are exactly the same, but users can type in their own names for major geographical features, such as forests, to make the map look like something straight out of Tolkien. Then there's the mod-friendly nature of the game. Those who played Galactic Civilizations II know that Stardock let users put in their own starship designs. The same idea is at play here, but in taking a page from games like Spore, all user-made content can be uploaded and shared with the community. It seems obvious then that fans will make original content, as well as mods based on their favorite fantasy universes. 

This one comes from Gamespy:

The best thing that strategy gamers have to look forward to is how fifteen years and the advent of the Internet have changed what's possible in a turn-based strategy game likeElemental. The game will come complete with several different multiplayer modes, including classic skirmish and a persistent universe mode that will allow players to develop long-term open campaigns.Elemental will also mark Stardock's entry into the realm of Spore-style game broadcasting. The game will do much more than offer support for modders, as the company is developing a back-end infrastructure through its proprietary Impulse service that will let players seamlessly integrate new races, units, spells, technologies, buildings and much more into their game. Every time a player starts a game of Elemental, they'll have the opportunity to seamlessly incorporate new content straight from the fertile minds of the game's biggest fans.

So, let's add up the sheer number of broken promises - things they touted from the beginning, that never made it into the game:

1. Spore-style modding network where fan-made objects would incorporate seamlessly into your game.
2. Persistent, multiplayer network campaigns.
3. State-of-the-art random map generation.
4. Giant thousand+ army tactical battles, where dragons would be able to take out hundreds of units at a time.
5. Unheard of "Mega" maps that would only run on 64-bit machines.
6. Custom nation creation
7. Large amount of magic in a game with "magic" in it's title.

These features weren't just side notes, either.  They were talked up as main selling points for the game, and a lot of people were living off these expectations.  People act as if they have amnesia and don't remember any of this, or that we should just give Stardock a pass.

To top this all off, a lot of us were expecting the game to have an unprecedented level of polish because of the serious way they were handling Beta, allowing actual players to download and test each piece along the way.  With such attention to detail, I think a lot of us assumed we'd have a pretty decent interface and very few bugs.  

If the answer is, "Stardock will fix these things down the road".  I'm sorry, but that was what Beta was supposed to be for.  When a game is released for retail, it's more than fair to criticize misleading statements.  It's not unreasonable to feel like the game was shipped intentionally early to avoid Civ 5's release date.

When we have gotten a near-opposite result, is it a surprise that there is a little outrage?  Can people honestly say that this is any better, or does anything new over Civ 4's Fall From Heaven mod?  I certainly don't see it, at least with Fall From Heaven, I get a decent random map generator and a decent user interface.

Don't take what I'm saying to indicate that I'm a troll, or simply flaming hate.  I want this game to succeed, I've been watching it very closely since day one.  I'm just asking for people to see this in a reasonable way.  I had hoped that we had learned a lesson from Spore, about touting ground-breaking features and then not delivering it.  I just hope Elemental can still give us at least half of they promised, if not at release, then at some future point in time.