No beta this week. Between my trip to San Francisco last week to meet with the media and Memorial Day, the AI isn’t far enough along to be included for a public beta. But if it makes you feel better, we’re playing it a lot internally.
There’s been a ton of questions on the forums so let me go through them here:
Q: What is the release date?
A: August 24th is our official release date.
Q: Is that release date subject to change?
A: Yes. If we’re not happy with the game for some reason.
Q: I think Elemental should have <insert cool wizbang feature>, will you delay the game to put that in?
A: No.
Q: But I thought you said you wouldn’t release the game until it was what you wanted?
A: Yes. But we’re not going to delay the game to put in new features. We’re open to doing lots of things after release.
Q: I’ve heard there are no flying units in the game.
A: There are flying units in the game. However, there aren’t flying armies in the game (i.e. there are creatures and animals that fly, but we do not plan to have flying mounted units in – at least at release. We can discuss with players – after they have the game – what practical means they could envision flying around.
Q: I saw <screen shot X> and I didn’t like <insert aspect of screenshot>
A: Most screenshots floating around are, unfortunately, very old.
Here is a current screenshot:
Note the dynamic fog of war in the east. This is generated using an advanced multi-core algorithm.
Q: I like using my imagination when I play games, I am glad the game has its own lore but can I introduce my own?
A: Yes. In the “sand box” (normal games) mode. You can do whatever you want. It will be in the campaign where our lore takes over.
Q: In a screenshot, the land looked flat.
A: Geography of a given map changes from map to map. Some maps are hilly. There are some maps that are dead. There are some that are pleasant. Some are very mountainous. It just depends what kind of map you get.
Here is a map in an arctic world.
Q: Does the AI in Elemental cheat?
A: Not at its normal levels. I’ve been working very hard to make the game play the game just like a human being does. However, I will have higher difficulty levels where the AI gets “stuff” for those who end up better at the game than I am. We will, however, be continuing to enhance the AI long after release as we did with Galactic Civilizations.
Q: How animated are things in the world?
A: Here’s a link to a video: http://screencast.com/t/YWY5YWJk (it’s a big video so you’ll want to let it buffer).
Q: How much can modders do on the map?
A: Here’s me making my own map. These tools are part of the game btw. They’re designed to let general gamers use (non-technical).
I'm so nerdily pumped about this game. I would have been excited for "just" a fantasy 4x, but we're getting SO much more here. I have no doubt it's going to be superb (and if it somehow is not, yes, I will cry). I feel like this is the game I've always wanted, and I haven't felt that way since I was a wee tyke. This is Warlords and Master of Magic and D&D and everything I ever loved all shoved together and synthesized into something grand.
I ordered the limited edition from Amazon and pre-ordered Brad's novel as well. If the game gets delayed, I hope the book still comes out on the 24th.
Media blitz! I'm going to put on thick glasses and sit with the game manual and 600 page novel and talk in a nasal and bliss the **** out.
Hurray!
This part of your post is the real truth and reality of Elemental I believe in this statement with all my heart. Look at NWN1 when it first came out it was a big disappointment but we all had the same kind of excitement before the game came out. It was not until years later that NWN true unforeseen success was to be discovered. Its community, Modding, and the ability to play the game in 16 bit computers made the game accessible to a huge audience (multiplayer) that otherwise would have never become a fan.
Well said Nick Stardock should use this statement as an official slogan for the game for it is so well said. (Stardock just make sure the game Engine can withstand the test of time and it will for sure live up to Nicks assessment of Elemental post release.)
[quote who
="harry1975" reply="78" id="2638639"] http://www.gametrailers.com/video/character-design-elemental-war/100928?type=flv#comments_top good video... [/quote]
Attention D&D players check this video out and notice its potential considering the game can be modded. Notice how Brad just flies right by the class and race section (he must be a fan of Stratagy and not so much character development) I was twitching when that part of the video just past and Brad just clicked and clicked to get the game started lol. I was like wait wait what classes let me see, what races let me see ahhhh grrrr lol.
My thanks to the person that posted this link great video for those of us who are still sitting outside looking to be let into beta. Should be "stickied" somewhere for those who are still wanting to see more before buying.
I guess it will depends about the height of the mountain: if it is too tall (think Everest), there won't be enough air available to allow the dragon to fly
Frogboy (or any other dev), is the vassal system still in the game? Because I haven't heard anything about it for a while and I saw somewhere that you are redoing the diplomacy system, and I was wondering if the whole vassal system was included in those changes?
I gotta say, I've always been bewildered positively about how open you are when it comes to game development. It always makes me wonder why so many other companies aren't the same. The complete opposite in fact, is Blizzard Entertainment when it comes to forum policing, engaging with the community personally and concerning the Frank Pearce interview involving chat rooms and whatnot.
Such a fresh take to come to this website and read all the conversations and Journals.
I just hope y'all are willing to make large game changes in future expansions, since so many are on the lack of air units. One of the biggest and few radical changes from Age of Wonders 1 to 2 was you had not just Heroes, but now Wizards that were apart of the equation.
Neutral cities are in.
The diplomacy changes are mostly related to the AI. I have to have the AI do a decent job on that and I'm not in love with the traditional cheese in there. I'm almost inclined to eliminate some features in the diplomacy system because it becomes very hard not to cheese it (I've slowly been converted by the "no tech trading" camp).
Thanks for the kind words.
In future expansions I imagine there will be huge changes over what we have now. As we play the game more and more, there are things that come to the fore as being particularly fun.
Don't make me bash you with large heavy objects, it hurts
lol nice one
I can see why.. Why would you want to lease you tech to your opponent, then have them make pirated copies. then they go and sell those pirated copies to all the other players for leases of their tech, which they in turn pirate and sell to you. At the end we are all pirates and the AI's lawyers then sue all of us and win.....
Oh wait..... your AI is farther along then we thought isn't?
The problem with diplomacy is that in real life there's no victory conditions, so diplomacy is used to let citizens live a peaceful life. But in a game that where you can win, there's no interest in trading techs or even research or anything else.
So what's the point of diplomacy in games ? To let players that are losing to gang up on the ones that are winning. In a game where only one can win there's no thing like "help" or "mutual comprehension" that would make sense.
So players won't ever use diplomacy between them if they don't have a really good reason to use it. In fact even the marriage aren't a good thing. Why would I let other people marry my sons/daughters if that let them a chance to get my kingdom ?
So diplomacy must be something that gives a real edge in warfare/magic/adventuring. Or diplomacy must be something that you can't avoid. Once you get in ytouch with someone else your citizens automatically start trading etc. So if you stay with a low level of diplomacy every kingdom on your borders will slowly suck resources from you.
If you go the "edge in warfare/magic/exploring", then diplomacy won't be something on its own, like civilization that won't let you win. You must have some serious focus on at least warfare or magic or adventuring to win the game.
If you go the "enforced diplomacy" way then a lot of people will whine about the fact you don't control your kingdom. Which is not true, and not false. Controling 95% of your kingdom isn't the same as controling 15% of it.
So what about diplomacy as a weapon ? After all warfare let you hit harder your enemies, magic let you do nasty thing to terrain, units etc., adventuring let your heroes become some powerhouses, why not let diplomacy be a "weappon" instead of a peace-maker ?
Maybe techs like "attacking units without declaring war" ? Abilities to hide your kingdom (or some parts) from the map ? Letting your units appear more dangerous than they are, or less dangerous ? Being able to steal others techs if you have met some prerequisite (maybe a spy that wasn't caught for 10 turns in a city of at least level 3) ? Being able to steal others resources ? Being able to force peace ? Being able to seduce enemy units ?
Diplomacy should let you hurt your enemies, and hurt them hard, because that's not real life diplomacy.
Yes. That. I hate it when AI players in Civ offer Open Borders or make pointless demands. I am here to /kill/ you.
Every friend I know wishes that there was a way to "automatically say no" to all AI requests because they are so annoying.
We also disable tech-trading.
Along those lines, it would be MUCH MUCH cooler if the "Diplomacy" lines were called "Subversion" for Empires and "Illusion" for Kingdoms.
Kingdoms specialize in creating an illusion of looking stronger than they really are, or appearing to look normal and for a "greater good" or "win-win situation" when in reality it benefits them more.
Empires are more trying to lie their ways around everything, and steal and sabotage others when their backs are turned, then covering it all up and blaming it on someone else.
Other word combinations:
(Kingdom) | (Empire)
Illusion | Subversion
Endearing | Compelling
Leadership | Domination
Unity | Division
Synergy | Corruption
Inspiring | Aspiring
Just for the record, I'm totally against anything that involves forcing no techtrading, no espionage and/or no diplomacy. Evolution, not censorship.
<-- already planning an "espionage" system *sigh*
Who proposed "no diplomacy"?
You must be awesome in Python coding.
For now, the most "advanced" stuff I have done with Python is a Sovereign Creator. It's "unifnished" due to being nothing but a test, Might try to develop, polish and finish it once the modding is possible, who knows. Sovereign Creator wannabe script
Regarding moddability, people should be careful in setting their expectations too high on what you can mod on release. While Python is the scripting language we're using, it only can do things that we expose to it and that will be a long long process that will only begin during the last beta and continue over the next couple of years.
For instance, I don't see how someone could add an espionage system into the game using even Python because first they'd need to define what exactly espionage does and then see if the engine supports doing that.
Then why aren't you going to give us some of the C++, like Civ 4 did? If you can't even add a epionage system with python, then whay are you limiting us to it?
For example, does this mean it would be impossible to give individual body parts their own HPs?
What is the point of python if it only limits the possibilties of modding?
But thank you for the warning:
-the chance to delay a Sov from attacking you
-chance to have a Sov attack someone else, not you
-chance to end a war before it otherwise would
-chance to reduce the penalty from attacking the friend of a Sov (ie - you attack Sov A, Sov B is a friend of Sov A and so Sov B's opinion of you decreases but diplomacy reduces this)
-etc.
In other words, diplomacy reduces the hurt enemies do to you more than it directly hurts your enemies (tho the second point also does this -- but indirectly)?
I don't think you're fully understanding what we mean by modding and what Python and such is.
First, you have to define specifically what you want to do. What is "espionage" specifically?
If you wanted to create your own armor (body part) piece or weapon, you don't need Python or C++. That would be XML.
Python is a scripting language. The idea is that certain functions of the game can be called with python scripts to build onto the game.
But there is no DoEspionageStuff() function. Programming and modding requires getting very very specific. I wish it weren't the case as I would love to be able to have Game.CoolGameRunNow() and be done.
Frogboy.givesMeMoney() ?
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