I'd rather get the same asap, and cure the cancer.  The game will be ready when it's ready, but the beta is before it's ready.

People not understanding cannot be a valid reason. They just need to keep the beta to the prepaying guys and perhaps have a notice about what exactly beta means.

Well, if the game is polished enough to be at demo level, what the hell is the point of a beta? Really don't like it when companies use the term beta when they mean publicity. I know Stardock would never do that. And BTW, I think FE has already surpassed WoM in every way imaginable. I would guess that right now they are just doing UI, dealing with multilayer compatibility, fixing memory leaks, and getting the AI up and running. The part where we become useful is almost here guys. 

I really don't think we were listened too all that much when it came to WOM, which was a complete departure from how SD handles things normally, and how they've handled things since then.

Here's what I expect from the beta:

1.  Lots o' bugs.  Bugs, bugs, bugs.  We'll be finding bugs all over the place.

2.  Performance issues.  EWOM had a ton of performance issues and I suspect we'll still be trying to iron out the memory issues in EFE.

3.  Poor AI.  We already knew this would happen.  The game mechanics have to be built first so the programmers can tell the AI how to use those mechanics.  The AI has had the least amount of time on it.

4.  Poor UI.  Here's where I really hope they listen to the forum.  I gave them a hundred suggestions on improving the UI (we all did) and none of it got implemented.  While I do see some improvements in the EFE screenshots, I think the UI still has a ways to go.

5.  Incompleteness.  We've seen dev journals on the world, magic, items, tactical battles, and tech tree so at least we know they're working on those areas.  We have not seen dev journals on diplomacy or quests.  I'm worried about those two areas being incomplete.

6.  Cancer.

I am currently wrapped up in a blanket, while at my PC, indoors, and I think I saw a mammoth outside. So the beta can come any day now, since "insert Ned Stark quote"

With the exception of WOM, SD has done a very good job of this in the past, and will be likely to do so in the future.

Coming up with ideas isn't that hard. Every gamer thinks they can be a designer. Coming up with ideas that actually work in practice and finding a way to implement them is the challenge.

I really don't think anyone at Stardock is floundering about, saying. "If only we had some new ideas we could make a great game!" They have plenty of ideas, and also the ability to create a fun game from those ideas.

At this point in FE's development, we are well past the time of new ideas. The best thing we can do to contribute at this stage is to give feedback on the tidbits of information that they release, with the caveat that we will be giving feedback in a vacuum since we can't see the product as a whole and haven't played it. Once the beta comes, we can give lots of useful feedback on how to tweak  things here and there, but it will be too late to make major changes or implement big new ideas. After we see FE, we can start throwing out new ideas on how to move the series forward because at that point it will be time to start designing again.

My biggest agenda is to make sure that the modders are given the capabilities we need to make the game our own. So far we are doing great. The only problems are possibly prestige and a few other things being hardcoded into the game. There is little feedback from the devs about how they are planning to implement the features we have been shown. Quests should really be addressed first I think, since it was one of the least open things in WoM. I am not overly worried though. Frogboy said much of the storytelling will be done in quest format, leading me to believe that it has changed for the better. 

I am very excited to show off the quests I have written over the past year. I have over 200. They are split into 3 stories, each set with story arches for the quest level. It has been a long time coming, but I still think of Elemental as essentially a user created content game. 

It is stupid to ignore how masses react when doing anything, arguing that it's "not the way things are supposed to be".

To sean's question: "Well, if the game is polished enough to be at demo level, what the hell is the point of a beta?":
The point is to find bugs that they missed, and polish areas that get most complaints.

Personally I think quests as a concept are doomed to fail, particularly in sandbox. They give almost no replayability because they're the same every time. The game needs to provide custom-generated quests of high quality (a challenge if I ever heard one). Otherwise I fear - no matter how good the quests are - that we will end up like in E:wom. Of course I can't speak for anyone else, but when I play E:wom I just straight up ignore the quests (except my own dungeons from the artifact mod).

Oh no, I didn't say I was going to do it. Just what the game needed in general.