Elemental: War of Magic
Encyclopedia
Elemental: War of Magic is a fantasy
4X
turn-based strategy
game developed and published by Stardock
, released August 24, 2010.
Stardock calls Elemental "a strategy game in an RPG
world." The game revolves around exploration, city-building, resource management and conquest, but also incorporates quests and detailed unit design.
While engaged in civil war, the Titans imprison the world's magic in a number of elemental shards. At first, only they could use the magic within the shards. In time, human channelers arose to challenge the Titans.
Ensuing battles lead to the destruction of the Forge, and ultimately the land itself. A century later, the player leads a faction of humans or Fallen (corrupted life-forms created by the Titans) in a still-devastated world, able to renew it with magic – or pervert it to their will. Human kingdoms sometimes band together against the empires of the Fallen, but each faction strives for ultimate dominance.
Players control a pre-built or custom sovereign
and belong to a faction; each has characteristics affecting gameplay. Influence over land and resources is gained by founding cities, introducing the ability to train characters and research spells and technologies. Cities can be improved to provide additional space or generate money, resources or prestige (a factor in population growth).
Elemental incorporates many features of role-playing video game
s. Each character in the game is individually named and outfitted through a character editor
, with statistics increasing with experience. Units may be combined into armies to fight more dangerous or numerous opponents. Combat takes place on a separate tactical map, although battles may normally be auto-resolved.
Quests and useful items are scattered randomly across the land, as are wandering monsters and neutral characters; the latter may be hired with gildar, the game's currency. Both may be fought for experience and treasure, although attacking civilians decreases the sovereign's reputation. The number of quests available increases over time as adventuring technologies are unlocked.
Players may negotiate with each other to exchange money, material goods, or diplomatic capital (but not technology), and to enter into treaties and alliances; however, the ability to do so must first be researched. Factors affecting negotiation include race, relative military strength, current relations, trade routes, treaties, character, traits, and family connections.
Gameplay varies depending on the chosen faction. Human kingdoms tend to focus on government and civilization, while the empires of the Fallen are more about individual units.
Executive producer Scott Tykoski compared the game to Viva Piñata
, but substituting "shovels and creatures filled with candy for swords and creatures filled with dark magic." Designer Brad Wardell
said that players should expect to reach "a Sauron
or Morgoth
level of power" by the end of the game.
; earth, air, fire, and water. Spells (which must be researched before use) belong to a number of thematic spellbooks, some of which are unavailable at the start of the game. Players may learn individual spells at their current level, or devote their research to unlocking higher spell levels. While magic-users may cast researched spells from any spellbook possessed by their faction, controlling shards greatly amplifies the potency of spells which use the relevant elements.
Sovereigns start with a certain amount of magical essence, determining how much mana they have, and so how many spells they may cast. They may imbue essence into champions, granting limited power at the cost of their own abilities. Essence may also be expended by sovereigns to escape death and return to a nearby settlement. Marriages involving magic-using characters may result in children with magical skills of their own.
The chance of gaining a particular technology varies – some are not even offered until a breakthrough is made – so the technology gained may only be picked once the research is complete. The cost of research within a category increases as technologies are researched, making the order of research important.
The artificial intelligence
has two modes of operation: basic and advanced. Basic algorithms are not CPU-intensive, but are not as good as the advanced ones. The chance of using advanced algorithms for a decision – the intelligence factor – varies between difficulty level
s. At "challenging", this factor reaches 100%. Some low difficulty levels prohibit the AI from using combat magic, and penalize their economy, hit points and/or starting funds. At higher levels, the AI acquires bonuses; the highest permits the AI to see through the fog of war.
from Atari, but decided to create their own universe
, due in part to issues of compliance and code ownership.
The campaign story was developed with assistance from Random House
's Del Rey
subsidiary.
Elemental's art style was based on the work of Alphonse Mucha – in particular, his use of "hard lines and soft tones on realistic forms" – and designed for "minimal overhead" so the game might be played on "a crappy netbook
."
In March 2010, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell estimated that the game would cost US$5 million to develop. On July 23, 2010, he said the game cost approximately half that.
Wardell also indicated Stardock's intention to develop free updates and addons to the game after release, as well as several expansion packs:
Early versions of Elemental were provided throughout the development cycle to those who had pre-ordered. The last such version was on August 22, two days before the scheduled release. A demo is planned for early September.
The developers plan to allow players to have their worlds populated with player-made mods
, accessible from a moderated central database. The game contains an interactive tile editor, and its engine uses only dynamic light sources.
, while location names are positioned dynamically on the cloth map. The limited edition includes a poster, canvas map, 20-track music CD
, mini-encyclopedia, and a pewter dragon figurine. Copies sold by Best Buy
and Walmart have early access to content that will be distributed to all players 90 days after release.
Elemental uses Havok
middleware for physics and animation and Bink
video. Multiplayer is handled using Stardock's Impulse Reactor; players may use Facebook
credentials to login. The retail copy of the game shipped without any form of digital rights management
; however, a legal copy is required to access updates and free addons to the game. The Elemental soundtrack was composed by Mason Fisher.
to accompany the game. The book is set after the time of the game itself, and involves the quest of a former messenger to save mankind from the Fallen. It comes with a coupon for exclusive downloadable content
.
Metacritic
, with grades ranging from 72% to 30%. Reviewers criticized the game for technical issues, problems with core game concepts, and poor GUI
and documentation, and praised its ambition and strategic flexibility.
Due to severe technical problems, PC Gamer
, GameSpot
and GamePro
delayed reviewing the game until post-release patch
es were available.
Game Informer
criticized the game's lack of polish and broken combat system, stating that Elemental failed to combine excellent individual features into a cohesive game. PC Gamer felt the game's ambition and sense of discovery were let down by inadequate AI
. G4
said the game felt like "a work in progress", lacking documentation and polish, and called it a victim of an over-ambitious design. 1UP.com
also criticized the AI and over-ambitious design, concluding that the game "just isn't fun" due to crash
es and "a poorly designed GUI". Tom Chick
called the game "disappointingly primitive", lacking clarity and purpose, and in need of "the work it should have gotten when it was in beta, if not earlier." For GameSpot, Elementals "solid game foundation" and "many worthy ideas and ambitions" were impeded by a wide range of problems including frequent crashes, disappointing visuals, a poor interface, bad AI and unsatisfying tactical combat. GamePro
felt that the game's complexity and lack of focus may be off-putting, but fans of the 4X genre would find a fun game underneath the bugs and lack of tutorials. IGN called the game "strangely engaging" despite its instability and inaccessibility issues, concluding that Elemental was "a game with some great ideas that just haven't been implemented as well as they could be."
Many reviewers felt the game had the potential for significant improvement with sufficient patching, citing Stardock's track record of post-release support.
Elementals designer Brad Wardell agreed with the negative reviews and ascribed the launch difficulties to insufficient QA
process and "[his] own catastrophic poor judgment in not objectively evaluating the core game play components." Stardock was forced into layoff
s due to the unexpectedly poor launch.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
4X
4X
4X games are a genre of strategy video game in which players control an empire and "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate." The term was first coined by Alan Emrich in his September 1993 preview of Master of Orion for Computer Gaming World...
turn-based strategy
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
game developed and published by Stardock
Stardock
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Windows due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998...
, released August 24, 2010.
Stardock calls Elemental "a strategy game in an RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
world." The game revolves around exploration, city-building, resource management and conquest, but also incorporates quests and detailed unit design.
Plot
The game is set in a world once filled with magic, which comes to form the basis of human civilization. Immortal beings known as the Titans were attracted to the world by construction of the reality-warping Forge of the Overlord, an artifact able to create magical items.While engaged in civil war, the Titans imprison the world's magic in a number of elemental shards. At first, only they could use the magic within the shards. In time, human channelers arose to challenge the Titans.
Ensuing battles lead to the destruction of the Forge, and ultimately the land itself. A century later, the player leads a faction of humans or Fallen (corrupted life-forms created by the Titans) in a still-devastated world, able to renew it with magic – or pervert it to their will. Human kingdoms sometimes band together against the empires of the Fallen, but each faction strives for ultimate dominance.
Gameplay
Elemental has a single-player campaign, minimal support for multiplayer, no local play (LAN) (despite being advertised), and nonlinear "sandbox" gameplay. Outside the campaign, players win by conquering or allying with other factions, or rebuilding the Forge. Forge pieces may be quested for, or created by learning and casting the Spell of Making, requiring control of all elemental shards.Players control a pre-built or custom sovereign
Sovereign
A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdiction.Sovereign may also refer to:*Monarch, the sovereign of a monarchy*Sovereign Bank, banking institution in the United States*Sovereign...
and belong to a faction; each has characteristics affecting gameplay. Influence over land and resources is gained by founding cities, introducing the ability to train characters and research spells and technologies. Cities can be improved to provide additional space or generate money, resources or prestige (a factor in population growth).
Elemental incorporates many features of role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s. Each character in the game is individually named and outfitted through a character editor
Character editor
A character editor is a program that is used to edit player characters in computer role-playing games.Usage-wise, they are related to player character management software, such as PCGen, for pen-and-paper role-playing games....
, with statistics increasing with experience. Units may be combined into armies to fight more dangerous or numerous opponents. Combat takes place on a separate tactical map, although battles may normally be auto-resolved.
Quests and useful items are scattered randomly across the land, as are wandering monsters and neutral characters; the latter may be hired with gildar, the game's currency. Both may be fought for experience and treasure, although attacking civilians decreases the sovereign's reputation. The number of quests available increases over time as adventuring technologies are unlocked.
Players may negotiate with each other to exchange money, material goods, or diplomatic capital (but not technology), and to enter into treaties and alliances; however, the ability to do so must first be researched. Factors affecting negotiation include race, relative military strength, current relations, trade routes, treaties, character, traits, and family connections.
Gameplay varies depending on the chosen faction. Human kingdoms tend to focus on government and civilization, while the empires of the Fallen are more about individual units.
Executive producer Scott Tykoski compared the game to Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360 video game console. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series, based on an idea from Tim Stamper. Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was...
, but substituting "shovels and creatures filled with candy for swords and creatures filled with dark magic." Designer Brad Wardell
Brad Wardell
Bradley R. Wardell , commonly known as Brad Wardell, is an American businessman, programmer and author residing in Michigan...
said that players should expect to reach "a Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
or Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
level of power" by the end of the game.
Multiplayer
Before the game was release the developers were talking about a 16-way multiplayer. It wasn't until version Version 1.08b 09/16/2010 that multiplayer was enabled, however at first it was enabled as a beta for the consumers to test. As of version 1.1 the multiplayer still only supported small maps, which is not enough for 16 players.Magic
Magic resides in crystal shards named after the elementsClassical element
Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...
; earth, air, fire, and water. Spells (which must be researched before use) belong to a number of thematic spellbooks, some of which are unavailable at the start of the game. Players may learn individual spells at their current level, or devote their research to unlocking higher spell levels. While magic-users may cast researched spells from any spellbook possessed by their faction, controlling shards greatly amplifies the potency of spells which use the relevant elements.
Sovereigns start with a certain amount of magical essence, determining how much mana they have, and so how many spells they may cast. They may imbue essence into champions, granting limited power at the cost of their own abilities. Essence may also be expended by sovereigns to escape death and return to a nearby settlement. Marriages involving magic-using characters may result in children with magical skills of their own.
Research
Research is based on reclaiming lost technologies from libraries scattered around the world. Players may direct research to one of five categories; humans and Fallen have separate technology trees.The chance of gaining a particular technology varies – some are not even offered until a breakthrough is made – so the technology gained may only be picked once the research is complete. The cost of research within a category increases as technologies are researched, making the order of research important.
Artificial intelligence
Players face up to nine computer-controlled factions, neutral cities, bandits and monsters. Neutral cities may be conquered by players or destroyed by bandits and monsters.The artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
has two modes of operation: basic and advanced. Basic algorithms are not CPU-intensive, but are not as good as the advanced ones. The chance of using advanced algorithms for a decision – the intelligence factor – varies between difficulty level
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
s. At "challenging", this factor reaches 100%. Some low difficulty levels prohibit the AI from using combat magic, and penalize their economy, hit points and/or starting funds. At higher levels, the AI acquires bonuses; the highest permits the AI to see through the fog of war.
Development
Stardock originally intended to purchase the rights to Master of MagicMaster of Magic
Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based strategy computer game created by Simtex and published for MS-DOS by Microprose in . It is of the 4X genre. The player is a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player grows an empire and banishes the...
from Atari, but decided to create their own universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
, due in part to issues of compliance and code ownership.
The campaign story was developed with assistance from Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
's Del Rey
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
subsidiary.
Elemental's art style was based on the work of Alphonse Mucha – in particular, his use of "hard lines and soft tones on realistic forms" – and designed for "minimal overhead" so the game might be played on "a crappy netbook
Netbook
Netbooks are a category of small, lightweight, legacy-free, and inexpensive laptop computers.At their inception in late 2007 as smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low cost — netbooks omitted certain features , featured smaller screens and keyboards, and offered reduced computing...
."
In March 2010, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell estimated that the game would cost US$5 million to develop. On July 23, 2010, he said the game cost approximately half that.
Wardell also indicated Stardock's intention to develop free updates and addons to the game after release, as well as several expansion packs:
When games come out, that's the end of development, but we don't consider our game done - it won't be done for years, because there's so much stuff we can do. So after release we have tons of new quests we want to come out with, we're going to be adding new factions to the game to help liven things up further, we have a ton of new map styles we want to put in - all kinds of crazy new stuff we can put in here.
Early versions of Elemental were provided throughout the development cycle to those who had pre-ordered. The last such version was on August 22, two days before the scheduled release. A demo is planned for early September.
The developers plan to allow players to have their worlds populated with player-made mods
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
, accessible from a moderated central database. The game contains an interactive tile editor, and its engine uses only dynamic light sources.
Features
The game engine, Kumquat, provides a user interface able to zoom from a cloth map to a 3D representation of individual buildings and units. 3D objects have variable level of detailLevel of detail
In computer graphics, accounting for level of detail involves decreasing the complexity of a 3D object representation as it moves away from the viewer or according other metrics such as object importance, eye-space speed or position....
, while location names are positioned dynamically on the cloth map. The limited edition includes a poster, canvas map, 20-track music CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, mini-encyclopedia, and a pewter dragon figurine. Copies sold by Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
and Walmart have early access to content that will be distributed to all players 90 days after release.
Elemental uses Havok
Havok (software)
Havok Physics is a physics engine developed by Irish company Havok. It is designed primarily for video games, and allows for real-time collision and dynamics of rigid bodies in three dimensions. It provides multiple types of dynamic constraints between rigid bodies , and has a highly optimized...
middleware for physics and animation and Bink
Bink video
Bink is a proprietary video file format developed by RAD Game Tools and used primarily in computer games. It has been used in many games for Windows, Mac OS, Xbox 360, Xbox, GameCube, Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and Sony PSP...
video. Multiplayer is handled using Stardock's Impulse Reactor; players may use Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
credentials to login. The retail copy of the game shipped without any form of digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
; however, a legal copy is required to access updates and free addons to the game. The Elemental soundtrack was composed by Mason Fisher.
Destiny's Embers
A novel, Elemental: Destiny's Embers (ISBN 0345517865), was published by Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
to accompany the game. The book is set after the time of the game itself, and involves the quest of a former messenger to save mankind from the Fallen. It comes with a coupon for exclusive downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
.
Sales
As of September 5, 2010, Stardock reported that Elemental: War of Magic has sold approximately 82,000 copies.Reception
Elemental has an average rating of 54% on review aggregatorReview aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, with grades ranging from 72% to 30%. Reviewers criticized the game for technical issues, problems with core game concepts, and poor GUI
Gui
Gui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...
and documentation, and praised its ambition and strategic flexibility.
Due to severe technical problems, PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
, GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
and GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
delayed reviewing the game until post-release patch
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...
es were available.
Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
criticized the game's lack of polish and broken combat system, stating that Elemental failed to combine excellent individual features into a cohesive game. PC Gamer felt the game's ambition and sense of discovery were let down by inadequate AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
. G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
said the game felt like "a work in progress", lacking documentation and polish, and called it a victim of an over-ambitious design. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
also criticized the AI and over-ambitious design, concluding that the game "just isn't fun" due to crash
Crash (computing)
A crash in computing is a condition where a computer or a program, either an application or part of the operating system, ceases to function properly, often exiting after encountering errors. Often the offending program may appear to freeze or hang until a crash reporting service documents...
es and "a poorly designed GUI". Tom Chick
Tom Chick
Tom W. Chick is an American television and movie actor, and independent journalist. His most prominent TV roles were as Oscar's lover Gil in the US version of The Office, and the hard-hitting reporter Gordon in The West Wing. As a writer, Tom has contributed to many current and past video game...
called the game "disappointingly primitive", lacking clarity and purpose, and in need of "the work it should have gotten when it was in beta, if not earlier." For GameSpot, Elementals "solid game foundation" and "many worthy ideas and ambitions" were impeded by a wide range of problems including frequent crashes, disappointing visuals, a poor interface, bad AI and unsatisfying tactical combat. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
felt that the game's complexity and lack of focus may be off-putting, but fans of the 4X genre would find a fun game underneath the bugs and lack of tutorials. IGN called the game "strangely engaging" despite its instability and inaccessibility issues, concluding that Elemental was "a game with some great ideas that just haven't been implemented as well as they could be."
Many reviewers felt the game had the potential for significant improvement with sufficient patching, citing Stardock's track record of post-release support.
Elementals designer Brad Wardell agreed with the negative reviews and ascribed the launch difficulties to insufficient QA
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
process and "[his] own catastrophic poor judgment in not objectively evaluating the core game play components." Stardock was forced into layoff
Layoff
Layoff , also called redundancy in the UK, is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs...
s due to the unexpectedly poor launch.
External links
- Elemental: War of Magic
- Elemental: War of Magic on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Elemental: War of Magic Wiki
- Elemental: War of Magic Mods
- Official game tutorials