Releases March 17, 2026
Journals
Dev Journal
Random House announced its new initiative (see this Wallstreet Journal article ) today to collaborate with game developers to improve their in-game stories as well as present those stories in other mediums (books, movies, etc.). The first result of this initiative comes from Elemental . The universe created through a collaboration of writers at Stardock and Random House is seeing itself presented first in the upcoming book, Elemental: Destiny's Embers (August release date) and then followed up by the PC strategy game, Elemental: War of Magic. What does this mean to gamers and readers? For gamers, it means that the quality of the writing in Elemental: War of Magic will be much stronger than it would have been otherwise. This manifests itself in terms of the backstory, the campain, the in-game quests and the general the cohesiveness of the game world. For readers, it means that the book won’t just be the standard “book based on a video game” fare that often comes across as only vaguely connected to the same world that the game came from. Elemental: Destiny's Embers is a story I’ve been working on for some years now. With help from Random House’s writing team, they’ve helped me take my early manuscripts and polish them and craft them into a story that I think readers of fantasy will enjoy. More information: The book: Elemental: Destiny's Embers The game: Elemental: War of Magic -Brad Wardell (aka Frogboy) [read more]
News
Stardock and Random House Announce Partnership on Elemental: Destiny’s Embers
The Random House Publishing Group announced today the establishment of a new group responsible for the creation of original transmedia intellectual property (IP)—story content that can be accessed through multiple media sources including video games, social networks on the web, mobile platforms, in print and on film—that will be developed and marketed in partnerships with other media companies. The group will also offer editorial services to media companies that will enhance the world-build... [read more]
Dev Journal
Player Input: Talents & Weaknesses
Players can spend points to make their sovereign more powerful. What other talents (with what benefit) or weaknesses (with what penalty) would you like to see in there? Here are a few I was thinking of: Entrepreneur (Sovereign produces 4 gold per turn) Stupid (Spells cost more) Weak (Attack rolls are less) [read more]
Dev Journal
Elemental BETA 1G: READ ME FIRST.
We’re in the process of publishing the new beta right now. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: Compatibility . Does the game run on your computer. If not, what problems are you experiencing. Game mechanics. We’ll be making a series of journals where we will be putting up topics to discuss. The beta serves as a reference for users. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ: https://forums.elementalgame.com/364444 https://forums.elementalgame.com/364285 NOTE... [read more]
News
GamePro DRM Analysis, Interview with Brad Wardell
GamePro magazine did an analysis of Digital Rights Management (DRM) in PC games, and among the people interviewed for this story was Stardock CEO, Brad Wardell. This analysis takes an in-depth looks at piracy from several different views, including those of industry professionals and “pirates” themselves. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys PC gaming. “Every copy protection scheme gets cracked, it's just a matter of time," Stardock CEO Brad Wardell tells Game... [read more]
Dev Journal
Road Building…Your thoughts?
We really want to avoid having to build “workers” or some other construction unit to build out of city improvements. But at the same time, we’d like it to be more interesting than simply clicking “build road to city X”. What do you think? [read more]
Dev Journal
Tomorrow afternoon we anticipate releasing Elemental Beta 1G. This is the last of the Beta 1 series. To reiterate, our betas are not your typical beta. They’re effectively alphas in that there is very little “game” there. It’s mostly about getting early adopters and us talking together about game mechanics and giving each other ideas. I’ve written this before but in a modern TBS game, it’s 80% engine/assets and 20% “game” (in other genres it’s more like 90% engine/asse... [read more]