IGN: Elemental: War Of Magic - Preview

[Foodstamp]

Once I realized a lot of people were just making assumptions, I dug through the forums and did some research on the game. From screenshots, it looks like the graphically modding will be done like Spore. You will be able to remodel at the very least buildings in game, which is really friggin cool.

I stumbled upon some more depth to this "soulless" game. Defeated players can become vassals, flip sides, form alliances or claw their way back into contention through good ole conquest.

The more I read about this game, the less it sounds like the game the naysayers are talking about. It's still too early to say whether this game will be good or bad, but from what I have seen so far, it sounds absolutely nothing like the negative comments I have heard. Preference I guess.

[Jagdpanther]

I think most of the 'features' that the game will have should make for a very interesting experience. I am concerned about the quality of the AI at handling these same 'features'.

[Kofiman]

Originally Posted by Jagdpanther

I think most of the 'features' that the game will have should make for a very interesting experience. I am concerned about the quality of the AI at handling these same 'features'.

That's the only thing I'm not worried about, actually. If nothing else, the AI will be quite competent.

[Foodstamp]

I'm not into space games so I am not familiar with Stardock titles so I may be mixing things up here. But I recall that people have said in the past that Stardock does a really good job on AI. Am I mistaken?

[NTJedi]

Originally Posted by Foodstamp

I'm not into space games so I am not familiar with Stardock titles so I may be mixing things up here. But I recall that people have said in the past that Stardock does a really good job on AI. Am I mistaken?

Stardock has a better reputation for not only providing a decent AI, but to also continously improve the AI as well. I recall reading the AI will also be moddable, along with many other features. This means the community will be able to continously strengthen the AI opponents.

How I wish we could improve the AI for Dominions_3... ... ... if only to stop them from sending their pretenders into the arena death matches!! Several other AI fixes are also needed, but that's probably the most painful to observe.

[Kofiman]

If you've got five bucks to waste, buy and download The Corporate Machine, and see how you do against a few AIs on normal. ;-)

[theenemy]

Originally Posted by AdmiralZhao

I think a game with "soul" is a game for which it is prohibitively difficult to make a good AI.

Consider Dominions and FfH2. They're both great games, with a huge variety units, spells, effects, world spells, races, and flavor text. In particular, all of these little bits interact with each other in interesting and complex ways, and if you bring the wrong set of powers to a battle, you will be completely wiped out (e.g. a niefel giant vs light infantry, or a group of fire mages vs an unprepared niefel giant). Each race plays very differently, and it can feel like an entirely different game switching from EA Arco to LA Ermor, or from the Ljosalfar to the Infernals in FfH2.

Now consider Gal Civ. In terms of gameplay, races are only distinguished by the modifiers they get to certain operations (e.g. +20% missile attack, or +10% population growth). The technologies you can research change these modifiers slightly, and only rarely introduce actual new abilities. Combat barely changes through out the game, and the 3 different types of attacks might as well be labeled A, B, and C for all the color and unique properties that they have. So when you research the great new weapon at the end of the tech tree, your attack bonus for weapon A goes from 140% to 160%. Yay. This simplicity and boringness is nice though if you are trying to write an AI, since all you have to do is maximize the product of all the various modifiers. You don't have to worry about teleporting enslave squads and SC equipment and Horrors and miasma dominion and poison resistance and unrest causing rituals and so on.

If a game is filled with meaningful, interesting, and complex decisions, and the player constantly has to think, then I would say it has soul. If the player's decisions can be easily automated, then the game doesn't have soul.

I second that. But I really, really hope that the game will have a decent AI.

By the way. A couple of nice vids:

EWM at PAX 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBRajOQuu6k

EWM "editor" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICOjq...eature=related

EWM chat with the producer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7PZxL1wOgI

[sector24]

I'm vehemently against the whole 'pre-order' industry concept so I'm relying on you guys to thoroughly analyze the game before it comes out so I can decide whether it's worth buy or not next year. Have fun with the beta!

[romis]

Originally Posted by sector24

I'm vehemently against the whole 'pre-order' industry concept so I'm relying on you guys to thoroughly analyze the game before it comes out so I can decide whether it's worth buy or not next year. Have fun with the beta!

i too hope for periodic updates, at the very least so illwinter can steal the good ideas(statisticly they have to have one or two.) although i understand from the site, it will be a few months atleast before people are testing anything but the most basic components of the game.

[Kofiman]

Originally Posted by sector24

I'm vehemently against the whole 'pre-order' industry concept so I'm relying on you guys to thoroughly analyze the game before it comes out so I can decide whether it's worth buy or not next year. Have fun with the beta!

You don't get charged until there is something to play. I haven't been charged for my pre-order yet, and won't be, until the beta keys are issued and I register the one I get.