Attention to detail is required, but there's a lot of new stuff.  As an example, combat mechanics are on par with Master of Magic now.  The straight addition of stats used originally was an utterly homo, vastly inferior design.  The changes are simple, and less than obvious in most cases, but very important.

Excuse my not knowing.... but what have they done to combat system ?

I mean I read the patch notes and it don't seem like they are that big of changes... I'm just Probably missing something in my old age....LOL

Beakie

So, I don't know why there is a question mark in the title if that is how you feel.  Sure, a lot of the emotional charge around release seems to have dissipated, but I wouldn't have called that enthusiasm, except maybe for trolls.

The reality is, the game is getting better with each release--I'm a few hundred turns in to a medium size map with all factions, and no crashes I can remember--and so it is already a playable and fun game.  Not that most of us don't think it could be a lot better.  If Civilization floats your boat, then great, maybe check out 1.1 (or 1.2 or whatever) when the enthusiasm for Civilization V starts to wane, and it's all good.

I am actually like you and after all the release bugs stopped playing waiting for 1.1.

I have actually been playing 1.09 in anticipation of 1.1 and wanted a baseline to measure it against and I have to say that Stardock have been making a good effort at making it playable. The combat is far less annoying with the speed changes, balance seems better and things just seem to be working better. The only important thing they need to do with battles is enable players to prevent mana use in auto resolve battles. Although the global pool might fix that. Still getting crashes though; 2 by turn 200 (macbook with nvidia graphiscs card).

So you feel apathy towards Elemental but not to the degree that makes you too apathetic to want to share it with us. Not sure what the real point of your post is. You don't feel like playing elemental so you go do something else.

This kind of reminds me of people on twitter who post things like; "Sleepy, had a sandwich, scratheched head". Always wonder why they want to share.

I'm also in the category of not playing now until 1.1 is released.

My greatest concern is that 1.1 will be another band-aid solution instead of a real balanced update to what should be a great game. It seems that many of the updates have been put out due to time pressure rather than quality control and I hope that Stardock takes the time needed to get this right. I would much prefer to wait another few months to get a balanced, playable game rather than receive an over-promised/under-delivered update put out because of a deadline.

Stardock, please please take the time you need to ensure 1.1 is worthy of your brand.

1.1 is the next big chance to make an impact and correct much of the negativity from the launch. Need to get this one right so don't rush into it!

I'm kind of curious about the expectations for 1.1, it's almost as if people are expecting to see a new game.

I am expecting the same game with some better AI, balance changes, and a few new features.

If that will make you like the game more, great, but if the game is boring for some folks now I don't see how 1.1 will radically change that.

The balance and content may still need work after 1.1, but the mechanic changes they have mentioned so far will be more conductive to a fun and balanced game than what is in place now.

1.1 is the point where they will introduce the new and shiny magic into the game. At this point, the Magic system (or really lack thereof) is the largest gripe identified by the Devs. They had a poll, and the magic system came out on top, with combat as a near second. There are also some research, UI, and AI alterations planned if I'm not mistaken.

I'm in the "not till 1.1" camp as well, to be honest. At this point, Elemental is stable and solid, but really doesn't in any way resemble the game that we were told to be excited about in the last couple years of press and public appearances. I am very hopeful seeing the changes just over the past month, but I find myself a lot more disappointed about what isn't implemented than I am excited about what is. Because I don't want to write Elemental off before it has a chance to be polished, I am choosing to let it sit until 1.1 (or 1.1B if thats what it takes).

I pay attention to the forums and post on things that matter to me to stay informed and to try to be a part of turning Elemental into the game that I was sold.

I played for a while.  I stopped.

Took me a while to figure out how much I needed caravans running, heh.  Once they started to fix the AI I couldn't compete, so there ya go.

I dunno, I'd like more content but I had fun.

Quoted from the Dev-Journals section of the forum, from its 1.09-change-log thread.

Good question.

I'm hoping for a game that has the following:

1. Tactical battles that make use of the sharp, blunt, ranged magic delineation. So different armour and items has different results and can allow players to kit out armies to fight specific enemies.
2. Tactical battles where one strategy (kiting) isn't the only way to play.
3. Tactical battles where improvements to armour and tech don't race away and topple the balance.
4. Tactical battles where different armour types are appropriate to the user. No more plate armoured bowmen as an example.
5. Better Tactical battle UI (as per this).
6. Tactical battles where the terrain bonuses are recognisable.
7. Tactical battles where different terrain types impact the game in different ways. Eg. Cavalry that take an attack hit if fighting in forests etc.
8. Tactical battle magic system where each spell is different and useful.
9. No more ability to build massive unstoppable summoned armies of giants etc.
10. Meaningful differences between the races and also between the alignments. Different spells, techs, units, buildings, play-style etc.
11. Balance in the game world so that small empires can compete with larger empires.
12. Restriction on magic books at start-up so that each sovereign has different choices rather than choosing all books.
13. Making shards more strategic and powerful for the user.
14. More meaningful information back through the UI within the main map (caravans, terrain etc).
15. Better modding information and API to allow the modders to do the above if Stardock wont.
    
    and...
16. Making all the above work in a balanced way. If these sort of changes are made but not thoroughly tested then we are still in the beta phase which is no longer good enough - sorry.

Elemental should have had the above at launch. If 1.1 is released where it is just a smoke screen to cover the underlying problems then I'll probably put the game away until Elemental 2 is released.

<EDIT>--------------------

Note I didn't mention Dynasties, Campaigns or heaps of different Spells. These are smoke screens that get in the way of the required core changes the game needs first.

I agree with everything you said except this which I think should read:

No more ability to build massive unstoppable summoned armies in the beginning of the game.  Summoned armies should require a significant investment in magical research equal to the investment required for armies of troops of roughly equivalent strength.  This would allow for multiple paths to victory based on preference and resources available in a particular game.

Summons will require mana upkeep, therefore if you have too many you will get no additional mana or actually lose mana over time. Shard will be the main source of mana, making them critical if you want to go the magic route.

I may be the only guy that follows the development but haven't actually gotten the game yet

I'll also wait and see what v.1.1 brings.

I actually can't remember if I've ever played a retail game that had stability problems and I wasn't thinking of starting now. Maybe I'll wait until v.1.2 or v.1.3 to get the game.

That is my situation, too. I wait until 1.1 or 1.2 and hope the game will be polished and fun.

ahh me too. Ive been playing AOW SM. BIG MISTAKE. Now i got no reason to go back to Elemental.

AOW has it all

I'm exactly the same. I fire her up now and then, lay for 10, 20 turns, then decide I can't be bothered trying to work out the odd interface. Figure I'll wait til there is more feedback in the UI. So I've been messing around with the Dom3 demo (after reading about it here) and FfH2.

Looking forward to 1.1 though

I agree--nice apology but that comment did illicit a chuckle--harsh though it was.

I completed like two games in 1.07 and postponed it until it's 1.1.

Yeah, a lot of enthusiasm died in me.

Even more of it died after I discovered  Age of Wonders.

Separation of attack/damage? Check. Elemental damage/resistance? Check. Dungeons and lairs? Check. Resonable heroes stats and skills? Check.

All those things nicely implemented 10+ years ago! I was very very angry at Stardock for its gameplay mechanic decisions after I saw what a Master of Magic 2 wanna-be could be.

Well, in fact ver 1.01 to 1.09 was only made to stabilize the game not to make all the tweak/balance. For the 1.1, I suppose that there will be some unbalance feature because it will introduce some new mechanics. But again, what is unbalance in term of gameplay? I can understand that some weapon costing the same but doing different attack bonus is "unbalance" and having only a way to conquer may be unbalance, but do you have any suggestion? I'm not a pro or "hardcore" strategy gamer even if I play over 20h/week. I enjoy the game so far (only my third game but going for 800+ in my current) and still learning the basic but love the game .

Oh well....can't wait to know more about this!

It does really. And with the 1.4 Community patch even the AI is better.  The game is just awsome.

I don't think the enthusiasm hasn't even started, yet.  So far, modders only have the most superficial access to the game so there's only a few things that can be tried.
A couple new models and tiles, a few new buildings that all have to use the same resource system. No new spells or altered magic systems.  Many connections just cannot be made, yet, such as having a building that permanently increases the quality of the troops that are built there. Such functionality simply doesn't exist in the current system.

So like... wait. =P

Dynasties are very important. Their proper development and application can turn this game into something huge. That is one of my favorite parts of this game.  We need succession and the like.

Campaigns, not so much... imho.

Spells are beyond crucial in a game that features lots and lots of magic.

Though I agree that combat needs lots of love and attention.

I also want way more variety in resources, but I've mentioned that many times.

Oh look, I have rediscovered the fun!!!!