so im guessing a RPG D&D campaign is very possible now

It really seems like the sky is the limit with Elemental. It also sounds like the internal build is vastly farther along. Will beta 2 be pretty close to your internal build or is it still going to be pretty stripped down as far as content goes?

The editor reminds me of G.I. Joe and Barbie in that:

Barbie = The Sims

G.I. Joe = Elemental: War of Magic

 - Othello

Yeah, I don't like the "micro expansions" (like Dragon Age), if you release stuff that the players need to pay for, it should be something big.

Do you anticipate there being any speed issues with this? Civ4 left the AI in C++, and I gather this was largely for speed reasons. Are you moving it out to Python purely to make it easier for modders to access it, and do you intend to open up some of the C++ innards in the way that Civ4 does? How do you intend to overcome the potential speed issues of going from C++ to Python, if that even will be an issue for you?

Lots of questions, I know, but what you're showing is fantastic, so it's got me really interested. 

Sadly, we won't be getting the editors until a later Beta. I honestly wish they'd change that so I could start more serious work on the Dragonlance Mod while I'm stil....able.

I Completely Understand why they aren't though. These are the very Same Tools they are using to make the game content. If it got leaked too early before release another, bigger company, could get ahold of those Tools through this Beta Program and then Rip-Them-Off (Steal them) and hurry along production to make a similar game.

All they would have to do is change just the "bare minimum legally" to say, "Hey, this isn't Not the same game they're making. It's just similar and made on the same Engine or with the same Tools". That equals a Big Loss for Stardock and None of Us want that.

I "could" envision a way they could secure these files per-account through Impulse so that if it Ever Did get out they'd know exactly from which user the code/engine was "Pirated" from. They'd hide a ID Number or Tag or Something hidden in the file structure where Only they would know where and what it was, and thus know who to blame for their stuff getting out early. That's complicated and takes time, man-power, and money. I understand completely why we have to wait for the editors. But damn....I Wish we had them Now.

i read somewhere that it will be possible to make a completely diffrent game just from the editor, if i am not mistaken, you gave the example of how you plan on making an RTS mod. beside the fact that this is very impressive, how will you handle indie developing groups wanting to use the editor as a developing platform? will you go the blizzard way of letting people sell their mods and take percentage? will there be some way of purchasing commercial rights?

I'm fortunate enough to still play board games on a regular basis!

I guess it might be a worry that if so many indie developers are putting out content for Elemental, that Elemental will have difficulty getting expansion packs sold.

One thing I will say is that the modding community at NWN really embraced the new expansions. For people still playing the game there was a 99% adoption rate, which is insane for any game. I know some people feel that allowing users to create a la Sims is "anti-DLC" but I don't think it is. I think a healthy indie community and a healthy company developing side by side really synergize.

I understand what you are saying, being an old fart myself. If it makes you feel better, I am an older fart, at least in spirit. That said, it doesn't mean we are dead. There is always one more "rally around the flag". If this is important enough for me to come forward and give my free time that is certainly much less than when I was 20, then I have done my due diligence. While what I said at 20 may have been important, what I say now at 40 is nuanced. Ergo perspectives at 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 are all important as they add depth to the game.

That or old guard like me like to think they are more important than they are.

God I hate to sit here and agree with you on this because we both know when we were younger, we were those dorks lol. But hopefully you grow up and grow out of it. Only thing worse than a young dork is an old dork hehe.

And thru playing some MMORGs like Shadowbane one can meet other old timers, especially by joining with a good guild, many of which play multiple games and have a game server and/or a vent server.

In some ways it's easier to get together to game over the net because there's no need to haul computers around (especially in the CRT monitor days...).  And voice is almost as good as being there.

The trick is to marry someone who is a bigger gamer than you are.

To be fair most of the people I still play with are also gaming couples. The "boardgame scene" is pretty exciting this last decade, a lot of really interesting stuff coming out and really challenging perceptions.

I can't wait to have a gow in making my own world. A rpg functioning within a dynamic world, in a state of flux because there will still be a strategic metagame going on by the AI in the background. You know, how in RPGs you enter a kingdom, a city, it has a king but that king doesn't rule, in any real sense because the city is static, it doesn't grow, the kingdom doesn't go to war (unless scripted) so yeah, will be a fun challenge but Elemental seems to show itself off as a perfect platform to try it.