Stardock, the company known for its share of strategy series like Galactic Civilizations and Sins of a Solar Empire, is reaching into its past for its next gaming project. The studio"s fantasy 4X turn-based strategy series Elemental is the target for its latest reimagining session, with Elemental: Reforged slated to land as a unified iteration of all the classic games while also improving on their aspects.
The company says that it has upgraded the original engine to 64-bit, finally letting it expand the title into what it envisioned back in 2008.
“What makes Elemental unique is that it’s a strategy game in an RPG world,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock Entertainment and lead designer of the original Elemental game. “The world really is your sandbox. You can create your own character and even your own faction to bring into this world.”
Per the company, the original 2010-released Elemental: War of Magic had design issues stemming from the 32-bit memory limit. The following entries, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress and Elemental: Sorcerer King, had expanded on the games but hadn"t ever reached their full potential, which is what the new edition is aiming to achieve.
The new edition is also touting updated visuals and an improved UI design. Modding tools and Steam Workshop support are confirmed as features too.
Here"s how Stardock described Elemental: Reforged"s highlights:
- Unified Elemental Experience: Brings together the strategic depth, smart AI, and rich gameplay from Fallen Enchantress, the immersive crafting and quest systems from Sorcerer King, and the dynasty-building, terraforming, and innovative mechanics first introduced in War of Magic.
- Rich, Dynamic Worlds: Enjoy endless replayability through procedurally generated fantasy worlds filled with lore-rich quests, evolving environments that respond to your magic, unique fantasy civilizations, and bustling cities populated with individually simulated characters.
- RPG-Infused Unit Design: Customize heroes and armies through an intuitive RPG-style character designer, crafting each unit with their own unique history, stats, equipment, and abilities, growing stronger with experience.
- Compelling Tactical Combat: See how your designed units and characters fare in battle in highly refined tactical battles that reward strategic thinking, or leverage a sophisticated auto-resolve system powered by advanced AI for streamlined empire management.
- Deep Quest and Story Integration: Embark on rich, narrative-driven quests seamlessly woven into the empire-building experience, influencing diplomacy, unlocking secrets, and offering meaningful rewards.
- Modernized UI and Graphics Engine: Explore enhanced visuals powered by DirectX 11, seamless zooming from strategic cloth-map to detailed tactical view.
- Integrated Modding tools: A comprehensive built-in modding and map-editing tools, and a fully redesigned user interface optimized for modern PC gaming with Steam workshop integration.
Elemental: Reforged does not have a release date attached to it just yet, but fans can wishlist the project over here on Steam to get the latest development updates.
Disclaimer: Neowin"s relationship to Stardock