Only 2 days left until release

I don't want to sound sappy here but we have been really touched by all the support we've gotten from you guys over the past couple of years that we've been working on this.

One of the motivations for making so-called "niche" games is that we really enjoy our tight knit communities.  We enjoy hanging out with you, listening to your ideas, arguing different game designs, etc.

Earlier today, we went "gold" which simply means 1.0. I like to think that games are never truly finished. They simply ship.  For me, that just means that 1.0 is the beginning of our journey together -- not the end.

In the meantime, let me share with you some of the things we've been doing since the last public beta and 1.0...

New Content

• Trogs don't get +1 attack anymore, instead they have the Berserk ability that increases their attack but does damage each turn
• Added the tough faction trait, +10% hit points for all units, Yirthril begins with it
• Removed the Berserk spell
• Curse is reduced from Death 2 to Death 1
• Added the Shadowbolt spell (Death 2, does minor damage and reduced the spell resistance of the victim)
• Added more tactical maps
• Enabled Fallen Enchantress Scenarios
• Enabled the Workshop

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a missing icon for Zealotry
• Fixed the Hurl Boulder ability
• Upgrading units correctly costs the full resource costs
• You can only select 1 faction weakness for custom factions
• Fixed the likelihood of quests (so they will be better distributed instead of getting the Alchemy, Nobleman's daughter and Rats in the Ruin quests all the time)
• Fixed floating cloaks
• Fixed a pause when using Double Strike with a two handed weapon
• Fixed an issue that can cause a quest location to not have a quest
• Fixed an issue that could cause naked, headless custom sovereigns when restarting a game
• Fixed crash bugs and hangs

Balance Changes

• Spears ignore 50% of Defense instead of 33%
• Reduced the max growth from Undying Curse from 9 to 5 units
• Reduced the level of the named Wilding Shamans slightly and increased their upgraded versions
• You can't get a Maul from a Bone Ogre anymore
• You won't get crude clubs as loot anymore
• Darkling Shamans can cast Shadowbolt
• Troll Shamans can cast Curse
• Reduced the power of Dirge of Ceresa
• Faction traits rebalanced, starting faction points increased from 2 to 3.  The factions stay the same, but it makes it more balanced when creating custom factions
• Binding faction trait split into Binding (elementals) and the Cult of a Hundred Eyes (trainable spiders)
• Enchanters faction trait split into The Decalon (spellbooks and arcane monolith) and Enchanters (magic staves)
• Master Scouts faction trait split into Master Scouts (no terrain costs) and Stealth (ignore by monsters)
• Heroic, Betrayers, Master Smiths and Slave Lords faction traits cost 2
• Removed the blocked buildings from the Slave Lords trait

UI Changes

• Fixed typos
• Fixed a missing string when trying to equip an accessory if you already have one equipped
• Removed the unused context area at the bottom of the custom faction screen
• Removed the unshadowed gap at the bottom of the screen when the intro book is up

I've gotten a lot of questions from people over the past couple of years about why we are giving away Fallen Enchantress to the early adopters of War of Magic. They say people won't remember War of Magic (it was 2 years ago). They say it won't "buy" good will back from those who didn't like WOM. 

It doesn't matter. The reality is, our job is to make some of the world's best PC games. Period. Regardless of the reasons, War of Magic didn't live up to that standard. And since we developed it internally, we had the ability to make good on that.

The budget for Fallen Enchantress was about twice that of War of Magic. I am a firm believer that people DO remember when companies backup their stated beliefs with deeds.. They remember when companies make good on their word. I think that in the *long-run* (and Stardock is one of the oldest non-public game developers in the industry so we think long-term), people will have confidence that we mean what we say: If you buy a Stardock game, it will be excellent.

A huge thank you

Tuesday is the big day. It's hard to believe that in the next week or so we'll have a pretty good idea of the fate of Fallen Enchantress. We hope that people out there like what we've done here.  We have you to thank for it.  Few games have had the opportunity to spend so long in a public, no-NDA beta where people could give their suggestions, criticisms and ideas. The game is better for it. And that couldn't have happened without your help.

We look forward to reading your feedback and deciding together what we should do next with this game that we love so much.