Yeah, I'm enjoying Elemental in its current state.  Glad I was finally able to get it to run.  lulz

The game wasn't unstable though.

1.0 was fairly stable, at least as much so as most PC games on release day. 1.05 was/is very stable.

Wouldn't have to adress all this quickly if the game was properly tested, and launched later.

I still have crashes to the desktop, post 1.06.  I have Study Spells bug, where I can't click on that and other items if I click on another action. (I won't go into detail about my bugs. I've done that in the support forum. )  So to me, this is still not a stable game.

Honestly i bought the deluxe version but after reading up all this comments , i havent even run it , i will give startodck a month maybe 2, i got other games to play.I want to have as much fun as possble, be amazed by my first contact .

I aboslutely loved galciv 2 got all expansions , still palying agood game  thats draging for the last week, so i aboslutely have big warm feelings towards stardock.+  Brad you write funny posts:).

But im pretty confused and saddened by what happned here (supposedly as i havent run my game as written above).

I mean i still remmber reading posts from Brad saying " we have all time we want, this game wont be pushed etc., stardock doesnt need that money that bad ".Why the hell did they do this then?Why not wait another couple of months?

Dont understnad but as written , will wait 1-2 months before runnign the game, and hope to be amazed then:)

 And nearly all poeple complain about AI .How come? Galciv2 had one of best ais imho , and i was sure Elemenatal would be even better.Without good AI a turn based single player game is just boring imho....

A bit disapointed but still hoping customer, good luck Stardock.

<snicker> Wikipedia

Good argument, i feel the same

A free piece of advice: Ignore the forums. They are full of trolls who, after being disappointed for one reason or other, blow the whole issue way out of proportion. Most people who actually like elemental are playing it and not frequenting the game's forum. Fact is, more than half of the people who bought the game like it even in the current state: https://www.elementalgame.com/journals

Play the game yourself and form your own opinion. Chances are you'll end up like me, playing it for hours until you realize its almost morning outside.

Most by a small margin of the people who are on the forums and actually going to respond to the poll. I suspect there are more fans in that poll than random people who saw the game on a shelf at wal-mart. I think you missed this part though so I will bring it up for you again.

Let me say that I'm glad that most people seem to like the game.  This message, however, is for those who are disappointed with Elemental so far.

He's not calling people who are disappointed and unhappy trolls so why the hell should you?

Even you recognize his was at best a waffling 'apology' - akin to 'I'm sorry you made me mad'.

A real 'apology' would have been "...and if that version of the game is considered flawed..."

Why is this an important point to make?

-First, Brad sold the game in part on the promise that it wouldn't be released early.  Reasons he gave include 1) that's how SD works 2) he has other revenue streams so money wouldn't be an issue

-Second, when it was announced around the end of June that Elemental would be released in Aug, a number of us beta testers very politely and respectfully questioned whether it would be ready in time (see this thread for an example, and this post of mine -- the whole thread is an interesting read for those who weren't around at this time).   The response to these polite and respectful questionings was adamant (and in one example, rude) -- elemental would be release-ready by August.  It was revealed that release would be august because they had painted themselves into a corner, due to securing retail shelf space, of their only choice being Aug or Feb, and they dismissed Feb so were left with Aug.

-Now, we have seen the aug release.  Is it release-ready, judged by reasonable standards and by what SD is capable of?  I argue that even allowing for 1.06 to be the release version, and while the game is fun and 'playable', it doesn't meet the standards of:

-gamers generally

-what Brad promised

-what I expect SD is capable of

Live by the Sword, die by the Sword.  If you're going to make promises then you can't complain when folks hold you responsible for not meeting them.

So what problem do I see with Brad's point 7?  I pointed it out -- his 'waffling' regarding the game being flawed.  I argue that reasonable people can judge the release flawed, and many have posted such, here and elsewhere.  The fact that the SD folks are now still working their butts off patching, instead of taking off well-earned time after the pre-release crunch, suggests they agree that the game is flawed enough that they need to do said patching now and not later after a vacation.

Why do I feel it important to point out Brad's waffling?  Because accepting that a mistake has been made is important, especially if one wants it to not be repeated, as I hope it won't in whatever game SD next does.  Because if you make a promise and don't keep it you should be man enough to admit it.  Because a non-apology is worse than saying nothing.

You want to call me a troll for this, even though I've put a lot of work into beta testing, and made and still make a lot of very positive posts regarding SD and Elemental (see here where I list a few recent examples, and the link above this for an example from back in June).  That's fine, be my guest, it's a free country, etc.  I'm an adult and will give this post of yours all the consideration it merits.

I stand by my statements here, and elsewhere.

I think your post does Brad and SD a disservice, because:

-they're capable of better

-they're adults and can handle criticism, especially criticism that's backed up by facts and examples

-they've earned this criticism by their actions

-it's for Brad's own, long-term good

-Elemental's customers deserve better than they got (at release -- they will get better eventually)

In the end Elemental is just a game.  What's important is how we act, that if we make a promise we either keep it or accept responsibility for not doing so, that we treat others according to their merits.

EDITED TO ADD IN: Among the other things I've commended SD for, I want to add that their allowing criticisms such as mine to remain on the forums is commendable.  I know these aren't easy to read.  I hope/think they understand that these posts intended to be constructive and are made with what are thought to be SD's and Elemental's and Elemental's player's best interests in mind.  Reasonable folks can disagree, of course, but that's part of what makes life interesting...

 for Nick-Danger

It's not only a question of bugs. The release versions of many games are bugged, but I have a feeling that Elemental is not feature complete. I think many features should be added and changed to make this game really enjoyable.

Expansion pack in February. Cannot wait to see the forums explode again*.

* not that they have stopped yet

One thing is to be disappointed and unhappy, another thing is scaring away people who never even tried the game by claims like "the game is unplayable","the game is crap", "it constantly crashes" etc. etc. which are patently false. The former are unhappy customers, the latter are trolls.