Public beta :
http://forums.elementalgame.com/415272

Just to be clear, the only people that currently have access to it is people who preordered Elemental: War of Magic. Frogboy said it will open up to all EWoM customers.

I'm going to play it when I get home from work. Anybody else here playing yet?

A liiittle necromancy because Fallen enchanteress is going to be released tuesday from what I just read .

I've been playing the different steps of the beta, I like the evolution and the continuous polish that was brought to that piece. I really liked Elemental despite the unfinished aspect, and so far I really enjoyed every aspect of Fallen Enchantress.

I have this weird sensation though ... this game belongs to its own category imo, I can't compare with any other game I played, and I can't tell what I think is really good and/or what is bad in it ..... I just like playing it casually.

Agh! I couldn't close the link until I'd read everything. Curses!

I lose track of time playing Fallen Enchantress. I recommend it highly if you like Civ type games or even the Homm series.

Check it out!

If I am not 'mistaking' myself, that whole story refers to Elemental WoM and it's about a spinof book for a DLC-like campaign ? My question is genuine, I just want to understand the context because I found the comments on that article quite 'enligntening' (? i'dat a wurd?) .

When I received the mail from stradock saying 'ok Elemental was a failure there will be no add ons, we give you access to the beta of Elemental-reborn and you'll receive the game for free no matter what' => I was honestly astonished, I really enjoyed the first elemental.

On the comments of the article you linked, I feel (not myself, in the comments) some of the rage towards the guys at stardock.

So it was a book that was sold with the promise of DLC? You have to give them credit for at least trying to create something that might enhance the enjoyment of the game, as it, if it was good, could have given more backstory to it. Beast all the silly merchandise with DLC that EA created for Mass Effect 3

note: I don't think that there is anything inherently wrong with creating game-related merchandise, but I'm not a huge fan of attaching in-game rewards to things like mousepads. At least the ME things were very minor, so they did not hurt the game in any way. I do dread the day when some company realizes that they can sell power through merchandise though. "Buy this T-shirt and get a super powerful gun".

Right indeed ... I just realized there is an Age Of Wonders flavor hidden behind the tech trees ... Ok I understand now why I enjoy that game so much. I can (at last) go to bed.

Good night all.

I believe the book is free if you bought the Collector's Edition; otherwise you'd have to buy it separately from a bookstore.

I really like the vibe of this game, does anyone know if it has simultaneous turns MP? Hows the DRM?

As far as I know, it uses Steamworks.

Although the game _should_ be right up my alley (I love turn-based strategy games, I love fantasy settings, I loved playing - and sometimes still play - Master of Magic, Heroes of Might and Magic, Age of Wonders, etc.), I have little to no interest in "Fallen Enchantress" at this point.

There are several reasons for this:

1. The game's predecessor failed so spectacularly, and on so many levels, that I'm now very careful about buying Stardock games. They had earned my trust before (Galactic Civilizations 1 and 2 were some of the very few games that I bought at full price, and they were worth it), but the horrendous, pitiful state of Elemental on release has annihilated this trust pretty effectively.

2. I'm not sure if they have the people to pull off such a project. Signing up Jon Shafer, the man whose design ideas botched Civilization V, as a campaign designer, didn't really diminish my skepticism.

3. According to beta testers, the game is still rough around the edges, and especially the enemy AI feels incomplete and plays atrociously bad.

4. The game is tied to Steamworks.

So, if they decide to offer a cheap non-Steamworks version some years along the road, I might bite, out of curiosity of how they tried to salvage that train wreck that "Elemental" came to be. But as a full-price Steamworks game? Naah, sorry.

I agree to all this. The game, to be nice, was garbage. I paid $80 for a game that would crash every 15 minutes. I'm going to wait for paid reviewers to rate this game before I even consider picking this up, of course on sale.