Octopus Overlords

by **Moat_Man** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:46 am

From Brad Wardell:

In 10 days, we’re going to start activating Elemental: Fallen Enchantress on tens of thousands of user accounts. It’ll be, by far, the largest “beta” release we’ve ever done.

We’re going to be rolling the dice a little here. There’s no NDA. Players are free to praise or pan what they get.

In the past year, we’ve greatly expanded our development team, brought in industry veterans and with the sale of Impulse, our top game developers have returned to the game unit to work on Fallen Enchantress.

We’re both excited and nervous for how people will react to Fallen Enchantress. It has been our collective “baby” for the past year. More so than anything we’ve worked on before.

I won’t go into too much detail on how many long hours Derek and I have brain stormed different quests, different types of loot, interesting spells, and how to make the AI play differently from one another in a way that’s obvious to players. It’s been a very enjoyable experience having this kind of time to do this kind of thing. And we’re not done.

Owners of Elemental: War of Magic (WOM) will be getting an email next week going through what Fallen Enchantress is and how they can download it.

The beta release will go in two phases. January 19 will be to everyone who pre-ordered WOM. A week later will be everyone else who got WOM in 2010.

Stay tuned!

I thought this game deserved it's own thread. I pre-ordered E:WoM and based on the horrible feedback I only ever loaded it up once. It's the only game that I can remember pre-ordering and I won't do that again.

I have been lurking on the Elemental forums and am very interested to see if Stardock can regain some of the goodwill that they lost with the War of Magic release debacle.

I wish them well and with no NDA on the beta I am sure we will know pretty quick how the game is shaping up.

by **Holman** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:01 am

I haven't visited the forums, so I don't really know what to expect from Fallen Enchantress. I'm prepared to go into it with an open mind.

by **Jaymon** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 9:15 am

If I get the email, then I will give it a go. I really really wanted to like Elemental and played it quite a bit.

by **$iljanus** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:05 am

Well hopefully this will be the game we were supposed to get. Won't turn down a free game and will be happy to try it out.

by **tgb** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:51 am

I hope this is good enough to tide me over until CK II comes out next month.

by **Sepiche** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:55 am

Some awesome looking new info's been posted about the differences between the factions in FE. Looks great!
http://forums.elementalgame.com/415163

You can definitely see Derek's touch in the details.

by **tgb** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:59 pm

I'm seriously thinking of avoiding this until the word is that it's finished, just to keep from falling into SotS II-style disappointment.

by **Zarathud** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:14 pm

I'm more interested in delivery options. Does this mean I will need to reinstall Impulse?

by **Sepiche** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:18 pm

Brad said it should be available here once the beta starts:
http://download.stardock.com/

I was able to log in there and double check they have me listed as having preordered WoM. The beta email that will go out soon should have the rest of the details.

by **The Meal** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:00 pm

Dear Stardock Customer,

If you're receiving this letter, it means you purchased Elemental: War of Magic before it was released.

Elemental: War of Magic was a game we had very high hopes for. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment both to us, as well as to many of our customers. Stardock's success in its nineteen years of existence has been because people know if they buy something with our name on it, it'll be excellent. With Elemental: War of Magic we failed that expectation.

For the past year, Stardock has been working on something new -- Elemental: Fallen Enchantress. We went back to the drawing board to create not an expansion, but rather a new game in the Elemental universe.

Fallen Enchantress is currently in beta. Both the beta and the final version will automatically be added to your Stardock account free of charge.

Tomorrow, January 19, at approximately 3:00 PM EST you'll be able to download the beta version by visiting: download.stardock.com.

We hope you find Elemental: Fallen Enchantress to be a game that lives up to the expectations you had for War of Magic. We thank you for your support and look forward to your feedback.

Sincerely,
Brad Wardell - President & CEO
Stardock Entertainment

by **TiLT** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:03 pm

That's strange... I preordered the game but haven't heard a peep from Stardock yet about this expansion.

by **LordMortis** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:16 pm

I just got me email this afternoon. Not sure what I'll do about it.

by **tgb** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:30 pm

I got it too.

I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................I will NOT get excited....................................

by **hepcat** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:12 pm

where the heck's mine? :cry:

by **Jag** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:18 pm

If you didn't get the email, check your account to see what email it has

https://store.stardock.com/myaccount

<---got mine :wub:

by **hepcat** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:27 pm

Looks like I ordered my copy on August 30, 2010. Does that mean I still get a free copy of Fallen Enchantress? From reading the above posts from Brad, I'm assuming that I will but that since I didn't actually preorder, I won't get notification until the second round goes out.

by **TiLT** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:29 pm

Jag wrote:If you didn't get the email, check your account to see what email it has

https://store.stardock.com/myaccount

<---got mine

It's got the correct email and lists my preorder for the original Elemental, but nothing about Fallout Enchantress yet. I suppose they're sending these emails out in batches.

by **Formix** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:33 pm

I also preordered (confirmed on download site) but no e-mail....

by **Sepiche** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:35 pm

No email here yet and I preordered pretty early on... I better be getting that email.

by **JonathanStrange** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:04 pm

Last time, frogboy's "game diaries" gave the misleading impression that Elemental War of Magic was working as intended; albeit with a few adjustments to be made. He'd adventure and quest, found cities, fight spiders, recruit heroes - according to him the game was just about fully baked.

This time, people should have a better idea of the game's release status before purchase.

Oh well, there aren't very many turn-based games with this theme so what the hell: let's wait and see. I'll buy if the feedback's good. But I don't see it as a big deal release anymore.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

by **Zarathud** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:10 pm

It's not like SOTS2 was a trouble-free release. Fingers are crossed.

by **dbemont** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:09 pm

Got the email, and it looks interesting. Personally, I have no problem playing around with betas, as long as I know that that is what it is.

by **Butterknife** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:12 pm

I also got my email. I will try to give it some time tomorrow night, and I'll let you know how the beta is shaping up.

I'm sort of having flashbacks to my Elemental: War of Magic Beta where I kept saying "It isn't ready yet" and Brad said "you guys don't have the latest version". I'm guessing he'll read this and other feedback pretty closely. I intend to be a little more harsh this time if it isn't good.

That being said, getting a game for free makes me feel like a hypocrite if I say anything bad at all. Nonetheless, it had better be stellar. Bugs and placeholder stuff I can live with, but the gameplay needs to be good - Beta or not. All of us hope it is good.

by **ydejin** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:19 pm

TiLT wrote:That's strange... I preordered the game but haven't heard a peep from Stardock yet about this expansion.

Mine got dumped into the SPAM folder, you might check for it there.

by **Shinjin** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:29 pm

Butterknife wrote:That being said, getting a game for free makes me feel like a hypocrite if I say anything bad at all.

Don't be. You paid for FE back when you put down $$ and got WOM.

Think of it as similar to the 'free month' you get when you buy an MMO

If that 'free month' is spent playing a crappy game, would you let the devs off the hook?

by **Daehawk** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:30 pm

He says they will activate it on tons of accounts....how? they no longer have Impulse. Wasn't that where all their games were through?

by **Canuck** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:17 pm

Reading is your friend.

Sepiche wrote:Brad said it should be available here once the beta starts:
http://download.stardock.com/

I was able to log in there and double check they have me listed as having preordered WoM. The beta email that will go out soon should have the rest of the details.

by **Malacheye** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:43 pm

Its funny. Three days ago, I decided to try and play the latest version of WoM (1.41) for the first time in over a year. There have been some improvements. I could even call the two games I tried to be somewhat fun.

Then out of the blue, yesterday I got the email email about FE. I Couldnt remember my username and password to Stardock since I hadnt been there in soooo long.

I am hopeful that FE will put my faith in Stardock again...It looks pretty cool from what I can see.

by **ydejin** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 12:27 am

Malacheye wrote:Its funny. Three days ago, I decided to try and play the latest version of WoM (1.41) for the first time in over a year. There have been some improvements. I could even call the two games I tried to be somewhat fun.

Then out of the blue, yesterday I got the email email about FE. I Couldnt remember my username and password to Stardock since I hadnt been there in soooo long.

I am hopeful that FE will put my faith in Stardock again...It looks pretty cool from what I can see.

Also don't forget this is being designed by Derek Paxton (aka Kael, the Fall from Heaven designer and fellow OO poster). AFAIK this is his first professional game. I'm very excited for him and hope this will be a really terrific game that will further bolster his reputation and his career.

by **TiLT** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:40 am

ydejin wrote:
TiLT wrote:That's strange... I preordered the game but haven't heard a peep from Stardock yet about this expansion.

Mine got dumped into the SPAM folder, you might check for it there.

Oh come on, I'm not THAT stupid.

If I'm expecting a mail and don't get it, the spam folder is the first place I look.

by **Formix** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:20 am

OK, apparently I AM that stupid, after sifting through eight quintillion e-mails in my Spam folder promising me something for free, I found the one from Brad promising me something for free. :wub:

by **Holman** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:49 am

I preordered Elemental way back in the day, and I still don't have an email from Stardock in my spam folder or anywhere else. At the Stardock store I have only Elemental available for download.

by **IceBear** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:04 am

The beta isn't going to be available until 3pm today at the link Sepiche gave above. I did get the email but when I go to the download link, Fallen Enchantress is not in the list, which is what I expected (shouldn't be there until around 3pm EST)

by **tgb** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:58 pm

The beta is up.

by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:09 pm

And I can confirm as someone that pre-ordered Elemental but never received an e-mail notification about the Fallen Enchantress beta that it is indeed in my Stardock download account. As much as I'd like to say I'll take it for a spin, I just don't have the time. But I am real curious to hear some impressions.

by **Sepiche** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:23 pm

Yup, I finally got the email last night, and I just checked my account and the beta's there. I'm at work for the next few hours, but I'll likely give it a shot at some point this evening.

by **dbemont** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:02 pm

Got it!

Fairly quick download. Easy installation to a custom drive. No problem registering it.

I'm off to give it a try!

by **Holman** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:10 pm

Well, I never got the email, and the game is not available at the link in this thread. I pre-ordered and registered Elemental way back when.

by **Sepiche** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:13 pm

Holman wrote:Well, I never got the email, and the game is not available at the link in this thread. I pre-ordered and registered Elemental way back when.

Does it show your pre-order in your account history? If it does then I'd shoot them an email and let them know.

by **TiLT** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:56 pm

Never got an email, but the game is now available in my list. Dunno if I'm going to try the beta. I was mostly interested in knowing if I was even included.

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