The new demo is very, very good. The graphics appear cripser and much more 'rugged'. The movements look great when my forces are advancing. All in all a real improvement on the last demo.
BUT...(and this is a big but), when regiments come into contact with the enemy all the above improvements become almost wasted. Almost never is there just a simple 'firefight'. Units 'jiggle', they change formation, often more than once, they stand and watch while they are shot to pieces? In short they do just about everything not to take on the enemy. I cannot be the only one having these problems? These issues need to be spoken about, they are at the heart of the game. After all, is the assault and firefight phase not the exciting part, for most of us at least, the bit where we find out if all the hours we have spent setting up the attack has worked?
I have already bought this game, I bought it in order to support JMM and all the hard work he and his team have put in. But these firefight sequences are now so bad that I am worried if I will ever play this game! It is chaotic. All sorts of messages come up on units card like, 'marching towards the enemy' when they are backing away, or 'concentrataing', when they are entering a firefight and appear at least to have nothing to do with what is actually happening. Mis-aligned units are often hopelessly facing the wrong way while firing? The unit behavour I am seeing when in firefights are so bad that I could see an 'average' gamer actually asking for his money back!
Maybe the regimental AI is thinking too much? Perhaps regiments would be better to just line up on the nearest enemy unit and attack?
It is very important that I make it very clear that in every other way this game is fantastic! It really is. Way, way beyond anything else ever released out there (and I have played them all). But this part of the game HAS to be right! Bugs or poor gameplay anywhere else could easily be overlooked, but not here! As I said, this is at the very 'heart of the game', the bit where we zoom in and watch'.
Please JMM, sort this out. Take longer if you have to. But I really do believe that despite all the 90% which is so right, so good, this part of the game that is wrong will wreck it and sales will plumet.