"This is a Grand Fantasy Strategy Game, please don't forget that when "Re-designing" anything. Please Don't Go Overboard when evaluating the game's mechanics."

I think the above quote sums it up for me.  Sometimes when you are fixing things you can go overboard and go the opposite direction, therefore making a bad situation worse, if you get my drift. I got this game because it has great ideas, and I honestly think with some spit and polish and some monkey loving it can still become a great game.  You don't want to overhaul the game to where it becomes an FPS on crack...

Well done RavenX. 

Yeah, I would prefer a more complex and interesting game.  I think the worst issue with the gaming industry is that most games are dumbed down so everyone can do well. While this does help sales I suppose, it also kills the sort of games I have always enjoyed. ;/ It seems all most companies care about now is producing a nice cinematic so that we are fooled into thinking there is some content underneath it.

I hope that elemental stays away from the standards as I think it is a reasonable fun game that could become a great game. 

Confusing, overly-complicated UI and gameplay are closely related - that is to say, bad UI makes the gameplay seem more confusing than it'd otherwise be. Like the combat mechanics, specifically as they apply to squads: you might call this aspect of the gameplay complicated, and maybe it is, or maybe it's simple and intuitive. The problem is, we don't know, the UI ain't telling us. The UI is not just obstructive and uninformative, it's actively misleading; it's implying squads are combining their attack into one big roll, which they shouldn't be anymore.

Or take spell damage for another example; your fireball says it does a maximum of 32 damage, and you keep "missing" that guy in plate. The informed forum-troller knows that your fireball is doing a random amount of damage anywhere from 0-32, which can be blocked by that guy's plate armor, and anything that totals up to 0 or less damage comes out as a "miss." The math may be in need of balancing, but it's not too complicated - but god help you if you don't read the forums, because none of that information is ingame. Your average player is probably thinking "What the hell, how does a fireball miss at point blank range? Why do I keep doing 5 or 10 damage when it's supposed to be 32? Does armor block the damage somehow - how much if so?" The gameplay isn't too complicated, the UI just isn't explaining it to you.

I think many other instances of supposedly complicated game mechanics are similar - they wouldn't be so hard to understand if the UI (not to mention the documentation) explained the gameplay better. Fix the UI first, get it to expose all those mysterious game mechanics that are hard to grasp - and it should become obvious that the gameplay needs more complexity, if anything.

I am going to have to agree here as well. Complexity isnt a problem. Hell the unit designer is a blast. Nothing like making exactly the unit I need/can use at the moment when I need it. I dont really see a problem with having a mana pool either. but hey who knows, maybe I will like the new way magic is handled too.

I like many I imagine, just dont want to see the game dumbed down. It needs more stuff added to it, so the player has to make choices in how they want to develop thier kingdom/Empire. I am sure you can find lots of solutions in the Mod forums. I know I have seen many myself.

Most of all give players a choice in how they want to talior the game to play the way they enjoy it. Unit design, magic system, city building,etc. Should all be options set-up when you start the game. I like to play Elemental this way and someone else will like it another way. Multiplayer games would just have to be agreed on or set up by the host.

I think the game is fun to play as it is now, OK tactical battles could use some love, yes. Still the basis for the game is there, it needs tweeking, stuff added to it(buildings,units,specialty items,etc).

What it doesnt need to become is some simplistic game, where your play style is chosen by your faction choice. Its the thing that drove me nuts about the Total War series. "Oh your the English, you get longbows." As if any other faction couldnt figure out how to make longbows. Seriously.

Freedom of choice is wonderful in this game. Build on that.

Agreed completely, Raven. The core mechanics of Elemental are good, they might need some explaining and retooling but certainly NOT a re-design of any sorts. I'd even go so far as to say that they need to be a little more complex.

Honestly, this game isn't too complex to begin with. You need food to grow, money and materials to build, iron for troops, crystal for magic, shards for magical power, research for research and development, and elementaium for BA equipment. Buildings usually do what they're supposed to but nothing is too complex or overly complicated. That why this game SHOULD BE easy to get into. Maybe we're suffering from a lack of gamer intelligence or something because I don't know what the problem is and many of the questions I am seeing reek of a lack of understanding or attempting to seek an answer to them. Too many people seem to be expecting free hand outs.

The combat system probably does need to be fixed, especially heroes. Totally agreeing with fsovercash on this one. Magic also needs a little re-working to be made more understandable.

Regarding the UI, it isn't too horrible. Look at Civ V's city screen and tell me that Elemental is REALLY that bad. I honestly think Elemental is a little better in some ways. Regardless, what Elemental needs is an "organization overhaul" for the UI and all the information presented. I want the ability to see a list of my settlements, a page with my heroes all listed with their stats, a better quest booklet, improved magic spellbook (many good design suggestions on the forums), an improved empire management screen, and an overall better layout for things. I want to click things and zoom to where they are, and to see summaries, see where data, income, and information are coming from. It wouldn't take too much work but Stardock can get it done.

But seriously, don't ruin this game for those of us who like it for what it is just to satisfy a few loud people who didn't know what it was to begin with. Elemental can work.

I would like to think we all agree that the heart of Elemental is solid, No one seems to disagree that it is not polished. I have enjoyed some of it, but there are areas where it seems it wasn't finished. Now, if "fanboys" like us beta testers are raising questions, what is the casual gamer, who doesn't come here to look at the journals, supposed to think?

Um...what does this even offer?  Get over the release lets look forward please.

Best regards,
Steven. 

um, stating the obvious at least. What do you have to offer?

Um read the thread and find out?

I think what Blaze was offering was that he thinks we all agree the core of Elemental has solid concepts behind it. Tempers are heated right now and things are still going to be dying down for a while. Lets all help keep things chill so cooler heads prevail and Elemental turns out being the game it deserves to be. It's a work of passion and love and still has a long way to go to get to where it needs to be and I think All of us want to see that happen more than anything else .

You know, when you are not offering the benefits of women in chainmail bikinis, you are very insightful