elemental-destinys-embers posts

The team at Stardock has released its latest patch. 1.09, for its turn-based strategy game Elemental: War of Magic via the Impulse client. While this patch is mainly for bug fixes, the change log for the 1.09 update is extremely extensive with a number of changes and improvements for the game itself along with improved mod support and multiplayer fixes.

The update also contains some special quest content that can be downloaded for people who purchased Elemental at WalMart and Best Buy stores. The extra content will be made available to the rest of Elemental owners for free 90 days later People who also purchased the novel Elemental: Destiny's Embers will also be able to download the special content for the game this week if they have the download code contained in the novel.

As promised earlier this week, Stardock has added more support for mods for its turn-based strategy game Elemental: War of Magic. The developer has added a mod download web site so that "players can manually download the actual XML and other assets to see how they were done." The site will later feature links to third party sites, wiki sites and more.

While the multiplayer support for the game has been delayed (again) to sometime next week when the next patch is released, Stardock has already posted up the game's Arena web site to show what multiplayer features will be like in Elemental. A third web page shows off the game's tech trees. Finally the new content that will be available for download for owners of the novel Elemental: Destiny's Embers will be made available to those folks who buy the novel via the Kindle or Nook e-readers.

The troubled launch of Stardock's turn-based strategy game Elemental: War of Magic will be getting yet another patch sometime later this week. According to a post from Stardock's Brad Wardell on the game's official message boards, the 1.08 patch will finally enable the game's online multiplayer features that have so far not been available to the game's players.

The 1.08 patch will also have a number of bug fixes, performance improvements, some weapon balance changes and more. Also folks who have purchased Wardell's Random House-published novel Elemental: Destiny's Embers will be able to download some of the exclusive in-game content via the download code that can be found in the book. Wardell adds, "A lot of the internal "exciting" work has been going on with regards to modding the mod gallery is expected to go up in the next week or two along with easier in-game submissions of mods that aren't maps."

Officially the release of Elemental: War of Magic is due for tomorrow in stores and on Stardock's Impulse client. However today is the last day you can enter our latest Elemental-themed contest where we are giving away five copies of the companion novel Elemental: Destiny's Embers to some lucky Big Download readers.

You still have a few more hours to head over to the game's official contest page and submit your entry (pending eligibility requirements of course). Remember that the novel also has a code in the inside front cover that can be used to download an exclusive Elemental campaign that will be released in September. The deadline for entries in our contest is 11:59 pm Eastern time tonight.

Big Download just got an official reviewer's guide for Elemental: War of Magic, the upcoming fantasy turn-based strategy game from developer-publisher Stardock. In the reviewer's guide it makes mention that a demo for the game will indeed be released for folks who want to try out a free portion of the title. The demo is currently set for an early September release. No detail about what the demo will contain have been revealed.

The game itself will ship to stores on Tuesday and people who have pre-ordered the game or who participated in the beta release will be able to download the final version via Impulse a day or two before the game ships.

It's been a few days since we have had a giveaway so let's start them up again with a good one. The folks at Stardock are providing Big Download with five copies of Elemental: Destiny's Embers, the prose novel set in the fantasy world of Stardock's upcoming turn-based strategy game Elemental War of Magic. The book from Random House is written by Stardock's Brad Wardell (listed as Bradley Wardell on the book's cover). Wardell will even personally sign each copy of the novel for our winners.

Remember if you get the novel you also get an download code that will provide players of the Elemental game with an exclusive downloadable campaign that will be released starting in September.

How do you get a chance to win a copy of the novel? It's actually pretty easy:

• To enter, post a comment on this contest page.
• The comment must be left before 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Monday, August 23
• You may enter only once.
• Five winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• The winners will be sent a signed copy of the trade paperback novel Elemental: Destiny's Embers (valued at approximately $18).
• Click Here for complete Official Rules. You must be a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) who is 18 years or older to enter this contest

Much thanks to Stardock, Random House and Brad for the prizes. Good luck.

Stardock's long awaited fantasy turn-based strategy game has now reached a big milestone. The developer/publisher sent over word today that Elemental War of Magic has "gone gold", meaning the game is now being replicated onto DVD disks and being put in retail boxes. As previously announced the standard Edition and the Collector's Edition of the game will ship to stores on August 24. It will also be available to purchase and download via Stardock's Impulse service.

On that same date the novel Elemental: Destiny's Embers, written by Stardock CEO Brad Wardell, will be released by Random House. People who buy the game and also purchase the novel will also be able to access an extra downloadable campaign for the game called, oddly enough, Elemental: Destiny's Embers. The extra campaign will be released in stages with the first one coming sometime in September.

The latest game to be adapted into a prose novel is Elemental: War of Magic, the upcoming fantasy turn-based strategy game from developer/publisher Stardock. The company is partnering with book publisher Random House to release Elemental: Destiny's Embers. The novel will be written by Stardock CEO Brad Wardell and is scheduled to be released in August, around the time the game itself is supposed to be released.

In addition to publishing the novel (under their Del Ray brand) Random House will also be collaborating with Stardock to help develop the storylines and world of Elemental. It's part of a new program the publisher has started. They plan to help create storylines and fictional worlds "that can be accessed through multiple media sources including video games" and other entertainment outlets. Random House says that in addition to the Elemental collaboration they have "multiple deals" that are still too early to announce.

[Via email press release]