Elemental: War of Magic - December Status Update @ Official Site

magerette

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The official site for Elemental, Stardock's turn-based strategy offering loosely based on the classic Master of Magic, has a developer update posted on the current status of the game, dealing mostly with the results from beta testing:
Greetings!
As we reach the end of the year, we can take stock of where we are and where we’re going next.
…our story so far…
About 3 months ago, we released the first “beta” of Elemental. Designed to let players help us mold the game mechanics, the beta has been going very well so far.
Through beta feedback, the economic system for the game has been changed a great deal, streamlined and generally put into place something that will be fun, deep but should also keep players from getting bogged down.
Also thanks to beta feedback, we came up with a different technology system that is, ironically, quite similar to what was in Master of Orion 1. This is an area that is proving a wealth of future fun for us as we prepare to create different technology pools for the different factions.
In addition, again thanks to the beta players, the diplomacy system has been heavily modified...
…lessons and trends…
If I were pressed to list what the biggest trend in the beta feedback has been so far it is this: Make sure the game has a soul.
Nearly all of our changes in Elemental thus far have been to increase the opportunity to inject story and life into the game play...
More information.
 
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In their "Journals" ( http://www.elementalgame.com/journals.asp ) they discuss how, among other things, they want to handle quests:

But the quest system is a big deal in the game.

You ever play D&D? Or maybe (as I did) Fantasy Hero? You are exploring a world, going into dungeons, and generally wreaking havoc in some poor guy’s kingdom.

Well, in Elemental, you’re that poor guy – the king of that kingdom. There will be parties of adventurers running around the world. Maybe next time you and your buddies get together and accidentally set free a Balor and run away from it that you’ll feel a pang of sorrow for the poor king who has to clean up after the mess you make.

In this thread, we want to discuss specifics. What types of quests would you like to see in the game? Programmatically, we’re leaning towards using Python to create quest templates with XML to create derivative quests.

For example, the old “fetch me the gauntlet of Mordon and I will give you the ring of radiance” quest would have its details done in XML but the actual mechancis of the quest would be done in Python. That way, modders and such can create additional quests later on and share with people. Non-coders can then use a built in editor to create quests using the existing templates.

If they pull it off it should be fun.
 
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I loved the original Master of Orion (easily the best of them, IMO), and the tech system was one of the bright spots. Since you didn't have the option of researching every level of every tech, that pretty well forced you to play in different ways. I loved building massed fighter fleets, armed with lasers, but that wouldn't be practical in every game. Unlike most strategy games, you couldn't find one strategy and stick with it for game after game.

I also loved terraforming planets and building them up (similar to building cities in Civilization). These days, strategy games dumb down the building aspects of these games, in favor of nothing but combat. That gets old fast. Then again, though combat is absolutely necessary, it's probably the least interesting part of these games for me.
 
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I loved the original Master of Orion (easily the best of them, IMO), and the tech system was one of the bright spots. Since you didn't have the option of researching every level of every tech, that pretty well forced you to play in different ways. I loved building massed fighter fleets, armed with lasers, but that wouldn't be practical in every game. Unlike most strategy games, you couldn't find one strategy and stick with it for game after game.

I also loved terraforming planets and building them up (similar to building cities in Civilization). These days, strategy games dumb down the building aspects of these games, in favor of nothing but combat. That gets old fast. Then again, though combat is absolutely necessary, it's probably the least interesting part of these games for me.

You should check out space empires 5 and galactic civilizations 2 for two pretty in depth games....not dumbed down at all especailly space empires 5.
 
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Even with the tons of games out now, I'm still looking forward to this one. Mass Effect 2, Alpha Protocol and this one are the last ones on my must buy list. Although lately it seems that there is always one more popping out of the woodwork to say "Hey! Buy me too!!!!"
 
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