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Demigod Review @ GameSNAFU

By Annekynn on April 16, 2009 9:48:25 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock ForumsExternal Link

My review of Demigod is now available at GameSNAFU, enjoy.

http://www.gamesnafu.com/readarticle.php?ArticleID=283

Those with short attention spans or desire for instant perfection are likely to disagree with my assesment, but anyone whos played an MMORPG at launch will understand why I see Demigod as a diamond in the rough that with some more debugging and patching will be a truly remarkable product. Reminds me of the first week of World of Warcrafts launch

+1 Karma | 20 Replies
Reply #1
schloob
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April 16, 2009 9:53:00 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

A RTS isn't nearly as complicated as a MMORPG.  That is like saying that the NASCAR pit crews problem remind you of NASA shuttle failures.  It is unacceptable for a RTS to be so terribly programed in the year 2009.  There are video game schools that teach students how to program a network socket in year 3 and many of their final projects are higher quality than this (network game, not gfx, etc).  P2P for gaming is terrible.  It was terrible 10 years ago and it is terrible now.  Not everyone is an IT guy with the ease of access to routers and port forwarding.  Also, there are a large number of players that play in cafes and dorm rooms.  It just seems that some companies are trying to save a few bucks with the hokey hosting systems.

Reply #2
Shmag
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April 16, 2009 9:55:53 PM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Glad to see the reviewer could look beyond the troubles and see that Demigod is an excellent game that will have longevity.

Reply #3
Annekynn
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April 16, 2009 9:56:28 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Well its not entirely a game design problem as it is a back end overload problem. Certainly the game should have been better designed to prevent back end stress and it is obvious Stardock was unprepared for the mass reception as the CEO has clearly said so. So just like an MMORPG having its servers get overloaded and crash the similarities are certainly there.

Reply #5
Skeziks
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April 16, 2009 9:57:36 PM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

I'll stick by Stardock they have yet to TRULY mess up a game, and along with GPG I have serious faith it will all work out.

Reply #6
schloob
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April 16, 2009 9:59:11 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

I am not exactly a computer whiz but how is there server overload with a P2P game?  Doesn't it rely entirely on user's computers to host the game?  If they are lagging when just trying to connect players together and not process the game engine, that isn't a good sign.

Reply #7
DalzK
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April 16, 2009 9:59:25 PM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Very reasonable review.

Reply #8
LordSNAFU
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April 16, 2009 10:01:13 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

This is the kind of review you get when someone who actually plays the game reviews it . Not like gamespot or one of these other self proclaimed professional reviewers.

Reply #9
DalzK
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April 16, 2009 10:03:36 PM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Hero balance needs attention as there are noticeable balance issues between the various demigods

I dont get that...

Reply #10
tuxdj
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April 16, 2009 10:04:45 PM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Did someone say MMORPG complicated? /facepalm

Reply #11
Annekynn
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April 16, 2009 10:05:15 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting schloob,
reply 5
I am not exactly a computer whiz but how is there server overload with a P2P game?  Doesn't it rely entirely on user's computers to host the game?  If they are lagging when just trying to connect players together and not process the game engine, that isn't a good sign.

Well its not entirely P2P as the backend servers handle the matchmaking for the online tournaments. These are hosted by Stardock and seemingly are overloaded with traffic as Stardock has stated so once they work out things on their end everything should settle down and function as intended.

Reply #12
Annekynn
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April 16, 2009 10:07:09 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting DalzK,
reply 8

Hero balance needs attention as there are noticeable balance issues between the various demigods
I dont get that...

Well when a General can kick an Assassins butt without even relying on their army of units for assistance there are definately balance issues. Why play an inferior hero?

Reply #13
schloob
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April 16, 2009 10:07:31 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

So basically something on par with a java chat client got overloaded.. hmm... I have a hosted site if they want to borrow my 1mb of bandwidth lol.

Reply #14
schloob
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April 16, 2009 10:08:14 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting tuxdj,
reply 9
Did someone say MMORPG complicated? /facepalm

Network Socketing in MMORPG is one of the most time intensive and complicated programming in the industry.

Reply #15
Annekynn
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April 16, 2009 10:08:22 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting tuxdj,
reply 9
Did someone say MMORPG complicated? /facepalm

Nope no one said that.

Reply #16
Annekynn
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April 16, 2009 10:10:47 PM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting schloob,
reply 12
So basically something on par with a java chat client got overloaded.. hmm... I have a hosted site if they want to borrow my 1mb of bandwidth lol.

Well Stardock says theres 100k+ warez copies of the game hammering their server, so if the warez copy got somehow tampered with to affect their systems in a way it shouldnt have then that may atleast partially explain the problem. Bandwidth isnt an issue, hardware resources is and they said they are adding more hardware and code changes to aleviate the problem.

Reply #17
PossiblyImpossible
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April 17, 2009 3:19:55 AM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Quoting Annekynn,
reply 11

Well when a General can kick an Assassins butt without even relying on their army of units for assistance there are definately balance issues. Why play an inferior hero?

 

This is a misconception really.  Generals were originally supposed to need their minions to get things done, but then the developers decided this would be too difficult to accomplish and now the Generals can essentially be played like Assassins if the player so desires.  The minions hardly even make that big of a difference, anyway.  The pure Assassins are still more powerful in terms of damage.

 

If you think there are balance issues now, you should have seen the game before the day 0 patch.  I haven't seen anything approaching a balance abuse yet.

Reply #18
GnomeChomp
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April 17, 2009 5:11:40 AM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Totally biased review.  The core component of the game doesn't work, but maybe it will get fixed in the future, so we will just ignore the issue?

The fact is we haven't really been able to scratch the surface for bugs yet because actually playing a game is so difficult.

How anyone could right an accurate review when the game has been out less than 3 days is beyond me.

Reply #19
Khorus
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April 17, 2009 8:27:01 AM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

"Well when a General can kick an Assassins butt without even relying on their army of units for assistance there are definately balance issues. Why play an inferior hero?"

 

I'm of the same opinion. btw nice review and I agree with that as well.

Reply #20
Annekynn
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April 17, 2009 9:04:04 AM from Stardock Forums Stardock Forums

Quoting chris701,
reply 17
Totally biased review.  The core component of the game doesn't work, but maybe it will get fixed in the future, so we will just ignore the issue?

The core component worked fine in beta prior to launch. It certainly is done and developed. Severe backend problems due to traffic are most unfortunate and are being resolved per word of Stardocks president. Most big multiplayer games have severe problems at launch so this is hardly a new thing.

Reply #21
Insanetitan
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April 17, 2009 9:18:03 AM from Demigod Forums Demigod Forums

Quoting chris701,
reply 17
Totally biased review.  The core component of the game doesn't work, but maybe it will get fixed in the future, so we will just ignore the issue?

The fact is we haven't really been able to scratch the surface for bugs yet because actually playing a game is so difficult.

How anyone could right an accurate review when the game has been out less than 3 days is beyond me.

 

I think you're being totally biased in the other direction.  There are plenty of games happening; enough to get a grip on bugs and balance issues.  That's not to say that there aren't a lot of games NOT going on, but don't ignore half of the facts just because they don't agree with your view.

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