Hrm, ok.  I'll find something else for a couple of weeks.

Eagerly awaiting the arrival

Preordered as soon as I found this site, can't wait for Beta 2 to startt as well.

I think that it should be "playable" for casuals as well. I guess the focus will be on balancing [& on fixing bugs of course] in Beta2/Beta3. Ah well, Froggie or Boogie could give you a proper answer, that was my opinion.

Okay thanks, so beta 2 is out now, right? Or am I mistaken, it just seems there are blog posts about it?

So I'd be able to play a full game, even if unbalanced and or a little buggy?

It won't be 'full' in that there will still be features missing/not working but it will certainly be on the way.  AI will also be pretty non-existant.

I believe multiplayer will be enabled for the next beta, so you could play against (or with) another human.

Just to be clear there isn't "no" AI, but very weak AI, little challenge - a punching bag for testing game mechanics against. Still, the AI does try, it expands a bit and sometimes declares war and sends hordes of peasants at you. It doesn't really do research or unit design or diplomacy or magic or much exploring/adventuring however, just produces some fodder for you to destroy.

My understanding is the AI will be gradually improved throughout Beta 2, partly based on tactics seen in multiplayer (which starts with Beta 2). It'll be a more complete game than we currently have with graphics, improved game balance, caravans, ships, etc, it's supposed to be the first version of beta that's actually fun, but it will still be missing some things such as tactical battles.