Stardock has pulled the veil back on its next internally-developed game, and no, it's actually not set in space.

The developer recently revealed to Edge the turn-based fantasy strategy game Elemental: War of Magic, a city-building, "4X" PC title loosely inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion.

"Elemental is set in a world devastated by cataclysmic war magic from 100 years before, and now life is starting to return," explained Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock.

Stardock is aiming for a February 2010 release, with a public beta arriving this coming spring. The game has been teased very mildy for several months, with Stardock fans referring to the game as "Not-MOM," or "Not Master of Magic," a reference to the classic fantasy turn-based game from 1993 that influenced the game.

Elemental, which has been described by Wardell as a "franchise," will feature random map generation, integrated modding, city building, unit design, tactical combat, multiplayer and most of all, magic.



Players begin as one of only a few who can channel magic from five shards of magic that exist across the world. As players capture these shards, they can cast more powerful—and more devastating—spells.

One aspect of gameplay that Wardell revealed is the ability to place your main character's own magical essence into "minions." “It makes you less powerful, but it’s an interesting choice that players have to make—to keep power or spread it out amongst your people.”

The game is a bit of a departure for Stardock, at least from a setting standpoint. The PC centric developer has become a highly respected purveyor of space-themed strategy games. The company's portfolio includes the ongoing Galactic Civilizations series, and the studio recently published the acclaimed Ironclad Games title Sins of a Solar Empire.

“No space is involved at all,” Wardell said of Elemental. It all takes place in a single world where players build up cities. Wardell compared it to games like Heroes of Might & Magic and Age of Wonders, with Stardock’s own twist.

“Imagine Civilization with magic in a fantasy world, almost, in terms of gameplay,” he explained.



Like Stardock’s Galactic Civilization games, there will be bits of humor and irony sprinkled about Elemental. In one example, the game offers an ironic take on the oft-visited scenario of a loot-lusting adventurer jumping headlong into an uncharted dungeon. In some instances, as you’re running your sovereign empire, an overzealous adventure may enter one of the dungeons, only to die at the hands of a demon, now awake, and very perturbed. Thanks to that adventurer (who any RPG player can relate to), the roused demon will then proceed to wreak havok across your land.

“All of our games have a little bit humor. It’s usually not intentional. We’re just weird people,” Wardell said rather proudly.

As for multiplayer, Wardell said that there will be two modes: standard skirmish with simultaneous turns and a "Wars of Magic" mode. The latter is a persistent mode hosted on Stardock's Impulse Cloud servers, and offers a "variety of different game types."



On the technical side, the game runs on an internally-developed 3D engine that’s been in the works for “a couple of years,” according to Wardell. It’s made specifically for strategy games. In Elemental, gamers will be able to zoom out and view the world as a cloth map that strategists can play on or zoom in for greater detail.

While most of Stardock’s staff is working on Elemental, the company is continuing to work on the previously-discussed MMORTS called Society, where Elemental's 3D engine got its start.

The technology makes for a sharp-looking game, but Stardock’s games have always been about a clear commitment to deep, fun and long-lasting PC strategy games. “If you like Civilization or are a Master of Magic fan, this is a must-get," he claimed. "I’m zealot of those games, so I’m kind of a target audience for it."

Update: Clarified multiplayer details.