Elemental: Fallen Enchantress Beta

[Xiahou]

Has anyone been following this? After the disappointing launch of Elemental, Stardock went back to the drawing board and came up with Elemental: Fallen Enchantress- for all intents and purposes, a reboot. Anyone who bought Elemental in 2010 is supposed to get Fallen Enchantress for free... and it turns out we get beta access as well.

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've been semi-following the development of FE and I'm relatively optimistic. It looks like they're taking things much more seriously this go-round and have channeled much of their resources from the sale of Impulse into this. Hopefully this will be the game that we hoped Elemental would be.

Official Website

[rvg]

From what I've seen so far it looks very, veeeeery promising. Didn't buy the original EWoM, but if the reviews for FE come out positive I'm buying it.

[frogbeastegg]

It looks promising. I should have access to the beta version although I rather doubt I will do anything with it beyond checking I do have access. I prefer to play completed games and get enough of the beta experience when a release isn't polished.

[Xiahou]

I got my email about two hours ago telling me that I can download the beta as of 3pm EST tomorrow.

[rvg]

I got my email about two hours ago telling me that I can download the beta as of 3pm EST tomorrow.

please post the first impressions at your earliest convenience.

[Xiahou]

I had just about an hour and a half to play the beta last night. In short, I enjoyed it.

It's still obviously a beta, but it feels more complete than any version of Elemental:War of Magic (WoM) I played. The graphics look better, the UI is much more inituitive (and tooltips abound). The game world seems much more hostile, and as a result, immersive as well. In my current game, I had the misfortune of having a young ogre, a bone ogre (his dad?) and a death demon all at various points around my northern frontier. I managed to pick off the young ogre- but I stay well clear of the bone ogre and the demon. They're much too powerful and I don't want to stir up that hornet's nest. Incidentally, I've been told that monsters can level up as well- so forget about wearing them down with waves of disposable troops. Kill them or don't try. If you try and fail you're just making them stronger.

Combat is a vast improvement over WoM. Notice the icons on the left- they indicate attack order. Instead of using the purely turn based combat from before, they've moved to an initiative based system. My champion and I are able to get in several moves before the slower earth elemental does. A welcome change.

This is a screen shot of the tech tree- it clearly outlines what research must be performed to arrive at whatever technology you want and it tells you how many turns it will take at your current research pace.

As I've said, it is still a beta. I saw a number of graphical glitches, had one CTD, but it was still a good time.

[rvg]

mmmm.... delicioso.

[Xiahou]

I just started a game with version 0.77 of the beta and it's been pretty awesome. I started this one with a challenging world difficulty, challenging AIs, 3 Kingdoms and 4 Empires and a "ravaged" terrain setting. By being a turn to slow to pick a starting location, I was forced to go on a 70 turn odyssey crossing most of the continent, going to war with the Empire of Yithril, and running thru 2 fierce wildlands before finally finding a secure place to found my kingdom. I recruited 4 champions, had some epic battles, gained several levels, and saw some downright scary monsters before finally even starting my kingdom. So far, 1 empire and 1 kingdom have been destroyed by the monsters of the world.

In case you wanted to know what the elemental lord who rules the Burning Lands looks like....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Look at those stats! I can't imagine ever defeating him!

Here's the map of the world as I know it, showing my long trek to home....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Here's a fun screenie of my best melee champion with a growth spell cast on her fighting 2 hapless ice elementals. This was part of a quest that had to do with farmers who were unable to grow crops due to constant freezes.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My city, Hope as it currently stands...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My posse. I'm riding a warg that I rescued from a lair.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Martok]

Thanks for your thoughts so far (and for the screenies), Xiahou!


Question: How is the game's immersion factor? One of the complaints I've read about War of Magic is that it feels pretty bland, so I'm hoping FE does a much better job in this respect.

[Xiahou]

Whoah, and this is free for anyone who bought the first one?

I'm not entirely sure- I think it's free to anyone who got the original game in 2010. People who bought the original and aren't eligible for the freebie get a discount I believe. If you're unsure, just login to your account at stardock.com and look under downloads. If you can DL the beta you should be good.

[frogbeastegg]

Whoah, and this is free for anyone who bought the first one?

If you purchased it before a certain date, yes. You also get beta access. I can't remember what the date was. October 2010 maybe?

Reportedly the game will appear in your stardock account page and you will also get an email notifying you of your beta access. Unlocks are being done in waves. That's still on-going - or I hope it is because I still haven't had the email and the game has not appeared in my account.

[Xiahou]

Thanks for your thoughts so far (and for the screenies), Xiahou!


Question: How is the game's immersion factor? One of the complaints I've read about War of Magic is that it feels pretty bland, so I'm hoping FE does a much better job in this respect.

I felt the original was very bland. I couldn't play it very long before it felt more like work than a game. Fallen Enchantress has done a much better job of drawing me into the game. They still have some work to do (it is a beta), but I've thoroughly enjoyed my time playing it.

[rvg]

This is most interesting. Please keep up the posts and the screenies at your convenience.

[rvg]

Any tentative release date for this game?

[Voigtkampf]

Q4 2012 is as tentative as it can get right now.

[Xiahou]

The release date has been pegged as Oct. 23. If you go to their website, Brad has been posting new videos each day detailing last minute improvements before the game goes gold.

I'm currently downloading the latest beta. Hopefully, I can get a chance to play it- I haven't checked in on it for several releases now.

[Xiahou]

Version 1.0 is now released. I'm downloading it now. If you bought Elemental, chances are you already own Fallen Enchantress....

[rvg]

Please give us your impressions when you can! I'm excited about this one.

Meh. It's unpolished and bland. I'm trying really hard to like it, but find myself not giving a crap about the story, the characters, or the overall feel of the game. Granted, I haven't proceeded very far, but that's mostly due to the lack of desire. Annoying little bugs aside (mostly with fluff and descriptions and such), the game has yet to charm me. I hope it happens.

[Xiahou]

I'm assuming you're talking about the "Campaign". It's basically a scripted event, RPG-lite version of the sandbox main game. It serves to provide some background info on the story so far of the game world, as well as basically demo'ing the scenario aspect of the game- where anyone can use the mod tools and create/share their own scenarios. It's a neat feature, but the included scenario/campaign/whatever probably won't knock anyone's socks off. The story-telling (so far) isn't very inspired, but I am looking forward to learning more about the background of the Fallen Enchantress (Ceresa?) and it keeps me entertained enough to want to keep playing....

The "real" game, as with pretty much every Stardock game, is the sandbox mode.... which I haven't played since release because I've been working thru the campaign....

[rvg]

The sandbox (non-scenario) mode...
Well, let's start with the fact that there's a myriad of all possible Leader/Race/Faction combinations. You can play a heavy magic strategy game, a no-magic game, and a no-strategy game where you just take your sovereign and a couple of champs and run around bashing things until they stop moving (yes, you can win the game that way). So, if the sandbox is your thing, this is the sandbox game.

[rvg]

Spent some more time on this game (primarily on the main scenario). I have to take back some of the negative things I said about it: even though it's a bit rough around the edges, the game is charming and it grows on you. The A.I. is adequate, magic is powerful but not overwhelming, tactical combat is actually tactical in a sense that if you don't use some basic tactics you might get butchered.

So yeah, the game is good.

[Xiahou]

Spent some more time on this game (primarily on the main scenario). I have to take back some of the negative things I said about it: even though it's a bit rough around the edges, the game is charming and it grows on you. The A.I. is adequate, magic is powerful but not overwhelming, tactical combat is actually tactical in a sense that if you don't use some basic tactics you might get butchered.

So yeah, the game is good.

Ditto.
The starting out, I was afraid the campaign was going to be cringe-worthy, but as I play on it really is growing on me. I also agree that that tactical battles are showing some more depth as I play too. Basic tactics involving unit placement, target priority, and control of choke points can really help make the difference in battle. If you're completely outclassed in a battle, nothing is going to save you- but in an even match being smart can make all the difference. The equipment encumbrance system also forces you to make hard choices before you even go into battle.

On my last play session, I found my self starting to get into the 'just one more turn' mentality. That's something I hadn't gotten from the game when I played the earlier betas. It's a good thing.

[rvg]

Just beat the game for the first time...

Fun. fun, fun.
Now I can honestly recommend the game.

[Xiahou]

I finished the campaign mode last night- I think it took me about 9 hours. I have to say, it was better than I expected.

Afterwards finishing the campaign, I was inspired to start a sandbox game as Procipinee. So far, I've only met up with Relias so its too early to tell how well I'm doing- but I've recruited 2 champions (which is good because starting out Procipinee is useless in combat) and managed to get her to level 5. I'm about to found my second city, but I'm worried that I may be taking too long to expand...

For anyone not familiar with the game, they have a "Fallen Enchantress in pictures" page on the website that points out game features with accompanying screenshots- pretty handy.

[Xiahou]

Woo! They've just announced the first Fallen Enchantress expansion... Legendary Heroes

I think the current game has turned out to be pretty darn good, but the bullet points for the expansion seem to really seem to flesh out areas the game was thin on- better tactical battles and a less random hero leveling system are two standouts for me.

Of course, for me, the best part is:

War of Magic owners special option
Players who bought War of Magic before November of 2010 get Legendary Heroes as part of their original purchase! You don’t have to sign up. It’ll automatically be added to your Stardock account and a Steam serial number will be sent to you to get it when it’s available!

[Veho Nex]

is this game worth it?

[Xiahou]

is this game worth it?

I think Fallen Enchantress is, yes.
Here's a "lets play" video to give you some idea of what it's like. The description says it's the launch version, so it'd be missing quite a few patches and updates, but the overall idea will be the same...

[Beskar]

I will only play this if they end up sending me that free cd key by mistake, as I was burnt badly at the start and no amount of "good reviews" would ever convince me to purchase anything from the series. I rather spend the money on an overpriced tasty subway sandwich.

[Veho Nex]

Yeah i was burned pretty hard by Elemental: War of Magic and I'm incredibly hesitant to drop 40$ on this game. If I see it drop to $20 or below I might spend something on it.

[Xiahou]

Yeah i was burned pretty hard by Elemental: War of Magic and I'm incredibly hesitant to drop 40$ on this game. If I see it drop to $20 or below I might spend something on it.

You didn't get FE for free?

If you bought Elemental any time in 2010, you get Fallen Enchantress for free....
If you bought Elemental even earlier, like I did, you'll get Legendary Heroes for free too.

Elemental wasn't a very good game, but they've more than made up for it with giveaways, imo. My early purchase has turned out to be a pretty good investment.