So it is out in a few days - does anyone one have any info on whether this is any good ?
Welcome to Grogheads Zulu!
I've not bothered playing the beta, so I can't answer that question yet. However, since I was foolish enough to pre-order WoM -- and therefore am receiving a copy of FE -- I plan to fire it up when it comes out.
Will those of us who purhcased WoM get a steam code for FE?
IIRC it will transfer over to Steam.
Quote from: Bison on October 21, 2012, 10:17:49 AM
IIRC it will transfer over to Steam.
Thats some good news in this crap storm that was WoM.
I lied. If this post is still true, you'll have to download through Stardock to get your free copy.
(9) Before anyone asks, no, you can't transfer your FE serial to Steam. I can't go into the details on why this is so don't ask. Just assume it has something to do with gold plated rocket cars or something. http://forums.elementalgame.com/429972
Sorry about the misinformation and making your week suck again TCT.
Quote from: Bison on October 21, 2012, 10:35:38 AM
I lied. If this post is still true, you'll have to download through Stardock to get your free copy.
(9) Before anyone asks, no, you can't transfer your FE serial to Steam. I can't go into the details on why this is so don't ask. Just assume it has something to do with gold plated rocket cars or something. http://forums.elementalgame.com/429972
Sorry about the misinformation and making your week suck again TCT.
Grrrr..... I really should have just asked for my money back in the beginning.
Quote from: Martok on October 21, 2012, 10:13:21 AM
Welcome to Grogheads Zulu!
I've not bothered playing the beta, so I can't answer that question yet. However, since I was foolish enough to pre-order WoM -- and therefore am receiving a copy of FE -- I plan to fire it up when it comes out.
Thanks ;). Reading the small print in the post Bison linked to below - seems as though what is going on sale on steam in a couple of days is still a BETA. And after that there will be another beta. So the actual finished product is still a ways off yet. Funny - its not being advertsied as a beta product on steam.
Welcome to funhouse Zulu.
Quote from: Zulu1966 on October 21, 2012, 11:18:05 AM
Quote from: Martok on October 21, 2012, 10:13:21 AM
Welcome to Grogheads Zulu!
I've not bothered playing the beta, so I can't answer that question yet. However, since I was foolish enough to pre-order WoM -- and therefore am receiving a copy of FE -- I plan to fire it up when it comes out.
Thanks ;). Reading the small print in the post Bison linked to below - seems as though what is going on sale on steam in a couple of days is still a BETA. And after that there will be another beta. So the actual finished product is still a ways off yet. Funny - its not being advertsied as a beta product on steam.
Whats going up on Steam in a few days is the full game. The post Bison linked was posted back in August and was right before a beta update. Little disappointed that we can't transfer are codes onto Steam. I don't want to use stardock central or whatever SD calls their in house download program.
I've played a little bit of the beta. I've only played 2-3 hours at the most, and most of that was before they started working on balancing or the AI, so I can't comment on those. The art style is the same from WoM. I personally like it, others may not. FE still plays like Civilization. Its got 3 research trees, magic, warfare, and civilization. You can only research one at a time. No more choosing a random tech like in WoM. Maps are now randomized. The game does feel a little more alive. Its got a lot more random creatures wondering around.
One of my complaints with the early betas was that it would always start me right next to a high level mob, or a packs of smaller mobs, that I had no chance of killing that early in the game. Then as I expanded out they would swarm my settlers.
That all being said, I do hope to put sometime into FE in a few weeks. I really liked Fall from Heaven for Civ4, and since Derek Paxton did both I'm really curious to see how the full version of FE plays. I don't think a lot of people here will like it. Given how much it plays like Civilization, if you have Warlock you might feel like your playing the same game. I haven't played Warlock but my impression was that it was basically Civ V with a fantasy skin.
I spent a couple of hours with the version just before the one currently available, and it is head and shoulders better than WoM. Word is the last beta is better yet. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product.
I actually prefer not to get it through Steam.
I've got enough games through them.
It's nice to have some games that aren't as backup for when Steam goes down and such.
In any case, you won't need any special platform or DRM for this one. You download it straight off the web.
So that's another major plus.
Quote from: Kushan on October 21, 2012, 11:59:20 AM
Given how much it plays like Civilization, if you have Warlock you might feel like your playing the same game. I haven't played Warlock but my impression was that it was basically Civ V with a fantasy skin.
Warlock is nowhere near as deep. Warlock is basically Civ's UI but strictly combat, and no deeper than Civ's combat either. Fallen Enchantress is much more involved.
Also, I agree with Tpek. Not being on Steam is a plus for me, not a negative. I wouldn't want any single entity to be the sole gatekeeper to my games collection. The fewer games I have on Steam the better.
Quote from: Tpek on October 21, 2012, 02:49:55 PM
I actually prefer not to get it through Steam.
I've got enough games through them.
It's nice to have some games that aren't as backup for when Steam goes down and such.
In any case, you won't need any special platform or DRM for this one. You download it straight off the web.
So that's another major plus.
+1 to that!!!
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 21, 2012, 04:46:09 PM
Warlock is nowhere near as deep. Warlock is basically Civ's UI but strictly combat, and no deeper than Civ's combat either. Fallen Enchantress is much more involved.
I thought Warlock's combat, and specifically the combat units themselves (and levelling them up), was far more interesting than Civ's. It better be since war is Warlock's focus and it doesn't have all the extra stuff that Civ does. As I've said, Warlock is closer to a Panzer/Fantasy General style gameplay but in an open sandbox and not as much like Civ despite the similar UI look.
Anyway.. Fallen Enchantress is out today. I assume any NDAs are completely gone. So let the critcism begin! ;)
I wasn't knocking Warlock, just pointing out that it isn't exactly a deep game. Fallen Enchantress has a lot more to it. Whether or not Fallen Enchantress is any good, well, we'll have to see about that. ;)
Funny that I haven't got an email from Stardock, considering today is release day. They've been newsletter-happy lately.
Not a good sign when I can't uninstall the beta....
I'm getting a "Could not access network location NO$KEY" when I try to unistall the beta. I've tried restarting my machine. I've tried running disabling Norton. Nothing seems to work. Anyone who had the beta have this issue?
Quote from: Kushan on October 23, 2012, 07:51:01 PM
Not a good sign when I can't uninstall the beta....
I'm getting a "Could not access network location NO$KEY" when I try to unistall the beta. I've tried restarting my machine. I've tried running disabling Norton. Nothing seems to work. Anyone who had the beta have this issue?
"network location"??
Just where did you install this thing, anyway? :P
It always rankles me when someone issues a faulty installer/uninstaller. Come on people! ::) I got one from one of EA's Battlefield games. Had to manually delete it along with finding the registry keys and deleting those manually, too. F'ing ridiculous.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 23, 2012, 11:21:21 PM
Quote from: Kushan on October 23, 2012, 07:51:01 PM
Not a good sign when I can't uninstall the beta....
I'm getting a "Could not access network location NO$KEY" when I try to unistall the beta. I've tried restarting my machine. I've tried running disabling Norton. Nothing seems to work. Anyone who had the beta have this issue?
"network location"??
Just where did you install this thing, anyway? :P
It always rankles me when someone issues a faulty installer/uninstaller. Come on people! ::) I got one from one of EA's Battlefield games. Had to manually delete it along with finding the registry keys and deleting those manually, too. F'ing ridiculous.
Its installed onto my game/program drive...where I have everything but windows installed. First time I've had an issue with uninstalling something. I know when I installed it norton didn't like the FE installer, maybe I should have just let norton continue to block it.
No problems uninstalling beta then installing FE. I also have Norton. So just lucky I guess.
So as anyone played this yet? Should I even spend the time installing it?
Tom chick did a write up. Seems like he likes it for the most part.
http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/10/24/here-lies-the-empire-of-magnar-latest-casualty-of-fallen-enchantress-ai/ (http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/10/24/here-lies-the-empire-of-magnar-latest-casualty-of-fallen-enchantress-ai/)
Yeah, I was just about to say that the forumites are loving it over on QT3, and they were some of WoM's biggest critics. Bodes well.
I played several games of it already.
Nice, but still seems to have some of the cons of the original Elemental, namely, equipment is really not unique enough.
With a limited selection of armors, the way they all look the same, makes troops feel too much like each other, without any faction difference.
And there aren't enough ranged weapons, just 2-3 bows, that are basically a linear progression of the same weapon. (And an amulet that lets you throw knives)
So I can't seem to unlock my free version of the game. I thought it was suppose to be available for me on the former Stardock application that GameStop now owns. I tried poking around there forums and didn't find an answer. Anyone know how I am suppose to get the game?
Log into your stardock account and the download will be there in your list.
Get Heavenfalls Stormworld mod. A ton of great content. He also has a UI mod as well.
Quote from: Tpek on October 25, 2012, 08:54:39 AM
With a limited selection of armors, the way they all look the same, makes troops feel too much like each other, without any faction difference.
Oh for christ's sake, really? That's one of the things we shouted loudest about over WoM. It's really disheartening to hear they haven't fixed this.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 25, 2012, 12:31:18 PM
Quote from: Tpek on October 25, 2012, 08:54:39 AM
With a limited selection of armors, the way they all look the same, makes troops feel too much like each other, without any faction difference.
Oh for christ's sake, really? That's one of the things we shouted loudest about over WoM. It's really disheartening to hear they haven't fixed this.
I remember they talked about it at length back before the beta even, how this was going to be one of the major changes in the game.
Finally some nice selection of themed-weapons...
And yet again the same thing.
I kinda like this game, but it's not really that different from the original WoM.
And does anyone know what's this "Fallen Enchantress" in the title even?
So far I haven't seen a single mention of that Enchantress, or even a female mage for that purpose :P
Quote from: Tpek on October 25, 2012, 12:45:56 PM
And does anyone know what's this "Fallen Enchantress" in the title even?
So far I haven't seen a single mention of that Enchantress, or even a female mage for that purpose :P
I suspect the identity of the Fallen Enchantress will be revealed by playing the campaign thus it would be rather spoilerish to give it away up-front, I've just started the campaign myself so I maybe wrong.
Quote from: Tpek on October 25, 2012, 08:54:39 AM
I played several games of it already.
Nice, but still seems to have some of the cons of the original Elemental, namely, equipment is really not unique enough.
With a limited selection of armors, the way they all look the same, makes troops feel too much like each other, without any faction difference.
And there aren't enough ranged weapons, just 2-3 bows, that are basically a linear progression of the same weapon. (And an amulet that lets you throw knives)
This is sad to hear. Varied itemization is a must in anything RPG-ish.
Well the shoddy installer failed to work the first time (after spending five minutes thinking about it). It seems to be installing now though, albeit very slowly. I guess I'll fire it up on the weekend.
At this point Im not sure I want to even install my free version. Maybe I'll wait till it is patched a few times.
I have only played a little so far, but don't see where the comment on lack of weapons and armor types comes from. For example, I just outfitted a group of militia in leather....had many options for what they could add; boots, greaves, bracers, and at least type types of clubs.
I'll keep playing to get a better idea.
So far so good...am having fun with it. Diplomacy seems to work better now as well.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wargamer.com%2Fforums%2Fsmiley%2Fnothingtogive.gif&hash=798956e417704198f1fce72a89629fe86bf746d7)
I saw it while perusing a Gamersgate email sale alert this morning; the new Disciples game was also just released at 10% off.
Quote from: ArizonaTank on October 25, 2012, 08:59:51 PM
I have only played a little so far, but don't see where the comment on lack of weapons and armor types comes from. For example, I just outfitted a group of militia in leather....had many options for what they could add; boots, greaves, bracers, and at least type types of clubs.
I'll keep playing to get a better idea.
So far so good...am having fun with it. Diplomacy seems to work better now as well.
These are different parts.
But wait until you research all the armors and you'll see how limited your options are.
Linear progression of armor with only 4 "levels".
And like I said, a distinct lack of variety when it comes to ranged weaponry.
Quote from: Kushan on October 25, 2012, 12:49:02 AM
Tom chick did a write up. Seems like he likes it for the most part.
http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/10/24/here-lies-the-empire-of-magnar-latest-casualty-of-fallen-enchantress-ai/ (http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/10/24/here-lies-the-empire-of-magnar-latest-casualty-of-fallen-enchantress-ai/)
True. I also just read his epically hilarious review of XCOM (not to be confused with X-Com). I need to remember more often that Tom didn't disappear into the void after Tom vs. Bruce had to fold. {sadness}
(Please God let Tom vs. Bruce still exist somewhere. Please God let Tom vs. Bruce still exist somewhere. Continually repeating for emphasis.)
I thought he was reviving/had revived Tom vs Bruce? I remember it being discussed on the QT3 forum a while back.
I'm not the biggest fan myself, though. I usually disagree with Tom's reviews and I don't like the way he runs his forum - it's one reason I've never bothered to register.
I haven't seen evidence of Tom vs. Bruce on QT3 yet. Maybe on Bruce's site?
No, I don't always agree with his reviews either (just offhand his dismissive review of the Amazing Spider-Man game was objectively wrong on several points), but I do like his writing style.
http://www.tomvsbruce.com/ (http://www.tomvsbruce.com/)
I don't usually agree with Tom either. I like his writing style. I tend to agree with Bruce's opinion more. If Tom likes FE, then Stardock must have done something right, since he slammed WoM.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on October 26, 2012, 01:11:47 PM
I'm not the biggest fan myself, though. I usually disagree with Tom's reviews and I don't like the way he runs his forum - it's one reason I've never bothered to register.
He run it with an iron fist? I wouldn't be surprised if you disagreed with his political views he would ban you on the spot.
Oh, I see, they only just recently started up again!
Just got the following email from Brad Wardell:
QuoteDear Stardock customer,
My name is Brad Wardell. I'm the President & CEO of Stardock. Two years ago, you bought a game from us called Elemental: War of Magic. We had great hopes and ambitions for that game but, in the end, it just wasn't a very good game.
Elemental was an expensive game. You probably paid $50 or more for it. And you trusted us to deliver to you a good game. $50 is a lot of money and companies have a moral obligation to deliver what they say they're going to deliver and frankly, Stardock failed to deliver the game we said we were going to deliver.
While we did update Elemental: War of Magic (you can still download v1.4). Its design just wasn't adequate to make it into the kind of game it should be. So we decided to start over. From scratch. We made a new game called Fallen Enchantress.
So even though it's been two years, we haven't forgotten about you. This week, we released Fallen Enchantress. It is a vastly better game and, we believe, lives up to the expectations set for the original Elemental. This game is yours. Free. It's already been added to your account.
You can download and play it by going to http://download.stardock.com.
We hope you enjoy Fallen Enchantress. Please feel free to visit the Elemental forum at www.elementalgame.com if you wish to talk to me and the rest of the team. We're there and very interested in your feedback.
Thank you for being our customers and your patience.
Sincerely,
Brad Wardell
President & CEO
In my case the spend was close to £100. I guess I'll give it a go this weekend.
This or Conquest of Elysium 3? I have had CoE3 on my scope for a while but never pulled the trigger......
PE
Quote from: PanzersEast on October 26, 2012, 04:22:10 PM
This or Conquest of Elysium 3? I have had CoE3 on my scope for a while but never pulled the trigger......
PE
If you bought the original Elemental back in the day, you should be getting FE for free.
Quote from: Tpek on October 26, 2012, 05:13:14 PM
Quote from: PanzersEast on October 26, 2012, 04:22:10 PM
This or Conquest of Elysium 3? I have had CoE3 on my scope for a while but never pulled the trigger......
PE
If you bought the original Elemental back in the day, you should be getting FE for free.
With Elemental I decided to wait, which was odd because I really liked GalCiv... so I did not pre-purchase and gave up on it.
PE
Conquest of Elysium is little more than moving stacks of units and watching battles unfold. The only real decisions to be made are the makeup of the stacks and what direction to move in. Fallen Enchantress is a bazillion times deeper.
If I was only going to choose one between FE and CoE3 it would have to be FE.
However having said that I own both and both are good games, FE has a lot more depth and polish, CoE3 has a certain charm and character.
CoE3 is also a quarter of the price of FE.
There is a demo of CoE3 here http://www.desura.com/games/conquest-of-elysium-3 though I strongly suggest reading at least section 3 (The Interface) and your class page of section 9 (Classes) to get a feel of what the game is all about before diving in.
I've had a really quick look at this and so far I'm impressed. Tactical combat has been vastly improved since WoM, and the interface - particularly tooltips - is the way it should have been two years ago. Having only played a few turns I'm not really qualified to comment on anything just yet, but I've seen enough to know it's worth continuing. Mood: cautiously optimistic. :)
P.S. Good array of starting options for skirmishes too.
Are there actually armies in the game now? In WoM, your "armies" consisted of about 8 individual units. Hardly felt epic.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 28, 2012, 08:45:43 AM
Are there actually armies in the game now? In WoM, your "armies" consisted of about 8 individual units. Hardly felt epic.
The groups of units are now larger.
So it does feel a bit more like armies rather than lone individuals battling it out.
Quote from: Tpek on October 26, 2012, 08:48:43 AM
Quote from: ArizonaTank on October 25, 2012, 08:59:51 PM
I have only played a little so far, but don't see where the comment on lack of weapons and armor types comes from. For example, I just outfitted a group of militia in leather....had many options for what they could add; boots, greaves, bracers, and at least type types of clubs.
I'll keep playing to get a better idea.
So far so good...am having fun with it. Diplomacy seems to work better now as well.
These are different parts.
But wait until you research all the armors and you'll see how limited your options are.
Linear progression of armor with only 4 "levels".
And like I said, a distinct lack of variety when it comes to ranged weaponry.
I see where you are coming from, and yes there are only basic armor types (leather, chain and plate). Also, there are only basic bows and throwing daggers for missiles.
But there are just so many options to customize your troops with, particularly by tweaking traits (eg. giving a first charge bonus, or giving them better dodge skills), adding magic items (rings, belts, etc.).
IMHO, I am quite satisfied with the options to create custom units. So I don't have admantium plate, and am missing crossbows, slings and javelins....but there is so much other customization, that I don't really notice.
Quote from: tgb on October 26, 2012, 05:32:52 PM
Conquest of Elysium is little more than moving stacks of units and watching battles unfold. The only real decisions to be made are the makeup of the stacks and what direction to move in. Fallen Enchantress is a bazillion times deeper.
Sounds like CoE is nothing compared to Ilwinter's grand strategy title. I wonder why CoE gets hyped so much when there's so little to it?
Space Sector has their review (http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2012/10/elemental-fallen-enchantress-review/) up; it's quite thorough. Sounds like their overall experience was very positive.
A good podcast with Derek Paxton on FE over at Three Moves Ahead.
http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2012/10/29/three-moves-ahead-episode-192-fallen-enchantress/
Personally, I'm embarrassed that I didn't realize until yesterday that FE isn't an upgrade/sequel/reboot/whatever to Warlock: Masters of the Arcane!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wargamer.com%2Fforums%2Fsmiley%2F00000030.gif&hash=30da71147f0bc580f6956da57ac902b5fa51483f)
But that means I can have my MoMish version of the Fantasy General/Elven Legacy engine, and also a different MoM contender, both getting good reviews. (https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wargamer.com%2Fforums%2Fsmiley%2Fcool0013.gif&hash=95926e2d70c71a347270af0929f26329f311d52c)
Quote from: spelk on October 30, 2012, 04:32:33 AM
A good podcast with Derek Paxton on FE over at Three Moves Ahead.
http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2012/10/29/three-moves-ahead-episode-192-fallen-enchantress/
The podcast also involves TOM AND BRUCE!!
(As expected, they kind of threaten to take over the podcast. After their introduction, even Derek can't quite remember what the title of the game is! ;D )
Another Zacny article talking with Derek Paxton
http://www.pcgamesn.com/article/spell-remaking-derek-paxton-transforming-elemental-fallen-enchantress
How do you get essence in a city?
It's on of the resources from the land.
The blue squares on a city tile are essence. Many tiles don't have essence at all, just Food and Material.
Oh jeez, really? It must be bloody rare then. I haven't seen any yet.
Well they are not *that* rare actually.
But you might have had an unlucky roll on your map area. Keep exploring and you'll find spots with essence.
You certainly need them to get your manapool flowing. ;)
Yeah I'm on my first game so perhaps I have got unlucky because I still haven't seen any. I'm not sure I like this system. You're already limited in where you can build cities, and now if you want essence (and why wouldn't you?) you're limited even further. Does this mean there's only a handful of viable build spots on each map? Bleh.
I won't give up on my current game though, I'm not like that; I'll just have to take a more military route than magic. Thanks for the info by the way, Yskonyn.
Yes there are only a limited amount of spots to build on.
Trust me, essence should be rare. It's a strategic commodity and if you look at the mana cost for most spells you will understand why essence is rare. I think its a rather simple but effective gameplay element like this.
Which faction did you choose to play with?
I'm Tarth at the moment. I was always Tarth for WoM and never finished a game due to its appalling issues, so I kind of feel like I need to finish one in FE as Tarth before I look at the others. :)
The terrain movement bonus is nice.
Tarth is going to be nerfed in the next patch, just so you know. ;)
They are considered an overpowered faction at the moment. But I think you have chosen well to play it for a first match. They make surviving a lot easier with their stealth movement and mosters not attacking.
Tarth doesn't need a lot of magic, I suppose, so you can do without some essence at the beginning. Hit and run tactics with high initiative counts are what their armies excel at! :)
You might have noticed that the factions are not all a shade of gray anymore, but each has specific playstyles.
I like Gilden's turtle style very much as well as Resoln's dark magic.
The upcoming 1.01 patch will address some glaring issues with AI interaction (mainly quests) which will make the random maps a lot more interesting and varied over the span of the difficulties.
Just yesterday a user pointed out an issue with simultaneous movement for the AI where two factions could move at the same time and avoid combat altogether. This will be fixed and it bound to change the game for the better.
So far, already really enjoying my time in FE. Although it's pretty hard at times to progress or survive in the lands as certain factions.
Quote from: Yskonyn on November 04, 2012, 06:42:58 AM
The upcoming 1.01 patch will address some glaring issues with AI interaction (mainly quests) which will make the random maps a lot more interesting and varied over the span of the difficulties.
Historically, 4X AI has always been weak. I'm not looking for a genius to play against or anything. However, I really hope they fixed what I called the "suicidal sovereign" bug from WoM. That was a game-breaker.
QuoteAlthough it's pretty hard at times to progress or survive in the lands as certain factions.
I would imagine that's intentional. Presumably some factions are designed to be difficult in early game but start coming into their own at mid game.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on November 04, 2012, 06:02:59 PM
However, I really hope they fixed what I called the "suicidal sovereign" bug from WoM. That was a game-breaker.
Yes this has been fixed, but mainly because the way the units work in general.
Sovereigns are pretty much powerhouses now. There is even a question going on at the moment where specific players don't even have to build an army at all. They can just clear the map with their Sov and a few Heroes.
Brad and Derek are looking into it at the moment.
Quote
QuoteAlthough it's pretty hard at times to progress or survive in the lands as certain factions.
I would imagine that's intentional. Presumably some factions are designed to be difficult in early game but start coming into their own at mid game.
It is intentional. You're right, but there are a few annoying bugs at the moment where the AI factions do not get in battle properly due to an oversight in the simultaneous movement the AI factions do.
Also, there is a problem with the way AI heroes and quests (or the battles in the quests) work. On some maps these issues make it much harder than it should for the player to survive.
Then there is the overal difficulty settings that are going to be tweaked for the next patch, because due to the randomness of the game there have been some weird experiences with difficulty setting gameplay feedback.
A thing that is probably not ever going away, just because the game has so much random stuff.
Both items have been identified and are being fixed.