iirc both of the previous demos were the full tutorials that were in the final game, & as a result they "showed" the final game. i probably would have bought MTW anyway on the strength of my enjoyment of STW, but the demo was not disappointing in any way shape or form. one of the new features of MTW were the castle assualts, & you got to do this in the demo - & it was fun.

i played through the RTW demo once, & although i wouldn't say i disliked what i saw, i am undecided about whether to buy the game (i never thought i would be in this position). yes , the game looks good, but i am sorry, a great looking game is nothing if it doesn't play well - i realise what constitutes good gameplay is down to the individual. i have never liked the historical battles that are part of the game (as trebia will be?) so it is entirely possible normal campaign play will be fine for me.

i know this is only a demo, but i would be very surprised if the final game is radically different from the "feel" that the demo gives. yes, there is no campaign map in the demo, but there wasn't in the previous 2 demos either. you could argue that the campaign map will be so radically different in RTW that there should have been some "demo" of it in the demo.

so far i haven't read anything that (officially) justifies the various speed settings so it is hard to comment on why they are like this or that. but, if the concern was the time it takes to engage the enemy on bigger maps - that is what the time compression is for. the tiring multi-hour slogs in MTW SP had nothing to do with movement, but were due to the AI bringing on ridiculous numbers of re-inforcements after the AI general had left the field. i am not being sarcastic but, i would be very shocked if the increased speed is to accomodate MP players (where there is no time compression?).

i will be reading reviews & the opinions of STW/MTW veterans before i go out & buy this game.

Don Coyote