Elemental: Fallen Enchantress takes Stardock’s fantasy strategy game in a new direction

Published on January 11, 2011 By Island Dog In Elemental News

PLYMOUTH, MI - January 11, 2011 Stardock released the details of the next chapter in its Elemental fantasy strategy game world. Elemental: Fallen Enchantress includes an all-new battle system, more sophisticated spell casting, an updated economic system, new game mechanics, more creatures, quests and much more.

Elemental: Fallen Enchantress will be released as a stand-alone game but will be free to all players who purchased Elemental: War of Magic in 2010 and will be heavily discounted for anyone who purchases Elemental: War of Magic prior to Fallen Enchantress’s anticipated Summer 2011 release.

Elemental is a strategy game in which players build a kingdom from the ground up in a shattered fantasy world. Players build cities, raise armies, research technologies, learn magical spells, go on quests, recruit heroes, negotiate treaties, learn spells, build a family dynasty and more.

In Fallen Enchantress players will be able to explore the world of Elemental and discover a wide range of unique locations, including dangerous wild lands that can’t be settled until they are conquered. There are areas like the Bhinadmi Fissure, a massive chasm that spawns demons and earth elementals, until a player goes to the edge and challenges the elemental lord that dwells within.

These undiscovered lands contain new characters and creatures: from the tragic Butchermen who wander the lands around Red Springs trying to pass their curse off to another victim, to Morian the Ruin of Summer, who was once a powerful nature elemental who has been driven mad by the Cataclysm and the destruction of his forests.

Derek Paxton, lead designer for Fallen Enchantress, said, “In Fallen Enchantress we wanted to focus on exploring the world outside your kingdom’s borders. The world isn’t empty and waiting to be settled, it is dangerous and needs to be conquered. There are unique locations with their own history and guardians; monsters settled in their lairs and vast wild land areas that offer their own challenges and rewards. There will be areas the player would do well to avoid for most of the game until he builds an army that is able to conquer them.”

To face these new challenges, Fallen Enchantress adds a host of spells and magical equipment. Sacrifice a champion to summon a powerful demon in battle, envelop an entire enemy kingdom in the icy grip of winter or open a gateway to a shadow world that dark creatures can come through. Players can also recruit champions who specialize in different types of magic and outfit them with magical equipment they create, recover from monster lairs or earn through quests.

“Fallen Enchantress brings the world of Elemental alive. Don’t expect many of your scouts to return, but those that are daring, lucky or strong enough to survive will be rewarded for their journey,” concluded Paxton.

Stardock has brought in additional talent in recent weeks to aid in the development of Fallen Enchantress including Jon Shafer, lead designer of Civilization V and Sci-Fi/Fantasy author David Stern to aid in the in-game lore.

Elemental: Fallen Enchantress is expected to be released in the Summer of 2011. It will be free to those who purchased Elemental: War of Magic in 2010 and be available at a significant discount for those who purchase War of Magic.

About Stardock

Stardock is one of the world’s leading developers and publishers of PC games and desktop software. Its PC games include Sins of a Solar Empire as well as the Galactic Civilizations series. Its desktop software includes Object Desktop, WindowBlinds, and a host of other programs for customizing the Windows experience. Its software can be found on most new Dell PCs as well as HP and other PC makers. Learn more about Stardock by visiting www.stardock.com.

www.elementalgame.com

Comments (Page 6)

BKGaming

on Jan 12, 2011

My problem with this is most likely, EWOM will get some (X) features eventually that FE doesn't get, while FE will get some (X) features that EWOF doesn't get. Then I will most likely choose between which I like more and not play the other. But while the whole time I'm playing It I will be thinking, "Dang I wish FE had this feature like EWOM has, or Dang I wish EWOM had this feature like FE has". Since they both will be continued to be updated, there both bound to offer different things. If FE was to build upon EWOM, instead of being a new game, I would not have that issue, and things would be a whole lot simpler.

That's my view anyway...

Lord Xia

on Jan 12, 2011

I think making FE a new game is a great idea. A lot of the problems of War were so fundamental, that they were already having to make a new game. So, why not make it stand alone, give it to the people who were going to get the expansion, and then continue to patch and polish War? Then I have two games! No, wait...I get three games because there is a third Elemental coming too. I get those second ones for free, and they are going to patch and polish the first one. sounds like a sweet deal to me. Thank you Brad.

Cruxador

on Jan 12, 2011

Alstein

reply 48

Also , this game isn't going to do everything. I mean, you don't get a pony just for playing Elemental.

Frogboy has said that he wants Elemental to be the ultimate fantasy TBS game of its age. It may not do literally everything, but it's going to do a lot. And the basic framework for a lot is already present, it just needs more actual substance induced into the system. Hence, expansions.

Some things are going to have to be left out/abstracted- just to avoid an overbloated design.

That's not really how design works. If everything is presented in a clear and easy to understand manner, such that there's not an immense learning curve, then more details provide only benefit. Ideally the most complicated games are structured such that understanding them is optional, and that you can play the game at the lower difficulties without ever having to delve into them. Don't want to design units? Build these default units. You might not have the greatest units that you possibly could, but your guys are still pretty okay. (More default units and an auto-design button might help this a bit) Don't want to plan city layout? Slap your buildings wherever, you're missing out on some bonuses, but everything still functions okay. (Double clicking the building from the build menu should cause the computer to place it intelligently, though).

Thus, optional complexity that a user can engage in at his own pace.

Cruxador

on Jan 12, 2011

Lord Xia

reply 77

I am relatively sure that WoM won't get much beyond stability patches after 1.2.

Wintersong

on Jan 12, 2011

Cruxador

reply 79

I am relatively sure that WoM won't get much beyond support patches after 1.2.

Except for improving the AI, bug fixes, performance issues and tweaking some things, I don't see War of Magic "needing" much more. At least that's what I think and somehow what I infer from Frogboy's comments in the past.

In any case, Gal Civ II reached 2.0, so why not WoM?

DrAtomic1

on Jan 12, 2011

You know... Reading this introduction made an idea scream in my head... It's most likely way over the top but man if you guys could pull that one off....

/dream mode on

Make exploring a tactical 3D experience adding a whole new layer to the game like X-Com: UFO Defense had (has I guess)...

Maybe these guys would be willing to sell the tactical engine: http://ufo.ufo-extraterrestrials.com/

/dream mode off

Lord Xia

on Jan 12, 2011

Cruxador

reply 79

Quoting Lord Xia,
reply 77
I think making FE a new game is a great idea. A lot of the problems of War were so fundamental, that they were already having to make a new game. So, why not make it stand alone, give it to the people who were going to get the expansion, and then continue to patch and polish War? Then I have two games! No, wait...I get three games because there is a third Elemental coming too. I get those second ones for free, and they are going to patch and polish the first one. sounds like a sweet deal to me. Thank you Brad.I am relatively sure that WoM won't get much beyond stability patches after 1.2.

The old plan was to get it up to 1.3 with changes. Not sure if that has changed or not.

Cruxador

on Jan 12, 2011

DrAtomic1

reply 81

You know... Reading this introduction made an idea scream in my head... It's most likely way over the top but man if you guys could pull that one off....

/dream mode on

Make exploring a tactical 3D experience adding a whole new layer to the game like X-Com: UFO Defense had (has I guess)...

/dream mode off

That sounds a lot like what they are doing, to me. What elements of that are you thinking they should include beyond what you would assume is likely to be involved?

Cruxador

on Jan 12, 2011

Lord Xia

reply 82

Quoting Cruxador, reply 79

Quoting Lord Xia,
reply 77
I think making FE a new game is a great idea. A lot of the problems of War were so fundamental, that they were already having to make a new game. So, why not make it stand alone, give it to the people who were going to get the expansion, and then continue to patch and polish War? Then I have two games! No, wait...I get three games because there is a third Elemental coming too. I get those second ones for free, and they are going to patch and polish the first one. sounds like a sweet deal to me. Thank you Brad.I am relatively sure that WoM won't get much beyond stability patches after 1.2.

The old plan was to get it up to 1.3 with changes. Not sure if that has changed or not.

oh, I wasn't aware of that. I hadn't heard of anything past 1.2. In that case it is probable that 1.3 will still happen, although I don't know what they would do in it.

Diardiamond

on Jan 12, 2011

Interesting... sounds like a good plan.

Mercnet

on Jan 13, 2011

This is awesome. I preorderd E:WoM so I am happy to see some love being pushed to people that bought the game in 2010.

Napean

on Jan 13, 2011

If there was ever any doubt in the hiring of Kael, this should put the matter to rest. This expansion sounds more like the game Elemental should be, what the whole fantasy strategy genre should be leaning into: an interesting world with its own history. For too long the Civ model has been followed (going all the way back to MoM), where you go forth, slaying a few random creatures (barbarians), and founding a civ. This model works great for Civ and other historical strategy games precisely because that's more or less what our ancient ancestors did. When this same model is implemented for fantasy games, however, the world ends up being rather flat and shallow (until modders add in their alternate histories of the world).

EDIT: Crusader Kings - Deus Vult has a great dynasty system if you're looking for some ideas on this front. The Guild was okay, but Crusader Kings essentailly has a lot of RPG elements for characters of your dynasty, and for the sovreign, the player is prompted with choices contingent on the specific traits held by the character. If your character is lustful, you might get a bastard offspring (or choose to "Resist the URge" and earn Piety, but get stressed out!) On that note, Crusader Kings 2 is in development!

From what I've read, I am veryexcited about this Summer. Here's hoping for a clear and consistent direction from the start. Here's to Stardock and Elemental!

Freebird1956

on Jan 13, 2011

I like the free part. So with that said, just bring it. I`m ready for a finish product that I can sink my teeth in.

Freebird out

Cruxador

on Jan 13, 2011

Napean

reply 87

EDIT: Crusader Kings - Deus Vult has a great dynasty system if you're looking for some ideas on this front. The Guild was okay, but Crusader Kings essentailly has a lot of RPG elements for characters of your dynasty, and for the sovreign, the player is prompted with choices contingent on the specific traits held by the character. If your character is lustful, you might get a bastard offspring (or choose to "Resist the URge" and earn Piety, but get stressed out!) On that note, Crusader Kings 2 is in development!

I think Crusader kings is in excess of what should be done with Dynasties in Elemental. But I do agree that there should be random events related to reproduction. As well as random events in general. Though honestly, basic heritability should be a higher priority.

Lord Xia

on Jan 13, 2011

Crusader Kings is the shit. Great game, the dynasty system in that is so great.

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