I'll put it this way: This game does not impress me. But it inspires me.

I see *SO MUCH* potential in this game. The AI is terrible. The customization available is like listening to only the first verse of a Rachmaninoff vesper ... SO MUCH to go, but you can already see how awesome it could be.

I could wax on, but the long story short - I'm playing it and having a great time even as crappy as its current incarnation is. I have high hopes for it.

I'll throw this caveat out there as well: I'm being SPAMMED by three nations who want me to declare war on each other... who haven't met each other.

Resolyn: N by NW corner of the map, never seen Altar, wants me to attack altar.
Altar: E by SE corner of the map, never seen Resolyn, wants me to attack resolyn.

So much potential.. so far to go.

Elemental in a year's time will be better then Civ 5 in a year's time.

It is playable right now, but I'd wait a little bit longer.

It's much better than before.

I already have stopped playing CIV 5, and I expect that the upcoming Elemental 1.1 will be a blast.

In the meanwhile ... I am playing Heroes of Might & Magic 5 version 3.1 -- available at a very low price on Impulse!

If you liked Gal Civ, you are in a similar situation with Elemental. Gal Civ II as a better game, out of the box, than Elemental for the most part, but it didn't get really fleshed out until it had a few expansions. Gal Civ II with all expansions is a much more complete experience than vanilla Gal Civ II. I expect that Elemental will continue to evolve in a similar fashion and will one day be a very complete package.

One of the key things will be to ensure that all of the gameplay changes and other changes don't add new bugs and major imbalance issues. Elemental won't gain steam with the gaming public if it does a '1 step forward, 1 step back' with each change. It is critical that the new changes be tested, both for bugs and gameplay. We don't need any more 'emergency' hotfixes for Elemental (unless I have missed hearing about some major bugs in 1.09e). We just need 1.1 to be stable and balanced, and then continue to build from there.

It is good enough to enjoy right now, and although I have had some enjoyment playing Civ V, I keep coming back to Elemental. Part of that is, as others have said, the huge potential in Elemental. Civ V has great potential too, and is already getting some mod love. I for one am more interested in playing and modding Elemental.

I would buy now if you want to support Stardock's efforts in making great games and if you are patient and interested in seeing the game evolve. I would say that is is 100% playable at this time, but it is not 100% complete at this time.

If we go by Firaxis' past history, this is unlikely.  Their patches are always maintenance updates.  They save the big game changes for expansion packs.

I got HOMM5, too, retail.   I don't know if it is similar to Elemental (sounds like it kind of is), but it is certainly similar to the rest of the HOMM series.   HOMM5's got dismal reviews on the gamers' sites, but as a HOMM veteran on single player I actually find it pretty enjoyable.  Definitely a way to bide my time. 

I've shelved both Elemental and Civ V for now... Civ V was much more pleasant to play than Elemental but some graphics glitches halfway through my games make it un-playable. I am now getting into RUSE, which I am very impressed with and back into Demi(bug)god/ and Warband...

I played Elemental when it was released (I played some of the beta as well, but only a few games. AI was missing so the game was too easy for my tastes). The game has a TON of potential. It is currently a shell of the game it will be. I have seen the way Stardock develops games. I own Gal Civ 2 since beta. I have every expansion, also part of each expan. beta, and I know they listen to the players. In the end, you have a rock solid game with years of entertainment.

I stopped playing Elemental when Civ V came out. I enjoyed Civ V. As the games went on, I found myself getting bored with the end game. Unless you are going for a conquest victory, the end game is horrible. Shallow. Much like Elemental in its current state. Civ V has little hope. The game just gets boring at the end. Simply plugging away waiting for your spaceship parts to finish, or waiting for that final building needed for X victory condition.

I decided it was time to play Elemental again. Having gone from Elemental to Civ V and back again, I can safely say, Elemental is the better of the two games. I enjoy both games, but Elemental will be on my play list for a long time.

Just my 2 cents.

- Dave