nOObonian

Join Date 10/2006

EWOM is noticeably better

Been playing a +500 turn game for the past week or so. With work and kids, lucky to get any time at all. During that time there seem to have been 3 1.08 patches (not sure why the opening screen still just says 1.08). I read on the forums that the new patches don’t implement everything until you start a new game (the xml code is imbedded in the save games?). So I started a new game and after a few turns I noticed that the the game is noticeably better…in a subtle way.

They fixed some broken issues in 1.08, the archers missing, the abilities of the summon creatures.
The sound is much better. Ambient sound now includes distant thunder which seems to add to the immersiveness of the game.
The magic is better with snappier effects and better sound. Not to mention the explanation of mechanics behind the spells. I even notice the effects of owning a shard now.
The map resource distribution has improved, achieving some zen-like balance with resources which are not vastly available but not so far that it takes 40 turns to get to your first gold or material node.
The combat is much faster, so killing that 2hp wolf is not a 5 minute venture.
No more crashes.
(Ok, the AI can still be stomped, but not as easily).

In general, it seems to really be coming together.

elemental

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I've been playing it for several hours every single day since its release and I've loved every minute of it. In my opinion Elemental is already one of the greatest games of all time.

Last night, I started a new game as Tarth and spawned next to the Capitar on "normal" difficulty. By about turn 100 the Capitar had about 15 cities and had completely surrounded me. Then they declared war on me and the fun began.

Wave after wave of their army came pouring over the mountains upon my settlements. I only had a few small squads in each city and I was vastly outnumbered by the enemy. Amazingly we were able to fend off the first wave that targeted my capital city, but just barely. At that point in time I had my sovereign far away from my capital with a small squad of spearmen. While I was trying to race home, I stumbled upon a smaller Capitar settlement that was lightly defended. I was able to take their settlement, but with some heavy losses.

Right now I'm fighting for my faction's life against all odds. It feels like I'm replaying the American Revolution, where the enemy vastly outnumbers me and I must use every one of my soldiers intelligently to win. I have never, ever, ever had this much fun in a 4X TBS before. Even war in Civilization has never felt this good, they always felt really plain and boring and I never cared about my limitless number of units. In Elemental each of my citizens feel unique and when I lose one, it actually hurts.

I don't know where people get the idea that the AI sucks, they have been tough every time I have played. In reality, the city spam strategy is the only hole left in the game that probably needs to be fixed up for the AI to kick butt.

Also, stability has been fantastic. I have never had a single crash in ALL of my time playing. The thing I love about the game is how quickly I can shut the game down if needed. If my wife walks in the room and wants me to take out the trash or something, I can have the game saved and shut down in about 10 seconds flat. That's performance I haven't seen in a long time in games.

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I've been playing it for several hours every single day since its release and I've loved every minute of it. In my opinion Elemental is already one of the greatest games of all time.

maybe its your first game you played ever or you are on crack

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Quoting Pantasd,

reply 2

I've been playing it for several hours every single day since its release and I've loved every minute of it. In my opinion Elemental is already one of the greatest games of all time.
maybe its your first game you played ever or you are on crack

Heh - neither of the above and I pretty much agree with them

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econundrum1

Join Date 04/2007

+36

I've also been playing and enjoying elemental since it's release and despite the issues, bugs and lack of polish I've generally had a lot of fun with it. The latest release is a big improvement on previous versions. I would certainly say it's not the best game ever at the moment by a long shot, but it's still fun worts and all and has the potential to become a truly classic game.

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One thing I've noticed is the bigger the map, the less fun it is for me. Tiny or small maps with a ton of AIs (I can get 2-4 cities before land is enclosed around me) puts a lot of pressure on you early on. One game I decided I would exploit : Tech right to spell9 and get mountain-creation. Than create a ring of mountains so the AI couldn't get into me.

Once I started making mountains it became a fight for my life. Lost 2 of my 5 cities but managed to seal myself up at least.

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econundrum1

Join Date 04/2007

+36

Quoting Windexglow,

reply 5

Interesting I like a large map with fewer oponents because I don't like to much early preassure in the game, shows it supports different play styles.

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