Media Tour, Day 1

oh... good, never liked the defense system

Good to hear.  Remember to let us know of any websites that need...perspective balancing concerning FE.

I'm happy to hear that things went well. I wish you all the best, of course. Especially with all the hard work (and money) being sunk into FE.

I guess we will get the details when the articles come out, eh?

I'll post links to any stories that go up.

Why does it take so long for these features to pass into the public beta, if they're already available for press demos?

Isn't the whole point of the beta test to test out mechanics and see how players can break them? 

I suspect that it might have something to do with the fact that in a demo Brad has control over what he shows, whether it's been thoroughly tested internally or not.  That is, he might be showing features that QA knows will work, but only under controlled conditions, and not ready for beta testers.

Also, reporters who demo alpha versions rarely report on bugs because it would be pointless. The actual players are much less forgiving.

Lets not forget that this is not a 'normal' Beta we are having here. Normal Betas are about bug testing and balance primarily, where as this is far more about quality. Therefore Stardock need to make sure that each incarnation is a step forward, it cannot risk the backlash should the next Beta be worse than the one before. The moment the fanbase lose confidence in this game it will quickly spiral out of control.

Therefore we will only receive Betas when they are at a level that shows the game is improving. Each build will be tested vigourously to make sure this is the case. We will never get a beta that is unplayable, which is unique in Beta testing.

But the question remains. When do we get out next version

Or at least some more info, please? Love to see the release notes for the next Beta, a schedule when it's coming out, some new features, anything from Derek, etc.

I for one am glad there is no new beta this week. I am having too much fun with this version. The next beta means I'll have to redo pretty much my whole mod to fit these mysterious new game mechanics. I want to keep a copy of .86 for posterity. 

seanw3, would it be possible to see a list of all the mods you have coming for certain (and maybe a short description of what they will intell). 

Sure! You can go to the FE Modding section for a better description, but the basics are:

1. Summons Mod: This is mostly Heavenfall's mod, but I will be helping do the gritty xml stuff. He is making some beautiful creatures for this and Expanded Factions Mod. This mod will add around 100 summons to the game. It will be the most important mod and is scheduled to come out soon after FE's release.

2. Ivory Towers Mod: This is mostly my mod, but Heavenfall has been helping with the specifics and more may join me if they wish. This mod is all about adding a new strategy choice to the game. It will be something the AI can fully use. It will be mostly building additions and new summons and trained monsters. There will also be a unique story to go with it, done through quests and random events.

3. Quest Adventures: Circle of the Black Thorn. This will be a series of storyarchs added to the quest system. I have been working on this one since WoM, it just needs that new quest editor and some reworking to fit FE.

4. Quest Adventures: Return of Slayer. This is another series of storyarchs to be added to the stock quests. Also just needs some reworking to fit FE.

5. Quest Adventures: Tales of Orpheus. This one is partially done. It is a collection of smaller stories that resemble a choose your own adventure style.

6. Path Progression Mod. I am sure there will need to be some additions to Paths some time after release. This will be open to the community to help.

7. Books of Bedeviled Bewilderment. This is a collection of spellbooks and artifacts I wouldn't mind adding at some point to the random loot and quests. They use riddles to tell you what the spell does. Some have unexpected effects. There too little whimsy in the magic system.

Anything else I do will have to be planned for after the expansion. This is my current priority list. I have about 300 quests in total to add after I finish Ivory Towers and Summons Mod. Then I do some new Paths and spellbooks. After that it will mostly depend on how the game turns out and whether or not there are improvements needed to the vanilla. 

Link #1 

http://www.rtsguru.com/article/2538/Elemental-Fallen-Enchantress-and-Sins-Rebellion-Set-to-Please-Stardock-Fans.html

will there be a MEGA mod that includes all the major mods for the game (or will they be compatible with one another, they have something like this for Wesnoth), and will (please) it be as easy as press this download button here, for as interested as I am in modding I have no, I repeat no ability to even add the simplest mod but would love to have as many as possible and these sound good.  I can't wait to get all the summons to be added to the independent camps/spawns, still wouldn't give me the 'minor factions' I want but would add a considerable amount of variety

All mods I have listed will work well with each other. You can just put them in the mod folder and they will work together or apart.

From the article linked in #19, it seems there are new features in the coming betas:

- (a lot) of new spells, Tidal Wave, dispel magic, on city

- Weapons will have more abilities as already mentioned by Brad in other posts, swords = counterattack, axes = backswing, spears = cancel out other weapons abilities

- Seems that pikes are good against horses, or it is indicated that specific weapons might be good against specific units,  From the article: "Alternatively, if your adversaries are made up of cavalry, you can equip your units with pikes to defend against their charge. "

- It is also suggested/indicated in the second last paragraph that the tech trees and research system might be different for each race

And yes, it could be interesting to see how a RPG would be in the world of Elemental