Elemental: War of Magic

[phyzik]

Im starting to feel like Duncan228 with all of these posts.... Someone needs to step up.... I cantr keep up with all of them.....

Anyway, Here is Elemental: War of Magic

Of note:
1) NO DRM (I will buy this game because of that.... DRM is the fucking devil)
2) Similar to Civ but with magic instead of technology.
3) You have a "Hero" that you can personalize the way you want and use him in combat.
4) Ever-changing world.

[Sense]

I shall not step up

[phyzik]

just thought it was my civic duty to the geek zone.....

Dont buy this game..... yet.... It's cool if you like 4x/RTS games, and Stardock has come out with some good ones before (Sins of a Solar Empire).... but currently this game is almost unplayable. it has a SEVERE memory leak.

Constant "out of memory" errors after about 100 turns, some people even getting that error after just 30 turns or so.

having said that, when it DOES work, its a pretty cool game when in sandbox mode.... the campaign is crap IMHO but thats not what this game was really meant for.

They have released several patches since release which I believe was the 24th (v1.01, 1.05 and 1.06 as of this past friday) and each has improved the game.... Hopefully they can finally knock out the memory leak in the next few days.

One issue I have is that it seems the mobs/units are not rendered by the GPU but rather the CPU causing significant slow downs as you unveil the map.

If you do get this game, until they fix the memory leak, play it in cloth map mode... it will still eventually crash but you can at least go a few hundred more turns or so, depending on your rig.

I used to have a free program that would let you setup profiles for applications that allowed you to tell it to defrag the RAM every few minutes, among other options such as selecting just 1 core, while the app was running but I cant remember the freaking name of it.... :depressed

[4>0rings]

What's DRM? I'am not a super nerd.

[phyzik]

What's DRM? I'am not a super nerd.


You dont have to be a "super-nerd" to know what DRM is.... Its on almost any hard copy or digitally downloaded media you buy today....

It's the security software that prevents you from making copies of DVDs, sharing MP3's from iTunes with your friends or even hooking up your iPod to a freshly installed operating system.

DRM - Digital Rights Management

In lamens terms.... its a form of protection used by companies to help them with copy protection. The problem is that it doesnt stop pirates from cracking the software.... It inhibits the user from making legit backups.... also, in some cases if the "CD-key" or "registration code" (mainly in digital download content such as iTunes, Steam or Direct2Drive) is used too many times it prohibits re-installation of a program that was legitimately purchased causing lots of headache calling the company to get your "key" re-instated.

recently, companies have started to require online access at ALL TIMES in order to use their product.... case in point..... Assassins Creed 2.

Even though it was a single player game, it requires CONSTANT internet access to play..... Their servers went down for full days at a time preventing legit play... If you lose connection to your ISP for mere seconds, you would be kicked out of your game.

DRM is not just limited to computer games or software.... It's also encoded on alot of movie DVD's, Music CDs, e-books and other media.



Think of it this way.... If there was a law banning firearms, law abiding citizens would be restricted from getting them..... but the criminals would still have access.... It doesnt work.


And yes, I have downloaded pirated software. In lots of cases because Im admitedly a cheap bastard, in other cases because I OWN the damn software/DVD/Music-CD but cant re-install or make a copy because of DRM. I make no apologies for circumventing bullshit DRM.

I own hardcopies of games, across almost all systems, dating back to 1982(software my Father owned for an Amiga and a C64, which both work still :lol).... people freak out at my collection..... If its worth buying, I will buy a hard copy. If I download it and its a piece of shit, I delete it and never look back, especially if it has some stupid ass DRM.

Case in point.... a few months back I downloaded an "illegal" version of Red Faction: Guerrilla . I liked the game and ended up purchasing it (I actually had to look at the CD face to spell Guerilla :lol)

I would not doubt, if I installed every piece of software that i legitametly own, it would take up more than 5TB of space.... and thats just PC software. Not including music and DVDs.

Im not against copyright protection.... There just has to be a better way.