Don't forget Sins of a Solar Empire. That also has a lot of potential of some awesome lore. Many of us users have even developed some.

I will enjoy seeing more of the lore show through. I'm admittedly no game designer, but outside of the campaign, there doesn't seem to be any real references to lore. In fact, the only place I can think of would be when you are setting up the game and choosing which Empire/Kingdom to play.

We don't receive many hints through the in-game models or art (none at all, in fact, if we play with the cloth map), there is precious little communication with other parties (Janus advises the player, AI factions don't add anything), and the descriptive texts surrounding items are minimal. Heck, the spell descriptions only give the bare minimum definition of the spell. "Hurls a boulder."

What I mean to say is that it seems none of the traditional vehicles for imparting lore are being utilized very well. Although, the splash screens do a better job. They are wonderfully done and I really enjoy them, and they raise questions in the right way. They make me what to learn more.

However, I think there is just enough in place that the imaginative player can start conceiving his own lore. Studying the spell books, digging up old technologies... these sorts of things serve as catalysts and have me envisioning my own world. But I imagine that this isn't exactly what Stardock had in mind, when it went to all the trouble of creating such extensive lore, hiring writers, and producing a book...

Just my 2 cents.

My 2 cents.

My bias is I tend to be a sandbox player- so lore isn't hugely important, but personality is.

a) An area of lore/characterization that I think you guys missed the boat on, was the voice acting, which is very bland.  Honestly, it sounds like you made your programmers do it.  Voice acting can really help get some personality across.  You'd probably have to outsource that to Texas or California though - as most of the voice actor types live there.  Some easter egg lines such "Do you touch all the other elves this way?" would help also.

Help files and hero descriptions- I'd suggest running a contest and let the fans do it.  AOW hero descriptions were great.  Help files for spells can be really descriptive.

c) It also helps if the game fits the lore.  The world of Elemental sometimes doesn't seem destroyed enough.

Another way could be through scenarios depicting historical situations - like the rise of the titans. Or having a slightly less tutorial-like campaign.  Campaigns are a great way to tell a story, and while the one in the game isn't a total wash, I have to say it is one of the worst I've seen. Sorry. Rest of the game, great. Campaign, not so much.

(Now, I haven't tried it since retail, it might have improved - has it?)

Mmm, lore.

I got lost on the internet a week or so ago and started looking at sites dedicated to the old Starflight games, which I played when I was a kid. I was amazed at the amount of lore worked into those games. The plot lines and history of the universe were incredible and nothing short of epic.

Obviously a different kind of game (starship universe explorer), but games today just seem flat comparatively.

Anyway, the more lore the better.

You want good lore? Look no futher than SMAC. That was probably the last 4x game to truly manage to seamlessly mix a sandbox game with a story.