I had a chance to play for a lot longer tonight and I had absolutely no problems playing a couple of 3v3's and several 2v2's with clan mates-- we tried MM and also hosted battles and they all worked. For a second after finding an MM opponent it had us split 3v1 for a moment, but it corrected itself (which it didn't used to do). I also was able to host a "classic battle" for the first time.

Since the new patch we can now play against a lot more European and Asian folks which is pretty cool because it offers a big pool of talent and a large player base that wasn't there two days ago.

It was the first time my multiplayer experience was not marred by any serious bugs. I played for 2.5 hours with absolutely no problems, no restarts, no crashes. And I was playing 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3's. Made a new friend from Romania, too.

So far I'd say the latest patch is a success (not the ultimate success but for what it is-- a preliminary patch-- it is a success) and if you haven't played lately then you shouldn't knock it until you've tried it. Yes there are still droppers, yes the ladder is terribly bugged, yes large clans are unstoppable in the clan competition-- but tonight I really had a good time with no problems. It gives me some serious hope for the future.

If you have no interest in epeen, the game is shaping up nicely. They still have work to do, and a fair bit of it-- but if they continue on this path they will get it done.