100 words or less-- how to make Elemental More "Fun"

Idea:  Please don't make a lot of quests where I have to GO to a location and RETURN to a location to get the reward.  This is just a waste of time as I see the same landscape I've been on, it feels very MMO-like, it usually takes too long to get there, and just isn't much "fun."  If you are going to do this "RETURN TO SOURCE" at least make me go to 3-5 other locations first so I can "see the world."

Include free tickets to a circus with the purchase.

That's incredibly helpful... but you got way under 100 words.

Big parts of the game are still missing that I expect to be fun like magic and tactical combat. That said, I have something of a wishlist based on what I've seen thus far.

- Factions that look different and play differently. It seems currently we only have 2 factions, men and fallen, out of which the latter is not playable yet. Instead of just similar kingdom factions there should be desert men, northmen etc. with a clearly different flavour. And perhaps their fallen counterparts. And some cool lore on these factions. Factions and lore are simply the foundation of the game and hugely important in the game's overall appeal. Sins had awesome factions and enough of a backstory. Out of fantasy strategy games, only Disciples has achieved something in this regard thus far. But I have high expectations for Elemental as well.

- Let city building be simple enough so it won't take time from adventuring / designing units / casting spells / tactical combat and all that good stuff.

- Make the Sovereigns able to adventure in the beginning by giving them good equipment and / or a decent selection of spells they can use in tactical combat. And perhaps the option of having a bunch of followers in the beginning.

I think it's worth mentioning that it's still a beta, and that Frogboy has gone through pains to make it explicitly clear it is not supposed to be fun yet. Huge sections of the game are still missing (Magic, adventuring, and diplomacy tech trees, no tactical battles, the current quests are placeholders, etc, etc).

So basically, what I'm trying to say is that you're expecting too much from an early beta that shouldn't be fun in the first place. If it's August 1st and it still isn't fun, then there might be reason to worry, but right now it's way too early.

I am going to just point out what a lot of other people have said...

Elemental is at a mere fraction of what it should be. ATM, we are ALL following the same sort of path - because Stardock wants us to focus on these small parts.

Thing's we're missing...

• The other three trees
• A good part of the two trees we do have
• Weapons that are more than just +attack (Brad said there will be effects on units)
• More than one map
• A balanced map as it is
• Numerous features that are in the works yet
• A main quest
• Improvements that are currently being discussed
• Rest of the creatures
• Rest of the Hiergamon
• Rest of the factions
• More quests
• More interaction with the world
• More features on the world
• More stuff I won't keep listing

Is it fun now? Nope! It's our job, however, to take this unfun piece of clay and make sure that when it's sold to people, it is the absolute beast thing. 'Cause it isn't the Dev's job (alone) to make it fun. We get part of that now, too : )

-N

I would say I'm in agreement with you about nothing making the game stand out, at least at this point and time. To be fair, this dev team listens and reacts to player suggestions and they are still doing so. Also, we still don't have all of the basic game systems in place to make any real judgement. With that being said, I fear they might be focusing on the wrong things that would make the game fun, while setting it apart from other TBS games.

I'm leaning toward the belief that the devs are more interested in giving us the tools to make a fun game instead of making a fun game themselves. Now that may sound harsh, but I don't mean it that way. After all, it is a new trend that has already worked well for games like LittleBigPlanet and a few MMO-type games. I almost think I would prefer it for Elemental at this point as it seems items like city building are getting too much of the focus and I think the time could be better spent on other things. I'll continue to suggest my own ideas and if they don't find a way in, at least we have the modding to fall back on. It's a no-lose situation and Stardock is too great of a company not to support. 

(My 100 words start now)    (Less of a 'how to make it more fun' and more of a 'I would like Elemental to include......')

Basic city building in a variety of sizes (villages, towns, cities) and on different terrain (tactics)

Landscapes that are more alive animals/monsters, weather, random events/effects

Quests that are less simple/more challenging, short and long and that get you 'involved'

Events that affect your Sovereign, your citizens and the World

Tactical Combat!! Spells, weapons, terrain, weather/environments, diplomacy, shortages/supply lines

Research that makes each game something new and each Sovereign something special.

Give me something to do on EVERY turn and I don't mean huts and gardens!

I fully understand it is a beta. I don't think I am expecting too much as my expectations aren't that high.  Part of the beta program is to test the mechanics of the game.  And although we have only been given a few portions of the game, the couple of tools we have I am not overjoyed about.  We were told to comment on "pacing," but that is difficult to comment upon if what we have isn't a solid framework.  We were TOLD to comment on the following:

General Objectives

1. Compatibility Testing.  Does it work on your PC?  If not, why not?
2. Feature Feedback.
3. Balance Feedback.
4. Stability Feedback. 

   Feature feedback, balance feedback-- if we don't have a portion of the "game" how can we intelligently comment on these objectives?  No, I can't comment on the entire meal as its not there, but I can certainly comment on the salad and the salad is bland.  It was my intent to spark suggestions on how to spice up that salad... nothing more.

From my point of view, there is nothing that "pops," nothing thus far that distinguishes game play from something I haven't already done or seen in other products.  I know this is culled; I know this is a beta; yet we have some core game mechanics that just aren't "fun."
Not to be rude, as you made quite a point about not trolling and so I don't wish to troll your post, however Brad has also made quite a point of detailing just how "un-fun" the beta is supposed to be.  We're not supposed to enjoy testing the game - which is why we're testing it, rather than playing it.  The mechanics we have in place in Beta 2 are simply there to provide the skeleton of the game - so that Stardock can quickly implement changes based on our feedback.

I don't get the giddy's like I did with Pirates!, Civilization, GalCiv products (which in many ways Elemental is emulating), Roller Coaster Tycoon, Railroad Tycoon, Rome: Total War, Neverwinter Nights, Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic, Company of Heroes
Are you comparing the Beta of Elemental to full, finished and polished retail releases?  Now, that's simply unrealstic.  I've beta tested several games and Elemental's Beta if frankly the most barebones and feature lacking Beta I've ever played.  Most Beta's are used to test online connectivity and balance and come nearly 90% feature complete.  Starcraft II's beta, for example, is the entire multiplayer component of the game.  Elemental's is essentially a blank canvass, so we can help create the game with as minimal work needed on Stardock's behalf.

I fully understand it is a beta. I don't think I am expecting too much as my expectations aren't that high.  Part of the beta program is to test the mechanics of the game.  And although we have only been given a few portions of the game, the couple of tools we have I am not overjoyed about.  We were told to comment on "pacing," but that is difficult to comment upon if what we have isn't a solid framework.   
At this point we're expected to provide feedback on what we have in the game.  City building is being looked at due to feedback from the players, as is quests and monster spawning.  All of this effects the pace of the game.  We're not supposed to be thinking "Ok, now in Naval combat if you added cannon fired grappling hooks it would enable..." because we're not at that point yet.  We're literally focusing on the skeleton of the game to build that framework you claim is missing.

Fun idea: Sovereigns can take back their essence from revived land. 

just copy Master of Magic and you should be good.

this is the beta and it has been STRESSSSSEDDDDDDDDDDDDD that not meant to be fun.

Include Temple of Apshai mod by FrogBoy.

Include Master of Magic mod by anyone.

Include a detailed modding tutorial.