Thank you for the update!

Would it be possible to adjust that to a non-shared Global Mana Pool, with Non-Channeler casters having their own individual mana pools? I just fear that there will likely be yet another uproar over that detail, to match the uproar over the To-Hit stat in the tactical combat system.

There is a decent discussion going on about this in the "Global Mana Pool Design Revealed' thread.

So all of our worst fears were founded.

After 2 "expansions", the most we can hope in, content wise, is to have a game that would be fine as a new release, maybe. No "additional" content, just replacements for what is currently broken. Actually not even that, since there's no talk of fixing the tech tree, nor to include the map generator.

Please call them something else than "expansions".

We've been patient and everything but this is a travesty. Silly me to trust all the promises and the big words.

There also is no talk of NOT fixing the tech tree or including map generator. On the other hand, there is talk of "Lots of other goodies which we'll discuss later" which very well may contain just that. You also have NO idea what expansion 2 will contain, as there are no details as of today, yet already you know that most you can hope for after 2 expansions is 'a game that would be fine at release'?

For some people, the glass is always half-empty i guess.

I would love to see more campaigns and possibly add-on sub campaigns in the future. Thanks for the update Brad, your book was great i couldnt put it down. =p

What about to improve multiplayer some day?.

- Customizable characters

- Big size maps

- Tactical combat as an option

- Save game in multiplayer

A good multiplayer enlarges the game's life.

i liked more

1.1

1.2

1.3

first expansion

second expansion

the game would be more complete again the rush

Any word on when some APIs for the AI would be available?

Awww... does that mean that the demo is going to be delayed until sometime in october? Oh well...

Thank you very much for the information.

I think v1.1 and v1.A should be released together in November, because it would give you more time to balance the new spell system and the new combat system.

There is a painfully simple fix for the issue of   "Instant AOE spell annihilation in the first combat round".

Casting time.
Chain lightning or comparable large scale spells would require more than 1 turn to cast them.
That gives the opponent an opportunity to interrupt the caster with ranged damage or stun/freeze/damage spells.
Of course, a high level wizard would be more difficult to interrupt than an apprentice but that's details.

A large troop concentration would not automatically be at the mercy of an enemy caster.
If you see that caster start chanting, something big is going to come your way... presently.  So maybe scattering might be a good idea?

That adds a very important balancing factor to tactical spells.   High payload spells like Chain Lightning would include the risk of not casting at all.
There could also be a higher level and more expensive Fireball spell. It wouldn't do much more damage but be an instant spell while the basic Fireball takes 1 extra round of casting.
That way the power of spells can be balanced with "opportunity" and it doesn't all have to be cost vs damage.

We'd have some interesting magical duels then instead of granting an instant win to whoever gets to move first.

Maybe combat speed gets a divisor for spells depending on how potent they are?

Chain Lightning- if it gets a divisor of 2, combat speed would be if the mage moves at 4 speed 4/2=2.

So a haste+ chain lightning combo would be effective.

It's not coming, ever. They're going a different route.

I'm going to have to say that I share the same sentiment of fear, although I would phrase it less trollish.

Thus, translated; It is important to me as a player that you also place quite a bit of focus on creating additional content for the game - not just mechanics. Races that are unique, instead of carbon copies, would be a start. And no, I definitely WOULDN'T count campaign maps into this, unless they're significantly different from sandbox and last more than 1-2 hours.

Well, yeah. A mage shouldn't be buzzing around the map at top speed while casting a multi-turn spell.  But the movement speed is just details.

The important bit is that big spells do not finish instantly and therefore give the opponent an opportunity to do something about it.

Will these so-called "expansions" be independent of one another?  I like the sounds of the version 1.A "expansion" but I don't want 1.1

Frankly, I don't think you have a clue what you're doing with this game!  Your ideas regarding the global mana system sound incredibly stupid and not fun.  I don't want to have LESS FUN with the game.  When I first heard the term "global mana pool" I didn't like the sounds of it, but reading more about what is intended (Frogboy's posts on the matter) have really given me a terrible impression and taken what "faith" I had that the game will get better over time.

I liked the game in its release version, despite the major problems it had.  I spent a lot of time playing around those problems and enjoying myself for the most part.  Then the multiplayer patch completely failed to provide any kind of multiplayer I would want to play, PLUS it broke many key aspects of the game and I had to wait an awful long time for that to be fixed. 

I don't want to be a tester anymore.  I like the game and I think I will simply give up all hope of it getting better because it seems it's only going to get worse--especially with that 1.1 bullshit.

If these so called expansions are independent and one can skip the 1.1 global mana bullshit, then I might try 1.A after I've read how others feel about their test experience.

/me this topic!

Even simpler than that would be:  Defender moves first; attacker better be ready for whatever they are gonna throw at you (or else you shouldn't have attacked).

Just how many time will this come up. Do you not get that all this would do is make the player declare war and WAIT for the AI to attack them? So instead of declaring war and attack, you declare war, then stand around him, hitting end turn a dozen time... hmmm.... no thanks.

That only reverses the problem of instant annihilation in the first round.  It's neither fun nor "tactical" if a defending stack becomes unattackable.
Instant win for the defender is not preferrable to instant win for the attacker. *shrug*

What is needed is a way to respond to an attack (ala Magic the Gathering instants).  This is something we're looking at and we think would add to the fun.

Ok, so the expansions are going to be free.  That's been stated before.  Are the expansions going to download automatically for the people that bought the game early?  Will Impulse just know that I bought the game early and allow me to download the expansion?  I'm not sure where my receipt is.  I had to buy the game through Amazon as Gamestop and Best Buy didn't have Elemental and they hadn't even heard of it.

Why not just balance the turns by giving every unit initiative, so player A doesn't get to move all of his units first? I can't really see why Not to implement this.

AOW system worked fine.  It's ok if the attacker loses a few units before he can fight, just not instant doom.

You should also be allowed to use strategic magic to soften up defenders, such as earthquakes, or siege such as catapults/ballistas/cannons.

Krauser: my guess is first expansion will be patch.

Second expansion those who bought will get a code in their emails.  Not 100% sure, but that's the most likely way.  You will have had to have activated the game on Impulse before 10/31 though.

For those worrying about additional content:

a) It's more important to get the base right first

b) There's no rule that says a game can't have more then 2 expansions.  Paradox's on its 4th XP now for EUIII.