LucidCon LucidCon

PCGamer warning

▼

PCGamer warning

from Elemental Forums

I think this article at PCGamer is a little slanderous and overtly malicious. Gratefully the problems he complains about I don't even experience myself. And I have usually been a skeptic here. Articles like this one are only designed to hurt and not help. The article is disguised to help buyers by steering people away through blown out of proportion accusations and statements. I believe the game needs work but not on par with the writers complaints. I don't believe its a disastrous launch. That statement is overblown and an outright a lie in my opinion. I am not a fanboy but I know a good game with potential when I play it. It just saddens me that there are players out there with chips on their shoulders or vendettas.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/08/25/elementals-disastrous-launch-stay-well-away/

 

elemental
1,247,599 views 333 replies
Reply #301 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting KingHobbit, reply 301
Their response was, "that is not possible".  To this day it has never been fixed.  To this day, I have never bought another one of their games.  How idiotic to tell me it was impossible.  They even said they would even send me some autographed thing if I could show them.  Still waiting for that thing as well.

I'm actually really interested about what studio this was (so I can avoid them). PM me ?

Reply #302 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting KingHobbit, reply 301

Bugs are a big part of initial impressions, but being unfinished is about far more then just being buggy. It's about haing poor AI, poor balance and having gameplay features that were clearly not well thought out or playtested and which do not work well with the game as a whole.
Well then I guess Blizzard is glad that I can overlook initial bugs, because I was part of the group that the computer froze almost every 15 minutes of play.  For me the game was practically unplayable.  But, I sent my note to Blizzard and low and behold it got fixed.  There is another company, shall remain nameless, I bought a game, actually sent them 5 screen pics of a bug happening write in front of me.  You could reproduce the event almost at will.  Their response was, "that is not possible".  To this day it has never been fixed.  To this day, I have never bought another one of their games.  How idiotic to tell me it was impossible.  They even said they would even send me some autographed thing if I could show them.  Still waiting for that thing as well.

 

Clearly you were using haxx!! *_*

Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #303 from Elemental Forums Top

Clearly you were using haxx!!

Not even sure what that is

Reply #304 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting KingHobbit, reply 301

Bugs are a big part of initial impressions, but being unfinished is about far more then just being buggy. It's about haing poor AI, poor balance and having gameplay features that were clearly not well thought out or playtested and which do not work well with the game as a whole.


Well then I guess Blizzard is glad that I can overlook initial bugs, because I was part of the group that the computer froze almost every 15 minutes of play.  For me the game was practically unplayable.  But, I sent my note to Blizzard and low and behold it got fixed. 

Yeah that's the type of problem that's usually easy to fix if the company devotes the time to doing so (and I'm sure you weren't the only one reporting it). Now on the other hand, if the AI opponents sat around doing nothing, the units were poorly designed, and half the features didn't work the way the designers intended, then that would be a problem that would take months or more to fix, and which really would warrant the label of "unfinished".

Reply #305 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting bman654, reply 299
Will every negative review be labeled a rant at Stardock?

No.  But that French "review" was certainly a rant.

Reply #306 from Elemental Forums Top

I see that quite a few people are very frustrated with this release and their feelings are more than justified.

I see there is also a counter-balance of fanboys taking to these issues by trying to curb the problems with faith.

I see politics seeping into the mix with the reviews & less than stellar responses from normally reputable sources.

I see starting endless games over & over again as a plethora of minor/major patches will be released consecutively.

I see a formidable percentage of people waiting for Civ 5 to be released to escape the problems with Elemental currently.

I see nothing written or otherwise that relieves my disappointment and disgust over a release that I thought would compete.

I see that when Diablo ]|[ is finally released, none of this will matter anyway cause we'll all be over at Battle.net for at least one year.

Reply #307 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Saryk, reply 286
This article is nothing more than vitriol because of the gamer bill of rights. Most Journalist/Critics are nothing more than vultures trying to get a feast. The more hits they get, then more attention and money they generate. The game was playing horrible when it released, but last nights patch cleared my lagginess right up. Most companies would not have had patches out there that quick, if at all. In the beginning of the early gaming years news was pleasant, now it mostly a whinnying fest.

LOL, yeah a whinnying fest. I dont know about you, but Im tired of paying for garbage out the door. I wont do it anymore, call it whinning or whatever. But they will gladly take your money - keep moving.

 

Reply #308 from Elemental Forums Top

im thinking of buying this game so should i

Reply #309 from Elemental Forums Top

Oh please, its been a very rough launch for the game.......even by Stardock's standards. But they also get patches out quicker than any other company I can think of. So soon enough this will all be in the past.

Nuff' said.

Reply #310 from Elemental Forums Top

Just remember this: no one would care enough to rant about the technical issues if the core game was crap.

Reply #311 from Elemental Forums Top

Firstly, yes, this article was pretty exaggerated. That said, as far as releases go, Elemental's was fairly far on the buggier side, no doubt about it. However, it wasn't nearly as bad as this article was making it out to be, and patches have been rolling out pretty quickly.

On the other hand, the article also didn't touch upon the game's extremely underdeveloped gameplay. They are right that this game really needed a couple more months of beta testing, as it is still in a rough state when both the technical and gameplay factors are considered.

Quoting Frogboy, reply 52
My biggest problem with the article is the quote he took out of context.

Qt3 isn't just some random site. It's my home away from home. And Ben Sones isn't some random forum poster, he's a friend of mine (FB friend and all) and when he called v1.0 an "early beta" I admit, it ticked me off and I snapped back. I shouldn't have said it and I regret saying it, but for PC Gamer to take that comment without any context and put it out there is completely wrong imo.

Think how many posts I write in this forum - just THIS forum. Now, imagine if someone decided to data mine every comment I have made. I am sure you could find something terrible in there.

There was a link to the thread in which this post was taken from, and it still looks just as bad in that context. There is absolutely no context in which that statement would look good.

Reply #313 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting VR_IronMana, reply 14
So if the game is this screwed up - why didn't I have ANY of these problems mentioned in the review?

How can a game crash "every 10 minutes" for one person but then play for 3 hours and 100 turns without crashing for me?

Tactical battles work just 1 time in 5? Not for me - I've yet to fail loading/playing out a tactical battle.

I don't think I'm super lucky or anything so what's going on? And, yes, this was the "release" version before any patches.

Yeah I'm having a fantastic time :). I suspect its just some folks with hokey PC setups pointing the flaming finger at the developers first thing.

One game in the entire world runs super well on almost all PC types, you'd think that given that only one game does that folks wouldn't expect every game to.

But what can you do?

Reply #314 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting TheUltimateEnd, reply 314


Yeah I'm having a fantastic time . I suspect its just some folks with hokey PC setups pointing the flaming finger at the developers first thing.

One game in the entire world runs super well on almost all PC types, you'd think that given that only one game does that folks wouldn't expect every game to.

But what can you do?

 

Please, there is crash issues all around, i like the game but seriously. My PC doesnt crash, pretty much ever. I play red faction: guerilla, heroes of newerth, Prototype, GTA4, mass effect with no crashes and smooth framerates. This is an issue that has been reported across the board.

Reply #315 from Elemental Forums Top

If you're still crashing with v1.06, please contact [email protected] so that we can help you track down why and fix it. 

Anyone who's bought the game directly from Stardock and decides they don't want it can contact either [email protected] or [email protected] and request a refund (obviously, we'll deactivate your copy as part of the process).

Reply #316 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Yarlen, reply 316
If you're still crashing with v1.06, please contact [email protected] so that we can help you track down why and fix it. 

Anyone who's bought the game directly from Stardock and decides they don't want it can contact either [email protected] or [email protected] and request a refund (obviously, we'll deactivate your copy as part of the process).

Can't argue with that commitment.  I'll say it again, not worried about my first purchase with Stardock.

Reply #318 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting lswallie, reply 313
Gamespot basically says the same thing as PCgamer but in a much more professional level-headed manner

 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6274610.html

 

The PC Gamer guy sounded like he took it personally.

Reply #319 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Qyth, reply 319

Quoting lswallie, reply 313Gamespot basically says the same thing as PCgamer but in a much more professional level-headed manner

 

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6274610.html


 

The PC Gamer guy sounded like he took it personally.

Yeah - the gamespot article is a lot more level headed while it still conveys the problems.  I'm really impressed that at least these companies aren't completely burying the game with negative reviews and are willing to hold off a bit. 

 

Reply #320 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Rune_74, reply 226



Quoting Birdmon,
reply 224
I am sick and tired of spending my hard earned money on UNFINSHED games. I will NOT buy this game. We keep accepting unfinshed product as "ok"  - because they all do it. Well it stops now for me. Good Luck fools



 

Thanks for sharing now get lost...if you don't have the game, don't plan on buying the game, you got nothing.

Oh, Yes I do. I have $50 extra...hahahahah.

Enjoy!

Reply #321 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Birdmon, reply 321



Quoting Rune_74,
reply 226



Quoting Birdmon,
reply 224
I am sick and tired of spending my hard earned money on UNFINSHED games. I will NOT buy this game. We keep accepting unfinshed product as "ok"  - because they all do it. Well it stops now for me. Good Luck fools



 

Thanks for sharing now get lost...if you don't have the game, don't plan on buying the game, you got nothing.



Oh, Yes I do. I have $50 extra...hahahahah.

Enjoy!

And fully developed trolling capabilities.

Reply #322 from Elemental Forums Top

What is the point in bumping topics like this? trollz..:\

Reply #323 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Jharii, reply 322



Quoting Birdmon,
reply 321



Quoting Rune_74,
reply 226



Quoting Birdmon,
reply 224
I am sick and tired of spending my hard earned money on UNFINSHED games. I will NOT buy this game. We keep accepting unfinshed product as "ok"  - because they all do it. Well it stops now for me. Good Luck fools



 

Thanks for sharing now get lost...if you don't have the game, don't plan on buying the game, you got nothing.



Oh, Yes I do. I have $50 extra...hahahahah.

Enjoy!



And fully developed trolling capabilities.

Hey, I resemble that remark! In all seriousness, I really did want this game to "be the one". The review is spot on, sorry.

Reply #324 from Elemental Forums Top

Hey, I resemble that remark! In all seriousness, I really did want this game to "be the one". The review is spot on, sorry.

It's just an opinion.  Yours, theirs.  Others have their own.  Many disagree with you.

Reply #325 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Jharii, reply 325

Hey, I resemble that remark! In all seriousness, I really did want this game to "be the one". The review is spot on, sorry.
It's just an opinion.  Yours, theirs.  Others have their own.  Many disagree with you.

 

Not that many though, if the poll question is to be taken seriously.

 

Barely more than half the respondents appear satisfied with the game, that's a bad sign.  But like the other guy said, I also still have my $50, and none of the aggravation associated with playing what is clearly an unfinished game (from my pov).

 

If you like the game then good on you, my guess is you are much closer to the minority than you wish to believe.