I know you guys would probably lose money and don't want to lose your retail slot, but I, for one, would be happy to continually Beta-Test the game so it's chock-full of extra goodness come release.

That being said; hopefully you'll make your window!

Personally i would love to see how the AI works. I mean how many times have i wondered whats going on in the mind of a particularly dumb or smart AI? To answer my own question it depends on whether they are consistently failing or consistently owning me which im hoping its the latter. 

Balance is a good thing i think but say you play multiplayer alot, AI balance isnt as important as there not being a way to win a certain way 100% of the time with no counters. Considering most RTSs thrive because they are balanced that way, i trust this game to thrive on release simply because it comes down to me trusting stardock to achieve that particular balance. 

I hope the AI is challenging and diverse cause while not everyone who has the game will multiplayer who plays singleplayer, everyone who plays multiplayer will singleplayer either to learn how to play the game or to play when theres no competition around. 

Heres hoping to learn alot from some good AI!

I hate the way business works... I want to live out in the jungle.

It seems ridiculous to have to pay a retail store to sell and make profit on your stuff.

That would be like tipping your tax collector. I prefer living in a small world, by myself... Without annoying fools around that I have the urge to kill.

Take the time you need and don't risk your good reputation with a half backed game. It's fine for me to wait, as long the beta keeps open for us.

So what do you actually think is the point of retailing? Because of all the kindness in their hearts, the retailers allow producers to sell their stuff on their shelves? Ofc not. Everyone needs to make a buck. the producers need to spread their produce and the retailers give that option, for a fee, obviously. It's all about interdependency, just like in all aspects of social life.

I like this!  This is why I respect Stardock so much.

PS. I still remember the long discussions about the weapon dmg types. I really enjoyed it.

Actually, I worked in a supermarket as a manager for years. The producer buys shelf space from the retailer. So when your favorite food is removed it could easily be because someone bought the shelf space for "new" products.

Sorry if this has already been answered, I only read the first thread.  Does Stardock have to wait until the retail release date to release the game via download?  Seems to me if the game is finished well ahead of Feb, but too late for August, they could still release the download, at least for the preorders, while everyone else waits until Feb to get it at the store.  Or doesn't it work like that?

I guess if you're in the beta then you'll have some version of the game to tinker with anyway while you wait.... 

Dang man I gotta get my order in already, f'n economy.   

at least diplomacy and tactical battles.

This is addressed to pretty much everyone who is thinking along this line:

How much "beta testing" were you part of for Spore? Or The Sims? Or Civilization IV? Or what have you? 

Don't assume because we have public betas that somehow those public betas are somehow representative of the full project. 

Every public beta (every. single. one) that I've done -- going back to 1993 with the OS/2 version of Galactic Civilizations has had this same thing go on.  

As other game developers can tell you, the actual "game" is maybe 10% of the total project in terms of engineering hours.  

Back in 1994, I made Star Emperor over a weekend - by myself (more here). That 2 day period included modifying the AI for the different game mechanics, a new user interface, new game mechanics, new screens, etc.  Two days.  The game went on to be a big hit. (Star Emperor was basically Warlords in space).

The point is, what takes actual TIME in game development isn't the game. It's the assets and engine.  Spending 3 months on "polishing" or "balance" would be, literally, insane.

What typically delays a game are stability and missing features.  Stability is something I'm pretty confident in nailing long before we go gold and other than the AI, the features are in.  Internally, we're in polish and balance mode already and awaiting beta 2 and 3 for more feedback.

September is the projected release date of Civ V.  I doubt that Elemental will want to compete with it.

All the more reason to pre-order.  If there is slippage until next year, we at least have the beta to keep us warm.