Too Many Cooks

Hello, Everyone!

I am an old time TBS strategy gamer and had the beta from the begininng. As time progressed I could see that what I hoped for in Elemental was not going to be (and that is okay since others wanted something different than me).

As time progressed it became clear to me that the beta simply had too many people involved at the EARLY stages of design. I happen to be a coporate trainer and when we train others to configure the product for their company we always try to keep them to about 7 people (small group). These seven can start setting up a system and make the major decisions and then others come in a later stage during the design process to mold it.

For example, looking at this in a gaming context, if we decide to have only automated battles than that is what we are going to have. Others than help to make it the best automated battle system possible. Or if we are going to have a tactical battle system than that is the major decision and a new influx of testers help to craft the best tactical battle sysetm possible. But we do not worry about those who say - No No No! - it must be a tactical system once the decision to use an automated battle has been decided (or vice versa).

What I have seen in the Elemental Beta process was everyone having what they really held dear to their heart be it adventuring, tactical battles, city buidling and so on. With everyone trying to push their wants there was never a real cohesive design that we all stuck to.

CIV basically only has a few units (infantry, ranged, artillery, flying) which change over time becomng more powerful. In retrospect I think it would have been better to build all the pieces and get them to work in a plain vanilla mode and then add the magic or special effects that modified how the basic battle system would work (in my mind Wizards generally act one of two ways in a game - they are an arterilly piece or special effect ops).

Now let me say that I am glad that I supported Stardock with an early purchase. They are creating a new TBS game. They are few and far between and I trust them to mold this game. I look at the money I spent not as a product I purchased but as my support for a genre that seems to be dying.

Let me end this by stating I think the Stardack Beta system is very helpful; it just needs to be divided into two parts - Initial Design and then Refinement with a smaller group of testers and than a larger group respectivally. This would lead to a solid initial design with major decisions having been done and than they are refined into excellence