A short reality check
Demigod Forums
I see a lot of tirades on the forum here. I think much of what is said is based in emotion, not fact. I wanted to take a moment to give my own analysis of Demigod the game, and a couple of recent hot-topics. Not that I'm anyone whose opinion matters, hehe. I am not what many of the more shrill posters would call a "fanboy," as this post is not 100% positive. I'm just trying to be as realistic as possible.
Is Demigod fun? All things considered, it's clear that it is. I picked up the game about a month and a half ago. Since that time, I have had no problem finding games to play. I'm sure I have spent several hours per week playing the game. The game is fun, or I wouldn't.
Is there 'no' playerbase or a 'shrinking' playerbase? Not that I can see from the time I have spent online. It seems to me to be holding about steady. It takes me at most a few minutes hunting for a game in the evenings. It takes me longer sometimes when I spend some effort searching for custom games that are not premade.
Incidentally, it is not hard to find a game with no premades. It takes a little effort, but this is not difficult. When I play, I spend the whole time *not* playing against premades. The whole premade "issue" has been blown way out of proportion, I suspect, by sore losers. I am a complete loner -- no Demigod-playing friends -- and I can spend all night playing against PUGs. That's the pure fact of it. If I am out there doing it, then I just don't buy that premades are ruining the game. If you are getting smacked over and over, it's probably because you chased three demigods into their towers over and over...
Is the Demigod code where it should be? No. I hate to say this, because I like this game. But, as a software developer and coder of games myself, I simply can't imagine how this game was released in the state it's in. Furthermore, when the 1.1 patch came out, it became evident within hours that there were problems (the first example of this that pops into my head is the random DG feature). I can only conclude that Gas Powered Games is simply not testing. Perhaps has no test team at all. In a situation where a piece of software has taken so much heat for bugs and problems, to release a major update that has not been tested to triple the expected standard is just dropping the ball. While I do believe that GPG has been laboring and putting in long hours to get code out, that is only half the task of software engineering. The code must be tested! I respect the efforts that have been going on, but please, for the sake of the game, get a test team. The next update, if there is one, really needs to be free of problems.
Will Demigod be "gone in a few months?" I think that's unlikely. I also think the people who post such things are mostly emotional and childish. Whoops, that comment will probably get me flamed. So be it. Realistically, though, there is some risk that Demigod will wane and fail if the next update(s) are not in good shape. If Demigod is well-supported by GPG I think it will continue to live on. If 1.2 is a success -- a polished, mature update -- then I think Demigod will do well.
I'm having a good time with this game and am willing to overlook a lot of the problems. I think the silent majority of players are the same. But, there is a limit to the patience of the masses ;)
Completely agree with OP. Thank your for putting up this completely respectful post about exactly how things are.
