Does this mean there will be custom civs? I hope so; custom civs one of my favorite things in GalCiv 2.

There are things that can be done in a fantasy setting ('hero' units, for example) that just can't be done in a Sci-Fi setting.

Personally, I'm really hoping for 'rpg-like' hero-controls -- leveling, equipment, etc etc -- to go right next to my large-scale TBS fun.

Sweet. I like the graphic style.

This looks absolutely amazing! I'm even thinking about pre-ordering it right now! (Something which I've never done before in my whole life...)

I absolutely love the graphics, simple but beautiful. And I'm sure Stardock will do a great job with gameplay, as always.

The way I see it, the art style is a good move. It does mean more can be done on screen without people needing to race out and buy another new graphics card. After all, look at Sins or Gal Civ II, which had an impressive art style, without needing the latest and greatest video card to run.

Yes and yes. 

I, for one, really love the aquarelle/cell shading picture art style.

The screenshots do look kind of sterile though - but i am sure that will change. (Can't wait for the announced squirrels in the trees ;))

Exactly.  Diversity is a good thing and makes for happy programmers and computer game company owners. Brad has been thinking about this fantasy game for a long time. It's sort of like writing--sometimes you just have to give into the muse.

Being a fan of the old Master of Magic--I consider this no bad thing.  Really, Gal Civ II and SOAS will give me plenty of gameplay from Stardock until Elemental is done.

Have I mentioned lately that I love you guys?

Sammual

Hmm, this game could be interesting, I'll keep an eye out for it

I am really looking forward to this game now. Definitely pre-ordering it as soon as possible.

EDIT:

Well I'll be. I can pre-order right now! *Purchases*

Great, now I'm not gonna be able to sleep for years. I'll just lie in bed whimpering: "Elemental is gonna come out!", "Elemental finally came out!" or "Elemental won't run on my PC!". Darnit.

This sounds promising, the graphics do look different but not neccessarily in a bad way, with bit more "darker" touch I think the game will look good. Looking forward to this one.

Wow, I must really say that I absolutely ADORE the art direction this seems to be taking. Works of beauty rather than "MORE LENS FLARE!". Taking a step "back" to the kind of art fantasy gamers enjoyed, back in the day, with painted backgrounds and whatnot.

Rather than "on-the-fly" generated 3D-models. If people compare the graphic quality contra art direction of Neverwinter Nights/2 and Baldur's Gate/2, you'll have a fair idea of what I'm talking about. Age of Wonders is also a series with some really stunning beauty, rather than "moar lens flaer!".

Are there any details up? I just kinda stumbled into this, from the main page. I'd love it to be a traditional 4x game in the style of Civilization(s), or Galactic Civilizations (2), rather than a HoMM- or AoW-based gameplay. Like.. I can see that there's heroes and things, but is the focus on lone heroes leading armies from town-to-town, purchasing troops and the like, or large-scale invasions and troop control?

Excuse me while I go do a joygasm!  (Combining that with my standard "built the uber empire" play style is just... wow.  Wow.)

As I posted in the Sins forums, I really like the artistic style so far. It has that 70's fantasy graphic art pen and ink visual quality to it. A very elegant touch if done right to be sure - at least for an old timer like myself. It puts me in mind of the images of Alan Lee, Darrell Sweet & John Howe.

I'm not 100% sold on the art style.  It works well in the interface, particularly the character drawing and minimap.  I love the world map, again with the hand drawn look.  The world view doesn't excite me though.  While I understand that it is an extension of the hand-drawn look of the rest of the game, it just looks a little too cartoony for me right now.  I don't hate it, but it doesn't do anything for me.  Maybe it'll grow on me, or Stardock will tweak it over the course of production, and if the gameplay is what we've come to expect from Stardock then the look will not be a deal breaker for me.

So call me 70% sold on the look and eagerly awaiting more information about the game.

Eh, cartoony can be bad if taken too far -- but the way cartoons simplify / break down into the most critical elements a given image set makes them *very* clear, and this is a good thing.

Wait, I can preorder? Done and done. Looks lovely and awesome. It'll be a great complement to galciv. Let's see if my "crash my economy to get tons of population and research done until I have 10 times as many people as anyone else and a ton of research I haven't sold to stay out of debt and use that to win" technique works here too.

It looks like SD is going for the classic LoTR feel for this and I that is a good thing especially since retro gaming is a hot thing and more importantly because the gamer is likely well into their 30 now and will have lots of memories of the time of tabletop still in their heads with lots of positive recollections associated with them. Never under estimate the effects of forgotten youth with weekends of never-ending fun and nostalgia that can trigger memories with visual stimulation. I suggest for people to look up the names of the artists I listed prior if you are not famillar with them. When I think to the 70s & early 80s it is the work of those guys that I clearly see in my mind.

is this game made using flash?

Why did my post get deleted.  I did not break any rules.  I asked a simple question.  Is this game made using Flash?

Your post wasn't deleted Oo I see it just above your.

Um...  why on earth would they make this game using flash?

That's something you'd do for a browser based game, not a real game.