hmm multiplayer is currently disabled but will be enabled in next patches

achievement will be add too when the game is released about he drm and steam i cant help you

but i think that the game wil not be realesed on steam

Thanks fellas. Server based multiplayer hrmm that is interesting for a game like this. Do turns run simutaneously or in order? In Civ it really sucks when the guy with the better ping/viewpoint gets to move first or in MULE when the guy with the better ping gets the land or auction bid heh. I guess with the higher number of players the server client model is required. I just hope turns aren't done at the same time and if they are an option to toggle this would be great. I know nobody uses it in Civ on public games but private it works just fine.

It's going to use Impulse::Reactor for DRM/multiplayer/acheivements/etc. It's similar to Steamworks, but not invasive (which, IMO, that alone makes it infinetely better). As for the game being released on Steam or something else, never, ever, ever going to happen. See this thread: https://forums.elementalgame.com/383665

Because depending on latency it will determine who moved there first. So if both players move at the same time the player with the lowest ping will get there. Assuming the server technology doesn't forcelag to even out connection quality in a game or something dynamic to prevent that from happening. In Civ this is further made worse with the camera viewpoint. It's not fixed and jumps to each unit and at times during the first critical moments of a turn you can lose your footing because you werent fast enough or your connection was slower. The moral of the story is I really hate turn based games with simutaneous turns for this exact reason. It leads to more problems in order to make the game move quicker. An option would be nice to do real turn based turns instead of the quasi simutaneous stuff that really isn't true turn based. Again I haven't played the game so this effect may be less pronounced in Elemental but I just want a really good turn based strategy game.

This happens in a remake Im playing right now of MULE. MULE is a realtime game but depending on positioning after each turn determines who gets land if someone pushes the button at the same time. So if two players hit the button at the same time the player in last place is supposed to get the plot. However due to latency issues this is not always the case. The same can be said of movement in Civ where two players move their unit to the same spot during the same turn. Who gets to move first?

So it's more or less a concern of mine in a turn based game offering multiplayer. Hopefully there will be an option to do traditional turns like in Civ. I know for multiplayer this is not the best option but usually I only play with a few friends and it's not an issue. However for 16 players god forbit it would be required so with that said I just hope their is a priorty system or something that doesn't cator always to the lowest ping when two people do the same thing. Of course it can be completely avoided with real turns instead of simutaneous.

The server client interface to a dedicated server network definantly helps but it's not perfect. The host's only advantage would be how fast his connection is to the server. However if the server is local and still uses a server client interface his ping is 0. If he connects to Stardock to create a game on a network then his advantage is only as good as his/her ping but there is still room for error. Its ok using simutaneous in a co-op environment because usually your not competing with other players and its not a big deal. However for vs gameplay it's usually critical to ensure a level playing field.

Anyways Im ranting and that leads to more questions heh I'll stop now. Game looks cool I'm gonna buy it just not sure when. If I can hold out until release maybe I will try and hold out for some sales. Then again looking at Impulse I've never seen an item on sale or cheaper than STEAM or D2D so I might just have to bite the bullet and do something crazy like pre-order to get my fix.

Thanks for replies fellas.

Depends on your definition of DRM, but I suppose you're right...

She's definetly right, it is DRM. But IIRC, they aren't forcing all multi-player onto their servers. I don't think anything has changed since this was posted: https://forums.elementalgame.com/373543

You can host your own Elemental servers so... the only claim you have is that patches are being stored on Stardock's server.

This means you can play version 1.00 single-player without any problems. You would have to jump some hoops to update it. This is usually the case all games, which require each update to be re-cracked. And you certainly can't hit the "update" button and get it for other games either (nor Elemental).

You can play version 1.00 multiplayer if you play on private servers only.

There is nothing wrong with Stardock not supporting people who have purchased their game. That includes hosting the patch publicly (they still have to pay for the bandwidth a pirate would use to download it) or allowing pirates on their own server.

How Impulse fetches the updates and patches is not DRM. It's more akin to a DLM since I'm assuming the updates are encrypted somehow on Stardock's servers.

I guess I am very confused about how multiplayer will work I guess it would probably have to connect to the Impulse::Reactor servers to be able to make use of all that stuff.

Whoa whoa what? When did it get reduced to 16 players?

I think you've been dreaming man, because I don't remember any post saying multiplayer is going to be reduced to 16-player either.

I very much hope this is not the case.

Well that answers one question, but it raised another; why not? Why can't we have SD hosted 32 player games?

It is not generally conssidered DRM to have an account and a password that you use to log on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management

Most people consider DRM to mean that the software or media is tied to the particular machine that it is run on, with some sort of recognition of the machine itself, so if you were to transfer it to another machine it would cease operation.

For example windows uses drm, since if you take an image of a windows volume and put it on another machine it will require reactivation. Same for a lot of the new games. They will only work for a particular machine if it is activated on that machine.

Im sure that you will be able to buy Elemental and run it on any machine, provided you have an impulse account. So in that sense it wont have DRM.