My apologies for starting a new topic, the post was intended as a reply to the What would you do? discussion started by Frogboy

I haven't played DG in a while and I never got to playing it competitively (pesky real life!), but here's my 2 cents...

I agree with many of the previous posters - DG1 is a lost cause; assign a small team to maintain it and focus on DG2

Re. DG2 - from the get go think of the game as an e-sport

1) Focus on connectivity (duh) - polish it, then keep polishing it until it is not a factor; if solid global connectivity means dedicated servers, put them in place; if you don't have the commercials figured out to have rock solid connectivity, do not bother even starting development.

2) SC2 style ladder / matchmaking / ELO - not having the experienced and the inexperienced in one place should be pretty obvious, it surprises me why it's not; you don't want your customers frustrated from not knowing what they're doing and being insulted at the same time - it's supposed to be fun; actually, just copy the functionality of BattleNet, as many of the people you're targeting will be used to it by then.

3) Focus on balance - remember, you're not just building a game, you're building an e-sport; if that means only 10 demigods, so be it, as long as external and internal balance is in place; I realize balance is elusive and takes a lot of money to achieve, but, again, it's an important factor from a marketing perspective, especially given DB1's known shortcomings; pick one form of competition (say, 5v5) and focus balance around it.

4) Consider funding for championships and/or automated tournaments with cash prices (or considerable in game rewards if you opt for F2P) - having them in place attracts pro gamers and raises the level of competition, which in turn makes being good at the game appealing to your hardcore demographic.

5) Modability / community map making - again, pretty obvious - with a sufficiently big community you won't need a dedicated team after a certain point.

6) Don't forget the Koreans

7) Consider hardware performance - I'd say the current engine works fine in that respect, but just keep it in mind; serious gamers will always prefer solid performance over bling; it absolutely must not affect connectivity - if you need to force recommended settings in PvP, do it

8) Consider introducing (paid?) skins for the demigods

9) Every action should have a keyboard shortcut (see SC2)

10) The visuals should be self explanatory - makes the games more watchable, which is an important, but neglected aspect of games

11) Last but not least - don't release the game until it's done; the competitive gamers of today demand quality.

 I hope this helps.