I still think Stardock really screwed up the retail release of ToA more than any other piece of software they have done before. I really hope they learn from this lesson. They have really damaged the goodwill they had in a bunch of their more dedicated fanbase. I am now going to pause and think twice before buying another Stardock product, unfortunately which is what I have to do with most other game companies now.
I think you are projecting your personal opinions onto a larger canvas.
As you noted the game has received glowing reviews. The players seem to like it. We're not saying the game is perfect but if you think ToA was "really screwed up" let me be the first to say that you should never purchase another product from us ever.
Obviously, we want you to be happy with it. You're a good customer and member of the community. But I really take offense at your argument that ToA is somehow a broken game or whatever when it's not.
The tech cost behavior was something users, like uranium, explicitly requested. Now, you and others may not like the way it played out but it's not a bug. It was intentional. We're changing it based on player feedback.
The other things people have mentioned are simply the result of having added literally hundreds and hundreds of new techs to the game. The game was in a public beta for 6 months. None of us noticed some of the little flaws in there. But I think most people prefer if we put more stuff, even if there's the chance there's some piddly issue with it than to have a lot less stuff that is perfect in every way.
I'm very happy with Twilight of the Arnor. I enjoy playing it. It has a rich gaming experience, the AI plays intelligently, the new game settings create a great deal of replayablity. To act like the game was a huge disaster is just being melodramatic and if anything, makes me less inclined to do updates.
We are always open to feedback, constructive criticism, etc. But I really have an issue with melodrama.
