Quote "So in general, you are of the opinion that the series is degenerating? And that RTW is the beginning of the decline? "End Quote

I really am starting to believe that RTW is merely the beginning of a new chapter.If we had never heard of STW and MTW or indeed they had never existed we would be enthralled by RTW.STW was absolutely amazing in that it was a ground-breaking new style of game.In MTW they already knew the engine and knew what they could and could not do with it so we had another good gaming experience.NOW along comes RTW.........a new engine and new design.They aren't exactly sure of everything they can or can't do with this new system yet but they gotta get it out there before someone else does.I firmly believe that the series will go from strenght to strenght but i also am quite frustrated like everyone else with the bugs and crappy AI.
I was reading an article recently by the Head-Honcho behind the Half-Life 2 game.He stated that it was the continueing story of game design that as soon as you knew how to use the tools at your disposal(i.e Half-Life 1) you had to move on and try new things with tools you didn't fully know how to use yet, risking bugs you didn't know were in the game until after release.The reasons for this are always your competitors gaining ground on you(Imperial Glory challenging STW and MTW maybe).
Anyway i've rambled on enough.