Journals
Dev Journal
Elemental: Beta 3 High Level Preview
I’ll be going into much greater detail of Beta 3 as we get closer. It’s scheduled for next week. Let me first assure you that Beta 3 will NOT be very fun. I keep trying to warn people that there is a reason why Stardock betas are outlawed by the Geneva conventions. Survivors of previous Stardock betas can attest to this. The reason why our final games end up doing so well is because the beta process forces us to jettison weak and bad ideas prior to the game being unleashed on the public. ... [read more]
Dev Journal
For a lot of users, Beta 2-B is going to feel like several steps backwards in terms of playability and fun. We apologize in advance for that. I myself have found the pre-beta 2b builds to be really painful and unfun so you have been warned. The beta should be up tonight for those users already in the beta group. Here are some of the things we’re looking for from the beta group: Suggestions and ideas on how you would like to manage spells. We’re working on this interna... [read more]
Dev Journal
Brad’s June Elemental flame thread
We’re getting close Elemental will be released on August 24th. Our “gold” date is August 4th. Our goal is to have the "game” basically done by July 16th. The remaining time will be spent polishing, balancing, tweaking and adding player suggested feedback. We’ll categorize that feedback on things that we think are fun or interesting enough to get into the “gold” version (the version that comes in the box) and then things we’ll make available on release date (the August 24th ed... [read more]
Dev Journal
The Limited Edition of Elemental comes with a lot of cool stuff including a big canvas map, a poster, a fairly good sized dragon pewter piece. But it also comes with something particularly special: The Hiergamenon. This is a kind of encyclopedia to the world but told from the point of view of a collection of historical figures from Elemental’s past. To get an idea of what it is like, here are some pictures of the pages. The paperback book comes with the Limited Edition and is around 16... [read more]
News
Elemental Army: First Random Giveaway!
Hi Elemental Army, or should I say “hoooah”! Today we have picked a random Elemental Army participant and awarded them a $10 Impulse gift card! We will have more giveaways outside of the general contest just because we appreciate all the ways you have been helping out with the Elemental Army! http://elementalgame.com/army We have also added a new Announcement System to the Elemental Army page. This area will be a spot where we can post quick announcements for ... [read more]
Dev Journal
Elemental: Stardock’s secrets revealed
Elemental is the most expensive game Stardock’s made. Which isn’t saying much since Galactic Civilizations II had a budget of around $800,000. Elemental’s total budget is probably less than Civ V’s cutscene budget (which based on what I’ve seen was well spent). So how does Stardock make a game like Elemental with so few resources? How do we hope to have a successful game in what is considered a “niche” genre? The answer is in two parts: First, you guys. Seriously. W... [read more]
Dev Journal
In Beta 2 and Beta 2-A, we disabled the Adventure, Diplomacy, and Magic technology trees and enabled Civilization and Warfare. In Beta 2-B, we are disabling Civilization and Warfare and enabling Adventure and magic. But wait! How will wars be conducted? It is just going to be a mob of NPC recruits? How do we get food? How do we design better units? How do we better equip our sovereign and our champions? The answer: Magic and Adventuring. Summon units. Get rare items. Enchant the l... [read more]