Back in the days of 56k vs dsl (and dsl was potently expensive in the 90s) I played mechwarrior 3 online. In these oldschool multiplayer games you actually had to lead your opponents up to 3 inches on the screen (the amount was directly related to ping) to actually hit them due to lag, and this actually became the ultimate skill in the game, called "lag shooting". Since I slept very little back then and gamed monstrous amounts of hours, I played international opponents and had many friends from australia and germany on my FL.
The problem with games like demigod is there is no lag shooting. The game does not keep moving and let your data catch up to it when it feels like it, and I can speak from experience when I say that some international connections are better than others. I can also vouch that a 120 ping in the lobby != 120 steady ping in game. I myself do give the benefit of the doubt to those with slightly high pings, and in some cases wound up regretting it when the game that ensued was a slideshow. By no means does that mean that I won't give people a chance, but players I know are going to ruin my game usually don't get a second chance. Even though I play a lot, I would still comsider myself still on the casual side of the fence, and this probably has a lot to do with it.
Point is, hey guys it's nice to have aussie players on at 4 am when I want one more before I pass out, but sometimes your internets don't help your cause. My advice to you is to stick it out until you have yourself a group of friend that you play with on a regular basis.