Anyone else sad they won't play V on release?

Although I can imagine that some players do not like that they are forced to get Steam in order to play Civ5, I think Steam is a very decent way to buy and play PC games. Even if Steam was optional, I would still download it from there. 2K could have used much worse DRM than Steam, such as the horrid TAGES with an activation limit.
 
I'm still shocked that you ever played Civ 4. Securom is much more intrusive/invasive. It installs high-level drivers, monitors other programs, and will refuse to run if it even detects some programs. Steam is much better.

Also, I think Stardock have lost any credibility they had. Between delivering a terribly broken game (despite knowing about its problems) that continues to be unfinished, and having a terrible refund policy (if you preordered more than 3 months before release, you can only get store credit. And only 75% credit unless you agree to spend time working with tech support). Oh, and putting DRM into impulse that makes Elemental refuse to run if it detects a modded EXE (Such as the large-address fix that stops crashes on larger maps).
I learned about securom after Civ4 installed it on my machine. Too late then. This time I decided to research before even buying another 2k title. steams method is not to my liking. I don't say that steam is worse than securom. I do say that steam is bad enough for me to pass on the game. And I will say that I have no problem with Reactors methods.

With Civ4 people didn't even have an oppurtunity for refund. Those people with graphics problems who couldn't even start the game were SOL. So Stardock offers a 75% refund no questions asked. And a 100% refund if you go through the customer service troubleshooting to demonstrate that the game doesn't work on your specific rig. What other publishers even offer a refund?

Your points about Elemental are exaggerated and have been addressed at Elemental.com. The state of Civ4 as relates to compatabilty and memory issues at launch was not all that much different from Elementals. And Civ4's Vassal system (just to name one feature) was buggy from the start and still wasn't running right after Warlords. etc. I still enjoyed Civ4 but mostly for the mods. Which happened to trigger the MA, but if I played small maps I could play a full game. One huge difference between the two launches is that people who own Elemental need only check the forums to learn the progress of patches, and learn what fixes the devs are currently working on. With Civ4 we had no freaking idea when or if things were to made right. Patches took a loooong time, and added new bugs which in turn took a loooong time to get fixed. It was modders who saved the day. And utlimatly, 2k choose to give us the MAF fix in the BTS expansion. And although improved, it still wasn't fixed.

Elemental uses a brand new game engine. It has had a compatabilty issues with certain hardware and software configurations. It has had a few memory leaks. So Stardock immediatly releases a string of hot fixes to address what they can just days after launch. They post their fix it lists and continue publishing patches. We know thier opinion on the state of the game. We know what features they are improving. They ask, we tell, they tweak, we improve the game together. We know exactly what they are working on, and what their next steps are. Stardock is doing far more to support their game than I have yet experianced with any other game. I don't see the problem here.
 
:yup: right, that's it.

I don't understand; I'm buying it from Amazon. And it's on Amazon.de too.

What's this Steam thing about? Do you have to have Steam installed when you play it, even if you install from DVD? (Not that I care, since I have Steam; just wondering.)

[EDIT] Ah, it seems you must. Funny how it's much cheaper on Amazon than on Steam tho ;)
 
You think compatibility problems are the real problems with Elemental? The game doesn't even resemble a balanced and playable game at the moment. The combat is broken, there *is* no balance, the magic system is bland and mostly useless. Brad himself admitted that he completely screwed up, and Stardock has fired multiple employees. It's a problem when the public has to step in to finish a game. If Elemental was even remotely playable at launch, then you might have a point about support. But it wasn't. Again, there's not really an argument here. When the CEO of the company admits to the huge screwup/ breadth of problems, why should I trust stardock ever again?
 
When I get a license for the software and a CD/DVD in return for my money and I don't have to check in with a server over the internet, I'll buy it.

Right now Civ V is a lot like beer at the pub: It's in demand and you can't own it. But, you can rent it for a while and temporarily feel good about it.
 
You think compatibility problems are the real problems with Elemental? The game doesn't even resemble a balanced and playable game at the moment. The combat is broken, there *is* no balance, the magic system is bland and mostly useless. Brad himself admitted that he completely screwed up, and Stardock has fired multiple employees.
The employees were not fired, they were layed off. Your wording and context allows for people to mistakenly think they were fired for muffing up. The launch went poorly and they couldn't afford a second game team. AND it is not uncommon for game companies to layoff after the dev cycle. Firaxis just layed off a number of people.

In my opinion the CEO over-admits error. But the launch did fall short. The mistakes are immediatly being addressed. And owners of Elemental will get the first expansion for free. The player response to the game is mixed. Some have never had problems running the game. Some are enjoying the game as is. Many want improvements. Reminds me of Civ4s launch, sans the developer openess. Elemental devs are actually talking and the game is making speedy improvement. CivFanatics here at CFC and Apolyton etc had a great deal to say about Civ4's balance problems, broken features, etc. The difference I see between Elementals launch and Civ4s launch is that Elemental devs are accessable and accountable. And patches come fast and frequent. And we will not have to buy an expansion to get the big fixes like we had to do with Civ4. Elementals rocky start means little to me. I see what Stardock is doing to support thier game. The response has been immediate, straight forward, and persistent. The players are shaping the future of the game in real time. Can't ask for more than that!
 
You think compatibility problems are the real problems with Elemental? The game doesn't even resemble a balanced and playable game at the moment. The combat is broken, there *is* no balance, the magic system is bland and mostly useless. Brad himself admitted that he completely screwed up, and Stardock has fired multiple employees. It's a problem when the public has to step in to finish a game. If Elemental was even remotely playable at launch, then you might have a point about support. But it wasn't. Again, there's not really an argument here. When the CEO of the company admits to the huge screwup/ breadth of problems, why should I trust stardock ever again?

Exactly, it was/is a royal disaster. I like Stardock and wish them no ill will. I LOVE Civ and already use steam so I can't wait for Tuesday.
 
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