Demigod has hundreds of units, clashing on big maps. That's far more like SupCom and Total War than Warcraft, or Diablo.

Not that Warcraft had great scale - everything was totally out of proportion and there was no actual in-game representation that the matches were taking place in a massive world. Total War and SupCom had both scale and scope, both have context as well as quantity.

And honestly if you think Halo had scope or scale you haven't played Starship Troopers.

No.  I'm claiming Ensemble Studios doesn't have the kind of money to back up its development endeavours that a company like Blizzard does (GPG doesn't either, obviously). 

Microsoft backed ES, yes, but they were only willing to spend a certain amount of money on ES.  That's why ES is being shut down - they don't feel like funding them anymore (even though the Age series was quite successful in its own right).

My point is that if a game like AoE3 can be played competitively at WCG then a game from a developer of a similar size (GPG is actually bigger) is perfectly capable of accomplishing the same, if it is designed to be competitive.

Like it or not, WCG is one of the highest level venues for RTS there is.  Which games end up on the line-up is not determined just by money.  If CnC3 was placed on the lineup before it was released, then it was placed there by virtue of its Beta Gameplay.  Games are played at WCG if they are deemed to be competitive and entertaining enough to be placed there.  Similar selection processes are used for other venues like CAL.

I can't speak for most of those games, but I imagine AoE2 isn't in there mainly because AoE3 is (or has been, not sure if it still is).  As for DoW, I was under the impression it had a fairly strong playerbase (at least as much so as AoE3).  The gameplay design, however, doesn't promote micromanagement or fast-thinking.  That was my experience with the game.

Playerbase does play a role, I'm sure.  But you wouldn't see a game at WCG (or anything like it) if it were a snoozefest or a game where average joe player can go head to head with the best player in the world.  In order to be competitive, Demigod needs to have numerous features that allow "Best Player in the World" to show just how much better he is than "Average Joe Plays on the Weekends."

I'm aware of why ES was shut down.  The point is, though, they aren't a huge studio, and AoE3, while popular, did not and does not have a very large following.  Certainly not greater than a game like DoW or even SupCom.

In any case, this is all a rather massive tangent.  My original point still stands: in the current direction the game seems to be headed, it will not have enough depth as a competitive game, nor will it be particularly entertaining to watch.  Certainly not anywhere close to the level of DotA.  That is a big issue for the developers if they really want this game to be considered highly competitive along the lines of Starcraft, Warcraft 3, CounterStrike, etc.

Well, I agree with you about newer graphics, but you're missing my point.

DotA is more entertaining to watch than Demigod because it's clearer what's going on, and it's also more colorful (I'm not sure how you could argue that point...the WC3 engine is simply more vibrant - Demigod is in fact rather dulled in terms of colors, I'm not sure why).  Again, it comes down to unit silhouettes and what not.  Take a look at a screenshot of Starcraft 2 and then play Demigod.  The difference is pretty clear.

http://www.demigodthegame.com/images/screenshots/Rook_bowling_with_towers.jpg

vs

http://www.starcraft2portal.com/store/blogs/media/starcraft2_06.jpg

In any case, this topic is semi-moot until we get some actual General UI functionality in, atleast in my eyes.

PS.: Yes, there was a Starship Troopers game, two in fact. An RTT that was heavily based on the book and an FPS that was movie based but jacked up the action by an order of magnitude. You should try them.

Hi all, first post

I agree with lifekatana, this is'nt a scale problem but a colour problem. Demigod have the same base color as the terrain/map. For example in W3, the contrast beetween green terrain and flashy unit is important.

Yea, Erebus is really tiny.

I think a good analogy is to look at how Blizzard decided upon the colour scheme for Diablo III. Originally they were going to go for a darker palette, but they discovered that with more colour its easier to tell what's going on due to the contrast and by adopting a crisper look. Graphical assets should communincate information well first, and look good second, imo, and atm I don't feel the Demigods are distinct enough from everything else to achieve that.

You are aware that their whole "Diablo 3 colourscheme more contrast" arguement was bullshit right? It's been proven repeatedly that you can have contrast as well as a traditional Diablo look at the same time. And let's not forget their incredibly wrong statement  that "you can't do dynamic light circles in 3D". The real reason for the Diablo 3 look, and one they've already admitted in interviews, is that they want to go lower than M rated.

Precisely.  Function first, form second. 

As far as Diablo 3: While the rating may have been part of their art direction choice, I doubt that's the whole story.  While some people think they may have "proven" that D3 could be darker and just as clear visually, it still remains very much to question.  All the doctored screenshots I've seen have been neat looking but inferior to the actual game screenshots.  Not to mention that from what I've seen of D3 so far theyve managed to have dark areas and light areas and yet still keep that distinct Diablo 3 feel.  But that's not important for this discussion.