Why does noone compete with totalwar

[Durango]

There was a game with very good tactical battles engine in the American Civil War theme/context, by a very small niche company of 2 people that kept refining their engine/scenarios. Rumor was that it was good for hardcore wargamers and prety realistic.

Ah yes, the Take Command series, particularly 2nd Manassas. Rumor has it that they're VERY good indeed. Especially in
terms of tactical AI. Have yet to try it though, since it's hard to pull myself away from MTW and STW...

thing is tho i feel a game even just a little better graphics than shogun 1 could compete multiplayer with the latest totalwar games whos combat engines are not very good or as solid as the old games. They still look terrible zoomed out which is what MP guys play a game that focussed on the zoomed out instead of the zoomed in could be a sucess.

Absolutely, the only thing graphics really need to get right is clarity, from a game play perspective - that is the right shape and form
of units so they are clearly identifiable, and terrain that does not draw attention to itself so much. That's one of the reasons for the
competitive success of the FPS game Counterstrike, as it was very "clean" and straightforward to play. The players' models did not
blend in with the surrounding environment and there was very little "clutter" present in the maps. The same style is advantageous
in a TW game IMHO, like in STW or MTW.

All in all, it's a shame no one has managed to compete with Total War. Competition brings out quality.