From The Blog
-
ConnectWise Slash and Grab Flaw Once Again Shows the Value of Input Validation We talk to Huntress About its Impact
Written by Sean KalinichAlthough the news of the infamous ConnectWise flaw which allowed for the creation of admin accounts is a bit cold, it still is one that…Written on Tuesday, 19 March 2024 12:44 in Security Talk Read 614 times Read more...
-
Social Manipulation as a Service – When the Bots on Twitter get their Check marks
Written by Sean KalinichWhen I started DecryptedTech it was to counter all the crap marketing I saw from component makers. I wanted to prove people with a clean…Written on Monday, 04 March 2024 16:17 in Editorials Read 1522 times Read more...
-
To Release or not to Release a PoC or OST That is the Question
Written by Sean KalinichThere is (and always has been) a debate about the ethics and impact of the release of Proof-of-Concept Exploit for an identified vulnerability and Open-Source…Written on Monday, 26 February 2024 13:05 in Security Talk Read 1067 times Read more...
-
There was an Important Lesson Learned in the LockBit Takedown and it was Not About Threat Groups
Written by Sean KalinichIn what could be called a fantastic move, global law enforcement agencies attacked and took down LockBit’s infrastructure. The day of the event was filled…Written on Thursday, 22 February 2024 12:20 in Security Talk Read 1023 times Read more...
-
NetSPI’s Offensive Security Offering Leverages Subject Matter Experts to Enhance Pen Testing
Written by Sean KalinichBlack Hat 2023 Las Vegas. The term offensive security has always been an interesting one for me. On the surface is brings to mind reaching…Written on Tuesday, 12 September 2023 17:05 in Security Talk Read 2085 times Read more...
-
Black Kite Looks to Offer a Better View of Risk in a Rapidly Changing Threat Landscape
Written by Sean KalinichBlack Hat 2023 – Las Vegas. Risk is an interesting subject and has many different meanings to many different people. For the most part Risk…Written on Tuesday, 12 September 2023 14:56 in Security Talk Read 1802 times Read more...
-
Microsoft Finally Reveals how they Believe a Consumer Signing Key was Stollen
Written by Sean KalinichIn May of 2023 a few sensitive accounts reported to Microsoft that their environments appeared to be compromised. Due to the nature of these accounts,…Written on Thursday, 07 September 2023 14:40 in Security Talk Read 2078 times Read more...
-
Mandiant Releases a Detailed Look at the Campaign Targeting Barracuda Email Security Gateways, I Take a Look at What this all Might Mean
Written by Sean KalinichThe recent attack that leveraged a 0-Day vulnerability to compromise a number of Barracuda Email Security Gateway appliances (physical and virtual, but not cloud) was…Written on Wednesday, 30 August 2023 16:09 in Security Talk Read 2056 times Read more...
-
Threat Groups Return to Targeting Developers in Recent Software Supply Chain Attacks
Written by Sean KalinichThere is a topic of conversation that really needs to be talked about in the open. It is the danger of developer systems (personal and…Written on Wednesday, 30 August 2023 13:29 in Security Talk Read 1835 times Read more...
Recent Comments
- Sean, this is a fantastic review of a beautiful game. I do agree with you… Written by Jacob 2023-05-19 14:17:50 Jedi Survivor – The Quick, Dirty, and Limited Spoilers Review
- Great post. Very interesting read but is the reality we are currently facing. Written by JP 2023-05-03 02:33:53 The Dangers of AI; I Think I Have Seen this Movie Before
- I was wondering if you have tested the microphone audio frequency for the Asus HS-1000W? Written by Maciej 2020-12-18 14:09:33 Asus HS-1000W wireless headset impresses us in the lab
- Thanks for review. I appreciate hearing from a real pro as opposed to the blogger… Written by Keith 2019-06-18 04:22:36 The Red Hydrogen One, Possibly One of the Most “misunderstood” Phones Out
- Have yet to see the real impact but in the consumer segment, ryzen series are… Written by sushant 2018-12-23 10:12:12 AMD’s 11-year journey to relevance gets an epic finish.
Most Read
- Microsoft Fail - Start Button Back in Windows 8.1 But No Start Menu Written on Thursday, 30 May 2013 15:33 in News Be the first to comment! Read 116475 times Read more...
- We take a look at the NETGEAR ProSafe WNDAP360 Dual-Band Wireless Access Point Written on Saturday, 07 April 2012 00:17 in Pro Storage and Networking Be the first to comment! Read 87395 times Read more...
- Synology DS1512+ Five-Bay NAS Performance Review Written on Tuesday, 12 June 2012 20:31 in Pro Storage and Networking Be the first to comment! Read 81941 times Read more...
- Gigabyte G1.Sniper M3 Design And Feature Review Written on Sunday, 19 August 2012 22:35 in Enthusiast Motherboards Be the first to comment! Read 80265 times Read more...
- The Asus P8Z77-M Pro Brings Exceptional Performance and Value to the Lab Written on Monday, 23 April 2012 13:02 in Consumer Motherboards Be the first to comment! Read 70900 times Read more...
Reading time is around minutes.
Elemental Beta 4 Sneak Peek
Fallen Enchantress is Stardock’s most ambitious title yet. Hot on the heels of Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Stardock intends to make sure that its upcoming fantasy strategy game is as good as they can possibly make it.
Executive Producer and Stardock CEO, Brad Wardell outlines some of the new features in the much anticipated 4th beta release of the new title, “Beta 4 introduces the new economic system. In 4X strategy games, the underlying economy – how you get and spend resources – is really the unspoken heart and soul of these games. As a game that takes place in a fantasy universe, we have the opportunity to do some really interesting things here.”
Fallen Enchantress’s lead designer, Derek Paxton, took his experience making the popular Civilization IV mod, Fall From Heaven, to create something really worthwhile. “It’s all about your cities,” said Paxton. “Starting with Beta 4 you can specialize your city as either a Town, Conclave, or Fortress. Towns are the source for food, growth and money. Conclaves are where your research, both technological and arcane, occur. And Fortresses are the source of your most elite and powerful military units.”
Beta 4 also will be added a third basic resource – essence. Previously, Fallen Enchantress’s resource economy followed the tried and true track of food and materials. As a fantasy game, Paxton decided there was an opportunity to add another dimension to what could make a city special: Essence. “Essence is the land’s natural magical affinity. Lots of city improvements make use of this resource. Essence also allows players to cast powerful enchantments on a city. The more essence, the more enchantments the city can maintain.”
As part of the new emphasis on city specialization, players can now construct upgradeable outposts away from cities. These outposts address the issue known in strategy circles as “city spam”.
“Instead of players having to build lots of cities to have a chance at winning, they can construct outposts,” said Paxton. “In beta 4, these outposts can be upgraded to boost allied units, give penalties to enemy units, scare away monsters, and help the cities they are associated with.”
While the new economic system is the most important change in Beta 4, Stardock has also put its user interface design team to work enhancing the Fallen Enchantress user experience. To this end, the cloth map has been revamped, the main user interface has been cleaned up and the rich tool tip system updated.
“Even as we add depth to Fallen Enchantress, we want to make sure the game is approachable. We don’t expect users to have to read the user manual to know what’s going on,” said Wardell. “The game should walk the player through how to play the game and the interface should be intuitive enough that it just makes sense.”
Elemental: Fallen Enchantress Beta 4 is expected to be released later this month. The final game isn’t expected to be released until this Fall but anyone who pre-orders it can join the beta.
Web site URL: www.elementalgame.com
Latest from Sean Kalinich
- ConnectWise Slash and Grab Flaw Once Again Shows the Value of Input Validation We talk to Huntress About its Impact
- Social Manipulation as a Service – When the Bots on Twitter get their Check marks
- To Release or not to Release a PoC or OST That is the Question
- There was an Important Lesson Learned in the LockBit Takedown and it was Not About Threat Groups
- NetSPI’s Offensive Security Offering Leverages Subject Matter Experts to Enhance Pen Testing
Leave a comment
Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.