Try Distant Worlds. Only good game mentioned.
I second that.
Try Distant Worlds. Only good game mentioned.
Wrong. FE is a fantastic game and is a hell of a lot better than Civ V IMO. It's everything that WoM should have been and wasn't...I suggest interested parties watch some recent playthrough videos, or read some AAR's like this one:
http://forums.elementalgame.com/437040
If you want the icing on the cake, Brad Wardell, the CEO of Stardock, is a pretty reprehensible human being. He's currently in court over harassment charges(well documented), and famously wrote a huge public rant partly blaming his own customers for how bad War of Magic's release was(he later deleted and apologized for it). Even now he's trolling his own forums, trying to silence critics. It's sad really.
This comment disgusts me. I've never read anything less true than this garbage. I've been a member of Stardocks forums and their customer for many years, and Brad is a great guy, and an amazing CEO. He took full responsibility for WoM in writing, and has made every effort to make it up to his customers. Including giving us all a free copy of Fallen Enchantress. Every developer could learn a lesson from Brad about how to stand behind their products. I've never dealt with a better PC game company. In a day when companies like EA and Ubisoft are doing so much to screw theuir customers, Brad understands that he owes everyting to his customers and it shows in Stardocks customer service and dedication to making their games better.
You clearly don't know about Brad Wardell or Stardock.
First of all, I own a few Stardock games, WoM, SoSE included, and I used to frequent both forums. I don't personally know Wardell, no, but I've seen his posts on the forums, read about him, and seen his public statements. That's as much as most people "know".
Why should it disgust you that I am critical of someone you supposedly don't really know? All of the things I mentioned actually happened, and speak poorly of him. The company(I doubt it was his decision based on how he reacted at first) made FE free to people who ordered WoM in 2010(not people who purchased after the fact), because WoM was released in the most unfinished state of any game in recent memory. It was an unprecedented failure and a massive letdown to all the fans expecting the next Master of Magic. There was a huge PR scandal because of it, and huge backlash from fans(myself included).
Companies providing services because of customer reaction is nothing new(Look at BioWare making a completely different ending/expansion because their original one was obviously a cop out), though they have taken a step further which is a good thing, however..... Stardock released a game that was for all intents and purposes an Alpha, and charged people top dollar for it. Is that the mark of a good company, and good CEO?
If you would like links to all the facts I'd be more than happy to oblige.
brad hasn't handled the whole WoM debacle well and in a way did blame the fanbase for it
Brad is a respected, active member of the forums, more so than any other CEO I can think of. He will do whatever it takes to make sure their games are the best they can be.
How about you like to something that supports your claim that he's a reprehensible human being?
...Here's an article that describes how he harassed his employee, insisted that he had the right to do so, and then blamed her for Elemental's horribleness.
http://kotaku.com/5940401/pc-gaming...after-she-sued-the-boss-for-sexual-harassment
...
Admittedly not Brad's finest moment.
Yeah, the best reason not to get Fallen Enchantress is because you have to give money to that slime to get it.
You do realize that there's two sides to every story. You or I don't have any idea what did or didn't happen in that scenario. Brad and SD have been great to me as a customer for years, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. She was pretty horrible too, and stole a laptop containing vital Elemental content, right before it went to market. What I didn't like was Brad's response to her email. It was unprofessional at best, although he admitted that.
I love how you say you don't know what happened and that you'll give him the benefit of the doubt, then in the very next sentence you say for definite that she's a thief. If he's bad it's a "maybe he did, I don't know, I'll let him off" but if she's bad it's definite and she's "horrible".
Let's see some emails.
Email from Brad Wardell's employee to him:
Please never touch my hair or any of my body parts; not even jokingly.
Please do not talk about my private life or about my boyfriend/future husband in any terms especially negative terms.
Please be careful with your "jokes" which are at many times inappropriate, sexist, vulgar and very embarrassing not only to me, but everyone present.
Please keep your negative personal opinions of others (including family members and/or coworkers) not present at the time of your comments, to yourself. I feel, at times, it puts me in a very uncomfortable position.
With the above few behavioral changes, I'm hoping our previously friendly and professional relationship can be reestablished.
Reply from Brad Wardell:
[Wardell's reply began cordially, "Thank you for bringing these up to me as I certainly do not want you to feel uncomfortable at work." He promised to be more careful in the future regarding items one and two, but then continued:]
#3, however is not acceptable to me. I am an inappropriate, sexist, vulgar and embarrassing person and I'm not inclined to change my behavior. If this is a problem, you need to find another job.
#4, Again, I am not willing to adapt my behavior to suit others. If you find my behavior problematic, I recommend finding another job.
I'm not some manager or coworker of yours. I own the company. It, and your job there, exist to suit my purposes, not vice versa. The company is not an end unto itself, it is a means to an end which is to further the objectives of its shareholders (in this case, me).
The man is human excrement, and the fact that people defend him or advocate actually giving him money blows my mind.
Here's a legal analysis of the cases between him and his employee and how well it's likely to go for him. TL;DR - Not very well at all.
Like I said, I didn't like his response to her e-mail.
Hey guys,
I know this is a bit off-topic, but I've been growing slightly tired of Civ. I still plan on playing a lot more, but I've logged 450 hours and would like an alternative. So would you guys recommend Endless Space or Elemental: Fallen Enchantress?
Both are on sale on Steam now, so quick replies are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Forget Endless space get Distant worlds it is much better than Endless space.