WickedBear,
Your tone comes across as a smartass. You're too pugnacious, even though you have good points. Half of communication is knowing how to say what you want to say. This community fails at knowing how to do this. It's a skill that will help you for the rest of your life. Use honey instead of vinegar to catch your flies.
-Epiphenomenon
I wholeheartedly disagree. After reading through this thread, it seems like WickedBear is one of the few people posting who has the communication-level of a college graduate. Just about everyone else... seem like young fanboys.
My own DG experience has been pretty disappointing. While I share the sentiment that DG is a great game, the online connectivity has ALWAYS been shoddy. I rarely play anymore due to this fact, so I feel like my 40 dollars was short-lived in terms of utility. Maybe some people can patiently wait for a successful game, but I unfortunately no longer have that luxury. With DotA, there's about a 95 percent expectancy that I'll finish a game from start to finish. In DG's case... I'd have to say it's about a 15 percent. Just taking a step back, pricing, p2p, server issues aside, DotA is a VERY old game. I'm just confused as to how a 6 year old game has better connectivity than a recently released game. Apples to apples. I understand that the p2p functionality is different than Battle.net's servers, but hey, Stardock made the conscious choice to go that route. I do appreciate the ingenuity of the idea, but it really isn't quite there yet.
Also, isn't it true that Stardock took on the multi-player aspect of the game? GPG undertook development of the game-engine and all those goodies, while Stardock handled the online functionality? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I've heard from the grapevine. I'm just a little confused when people are saying, "Stardock got the short-end of the stick."
On a tangent, I feel like Frogboy's reaction to this small thread is mind-boggling. He should be ready for this kind of "treatment" on an internet forum. Something along the lines of "common-knowledge" which someone mentioned earlier. "Oh hey, you hurt my feelings, now I'm outta here." This could slide if he was just another random member, but to be a Stardock employee (if I'm not mistaken) and to carry your emotions on your sleeve like that just simply does not reflect well on Stardock. I suppose I'm expecting too much from Stardock, but what really sets exceptional companies apart from mediocre ones is the response to the community (e.g. Valve). I have mad respect for Valve and their practices, so in a sense, I guess I'm a bit spoiled from their awesome service. I'll end it there, so as to not sound like an advertisement for previously mentioned great company.