Elemental: Reforged News

[h2]Beta 3 brings a substantial visual overhaul, expanded campaign content, and reworked AI[/h2][p]View the Changelog | Join Early Access[/p][p][/p][h3]Visual Overhaul[/h3][p]The most immediately noticeable change is the updated character models. We've left the PlayStation 1 era behind with new models that apply retroactively to existing characters. We may still need to upscale some clothing textures, but the core visual upgrade is now in place.[/p][p][/p][h3]Campaign Updates[/h3][p]Beta 3 includes two campaigns: Fallen Enchantress and Legendary Heroes. We've not only ported this classic content but expanded upon it as well. The War of Magic campaign is coming soon and will be ready for our full release.[/p][p][/p][h3]AI and Balance Changes[/h3][p]The AI has received significant attention in this update. The original AI was designed to "lose well", throttling its own performance to ensure players could win while facing some early-game challenge. This approach has been reworked, with restrictions removed that previously prevented AI players from pursuing quests and exploration if the human player appeared to be struggling. We'll be lowering the default difficulty setting to account for these changes.[/p][p][/p][h3]Bug Fixes and What's Next[/h3][p]Beta 3 also includes extensive bug fixes, which occupied much of our recent development time. Following this beta, we're shifting focus toward release, with plans for a post-launch roadmap based on player feedback.[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for your continued support, your enthusiasm is what drives us.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Happy New year![/p][p]We have been burning the midnight oil over here at Stardock to get Beta 3 out. Your support and enthusiasm is what drives us and we have been making the most of it![/p][p]So what’s in BETA 3 and when is it coming out?[/p][p]Besides a massive list of bug fixes we have 3 main focuses:[/p]

1. [p]The long awaited art overhaul[/p]
2. [p]The campaigns[/p]
3. [p]The AI/balance update[/p]

[p]As many of you know, I don’t love early access. I no longer even buy games in Early Access. I wait until they’re released.[/p][p]That’s because Early Access games, imo, tend to either be a marketing exercise or a permanent sandbox for an ever growing scope. On the latter side, we are definitely guilty of that here.[/p][p]We blew up the scope on Elemental: Reforged. We have no regrets in that, but I would prefer that we finish the game and get it out there and then release a roadmap in which NEW things can be looked at to be added in free updates. Remember, we’ve been working on this quietly for the last 5 years. Even if we don’t sell any copies of the game, we’re going to be working and updating this game for years to come.[/p][p]So let’s look at what we’ve done:[/p][p][/p][h2]The New Graphics[/h2][p]We have left the PlayStation 1 era graphics.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]You don’t even need to create new characters to benefit from the new character models.[/p][p]I remember when I got the Diablo 2 remaster and thought “The graphics look the same as the original”. Blizzard was smart enough to have a way to instantly switch between old and new to make clear just how much better the remaster looks.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The increased visualization also gives hints as to why the Altarians in GalCiv have a blueish tint in their skin.[/p][p][/p][p]We still may need to upscale some of the clothing textures. Take a look.[/p][p] [/p][h2]The Campaign[/h2][p]The plan was to include:[/p]

• [p]The War of Magic[/p]
• [p]The Fallen Enchantress[/p]
• [p]The Sorcerer King[/p]

[p]Beta 3 includes two campaigns: Fallen Enchantress and Legendary Heroes. We've not only ported this classic content but expanded upon it as well. The War of Magic campaign is coming soon and will be ready for our full release.*[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So I admit, I really didn’t think the character model update would make any real difference in game. I mean, look how small they are? I didn’t think anyone would be able to tell the difference. But yea, I can tell. So yes yes I was wrong. You guys were right.[/p][p][/p][h2]The AI / Balance Update[/h2][p]It’s hard to take screenshots of smarter AI.[/p][p]The original AI design for Elemental was for the AI players to “Lose well”. In effect, they would throttle themselves to ensure that the player won but with some challenge at the start. It didn’t age well and was a misplaced design because the reality is that it results in good players absolutely wrecking the AI.[/p][p]The hubris after coming off of GalCiv II and thinking we could easily make an AI that would beat everyone therefore the real challenge is to make it smart enough to be a “Good loser” is breathtaking in hindsight.[/p][p]So it’s about watching the AI and pouring over lots and lots of C++ code.[/p][p][/p][p]For instance, AI players were blocked from taking quests and goodie huts if they thought the poor poor human player was struggling.[/p][p]We will be lowering the default difficulty as a result of all these changes but I am hopeful players who are really good at the game will notice the AI plays a lot better.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Bugs[/h2][p]The bug fixing has been monumental. That’s one of the reasons we’ve been so quiet lately. Just head down fixing little bug after little bug.[/p][p][/p][h2]Stay tuned[/h2][p]We have some surprises in Beta 3 as well. We will discuss soon, but after Beta 3, the plan is to move towards release so that we can start thinking about NEW things in post release based on the level of interest from players in seeing where they want the game to go.[/p][p][/p][p]*Updated 01/19/2026[/p]

[p]Join Early Access[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][h2]Get up to 80% off Elemental titles during the 2025 Winter Sale[/h2][p]View Entire Sale[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][h2]Other Elemental deals:[/h2][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]View Entire Sale[/p]

[h3]Stardock's remastering of its popular fantasy strategy game series, Elemental, combines War of Magic, Fallen Enchantress and Sorcerer King into one game to rule them all[/h3][p]View the full changelog[/p][p]Stardock Entertainment has released Beta 2 for Elemental: Reforged, the remaster to Stardock’s classic fantasy strategy series. This early access update introduces significant enhancements, featuring a new Dynasty system for character legacy, customizable modding tools including Steam Workshop support, a massive set of bug fixes and new content and support for non-English languages.[/p][p][/p][p]Elemental: Reforged is a 4X turn-based fantasy strategy game in which the player founds a kingdom, explores a devastated world going on quests, battling monsters and contending with other kingdoms and empires that are also spreading across the world.[/p][p][/p][p]The game is a remastering of Stardock's trilogy of War of Magic, Fallen Enchantress and Sorcerer King, all of which were limited by 32-bit memory limitations. Now, thanks to a rewritten engine, the game now supports modern graphics hardware with 64-bit memory space and can fully realize the original vision for Stardock's ambitious Elemental game design.[/p][p][/p][p]"The original Elemental game design was ambitious beyond belief," said Brad Wardell, lead designer of the Elemental series.  "The first game, War of Magic, was released in 2010 and supported a 'living world' where players could zoom in and see people living out their lives in cities. Every unit was unique, characters could be equipped with different weapons, armor and items and visually change on screen, characters could get married and have children that visually inherited traits from both parents; this is a game where a human and an Ogre could potentially have children together.  If that sounds too much to fit in 32-bit memory space in 2010, the answer is, it was."[/p][p][/p][p]The original design was famously mired with technical problems in an effort to fit into 2GB of system memory in 2010.  As a result the design was split into 3 games, War of Magic, Fallen Enchantress and Sorcerer King, each of which focused on a different aspect of the original design.[/p][p][/p][p]"Now, with Elemental: Reforged, we can take the entire design and put it into a single game, albeit, 15 years later than we wished," said Wardell. "This has been a labor of love for us as most of the original team from 2010 is still at Stardock. We've been working on this for the past 8 years in our spare time so players can get a glimpse of what we wanted to do."[/p][p][/p][p]Elemental: Reforged Beta 1 was released in Early Access in October.  Despite being very rough in terms of bugs and incomplete content, the game has received Very Positive reviews on Steam and a committed fanbase.[/p][p][/p][p]"Beta 1 was horrendously buggy," admitted Wardell.  "Not wipe out your hard drive buggy but still very buggy. We have been grateful to the fans for putting up with the glitches as we've been trying to bring so many lost features back together, as well as make the game available in non-English languages which has been a challenge unto itself."[/p][p][/p][p]Beta 2 brings back the most famous feature from the original design, the Dynasty System.  In it, player characters can get married, have children and those children can have children and so forth.  These new generated characters, in every sense of the word, can then be brought onto the game map as unique champion units with traits (both visual and gameplay abilities) based on the parents.[/p][p][/p][p]In addition, the built in modding tools, which support map creation, quest making, monster lair creation, dungeon creation, particle editing and much more have been brought into Beta 2. They are now localized and integrated with Steam Workshop so that players can make and share their creations.[/p][p][/p][p]"Someone could potentially make a turn-based RPG with these built in tools," said Wardell.  "Between designing maps, creating monster lairs, quests, items, etc. all of which integrate into each other, along with the use of common art formats like FBX and PNG files, players can create and share pretty much whatever their imaginations come up with."[/p][p][/p][h3]Elemental: Reforged Beta 2 Highlighted Features:[/h3]

• [p]Dynasties: Players can now engage with an innovative Dynasty system, allowing them to marry, have children, and nurture their offspring into champions, thereby expanding their legacy across generations.[/p]
• [p]Fantasy Studio: Players can create fantasy maps, spells, monster lairs, spell effects, quests, magical items, etc.[/p]
• [p]Steam Workshop Support: Right from the in-game main menu, a UI for managing mods and sharing them online is now available. [/p]
• [p]Localization Support: The original games were English only.  Beta 2 includes support for other languages including German, French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Polish and more.[/p]
• [p]Computer Opponent AI. AI players have been substantially enhanced to intelligently craft items for their champions, design their own units, wisely use spells (including ones players make and share online) and much more.[/p]
• [p]Visual Update. While the remaster can't hide that this was a 2010 era game, the game's visuals continue to be refined and improved as the original high resolution art assets are restored and put into the game.[/p]
• [p]New Monsters, Champions, Quests and much more. Before War of Magic was released in 2010, a lot of content for it had to be removed in order to fit in 32-bit memory. This content has been brought back and restored; players will encounter many new types of creatures and quests that they didn't see before.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p]