I believe it's the map of the single player campaign world. It's basically developer made scenario/campaign (like in Civilization games) but you can also play random maps (again like Civ games).

I'll try to get some limited editions to one of our game boutiques, so that they buy a few of them and thus have far lower shipping rates per game. €15 to ship, that's a third of the price, no thanks.

Yeah, the poster/canvas map is of the story-world. That map will be used in all the official campaigns (the one in the box, the one that comes with Wardell's book, etc).
There is a map-maker included in the game, to make additional maps.
What I am still not sure of is if you can truly randomly generate a map (I know they were working on it, but all mention of it disappeared a month or two back :p). But even if you can't randomly generate the landmass, the map itself is randomized in that tiles of interest and resources and the like are randomly placed every time you play.

I'm sadly one of those people that abhor pregenerated anythings. Campaigns are sometimes ok but 'scenarios' and the like are an instant no no for me. If there's a random world option the rest of the game will probably never see my attention. If it's not there, the game will sadly be less than I am hoping it is.
Either way, a cloth map has no real value to me :)

Seems strange to turn down a game because you may or may not be able to randomize the landmass (even if you can randomize everything else), but whatever.
Also: it probably IS in there. I just don't feel comfortable confirming, since Wardell has said little about it since "This stuff is hard"

Didn't say I would turn it down, just that it would be less of a game than i would have hoped it would be (considering all the lovely attention to randomness in the other features)
Edit: Although for those rare few games that release with *only* scenario's. (Like historical ones), yes those are immediately off my list. Not my cup of tea.

I can't say I know how it compares, since I actually don't know jack about Elemental, but seeing how there is a world map of the Diablo world (Sanctuary), and that those games have been very random in the incarnations so far. There's a possibility that the Elemental game and its map share a similar relationship.

To clarify:
The map that comes with the game is that of the "world of Elemental". Think of it like what the Forgotten Realms is to D&D these days (the "official" universe that just about everything is set in, and that the core rules are designed for).
The player can make and download other landmasses. These will have absolutely nothing to do with "the world of Elemental" unless desired.
The player may be able to randomly generate a landmass, but I can't confirm that one.
Either way, quests, points of interest, enemy positions, resources, etc. All those things are randomized every game (except for the SP campaign, probably).

Short single player campaign. :(
http://forums.impulsedriven.com/391081/page/1/#2718974 reply #6

:(

and it's cost $49.95 :(

Isn't the meat of the game the randomly generated "campaigns" like Civilization though? I would assume the "story campaign" is mostly a tutorial.
It's still got endless singleplayer content.

As someone mentioned the sandbox mode.

I need to decide today whether to cancel my limited edition preorder of this, as it will likely ship tomorrow.
I want the game and I want the LE but it ships and arrives at the same time as Mafia 2, and that's $140 on one day for two PC games. My wife would kill me, and I know Elemental is just going to sit there for a long time while I play Mafia 2, and then by the time I get to it Civ5 will be coming out.
I feel bad putting it off for months though, as I want to support the game and get the LE. Arg!