It is important because if it turns out to be a failure, probably nobody will make this kind of games for years.

The only promising game in this genre that and I can see on the horizon is the mysterious standalone FFH.

Core gameplay is good coming from a 4x newbie. Game mixes alot of different game elements to make it very appealing. Unique art style. Nothing quite like it on the market. 

I think PC Gaming is making a turn around...slowly. Blizzard is single handedly saving the market with Starcraft 2, WoW expansion and eventually Diablo III. Civilization 5 will also help immensley. Id is working on Doom 4, Valve is promising some big secret reveals this year, I'm seeing alot of indie developers coming up with interesting games more often. HOMM6 was announced...I dunno, outlook seems bright for imo.

Now if we could just get some new original games for pc I'd be very happy. PC games have always been the leader in new game mechanics, graphics, etc...now it just seems to be who can make the best looking FPS.

If you like Diablo style games check this preview out IGN just released. Game called Path of Exile will be 100% free.  http://pc.ign.com/articles/111/1117602p1.html

This is only fantasy 4X released in years to come. If SD does not manage to finish it, we are left to play same old games again.

Games are announced early. Usually, release date is apporimately known at least year before. And the fact that game is being worked on 2-3 years before release.

I did not see any announcements of other fantasy 4X, and release schedule lists only 2 space 4X in whole 2011. No fantasy one there.

So its quite safe to assume E:WoM is alone here for 2010/2011. And most likely, 2012.

I see that the PC gamer review is out and it's not exactly great.  I can't see how this whole mess helps encourage other devs to release this type of game.  More importantly, to get a new generation interested in this game genre and then demand similar games be produced.  I feel as though short term this game will eventually satisfy those waiting for a game to permanetly replace MoM but the long term damage may be unworth the brief satisfaction.

The short answer: Master of Magic.   15 years old and it still takes the lunch money of many current titles. That's so sad.

The long version: because Elemental already has many of the elements that would make it possible to turn it into a worthy successor of "that game".
(and it's just as buggy as the MoM release was. Yay! =P)
I don't expect it to be a carbon copy. I don't want it to be because MoM had it's share of problems, too, and I want something better. =P

The good news is that Stardock happily embraces it's modding community so I expect that even if the "official" vision goes another way, it should be possible to script and mod a game where magic actually matters and that has a stupid amount of depth and spell combinations.
That is a big reason why so much "value" is accredited to the potential of the game. The current state is rather inconsequential.
That's what gamers who buy a game "just to play it" will not understand. And it's true. There's no denying that for them it simply fails to deliver. Sorry.

Whether the official or a modded version becomes "my game" makes no difference to me. In the real world it's the result that counts.
And it's very likely that I'll still be altering the parts I don't like. Why not?

Well said. I've always thought that the fanaticism of the followers here is both good or bad for the future of this genre. I hope that some brave developer takes the passion here and sees money in it and tries to create a competitor to this... 

For me it's not Master of Magic (never played it, but want to now after hearing how, basically, perfect it seems to be).

For me, it's Age of Wonders. Got all those games, loved them all - have been looking for another one ever since. Maybe even some Warlords 3.

Actually I think true, old-school, RPGs are just as rare. The Bard's Tale, Might and Magic types. Wizardry 8 was the last one to give me that feel.

I really liked HOMM3 as much as I did AoW.  Wizardry 8 was a initially a lot of fun.  The horrendously common and difficult random encounters eventually made me move on.

Stardock is in the habit of taking ownership throughout the life of their products, instead putting them out there and moving on.  I think one result of that is that people feel they aren't wasting their time if they speak up about what could be better, what needs fixed.

Games bomb though.  Moo3, Pool of Radiance 2, Ultima 9.

MoM is far from perfect, but it has a unique feel. I think the graphics have held up well (16 years, guys! We're all old now...), and if you want to grab it, it's like $6 from gog.com. I highly recommend it, but you may want to google some screenshots first. There's none of this campaign nonsense. Significantly different gameplay based on Wizard design and difficulty, too. Warlord, Crusadered, adamantiated berzerkers... with flying. Mess you up.

If you haven't played it, but enjoy tactical combat/RPG(ish), you should check out XCOM:UFO Defense (the first, not the subsequent ones). Wizardry 8 was really a remarkable game, too. Another heir to a venerable series, it was a work of love, and had both depth and polish.

You know, now that I think about it, that "work of love" thing is probably what ties all these really great games together. I think my expectation of a Gold, release-ready Elemental must be due to the obvious dedication and integrity of Stardock and the dev team. When you have talent and passion, things happen that just work.

I'll tell you why. Because the gaming industry, for the most part, Stardock being a major exception, has fallen into the hands of the corporate morons. The same ones that run the movie business.

Innovation is anathema to them. They will not take a chance on something new.

If it is not derivative or a sequel, they won't touch it.

"Hey, XYZ, was the most recent TBS game and it didn't sell 500 million copies. We can't make one of those."

I don't mind the graphics, especially like you said it's 16 years old. Graphics don't matter much to me, so I won't be disappointed there. Probably even impressed.

Almost sounds like a kind of Warlords type game with empire-building and control over battles. That would be cool too I loved Warlords 3.

I haven't played XCOM either (have heard of it though and typically favorably). Might have to grab both of those.