i haven't played in quite a while (since civ 5 release in fact...) but here are my two cents:

the number one thing I like about elemental is the blend of RPG and 4X. I like that I have a physical presence in the game world. I would like to see Dynasty developed much further, to create long political narratives.

I also like the way that cities grow, compared to civ where they are just a stationary tile, in elemental you really build them up yourself by manually plonking down buildings. I would like to see more options to place buildings where I like so I can customise the aesthetic layout of my cities a bit more. in city management games like Caesar etc I always give high priority to how my city looks as much as it operates perhaps minor city-management genre elements could be added, such as layout affecting productivity slightly. although I could see how some people might not like that.

I like the cloth map and to be able to play on the cloth map only.

• I like the game genre, setting backdrop and source material the devs cited at the outset.
• I like recruiting heroes to my side. (I love that one of them is one I submitted.)
• I like the ability to get married and have kids (although how the rest of the whole dynasty system is implemented is pretty weak).
• I like the RPG aspect of the game, but it needs to be drastically expanded.
• I like the inclusion of tactical battles and that they are turn-based.
• I like the art style.
• I like the low(er) system requirements.
• I like the fact that the game is for PC only.
• I like the re-invigorating of the land as the faction's influence expands.
• I like the scaling up of the monsters ties to exploration tech.
• I like the way city building is implemented (but think there should be more uniqueness and specialization in each city).
• I like being able to customize my own units.
• I like being able to customize my own sovereign. I have never used a pre-built.
• I like researching spells, although it seems too easy and fast.
• I like the spell particle effects.
• I love the modding tools and modding support.
• I love the dedication shown to improving the game shown by Stardock.
• I love the cloth map idea. I like the cloth map implementation.

This is a great idea. I love the Champion system, but I have like 20 of them and quite honestly I can barely remember which is which. I haven't developed a favourite because they're too generic and they level quite slowly.

I like the idea of being able to buy equipment, but would like to see the pricing adjusted a bit. I can't afford to deck out any of my champs. Also would be nice if the treasure you find included more items and/or spells, and if stores randomly generated more items.

Like the idea of unit customization. But needs a tweak - right now my group of 8 guards in leathers weilding maces are like 1000 more powerful than my highest level champ.

First post here - gotta say I love the game (got it when 1.09 was current) and can't wait for further mods! Too bad I can't run it on my laptop (crappy v-card) .

Cheers

I like this idea as well. making the races more unique would be a bonus and pretty standard RPG I'd think. One may specialize in economics, another warfare, another makes more children, another's units have more moves, etc.

I'm really enjoying the terrain modification spells, more and more as I go.

I kind of wish tactical battle (terrain) had more variation than:

this is a tree

this is a hill

this is flat-land

...

but instead had either various hill types (for various heights) and various tree types (for various plant thickness) ...

OR ... have Elevation scores (z scores) etc ... just from the lowest point in the battlefield.

So This is a mound 5 feet off the ground, or this is a mound 10 feet off the ground, or this is a hill 50 feet off the ground ... something like that.

Now ... obviously this would be easier (Without) tiles ... but I think its still do-able with tiles, just more abstracted.

(aka you can't have a 50 foot hill surrounded by 0 foot plains ... you need at least a 10 foot mount surrounding it on all sides ... unless you wanted an "impassable cliff")

IE elevation changes more than 40 feet in difference become an impassable cliff, and you have to find smoother terrain jumps to proceed.

Terrain will effect Archer's Range, and (effective damage) range will increase or decrease based upon terrain.

Also, some terrain (like forest) will get MORE anti-ranged defense than anti-melee defense.

(relative)Elevation will also play a part in RANGED DEFENSE (but not damage)

If the Target's RELATIVE elevation is lower ... and within Effective range ... Target's defense is slightly reduced for the ranged attack.

If the Target's Relative elevation is higher ... Target's defense is slightly increased within effective range, and greatly increased beyond effective range.

Basically, all (or most) ranged weapons have a max range ... and then a smaller ring of Effective range.

Damage within Effective range is normal (and can make a critical hit) ... Damage outside of Effective range is lowered (as little as half damage) and cannot make a critical hit.

Also ... characters that take PRECISION skills will get a Bonus to Attack within the Effective Range.

Characters that take MARKSMAN skill will not have a penalty when targeting an enemy locked in melee with an Ally.

Edit: Each elevation tile needs at least one Adjacent tile (at lower elevation) that has access to it. (so higher elevation tiles with access doesn't count). Unless the tile is at 0 elevation .... it can be accessed by other 0 elevation tiles. (doesn't need a lower elevation)

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic does it with hexes (though there are not impassible cliffs, and if it did then they would be a special terrain rather than height based). With this and its cover system (ranged attacks can hit objects other than the target a long the flight path, with each unit/obstical having its own cover values) results is terrain being very important to doing well in tactical combat.

"The Art of Elemental"

Now that the UI has been subtly modified, wanted to post this and the thread seemed to fit the subject

I like the visual style of elemental (along with many posters in this thread), and I wondered if the artist was still working on the project, cause the added buttons in the UI dont seem to blend in..

I like the leveling up of the settlements, and thought that when a defensive wall has been built (hedge wall, fortification, etc) then there should be a building for sentry tower, and without a siege weapon, it should be almost impossible for a melee unit to overcome the settlement. I recall that Age of Empire games had arrow towers initally, which leveled up to cannon towers. Hopefully these can be included in future expansions.

Not sure if this has been covered somewhere in here. But Frogboy was saying he was looking for a way to liven up the land in Elemental. I would like to see more done with influence. I love the way as our influence expands it brings life or death back to the land. But right now there are only those two options depending on if you chose empire or kingdom... I feel it should instead be part of the faction creation screen that we can customise. For example it would be nice to be able to choose what effect our influence has on the land... examples could include.

Turning the land to a sandy desert.

                        into heavy woods and forests.

                        fill the land with lakes and rivers

                        cover the land in frost and snow

                        fill it with volcanos and lava

                        murky swamps

                        fields of wheat

It would even be nice to have an array of colours to choose from that suit each change. I for one would like my land to have red trees or perhaps pink blossom.

The land type we choose for our faction could then make for interesting stat choices and gameplay options. If we choose to have our lands covered in forests then it would suit our faction to choose traits that allow for better movement through woods... or perhaps just give our enemys a movement penalty.

How about attracting animals that are native to the land that is spreading. Kingdom would attract bears, wolfs and such. Empire will attract darker things like spiders and darklings. These could have a preference to attack units of opposite alignment. In this way an army of the Kingdom will be attacked by empire animals while travelling through Empire land. Would spice up things a bit

Sounds really cool. Then if they like the idea of adding more land types you could take this monster idea even further. Sand monsters and scorpions in the desert, Ice giants in snowy lands. Would really make travelling the maps interesting.

1. I love that I can have a large empire in an hour. The pacing is great and enjoyable
2. I love the naming system. It definitely grew on me.
3. I love the changing shape of the game. There is a system here that can be improved and tweaked for a very long time.